What It Takes to Become Great | Donald Suxho on Impact Theory

People are wishful thinkers, but they hate to take the steps or they take the steps and it's hard. You know, change is hard and people come to certain point they break. So, everything is making up your mind mentally and not giving up, but also physically pushing through your hardship, you know, when it hurts. Everybody, welcome to Impact Theory. Our goal with this show and company is to introduce you to the people and ideas that will help you actually execute on your dreams. All right, today's guest is one of the most decorated volleyball players in US history. His rise to prominence, however, was deeply improbable. He grew up hard in communist-controlled Albania and even though his father was a volleyball coach, there was very little opportunity in their homeland. After the fall of communism, the country was thrown into such chaos that in a desperate attempt to find an outlet for his talents, he was forced to risk his life just for an opportunity to compete. He snuck over the mountains into Greece to try out for a team there and during his trip, he was shot at, hunted by soldiers, and chased by dogs. And even though that didn't stop him, intense racial tensions between the two countries saw him rejected without serious consideration despite his obvious talent. Devastated, he made his way back home and realizing that bigger opportunities lay elsewhere, he and his family fled to the US not long after. Once in America, he began to flourish and quickly made a name for himself on the volleyball court, ultimately being offered a full ride scholarship to USC. He was a starting player there for the nationally ranked team all four years he was there and set a number of school records including 164 career aces. He was a two-time All-American and in his senior year, he was named the AVCA National Player of the Year. Following graduation, he played professionally in both Poland and Italy and was a member of the US National Team for 12 straight years. He played as a captain in two different Olympic Games and as a professional player, he led his team to victory in the prestigious Italian Cup. So, please help me in welcoming the 2012 US men's most valuable volleyball player, Donald Suxho. Welcome. Thank you for having me. Yeah, thanks for being here, man. Glad to be here. Thank you. Appreciate it. So, you're one of the rare people that I've gotten to know ahead of time, gotten a chance to sit down and pick your brain and hear a little bit about your story. It is insanity. It's literally insane. And I wore this shirt in your honor because your life is the answer to the question, no what would it take? So, first of all, tell me what it was like growing up in communist Albania. Um growing up, you know, as a young as a young kid it was beautiful, you know, we didn't know anything else, you know, um we had a great family, great sports, it was very quiet, there's no crime, it was clean. Um the only thing that I noticed being young I was always hungry. Food was scarce, you know, and I didn't know why, I didn't know why my parents didn't have enough food, but we were happy, you know, we were running around the neighborhoods, playing sports, hiking on the weekends, and um you know, going to school, having a ton of different friends. But every time my dad we used to wake me up, you know, early in the morning at 4:35 to go buy food, and that to me sounded really strange. Why we have to get food so early? And I realized that afternoons when we go to the same store there's no food left. And I'd I'd I'd watch my dad just give me his ration of food, you know, his cup of water or, you know, tea or, you know, steak we had, you know, once a week to me because he knew I was growing, to me and my brother. So, that was really strange, and what I remember too growing up there was was one way of thinking. Uh the government, you know, we were owned by the government as I realized, you know, at the when you know, I was a teenager was that there was one way of thinking, one way of doing things, you know, the government or the city council told you exactly how to think, how to behave, how to smile, what music to listen, what TV channel to watch, and how to react at school, too, for different types of news. And that was um it was very isolating, you know? The ceiling was really low. There was no thought process to innovate or create or wanted to be the best because uh if you went against the government rules, then you could, you know, you'd be thrown in jail. Uh or your parents would go to jail. So, it was very surreal, you know, to not have dreams. So, growing up, we had no toys, uh no cartoons. We had one TV channel, one music channel. Everything was made in Albania, from Albanians, by Albanians. Didn't know the outside world at all. And, you know, we had one pair of shoes or one outfit a year that the government would give us or you you know, my my parents would buy it. And there's no you know, there was no uh shoes, you know, to go out in the snow. You know, where I grew up was big snow and, you know, kind of cold weather and I remember every night I'd come back home from practice or school, I'd just soaking wet, you know, from socks to shoes to everything else. And we'd dry them and wear them again the next day. So, and um you know, it was just harsh, you know? It was it was very hard growing up. What was it like when you finally come out from under that and you start to have dreams and you start to think like, "Whoa, my life could be more than this." Was there a moment where you were like, "Wait a second, I can do whatever I want." But I didn't know how. I didn't know what the world meant. The world was a chaos for me, you know? As a young kid, people with guns, people getting shot, my friends getting stabbed in front of me, people getting killed, you know? We have a coffee or talk in a you know, a coffee shop, people would just drive by and shoot. Pure, not because they hated each other. Just it was just people were wild, you know? They didn't know what to do, how to react, you know? Their brain couldn't take it, you know? Their mindset was completely off. I find that super interesting. So, especially because you then go to the US and your first reaction isn't, "Oh my god, this is amazing." You're like, "I hate this." Yeah. So, help us understand, what do you go through mentally? Cuz I think this will reveal the way that the human mind works. The the hunger for the familiar, the not knowing what to do when you have intense pressure and then no pressure. So, what you come to America and then what? What are you going through mentally? Uh the first month, you know, people helped us, the church, the cousins gave us clothes, a house. I was sleeping with my parents in one room, you know. And after the first month, my cousin with a, you know, beautiful automobile comes in. He's like, "Are you happy? Are you good?" It's like, "My God, I love America. I mean this this is awesome." He's like, "Okay, well, tomorrow you're going to work." I'm like, "Work? Why?" He's like, "Who's going to pay for this?" "You." I'm like, "You have a nice house, you have a nice car. Like, why am I supposed to work? I'm 17. I want to play volleyball." He laughs at me. He said, "Welcome to America, son. You got to work and pay for yourself." So, that changed my life forever because from that moment on, you know, till now, that sentence, like, you know, has kept me alive, you know, the true capitalism, you know, the pure capitalism, you know, you you get up, you work, and you pay for your own stuff. You said in communism you didn't have mindset. Mhm. What do you mean by mindset? Mindset of, you know, um to think, mindset to get better, to be the best, to dream, to work hard. You know, it was a social I mean it was pure communism. You work certain hours, you going to set amount of money. The government tells you, "This is your apartment for the next 50 years to till you die. You getting pension, you die." So, you you come to America, you end up doing extraordinarily well. What is the mindset that you begin to build that allows you to have that kind of extraordinary success? Once I saw you, right? Let's say like I saw Tom having a nice car or seeing like all these kids have cars and a girlfriend and flowers and prom and I'm like, "Wait a second." Like, you know, like, "Why you have that and I don't?" And I start asking these questions to these people and I realized how the the process was. You know, I started learning the American mindset. And that's when I started detaching myself from being Albanian to becoming American. I made a I made a pact to myself. I said, "If I want to be successful in America, I got to be American. Keep my tradition at home, but once I step out of the house, I'm going to learn everything, how to speak, how to act, how to behave, how to have a girlfriend, how to work better, right, and more effective, like I had to My third job was a waiter at the Greek restaurant, you know, in in Attic. All of a sudden, I'm making like thousands of dollars a month because I was working three jobs. And I'm like, "What Is this real? Do I belong here? Am I American?" Not yet. But I was on the road to become American. How did you deal with that self-doubt? And that's something that, you know, we'll get to again when we talk about your injuries, but like how do you deal with self-doubt of asking yourself, "Do I belong? Am I as good as these people?" Um how do you overcome that? In my In my opinion, you overcome it by work. Outworking others, you know, uh I wanted to be successful, you know, and self-doubt is you know, it's really dark places, right? At night, when I was a young kid, you know, there in Greece or Albania or Boston, you always doubt yourself. Even when in the Olympics, you always doubt yourself, "Am I supposed to be here?" And the next morning, I'd get up and say like, "You know what? This week, I made X amount of dollars. I'm going to make more because I want this." You know, prove you know, I had to I wanted to prove myself. Uh those people are making fun of me, those people that cut me, those people that told me I'll never make it, you know, I'd use that and get up in the morning and outwork everybody else around me. Once I saw the opportunities, I said, "There's no way you're going to beat me. You might be better than me now, but I'll just pure outwork, you know, pure get up and outwork you day in and day out." And one of my dad's teammates had gone to Greece and sent letters, you know, by then, we just had handwritten letters, and said, "This is one opportunity I have for your son. Bring him to Thessaloniki, Greece, which was near my city. By car, it was 12 hours, I think, or 14 hours. So, my dad searched around, and one of some of our friends used to do this business, bring people over the mountain for jobs, and you know, criminal activities, whatever you call it, right? And they said, "Son, this is it. I mean, you we have no future here. There's nothing, no there's no money. Uh there's no rule of law. There's nothing. I mean, what are you going to do? Play volleyball? No, nobody was playing sports, right?" I said, "You got to go." Um so, we had guns and and you know, people were chasing us and you know, and they took us I don't know. We left at 6:00 p.m. We got in at like 7:00 a.m. I think or 8:00 a.m. I don't remember the time but we know it was sun. And as we go over the mountains and start and we see like this black Mercedes. It was a beautiful Mercedes, which was crazy. This massive big Mercedes. And then I do the math. I look around. I'm like, "Holy crap. We got like 12 people. Where are they going to fit?" So, my body was my He knew. He was like, "Go first." They go in first in the car. So, they put three people in the front seat, about six people in the back, and the rest was in the trunk. Woah. Yeah, I mean, that was that was the way to go in. And then it was like a 5-hour drive and the same thing, you know, because we're immigrants. As we drive, there's police. I was like, "Duck, you know?" So, we'd go like this. Duck and get up the whole time. 5 hours. Three people here. This guy was like just flying on a freeway and drops us off in the middle of Saloniki in this city, you know? And I was like, "Oh, sweet. Here you know, here I am." And my cousin picked me up. My dad's friend picked me up. And then I go try out for the weekend. It's so crazy. So, before the camera started rolling, you and I were talking about, you know, what does success demand? And you said, "It demands everything." Everything. So, A, what do you mean by that? And then B, so many people set out to be the best. Why did you actually pull it off? Like, what is it about you, your mindset, your work ethic? Like, what is it that allowed you to see that through? It takes everything, you know? And what is everything is your mind and your body. You know, people are wishful thinkers, you know? I want to be the best. I want to be rich. I want to lose weight. Whatever that, you know, the wishful thinking is, you know? But they hate to take the steps or they take the steps and it's hard. You know, change is hard, you know? Um changing your body, changing your mind is very hard, you know? And people stop. And people come to certain point, they break. You know, for me, at young age, I created this, you know, really massive amount of discipline, you know? And also, at young age, we were pushed so hard physically, you know? And also mentally from the government. That's why like when I walked that walk to Greece, you know? I had all this, you know, sacrifice I've done, you know? And I was like, that is my gold medal there. I'm going to go for it. You know, in my mind, I wasn't scared. My body was pushing, right? I was running. And I was sweating. I was scared, but I was like, you know, it doesn't matter, you know? I'm going to go for it. So, everything is making up your mind mentally and not giving up, but also physically pushing through your hardship, you know, when it hurt. That's incredible. And And what it did for your career, obviously, is is immense. Where it gets really interesting, though, is uh so, you're you obviously smash records at USC, become one of the most decorated players the um school's ever put out. And then you go and you play in the Olympics, and you guys do well, but you don't make it all the way. And then, moving into Beijing, what, like a year out or so, 6 months out or something, Mhm. um you rupture your Achilles. Correct. Talk to me about that. What happens to your mindset through all of that? Correct. Yeah, so to make, you know, to be in Olympic team is, you know, it's the most amazing thing for me as a human being, right? Especially coming from Albania. So, making that team and representing USA, the country that first I hate and second I love to death, you know? It's a was an achievement that I'll, you know, forever cherish, right? But to be an Olympian, right? You spend 4 years for 2 weeks, or maybe 1 week, cuz you might lose and get out. So, it's a, you know, it's a crazy work work force and discipline and mindset, right? So, to be able to play in Greece and then go have a chance to go to China. I was blown away by my by my my ability, right? When you call about self-doubt, I'm like there's no self-doubt then. I'm like, man, I know I'm the man, you know? So, I was the captain. I was at the peak of, you know, the peak of my career. Uh we just lost in in Athens and as a group, we're young group that joined the team in 2000. We're young in Athens and then we made a pact to ourselves that we're going to win gold in China. We actually made a plan how, when, why, right? And we went to work and we went to work on slowly, you know, uh build that that foundation. In 2007, I I was in Italy playing for the best team. I was the captain making a ton of money and then I turned and then my Achilles snapped. I fall down in tremendous pain because there's two ways to rupture Achilles. One comes out, you can walk and go to doctor. The second one is the hardest thing, it snaps in half. So, I fall down and I see my foot hanging and I can't move my toes. My I mean, my toes. So, I'm like I'm trying to and I can't. I'm just crying because of so much pain and shock. The doctor comes in, you know, puts his finger in the Achilles and just, you know, I mean, it was just harsh pain, you know? It's like, "Oh, it's your Achilles." And I knew it then, Tom, that Beijing is done. I mean, when he said that, I was like, "No." And I just burst in tears. I'm like, man, 7 years to build this you know, the truly American dream and hardship it's over in a matter of 1 minute. I want to I want to go back. I want to know more about that process. So, you do the injury, is there a moment of self-doubt where you're like, "I'm not going to be able to come back from this?" My self-doubt was like, "I'm done with USA team." And that scared me, you know, because for me that was most important thing. Not professionally, not the money. You know, being part of USA team and that group of guys and that you know, that amazing tournament. It's just, you know, there's nothing like that in life, you know, because I already experienced it in Greece and now I'm the captain of the team. So, that was the number one self-doubt and that you know, kind of struck a fear. I mean, I had to sit 26 days with a leg up above your heart, not move anything. And a lot of thoughts come to my mind, you know, I mean, thoughts about quitting at 32. Thank God it wasn't social media back then. So, you know, can be good, you know, good and bad, right? But, you know, friends were supportive, but they're like, you know, man, 32, you know, maybe take the real estate test. You know, maybe think about the future. Maybe think about that. And then, once all these people start doubting and start pushing me away, you know, even my parents. You know, my my parents were still conservative in working a small job, you know, in in a small town. They say, you know, son, I mean, awesome, man. You made it. Like, what else do you want, you know? Like, you're the man. Like, you know, for Albanian that you're God. And I said, but I want to be the best player in the world. And I didn't achieve that dream. You know, since 11, since 9, right? I'm like, my dream has been to be the best in the world. So, why this injury will stop me? So, I started researching. I said, what is the comeback time for Achilles? I started doing a lot of research. And I start um I made a bet with myself. It was weird. One of these nights, you know, uh in Italy, as I got better, I had to wait 2 3 months to fly back to USA. I was drinking wine, you know, and I couldn't walk. You know, still with with crutches. And I said, you know, what? It's going to be a test between me and Achilles. Honestly, I mean, I was like, I made a bet with myself. I'm like, who's going to win? So, my mind start working on that moment on that moment of like, okay, how long does it take? What work do I have to do? How to do it? Where? And then, once I had a plan, I just wake up every morning. I was the first one at USA team and ice and stretch and the last one to go. So, it was just a simple bet. Me or me or the leg. And I won. And so, okay, so, how how do you come out of that? You end up not going to Beijing. And how did that moment play out? How How that affect you? So, when at the Olympic team every 4 years, the summer of Olympics the coach comes in, brings all the guys, about 30-40 guys that try out for, you know, 4 years and then he sits down and tells the team who makes it or not. It's a very, very ruthless decision, right? Uh I mean, I had a feeling I was going to make it, right? But I thought like, you know what? Maybe I'll be the second setter, right? And um the coach comes in and he said, you know, put the list of the team and I I got upset the first time Tom that I became Albanian, man. I I I the Albanian of me came out and I just became angry and loud. I'm like, what the you know, like why, you know, why the you cutting me? Like, you know, are you are you stupid? Are you crazy? And I'm cursing at the coach. He's like, he gets it. Thank God, you know, he took the high road, you know, just calm me down and we were just talking for 2 hours and and I was crushed. You know, like I kind of went back to that old mentality, you know, and that summer I kind of gave up, you know, at that summer I was just drinking, playing beach volleyball for fun. It was weird. It was just very odd mix of feelings and I didn't know how to control them. I had no idea. Back then I was engaged and then break up with my with my fiance, too. Because you're drinking too much and Everything, man. I was in a dark I was in a dark place. I was drinking too much. I was angry. I became this crazy Albanian guy again, you know, and I was kind of alienating people and friends. I started doubting everything, right? And um my Italian team that I was playing had a big contract for 3 years, massive amount of money and they cut me. They said, "We're not going to pay you, you know, you're not ready yet." I'm like, "I'm ready. Look at me. I'm jumping. I'm running." No, you're done. So, that month of August was um it was very dark, 2008. I mean, it was I was it was darker than Boston. It was darker than communism or chaosism. I was like I made a dream. I was at the top of the mountain and then it was not a roller coaster. I mean, it took a second. I was nobody. Don't you even lose your house in this period? 2008, I bought a house 2005 and I was very happy house owner, you know, and then 2008 recession hit and then my house devalued 50%. And I'm paying and I didn't know about financials too much, you know. So, I'm paying the same mortgage 2005-2008 and my house was half the value. I called the Bank of America, I never forget, because I went Albanian on the guy, too. I'm like, "You got to be kidding me. I'll find you." I'm like, "What am I What am I doing? This guy is in I don't know, in Idaho, right?" And I'm calling this guy, I'm like, "How dare you take my money like this?" Like, "Bro, like I cannot help you. You got to refinance." I couldn't refinance and I was left alone, you know, lost the house. I mean, my fiance left me, which I loved to death. My USA team cut me. I mean, not let me, cut me, right? Everything I worked so hard, American dream, gone. Lost money, lost my house, everything. I'm like, "What do I do now?" I just wanted to kind of get lost, forget about Europe, USA team, and and everything. I should have I should be on my own. It was the best medicine ever, you know, because that's where you really find yourself, when you're on your own. so then walk me through that time. How do you find yourself? Because what I find so interesting about this story is it's mindset gain, mindset loss, mindset gained again. And, you know, it'd be so interesting for people to hear how you then come back out of this. Mhm. You got to hit rock bottom, when they say it, right? And uh I realized that I was blaming everybody else but myself. I was like, "Man, I blamed the coach, my fiance, the team, the Italian manager, everybody but me." First time in my life that I was Maybe I become too cocky or confident, I don't know. But I realized I was blaming everybody else but myself. So, I made another bet with myself. I said, "I'll never from this moment on, I'll never allow anybody or anything else to dictate my life. It's going to be my way. If I decide to do something and they cut me, that's fine, but it is my choice. I don't want I'm not going to let the coach cut me or put me on the bench because he's going to have no reason to. And I called the coach and I was like, I want to try out. I was 33, 34. The coach was like, are you crazy? I'm like, I want to try out. You put me at the at the bottom of the list. I want to earn it back. And went to work. Instead of getting a crappy contract, I went to Italy, got a cheap contract, and I proved myself again, and I became the best server in the world. Wow. So, I you know, it's you got to hit that you know, it's about experience though. I think like if you don't have that experience, if you don't um confident to go through these experiences, right? People when they people when people go through tough times, they protect themselves. They go into this shell, right? Because and we as humans, as you know, you know, our mind, you know, from back back in the day was was to protect yourself, you know, from fire, from fighting. So, human mind is always kind of like being to you know, risk is not good for you, you know, to go hike over the mountain, right? It's bad for you, right? Everything is bad. And I was like, no. No, no. I mean, I could do I have to take this I have to push myself. I have to suffer, you know, I have to sacrifice in order to achieve that success. Otherwise, I'll never be that guy that I wanted to. What does it take to be the best? Everything. You can't you're going to have self-doubts. You're going to have tough moments. You're going to have everything, you know, you're going to have people talking bad about you, people putting you down, getting cut, you know. It takes getting up in the morning and doing the same thing, you know, um I understand people talk about a lot of mental toughness, right? Um mental toughness, you meditate and stuff. For me, honestly, mental toughness is getting up in the morning and doing the same thing day in and day out, day in and day out for whatever it takes, whatever that goal is, you know? And by doing that, you become the best, you know? And it takes everything. I mean, you have to I mean, the three S's that I love, you know, suffer, you know, I sacrifice. Suffer like, you know, I remember being in Boston, I suffered. third S? Success. Okay. Suffer, sacrifice equals success. You got to suffer, you know, it's going to be It's going to suck, you know, like I mean, I worked what? 15 hours a day. I'd get up, you know, and then trying to stay in shape. Imagine that as a year as a 17-year-old European in Boston who spoke English. It was a lot of suffer, a lot of sacrifice, you know, I didn't have any friends or girlfriend or any anywhere to go, right? I was just working, working, working, and then success came, you you know, later because I had built this foundation. So, takes everything, you know, but it's not for long. You know, people think that uh to be great or to be something really good, it's a lifetime. It's not, you know, because once you achieve that, it's another thing, right? But by building that right foundation day in and day out, you achieve something, and that leads to another thing. Opens up to a to different doors. That's really interesting. So, okay, now you finished your volleyball career. What are you doing now? Do you push yourself as hard? Do you have super high standards like you did in volleyball? What does that look like? Well, standards are always the same, you know, I want to be uh my motto right now in the business world is uh my math. Thank god my math was good. It's not great because once I passed the SATs, you know, I aced the SAT, but I failed uh the the English test, right? So, and I remember my good math about making money in the hustle, right? And once I finished my career with volleyball, I said, "Well, I'm a two-time Olympian." People say, "A one-time Olympian is 1%. Two-time Olympian is 0.5%." I'm like, "Wow, I must be special." Like, I I got to be confident of myself. Like, I'm special, right? Not because somebody gave it to me. I earned everything. Well, now that's finished. I mean, once you finish sports, many athletes are depressed. Many athletes have a lot of problems because it's hard to find the same thing. It's hard to replicate 40,000 people and the adrenaline and the teamwork and the travel and people taking care of you, you know, like I never had to cook. People bought me tickets and food and I had trainers and now you're done and it's gone and you wake up in the morning and you're like, I got to buy insurance. I got to talk to my real estate agent. I got to make an appointment for my doctor. I got to go to hospital for my kids, right? I'm like, I want to be the two-time Olympian in the business world. That's my That's my motto. So, I bugged David Meltzer who you who who you might know from Sports 1 Marketing. I bugged him on LinkedIn. I like I was like, "Oh, yeah, sports marketing." And I was in Irvine and I saw his company. I saw his video. And I'd write him every every week and and message him on LinkedIn. "Hey Dave, how are you? I'm Donny O'Brien, two-time Olympian. I'm looking for a job." I mean, 3 months, 4 months, he gave up, called me for an interview. Had an interview in his office three, four times and then he's like, "You got hired." And I went to my wife after 6 months, like, "Honey, I found this great job, sports marketing. I think I love it. I don't know." Till Dave told me like, "I'm not getting paid because his system is he has an unpaid paid internship." I didn't know what internship meant. I mean, I didn't do anything. So, I go to the first day and he's like, "Look, you know, 6 months is unpaid, right?" I'm like, "What?" He's like, "You can do it part-time or full-time. But it's up to you. But after if you show me sales or marketing, then I'll pay you." So, I go home with my wife. I never forget I have, you know, my wife, I have a a 2-year-old, I have a 15-year-old boy. And I mean, I have I'm a dad, you know, I got to And this, by the way, was the fiance that left you. Correct. You win her back cuz you get your mindset in the right place. man. I'm persistent and you know, I'm persistent. Suffer, sacrifice, success, right? Whatever it takes, whatever field. Uh and then we're together, happy. Like, we have this beautiful house in you know, in Huntington Beach and then I tell her like, uh I'm not going to get paid for 6 months. Like, "Are you crazy?" And then she told me this, like, "Are you crazy?" Because she also grew up in Russia, communism. I mean, in Greece. And she's European. For her, America is like first time moving here. She has no car. We have one car. And you know, it's kind of a messy time a little bit, right? Transition. I say, "Honey, if I want to be the two-time Olympian in the business world, I got to learn the business world. And nobody's going to teach me because I'm good-looking and I'm an Olympian. I got to go dive myself into it. So, I thank God for Dave to give me the first opportunity and teach me sales one-on-one. I mean, I was in a you know, at his room making cold calls. I was selling. I mean, I was So, I built confidence in the the ability to sell and build relationships and business development. And I was opening doors to C-level guys, you know, because I was because it was kind of the same formula because I understood in volleyball world, in the sport world, I made it. But what is it now? And it's exactly the same formula. And actually, I feel like in the business world is it's not easier, but it's more accessible because actually in in in, you know, being an athlete it requires a lot of physical activity, right? Day in day out, you get injured, where in the business world, that kind of a persistent actually pays off, you know, bigger in the bigger terms. And actually, being a good person, helping others, and building great relationships. So, right You say that it's the same formula. What is the formula? The same mindset, you know, you sacrifice, you suffer for success. What does that mean? Making those cold calls, following up, you know, being a good person, helping others, you know, actually providing value to business, not trying to make the quick buck. Mhm. You know, grinding it, you know, getting up in the morning and, you know, I I remember that we had a golf tournament with Dave in uh uh in Scottsdale. And they said like we need to find sponsorships. I'm like, "Okay." So, I went on Google and typed companies in Scottsdale and I got their phone number start calling. And making phone calls where the other guys would go for lunch or other guys would leave early from the office. At night, I I realized that at at between 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. or 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. actually, people respond to emails. So, I'm like, "Okay, cool." So, I'm going to get up in the morning and write and leave an email to the CEO or general manager or the So, it was the same formula as I as I become an Olympian in the business world, you know? And I use that formula, you know? And now cuz I want to be that two-time Olympian in the business world, right? I mean, I got to work for myself. I I realized, you know, learning about you, Impact Theory, and you know, Quest, and your story, and other people's successful stories, and one of my cousins told me like, "Well, if you want to actually make it in America, you got to work for yourself." But that's a scary, scary lesson, man, because that's, you know, not having that stable salary and being a dad and having kids, you know, to provide, it's a pretty frightening, but I decided to make the jump. Uh building two companies. One is a sports fitness with DJ, and the another one is a English language centers around the world. Um very innovative using AVRs as a technology, and the those are like two Finally, I find my purpose and passion, honestly. Finally, after 40 years, I understand where I belong in the business world. And building them right now, um locally and worldwide. So, I'm very excited about it. That's really cool. What do you teach your kids about success? Um first of all, to get up every day and outwork others, you know? Uh being a great teammate, you know, being a great part of whatever team it is, you know, whatever wherever you are, at school, with your friends, at sports, you know, being a great person around your teammates, you know? And uh lastly, it's like don't burn bridges. I told my kids, you know, cuz I was I went through a lot of ups and downs, you know? So, I I you know, I burned a few bridges by mistake. I you know, I I mended those bridges now, you know? I went back and apologized, you know, because I was in a dark space, but you know, I said, you know, it's you as good as the person next to you, you know? You as good as that mentor or business person or teacher or coach, you know? I you know, you know, alone is very hard to make it, you know? And you live in a great country like America, where people will actually help you if you ask for help, but you got to show them that you are hardworking and a good person. And then success always comes. Whatever that is, monetary or passion or whatever that is for you, you know? It always comes if you do that work. But it's not going to come to you. Nobody's going to give it to you, you know. And I tell my son who's 17 and thank God he's going to go to USC and play volleyball. I said, "Just because you go you're going to go to USC, and just because I went there, the coach is not going to keep you on the team. I'm like, "What are you doing this weekend? What are you doing on Monday? Are you Are you running? Are you training? Do you have your research? Are you, you know, outworking others? Are you, you know, effectively getting better?" And he looks at me and he's like, "Huh?" I'm like, "Well, if not, you're going to be you're going to you know, you're going to go to junior college. So, it's your choice." So, yeah. I love that. All right, before I ask my last question, where can these guys find you online? So, you know, social media normal, you know, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. I am capital @dsuxho number seven. Uh both, so @dsuxho7. That's That's my number for USA team for many years, so. All right, sounds good. My final question, what is the impact you want to have on the world? Uh two things, you know, that I finally found my passion is, you know, health and wellness and English language. Why English language? I want to help immigrants. I'm an immigrant that was very difficult here to make it, you know. It was It was There was a fine line that either I was going dark or I was going to be successful. And I want to be able to spread this message that, you know, when things are hard, when you're in a dark place, there's still light, you know. It's just a matter of, you know, switching your mentality, you know, switching that thought process and continue to work for the right thing, you know, especially you know, in the USA, which is land of immigrants, you know. I want to be able to spread that message and help those people to, you know, to achieve their American dream, you know, and achieve that either through teaching them English, which is, you know, the number one language in the world, and we need to, you know, unite through language, so they can thrive in USA and then USA can thrive from them. But also through health and wellness, you know, like I want people to be active and healthy because for me sport was number one reason that kept me alive through communism, chaosism, and democracy, right? So, sports, you know, health you know, sports is part of health and wellness, you know. Through those two platforms, I want to be able to, you know, motivate people to be active, to be culturally inclusive, you know, to get better jobs, better education, and change that mindset, you know. Introduce them to the three S's, you know, and it's not scary. Just because they sound scary, they're not scary, you know. It's just the way you look at them. So. That's hopefully I made an impact, yeah. Donald, thank you so much, man. That was incredible. Thank you for having me. Guys, this this to me is just one of those incredible success stories of starting with absolutely nothing, having to literally climb a mountain to get to the other side, only to be rejected, to have to find his way in America, figure out what it's going to take, learn the three S's, be willing to suffer and sacrifice in order to make that success come true, and to be outworking everybody. Whenever somebody's narrative that is the punchline, I totally buy into it because that is really what it takes, and his life is proof of that. But, what makes his story so extraordinary is 2008, when he loses everything, and he's down on his luck, and even his mindset is gone, and he doesn't know what he wants to do. He hits rock bottom with a hose in Dubai. It's such an amazing image. And then, for him to claw his way back, and to make it back onto the Olympic team, to have to go back to the guy that you were pissed off with and berating, and essentially, of his own admission, embarrassing himself in front of him, and getting that chance to say, "Okay, I'll start at the bottom, and I'll work my way back up." And to have the same thing in his relationship, and to build it all back up. It really is an incredible story. None of our lives are like this simple one-way trajectory. It is always ups and downs, and it is how you react in the down that is going to define you. And the way that he reacted is so powerful. I hope you guys took as much from that as I did. If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe. And until next time, my friends, be legendary. Take care. Hey everybody, thank you so much for watching and being a part of this community. If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe. You're going to get weekly videos on building a growth mindset, cultivating grit, and unlocking your full potential.