Why So Many People Fail Before They Even Begin

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Most people don't fail because they tried and it didn't work out.

They fail because they never even started.

In this solo episode I talk about one of the things I'm most passionate about, why so many builders, tradies and business owners give up on their dreams before they've even given themselves a real shot.

Because of one negative comment. One person who told them it was too hard. One family member who said it wouldn't work.

I've been there. I was told I'd never make it as a builder. I ignored it. And I'm glad I did.

If you've got a dream you've been sitting on, this one is for you.

Transcript

Why People Quit Too Early

SPEAKER_00 0:00

It's actually something I'm really passionate about as well. And that is that so many people fail before they've even begun. And I see this happening all the time. But I feel that so many people give up or they they feel like they've failed at something. So they give up on their dream before their dreams even even really started, it's even kicked off or or kicked into gear. And it's really quite upsetting, I think, because why give up on something? Like if you haven't put in 150%, if you haven't tried everything that you can, if you haven't pushed hard, if you haven't kept your foot on the gas, then why give up on something? When you put an idea out there, you have a thought, whether it's a business idea or a personal idea, like I don't care what it is, but so many people have these incredible ideas and they give up on them purely based on feedback from what someone else has said to them. And that could be one person, it could be multiple people. But man, I can tell you now, if I gave up every time that someone sent me a shit message on Instagram or Facebook telling me that I'm a wanker, I'm a dickhead or I don't know what I'm talking about, man, I would I would never be in the position I'm in now. People aren't like that. Because the reality is that most people, everyone's had ideas, but most people haven't had the balls, they haven't had the initiative, they haven't had the strength, the willpower to push through and actually achieve something people didn't believe in me. I would have all these big aspirations, I would tell people my big ideas. A lot of people used to always talk to me about what I wanted to do and where I was gonna get money. Yeah, that's my god. I'm gonna be a builder, I'm gonna get in a friendship, I'm gonna be a builder, I'm gonna build a building business. And I wouldn't get shut down all the time. Like we're working in a trust and game factory, so we had builders coming up all the time, and like I would be at the uh young fella, and if I had to help builders load their unit or their truck or whatever, I'd be asking questions like, hey data, what are you doing, what are you using this material for? And there's a couple of regulars that come in that I got to know really well. I look forward to those conversations and I've thrived on it. What's changed between then and now is I don't take that for an answer.

Safety And Profit Go Together

SPEAKER_00 2:11

As a builder, one of my number one priorities is making sure that my entire team, including my contractors, go home safely every day to their families. I understand that workplace health safety can sometimes feel like it's just an overwhelming thing that you just don't have the time, you don't have the money, you don't have the resources to put in place. That's why I recommend Hazicco. Hazico is a digital platform that allows you to run more profitable projects and stay on top of your workplace health and safety requirements. You see, safety isn't a cost. Chaos will always send you an invoice. An unsafe job site is an unprofitable job site. Using digital platforms to drive safer, more profitable jobs is the way of the future. So get on board with Hazardco. Go to www.hazicco.com and help create a safer job site for your team. From

Less Admin For Busy Builders

SPEAKER_00 3:08

timber frames and trusses to fasteners and sealants, Brett Online has got the lot. Real trade gear, no weekend warrior stuff. Your own profile page keeps everything neat and tidy. Account details, safe job lists, invoices, and all your top-ordered products. No more digging through old paperwork or chasing around old invoices to try and see what you've ordered. It's all there, ready to go. As a builder that's run my own construction business for over 20 years, 17 of those years I've been using Brett's because Brett's are always putting their customers first to help us deliver more successful and profitable projects. By using their online portal, it means that myself or my supervisors can order gear at the drop of a hat. No more driving across town to place orders or having to pick up the phone and try and get through to the right rep. It's just done and dusted. On top of this, their next day delivery service is an absolute lifesaver when you under order on framing or one of your team forgets to add a zero. Brett's proudly service all of Southeast Queensland and the Wide Bay region right now and are gearing up to roll out across all capital cities very soon. The Brett's way is simple: less admin, more building, more profitable projects. Brett's online, built for builders who don't have time to muck around, building better and living better. G'day

The Real Cost Of Negative Voices

SPEAKER_00 4:28

guys, welcome back to another episode of Level Up. We are back in the studio this afternoon for another solo podcast because uh you keep asking for them. So um look, today's podcast is going to be about, and again, this is just something that I've been thinking about a bit lately. It's actually something I'm really passionate about as well, and that is that so many people fail before they've even begun. And I see this happening all the time, and it's actually been highlighted on a few of my recent um podcast recordings, just talking to people about their experience and uh like how they got into becoming a builder or a tradie. It's been really, really interesting to hear people talking about how a couple in particular that it didn't they it didn't fit when they first did it, and they went away, they they tried something else, but then they come back, they got to a point where like I I know what I need to do now, and they went back to it. But I feel that so many people give up or they they feel like they've failed at something, so they give up on their dream before their dreams even even really started, it's even kicked off or or kicked into gear, and it's it it's really quite upsetting, I I think, because why give up on something? Like if you haven't put in 150%, if you haven't tried everything that you can, if you haven't pushed hard, if you haven't kept your foot on the gas, then why give up on something? And I think a big part of this, I s I see it in my uh some of my employees, I definitely see it in some family members, I occasionally see it in my kids. A lot of it comes from what you're letting allowing into up here, what you're letting other people tell you. And it's it's such a shame that we let that get to us. So I know what it's like, like I I actually have to deal with that sometimes as well, and it can be really devastating and it can really get you in a bad place when you're you have this dream, you have this goal, and you want to do it, you want to push through, you you want to make sure you want it you want it to pan out. But because whether it's teachers, whether it's colleagues, whether it's associates, whether it's just the group that you hang around on a regular basis is bagging you out or just giving you negative feedback or negative comments, so many people take it on board and they let it kill their dreams, and so they fail before they've even begun. Just because some other dropkick that hasn't had the ability to push through and keep their foot on the gas and and try their hardest, it's it's so wrong. And the other thing is like everyone people are very quick to bag people out, and you the thing is you learn who your real where you who your true supporters are when you're in this position because true supporters will support you no matter what. They will give you advice, they will put their hand on their sh on your shoulder, they'll give you a hug when you need it, they'll gee you back up when you need it, they'll they'll give you a shoulder to cry on, like they'll they will support you no matter what you're going through. And it's very hard to come by these days people like that, because so many people are jealous, like when you put an idea out there, um, you have a thought, whether it's a business idea or a personal idea, like I don't care what it is, but so many people have these incredible ideas and they give up on them purely based on feedback from what someone else has said to them. And that could be one person, it could be multiple people, but man, I I can tell you now, if I gave up every time that someone um sent me a shit message on Instagram or Facebook telling me that I'm a wanker, I'm a dickhead, or I don't know what I'm talking about, man, I I I would never be in the position I'm in now. And um, I can tell you I'd rather be where I am now than uh if I hadn't followed through just based off some clown that didn't even know me or uh or understand the context of what I was talking about. So I I put this stuff out there because I I personally believe in every single person on this planet. I might not know you, but I know where I've come from, and I know that anybody, anybody at all on on in the on this planet can achieve incredible things when you believe in yourself. And I feel like a lot of the time we're we're sitting back, we're waiting for other people to believe in us. And reality is a lot of the time that just doesn't come because nine times out of ten, when you come up with a great idea, when you're when you're when you're driven, when you want to achieve something, so many people around you will hold you back because they think they're doing the right thing. And this thing the the hardest thing is a lot of the time this comes from family members, close people, like people that love you, that you love, and it can be really hard to take, but nine times out of ten, the first thing people do when you put out a great idea is tell you how hard it's gonna be, tell you how much money it's gonna cost, tell you how many other people have failed trying to do that. There's so many things that and like it's very, very rare that someone will say to you, That's a fantastic idea, I love it. Let's uh let's have more of a conversation about it, let's dive into it, let's let's unpack it. Because people aren't like that. Because the reality is that most people, everyone's had ideas, but most people haven't had the balls, they haven't had the initiative, they haven't had the strength, the willpower to push through and actually achieve something. And so I really encourage you, don't give up before you've started. Don't give up just because you've heard a comment from whether it's a uh someone you've had lunch or breakfast with, whether it's a family member, whether it's a comment on social media, don't give up on your dreams based off someone else's perception or someone else's failure or someone else's view on what they perceive to be hard or difficult or or too expensive or whatever it is. Like run your own race, believe in yourself, and seriously, when you do that, you can you can achieve incredible things in this world, and uh even just while I'm talking about this now, I'm I'm thinking back to just how many times like I remember back at school, there were so many times where certain teachers just didn't give me the time of day, and I thought I was a failure, and I uh I was giving up on things. There was even times through my early, I guess, uh career where people didn't believe in me. They didn't like I I would I would have all these big aspirations, I would, I would tell people my big ideas, I'd and I I'll give you one real real life example of that. When I was 15,

Smoko Room Doubters And Determination

SPEAKER_00 11:33

I I worked for two years, so from 15 to 17, I worked in a um a frame and trust factory, and I loved it. I absolutely loved it. I was stacking timber, loading timber, cutting timber, like working out in the yard, like it was it was good, but I was there was only myself and um I think back then, I think the company had over 60 employees, and there was myself and two other I was the youngest, and then I think there was a 16-year-old and like an 18-year-old, and then um all the rest of the people were were 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s. Um and so we would sit down to have Smoko and I would hear all these conversations that people were were having, and a lot of people used to always talk to me about what I wanted to do and where I was gonna go. And like my number one thing was I'm gonna be a builder, like I'm yeah, that's that's my goal. I'm gonna be a builder, I'm gonna get an apprenticeship, I'm gonna be a builder, I'm gonna build a building business, and um I would get shut down all the time, and like we're working in a trust and fame factory, so we had builders coming and going all the time. And like I would be out in the yard, I'm only a young fella, and if I had to help builders load their Ut and or their truck or whatever, like I'd be asking questions like how's your day going? What are you doing? Like, what are you using this material for? And there was a couple of regulars that come in that I got to know really well, and I I looked forward to those conversations and I thrived on it, and I could see some of the other guys in the yard when they were in those positions where they were helping people load their Utant stuff up, like they were dragging their feet, they had a sour look on their face, they didn't have a conversation with the person, and it was just such a different experience. But those same people that were were acting like that were the same ones in the smoker room when I was saying, Hey, I want to be a builder, we're going, Oh, fuck that, you don't want to be a builder. Have you seen the shit they got to deal with? Look at all the fucking shit that comes through here, like what a joke! Like, have you haven't you seen them out in the yard whinging and bitching? Like, and it was just all negative all the time. And like, haven't you seen they all struggle? And haven't you seen how stressed out Matt is? And like it was just all negative. There was never a positive um discussion, there was never a positive thought. And yeah, I don't even think anyone through that period of my life ever uh at that business where I worked ever said to me, Oh, that's awesome, Dwayne. Like, yeah, yeah, go and be a builder, smash it out. Like, it was all just negative talk. So if I had taken their feedback on board, like I'd probably still be working at that trust and fame uh frame factory now. Um, but I ignored it all because I knew what I wanted to do, and there's been a lot of situations in my life where um I've I've had big ideas, I've had big goals, and I've I've wanted to do them, and I've made them happen.

Property Goals And Refusing No

SPEAKER_00 14:25

And I can give you like some other really good examples, and some of them are actually to do around property, and I know like I've been very ambitious. Um, like my my goal is to own a hundred million dollars worth of property, and we're well on our way to that, so but I've really ramped that up in the last sort of probably six to eight years. The the 20 years before that, I was trying to ramp it up, but I was just I was getting the wrong feedback, and I did, I did take my foot off the gas, and I and a few times I did give up before I'd started because I was reaching out to people. I I was working my ass off, I was reaching out to people, I'd find property, I'd bring people, I'd say, How what do I need to do to get this? They'd say, Oh no, look, you can't do that, it's impossible. You're not earning enough money, or you don't have enough deposit, or um it's too expensive, like all these things. And there was so many deals that I remember just I didn't, I didn't even once I once I was told that I didn't even think twice about. And what's changed between then and now is I don't take no for an answer. And the reason that my property portfolio, or mine and my wife's um and our wealth of it has expanded so much in the last four, six, eight years, is I find a solution for everything, I figure it out, and I make it happen.

Healthier Homes And Condensation Control

SPEAKER_00 15:45

So, all right, guys, I want to introduce you to a really exciting new product that I believe is going to play a massive role in Australia building healthier homes. As you all know, I am extremely passionate about healthy homes and I'm doing a lot of research and putting a lot of time and effort into making sure my construction business is leading the way when it comes to building healthy homes here in Australia. We've teamed up with the guys from Highwood Timber. Highwood Timber are pioneering condensation management with their high flow ventilated LVL baton system. High flow battons give builders a stronger, straighter, and smarter way to create a ventilated cavity behind cladding and underneath roofs without compromising on structural performance. While tackling condensation to improve building health and ease of insulation, highwood battons are built to perform. When it comes to dealing with condensation and ventilation, high flow battons will help you create continuous ventilated cavities behind all your cladding and underneath your roof sheeting. They reduce condensation risk and support healthier, longer lasting buildings. Highwood timber battons are also in alignment with the proposed NCC condensation management requirements as well as passive house ventilation requirements. Being an engineered LVL product, they are stronger, straighter, and more dimensionally stable than a solid material such as pine. This helps resist warping, twisting, and shrinkage, ensuring more consistent installs less prone to splitting than solid timber. Howwood timber battens are precisely manufactured, meaning that your installation will be faster and easier than other products on the market. The part that I like the most about these batons are they are H3 treated for long-term protection against decay and turmoiles. They use a waterborne H3 treatment which reduces reactivity with membranes and adhesives when compared to LOSP. These are the exact battens that you want to be using on your homes and your builds if you are considering building healthier homes or passive homes. Check them out. Highwood Timber

Keep Digging Until You Find Answers

SPEAKER_00 17:51

Products. I'm still ringing people and still getting some of those answers. Even in the last couple of months, like I've had my I had my eye on this quite large development deal, and certain people had like when I that I'd rung to talk to about it, had said, Oh no, that yeah, no, it's out of your leg, it's not gonna happen. I didn't take that as an answer. I reached out to more people, I spoke to more people, I spoke to people that had done it, and I found solutions. Um, we didn't end up getting the property, it it um it sold at auctions and we got outbidded, but from that experience, because I didn't I didn't give in because I didn't um I didn't fail before I'd begun, I've now used that as a bit of a superpower and I've used that information like I'm taking that as a learning experience. I've learned so much information out of that experience that I'm now going to employ in other developments that we're looking into. So yeah, I just want to really drive home that so many people give up before they've even started, they fail before they've begun simply because no one's believed in them, they don't believe in themselves, and they've taken advice from the wrong people, or they've taken advice from a couple of people and and have given up, they've stopped looking. But reality is there is always someone out there that will give you the answers you need to hear, and it's up to us. Like if we want to get ahead in life, we've got to keep digging. You don't just reach out to one or two people and get the answers that you want, you need to get amongst it, talk to hundreds of people. And um, I say this a lot of the time to my uh members in my live life build business, training business, and um around reaching out to designers and architects, like they they struggle and they they they give up because they think then they're not getting a constant flow of work. And when I say, Well, how how many have you reached out to? Like, have you have you reached out to architect designers like have you made a list? And they'll say, Oh yeah, I've spoken to two. I was like, Well, that's not enough. Like, if you want a constant flow of work, you you might have to speak to 10, 20, 30, 40. Um, and they'll say, Oh, look, there's yeah, there's not enough, there's not that many in my area. And I'll say, Well, I'm sure there is, you've just got to keep looking. So many people are looking for a quick fix, and they want the fix to be within the first two, three, four, maybe five phone calls or five conversations. You need to keep digging, like, and you don't stop until you get the information, the knowledge, the positivity, the belief that you need to get you through to make sure you succeed. And that's a big difference between people that I guess uh stay average or stay comfortable, to people that get ahead and build wealth and create freedom uh in their lives and business. You like you don't give up. If you want freedom, you don't give up. You've got to keep pushing for it. And I guess it's um it's uh like whether we're talking business or life or finances or wealth, whatever it is, like it's all the same. Like the the harder you the harder you push um the more you get. But I don't want people to fail before you've begun. Just believe in yourself, um, trust your instincts. Like so many people have incredible instincts, and they let those instincts get pushed to the side purely based on what people around them have said to them. And

Your Circle Shapes Your Outcomes

SPEAKER_00 21:07

this is a really actually to to tie into this podcast, I I think this is another really good example of that saying that you're you're a result of the the four or five closest influences you have. It's it's it ties exactly like it ties in perfectly with what I'm talking about right now because if you if you're hanging around the same group of people all the time, you've got ambitions to it, it could be anything, you've got you've got ambitions to work for yourself, you've got ambitions to start your own business, you've got ambitions to create a certain amount of wealth, you've got ambitions to have a certain amount of property. If those core people in your core group aren't interested in any of that, if they're happy just being employees and going to work and getting paid every day, they're not going to feed you the information you need to get to your goals. And if you're if you continue to surround yourself in that circle and you're you take on the the I'm gonna call it crap you take on the crap that that is continually getting talked about in that group you're always gonna be stuck in that crap you're never gonna get out of it and you're never gonna get up here and and get to the better stuff and so I'm not saying you have to disregard all your friends and your family and those types of things but at some point in your life you need to get to a point where you have to seriously consider how much time you spend with different people because the amount of time you spend with people is a huge reflection on on your uh your mental health on your finances on your business situation on your health situation um all those types of things like if you want to get fit and healthy you're not going to hang around a group that's catching up at the ice cream shop every day or going out for donuts like that's just not going to get you where you want to go so um you need to start hanging around the right people and a big part of succeeding and not giving up before you fail is hanging around the right people and look something back in the day with this as well like I I never knew how to get out of that like how did I get to that next level like how do I hang around people that were doing what I wanted to do and it can be it can be a little bit overwhelming.

Bold Networking And A Sandwich Lesson

SPEAKER_00 23:20

It's almost like that um when you're younger and you're you're looking for your for your next date or your soulmate and you're at a par you're at a bar and you you see a girl that you want to talk to but you you'll sit there all night and you won't make a move because you just you're too your anxiety builds up you're too afraid and you won't get out of your comfort zone. It's the same with business. And I used to do this I I used to get the opportunity to talk to or meet people that were doing what I wanted to do but I was too scared to to step up and go and ask them questions or ask them to have a conversation because I thought who am I like they're not going to talk to me and believe me there's there's one person in my life really changed that for me and uh I hope he doesn't mind me giving him a giving him a shout out but um a good mate of mine Craig who actually started as a client uh we built a house for him and his beautiful family uh shivers it's probably coming up to 10 years ago uh eight to ten years and he said to me one day because he he he's done incredibly well in his life he's he's come he's got a great life he's done great at business he's got an incredible family he travels a lot like and I I really looked up to him and we had some conversations around business and a few things he told me that I I've never forgotten and I'd heard before but with him they just they really hit home and one of them was uh profit's not a dirty word um and he yeah he said to me like every every business has got to make money like you you can't come and build my house for for nothing like you have to make money that's how your business is going to survive but one of the best stories he ever told me that really hit home for me was he told me the story about back in the day when he was um when he was a young business person and wanting to get in get ahead he ran he used to I can't remember the exact story but I think he used to have lunch or hang around the same sort of business complex as where Jerry Harvey was. For those that don't know Jerry Harvey he obviously uh the creator of Harvey Norman um huge appliance and uh furniture company here in Australia and Craig just went up to him one day and said hey hey mate can I buy you a sandwich thinking that he wouldn't say anything about it but he accepted and Craig literally bought cut um Jerry Harvey a sandwich and sat down and had a conversation with him and that changed his life because he he put time into Craig and Craig learnt a lot from that and for me that was a turning point because I'm like yeah fuck that like I can I can reach out to if I see someone that's that I want to influence me like like don't be afraid go up and ask some questions and ever since that story that's pretty much what I've done if I'm at a business function or I'm at a lunch or I'm I'm in a meeting I ask questions. I'm not afraid to put my hand up and ask questions now and look what's the worst that can happen they'll they'll shut you down and not want to spend any time or not want to give you any any time big deal you don't know if you don't try but I've learnt from experience far more people are willing to give you a bit of time than you would think and believe me it is far far easier to get ahead in life when you're getting advice from people that have already done what you want to do. It accelerates everything and the other thing that I've really learned is a lot of these people out there that are doing really well they're more than happy to share advice and more than happy to share information.

Trust Your Gut And Take Action

SPEAKER_00 26:44

So yeah don't give up before you start if you believe in something trust your instincts trust your gut and go with it stop listening to all the negativity around you stop listening to all the people that are too lazy and have given up before they've started anything and run your own run your own race do your own thing and honestly I believe in you and I don't even know you you can achieve greatness so guys I hope you've got something out of that I love this stuff. I think everybody on this planet can be whatever they want to be they can have whatever they want to have it's all up to us. We need to believe in ourselves we need to believe in what we want to do and we can all achieve greatness so look forward to seeing you on the next podcast make sure you go to the duanepece.com website get on board with their level up merchandise so you can help me continue to create a new building industry. Look forward to seeing you on the next one