FROM $200 IN THE BANK TO BUILDING A LEGACY - NATE OATIS

From $200 in the Bank to Building a Legacy — One Door at a Time.

Nate Oatis didn't have a trust fund, a safety net, or a blueprint. He had $200 and a decision. Fresh off a March Madness championship win, Nate sits down to talk about the story behind the scoreboard — how he went from broke to one of the top reps in the company, how he found his faith in Jesus Christ in the middle of the grind, how he balanced work and family without sacrificing either, and what mindset shifts made all the difference.

This one hits different.

💬 If you've ever felt like the odds were stacked against you — this one's for you. Drop a 🔥 in the comments if Nate's story hits home.

🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode dropping this week.

#Sales #DoorToDoor #Faith #Mindset #Entrepreneur #SolarSales #MarchMadness #FromNothing

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:39

Good morning. Welcome to the Monumentality Podcast. I'm your host, Monica. I got a special guest that we're bringing on today. This guy here is going to be a fun, fun interview that we're going to talk about. But I want to introduce Nate Otis. Nate Otis, how are we doing?

SPEAKER_03 0:54

Doing great. Feeling good. It's uh good morning.

SPEAKER_02 0:57

Okay. Nate, how you feeling? You came today with the bus down.

SPEAKER_03 1:01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

How are you feeling this morning?

SPEAKER_03 1:03

Yeah, a little Nate Goatis. You already know nickname. Come on. 35K Nate. But uh, yeah, no. Um feel blessed. Feeling good. It's it's it's a crisp Tuesday morning, and uh, we're doing this. So excited.

SPEAKER_02 1:15

Shout out to Nate. Nate was uh we had a March Madness incentive uh for the full month of March. It was actually pretty crazy to see you were actually gonna lose week one, but you made a bounce back and then you took it all. So before we get started, we got so we got some some flowers to give you. Where's our uh our championship belt for the setter champ? We got a custom made, you know, WrestleMania was just on Saturday and Sunday. Wow, you know, we had to bless you real quick. You're gonna you're gonna go ahead and uh put that on for the whole episode. Oh, thank you, thank you. Appreciate that, man. Jeez, that's crazy. These guys, real deal. And with that said, shout out to Nate, but you were able to go, we got you hooked up, boy. We got you a nice segue.

SPEAKER_03 1:59

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

You'll be rapping in style.

SPEAKER_03 2:01

Oh my gosh. Dang, it's Bluetooth too.

SPEAKER_02 2:04

Come on, you got a partner today. His name is Ninebot. About to go crazy. So, Nate, just jumping into it. Couple things I want to talk about, man. You you have an interesting story. You know, we we talked a little bit uh before this. You had some things that I was actually pretty fond of of hearing about, but um you had like 200 bucks in your account, and then you transitioned door to door. Um you've you've had some hard times in your life. I'm gonna talk about that. And then you also died almost three times in your life. Yeah, a couple times. Nothing crazy. I'm like excited to actually hear some of these things, but talk to us, man. Introduce yourself, where you're from, and what was Nate like as a kid? Okay, cool.

SPEAKER_03 2:51

Yeah, um, well, my name's Nathaniel Otis. Uh I grew up in Tri-Cities, Washington. My parents are both like teachers, counselors type thing. So I had a pretty tame, pretty nice childhood. But one thing that kind of stood out to me during my childhood is my dad was always he's always busy. So I mean, we had quite a few cousins and siblings that were my age. If I'm counting right, there was about 10. And so what my dad did over the summertime is he would run like a uh daycare for all of my cousins, and everyone like um would be with my dad fishing, walking, going to parks, going to movies, but all the other adults in my family, they were all going to school again. So we had, I want to say like four or five of my cousins' parents actually get into college and be able to do a summer program. So my dad actually helped out like I want to say three, four, five of my my cousins' um parents, like my uncles and aunts, get their degrees. That's just one of the things that my dad did growing up that was a lot different.

SPEAKER_02 3:58

So what so you your dad? Your dad's not a lot. I've I've known your dad, and your dad, for you guys know, he's like six eight on one side, but then he's six five on one side. So he has like uh what's the story there?

SPEAKER_03 4:11

So basically, um he grew up too fast when he was in uh like seventh, eighth grade, his legs turned into bananas, so they like curved. So um he had to get surgery in sixth, seventh grade. They told him that he was never gonna walk again. Um, they had to break both of his legs, and um so since he was in Mississippi, um, they actually botched the surgery, and it was sort of like you know, Frankenstein, but he actually lost three inches on one side, and um the other side actually was the right height.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

I didn't believe him. I didn't believe him when he told me this. You know, he was like, I'm 6'5 on my left side, six eight on my right side, and I actually stood by him. So I'm about six five, six, six, and he was about the same size, and then he turned to the other side and he was like six eight, and I was like, what the heck? Your dad is obviously one of the only African Americans in Tri-Cities. He came, he came to the Tri-Cities uh through, I think, in a crucial stage. I think at this time, you know, Tri-Cities was pretty, pretty small. And um, you know, you know, talking to your dad, he played basketball and was really good at it. I didn't know this, but he played with Shaq.

SPEAKER_03 5:22

Yeah, right. Yeah, he did. Yeah, he ended up uh playing with him. And I mean, he was he was pretty darn good. Um, he has lots of like highlights and like WSU Hall of Fame type thing, but um yeah, no, he's he's literally like my hero. He's exactly why I'm here doing this, is because I want to be able to take care of him in the future and make sure he has all he needs. And um kind of do the same thing that he did for me when I was younger because I've never been without. I've always had an excess of everything that I've ever wanted and needed. So if I could do the same thing for him when he when he's getting older, um that's what I want.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

So I feel like there's a lot of similarity, similarities between you and your dad. And you know, your dad coming from the south, coming here to the Pacific Northwest and went to Wazoo. Obviously, you know, having uh how many siblings? So he had six siblings, and then obviously with you, it's you, you you got a sister, older brother? Yeah, I have uh two sisters and one older brother. Okay, and then uh when you guys came out here, I think sports was obviously something big for you guys. What did he want you to do when you first like as a kid, did he want you to what did he want you to grow up to be?

SPEAKER_03 6:38

Yeah, he he was like, I don't care what you do, do this, do that. So he threw me in like everything. So I I played soccer, I played football, I played uh basketball, I played um a little bit of tennis, but he just he literally threw me in everything, and I ended up kind of falling with in love with with basketball and football. Um but um he forced me to do one instrument and like two sports each year. So I actually play like four instruments. I play the the baritone, the trombone, um also the um man, what was it? Baritone, trombone, um, trumpet, yeah, and then um a little bit different of a trumpet, but anyways, that's that's pretty much what what I did. Yeah, okay. Yeah, I did not know that.

SPEAKER_02 7:30

Yeah, yeah, good stuff. So you you know, your your dad uh obviously, you know, wanted you to do sports, walk us through. Okay, now you're 18, he's like, hey, you gotta go pay some bills, dude. You can't be laying around my house. What'd you end up diving into? What'd you start dabbling, dabbling with?

SPEAKER_03 7:46

Yeah, so um I actually worked for Hanford for a little bit, doing computer science. Um and how long were you doing that for? About two years. Two years? Yeah, so I did like a summer program, ended up doing a job. Um, I actually worked at Hanford while going to uh Columbia Basin College. So I I did both and then I paid my way through through college and I got my my A. Um But um after I was 18 fresh fresh out the out of high school, he said, Hey, congratulations, son. You did it, you graduated, but uh I gotta talk to you about something, and I was like, okay. He's like, Yeah, um, well, today's the 16th. If you don't have um rent by the 16th of next month, you're kicked out. So I was like, okay, all right, Dad. Sounds good. Yeah, I uh I'll get to it. So um I went to, I believe it was like Geek Squad or Best Buy because I had like um computer background. So I was able to fix computers and work in computers there. Um, but I also picked up like multiple jobs in order to pay.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

So you you you did that for you know, obviously working at Hanford as a like computer science. I heard they screwed you over. Yeah. What happened? Um I heard like you you you developed some tech and you kind of got uh rug pulled.

SPEAKER_03 9:11

What happened? Yeah, so basically, um yeah, I kind of got burnt there. Um give us the give us the so I actually created a GUI with Python. And if you don't know what that is, a GUI is like an application. Um but basically what the application was for was whenever a scientist were to check in or check out a radioactive isotope, um, they needed clearance and they needed to know like who it was as well as where it was going. So I created and developed a um application that tracked each individual radioactive isotope where it was going to be checked in and out of as far as like the room, like geolocation, and also who did it. And um, they decided to say, Hey, um I like your application, but it's unfinished. There's still some bugs in it. Um, you know, go ahead and take off. We'll we'll take it from here. So they took the code, and I actually ended up not working with them anymore. Did they end up using the code? They implemented it, they used it.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

But how old were you when you when you built this out? I was 16, 17. 16, 17. So you built out some like government grade type coding, and then obviously you uh you got kind of sideswiped, and then after that, where did you go and work? So I went to Best Buy Caregiving as well. I had multiple jobs. Um, but basically I I was so you working Best Buy and Caregiving at the same time? Yeah, I had like two part times type thing. Um so obviously, Best Buy is obviously because you were in computer, but like what got you into Caregiving?

SPEAKER_03 10:50

Um I'm not really sure. I mean I've I've kind of been like a kind of hustle or yeah. I mean, I was always in and how the hospital like pretty much all my life with my dad just because he's had some complications with his health since I was young. Um so I just figured, hey, if if I'm able to help somebody else out, you know, get compensated for it, might as well. Um, so that's kind of where I ended up with with caregiving. But yeah, no, I I did that for for quite a while, it's a couple years.

SPEAKER_02 11:18

And what was uh some of the biggest so you did caregiving for for a year? I mean, what are some of the responsibilities you gotta do as a caregiver? Because obviously you're like working with people that are kind of at the end of their their life. Um was that something that you were like, I love doing this, or was it something that you struggled with?

SPEAKER_03 11:36

In the beginning, I struggled quite a bit just because it's a lot of responsibility. I mean, you don't really technically have huge responsibilities, but you you do have to make sure that the client is um safe, that they're being safe with themselves, that they um are like getting their proper food, getting their proper medication, they're on a schedule, um, taking them to appointments, making sure they don't miss appointments, also talking to the doctors and making sure they have the right medication. Um it's just a little like a lot of different things you kind of add up to be like a kind of a bit. Um but as far as like what kind of got me was just the end of life care, just because you're put with somebody and you're supposed to care for them until they pass away. So I did that about 14 times, and it's pretty tough on my mental health.

SPEAKER_02 12:30

Just just almost seeing life at that time and then being with them at their last breaths. So so I know you did that for for qu uh quite a bit. I think that's where we we kind of met. I think you were actually transitioning into like car sales. Um but tell the story. Yeah, what's the story? What got you in the door-to-door and uh what made you make the jump? Oh yeah, okay, got you.

SPEAKER_03 12:59

So I was actually caregiving um until like the summertime of I think 2024. And I met my current fiance and wife, Lily, um, she actually met me while I was caregiving, and she came with the news that we were expecting, and so I was like, oh shit, well, I need to get my shit together. So I decided to get into sales because one thing that I knew I was gonna be good at is selling a product and um gaining assets fast, and that's the avenue that I figured I could take. So I actually hopped into car sales, worked at a couple different ones. I think the first one I worked at was like the auto something. I don't even know, but yeah, that didn't last very long. Um then I hopped over to McCurley and lasted about a month, month and a half. I was really not seeing some success there. It was tough. I mean, selling cars sold about three or four, maybe five in a month.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

But the largest McCurley's, I think a lot of people don't know much about car sales, but car sales is pretty tough. I mean, you're literally in a lot for how many hours?

SPEAKER_03 14:23

So you get there probably like around 8:30.

SPEAKER_02 14:25

Say like 8, 10, 12 hours, I heard.

SPEAKER_03 14:27

Yeah, so it's around 8.30, and then by the end of the night, you should be closing up around like 7:30, 88.

SPEAKER_02 14:34

What's like the uh what's the like typically how many people are you talking to in the day, and then how are you able to kind of control like conversions from people coming into the lot?

SPEAKER_03 14:43

It really is based off of you, just because it's like cutthroat. Like it's literally like if there's a phone call and somebody else picks it up before you, that's their lead, that's their appointment.

SPEAKER_02 14:56

Yeah, I heard you're like rotate, right? And it's like seniority, so it's like, dude, if you're brand new, like you're getting the bottom of the barrel leads.

SPEAKER_03 15:01

Exactly. Yeah, if you're brand new, you you you can't really they'll stop letting you take ups too. So basically, and it's up, yeah, and and up is just uh somebody that just drives up and wants to look at cars. So you you can go like to their car, walk up, talk to them, you know, and walk them through the process, but um they'll stop taking, they'll stop giving you the availability to take ups if you're not doing good.

SPEAKER_02 15:26

I feel like when I think about cars, I think about like you know, like a big pond of alligators, you know, they're just sitting, they they they feel the vibration of the water, and then you just see the eyes come out. I feel like that's how it is when someone pulls up to a lot. Yeah, just like who's gonna take it?

SPEAKER_03 15:41

Yeah, especially like young families, like especially the older guys. Yeah, a lot of the older guys will see like a young guy or like a young family, and they're coming to you know, check out cars, and he's just like, Oh, like he's ready to go. But if hyper se somebody else would have come by, just a regular, you know, Joe Schmo, he's just like, eh.

SPEAKER_02 15:59

What's the commissions like? Obviously, you when you're selling cars, I mean, what's the average car car value? And then typically what's commissions look like selling cars?

SPEAKER_03 16:07

Yeah, so it really just depends on kind of if they're like used cars or new cars. New cars you don't get quite as much. Um, but like what's a what's a sticker price for yeah? I mean, let's say a new Mazda six, nine or whatever heck they have version right now is like 29,000. Um then what are you taking home off the 29,000? Like 500. 500 bucks. Okay, like maybe 750 if you get them on the back end.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

So if you want to go make like obviously, like your goal, you gotta go sell quite a bit of cars.

SPEAKER_03 16:39

Typically, but you don't have really control. Yeah, that's the thing because it really depends on trade-ins too. So let's let's say that the person that you took their car as a trade-in on, they don't have the best in-shaped car. We have to put money as a dealership back into the car to get it refurbished to sell it or to put it onto an auction. So at that point, they deduct that stuff off of your paycheck. So let's say you did make $500, but they have a cracked windshield that costs $300. That's coming out your only making $200.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

Jeez. Yeah. There's there's like is it like pretty turnover ratio, pretty high in the car sales industry?

SPEAKER_03 17:15

Yeah, you literally are hopping dealership to dealership. It's like you get in a groove, you find your money, stay there for about two, three months, and then you dip somewhere else. It's it really just depends on where the money's at because a lot of dealerships will move around different types of cars. And if you can go ahead and hop from Toyota to Ford to Chevy, it doesn't really matter what you sell. Yeah, they'll take you. Like it's it's cool.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

So it sounds as if you know you're making $500 commissions, you jump into obviously direct sales, which you're doing business and consumer, and you know, you're just coming off a $35,000 a month in March. So just hearing what you started with and then hearing what you're working with now, um, where did you see opportunity and like when did you actually realize like, dang, this is actually something that I can really go do?

SPEAKER_03 18:01

Yeah, it's definitely last year. Um so last year I just started door. Um, my now um fiance was pregnant for about four or five months. And um we actually were at a doctor's visit and we had like x-rays or like uh you know those things done of the baby, right? And it's one of the first ones that we were able to do, and there was a calcium deposit um in her brain, and so I was pretty like scared, sketched out, and the doctor had notified me that we have to do more testing and that there are complications because calcium deposits sometimes can cause autisms, disabilities, um, paralysis, and um how far along was the baby when you guys found out about this? I think it was like five, six months.

SPEAKER_02 18:56

Five, six months into it. You're like, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:57

She's like kind of in the middle of it. Um not exactly sure when, but yeah, so we we were like super scared. And so that kind of shook me, and I realized at that point um I needed to make as much money as I possibly can. If I need to, you know, have complications during pregnancy, I need to be able to pay for that. I need to be able to make sure that I'm taking care of my wife, and if she needs to stay at home, she can stay at home and not have to worry about her roof being swept from underneath underneath of her.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

Well, I want to touch on that because you go from like a sustainable job selling cars, right? And then I think what was your first thought when you heard about door-to-door solar? Because it's not guaranteed, it's strictly commission-based, and with you jumping into you know, possibly some health complications, and then you gotta go get some stability, you know, for your family. What was your gut reaction? Because most people are like, you know, you're gonna go out there and knock on strangers' doors and in the heat, and then there's no guaranteed paycheck. Through all that stuff, what was going through your mind?

SPEAKER_03 20:07

I was thinking that this is this is the only way, this is the only avenue. So you never had that across your mind? No, I was I was like, right now, there's a tipping point where on the left hand there's the little angel that says, Hey, go take it easy, go find a nine to five, you know, get stability, go do this and that. And then there's like the little level, little devil on the right shoulder, and it's like, hey, if you don't make it this way, there's no other way. You're not gonna be happy, you're not gonna make enough, you're gonna be struggling your entire life. So I actually took onto the doctor side and I was like, hey, like I'm pushing it all the way, I'm maxing out whatever I can max out, um, betting on myself, um, doubling down. Um, but there's definitely times where I was like, I don't know if I can do it. This is this is tough. You know, I'm I'm praying, I'm asking God kind of what to do, and and he's telling me bet on yourself. And that's pretty much what I did.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

Yeah, because I know you knocked on my Tesla door. I think it was like 9 p.m. I think we were actually helping out your parents at the time. And I still remember this because I was on the phone call and I'm like, who's this? Number one, I was like, who's this person knocking on my door at 9 p.m. at night in like East Kennewick? And it's like, I think you're like in a trench suit, like you know, the Adams family, the big guy with the big trench coat, like you had an oversized suit. And I'm like, who is this guy? Yeah, and he had like a shirt and tie, and I think the pants that you're wearing were a little bit too big on you. So I was like, I don't think those clothes fit you, but I respect the hustle. And you're like, dude, have you thought about getting a Cadillac? And I was like, no, but every thought about doing solar. So when we we transitioned into the house, talked to you know, your pops and your mom, and it was a great conversation. And I remember your parents telling me, like, hey, we want him to come and work with you. And then um obviously, you know, it was kind of You know, you know, dating around the idea. I think at that time you came out with the Facebook McCurley uh reel that they had you, and then you're like filling yourself like, yeah, we go buy a Cadillac. And I was like, You're gonna come do solar. Took you down to Arizona, you came down and saw you know, corporate, saw how things were being done. What was it for you saying yes and actually showing up? Because there's a difference, right? You know, yeah, I can do the job, but for you, what was the difference of like not only gonna say yes to this, but I'm gonna actually go figure it out.

SPEAKER_03 22:32

Um, I just feel like there's no other avenue for me. Um, I I looked at your social media, I I've looked at the track rec with solar, I've kind of looked at a lot of door-to-door reps, and I realized that this is actually real. Like, people actually get paid for this. It's not some sort of fantasy Instagram AI, whatever. It's it's real, like money in the bank account. So when I realized that people can actually get paid for this type of work and paid a lot more for their time and their effort, that's where I wanted to go. That's what I wanted to do. And so I was like, anyway possible, anyhow possible, I'm gonna become a sponge, I'm gonna soak it all up, I'm gonna ask as many questions as possible, and then I have one of the goats teaching me what to do and tell me what to do. So, how could I go wrong? You know, if I have somebody like you in my corner, I just felt with the absolute certainty, how could I fail?

SPEAKER_02 23:27

Which I mean, did did like any of your family or friends believe in you doing it when you first started out, or did they where you had, you know, like hey, you know, it's a scam or you know, go find a real job. Yeah, I had you had people supporting you if you first started, or do you have people that were like down you?

SPEAKER_03 23:43

I had that. So basically call them out. A lot of people were like, hey, um is a lot of people. Some of my family members just um some of them were like, maybe you should think about getting something more stable, right? I mean, door to door, yeah, it's good.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

It's just like real close family members, not real close.

SPEAKER_03 24:04

Well, kinda, maybe a couple aunts, uncles, and aunts. Um, which one? Man, I don't know, man. I can't call them out, man. I don't know, man. No, most of them were pretty like um supportive. Um, I I rarely had any fan members actually like say that you probably should do something else. But basically they were just like, hey, listen, if you don't find success in the first like couple weeks, move to something else. Because they were just like, hey, it's cool, I get it, you're trying something new, but at the end of the day, you take care of your family. So if you can't feed your family with a job like this, you need to move to something that's gonna be actually more stable and controlling.

SPEAKER_02 24:47

So it comes from like a good place, they just they care about you.

SPEAKER_03 24:51

Right.

SPEAKER_02 24:51

So this this is the part I think obviously senior success. You know, you you finished top three last year, um, no experience. And then you're walking the stage, you know, that was cool to see you in your first year go win, you know, some epic awards at the company event in Cabo. This year, you're already, I think you're almost you beat what you've done last year, and it's only April, which is crazy. And you're coming off one of your biggest months, you know, $35,000 a month in a month, paid out, and then you're on track to go do it again. I think most people see the success now, but let's talk about the lows. What were some of the lows that you went through throughout this journey? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:31

Um one of them, I was I was constantly at work, and my fiance was was pregnant and she had complications, like I was telling you, and we had some some times where she was thinking, like, I can't do this by myself. Like, I need some help. Like, you're always gone and you're never around, and you know, I'm I'm doing this, I'm doing that, I'm going to work, I'm um, you know, not feeling great, and you know, I just think we we should separate. And that's happened a couple times to where I had to take a step back and really focus on the reason why I'm doing what I do is because I want to put both of my family members in the best position possible. But I just had to make sure that she knew that I was doing that for them. I had to make sure that she understood that the sacrifices that we're making is for a greater good and not just because I don't like her. I I just I don't feel like I have a connection with her. It's I'm not separating myself for the reason that I want to be separate from you. I'm separating myself from the reason that I need to be closer to somewhere else so that I'm able to grow both of our situations.

SPEAKER_02 26:48

Yeah, so it seems like it was one of those like ultimatums, right? When you're when you're going through this. Did you ever did you ever feel like maybe this wasn't for you? Like this works for some people, but maybe I'm not built for it.

SPEAKER_03 26:59

Yeah, yeah, I had a couple of times like that. I mean, um, we it's like a solar coaster, you shouldn't hop on it. But I mean, I've I've written it a little bit. Um, you know, coming off of record breaking weeks, months, days, and then also having days, weeks at a time that it's like, what did I do wrong? Like, like, is it me? Like, can I actually do this? Like it's it's definitely blending opposites because, like I said, on one side of the shoulder, it's like, go ahead, do something stable, this and that, and the other side, it's this is the only way. If you don't do this, you're not gonna be able to do anything else. So um when I felt like that, I mean, I think one of the the biggest times was after I hadn't gotten anything for like a whole three weeks, and last year in like August or last year in September, I'm not too sure when, but I believe Federico um he was a setter manager at leadership at the time, and he kind of took me under his wing and he said, Hey, listen, this shop isn't for everyone. Um, but I want you to understand that you have what it takes, but your habits are terrible. And he just really instilled in me that whatever that I do on the outside of the doors is a direct reflection of what I do on the doors. So um he really helped me out, gave me podcasts, coached me up, talked to me a lot, um, talked to me more about the mental, just because a lot of this job is like pure mental. It doesn't take anything hard for you to walk half a mile and knock 10 doors.

SPEAKER_02 28:44

I mean, what what Nate just said right there and what he described, that's not weakness, that's the actual job, right? And so managing your mind and the and the work that you gotta go do door to door is not easy, right? And it's not about the pitch, but it's about what are you willing to go do on a day-to-day basis and create habits on a day-to-day basis to go create the results that you want, right? And so I appreciate you, you know, leaning into that because that's really where the strength was found, right? And let's talk about the winning. So you you start seeing a shift in your skill set, your mindset, and your confidence. Um, $35,000 in a month, right? And you're coming from a job that literally was paying you, you know, $500 for a car, but it wasn't really guaranteed on who was coming through your lot, right? Was there ever a time that you thought about the number that you were making, or were you just focused on the inputs?

SPEAKER_03 29:40

When I was car selling, I was almost like door to door. Oh, and door to door.

SPEAKER_02 29:44

Yeah, you made $35,000. So, like talking about the success now, cool. I got an opportunity. Um, I'm creating the right habits, I'm building a skill set to go get me to that next point. What was your focus? Because with March Madness, obviously it was a competition, but did you know you're like, hey, dang, I just cleared $35,000 in the bank? Or did did it just happen? Or yeah. Um what were you focused on?

SPEAKER_03 30:07

I was focused on getting one more. Um, honestly, it's oh man, hurrah, you got one. Yay, okay, cool. Um I don't care. It's not in my account yet, right? Why would I care? I need to go get one more. And that's kind of the mentality that I had. It's just one more, one more, one more. Um if you put in the inputs, obviously you're gonna have great outcomes, but I simply just wanted one more. Like it's the insatiable hunger of you want one more. Um yeah, I'm so happy. I got a whale. Oh, I gotta, I gotta close, I got two deals, I got three deals. One more. That's what I want. So just you weren't settling. No, you never settle. I mean, that's that's pretty much what it is. It's just yeah, you feel good, you feel great, you have a record-breaking month, but I did 12. Can I do 15? Can I do 20?

SPEAKER_02 31:08

Yeah. And I think I think that's something that defines you, Nate, is you know, seeing this foot come full circle. Um, now you're on my podcast, right? And we're talking about this, but that first week, right, you did not work your first week. I think the first three, four days, you were sick, sick as a dog. And uh, you know, Trey gave you a run for your money. And you took it upon yourself to go up on a Saturday and go throw up accounts and go do a PR and you beat them by one point, right? I think that right there when itself was when I knew, like, okay, he gets it, he understands it. What was it like when you found out you won the competition? Because you know, last year when you heard your name get called on the stage, right? In Cabo, you know, 100 people seeing your name light up. What went through your head?

SPEAKER_03 31:56

Oh man, um definitely proud. Um, but also can I do it again? Like immediately. Like, like, oh, that's oh my gosh, wow, my name's up there. That's great. I I won. And then that that little devil on my shoulder, can you do it again? Can you do more? So that's that's kind of one of the first things that happened is just yeah, I recognize my accomplishments, but I'm not satisfied with my results. Um, who's the first person you thought of uh when it happened?

SPEAKER_02 32:27

Who'd you call?

SPEAKER_03 32:28

Or who'd you like to know?

SPEAKER_02 32:29

Who'd I call?

SPEAKER_03 32:29

Yeah, I think I called Chris Sanchez because he's my day one. I brought him on, and he he absolutely killed it in March too. And um, I was just like, dang, bro, that's crazy. Guess what happened? And he was like, What? What? So I let him know, and he was just like, ah bro, good job, this and that, rah rah rah. And he just gave me my flowers, and um, we kind of talked about how it was, you know, for March, and he was excited, and I was excited, and you know, we both hit our goals financially, and it was it was great.

SPEAKER_02 33:02

So you feel like this changed you, changed how you see yourself, you know, like who you are now compared to who you were in the past. Have you felt like you you've in a sense uplifted your identity, especially as a person, as a man, right now, compared to where you were prior? Giving that phone call to Chris, right? You're like, Chris, dude, I did it. And you know, we started at the same time.

SPEAKER_03 33:30

Yeah, I I definitely feel like I changed, like it's a little bit different. It's not more of like, hey, like I did this, it's more of you guys don't know this, but I had my septic tape pumped and I paid for it for my parents to get it pumped. It's the you guys don't know this, but my my dad, he had some medication he needed to pick up from the store and I paid for it. So it's just like it's the little things that I see that people don't really understand. It's it's not more of like, oh, I have my name on a billboard, I have my name on the on the podcast. It's it's more of taking care of my family and understanding that the things that I need and I want to be taken care of, they're good. Which I can't I can't complain. You know, it's it's a blessing.

SPEAKER_02 34:16

So um, yeah, and and and shout out to you, congrats, man. You got baptized. You found Jesus. Um talk to us about that that experience. What was what was that for you going through that in your life, and how has it brought brought you happiness? Yeah, uh now.

SPEAKER_03 34:38

It's absolutely everything to me. I'll say it again because I need to say it with more bravado. It is absolutely everything to me to be a follower of Jesus Christ. And I didn't really realize that until I got into Door to Door. The thing that got me was the day that I knocked on your Tesla door. I was crying driving home because I had sold the car that day and I made $75 and I didn't know what to do because I only had a couple hundred bucks left in my account. And I asked God, I was like, God, please break me. Show me a way, show me what to do. I don't care what it is, but please break me. And so I was crying on the way home, and I start to you know pull over to my house, and I'm like wiping my tears, and then pull down my driveway, park it. And I realized like, it was across the street. I look over and it's like a Tesla. I was like, okay. And then I start to go walk inside, and then I I walk past Ding Ding and Saya, and they're walking up the stairs. Like, I was like, What do you what are you guys doing? He's like, Oh, we're just doing solar with your parents. I was like, Oh, okay, cool, all right, whatever. So they're walking up, and I'm like, Who's parked out there? He's like, Oh, my partner. And I was like, Does he want a new car? And he was like, I don't know, go talk to him. Then that's what happened when I knocked on your Tesla door. Kind of know what it is. Um, but that's one of the first beginnings of me looking to get baptized, looking more towards Christ. And ever since I got baptized, it's just been a constant lean. You you you can't describe how much you actually depend and lean and and give your negative energy, your negative thoughts, your your prayers. If you're giving it to somebody else, the weight lifts from you. And that's really the reason why I'm I'm still here is just because of being able to pray on things, being able to pray with homeowners, being able to smile and be a follower of somebody that's much bigger than you. And people definitely can feel it, and they can tell. It's not anything crazy, but if you're a follower of God, you hold yourself in a different way. If you're God fearing, you hold yourself in a different way. And a lot of people on the doors can tell, like, if you're God fearing or not. I'm not telling you that you have to be a follower of Jesus Christ, but all I'm saying is there's a difference between somebody who is generally there for a reason to help and somebody who is just there to sell my product. And I've been able to connect with a lot of homeowners on a spiritual level just because I'm able to get to the point of I care about you specifically and your family, and I want them to be in a better financial space.

SPEAKER_02 37:50

You you feel like with you this transition of you, you know, it's and I for for those who are listening, you know, whether you just what do you believe in, right? Could it be higher power or it could be God? Um, you felt like your purpose is has become more clear. And with that said, I'm gonna talk about this because I think this is important. You've you you sent some notes, but you almost died three times, right? Right. You going through those experiences, did you not find were you still pretty stubborn, or like you said, you know, hey God, please break me, right? What was going through your mind because you know I was definitely lost. You had to be tested, was it maybe just the possibility of having someone like having a having a kid?

SPEAKER_03 38:35

Is that what like that's what sparked me? Yeah, yeah. For myself, I didn't feel like it was worth it, honestly. But for somebody else, for somebody who is is brand new into this world who didn't ask to be put into this world, it it was different perspective that changed. Um I almost died because I had uh an infection from my ACL tear first that was pretty complicated, and then I actually had my meniscus removed. I mean, meniscus, I had my appendix removed. Um it already burst, and so I had complications with that. It took about six months, 12 months to actually like heal up. Um and then I had a large reaction in Mississippi. I got bit by a random creature, I don't know what it was, but the nearest hospital was if you take a left, nearest hospital was 30 minutes away, and that was for an urgent care. And if you took a right, the nearest hospital was an hour away. So my parents thought it's closer, let's go to the urgent care. Took a left, and it was 30 minutes away. They looked at me 10 seconds, we can't do anything for him. So is it an infection? It was it was uh allergic reaction. Okay, so I was swallowed up like a balloon. Um, my throat was closing in, and um I blacked out. So anything.

SPEAKER_02 40:08

So that's the first one. What's the second time that you went through a near-death experience?

SPEAKER_03 40:12

Yeah, um, second time was my um meniscus or my ACL. Um basically it was like super rare, but there was some type of bone infection or something that it complicated it, and they really had to make sure that my blood was good or something, and that was pretty scary. I was pretty fragile. I was in high school. It's like a deeper, like a MRSA.

SPEAKER_02 40:40

Uh, I know I know what that means. When it hits the bone, it can go faster into your body to spread, right?

SPEAKER_03 40:45

Yeah, yeah. Something like that. And I was in high school, and I don't want really anybody to know like you're a fragile kid. Like, yeah, so I ended up not really playing much sports for like a year and a half, two years out of my high school career. So I started in freshman and then I didn't play again until like senior. She's two years off.

SPEAKER_02 41:08

So, and then third time, what's the third time?

SPEAKER_03 41:11

Um, my my appendix. So I was in sixth or seventh grade, and I had been playing football, and I told my parents that my stomach hurt, and they took me in, and they're like, Oh, it's just acid reflex. And so um I kept playing, and my uncle, he was the coach for my team, and so he was like, You're out of shape, this and that, la la la. Made me run like soft, yes, my rum diet, dude. Made me run like what's it, like two extra miles that day, and then he made me like run like a mile after that day, every single day, and that lasted for about a week. And oh man, I was in some pain. And then one day my parents came home and they found me passed out on the floor, and they rushed into the hospital. My appendix had burst two weeks ago, and you're still playing on and I was still playing on it, and I was I was still doing everything, and and um they did emergency surgery that day, yeah, like at 12 o'clock at night or something.

SPEAKER_02 42:22

So it sounds Nate, you just have this this gene of resilience, you know. It's I see it in your mom, I see it in your dad, and I think that's one of the things that you carry so well is just it doesn't matter what can go wrong in your life. You take that wrong turn to go to the urgent care, but you're always gonna figure out a way to get back on track. And I want to talk about this last portion of some advice to the underdogs because you know, I look at you as a true underdog, you know. Um you're afraid you're African-American, you're in the space, and you don't look to you don't look to part, right? And you're able to go out there on a day-to-day basis. Uh, you just literally came from like Ritzville. I think you got chased out because of some racial, some racial things, right? Yeah. Um and it's happened to you a couple times. Yeah. Now, with that said, I want to talk about, you know, for the people who are in the field right now, right? This is specifically to someone that's listening right now, who's listening to it on their drive, and maybe it's their first day. What's the one thing you wish someone had told you in your first 60 days?

SPEAKER_03 43:25

60 days the limit that you put your put on yourself, you could probably do about, I want to say half of what you think on top of it. Oh, I can only do 60 doors today, okay. You could probably do about 90. Or I can only work about four hours today, you can probably do about six, seven. Um whatever your limited belief is, you need to increase it. If it's quantity, increase it. If it's conversations, increase it. Um the more that You do now the easier it's going to become just because your brain has to understand how to do something, but it doesn't understand how to do something unless you actually do that. If you knock the door, if you talk to the person, if you explain yourself to somebody, you have to go through the reps. There's no cheat codes, there's no quick way, there's no backdoor, you know, there's no shortcut. Shortcut.

SPEAKER_01 44:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:29

Right.

SPEAKER_02 44:30

Um so with that said, Nate, you know, like, you know, if you're a rep on your on your team right now and they're in the slump right now, right? As you're speaking, maybe they had a bad day or they had a bad week or frick, they had a bad month. What do you what do you say to them? And to keep it real, no fluff, like no motivation, what is the main focus they need to be focusing on right now? They're going through that. Because you've been through it.

SPEAKER_03 44:53

Yeah. Find one person. That's literally it. Find one person, find one person that allows you to speak, find one person that you can have a conversation with, find one person that opens up to you and that you're able to portray to them how you're trying to serve them. And after you find that one person, and maybe they do it, maybe they don't, but guess what? Who are you looking for? People like that person. Who are you looking for? People who have the same word track as that person, people who have the same thought processes as that person. If you find your one look and then you look for it again and again and again, that's how you win. It's just finding one person to anchor on, looking for people like that, or looking for people who are able to actually open up and speak with you and have a conversation with you. It might not be the person that you want it to be, but if you're there to serve, you should be focusing on finding a way to help them out.

SPEAKER_02 45:57

So, in your honest opinion, you know, I want you to be honest. Just completely honest. What's the difference between someone who's actually gonna make it in this business and someone that may like what separates someone that's gonna actually do this job or fall off? What's the actual difference?

SPEAKER_03 46:21

It's the subtle art of not giving a fuck.

SPEAKER_02 46:24

Um talk about it, talk about that, Nate. Go ahead and talk your talk your ears.

SPEAKER_03 46:28

Yeah, top top producers, top guys in the company, they have a switch. And that switch is I'm only gonna care about what matters to me. I'm only gonna care about what matters to my organization, I'm only gonna care about what matters to help grow my team. Everything else is fluff, everything else is background noise, everything else doesn't matter. Um, the homeowner that told me to get out of here because they don't like the color of my skin, or the homeowner that said racist remarks to me, the homeowner that, you know, tell me to to you know get out of here that is not wanted here, that doesn't matter. That's a switch that you have to flip. You don't care, they're not adding to anything, they're subtracting from stuff. The energy that you have you protect, and that's the difference between top producers and bottom feeders is they let everything get to them. Top producers, they don't give a fuck. They they don't care. They you can sit here and tell them a million things negative, and they'll be like, okay, what's next? Like, I don't like go ahead, continue. Like, are you done yet? Because I have stuff that I need to get to. Like, and I need to get stuff done. So if you done talking? No? Okay, great. Have a good day. God bless you. Like, it doesn't matter. Like, you have to have the conviction, you have to have the thought process of I'm only gonna care about a few things. My time is limited, and the few things that I will care about, that's it.

SPEAKER_02 47:55

And I think that's uh that's the big thing in entrepreneurship is being able to know what you want and being able to commit to what you want and on your vision. Because when your vision isn't clear, right, those habits, those decisions on a day-to-day basis become distractions, and you have to be really dialed at number one. If you're a top performer, you gotta understand, okay, what's the priority for my day? Anything else that is detracting from that, not worth my time because time is the the greatest asset, right? We don't get it back. Money we make, time we don't get back. And so a last question, Nate, and uh know a little bit about your vision, man. What's what are you looking to build here? What's next for Nate? And what ceiling are you looking to go reach?

SPEAKER_03 48:38

Yeah, um, first light bulb, golden door. I'm getting 100 net, baby. You already know. Shout out to Sam Tagger. Oh, come on, man. I gotta get it. I gotta get 100. That's what I want, that's what I need, that's what my vision. Um, that's the first step. Um, second step is building an org, um, becoming a more prominent figure in leadership, um, helping other people do exactly what I do and focusing on the inputs. Um, if you break it down to the absolute ridiculous, if every single person who is in solar, if they only set two to three appointments a day five to six days out of the week, that means you have anywhere from 10, 12, 13 appointments on the board. Out of those 13 appointments on the board, if you're finding a qualified prospect that actually is interested in solar, how many people do you think you're gonna actually close? How many people you can you actually serve? And if I'm able to help other people do exactly that, that's all that I need in order to actively grow an organization that's gonna do crazy numbers. Um you don't need the world, you need one, two, three people doing their job at a very high level. And if they're able to produce and be consistent with constantly pushing the pace of two to three sets or one to two, three closes a week, that's really all you need. It's just those consistent guys just putting in the work no matter what. And that's what I want to go find. That's what I want to go build, is I want to go find two to three people that I can mentor, put my time into, and also take those three people and help them switch it around, build out their teams as well. So I just I want to be in a point where I'm able to help others grow and help others do what I've done. Um, that way they're able to impact their families and you know help themselves out as well. Love it.

SPEAKER_02 50:40

My guy, Nate Otis. You guys heard it live and direct from Nate OTIS. You guys could have go chain. But if you guys felt like this is something that you guys can take away and apply it, um, where can we find you, Nate?

SPEAKER_03 50:52

Facebook, Instagram, Facebook, Instagram, um, Nathan.otis. It's pretty crazy in public. Um, but um, yeah, no, that's that's pretty much it.

SPEAKER_02 51:01

Yeah, DM my boy for for more tips if you are in the space. He's a great guy. Uh, and also for anyone listening, like, share, subscribe, and follow for our next episodes. Appreciate you. Thank you.