Grieving the Exit with Mike Fata

Josh (00:00:02) - Good day, fellas. Welcome to Uncensored Advice for men. Just start out with this man. I love you guys. I'm proud of you for for tuning in, for listening in and, uh, doing work on yourself. Uh, you know, we're all chasing something. We're chasing identity. We're chasing success. We're chasing the the commas. We're chasing the wallets, the dreams, the picket fence, the dogs and whatever. Whatever you're chasing, man. Uh, I'm gonna have a story today. Uh, in the conversation with the with a guy today who, uh, achieved some big stuff, and we wanted to talk about the cost it took to get there, and then maybe some of the stuff that happened afterwards. So, uh, Mike, welcome to Uncensored Advice for men.

Mike (00:00:40) - Yeah. Thanks for having me, Josh.

Josh (00:00:41) - Yeah, dude. All right, let's start with, uh, some easy things, man. Uh, where are you?

Mike (00:00:48) - Uh, I'm based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, right in the heart of the Midwest.

Josh (00:00:53) - Awesome. So Canadian. Are were you born in Canada?

Mike (00:00:57) - I was born in Canada. Yeah, but, uh, I've spent a, uh, a tremendous amount of time traveling. Lots of time in the US. So almost a dual citizen, uh, for the US. Uh, but my family's from southern Italy, my dad's side. So, uh, quite, quite used to, uh, working from anywhere, learning from anywhere. And, uh, but I do love the prairies. It's in my. It's in my blood.

Josh (00:01:20) - Got it. What is your favorite chocolate bar in Canada? Like the aero? The crunch? Uh, the flake coffee crisp, uh.

Mike (00:01:29) - Midday squares. Actually, one of my portfolio companies. But it's the. It's the new age of chocolate, and they're, uh, based in Montreal, Quebec.

Josh (00:01:37) - And tell me about their chocolate. Why is this your favorite? It's one of your portfolio. So you're making money on it. But why is it.

Mike (00:01:43) - Yeah, I liked it before I invested in it. That's the reason I invested in it, because we had it in my house. Uh, over and over. Who's on the shopping list? You know, um, just chocolate done different. Like, uh, nutritionally balanced, low sugar, but taste great. Phenomenal. It has like a, uh, kind of like a brownie kind of bottom to it and then a chocolate layer on top. So they say everything that a, uh, that, that a protein bar wishes that it was and every chocolate bar is not, you know, so, um, yeah, just a great, great product. They've been in business now for five years. Totally blowing it up. Uh, Wild Bunch, not only do they make great product, but they tell a good story on social media and so have distribution across Canada through the US. And, uh, um, yeah, people, um, I just don't need any other chocolate. I've been eating chocolate, as you know, organic, uh, mostly dark chocolate for a good 25 years and then gave it all up and just eat midday squares, cookie dough, peanut butter bar.

Mike (00:02:41) - You know, it's it's a great product.

Josh (00:02:43) - That's the go to. Right. So you say portfolio company for guys listening. And then they're like portfolio company. What's that. What's that mean. Like what does Mike do I mean I meet you in a coffee shop. I'm like, Mike, what do you do? Yeah.

Mike (00:02:56) - Uh, nowadays I'm in an investor, an advisor and a mentor. So when I say portfolio company, I have, uh, I have a portfolio of companies. I got ten, ten companies that I'm invested in now, and, uh, and a number of them, I play some active role as a board member, a chairman, an advisor to the founders. Uh, and so it's, uh, and that's all relatively new. The last, like four years, my part of my 2.0 after, uh, found success with my company.

Josh (00:03:26) - Um, what about Mike 1.0 or or maybe even Mike point two that talk talk to us about the story of getting to the Mike.

Mike (00:03:33) - 2.0, sure. Um, yeah. I grew up, uh, and, uh, dropped out of school. Out of high school, uh, pretty young because I was overweight and didn't really fit in, and I wanted to start working and so had six years of work under my belt working construction and kind of hard jobs, and then found my passion for health, uh, which led me to kind of changing all aspects of my diet and lifestyle. Lost £100, started a health food business. And I guess the claim to fame is, uh, pioneering hemp foods, uh, like hemp hearts and hemp protein and other products, uh, from 1998, uh, through to, uh, you know, growing it to $100 million business. And, and we sold it in 2000 and, uh, and 19. Nice.

Josh (00:04:20) - High school dropout to, you know, building a $100 million business, uh, when you're dropping out of high school and you're going through that and you're you're overweight and who knows what's going on in your mind? You know, I'd like to actually know what was going through the mind of an overweight kid who's dropping out of high school, like, kind of take us to that place, man, and and share with us.

Josh (00:04:41) - Like what? What you think you were going through. And then maybe what other young guys in a similar situation are going through.

Mike (00:04:49) - Um, yeah, well, a lot of aloneness, you know? Not too many people believed in me. When you're a, uh, when you're a £300 teenager or super overweight or obese and you don't fit in, not too many people believe that you're going to be a, uh, an athlete one day or something successful one day. Right? So really, the only people that, uh, really the only person that really believed in me was my mom. And then I'd say my brother as well. And so just. Yeah, a lot of aloneness and, um, you know, besides wanting to work and make money because I grew up with a single mom and we were pretty poor, you know, I realized quickly that, uh, just on my registering for high school, like, high school was more of a social club than than, like, junior high.

Mike (00:05:30) - Right? And so I'm like, this isn't this doesn't work for me. Uh, the bullying and everything was even more so, um, and, uh, and I could find my, my solitude in, in work. Um.

Josh (00:05:43) - All right, so you find yourself alone. £300 teenager. The world probably wouldn't place a lot of bets on you. Right? And you, you decide to drop out. What's that?

Mike (00:05:56) - I think people were betting against me, actually, openly, you know, more than not placing a bet on me. Yeah. So what was that? They're shorting my stock.

Josh (00:06:04) - They're putting their calls in when when they when they're going through that and you're you're a teenage dude and people are openly placing bets against you. Not not hey, man, I believe in you. Or maybe silence. Like, quite the opposite.

Mike (00:06:17) - Like you're. Yeah, you're a fat kid. You're going nowhere. And then when I dropped out of high school, you could imagine it got worse, right? Like if you were overweight and out of shape, people aren't thinking, yeah, that you're making the track team or you're going to be anything successful.

Mike (00:06:29) - And then and then when you drop out of high school, it's pretty quick. Less involvement with those people because I was out there, um, you know, again, solitude and work and, and, uh, but when you did run into people or the rumors were and all that is like, you know, you're going to amount to nothing now because, uh, um, you know, dropped out of school, which. Yeah, 30 years ago it was a lot different even than it is today, you know for sure.

Josh (00:06:54) - So, you know, you you yank yourself out of the matrix, you know, of of what other, what other people seem to to look at as success when when we talk about like anger. Right. You're in solitude. The world's beaten against you. You grow up, you know, single, single mom family. And you're, you know, you're hurting financially. Like, talk to us about the internal anger meter or rage or emotions that you're feeling at this age alone.

Josh (00:07:22) - You've already said, right.

Mike (00:07:23) - Like, yeah, I would say, you know, lots of emotions for sure. But, um, it wasn't anger. Not not not not too not not I didn't have an anger or rage kind of issue or it was more of a, um, depression and sadness, uh, emotional issue, you know, and then and then I would, uh, use food to, uh, to give me a dopamine hits or, uh, you know, to, to to calm some of that, which obviously didn't work when it was when it became more of a, um, uh, unbalanced kind of eating and, uh, and addictive kind of, uh, food lifestyle. Um, but, yeah, it was coming from a place of more, you know, probably feeling sadness and lonely and depressed. Yeah.

Josh (00:08:05) - Yeah. When I, when I faced rejection, like, part of me turns to, I'm going to show you, I'll prove you wrong. And you know that that forces me in, in another direction towards more extremism.

Josh (00:08:17) - Right. Like, you know, I tell me, tell me I can't do it and I'll prove you wrong. And maybe that's how I, I faced rejection, uh, rejection for you was more towards solitude and in work and in eating.

Mike (00:08:31) - Yeah. I think, you know, going into the, uh, which I've learned, this is not a good place for me to be, but, like, going into the shadows of myself instead of standing in my light, you know, it's, uh, uh, so when I decided to make the health changes and my lifestyle changes and did a lot of work, both emotional healing process, you know, more spiritual workshops and, and, you know, really regaining not only my physical health and mental health, but emotional and spiritual health as well. Um, then I felt, you know, a big part of that, and I felt a lot more comfortable standing in my light. And probably what people see now, 25 years later is, is Mick Foley standing in his light, you know, and, uh, but it took me a long time and, and a lot of due process to, uh, to get there.

Mike (00:09:16) - Yeah.

Josh (00:09:19) - When I'm in a dark spot in my own world or been in it, you know, a few times in my life the idea of going back and doing, you know, some deep reflection, some deep work, some spiritual work, get into the gym eating right, making those those turnaround, those life pivots. That's brutal. And and the only time it worked for my life is when I had a lot of pain backed up behind it. And it's like you make these choices or else something really bad happens. Like, was there a what was the the what was the the motivation for for turning around?

Mike (00:09:54) - Yeah, I mean, I hit rock bottom when you're. When you're 300 or £320. Uh, every day as a struggle. Right? The whole body hurts. Uh, felt very unwell. I always was tired, always sick and tired and just had too much of that, you know? Um, at the same time, being 18, I had this desire that I wanted a girl as a girlfriend.

Mike (00:10:16) - Not not a friend, you know? And so I think the two driving forces were like, okay, well, I'm just going to start this journey. You know, I wasn't thinking, hey, I was I'm going to lose £100, and all of a sudden I'm going to be fit and I'm going to be successful. And all this stuff I didn't have that. I didn't have that much vision right at the start. I had the I'm going to do something about it. I'm going to start, start and put one foot in front of the other. And that's where my brother, um, came in as a huge like mentor for me because he had he's four years older, was already working out. He was a little chubby when he was a kid too, but was already working out, was already in the gym, and he's like, hey, I'll take you to the gym. Let's let's go work out, you know? And so it was just that, that start, um, but the start happened because of rock bottomless for sure.

Mike (00:10:55) - Yeah.

Josh (00:10:56) - So you you you you decided for a change, you started moving and someone committed to your momentum. Someone committed to your your choice. Um, and then you start working out, and then you start seeing body changes. Like, how did that change your psychology? Your the way you show up and then get into spiritual journey? Like what? How did that evolve?

Mike (00:11:20) - Yeah, I mean, it just it's it's um, it, it's a progression. Like when you, when you start getting stronger, like when I first walked into the gym, I remember, uh, doing a bench press, and, and there was no weights on the bar is just the bar. And I'm, like, crying. And as I started, like £45, right. Olympic bar. I'm crying. I could barely do the bar and, um, but then, hey, you put £10 weights on there and then you have £25 weights on there. And that feels good to be stronger and actually be able to do things that you thought you couldn't do before.

Mike (00:11:48) - But then at the same time I was I was changing my diet, um, to, you know, a lot of different fad diets and things that I, that I did, but ultimately a cleaner diet then, then, then was the fast food from before you start feeling better, even if it's 1% better the next day, you feel 1% better. You're like, oh, this is this is addictive. You know, it's addictive in a, in a same kind of addiction, but in a, in a positive way, like, hey, not now I want to where can I take this? And, and and how good can I actually feel because I was hanging out in that environment, like when I was hanging out at a gym, um, and it was a bodybuilding gym or traditional back in the day. Uh, but they had their smoothie, like, shake bar and stuff. So people, it was a lifestyle, right? You'd go and work out and and then you'd hang out a little bit after I saw, um, what I thought would be like examples of where I could go, you know, and, uh, which was, which was inspiring in itself, but, um.

Mike (00:12:42) - Yeah. And then it just momentum creates more momentum if you it consistency creates more momentum if you're like, if you're starting and getting better. Yeah.

Josh (00:12:50) - So before we go into like the success rise it started with you you making life health changes. And then it evolved into other types of changes. And then the consistency and the motivation or the momentum created this like flood of Mike. Right. So now we see Mike all over on stages authoring books, selling companies investor portfolios. Right. Like doing well. But we go back to that, you know, like you and I are hanging out, we're doing a mentorship thing at some high school or or whatever. And we see a, a back in the day, Mike, £300 kid kind of sitting in the corner. No, you know, not a lot of people really engaging or believing in the person. Right. Like you and I get to go talk to that dude. Like what? What would that what how would you approach that guy? How would you approach Mike back at 15 years old?

Mike (00:13:44) - Uh, it's really challenging, you know, like, I, I do get asked this because, um, a lot of parents say, like, hey, can you can you speak to my son or daughter for sure? Uh, a couple of minutes.

Mike (00:13:55) - Right. And, um, and so I asked them what rock bottom looks like for them, and, and then it's a good indicator for me because some people will say, like, I feel like I'm at rock bottom right now. Um, other people, it just it's a, it's a mindfulness of like where they are compared to where they want to be. But I find that's a good intro question because. Then you could say, well, you know, what would you do to not be at rock bottom, like, because it's all about change, right? You got you got to get and you can't, you could, you know, you could lead a horse of water. You can't make a drink. You you can you can help with advice and and examples and mentorship all you want. But if someone doesn't want to change, they they or they don't see the change in themselves and don't want to change, it's nothing's going to happen. So kind of lead in a little bit like that.

Mike (00:14:37) - And obviously it's only, you know, I don't have a I don't have time for more than it's probably like a 5 to 15 minute discussion. Right. And so I try to, um, help them be mindful of where they are in their journey, which is usually at the start is rock bottom. And then like some of the things that they could be doing, which I'm a big I'm a big natural food ist, right? I believe that like, you know, if you want to take control of your health, most of it's what you put, we put in our mouth, right? You can control it by what you put in your mouth. Uh, easier said than done. But if no one, you know was saying, like, hey, just go and, like, eat some single ingredient foods, like, uh, like sweet potatoes and broccoli and some meat or fish or whatever, you know, and like and just and start there instead of instead of all the highly processed foods.

Mike (00:15:21) - Usually that makes a big difference in people, just that, you know, and then move your body and don't care how you move your body. If you want to go to the gym or you like playing soccer or you're playing yoyo or whatever, like you just, uh, and usually if you put that right food and you're going to want to move some, it's kind of it, you know, it's a combination of mindful and then and then take control of your, of your, of your physical, uh, body. Because if you could change your physical body, you could change anything in life.

Josh (00:15:45) - Did you add yo yo in there? You were talking about physical activities that needed yo yo.

Mike (00:15:50) - Yo yo a lot when I, when I was young. Hey, when you yo yo, you're not sitting down, right? You know, you're standing and and it's, it's this kind of like I said, I say I use that as an example. I got probably 100 other examples because it should be about fun.

Mike (00:16:04) - It shouldn't be like I used the extreme and I tell people, you ever seen that TV show The Biggest Loser? Yeah. You know, like that. That was me. That was my brother taking me to the gym. I felt like it was that amount of pain and discomfort. And it doesn't have to be that way. You know, I lost £120 over, like, two years. Um, people can do it a longer process, and then they can do it, you know, uh, just a lot of different ways. So it should the most important thing is actually do something.

Josh (00:16:32) - So yeah. But yo yo, like you're good at yo yoing aren't you?

Mike (00:16:37) - I don't know about. Good, but I've had my first share of hours of practice, and I would say when it comes to something similar to that, that also got me really active. Um, uh, I play pool. I played a lot of pool when I was young and, uh, and professional pool and league and in tournaments and, um, I really like that, you know, I think that, uh, it taught me a lot.

Mike (00:16:59) - Yeah, but.

Josh (00:17:00) - Getting around and moving, whether it's yoyo or whatever, it doesn't have to be a set of rules, is what you're saying.

Mike (00:17:07) - Yeah, there is no, no. Just get off your couch and get out of your darkness and step into the light, whatever that is, and just start doing. Yeah, yeah, that's cool man.

Josh (00:17:16) - All right. So what that that's a that's a great question is hey man. Like what does what does rock bottom look like for you. And uh, and then and then it starts a conversation. Right. And it gauges like how serious they are or if they are at rock bottom, let's say they are at rock bottom. Is that like, uh, what what's the next step for that dude who is. Because I have I have a friend who's coming to the studio next week and his son is really struggling. It might be at rock bottom, not grooming, just sitting video games, just kind of like inside. And he might be at rock bottom.

Josh (00:17:55) - So for this dad who's my friend, you know. And let's just say his son says I am at rock bottom. Like I can't go any further. What could what could we share with them or do or what's maybe some things not to do. What are some things that we should not say. Right.

Mike (00:18:12) - That's I'm not saying that you need it. You need a plan. Right? Like someone that's not at rock bottom and isn't willing to change, probably won't step into the plan. But if they're there, it's about having a plan. What is the plan look like? I think you know, the the the food that you eat. You could put together a simple program on that. There's lots of free stuff on the internet. You don't need to train or whatever, you know, but you need a plan, you know, and then also, uh, you know, some kind of exercise plan. I incorporate that all into my best day ever plan. That might be a little advanced, but I'm trying to simplify it for for people so that they think of like, what is my best day ever? What's my best day ever made up of? Like, how much do I need to sleep to be my best self? Uh, what am I going to be eating to to to to fuel my body and be my best self? What kind of activities am I going to be doing? You know, and we mentioned it like it doesn't matter if it's formal working out or some kind of sport or some kind of fun, some kind of movement.

Mike (00:19:06) - Right. Who am I going to be hanging out with? Like, what kind of people or do I want impression on me, and where do I want to? I want to go with that. And um, and then and then like, what are you going to do for work? And I include work and work and learning and kind of activities and moving forward. Um, and I top it off with like your, your loving time with your, uh, with, with your family. Right. And, and so that exercise is the best they ever exercise, which is like. 8 or 9 lines of of things and and then drawing yours. What it looks like is really helpful for people, you know, but it's a little bit more intermediate, I would think than than rock bottom, like someone that's £100 overweight kind of thing. But it can work for those people if they're if they're really motivated to. Yeah.

Josh (00:19:50) - All right. So we're working construction. We're losing weight. We're working out playing pool.

Josh (00:19:55) - Yo, yo, uh, hitting the gym. We're we're turning our life around and we go down this spiritual journey path. Like what? What does a what does this spiritual journey? Because then I love this. Like you got to play I think I think our students, we need playback in our world. We need to work. We need to produce something. Right? We need to put our time, talent, energies into something that produces value for ourselves and for others and then learn. Right? Like I love this like idea of like we should sharpen our mind and learn. But you said you were going on this like spiritual journey. Like, what did that look like from, you know? From from your perspective. Like what? What sparked that?

Mike (00:20:36) - Yeah. I mean, it was it was a little bit of coming to a place of the age of being, call it partying. But partying for me wasn't alcohol. It was either cannabis or, you know, even psilocybin mushrooms, which had a psychedelic, uh, impact and psychedelic effect, which was more than just the party, you know, you go, oh, we're out tonight to party.

Mike (00:20:57) - And then at the end of the night, because of that party, you know, I was always thinking like, hey, how can I better myself? Uh, what do I like about the things that are going on? And, you know, that mindfulness practice. And I think there's some there's some connection between, you know, spirituality, psychedelics and and mindfulness for people. There's more studies of that formally coming out 30, 35 years ago or, you know, less of that. But I, I feel like that was part of my evolution into being more more of a mindful, spiritual person. I also got into when I started working out and stuff, I, I, I added yoga and meditation and breathwork to my kind of practice way back then. And, and those are also things that had a kind of a spiritual awakening or just, you know, being able to exist more in my flow state of being than, than having to figure out who I was. Yeah.

Josh (00:21:52) - So today, who are you?

Mike (00:21:55) - Mike 2.0.

Mike (00:21:56) - Yeah, well, I'm a recovering entrepreneur. You know, I, I say that openly because, um, creating a $100 million business and then selling it, um, took a toll on me over the 20 years. So I'm not I'm not fit to operate a company. Um, and I like to still grow and build business. But that's why I'm an investor and advisor, a mentor where I can be once removed from, uh, the operation, the stress of the operations of the day to day business, but help those founders and help those entrepreneurs and be part of the team and be part of the growth, because that really still fires me up 25 years later. And, uh, so that's a big part of it. But I'd say now, you know, I have the benefit of 25 years of working on my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. And and that has a more stable MC than ever before. And I've been through some major grieving in my life. Uh, that was that was around the time that the that we sold the business.

Mike (00:22:53) - And that's all helped me get a, you know, good perspective of really letting Mike 1.0 die and fully investing in Mike 2.0. Yeah.

Josh (00:23:04) - Was the grieving the the the the selling of the business, the stepping out of that.

Mike (00:23:10) - The the.

Josh (00:23:11) - Identity of Mike the.

Mike (00:23:12) - CEO. Yeah, yeah. And more. Uh, it seems like what things that I do, I like to do in big in life. So we, you know, we sold the business and, uh, for $418 million transaction, which a lot of people think and see, like, oh, yeah, there's a lot of money and it is a lot of money and it's, it's life changing for everybody that was involved. And, and um, um, but there's a grieving process that not, not a lot gets talked about. Um, because, you know, as an entrepreneur, as a founder, your identity is made up in the business and the brand and, and, and the company and, uh, and so, uh, but I, you know, I had the trifecta of we sold the business, uh, my ex and I, after 15 years, decided it was time to get divorced and be co-parents to my kids.

Mike (00:23:55) - Um, and my mom died unexpectedly, all within five weeks of each other, um, in 2019. And so, you know, I it was like grieving, grieving, grieving. I went from, uh, my days were full and I had a place to the next day, I had no office to show up to, no team to, to lead. Um, I couldn't hang out with my kids half the time because I had them every other week. Um, and I couldn't even go see my mom, you know? And and that was a, uh, that was like a rock bottom the second time that I probably hit rock bottom in my in my life. And I had to figure out, you know, what I was going to do with that because the path forward wasn't clear. Yeah.

Josh (00:24:36) - I I've been listening. One of my, uh, mentors sent me a song. It's called maybe man, it's, uh, by AJR. The guys who sing that song bang bang bang.

Josh (00:24:46) - It's really deep song. And he's saying, I wish I were this. I wish, you know, for one of the things, you know, hypothetically, he's like, I wish I were rich because then this. But then he's like, if you're rich, you can't really complain about little things because people don't let you complain about things when you hit a level of wealth or success. Do you find that there's solitaire? You know, there's there's solitude in the the no success, right? The 300 something pound dude who's not going to be the future track star. So there's solitude and loneliness there. But what about at the top? You you cash out lots of money in the bank, but now you start having struggles. Your mom passed away. You're not. You're not being able to spend time with kids. Your relationship struggled and fell apart like was there. Was there also a loneliness that. I'm sorry if I'm going in and digging some of these things back up, but I you said it.

Josh (00:25:44) - People don't talk about this and this is one of the purpose of the show.

Mike (00:25:48) - It's all good. I like to share it because other people are, are, um, are going to experience it more than they're going to share it. You know, I've learned that being on, on, on social media and sharing some of my stories is like 1% or 2% of people share, but 98 or 99% of people get benefit because they learn. Right? So I'm one of those people that I'm okay with sharing it. You know, it's um, um, yes, there was the rock bottom was like a place of super loneliness. The thing that I had going for me that was different than when I was like a teenager was. I had 25 years of experience focusing on my on my health. Right. My four pillars of health. So I was I was much more equipped to, to, to know what to, to do in the grieving process. And, you know, I went into monk mode, really.

Mike (00:26:39) - And I don't know if your listeners know what monk mode is, but you can Google that. Uh, really like I stayed home and, um, focused on being my best self, sleeping well, working out, eating really well, um, you know, upping my meditation and my other practices and just figuring out, like. Okay. Uh, it's a very traumatic, transitional time of life. What I want, what do I want it to look like on the other side of this? And it took, you know, 5 or 6 months of really staying in monk mode. Uh, and and then out the other side, I decided that, you know, I, I wanted to be helpful, you know, I wanted to help other people out and, and, um, and I and I've realized and I share this, like in your. In it. When you're in your most helpless feeling times, the best thing you could do is be helpful to somebody else because you can't feel helpless and be helpful.

Mike (00:27:36) - Uh, you can't feel helpless when you're being helpful. So, you know, that's what came out of my thought. And then now people would see the benefit. See that four years later, write me sharing my story openly, um, helping other entrepreneurs, investing in them, advising them, coaching them, mentoring thousands of of entrepreneurs. And either through, you know, one on one or through the materials that I share in my book and my podcast and my newsletter. Um, but it, it, it came from a time of like, again hitting rock bottom and then a deep reflection with myself for sure. Good good work.

Josh (00:28:11) - Man. Proud of you.

Mike (00:28:13) - When proud of myself, that's the most important thing, you know. That sure?

Josh (00:28:17) - It sure is, man, but I yes, I agree with you. But I also think, like your mom was one of the people who believed in you.

Mike (00:28:25) - Yeah.

Josh (00:28:25) - So I lost my dad, and my dad was one of those dudes who believed in me when I lost that.

Josh (00:28:33) - It's like I needed still, someone to believe in me. Doesn't matter what level of success or failure I had. Because there's been times when I just didn't believe in myself or I just needed someone to go. Josh, you're head in the right direction, brother. Keep going, you know. Did you have anybody that was, you know, that that reached out to you.

Mike (00:28:52) - And.

Josh (00:28:53) - And lifted you up?

Mike (00:28:54) - My brother and I are really close. So it's a I'm fortunate that after, uh, 40 some odd years on this planet together, we're, uh, we're really close. We're closer than ever. Um, um, and I had developed a community, um, over 25 years as being a, uh, entrepreneur, uh, formerly as part of young president's organization, Ypo, which I've been a member for 12 years. And it's a that's a group of, um, executives that that, you know, entrepreneurs and executives that run companies, people that are in similar situations to me.

Mike (00:29:26) - Right. Like maybe have had success and money, but also had family issues, had, uh, other crises, had health, things happen and so on. So I had a support group there and generally have I guess I feel like I've built up a decent amount of good karma over the years. And so I have a bunch of people that love and care for me in the community. Some there was the close, close to home family that, uh, had my support and that I had support from and, and, uh, and then and then the community at large. So I, uh, grateful for that. It was a, uh, it's, uh, but, you know, I know that, you know, when I said earlier that I'm proud of myself, I'm proud of myself, that I built that community. You know, I built it by putting myself out there and, uh, and sharing and giving back and just being a being good human. Yeah.

Josh (00:30:09) - Do you think all the 2.0, the 1.0, 2.0, do you think that these different level ups in life, if we're looking at it like a, like a video game or back in the day like the AOL CD that they would send you and it's like AOL seven, then it started, you know, whatever.

Josh (00:30:23) - But like, do you think that these different upgrades in our life do you think? The the rock bottom was almost necessary at different upgrades in life. Or do you think we could design.

Mike (00:30:37) - And everyone thinks about upgrades? I think I'm a continuous growth guy, so you probably won't hear me. You know, I said, Mike 1.02.0 a year, but like, what about Mike 1.2, 1.3? I'm not necessarily thinking like that because I am I am a continuous improvement guy. It doesn't matter how well I'm doing. I always think like, how do I make myself feel better? How can I have a bigger positive impact over here? Like that's just who I am. The 1.0 to 2.0 is because there was a significant major change in life, uh, being that I was an entrepreneur running a business for 20 years, and then I wasn't anymore, and my whole career changed that. I wasn't going to do that anymore. It's. And now I'm a, you know, the 2.0 like, is a different career being a being an investor advisor, a mentor, an author, a speaker is is is very different.

Mike (00:31:22) - And I don't know, will there be a MC 3.0? I'm not so sure. But I know there's there's continuous improvement every single day in my life. I'm focused on it. Yeah.

Josh (00:31:32) - As you as you look at the world today and you see. From stage, from books, from investing ten businesses, from from all the engagement that you have, from being in ypo, in, in, in in engaging like where, where does your what's your gut saying what what are the things that, that you find.

Mike (00:31:56) - Um.

Josh (00:31:57) - That we need to make some changes for as dudes today and moving into the future. Like, what are some things that frustrates you and that you think us men need? To maybe grow.

Mike (00:32:10) - Yeah. Well, the food system is the biggest thing. You know, I've been involved not only in healthy food, but agriculture and organic agriculture. And part of the, you know, on the on the boards of the Organic Trade Association and on the Canadian Health Food Association, like the food system is, is very broken and unhealthy.

Mike (00:32:29) - And, um, and, you know, it would be great to change that because it would have such an impact on, on and literally everyone, you know, when the facts are like 10% of the food that we eat is like natural and or organic, you know, like the health and the organic industry is like 10% of the food industry, 90% of it is like highly processed and processed shit. So, you know, from my experience, when you eat that, um, it's not your, your, your body and, and mind is not running like it should, you know, and, and and contributes to all this extra stuff illness, disease, you know. And so the biggest prevention thing that we could do first as men as anyone is control what we put in our mouth and give yourself enough time to feed the system. Right. So that your body can then respond in a way that is like working like it should, uh, and that I find, like, you know, cures.

Mike (00:33:26) - I don't know, I don't know if it's 100% of the problems, but it's for sure up there in the 90s, you know, that's the basis of everything. Really. Yeah.

Josh (00:33:34) - That's interesting. So you're you're going down this drought and, you know, if we look at your portfolio companies, are they all primarily in food and and consumables.

Mike (00:33:45) - Yeah they are. All of them are except the, the one is uh, is uh, psilocybin mushroom, uh, medicine actually.

Josh (00:33:53) - Very cool. All right. When you're investing, you know, like, it sounds like, you know, you're you've got you got some money, right? You've done you've done well for yourself. But you're, you're getting back in the game and you know, you're like not fit to be a CEO anymore. I'm done with that. I'm going to invest in and add my experience and add, you know, wisdom to other people to help them grow. But it sounds like you're doing this as a mission to.

Josh (00:34:21) - Right? Like you want to change the way we eat, the change, the way we're consuming food or or stuff. Right. Um. Would you invest like in a tech company? Or is it more like, hey, this is my mission. This is what I'm excited about investing.

Mike (00:34:36) - When you say it is my it, you know it is my my mission is to see, like all entrepreneurs do. Well, because basically entrepreneurship is what, what drives things. But I'm health focused. You know, I, uh, it's a personal passion of mine. It's been a personal passion of mine for now, 25 years. It's a, it's a, it's a business, um, expertise of mine. And, uh, and so, you know, that's my lane, I guess you could say so, you know, I, I, I've invested in a number of things that are in the, in the stock market. But as it comes to like private companies, when people say, hey, do you want to invest in this great tech company or, or, you know, this piece of home furniture company that's doing something cool? I'm like, those things are cool.

Mike (00:35:16) - But, you know, um, food is just, uh, you know, it's part of us. Like, I invest in things that I, you know, products that I have in my fridge that I eat every day that, you know, we we literally have to, like, buy twice as much at the grocery store because it's always on our shopping list kind of stuff, you know, and that, ah, and my, my house eats like a health food store, so, you know, it's pretty, uh, it's pretty clean, uh, clean product across the, uh, across the board. But, you know, that's how I, that's I, I like it because my personal interests and my professional interests align there, and that doesn't feel like work for me. It just feels like something that I want to be doing. And you could take that into a bigger mission, but, uh, um, you know, my mission really is, is I want everyone to be successful and living their best day ever.

Mike (00:35:59) - And, uh, and I'll put myself out there and materials out there that I think can be helpful for them. What's the most.

Josh (00:36:05) - Uncomfortable part about putting yourself out there?

Mike (00:36:09) - Probably living through imposter syndrome, because, um, you know, we all have it, uh, especially when we're doing new things. And so, you know, I wasn't into social media, uh, before three years ago. Really? The. Yeah. You know, I was a leader in a business of 200 plus people I went to, I don't know, 20, 30 trade shows a year. And I'd have a whole community of people in the industry at trade shows and, and but I just wasn't into social media. I wanted to, uh, when I wasn't working, uh, the business was obviously a lot into social media, but when I wasn't working, I wanted to be at home with the family, you know? And so, um, kind of the pandemic drove that. And when our trade shows got canceled, I'm like, how am I going to see all my friends and, and check out the new products and what's going on and stuff? And so I opened up my LinkedIn account that I had I'd opened in like 2011, but never used it and just got to, um, networking and connecting with people that I knew.

Mike (00:37:02) - But then I quickly went to a place of like sharing some of my learnings, and I realized two things. Um, you know, it was very therapeutic for me personally. It was like a it was like therapy session that I'm big into therapy, done it for a long time, but it was also being very helpful for other people. And people were instantly communicating. Like how inspiring and motivating, uh, actionable tips were very helpful for them. But I had a point there in that example. And in most things that I've stepped into something new that I, I, you know, I would I would have imposter syndrome. Like, who am I to share? Uh, you know, even when I went into that's a form of mentorship, right? What I share on LinkedIn or social or or on my podcast or any of the platforms. But when I transitioned from an entrepreneur into like, more full time mentorship, I was like, who am I to mentor? You know? Yeah, I've been successful and I've changed my my personal life and I've changed my business.

Mike (00:37:52) - But, you know, now I'm thinking I'm a mentor, you know, and I had to just sit with that of realizing, you know, it's a feeling. It's the imposter syndrome feeling. It will go away. Keep doing so. That's a big one that keeps that stops a lot of people from putting themselves out there because they think, oh, now the whole world is going to have all these data points and judge me or do all these things. And I'm already judging myself and oh my God, this is going to be, you know, and the reality is, uh, no one's thinking about you. Like, even in the best situation when you're being super helpful and, you know, even the best brands in the world don't get thought about like that. But in our own heads, we can it can feel like that. And so at the end of that, I just thought, and this may be helpful for your listeners is like. Instead of thinking like, um, having to mentorship, having to be a certain way, I thought, I'm a quick study in business.

Mike (00:38:39) - I'll just listen to to and it's even more in business. It's like business in life. I'll listen to the place that the person is in and then share with them what I would do if I was in their situation because of the experience that I have, you know, and then not take it personally, whatever they do with that information. And, and and that way I have I have no attachment to it. It's, it's hugely impactful and very helpful for a lot of people. But you know, I, I'm just I'm just being me. Right. And and the more that I do that, the more that I've given myself license to be authentically me and, and not have to be a certain way because I really don't care. I just want to be helpful whether whether people it's helpful for them, they take the advice or or sometimes not, you know, like they don't they don't connect or don't relate with the experience or, you know, want to go a different way. Simply, yeah.

Josh (00:39:26) - When you get to the top.

Mike (00:39:28) - A lot of people.

Josh (00:39:29) - Well, there's not a lot of people. But when you start posting things and sharing your story or when you've achieved something right, it doesn't matter how big or small it is, there's there could be people out there who start throwing stones, right? And it seems like they're the loudest. Did you have any experience?

Mike (00:39:46) - Sure, sure. Yeah. Yeah. There's there's there's haters. The hate, the haters, uh, haters are a good indicator that you're finding some success, actually is probably a good way to think about it. Or people that, you know can get intimidated, but, um, yeah, even it's bigger than that because it doesn't have to be even very vocal haters. I think that a people we like to we like to support the underdogs, um, generally, um, you even friendships, you could see it in your own friends. Like people will want you to win until you're doing better than them. And then when when you're doing better than them, then you know that can that can provoke some feelings in them.

Mike (00:40:22) - Jealousy or something that that it's it's they don't put out that support. Um, but then you're right. There are like people that just feed their dopamine off of being super negative. And it seems like social media is the is an easy avenue where people can hide behind a screen and, and just, you know, say things even though they have no context or no meaning to say it. And uh, um, so you can take a little bit of that, but, you know, we're living in a day where you could just, you know, everyone handles that a little different. I've asked some, I've asked the audience in LinkedIn number times. And people just have a range of people, you know, block stuff and block people and move on. You know, if they're super negative, ignore it. You know, like or or, you know, go into some kind of combative mode to try to prove why you're right, even though you're, you're, you know, you're having a shit fight with a shithead.

Josh (00:41:10) - So, yeah, don't get in a fight with a shithead.

Mike (00:41:12) - Yeah. Don't think you're gonna do is get shitty, you know, like that's. That doesn't add too much value. Yeah, yeah.

Josh (00:41:18) - All right. So now, you know, we've we've climbed the mountain, we've exited, and now we're helping, you know, ten other companies at this point. Do you, do you think that you're going to get to a point, you know, like to invest more and more and more companies, you know, like have 100 companies in your portfolio.

Mike (00:41:37) - What do you think? I never say, I never say never. But as part of my, um. As a recovering entrepreneur, part of my guide rails for myself have been, um, you know, I it lifestyle isn't really important to me. And I'm a solopreneur, like I, I don't I don't want to report to anybody. Uh, I've done that after we, you know, we had we took, you know, sold to part of our company to private equity and, uh, and then and then took a company public, um, and I also don't want anyone reporting to me.

Mike (00:42:08) - You know, I've had a team of 200 people and and the responsibility of that for like, two decades. And so those two anchor me really well. And, you know, I, I operate, you know, my holding company, which is my own family's, uh, wealth. And so I don't have any, uh, like another fund or investor that has a certain amount of deals that have to be done. And, um, and, you know, I work with people on my team, but they're all contractors. They're not, you know, I don't have any employees. And and so that those and, you know, I'm a I'm a full time, uh, single dad now uh, 100% of the time. And, uh, and so those all anchor me in, like, you know, um, living my best day ever. Every day. Which business? And, um, creating more success and growth is a part of that. But it's it it doesn't. It's not going to be a, uh, unsustainable part of it.

Mike (00:43:02) - That's cool.

Josh (00:43:02) - Do you do any, like, um, hydroponics or do you do any gardening yourself or grow your own food?

Mike (00:43:10) - Yeah, I grew my own food every summer for sure. Yeah. Not not hydroponics or anything, but, uh, yeah, I've been an organic backyard farmer for, uh, a good 15 years, if not climbing on 20 now. Um, my dad, you know, my dad's a, uh, southern Italian and, uh, and so I think some of that's in my genes as well, because, um, just love getting my hands in the dirt and, um, growing food and then taking that right through from, you know, uh, seed all the way to, uh, canning and jarring and, and just preparing the food and eating it like food is a big part of my life. It's been a big part of my healing, uh, when I, when I changed my lifestyle. So gardening is, you know, you got to know where your food comes from.

Mike (00:43:52) - No better way than grow it. Yeah.

Josh (00:43:54) - I love seeing the seed go, you know, like when you. I have, uh, indoor garden and and I put the seeds in and then I put them under the lights. And the first day we're like, cracks through, and it's like green. You're like, oh. And I bring my kids and I'm like, look at this. And then it grows into like a bush. And you're like, we made that. Like we help grow that. Like, how cool is that? And it's for me, it's been like therapeutic. I never thought I'd, you know, I grew up with, you know, God and guns and kind of guy. Right. And now I'm gardening and I'm like, this is so healthy for me to see. And then we dry it out and we eat it and it's cool. But I never thought I'd be that kind of guy. And I'm so glad I'm learning new skills as I get older and find new passions and such like that.

Josh (00:44:36) - What's one skill set or one hobby? Maybe it's yo yoing again, but like, what's one like hobby or something like that that you would love to learn how to do?

Mike (00:44:47) - I'm focused right now on on videography. Um, because it kind of combines my personal interest and, and, um, you know, it helps with my mentorship to like, since I'm doing, speaking and doing I'm creating this content. And so now I'm getting more interested in like, oh, how's how's video production really go from from scripting through to shooting through to B-roll through to editing and, and um, and just really started that journey over the last like several months. And so it's, it's on my 2024, um, personal growth plan just to spend more time there, which and then I read about it, I'm hanging out with people that are, you know, mindful there and and have experience and can share stuff and, uh, um, yeah, that's a that's a big one for me.

Josh (00:45:34) - Did you get like a GoPro or A36, you know, Insta360 or a drone camera or something like that.

Mike (00:45:39) - Like I haven't got a drone camera. I have a GoPro because I used to, I have a dirt bike and I, I bought a GoPro so I could, like, ride the dirt bike and, and, uh, and shoot some shots. Um, but I did get a setup, um, you know, I had a first, a podcasting setup, the road, uh, uh, RODECaster and Mike and stuff. But then I bought some lighting and I just invested in a pretty nice, um, video camera as well. So super cool.

Josh (00:46:06) - What's the name of your podcast show? I know you got a podcast show. What? Let's, uh, do a little promo for.

Mike (00:46:09) - You, man. Founder to mentor.

Josh (00:46:13) - Founder to mentor. Yeah. And as you're as you're doing this, how many episodes have have you published and what could people expect when they go check it out?

Mike (00:46:21) - Yeah, there's, there's, uh, 70, uh, 70 episodes. Um, my my unfair advantage is access to world class founders.

Mike (00:46:31) - And so I thought if we share the growth stories, the professional and personal growth stories of some of these world class founders, um, that people could, could gain some insights from it. So, um, it was selfish for me because I wanted to have the conversation with my friends and some people in the industry and, uh, and, uh, but, you know, the podcast took off and, uh, there's a listenership there, actually, uh, took the summer off of recording it. And I'm in the in 2024, I'll be, uh, repurposing it a little bit, um, just because I've done, done two full years of it, but, uh, yeah, people can check it out. There's some there's some great episodes and maybe some brands that, uh, that you enjoy that you can hear the founder and CEO kind of talk about how they built it and, and how they had to grow to actually achieve some of that stuff. Yeah. All right.

Josh (00:47:16) - Give me some, some advice.

Josh (00:47:17) - What's your favorite question to ask? Or. Well, you know what. What's something that you learned in podcasting that I should, uh, apply to my own skill?

Mike (00:47:26) - Oh, you know, um, I, uh, I like the, um. I like the how you did it kind of mindset before, like things came to be. So I think you asked the most questions of me, even like around the rock bottom and like where where the mind was at. More from the challenge standpoint, I get why. So your listeners can hear that. I think for for entrepreneurs, a lot of it was like, what was the what was the vision in the aha moment that you saw before anyone else saw? And then how did you how did you hold on to that? Well, all these haters and people were challenging it, you know, and because that's the, that's that's the breakthrough moment. Um, yeah. That's the child. That's the childbirth moment. You know, when it seems like everything's impossible and it's not going to happen.

Mike (00:48:11) - Then all of a sudden, boom, you know, a new life into it is born. And, uh, you know, trying to find that moment with, uh, with successful people that the breakthrough moment.

Josh (00:48:20) - Now, you've interviewed 70 of your buddies, right, who built awesome stuff and you've had this question of breakthrough. Is there a common like message across the 70 people that you've interviewed about this breakthrough moment that you're like, I'm seeing a pattern here about this breakthrough.

Mike (00:48:38) - I think most of the, the, the most of the if there's a theme that comes up, I think it's, it's people really enjoying what they do and they would do it forever, whether they had success or not. It seemed like that's the common thread, that because some of them, it was a very long time, you know, some of these brands that it's like my experience, right? If you grow 100 million or a couple hundred million dollar business from zero, it took it took decades. You know, it took like, you know, at least ten years, not 15, 20, 25 years.

Mike (00:49:03) - And so, um, uh, I don't know if you could do that if you just sucked every day, you know, I guess you could. People have careers like that, but can you can you really create that amount of success and if you're not enjoying what you're doing? Um, so I find that most people like they, they've actually not to say there's not hard times and stuff, but they're actually enjoying the work that they're doing and thinking they could do that forever. Like they found their they found their sweet spot, their their their passion.

Josh (00:49:30) - Um.

Josh (00:49:30) - So when you find your sweet spot and your passion, the exit is so hard because you found something that you love doing and now you have to release it, you know, and maybe in exchange for some money or whatever. But, you know, like, it's time to how do you know when to release it? You're building this company. It's thriving. You're making money. How do you know when to go? It's time to move on, because that's tough.

Mike (00:49:54) - It's probably lots of factors in it because, you know, unless it's just your business that you own 100%, if you have any other shareholders, which, you know, I had and most businesses that are, you know, $100 million plus businesses are going to have shareholders. And then what's right for all the shareholders, the timing that's right for all the shareholders is just as important as how the founder feels. Or, you know, like so, um, there's usually some other external factors, uh, but there's also like market external factors, like we arguably sold, uh, a couple of our companies, like, right at the right time, like exactly at the perfect right time, which has a lot more value creation. Um, and I've seen some friends, um, miss the, the timing and call it go over the waterfall. And then they never got that opportunity again, or their business was worth a fraction of it was at that time. So those market conditions are also hugely important, which, um, is is why I as why I think like as an entrepreneur you got to have you got to have a, uh, if you have a super amount of interest in your passion about something, you want to become an expert.

Mike (00:51:00) - And part of becoming an expert is like, what's going on in your region, your territory, your country, globally, with with whatever kind of business that you're in. Right. And then and because some of those factors are really important at timing the exit.

Josh (00:51:15) - Timing the exit. Yeah for sure. Well, as as we wrap up today, man, I want to thank you for for what you've done, you know, for for us on this podcast show like in my, my community. So thank you for that. But thank you for getting back in the game and going back from founder to mentor and, you know, and helping ten other people, you know, go through what maybe you did and maybe join out on a on a healthier way. So I appreciate what you're doing man. Really good job. I know you're proud of yourself, but I'm proud of you too. Um, what's a good place for people to connect and follow your work?

Mike (00:51:50) - Um, yeah. No, I appreciate the compliment.

Mike (00:51:52) - Um. Um, uh, for all things Mike fatta, people can go to my website. Mike Fatica. Uh, kind of it has, you know, the podcast and newsletter, my book, um, and, uh, and I'm also very active on LinkedIn as kind of my, uh, social media of choice. So if you're on LinkedIn, uh, send me a note on LinkedIn, tell me you listen to the podcast and, uh, and connect and, um, I, uh, I'm, I'm on there engaging with people every day.

Josh (00:52:19) - Yeah, super cool guys in the audience, as always, reach out to our guests and say, thanks for being on the show. Let's be let's be dudes who reach out and say thank you. Um, he's got a cool book. He's got podcast show. So, you know, go, go dive in, man. Learn and, uh, and grow together. If, uh, if you're struggling out there and you need someone to, to encourage you, to give you a little hug or, you know, a a prayer or just, you know, a little bit of encouragement, my my cell phones.

Josh (00:52:43) - (352) 274-4500 guys will text me. And, you know, we might not have a long call, but it just might be enough to just say, I love you, man. Um, if you've got some advice or some encouragement to share with other guys, uh, uncensored advice for men.com. That's just a great place to go. Fill out a quick form and, uh, maybe we'll get you on the show and share your story and maybe some things that you might think are helpful to other guys. So thanks for tuning in. Love you guys, and we'll talk to you all on the next episode. See you guys.