Trusting Your Instincts | How Taja Abitbol Built Fearless Determination

28:25Yes. So to me, it's fitting. What's that experience been like for you? um well you know i've been living here for a while now in in florida i'm from new york and but been coming here my whole life and i've always loved the tropical weather and the palm trees and the ocean and you know sometimes i feel that it's easier to manifest in this environment i think so like in new york when everything is gray and it gets dark early and i love new york don't get me wrong like it's all action like you know you need both i need both i can never give up new york but um i feel sometimes it's a better it's a really magical way to manifest when you're in the palm trees the weather the ocean it's just like you know i wake up so happy when i see the sunshine and the ocean it's like it's good for manifesting yeah i agree with that um and the experience has been it's been great so far you know it really has been great um it's very exciting who knows what's to come you know only the universe knows if we're gonna have a second season at this point or you know I would assume right based on who knows I don't assume anything anymore you know I just I think uh because of the splash that it's created that there would be a season two we hope so let's hope we hope so yeah let's hope the one thing that I've really enjoyed learning about you and things that I've read and and you know some of the clips from the show is that you always stand for what is right.

29:56That is a very hard thing to do. I myself do the same thing. And so does my wife. We're always about what's right and what's just. And if it's not right, we don't do it. And if it's not right, we call it out. But it could be also a very lonely position, right? Because the world is conditioned to kind of sweep things under the rug and just be a part of the pack and whatever the pack is doing, they do, but you stand out. You, you call it how it is. And if something is happening, you know, um, whether it's at Mar-a-Lago or anywhere else, and it's not right to you, you speak up. I guess so. I mean, I've been getting in trouble for it lately, so I think I better shut my mouth right now, but, um, yeah, I guess I do.

30:41I mean, listen, I'm from New York. So like you have to speak up when you're from New York. Yeah. Yeah. You do. Um, the fine trouble though, they, um, you know, just like. Mouth tape. Yeah. Hey, don't say that. Yeah. Yeah. That happens. Right. But also the thing is too, because when someone's voice becomes so powerful and people, and it doesn't fit a certain agenda, those voices can at times, and I'm not saying that's with you and you don't have to comment on that, but in my, my opinion is they like to temper those voices because then the full agenda can't be carried out. Yeah. But it's so nice to see somebody in your position on camera calling out what's right and what's wrong.

31:20Yeah. I mean, you know, I just can't help myself, but you know, there's a lot of rumors. I don't know what's true. What's not true. Like I can only say my opinion and that's that. Everybody's entitled to their opinion. I always say it's nobody, it's none of my business, what people think about me and what they perceive about me and what they believe is true. My job is to live who I am. And if there's some things that I need to clean up, then I need to be very self-aware and hold myself very accountable with extreme accountability and move forward and fix it. But, you know, it just, to me, my job is not to worry about what everybody thinks about me.

32:00Exactly. Because I've been down that road. I've been down that road and it torpedoes me. It puts me into occasional depressions, massive bouts of anxiety and I don't work well under those conditions. So I've learned over the years to kind of be like, okay, thank you for the information. None of my business. Now if I'm hurting somebody in the process, I'll look at it. But a lot of times it's, it's nothing like that. It's just what people think I should do or be like, and Hey, God created me the way I am and I'm executing the hell out of it as much, as best as I can. of course you're a scorpio i know right we marched the beat of our own drums that's for sure that's for sure but um you know you also you have a book you have a book is it already out no no no it's not out yet um um i i just uh started the process of yes my book is called life unscripted yeah i love that word i love unscripted that's really cool so are you able to give any teasers about, you know, what life is unscripted is going to be about or?

33:09It's just the real story of, you know, for, um, to get to know me better. And, you know, the real truths about certain things in my life and my businesses, my past, my personal, my family, you know, it's like a, not really a memoir, but like a personal story to get to know me better. I love that. It's cathartic, right? Like when I wrote my book, it's coming out in 2027 as well. It's called Blood Type Determined. How to implement determination blueprint into your life to achieve what you want to achieve. And when I wrote the book, it was so healing in so many ways because some of the chapters, I talk about things that I've never talked about in public.

33:52I talk about my divorce from my first wife. I talk about my ex-girlfriend who I was best friends with dying of the same cancer my grandma died of pancreatic cancer. Right. But here's the crazy part. I was with her when my grandma died of cancer. And then years later, she ended up getting the same cancer and dying when she was like 30 or 31. Oh, it's wild. So I talk about those things in the book and it healed me massively to talk about it and to get it out. And like, I'm not holding that anymore. And so, you know, as you go through and write this book, you're going to come across things that you get out and that's just going to feel so freeing for you.

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35:40I love that. I love that. When's it coming out? Probably this time next year, maybe a little sooner. That's cool. That's really cool. I like when people write books about their life, you know, and it accounts for everything because it gives somebody the blueprint to move forward in their life. Have you, have you thought about how this book is going to help other people? Well, mine is the pink print, uh, instead of the blue friends of pink print. I love it. I love it. Um, how it would help. Yeah. It would, it's just, you know, aspirational, inspirational to never give up and to stay true to yourself.

36:24I love that. You know, never giving up. It's something that, you know, people talk about a lot, like I'm never going to give up, but a lot of times people do give up right before it hits. Like, have you ever had any, I mean, cause listen, I, I'm, I'm very resilient, but there's times or in my life where I've sat there, I'm like, yeah, I don't know if this is for me. Like I should probably back off. But then once I say that in my mind and I go, wait, what? I'm not going to back off. I'm going to go harder. I'm going to put my face in this. like, have there been any times in your life through, you know, your restaurants, your, your commercial real estate and doing what you're doing now?

37:05Have you ever felt like, I don't know if this is for me and how'd you deal with that? Oh my goodness. So many times, like, that's just how life is, you know, it's up and down and you go, especially being an entrepreneur. I mean, you have to be, you have to be a little crazy to be an entrepreneur. You have to be, you know, very resilient, you know, delusional sometimes, you know, there's, there's, take certain personality type, especially in, you know, New York or the types of businesses that I was in, highly competitive and, you know, and I ate a big in all of them. So, you know, restaurant, real estate, et cetera.

37:45Of course, it's just that every time you, you know, get back up again from something that takes you down, because, you know, it happens all the time, you just become stronger each time. And that's just how life works. You know, you just get more life experience, more, you know, resilience under your belt. And that's just how it is. You just keep on going. And each time you have to keep on going, you become stronger and stronger so that the next time you have to pick yourself back up again, it becomes easier. If I had a hundred thousand dollars for every time someone called me delusional, I would be, I would be on a, my own Island somewhere.

38:30Right. I, I truly do believe being, having some degree of delusion is important because this is hard. I don't care what you're building. I don't care if you're building a t-shirt print shop. I don't care if you're, you know, building a show or whatever it is, a construction business, I don't care. You have to be willing to fail a little bit because that word failure is so important in a journey. And a lot of times people look at failure, like I, I just don't want to fail. It's embarrassing. Well, failure is part of it. It builds resistance. And that's what you were going through and talking about right now is as you fall down, you learn, right?

39:09You learn how to move forward and you might have better strategy moving forward thereafter. But the failure is just to me, I seek it in everything I do. Like, how can I fail as quickly as possible so I can learn and I can grow and become callous to that certain mistake? So that way I don't have to deal with that one again. Well, that's interesting. I definitely don't seek failure, but, but you I've learned from it. And since you say you're an athlete, athletes are the best at that. Because if they lose a game, they just move forward so quickly that they don't have time to think about their failure.

39:51They just move forward so quickly. You don't look back. You just keep moving forward. That's really key. That's really key. It's just to keep moving forward. I want to clarify. I don't seek out the big failures. Right. I, I see, I want to push so hard that if there's a micro failure, then I know how to correct. Right. I know how to course correct from there on. Right. So I'm like, Hey, let's, I want to go as hard as I can to see if this podcast fails. Like, no, I want to hit that pain point as quickly as possible. I guess is what I'm saying. It's like, I hit a pain point. Like, okay, how do I get through this?

40:29Like what, what's the way through it? And then that way I'm building and I can help other people get through those same sticking points. And I found that I get a lot of messages about that. How do you, how did you move through this? Right. How, how can I move through it? Cause recently, you know, I grew up my whole life and I was overweight, like very overweight. I mean, I'm not like 300 pounds, but like 230 pounds and I'm five 11. Right. And I started thinking like everything that I have in my life right now, or I don't have is because of this one thing, this one thing that I'm struggling with.

41:05And I have to go through this transformation because I want to be healthy. I want to be around for my wife and my kids for a very long time. But I also want to display this type of determination and discipline that everybody else can see. So that way it inspires them. And I, I tell you what, every day I get multiple DMs, like, how do I get out of my own way? And I go, you have to identify that one thing, that one thing that you think about constantly. that's what you attack. And it may be unrelated to business. It may be unrelated to anything that you're doing, but it's funny how, if you take care of that one aspect, everything else falls into place because you're vibrating on a higher frequency.

41:47Is there anything in your life that you thought of like constantly, like, you know what, I should probably work on this. And then once you did everything else just kind of fall into place. yeah i mean you know it's like you said before like don't you can't waste time thinking about things that don't matter so you know that's something that we all get better at as we you know experience more in life you know but definitely things that don't matter to not even think about them you know like what people think of you or what you know uh somebody is saying about you or what, uh, you know, like just like things that don't matter, just don't think about them.

42:34That's it. I mean, that's the one thing that could, um, help you get to where you're going faster. Like to not think about things that don't matter, like gossip and, you know, because a lot of, you know, I get caught up in that sometimes with, you know, especially cast members and you know like there's a lot of that there's a lot of that drama yeah a lot of that drama and it's just like you know move move past that you know I don't like you know they they I mean it's it's something that is uh you know like funny for a show entertaining and all of that but like in real life that really doesn't you know interest me to think about what he said she said he said that she was she was wearing he was doing it a little she wasn't there she wasn't invited he again like i don't care yeah i don't care i don't care you're like look that that's more powerful than you think though right if if it doesn't matter don't fret and and i always say this and i learned this in sports control the controllables that's what it is if you don't have control over it then don't think about it so that's something that i have been working on with the help of David because like, that's like, you know, uh, a true champion's mindset and he's the true champion.

43:53So like, I learned a lot from him. Five times over five times. So, you know, that's how you got to think like a champion. You do. And it's so funny because when you allow this, when you allow to clear your space, when you allow yourself to clear your space like that, you can focus on what does matter. But if we get stuck in worrying about the shit that doesn't matter and that we can't control it, it pushes us down and then you attract more of that crap. Right. You know, and like, and, and, and if, you know, what did you call it? Uh, manifest, what was the manifesting generator manifesting generator?

44:26Yeah. So people like us can manifest anything we want, but what are we going to manifest? Right. If we're focused on things that we, we don't have any control over and we fret over every little detail, right. That's happening or what someone says, we just, we bring more of that to us. And for me, that, that, that weighs on me a ton. Right. Everything is energy, you know? So I try and bring the good energy. Yeah, you do. I mean, I, I, you know, it's like inside of you, you know, so you can feel when somebody has good energy or not, like it's hard to fake it. Even if you, you know, keep a happy face on all the time.

45:07If you're not, you know, vibrating on the same inside, it's obvious. What you say and what you're giving out is two completely different things. And I've been on the other side of that as well. You know, I've been in times where like, Hey, everything's great. And I got the smile on my face. And I remember sitting down with somebody, a friend of my name, Chantel, and she goes, take the mask off. Like, what are you talking about? And this is when I was selling payroll and it was my first meeting with her like to sign her up for payroll and we were at a starbucks on pine island road in cape coral florida and that was she was a catalyst in this whole thing because she goes you need to listen to the mf ceo projects andy for sell his old you know podcast they just brought it back but he talks about mindset talks about building business, talks about all this stuff.

45:59And it wasn't until that point that I realized that I'm faking this. I'm faking being happy. And it was super important to me to fix that. Now you're not going to have any question where I'm at. Like if I'm in a bad mood, that's where I'm at. If I'm in a great mood and I'm, I'm vibrating high, there's no faking it because people can feel that when they meet you. Yeah, I can't fake it. I'm the same way. Like I can't, You can tell right away if I can't, you know, if I don't like you, you could tell I can't fake it. I'm just not like, you know, like I can't, I can't do it. I just, it's not who I am.

46:36Yeah. I find that I'm always cordial, but there's certain energies that I just won't fuck. Well, yeah. Like I know how to be polite and cordial, but, or maybe sometimes I don't, maybe not. I don't know. Maybe not. But, you know, I'm definitely not fake. I don't know how to be fake. I can't. I sometimes want to be, but I can't. Yeah. It's crazy because everything I've seen of you and read of you, you showed up with the same energy. Right. And I appreciate that. And I think a lot of times in this business, right. And what we do, we're, it's very public. Right. So when I meet people, they go, wow, you have the same energy.

47:17You're the same person on camera as you are in person. I'm like, well, yeah, cause it's me. like if we're not being ourselves and we're not showing people who we are and then if you run into somebody you don't mirror that same energy it's very confusing to people and you and you lose a lot of i guess fans or you lose a lot of people that respect you because like wow you're not who you say you are it's a gift it's a heavy one too though right because you're always on right you're always, you're always, I don't know. Cause it's just who I am. Like I, like I said, I don't, I don't even know how to be fake, you know?

47:54So heavy or not, I don't know. I just, it's who I am. I get, sometimes I'll get tired. Right. At the end of the day, if it's, I think it's more tiring to fake. Yeah. It could be fake it. Like, no, that'll, that'll destroy you. Yeah. I don't know how to do that. That's a different type of tired. Yeah. That's a different type of tired, you know, but being on camera, being on the microphone all the time and fielding calls and always having that same energy. And it is me, it's, it's, it's not an act, but there's times where I sit there and in some days I just need to just to be by myself. Do you ever have to be by yourself?

48:28Yeah. It's very, it's very important to, um, you know, um, recharge and, um, you know, like I just came back from a back to back trip. So yesterday I just spent a day, you know, like recharging, you know, like at home. Like I, yeah. What do you like to do to recharge? Just, you know, like cook that's healing for me. Get my house together, my things together, you know, just, just like home things like wholesome things, you know, spend time with my family. and just, you know. Starting something new is straight up scary. I remember thinking, what if this fails? What if nobody listens? But taking that leap changed everything and having Shopify on your side makes it a whole lot easier.

49:21Get started with your own design studio with hundreds of ready to use templates to build a beautiful online store that matches your brand style. Get the word out like you have a marketing team behind you with easy email and social media campaigns wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling. Best yet, Shopify is your commerce expert with world-class expertise in everything from managing inventory to international shipping to processing returns and beyond. It's time to turn those what-ifs into with Shopify today. Sign up for your$1 per month trial today at shopify.com slash TDS. Go to shopify.com slash TDS.

50:02That's shopify.com slash TDS.

50:09stay away from the phone a little bit, stay away from Instagram, you know, just like recharge, regroup. Um, you know, you, you have to like shut off or, and I don't need to do that for too, so long in order to like, you know, get recharged. But even if it's just a couple of hours, like you definitely need to, you know, regroup it's, it's very important for sure. Yeah. I found myself, if I can spend, you know, four to five hours just recharging, I'm good. And I can do that when my kids are at school, my wife is at work, you know, I can just be, you know, and there'll, there'll, there'll be times like, you know, someone calls and, you know, if it's a partner or someone important in the business, like, Hey, I'm taking, I'm taking a day, I'll get back to you tomorrow.

50:55And it took me so long to draw that boundary. Cause I always felt compelled or responsible to, I've got to respond right away. That was one of the things that my wife always coached me through. She's like, you don't have to respond to everything right away. You can take your time. And learning that has, has allowed me to recharge so much quicker. So by the time my, the most important thing in my life, which is my wife and my kids walk through the door, daddy's ready. You know, I'm ready to cook that, that dinner. I love going out there and grilling. My daughters always go, can I help you? And I'm like, well, you know, I'm grilling so you can come out, but I don't want you near the grill.

51:33But, uh, it was, it was really funny because the other day, my little one, she's seven, I was making, um, mashed sweet potatoes and she wanted to help. And, you know, she's got, I told her, yes, I was like, but I'm going to hold the pot. So in you stir, she got so damn excited. She got out of a little baker's outfit. She put her hat on, she put her little mittens on and her apron and she was in there with me just cooking. And then my oldest daughter came in. Can I help too? Yes. Can you set the table? Can you make the salad? And just those moments with them, even though I was actively doing something that also recharged me because they got so much joy out of it.

52:15Right. That human connection also fuels you. And you're a mom, right? How can you relate to that when you see your kids light up and enjoy that they're helping or doing something with you? What does that do for you? Well, I have one son and we have, we have been, um, that used to be now he's 14, but you know, so teenagers, they don't want to do so much with you anymore, but no, but he's a mommy's boy. So he loves being with me. But when he was younger, we used to do that all the time. Like he knows how to cook because he could make a whole meal if, you know, if I asked him to, because he, you know, was in the kitchen.

52:54I love to cook. Of course I was in the restaurant business. My father's a chef, you know, so cooking is a big part of our life. Um, but he knows how to cook a whole meal. Like he can make you a full dinner. That's awesome. He could make your whole family a full dinner and like, you know, no time. At 14, I was just playing baseball. I didn't even know how to turn on the washing machine. Yeah. No, he knows how to do everything. I'm not saying he does it like we do, but like he knows how to do it. Yeah. He knows how to, you know, do laundry, clean his room, make his bed, cook dinner, you know, all of it.

53:29Yeah. Something that we used to connect, you know, together doing at home is like cooking meals together. Cause he loved it. That's so awesome. Those are skills that when he's older and a woman comes into their life, you're going to know that he's going to be able to handle shit. Exactly. They'll appreciate that. His friends know, like all his friends are, he has a lot of friends who are females and And he takes care of them. Like he's the gentleman around. He'll make them food. He make like, you know, the other day he made like ramen, but like homemade, a homemade ramen, you know? You, my friend, if you're watching, you're a gem.

54:08Because I remember driving around. I parked my car in a parking spot a long time ago. And that's when Melissa was still alive. And she goes, I worry about you when you go to college. I was like, why? She goes, cause you can't take care of yourself. And I said, I'll figure it out. And now I'm very domesticated. I'm very self-sufficient. I, I cook, I clean, I, I contribute. It's easy for me, but those are learning that at an early age is so important. And I have my son's 12. So I'm approaching the teenage years very quickly. And, and I'm great with teenagers. I used to coach, but how has that been?

54:50And, you know, having a teenager and navigating those things because the worries change, I think, right? As they get older and they're doing more things, they're out of the house. How has that been for you guys? Yeah, like it changes really quick, like overnight, you know, like literally the minute they turn from 12 to 13, you know, the minute they become a teenager, things change. They just, you know, want their independence more. So, you know, you have to give it to them. And that's, you know, a healthy thing. But luckily, like, he's, you know, he is a mommy's boy. He always will be. And that's another healthy thing, you know, that he loves his mom.

55:31And we do love to be together. We love spending time together. Like, we love traveling together. We love, you know, our activities together. Like, we love going ice skating or to restaurants, trying different restaurants, or being with his friends. Like I'm, Oh, his friends love me. So we're, you know, like, so that's good. So thank goodness. Cause I'm not like, I'm not like that cringe for them that they don't want to be with me. Cause that's what happens when they become teenagers. It's like, everything is like, that's so cringe. Like they don't want to take pictures with you anymore. Like we're together a lot, but like my followers on Instagram, like they, they're like, where's Sam?

56:13Where's your son? Cause he doesn't want to take pictures with me anymore. and he used to not mind that, you know, he used to like that, but now he's like, do not post that. Don't put that up. You know, it's like, everything is cringe. He doesn't want to be public. Right. He doesn't, he doesn't want to. No, just not with me, you know, like, but you know, like I said, thank God I'm not that cringe because I still get to be around them. Like, you know, they like, like they think I'm going to, they, they say I'm a baddie. So, you know, Yeah. It was, oh, that's funny. No, listen to this. So, so my wife up until this, this past, this semester that just started, she was teaching upper school Spanish.

56:50Right. So high school, she's a prep school. And, um, one day she came home and said, what does batty mean? I'm like, it depends. Like who's calling you that? She goes, well, you know, some of the girls and some of the boys call me a batty. I'm like, Ooh, I got, I got that. I mean, that means that that means something. And she goes, they don't look at me like that. I'm like, no, but I mean, you are a baddie, you know, you, you know, you're cool. Like it can mean so many different things, but that word, man, it's so funny. Cause, um, it mortified her. Right. And she's like, oh no, what's it mean?

57:25It's like, I'm like their, I'm like their mom. I'm like their school, I'm like their school mom. I'm like, well, you know, boys will be boys, babe. Boys will be boys. Um, you mentioned going on trips. What's the favorite trip you've taken with your son? I don't have just one favorite, but you know, like all of them are the best. Each place we, you know, venture to is a new experience. But so I just, I love going to new places and seeing it through his eyes, you know, with him. So every place we go to is, is, uh. You guys travel out of the country and you can do all that. That's cool. We love to travel.

57:59So, yeah. What's been your favorite trip for you so far? Like just, just the area. I don't have, I don't have a favorite. No. Mine was Ecuador. Everywhere, everywhere. I like every time I go somewhere, I'm like, oh, my God, this is so amazing. I think this is my favorite trip. Then the next trip I go to, I say, no, this is amazing. This is my favorite. So it's not I can't. Yeah, it's not just one like every new experience. And, you know, that's cool. Yeah. It's like, I don't know. I can't I can't compare. Like every place is different. And we just love traveling and experiencing new places, cultures, people, you know.

58:34We, uh, we went to my wife's home country in, uh, July. Where's that? Ecuador. Oh, okay. She's from Quito, Ecuador. And, um, we had never been and, you know, cause sometimes it's not safe there. Right. And, but it was, it was a period of time where everything was calm. It was chill. So we went, I didn't want to come home. Wow. Like volcanoes, you know, we went to these volcanic baths where we sat in these different pools. Wow. Each pool was hotter because it was closer to the volcano. And I'm sitting there just looking up in the Andes Mountains. And all the fog and the clouds were sitting on the volcanoes.

59:13And it was drizzling. It was the most serene experience of my life. It was the best. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it takes forever to get anywhere. It's like you're constantly bumping because the roads are there. So I was like passed out half the time in the car rides. The altitude really. The altitude. Like I couldn't sleep while I was there. Wow. I would sleep for in two hour spurts and then I was up and then I would fall back asleep. But then I was up. So I've never been there. So I can't say, but yeah, it's very beautiful. It's very beautiful. I want to go back soon. One of the craziest things is when you're landing, you're coming into the Andes mountains.

59:52It's the most terrifying thing. I'm like, what the hell's going on? Is this guy good? Like, you think we're good? Like, is this normal? She goes, yeah, I hear all the time. This is normal. I'm like, man, like all the, it just, these, these mountains are massive. I mean, they're huge. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. Didn't go to the rainforest though. She wouldn't go. She had a tarantula or a massive spider like fall on her when she was a kid. Oh wow. And she was like, I'm not going back to the Amazon. She was like, I am not going there, but we want to do the Galapagos. I think this summer, cause we didn't, we didn't try, we didn't go there.

1:00:25So that would be a fun trip. Nice. Yeah. Yeah. So what, what, what's coming for you? You know, like, you know, I know that we don't know if a season two is coming, but what are you looking forward to most? You know, everything. I just like, I look forward to everything, especially, you know, like travel plans, although we haven't made them yet for the summer because we're kind of last minute. But, you know, there's there's always something to look forward to. Like every next thing is something to look forward to, whether it's in my family life, my business life, my, you know, professional life.

1:00:59It's there's, you know, I look forward to it all. Yeah. You know, that's a good, that's a good thing to have. Right. Because then you're always present. I think being present is so much more important than balance. Right. Everybody talks, I wish I had more balance. I'm like, well, wait a second here. Balance. Balance means you can do multiple things, the equal amount of time during the day. So you're telling me you can work for eight hours. You can work out for eight hours. You can spend eight hours with your family. You can work, you know, and do all these other things. Like there's only 24 hours in a day.

1:01:29So I seek presence. If I can be present in a moment and truly enjoy what's going on, then I'm good. Right. Especially with kids. They don't want time. They want your attention. They want, and that's, that's something that you've given your son. You guys cook together. You go on trips together. You know, you do fun activities together. That is so enriching to a child because there are a lot of parents out there and I witness it all the time. The kids do not exist. They do their thing. Here's the iPad and the iPad or the screen raises that child. And they always are searching for that attention that they really want, which is from the parents, right?

1:02:11So you've done that for your child, right? You've given them experience. You've given them the gift of you being present. But also when you talk about your outlook on life, it's like, I'm excited for it all. And I think that is truly something that people are searching for. What kind of advice would you give the audience about how to slowly work towards that? Because some people it's built in, right? It's just your perspective. It's how you've been raised. all your life experiences, but you know, there's a subset of people that don't know how to do that. What would you tell them? No, I definitely had to train myself.

1:02:49It's not, I was not born like that, you know, but once again, it's like, you got to just focus on the positive because when everything is energy, you know, the more you focus on the positive, the more positive you will get attract, you know, become, uh, if you focus on things that don't matter or the negative or what he said, she said this, you know, it's just, that's, you're going to get more of that too. Yeah. So focusing on the things that really matter and staying positive, um, is, is definitely, it's like a workout, you know what I mean? You have to, you have to keep working at it. It's not something that has come to me naturally my whole life.

1:03:33I mean, I'm naturally like an upbeat, positive, happy person, but there's a lot of things that can get me down in life, you know, a lot of things. And you just have to, you know, starting something new is straight up scary. I remember thinking, what if this fails? What if nobody listens, but taking that leap changed everything and having Shopify on your side makes it a whole lot easier. Get started with your own design studio with hundreds of ready to use templates to build a beautiful online store that matches your brand style. Get the word out. Like you have a marketing team behind you with easy email and social media campaigns wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling.

1:04:11Best yet, Shopify is your commerce expert with world-class expertise in everything from managing inventory to international shipping to processing returns and beyond. It's time to turn those what-ifs into with Shopify today. Sign up for your$1 per month trial today at shopify.com slash tds go to shopify.com slash tds that's shopify.com slash tds try not to let anything or anyone get you down are you open to sharing maybe one thing that gets you down i mean just you know there's so many things like just like stressing your business Like, oh, this one didn't show up today or, you know, something that's going on with the cast, a cast member or, you know, it's just like you got to keep it moving, like not focus on on the negative, you know, just like not, you know, come up with solutions and don't focus on problems.

1:05:13But that is not something that I, you know, always was a master at. You know, you have to master that. But it's important to master that in life. I agree completely. You know, and just like stay real, you know, like because the truth always comes out and, you know, karma is a bitch. Oh, a fickle one. So, you know, like we, you know, like if you're gonna tell lies or go after someone for no reason or whatever it is, you know, like that's going to come back to you. You know, like I don't, I don't, I'm, I'm a good supportive friend and you know, that's, that's who I am. That's awesome. I always say what you do in the dark always comes to light.

1:06:03Right. It will come out and it'll burn you. So you better be living right. I always believe in keeping my side of the street clean. And there's always things that I can clean up. Right. But, you know, I try to live my life full of integrity and to be truthful and to be honest. So that way I never have to have those types of hard conversations because those are bad conversations to have if you've been dishonest and it comes out. You lose trust in people. You know, it could implode your businesses. It can change so much in your life by not being truthful. So I enjoy that about you. It's a good quality.

1:06:42Very good quality. so question this show was built on the backbone of determination and discipline right when i began this show i wanted to wake up in a society where people woke up determined to chase their dreams no matter how they felt emotionally at that time because our emotions don't care they're a liar we have to if you are going to build something you need to build it regardless of how you feel because you said you were going to do this activity. You said you were going to do this. In your words, how do you define determination? It's like a fire that's in you. You know, like I have, you know, like I'm constantly on fire for something that I want to do, you know?

1:07:30So it's not like I wake up and say, oh, I'm going to be determined today. Like I just am. Like I wake up and I'm, I'm very, um, energetic. I like to get things done. I do get things done. I'm a doer and I just make shit happen. That's it. That's it. It's just my personality. You know, at the beginning, I thought determination was this loud roaring thing. The hustle culture. It's really not that to me. It's the quiet moments, right? It's the quiet moments where you make a decision to follow through for yourself. because at the end of the day, if you break your word to yourself, that's when you lose confidence.

1:08:08That's when you lose your power. And so every single day I check in with me. Are you doing what you said you were going to do? To me, it's not loud. It's not sexy. It's the monotonous things that you master. Me getting in shape, me looking the part of determination and discipline. Those are the things that I, every day I have to make sure that I follow. Am I eating the right things? how's my wellness going right am i am i emotionally set am i physically set i'm nowhere near where i want to be because it's a it's a never-ending journey but you're also big into wellness and you want you run one of the biggest wellness companies out there talk to me about that yeah i i um i've always been into wellness and longevity uh because I think it started when I was, you know, very young.

1:09:03It's just like, you know, growing up in New York and, you know, like the hard lifestyle, I would need to kind of like recover to get my energy back. You know what I mean? Like I would have to do, you know, like sauna and like I started sauna, cold plunging, red light, all of that, like before anybody knew what it was like IV therapy, Like, you know, I don't even remember how old I was when I started doing this, but like very young and people didn't even know about this stuff. But I would find, you know. Places in like, you know, Queens and Brooklyn, like European, like these Russian places that did like, you know, you know, chelation and like, I don't know.

1:09:52I was always attracted to wellness because it just makes you feel good. Like I like to feel good. I like to look good. I like to have energy. And, you know, especially in the winter, maybe I needed more help or, you know, being in the restaurant business. And, you know, you work all night and you have a busy night and you're, you know, running around all night long until four or five o 'clock in the morning. And then I had to be back at work at 12 noon. You know, so I would go into the sauna for two hours, get IVs and then go back to work and I would be great. And people would always be like, how are you like still here at five in the morning counting your money at the ends of the night?

1:10:34And like, you know, so I started my wellness journey long, long, long ago. And then when I moved to Florida, I couldn't really find, you know, good places that, that I trusted to get all these therapies that I need to get. So I said, well, I'm just going to open my own place. And that's what I did. What's it called? What's your business called? Taja Drip. Taja Drip. Yes. And Taja RX because my product lines are Taja RX and my actual brick and mortar is located in the Faena Hotel, which is a five star hotel. And I, you know, pioneered this wellness and longevity, you know, business in within the five star luxury hotel space because it's also ideal for travelers.

1:11:30You know, like if I, I, I want to, when I travel, the first thing I want is to get an IV, lymphatic drainage, red light, oxygen. And then like, you don't jet lag. I don't, I never get jet lag because I get all of these things and I never, you know, I travel with people and they're like, I can't move. I need two days to recover. And I'm like, oh my God, you're wasting my time here. Like, you know, you need, you need to like get up. So like, I don't get jet lagged. I don't, you know, like I, I really know that these treatments work, you know, NAD that I've been taking and no bowel forever since before anybody knew what it was.

1:12:11I've been doing it and people are like, what's NAD? What's NAD? You know, I've been doing this for a long time. All the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants that the body gets, you know, deficient of, it's very important to replenish and it works. Like you can tell the difference, you know? So I have a medical director, I have all nurse practitioners, registered nurses that, you know, handle my business and, um, we have a great thing going on. What I love about this is you'll have to come visit. I'm in, I'm in Matt's taking me. you use these things as you were, you know, 20 years old and into your entrepreneurial journey to help you, you know, keep moving at the pace that you needed to.

1:13:03And then years later, you took that recipe and then you made something out of it. And I always say those things always work because you have the experience level. You know what it does. You've tested it on yourself for many, many years, that is the long game. And that is one of the biggest reasons why it's super successful. And in a five-star hotel, right? People have to realize that tapping into who they were before and what helped them, that's usually the gift that they can go and give to other people. And that's exactly what you're doing. That's pretty darn cool. That's really cool. And I started it, you know, way before it was popular.

1:13:43Like, like I said, like nobody knew what NAD was when I started it. Now it's called biohacking, right? Exactly. I'm a biohacker. Yeah. I am a biohacker, but it didn't, you know, I started it before it had a term, you know, before there was a name for it, I started it. So like, I didn't ride the wave. Like I started the wave, you know? Yeah. I heard, I don't know. Do you know who Tito Ortiz is? He was a UFC fighter, you know, world champion. I have a lot of them as clients. Right. Right. So he was at this conference and he was asked to speak at this biohacking conference. He's like, biohacking, like, what's that?

1:14:20Right. Like he's been doing it for so long in his training to recover. Well, that's what I say all the time. Like the original biohackers are athletes, of course. And since I've been around a lot of athletes my whole life, like, you know, they're the original biohackers. Well, they have to feel good. They have to perform, right? Being able to play the sport or be active in the sport isn't the goal. It's the performance. And if you don't recover and if you're not putting good things in your body, then you can't have that level of performance. I don't care what you do, whether you're an athlete or an entrepreneur or a teacher.

1:14:55You need to be optimized. And there's so many people walking around right now, Taja. I'm tired. I don't have time to get in the gym. I can't get in the gym because by the time I get home, I am done. Like your company and your services help people with that because you're giving them the nutrients and the minerals that they need and the recovery that they need. I mean, absolutely. I mean, you can ask anyone I know you, like anyone that knows me, like, do I ever get sick? No. I mean, knock on wood, like knock on wood, like knock on wood. Like, I never, like, you know, like, do I, am I ever like not functioning at my best?

1:15:42I'm always optimized. Yeah. Thank God. You know, it's important. You know, it's funny because. But I work at it, you know, because I get all the treatments that I swear by and believe in. And, you know, meanwhile, everybody else, oh, I can't, I'm sick today or I'm that today. And I'm not saying like, I've never gotten sick, but you know, it's like every, you know, like, I don't know, every like 10 years or so. I mean, it's like, I, I, it's like, yeah. Well, it's funny because prior to me taking responsibility for my own health, I would get sick a lot, you know, I'd get in the gym and then I'd release all those toxins from working out and I would get sick immediately.

1:16:18But the moment I started taking care of myself, I've been sick one time. Right. Don't you see a difference? It was low grade. When your immune system is, you know, functioning properly, then you just don't get sick as much. yeah so everybody was worried about because the flu has been nasty this year and people are getting sick and they're throwing up and like you haven't gotten anything i'm like nah i'm not i don't even think about it i know everybody's been sick and i i got like a little you know like i had a little like maybe congestion but i snapped it out i went right away went and got some nad iv you know some oxygen red light and boom it was out of my system out of your system when I feel like that, right.

1:16:57I still stay on my normal routine and then I'll hop in the sauna after my lift and my cardio and I'll go sit there for a half an hour sweat. And that rest of the day, I'm very tired, but the moment I go to sleep and wake up, I'm fine. And it's, I can feel things come on. I'm like, okay, like I'm going to get through this. I'm not, this isn't going to get me. And I wake up the next day and I'm fine. Well, you probably need some more IV therapy, vitamins, minerals, you probably need more of that in your system. Yeah. Probably. Yeah. I mean, you know, I, I do take vitamins, but the, the, the IV drips are so important.

1:17:31There's so much more. It's, you know, it's concentrated right into your bloodstream. Exactly. And it's really hard to get like absorption from supplements, like actual pills, like, you know, they might have good ingredients, but it's, you don't, you know, they don't absorb into your system, you know? So like my formulas are liquid, liquid absorb much better than capsules. Well, definitely come over. Definitely come over soon. Soon. It's on him. We get me over there. I'll definitely do it. Well, maybe we'll do some stuff over there and promote it a little bit. It'd be really cool, but thank you so much for coming on and, you know, giving the audience, uh, more substance of who you are and what you're up to.

1:18:10And, uh, can't wait for the pink print to come out. You know, that's going to be really, really cool. Thank you so much again. I really enjoyed this. And for everybody watching please go follow taja on on instagram the the handle is what's your handle again taja lucky is my personal okay and taja drip and the reason why it's taja lucky like i didn't give myself that name but everyone says whenever they hang out with me like they get lucky so i got that that was like a nickname that i was named taja lucky like my luck runs rubs off on them okay so That's how that became my handle. That's really cool.

1:18:50And my business is Taja Drip and Taja Rx. But if you go to my Taja Lucky page, you can see all my other outlets there. I definitely follow you. I just couldn't remember the actual handle. Okay. And for all of you out there listening, I might get lucky tonight because I hung out with Taja today. So Jackie, Jackie, you be ready. You be ready, baby. Daddy's coming home. that he's coming home uh please guys if you've enjoyed this episode uh first and foremost go check out members only palm beach watch taja share the show with all your friends and uh dive in you gotta binge watch it though you have to watch every episode because we need it we need like the completion rates so completion it's also hard to stop watching so just like watch all eight episodes it goes by fast yes hey dive into it guys share this episode with some you know love and trust and go follow Taja.

1:19:46If you're over on the East coast, go visit her and get some treatment, complete the show, binge watch it. And until next time, guys, stay determined.