He Sold 100 Companies—But It Left Him Empty | Eddie Wilson’s Billion-Dollar Wake-Up Call | Ep. 66

Intro and Eddie Wilsonu2019s mission 0:00

The reason I've sold so many companies is because I built them to exit. When you build something to exist, it helps you run and operate these companies properly. Three things that everyone has to know in exiting a company. Eddie Wilson, the king of exits. He's a serial entrepreneur who's built and exited over 90 companies. he's the creator of the Empire operating system, co-founder of The Aspire Tour and a respected speaker, investor, and philanthropist. Today, he shares his blueprint for legacy and impact.

Stay tuned. Whatever you believe is going to give you fulfillment, hurry up and get to the end of that road because it's most likely not going get you a fulfillment. What would you say is the most impactful trip that you've taken with a nonprofit? So it's always that last trip, I think. This last I took, it was 18 business owners with me. We built an orphanage in one of the roughest places in Columbia. What do you would say it is going to be the more attractive model for people that are out there trying to acquire businesses?

What I say the is most attractive thing today is to find a service-based business that's owned by a baby boomer that they just want some sort of legacy in that business. Can someone who doesn't have the fire in them get the fight? Most people, they have this little flame inside, but they're not around the right people. Because they are not the around right the people it doesn' stoke that flame. Going to college, percentage wise, how much does that really feed into real entrepreneurship? That's a hard question and here's why.

Welcome to another episode of a Healthy Point of View podcast. I'm your host, Sam Tahata. And as you know, we're bringing experts from all over the world talking about health, wellness, mindset, and beauty. So today we have an expert, this guy here. People know him as the King of Exits. Why is that so? He's exited over a hundred different companies for a lot of money. Yeah, I'll let him explain that to you guys. You know, this is somebody that you guys probably have seen on many different stages, on different podcasts.

You've probably heard of the Aspire Tour events that go around with a lot of celebrities and whatnot. He's one of co-founders. Today we have Eddie Wilson here at A Healthy Point of View. Brother, pleasure to have you here, man. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, so man, serial entrepreneur, man. A guy like you, you're moving around. I can only imagine the level of stress you have every single day. But money, I've done my research on you and money's not really what moves you. There's one thing that I saw that really hit home and it was the word impact.

You're all about impact, So let's talk about that. Let's about you and really what moves you so other people can really get the feel of it.

Purpose, identity, and the nonprofit journey 2:50

Sure. Yeah, happy to. For me, money is always fleeting. And I grew up in a family where my dad taught me to care more about my time than to take care about money. So you put a lot of time and effort into building something. Like a lots of entrepreneurs, especially in the space, You find that you get to that mountaintop and you feel like you've accomplished something and then you just look at, you know, there's another mountintop, and there is another mountain top. It's like, You just can never get that satisfaction.

And so you realize that like satisfaction doesn't come at the end of another dollar, another vacation, other house and the car. Satisfaction comes from something deeper and that fulfillment that only comes with serving and helping others. And so yeah, impact is my word. Impact Others is the name of my nonprofit, my global nonprofit. That's what I'm passionate about. I love that man. So do you feel like Do you have a God-given purpose? 100%. What is your God given purpose. My God, given purposes to and I believe what brings me fulfillment in this life is to make and create impact on other people that cannot help themselves.

And so I, I believed that my God giving purpose every day is, to show up in people's lives. Uh that can't necessarily get where they need to go or where They want to Go unless I show up and help them and so whether it's the homeless guy on the street or um, you know a barista in a coffee shop or whether It's an orphan, You know one of our orphanages. I love that man How um how young were you when you actually knew what your god-given purpose was? Uh, that that was uh took a long time to figure that one out.

Um I was getting glimpses of it in my 20s. And I started and started to get some of that fulfillment. I Started my nonprofit in 2013, but it wasn't until I sold all my companies in 2019 where I lost my identity. So now you have a bunch of money and your identity is tied to these companies and now that's gone. You go from thousands of employees to dozens of And I went through a period of strong depression, you know, like you all of a sudden it's like, what are you, What am I working for? You know?

Like what's next? And so I've been there twice in my life. And until I really decided that I was going to go full into this idea of creating impact in the world. I don't know that. Truly discovered it. But then once I found it, it was just like this massive, uh, It was everything to me, and it still is today. Everything I do is tied to that purpose. Eddie, one of the things, you said you exited twice, right? And the second time you existed, I believe it was the 2nd time, it's over a billion dollars.

Most people that have never experienced that look like, what is this guy talking about? He's got all the money in the world. But one of the things I always touch up on, it's like a lot of people who have that tremendous amount of money, these are the people go through severe depression. Even when you look at a lotta celebrities, they got the all money that you could think of. And other than once, you know, overdosing from drug overdose because they're sedating right, from the depression and stuff.

So I want to dive a little bit deeper on that because I think this is something that people have to understand. It's not about all about the money. You went through building this empire, right? To all of a sudden selling all these businesses where that's like every morning you wake up and that what you're doing. And then all the sudden, and I've heard other guys go through this before where it's just like, I just sold my business and don't even have access to my email anymore. It's weird things like that that really eat at you.

Yeah, I sold my first company, sold in my 20s. And that was a little bit more like a hostile takeover. Like it wasn't intentional. I lost some money on that one. So that didn't, you know, it didn' wasn' as big, but I still struggle because I loss my identity. It was like, this is what I built and this who I am. Then I started building, the second time I starting building all these other companies. I got up to 86 companies, I sold 76 of those in one year. And it was a wild year, but you're so busy, you know, your climbing the mountain, You're busy doing all this stuff and all of a sudden when everything's gone, right?

It's the I don't have an email anymore. There are no business cards attached to my name anymore, there's no place for me to drive in and park my car. Like there is no reserve sparking spot, There is not more office. it's weird like and so you all of a sudden you find this time period like oh i'm just gonna go relax i'll go chill out just go do something fun well when you're wired like we're Wired it is tough to do that you know just to turn it completely off and uh i've tried to that twice in my life it doesn't go well either time and but i think it just like i have this god given desire and passion and calling that I needed to put into something.

And it's like, when that is inside and you have no outlet for it, it is discouraging. Yeah, I bet, man. I'll bet. The nonprofit came after the second exit. So I started the nonprofit in 2013, just trying to... I was doing well financially. Had some exits and stuff like that. You know, doing philanthropic work because I felt like it was the right thing to do. Um, but it wasn't the passion of my life. It wasn' focused on it. I paid people to do it, you know, like, um, I would, uh, had a staff and I gave that staff money and then I woul have that stuff report to me.

Was just essentially another business, right? That made me feel something. Right. But it was it until I started going, ya know? It was until i took my sons with me, it wa until what was participating that actually made an impact on my like actually going to these other countries

Building impact through orphanages and global trips 8:40

and I still today, now my business partner, Andrew, he's a wild man. He's kind of a visionary and I'm the operator. I usually in the suit and tie. It's funny, I go and build the roads, the parks, build orphanages. Like I roll up my sleeves, like I do it because there's something about physically doing something that I need in order to feel that fulfillment. Yeah, so now I go on four or five trips. I take 20, 30 business owners with me. We go experience it together and it's a lot of fun. What would you say is the most impactful trip that you've taken with the non-profit?

We're in 103 countries now. So we're really, really broad. And we feed and educate about 5,200 children a day in our orphanages and feeding centers. And so it's always that last trip, I think. You know, it was like, because I mean, obviously I had the very first trip that like I got the vision for it. That was a big trip for me. But, you know this last I took, um, 18 business owners with me, we built an orphanage in one of the roughest places in Colombia. It's a place called Cafe Madrid. Um, all the gangs, the cartel, they all kind of come together there.

More humans are trafficked out of this area than any other place on the planet they say. And we built what's called the Refuge of Life Center and we bought a building on the corner of the worst part of town, you know, like right on The Square and that's where the orphanage is, that is where The Rescue Center is. So watching those people see those children and watching us, the ability to rescue I went there about three years ago and I saw some of the most horrific things I've ever seen in my life.

So to come back three year later having built something and having the ability to pull people out of some situations was really, really impactful. Yeah, I was gonna ask you that. What made you go there? Did you have someone advising you on that, or is there something that you saw how you said you went there, what, three years in advance, and saw some horrific stuff? What makes you say, hey, you know what? I wanna go to Columbia. This place is what needs my help? It started off with me just seeing need around the world.

So I wasn't Honduras, that was our very first site, And I saw kids that needed help, then we just jumped in. Then I was in India on business and I saw an opportunity in india to surf. It was kind of that in the beginning. Now I have regional directors all over the world that essentially are researching and looking at areas that we can go make impact in. And so in Bucaramanga, Colombia, is where our regional director is and Café Madrid is an area just outside of. And so it was an area that we had targeted because of the blight and the issues and mess that goes on there.

And we went and looked at it two, two and a half, three years ago. Actually, I almost didn't get back into the country during when the countries shut down for COVID because I was there, so yeah. That was the first time I'd seen it. I went back after kind of COVID restrictions to see what was actually going on and that's the point we said we're going to do something here, just not sure what. Yeah. So when you set it up like an orphanage over there, what is it that you guys implement? Yeah, so we have.

So that that place will have and can have about 50 children and we're actually buying the building next to it to try to get it But we have feeding programs, education, nutrition, and then we help them. So there's actually a great school that the kids can go to. They actually go a normal school. Columbia actually has a decent education system. But then we bring them back and we tutor them. And then, we also teach them business principles and various other things, you know, financial IQ and stuff like that.

We'll teach that and then bring in a regiment of doctors, dentists, eye doctors. All that type of stuff to these locations to really serve these kids. So we'll help them with nutrition, with education, and with a lot of healthcare as well. So some of those business people that go on that trip with you, a lot of the times, is it like the first time going? Oh yeah, almost always. How do they, I mean, it's got to be exciting. Like you just watching their facial expressions and stuff when they're there.

I still get extreme joy out of seeing the children we help and the, you know, something coming out But I think I get more excitement watching an entrepreneur who thinks that what they're chasing in this life is everything. And then them seeing that going, wait a minute, there's something else here. When you see the lights go on there and here's what happens. We'll go spend time with the orphans and we'll do pinatas and pizza and ice cream. I'll let the people just really bring an amazing time to these orphins.

and but i already know that the orphans could care less what they really want is time and so you'll watch you watch them kind of pair up and then all of a sudden you will see a lady sitting on the ground and she's getting hugged by an orphan or you see the guy on a soccer field playing with a couple of them and you know it's like and your start to see those bonds happen and at the end of the day I always take the orphans and I say, Hey, would you mind just telling these guys? Thank you. And talk to you, talk them about your experience.

So we had to translate the one in Columbia and this one little boy who was out playing soccer with one of the guys and just having a blast all day long. He said, uh, the thing that may it meant the most to me, he said was that you spent time with me. It was like, I didn't care about the pizza. I don't get all the ice cream. Uh, and he looked right at one other business and you like pointed at him like you know, it's like. And to watch these, you know, business owners that think that the biggest thing they could ever do is build and sell or exit a company, sit there and realize like, ah, the big thing to do, is make an impact on that kid's life, that nobody's shown up for that kids.

Wow. That's impact right there. And when you can feel that, vibration of frequency in that that kit, right? And his eyes light up and he says exactly what you said that. The most impactful portion was the time spent. Man, That is powerful. It's powerful, yeah. so i know a lot of the listeners right now are probably wondering like this wealthy businessman gringo going to columbia do you go there with security i do sometimes yeah we um we have some countries that i have to have security and you know we take security into the middle east a Lot and into venezuela and places like that colombia um i had a guy with me uh and he's a business owner as well but he owns a security company and different things and so He was just kind of undercover, but with me and just making sure I don't.

When I go in by myself or with a couple of guys, I'm in and out fast. You know, we move quick. Um, when I take a group, just always want to make sure that they're safe. Yeah, of course. Absolutely. That's amazing, man. I love that. So, so, all right, you're doing the philanthropy work and doing things for, for the communities out there around the world, not just here in the U S so let's talk about you being the king of exit. Sure. So where did that name come from? Obviously from exiting businesses, but like who labeled you with that?

So I was asked to speak after I sold all those companies, I started getting asked a speak and I refused. I I don't really want the spotlight. Am I interested in social media? And I'm talking to a big social influencer and he was like, you know, everything you want is on the other side of exposure. And was I think everything I didn't want was on other sides of the exposure, And he said, no, I'm telling you, he's like,

The King of Exits and business exit strategy 16:20

raise money, find good people. He was like you should put yourself out there a little more. So I decided I'd start taking some speaking engagements. I was getting phone calls and there was this group and it was called like the exit ramp or something like that. And I went in and talked to him and this guy named Nick, He called me the king of exits. But, and he was just like joking around like this guys the King of Exits. Well, Then Forbes and a few other magazines picked it up because when I looked at it, I'm like, man, you legitimately sold over 100 legit companies with real people, and it was in that one calendar year.

So it's been kind of picked up by everybody. Now you're the king of exits. Yeah, but it came from Nick. You got a tattoo or something that says King of Exits? No, no tattoo. So, King of Exits, earlier in our conversations, you were talking about you're climbing up a mountain, and you get to the top, but then you notice that there's another mountain and then another mount. And one of the things in business, it's like, I remember when I started my company with $500 in my back pocket on my days off from the fire department.

I haven't taken a penny from anyone. Look where we're at today. Most people, they'll look at me and say, when does it stop? And in all reality, Like, it doesn't stop. Like I can just keep on going bigger. I could go, you know, global, international. And it's just like, then you start doing something else in the health and wellness and it all falls under this umbrella of a brand that I have, Likovita, right? So one of my business mentors early on, who was one the biggest, he was the big manufacturer of Coca Cola in North America, He actually told me early on, he said, Sam, a business plan without an exit strategy is an incomplete business.

100%. I want to hear your input on that. Yeah, there's five phases in business, um, There's startup and you know, that's kind of a, and it's self-explanatory. Then I move into perseverance. That's where a majority of small businesses are. They're in and out of profit. they don't have a clear plan. then you move to viability. Viability then moves into scale, and then the fifth phase of business is succession. No matter what, you will exit your business. Whether you walk away, it fails, or you sell it, turn it over to somebody, right?

You're going to exit you business, And I always say that when you start from perseverance into viability, which is like you're truly building a viable company, You should start the exit planning then. The reason I've sold so many companies is because I built them to exist. Now, some of them I never exited, I still have them, But I built them to exit and when you build something to Exit, it helps you run and operate these companies properly, right? Most people use their. They're small business as a bank account and it's a tax deduction strategy and whatever it is, but it was not a business.

And I find a lot of business owners are playing business, they're not really doing business and so moving into true viability, you should have a succession plan and that succession might just be who's the person that's stepping into the seat after you or might be actually selling the business? Yeah, because when you're consistently growing in, let's say, your bootstrap, right, and you take in a lot of the money that's coming in and putting it back into the business, when talk about exiting a company, what are some of things that you are preparing for, more on a financial basis?

What are the things you would recommend? Three things everyone has to know in exiting company. And it's about building enterprise value, first of all. But number one, you have to know your numbers, right? And so, a viable company is a profitable company. We're not in business to lose money, I mean, we're in, business, to make money. And, so you, have, know, your, numbers. It has to be architected in a way that it is sustainable. Number two, is you to have an operating system. You have be able to replicate what you do.

you had to hand the manual off to someone else, and someone has, be, able, do it, or else it's not a, viable, company, And number three, people don't take into consideration their IP. What sets them apart? What's different about them, right? Like, what is the thing that's uniquely different, about the way that they do business, their data, they're software, whatever it is. And so, when you're moving from viability into, or from perseverance and viabilty, you should take those three things into consideration, like profitability, your bottom line, and your numbers.

Number two, you should say, can I replicate this? Do I have a true operating system for how this business operates? And number three, what's my IP and is it documented and does it actually provide true value to this company? Yeah, IP is definitely important. And there's different type of IP, right? This is more for like a lot of the doctors that tune into the podcast that have more of their boutique clinics, but are trying to build it into something else. when it comes to that intellectual property, the IP, what are the different type of IPs that businesses can have?

Sure. I just helped a doctor exit his practice in the last two weeks. Functional medicine doctor, had a compounding pharmacy, various other things. And he had IP. It just wasn't documented. He treated patients very specifically based off of the way that he read their blood panels. he has a very specific process. And in that last year, all we did was we documented the process and we trained one additional person in his office on how to do it. So now the next clinic, there was a private equity group that was essentially buying him.

Now they have that IP and someone trained to actually do it. So there's various, you know, there're various things in IP. You can have technology, right? Like a way that you process or function. It can be your data. If you have a certain subset of a population, like if you've got a, let's say if I was a doctor and I only serviced professional athletes, that technically could be IP as well, because I've gotta subset the population that maybe is more desirable. Um, it could be the way that you practice and the, um, you function.

And so all of those things can be IP, but they're never recognized as IP unless they are documented and you can show true value tied to them. Right. So, so when we talk about IP at which. Obviously, I got a bunch of my IP. I've got the wall right up there talking about IP, and that's just a few out of many because, you know, obviously I get a lot of copywriting that we do with protocols and stuff that like how you're talking. But, technology is one too. Have you seen in business, especially today with a.

A.I. and softwares and you talk about operating systems. Are these things that are also being documented as intellectual property? 100 percent. And it's the thing that is valued the most today. You know, if you have a technology, for instance, I sold a big insurance company. The insurance got an extra four times EBITDA because I had a proprietary way by which I underwrote the insurance. I actually built that as a separate company. It had separate software in it, underwrote the properties, the property and casualty, you know, PNC business, it under wrote it.

So when I sold it I said, well you can have my insurance company, but if you have this proprietary way to underwrite, It's going to help you be more efficient over here. so I'm going sell these together. And then what it did is it increased my multiple. Wow. Yeah. And I keep on hearing that when it comes to technology, like if you have a SaaS that you've developed, that's where a lot of the big multiples come. SaaS is popular because in private equity right now, SaaS as predictable. And so you had this reoccurring revenue model and let's say they're buying your software as a service SaaS, and it's re-occuring.

Now a private-equity firm can look at that and say, based on that re occurring model, I can project how long it is going to continue. and then they'll pay you on top line revenue versus just EBITDA. That's why SAS is so popular because now it's not about what you keep. It's about you actually bill. Is that because it is more subscription based? Subscription based, it more predictable. So in your opinion, when it comes to exiting a business, what would you say is going to be the most attractive model for people that are out there trying to acquire businesses?

So people that are buying businesses right now, and this is a crazy stat, but there's somewhere between 8 and 15 million baby boomers that'll leave their place of business that they own. They've got customers in the next 7 to 10 years, right? There's a massive wealth transfer happening and that's the small business. That's going to transfer somewhere. The unfortunate thing right now is less than 2% of these businesses are actually selling. So 98% these business are not selling and you've got a massive influx of them coming.

Enterprise value, IP, and the Empire operating system 25:00

Dental practices, chiropractic clinics, orthodontist, electricians, HVAC, you know, it's like all of this. These are all owned by baby boomers in their 70s that they need to do something with this business. And they don't have an heir, they do not have a daughter, a son, or a granddaughter, grandson, and they're going to take these businesses. And so a lot of them are just going walk away. So what I say is the most attractive thing today is to find a service-based business that's owned by a baby boomer that they just want some sort of legacy in that business.

They don' want it to just evaporate. they want all those customers to go away, right? And for them, They're not looking for a 10 times multiple on their exit. They're looking for this business and their employees to stay in business past them. And so if I was, you know, and as I'm acquiring businesses right now, I am rolling up tax firms right. Now, that's the target. I m going after that group of people that have built this book of business, they've done a great job for 30, 40, 50 years. And there's there is no succession plan.

Right. You have a system that you've developed the empire. Yes, right. Yeah, you got it. So so what is that? Yeah. The empire operating system is exactly what I was just talking about in that. When you're looking to exit a business, they look at three things and I get asked those three questions every single time. Bottom line dollars, EBITDA. What's your operating system? Where's the manual? If we buy this off of you, how do we know how to run it? And number three, what's you IP? What sets you apart?

They're going to give you the highest level of multiple on that. Well, when I was looking at these businesses to sell, I was trying to create enterprise value and I. Trying to find a, a platform. And so I used, uh, EOS traction. I use scaling up. Uh, six sigma. All these different, you know, systems and realize that there really wasn't a one size fits all system. Yeah. There really. Wasn't one that like would go with me through every phase of business. So the five phases I just talked about, that was my proprietary look at like, I mean, i've got a business over here that's brand new and i got one over.

Here. That's got 300 employees. But I don't want to have to switch systems from here to here. So how do I build a system that essentially grows with every phase of business? So I created the Empire operating system. It's got some proprietary ways that we look at things, how we measure things. Our KPIs, our stoplight reports, all that type of stuff that's in there. But really what it is is to systemize that business so that it can be passed on. How important is automation when it comes to any kind of step in that system?

Yeah, automation's important, but it's one step, right? I always say that there's a lot of different steps towards efficiency and productivity, and automation is just one of them, just like outsourcing is one them. A lot times we get asked the question, should we outsource or should be hire in? It's like, well, we've got a process that determines that. I believe that business is science and too many entrepreneurs make it art. You know, it's like, well, we're just kind of feeling our way through it.

And I think that as the nice thing about running over a hundred companies is I've been able to do it over and over again. So now I can look at it more scientifically and say, Oh, this is exactly when I should outsource. This is exact. I shouldn't automate. I like it. Yeah. So Eddie, you know, one of the things that get brought up in conversation a lot is formal education, going to college, right? Percentage wise, how much does that really feed into real entrepreneurship? Yeah, uh, that's a hard question.

And here's why, because I was the person that said college doesn't matter. Unless you're a doctor dentist, we have to have some sort of formal training. except for my 18 year old, who's a freshman in college just came to me this past month. And he said, uh, he says, Hey dad, um, I don't think I want to go back to college. I was like, Whoa, whoa, wait, what are you doing? What are he talking about? He's like he's, like yeah, yeah. He says like I've actually heard you say this before. Why are these like?

And I said well, college is necessary. It's hard to say if it's important or not because it so unique to the individual. Right. For me, was college important? Probably not. I have a lot of degrees and I don't use any of them and it really didn't put me any further forward. And I really am not even in contact with all the people I knew in college. So it's like, I just don' t know that it mattered. Was it a maturing process for me? Sure. Did it teach me things? sure. But in the end, there's a hustle inside that no college gave me.

There's something, There is a fire in there that wasn't stoked by university. As a matter of fact, it was almost extinguished a couple times, you know? And so, my middle son, he's a freshman in college this year. He's thinking about it. And what we talked about is I was like, no matter what, You're going to have to get education of some kind. So if you choose to not take college as an education path, what's the education path gonna be, right? Like I said, what do you wanna do in life? Where are you gonna go?

And he talked about a couple of things. I say, What if I paid you to just go do that instead of pay? What have you went to a, you know, whatever you want to do life, like gonna to go build a business? what if you go to the business owner you wanted and I says to you, I'm gonna pay you and you'll go work for him for free. That's education still, and so, for me it's like I think I am okay with the alternative path, knowing that education is still going to be needed. I mean, like I got a lot of education in business.

It didn't come from a university. it came from me, you know, with my hands to the plow and actually doing the work. And so I think that that's where I'm at is I. Think that. Education is going. To come. From somewhere. You just got to choose the right education and I don't think college is always the. Right education. Yeah, yeah, I feel you on that the fire inside. you just said that what is that? And I want you to answer that as five year old Eddie. Yeah. Because I feel like entrepreneurship, that fighter starts very early.

Very early in life. My dad left his nine to five job and I watch my dad at four, five, six years old start forming a path out of his own. I watched him through fear, through everything else, I watched him build his own business. And what I loved was my dad got to create the world that he lives in. For me, there was something about creation that was just that, it was like, I don't want to live in somebody else's world. I want create my own. You know, it's like that was the fire that came out early on.

It was just this passion and desire to create what I wanted. And I remember my first corporate job, I hated it. Mainly because they just told me like, just go sit back at your cubicle and stop giving us your ideas. And I have ideas on how to fix things how, to change things, how To make them better, How to make more money, you know, and they would just go, no, just, Just do your job, like, stop talking to us, You know. And that's when I realized that this isn't for me. But that fires more than just that today.

You Know, I love creating the world I get to exist in, but now it's about creating The world for others. It's About making an impact on this world. Just like it just got bigger and bigger And bigger. Yeah. Well, you added the fuel to it, man. You know, add more fuel. It's going to grow. So so that fire, obviously you talked about when you were young and you saw it in your father. And then what about. When you are like in high school age, high. School age. Then when we get that. Fire. Yeah, we start to like you start hustling, regardless if it's selling sneakers to your buddies or whatever.

Like you're doing something to make some cash. Yeah. What I realized was, um, my dad as an entrepreneur always had companies. Um, he had one or two at the time and there was always work to be done. And if I was willing to work, I got repaid with money and the money actually gave me the freedom to do what I wanted to. So early on, it was just this exchange of time, you know, like, Hey, give you my time. You give me money. Then I get to go do it. I actually want to, do I could have the cars. Like I have whatever I want it, That was kind of the early fire, you know, um, and having a dad that had businesses that I could just plug into, even though I didn't get paid well, it was just work.

You know? He owned a drywall company. So if I went and cleaned out the houses after the guys hung dry wall, I got paid, And there was something about that reward that stoked it even more in me, like, okay, well, I can control this. One thing that my parents never did, so I come from three generations of real estate investors. My grandfather did really well. A lot of wealthier families In order to pass their wealth on, they don't pass it through dollars. They pass through resourcefulness. My dad never gave me money.

What he would say is like, I'll open any door for you. I will connect you with anybody you need to connect with. And my grandfather did the same thing with my father. And so what you learn is resourcefulness. And then when you understand like this brings what I want, all of a sudden, then it starts reframing like, well, what's possible? And it was just, it's that early fire. Like you said, its gas on it and then just keeps growing and growing. The unique thing is my mother is also an entrepreneur.

So my dad has businesses and my mom has business. I don't know that I really had a choice. You were exposed to it for sure. I like how you used the word resources, right? Because other people would look at that and say, oh well you're just privileged. What's the difference? The difference is some people give children resources. They give them money. Some give resourcefulness. No money, just opportunity, connections, relationships. And, um, I was privileged. There's no, there's, no. You know, like there was no arguing that, but I never got a dollar.

I still paid rent when I lived at home, you know? Like it was cheaper to live at college than live in my house because my dad charged rent. My dad actually did the same thing. Uh, high school paying 500 bucks a month. Yeah. Man. But it taught me a lot. It teaches you everything. And so, um, and my dad taught me a lot about the world system. He would say, I would, say man, really like a pair of sneakers for, you know, even just playing basketball. And he would say, okay, and he'd say well, here's the five jobs that you could go do to earn the money.

So what he did was he taught me the world system. The world's system is if you're willing to go work for it, then you can have it. And so it was the same thing at home. There was a list of things on the refrigerator that if I wanted to get some money, there it is. I do the thing with my boys. It's like, you want 10 bucks, go clean the garage. You want 15, wash the car. You can go earn it anytime you want to.

College, entrepreneurship, and finding the fire 35:40

And so instead of just giving resources, we give resourcefulness. Yeah. You know, going back to that whole fire thing and you, but the entrepreneurs that are out there that our questioning right now, as they listen to the podcast, like, do I have the fire in me? Yeah, if they're questioning it, they probably might have. The fire might not. Can someone who doesn't have to fire and then get the. Fire. Yeah, yeah. I think there is a fire in just about everybody. There's very few people that are just really truly complacent.

It's just been extinguished in them. You know, the world's system, society, education isn't built to stoke that. it's not built-to-stoke entrepreneurship. Every, I went to an Ivy League school for my masters and There was zero teachers at, you know, at this Ivy League school that actually had run a business. And so I was actually in business while getting my masters and I would ask questions and they didn't know the answer, right? All it did was extinguish the fire, and education kind of does that sometimes.

Then cautious parents do that. We don't want our kids to fail. So we try to, helicopter parent them and make sure they don' fail and it's like all these things. And the thing is, is I think what happens is as we, if they feel like the fire is even there a little bit, they need to get around people where there is fire, right? Like the things is if you and I were in a room and there's a guy questioning, I know you got a fire because I can feel it, like I, know, you're pushing, You're driving. There's one inside of me.

I'm pushing. So if You and i were In a Room and somebody's questioning it and they're around us, It's either gonna stoke it or it's gonna go away. They're gonna feel it, or its gonna away, so what happens is, is most people, they have these like little flicker, this little flame inside, but they're not around the right people. Because they are not the around right the people it doesn't stokes that flame. It is like that's what the Aspire Tour is all about is I wanna stoked that flames so hot that people run out of there just like ready to go and conquer the world.

And when you're around it You know, if you got it or not. Yeah. And I agree with that, man. It's like, you know I always remember this, like this visual of, of when they say, the people that you gotta surround yourself around, right? I got this a visual that I saw early on when I was like in my teens and it was a guy on top of a ladder with his arm out. And it basically said you got to be the guy underneath them because you need people that are going to bring you up. Yeah. Right. And that's what it is.

It's really surrounding yourself around those people. That are gonna light that fire and you hold you accountable to your accountability is huge. So Eddie, man, you're a sharp looking dude, right? Most people will be like, Man, this guy, all these businesses, All this stress. How does he look so sharp? So now we're going to go ahead and dive deep into your whole health, what you do to take care of yourself. And I want to start off with. the mind and because a lot of stress in you know, yes, you exited do a lotta businesses, but I'm more than sure you've had a lot a failures throughout the process.

You've have partners that you get upset at, they're upset you. That's just part of business. Me in the world of franchising, I've franchises that have failed, other ones that are successful. And it just happens. And you know, I deal with litigation, lawsuits, all that stuff, which I know that puts tremendous amount of stress on someone. How do you take care of your mind? Yeah. You're absolutely right. There is nobody that is absent from stress and pressure. It just is what it is. Right. So number one, you got to give yourself some grace because most people put the pressure on themselves.

Like most of the pressures, not from without us, from within. And at some point, you've gotta recognize that and you gotta decide, like where's this pressure coming from? Because I can control the pressure from within, right? And that pressure within is usually much greater than the pressures that's without, yeah, I probably have a dozen lawsuits against me at all times, it's just the nature of it. Now, when I remember when got my very first lawsuit against, freaked me out, now it just like legal bills, insurance and legal bill, just is what it is.

Um, you know, I've had companies rise and fall and people take advantage of me and business partners steal from me. And all of that type of stuff. But it comes down to, it does come down the mind. And as you mature in business and in life, you just naturally begin to take on more pressure. The pressure is different. If 25-year-old Eddie felt the pressure that 45- year- old Eddie fell, he would have been crushed. He would've had ulcers, in the hospital, heart attacks, everything else. Today, I actually feel like I have less pressure than I felt like I had on me at 25. It's almost like you can breathe.

Yeah, I can breath. And part of it is just maturation. it's just getting to a place where it just gets to the next day, because then you get enough days under your belt that the maturity begins to at least start to release some of that. It doesn't mean that I've got it under control. I literally I do blood panels every quarter have a doctor look at my blood panel as I go through this kind of proprietary way of looking at. My blood and my health and. All of my supplements are crafted specific to that.

You know, my peptides, all that type of stuff is all specific, to where I'm at every single quarter. And we changed it up every quarter, but I will tell you this last quarter my doctor, he said, hey, this cortisol, man, you gotta get this under control right now. I was like, He's like you picked up five pounds. Imma tell ya why, it's cause of cortisol. He was, and he was we need to add a couple of things to, uh, the regimen. And one of them was deep breathing exercises, more water, like just basic things, you know, it wasn't, I had to add a bunch of supplements or I'd to go to some Buddhist retreat or something like that.

I promised him that every day when I got out of bed, i'd spend the first 30 seconds to a minute just doing some deep-breathing exercises. Oxygenating the cells. I put water in a guy on a coffee company. So I usually go straight to coffee is like, I want you to have water, at least 18 ounces, he said before you ever take your first cup of coffee, coffee can't happen till 90 minutes in. Right? So like I'm living at a very regimented life to get the most out of it. And health, and very health conscious, but that that helps the mind, right?

It's like What we don't realize is that cortisol that's building up, it's part of the stress we're putting on ourselves is the distress. If we will actually consciously be aware of our health and take steps to fix it, It's amazing how the rest of body just falls in line. When I get up and I breathe, and when I drink the water and do these things, I already know that it is working. I can actually already sense it and feel it. And, um, and part of it is, is just where you put your focus and your energy and everything is balancing out.

And you know, it's like earlier, but when we were backstage, uh, before the podcast, one of the things you'd mentioned is like, say, man, I am focusing more on my health. The older I get, right. Right. Which, you, that's one thing, same thing here. It's just like. I drink less, right? If anything, I barely even drink.

Health, stress, and mental clarity 43:00

Because I'm thinking to myself, man, you know what? I am not in my early 20s anymore. I can't even compensate for this stuff. So how important is mental focus and clarity for you? It's huge. And the reason I said that to you earlier about the biohacking and all that stuff is so much more important today. because I'm trying to gain an edge and you know and I am 45 and if I get up and work out at 5am which I don't do that because by you 6 or 7 o'clock and still doing calls at night I pushing thoughts through jello at that point you like it's like I I dont have mental clarity so what I found is in my early 20s physique was very important to me Today, physique, I could care less about physique.

What I care about is mental clarity. I, care, about stamina. care. About my ability to put in 12 good hours where I'm mentally there and present like that to me is what I am pursuing today more than anything is output and productivity. You know, don't care if I can go run 10 miles or not. Yeah. And that's great that you say that, Ben, because I've been saying that a lot to a of my friends that I used to go to high school with and whatnot. And they're like, man, you used do bodybuilding in your early 20s.

You were all jacked. So I was. My focus was exactly that the physique side. Today, that's not my focus. Sure. Like what I used to do back then, if I do it now, I'll probably get injured and it's going to set me back. Right. For me, it is about having energy, not feeling fatigued, making sure my immune system is on point. And it' s more of health, span and longevity at this point, you know? So so it s good that you said that. You know, when it comes to your health and you work out every single day.

I workout three to four days a week. Okay. Yeah. So, so one of the things you mentioned earlier, you said that you have a doctor that's looking at things quarterly. Now you're like the ultimate coach, business coach throughout the coaching people. You have your own coaches. Oh, a hundred percent. Right. How important is it to have? A coach for your health. It's vital. The thing is, is we, um, I went through an exercise maybe six or seven years ago where I first I was introduced to counting macros.

And I was like, okay, cool. So I started counting macros. This is six or seven years ago. And it's wild. When you first learn to count macross, you don't realize what you're putting into your body. All of a sudden you are counting Macros and you like man, I thought this pound of almonds I'm taking down at night was a good thing for me. You realize like the amount of fats and the amounts like this isn't great for you. Oh, that was like the big first step for me was when I started counting macros.

I was, like, man, I didn't realize what I actually putting in my body. You know, Like I always taught eat these things, do these, things you have the physique you want, lift heavy, Do cardio when you need to throw, you know get rid of some fat. And that's just kind of it. All of a sudden, macro has changed everything. Then I realized, wait a minute, if this small amount, these actually small amounts actually make that much of an impact on my what else am I putting in my body? So then I started getting very conscious of all the toxins and the different things that I'm putting my outside of that.

And so I think a health coach is really, really important because oftentimes we're just unaware. We just don't have an awareness of what our body is doing, the things we are doing to our bodies, and what the impact is having on us. Absolutely. You brought up toxins, and you also brought about being aware about what you put into your body. Right now there's a huge movement called Make America Healthy Again. RFK Jr., you know, I'm a big part of this. I go to their events and interview a lot of the people and all that great stuff.

um what are your thoughts about this whole my love it i love i think um i i am shocked that it's taken this long you know that that we've weve known how bad the dyes are for us in our the candies and the foods and stuff like that i mean so much so you go to europe and and it''s it´s banned and its like and totally fine here right It's just interesting how unchecked the FDA has been and how tied to Big Pharma, the F.D.A. has, has to the detriment of the American people. And so I'm a huge supporter of it.

Um, and I, I go a little overboard sometimes, like I get down these rabbit holes, you know, no microplastics and all that stuff. I mean, there's a million different things that you can talk about with regard to toxins and the environment and stuff like that. But I do love that now the government is actually taking steps to protect the American people, you know? You go to Europe and you eat the same foods and it feels great. You come here and eat same food and feel horrible. It's different, it's like you innately and intimately know that something is different but nobody has been watching out for the american population.

And it's time for that change. It is now. And honestly, I didn't know. I don't think it was going to happen this soon. Neither. In to see something like that happening in. and it is happening at the top leadership level. You know, so it s exciting. it It's going t be a positive thing for our kids, our future grandchildren, all of that stuff. So however we can continue to contribute, All of us. That's what we have to do. Absolutely. so Eddie, as we wrap up here, man, You know, I'm going to ask you, you know you got something big coming up.

Right. You mentioned it a little bit earlier. Yeah. I want to make sure we cover that. Because this is big. A virtual platform and everything else. What is it that you guys have? So we built the Aspire Tour. That's the world's largest business tour today. We were 27 stops in a row every single month, three, four or five thousand people. You guys got the top people there. It's crazy. Yeah, it's pretty wild and it has just grown and exploded. I didn't expect it at all. we thought we'd do one event and see how it went and then it was just like, OK, next event, Next event.

Then we planned a whole year and now we're two and a half years in and haven't stopped. And we've done Madison Square Garden and Toyota Center in Dallas. But what I wanted to do is democratize the information so that everybody could have access to it. So we decided in June coming up to put on our business growth 2025 and we've asked every one of our big celebrities to come be a part of it. And it's actually a completely free ticket. I want to give this information that we give at the Aspire Tour, but for free.

So, we're doing it virtually so that everybody can see it from their living room or their office. And I've, we've called it all stops and we got every one of the sharks. I think mine is smart Cuban. We've got Kevin O'Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Hershovich. Uh, I got Kendra Scott, you know, jewelry. Kevin Costner, David Goggins is coming to it and it's just Gary Vee. And it just like, it is crazy. It's 20 of biggest celebrities in business that you could imagine. And I want to give that information away for free.

Aspire Tour, business growth event, and closing advice 50:00

So we're trying to put on one of the largest business growth events that's ever been put in. And that that is coming up. Amazing, man. I can't wait to actually participate. That's amazing. All right. As we wrap up here, I'm going to ask you, you have to answer with just one word. OK, i'm gonna name a few names and whatever first comes to mind. You're going give it to me. Right. This is going be specific to people that are in this coaching world, etc. Okay. Gary V. Innovative. Patrick but David. Stoic.

Grant Cardone. Hype. David Meltzer. Smart. Wes Watson. Intense. Awesome. Oh, I like that, you're quick on it too. So Eddie, if there's one person listening or watching this podcast that resonates with today's message, what is one thing you can leave them off with? For me, what I would love to leave every person I come in contact with is that whatever you believe is going to give you fulfillment, hurry up and get to the end of that road because it's most likely not gonna get you a fulfillment. Fulfillment is always gonna be at the of helping someone else.

A lot of young people, young guys, they'll follow me and they will say, I like your cars or I liked all the stuff. And I always say, hurry up and buy the Lambo, man. Go buy The Jet. Get there as fast as you can because you're going to be as lonely with that jet as your are today, like I was. And then you'll get to real brass tacks. What really matters in life. So instead of pushing them away and, you know, kind of squashing their dreams, I say go get it. Because you are going be where I'm at. I am in a place where the jet doesn't matter, the cars don't, matter the vacations don´t matter.

The help of that orphan matters more than anything in my life and so fulfillment always comes at the end of making an impact on someone else. And it never comes to the of a dollar, a car, or a vacation. That's the message I want to leave is that purpose is the anchor that we should all be pushing towards because that's where we gain fulfillment. Amazing. If people want find you, how do they find? I promised for this calendar year, I would answer all my DMs. I know it's a horrible idea and it is hours and hours worth of responding.

But Eddie Wilson official on all the social platforms. And if somebody wants to talk, just tell them to DM me. Awesome, man. I love it. Eddie, it was a pleasure having you on the podcast. Thank you. Appreciate it, thank you, guys. You guys heard it from Eddie. you got to find your purpose. It's about impact. My father would always tell me that you can't receive with a closed hand and what you receive. it's not necessarily what. Want it going to be what? You need to get that fulfillment. Make sure you subscribe, follow, tap, share, do all of that fun stuff.

You'll see all the links down below and we'll you for the next one.