The Ultimate Guide to Google Ads for 2023 | Part 5: Performance Max

[00:00:00] Andre: Jesse, I would love to, to kind of actually start with your story, right?

[00:00:03] Andre: You talk about addiction recovery, talk about how we're all recovering from something. How did you end up here? Walk me through your own personal journey.

[00:00:10] Jesse: Thanks for allowing me to share my story. I mean, at one point this story was the most important thing. I felt I could offer the world, and now I realize like sometimes you need to redefine this story.

[00:00:19] Jesse: And I really have, especially in the last few years and the way I tell this story. I would say like today, my story is more of inspiration and more of less grief and pain than it has been even in the recent times. And I share that because, for me and, like many of my mentors have studied is addiction, a lot of times starts with trauma.

[00:00:40] Jesse: It starts with trauma. And trauma can be passed down from your grandparents, it can be passed down from your parents, caregivers, all different types. It was certainly true in my case. the story that I used to kind of tell myself, which sometimes we tell ourselves stories that are not completely accurate,

[00:00:55] Jesse: the root of all of my trauma came from my dad leaving when I was four, never returning back. And yeah, that was a big wound,but that's not really, was not the root, root cause of why I chose to start to numb out of my life. And we numb out in all different types of ways.

[00:01:11] Jesse: So when I'm speaking of addiction, I'm not saying just of numbing out with, crystal meth or, cannabis. I'm talking about numbing out with sugar. I'm talking about numbing out with yelling at your kids. I'm talking about Numbing out with emotional addictions, when we get to the emotional addiction, then we get to fear and then we get to the trauma root and the causal emotions of why this all happens.

[00:01:32] Jesse: So a lot of times when I, people ask me, Hey, where did it all start? Tell me about it. It's, yeah, it did start at home. It started with the dab leaving. picking up my first drug, which was fantasy. And what I mean by that is internet pornography, which today it's just like more rampant than ever.

[00:01:49] Jesse: And so everywhere. But when I was doing that in 1996, in 1997, it looked a little different, but it was, High speed internet pornography, mm-hmm. That's really where I started to numb out of my reality. And then of course, internet gaming, you can be a professional athlete now with that, which is cool, but at the time, for me, that was another way to kind of numb out of my emotions and so numb out of the pain and the grief that I.

[00:02:17] Jesse: eventually, high school became, a place of just adding to my trauma in grief, which eventually led to me going to a school at college where I was inevitably gonna flunk out because when I got there, I really didn't know anything about myself other than I wanted to escape what was going on between my two ears and in my body.

[00:02:38] Jesse: that's what happened. I flunked out and then it didn't take long for me to kind of, accelerate, the pain I was feeling to numb it out and then my father had passed away. around this time after flunking out, and that just accelerated me to really levels of self-destruction and self violence that, I wouldn't wish on anyone.

[00:02:56] Jesse: And I know people who are going through this and, some of these people are entrepreneurs by the way, and high level and, and the tech space. I'm not just talking about someone who's down the street who has fentanyl addiction. I'm talking about high level entrepreneurs are going through this as well.

[00:03:09] Jesse: We've lost some of them recently. Some really amazing people in this space, due to addiction. I'm really just speaking to try to speak to everyone when I'm talking about this cuz we all have trauma, we all have our own things we battle, and to me, addiction just exists on a scale. So summit's food is a very addicting thing to people.

[00:03:27] Jesse: For others it's the emotional addiction where you're addicted to, this ability to live in perfectionism, but you never get there. Procrastination is an addiction. It does and can lead to alcoholism and it can lead to things that don't serve you. once I hit 22 years old is when everything kind of stopped, meaning, I was arrested and things got real serious and, uh, everything caught up to me,

[00:03:52] Jesse: I was very blessed in many ways that that happened, and it's kind of like we talk about these sacred wounds that we have and we could talk about 'em in a positive light or a really negative light. And for me, being arrested was the game changing moment for me to start to really understand. What is addiction?

[00:04:09] Jesse: What is mental health? What is recovery? What does that mean? And I never cared about it cuz no one ever even talked about it or showed me what that could be. And so I went on my journey of that. And so that's just a long way of saying, you know, that's kind of the backstory at a high level. And then, you know, we can talk about the journey.

[00:04:29] Jesse: Of, what would be my version of recovery?

[00:04:32] Andre: So what is recovery in your, opinion, and what is particular about. Recovery model, if you will, like how you see recovery. where do you kind of overlap with maybe traditional 12 steps or something like that versus what you do on a regular basis with, your trauma informed approach. kind of share some goods on that a little bit.

[00:04:54] Jesse: I did come from a traditional 12 step model because when you're arrested and you're in a federal court and they're saying, okay, you better not do anything, no alcohol, no drugs, nothing. They're also saying, here's a therapist we're gonna provide you, and here's 12 step meetings you can go to.

[00:05:08] Jesse: That's their subscription for recovery. So the prescription for recovery in the court system is 12 step meetings and maybe in a therapist that they'll pay for. That's it. So they're not gonna pay for any other types of treatment. So that, so, so it's like, go to these meetings and that's what I did and get your paper signed.

[00:05:26] Jesse: And I did that for many years and it was very helpful. And I met amazing because the power of the 12 step community is the, And then when you get into that, you learn about the principles that are inside of the 12 steps. And there's a lot of powerful, universal, ancient wisdom inside of those 12 steps.

[00:05:44] Jesse: But it's another tool. So it's not an end all, be all. That's a tool. And so I started to work through those. I started to help others through that. I gained a community of people. And I never had that. I never had like true, authentic friendships with men. You know, I started gaining that then with women and started to have these deep, intimate relationships.

[00:06:04] Jesse: And eventually what happens is it starts to evolve. Evolution is a guarantee. So it's like I was evolving and I was starting to becoming more entrepreneurial nature. So I started to look towards breath work. I started to look towards self-regulation skills. I started to look towards things that are like cold therapy.

[00:06:23] Jesse: Cold therapy became. Super powerful catalyst for me, 2015 where I just was like addicted in many ways to the power of the endorphin rush and the resilience factor and the confidence I got coming out of a cold shower or a cold plunge. And so these are things that I started to bring in. So when we talk about recovery, it could be a hundred different tools.

[00:06:46] Jesse: We're talking about 12 steps is one of them. The power of the community or some would call it the fellowship, is another. These are all vital for societal wellbeing. Nevermind just recovery, like being tribal, having a, you know, values and principles we live by. Like, these are, these are important I think, for humanity, but yes, in the recovery community they, they exist for some and not for all.

[00:07:08] Jesse: So I think, you know, for me, as I evolved into this recovery space, you know, we can kind of go into this is, you know, Is finding all these ways to try to hit, to reach these deep causal emotions and trauma that I couldn't reach just by sitting in a meeting or by talking to a friend. Like when I started to get into the body, like as they say, the body keeps the score.

[00:07:32] Jesse: You know that famous book? It's like, mm-hmm. That's VanDerKolk. You end up having this like visceral reaction where you realize the issues are in the tissues and you start to have these experiences. But it took me many years to get to that.

[00:07:45] Andre: Mm-hmm. Beautiful. And I mean, we've had a couple of, of, uh, folks on the show where we've talked about the body keeps the score and, you know, these sorts of concepts because it's always interesting to like kind of bridge the gap with someone who's maybe a little bit more versed in these these topics to someone who maybe is a little bit.

[00:08:03] Andre: New to these ideas, uh, when they say, oh, you know, trauma is what's leading to your addiction, or, or in general, trauma is leading to your dysregulation of your nervous system or whatever people like to say about it. There's always kind of the critic who might say, I didn't have any trauma. You know, I, I had, uh, a great childhood.

[00:08:23] Andre: Jesse, what are you talking about? You know, I know other people who have had tremendous traumas and were sexually abused or physically abused or, you know, their father left them or whatever. These big things, moments happened in their lives. But, you know, my life has been great. So what, what would you say to someone like that who feels like, man, I still find myself in addictive patterns, but maybe I don't identify as having trauma.

[00:08:49] Andre: Uh, what would

[00:08:50] Jesse: you say to that? Yeah, and that's very common, right? I mean, a lot of people in the entrepreneur world, in the world that I'm in, that's like, well, I never had any trauma. But then when I get to know them and I, they start to talk to me, I'm like, brother or sister, that's trauma. Like when they start to share with me that their best friend moved away at 10, or their parents split at.

[00:09:13] Jesse: Divorce, like this is trauma. You just don't look at it as trauma because the world never gave you a definition of trauma that actually made sense to you. So you know, in many ways, We, no, I, there's not many. We all have trauma. Like there's, we do, it's just, it's just what is trauma? How do we define trauma?

[00:09:32] Jesse: And for some it's like, no, I just got through that. But how did you really get through it? What defensive coping mechanisms did you use? And then as you get to know someone, you can start to pick 'em up and those things are still playing out today. And they actually built a whole business around those.

[00:09:47] Jesse: And so that became the catalyst behind their. Is avoiding the pain that they didn't even realize they had because they didn't even know that they had trauma. So I think that that's what I would say to someone is just get curious about yourself. Get curious of why things trigger you. Why do things, why, how come this doesn't affect me, but it affects you when I say these things?

[00:10:08] Jesse: And, and that can start to reveal these deeper layers. And I would say, you know for sure though, I do believe that we all have trauma passed on from generations before us.

[00:10:19] Andre: Yeah, I mean, that's, that's beautiful. You, you mentioned something about the 12 steps in, uh, having powerful, universal, ancient wisdom.

[00:10:27] Andre: Uh, you're talking about, um, trauma being passed on, you know, from generations before us. It, it seems like in some ways there's a little bit of a metaphysical, um, Lens, uh, I don't obviously want to put that necessarily on you. I want want you to speak to whether you would, would adopt that concept or not.

[00:10:47] Andre: But like, it feels like maybe you're, you have some spiritual concepts as well that, that play into this. Uh, how does that, how does this work and, you know, your, your spiritual worldview, kind of connect the dots into the, to the here and now and the practical, uh, process of healing. Any thoughts on that?

[00:11:06] Jesse: Yeah, definitely. Like I've been really graced with incredible mentors and incredible coaches in my life that have helped me in those areas, you know, because, you know, as, as you as when you're, when you're, even if you're not an entrepreneur, coaching is a very beautiful thing. You know, when I was in Verizon, uh, uh, I hired a coach and it made no sense, and no one even told me to do it.

[00:11:26] Jesse: My intuition did, and then eventually I, I left that company to continue to follow. My intuition with also my mind and my intellect and while, while having a coach. And so I say that because at one point I also hired a spiritual coach, and someone might be like, what? What the heck does that mean? Well, it just means how do I tap into the masculine and feminine energies that exist within me?

[00:11:49] Jesse: How do I tap into. The religiosity that I grew up with and really see how that has played and shaped my spiritual world today, and how I can maybe even incorporate some more of this. But there's things blocking me due to past programming. So I think like, you know, there's all different types of mentors and coaches and teachers that can come into your life, and for me it plays a huge role and that's why I've invested into it, even with a coach, to go into the spiritual world and really to honestly now at this.

[00:12:19] Jesse: Lead with that in many ways. Of course, my mind, I'm a mental person. I'm in my mind. I create worlds in my mind, but that has cost me a lot of grief and pain. And yes, it's got degrees and it, it, it produced all this fruit, but I could have. Challenged that and done that another way as well. And that's hard to say because the ego's so strong.

[00:12:42] Jesse: Mm-hmm. But I would say that the spiritual part of my life, which is really just coming into science now, science is talking about this, it's really just tapping into this field of possibilities, which is called the Higgs field. New science is now showing this and someone using a more esoteric term of the divine matrix.

[00:13:00] Jesse: But if you really understand and you do your research, you understand where this comes. And so for me, I love really tapping into this because I'm into heart math and heart math is showing the science. I have over 400 peer reviewed studies about the, the heart and about the heart has its own nervous system.

[00:13:16] Jesse: And so tapping into the heart, brain coherence. So we're now showing this through the science. And so it's like, this has been ancient wisdom for thousand tens of thousands of years, but now science is catching up and it's showing this. So I really like to lead with that. Even with businesses, I. You know, I'm not calling it necessarily meditation, I might say self-regulation to meet them in the language where they're at.

[00:13:40] Jesse: Cuz, cuz you know, that has a lot of stigma. Just like mental, the word mental health has a lot of stigma. Addiction has a lot of stigma. So meditation has a lot of stigma. So maybe I use the word self-regulation and so yeah. I'll kind of digress there. No, I

[00:13:55] Andre: love it. I mean, heart math. Tell me a little bit about heart math because, um, um, because I, I.

[00:14:01] Andre: I agree with everything you're saying and also I, I sense that there's always someone out there who's like, this is a bunch of Huey Fuey, so like this is something that bridges the gap, right? Uh, between kind of the woo-hoo right? We might say and like the hard scientific approach. What, what is heart math?

[00:14:20] Jesse: Yeah, so like what is heart math, right? Like, because I'm in heart math and I've taken some of the trainings, I could, I could say it a few different ways. What it is. Like, one of the ways I heard it said, which is really funny, is it's the math of the heart, the math of the heart. So it's really interesting.

[00:14:36] Jesse: Who would've thought, who would've thought. But, uh, you know, it's really about connecting to the intuitive intelligence of mm-hmm. The heart and the brain and the thalmus and the way this, this setup works where the mm-hmm. The heart actually, where, where, this is through science. We're showing that the heart connects more to the brain and the brain connects to the heart.

[00:14:55] Jesse: So as we discover these, these new ways of tapping into hard intelligence, we start to realize like, oh my God, this is ways that I, these are ways that I can actually reduce stress and anxiety just by getting into personal coherence. And so what is coherence? You know, and that's a big part of heart math is coherence in using H R V monitors, which are blowing up now with aura rings and whoop bands mm-hmm.

[00:15:19] Jesse: And all these things. But, um, heart mass has their own tools too, like the inner balance. And the M Wave Pro, and they can monitor the coherence levels, which is really monitoring H R V levels. And so I know I might be saying terms that are jargon at some, but you can look this stuff up. It's really becoming really big at this time.

[00:15:39] Jesse: So really it's about how do I have harmonious and compassionate care for myself? And I can actually do that by creating personal coherence with myself, which is like an optimal state of the heart, the brain, the emotions, um, being in harmony and in sync. Well, how do I do that? I can do that with my breathing and then I can buy one of these sensors in, see, in real time the data.

[00:16:00] Jesse: That this is actually happening. And then when I then react to a text message with anger, I can watch my H R B scores change. It's really interesting. So now we can measure, and so for the skeptics, you can measure to prove it to yourself with these monitors. And um, you know, so HeartMath is really just an organization that really started to come around the.

[00:16:21] Jesse: With Doc Child's work, Dr. Ro McCree, Dr. Deb, Deborah Rosman, in their work, and some people would call them esoteric out there, and that's okay too because mm-hmm. We're watching these new science and studies emerge to be like, whoa, we have to kind of take another look at this. I think.

[00:16:38] Andre: Absolutely. I love it, man.

[00:16:39] Andre: And I love the the approach right of monitoring as well. And I think it's like, When you're able to witness, we all know the feeling, right? We know that our, our nervous system and our breathing is disregulated when we respond with anger. And it's just putting it all into, into practice and it's, uh, some sort of way that the brain can wrap its head around.

[00:16:58] Andre: Uh, you mentioned intuition a few times. It's one of your specialties, kind of following your intuition. How does that show up in your life and how can someone get more connected with their intuition in your opinion?

[00:17:09] Jesse: Yeah, I mean the, that, that also is a, as a, as a packed word when you say intuition, you know, if I said it to my mom, she thinks it's the devil.

[00:17:17] Jesse: But if I say it to someone else, they're like, oh yeah, my gut instincts the way I feel intuitively in my body about something. And a lot of entrepreneurs, like many famous entrepreneurs, talk about intuition and how they trusted their gut before making some of the biggest decisions of their life. And so I.

[00:17:33] Jesse: Intuition is really just me honoring my body cuz I'm living in my head most of my life. So my intuition is like this, this connection to my body, it's connection to my, my physical heart, my body. You know, we have adrenal glands, we have all these things that produce serotonin, not just our brain. So we have these other parts of the body that also are systems and, and, and endocrine glands that are connected to this other nervous system that the gut has and the heart has.

[00:18:03] Jesse: And so to me, intuition, if we're just talking like quote unquote physical body science, like that's what it is, endocrine system and the heart. But the reality is intuition is like why you make certain decisions and you can't explain it every time because it's like, Whoa, that was like, some might call it, uh, out of the blue experience or a synchronicity, and some might even call it a God shot or God wink, whatever you wanna call it, based on what you've learned to call it.

[00:18:34] Jesse: To me, intuition is happening every moment of every day because when I really open my eyes to new awareness, I start to see things I never could see before. So the intuition is me kind of getting out of my head and allowing it to just. Oh, what, what's going on here in my body? Intuition is, to me, it's connected to the heart brain coherence as well.

[00:18:55] Jesse: I

[00:18:55] Andre: love it. And I think, uh, one of my favorite thought leaders is, uh, John VivaKi. Uh, for the listeners, if you haven't checked out Awakening from the Meeting Crisis, he has some really good stuff on intuition, uh, that I would encourage people to check out. He's a professor at the University of Toronto. And I mean, it sounds like what you're talking about is this flow state, right?

[00:19:14] Andre: Like mm-hmm. Really like leaning in, listening, not just with your ears, um, not just to the voice inside your head, but like listening with your entire body and then asking like, what is this moment need for me? And then respondent, right. Responding accordingly. Whether that's your intuition, your conscience, you know, uh, divine intervention, however you wanna call it.

[00:19:36] Andre: I think that's beautiful. Um, walk me through, like, you know, one of the, one of the things you mentioned is like resilience. You even have a book about breaking through your comfort zone using the power of cold therapy. Uh, I, I wonder to what extent those are, those are related, but you, you seem to be a master of resilience in somebody who's, uh, overcome a lot in your.

[00:19:57] Andre: And then now actively seek situations where you can practice resilience. How does resilience show for you and why is it so important? And then how can someone develop

[00:20:06] resilience

[00:20:07] Jesse: as well? Yeah. I mean, resilience I think is in many ways the cornerstone of people who come through mental health and addiction recovery challenges.

[00:20:15] Jesse: Mm-hmm. I think resilience is a strength that you'll see the most in people that come through that, and it's not just addiction, recovery, mental health, it's, it's, it's, it's so many other things. It's the stigma, it's the racism and prejudice and the challenges that people face that I don't face. Because of the color of my skin, but they face it.

[00:20:34] Jesse: So it's the resilience of really rising up from all of these challenges that happen to you, and using the resilience to be a catalyst for change for yourself, and then service to others and resilience To me, when I'm outta my comfort zone, that's where all of my growth lies for the most part. Yeah.

[00:20:51] Jesse: Sometimes that can be in a yin state, and I'm in this. You know, calming state. But for the most part, where my biggest growth comes is when I'm in this fiery, masculine out of my comfort zone state and I'm in the unknown. And that takes resilience when I'm in that place. And resilience isn't just like this mask and energy.

[00:21:11] Jesse: Resilience is also your intuition. You can resilient heart and mind. Mm-hmm. And so that's a big part of heart mass work too, is talk about the resilient heart. And that is using your non-local intuition to make decisions even in businesses. And so they talk about that. And so I think, uh, resilience is just a really big part of like how.

[00:21:33] Jesse: I got to where I was and some of it was done with rigidity. And so that's what I'm healing as I get older is like getting so much out of the rigidity of, of that resilience and stepping into the balance. A more of a balance where, yeah, I love to do cold plunges, I love cold showers. I love to get outta my comfort zone and do all these, these things and it's cause I have the evidence that by doing that there's so much incredible growth On the other side, it's undeniable.

[00:22:02] Jesse: And so now I just know like, oh, okay. I'm in a comfort zone right now. Let me just, you know, let me also appreciate my feelings of whatever I. Appreciating and or, or grief or anything that I'm emo but also I'm gonna eventually be taking some action. And that action could be me reaching out to a friend asking for help, which is outta my comfort zone that takes resilience.

[00:22:24] Jesse: So resilience to me is just a really powerful, um, strength that is both masculine and feminine,

[00:22:32] Andre: you know, and I think about the listener who's listening right now. Maybe he is struggling with addiction, right? Maybe it's alcohol, maybe it's drugs, maybe it's porn. Maybe it's just their phone. Maybe it's, you know, distraction.

[00:22:45] Andre: Maybe it's whatever. Um, I can almost guarantee there's someone listening who's struggling with addiction, um, and we talk about resilience. What would the message be to this person who, who is starting to become aware they have a problem, but maybe just doesn't necessarily feel like they have the place to start?

[00:23:08] Andre: Or they feel like they have a. You know, they have the strength to overcome the addiction, uh, whether it's related to resilience or something else. Like what, what would you recommend to them? Is that like a, a starting place for them?

[00:23:23] Jesse: Yeah. And so like, like I mentioned earlier, like addiction really exists on a spectrum, right?

[00:23:27] Jesse: You might have someone who's sitting homeless, who has got a needle in their arm, and where do they go from there? What resources and supports would they do? Hmm. And someone might say, well, that's not me. Well, that is some. And there's also the person who is in their job, nine to five, they. That they could make at least half their income by starting that business and really getting out there and living their purpose.

[00:23:51] Jesse: Maybe it is even, is even to serve people. Serve people in addiction recovery. Maybe even it's, it's that coincidence, but they're not doing it because they're still stuck in the shame spiral. They're stuck in the shame spiral of addiction and they don't want to come out and say anything because they know that that perception of them is going to be.

[00:24:14] Jesse: Stigmatize and it's, and, and, and they're also not gonna be able to really trust that they're gonna get the support they need, because what models exist in our culture today that when you come out and ask for help, you're embraced with a warm hug and you're gonna get all the support you need. That's not what happens now.

[00:24:31] Jesse: It can happen, does not happen very often, especially for this, this, the person suffering. Which is many people who could be listening that they're suffering silently, and it might not even be addiction. It could be some type of obsessive behavior that you cannot figure out how to get through with all the podcasts you've listened to and all the books you've read.

[00:24:51] Jesse: And so what I would say is like the first step is just being like, okay, this is what's happen. And just admit it that this is what's happening to me. I am, maybe I am addicted. Maybe this is something that I, and then you, and then you look back like, I've been doing this seven years. Yeah. This is something I need to look at.

[00:25:10] Jesse: And then the next step is, who can I reach out to that can help me? That has already gone where I've been. Already gone where I want to go and, and, and what did they do? And then that's why more people talking about this and I'm so grateful that you brought me on. The more people that talk about their story, do you know how many people I've coached that are.

[00:25:32] Jesse: Have millions of dollars that are deep into addictions in different places in their life, and they'll never come out and talk about this. They'll never share about it. They'll never go to Alco anonymous of these meetings, but they get the help they need. And this is what I'm saying, it's like there's help available.

[00:25:50] Jesse: And so whether that's like finding a author that you can connect to or finding a movement studio that you can get into your body, or you can start to get outside and do some earthing connect to this, these feelings that are coming up, the answers will come, and in my belief, they will come intuitively sometimes through synchronicities.

[00:26:12] Jesse: And so I would say that, you know, getting outta your comfort zone, being t. And just allowing yourself to be honest, is kind of the first step. And then guess what will happen? When you get honest, guess what's gonna happen? The door's gonna appear and you're gonna have to take the action to walk through it because someone's gonna come into your life to give you an opportunity to change it, and it might be really uncomfortable.

[00:26:36] Jesse: But at the same time, that's your opportunity. Absolutely.

[00:26:41] Andre: Thanks for sharing that. And, and again, if you're listening, just have the courage to reach out. Right. Whether that's to Jesse, myself, somebody else. You need to reach out to somebody if you really feel like you need that support. Um, you know, Jesse, you, you're an author of two books, uh, most recently, if not you, then who, uh, and I believe the other one is How to Smash Your Comfort Zone using Cold Showers.

[00:27:03] Andre: Um, I, I'm. With if not you, then who, what's the primary, um, sort of message there and what were you looking to accomplish in authoring this book? It's no small feats to become an author. I, it's one of those dreams I have someday, but I haven't taken the time to do because I know it's like, It's hard, right?

[00:27:24] Andre: Um, to really get your thoughts out there and, and to publish something, uh, for, for many reasons. But like what, why take the time to write this book and what were you really looking to accomplish and what's the main message of this book?

[00:27:37] Jesse: Yeah, so this book is um, I do believe every person has a book inside of them.

[00:27:41] Jesse: I do subscribe to that belief and I had a book in me to write, and it was this book, there was this, there was this story that I would tell, especially at 22 being arrested, and I would share these and people would be like, man, I'd really like to hear that whole story. Cause I think you could help my brother, my uncle, my aunt, someone I know.

[00:27:59] Jesse: And so I had it in me for many years to tell that part of the. But I didn't have the second half of the story yet, which was the toolkit people could use to get out of those situations. And that took my whole second half to, you know, like I said, uh, a get ask for help, get mentors, get coaches, and, and that's how the second half of the book really get written.

[00:28:19] Jesse: The first half of the book is, my story is just told ath most authentically as I can, all of it, the arrests, the traumas, all of it. And then the whole second half of the book is a. The whole second half, not one chapter. The whole second half is all these tools I learned from my mentors that were in the recovery space and not in the recovery space.

[00:28:38] Jesse: A lot of the toolkit is for entrepreneurs, it's for people who are entrepreneurs, it's for anyone. And that's why when people read my book who are quote unquote don't have addiction, which I believe everyone does, uh, they go, whoa, this really helped me. I was actually surprised. And I'm like, why were you surprised?

[00:28:55] Jesse: And that's kind of like my dialogue. It's like, It's, it's universal. This is universal and the principles and the toolkit I have, many of it is universal and. The book is really just the book I had in me to write. And then my friend Dr. Danny Friedland, rests in peace. Mm-hmm. He came into my life at a moment right before he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, and he said to me, what can I do to help you?

[00:29:20] Jesse: And I said, to be honest, I've been putting off a book for like three years, and he put me in contact with a close friend, Amanda Rooker, in her company. And I coached with her and we wrote it in 10 months. The pandemic hit, and I wrote the book in 10 months during Covid, with this person, with her accountability, and I wrote the best possible book I could write at the time.

[00:29:40] Jesse: And now, and you know, now who knows what the next one will be. It is definitely being written right now. But this book is like, if not you, then who? No one's coming to save you. It's you. You have to go out and open the door. You have to go to NAS for help. It's you. And so you have to be the one to come up with new solutions for the pandemic, for the epidemic of addiction.

[00:30:02] Jesse: For all of it. It's. And that's kind of the point in my book, no one's, and that's what I realized. I was waiting for others to like come and help people and solve the fentanyl crisis. And it's like, oh my God, no, it, it's literally me. Like I have to be entrepreneurial about this. And that's kind of the second half of the book is about that.

[00:30:18] Jesse: That's

[00:30:18] Andre: amazing. And what a great, what a great message, right? If not you, then who? And no one's coming to save you. Uh, and how often are we just, you know, I think especially these days kind of stuck in this perpetual adolescence, you know, as a society. Um, where, you know, there's just a bunch of 35 year old, 15 year olds, you know, uh, getting out there, 45 year old, 15 year olds, or 55, 15 year olds, and we just never grew up.

[00:30:46] Andre: Right. Um, and it. We have to, if we wanna make any sort of change in the world, which obviously if you're listening to this show, you have that sort of drive in you. And if you're on this show, Jesse, you have the drive in you, we have to be the ones who step up. So, um, thank you for that. Uh, walk me through, you know, some of the work that you.

[00:31:06] Andre: It's, it's kind of a cool story of how we met, right? Because we had, we had an opportunity to interact, you know, fairly briefly. It was like a weekend event with John Bergoff. And, uh, I had, I remember having a great time and, and learning so much. I know you're integral, you know, kind of connected with him in that community.

[00:31:21] Andre: Um, And also, I remember you just getting started at that moment and I was like, this guy's got something. Like, I, I really like him. I'm, I'm rooting for him. And then to watch you over the last several years, you know, take ideas and turn them into businesses, take ideas and turn them into success stories has been really cool to watch.

[00:31:41] Andre: And also I don't even know half of the story, so fill me in on like, yeah, like what are some of the successes that you've experienced? I know you work with iCare, I know you work with the state of Georgia. You know, obviously you're a published author, so like talk to us about entrepreneurship and how this all, you kind of bridged the gap into that.

[00:31:57] Jesse: Yeah, so you definitely met me at a time in the early part of the journey where I had just left my job and I was trying to figure things out and uh, you. My, the name of my business is Entrepreneurs in Recovery. So like people hear that word recovery. I think in the beginning they were kind of like, oh, I'm not in recovery.

[00:32:13] Jesse: But now as they get to know me, they're like, oh, damn. I am in recovery. I'm in recovery from workaholism. I'm in recovery from GP and stock and perfectionism and you know, so, so that. That company name that I chose, it's becoming more fitting as time comes on. But when I, when you met me, I was still trying to figure things out and I was doing a lot of work directly at Sober Living homes and addiction treatment centers and mental health centers and drug courts, and that turned out to be fruitful because that laid a foundation.

[00:32:39] Jesse: With, with, uh, an audience that really was suffering and if to be able to bring it to that audience first and then eventually get to businesses and whole systems, it was really, really fruitful to be able to meet and create psychological safety for all groups. Whether it was something someone just starting out or someone who was, uh, c a c level exec or an entrepreneur.

[00:33:01] Jesse: So, you know, that. Which you mentioned John Bergoff and his company Exchange. You know, I learned the fundamentals that I needed to be an effective guide and facilitator through what I learned through exchange to be able to take my own content and deliver it way more effectively with managing energy in a room, um, by learning these principles.

[00:33:21] Jesse: And so, I really got to, uh, put that into effect right before Covid hit with the state of Georgia when they asked me to come in to work with their RCO network, which is a Recovery Community Organization network, which covers the state of Georgia. And the Georgia Council and Substance Abuse and I got to come in and facilitate an event with the whole state.

[00:33:41] Jesse: And then they asked me to come in before Covid hit and work with them in like 12 live events, uh, to bring their whole system through system level change. Let's talk about our vision, let's talk about our mission, let's talk about our goals and how we can unify. They brought me in to do that work and Covid hit, so I had to do the whole thing online through Zoom, and it worked fantastic, which created a whole new business for me.

[00:34:04] Jesse: And so it's really a blessing in disguise. So that work has turned into me working with now, you know, um, very large companies, um, uh, larger systems of, um, let's say, um, like drug courts, larger drug courts opportunities, so government contracts, and then I. And, and, and iCare is the International Center for Addiction Recovery Education.

[00:34:30] Jesse: What does that mean? They work with companies. I designed a training called Certified Facilitator and Addiction Awareness, which is for companies, so these are facilitators that I'm training. That go into companies and they present lunch and learns and awareness of addiction and, and recovery so that they're not just relying on employee assistance programs.

[00:34:51] Jesse: They know exactly where they can go outside of those networks. And so it's really rewarding work. And so working with these different entities has been really fruitful. The work that, you know, iCare is doing, my model for addiction recovery, my vision for addiction recovery in the future is every single individual on.

[00:35:11] Jesse: Well, the United States first will be able to have a recovery coach if they want it covered by insurance, and they are really pioneering this model that could be happening next year. So I'm really excited to be involved in that and to fulfill that mission.

[00:35:27] Andre: That's so huge, man. Um, and I mean, that's. When you think about having a recovery coach available, right?

[00:35:35] Andre: Covered by insurance, I mean versus the existing model, wait till someone screws up royally and then give 'em a court assigned a therapist and tell 'em to go to a free 12 step program. Um, nothing against a 12 step program or a therapy, but this just feels like, you know, a very, uh, definitely a big step in the right direction.

[00:35:58] Andre: And it also feels like, um, It's, it's a proactive model, right? So when we think about like, how many people actually need this, who aren't getting it because A, they don't, the, the pride of course, right? The ego, um, but also just because they don't know where to turn, right? And so, I mean, why, why take this mission on, um, and try to play that big, um, what's this really about for you and what's the mission behind

[00:36:25] Jesse: it all?

[00:36:28] Jesse: Well, it comes back to, if not you, then who? Right? Or Andrew. Mm-hmm. I mean, that's what it is. It's like I, I want this for societal benefit. Mm-hmm. I want the opioid epidemic, which is caused by a number of reasons I wouldn't even get into, but I want to help to curb the pain. There's so much pain in suffering, and by bringing on someone who has never had a coach.

[00:36:49] Jesse: To be able to have a recovery coach that's professionally trained, and many of them are in recovery. There's millions of people in recovery. Mm-hmm. So they can be trained as someone who has the experience of recovery and be trained in the methodology and the I C F certification to be really legitimate and come out and teach people to have goals and stay accountable to the goals.

[00:37:11] Jesse: I mean, that's very different than therapy. That's very different than the models we have. So I person. Had a coach since 2015, and I have coached many people in and out of, you know, chronic addiction and to think that that is possible, which it is and could happen by next year, is. Beyond bliss from me because I've been in this space for 17 years and my whole life, cuz my family has been devastated by addiction.

[00:37:41] Jesse: So it's really my whole life's journey to see that every person gets an addiction recovery coach who's professionally trained. Just like when you have diabetes, you can get a coach and to have that same model for addiction, it just makes logical sense. And to see what it's done for my. I'm like, I meet gentlemen and, and, and women all the time who look, who come to me and they say, what can I do to get started?

[00:38:06] Jesse: What? And I'm like, I can give them the puzzle pieces. Who's gonna keep them accountable? I can't coach all these people and we can easily scale this. Easily scale this quickly. So, you know, it's a, it's an entrepreneurial endeavor and it's a big purpose-driven mission. And it's happening.

[00:38:23] Andre: It's amazing. Yeah.

[00:38:23] Andre: If you're listening and you feel like you're inspired by this, wanna get involved, you know, definitely reach out to Jesse. I'm sure you, you can find him on social as we're, as we're, uh, as he gives you his, uh, handles and such. Because I could also just see people wanting to support you. Right. Um, listening.

[00:38:40] Andre: Some people might need support. And then I also could see some people wanting to partner with you or support you as they're listening. I know you work with do a lot of, like, health and Yeah, of course. Uh, a lot of people, you, you work with a lot of health and wellness programs, right? Uh, for major companies and, and such.

[00:38:55] Andre: What does that even, what does that even look like and how does it tie into recovery? Um, how does that kind of manifest, uh, in the, in real terms?

[00:39:03] Jesse: Well, like when I was working for Verizon, you know, very big company, 27,000 plus employees, I was in recovery. I was, I was recovering from my mental challenge, my mental illness challenges.

[00:39:14] Jesse: I was recovering from trauma, I was recovering from addiction and I was in, and I was in even long-term recovery. But I would, I would talk to Verizon about, Hey, what are you providing for people who reach out for help and they're like, E A P E A P, eap, it would never be anything but like go to the E A P, which is Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

[00:39:29] Jesse: That wasn't a solution internally. Um, I think, I think, ask me the question again cuz I like literally just got it.

[00:39:38] Andre: It's just like, what, what sort of health and wellness programs for major companies, what, what does that even look

[00:39:42] Jesse: like? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So that's where it started for me. I was at Verizon about 14 years.

[00:39:47] Jesse: So really started this drive to be like, why isn't there more offerings inside the company with this stuff? And so I ended up, You know, as I learned the way to facilitate this technology of facilitation and then my thirst in hunger for, you know, the buzzwords now is biohacking. But really just to learn how I can live optimally.

[00:40:09] Jesse: Like how can I be, how can I feel these blissful, peak experiences just by breath, work cold showers or earthing or all these things that I do, or even optimal eating. And so, or fasting or intimate of fasting, all these things. And so I was like, man, I would love to come back into companies and teach this just like I wanted to do with Verizon.

[00:40:30] Jesse: And eventually I got the opportunity to do it in Kansas City with this company, it's about 40 million company. They brought me in to do a resilience training for two hours. And not only did they get paid, and they flew me out there, which was a big moment for me in my business. I think it was in 20 18, 20 19.

[00:40:46] Jesse: They had a huge period of growth after that event. They had kept the work that they did in that event for only two hours, and they were using the mantras and resilience affirmations that were created and the goals that were created around resilience throughout the year. And that c e o still tells me to this day, that was a game changing moment.

[00:41:07] Jesse: It was a two hour experience with me. And so that's when I was like, mm-hmm. Wow. I really wanna get back into companies. You know, really help employees that are suffering silently and anyone who really wants to be helped and with health and wellness. And guess what happened? Covid hit and that changed the game.

[00:41:24] Jesse: And mental health has become more of a conversation. So I was just in the right position. To now. Mm-hmm. And I won't name these companies, but when I start to work with them in time when I can, I'll tell, I'll tell you these, but these are companies, people know that are bringing me in to design, health and wellness workshops.

[00:41:40] Jesse: And when I ask them, what are you already doing? They're blowing my mind. They're like, oh, we have da, a weekly meditation group, we have yoga. I'm like, whoa. They're so ahead of the curb. And these are well known companies. So I'm so excited because. Covid did provide this opportunity to get serious about self-care.

[00:41:58] Jesse: And so I'm just coming in having done this my half my life now of like my passion for this. And we don't even talk about addiction. You know, we talk about, uh, self-regulation and if addiction comes up, I get to redefine addiction for people. So they're like, oh wait. Then I do have addiction. I do have emotional addictions.

[00:42:14] Jesse: And it's really exciting to work with businesses that are embracing this change. Cuz guess what happens when their employees get well. Everything gets better, bottom line performance sales. So it just makes sense and I'm so glad to see this starting to happen, these trends.

[00:42:29] Andre: That's beautiful. That's beautiful.

[00:42:31] Andre: So we always ask, uh, our guests three questions on the Better Than Rich show. Uh, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna fire a match, a rapid fire here. The first question I always ask people is, what do you think the world needs most right now?

[00:42:44] Jesse: The first word that comes to me is compass. What I think with all the divisions and everything that's going on in all different fronts, in all different industries, it's like, to me it's compassion and maybe it starts with self-compassion.

[00:42:56] Jesse: Cause I'm all about like you, if not you, the new. So it's like I'm all about you. Start at home, compassionate latitude. Start to give yourself compassion. Start to to be more compassionate when you wake up in the morning. Be compassionate when all these racing thoughts are happening about the bottom line or money not coming in and.

[00:43:15] Jesse: Also have compassion for others. Cuz if you don't give it to yourself, it is not possible to give genuine, authentic compassion to others. And so just kind of like that's the first thing that comes is just compassion for self and others.

[00:43:28] Andre: Hmm. Thanks so much. I love that answer. Uh, we also ask a practical question like what books do you recommend, uh, besides the course, your two books, but what, what one to three books do you think our audience sees exposure to, um, that are kind of your, your perennial favorite?

[00:43:44] Jesse: Hmm, that's a good question. Um, I'm, I'm a, I'm just a ferocious reader. I love to read, so there's so manys. It's almost like we'd have to pick a category, but I, I would say

[00:43:55] Andre: like exactly what, what are ones that are uniquely, like, of course we could always recommend the, the, the, the favorites that everyone knows, but what about ones that like you feel are like hidden gems that you love?

[00:44:07] Andre: So maybe what

[00:44:08] Jesse: everyone else knows. When I was still an employee at Verizon and I was like, man, I want to, I want something. There's something else I can do. I know I have it in me. If I'm making millions for them, I can do it for myself. How do I do this? I listen to the book. Um, The, uh, the leader who had no title by Robin Sharma, the leader who had no title in that book, man, was a huge catalyst for like, this awakening of like, you know, the importance of every person's role on this planet.

[00:44:37] Jesse: And just, it, it just encouraged me. So I would say, Listen to that or read that one. Um, is there more you want me to share? Whatever you like. Yeah. Yeah. So a leader had no title. Um, that's a big one. I would say for the people who are, um, looking for something that's current when it comes to addiction recovery and kind of getting out deeper into the trauma and the healing world, uh, Gabra just came up with a book called The Myth of.

[00:45:05] Jesse: So check that one out. That one just came out a few days ago and I haven't even read it, but I'm already recommending it because of his last books in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts and a couple others. Um, and I would say the last book that's coming up, and I might as well share it, is like, Again, I, I'm an entrepreneur and I'm an entrepreneur in recovery.

[00:45:25] Jesse: I'm just, I'm an entrepreneur in general, but I'm an entrepreneur in recovery and, and, and, and I gotta tell you that one of the books that really helped me to leave my job was the Success Principles by Jack Enfield. It's just like this huge book of just all these principles. It's almost like it's a cheat code.

[00:45:42] Jesse: It's like a $12 book, or it's $15 book, and it gives me. A hundred different principles and I'm just like, man, I'm grateful for books like that.

[00:45:52] Andre: Hmm. Love it. Love it. So our final question is, what does it mean to you to be better than

[00:45:59] Jesse: rich? Yeah, I mean, cuz when you say the word rich, it's like, what does that mean?

[00:46:02] Jesse: Is it rich in spirit? Is it rich in money? What is it so better than Rich? It's just kind of like having abundance in all areas of my life, not just abundance and financial. Having bananas over to my right and having a full fridge of food and having clean water, like that's what it is. That's being better than rich, that's being abundant.

[00:46:22] Jesse: I love it.

[00:46:22] Andre: Thank you so much. Hey, how can people learn more, Jesse, if they wanna learn more about what you're up to, you know, engage with you, reach out to you, connect with you, uh, where can, where can they learn, uh, more

[00:46:31] Jesse: about you and what you're up to? Yeah, they can, uh, reach out to me through Instagram, Jesse Harless 2 22 is my handle.

[00:46:39] Jesse: And then, um, Yeah, just come to my website and check out Jesse harless.com and reach out and, um, love to anyone who listens to this reach out to me. I respond to every person who reaches out and happy to share any resources I can. And I'm sure today we'll have resources shared at the end of the notes, but Correct.

[00:46:57] Jesse: Yeah. What's

[00:46:58] Andre: up guys? Biggs here. I hope you enjoyed that clip. Uh, if you did, go ahead and check out the other video that's being recommended on the screen right now. You can also subscribe to our channel. And then if you really are interested in what we do, go to automate delegate systemized.com to learn more about what we're up to.

[00:47:15] Andre: Thanks again.