In this episode of the Tactical Empire with Jeff Smith, hosted by Shawn, features a conversation with Josh Meunier, a 38-year-old husband and father who hiked to Mount Everest Base Camp. Josh shares his transformation story from a corporate job at Oracle, facing life-threatening health challenges, to selling everything and embarking on a two-year adventure in Asia. The dialogue covers the physical and mental challenges of hiking to Everest Base Camp and how those experiences translate into business endurance and mental fortitude. Josh also discusses his current endeavors in small business finance, leadership, and operations, operating under his company, Migma, and the importance of persistence and adaptability in achieving success in both personal and professional life.
In this episode of the Tactical Empire Podcast, Sean interviews Josh Meunier, a 38-year-old adventurer and entrepreneur. They discuss Josh's incredible journey to Everest Base Camp, overcoming life-threatening experiences, and pivoting from a corporate career to building successful businesses. They dive deep into the parallels between physical and mental challenges, the importance of perseverance, and the mindset needed to build a life of freedom and fulfillment. Join them as they explore Josh's adventures, business ventures, and valuable life lessons.
00:00 Introduction to Tactical Empire
00:32 Meet Josh Menier: A Journey Begins
00:47 The Life-Changing Hike
03:51 From Corporate to Adventure
07:13 Exploring Asia: A New Perspective
09:13 Conquering Everest Base Camp
16:05 Lessons from the Summit
20:21 Applying Lessons to Business
25:08 The Philosophy of Success
27:53 Current Projects and Future Goals
38:19 Conclusion and Contact Information
[00:00:00] How do you find the will to fight back against the world that wants to keep you sedated, averaging, stuck in place? Join us for the tools and strategies you need to create a life of abundance, discipline, and high achievement. This is the Tactical Empire with Jeff Smith.
Shawn: What's up ladies and gentlemen, it is Sean from the Tactical Empire. I'm coming to you today with another Member of the technical empire's inner circle. It is Josh Minyay. He's 38 married with a young daughter. But, uh, the interesting thing about Josh that I wanted to pull him on first today, we're going to get right to it.
Um, we out in Scottsdale for the inner circle meetup in early October. Uh, you know, we had about a three and a half hour hike and during that hike, you know, certain men come to the front [00:01:00] and they fade to the back. And Come to the front. So you find yourself walking next to different people about every 15 to 30, every 15 to 30 minutes.
And I found myself next to Josh as we made our first like mini ascent on that, that 2. 5 mile walk to get to the summit peak trail. And we started jamming and, uh, I was telling Josh that I, I've always wanted to hike. I just don't prioritize the time to hike. So I was kind of soaking in the whole moment and he, he dropped a bomb, you know, these things that like, you can't, uh, not necessarily judge a book by its cover, but like, I've never, I've never personally met somebody that has, uh, hiked Mount Everest or went to Mount Everest base camp.
And Josh just like dropped that bomb on me. Josh is a fit guy. So it didn't surprise me that he would be interested in something like that. But I. I mean, you don't just guess that about someone. So Josh, tell the people a little about who you are, what you do, but let's get into this, uh, [00:02:00] hiking to base camp story, because I feel like many people do not actually know someone that's done that.
Josh: Yeah, cool. Well, I appreciate you having me on Sean. Um, you know, and thanks for the intro there. It's, uh, it's always fun to. To meet up with you guys and go to the inner circle meetups and always great experiences when I meet up with, uh, you know, other guys that are trying to do stuff with their lives and really progress forward.
So thank you for running tactical empire. And, and obviously with, um, uh, with the whole crew there. So it's, uh, I think when it comes to hiking, kind of like what you were talking about, It's mostly do you, do you love the outdoors or not? Um, and I think he can kind of learn to do that. I hated him when I was younger and I was just thinking about that as you were making the intro of how I got started in hiking.
And, um, I spent a lot of time in Colorado as a kid with my family and. My parents always used to drag us on these like ridiculous hikes. They'd be like five, six hour hikes, but they'd always have something cool at the end, [00:03:00] like this pretty lake or, you know, but it was torture getting up the hills. I just found myself kind of dragging my feet most of the time.
And my dad, you know, swirling back and picking me up and being like, come on, it'll be worth it. Um, and it always was. Uh, but I think you, you start. If you can get those experiences early and often in your life, you know, it, it'll take you, you know, to a lot of places that you'd never imagined because you can find a lot of really cool things just in your local areas, believe it or not, if you just want to go on an adventure and, you know, there in the middle part of my twenties, I actually almost died when I was 26, like crazy story, but woke up, uh, you know, In the hospital, my mom was like at my, had flown out from the East coast, uh, overnight cause they like, weren't sure that I was going to make it kind of deal.
And, um, that really propelled me to take a look at my life and see, you know, what, where is that really trying to go? [00:04:00] And I was working for fortune 500 as I was at Oracle at the time. And, uh, I just decided that I needed to get out and see the world and see what, what it had to offer. And I. I sold a bunch of my shit, packed my bags and left for Asia, uh, and didn't come back for like two years.
Shawn: Okay, let's go there. Well, what, what did you do for Oracle? I mean, mid twenties working for a huge company. Like you, you definitely have the corporate ladder ahead of you to, you know, Do what they tell you to do, which is work your way up and make a good W2 income. And then you'll find yourself hopefully in a good spot down the road.
Uh, but this life event changed things for you, but what were you doing for Oracle and then go right to Asia and that complete one 80 shift, let's talk about it.
Josh: Uh, I was running what was called emerging markets in Texas. Uh, so building data centers for them, uh, with companies in like the 50 million in revenue and below.
And it [00:05:00] was a new market that they had expanded out. Cause they just realized their commercial teams couldn't handle, uh, like the overload because like 99. 9 percent of the world uses Oracle. It's just no matter what, if you're on your phone, you use Oracle. Um, so it's, uh, There was, there was a pathway laid out for me, but Oracle made the decision for me.
They cut my entire division in one day. Um, they just realized it wasn't profitable. It was taking too much to, to uplift and you know, my entire team got cut. So I was like, cool, I got a severance package and I got to, I got to make a choice at that point. Um, I like was interviewing for other places, uh, in startups around.
Around that area, like FireEye, I actually like was coaching the guy's, uh, kid who he tried to recruit me onto the sales team and I just, I just had something else in mind for the rest of my life and I didn't know what it was. I just needed to figure it, take some time to go figure it out. And now, now why,
Shawn: why Asia?
[00:06:00] And was it more, I, I, I, you just answered this, but I want you to answer. It's like, were you running away from something or running towards something, but why Asia? And what was your overall gut feeling about that? Honestly, I thought I was going
Josh: to die before I was 30. Like that was the second time I got peritonitis by appendix burst when I was 14.
Then I had this event where they think I swallowed a toothpick, um, and like punctured holes in my lower intestine. So, uh, I was like, dude, I'm going to die. Like I've spent, you know, two stints at 10 days in the hospital, um, where they weren't sure if I was going to live. And I was like, I've got a bunch of money and I would like to spend it if I can on my life before I, I can't.
So, so I, that, that really kind of forced that decision. I didn't, I don't think I was running away from anything. I think I just really wanted to experience what life could be like, um, without crazy amounts of expectations that, um, I felt like [00:07:00] were, you know, Kind of driving me, uh, for a lot of my life at that point.
And you start making pivots and shifts and you don't know where your world's going to take you as, but as long as you're open minded, I think you got a lot of, a lot of places you can go. Yeah.
Shawn: Well, what happened when you went over to Asia? Let's talk about it. Where, where'd you go? What'd you do? What'd you see?
What'd you learn?
Josh: Well, I chose Asia because it was cheaper than everywhere else. I could backpack in. Europe for like three months or I can go live in Asia for like at least a year. Um, and pretty well if I wanted to, uh, so that, that drove that decision, but I also like the beach, dude. I mean, I just, I wanted to be on like beaches in the middle of nowhere, which I found.
Shawn: Where'd you go exactly? I mean, I'm saying Asia and I'm not the most geographically minded person, but I know it's fucking huge. So where were you? Yeah,
Josh: I started in Indo. Uh, so I started in Bali and then I traveled across Indonesia, uh, made my way into Malaysia. Where another story for another time, but I [00:08:00] lost my wallet.
I had to live on this Island for two and a half months. I had to become, became a pizza chef, work for like 3 a day, two meals, like a box with a mosquito net over a bed. Yeah, it was, it was real. Like I was roughing it.
Shawn: Ladies and gentlemen, this, this guy just said he worked for Oracle, uh, got laid off, had a bunch of money, thought he was going to die before 30.
So he quote, literally wanted to live his life. And the next thing he knows he's making pizzas in Malaysia with a mosquito net. You were living life, man, for sure.
Josh: Yeah, it was, it was fun. It was, uh, it was, it was wild. It was crazy. It was fun. It was, um, scary, but it was eye opening to just being out in the middle of nowhere.
No safety net, man. There's that'll do something to you. I think. And that'll kind of, I think that started to push me into like, what else can I do? Yeah, I'm out here. Um, and I said, I said, like, set my bucket list while I was there. And I said, you know, I want to [00:09:00] see all seven natural wonders of the world before I die.
And I had seen the great, uh, the grand Canyon already, but I was like, look, I'm probably not going to come back to this part of the world for a long time. So. I decided at the like later part of that trip that I'd take like my spiritual journey and just go out to Nepal by myself and start hiking in the Himalayas.
Shawn: Okay. And so most people, most people plan and train and lay this out. It kind of seems like. And again, you were there two years, so maybe this was, you know, a year out, but it seems pretty quick to me. What was that planning process and what did that, the logistics of that actually look like? And how did you pull off hiking base camp and what, what made your situation different?
I know we talked about that in Scottsdale.
Josh: Uh, man, I don't recommend anybody [00:10:00] do what I did the way that I did it. Uh, and the reason why is because yes, there are people that plan for that. There are people that, um, get really sick. Like from altitude sickness, their bodies can't handle it. Um, so I was no stranger to, to doing hard things.
I was, you know, I was an all American lacrosse player in college, uh, as like captain of my lacrosse team. And I just, just like, I'm an athletic guy. I can, I can do hard shit and I enjoy pushing my mind and my body in those, you know. And I was, I didn't know what to, I didn't know what to expect when I got to like on the pathway to Everest, but I sure as shit wasn't prepared for it mentally when I got there.
Um, it's, uh, It's it's daunting in itself because like the first place you go is you fly into the most dangerous airport in the world and it's literally it's like a runway into a like a concrete wall and [00:11:00] you get there and you go like then you hike down 3000 feet into this like gorgeous basically valley for like six hours and then you hit this bridge and you go straight up for like a Until you hit base camp, I mean, it's like, I don't think anything's going to prepare you for the level that you're going to have to push your body if, depending on how fast you want to go, because I was smart about how I did it.
I got a Sherpa and I was like, look, let's make sure I don't die on this mountain. You put me on a yak or a donkey and get me out of here. If I get sick, I kind of deal, um. And it was, it was cool. Cause you know, the, the prep time for me was just go up, do it and get as far as you can and see, see how it goes.
Honestly. I think when you're in the middle of it, you just start really focusing and zoning in and, and just one foot in front of the other man. [00:12:00]
Shawn: Well, we'll talk to the ignorant people like me. You know, when I hear Everest base camp, like I just, I've never been told what the journey's like. And so you just said, you come in, you hike 3000 feet down six hours, and then it's straight up.
How long, how long were you hiking? Upwards just to get to base camp. Like I feel like base camp is, is a, is a soft word when you, when you're thinking about Everest, I'm like, Oh, base camp, whatever. Um, but the way that you described it, like how long were you actually hyping hiking vertically?
Josh: Yeah. So it's.
It was, uh, seven days to take or six and a half to get up to base camp.
Shawn: Um, so that blew my mind when you told me that, like that blew my mind because we were doing a three and a half hour hike and it wasn't like vertical, vertical most of the time, but it was up.
Josh: But you saw some of that, you saw some of the terrain in that hike.
That's very similar to what Everest is like. It's just. Like that for 12 [00:13:00] hours, you know, depending on how fast you go. Yeah. So another thing that I don't, the reason why I don't recommend this and the way that I did it, because I was trying to get out of the country. I went to, so I guess there was a little bit of prep time.
I went to Western Nepal and like the Annapurna track and I did some hiking out there and like hung out for a little while just to get used to the altitude because that shit really messes with you.
Um,
Josh: But then you have to do like a, a climatization stops. So you like, you'll hike up to like a mini base camp, call it right.
Where are you going to stay for 24 hours? You're going to hike to a higher peak, and then you're going to come back down and then you'll rest. And then you'll go up to like another point, which would be like your second, like mini base camp. You hike up to a higher point, you hike down, you get used to the altitude.
So you don't really like have the GI tract problems or the headaches or whatnot. Um, cause we would see helicopters flying up there every day, [00:14:00] uh, to pick people up. But it's, it's hard because it's really, it's really hard on your body. But it was especially harder on me because I did it. What normally takes people about 14 days to do, I had to do it in 10.
So I had to cut off like four days from that, which means like my Sherpa was, was looking at me. He's like, how long do you want to go? I'm like 10 days. I have 10 days. I have to be at Kathmandu to get out of this country. Um, and so. So he, he looked at me and he was like, okay, man, um, let's go keep, keep in mind.
This guy has been to the summit twice in his life. Like attempted eight times at that point. Uh, I think he, I don't, I don't know this for a fact. His name is Mingma. It's actually what I named my company after, but yeah, so he was my guide. He was my Sherpa. Um, and he, like, I, I want to say he might've been in like that 14, uh, 14 peaks, maybe I can't.[00:15:00]
Like I've been hiking the 14th largest peaks in the world. I mean, it's just crazy. That was wild.
Shawn: Well, you
Josh: found a good
Shawn: shipper then. Cause you're, you're fucking wild.
Josh: Yeah. Yeah. Uh, it was an incredible experience, honestly, you know, from like going from like, say 9, 000 feet to 6, 000 feet to base camp, 17, 600.
And then, uh, we actually watched the sunrise over Everest. Um, Before the day that we started hiking back down and that's 18, 002. So it's a thousand 200 was the highest I went. And that's like picking up your legs, right. And like having to like get them up the mountain, man. It's a, it's a hell of a feat.
Shawn: Okay. So base camps at 17, 000. And then when you, can you see Everest from base camp? Okay, but then you still hiked higher to watch sunrise. [00:16:00] Beautiful. I love it. I mean, I'm just like trying to like paint this picture in my mind. Um, earlier, earlier you said that it is a physical and mentally daunting task.
I'm trying to think this through with business. I don't want to go post Everest yet, but you know, in life there's physically daunting tasks and then there's mentally daunting tasks. I feel like most people hardly ever come into a physically mentally daunting task. So what, what were your thoughts? What conversations did you have to have with yourself?
When you were in the middle of this process, I don't care if it's an hour in a day in or halfway or right before, like, what did that self dialogue? Sound like to Josh Menier at that time, because it's very easy just to stop and turn around.
Josh: Yeah. What did I get myself [00:17:00] into is probably a question I asked myself, uh, quite a bit.
Um, you know, you had mentioned something earlier about like lessons you learn, right? And you've been an athlete. I've been an athlete. Uh, you know, I think you learn how, what mental toughness is, is like, um, I think every, every situation is different. Right. But it's still, it causes you to, to, you know, grab that, that inner person inside of you and be like, you're going to have to fucking do this cause you don't have any other choice.
Um, and I didn't really give myself much of an, uh, much. Besides get up the mountain and and keep putting one foot in front of the other, uh, that was a big thing. I actually listened to this song on repeat pretty much the entire way up. I don't know if you know that song XX intro, but it's just like. I look at exercise [00:18:00] and, you know, physical tasks like that almost as, um, like active meditation.
I think you can get to a point as an athlete where you can start to realize that you can just hit this, like, sixth gear and just keep going and going and going and going and going and, you know, your mind's going to quit before your body does. And my mind was trying to quit constantly while I was moving up that hill.
I, the air gets lighter. You know, your feet get heavier. The pack on your back doesn't doesn't get any lighter. Honestly, it's just like it's just weighing you down. You got to drink four liters of water while you're on your way up there. So not only you putting yourself through 12 to 14 hours of rigorous hiking, but you're also downing like four liters of water that tastes like chlorine, right?
You know, you just I think that for me was was good to push me beyond barriers like that. I didn't know I had, um, It was taxing me physically, especially [00:19:00] I'd say on like day five through seven, I was just like, man, every, every 30 minutes I wanted to quit. I was just like, man, I just, I just want to sit down and I, I couldn't because my Sherpa kept just like doing these little baby steps in front of me.
And he would, in the beginning of our hike, this great lesson I learned was I would just like kind of sprint up the hill and like set and sit for a little bit and then keep going and I'd lose gas and it was tortoise in the hair. He would just come by and like. Passed me and say this one phrase, bestare, bestare, which means slowly, slowly in Napolese.
And, and he's just like, at certain points, he's probably a quarter mile ahead of me. I'm like, I want to die right now. How are you doing this?
Shawn: I hope our audience, I believe they are, is smart enough to just peel that lesson out that you just, that you just said, like we're all learning from a Sherpa in Nepal right now on what it [00:20:00] takes to be successful.
In any area of life. Now, is that, is that the tattoo that you have what you just said, right? So that was so impactful on Josh that he got that phrase tattooed on his body. And I love that. Sorry, sorry, slowly, slowly. Um, now let's take that. We're talking about physically and mentally daunting tasks. Then we, then we, you know, life goes on.
We come back to America and we're building businesses. We're doing real estate development, whatever. You can talk about your projects right now, what you're doing on, but business can be an energy suck, but it's not a physically, you're not doing something like super most, you're not physically exerting to get there.
You're, you're, you're using mental energy. You're hopefully taking care of yourself. So you have more, but I've seen a lot of unhealthy business owners, but business is very mentally draining. Partially just because of the amount of effort and focus it takes to actually build something worth of value. But also I've seen way too many business owners just [00:21:00] create scenarios in their head and they can't turn it off.
And they're always thinking about their business, which is obviously something that we're not fans of in the inner circle. We want to be able to compartmentalize things and flow from, from work life to home life, to fitness life. And you know, they, they, they aren't comp they're not, they are not.
Compartmentalize as in they're completely different areas of our life. We want them to be integrated, but not to where we're. All consumed in one area. So how has all of this physical, I'm just going to say torture that you've put yourself through, uh, paid dividends when it comes to building the life that you want, that isn't, I mean, you're still physically, you work out, you do, but we're like, we're not hiking Everest every week.
So we're building businesses and we're trying to raise a family. So how does all this physical shit that you. Took the time to put yourself through on a major scale. The people listening, if you haven't done this in your 20s, like you don't have to do something so major, but how has that helped with like the mental [00:22:00] slog of business building or, or wealth building or life building or success building for you?
What does that mean to you?
Josh: Uh, it's a great question. I think, yeah, whether it's physical or mental, what we're trying to do is ultimately train our subconscious to, to just keep moving forward. Right. I, I can't remember who said it, but there's like this theory behind, you know, the most painful experience you've had in your life is just as painful as the most, the most painful experience as I've had in my life.
Um, you know, it's, it's just painful. It's subjective, right? It just depends on the degree that you've experienced that pain. And, you know, I'll go back to being an athlete because that was an outlet for me, but it was also a way for me to push myself physically and mentally because how many times do you want to quit?
How many times do you say you want to quit? Like, or just do micro quitting every [00:23:00] day. Um, And that's a, that's a big thing. Like it starts to become habit and I think being an athlete has helped me fortify more in my mind without having to consciously say, go fucking do it. I just go and do it. Right. I see it.
And I'm like, let's go. Right. And. And I think with, with how that translates like between like business is how many times you run into brick walls in business and you just have to like find a solution and just keep pushing through no matter like how big the problem is, um, you just got to keep going.
And.
Josh: And if you kind of get that never quit attitude or I want to win attitude, whether it's against your, or it's against the competition, um, you know, putting yourself through hard physical tasks like that are only going to help you train your brain. So when it is really important, no matter what situation you're in, you've already like had that [00:24:00] tactical training to help you, you know, move yourself through the problems.
Shawn: Yeah, I mean, you've kind of talked about when you were younger and then in your 20s, your parents took you on long hikes and your dad always said that there was something good at the end. And then, you know, in your 20s, you went to Everest and now you're, you're building businesses and building real estate projects, but like more than one time on this episode, you've talked about like not having other options, like, like, so you're, you're, I don't want to put words in your mouth to correct anything.
Like you're a one track mind, like you're, you're forward. Yeah. Focused all the time. And, and even though let's be real, like people always have 365 degrees of choices, we all have many choices that we can make, but it sounds like you're the type of person that like. You're, you're, you're not to say you're not flexible, but you're moving forward.
If you truly believe in what you're trying to achieve, you just don't, you don't even give yourself another option. Would you say that's, you know, your psychology [00:25:00] or that's part of your DNA? That's the environment you grew up in. What are you attributing that to? But that seems to be your MO based on the stories you've been telling me.
Josh: Well, forward thinking is definitely important, right? Um, I think. Uh, reviewing your past is more important. So you're actually evaluating the lessons, but you don't spend a ton of time there. Um, I mean, I just want to say this is just like every other entrepreneur's story. Um, You know, I wanted, I wanted freedom.
I wanted to manufacture a life where I could choose where I spent my time, when I spent my time and work with great people and make good money doing it. Um, and, uh, you know, I think having the capabilities to pivot and shift when I've needed to, uh, is, has been incredibly important for, you know, the pathway that I've, I've laid for my journey.
Um, Cause not everything's gone right. And it's like, honestly, like probably the majority of it's gone wrong, but sometimes when you hit, you know, [00:26:00] the work pays off, right. As you're hitting singles and doubles, um, the home runs come eventually, uh, you just got to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Yeah. It's like, it's like, yeah, you can have the end in mind, but you're like, whatever system or process or track that you thought was going to happen. Like, God is going to tell you like, fuck off buddy. Cause that ain't the way it's going to go. It just doesn't go that way. Thank you
Shawn: so much for saying that.
Cause I didn't, I didn't want to say that you're a one track mind to insinuate that you don't pivot and you don't make changes. So I appreciate that. You just acknowledged. Like, you know, like the, the, the broad stroke blurry vision of what you're trying to do, which is, you know, what we talk about in the inner circle, which is freedom of time and money and whatever, whatever you want that life to be, that's different than the strategy that you need to implement right now to get there.
If you feel something's not working or you feel this task, this strategy, this business was the The gateway to [00:27:00] get you there and over time the money's side of it's not working. You pivot. Maybe the money side's working, but it's working you to death and you don't get to see your wife and daughter anymore.
You pivot. It is perfectly fine to change the strategy. Continue to go forward towards the Mount Everest of your life, whatever that peak is. And again, we could argue that there's, there's no peak to life, right? Like we keep building and then we fucking die. But like, I like that. You just said that, that you've acknowledged.
That you've pivoted. So I appreciate you, uh, bringing that into the fold. Where else does your mind go when you start thinking about, um, your experiences and kind of what you're working on now, maybe, maybe talk about some of the highs on what you're doing, or maybe like some of the lows that you've, you'll continue to trudge and, uh, slowly, but slowly keep moving forward with.
Josh: Yeah. Uh, well, I get the, I get the benefit now of working on different projects and small [00:28:00] businesses. And, you know, you had mentioned, you know, real estate and. Doing some development deals and design work, and I really, I really love doing that. But not every, not every story is a success, not every story is a failure, right?
You know, right now I'm working with a company that I'm trying to get them out of bankruptcy, uh, the, you know, for We got in there in June and we just couldn't save it for, you know, there were obviously some, some puzzle pieces in there that were drawing forces away from each other kind of deal. Uh, but it's, I think what, what gets me excited now, especially in business, it's just looking at.
The landscape of small business, the, the people that I get to work with now, uh, that I get to kind of pick and choose not only my time, but who I want to work with, what kind of teams do I want to build, uh, and what type of impact do I want to make, uh, on these small businesses with like the expertise that I've been able to [00:29:00] generate, you know, over my career and, and it's fun to watch, right?
Um, it's fun to take a company that's, you know, going bankrupt and now. Like have a bright future ahead of them with, you know, making a pivot and shift. Like we just talked about, we took them from, they're an embroidery shop, uh, and then they do a car wraps and we're launching an entire energy efficiency division for like, um, what's called like solar film for your windows.
So, you know, that's like a major market that's out there today. Um, And I'm just, we're bidding out a 20, I'm flying to Texas actually tomorrow to do an investor presentation on a 20 million RV park that we're building. Um, I mean, it's, it's crazy ends of the spectrum, but I get to work on a bunch of different projects and pick and choose who I work with.
And I think that that, that was the payoff that I was looking for when. Uh, before I even started my first company as I met this guy, he told me he was an [00:30:00] entrepreneur. He got a chance to pick up his kid, drop off his kids at school and decide when he wanted to pick them up and when he wanted to work. And I said, I want that life.
And I spent the last decade engineering it. Um, uh, it's been, it's been great. I've got, I get to meet people like you, people like Jeff, people in, in the inner circle and been very fortunate and blessed.
Shawn: Well, you mentioned your company name earlier was, was MiGMA named after, uh, The Sherpa at Mount Everest.
So, uh, just for anyone that's listening, that may be, uh, in the need of whatever you guys offer. So real quick, what is, what does your company do and what is your specialty?
Josh: So we focus on finance, leadership and operations, uh, inside of startups. So we come in as fractional CFO or COO. Um, and then I have, uh, a senior chief retired Navy SEAL on my team who does our leadership training.
Uh, So, we, we come with like a full team and a gamut, but my overall vision is I want to create a private equity company and [00:31:00] ecosystem where everybody's doing business together, and we're doing real estate deals with you guys, right? So, you know, you need help on, you know, anything finance related, operations related, or even leadership, strategy, budgeting, the whole nine yards we do, we do everything so you can just go sell, grow your business.
Hell yeah,
Shawn: man. I love everything you talked about today and like I, I want to tell, like all that falls in line, we, we ended up talking personal, beginning and then get into some, some business and, and you said something there at the end. And the way that I frame it is like 90% of the fulfilled life comes down to three things.
And it's one love who you live with. Love where you live and love what you do. Um, and so of course, loving who you live with and love where you live is more of like your, your family side of things. Loving what you do is the career. But inside of that, you mentioned that you only want to work with people that are passionate and that you enjoy working with, and you only want to work with clients, uh, that are [00:32:00] trying to accomplish the same things that, that you're trying to accomplish and, uh, and that are a joy in your life.
Um, and obviously, uh, that will pay for the service that you guys offer.
Josh: We don't always win in that category, right? It's, uh, but it's, it's one of those things that when you get in, what I love about small businesses, you make more of an impact and you're sitting with, with people across the table that really make those decisions.
So, um, I mean, it's, it's fun, man, but I love that. I love the pillars that you just talked about. We talked about this is something that I've been contemplating. A lot recently is just this small equation that I learned about from this Harvard study on happiness is, you know, if you evaluate what you have over what you want, that's your equation.
It's pretty, I always kind of struggle with people living in abundance mindset and blah, blah, blah. I'm like, fuck, I can write five things of gratitude every day and that, that's it. Helps a ton.
Yeah.
Josh: I, but when I started looking at my life of [00:33:00] like, what have I built and you know, who, who do I have around me versus like, what do I actually want?
It's very easy to kind of switch your mindset and go, I'm doing, I'm doing okay. I'm doing pretty well today.
Shawn: The premise of that is like the smaller, the Delta between what you have and what you want, the happier you are. Right. Like. You say, I have this, but I want all these other things like that. You're not going to find happiness and fulfillment there, but if you can be grateful for what you have and minimize the difference, it doesn't mean again, this is like the stoicism that I'd like, everyone thinks stoics are people that are unemotional and don't want to create wealth.
And that's not, you know, some of them were poor. Some of them were slaves. Some of them, you know, slept on Marcus Aurelius Roman. When he was a kid, he slept on the ground. To know what it felt like to be there. But like Seneca was one of the richest people in, in the Roman empire. Right. And it was just like, they, they had those things.
The difference was they didn't need those things. And so I think that [00:34:00] the, the Delta and again, so many people will hear that and be like, well, yeah, you should have an advisor. Yeah. You should be always growing. That's not like, I don't think that's what we're saying. Like, yes, we're striving. Yes. We're trying to grow our businesses.
Yes. We're trying to improve our marriage, even if it's freaking fantastic. Like. That always takes work. Like it's always going to require work. So we have to grow as individuals. Our companies have to grow. Our team members have to develop or else they're going to stagnate and they're going to move on to another company.
Like, that's not what we're saying. We're saying, be grateful for what you have and minimize the gap or the perceived gap. Between where you are and where you want to go, um, and, and, and you will find a little bit more happiness, a little bit more fulfillment right now in this moment. Um, and I think if you can reconcile and kind of control that level of psyche when, when shit hits the fan.
I think you're in such a better mental position to handle it. I remember when I was a young entrepreneur, like I [00:35:00] don't think I was as mentally healthy as I would have acknowledged. I was back then. I think I was just a fucking young hustler, savage. And it was like, put my head through a wall, you know, no matter what, um, safely or not safely.
But as I got older and I got more mature and I got married and I became a dad and my perspective changed and I actually worked internally on myself. Um, Like I've had to go up against some pretty gnarly shit the past four years in business. And I'll tell you right now, I've said on this podcast. All the time, like I fucking sleep so good at night, even when shit is hitting the fan and it's because of the deep work I've done, the stoicism I've learned.
And I think it's because of this, this equation that you just brought up. Like, I like, I like having a nice house. I like having nice. I like taking nice vacations, but I'm not living necessarily for those things. If I, if I didn't have those things in the short term or medium, like, [00:36:00] My life wouldn't be ruined because I have, I have the other, I have the 90%.
I love who I live with. I love where I live and I love what I do. And I love what you said. I especially love working with small business owners. I could not imagine myself in a suit and tie sitting in meetings all day long, talking about bureaucratic bullshit. That's going to take two years to figure out.
Josh: Yeah. And there's a, there's a place for people like that too. I mean, absolutely. Who really enjoy that. Um, you know, I think to, to your point is some of the lessons just to kind of bring a full circle. Some of the things that I pushed myself, like some of the boundaries I pushed while I was in Asia was I was sleeping in hostels and I was sleeping like in places that most people would be like, this is, Absolutely not.
Like we're condemning these spots. Right. And, but having that experience in my life helped ground me in a way that I can't explain to people who haven't gone to a [00:37:00] third world country and like sold all your shit, it's really hard to explain, like. That to people. Um, but what it did give me is like the self of the sense of awareness and knowledge that no matter where I was in the world, as long as I wasn't dead, I was gonna make it
I think we're gonna
Shawn: end it with that as, as long as you're not dead, you're gonna make it. Uh, but pisca, what's the word? What's the phrase? Slowly, slowly.
Josh: Uh, starry, the starry,
Shawn: the starry. Ladies and gentlemen, little, little tiny steps. It is, as Josh said, the classic hair versus who was it?
Josh: Tortoise versus air
Shawn: versus air.
There you go. Jesus. My kids are getting old to where I don't have to read the little nursery rhyme books anymore. Listen, that's what, that's what, that's what business is. That's what life is. That's what parenting is. That's what marriage is, man. Like how, how many times people just. [00:38:00] They got good things going on, and then they let one thing hiccup and their mind goes right into the negative, the downside of things.
Ladies and gentlemen, take one tiny step, regardless if it's a millimeter or centimeter slowly, slowly, eventually, you'll find yourself watching the sunrise. Over Everest, Josh Menier. Thank you so much for your time. Ladies and gentlemen, his company is Migma and you can find him on where can people find you?
Josh: Uh, Mingma, which is M I N G M A dot I O. Um, um, at Josh Menier official on Instagram. If you want to hit me up there or josh at Mingma. io.
Shawn: And you'll see his stuff in the graphic on the podcast on YouTube and in the show notes. Josh, I appreciate you coming on the tactical empire today.
Josh: Thanks for having me, Sean.
Shawn: Yes, [00:39:00] sir.