Episode 129 Podcast Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00:00):

How can I ask anybody in my life to turn up and to do what I’m, for instance, what I tell you to do if I don’t do it for myself? So that was a pinnacle point in my life where everything started to shift. And to this day, the more I focus on becoming a better version of me, the more my life just becomes better around me.

Speaker 2 (00:00:29):

G’day everyone. Rob Kropp of Dan Stones here from Pravar Group, and welcome back to another episode of The Trade Den. Good to have you back, Dan. How are you?

Speaker 3 (00:00:38):

Good to be back. Hi, Rob. Hi everyone. Excited today. Another client feature. We love doing these, getting into some of these stories. And today, no different. I’m really looking forward to this one.

Speaker 2 (00:00:50):

Yeah, today we got Trent Shah from Trade Industries Group or TIG. If you hear us talking a bit about TIG, it’s Trade Industries Group. And Trent, really good to have you here today. Welcome, mate. Great to see you.

Speaker 1 (00:01:02):

Thanks for having me boys.

Speaker 2 (00:01:04):

Excited about being on the pod?

Speaker 1 (00:01:06):

Happy to have a chat with you two anytime you want.

Speaker 3 (00:01:11):

I love it. Let’s kick off, mate. There’s a lot to tell in this story, a lot of colour and a lot of steps. So let’s start though in the beginning. I want to know a little bit about you growing up and whereabouts you grew up and what sort of kid were you before you became. Let’s stick to before the teen sort of years, let’s call it that for starters.

Speaker 1 (00:01:33):

Before the teen years, you’re taking me back. Yeah, I think I was pretty outgoing. I remember I was quite, I wasn’t shy at all. I remember when you first met me, obviously I was shy, reserved, all that type of stuff. But I just liked having fun, hanging out with the kids, playing on the street till the lights turned on, that type of thing. I grew up in Banksia, which is next to Arncliffe in Sydney, if anybody knows. Just loved playing sports. Just had a good family upbringing, I would say. Yeah, I don’t know.

Speaker 3 (00:02:12):

What were you like at school?

Speaker 1 (00:02:14):

Primary?

Speaker 3 (00:02:15):

Yeah, we’ll go primary. Let’s start there.

Speaker 1 (00:02:19):

I went to a school that only had 40 kids in the whole school. So we got taught by nuns, priests. So it was probably a bit different than what you actually know me as. But yeah, just again, all I remember is just having fun when I was a kid, man. My whole family lived in my street, so I had my mum’s side, had both aunties living in the same street. It’s like a U-shaped street. My grandfather used to do, started all the Christmas lights in the street, used to run shows and stuff like that. So just a lot of fun and I’d say good, healthy family upbringing.

Speaker 2 (00:03:06):

Good family values.

Speaker 3 (00:03:08):

Yeah, big family influence. Would’ve been awesome. I love it. Was there anyone in particular that influenced you think in those early years? Anyone that you really gravitated to out of all of that or was just one big melting pot that you were right in the middle of?

Speaker 1 (00:03:24):

My dad used to work a lot, seven days a week. So it was hard to hang out with my dad too much. And I would spend a lot of time with my grandmother and my grandfather. So my grandfather and grandmother, Nana and Nana, every day after school I’d go back there, do my homework, they’d make food for me. My dad was a bit of a strict person back then, so no elbows on the tables, that type of stuff. And I think they sort of wanted me to go there just so I could be more of a kid, set a little table up in front of TV while I’m eating dinner, which my dad would never run the house. So yeah, I’d say probably my grandfather was probably my biggest, outside of my parents and my brother and all that type of stuff. I’d say probably my grandfather.

Speaker 3 (00:04:20):

What did he do, do you remember? Or was he retired by then or he was just doing his thing around the street and in the community?

Speaker 1 (00:04:28):

Yeah, I remember him being retired at that time. Prior to that, he worked at Qantas, just an extremely loving and outgoing guy. He’d take me down to Rockdale Station and just everybody would know him and he’d take me to this Italian restaurant that we’d go eat at. And just a really genuinely good, nice man.

Speaker 3 (00:04:53):

Excellent. What did your dad do?

Speaker 1 (00:04:57):

So dad and mom ran a cleaning business. Dad was obviously the one who did the majority of the cleaning. I’d go out and help mom because mom would help out on Fridays and another day, I can’t remember, and I’d go out and help her do cleaning. So it was more like commercial cleaning, so not house cleaning. It was all in the city, like Vaucluse, the top end areas, that type of stuff. Clean hallways, elevators, vacuum, that type of stuff. So that’s what they did.

Speaker 3 (00:05:30):

Very cool. What was your first job? Can you remember?

Speaker 1 (00:05:34):

I’d say first job would be sort of that, working with the family. I wouldn’t say it was a job, but they would throw me a bit of money, that type of stuff when I went out. But my mom, I always wanted to start. I always wanted to maybe go work at Macca’s or just do something to earn some money because I was never the type of kid that was sort of like take, take, take from his parents. But my first real job was when they didn’t want me back at school. They told me to go to a trade. And I just at 14 and a half started working with my brother being a carpenter, and that was eventful to say the least.

Speaker 3 (00:06:18):

Is your brother older or he’s older obviously?

Speaker 1 (00:06:21):

Older. He’s eight years older than me.

Speaker 3 (00:06:23):

Yeah, right. So you get to high school, that is, 14, and then you get the tap on the shoulder, this ain’t for you. Did you worry about that at the time or did you already know the writing was on the wall and you had a bit of a plan?

Speaker 1 (00:06:39):

Well, when I went to high school, I was big into sports and all that type of stuff. And just, I don’t know, I went from a school which only had four kids in my whole year, so that’s all I knew. And then going into an environment of a high school where it was just so many people. I literally knew one person which I knew from primary school and I knew no one else. And I feel like I became a little bit more reserved when I jumped into that type of space because I wasn’t used to it. But yeah, I really enjoyed year seven to 10, made a lot of friends, played a lot of sport. And then when it came to that decision to go to year 11 and 12, I said, yes, I did want to. And then they called us in straight away and they just sat us down and said, we love trend free sporting accolades and all that type of stuff, but it’s just academically, I think it’s best to go and go start a trade.

(00:07:34):

So yeah, big gutter. Big trade. And then yeah, just fell into the lap of working with my brother.

Speaker 3 (00:07:40):

Okay, cool.

Speaker 1 (00:07:43):

Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:07:43):

Now you talk about sporting accolades, but set the scene. You’re not just talking, you played a bit of sport. You were well into it and you were playing rugby league at the time, right?

Speaker 1 (00:07:52):

Yeah, I played pretty much everything. I remember in high school them not even. So I even tried to, you call it home sport or whatever. You go and just play that regular sport with everyone’s different colour shirts or whatever. I remember one time just trying to sneak out there to go play. I wasn’t going to go play one of the rep sports. And one of the teachers grabbed me and said, “What do you think you’re doing? There’s no way you’re playing this, you’re going to play this.” So played a bit of everything, but yeah, I suppose rugby league is where I excelled and I ended up paying for St. George Juniors, that type of stuff.

Speaker 3 (00:08:27):

Nice. When you get through that, you play for St. George Juniors, you’re disciplined, you’re training hard, you’ve got obviously I think an ambition, a dream to make that a career at that point. Is that where you are heading in your mind or are you like, “Well, I’m doing this, it’s great fun. Something’s going to give at some point and I’ll have to figure this out.”

Speaker 1 (00:08:50):

I think a lot of pressure from outside everyone, it was clear that I had the skillset to make it, but the passion was never really there. As in I never really cared so much to be. When I played for Saints, they have this thing, it’s a pink shirt and it says goose on it, and it’s generally given to the goose of the week. I reckon I wore that more than anybody. I remember going out and going to parties and I was the one drinking and I’d see the team rock up and we had a game the next day and they’d be like, “What the fuck are you doing, bro?” Yeah, again, I firmly believe anything you want, you need to be passionately focused at. Obviously learned that in my later years, but yeah, I got a little bit upset when I feel like I wasn’t going to make it. But I think now I look back and I’m like, I’m very grateful for it because it’s made me who I am today.

(00:09:55):

I put it down as a failure for so many years, but to me, it’s not a failure when you identify the fact that I never really wanted it.

Speaker 3 (00:10:05):

Yeah, and you balance it out with the hindsight of the life you now have and everything that’s come your way since, you wouldn’t give that up for anything. No career would do that after you get to this point in life. It becomes a pretty clear, I won out of the deal. You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (00:10:21):

Yeah, 100%.

Speaker 3 (00:10:23):

When you start working for your brother then, what’s the attitude like? Where are we at in terms of a passion for the trade? I am now doing this, or is it like this just sucks?

Speaker 1 (00:10:37):

I hated working, man. I just knew all my friends were having fun and doing what they were doing, and I’m jumping out on sites, getting dirty. I’ve always been really good with my hands. I remember in year 10 coming first of the year and getting the award or whatever. But man, I fucking hated being out on site. I didn’t want to be there. I remember tripping over string lines and my brother yelling at me. And throughout my career, it’s my older brother. It’s like my third dad, got my grandfather, my dad, and him. I’ve got so many dads in my life. Shooting gun nails at me. It was tough, but I feel like, man, I couldn’t be more thankful now. But fuck, I just hated it. I can’t tell you how much I hated it.

Speaker 3 (00:11:28):

Did you do your whole apprenticeship with him and stay with him for a period of time? Or was it like I’m out of here and you took it on somewhere else?

Speaker 1 (00:11:36):

No, no, I stuck it out with him. By 18, I was tradie. He threw me in the deep end a lot in a lot of situations for me to learn. And like I said, when I was a second year, for instance, I used to work with tradies that I knew more about my trade than them who had just finished. So again, now in hindsight, couldn’t be more appreciative of what my brother and his business partner did to me in a good way. It was more constructive and good, but just hard. It was just really hard going from just running a muck in school and then having to really put your head down and physically work. Because obviously in the trade game, if you muck around, literally I feel like you can die if you’re not following the safety protocols and stuff like that. So yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:12:31):

For sure. Did you get a sense of, I want to run a business like this one day or not even close?

Speaker 1 (00:12:37):

I remember even talking to. So obviously we were close with the group. We’re a tight-knit carpentry building group. And I still remember there was nails on the ground and my brother would be like, “Do you know how much this one nail is?” And I’m like, “That’s a fucking nail. Who cares? Just let me work. I’m already depressed enough being here.” So I remember even saying it to the boys, I just don’t understand who would want to run a business.This just sucks. I also saw my dad working seven days a week. And again, you say run a business, anyone can register a business. But again, I just felt like I’d rather just work for somebody and not have to worry about anything. So yeah, I never once really thought of starting a business.

Speaker 2 (00:13:26):

How much do you reckon the influence of your dad working all those hours had a big impression on you in your early years? What impression did that have on you and shape a lot of your mindset looking back as a young fella, do you think?

Speaker 1 (00:13:41):

I think it had a lot to do with it, man. I still remember Christmas days, everybody else had to open their presents at whatever time, 6:00, 7:0 AM in the morning, people riding their new bikes, motorbikes, whatever, through the street. And here I am waiting for my dad to be home at one. And God bless him. You can’t fault the man for trying as best he can. But knowing what I know now, especially through Pravar around kids don’t spell love, L-O-V-E, they spell it T-I-M-E. And it would’ve been nice to hang out a bit more with my dad and stuff like that throughout that time. And I feel like it may have had a negative effect to me looking at work, if that makes sense. Like, oh shit, work’s hard. Work sucks. Work, you have to work. So I feel like it maybe played a negative.

(00:14:35):

I took a negative out of it.

Speaker 2 (00:14:37):

How much did it shape your attitude towards your desire to not want to work or your ability or what you wanted to achieve in your own life? How much do you think that, looking back now, how much did that mould you in terms of your own desires and your own goals and results you’re chasing in business today, do you think, from all the way back then?

Speaker 1 (00:14:56):

It’s something that I taught myself to think that work is bad, hard work is bad, anything to do with that type of thing. If I wasn’t sitting on the couch watching a movie, everything else was bad, for instance. If I wasn’t. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:15:13):

How do you reconcile then as you’re getting older, as you’re doing your apprenticeship? What sort of future did you see for yourself at that time? What was the outlook for you in your own head?What were you thinking?

Speaker 1 (00:15:26):

At the time it was obviously a learned thing around however long I work for, I get paid for. So I wasn’t afraid to do long shifts, double shifts to make some extra money to earn to go and have fun, for instance. It was all about make money to have fun, go on holidays, go out and party with the boys Friday, Saturday, Sunday, that type of thing. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:15:57):

So it didn’t derail things to that extent, but it was just sort of a pretty standard approach to work, get paid, go have fun. You were young, feels good. How or what did you learn through that time, I suppose about having fun? Was it just there was more to it? Did it feel empty or hollow? Were you just all boots in all because it was fun and it wasn’t hard work and it was easy? What was it for you?

Speaker 1 (00:16:23):

I loved having fun, man. Obviously I still do enjoy having fun, but the fun I was having was a bit different. My dad liked to have a bit of a party as well, watching my brother and his friends have parties. Again, being eight years older, me being younger, seeing that type of stuff, seeing me defining what fun was, if that makes sense. Fun was alcohol and just the boys and running them up, man. Yeah, I remember drinking when I was very young, very young.

Speaker 3 (00:16:59):

Did you have that feeling that that’s why we work hard to play hard? Was that sort of the overriding mindset you had at the time? That’s the only reason why you’d work hard because the harder you work, the more you get to play.

Speaker 1 (00:17:09):

100%, man. Again, you see my dad, seven days a week, you can’t fault the guy at work. I definitely learned a lot of his work ethic through him and my brother, but it was work, get home, have a drink, watch a movie or go to golf, that type of thing. So yeah, I associated fun. There was a time in my life where literally I don’t think I could have fun without getting on it.

Speaker 3 (00:17:39):

Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 2 (00:17:41):

Now, the reason why this conversation is so important is because a lot of people don’t realise or understand that the behaviours that they do are often unconscious based on the experiences, either the good, the bad, or the ugly when we’re younger. And that was the reason why I was asking before from Trent going, “What did you take from that?” Because when someone grows up in a really strong family environment, those values often influence into someone. So knowing that Trent lived in a cul-de-sac with all family around him, that’s shaped Trent to be a family man that he is. But also seeing the experience of his mom and his dad working their ass off, there’s obviously that influence of that’s where Trent’s got a good work ethic from. But it’s also what has defined Trent to want to chase a life of freedom and fun and all those types of things because of the negative connotation that’s been attached to seeing his dad never around seven days a week, only getting there till one o’clock on Christmas day to be able to open presents.

(00:18:49):

And we see this a lot in coaching, don’t we, Dan? Where a lot of guys come to us who their dad or parents or someone’s often run a business and they were never around. See old Cats and the Gradle song. It’s a big part of why we do what we do here at Pravar is in my own experience. But a lot of guys come to us in coaching because it’s almost like, “I don’t want to be like that.” And they’re trying to be the very opposite of what their parents were, but all of a sudden they become like their parents kind of thing. We see that so much, don’t we, Dan?

Speaker 3 (00:19:21):

Yeah. And it takes time, I think, before it makes sense because you’re in the middle of it, you’re doing it. It’s learned that way for you. It’s just the way it was wired up. And once it’s wired up, then it’s like, “Well, how do I take this? Is it how much more fun can I have? How much harder can I work?” Because those are the two ingredients. Everything in the middle is up for grabs. So in your journey, Trent, that idea of work hard to have fun, did you go down the work harder path or the more fun path? How did this play out as you get older and you start to have a life and you have more money presumably? Was it to work harder or to work smarter or was it just to have more fun? Where did you play and where did it get to in that sense?

Speaker 1 (00:20:07):

It was obviously more fun, man. At the time it was just, again, every dollar that I had was. I’ve always been good at saving, which has been a good thing, but it would be saving for a thing and then go and do that, for instance. I remember when I was 18, I had enough money to buy an apartment, which I then got bad advice from my accountant. I didn’t buy one, but then ended up going on a car, for instance, you know what I mean? Or just nights out and going to Europe, going to America, going to Thailand. Yeah, it was just all about having fun. I even remember a time when I used to go to festivals, I strongly remember me saying, “I will never ever stop doing this. I really though that this was my calling was to get messed up and have fun.” Look back at it now, I’m like, “Wow.”

Speaker 3 (00:21:01):

Yeah, that was life. This is what life’s all about. That was all it was all about.

Speaker 2 (00:21:06):

And some people could argue going, “Well, Trent was this young and that’s what young people do.” But for Trent, this was him shaping and becoming the man that he was starting to become purely because of what we spoke around before. It was the negative of that environment that he grew up in, of the strict discipline, this is how we do the elbows on the table, growing up with the nuns and the priests of a school of 40 to 50. It’s the parents who worked a lot. That shaped you who you are. And a lot of people go, “Well, that’s just what young people in their early 20s do. They go and party.” But this was becoming the forming of Trent purely based off the experiences and the environment and the norms that you grew up in as a young fella. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:21:48):

Does this then, Trent, lead to, at some point, like you just said, I can never imagine not doing this. I want more of this, more fun, less work. And then you start to wire up in your mind, well, how do I do less, but have more time or more resources, more money for fun? Is that where your mind then went to? Just how do I minimise the effort to maximise the fun factor?

Speaker 1 (00:22:11):

Yeah, of course. Of course it did. Obviously, fast-forward a little bit, I had enough of. I quit from my brother because they bought all this insulation when that government scheme was on for roofing insulation. I remember being stuck in roofs and just being itchy all the time. And it didn’t take too much longer where I just called my brother and said, “Bro, unless you get new work, put me back on carpentry or something, I’m done.” And he’s like, “Then this is what we’ve got for now.” So I said, “I quit.” And I’ve tried everything, man. I’ve done a bit of sparky work. I was even installing car radios for Straththrow car radio at one point, driving trucks. Plus you hear back then it was when the era of coaching just started coming out and there were other coaches like, “Systemize this and become free and do nothing.” And it’s like, okay, cool. I was sold on it. I was sold on it. I was like, “Oh, I can do this.” So yeah, it was make it easy. And I did some wrong things as well in life to make some quick money and won’t get into that, but it was. It got to a point where I wasn’t really working. When I first started my first business in rubbish removal, I got to a point where I was making so much money in cash that I ended up just partying with it and I’d get phone calls every day and I’d just be like, “Sorry, can’t make it. Sorry, can’t make it.”

Speaker 3 (00:23:50):

And you say it was your business, and this is the thing. You have got the ingredients, you have got the ability or the opportunity to have a business, build an asset, do all those sort of things. You did that in that rubbish removal business. So you bounced around from carpentry, bounce around jobs, get to rubbish removal. You do this with your, I’ll say your partner in business in life in many ways, Tyrone. And you guys start this business. What was the plan at the time though? Why did that business exist? Or was it just to have more fun? That just the vehicle it was? Why did you start it?

Speaker 1 (00:24:26):

To be honest with you, I actually started, what happened was I left carpentry and building. My brother knew how depressed I was. I had a lot of anxiety and depression issues when I was younger, so that played into a lot of the fact that I hated doing what I was doing and all that type of stuff. And he had a mate who was just making a killing in rubbish removal. And he’s like, “Bro, let’s just buy a truck. I’ll put down half, you put down half, but you run it.” And I started running it and that’s when I started making the money and what not. But Tyrone was working at plumbing supplies and we’re just old school friends. And he just kept bringing me and saying, “Bro, I’ll come out and help you on the truck. I’ll help you on the truck.” And I think it was over a couple of weekends, he just helped me a little bit.

(00:25:14):

And I’m like, “Bro, we’ll just partner. Just give me five grand and we’ll just kick this off.” And that’s when it really started. That was me and him working out of my mom’s front room, tipping rubbish on people’s front lawns. My mom would go to their front door and say, “It’s cleanup day. Can we dump rubbish there and save money?” And all that type of stuff. That’s when it really kicked off with Tyrone. And wow, what a business we’ve built over there. So yeah, it’s crazy, man.

Speaker 3 (00:25:48):

Was that the first time that business was fun for you so you could at least have an avenue to go, “I want to do more of this,” or was that something you didn’t like either?

Speaker 1 (00:25:58):

When he first come on with me, my words for him was, “Can you sell? Do you mind speaking to people?” Because I really just hated speaking to people and I didn’t want to do any sort of sales. And he was like, “Yeah, you know Tyrone, he’s very outspoken, very not shy at all.” And that’s how it came about. And I said, “You have the phone.” But he was working at plumber supplies and we would just get random people come in. I went back to carpentry and building. He was at plumbing supplies and I would literally meet somebody at 6:00 AM in the morning, never met them before. Here’s the keys to the truck. Just call me throughout the day and we’ll work it out. And that’s the beginning of it, if that made sense. And I started with Action Coach. It was Action Coach was the first business coach I went through, and they sort of opened my eyes a little bit, but I ended up leaving them. Then I went to other coaches from there. But if it wasn’t for coaching, I don’t think I really would’ve seen any good side of business.

(00:26:54):

I would’ve just thought it would’ve been similar to the way I work, spend your time.

Speaker 3 (00:27:01):

What were you looking for in coaching? Be it action coach, be it the others you bounced around with? What was it that you were looking for at the time from having a coach?

Speaker 1 (00:27:11):

Back then, I never really, even though my dad and mom owned a cleaning business, I only associated that as a job, if that made sense. And even though my brother and his partner ran a carpentry building company, still only really associated that as us just working together or on the field where business was more like tie and suit. And that’s something that I just thought that was never for me, if that made sense. And that’s why when you had. Some would say I’m quite gullible in the sense that someone says something to me and I believe them, but it’s just because I tell the truth. So they would sell me on, “Hey, I’ll do this, this, this, and this. And in this amount of months you’ll be able to be free,” and that type of stuff. It’s the old sales out of coaching, and I just got hooked by it really. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:28:04):

So would you say that you’d bought yourself jobs to this point in the business? Or was that sort of the mindset? Because we see that a lot, don’t we, Rob, that guys get into business to buy themselves a job and you can easily stay stuck there if that’s all you ever do.

Speaker 2 (00:28:18):

Yeah, correct. So many people get into business because they want more time, more money, more freedom, more family time. And all of a sudden they’re working more hours, earning less than their apprentice and spending less time with their family. And to be honest, until a business gets to a certain point, you’re actually better off not having a business and you’re probably better off being a project manager for someone else. And so yeah, the sad reality of business ownership in Australia is that most business owners are taking all the risk for not a lot of reward and having less freedom than they probably would. And that’s why we’re big advocates of you got to get the business to a certain size to be able to warrant the risk that you carry and getting the reward for the effort that you put in to run a business.

(00:29:00):

Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:29:01):

So in bouncing through coaches and you end up at Pravar Group, talk me through the initial reach out. What was your experience and how did that come about? How did we get to this point where you come across the doors and have your first convo with Rob?

Speaker 1 (00:29:16):

Well, Tyrone and I, we did other coaching and it was more like that big, big group setting and you got an online portal and you meet up with your coach every now and again, very generic style coaching. So we were introduced into systems mindset and all that type of stuff with that. But I just remember I was in the office and I just kept seeing Rob’s head, man. It just kept popping up. And then I ended up going to Tyrone and said, listen. He was like, “No more coaching. We’re done. We’ve got to handle it on our own.” I said, “Bro, it’s a 45-minute call. Let’s just listen to the guy and we’ll see what says.” He’s like, “All right, this is the last chance. We’ll see what happens.” And I remember talking to Rob Rob. And I was like a fanboy. I was like, “Oh, it’s Rob Kropp, how good?” And when we had that call, Rob was real. He worked out some things very quickly that we didn’t see. And that’s when we were ready to press go with Pravar.

Speaker 3 (00:30:21):

When you got into coaching then, that first thing, I think you guys came straight into, was it straight into leverage? I think it was Rob, wasn’t it? Yep. So Tyrone and Trent come into there. You’re running rubbish removal at the time. That was the initial business that comes in?

Speaker 1 (00:30:39):

Yeah, we had branched into demolition and asbestos removal as well.

(00:30:45):

And yeah, I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure we worked out that our labour costs was in the 90 percentile. I dare say 95 percentile. And we were running like 30 to 35 boys at the time. And we just thought boys are busy, we’re making money. But ultimately we weren’t. So yeah, that was a rude shock. And I remember there was a wait period before we could enter leverage, and Rob gave us the old, listen, before you start this, you’ve got to do this, this, this and this. And I remember we had eight or nine people in the office and I was classed as general manager thinking I’m like. I was just working on systems at the time, trying to map things and do all this crap. And Rob’s like, “Bro, no, you got to go back into operations. You got to get rid of this person, that person, this person’s got to go back out on the field.” And we just did it.

(00:31:51):

And as hard as it was, you got to remember, I still had the mindset of I didn’t want to work at that time. So going from the top seat back into operations and having to really deal with everything, it was hard, but I don’t know, just a trust. It was just like a trust with Rob.

Speaker 3 (00:32:13):

Did you enjoy leverage? Did you enjoy that experience? It’s hard work. It’s the exact same thing that you’ve signed up to coaching to get the answers. And in your mind, probably the, give me the answer, give me the fix, give me the solution so I can get down. I can stop doing this so I can get on with having fun and going on my journey. Did you enjoy it or was it a real…

Speaker 1 (00:32:34):

It was tough, man. It was tough mentally to do it. But when you start seeing those micro wins and being told to celebrate those micro wins throughout the process, it really helped. And like I said, Tyrone and I looked at each other after the call and we said, “Listen, if we’re making this decision, we’re giving it everything we got and we’re going to see what happens because if we just go half-fast at it, what’s the point of it?” So yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:33:05):

What was the lesson you took out of that? I’m going to say it because we’ve got to introduce this. The first time you went through leverage, we’re talking about the rubbish removal business. We introduced you as Trade Industries Group. They’re two different businesses. We’re going to get into that story. What did you take out of that in terms of your own personal thing? And also what was the lesson you took out of it with Tyrone as a business partner, just the way you’d set everything up? Because it changed pretty quickly after that.

Speaker 1 (00:33:35):

I dare say that Rob and the coaching team probably had a hard time dealing with me and Tyrone. We were at each other a lot, sort of like two big egos clashing, if that made sense. The principles you learn in leverage, again, obviously I’ve been through it twice and I’ve been with Pravar for a long time and in that ecosystem, so it’s like second nature to me, but it’s quite simple. They’re just simple life principles that if you stick by, you’ll win in life. And you pick that up pretty quickly.That first main lesson you learn around pulling out the nails, that was probably one of the hardest things to grasp because you’re like, “Man, everything’s burning down around me. What are you talking about? Worried about my personal life. Let’s just get into the numbers. Let’s just make the business make money.” So that probably was one of the hardest things to jump into, but I would say one of the most rewarding.

(00:34:41):

And then it flows in obviously through everything else you do. But yeah, I wouldn’t say it was easy. I would say it’s definitely hard.

Speaker 3 (00:34:48):

So through that journey, I remember doing nails with you and it was. I think it was a rough period, but it had to be that baseline of what’s reality? What is the real truth? And where do we go from here based on that real truth? In time, you get to a point where you leave rubbish removal and TIG. Now I’m interested to know, was TIG bubbling away in the background as another thing you guys were on at the time? Or was it something that you went out to set up? Because that’s you coming back into carpentry, back into building and construction, the one place where you probably said, “I’m never going to be here again,” you ended up going back to and you had to walk away from, or not walk away, I know you’re still active in the business sense, but leave that behind that partnership, the day-to-day with Tyrone and go back.

(00:35:37):

Did you feel you were taking a backwards step? And even before that, just explain that story and what actually happened.

Speaker 1 (00:35:44):

So TIG was born out of the fact that we were losing work in the demo company to builders who would just undercut the demolition quote in order to just get that moving, if that makes sense. And again, we were in rubbish removal. I wanted to keep it simple, but Tyrone was always so much more ambitious than I was. And it was like he could see what skillset I had. And he would say, “Man, let’s just get into demo. Come on, let’s just get into this and let’s just get into that.” And then it was, “Bro, you’re a builder. Let’s just do building. Let’s just start a building company.” And it’s like I still remember to this day saying, “Man, use my licence, use my credentials. I don’t want to be in building. I left, I sold all my tools. I didn’t want to be a part of that.” And it was a big thing to start it, but he was running it a bit.

(00:36:41):

It wasn’t like a full-blown building company at the start.

(00:36:48):

And then just making the shift to go over, that was, again, from the initial working with Rob and Pravar, I went from where I thought was where I wanted to be at the top, and then just going bang, straight into operations. And then I started rolling backwards, if that made sense. I was like, “I just want to relax. I don’t want all this pressure on me.” And I remember I ended up back out on the field and welding up trucks and just saying, “Guys, you just handled the office.” And that was in ATOS in Adobe Industries. And Fazel had come, we used to actually work for Fazal in the demo company. He was a PM, and he lost his job during COVID and coincidentally came across just as a demo supervisor, which he’s not a demo supervisor. He’s all about organisation. He’s unbelievable at project management, estimation, all that type of stuff.

(00:37:51):

But being on the field, the man he was in COVID came in and started working with his hands as a labourer just to feed his family. And he came on board. I remember the first or second day I had him out on a job and we were repairing. We started doing some carpentry work for insurance and we had him on the scaffold.

(00:38:15):

Again, he’s not a tradie. And he come up to me and he goes, “What do you reckon, man? I’m doing good.” And I said, “Bro, you’re not meant for this. In the nicest of way, you’re shit. You’re not really made for labour.” And then I literally told Tyrone, I said, “Bro, we need to get this guy in the office. He’s going to change the way we think and that type of stuff.” And testament to him, he was turning up at 5:00 AM in the morning, freezing cold. He was on a base salary, and he started running operations and that type of stuff until he caught wind of the fact that we’re opening up a building company, which was always Fazal’s dream to be a part of. And he really wanted to be part of that. And he came over and said, “I’d love to run that.” And he was the big shift in TIG in the early stages where he was able to run the jobs efficiently, run the trades, programming, costing, estimating, and taking it off our hands.

(00:39:18):

So that’s how TIG started. I was still at ATOS. He was running the show with TIG. We’re all in the same office, so we’re all weekly meetings, all that type of stuff. But me going over there was, yeah, that was different, man.

(00:39:37):

Me and Tyrone always talk about ATOS is like our baby. So to leave that place and to go over to TIG was hard, but I did it on the premise that Fazal was going to run it and I was just going to go out and run some jobs because you got to remember, I’m on the decline. I’m physically working again. And I thought, all right, if I’m going to go over there, the reason why I’m coming over is I’m going to come out on site. I’m just going to do what I know best, which is easy to me, which that didn’t last for very long.

Speaker 3 (00:40:07):

So what happens is you end up going back. So the two business or you move out of ATOS, you go back into TIG. TIG then goes into coaching and leverage again. So no sooner have you gone through leverage, done all this, left the business, you’re back to where you started again, even harder the second time around, and you start going through the same thing again. Did you notice a shift or a change or were you different at that point or were you still resisting all the same things? What was the second time around like?

Speaker 1 (00:40:42):

That was probably something that I was really devastated about is the fact that I went through leverage and I was in coaching at ATOS and understanding the principles. I really put my all into that and understanding the principles and all that type of stuff, and then leaving and not being in coaching. And I still remember when I left, Tyrone went to the awards night and he won an award and I was like.

(00:41:11):

And yeah, it was tough, man. I’ll be honest, it was a hard thing, a bit of pill to swallow. We were talking about joining, bringing TIG into Pravar even when I was at ATOS, but Fazal wasn’t ready to do it on his own. So when I jumped over, we had bought a project and we were just big dogging it, just thinking we’ve made it now, we’ve got all this money, we’re going to do this project, and we’re just not listening to the coaches and sending ourselves into a complete downward spiral, which thank God we were in Pravar at the time because we were able to manage through that probably one of the most difficult times. It was definitely the most difficult time in TIG’s history for sure.

Speaker 3 (00:42:03):

Yeah. And I think this is an important part of the backstory because we’re about to turn the corner into you get through, I’m going to fast-forward pretty quickly, but you get through leverage, you do it the second time, you end up in lifestyle. Now again, I think, has there been a shift in Trent since the first to the second to where we are in lifestyle now? But around, I think it was around July 2023, something like that. And you come into coaching then. I still haven’t seen, and remember I coached you through the second round of leverage, so I know what the ins and outs of it. I still haven’t seen this spark take hold. I’ve still got Trent here resisting work. I need a break. This is all too hard. I don’t want to do carpentry. This story you’ve told yourself for so long is still there.

(00:42:45):

It’s not like you’ve had any great. I think the lessons, the seeds have been sown, but there’s no way you could predict the trajectory that came a little bit later on from that. How close were you to like, “This is all too much, I’m out.” Were you ever at that point or were you all in terms of I’m going to see this through?

Speaker 1 (00:43:03):

Yeah, throughout my business career, I still remember even at ATOS driving out, I was about to drive a Bobcat calling Tyrone in complete tears. I can’t do this anymore. I’ve got to leave, blah, blah, blah. So that carried through through the first leverage. If you’ve got the recording, I think I cried when I got up and spoke to Rob, and I think I did it again in the second leverage. The pain was always there. And yeah, going through the second time leverage, learning and understanding it is one thing, making the implementation. But when I was at the dinner that night asking both of you, “What podcast do you guys listen to? And what is this and what is that?” And you guys are just like, “Bro, fucking settle down with the books, the podcast. You’ve got all this knowledge banked up in your head. Just trust yourself and do it.

(00:43:58):

Just take action rather than just keep trying to learn, learn, learn, learn.” And it took a little while for that penny to drop. But I would say that was a big defining moment of listening to two guys that I’m completely look up to. And for you guys to tell me that, again, it took a little while into lifestyle because again, when I went into lifestyle, I think I retracted. Big group, the best of the best in the industry.

(00:44:34):

People on the stage, people talking on mics. Completely different to the small, tight-knit group we had in leverage. Moving into lifestyle was a big sort of shock. I’d almost assimilate it close to me going from primary to high school, if that makes sense, going from four people in my class to a hundred and something in my year, that type of thing. So yeah, it was a bit of a shock. And I feel like I went back to my old ways of just retracting and going into my shell initially. So yeah, that’s probably why you didn’t notice any big shift at the time.

Speaker 2 (00:45:07):

Yeah, we noticed that as a real point for you. And looking back, it was a defining point for you because by following this story along so far, what you were chasing is the silver bullet. You’ve been looking for the silver hit. That’s why you did action coach and then you moved to that coach and you moved to that coach. And how do I build this big team around me at the expense of your bottom line? And how do I put myself in the GM position when this business really didn’t? And so this whole thread of this conversation has been is you’ve been avoiding the hard work, you’ve been chasing the silver bullet. And that’s why that conversation was so pivotal. And this is why as coaches, Dan, it’s amazing. We’ve got to be wary of what we’ve got to be really mindful of what we say because it can have a really big impact on someone or it can have a big negative impact on someone as well.

(00:45:56):

But that was a very positive impact where we were like, mate, stop listening to this. Stop reading that. Stop looking for the next hack or the next idea or the next podcast or the next book or the next fucking shiny light or the next system is just do the work, mate. And that will be what gets you the life that you desire. And it’s amazing that that one conversation at dinner can put you on such a different trajectory in business and life. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:46:25):

When you heard that, and that was end of leverage. We are still talking, there was months of either resistance or still just doing it Trent’s way. And I think we’ve painted a pretty good picture of what Trent’s way was to that point. Did you get another glimpse of this? Or was there something at home that you were dissatisfied with? Was there something in the business or within yourself that you were dissatisfied with? Because over time, little things did start to change. There was penny drops that we could see happening. But more than that, it wasn’t just you taking it on as knowledge or a secret key or a silver bullet, as Rob said. It became a habit. It became a real thing that you held onto for whatever reason, and you stuck with it, and you did the work. Was there a driver beyond just sounds like it could be the magic bullet I’ve been looking for?

(00:47:13):

Or was it literally, I’ll give everything a shot and one of these things surely has to work? Because they all sound like that makes sense.

Speaker 1 (00:47:20):

I think being a father. Yeah, I still remember, I think it was early on when my son was born, I just come home from a bender and he come through the door and sort of shunned him away. And that was an initial thing, which was it moved through to when I had more kids, then into second time of leverage. So it’s a bunch of things that came together. And that penny drop, there was another major penny drop around being the lighthouse, that whole story about lighthouse tugboat. That was an absolute pivotal time for me to hear that because to understand that people around you, your environment around you, your kids, whatever it is, it’s not what you say to them that gets them going or gets them going in the right direction. It’s how they see you. And we touched on it earlier before. You don’t even realise it, but you try and avoid being, for instance, drinking like your dad did or partying or whatever that is.

(00:48:34):

But you are watching that, you’re seeing that. And for me, just knowing that I’m affecting my son every single day, that I’m not turning up. And then hearing that whole lighthouse tugboat story, which that’s pretty much in the lifestyle journey now because I remember making that phone call to you, Dan, and you spent about half an hour on a call with me just to go through that in detail. That was probably major shift. After every lifestyle event, man, you come home, you’re pumped, you’re like, oh yeah, I’m going to do all of this, but then it just fizzles away with life. But that I feel like is the major turning point. Everything was stacking, was building up in my mind. And then to get the understanding of, all right, Trent need, it’s that lighthouse, sorry, that balcony version that we speak about in Pravar. How does that version of Trent turn up?

(00:49:37):

And understanding that as I need to turn up this way. I need to care about me first. I need to stop worrying about what’s going on around me, and then just literally turn up every single day. And that’s when habit stacking became, I would say, almost an obsession.

Speaker 3 (00:49:54):

It really did. And I think what we then get to, and we’ll come back to the habit stacking, we’re going to come back to some of these things and some more of these principles, but what we’re really talking about, and I don’t know if you saw it in the moment, but is the idea that there’s a possibility for generational change here because you’re absolutely right. It was what you’d seen. You were doing what you’d saw, and you were either trying to avoid it and you end up doing more of it because it’s all you know. That’s the generational continuation of what’s happened previously in your story. The generational change happens and all of a sudden the whole world tips on its head.

Speaker 1 (00:50:30):

I think Rob said it before, it was like me looking for that silver bullet, for instance.That’s what I’ve grown up around. It’s like got a headache, take a Panadol. Got this, take this. You want this? Take this. Seeing the coaches, you want to be free? Do systems. It’s just been in my face my whole life and it’s like marketing.

Speaker 3 (00:50:58):

You’re a marketer’s dream.

Speaker 1 (00:51:00):

I am literally a marketer’s dream straight out. It’s just like sooner they get on a call, “Did you know if you do this, this and this? Sit, you’re going to make millions. You’re going to be free. You’ll be on a beach somewhere.” And I’m like, “Oh, really?

Speaker 3 (00:51:11):

Wow.

Speaker 1 (00:51:12):

Sign me up.

Speaker 3 (00:51:13):

That makes sense.

Speaker 1 (00:51:15):

So yeah, I think that’s getting out of that mindset. And like I said, from that leverage, just fucking do the work. Just do the work, bro. That’s the biggest thing.

Speaker 3 (00:51:28):

And I think, Rob, that message we gave at the time, and it became the catch cry for Trent. And because we were talking about it at events, it became through the group at that time, was do what you say you’re going to do. Stop dicking around. Do what you say you’re going to do rather than tell me and get stuck in. Because that then became, that’s where the opening happened, I think, for Trent. What were your thoughts and memories of that sort of time as we went through it?

Speaker 2 (00:51:53):

Yeah, we did. And especially in the early days with ATOS Industries, the rubbish removal business and everything is like they’d scaled this massive business with this big workforce and they were bleeding cash at the time. And it’s like, boys, we got to completely retract this business. We got to right size this company. We need to let go of these people. We got to cut half your operational team because you can’t afford it. You think you’re bigger than you really are. And that was the silver bullet and we had to get our hands dirty and just get on with what we needed to get done. And that’s why Trent felt uncomfortable in that time because it was like, hang on a second, I can’t just be a GM that sits in my chair and swivels around and pretends that I’m calling the shots. I’ve actually got to work here.

(00:52:38):

And yeah, it was a big part.

(00:52:44):

To be honest, it was make or break for Trent. Was he going to step up and actually do what he says he was going to do and get on with actually doing it? Or was he just going to keep looking for the next silver bullet or keep looking for the next thing to learn? And personally, I hated in coaching when clients go, “Oh, I’ve learned a lot.” I’m like, “Well, mate, there’s a big difference between fucking learning and actually doing. It’s don’t just come to coaching to learn. You’ve got to learn and implement, learn and implement, learn and implement.” And that’s where the results come from. I think it’s a mistake that a lot of people make as clients in the coaching space is that they come and learn, but they don’t come and learn and do. And so this is why it was such a defining moment for Trent is because he had to make that decision.

(00:53:30):

Am I going to just keep learning or am I actually going to get off my ass and do something? And to his credit, he changed his ways and he put his head down and he got on with a job. And I don’t want to say for once in his life, for once in a long time, he actually got in and did hard work and the things that mattered, not the things that were easy.

Speaker 3 (00:53:50):

Absolutely. And Trent, what was that? I mean, that decision, that resolution you made to follow that principle, to start doing the work, what was the thing that you started to work on that you really wanted to focus on and you sort of not just cut your teeth on, but you proved to yourself that this is the way forward, that these things that I’ve learned and took on board, if I implement, I execute, this can change my life and the lives of my kids and my relationships and the business. What was the first thing that you really doubled down on in terms of your habits and trying to get that momentum?

Speaker 1 (00:54:22):

For me, working with the lifestyle group and just how supportive it is and all that type of stuff, and you listen to other people. And man, what would happen to me is prior I’d be like, “Oh fuck, I’ve got to do that work.” And then I start thinking about it and it’s making the decision to do it. I had to rewire my brain and tried many different things, started habit stacking. That’s probably the biggest thing for me is in Pravar. It’s like one habit at a time over time.

Speaker 3 (00:54:57):

So give us a real example. Where did that lead to? The habit of doing what versus what? And how did those habits line up?

Speaker 1 (00:55:05):

My biggest one was ice baths. That was the one habit that broke. It broke the pattern. Listen, I don’t think that all these benefits that everyone talks about ice baths is what it is. For me, it’s the decision, doesn’t matter. And I started in winter. It’s decision to get in that freezing cold water in the morning as the hardest decision. And from there, if I can make that decision, the rest will float. That is probably something that I really learned. I think Benny from Biltar told me that. He’s like, “Man, I just do it. I just got to get in and do it.” That’s probably the biggest one that rewired my brain and just sticking it out for, I don’t know how. Yeah, still doing it. So yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:55:54):

And then there was the next habit that came along and it was health became a big thing for you first because we talked about you’ve got to give yourself your own energy first before you can even be there and show up as the person you need to be. So you worked on that for a period too.

Speaker 1 (00:56:10):

Yeah, so I had gut issues. Obviously everyone knew in the group and that I’d have to run out of the lifestyle group, go to the toilet, that type of stuff. But I ended up through the group meeting a metabolic balance nutritionist and went through a long and hard journey through that. It was really hard to change my habits around my food, understanding what I should be eating. So the energy that I put in my body, hadn’t trained in what, four years, five years, getting back into training, doing wim hot breathing, doing meditations, reading books, just literally just getting that, I think I was up to 10 habits in the morning, just like bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. But some people look at it and think that’s pretty extreme. You don’t need all of that. But everybody needs to understand how bad my mindset was and what I had to do to start getting that momentum rolling in the right direction.

(00:57:16):

My ice bath’s broken. I haven’t jumped in the ice bath for a month. I have to have cold showers. Lucky it’s winter here. But I almost don’t even need the ice bath now. My mindset’s just wired to, okay, I’ve got to do this. No worries, I’ll get it done. You know what I mean? Oh, I said I’m going to do this. No worries, I’ll get it done. Where prior was like, “Oh man, I want to fucking do that. I don’t want to do this.” Now it’s like my mind is, and I’ve only just realised this not long ago since my ice bath broke, which I remember you telling me, Dan, why don’t you just test not having it? And I didn’t have the balls to test not having it, but it broke. And I still do other habits, but yeah, it’s crazy how much my mind has been rewired.

(00:58:05):

I’m a completely different person. So getting back into training, coming off the habits, obviously I started getting back into training because around lighthouse work, I just wanted to show my kids that, hey, I trained. So I started doing a bit of training at home, just a bit of body weight a couple times a week. And I did it with my son and my son and my daughter, and we just play around all that. And then it stemmed back into a few of the boys were playing Austag.

(00:58:36):

And it’s funny how when you’re putting yourself in this positive state mindset, you attract the same people. And the team I jumped into, they’re the best, man. They’re positive. It’s exactly the team environment that I needed. Jumped back into that, I sucked at first. It was really hard to run around, to be honest with you. But through my health journey and all that, I dropped a bit of weight, started getting better again, and then started getting asked to play reps again to the point where we ended up winning the championship, which was pretty cool. Now I’m back into playing Sunday footy. It’s NRL tag. So yeah, I just think getting back into team sport was another thing that I really needed. And I think it tied into being part of the bigger group at Lifestyle too. When you’re there, you feel like you’re part of the team.

Speaker 3 (00:59:31):

It’s so good to see, mate. And I think this is the thing, you did that. Tell us a little bit about what you were noticing then at home as well. We’ve talked about the lighthouse, the tugboat, the driver was to have the generational change for your kids to see that. How did that show up in the house? We’ve seen how it showed up in your own health and your journey. How did the household transform over that time?

Speaker 1 (00:59:54):

Just turning up for myself. I remember having the call with you And you telling me about Lighthouse Tugboat in detail, that was around Fazal was going through a tough time at the time and I didn’t know how to handle it whilst also trying to run the business and that type of stuff. And testament to him, I just turned up as a lighthouse and he literally just backed me from the get-go when we turned from. Because he was running TRG, so me stepping in and then the coach is saying, “Listen, you guys need to flip roles. Fazal’s the man at running sites and delivering work. He can run multiple projects. Trent, you’ve got the ability to be the GM. You’re the right person to take that direction.” I think it was a difficult shift between me and Fazal, but I’ve never had anyone more supportive. He backed me the whole way.

(01:00:55):

He said to me, I remember when I first started in January as the GM, he’s like, I said, “Man, I need to do it my way. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to commit. I need to do it my way.” And he backed me the whole way.

(01:01:07):

And again, it comes back down to being that lighthouse at home, at work, everywhere in my life, focusing on me in the sense, not a selfish way, but sort of a bit selfish because you need to look after yourself. You need to put that mask on you when the plane’s going down in order to be able to help other people. And I think you saw it at home. I remember I had multiple conversation with you guys. My wife’s not doing this and she’s trying to control, be that tugboat and drag my wife into, why don’t you start training and why don’t you do this? And why don’t you do that? Meanwhile, she’s having three kids and looking after the household. And the same thing in the office space, like Faisal, try and do this, try and do this. And it just became so much where I was going to explode.

(01:01:57):

And again, back down to being that lighthouse, just how can I ask anybody in my life to turn up and to do what I’m, for instance, what I tell you to do if I don’t do it for myself? So that was a pinnacle point in my life where everything started to shift. And to this day, the more I focus on becoming a better version of me, the more my life just becomes better around me.

Speaker 3 (01:02:26):

Yeah, there’s a lot to say for integrity and being congruous and all those sort of things, which is what you really, really have found the power of. The other thing I think, and I want to almost finish on this, we’ve talked about the group a lot, and I think you’ve taken a lot from the group and from your story as you’ve told it, absolutely. The group’s been pivotal. It’s given you so much. But I think the next gear of all of this, once you start shining as brightly as you can because you’ve looked after yourself, you start giving back. And I want to know how important that was for you to give back and start to really push outwards rather than looking to take on. Because so much of the journey of your life was, how do I take on board the thing that’s going to help?

(01:03:09):

But then it became, how do I give? And what did that feel like to you when you started to reverse that gear and contribution and giving to the group and really facing inwards that way for you? What was that like?

Speaker 1 (01:03:22):

Wow, that was different for me because it was like at the time things are tough, things are hard, so much pressure, doing so many different things. And the thought of giving back was like, oh, when I get to this place or when I do this, for instance. But then you go through the exercise of the balcony version of you. And you understand that in order to get what you want or to be who you want to be, what’s the story? Just be that person. Do what that person would do. It’s so simple. And when you understand that, you’re like, okay, I’m just going to try it. I’m just going to try and start inputting into the group and see what happens. Because you’re scared at first. You’re like, oh, all these guys are running big businesses and you don’t want to say anything to them because you’re like, oh, I might sound like an idiot, that type of thing.

(01:04:18):

But just dropping that guard and saying, you know what? Fuck it. I’m just going to be completely open. I’m seeing other people do it. And when I started giving back, what a feeling, man. Being able to see and live through other people’s journeys, jumping into, we have that Monday morning motivation, reading through. Again, I think I was the top guy on reading through and messaging everybody. But it was so much. It started with a thing of, I’m going to give, I’m going to give. But it was like the reward for me was way bigger than the give, and I never realised that. So it’s just been a cool thing to do, and I love giving. Now I’m never hesitant to it. Even someone messages me, calls me, always happy to help, always happy to lend a helping hand, give my experience. But that was a huge part of my journey to who I am today.

Speaker 3 (01:05:27):

It is. And it’s an important point, mate, because it comes back to you, like you just said, you give and you don’t even want it. You’re not even asking for it, but what you get back in return comes back with interest. It comes back and then you can shine even brighter and you can do more. And I see this now. Now that you’ve moved on from coaching, you’re doing your thing. The idea of you now going out and seeing you on social media and doing what you’re doing there, this idea of Trent who is always looking to shine for someone else to pick up that light is just such a, I think for me, to finish the conversation on this is just such a, I can’t understate how big a full circle that moment is. So it’s been huge to see. And I think the idea that this all lends to as well is you’ve actually got a tattoo.

(01:06:17):

Everything you’ve spoken about so passionately, you’ve now got a tattoo that you’re the only one I think in history, unless Rob’s got one somewhere that he hasn’t shown us. But you’re the only one that’s got a tattoo of the Pravar logo. And I think this is not just the commitment, and I don’t want to say it in a trite way, like the commitment, go get a tattoo. That’s like saying have an ice bath, but what it represents and what it means to you. I think talk about how you carry that and the lessons and what it reminds you of why you did that.

Speaker 1 (01:06:44):

So obviously I’m not a suck ass, but you can’t understand what that tattoo means to me. It’s not that obviously I adore the programme, I adore what it’s done for me, but all my tattoos, and obviously you’ve seen a fair few of them, they all mean something. They’ve all got a timeline to it. They’ve all got a story to it. And I remember speaking to my wife and saying, “What do you think if I got the Pravar logo? It’s just the logo. It’s the warrior’s eyes. I quite like it.” And she said, “I agree with it. What are your reasons behind it?” And I said, “Well, I want to be able to always look down at my right ankle, and I want to always remember who I am because of that tattoo. I want to remember the journey that I’ve gone through, everything that I’ve done.” And to this day, I look down at that tattoo and I’m like, it’s a reminder.

(01:07:50):

It’s like, okay, that’s who I am. I’m the guy who does what he says he’s going to do when he says he’s going to do it. And all of the Pravar principles live within that tattoo, and that’s what I know. And I’m proud to say that’s who I am today. And that’s why I got the tattoo. It means so much to me, that moment. And then obviously I reached out to Rob, said, “Can you give me the meaning around it?” And all the meanings that he gave me about being a warrior and around family, it all just ties in with who I am. And I couldn’t be more grateful and I couldn’t be more happy to have that tattoo on my right leg because again, it’s just going to be a symbol for me for the rest of my life to know who I’ve become and to always keep pushing.

(01:08:45):

Those three main Pravar principles, never settle, do what you say you’re going to do, or flag early. And I’ve got a mind blank at the moment, but the third one – You’re all good.

Speaker 2 (01:08:59):

Face the facts.

Speaker 1 (01:09:00):

Face the facts.

Speaker 3 (01:09:01):

Face the facts. Make shit happen. All of those ones.

Speaker 1 (01:09:04):

I live by them. I genuinely live by them every single day, and that’s why the tattoo’s there, to remind me of it.

Speaker 3 (01:09:10):

I love it. As you listen to this, and I think, Rob, I’m going to get your comment on that having heard it, but I can hear your voice has shifted over the course of this whole episode. When we were talking in the beginning, it was you talking about old Trent, and then there’s new Trent and the voice, the energy, the posture, everything shifts and it suits you so much better, mate. So I’m going to let Rob have the final word on all this and what he thinks and how he translates a client having a tattoo of the brand that’s being created through the group. But mate, from my perspective, to be part of that journey, and hopefully a big part of it, we’ve had some epic conversations along the way. You haven’t made it easy, but at the same time, you’ve always been willing to test.

(01:09:56):

You’ve been coachable all the way through in your own way. And from my perspective, to know that that sits there and it’s had that impact is huge. So yeah, for me to end it, it’s great to have this conversation today. It’s huge.

(01:10:08):

Thanks Dan.

Speaker 2 (01:10:11):

Yeah, we saw a bloke come into coaching who was chasing the shiny lights, chasing the silver bullet, and wanted to have everything for little effort and no work kind of thing. And yeah, the way that you guys turned around ATOS, which is the rubbish removal business and the demo business from, it was in bad shape. And for you guys to turn that around to be the powerhouse of a business that is today is incredible. And that’s a reflection of both you and Tyrone as well, but then TIG for what it’s become. Yeah, it’s a reflection of you and your leadership and the man you’ve become. And so it’s like a proud dad moment when I don’t have tattoos, but it’s one of those things where it’s like a proud dad moment where to see you have that tattoo and to have that as a mark on our mark, as a mark for you to be a reflection of who you’ve become through our programmes, it’s really rewarding.

(01:11:12):

And because I define success as one of our clients creating generational change. And you’ve done that. You’ve created generational change in your own life, but the way you’re showing up as a husband, as a father, as a man, and as a leader to the people around you is pretty inspiring, mate. So yeah, from all of us, congratulations, mate, for the businesses you run. You run two powerhouse businesses. I know we haven’t spoken around team sizes and revenues and all those types of things, but just know we know what you run and they’re two epic businesses and you’re across two weapons of a business. So today’s been more about your personal journey. But yeah, Dan, we can’t downplay as well the epic businesses that they run.

Speaker 3 (01:11:57):

Yeah, we could easily have gone in so many. There’s so much more to tell of the stories. There’s the business side. We could probably do an after dark episode with Trent and T on a different episode. So yeah, there’s so much more to that story. But yeah, the impact and where it all began today, I think you’ve done a great job telling it, Trent. So thanks, mate. Really appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (01:12:18):

Thank you so much, boys. Really appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (01:12:20):

Thanks for joining us today, mate. And for you listening, if this story’s really resonated with you where you know that you need to make change in your life and you’d really need to not only change your own life, but want to have the desire to change the life of those around you who are really important to you in business and family, then jump across to strategysession.com.au. Fill out the application form. Let’s just have a conversation and see where you’re at. And if we are the right fit, let’s go on the journey together to be able to really make some positive changes in your life. Thanks again for joining us today, mate. We really appreciate it. And yeah, thanks for joining us on The Trade Den Podcast. We love it.

Speaker 1 (01:13:00):

Thanks, boys. Thank you very much.

Speaker 2 (01:13:02):

Thanks for listening in and looking forward to coming back to you soon with another episode of the Trade Den. Until then, take care.

Speaker 3 (01:13:09):

See you soon.