Ep 143: Proving Yourself vs. Improving Yourself with Levi OBryan

0:00Every single one of my guys, I do anything I can for them personally and business-wise. I'm just a small person, you know, in a little— in a huge, huge world that is trying just to change the world around me. And that's the difference between someone who's successful and someone who's not. How do I expect my technicians to go out into the field and get into this 170-degree attic and replace a water heater for me?

0:28If I'm not willing to bring the water heater to 'em. You're listening to the Limitless Leadership Podcast, the podcast designed to help automotive repair shops learn how to lead, coach, train, and manage their team better by sharing proven techniques and thought-provoking interviews from industry leaders. Are you ready to transform your leadership skills by tapping into unrecognized potential to achieve limitless results? Let's get ready for liftoff.

0:53It's time to go from great to greater. Here's today's episode. Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Limitless Leadership Podcast. Before we get started, don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, do all the things you need to on social media to help this podcast impact people and build leaders, just like the leader I have sitting in front of me live in my home today.

1:21My main man, my friend, he is the founder and CEO of Vintage Plumbing Services, Mr. Levi O'Brien. Thanks for being here. Thank you for having me. Well, Levi, if you would, man, go ahead and share with the audience all the things about Mr. O'Brien. You know, you and I met at the gym here, not too far from here. Yeah. And, uh, and so, uh, if, if you're not list— if you're not watching this episode, uh, I would encourage you to get onto YouTube at The Bearded Leader.

1:47You can watch this episode just like you can listen to this episode. You can see how jacked this man is. He lives in the gym. I feel like every time I'm there, he's there, which tells me I just need to go more. But Levi, if you would, man, share with the audience who you are, what you do, and how you do it.

2:02Leading a shop can be isolating, especially when you're trying to grow and still take care of your people. Tectonic 2026 brings together shop teams who care about the same things you hear on this podcast: coaching, accountability, training, and building leaders at every level. Expect hands-on workshops, role-based sessions, and honest conversations you can take back to the shop on Monday. Tektonik is happening April 9th through the 11th in Houston, Texas.

2:25Tickets are on sale now, and Limitless Leadership Podcast listeners can, can get $500 off standard pricing with code LIMITLESS500. Go to tekmetric.com/tektonik, that's T-E-K-T-O-N-I-C, or use the link in the show notes. My name is Levi O'Brien. I am 45 years old. I'm, uh, master plumber. I started plumbing with my father when I was a child. He would pick me up from school and take me to his jobs afterwards.

2:55And I'd have to— I didn't go inside. I slept in the car, but he would go in and he would work until nighttime. And it was crazy because my whole life I always told myself, I never want to be a plumber. I'm going to do everything. I'm going to educate myself. It just seemed like a dirty job to me that I didn't want to do.

3:13I didn't realize that what you do doesn't make you who you are. That's powerful. So, uh, I went to college and I tried to bury myself in books, and I went to statistics major to a psychology major, um, and I graduated with a business degree. And when I got out, my father was do— running this plumbing company making $600,000 a year, but off of a pager, you know.

3:39And they— everyone loved him. This pager would not stop ringing. I mean, he would— so I would start working with them like, Dad, we, we need to get some Nextels for, for the guys, you know what I mean? We need to upgrade just a little bit. Yeah, the internet is out, you know, like it's a thing now. Yeah, he was actually using pay phones.

3:58He would get a pager, go to, go to a pay phone and call the customer, write it down, and have to go meet the plumber somewhere to tell them the information. Wow. So it was so inefficient and it bothered me so bad. So I I offered my father to purchase the business from him, um, and he sold me the pager for $37,000.

4:20Okay, I didn't have— I didn't have a— I had $23 to my name. The pager is essentially like the book of business, right? That's right. That this thing was the fountain of work. Yeah, you know, this thing would not stop ringing, but they wanted my dad, you know, and the— and the agreement was, was that I was going to continue to give him 2 to 3 calls a day for the rest of his life.

4:41Okay, right. So I got— I took it over in 2000. Excuse me. I, uh, first year we did $1.3 million, and that was with the NextTales. That's, that's all we changed. And we had girls, uh, one girl answering the phones, but just by using communication, it literally jumped up. You know, uh, substantially. And I realized at that moment that I don't need to be a plumber.

5:12I don't— what I do for a living doesn't make me who I am. I can actually use this as a vehicle to be whatever I want to be. Yeah, you know what I mean? You said a couple things that really stand out. First, you talked about communication and the importance of communication, and furthermore, effective communication. And a stat that I share often is that Poor communication is actually costing business owners 18% of total salaries paid out on an annual basis.

5:37Wow. That's a real stat. Um, now the inefficient communication, it sounds like was costing you guys half of your business because you doubled in, in, in business almost overnight. In fact, more than doubled. Uh, but the other thing you said, and you said it twice, and that is what you do doesn't make you who you are. However, I liked the paradigm shift that you shared, and that is What you do has helped you impact many people over the years, and you've been able to build something pretty, pretty incredible.

6:05Um, share with our audience, if you don't mind, uh, what you've been able to build, where you guys are at now, and the journey that you were on to get there. Well, I, I, I'll tell you this. I, I went into this as a business major, so my objective was to make money. I was all about the money. Mm-hmm. I wanted to make sure that I made money on every job that we went to, that I didn't lose any money ever.

6:28And I was so focused on the wrong thing. When I made a little bit of money and I felt like I had enough money to help other people, I began creating jobs for people that didn't have any. So, my focus completely changed. I no longer was looking at the money. I was looking at which areas of the state can I open up hire some plumbers, buy a van, and have them run that area.

6:58But not for me, for his family, to change his world, to change the people around him. And the only way that I could do that is if I did it, um, 50/50. I wanted partners. I wasn't looking for people to work for me. I wasn't looking for people to do what I said or anything like that. I actually was looking for partners.

7:18And whenever I— it changed everything. Whenever I looked for someone who wanted to work for 50%, we were no longer boss and employee relationship. Yeah, it was more partners. We're in this together, we're going to figure this out. And they had some skin in the game. And these guys took off. I— not all of them, but the ones that I hear that are with me now, they literally took the opportunity I gave them and ran with it.

7:48And some of them to this day have 4 trucks, running calls for me. So it's, um, we're open right now in 13 different cities that I actually run. Um, the office runs here in Houston, and then the rest of the, the rest of the people work as a franchise company for me. So I don't need to open up other areas. My objective is to create jobs to help people help themselves.

8:17Is it safe to say that you have like, I guess, dozens of partners across your company? Are you, are you a partner with everyone is what I'm asking? I'm 50/50 with absolutely everybody. Even on your first day. Okay. Working for me, you're never gonna make no more money than me. We're not gonna make, I'm not gonna make a dollar more than you.

8:35We're gonna deduct the parts, we're gonna deduct the labor, and then me and you split the rest. So you've been essentially been able to create entrepreneurs within Vintage Plumbing Services. Yes. Which is like, it's, it's a, it's basically they're, I mean, they are the business owner. Within your business. That's right. I wanted them to feel what I felt. Okay. All right, folks, as you know, great leadership isn't about doing everything the best.

8:57It's actually about having the right partners in your corner to build your shop success. It's about putting the right team in place. It's about choosing the right vendors to make you a pro, making pro moves. And when I think about the pros, I think about Shop Marketing pros. The know, like, and trust factor, that's a real thing. And Shop Marketing Pros understands that.

9:17That's why I wanna recommend Shop Marketing Pros to become your marketing partner in your shop. They get to know, like, and trust you and your business to then help your audience get to know, like, and trust you too, and bring your shop to the next level. So when I talk about making pro moves, this is the kind of move I'm talking about.

9:35This is the kind of standard-setting partnership that's gonna elevate your shop. So if you're ready to become a pro in your shop, Visit shopmarketingpros.com and partner with the best. This episode is brought to you by Limitless Leadership, because great teams don't happen by accident, they're led on purpose. If you're tired of wearing all the hats, putting out fires, and wondering why your team won't step up, Limitless Leadership is for you.

9:59They help leaders transition from player to coach who develop people and multiply impact through in-person or online leadership training like the Limitless Leadership Blueprint or their Roots to Results coaching method, their services are designed to help you tap into unrecognized potential to achieve limitless results and help you create safety and trust in order to provide clarity and direction. So if you're ready to stop managing chaos and start leading with purpose, head to limitlessleadership.co to book a complimentary discovery call today.

10:29That ownership. And listen, I know that people are out there listening today working at a job that they feel stuck at, or they feel like they've been there for a long time. Without that job that you're at, you wouldn't be able to focus on you. So I think it's essential. And I worked for a lot of different other plumbing companies to figure out what I wanted to do correctly and what I wanted to not ever do.

10:50So it, it helped me get to where I wanted to be, but not as make as many mistakes. So if you're working somewhere and you don't like what you're doing, be grateful. Because that paycheck is going to allow you to open up your business on your own. What kind of, what kind of opportunities did you find amidst the challenges? Because you said you— it's what I heard you say was, I learned a lot by seeing how not to do something.

11:20Absolutely. So, so what kind of, what kind of opportunities did you find amidst the challenges? Okay, so I worked for another, a larger plumbing company here in Houston, and, um, over 100 vans, and, uh, they were paying us on an, like 18% scale. So we would have to sell $1,000 to make $180 a day. So we're selling things to customers that customers didn't need.

11:42And it was— it just felt like we were, um— it didn't feel good at night. Sure. I did not want to be in a position to where we sell anything to anybody that doesn't need it. Uh, even to this day, uh, if I send a technician to go fix a toilet and that person puts $4,000— pays $44,000 credit card payment into my account, I will call that homeowner right then and say, hey, wait a minute, um, we went to go replace your flapper, it's $129.

12:13What is this $4,000? And she's— and if she tells me, oh well, I wanted a quote on a water re-pipe and your technician gave it to me, then we're okay. Gotcha. But if he went in there trying to sell her a re-pipe when we're there for a toilet Yeah, I get rid of them. So let me ask you, because you are— and on the, in the one hand, I hear you as a partner.

12:34On the other hand, it kind of is an employer type of situation. Uh, and maybe I'm— help me understand, because there, there's, there's obviously a fine line there too. Absolutely. How, how do you navigate tough relations or tough, uh, conversations? How does that relationship look? Well, I serve them. Every single one of my guys, I do. Anything I can for them personally and business-wise.

12:59These, these guys will call me on a Saturday, um, flat tire, I'll have a wrecker go and pick them up. Yeah. If they need money, if they need a loan, their house goes into foreclosure, I'll purchase the home and lease it back to them. Okay. Things like that. Yeah. Trying to help people that I see potential in that nobody else does. Yeah.

13:19So, and that used to be me. That was me. I, I, I was the one. I'm, I'm the black sheep of my family. Okay. You know, I, I'm the one that, uh, got into trouble, uh, most likely not gonna be successful. Um, and I love it. I, I love those titles. I love just as much as I love the people who supported me.

13:41I love the people who doubted me. It— so you, you thrive on the chip on your shoulder? Oh my goodness. Let me tell you something. Listen, at, in the middle of the night when I'm doing research to, uh, expand my business, to scale. I'm studying different markets, and sometimes I don't want to do those things. Sometimes I do, you know, even though I enjoy what I do, I get frustrated sometimes, and then life happens as well.

14:07But then I think about those people that told me I couldn't do it, and I'll stay up. That's the fuel. That's the fuel for that fire. Yes, it fuels me because I come from a lot of it. You know, um, I was told that I couldn't do a lot of things in life, and those are the things that, um, I've excelled in.

14:27All right, let me ask you this. I'm gonna kind of, kind of, you know, I'm a leadership coach. I'm not, I'm not trying to turn this into a coaching session, but I'm gonna share a thought with you because I, in my own life, have experienced labels being put on myself, and a lot of times it was me putting the label on myself.

14:43Like, I'll share with people that I actually graduated 28th in my high school class. And then I wait for people to look at me like you're looking at me right now, and then I let them know it was out of 30 people. And so, the label I put on myself pretty early was, I'm not smart. Like, I'm not intelligent. I felt dumb.

15:00In fact, for years, I just believed that I was the dumbest person in any room that I was in. And when I say I believed in this, That's a limiting belief. I know that to be true. The problem is one of the greatest mistakes any of us can make is assuming all of our thoughts and beliefs are true. And so there's a quote from a poet named NQ, and he says, "Defining myself is like confining myself, so I undefined myself to find myself."

15:27Wow. Pretty powerful, right? Wow. So a lot of us struggle with understanding how to undefine ourself in order to find ourself. You talked about essentially proving your haters wrong, right? And, and, and I'm a big believer in we need to shift from proving ourself to improving ourself. Yes. Because when we improve ourself, it doesn't really matter the opinions of others. Cuz thankfully the opinions of them is not the opinions of, of me, right?

15:54That's right. So I'll ask you, like, what is your take on, or what is your thoughts on not even trying to focus on proving proving yourself to others. It's more so like, I'm not going to prove my— I'm not going to prove you wrong. I'm going to prove myself right. When you're asking when that happened? Yeah, I mean, well, I'm asking like, what are your thoughts on it?

16:17But if there's a moment that that did happen, I'd love to hear that first, actually. Actually, um, my father passed away a year ago, and when he passed, I for the first time I felt God. And it was very strange because I know a lot of people who have money and a lot of people who are successful, whether it be spiritually, you know, emotionally, educational, anything, you know, they, they, the difference between being happy and not is having a higher power that you believe in.

16:49For me, it, it, I instantly became a different person. It was like the next day I dove into my business trying to help everyone in it. Instead of trying to get as much as I could out of every call, I try to figure out how much can I help this person and not overdo it, you know, not, not, not get taken advantage of, you know.

17:17So we do a lot of pro bono stuff for people, part of the church, people who, uh, um, can't afford it. Yeah, you know, and for us, I realized at that moment that, um, I'm just a small person, you know, in a little— in a huge, huge world that, uh, is trying just to change the world around me. Well, I'll say this, man, from the outside looking in You and I are still getting to know each other, but it's very evident to me that you have a great heart for people.

17:51You want to help people, you want to serve people. I'm just a big believer in when we can focus on helping each other, loving each other, taking care of each other, like truly serving each other, the financial side is a byproduct. Like, it's gonna happen. Like, you're, you're making money, you know, and you're making good— and I would even venture to guess that you've probably made, uh, more money in the last year than you have in other years because your focus has changed.

18:14100%. And listen, I, I'm gonna be honest with you, if I would have known this 19 years ago, your approach would have been a lot different. I would be so busy. Yeah, right now, um, in opening different states as well. I think I could have scaled this a lot faster. Um, but whenever you build a personal relationship with the customer and that customer trusts you, they come and they, they have a problem and they think it's thousands of dollars they're gonna need to repair, but you see it and it's something small and you can actually fix it for $200.

18:47$199. I would go ahead and give them the option. Hey, look, I can go ahead and replace this for you, and it'd be $199, and this thing might last 10 more years. Or I can replace it for you for $2,200, and you have a peace of mind. It's up to you. But just, just being honest, they— these— you'd be so surprised how many go with the $2,200 option because they, they know that they can trust in me.

19:11I mean, I have customers during the freeze when we had that cold weather that had no water They're leaking through the ceiling, so they shut the water off at the street. I call them, tell them, hey, listen, we can't be there for 3 days. We'll wait for you. Like, you're gonna wait? You're waiting for me? Where are you gonna shower at? Like, but they know that when I come to their home, I'm not going to try to gouge them.

19:32I'm not going to try to take advantage of these people. And if I have to lose money on a job, I will give you your money back. And that's, and that's, that's the thing that I like the most, is that I spend a lot of my time selling customers. Their money back. Yeah. And it's not— it's to just let them know that I'm a homeowner as well.

19:53I know what it feels like if someone comes to my house, tells me, oh, this, this is not covered under your warranty, and then they've already paid $125 for us to come out there. I give them the $125 back because I don't care about the $125. I want them to call me forever. Yeah. And they will. They will. Because you're creating a place where they can trust you.

20:16That's right. And man, much like the automotive repair industry, which as you know, is the industry that our team primarily serves right now, uh, trust, man, there, there's a, there's a massive lack of it. Like this industry has a black eye for a reason. So we need to create safety and trust for our guests, just like we as leaders need to create safety and trust for those that we're leading so that we can provide clarity and direction.

20:39And that's, that's a, that's a challenge. I'll ask you, it, well, actually you already shared a little bit about how you're creating a trust. Like how do you convey this important message that you and I believe in to your partners who may not know how important it is to impact people before they focus on the financial side of things? I have to educate them.

20:59Okay. I have to explain to them that I was just like them. I, I, I literally, and, and listen, I wasn't like that by choice. I had bills on Friday. I had to pay stuff. Yeah, I didn't have the money, the luxury to do it for free or to give them their money back. And so some people aren't, aren't in that situation, but I'm their partner, so I am.

21:21So they go and do the work, I pay them. Yeah, but I also give the homeowner back her money, so I'm out both. Yeah, but the, but the— my partner sees it. My partner realizes, wait a minute, he's not in this for the money. Yeah, he's trying to actually build relationships with these people. You're a bit of a security blanket for them.

21:41Absolutely. Okay, I call 5 minutes after they leave. Yeah, I want to say, hey, how did you like our service? How did we do? Is it— is everything going fine? Listen, we're going to do a 90-day free inspection for you. Just give us a call in 90 days, we'll put you on the schedule, come out for free, make sure what we did is correct and everything else is working.

21:57Yeah. Those kinds of things that people really— if you're trying to build value in your business, give them options. Give them the cheapest option, give them the middle option, and then give them the highest option. Most of the time, I think 80% of the time, they choose the middle option because they don't want to be too cheap and they don't want to spend too much, but they choose that middle option.

22:21But they appreciate the honesty, you know. And that's most important. Now, to have my partners on the same page as me, I have to massage that daily. Yeah, I bet. Well, and that's— I mean, you're kind of talking about like the good, better, best mentality, but I like the fact that you're highlighting you gotta massage that daily. Like, you gotta regularly and consistently and intentionally communicate with your team so that you guys are consistently aligned together as well.

22:51Levi, this is a leadership podcast, so I'll ask you, what does leadership mean to you? How would you answer that question? Leadership to me has changed over the years. Um, I guess as I've gotten older, I've realized that a true leader is the one person that serves everyone. It's the one person that, that will do everything for you. And that's the difference between someone who's successful and someone who's not.

23:20How do I expect my technicians to go out into the field and get into this 170-degree attic and replace a water heater for me if I'm not willing to bring the water heater to them? You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. If I'm not willing to go and put in a water heater for them for free at their house, those are the— you have to also build relationships with your partners as you do with your, your, your homeowners.

23:43That's, that's the whole massage. I'm a At the end of the day, I'm not a plumber. I, I, I, I'm a motivator. I'm trying to motivate people to do things that nobody wants to do, but it's an essential. It's essential to be where we wanna be. Levi, I love the fact that you're, man, we, I feel like you just opened up a can of worms.

24:03I could go on, on a tangent here and, and I'm, I'm gonna try not to, but what, what we see, especially in the automotive repair industry, you got high-performing team members who do really well at their jobs. They've mastered these processes. And then they get a promotion to a formal leadership role where they are formally leading people. And it's kind of like going from a player to a coach, and they struggle with staying in the, in the, in the coach's seat because they are moving from being a manager of processes to a leader of people.

24:32And that's really what you described. You're like, look, I'm, I'm not a manager of processes anymore, I am a leader of people. So you get to focus on people, you get to create safety and trust for your people so the clarity and direction could be, can be, um can be achieved. Let me ask you this: best advice you've ever received from a coach or a mentor?

24:57Give your life to God is the best advice I've ever received. I just never did it until last year. Your father— obviously the passing of your father changed like rocked you in a good way. Yes. And, and I would imagine a tough way, right? Your father was also a pastor, and it's interesting, you said you met God when your father passed. Can you elaborate on that?

25:34Yeah, hold on just a second. My whole life I felt like I was alone. It was really weird. I could be in a room full of people and I still felt like I was by myself. When my father passed, I was there when he took his last breath and I was holding on to his legs. And, uh, I felt this— the best feeling I've ever felt in my entire life at the worst moment of my life.

26:13Hmm. And it was crazy because all the resentment I had towards him for preaching to others and helping strangers instead of helping the kids that were in his home all made sense. You know, and I want to be like that. Well, you are. Uh, offline you talked about how obviously you get an opportunity to impact a lot of people right now, and you also talked about how much fun you're having and, and the kind of impact you're having leading your own family.

26:52Yes, I'll tell you one thing. When you, when you, um, are saved, or— and listen, I don't go to church. I, I read the Bible. I, I, I try to, you know, um, practice my morals and values and pass those on to my children, but I'm not a, I'm not a Bible thumper. I'm not, I'm not— I don't preach it to anybody else.

27:16I'm telling you my own personal experience, and, and I think that everybody should have their own personal experience, and when it happens to you, it's supposed to happen, but Um, it's been— it's been such a blessing to— I honestly couldn't enjoy where I've come from without it. And I think that's the difference between, um, being successful and not being successful. It has nothing to do with money.

27:46It has to do with being happy and content with where you are in life. So for me, powerful. I feel like I have to help as many people as I can in order to deserve for what I feel right now. I'll tell you what, man, this episode is going to help a lot of people. Um, I like that you just talked about being content and being happy.

28:05I believe that content and happy is similar, not to be confused with being satisfied, for sure. But when you're content but not comfortable, that's, that's pretty, in my opinion, important. Because you're content, like you're happy with the progress that you're making, you're happy with the impact that you're making, you're happy the change and the, the changes that you're being a part of and the differences that you're making in people, but you're not comfortable.

28:31Like, I know you're not comfortable because otherwise you wouldn't be at the gym so much. Like, growth and comfort can't coexist. And, and it's important that we can learn how to be content but not comfortable. It's— I mean, I love, I love the advice that you just shared. I asked best advice you've ever been given. From a coach or a mentor, you said give your life to God.

28:52I'll say this, Levi, when I first left my corporate job about 3 years ago, I felt like God was calling me out of a great organization. And for months I fought it because I'm like, nah, like logically this doesn't make sense. Like why would I be leaving such a great job? I had a great role, worked with the best team I've ever worked with.

29:12Logically it didn't make sense, but I felt like God was calling me out. And so I kept saying, okay, God, if this truly is what you want me to do, then give me a sign, like show me something. And it was this concept of, hey God, show me and then I'll trust you. And almost overnight, after a few months, overnight, he kind of flipped my, my own script and he said, no, Josh, trust me and I'll show you.

29:35That's when I gave my life to God. Yeah, like, I mean, like fully submitted myself and let go. And you know, the rest is history. And now here we are, you know, 3 short years later, and Um, you know, we, we've added a few different, a few more team members to the team and we're able to make significant impact across a great industry.

29:54But none of this would be possible if I continued to, to, if I would not relinquish control. That's right. Right. Like, like I'm not in control. That's right. And my plans can't be forced, but God's plans can't be stopped. Ooh. And, and ultimately, if, if we can just truly let go and let God do his thing, it's pretty, pretty powerful. It really is, because if it's meant to happen, you can't stop it.

30:19You cannot stop it. Yeah, it's like I rolled a little ball down of a mountain and this thing has gotten so big that I couldn't stop it if I wanted to. Yeah, my— and you know what, uh, I don't care how much money I make, I don't care, my bills are paid, my— I, I owe no you know, I don't owe anything.

30:40Um, I live a, uh, very comfortable life, so I try to make myself as much as uncomfortable as I possibly can so I can grow. I believe those are the only moments that you grow in life is when you're uncomfortable. So I, I try to cold plunge daily. I'm at the gym 4 hours a day. I restrict my food intake. Uh, I feel like that if I eat too much food— this is just a like an example.

31:07If I eat too much food and I'm full, I have failed. I should never be full. Full is like gluttony, taking too much of anything. Does it take away my hunger? It takes away my hunger for wanting to be successful and open up more opportunities for people to have jobs. And if you're in the business of trying to get more jobs or create more business, You always want to be that tiger that you can see his— you can see his ribs in the jungle, you know what I mean?

31:42You know that he is just ruthless in business. Yeah. But when you get home, you want to be that lion underneath the tree, relaxed. And you got to realize when to take those hats off. So when I heard that you did this podcast, I'm gonna be completely honest, the reason why I'm here today is because as an entrepreneur, as somebody who works for himself, uh, as a technician that works by himself at homes stuff, we come to a lot of things.

32:10We go through a lot of different personalities, different bumps, waiting on parts, waiting, customers not understanding, uh, not completing the communication properly. So now the customer's misunderstood, so that creates some kind of conflict. For me, I want to know where we go, where, where did the technicians— who are we supposed to go to when we have an issue? Because we're supposed to take it on the chin.

32:40And then act like we come— I come home, I don't bring that energy home. I swallow it. Yeah. And I bury it deep, deep, deep down. And that's why I wanted to come here, because if I felt like it was going to be an outlet for me to say, you know what, it sucks. Yeah. At times. Yeah, it sucks, but it does, you know what I mean?

32:59And it really does. Yeah. But if you, if you know at that moment, at that suck moment, that you are— it's not what you're doing, is who you are. That is a stepping stone to where you're gonna be. Every single day I take a smaller step, smaller step, smaller step, and I get higher up that hill that I'm trying to climb. And, um, I'm not focused on how much money I can put in my pockets.

33:23I'm actually focusing on how many customers I can acquire. And that is— that has really changed my business to the point to where I can't hire fast enough. I honestly can't. I'm turning customers away. I, I took all of the stickers off the side of my vans because I don't want people calling us. I have 57,000 customers from Conroe to Galveston that won't use anyone but me.

33:46Wow. You know, but, but us, because they trust us. So that's incredible. Yeah, I'm, I'm very blessed in a situation like that. But for you, like you said, you have to have somebody, a podcast like this, or somebody a mentor, a leader. Yeah. And I'm talking about someone— it could even be a stranger, somebody that's not in your daily life. Yeah. That's who's going to tell you the truth.

34:08It's helpful to have someone not in your daily life because they're not— they're going to tell you the truth. They have no skin in the game. I love that you shared that. So thank you for all that, Levi. Um, you know, I, I think it's important that, like, I'd be remiss if I didn't remind everyone who's listening or watching this episode that this is a community Like Limitless Leadership is a community of people who should never feel like they're on an island, should never feel like they're alone, should never feel lost.

34:33Because my hope is that everyone recognizes that we are all going through something and growing through something, and we're doing it thankfully together. Yes. We can go fast alone, but we can go way further together. But who can— listen, you might be able to beat me, but you're not gonna be able to beat us. Mm. Come on. You know, come on. You can't beat us.

34:49That's so good. Yeah. And whenever you have a group of people behind you that you have like a support group that do— that you— and I'm talking about all kinds of of emotions that you don't bring into the household, the household stays pure. Those kids don't take that negativity. Yeah. How much, how much emotions are you bringing home to the wife that feeds off to the children, that affects their day?

35:11That's powerful. You know, that's powerful. So that's success to me. Success to me is to come home and put on a different hat. Yeah. I want to be the full lion underneath the tree. Yeah. Yeah. You know what I mean? I love that analogy. You have to switch Uh, and it's hard. It's, it's a, it's a hard thing to learn, but it's daily.

35:28I have to practice this daily, and I ask God, please remove my ego, please remove my expectations. I'm not— I, I am grateful for what I have. I appreciate what I do, and I, and I, I, I appreciate the opportunity that I get today to change someone else's life. That's so good, man. You know, ultimately it's not about us. We're not the main attraction.

35:53We're not the hero. Uh, as long as we focus on servant leadership and being able to serve others, I mean, life, life is going to fall into place the way that God intends. It is. And, uh, clearly life has fallen into place. Great for you, my man. Um, well, thanks for being here. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. And I hope that somebody who, uh, is out there now that's thinking about, uh, uh, feeling stuck or anything like that, that not to feel so bad about it, because without what you're doing now, you wouldn't be able to go where you're going.

36:20And God has a plan for you and, uh, be very excited for it because it's a blessing whenever you receive it. Powerful. Levi O'Brien, thanks for being on the podcast, my friend. Thank you for having me. And thank you for tuning into another episode of the Limitless Leadership Podcast. As you know, every episode we look to transform our leadership skills by tapping into unrecognized potential to achieve limitless results.

36:46So thanks again, everyone. Have a great day. Don't forget to smile today. Tell your loved ones how much they mean to you. I'm Josh Parnell reminding you to keep leading well.