From Marine to Mentor: Why Transformation Beats Motivation

  What happens when motivation fades, but transformation is still possible?

 In this episode of The Asset Mindset Podcast, host Daniel Fielding sits down with Bryan Bush, a former Marine turned corporate leader, to break down why transformation, not motivation, is the real driver of long term success. Bryan shares his transition from military service to corporate leadership, the identity challenges that followed, and how self awareness, accountability, and community became the foundation for growth. Through his work with the Reboot Project, Bryan helps veterans and first responders rediscover purpose, set standards, and build lives rooted in ownership and personal responsibility. This episode is a practical, no, BS conversation on leadership, mindset, and rewriting your story, one day at a time.

Chapters

 00:00 – Why Motivation Fails and Transformation Matters
 00:44 – From Marine to Corporate Leader: Bryan Bush’s Transition
 05:50 – Motivation vs Accountability in the Corporate World
 11:47 – Life After Service: Finding Purpose and Community
 19:01 – Self Awareness, Emotional Intelligence, and Leadership
 23:01 – The Reboot Project: Helping Veterans Rebuild Purpose
 33:46 – Community, Climbing, and Shared Suffering
 35:51 – Inside the Reboot Process: How Transformation Works
 36:57 – Setting Standards, Goals, and Accountability
 40:08 – Resilience, Discipline, and Long Term Growth
 42:00 – Health, Nutrition, and Performance Accountability
 45:53 – Self Discovery After the Military
 49:57 – Measuring Personal Growth and Progress
 51:52 – Understanding Health Metrics for High Performers
 56:47 – The Transformation Journey: Rewriting Your Story
 01:01:32 – Final Lessons on Leadership, Ownership, and Purpose

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Website: https://www.therebootproject.org/

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Produced by Security Halt Media

Transcript

Opening And Guest Intro

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Welcome to the Asset Mindset Podcast, where we don't wait for opportunities, we create them. I'm Daniel Fielding, your host, former Green Beret, author of the Asset Mindset. And today we have a special guest, Brian Bush. Brian, why don't you say hello to the audience? Hey, good morning. Good morning. Or afternoon or evening or whatever you're watching and or listening to this. So in each episode, we dive deep into the mindsets, habits, and mission-driven thinking that turn everyday people into high performers and real life warriors. This isn't about motivation, it's about transformation. And I can't wait to hear your story and your transformations to share with the audience. So tell us a little bit about your story.

Leaving The Marines And Rough Transition

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Yeah, I mean, um, so uh Midwestern boy from Indiana um left uh but always a bit of an entrepreneur. Um left to be a uh Marine um in 2001 prior to September 11th. Um was a good Marine for four years, got out in 2005, bad transition into reality. Not that I was really winning severely in life before the Marine Corps, but uh you know, when I got out, um, I think most people understand it's like getting thrown out of a tornado. Um, and everything that was distilled and taught and was my lifestyle, um, it there was no whole bars or laws out in the civilian world. And so I slowly degraded my own sense of self through that process because there was really no standards that I was being held up to other than you know the things that were built inside of me and inside of my head through my time in the Marine Corps. Um and uh so had a young family, um, raised some kids, um, and uh and started my professional journey, um, which was working uh for a uh a large nonprofit and um, you know, understanding some of the principles that I took from the Marine Corps and to corporate America or what we called nonprofit America, um it was helpful. Uh I knew a lot about accountability. I was a self-starter and a lot of those things, but definitely a different playing field. Uh rank didn't matter. It didn't matter if you're a manager, people would still say terrible things to you, or they didn't have to listen to your. So it really had to, for me, I think uh, you know, from a from a mindset perspective, um, that's when I had to learn that nobody cared about, you know, Corporal Bush, the Marine. Um, I had to figure out like how to humanize myself and use those leadership skills to actually build relationships to get results. And that was the beginning. October 17, 2005, uh is when I first stay on the job. And that's that I it's when I had that epiphany. And I was like, I gotta learn leadership in a different way because none of these people cared that I was telling them what to do. So it was totally different than when I was in the Marine Corps.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

So this transition that you went through, I'm I'm guessing you were pretty young.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

Yeah, 25. Okay, so you're 25. I yeah, I left at 20. Um, and so turned 21 um in in the Marine Corps, and then was out. Um actually I was 24 when I got out. And so I still wasn't even by October I was 25. Not that it matters, but hey, let's be specific, right? Yeah, attention to detail is the main opinion. I said I was an okay Marine. So you didn't eat all the crayons? No, man. Um, but I when I got out, I did eat all the hamburgers and all the BW3s and drank all the beer and you know, uh all of all of those things.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

So what was that like going, you know, so you're in a very structured environment. Obviously, the Marines, there's structure, and you're out now and you don't have that structure. And you're kind of like they say, what's that saying? You have enough rope to hang yourself? Is that what was that struggle like? What'd you find getting tangled up in?

Adapting Mindset For Corporate Life

SPEAKER_00 4:34

The common denominator uh it for almost all of us is it's a bit of a shit show. No matter if you did 30 or you did four or you did two, like coming out of that environment, it's you know, it's tough uh because it's built for one thing and you learn what that one thing is fast because they drill it into you. And then you come out and you're like, none of that stuff, sure, all that stuff in theory matters out here, but in reality, I was looking around and I was like, wow, you only can work 40% of the day and still get a paycheck, maybe even promoted in corporate America. And it was, you know, it would, there was different levels of motivation and efficacy there. And so for me, um, it was trying to understand how to use uh the support system that I had in place. And I think that made me a lot different than maybe some of my friends or just other people out in the audience with their transition, is the thing that I had common through my life was I had I had a stable family level of support of individuals that thicker through thin were in my corner to tell me I was off the rails or tell me I was this way or that way when I didn't want to hear it. And, you know, um I coped with that transition with, you know, alcohol and slowly found pot again. And and not from like a crybaby story like, hey, I that I was weak at the knees, or luckily I don't I I I drank enough to know that I don't have the gene that creates the dysfunction that alcohol causes. And I've smoked enough weed to know that I'm not addicted to marijuana. And you know, I hardly even do that stuff now. Um, but you know, I sure tested those limits. And I think that's when most people find out who they are really in their DNA is in those moments after that. And luckily I didn't have those things. What I had was a compassionate heart and a drive to be successful, and that that drive came from me not wanting to let my corner down. I had to get back out there and keep throwing punches.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

So well, that's good. I'm glad you found that. And you touched on motivation. Like when you got out, you're seeing different levels of motivation. Let's um key in on that a little more. What what did you learn about motivation that you were able to use or adapt for when you came into the corporate world? Because there's a lot of differences.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

Well, I didn't have a degree, but I had the GI Bill. Okay. So um prior to going in the Marine Corps, I didn't know that I was even smart enough to attend college academically. Street smarts, yes. Academically, yeah, I was a C student at best, could have done more, never applied myself. And I didn't understand that I could have applied myself. I just kind of took school as I could happen. It wasn't a total L. I graduated. I had some fun, I had some bad days. Um, working in five or six different places after high school sucked. And then, you know, like many people, you end up at the recruiter's door because you had a battle with yourself, and you know, the recruiter's door won. And so I walked in, joined the Marine Corps, took off. I had no idea what I was getting into. And it showed when I got to boot camp. And I don't think I had any idea what I was getting into when I left the Marine Corps because I got a couple of jobs and didn't do well at those jobs either. And so I was like, shit, my pattern is like I only have this four years of good in the midst of all this time that I've been out, and I was like, I have to figure out some new tools. And again, I had a support team that was there to help me out. The psyche of the corporate world was interesting to me because I mean, as a Marine, you're bred to be tip of the spear, even if you're the freaking food guy. You're serving food, I'm the tip of the spear. You're driving motor tea, I'm the tip of the spear. You know, I'm I'm talking to you, Daniel. You're a green beret. You're you're really closer to the tip of the spear than I could have ever gotten to, right? When it comes to your career in the armed forces. But go ask any Marines who the hell they think they are. We're the tip of the spear, you know? So the indictination. That's it, man. It's there's there's no department that has better branded themselves in the Department of War or Defense than the Marine Corps. Um, and uh uh it's because you really come out believing that, like I can do 12 pull-ups, man. I'm a badass. And so um coming out to corporate America, like I knew that was my level of self-worth and confidence. I just got sucked into uh lack of accountability. I had people in my corner, but there's really no accountability. Um, and so I had to get my life in order while I was trying to get a career and I didn't really respect my bosses and stuff like that. And I mean, we're coming out of wartime. Wartime's still going on. I'm getting out. And it was just really different coming in and hearing people complain about the stuff that they complained about. And I was like, I just you know, people are losing people, and and there's real stuff going on in the world right now. And so I don't, you know, I knew I didn't rate to have those complaints. I needed to win for all those that didn't get a chance to come back and win. And that was kind of the switch I flipped in my head from a mindset was I gotta do this for bigger than me, I gotta do it for my wife or for my kids. And but, you know, I met the parents of some of the people that didn't come back, and and so I, you know, I I always wondered like, how can how can I secretly make them proud? Um they don't know that I'm doing it for their son, but I think about them all the time. And uh they walk with me, and uh so and it's my honor to, you know, try to kick as much ass. But again, I was just a jarhead that ate crowns and in a in a world that I didn't quite understand, in a world that didn't understand me. I'll say that too. So Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

So it sounds like you found your purpose and your why. How'd how'd you stumble upon that? Was it meeting with the families? Was there an event? Was there a like something that I wish?

Purpose, Accountability, And Support Systems

SPEAKER_00 10:59

I wish it was that linear. Um it sounds like that now because that's how I tell the story, right? Because I don't really know exactly how it all happened. It happened so long ago. Um, but um I found my next. I didn't find my why. I found my why was hey, I I can't come home and tell my wife I don't have a job again. Um I can't, I'm running out of options. Yes, they're in my corner, but dude, you know, you can't take the blood out of the eyes eventually. You just they call the fight. And I didn't want the fight to be called, right? Um, and so um for me, honestly, it was what's next. But I it it's I had people in new people that I met that gave me an opportunity. And I recognized, I was like, okay, they're giving me a shot. They're giving me a shot to take on this special project. They're giving me a shot. And I didn't do them flawlessly, but I I knew what my competition in the company or my peers who wanted to get promoted and do these things. I saw what level they were at, and I knew I had like 10 gears ahead of that. And so I just owned that shit and just became the the corporate guy and started doing those things. And it was 100% just to take care of my family. And I don't know, I didn't have like a purpose to make people happy. And I thought about my friends and not wanting to let them down um through that process and still do today. But first it was just survival, man. It was like I gotta figure out how to survive. Do I want a house someday? I'm gonna need cash. It's more than the 934 that they're paying me today, right? So that's uh so that was a big, a big thing. But honestly, the the the biggest catapult to my own personal trajectory was I had people that gave me an opportunity. Whether I was the only one that they could put their chips in or they actually saw something in me, the story I always told myself is they saw something in me.

SPEAKER_01 12:56

So that's great. And let's key in and drive more onto that. So surrounding yourself with good people or having good people in your corner is obviously a game changer. What would you tell people to do to find somebody or to recognize people in their corner? Like what advice would you give?

SPEAKER_00 13:17

Oh, first you gotta uh first, I believe you need to understand who you are. We all attract a bunch of different people to our lives for a bunch of different things, whether it's your vices or your hobbies or whatever. I mean, really take a second and take an inventory of who's around you. What what role do they play in your life? How do they encourage you? Um, do they encourage you? Rank them. As weird as it sounds, rank your people.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

100%. That's in my workbook. I have people do that. I I probably shouldn't give too much away on it because the way I have it set up, it's like, oh, who are you surrounded with? Who do you hang out with? And everybody's gonna be like, oh yeah, this, this, this. And then you got to drill down, and it's like, oh, maybe I shouldn't have put that person on the list.

Self-Awareness, Ego, And Emotional Intelligence

SPEAKER_00 14:04

Yeah, and I mean, I think you have we all go through phases in life. You know, I had my bourbon buddies, and they were buddies when I was in the height of my bourbon. Hell, they got me into the bourbon. And then eventually I looked around and I was like, all I'm doing is chasing these unicorn bottles, spending thousands of dollars to ingest this stuff that doesn't even help me remember what I said the night before. Or did I really take my shirt off and jump on the kitchen island and to throw glass at your house? Yeah. Are there videos? Yeah. Um, and you know, and so it's those moments where, you know, I think shame's a bit of a driver, but you gotta ask yourself, who are you being shameful with? And, you know, I I'm the worst. And I was a little nervous to jump in on here. It was easy for me to talk to Denny about the reboot project um because I know it inside and out, because I built it and I brought it all together. And when I was watching other individuals that you interviewed and looking at your background, I was like, I'm the least academic person on your pod for sure. Um, everything I care about is very practical. It's rational, it's linear and literal. Um, I do understand the gray. And I think so. For me, it was just waking up feeling like trash, whether it's because things aren't working out at work or because I'm making bad food or drinking decisions or whatever, that has a short shelf life of fun. So it's like I like sleeping now a lot. Like, can I get eight plus? Can I get nine? And I don't know if you're like me, but when I wake up, the first thing I do is look to see what time it is. Because I want to, the first excitement I have is okay, I'm awake. The second is how much did I sleep? And that sets the tone. And I'll roll over to my wife and be like, we got this many hours, right? Uh I'm excited because that that's what really gives me the energy. So when it comes to taking stock with friends, I really look at what my goals and my visions are and what I'm trying to achieve. And then I build a team just like any sports coach. And my my team are people that don't put me down, um, they don't share offensive stuff. Honestly, I don't mind if you share your opinions and things like that, but there's a point where it just becomes groveling. And it's like, I have friends that are Democrats and Republicans and black and white, and none of that shit is really interesting to me. Any of it. I really want to know who, and I want to be around those that are really walking their why. And there's people walking in their why that's a completely different why than me. I still have respect for them, even if I don't agree with those whys, because I'm like, hey, at least they are exactly who they are portraying themselves to be, right? And I found that there's more people out here lost. There's less people like you and I that are like, hey, come on. Like we're a positive cohort. We're a we're a positive community. Like I care about your goals. Um, and I I want to help you leverage. And that when I made the ch when I made the shift in in leadership into that mindset about caring more about others and caring about myself, is when my self-satisfaction took off and when my career took off. That's when people really started noticing me and giving me more opportunity, is when I started noticing others and helping them create their opportunity. And so I will tell you, my love to develop others was 100% selfish in the beginning. When I got that correlation of me winning more by helping them, I was like, yeah, I'm gonna win more. I sit here today and I'm like, yeah, I don't even care about winning. Winning is when somebody's really winning. Like I've matured to that level. And so, you know, there's a lot of the differentiators in the workplace. And I ask people constantly, I'm like, does your work really care about you? Do they really care about you, or does the person that you're working with care about you? Are they really your mentor, or are they just getting something from you? It's like, let's let's remove the lenses and really look at what's going on because the characteristics of a person often not very interesting. Um, I'm really focused on watching their behaviors, and you can start that that's how I fire friends. When I see those behaviors consistently and it's not going in the direction that I want to go in, I know that it's just a lost cause to even have the conversations because that's who they are. I respect them, but you're fired.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

So no man, I'm proud of you, brother, for the journey you've gone through, and that's why you're here. I know you were kind of being humble a little bit, like, well, I've seen other guests, and don't get trapped in that comparison game. I'm sure you would tell anybody you're working with that. So don't do that. You are an amazing individual. What you're doing with the reboot project, man. Um, we're gonna dive into that more, audience, because let me tell you, this is a great program and this is part of the asset mindset. Like he is out there surrounding himself with good people, doing good things, and being an asset for others. And before we get into the reboot project, I want to key in because all that stuff you just said was so impactful, so powerful, but it I think it all comes from some self-awareness. It sounds like you had good self-awareness and situational awareness with the people that you're around and surrounding with. So, how valuable is having that awareness or to be able to step back?

SPEAKER_00 19:46

Um, that awareness is what keeps you alive. So I don't I call it street smarts early growing up and being in bad situations and knowing when to leave before it gets too wild or knowing. Not to go because it's going to be wild from the jump, right? Or understanding when somebody is at that point, how to trigger them if you want to. The deviant side of all of us. Or the compassionate side is hey, just let this person go. Let them get a win. It's pick your battle, right? And uh, you know, I think the self-awareness, the situational awareness. Um I don't, to be honest, man, I would say I don't know that I was ever really aware that I was those things. I was just trying to make it. Um it all that changed in the awareness really ramped up when I went to grad school and got a master's degree in myself. That's kind of what I felt like it was. I walked out and was like, dude, all I did was self-the deepest self-reflection for two years. But I came out knowing who I was, and I came out confident that um I could be myself. Um and you gotta take licks to your ego a lot to get to that point. And, you know, um, have you ever seen that interview, Daniel, of uh that little kid asking Mike Tyson about ego? No, I haven't. I I'm not gonna quote it because if I quote it wrong, it's gonna be all over the internet. So I would just say go to YouTube and watch it. This little girl asks him about ego, and I mean he just ruthlessly raw and explains what ego is. And so I'm very interested in like how do you how do you shed that? Um we all need the ego um because it's uh it's a protector. It doesn't it it's not a bad thing to have, um, in my opinion. And um because we're all weak in moments and in places that we would never be that vulnerable to tell the whole world on where our weaknesses are. Um we normally save that for a small pot, or you just internalize it and blow up every day and self-destruct. It's it's kind of that way. Um but um, you know, sometimes sometimes you don't need to know what to say, you just need to know not to say anything. And that's another lesson too, uh, from the social awareness, emotional intelligence, social intelligence, all those, you know, all those things that most they're buzzwords. Um and uh but those that have high levels of that are often people I find myself wanting to be around.

Introducing The Reboot Project

SPEAKER_01 22:38

No, absolutely, and they're not just buzzwords, or excuse me, they're buzzwords for a reason. They're buzzwords because they work. Now, sometimes people overuse buzzwords, but man, there's always that nugget of truth underneath the underlying theme and what's going on. And I think, man, I'm so proud of you because you could have gone off in a totally different direction and look where you're at now. So let's get into the reboot program. Because I think from what I'm seeing and the little bit of knowledge, I don't claim to know everything about it, but you seem to do more than just motivate people because motivation's fleeting. You really help people transform. And that's what we're trying to do here is help people transform. So talk to us about reboot.

Evidence-Based Transformation And Community

SPEAKER_00 23:26

Yeah, so the reboot project, um, so I left my full-time job in HR in uh 2022. And then in 2023, I formed the reboot project. Nonprofit. Um, and uh the focus is to help uh first responders and military veterans who we call heroes find their purpose in community after service. Um and uh I'll be honest, I didn't give a damn about community after service. Never dropped my mind. You can ask any of my friends. Someone was just telling me today, you were gone for 18 years. You didn't ever call or care. And I was like, it's not my responsibility to, dude. I I love you, but um I understand the sentiment and I understand how that could feel. So I got to be willing to take bullets for that, that some people were around. But the reality was is I was so unstable when I got out. Me being with other people in that same situation would have been a death sentence for us all. And um, and so that's why I wasn't there. So part of this is me being able to come back as a new version of myself, a much different version than I was serving with my friends and and and just other people and help them create a vision of their life that they're excited about. Um, I I can't go to med school because I would never give that much time to a college, and I probably couldn't pass any of the tests. Um but um this is my way to help my tribe. Um, and I do care. Um better to care later than to never care. Uh I kind of look at it that way. Um, and so um, you know, I having worked in a large nonprofit, I got to see what good programming looked like. I got to understand how the model works, the numbers work, and so on and so forth. And so um, I've always been an entrepreneur since the time I was like nine. That was my first business as a nine-year-old. I had a booth at a flea market and I sold baseball cards and basketball cards and like was hustling with adults all the time. And then I'd be at the pool hall playing games of pool, trying to hustle people there, and I always in a hustle, man. And uh um what I learned about myself is that I don't know that I was an entrepreneur. I think I was a uh um a uh a version of an entrepreneur. I liked all that, but I think I was a better opportunist, which we talk about situational awareness. Like I always had high situational awareness and high EQ, emotional quotient, to figure out when there was some opportunity that I could get into to get something to provide and put food on the table. And um, and with the reboot project, um, this this was 100% built from my heart to build no profit or wealth for me. I've spent all my own money on it, actually. Um, and uh um I wanted to build the very best process I could possibly build to help people feel like they want to live. And um it was just a um it was just a hypothesis that there would be a group of individuals that I could find strangers who would go through this year-long process I designed with the help of a bunch of other evidence-based tools. It's not just some bullshit I put together. It's everything we've put together is evidence-based because it it should be. If you're gonna commit your time to something, make sure that it's studied and validated, right? Um, and um, and so this is my best attempt to build a community. And uh believe it or not, there's I do get applications. I talk to a lot of individuals. I have a great community already of like 20-some new people that are around the reboot project with me. Uh, it grows every month. The ticket to get in is vulnerability, honesty, hard work. The hard work, though, has nothing to do with helping me build. It's like you're just it's you, Daniel, working on yourself. And it's self-directed. You get to decide what matters. All we do is the lay the front the flame the framework for self-reflection. And um, and then we remove every single barrier. You don't have money for a gym membership, boom, we're paying for it. You don't have running shoes or workout equipment that you need for the right thing, boom, we pay for it. Um, we pay for all the coaches, we pay for the technology, we pay for the DEXA scan, we pay for the um the blood test, we pay for the coaches. Um, we don't call them coaches. That's the thing I didn't want to bring forward from HR. I wanted to, we're motivators. We're much more than coaches. And we're also at the same time helping people in a community stay accountable, but we're not babysitters either. And the program's not for everybody. There's a special population that people people have to have to have their stuff together in some capacity. And when I say together, um when individuals leave the military um or even um, you know, community service, like first responders, right? Um, they need to address their medical normally, which is why you do that on the outplacement. And a part of that is your physical, mental and uh or physical um uh standards, but then also your mental standards. So I find people need healthcare or psychiatrist, like or both at the same time when we get out. And and that's okay because the first and and you then you need a job. So you have health care and you need employment. That those are the first things somebody needs normally when they get out. Um, and uh the job more so than the job adds so much self-worth because you're used to providing value that that's what jobs do. It creates value and meaning and purpose in people's lives. And so never retire is the advice that comes from that. Always just jump to something else that gives you that that sense of self and keeps you relevant because when you lose that, you're dead. Um and uh so with the reboot project, I was trying to figure out like how do I pull all these things together to get this? And um, and there's homeless shelters for vets, there's food pantries for vets, there's uh go fishing on a Saturday for vets, there's hunting camps, there's all of these things, but I I didn't find an intentional life planning company for vets. That's my bag, man, which is weird um compared to what you see in the marketplace. Um, that out of all these thousands and thousands and thousands, um, what I wanted to do was help individuals create life plans. And to do that, we need to quiet the mind, quiet the body, gain some confidence, create some wins. And I want to do it evidence-based. So I want to see your LDL decrease. I want to see your uh, you know, your visceral fat decrease. I want to see your lean muscle mass increase. And we teach not for aesthetics, but we teach for health. Because eventually you just don't care what you look like in the mirror, to be honest. You know, it's true.

SPEAKER_01 30:54

Can I climb those stairs and get upstairs? Can I pick up my grandchild? Yeah, I don't care.

SPEAKER_00 30:59

I don't need to look good, but I need to be strong enough to so our mental model that we use is based on the intentional change theory, which is an evidence-based 50-year study transformational model um that's focused on the long game. And um there's there may be more out there. Again, I can't quote what's out there. I should never stand up in a group of people and wear like a vest and act really smart. I I pick the intentional change theory because it is self-directed, which means nine times out of ten, when you self-direct something, you care about it. I'm not giving you the goal. What our team will do is if the goal that you pick is vanilla, we'll just let you know you're not for our program. We're for people that are really trying to achieve and um and that want to write goals down. And so we do the deep self-reflection. Um, again, I've reviewed some of your stuff, and you know, you talk about uh your real self and uh identifying who you are and and then your ideal self, who do I want to become and your strengths, and and then you know, in reality, it's just you take both of those, you do a gap analysis, you set goals, and then the thing we've been talking about the whole time is the uh in the discovery process, after you're trying to move towards those goals, you don't have a community. Everything you're doing is done. And so that's the part that I enjoy the most is that's that is our hunting for troops, our fishing for this, or whatever. We we go out and do cool stuff. Um, and uh um other than you know, and then we we do graduate together and climb a 14,000-foot mountain, but that's less about mountain climbing, and it's more about the rebirth of your new self. And it's it is cool and it's and it's inspiring. You learn so much on the mountains. Um, but it is uh it's a way to bring everybody together and have that shared experience. It really gels the community. That's what that's for. And then our alumni program after that is a really cool group of people that we've curated and brought in. Um many haven't gone through the program, but they're special and they're different entities in their own right. Some of them are individuals that have coached through the program. Um, and uh, some of them are mine, are just really cool friends of mine that I bring along and uh they add so much enjoyment in my own life and value that it's like I would never not bring them to participate in this uh because it's my self-satisfaction as well. Um, and uh and then we do other events throughout the year. Like this February, we're going to URA to do ice climbing. So um don't know if you know Brian Ray um from uh reality media. I know he's connected with Denny too. He's a cool guy, but he was uh with Penth Mountain, and so he's a climber. And so Brian took me out there to show me what ice climbing was like. I was like, oh, we literally have to do this with a group of people, and that's his passion. So it also gives Brian, a retired Green Beret, the opportunity to engage and do what he loves to do with not just a group of people, but a group of people that work their asses off and have goals and have standards and have commonality. That is our that's our currency of the fact that we know what our goals are. We're working on ourselves, we know we're not perfect, and we're gonna answer the phone when you call if you're inside of our group because we help each other. That's the reboot nation. So that's my long game is to have the largest group of friends ever seen of individuals that are highly motivated to achieve in life. And my legacy goal is I want someone to stand up at my funeral and said, I never met a guy more on fire for helping others achieve the life they wanted than Brian Bush.

Application, Standards, And 45-Day Proving Phase

SPEAKER_01 35:04

That's man, so powerful. I love it. And I I love that you're not just a motivator, you are someone that is transforming and changing and shaping the world. You're a creator. You are just creating so much change, so much positivity, creating friends, creating goals, creating experiences, creating networks. I love it. And hey, right now, if you're watching this, please pause, go in the description, check out the reboot project, follow him, give him a like, share it with someone who needs to hear it. This is all positive work. Do us a favor, give us a little positivity, a little love. Like, subscribe, and follow. That'll help the algorithm and help us help more people. It's very important. And we appreciate it. We truly do. Because surrounding yourself with good people and having support is a game changer, right? Appreciate it. 100%. So let's now dive into someone comes in, reboot. Yeah, where do you begin? Because obviously there's all these different areas that you can work on in life.

Goals, Microhabits, And Real-World Accountability

SPEAKER_00 36:10

How do you get someone started? So um, so the first part of the process is somebody would apply and they'd apply through our website, and um, and then I personally reach out to everybody that applies and just has a conversation with them. Um, like no posturing. This isn't a sell yourself on me to be in the program. This is I can easily tell who's ready to be at this next level. And those that aren't, Daniel, I give them everything for free that I can. I teach them how to make their meal plans. I teach them what the workout scenario is, I give them the coaching model. I do everything except provide the things that cost money because I'm not a gatekeeper to living your best life. I think our program does a really good job on helping people get there. Um, but just because we can't fly you to Colorado or put you in the these programs or give you the coaches, it doesn't mean I should not give you the information for free. So we will give anybody the information. And in fact, I always put this challenge out when I can. Someday my hope is is somebody I say, hey, I can't put you in because I don't have the money, and they actually do the full program aside me and then come back later and say, hey, dude, here were my numbers. Here they are today. I just wanted to show you that I would go into my own savings account and I would fly them out to Colorado if they actually did that and weren't actually in the we only have so much money, so we only can earmark what we can afford, right? Um but um so um we do uh um so our process and it just keeps getting, you know, we incrementally try to make it better, like any business does. Um, but the the first thing we do is we do the interview stage, and then I have them talk to a couple people that have actually gone through the program. Um, it sounds really cool and people really want to, which means our marketing is doing a great job. It's attracting people. But the reality of the reboot project is really fucking hard to make it through the reboot project. And our participants or our our you know alumni heroes will let people know that this isn't about climbing, you know, a 14er. This is about climbing Mount Everest in your mind every night when your family eats whatever they want and you don't. And you're trying to remember why you started this program because day one's easy. It's day four, five, six, and on and on and on that really sucks because you have to be different. You to be in the reboot project means you're different than most other Americans, man. Which is why there's room for a reboot project, period. Um, and so um we do a uh a criminal background check. Um, it's not to say you can't be in it, it's just for us to understand who we're letting in the program. Um, and and that's important, right? Um, and then uh we ask you to get a uh medical doctrine from your doctor. We have a form to give them that basically clears you kind of like a job pre-a pre-employment training. Because our expectations is that you eat the meal plan, that you go to the gym five times a week and use our app and actually work out. Um our expectation is that you take your blood work and your DEXA scan and you increase your muscle mass and you decrease your bad fat and you lower your cholesterol, all those things that we already know happen when you start eating right, stop drinking more, and start moving more. All of those numbers are impacted, right? Um, and so those are the expectations. So everyone's asked to set a 45 day service level agreement. So we take your numbers and then we say, okay, based upon this for your health and your wellness, so your physical fitness and nutrition. What's your goal over the next 45 days? That's the weed out prop process. Um, you have to achieve that goal in the first 45 days or approve upon the people that actually have done it and say, okay, this let this person in, they're working their ass off. Because then we introduce you to the mental motivator. So after your first 45 days, you then set another six-month nutrition and physical goal. Um, but you also meet your mental motivator, which is our multiple, multiple, multiple hour long sessions over the remainder of the year of the program with your mental motivator, who basically is just helping you do self-discovery, self-inventory on yourself and the things we talked about earlier, which is your ideal self versus your real self. They help you set your goals, they turn them into microhabits with you, they teach you how to set those goals. Unfortunately, we do make you make smart goals. Uh, why? Because they're the best way to write a goal down. If we're gonna write goals down, then we're gonna write them the best we can. Um, and if you're a person that in the program doesn't like writing down goals, I feel you because I hate writing down too. But that's another thing that helps us get better opportunities to win, is when we write them down. And you have to be willing to share those goals with others in the program also, because it's one thing to say it, it's another thing when your buddy holds you accountable. And they know what your goals are too. So when they're checking in, and even I think my my friends know this about me. If I know what your goals are, even if you're not in the reboot project, you don't get a pass. I check in with people every day and I'm like, hey man, where's this? Where's that? Are you gonna do this? What's your marketing strategy for this and all these different things? I love pushing the envelope, man. I love understanding and growing things. So when you talked about like creating a movement and growing, what I found out about myself these last couple years is I know why eventually I wasn't the right guy for the head seat in corporate America because I'm a pusher. And if you're okay with the way things are, don't hire me. Because I I like to affect change. And I don't like to just affect change because the numbers there. I like to know like what they I'm looking at the date. It's 11.5, 2025. I don't know how many more days I have left on this earth, but I'm gonna hit it as hard as I can every day, every freaking day. And um, if you're in the reboot project, you better be drinking that same Kool-Aid. That's that's what we're spending the money for, right? That's that sense of purpose. You were held to that standard, standard, uh, Daniel, when you were in the army. Right. That's standards, right? And you get out here and the standards are just they are what whatever you want them to be. And exactly. Okay. But the problem is we get soft. We go over to the you got the pleasure bank and you've got the pain bank. And when you don't get forced to go to the pain bank, then you just stay on the pleasure bank. The shelf life of a person on the pleasure bank is not long. So it's it's it's getting that in there. So that's uh, so you set those goals, and then we um we're working on a VO2 max program right now, so we can make sure that individuals have enough zone two, zone four cardio. A lot of these individuals come. We had a guy from Puerto Rico this year. His elevation, as compared to where we were going in Colorado, big difference. And so um, we get another medical clearance and make sure that the doctors say, hey, you're good to go. But you really work your butt off to get to that phase. Not everybody makes it up the mountain their first time. Um, and that's okay. Uh, not everybody leaves the reboot project after one year. We re-enrolled two people this year. They said, Hey, I want to continue. I'm not done. I want the support. I said, Well, your goals are in line, let's make your goals, and what we'll do is we'll fitness and nutrition coach you out through the rest of the year. And as long as you hit these goals again, by the way, they're the goals that you made, not me. We'll take you back out to Colorado and we'll do this again with you. And um that's what support looks like. Now I'm gonna bang on the marketing balloon here a little bit, but it's the the authenticity of our program and what we're doing is I don't know too many other programs out there that'll do that for you. And we we care. Um, and that's you can be in our group, but you better care and you better care to that level. Um, you live too far away from a gym, we'll buy a treadmill and put it in your basement. But you're gonna show us your metrics. These are all these are real things, these are real, man. So it's uh it's the Marine Corps met civilian uh accountability class. And you know, that's the best thing I could put together here.

SPEAKER_01 45:06

So yeah, and kind of like the the secret too with manifestation and positivity and all these things. Man, it's total package. That's why you're here. You know, that's why you're on the show because you have that asset mindset philosophy. That's what I call it. The truth is the truth. People can call it whatever they want, but you are taking ownership of your life. You just say, hey, I'm gonna do the best I can every day until I die. You know, I'm gonna surround myself with good people, good friends. I'm gonna have people in my corner, and then I'm gonna be in other people's corner. I'm gonna be passionate, I'm gonna be supportive, and I want to help create a better world and better lives for people I care about. Like that's it, brother. Like that's the secret sauce. A lot of people don't realize, you know, it's that simple, but the hard part is the discipline to do it. As I'm sure you see that with some of the people that try and come to reboot.

SPEAKER_00 46:00

Dude, I see it with myself. So prior to jumping on here today, um I went and got a DEXA scan done. So I could see what my bone density is, my levels of visceral fat, and like how much bigger my left leg is than my right leg. Have you ever got a DEXA scan, Daniel? No, I haven't. You even know what it did you know what a DEXA scan was until I told you?

SPEAKER_01 46:19

Um, I've heard it, but no, I'm not gonna say I know it. I don't want to lie to you. That would be horrible. Yeah, don't lie to me, man.

Fitness, Nutrition, And Data-Driven Coaching

SPEAKER_00 46:25

Um But uh so you've heard of probably like an in-body when you go to the gym, they have like an electrical current that they send through you and you hold a machine and it tells you your body fat percentage, lean muscle mass, fat, and all that. I was really focused on more what are my so I have all these data points about myself as a 45-year-old, and I was like, well, what's my visceral fat? Um, you know, everybody focuses in on your BMI, which you don't need to go to a doctor to find out your BMI. Just don't lie to yourself about what your weight really is or your height and divide them or do the whatever the formula is, and it'll tell you exactly what your BMI is, right? I don't care about the BMI. I care about the level of visceral fat. I care about my blood work and what it should be, but I do care about the BMI because that is the target that's always moving on how well I'm doing with the nutrition, right? And um, and so I went and got a DEXA scan um today because I have other participants that are getting them too. I'm in the fight, dude. I don't like eating macros. I like eating Halloween candy. And yeah, I was I was telling my team three days after Halloween, right? You know what? I don't know if you have kids, but you know, my my kid brought home his bucket of everything that I love. And I was faced with a decision. Do I eat it all or do I stay hard? You know? I ate it all. Hey, I love the honesty. Not even not even just on the first day. Like I overate like most of chocolate the first day, the bite-sized ones. I think day three, I was sitting in the kitchen and I was like, all right, I got a decision tree again. I'm either just gonna I I can't have this candy stay in the house another day. It just talks to me. It is my vibe. All right. So um, so I ate like 90 pieces of individually wrapped chocolate that night and went off the rails and just ate everything. And then I text the group and said, Hey guys, I did this. I'm telling on myself, here's why. Every day's a new day, and I can't move on with this poison in my house. I've got to look forward to the next day. So I'm resetting tomorrow. Don't feel bad if you have those moments and you just give in. That doesn't mean it's the end of the day for me. Um, it means that it's a new starting point. And unfortunately, it it's not healthy to quit and start and quit and start and quit and start, but it's a part of my life, man. Like my weight's been up and down and up and down, and my drinking's been that way, and my mood has been that way, and all those things. And so um, I've got a group of individuals that are kind, but they're honest, and they give me accountability too. And so the the reboot project is probably, again, more for my own accountability than it is ever to give somebody else accountability. To be completely honest, I benefit so much from being around these individuals because some of our friends are really dialed in, others are complete liars. So they're protecting, right? So when I talk to those that are dialed in, they're like, I'll just drink these ketones and and I'll do all this keto and and I'll do this for a month. I'm like, dude, I can't do keto for more than two days. Like, I'll be completely honest, man. Like it's it's hard. Um, and that's that's my struggle, is nutrition. And it'll always be my struggle. And um uh, but I will work on it and I will not be perfect, and I will not hate myself for not being perfect. And I think a lot of us need to hear other people say that shit because oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 50:08

And we got to give ourselves grace. Like we all make mistakes. Yeah, you know, give yourself some grace. Now, myself, I can't relate. I haven't eaten candy and I can't even tell you how many years. Give me that hour, man. Daniel. Dude, uh seriously, Brian, it's probably I mean, we're talking decades. Like my kids, I don't eat cake. I don't care. I've been doing the carnivore diet for over two years. My wife gives me a hard time about it sometimes. She does it with me, but like if we go out to eat or somewhere else or somebody's house in the bed, I'm like, oh, can't eat that. Can't eat that. She's like, babe, it's I'm like, ah, I'm doing my carnivore diet. You know, like that's that's what I do. I now added fasting. So, you know, I I love the struggle. I'll give you my weakness. Yeah, what is it? When it's a hot day, it's a hot day, I'm like, oh, I'm so hot. I just want to, I'll have a bowl of ice cream with my kids. So, but it's gonna be all natural, you know, whole milk, whatever, vanilla. You're dialed in, man.

Discipline, Slips, And Honest Resetting

SPEAKER_00 51:03

And I'm you know, I would say that there's a level of realness too, where when I look in the mirror and I don't have the abs that I had when I was 20, not anywhere close. And I work out so hard and I lead this program. So I know it's diet, and I know there's a hundred different ways. And now we all have chat GPT, you don't even need anything else. You can literally just type the from the nutrition standpoint, it's thermodynamics. It'll tell you exactly how it works, and and it'll make amazing plans that I and I we have an amazing app. Conquer Your Mountain is the app that we built with all the stuff to put it in here. And so full transparency. I went to Chat GPT and I put all the same information in, and I was like, it's like 3% different than what my app says and 3% difference of my FitPal. And I'm like, so the reality is like the secret's out. Everything you need to know to be uh dialed in if if weight loss or weight gain or muscle gain is what you're looking for, um, it the secret's out. It's calories in, it's calories out. You can do that a bunch of different ways. You can slice and dice your macros. And um, what I learned about myself is I know everyone's pushing tons of protein, and that's okay. Um there is some DNA that you know, you who you are as a person and molecularly affects what happens to your body when you work out. So the NFL players, they are really something special from a physicality spot that my body probably won't look like Tyreek's body, no matter if I did Tyreek stuff, it's just not gonna look like it, right? And so you kind of have to figure out like who you are and what you're trying to achieve. I know I could see abs, um, but whether my abs come from Adderall and starvation or they come from eating right and working out, they're gonna come from a calorie deficit, because that's the only way to lose fat is calorie deficit and time. Now, whether that's the carnivore diet or whether that's keto or whether that's a balanced macro system, for me, if I eat over 225 grams of protein and lift the way that I lift, um, I become inflexible. I lose a ton of mobility. My shirts don't fit like the way I want to fit. So I've actually I've I've throttled that way back to where I'm only eating like 190 grams of protein. And everyone's got different opinions. But I think a part of the reboot project is it's about self, it's it's it's the self-discovery project. There's not a right or a wrong. It's who are you and where are you comfortable? And that's and then once you figure that stuff out, then you get to decide. But do your homework. Don't just gaff off the test or show up and listen to the coach. Do your homework on yourself, you know, and that's so um so you what was your diet like before you moved to the carnivore diet?

SPEAKER_01 54:01

Um, definitely no processed, all organic. We grew our own vegetables. I live on a farm now. I have cattle, chickens, ducks, bees. Um very healthy as it was, uh, pretty much always. Um, I did a dumbass thing, and this is, you know, from years ago. Somebody's nice. There was an event, and they got a cake for me. And I'm like, oh, I don't eat cake. So that that was years before I even did carnivore. Um, carnivore was more of almost like a cleanse that my wife and I were gonna do. And we were like, hey, we'll do it for a month to get chemicals and other things out. We'll just, you know, eat that and see when we reintroduce stuff, what's going on and what causes problems or whatever. And we both had such amazing results that we just kept doing it. And I've had two years of blood work now, and it's been pretty much the best blood work I've ever had. Isn't that funny? Um, my cholesterol is a little high for what you know the current standards are. But if you go back in the 70s where th a 300 level was considered normal, yeah, or you know, that wasn't an issue. I'm at 267. Okay. You know, I'm not even there. And all I do, man, I eat eggs, butter. My wife and I will actually laugh sometimes. We'll just cut pieces of butter and eat some butter for the fats, you know, as a snack. So you're not measuring anything, you're just nope, nope, not measuring anything. Okay. Cool, man. And and I'm 6'4 and I'm like 220, 225. I'm in that five-pound window, depending when I eat, because and I don't eat as often. I eat maybe I would say at the most twice a day. A lot of times I only eat once a day. Um eight weeks ago, I did a seven-day fast and didn't eat at all. And the science behind that was incredible. Yeah. I didn't think I would ever feel as good as I did. I would have bet whatever amount of money, no way it's going to change me that much. It did. The stem cells, HGH, whatever happened in that seven days, and I'm going to do it again, you know, because it was such a game changer. And I think what you're doing with the reboot project, you know, is you're helping people figure out what works for them. That's what I'm on my journey, you know, with the asset mindset. I'm trying to figure out what works for me, what works for other people, how I can help them, how they can be positive, exactly what you're doing. We want to make the world a better place. We want to help other people that want to help themselves. Yeah. And when you're doing that, you're going to have peace, you're going to have joy, you're going to have love, all these things. Now, it doesn't mean you're not going to struggle in life like you talked about the candy. I talk about other struggles, you know, that I I've dealt with. So we all have that, but it's bouncing back. But Rocky said it's not how hard you um can hit, it's how hard you can get hit and then get back up. That's what it's about.

SPEAKER_00 56:54

Yeah. And I think, you know, you all you also start setting benchmarks for your levels of resilience. And it's not easy. I mean, did I feel like a piece of crap after I ate all those pieces of candy? Yes. Was my blood sugar and dopamine out of the roof while I was just devouring kit cats and twiz? Yes. Oh, I loved every second of it. And and I know that about myself. And it's like, um it it's it's that way with uh baked goods. So I have a sweet tooth. And um, you know, I can the the alcohol I could give or take, I don't really care. Um, but I like sweets, and um, and so it's like I know I'm aware of that, and that being aware, it's half the battle. The other half is the discipline, and I know when I've been good, and I know when I haven't been. And I just want I want to strip away the mass that we all I you can't lie to yourself because you may be the only person being honest with yourself and really honest because the other people don't even know what's going through your head, right? And so I think for us to figure those out, and like you said, you're that's why I was curious. So what um you moved from all organic to carnivore. Um what was your catalyst? Why did you why did you move because or all organic's not, you know, it's that's a lot of people would just strive to eat that way, right?

Personal Nutrition Philosophies And Tradeoffs

SPEAKER_01 58:22

Yeah, yeah. No, my wife and I joked, like we, you know, standard American diet, we didn't have that at all. Like everything we bought we, you know, would be organic spinach or, you know, avocados or you know, just healthy stuff. Um but our thing, and part of what I learned is I was um shopping with my wife and I was talking to a guy. We were buying organic grapes, and he goes, I just want to let you know those are grown organically, but when they get here, we dunk them in all this stuff that you know isn't organic and we have to clean and clean and the sprayer that's on the shelf that sprays, save your extra 72 cents a pound because it's unless you're unless you're really in control of your food source, there's no guarantee.

SPEAKER_00 59:14

Um even if you're in control of your food source, if you're not if you're not like extra vigilant with your inputs, well, you know, your outputs. I know a lot of people outside here, and and I live in Indiana, so there's definitely a lot of farmland. And, you know, there's the I have no opinion either or on any of these things, but um, you know, seeds do travel, and so they find hybrid genetically altered stuff and stuff that you're growing that wasn't there because that's what happens. And um, and so if you're looking for non you know genetically altered, you don't know, even if you're growing it outside, you don't really know. You almost need like your own hydroponic setup. That's does it touch the outsides tainted, but then you could have lead in your house or radon or something? There's I don't know, man. Like I quit fixating on all those molecular things. And I was like, all right, within reason for being a man that's alive who's 45 at 2025, what is my definition of the best life I could possibly live as it pertains to health and wellness, spiritual, um, personal finances, career? And so we take 12 areas of life, and then we walk through self-deflection of those, and then we let those define, you know, what spiritual mean to you? Is it Christianity or is it, you know, is it Buddhism, or is it just being in nature? Like, you know, or you may have absolutely no affinity to spirituality, and that's okay too. We're not here to judge, we're just here to unlock.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:56

So yeah, you're like the whole human being concept. That's what I love about the repressing. It's the whole human being. Yeah. It's not just like, oh, we're gonna help you, you know, bench press this many pounds, or we're gonna help you run this many miles. Yeah. No, it's the whole concept, it's a complete reboot, which the name is appropriate. Yeah. So once again, definitely, if you want to know more about the reboot project, you need to stop, go in the description, check it out, check out Brian, check out what he's doing. Brian Bush is an amazing person, been an amazing guest, man. I've had so much fun in the pre-interview to now and everything. I can't thank you enough for being here. Is there anything else you want to leave the listeners before you go? It's a good question.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:40

Um, well, thank you, Daniel, for having me on. Um, it's definitely a new part of my life is talking about this, especially on the internet. I really didn't have too much of a social footprint whatsoever. Um, and uh it's cool now to have a vision and a belief that's so strong that you know it changed my mindset and being willing to to talk about it, much like I imagine you feel about asset mindset and helping people unlock their own potential. And um it's a it's a great space to be in. Um you know, other than thank you, and uh everybody has an opportunity every morning to rewrite their uh their history. And um there's lots of different ways you can do it. If you're interested and you don't want to join the program, you're just interested. Uh I'm pretty easy to find now. So please, please reach out and I'll, you know, I'll share whatever I can with anybody. So thanks for that platform.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:41

Oh, it's my pleasure and it's an honor to be here with you. Like I said, I'm proud of you. I'm proud of the work you're doing. You're doing great things in this world. I consider you an asset mindset teammate, brother. No, thank you. And anything I can do to help, let me know. Let's stay in touch. And everybody out there, please help us do positive things. Give us a like, give us a subscription to what we're doing, give us a follow, share this with other people that you think it may be able to help them. Because it costs you nothing to give a like and a subscription. So please, you know, it's it's an amazing thing what you can do with those little clicks. It really is helps the algorithm. But enough of that. Hey, don't forget what is the most important thing you need to do is own your power.