Today, I'll be sharing with y'all a little update on my and Kaija’s life out here in Georgia. I’ll share with you some stories about our cross-country move, my leap of faith back into the D2D industry, and give you a formula for success.
I like to call this part of our life the “move of faith and I’ll explain why. First, let me tell you a fun story. There was a particular season at BYU cheer where I was the equipment manager with my best friend, Austin Harmon. We really did make that equipment great again.. One day I was given the responsibility to transport these HUGE signs in my tiny Honda CRV. One read “GO'' and the other read “COUGARS” and they completely obstructed my rearview window. Before a game, Harmon and I got my car, I couldn’t see anything behind us, and I just yelled, “Back Up of FAITH!” and gassed it. Since then, we would shout literally anything and add “of faith” at the end. Gotta do a back tuck? Back tuck of faith! Groupon ticket discount and no date? Purchase of faith! Sending a text message to ask someone on a date? Text message of faith! It became synonymous with the “Send it!” phrase, and we lived it everyday! Today, I would like to tell you about Kaija and I’s cross-country “move” of faith and all of the decisions, and miracles that followed thereafter.
Ever since I got serious about marrying Kaija, I knew that moving south would be in the cards. Kaia’s weightlifting team, Power and Grace, trains in Suwanee, GA. After training remotely at the BYU weight room and outlifting most male athletes, it was time to level up and train with the heavy hitters. After lots of prayer, we knew that moving out to Georgia was the right thing to do. Even though we had very little connections in the Peach State, we knew God wanted us down south and that He would make a way. The plan was to move to Georgia, find stable jobs, and save up for a down payment on a home within a year. The only connections we had were Kaija’s weightlifting teammates, and Kaija and I both knew the owners of Anthem Pest Control somewhere in Georgia. Other than that, we had zero connections. Nada. Zip. Even though our plan made very little sense to the rational person, there were little signs along the way that reassured us we were doing God’s will. Shoot , we hadn’t even seen our apartment complex! However, while we were filling out the resident application, my older sister texted me and asked if I wanted her old car, solving one of our most pressing concerns. Coincidence? I think not!
On June 10th, Kaija and I packed up our 16 foot moving truck and trailer, said goodbye to our Utah family, and got on the road to the unknown. That road trip was one for the books. Between visiting family and friends, seeing a falling boulder and working road clean up (See Instagram), strolling down Hollywood street in Nashville Tennessee, and getting a flat tire, we had quite the road trip. It wouldn’t be a cross-country road trip without a flat tire! On June 16th, we rolled into town with all our stuff and Javier Perez, one of our new church members and 4 missionaries unloaded the entire truck before I could even call to order them pizza. We were welcomed to GA with open, loving arms, and we knew that we were making the right “move.”
Before moving out to Georgia, I spent the time between graduation and our moving date selling solar panels with Fluent. At the time, we were living in the comfort of Kaija’s grandparents basement, rent free, and working to make some cash before the big move. Selling solar door to door is a very profitable route in the door to door world, and many people make solid cash doing so. While I was a Rockstar at setting appointments, I struggled to close deals. In a 100% commission based job, no sales equals no dinero. The hardest part about this wasn’t not making money, but not being able to support my wife. I don’t think I’d be wrong in saying that one of the biggest prides a man has is being able to take care of his wife. Coming home and having to tell my wife, “Yeh, nothing today” was mentally taxing. I still remember the first sale(s) that I closed. Yes, TWO! My in-laws were visiting, and I just remember nothing made me more happy than giving my wife a gigantic hug and knowing that I had finally closed a deal and would be getting a generous paycheck the next week. I sat with Kaija’s family and was so happy that I had shown I could take care of her.
I continued selling up until we went on a trip to Lake Powell for a week with Kaija’s family. The whole point of a Lake Powell trip was to get away and enjoy each other's company in the most beautiful place in the entire world. This was one of the most enjoyable vacations I have ever taken. (Thanks Eric and Cara!) Nothing was better than spending time on the boat with my wife, her family, and our best friends. While the trip was fantastic, there was a particular night in which my phone had somehow received a message. I looked down to read that one of the two customers I had signed had CANCELED.
I allowed this cancellation to completely break my spirits. I was troubled by it and wanted to let Kaija know. At 11:30pm I let her know we lost a sale. You can imagine that went super well. Nope, not at all. As fun as Kaija and I are, just like any marriage, we have had fights! And at 11:30pm, both of us tired and pissed off that a sale went under, I decided, “I’m gonna sleep on the wood!” I slept that entire night on a wood bench away from my wife, mad that I had lost one of my few sales. Door to door sales was starting to seem more as a stressor than an opportunity.
Returning back to Utah, I was incredibly hesitant to get out on the doors with energy like I had previously done. It had taken me a full month to lock down those two deals, and now I only had two more weeks before I was going to pack up a moving truck and move to Georgia. Scared to work those last two weeks in vain, I half-assed the first 6 days and threw in the towel after seeing no results. I rationalized that working as a “Dasher” for door dash would be the more profitable route. Typically on my dasher routes, I felt ashamed because I didn’t rise to the occasion and continue with the commitment I had previously made.
We made our move to Georgia in search for a stable lifestyle with stable jobs. I quickly made a connection with a cheer gym and picked up a part time job as a tumbling coach. While I wasn’t coaching, I was sending in my resume to places like Costco, Home Depot, and Lowes. I even walked into a Cracker Barrel to apply as a waiter… At the end of the week, if I worked my butt off in these companies, the most I would make would be around 450 dollars. Such a lifestyle would bring in enough to cover our monthly fixed costs with little money to save.
Right as I started to get call backs from employers, I contracted COVID-19 and Kaija and I got to spend 2 weeks stuck in our one-bedroom apartment. There are only so many marvel movies you can watch before you feel like you are doing nothing with your life. After watching every single marvel movie, (except for Spiderman and The Hulk… come on Disney) unable to work, and pondering on the current world affairs, Happiness Hackz was born. COVID-19 forced me to think made me think of something I could run from my home, and still have an impact. I was thrilled as I came up with ideas as to how I could monetize my ideas for Happiness Hackz and run a business on the side. By the time our two-week quarantine had ended, I had started a website, blog, and YouTube channel for Happiness Hackz. I wanted to use Happiness Hacks to spread positivity and motivation.
Happiness Hackz picked up traction pretty quickly and still is growing as we speak. One day as I was working on one of my daily posts, I got a message from one of my biggest mentors, Jeremy Davis. Jeremy is a stud that I was connected to by one of my friends, Nathaniel Baker. Nathaniel knew that I was wanting to learn door to door sales and connected me with Jeremy Davis who had previously sold in Atlanta with Fluent Alarm. This guy took me under his wings and taught me so much about sales, relationships, and the power of systems and routines. The message I received from Jeremy that morning said, “It’d be cool to see what habits you’re doing to create happiness.” This was a message sent solely as a fun recommendation but it hit me in an entirely different way. I was spending all of this time writing about taking risks and achieving dreams, but I had thrown in the towel on door to door sales… I felt like my advice was empty if I had given up a dream. I thanked Jeremy for the advice, and started posting more about my workouts/reading habits, but I knew that I wasn’t practicing what I was preaching. I started to think about the door to door sales option again. It was still a very sensitive topic for me, but I at least started thinking about it.
Fast forward to a particular evening at Sylvan Dale. Kaija and I were both sitting on the cabin porch reflecting on where we were headed in life. We talked about the hard questions. What is our financial situation? What can we do to find jobs? What do we need to do to meet our goals? We both have a dream of buying a beautiful southern home with a wrap around porch and land. Was what we were doing at that time going to lead us to accomplish that goal? It is important to evaluate what your current situation will produce. To conduct a personal evaluation, you could ask yourself, “If I stay in my current situation, where will I be in one year?” and “Will this support the life that I want to build?”
For me, I knew that what I was currently doing (sending in applications on Indeed and bothering Veronica from Costco every week) was not going to set us up for a home in a year. I had to make a “move of faith” and do something I was scared to do. Kaija and I both know the founders of Anthem Pest control, and we both knew that Anthem was somewhere in Atlanta, but I was so averse to the thought of selling that I hadn’t even bothered to look up the location. After this hard conversation with my bride, I texted Mitch Mathews, one of the founders of Anthem and former BYU football player, about selling with Anthem. I briefly opened up to him about the insecurities I had about sales, to which he simply responded, “you have a great personality for this.” If Mitch believed I could do it, then maybe I could!
Mitch connected me with Blake Jensen, the team lead for the Atlanta office, After talking to Blake, I discovered that Anthem headquarters is literally 5 minutes away from our apartment complex. Coincidence? I think not. Just like the sign from God when my sister offered us her car, it was blatantly obvious that God wanted us exactly where we are right now, in this “lease of faith” apartment complex. It was time to look my insecurities dead in the eye and start believing in myself.
My first day on the job, a rep named Zack Strong took me out to Dallas, Atlanta to teach me how to sell Pest Control. He helped me sell my very first account! When I say “helped me” I basically mean he sold an account FOR me. His entire purpose was to show me the process and help me see just how easy it really was. In tumbling, you typically spot an athlete when they try a new skill. You want to make sure they at least get a feel for the skill. You may spot them lightly, or literally heave their bodies over in a back flip with a heavy spot. If I were to compare this first sale to my tumbling coaching, I would say Zach gave me a “strong spot.” (Pun intended. His last name is Strong.) I am forever grateful that this kind sales rep and amazing teacher took time out of his day to teach the new guy how to do business. I went the rest of the week believing that selling pest control was easy and sold 10 accounts in my first week. I felt so accomplished and optimistic because I finally felt I could support my beautiful bride and I in our dreams. Zach Strong did a whole lot more than sell an account for me that day. He showed me the ropes and helped me believe that selling pest control was possible.
After that day, August 10th, I continued to work on my fail-safe system. Wake up. Nourish my faith by reading scriptures. Work out. Nourish my body with a healthy breakfast. Nourish my mind with a sales training book. Nourish my relationship with my wife by making her breakfast and giving her a foot massage. THEN I GET TO WORK! The more I focus on my morning routine and the most important aspects of my life, the more successful I am at work. All of those actions boost my self-concept and allow me to perform at my best while facing rejection on the doors. I believe that the way you start a day has a direct effect on how you live the remainder of the day. You can either wake up and nourish your mind, body, and spirit, or get lost in a rabbit hole of social media. You know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s the first 30 minutes of the day, but these minutes are crucial to your success in your jobs, relationships, and thought processes. As long as I stick to my system, I know I will have success.
This is my life now! I have never been happier. I have to be intentional about everything I do because there is literally no time to waste. When we are intentional about our time, we find that we spend it wisely. When it comes to time, we all have an expiration date. I wake up every day knowing that I could kick the bucket that day… While this may frighten some people, it actually motivates me to work harder, speak more kindly, and love more deeply. It motivates me to push for the things that are important to me.
Why am I sharing all these things? Because 2 months ago I walked into a Cracker Barrel looking for employment as a waiter. Here I had all this potential and I was about to throw it all away. I had given up on a dream and as I walked through those doors and spoke to the manager, I knew that there was something more in me I hadn’t tapped into. I was capable of so much more. I was just scared of failing. I had to make a “move of faith” and confront my fear. I had to look my fear dead in the eye and crush it like a bug. When we act in faith, fully believing that we will succeed, God will help us achieve our goals. He cares about us and he wants to see us succeed.
Before I finish up, I want to leave you with a “Success Formula” I drafted up the other day. My favorite quote of all time is, “The vision to see, the faith to believe, and the will to do will take you anywhere.” I found out that my “formula” is simply that quote redacted into an equation.
TOOLS + POSITIVE SELF BELIEF + WILLINGNESS TO ACT = SUCCESS
TOOLS: The tools we need to succeed in our daily lives are extremely important. Let me paint you a picture. What would happen if you had a person attempt a backflip with all the BELIEF and WILLINGNESS TO ACT, but with no TOOLS? These are the” fail videos” you see on YouTube of people attempting a backflip only to land on their neck. We need tools, ability, and knowledge to be successful in a task.
The tools are our “vision to see.” Could you imagine trying to accomplish a task without sight? It would be very difficult. Similarly, we need to have the correct TOOLS to accomplish a task. Here’s a quick example. Do you think you’d be able to do a back flip if you weighed 300 pounds? Probably not. You could TOTALLY do it, you’d just have to slim out and get it shape!
I’m going to say that the TOOLS we need are wellness. Wellness is a multifaceted concept that includes our relationships, exercise, nutrition, and knowledge. If we maintain a balanced life, we will have the tools to succeed in whatever we set our heart on. What can you do to gain and sharpen your “tools” in your tool belt?
POSITIVE SELF-BELIEF: Brian Tracey said, “The person we believe ourselves to be will always act in a manner consistent with our self image.” The person we believe ourselves to be will ALWAYS be who we are. If you believe you are an active person, you will ACT in a way according to that belief. You will exercise more often. If you believe yourself to be unintelligent, you will probably not perform well in school. You will go into a test with a doom and gloom attitude and fail. If you believe you are a salesman that can close a deal, you will be more likely to sell your product. Do you see just how much the “self-concept” affects our daily actions? IT'S SO IMPORTANT. I’m asking you to CHOOSE to believe in yourself. Every time you have a negative internal dialogue, speak greatness into yourself. Speak OUT LOUD! I audibly repeat self affirmations before I knock on a door for a sale. I tell my athletes to scream “I CAN DO A (Insert Skill!)” 5 times before attempting it. They all think I’m a little crazy until they see how effective it is. What can you do to boost that belief in yourself?
WILLINGNESS TO ACT: What if you had all the tools and all the self-belief in the world but don’t act. We all know people like this. They are incredibly gifted and they know it, but they just can’t get their butts off the couch! This ingredient is the hustle. Without it, you won’t be able to use your tools and your self belief is in vain. How much effort are you putting into your dreams? Could you be wasting precious time that could be put to use elsewhere? What are you going to do TODAY to act?
Hopefully, my and Kaija’s “move of faith” story and insights made you think about what your “move of faith” is. We all have got something we know we should do, but we hold back because of fear of failure. The biggest risk we run isn't failing, it’s failing to take a risk. Take a bet on yourself and you will be surprised to see where it takes you. Remember to include all three parts of the formula I gave you today. If you forget one of those ingredients, success is much harder to achieve. Please email me at happinesshackz@gmail.com and share with me your “moves of faith.” I want to hear how you are implementing my formula of success. Please share my blog and Instagram page (@happiness.hackz) with three of your friends so we can spread positivity and speak greatness into each other!
That’s all for now! Now it's time for me to get back to work and keep on working towards my and Kaija’s dreams! I appreciate all of you that read to the end of this blog and love that you are a part of my journey of faith! Slide through the gallery below to see some pictures from our cross-country move of faith!
