Pro Mindset® Podcast

Credit Genius’ Guide to Wealth with Chris Gurski

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In this episode of Pro Mindset® Podcast, host Craig Domann sits down with former international student-athlete, entrepreneur, financial consultant, and founder of Credit Genius, Chris Gurski to explore the power of leveraging financial systems in business, sports, and everyday life. From navigating the shift toward building strong banking relationships to protecting high performers from the pitfalls of undercapitalization and burnout, Chris’ insight on personal credit, time boxing, and core discipline provides a vital playbook for growth.

Chris shares his experiences with building intentional productivity habits, the critical role of delayed gratification in long-term success, and why ignoring system advantages can derail an entrepreneur's dream of reaching their full potential. He emphasizes the importance of risk tolerance, managing internal mindsets over short-term fixes, and maintaining mental clarity in high-stakes environments. Chris also highlights the vital role of physical health with personal discipline and embracing the lifelong journey of building a legacy.

Additionally, Chris balances his financial expertise with years of deep international growth and business building. His friendship and mutual respect with Craig shines through this conversation. It's a reminder that Craig entered this business not to guard territory, but to help people achieve their goals and dreams — and Chris’s collaborative approach to building elite mindsets is living proof of that.

Episode Takeaways: 

💡 System Optimization—Master Your Financial Levers 

💡 Delayed Gratification—Build Trust Through Discipline 

💡 Holistic Focus—Release Internal Conflict for Growth

📲Connect with Chris:

🤳Facebook: @Christopher Gurski

👋LinkedIn: @Christopher Gurski

📸Instagram: @the.creditgenius

🌐Website: www.thecreditgenius.com/genius-call

🚀 Ready to Build a Mindset That Powers You Through Anything?
If Chris’s insights on finances and self-discipline inspire you, the Pro Mindset® Coaching Program can help you align your potential with purpose and adaptability.
 👉 Learn more or apply at www.ProMindsetPodcast.com/coaching or reach out directly to Craig at Craig.ProMindset@gmail.com.

#ProMindset #Mindset #CraigDomann #ProMindsetPodcast #Transformation #Belief #Subconscious #ChrisGurski #Finances #Money #Banking #Bank #SelfDiscipline #Discipline #CreditGenius #Credit #PhysicalHealth #Mind #Mentality #Finance

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (00:

01.186) Hey, welcome everyb everybody to Pro Mindset Podcast. This is your host, Craig Domann. Hey, today we have a very interesting guest on. He is from Germany. He is a university student athlete. he's an entrepreneur. He's lived in Dubai. He's lived in he currently lives in Miami. I want to welcome Chris Gurski to Pro Mindset.

Chris - The Credit Genius (00:

25.154) Thank you so much for the intro, Craig. Very happy to be on the show here and yeah, share everything about my journey and especially obviously the mindset part of it and all the ups and lows I went through to be at the point where I'm at now.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (00:

39.244) And so your your like motto right now, you're a speaker, you do different things, is it's not about working harder. It's about knowing the system. what is your what gen are you in your twenties, your thirties, your forties? What how old are you?

Chris - The Credit Genius (00:

47.917) Thanks. 56.128) I'm 28, I'm my late 20s.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (00:

58.25) Okay, so you're you're you're just hanging on, just hanging on to your 20s, okay? I've got a 28-year-old son and a 27-year-old son. So I I know the drill. working smarter, not harder, is definitely their game. What do you mean by not working harder and knowing the system? What does that mean?

Chris - The Credit Genius (01:

15.458) Mm-hmm. 22.008) It started when I firstly moved to the States in Indiana to fulfill my college experience and obviously also my swimming career. And what I realized, especially compared to Germany or Europe where I'm from, is that the system has so many potentials and opportunities, especially in the US, but many people and also Americans that I watched and they were friends or colleagues of mine. I realize many of them are not taking advantage of all the benefits and advantages of the system that the US system provides. It's also when I tuned into my passion revolving around banking and credit, because I realized, hey, we have all this potential out there, especially to leverage the system in terms of banking and credit, but almost nobody is doing it, especially to the entrepreneurs. that I was talking to many of them with bootstrapping their businesses. And I realized, hey, there must be smarter ways out there to do it. And that's when I firstly tapped into that system, basically optimize it on my own and then started teaching other fellow students and fellow professors about it. And yeah, four years later, I started my own company in that field. And now I moved back to the States to help not only Americans, but especially international entrepreneurs. on how to really get a good foundation in that system and be successful in that system with the right strategies and the right approaches, especially revolving around banking and credit.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (02:

58.509) Okay, let's dive right in. I I just want I I want to start a business and I'm undercapitalized. I need some cash. What is the like what are the fundamental steps that I need to do to be able to borrow money or use utilize use other people's money so that I can expand my business?

Chris - The Credit Genius (03:

03.618) Mm-hmm. 12.696) Mm-hmm. 20.024) It directly starts from company formation. Many of the people that come to us who have existing business formations or business incorporations, I directly see a few mistakes that... that hinder them from getting the full potential of that system in terms of having a just a PO box address or just an agent address for the business. That's what we focus on, you know, having a solid and real business address in your business formation will definitely help you to scale the lending and scale the funding possibilities in that field. And then it's, you know, it goes on. You need strong personal credit. That's, think, what many people are underestimating in that field, because especially when you're a new entrepreneur and you don't have a lot of business credit established, the first thing the banks look at is your personal credit profile, because that's what they are making their decision based on, how much credit and even if you get the credit. So that's something I definitely see all the time that people want to scale the business. They maybe already have a successful business, but they don't get the capital and funding they need in order to do that because they have a 650 credit score on the personal side and the algorithms don't like that of the banks. But that's the key part. The third part I will say is what's also highly underestimated is the relationships to the banks. It's in my opinion equally important as having a good personal and business credit score is the relationship that you have with the bank. What I mean with that is how long are your accounts established and how are you using them? You can't expect to get a multiple six-figure loan from a bank that you barely have no activity on. It doesn't have to be huge transactions, but the banks really value even smaller transactions.

Chris - The Credit Genius (05:

22.603) that show them, your business is active and operational and you're running a real business. So these three factors, personal credit, business credit with the right business address, and then also showing business activity, those are the three pillars I see to get the most success in that field and to no longer bootstrap your operations and start leveraging other people's or the bank's money.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (05:

48.303) Okay, we talked off air before we started that I spent some time in Germany because my son played football over there, and you're obviously from Germany. What's the biggest difference between 20-something-year-old business people and young men like yourself that are operating in Germany compared to maybe Miami, where Miami is kind of a hotbed for entrepreneurs?

Chris - The Credit Genius (05:

55.979) Amazing.

Chris - The Credit Genius (06:

15.211) I see some big fundamental differences between that. That was also the main reason why I never started a business in Germany. I directly went outside of the country, went to Dubai to incorporate my business and then added on the US LSC structure later on to it. In terms of mindset, I would say overall entrepreneurs in Germany They have more of a scarcity mindset. And in the US, especially in the entrepreneur field, especially in the hot cities like Miami, New York, you find people with abundance mindset. And this converts directly into their way of thinking. They're more risky, I would say, in the US. People, especially entrepreneurs in Germany, they're pretty scared. One thing why they are scared is the tax system is a lot different. Entrepreneurs in Germany, they have to prepay their taxes every quarter. So they basically have to sit, have to have a sitting fund in their bank account just to prepay their taxes. And what that creates in your mind obviously is being afraid of being underfunded and not being able to pay the government. And this creates lot of stress. And I think because of that reason, many people and entrepreneurs in Germany. don't go all in. They always want to have that safety net and don't make the investments that are required to make it through the bottom line in order to have a successful business. So most of that is partly because of the tech system, just because of the way it is set up, but also because of the banking and financial infrastructure. The same goes for the banks. They are very greedy in terms of startup money. and capital towards newer businesses because they see a high risk associated with this. Banks in the US, they're more risk friendly, I would overall say. And yeah, it's tough to get money in Europe. Many people are bootstrapping their businesses for many years and they could be more successful and scale even more if they would have the right strategies and the right setup.

Chris - The Credit Genius (08:

34.635) That's why I went all in into the States because I saw the potential and now I'm teaching other people to do the same, especially when they're coming through with a foreign background.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (08:

45.998) Okay. I did not know you had to prepay your taxes in Germany. So what what happens if you overpay and you don't make any money? Do you get a credit for the future? Because how does that work?

Chris - The Credit Genius (08:

57.655) Yeah, yeah, you do get some some money back but what the German government is doing they're doing an estimate of your previous years and your previous quarters what this means let's say you make $100,000 in 2024 you make $200,000 in 2025 then they estimate okay based on that trajectory you're gonna make $300,000 in 2026 so you need to prepay for q1 q2 q3 q4 that portion of of that trajectory already and by the fact you don't even know that if you're gonna make the 300k just because you doubled your your profit or your income in the first in the first two years So this is really not entrepreneur Friendly and many people are are sick of it and that's why I see many people including myself leaving Germany and Try to find other places around the world that are more entrepreneur friendly and one of them is definitely the US.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (10:

02.222) Okay, so let's talk about the the f the structure is important, the systems are important, the funding is important, money is obviously important for expansion and scale. But what I found with entrepreneurs is really their mindset, their ability to take calculated risk, their ability to like make smart decisions when there's no guarantee you're gonna get be successful. How

Chris - The Credit Genius (10:

02.945) Thank 14.135) Thank 23.477) Mm-hmm. 31.317) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (10:

32.152) How do you coach people on how do you how do you coach yourself on even your own business and and scaling your business when there's no guarantees that it's gonna go?

Chris - The Credit Genius (10:

42.919) Yeah, there's never a real guarantee, especially if you're running your own business. You could get out of business with a competitor next month, let's say. But I'm a big advocate and believer in preparing options before you ever need it. And with options, mean testing out different services, different products before you need it, just because your main breadwinner product or services is winning right now. doesn't mean it will win next year as well. So I'm a big advocate of testing early on, new products and services, testing new markets, testing a new client audience, maybe, and then see how it works. But I think you can only find out if you try. And if you do that constantly, trying out new things, trying out new business angles, trying out new consultants, I'm also a big believer in getting the right help, getting the right consultants in your business. I just recently hired a scaling consultant because I also want to level up and make the next moves. But you just need people around you that have done what you want to do. And then you just need to soak their advice in and apply it to your own business.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (11:

59.311) So I added two more things, business formation, personal credit, relationship with bankers, test options on products, services, and markets, and hire a cons a scaling consultant or have like a pit crew of people that maybe are more that have expertise in areas that you don't have.

Chris - The Credit Genius (12:

05.761) Mm-hmm. 15.66) Yeah. 21.811) Exactly, yeah, very well summed up.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (12:

24.854) Is there anything else we missed? Cause I wanna this is my like how to. Cause I really am starting a new business. So I want to make sure I I'm on my P's and Q's.

Chris - The Credit Genius (12:

30.697) Yeah. 36.343) Totally. I think also what's highly underestimated, I'm obviously coming from an athletic background and that has always been the backbone of my identity and the backbone of having a clear mind and clear direction in your life and in your business. So I would always try to prioritize my health and fitness because I believe only if you're really healthy, your mind can also be healthy and then you're able... to take the right risk and calculated risk to be successful. But if your mind and your body is not in a top shape, then you're more likely to make worse decisions. They might be still able to get you successful, but probably not as successful if you would take care of your body and health in order to do that. So I would always fix the health and fitness part first and then try to scale it.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (13:

34.368) No, I love that. That's why so many CEOs are former college athletes, men and women. Doesn't matter what it is either.

Chris - The Credit Genius (13:

41.323) Yeah,

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (13:

45.817) So let's talk about swimming. What is the applicability and the transferability of what you learned through your swimming experience international? You know, you're an international swimmer, you know, you came here to swim. And how does that pay dividends still today in your business?

Chris - The Credit Genius (13:

47.775) Yes.

Chris - The Credit Genius (14:

06.327) I think the one concept I still benefit from today and the mindset shift I made is all about delayed gratification because as an athlete, especially as a swimmer, you have a high volume training density. I remember in college in Indiana, we had 10 swim practices, we had four weight room sessions every week and next to that we had to balance also our academics and also you want to have a little bit of fun even as an athlete so it's a lot to balance and at least for me my first two years was not as successful as I planned them to be. I to adjust to the food, the all you can eat meal plan in the university was definitely a big change to the food from my mother here in Germany and the other times were not there where I wanted them to be. But I really learned, especially in the US, know, delay gratification, soaking all in all the the wins, but also the losses and just be a big opt be a big believer in optimistic and good future. And then in the end, it paid out. We won two conference titles, scored second in the NCAA championships. So that really proved to me you got to be patient also with your business the first two years, the first three years. It's tough to really get them going in the right direction without losing money, but you just have to stick to it and stick smartly to it. You have to really react and realize if something isn't working. Also, as a swimmer, I had to realize, okay, my stroke, I can't do this stroke on a 400 free, the same one as I'm doing on a 100 sprint distance. You gotta be adjustable and also be coachable. You know, same goes for business. I also learned lot to be coachable as a swimmer. And now I'm really feeling that I'm coachable also as an entrepreneur. That's why I hired that scaling consultant and we have some great, great fun and success working together because I feel very coachable and I'm very, you know, open to critique. I don't get offended. I don't take it personal. It's just, I accept it as the process in order to get better.

Chris - The Credit Genius (16:

29.647) I think that's very important and I learned a lot that through swimming.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (16:

35.348) Okay, so I love that. My brain is going about 40 different ways. I've got a young man, eight years old, former student athlete, entrepreneur, from living in living in Miami. what is the hardest thing for you as a businessman? What is the thing that draws your focus away from your business? Is it do you procrastinate? Is it girls? Is it fun? Is it sports? You know, what

Chris - The Credit Genius (16:

45.527) So, that's you're going to

Chris - The Credit Genius (17:

06.071) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (17:

11.34) Because one of the things you don't have to work eighteen hours a day to be successful.

Chris - The Credit Genius (17:

15.647) No, definitely not.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (17:

17.004) Right. But how how do you how do you balance it so that when you're at the beach, you're not feeling guilty for not being on a call? And then when you're on a call, you're not thinking about being on the beach. How how do you focus? How what is like what is like your morning routine? How did you lock in before this podcast? You know, what what is like your rhythm of life so that you can be successful in the moment you're in?

Chris - The Credit Genius (17:

23.242) you 39.361) Yeah. 44.663) Yeah, as I mentioned earlier, you know, getting up early, I usually wake up at 6 a.m. in Miami. Luckily, I have a gym in my condominium, which is very, very useful. And it's a low barrier to do to get the workout in in the morning. And then you're already sharp in the morning and feel ahead of the game because you have that part of the day already done and you already won in your mindset. And I feel like you approach the whole day. differently. Great question also because when I mainly was based in Dubai, I was a full-time traveler for three years with all the points amounts generated through the US system and it was always a big distraction risk to the business that I felt. But then I realized, you know, prioritizing the right things and really getting the most in those hours where you're actually working. It's the biggest leverage that you can have. And one concept that I am a big advocate of is time boxing. know, just give yourself the right amount of time for each and and each and certain exercises or tasks for you, for yourself and for your business. And then you will be amazed how much you can accomplish in that short amount of time. If you really put putting time constraints on it.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (19:

11.106) What else do you do in your morning routine in addition to physical exercise? Do you do any meditation, cold plunging, or anything of that nature?

Chris - The Credit Genius (19:

19.639) Yeah, unfortunately I don't have a cold plunge in my apartment building right now, but I love sauna. We also do some kind of meditation. I believe, you know, going to the gym, going on a run and then hitting a sauna really gets your mind focused and clear and also relaxed. I think that's very important. I'm also an advocate of, you know, intermediate fasting. I usually don't eat breakfast because I feel like the most focused when my stomach doesn't have to process a lot of food, especially in the morning, because then you get tired. These are the few things. I don't over time get complicated. Also, my routine is a little bit different every day depending on my schedule, but also on my partner's schedule. If we can go on a run together, definitely also helps to get the day started going right. So yeah, I'm not that much distracted by girls anymore in Miami. I also think the partner selection is a huge part of your success and your well-being. So yeah, just surround yourself with good people. Having a solid, doesn't need to be perfect morning routine in place and really lock yourself in the hours that matter with time boxing and really prioritizing the biggest and most important tasks.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (20:

46.766) Okay. let's get into some like let's get in the weeds a little bit. you talk a little bit about how to be smart on travel since you tr you traveled a lot and you travel a lot. How can you use how can you use the system to minimize the money by maximizing the points?

Chris - The Credit Genius (21:

02.646) Mm-hmm. 12.468) Yeah, very good question. Also one of my passionate subjects, I would say, because I always want to be a pilot, but I had to give up that pilot dream at Lufthansa in Germany to score my US scholarship in Indiana. What I realized also compared to Europe and Germany, the points and credit card system is a lot different. We have way more banks, we have way more cards. and the banks are really targeting each spending category and each client profile through different cards. That's also what we're doing at the credit jeans, you know, selecting the right card profile for your biggest spending categories, both on the person side, but also on the business side. For example, if you're in online marketing, if you run an e-commerce store, for example, you're going to have a lot of advertising or media buying spent and getting a card for that specific spend. with a multiplier of 3x with chase or 4x with MX is definitely a huge leverage in everything that you can do. And that's definitely a big change in what you can get out of that system through the spend that you have anyways. Right. So really selecting the right cards, selecting the right banks for your spending structure is very important. And obviously also with banks that work with you. and value as a customer because then they would grant you higher limits, good access to better products, better cards, and you really have to stick to certain relationships. Same in personal relationships. If you jump around too much, you're not establishing really deep relationships. I feel like that same concept goes also in this whole banking credit field. If you jump around too much, know, spread your money across too many banks. You don't have too much leverage at a single bank that might be the most useful for you, especially also when you want to buy real estate. Having a long relationship with solid amounts in one bank is more beneficial to you than spreading it out over five or ten banks. So I think that's very important.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (23:

31.736) Okay. So in a like before you were born, they used to give out credit cards like crazy. But over the last three decades, at least in the US, they're getting, I mean, it's hard to get a credit card. Like sometimes people have to go to Capital One and put in two grand to get a credit limit of two grand. So how do for young people that are trying to establish credit but can't get a credit card, how do you get a credit card?

Chris - The Credit Genius (23:

39.03) Mm-hmm. 46.23) Mm-hmm. 52.192) Mm-hmm. 57.815) Yeah, Great question. You also have to differentiate between people who are Americans or people who have a legal work authorization in states. They use obviously their social security number to build up credit for all the non-American or non-residents that we work with who might have a business in the US or want to get started with US credit cards. They use something called the ITIN. It's the alternative, it's the same digit number. However, you can use that in almost the same way as a social security number. And then you really have to also, it's the same thing with delayed gratification that we talked about earlier. You gotta start with small steps. The first limits are not going to be 10, 20, 20 grand. You gotta start small. But what you're gonna see in that system is you're gonna see an exponential growth of that because over time, you know, over time, Good relationships over time, I think, are a key pillar of success. And the same goes for banking and credit. So if you really stick to it, apply for the right cards at the right time. Don't apply for cards that are out of reach yet. There are some great tools out there. For example, I'm not a fit with them, but not wallet. They give great recommendation based on your credit profile, what's available to you. And yeah, if you start out from scratch, it's advisable to get a secured card to put some money down. One bank that we primarily work with is JP Morgan Chase. They don't have secured card, but they give you a real revolving card based on the fact that you have at least $250 sitting in a checking account. So there are many ways out there to establish credit but obviously you also need to monitor and track it because a missed payment over two months can hurt your credit score much more than you want. So really setting up auto pay and then a common mistake I always see especially with people who are starting out to build credit. They don't pay attention to their credit utilization.

Chris - The Credit Genius (26:

09.93) So they get a card, obviously doesn't have a big limit in the beginning, but then let's say they have a $5,000 limit card, they max it out to $4,500. And then they get worried why their score is so low, but they have a 90 % utilization on that account. Ideally, you keep it always below 30%. In my opinion, the sweet spot is around 10 to 20 % because you can also pay your card off. multiple times every month. What matters in the end is the statement balance because the statement balance gets reported to the credit bureaus. So always set up timers, set up reminders before statement closing date to really get that balance in the utilization ratio where you just can have a good credit score development and that is 10 to 20 percent in my opinion.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (27:

07.884) What is your what is your end goal? What do you want to do? You're doing this now, but what in the back of your mind? What do you ultimately want to do?

Chris - The Credit Genius (27:

16.47) That's a great question for the future. I do have a vision. Obviously the creative genius is right now my main baby, my main business. There's definitely a lot still to scale with it. Obviously I also got my E2 visa with that company. yeah, my end goal is my brother works in private jet aviation in Switzerland for a big private jet manufacturer there. And our big goal was always, since we were teenagers, to once create a private jet company around the maintenance and also re-buy and reselling jets with in-house maintenance. So that's the end goal that we have as a family business. And I think that also naturally feeds into my other business ventures, because obviously the private jet aviation sector attracts a good... and ultra high net worth clear and tail. But the thing is the issue or the problem that's obviously also solvable is capital. You know, we need a lot of money to start a business like this. You need to get the licenses in place. You need to get the first jets. You need to get the right investors. And that's what I'm building right now. You know, building those relationships and getting access to more and more wealthy people and work with them. making them successful through my strategies. And then obviously also in the future, attracting them as investors into my new business ventures. And that one goal and vision is to have a private jet company with my brother. He's already a private pilot. So he made his own steps towards that journey. I will start mine in Miami this year, but that's my end goal. Obviously very capital intensive. I think with that feel that I'm in right now with banking credit, it definitely naturally feeds into that vision and into that goal.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (29:

19.95) So you've traveled. What was what was it like living in Dubai? How how much different is that than living in, you know, Western Germany or in Miami, Florida?

Chris - The Credit Genius (29:

33.719) That's a great question. Definitely you see fundamental differences both in the political system, in the financial system, the way how you set up a company, but also regarding the people. I would say in Dubai and Miami, people are much more open-minded, especially when it comes to new relationships. When it comes to risk taking, I saw a lot of big differences there. But at the same time, it's tougher to build those deep relationships because most likely people in Dubai and Miami, they're a little bit more superficial. I'm not saying it's impossible to find a good network and good friends, but it does take the right instinct and also time to find those people in your circle. But once you find the right people, I think you naturally automatically attract the next right people into your soccer through law of attraction. So yeah, big differences. would say Miami and Dubai have a lot of similarities for people. Many people go there, they want to level up, they want to get their life on the next level. Many of these people are unfortunately not really sustainable with their lifestyle, their spending habit. So there's also a risk to get soaked into that. But yeah, just have your priorities right and know who you are and what's your identity, who you want to be. If you want to drive around Brickle with a Lambo, so be you. I'm also not judging it, but that's not my way of life that I want to live. I don't want to flex for other people. I want to build a legacy for my family. That's my end goal. And it's not coming to renting cars or getting a penthouse suite. That's just out of your level yet.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (31:

30.958) Okay, so being in Miami, where people are more open minded, but you said they're more shallow, and that's not negative, that's just the way it is. How do you integrate into the community? Because if all you do is talk about business, people have their guards up. But do you do it through your faith? Do you do it through fitness? Do you do it through hobbies? What? Cause it like

Chris - The Credit Genius (31:

39.583) Yeah, totally. 48.554) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (31:

59.341) Sometimes your best friends, your like business partners end up being some dude that you played lacrosse with or played hoops with or you know, had some commonality with. how do you how do do you are you intentional about that? And what are you doing?

Chris - The Credit Genius (32:

10.123) Yeah. 14.038) Great question too. I think I am intentional about it. I do join two mastermind groups in the US. I'm also one based in Miami. We had a good feeling that those are entrepreneurs with real substance and also the rights and similar... Minded attitude like me. So I think masterminds are a great thing Especially if you're new to a country or new to a city to really connect to the right people But that's obviously all business business related a lot of great friendships can come out of it as well I also connect through sport, know, going to the gym and not having your headphones all the time on, so that you can talk and connect to people. It's probably underestimated, but if you are logged in by yourself and you're listening to music all the time, it's less likely that you're going to find and meet the right people. So I think small things can make a huge difference, listening, not listening to music during your workout. Then obviously sometimes join a run club in Miami to get some athletic people around me with a similar mindset. I do play paddles sometimes. all of these small little things, some network opportunities as well. To be fair enough, I cut down a little bit on the networking events because I felt there were too shallow what came came out of it because people who go on a network event I think are more people who want to soak up the relationships with their own interests because they want to be successful and they want to sell you something so I think going into more natural events and natural opportunities is the bigger leverage than joining like business specific events were just

Chris - The Credit Genius (34:

11.53) where people just talk about business because I think the real foundation of a personal relationship is not created with business conversations, it's created around having a similar life object or goal that you have. And if you really click on that with the right people, you're going to be amazed what comes out of it if you leave out the business angle sometimes.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (34:

38.462) Absolutely. Yeah, masterminds are are tricky because everybody's trying to everybody's trying to network and everybody's trying to advance their own interest. So let's go back to swimming. 53.634) I've never been a great swimmer. And Michael Phelps, I I I caught the I caught the wave when Michael Phelps was winning all the gold medals for the US. What are you thinking about? What are you thinking about when you're swimming? And you're like in the middle, middle of a lap, and you got nothing but your you got nobody to talk to. You can't communicate with anybody.

Chris - The Credit Genius (35:

03.638) That was incredible. 13.045) Mm-hmm. 18.059) Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (35:

21.186) You're not listening to anything except your own voice and your own head. What what is the dialogue like for swimmers when they're in the pool, in a competition, in the race? What, you know, like is your mind like blank? Is it focused on technique? Is it like in a flow? What what was your what was what was your game?

Chris - The Credit Genius (35:

25.344) Mm-hmm. 30.848) Mm-hmm. 43.734) I think it was a lot the thoughts and The inner talks that you have are a lot different based on the intensity when you're on autopilot in like a low intensity or high distance set that you're that you're doing You have time to think about everything that you're going through. I also thought about, you know, the next steps in life, you know, before we really want to continue that relationship. If I really want to continue that class and then in college, what I eat for breakfast tomorrow, all these things are coming up in like in this flow state of mind when you're running a low intensity workout. Once it gets harder. and you're focused on the time, it shifts a lot really about the present, you know, making the right stroke, making the right technique, making the right rollover at the next turn, then you really are present in the being and try to optimize and be faster in the water, obviously. There are a of inner demons coming up, especially when you're in competition or in high density sets. I started out as a distance swimmer and when you're on like a 1500 freestyle race, some demons are talking very badly to you that you should stop or give up. One thing I also, you know, vomited in a couple of races because my lactate levels were, let's say, too high. And obviously I was almost forced to give up, but I always tried to push through and always... and always finish. Because it doesn't matter how you start or what happens during the race, it's always important to finish strong because the winner gets decided in the end and not in the beginning or the middle, especially if you go on long distance. So you have many different thoughts, but you think a lot. You are very into your own world, into your own mind. would say swimming, especially in the US, is still a team sport more than it is in Germany.

Chris - The Credit Genius (37:

58.87) I think they create a university and NCA experience around it because you have many relays. You go to dual meets with your teammates. They're really making some efforts to make it a team effort. Then you're obviously also thinking about your teammates, how to help them, how to be better than them, obviously, how to get ahead of them at the next turn. It's really fun, but think the thoughts are differentiating. between the intensity of the sets.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (38:

32.822) That's interesting. Makes total sense. Let's take that to the ground. If you're a sprinter and you're running a hundred meters, you have to be very intentional about your thoughts because you're only running for nine seconds. But if you're running a marathon, you you can think about it everything under the sun.

Chris - The Credit Genius (38:

36.447) Mm-hmm. 48.521) Yeah. 54.613) Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (38:

55.766) Right? So when it comes to business, how do you control and like influence the focus of your mind? Like even when you're doing this interview, or when you've got whatever you got coming up next, or you're making a video for your business, or you're doing a discovery call with a client? How what is your mind game? How do how do you

Chris - The Credit Genius (38:

57.076) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (39:

23.416) How do you control your mind so that you're not just at the whim of whatever pops up?

Chris - The Credit Genius (39:

29.013) I think over the years, also thanks to my swimming career, I was able to control my mind better than when negative thoughts are coming up. I think I'm good about pushing them away in my mind and think about something positive. I that was also a big influence that I gained through the US. Because people in Europe and especially Germany, they are more pessimistic when it comes to tomorrow or the next year. Also with all the bad news that are happening around the world, it feels like, okay, the world is ending next week. But that's what I loved about the American mindset is this optimism that tomorrow will be a better day. You know, like always thinking about the positive things. Even if I, you know, Let's say don't perform well on this podcast or if I don't perform well on the next sales opportunity, but you can always learn from it. Especially in our positions, new opportunities are opening up almost every day. And if you really take in and be self-reflective about what has happened and why you may not close that client and learn from it and analyze your call transcripts, then I think you can really take yourself to the next level. But you always have to take something good out of it and even out of a failure to really progress in life and also in your business.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (41:

03.81) This is more of a socioeconomic slash political question. But when we were in Germany, one thing that I noticed was, you know, they were still impacted, even though it's been generations since, you know, Hitler and World War Two, because the mo a lot of the country was decimated and rebuilt.

Chris - The Credit Genius (41:

09.609) Mm-hmm. 24.682) Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (41:

26.274) That pain was passed down. So great grandfathers passed it down to their kids, and then those kids passed it down to their grandkids, all that all the way down. And so I think there is a little bit of pessimism in Germany. But I and this is just my personal observation. You know, it's it's in what happened in the 1940s, not what happened last week. So

Chris - The Credit Genius (41:

36.191) Mm-hmm. 50.761) Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (41:

55.787) Speak on that. Give me your perspective since you're you're from Germany, you know, your parents are there, I'm guessing your grandparents, all that all that type of stuff. You know, and and after you answer that one, I got another one, which is how do they see you now compared to the way they saw you before you went to Indiana? And how d how are they adjusting to your optimism, your entrepreneurial spirit, your

Chris - The Credit Genius (41:

59.359) Mm.

Chris - The Credit Genius (42:

04.98) Yeah. 16.042) Yeah. 21.621) Mm-hmm.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (42:

25.132) You know, like you're just you're just being a go getter. How is that like creating conflict or not, even with your own family?

Chris - The Credit Genius (42:

34.421) Two great questions. I do have a similar opinion than you when it comes to the effects of World War II on everything that happened there. I also see a development also in my family that over the generations we come more and more optimistic and also more present and not thinking too much about the past. I definitely see that a lot with my parents that they talk about the bad days that then in the 40s, 50s, 60s and how they were. struggled with it but they were able to come out of it very very fortunate and then greatly and I think my generation now in Germany it definitely goes in into a right direction of being more optimistic I might be like in a little bit of an extreme outlier here especially when I'm right now here back home in Germany I think it's it's radiating in my circle I definitely think that I I was able to motivate people and friends around me with the mindset, the attitude and the energy that I got through my US experience. One feedback I got is that I was much more introverted before I came to the US. Now I'm definitely more of an extroverted type of person. And that's what people realized who know me since childhood, that I'm more outgoing, you know. want to explore more, want to meet more and better people. It's definitely a shift that happened. yeah, I think it's going in a better direction with the newer generation. But yeah, when you talk to like all the people here in Germany, you can definitely feel some grudge and some worries about the past that they were taking on and are even passing down to their kids and future generations.

Chris - The Credit Genius (44:

40.615) And I will be very careful about that. I will always keep my German identity. I still have a German flag on my Instagram bio. I will never neglect that, but I'm also embracing everything that I gained through the U.S. And I think that might be the right path moving forward. Not neglecting or forgetting about your identity or where you came from, but even embracing it and seeing how... How much did it change and what can I do to impact that positive trajectory also in Germany through my own doings, through my own ventures and through my mindset shift. And then the second question, I think I forgot about it.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (45:

27.32) The second one was how's your family what's your family connection now compared to what it was before you left?

Chris - The Credit Genius (45:

27.637) Thank you. 35.67) Yeah, I more positive, more relaxed, because once you know your parents see that you're doing well. I think when you went through the own journey, I think with your own sons, you know, because when they're 18, 19, 20, they have the whole world of possibilities and directions where they can go to. So definitely my parents were a little bit afraid. that they are sending me to the US because I also didn't know the US that well. Actually, the first flight I took to the US was my immigration flight to the US to start my college there. So I decided to move to a place even though I've never been there. But it was my only opportunity because we don't have college and university sports teams at our universities here in Germany. Athletics are not embraced. Here, the only option I had to continue my swimming career is joining a police job and system. And I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to be a slave of the system. So the US really gave me an opportunity to continue my athletic career at a peak and get a good education and opening up great opportunities, both on the business and the education side for it. And now we're very close. We just came from a family week in Holland. We never did something like this, but also when we realized, okay, my brother lives in Switzerland, I live in Miami, the time is so limited and my parents are already pretty old. My dad got me with 45. So the time is running up a little bit to make some quality time. And now we're just trying to make the most out of it when we are all present in one place.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (47:

31.938) That is fantastic, Chris. Well, hey, I want to thank you for being on Pro Mindset today. I want to thank you for sharing your a story, especially here at the end and your perspective. And you know, if someone wants to utilize your services and track you down and maybe learn a little bit about, you know, how to structure and how to strategize, where can they find you?

Chris - The Credit Genius (47:

56.501) Yeah, totally. I'm on the major social media channels on Instagram at the dot credit genius. You can also find our new website on the credit genius dot com. And I'm also doubling down on LinkedIn. We're posting daily there now. So in case you always want to get some professional advice in a more written out, written out format. definitely connect with me there. So LinkedIn and also Instagram are good places. And yeah, if you want to book a call to get a free consultation, if you want to start out to build your credit career and banking career, right. And definitely feel free to get in contact with me.

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (48:

37.902) There you have it, the credit genius. Chris, thank you so much. Go out and have a great day. I know you're about it's dinner time, your time. It's past dinner time, your time.

Chris - The Credit Genius (48:

43.797) It's been a pleasure. 50.037) It is, and I'm watching France against Spain with my hometown boys. That will be a lot of in one hour. It's in an hour, yeah?

Pro Mindset - Craig Domann (48:

56.433) my gosh, it's been an hour. Yes. Thank you so much. Hang tight.

Chris - The Credit Genius (49:

02.728) Yes, correct.