S2E13 - Levelling Up Your Leadership w/Jayson Krause

Subscriber-only episode

This week in The Biz Dojo, we're joined by Jayson Krause from Level 52 Inc., a boutique leadership development and training firm with global impact. 

Jayson shares his journey as a professional athlete and Olympic hopeful, and what he brought from professional sport into his role as a coach and leadership development expert. We'll discuss his book, The Science Behind Success, and how he found himself pursuing his own business as a coach. Well there were struggles along the way, Jayson provides incredible insight into taking risk and what the science tells us about personal development. 

Then on the Podium - brought to you by Beyond a Beaten Path - Seth and JP share some laughs as we tackle some of our own moments of 'Levelling Up'. With apologies to Edmonton -  this one is fun! 
 
You can also level up your coffee game with a little  Dojo Dark in the morning (or afternoon, or evening!). Grab some on our website, or connect with us through any of our social media channels.

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Transcript

Seth Anderson: 0:00

Welcome to The Biz Dojo with Seth JP Episode 13. Season Two. We're deep into our hair, JP lucky number 13. lucky number 13 and wonderful guests this week, Jason Kraus, the founder of level 52, Inc, coaching company based out of Calgary, local coaching company. And just just an absolute pleasure having him in the dojo this week.

JP Gaston: 0:28

Yeah, local company with global reach. They're coaching all over in an in an innovative ways to

Seth Anderson: 0:35

very innovative ways. And you know, just to borrow from his website, Jason is a leadership strategist, author and speaker. And he specializes in helping organizations disrupt and accelerate a new breed of meaningful leadership.

JP Gaston: 0:50

I think it's important to the term meaningful, seems like it would be implied. But there's so much coaching that goes on out there that is, I will say not meaningful

Seth Anderson: 1:00

surface level, right, I think Yeah. You know, and I think what Jason does is cuts right through a lot of that, and he's got the story to back it up, I guess he would say one of the things I've been learning and working with a coach for these last few months is to be an effective coach, you need to be able to speak from experience, whatever your experience is, right? So you can't just go read a book and then start preaching those methods or those stories. If you haven't lived your version of that. I mean,

JP Gaston: 1:28

you could you just you're not going to be very good.

Seth Anderson: 1:31

Exactly. Someone can just read the book. So you know, taking those learnings and then applying them and saying them in your own words. And figuring that out, I think is great. And I think what's special about what Jason's done is, you know, this whole the science, he wrote a book, the science behind success, I haven't had a chance to read it yet is currently on route from the Amazon. So I'm hoping to get it any day.

JP Gaston: 1:54

The Amazon, I don't think it's coming. I'm not sure if you know what Amazon means. But it doesn't mean things are coming from,

Seth Anderson: 2:01

from the Amazon. And, you know, I love his definition of behind, you know, what the science of success is, or the science behind success is, but really, this whole thing came to be from a failure, you know, for lack of a better term. I don't even know if that's the right term, but let's just, you know, he spent the bulk of his, you know, 20s, I guess he would say, training to be in the Olympics, and came up short of that goal.

JP Gaston: 2:30

I mean, came up short of that goal, but had pretty impressive resume along the way three, three time Canadian champion. That's nothing to sneeze at. Yeah. And I think we

Seth Anderson: 2:39

skipped right by it. But he's in bobsledding. And we get into the origins of that in the in the interview a little bit in terms of how he got involved in bobsledding, but very impressive, you know, all Canadian, but came up short of the Olympics. And, you know, he describes it, you know, if you just Google Jason Kraus, you'll you'll find multiple interviews where he describes it, how gutted he was and how hard that time of his life was. But you know, the flip was made somewhere along the way. And now he describes it as the best thing that ever happened to him,

JP Gaston: 3:12

I find that a lot of our guests have turned some form of tragedy, or hardship, or something, not just into a story that they can share and help inspire others with in this case, that's particularly useful for being a coach, but one that they've used for themselves to help turn themselves around and put them on the right path. And Jason is not an exception to that.

Seth Anderson: 3:36

No. And it was just so inspiring to hear how he went about that. You know, he went from the bobsledding and into a corporate career and, and, you know, he basically describes it as going to these these events where there's these coaches that are speaking and sharing, you know, the best of what they had to offer basically in the world and that space and just had this this lingering thing in the back reads like I you know, what, what him and his friend his friend from the bobsledding days had come up with was was better, and he followed that edge and, and turned it into 52 levels. Had some you know, as we talked about another thought I had some trouble figuring out what level 52 actually meant. And I'm not going to give it away in this intro, but it has nothing to do with video games. That's,

JP Gaston: 4:22

that's one thing I

Seth Anderson: 4:25

know, I didn't get the sense that this has anything to do with video games. I did really love how he defined science and success. You know, we get into that a little bit and I'll give a little bit of a taste of it. Because I I literally feel like I think of at least the science part differently after that interview. You know, the description was very simple and he's got a nice anecdote to go with it. But you know, science from their definition or their their vantage point is the pursuit of greater understanding. And that's just one of those things when you just read it and it's like, ah, like,

JP Gaston: 5:00

Yes, you remember, you remember in high school when you use the little like, three dot therefore symbol of every one of your desks? Yeah. That's what that reminded me of when he said that I was it for some reason that image clicked in my head. And it reminded me that science is making the hypothesis, testing it, figuring out if it works, and just rinse and repeat. And it's just such a beautiful analogy. That's perfect. Because, you know,

Seth Anderson: 5:33

initially when I hear the word science, I start. Well, actually, when I just thought of the word science, I started thinking of Breaking Bad. I don't know that that was done to my brain, I guess. But I don't know. Like, I think science, I literally start thinking about beakers and numbers and figuring out that, but like, when you get back to the root of it, the pursuit of greater understanding, it's just a beautiful way to look at it. And I think I know that I'm going to, you know, apply that thought process to everything I do going forward. So that was great. You know, and we'll get into that a little bit more with Jason in the episode. And then I think the other thing that I really took away from this that I've already been busting out. In my circles, you and me both

JP Gaston: 6:19

me both because I know where you're going with

Seth Anderson: 6:20

this destination itis. You know, every episode, it feels like we come across, you know, some new lingo, some new terms, some, you know, something, and for me, I will probably be saying destination itis for the rest of my life.

JP Gaston: 6:37

And in some form. I think a lot of people talk about that all the time, right? You always talk about the journey being more important than the destination or those sorts of things. And using the term destination itis it set said so many things in place for me when he said it. I was like, Wow, that is that is what those folks are experiencing or what I have experienced along the way totally. Sometimes Sometimes you just you just don't notice or plan out the journey or know what to do if there's a problem along the way. You just get so fixated on that destination and

Seth Anderson: 7:12

destination itis destination itis so well. I hope you guys enjoyed this episode as much as we did. And let's get into it.

JP Gaston: 7:23

Alright, we'll get there as always with the steadies

Voiceover: 7:40

Welcome to The Biz Dojo. Here they are - Seth Anderson and JP Gaston.

Seth Anderson: 7:49

Welcome to The Biz Dojo with Seth and JP. This week, we're lucky to be joined by Jason Kraus. Jason is the executive director and founder of level 52 Inc, which is a boutique leadership and executive coaching firm and also the author of the science of success, which is you know, we're gonna dive into here, but really happy you could join us today, Jason. Hey, thanks, guys. I'm glad to be here. So one of the interesting things about your background when we were chatting beforehand and doing a little bit of research, is you're actually on the national team, an elite athlete in bobsledding. So I thought that was an interesting place to just jump in. How does one get into bobsledding? Because that is a very specific sport. Very difficult to get to the top of that game. But But how did you even decide to get into bobsledding?

Jayson Krause: 8:36

Well, you know, like most kids I laid in bed at night dreaming of being the next great Canadian bobsledder. We all did. No, you know what I played Junior football with the Calgary Colts. And I love football. That's what I envisioned doing for as long as I could. And I started having injury problems. had a hard time staying healthy. And I'd heard that because we're in Calgary, the bobsled track is here. That bobsled was a great training tool for football players. help you get more powerful help you get faster. So I thought, Hey, I'm going to go to a camp so that I can get involved in the training. And I did and was introduced to Dave McCarran who just came off winning a gold medal as a brakeman, he was starting to drive. And just all of a sudden, shockingly, this opportunity to travel around the world. Do this crazy sport. opened up for me. And you know, even though my heart was with football, just the opportunity and adventure that this provided had me say yes,

Seth Anderson: 9:42

that's funny. JP and I were talking in advance and he was saying one of the requirements to get into bobsledding was playing in the CFL, so I guess you kind of nailed that one. JP.

Unknown: 9:51

A lot of football players. A lot of track athletes. Yeah, it power and speed.

Seth Anderson: 9:55

Awesome. So you get into bobsledding. I'm curious and I mean, we're gonna Go through sort of the story arc there in terms of how that ended up for you. But in those early years of your time in bobsledding, what did you learn about leadership and yourself as a leader as you kind of rose the ranks and in that environment,

Unknown: 10:11

in high performance sport, you see a lot of great examples of really bad leadership, what I classify as bad leadership, and you see some examples of some great leadership. And so it really creates some wonderful bookends to model how I don't want to be in that, you know, there are leaders who will completely sacrifice, ethics and morality, for a metal who are there to just serve themselves, and they will leave a wake of disaster behind them just doesn't matter. And then there are those that can really create cultures where people elevate their performance, and it transcends them, they're more sitting back, and I'm talking about some of the coaches, who more step back, they don't have to be in the limelight. And really interesting to see such different leadership examples in high performance sport, it gave a lot of material for me to learn both the type of leader I want it to be as well as certainly what I didn't want to be.

JP Gaston: 11:14

Do you see a shift there? Like as there been? Is it a generational thing that predominantly creates that difference in leadership? I know that like in the corporate environment, we've seen a lot of shift over the last, I would say 10 years or so to be more mindful and be more aware of your culture and really, kind of promote that style of leadership. But would you say that that's where it stems from is kind of just the the old habits, the old ways we used to use the stick more than the character? Is there something else at play and high performance sport?

Unknown: 11:45

Why I think high performance sport is very unique. While there are lessons you can superimpose over business, they are different beasts, right? High Performance sport, you're funded, you're in it to win it. And the better results, the more funding you get. And, and with with business, I think you can have more of a long game, I see. I've been outside of sport for several years, like being really in it. So it's hard to say, the transition that's happened from when I left and now in business, I would say Certainly, there is a movement towards towards a different style of leadership. But yet, there's still that damn thing JP, as you say, that old habits die hard. And if I'm an expert, I'm used to carrying the ball across the line myself, then I'm probably gonna get frustrated and react in a different way. If the people on my team can't do it the same way I do with the same effectiveness. You know,

Seth Anderson: 12:42

so in your time, Jason, in bobsledding with Team Canada, you know, you won some Canadian championships, you are on the cusp of making the Olympics a couple of times. And, you know, just in, you know, listening to some of what you've spoken about it, you came up short, and you were sort of shattered, as he described it. What did you take from that experience? And to move forward? You know, I think he talked a lot about mindset and how important mindset is, and I know you went through a traumatic event, with your your best friend getting cancer and passing away. And then you know, coming up short in the Olympics, when you when you look back on that, what were some of the key things that you were able to do to move forward.

Unknown: 13:23

Now in hindsight, when I look back, I say not making the Olympics was one of the best things to happen to me. Because I was caught in this self created trap, what we called destination itis, the story I made up that when I get to the Olympics, then I'll be really important. And it was important for me to experience that heartbreak because I work with a lot of leaders who also make up the story that when we get to that IPO stage, or when we sell our business, or when I finally become president or CEO, then dot dot dot, they weave this magical illusion. And life isn't like that. And so for me, I had the rug pulled right out from right out from under me, the structures the support the vision that I thought my life was going to be. And I was forced to examine what value can I possibly offer this world if I don't have the Olympic rings tattooed on my shoulder? is a hard journey. But step by step getting into the exploration, working with mentors, I found a path

Seth Anderson: 14:35

What did you land on for the value you can bring to the world? Did you did you land on something specific there? Is that sort of what led to, you know, ultimately writing your book and starting level 52

Unknown: 14:46

I think I'm getting closer. When I look back, I mean for all of us. And this is the stance I hold from a leadership perspective and from a life perspective. If we are not in the constant exploration of unraveling our own mystery, that's when we get lost. And for me, when I look at the experiences I've had and what value I can offer the world, it's in the work that we're doing, using science highperformance based backdrop to help leaders really connect with the impact they want to have, give them the structures to do that. And, you know, at the end of our leadership programs, for example, I tell our team members, we need to create a highlight reel of the last sentence people say before they break, because when things get hard, and we are very hard on ourselves, and you know, running a business, having a highlight reel, like that reminds us of the impact that we do have. So that's the value that I'm bringing to this world right now.

Seth Anderson: 15:49

I'm curious, just, you know, reflecting on my own journey a little bit, and I love that term, destination itis. And I think that's another one JP, that's gonna stick around. But I think of some of the key moments in my life. And one of the biggest inspirations for me is, you know, that I wanted to be a great father, and I know you're a father of four. And, and I think a family man. And that's something that's very important to you. How does that play into the the value of the, to the life that you bring, like, does that come first? How do you how do you find that balance? And, you know, what do you you know, what do you want to be as a father, I guess,

Unknown: 16:26

work life balance is a big thing for many people. And one of so I've got four kids, two from my first marriage, and two from my, my current marriage. So we're a blended family. One of the gifts of divorce is instantly you became clear about what your role was. And so for me, I knew the week that I had my two kids, I'm responsible for everything. I know what I'm responsible for. And that was a real gift. Because I think in relationship when it comes to being a partner, being a parent, is anytime there's Blurred Lines, then assumptions creep in which create, you know, what we say in our programs, all assumptions do is create drag debris and disappointment. And so when my divorce happened, that was also a very difficult time. What it did was create real role clarity. And when I met the woman who is my current wife, and we came in, I use that knowledge to inform our relationship. And that work life balance for me is basically I work one really hard week, I'll work long hours, and I'll even work weekends. But then the next week, I'll make sure I have breakfast with the kids. And I finish at three. So I'm hanging out with all the kids from 3pm onwards. And then of course, I have that second weekend free, it's my version of work life balance, I have full permission to put my head down, grind and grow my business and put heavy weight on one weekend, one weekend, then a much less schedule. The same thing in business, what if you don't have that role, clarity, the rules what I can or can't do, then you just leak resources and energy. So get clear about this stuff that makes a difference? My version of work life balance.

Seth Anderson: 18:24

I love that. Have you found? You know, with working from home? Has that changed your approach at all? Or have you just kind of stuck with what you've that model, even on the long weeks, I

Unknown: 18:39

tend to work less. When I was going to the office, you know, I might work until seven or 8pm. Now, I generally on the long weeks, although I start really early, I'll generally finish around five or six, the biggest change from working from home has been leveraging the key strengths, or the key benefits of the commute. And we and we've spoken about this to with many of our clients is that you got to replace your commute with something because that's often such a precious time. As you know you're driving to work. You're either listening to a podcast that inspires you, or you're you're just reflecting on your day preparing yourself and then as well, the transition to home rather than just shutting the office door and walking up into the chaos upstairs. How do you transition to leave work behind you so that you can be present and engaged with the film?

Seth Anderson: 19:36

I couldn't agree more.

JP Gaston: 19:37

Yeah, definitely what I miss I love the commute for that thinking time. That's what I I would say most of the problems that I have tackled in business have happened in the 10 minutes. It took me to drive from my home to my office. I could work for hours all day and not figure it out. But in that 10 minutes that you know the creativity is flowing. And then there's the nice decompression on the way home to write like you You're able to set work aside. And by the time you get to your door, everything, maybe not everything but close to everything has been set to the side, you're not thinking about it anymore. You can just focus on family and focus on you and your own mental well being and a, that's, that's hard to do when you just have to walk down a couple flights of stairs, it's hard to leave on the landing. And then you know, go go the next five stairs and all the sudden you're in home mode. So I feel that every day and you know,

Unknown: 20:30

it's it's funny, we often don't realize it, this is all part of the work we do. And we're working with leaders doing culture scans, cultural awareness, the little things make the biggest difference, the different inputs you deliberately create in your environment will influence a different expression. And if we're not aware of it, all of a sudden, we're we're beating ourselves up going, what's wrong with me? Why am I not performing in the same way? Or why am I coming home reacting to my wife and my kids in the same way? Well, the inputs are different. That simple 10 1520 minutes on the drive is very important. And if you haven't recreated that in some way, then of course, the expression is going to be different.

Seth Anderson: 21:14

Yeah, I think I've been asked this question quite a few times, you know, what have you done with that extra time, basically. And, you know, for me, it's, it's actually started getting up earlier. You know, with every incentive or opportunity to sleep in that extra half hour hour, I made the decision early on that getting up earlier, taking the dog for a walk, you know, getting in some exercise, making a good breakfast, and reading, I would say in the last six months, I've read more books than probably my entire life combined to this point. And I feel during the day, like, you know, I used to get rattled a lot, you know, because you're, when you're supporting 100 people in a large department, you know, a lot of things come at you and I found I was responding either negatively, I would vent a lot. I wasn't present in the moment. But now like, I attribute a lot of my success during the day to that morning routine. And I'm curious, what do you do for your morning routine? Jason, how have you sort of repurpose that time?

Unknown: 22:16

Yeah, great question. It, I read. I listen to a personal voice memo. recorded this, it's got like an instrumental background, I recorded my personal voice memo memo, reminding me of the things that are important, asking me important questions. And then I spent a few minutes journaling. And, and I track it on on my app, when my warm ups done, I hit my done app so that I can track my continuous days. And I tell you what, even my co workers will notice if I've gone a few days without doing my warm up. Like you say you respond to situations differently. When you ground yourself, remind yourself what's most important. And you're ready for you know, the turbulence that's, that's going to show up.

Seth Anderson: 23:14

That's, that's amazing. Do you do any sort of meditation or mindfulness practices? You know, you have your voice memo, do you use any other tools to help with that?

Unknown: 23:25

So one of the things that I started doing about midday, now, my practice before when the world was normal, I would usually walk from my office to a hot yoga class. That was like meditative. I would sweat like crazy. And, and now I've shifted with things we in our work, we use virtual reality with some of our one to one coaching clients. We're doing some really cool stuff there. But one of the things that I've started doing after being exposed to virtual reality is there's some great fitness programs on VR, and started using this program called supernatural. So oftentimes, midday, I will do a workout on supernatural. And then there are some amazing meditations, I'll usually do a meditation to reset my day. That was one of the greatest things I got from yoga was just the present movement. And so oftentimes, after my workout, I'll do a 10 minute meditation inside the Stonehenge or at, you know, the Taj Mahal, whatever, because the virtual reality, mindfulness programs are just so neat. That that's something that I've been that I've been doing many days during the week.

JP Gaston: 24:40

Very cool. That's awesome. I remember when VR was those like, triangle shaped shoulders on people. Back in the day, it's it's certainly come a long way. And there's like, I know that I've been using things like the comm app and whatnot as well. And I think that those have have really come a long way, especially in the last few years. And even more so over this last year, I think we talked a lot about how businesses have had to pivot and, and whatnot, but I think it's created a ton of opportunity in that space as well. Oh, it has, you know, we

Unknown: 25:11

never would have thought that we'd be using VR our clients getting like, we use the Oculus to VR headset, and you sign up with us, JP, we send you a headset, we onboard you to the technology. Now we're meeting at the level 52 office in the cloud. And you've got your own room where you've got your okrs, you've got your pain inventory, you've got images of things like your family, favorite sports teams, and we create this unique space for you, that has, you know, important quote, everything that that we've taken from our onboarding with you. And we create this dynamic space that we can work in there with our avatars, and just have so many resources to inform our, our strategy and coaching meetings. It's it's really fascinating.

JP Gaston: 26:00

The Geek in me is just so inspired right now.

Seth Anderson: 26:05

I guess, you know, now we're started diving into your day job now. So the coaching consulting level 52. How did that come to be? What what's the what's your origin story there?

Unknown: 26:17

Well, I think getting into the coaching and consulting world was, again, we work so hard to control our life. But it's so funny how we find ourselves into things. I found myself in a bobsled make it made an eight year career, one of the benefits of that being a carded athlete for eight years, aside from you know, doing a cool sport and traveling around the world was every year you're a funded athlete, you get a year of tuition. So I'd studied some business. And when I retired, I was figuring out what else do I do with these tuition credits? And my sisters said, Hey, do you know what coaching is? Well, yeah, I know what sport coaching is. But there was a coaching program at the UFC continuing ed. And I thought, hey, it sounds interesting. Team like useful skills, I'll give it a shot. And so I went to this program and was blown away at how these skills could transform relationships and create impact. And then I went to a program, leadership residential down in Sonoma, and it was a year long program. And I started networking with people there were VPS of global organizations there. And I was still like, I was like a 29 year old, retired athlete. And these people in the business world saw value in what I could bring in helping their organizations. And then really, one of my close friends, Steve mestler, we co created this concept of the science behind success, I performance athletic principles we were exposed to along with emerging science. Back then neuroscience was brand new epigenetics, hardly anyone knew about. And we packaged it into this really cool program that we piloted at the University of Florida Warrington School of Business, looking back now guys, it was ridiculously embarrassing version compared to what it is now. But even still, people were like, wow, this is incredible. And so we partnered with a consulting firm in Calgary, we deliver it to executive teams, and they would be like, wow, this is incredible. But what do we do with it? And we didn't have the answer. Back then, in 2010 2011, that question, what do we do with it? And so it became like this sparkly keynote really, and, and sort of died. I took a senior leadership position with a firm down in California. And it was a learning and development company. And I wouldn't be at these conferences of the best and latest leadership approaches. And it was about five years ago that I'm looking around at the best there is out there. And I said, You know what, there's still nothing like the science behind success. And so I took the leap, I left a great job, great pay, to put the full court press on making this answering that question, what do you do with it? And we've done it in it. Yeah, we've done it.

Seth Anderson: 29:26

That's how did you Garner up the courage to do that? I guess, like, what was your process? The sit down pro con list? Like, what was the How did you get that needle to finally just go you know what I'm all in and I'm going to leave the Great job, the corporate career. And I'm just I'm going all in like, what, what what did your process look like I'm making that

Unknown: 29:49

decision. I evaluated all of the external data points, you know, that security, safety potential, all of the external data points And none of it made sense, they may taking the lead based on all of those external data points. It didn't make sense. I did a great job, US company security. And then I went to the bill, loudest internal data point. And that was deep inside my heart said, if you don't do this, you will kick your own ass for the rest of your life.

Seth Anderson: 30:24

Well, what was the response of your closest network? Like your family? And the people around you? Did they think you were crazy? Or? Or did they believe in you? What was? What was that initial response?

Unknown: 30:37

I think my parents thought I was crazy. But I think a lot a lot of the people closest to me, even my boss, my boss, at the company I worked with were fully supportive. They saw this vision, they saw what was possible. And so often, we find ourselves in a safe position that we've we've allowed this ceiling to be put on us. You know, in in many different ways. I mean, earning is just one thing. But really from like an expression, am I using my gifts and my growing, which is one of the biggest things I found in that position? I just wasn't growing wasn't scary anymore.

Seth Anderson: 31:22

When you were evaluating that and coming to your decision, and you're looking at the coaching, how much did you factor in the compensation or the revenue potential in that was that, uh, you know, and the reason I bring it up is, you know, one of the things with this podcast was, I thought about every career decision I've ever made up to this point in my life has been based on how much per hour is the job? What's the compensation? Like? That's just question number one. And I think part of that is just survival. And, you know, just, I think a lot of people approach it. So intentionally with this podcast. You know, JP knows, like, we didn't, we didn't do any market research. We didn't want to, we didn't care about that. It was like, what are we passionate about? How can we help people? Like we really looked at it from from a totally different lens than any other thing I've ever done before? So I'm just curious, like, when you got into the coaching, did you have like the revenue mapped out and like a business plan? Or was it like, I know, this is gonna work. And then you kind of figured it out along the way, a

Unknown: 32:22

little bit of both, but more of the ladder. I did have a roadmap of what I think but even that roadmap isn't what we're doing today. Like, like, that's the thing. There's a concept called strategic determinism. If we create a roadmap and we hold, you know, so strict to that roadmap, then we're we're not allowing ourselves to take in some of the opportunities that come when they pop up like VR. No, we're not a virtual reality company. We do in person work from Singapore to Silicon Valley. Well, no, we don't do any in person work anymore. And so there was a vision. And even that vision has changed. It has evolved. But you know, you know, Seth, it reminds me when I first started my coaching business, way back, I'd finished training. And I had a lot of external people, these VPS from multinationals that wanted to work with me, like I had a vision, I got excited, I'm gonna have a million dollar business. Well, guess what, things move slow. Even when you have internal sponsors that want to hire you and use your services. To the point where my bank account was at zero. I had my wife and a my first young child. And I was so stressed out, there was so much pressure that I had to give up the dream. In that I started applying for jobs. And I I remember going into an interview. This was about 18 months into the business where I thought things would be far greater. I went into an interview to sell industrial racking for basically minimum wage with some commission structure. I couldn't even get that job. couldn't even get that job. The guy flat out said to me, he said, You are basically interviewing me, I don't feel comfortable hiring you. And he says I yeah, I don't think you'd stick around long enough. I couldn't even get a job like that. And I think that was like a universal kick in the butt. Because the next month, I got scooped up by a consulting firm and I was making more than a month in a month than I would have almost in an entire year of a base salary. So it's funny how the world works, right? Just when you're about to give up. You get reminders if you're on the right path.

Seth Anderson: 34:54

Yeah reminds me of shoe dog. book by the Nike Founder, you know, everyone sees the multibillion dollar corporation that they are now. But you know, he talks at length about how many times they were on the verge of bankruptcy. And the years and years and years where they thought, you know, they're gonna, you know, it's over, it's done. But something would happen, and that perseverance and you know, obviously created one of the largest companies in the world. But I think in any company, if you think you're going to walk in overnight, and just be successful and be a seven figure company, you've probably infer a dose of reality pretty quickly.

Unknown: 35:32

I, when I was working in Singapore, I usually would do quick shots, straight there and back, sometimes I'd be on the ground, less time than I would be in the air. And but one time I did a side trip after, after my divorce, I always wanted to see Angkor Wat, one of the largest, most fascinating temples in the world. Have you been JP?

JP Gaston: 35:54

I have not, but I have I have some friends who have been and they talk about it nonstop?

Unknown: 35:58

Yeah, well, it's like, it's unbelievable. And I had a private guide there. And even though he's seen it 1000 times, it's like every 20 minutes, he would just, we'd be in a new space, and he'd shake his head, and you'd say, brick by brick of this brick by brick. That's sort of a mantra inside of our business, when things don't work out or when things aren't moving slowly. It's certainly something I need to remind myself that if we're building a cathedral, which is language, we use something that transcends us being here, that someone eventually will take this and continue using this, then the only sustainable way is to do it brick by brick. And the biggest enemy in that process is our ego. And our need for it to happen quicker.

JP Gaston: 36:49

I love that. I like I'm visualizing it, as you're saying it. It's quite powerful. So you you start level 52 and I had this question for Seth before the call level 50 T, why, yeah. Why? Why the 52nd level.

Unknown: 37:06

Really, you know, there's a, there's a saying that says you overestimate what you can do in a day and underestimate what you can do in a year. And then part of our work, we help leaders develop structures to focus on what's important, and using some game mechanics. And really, if if we help you identify the things you really want to work on, and understand and track, how do you uplevel every week, there's 52 levels in a year, 52 weeks, 52 levels. And every year, it's a game of trying to achieve your level 52 in the different areas, the habits that you're trying to build. And so it gives us a language, we help you create a structure. And every year, let's identify what's important. And let's get to level 50 to one week, structured focus, practicing what you say is important to you and your business, or your life.

Seth Anderson: 38:11

So Jason, you wrote a book, the science of success. How do you define success? And you know, I think that can be I think everybody has some version of that. But I'm curious, what's your definition of success? I

Unknown: 38:26

think, before we define success, the the science behind success is it's important to frame science before we get to success. Because Science, especially now, when people weaponize science, they use it as the truth. This is the way things are, whereas science at its best, is, as we call it, the pursuit of greater understanding it's constant experimentation to prove or disprove your hypothesis. And the story we tell in the book, for example, is in the 1800s ignaz, Semmelweis spotted a very big problem, too many women were dying when they were giving birth, it would die to child bed fever. And he started experimenting and found a very repeatable solution that could drastically decrease the death of these mothers. And he published his findings and he was laughed at ostracized from his communities, people thought he was crazy and ridiculous. What was the simple solution? All physicians had to do was wash their hands. Right, which now of course, we're we we've been able to validate that through Louis pastures, germ theory. But what's so important about that is when you use it when you take away the bullets of learning, how ironic is it that the physicians the experts in the situation, were the ones in fact Seeing the situation. And they were a, they weren't able to remove their ego or their current understanding in service of innovation. And so it's important to frame science as the pursuit of greater understanding. Because what is success? It's not a destination. That's the biggest trap, pitfall. quicksand that will sink you. The way we frame success is progression, as in a succession from who I was yesterday to today, am I getting better? Are we getting closer to that vision that inspires me?

Seth Anderson: 40:38

So within the book, and like I mentioned, I haven't had a chance to read it yet. it's on its way. It'll be here next Monday. I believe you have a couple of models in there, and sort of high level things, it's a couple things you can share with our listeners to kind of whet their appetite. Yeah, well.

Unknown: 40:59

There's so many things. We live in a viral world, right, where viruses are a real thing. Well, viruses have been a part of our model for over 10 years, understanding viral contagion. When you talk about being a parent, or being a leader in the business, it viruses, a virus will infiltrate, it'll replicate and it will spread. And while viruses may be taking lives in our world, right now, behavioral viruses have been killing cultures, forever. And everything in our model, everything is a virus from what you see what you hear what you experience, behaviors, everything, when you understand viruses are always being spread in that way. And a virus can be a positive virus that creates critical momentum, or a negative virus that creates a cancerous downward spiral in your business. Once a leader becomes aware of that, then they have to be very conscious about the viruses, they deliberately spread. And the ones that they have to stop inside the organization. Every leader is a walking billboard that advertises how to be successful in my business. But you've got that star but a jerk, who is that creating that wake of disaster behind you know, glorified shareholder success, then that's what you're spreading inside your business. But if you've got someone who's practicing meaningful leadership, brick by brick, delivering results may be slower, but creating this wave of inspiration, and really growing the intangible asset in your organization, which is your people, they're spreading different viruses. So this is one of the concepts in the book where we break down the viral analysis to help leaders understand the viruses they spread, and the ones that they stop. But perhaps the model that directly applies to this success. If you remove the concept that success is a destination, that trap and really engage in the process of success, then you're engaging in really a high performance practice. And we introduced the model while there are the four elements of science in the middle at the heart of the model is meaningful leadership, are we creating meaningful impact on the outside of the model is, is how do you practice this? Well, at the top of the model is awareness. We engage in situations that elevate our awareness. Oh, shoot, I upset JP when I said this. Be one example of awareness. Now with the gift of awareness, we get into intention. Okay, well, next time, I'm talking to JP, how do I intentionally want to navigate this? Right? So awareness, intention, and then I go into exercising it. Next time, JP and I are together, I exercise this intention. That's I'm testing my hypothesis. Is this going to work? And then I get into reflection mode, just like an athlete will watch Game film, analyze it, I reflect. Here's the intention I went in, how do I measure the impact? Was it a desired impact? Or did I create more of a mess? through a great reflection, then, ideally, I've got an elevated state of awareness, which then I can continue the cycle. And oftentimes in our 12 week accelerated leader programs, we're working leaders in getting repetition on this model, because that success when you can presently engage and assess your performance, so that you can continually grow, be better and deliver meaningful leadership.

JP Gaston: 44:46

Are there any transformations even been involved with with that framework that come to mind as just one that you saw, and it was just incredible, like just a story or anecdote you might have or you're you were inspired by how So your own framework might have been

Unknown: 45:01

Yeah, you know that there, there are so many one of our, we've been fortunate to work inside a global company that had leadership training like they had their way. And a leader was was deviant in bringing us through the side door, to work with their team. They had significant challenges. underperforming a culture of laziness had had developed in this leader was brought in to clean it up from outside the organization. And over the 18 months that we worked with the team, yes, measurables off the charts unexpected millions of dollars in cost reduction, increased millions of dollars of revenue as a result of behaviors. And so all of the measurables, this leader was checking the boxes. But that's not what made him most proud. When we're developing the case study, he said to us, he said, all of that is great, he said, but here's honestly what makes me most proud. When we have leaders coming from international headquarters that haven't seen this team in two years, they sit back and they go, they like visibly look different, they're behaving different. And so to have that external feedback mechanism, validate the behaviors, which it's always the behaviors that lead to those desired results. But to have other executives spot, the visible difference in behaviors. That was that was the biggest victory for this leader in taking a risk and bringing us in. And we've continued to work through the organization.

Seth Anderson: 46:41

So Jason, I had a listener recently text me and and ask if we could have someone on the show to talk a little bit about organizational change, and how to drive that. And it's interesting, because I just came across one of your videos on LinkedIn. And you talked about the concept of change ownership, and really looking inward and each individual sort of being responsible for their their own culture and wondering if you could just expand on that and give a little bit of insight on to, to what that means. And how you guys approach that

Unknown: 47:10

change is hard for individuals, and trying to drive change in an organization is even more difficult because now you're trying to work the collection of individuals towards a desirable destination. We've taken a different approach. Change is hard. It takes time. It's expensive, and there are a lot of great change models out there. But why isn't? Why is it that most changes fail? And our belief is that because it people fail to capture ownership around the change doesn't matter if if the three of us want to go somewhere, if I don't own it. Now I am drag and debris working against the change. And so how do you capture that? And I mean, simply, this could be a whole other podcast, but simply number one activating the right mindset. And a concept in the book in the science behind success book is hypertrophy. When a muscle is subjected to stress or resistance, it adapts by growing. As athletes we exercise we engage in that stress and resistance we deliberately engage with helps us be better. Now what's the opposite of hypertrophy, which is what that's called, is atrophy. When we step away from the fire, step away from the resistance, we atrophy. Same thing happens with our skills. And an important mindset when seeking to engage in hypertrophy. Change the resistance, something new is what we call meaningful masochism. Why would I put myself through the difficult process of learning these new skills, learning this new process? If I don't have a resonant vision, then I can own that path. And it's going to happen slow, and it's going to be frustrating. And so that's part of it is helping individuals understand their compelling purpose to engage with the pain. Why do we do Spartan races? Why do we, why do you get up at 5am? go for walks because you have a vision that inspires you without that vision. Change is going to be slow and painful. But then it's also understanding your reputation. Things are going to be turbulent. We're going through a change. He says how do you want people to describe you during this change? And the simple act of reflecting on that and articulating that. Do I want to be a bickering, complaining negative virus machine? Or do I want to be someone that's more empowering helping people see the benefits helping people learn course correct. Like really understanding and intentionally creating what you want your reputation Wouldn't it be during this change? And then socializing it now can help us be feedback mechanisms. Hey, Seth, you're showing up more like how you don't want to be, you know, you can develop feedback mechanisms. And then with change, and this comes back to our game mechanics principles. So often in change where people get stuck is I don't know where the hell I am. And whether or not I'm getting closer. And so to use some of the game mechanics principles that science shows us, captures engagement, and instructs you where to focus your attention. And like getting to the next level, what are the new rules of the game? If we go play hockey, and we're playing different rules, it's not going to be fun for anybody. We need to know what's offsides. We need to know what's a penalty. Otherwise, chaos is going to ensue. And so it's going through key game mechanics principles of what are the next levels? How will we know we're getting closer to the desirable state? What are the rules, what's offsides? What's on sides? What we can Can't we do? What are the feedback mechanisms that we're going to apply? so that we know if we're getting closer or further away, it's why video games can be so addicting, it's why the athletic career is so hard to leave is because you have structures you know where you stand. And with change, the more we can apply these, then we can help accelerate the process from current state to adoption and that desirable state in a nutshell, in a nutshell,

JP Gaston: 51:38

just just a small taste. Yeah. So you spend your days helping others progress and work through the framework and develop themselves and get to that next level. What do you what are you doing for yourself to continually improve and, and grow to that next level?

Unknown: 51:56

Read, I have a coach. So from reading every morning, like we talked about, to having a coach to having a group of other leaders that we connect with and work work with each other, like a similar to what mastermind? Those are things that I use to get better. One of the latest things I'm experimenting with, actually to improve and get better is clubhouse. If you're familiar with the app, you know, like anything, there's a garbage and there's great value. And so finding the right discussions to engage in is is fascinating. There are some things I'm a couple of weeks in several of our team members are experimenting with it. But there have been some great discussions where I've taken significant value from

Seth Anderson: 52:46

Yeah, and I've hopped on and I found, you know, a lot of what gets pushed out is, you know, not that great. But I've hopped into a couple conversations that were like, oh, wow, this is this is awesome. So that's something I'm dabbling in as well, you're also a fellow podcaster. How is that going for you? What have you What have you learned through that experience,

Unknown: 53:04

we've made a switch from the first two seasons were just bite sized content, me more storytelling, with, you know, storytelling based on some client examples. But now we've switched to more of an interview based Hero's Journey type of format. And, and, and it's been interesting, just so many people, just amazing stories from where they started to what they're creating now to where they're headed next. And I think the gift in what we all do, is helping capture people's stories. And whether it's someone like Jeff Bezos, or someone off the street, I can't remember who said it. But it's it's so powerful and so true, in that you can fall in love with anybody once you've heard their story. And so the work that we do is important in helping capture people's stories. We bought, we're all on this journey in this challenge.

Seth Anderson: 54:03

Have you? Have you watched finding Joe,

Unknown: 54:05

I have and I've, I've been long fan of his work.

Seth Anderson: 54:11

That was I actually I built a little self development course, that was sort of one of my, I don't know, if it's a new year's resolution, I wrote down a list. I think it was like 23 things that I wanted to do this year. And some of them were a little bit more abstract, like, not abstract. Like I don't know if I get there and not being more present with my kids as an example. But one of them was I wanted to create a course based on my story and my journey, and I ended up getting directed into that. And I just found that even that intro that 656 minutes where they talk about the Golden Buddha, where it's covered in mud and rocks and concrete and then starts to chip away. It gives me like, the shivers up my spine every time I watch it. And so that was something I included and really my concept was around the unexpected leader, just my journey, you know, the likelihood of me being in a As an executive position, having a podcast and living where I live, and all those things versus drug addiction or jail or, you know, a drain on society was probably heavily tilted to the ladder. So wanting to give back and share some of the lessons that I've learned along the way, and hopefully inspire some people who are starting out on their journey. I think it's, it's what I was aiming to do. But you mentioned the hero's journey, and everybody's going through some version of that. And when you can kind of start to see that it's, it's amazing just how different the world appears. I think

Unknown: 55:30

it is. It is, you know, everyone is going through the version of that departure. Am I am I willing to leave my current form in pursuit of something else? whether someone's in that departure stage, and then the initiation of why did I do this? Can I do this? How do I get through this, you return, which is what your program is, is you've now returned to help people, you know, see their world differently. And we're all in a cycle of these departure initiation returns. And I think podcasting For example, one of the great benefits, or at least for me, hosting interviews, is learning from people, the different resources, I interviewed a gentleman named Tyler Chisholm, CEO of clear motive marketing. And I always ask at the end, what's a book you recommend? And he said, he'd mentioned this book I'd never heard of craft of the warrior by Robert Spencer. And I ordered it mind blowing, like what a gift to be exposed to that concept. And if you like Joseph Campbell, you'd love craft of the warrior. So put it on your list.

JP Gaston: 56:45

It's funny, we always joke about how, when we started this podcast, we basically said, If you know, 10 of our friends and family members Listen, great. It's really, we want to do something that we can contribute to, and that feels good for us. And if we helped even one person, awesome. And you know, within a couple of months, it blossomed into this massive thing that we weren't for, there's more than there's more than 10 people listening. And it's just it's such a such a great feeling. But still every single episode, and certainly this one included, we're just learning more and more for ourselves that hopefully we can keep spreading and helping others to grow as well,

Unknown: 57:26

I want to underscore what you just said, because your listeners cannot take that for granted. You guys just started this thing. Because you had a passion you wanted to experiment. And you were unattached to the outcome of it becoming the next Joe Rogan or whatever you love what you're doing. That's the internal data that we need to capture. Right? Rather than that destination itis or the comparison, it needs to be like this or that we so often dismiss that internal data. Do I enjoy doing this? Yes. Should I keep doing this? Yes, that's joy.

Seth Anderson: 58:06

So simple and concerning, though, like, you know, and I think with this type of a project, it's easy to kind of look at the external factors, you know, oh, we only got 20 downloads on the first episode or like, like, there's a lot of lot of ways you could talk yourself out of this, like, oh, it took us eight hours of our week to put together something to 20 people listen to you, like, what are we even doing but I think because we went into it with the mindset of we enjoy this, we don't know where it's going, we're going to enjoy the ride. Didn't know the term destination itis at the time, but like, we totally weren't thinking in that way. And I think that's, that's why we're having so much fun. There's joy and there's comparison. And we compare ourselves to unrealistic and, and things that just aren't true because we're comparing it off of social media, a snapshot, a highlight reel, of how they should be joy is authentic, and we can work with that every

Unknown: 59:00

day. comparison is nasty. Like that old proverb you know, a bamboo complains or a bamboo wishes it was solid, like the oak and the oak wishes it was light and hollow, like the bamboo were the same way. So the more we can focus on joy, gosh, the more we can create, you know, the gifts that we can bring into the world. Amazing.

Seth Anderson: 59:24

Jason, it's been a pleasure having you in the dojo really appreciate the time. How can people connect with you and learn more about level 52 the science of success and,

Unknown: 59:35

and all that, head to our website level 50 two.ca. love to have you in one of our accelerated leader programs. Also check out the book the science behind success gives you insight into the tools and the resources that help leaders create meaningful impact in their world. Or track me down if nothing else on LinkedIn Jason with a why

Seth Anderson: 59:57

and your podcast,

Unknown: 59:59

the executive mute. Also, you can find that on our website. All roads lead to our website. You can find everything from there level 50 do.ca.

Seth Anderson: 1:00:08

Awesome. Well, thanks again for joining us today and look forward to connecting with you in the future. I think you've got a really cool program and I don't know JP, something we might benefit from.

JP Gaston: 1:00:19

Yeah, I think so too. Likewise, guys, this was a great discussion. Thanks for having me on. Thanks, Jason. Appreciate it. You have a great week. Okay. Yeah. Thanks. You too. Okay. Take care. Thanks, Jason. Take care. Thanks to Jason Kraus from level 52 for joining us today.

Unknown: 1:00:41

Now, stay tuned for the podium. Brought to you by beyond the beaten path. Visit beyond the beaten path.ca

Seth Anderson: 1:00:49

o JP, I don't think we disappointed with our rousing intro about how great that episode was.

JP Gaston: 1:00:57

Just we did not have destination items.

Seth Anderson: 1:01:04

Yes, no destination itis. Hope you guys enjoyed the journey to this week's beyond the beaten path podium.

JP Gaston: 1:01:12

That might be the best segue that we have ever had. By the way.

Seth Anderson: 1:01:16

What's it I

JP Gaston: 1:01:17

made me? Use the angry face as we always ask.

Seth Anderson: 1:01:24

This week we were in spired to go multiple directions. With the podium. It took us a little while to land on one topic. There

JP Gaston: 1:01:35

was just so much in the episode for us. Like we always try and tie it back to something in the episode or some sort of national day or something like that. That's a fun. There's just so much content in that packed little episode for us to choose from that we we had some back and forth on what would be best

Seth Anderson: 1:01:52

what we seriously contemplated getting our good pal Jordan west on the horn because it's national cheese fondue day.

JP Gaston: 1:02:01

I don't think he's gone to try that fondue yet at that the grizzly house.

Seth Anderson: 1:02:05

No, I would imagine not on a on a counter the COVID he could

JP Gaston: 1:02:10

drive I mean, it's only 12 hours.

Seth Anderson: 1:02:14

We still need to I always thought that infographic on the the fondues and font don'ts but for another day, contemplated doing my top 25 DMX songs. But you know, we'll save that

JP Gaston: 1:02:28

for another day. We'll save that for eight and a third podiums, and

Seth Anderson: 1:02:36

no, so in all seriousness, we landed on, pump the down top three times that we have leveled up in honor of level 52.

JP Gaston: 1:02:49

Three out of 50 Oh, we've added together six out of 52.

Seth Anderson: 1:02:52

Well, I got a runner up. So that makes it a seven.

JP Gaston: 1:02:58

I should have just known you had a runner, I should have just rounded it to 10 and assumed you had a runner up?

Seth Anderson: 1:03:04

Well, I thought the levels What can I say? What did you john, I

JP Gaston: 1:03:07

guess I I did make you go first last time, didn't I?

Seth Anderson: 1:03:10

I did. Yeah. Sure. So

JP Gaston: 1:03:14

I've got three, I think very different ones. The first level up for me was actually moving out west. It was it was an incredibly difficult decision. For those who don't know, I I grew up and spent the first 20 some years of my life 25 years of my life in Ontario, and then decided to move out west and kind of just pack up everything and go. I didn't have anything in particular other than a not the greatest job on the planet holding, holding me back. So my sister asked if I'd move out and help out with the kids and I could find a job out here once I got out here and I said,

Seth Anderson: 1:03:54

heck yeah. Feed basically came on here to be in like a

JP Gaston: 1:03:59

podcast I came on. take a while.

Seth Anderson: 1:04:05

All right. All right. Yeah. Dreams. I get it.

JP Gaston: 1:04:09

Yeah, well taken a risk, right. Like it was I literally like my sister was here. So it's not like I had nothing. But I wasn't going to a job. I was living in my sister's basement. I was a Manny. My job was for the first couple of months out here at which I loved by the way. Yeah, it was a it was a fantastic move, inspired by coming out here to visit and going out to the mountains. There is just something about those mountains that you get out there for the first time they draw you

Seth Anderson: 1:04:35

even just living in Calgary and seeing them every day. I feel like my life is better.

JP Gaston: 1:04:41

Yeah, I know. We have some international listeners. So when travel is available again. Come check out the Rockies. I don't even think it matters. If you come through Calgary. If you do come through Calgary, let us know we'll give you some coffee.

Seth Anderson: 1:04:52

I feel like if you're traveling internationally, you probably have to come through Keller,

JP Gaston: 1:04:56

but you could go to Edmonton. I mean not that anyone wants to but choice. This is how we get, right? Yeah. Just try to try to generate comments and more angry face.

Seth Anderson: 1:05:14

I'm still trying to figure out how Edmonton was ranked in the top 10 places of the world to visit by National Geographic. Like,

JP Gaston: 1:05:21

I don't think that that's a slight to Edmonton. By the way, when you say that I got no like I can, yeah, I can think of a lot of interesting places to visit before Edmonton.

Seth Anderson: 1:05:33

Like credit cash.

JP Gaston: 1:05:38

That, that may have been a slight. Alright, I shall move on. Before we kill our listener base in North Central Alberta. Number two for me is season two of this very show, I think has been incredible, and a bit of a turning point. And it's nothing to do with, with, you know, the guests or anything that we had in season one, it totally has to do with our ability to improve ourselves as we move into season two. And not just that we've actually won an award. For those who who don't know, hopefully, you know, but we won the Ava digital Gold Award. So we still got some room, we can get a platinum. But yeah, I would say that that's in this episode, we'll see why maybe with this podium, I mean, maybe if there's any votes coming from Edmonton. And then number one for me less of a moment and more of a timeframe. And it's actually 2020 and a little bit in 2019. But mostly 2020 2020 was a big year for me in leveling up, I got my PMP certification, I got certified as a coach for business coach certified as an entrepreneur coach and certified as a mindfulness coach. All in sort of a slightly more than a year timeframe. It was about a year. So it was a it was a big year that was and that was a big level up. For me, coaching is something that I'm pretty passionate about as hopefully everyone knows. And you know, now having that framework along with the project management framework. So some of the business side is a really good thing for me to start to use in life.

Seth Anderson: 1:07:17

That's awesome. That's great list.

JP Gaston: 1:07:20

What What say you good sir,

Seth Anderson: 1:07:22

but I get no Edmonton bashing and my list so

JP Gaston: 1:07:26

I've already ruined my in laws live in Edmonton is gonna be a good visit next time I head up.

Seth Anderson: 1:07:36

I was basically born in Edmonton. So it's been

JP Gaston: 1:07:39

all downhill since then Seth.

Seth Anderson: 1:07:41

Basically born in Edmonton. All right, so runner up. This week, the Honorable Mention and leveling up

JP Gaston: 1:07:50

on my, my podium of three number four TCK, some in the like 100 or less. just kept rattling off more and more. I know I'm only doing 100 but this week at 100 and June.

Seth Anderson: 1:08:08

You can't box me in JP. I try. I was thinking specifically of leveling up. And you and I have both played a lot of video games in our life. Do you remember the first video game you ever beat the whole thing?

JP Gaston: 1:08:23

Oh, man, it might have been Mario. The original Mario?

Seth Anderson: 1:08:29

Yeah, I don't. I don't think I beat Mario or Sonic without like a Game Genie? I think really?

JP Gaston: 1:08:37

Yeah. Or like a controller with a turbo button so that you can run endlessly.

Seth Anderson: 1:08:42

Yeah, I might have done it later. But I still remember the first video game I ever beat the whole thing without any assistance whatsoever with Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation, the original PlayStation. And all I remember is like I remember a couple things. But I specifically remember there was this level where you had to write a tiger on the Great Wall of China. And you had to like beat it in a certain amount of time and get all the mangoes and like I was to play that level for three months straight. Just a couple like really hard parts and you had to get like all the mangoes or something. Anyway, that was the first video game I ever beat the whole thing picturing

JP Gaston: 1:09:27

you going to the great wall to visit and being like where are all the Tigers

Seth Anderson: 1:09:30

manga. That is my runner up. Number three, very similar, actually, to year number three in when I got a promotion, but six years ago now actually six years ago last week, I made a Facebook official because it came up on my memory. So you know roughly six years ago I got a promotion, Facebook official and You know, that in itself was leveling up, for sure, in every way, shape or form, but also, it led to us moving to Calgary. Which I think, you know, one of the things that Caitlin and I had as a common goal for a long time was to move out of Wainwright. So

JP Gaston: 1:10:22

I've already alienated Edmonton, I am gonna say nothing about this.

Seth Anderson: 1:10:27

Nothing against the great people of Wayne, right. But, you know, if you took a poll of from people there of things to do,

JP Gaston: 1:10:33

both of them would say there's not much,

Seth Anderson: 1:10:38

slightly limited. So moving to Calgary, and getting a promotion and all that, that was definitely a leveling up of sorts, and, you know, paved the way for the next few years of my life. And I think one of the things I liked the most about that level up was just being able to get Linden into all kinds of sports and activities. And we probably like quadruple down on that just, he was in everything I remember, He even took cooking lessons, like we just put them in everything. But it was great. It was great. I was actually saying the other day, the biggest thing I miss in COVID is probably going swimming because him and I used to do that we used to go to like different pools around the city. And we would probably once a week go swimming. And so anyway, that was a big level up. Number two, I'm going to take the other angle, I think of The Biz Dojo, which was starting it, I think was a big level up, you know, it's one of those things where I think you and I had talked about starting a podcast years ago, just sort of, in passing, like, hey, do that. And I probably talked to 20 other people along the way. So yeah, we should start a podcast and just actually taking a step forward and doing it. You know, and where that's led. And, you know, obviously you talked about the award and some of the guests and but just having an opportunity to get to meet so many amazing people and hear their stories and share their experiences and grow our networks. You know, just in such a organic and you know, meaningful way it's been it's just been amazing. And you know it all it all everything starts small, right? Like it started. You know, I still have a picture somewhere that I took over the napkin of the napkin biz ninjas, which was the original name. Why do I Why do I see bids business just.

JP Gaston: 1:12:34

And we've expanded beyond yyc so glad glad we dropped the yyc at the very least.

Seth Anderson: 1:12:40

Well, I was gonna say it. I think I said in the preamble when we were chatting, the one thing I was not expecting to be having to do, you know six months ago is coordinate interviews overseas with somebody people. Time. So anyway, we're getting well versed in time zones. If nothing else, I've leveled up my game and timezone knowledge and management. And then lastly, very similar again to yours. It's funny because you know, we're both sitting here quietly filling out our, our tests, if you will, prior to when we finally landed on this subject. And honestly, I'm in the same boat in terms of I wrote down family slash lifestyle, but you know, really in 2020 similar timeframe to starting the podcast. And you know, going out for a hike with Linden, I wouldn't Bragg Creek, and just being like, we should live out here. And all the rational reasons why we couldn't or wouldn't, or didn't, I just put that all aside, and I was like, This is what we want to do. This is what's right for our family, we're going to set up, we're going to start living the lifestyle that we that we want to live that we've dreamt to live. And it was just amazing. Once that decision was made, and agreed on and everybody was on board how I'm gonna say easily, even though it's, you know, it's never easy, but seemingly easily. Everything just fell into place. Like, we had no thought in our heads about selling our house. In fact, we had just decided, you know what, we're good. Maybe we should re up our mortgage and stay for another five years and like, we weren't even we weren't even thinking about moving and then it was like, Okay, let's just let's see what happens and it's sold on the first viewing. So then we're sitting there with, we're like, Okay, well, I guess we're moving nowhere to live when we didn't have a house bought.

JP Gaston: 1:14:42

Yeah, I remember you texting me and saying I'm homeless.

Seth Anderson: 1:14:49

with six weeks to figure it out. And you know, we were pretty set on Redwood Meadows for a few reasons. And it's not like there's just a plethora of houses for sale. out here, there's only 300 of them to begin with. And we were actually getting down to the last week where it was like, Okay, if we don't get anything this week, we're gonna start looking for like an apartment to rent or something. And then, you know, this house, came on the market on a Sunday morning, and we came and looked at it on Monday and put an offer on it, and everything just fell together. So, you know, I think it's the lot. You know, we talked in the interview, we've talked in multiple interviews about mindset, and, you know, passion, and all these different things. And I think lifestyle is hugely important, and figuring out who you are and what you want, you know, in order to come up with that lifestyle. And that's really what we've been living in the last year. And sounds like, you know, largely, you're in the same boat. And it's a pretty, pretty amazing feeling.

JP Gaston: 1:15:47

Yeah, having gone through a year of turmoil while still accomplishing some things along the way, and coming out on the other side, feeling pretty good about where I'm at and what I'm doing right now. So I hear you, I don't know that I'm ready to move up. And leave myself to the very last minute to have a house. But taking those risks is important to

Seth Anderson: 1:16:11

you for money, I would highly recommend it. Although I did see that Calgary and Edmonton are rated as the two most affordable cities in Canada to live period. I

JP Gaston: 1:16:18

don't know that Redwood Meadows makes the list as they are not a city.

Seth Anderson: 1:16:22

Well, whatever. I would highly recommend to anyone that in any way, shape or form like nature, where you live that this is the place to be. But the houses sell really fast. Like I've probably seen, seven to 10 houses come on the market already this spring, and they're all sold already. Like it's just

JP Gaston: 1:16:41

yeah, I occasionally scroll past when I'm looking at what's on the market. Not that we're looking but you know, you're always looking at what's available. So every time I scroll past I'm like, Oh, look, there's four and then the next day I scroll past I'm like there's one.

Seth Anderson: 1:16:59

move quick. Mark. Thanks for joining us this week and see everyone next week.