Welcome And Guest Overview

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hi, welcome to the Leadership Insight Podcast with Co-Financial Group, where we interview leaders from around the country who take the time to be able to share with us the wisdom and the insights that help them get where they're at. Today we have Alan Lazarus, the CEO of Next Level University, a top 100 podcast, over 2,400 episodes in many countries, millions of listeners. He's just definitely an overachieving superstar who has a ton to be able to share. At the age of two, his father passed away in a car accident. At the age of 26, after getting nearly fatally killed himself, he questioned everything, which is going to be good for us because his insights and wisdoms are definitely something we want to hear. That's when he discovered what has been missing all those years: self-improvement, personal development, and personal growth. Welcome, Alan, to the show.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Thank you for having me. I do not take that lightly. The first thing I want to share to anyone watching or listening is that the 21st century is alarmingly noisy. And so the fact that you're listening to me, I do not take lightly. I won't waste a second of anyone's time. And I'm big on protecting your brain from nonsense. So I won't give you any nonsense.

Losing Family Stability And Growing Up Fast

SPEAKER_00 1:18

So, so Alan, I want you to share with me, going back a little bit, because you're young, you're riddled with wisdom, you want to share the wisdom. What's it like growing up in your household up until the age of 20 with your dad passing away at such an early age?

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Yeah, so high level here. So birth father passed away when I was three. I had a stepfather named Steve Lazarus from age three to 14. So this is like 1992 to the early 2000s. And my mom and stepdad did not get along. That's a polite way to put it. So it was a very, very challenging childhood. When my stepdad left, he took his entire extended family with him and 95% of the income. So I went from sort of dot-com bubble. He worked for a company called Agfa AGFA. They did hospital computers during the dot-com era, born and raised in Massachusetts. So we did very well. And in the 90s, a lot of people in the US did very, very, very well. And so we went from sort of boats and ski trips and abundance, financially at least, to I get free lunch at school now because our income is so low. I become the man of the house at 14. I don't know if I'm going to be able to afford college. The college I wanted to go to was WPI Worship Polytechnic Institute. It's like a mini MIT in Massachusetts. It was 50 grand a year. This is back then. So I went from I hope I get in to even if I do get in, I can't go. So I had a trauma response to that in hindsight. I didn't know this at the time, but it was aim higher, work harder, get smarter. I became what you mentioned, a super achiever guy, straight A's through all of high school. I got the president's award signed by George W. Bush behind me right there. And I got into WPI and I got all the scholarships and financial aid that I could. And then I was off to the races. And I got my bachelor's in computer engineering, master's in business. And then it was tech company, tech company, tech company, tech company. I rose very quickly in corporate, became a global 1% earner in my early 20s, paid off all my college debt in a single year, had 150 grand in a Vanguard portfolio when I was very young, just invested wealth because I, and I didn't know this at the time, but I, when my stepdad left, I kind of took responsibility for my entire family's future. And I just decided that becoming wealthy would be the answer. And then I got in my car accident in 26 and realized that wealth is not the answer. And achievement is great and necessary and totally necessary. However, it's not everything. And so that's when I found self-improvement, personal development, and personal growth. And that's when I started my own company. And now that's how I got to where I am essentially, is what you'll never learn in school but desperately need to know is my first tagline because I was a straight A student in high school, graduated with high distinction from one of the best tech schools in the world, tech colleges in the world. And I still didn't learn about time management, productivity, courage, humility, vulnerability, virtue, goal setting, all these things. So now I

Chasing Wealth Until The Wake-Up Call

SPEAKER_01 4:05

created a company that teaches those things to people. And that's really why I'm here today. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

So we had talked about the fact that I have for many, many, many years since I'm a child, mentors and coaches that help me evolve to be where I'm at today. What I really love about Alan and talking to you before the show is that you're a huge believer in figuring out and finding your own way and then sharing that with other people while not, I don't want to say copying, but you're not emulating other people's noise. You're finding your own path and you're finding that it resonates with the people you're sharing it with.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Well, I think for a while there, I was looking. You caught me at 37. So, but if you had talked to me at 27, I was very much emulating. I was always looking for a male role model. I I told you I studied the whole personal development industry, the Tony Robbins, the Stephen Coveys, the the whole Ogmandino, the Napoleon Hill, all that stuff back in the day. You mentioned Dan Sullivan, and and the the old approach for me was learn from everyone else. And and I absorbed it like a sponge. And I and I I do think that that's necessary. You know, I think mentors and coaches are I've had dozens of mentors and coaches. And my playful joke is if you want mentors and coaches, you probably need a therapist. And if you want a therapist, you probably need mentor mentors and coaches. Right. Because I think we all have to merge both success externally with fulfillment internally. And so I was very externally successful, but not internally fulfilled. And then I went all in on fulfillment for many years and I kind of went broke. And so you really need to merge both. And so I have a therapist named Carol now, and that's really helped me understand myself. So to answer your question there or to comment on what you said, I think for a long time I was looking externally for guidance instead of looking internally. And I think some people don't look externally for guidance nearly enough. I think you need mentors and coaches, but there are some people who only look externally and they don't really make it unique to them. You mentioned the fish tank in the background for you. I think I emulated and modeled for the majority of my life and my early 20s. And then after my car accident at 26, I started to figure out who I was within that. And then in my 30s, I just got to the point where pretty much every hero fell from the pedestal. I realized I have to stop looking up and I have to start sort of becoming the hero of my own

Mentors, Therapy, And Finding Your Own Way

SPEAKER_01 6:40

story and then and then being a guide for others because a lot of those people that I mentioned are really great in their own right, but they're also not well-rounded, a lot of them, and and they certainly haven't achieved what I intend to.

SPEAKER_00 6:53

I I just think everything you said just matters. So when I created the charity Special Kids Network in 2000 and raised millions of dollars, I didn't feel fulfilled the way that I thought I was supposed to when you create a charity. Sitting on charity boards, I didn't feel fulfilled because there was a lot of anger and animosity on the boards. And so I love the idea that it's not just about peak performance is worth striving for, but it's how to have peak performance while feeling good on the inside.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

Well, so the fulfillment piece is meaning, it comes from meaning. And we just did an episode yesterday on fulfillment, and it's not happiness and it's not pleasure. Fulfillment is different. Fulfillment is macro. Fulfillment comes from investing in the self-respect account. You know, we self-respect, self-discipline, self-love, self-worth, self-belief. Like these are self-you versus you things. And so going, I've been running a mile a day for 81 days. Today will be my 81st day. And and the reason I say that isn't to brag. It's it's it's atrocious. It sucks. Like it's pain by choice. However, I call it miles for mindset. I have a team member, his name is Brandon. He ran a mile a day for over a thousand days. He called it miles for mindset. And it's the simple idea where you put in your AirPods or your headphones and you have to listen to something inspirational, motivational, or educational to get back into your body. And then you go for you run a mile. Sometimes it's really fast, sometimes it's really slow, but you run a mile every day, no matter what a full mile. And sore, tired, hurt, doesn't matter, you run a mile. And to me, that there's no pleasure in that whatsoever. There is a runner's high afterwards, for sure, but there's a fulfillment. So so I think it's a good metaphor for the self-respect account that we sometimes neglect. I want to invest every single day into the self-respect account, which is not chasing pleasure, but actually, but actually chasing uh your full potential and doing challenging things that that actually help you grow. And so you have sort of the comfort zone, you have the construction zone, and then you have the destructive zone. The comfort zone is you don't do anything, you're lazy. The construction zone is I'm gonna run a mile and I'm gonna challenge myself. The destruction zone is I'm gonna do a marathon on a whim. I did that once in 95 degree weather. It was very, very, it was reckless. So so I try really hard every day to do the thing that that is gonna make me stronger and that's gonna make me smarter. And that's very rarely the thing that feels good. And if you do that long enough, you do become fulfilled, I believe, especially when it's in alignment with something meaningful. And I used to achieve a ton of goals and corporate and 1% earner, all the stuff, but that wasn't. That wasn't, I wasn't fulfilled. That that was just cool. I say that in quotes, that was really cool. Uh like I used to count cards in blackjack, I made a bunch of money, like that's cool, but it was never meaningful. No one's no one has a meaningful life counting cards, right? So um, you you have to orient your life around meaning and fulfillment and make sure you also can be successful in that. And usually what the economy pays the most for is not meaningful work. The economy pays for pains in the butt. So the most meaning you have to merge what what's meaningful to you with what the economy actually pays for.

SPEAKER_00 10:24

So then let me ask you, Alan, which just incredible nuggets, but now you create next level university. And so how at what age do you decide that you want to now create this a curriculum and then start having employees and having that kind of responsibility?

SPEAKER_01 10:44

I think well, it started with the quote behind me of those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do, and Steve Jobs and Bill Gates and Microsoft and Apple and blah blah blah. Like

Fulfillment Through Self-Respect And Hard Choices

SPEAKER_01 10:55

I was a techie nerd, PC gamer magazine, built my first computer at 12 when I was a kid, and and big math and science nerd, and you know, overlooking Silicon Valley, and we're gonna move there one day and start a company. So there's a lot of that dreamer stuff that that it started out as. But I think that the idea of changing the world in your own unique way has always resonated. And then after 26, it became instead of external achievement, I'm I'm gonna be the change I wish to see in the world. So I'm gonna lead by example. And that's my number one core value is potential, like reaching my full potential and helping others do the same. And I have it written here to reach my own unique potential and help others do the same. I have it written on every desktop background, it's on my phone background, like, and it's got like a compass. And that's sort of my my north star, so to speak. But when when I decided to do that, was technically at 26, but I had to take this old sort of external achiever of mine that was authentic to me and merge it with okay, I can't change my mom or my aunt or my uncle or my stepdad, but I can change me. And I can lead by example. And and there's so many to quite frankly, one of the reasons why I started to hate the personal development industry a little bit, even though I I think it's got tons of value and I think it's important, is because I met a lot of my heroes, quote unquote. And I've I've met them behind the scenes, and I, you know, and and they don't lead by example in a lot of cases, and and they talk a lot and they don't always walk.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

And to me, that bothers I would agree, I would agree with those that I have met. Yeah, that that in some cases that's absolutely true.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

Yeah, and it bothers me so much. So I decided, okay, well, I can't change them, but I can change me. And so that's really where it started is is quite frankly, it was it was really depressing because I was naive. I I was naive. I was like personal development, self-improvement, personal growth, like these people are amazing. And then you meet them and they're not, and and and then you learn over time that like you basically have to just be your own flavor of what you believe is best, and you can't you can't look out or up, you have to also look inward, and and you can still learn from everyone, even if it's what not to do, and you should, and you you got to keep your eyes open. However, in order to live a wholehearted life, you have to stay authentic to who you are, and quite frankly, you have to set a higher standard within yourself. And and I used to, you know, look up to people, and I think unconsciously, little Alan wanted to have a male role model, wanted to have a dad. And and eventually I learned that that's not gonna happen, and and I have to become what I wish I had. And I think that we all can resonate with that to some extent. So that's that's really where it was born. And and now it's much more focused on leading leaders. It used to be bring personal development to the masses. I am I am not doing that anymore. Definitely not, but now it's leading leaders. I I coach 35 individuals right now, 36 actually, as of yesterday. And these people I believe in deeply. Thank you, thank you. I believe in them deeply, and and they're willing to do the work and they're open, and they're they're they've bought into this sort of philosophy that I told you about, which is you can't automate the fundamentals. I think the 21st century is exponentially more lazy. I think it's it's entitled. I think you know, everyone wants a quick fix. And it it's ridiculous. It's just ridiculous. So I've decided to to plant my flag in you know, what you create creates you. And if if you aren't willing to do the work, like there is no four-hour work week. Even Tim Ferris, who wrote that book, has worked 60 hour weeks for his entire first few decades, right? So it I think there's a lot of horse crap on the internet, and I and I don't want to fall for it. And I and I no longer anyone who feels like it's BS, trust me, it is. I've met these people. And and if you want tried and true fundamentals that never change, like sleep, hydration, nutrition, training, mobility, breath work, supplementation, like you can't have AI work out for you. You can't have AI do the workout for you. You can't have AI read and learn for you. Like we need to get back to the fundamentals that actually build us up in the self-respect account. And I am just so alarmed at how far we've we've strayed from that.

SPEAKER_00 15:20

So, so you're the next generation, you're 36, you deal with people, call it 25

Building Next Level University With Integrity

SPEAKER_00 15:25

to 45 years old. Where's the AI going? Because you're one of the first people that said you can't automate the fundamentals, and laziness is going to continue be you're gonna continue being lazy 10, 20 years from now if you're lazy now, using AI to fulfill everything that you're doing and everything that you're posting. So, where do you see this going? Because you're the next generation of new thoughts, new wisdom, and including AI, which isn't going away anytime soon, in your in your thoughts and philosophy. You could fight it or you could embrace it. Yep. How do you feel?

SPEAKER_01 16:00

Uh well, you you have to embrace it. You you have to embrace it because that's going to be a part of our world. And there's pros and cons to everything. And so you have to think about it. What are the pros? The pros are the best learning tool ever. I mean, I I'm in my car, it's driving itself, and I get to ask Grok all the questions I want to, you know, year over year of silver and how it works. Like, I think it's a great learning tool. I'm not trying to, yes, it is driving for me. Like the car drives itself, okay? But I'm not the I'm not having the car drive for me because I'm lazy. I'm having the car drive for me so that I can focus on getting more intelligent and and focus on things that are important to me. Okay. And and so you have to be if your goal unconsciously and subconsciously is to use AI to make your life easier, you're missing the mark. And I'll explain why. Ever since the dishwasher, like life got easier. I that's fine. Okay. I I have a dishwasher too. But I'm not growth comes from challenge, and challenge requires pain. And and if you if you are constantly looking for ways to avoid pain, you're gonna not only be strong, but also not smart. And neuroscience has shown that the brain adapts and evolves to challenge. And I have a someone we interviewed who was told she'd never walk again. Now she's doing handstands and working out, it's unbelievable. But that's through a little bit each day of challenge. And so if you're using AI to learn and become stronger and smarter, great, keep it up. But unfortunately, if people are wired for laziness and avoiding pain, which is most people, statistically speaking, then you're in some trouble. Because if you've ever seen the movie WALL-E, where everyone's kind of fat and sitting there doing nothing and everything's automated, that that is a danger. And and WALL-I is supposed to be a warning for what not to do. And and and so I'm trying to I use AI too, of course. I learn all the time. I have it I have it right there. But I'm not using AI because I'm lazy. I'm not using AI to avoid pain and challenge. I'm using AI as a tool and a supplement to make my life better and to make myself better. Okay. And I think that embracing it to make it make you better. They did a study at MIT where they showed people getting dumber and less capable because of AI, versus some people are using it to actually amplify who they are. And so just like the AI can't lift the weights for you, it also brain-wise, you can really

AI Cannot Automate The Fundamentals

SPEAKER_01 18:45

you still need to learn how to critically think, you need to learn how to articulate your thoughts, you need to learn how to write. If I get another AI email, write your own emails, write your own text messages. Like I want to talk to a human being. Nobody wants to talk to an AI.

SPEAKER_00 19:01

Right. And if you don't learn how to write, you can't learn how to think. Go ahead. There's no soul in AI. So then my question to you is this you were number one in selling and doing and being at an early age. Now you've overcome, you work out, you run, you're consistent, you're a peak performer to the point where people admire where you're at. The question is, where do you want to go? And where do you see yourself in your university call it three to five years from now? And is it including AI? Like, where do you see yourself? Because right now at 36, you've achieved a lot and you've also given up a lot to get where you're at.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

Thank you. I appreciate it. I'm actually 37. Uh, I I call myself Allen version 3.7. Okay. And and the reason I do that is because I think Allen 3.8 will hopefully be stronger and smarter, and I'm gonna make sure of that. But it's a good metaphor, right? Computer engineer. So, where do I see the company? I think so. We can zoom out and we can do the whole skate to where the puck is gonna be, not to where it already is. Where it's gonna be is walking, talking robots, fully automated vehicles. We're gonna have drones, drone shipping. Like I know where the future's going, and I and I don't necessarily think that's bad. I think it can make life better. Smart homes, all that kind of stuff. I'm I'm very much embracing tech. But the point of the university, next level university, it's next level you pun intended. And our philosophy, our belief system, our culture. We have communities and subcommunities, we have a little fitness group, we got all kinds of stuff going on. And I I just I we're very increasingly entrenching ourselves in the tried and true fundamentals. So, like health, wealth, and love. So, so health is physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. Wealth is uh how you earn your money. Is it meaningful work for you? Is it increasing or decreasing based on where the economy is headed? And then where do you invest it? And that's a whole nother conversation. And then love, which is your intimate relationship, your immediate family, your extended family, your friends, colleagues, clients, mentors, mentees. So the three areas everyone has to master, I think, is personal development, social development, and professional development. And all of us suck at one of them.

unknown 21:15

Right.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

Uh, the one that I sucked at was personal development. I was very good at what I call science, technology, engineering, mathematics, business, and finance. That all came naturally to me. It always has, it always will. That's wonderful. But I was afraid to look at my past. I was avoiding the death of my father. I was avoiding the inner game. I was avoiding going back to Pride Rock Lion King metaphor, right? I was avoiding. And so I had to get to know myself in order to understand others in the world at a deeper level. So everyone I coach has a green, yellow, red. They have self, others, and the world is what we all have to understand at a deep level. Otherwise, you can't make effective decisions. It's like playing chess against chess masters. You don't know what the pieces do. Right. So you have to educate yourself about yourself, others, and the world and the distinctions there. And and every client that I coach has one that they suck at. And I'm going to

Behavior Change, Future Vision, And Wrap-Up

SPEAKER_01 22:05

say this to everybody despite what AI is saying to you, you are not not more successful because you don't believe in what you already believe enough. So yeah, so you are not not more successful because you don't believe enough in what you already believe. You are not more successful because you have massive blind spots, because you don't have the distinctions you need, because you don't make good choices. Like knowledge is no longer power, behavior changes.

SPEAKER_00 22:31

Right.

SPEAKER_01 22:31

And fulfillment in fulfillment. AI cannot change your behavior, but fulfillment comes from behavior change.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

There is no one who drinks, smokes, all the vices who's fulfilled. Fulfillment comes from self-respect, and self-respect comes from meaningful progress toward meaningful goals, doing challenging things by choice, by choice. And and and to me, that that's where I'll end, which is that's where next level university is going. I I used to believe in knowledge a lot more. I I love to learn, I still do. Knowledge to me, and expertise and and awareness is not enough anymore. As a matter of fact, all the knowledge is at our our fingertips now.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 23:18

But what I've found is alarmingly true, and I didn't know this, this is recent in my 30s. My business partner, Kevin, used to say, knowledge is not power, it's only potential power. And I used to say, No, knowledge is power. And he said, No, it is for you because you can change your behavior. I've come to realize there's a lot of people who learn a lot, but don't do anything. They don't change, they don't change their behavior. They stay stuck in their same patterns. So knowledge is not power, behavior change actually is. And that's where next level university is going. Next level you, you versus you. I will get you to change your behavior.

SPEAKER_00 23:53

And once it's changed, you're going to be fulfilled, you're going to be happy, and you're going to be able to get where you want to go because you're living your life on purpose. I love it. Alan, it's really great having you as a guest today. I appreciate you taking the time as a young man. You're very busy, you're successful, and you're out there. People can find you at next leveluniverse.com and at Alan at next leveluniverse.com. Also, you're on the different social media sites, Facebook, Instagram, I assume.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

Correct. Yep, both of those.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

Beautiful. Plus, you have over 2,500 podcasts. It's easy to find you out there on the streaming sites. So again, congratulations to everything you're doing. Appreciate you being on the show. And for everyone that's listening, it's called Financial Group Podcast, Leadership Insights, Chad Co. Thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_01 24:39

Thank you.