Episode Full Transcript

Length: 1:30:01
Host: Patrick Francey
Guest: Keala Kanae

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  Opening

  0:04 | Patrick Francey:
  Hi there, and welcome to The Everyday Millionaire podcast. My name is Patrick Francey, and I am your host. Thank you for listening.

  On this show, I have conversations with seemingly ordinary individuals who have achieved extraordinary results in life and business. My intention is to inspire and help you learn and grow, as my guests share how they face and overcome challenges and celebrate wins.

  Now let’s get on with the show and have a conversation with today’s guest.

  0:42 | Patrick Francey:
  My guest today, Keala Kanae, is the transformation expert high performers call when mindset hacks and therapy fall short. As CEO of Inspirion, he helps ambitious entrepreneurs and professionals eliminate fear, imposter syndrome, and self sabotage at the root.

  He built a $140 million company from scratch, scaled to $1 million a month in four months, and walked away to pursue a deeper mission of rewiring leaders to rise into who they were born to be.

  Today we talk about identity, values, neuroscience, procrastination, performance, and purpose. Let’s dive in.>

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  Barista to $140 Million

  2:10 | Patrick Francey:
  Keala, welcome to The Everyday Millionaire podcast. Thanks for joining me.

  2:15 | Keala Kanae:
  Thank you so much for having me, brother. I appreciate you.

  2:24 | Patrick Francey:
  Normally I start by asking, “What do you do?” but I want to start differently. One of the headlines in your bio is “barista to $140 million.” That’s a strong opening. Let’s unpack that.

  2:45 | Keala Kanae:
  A little over a decade ago, I was working minimum wage in a coffee shop, living in my mom’s spare bedroom, 500 credit score. I had tried a lot of things. I started my first business twelve years before that. It was failure after failure for over a decade.

  Then there was a moment.

  I came home from a barbecue one night. On my bed was a stack of photographs. Every single one was ripped in half. At the bottom was a note that said, “Picture me out of your life.” That was how my girlfriend of four and a half years dumped me.

  Two weeks later I had to move out because I couldn’t afford rent. I ended up back living with my mom. I thought we’d get back together, but she wouldn’t answer my calls or texts.

  I was pacing the hallway of my mom’s apartment, taking inventory of everything that was “wrong” in my life. Every area where I was failing. And I had a realization.

  I’m the only thing all these things have in common.

  The question became, “What if it’s me?”

  That was hard to swallow, but also empowering. I can’t change my upbringing. I can’t change the economy or politicians or my boss. But I can do something about me.

  That set me down the road to personal development. What I really call self mastery. I became fascinated with psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, axiology, teleology.

  In 2012 I had a breakthrough. My affiliate marketing business that had gone nowhere for two years suddenly took off. I quit my coffee shop job. I made my first million dollars. People asked me to teach them. That became courses, then coaching.

  We scaled that company from zero to 20 million in the first year. We went from zero to a million a month in four months. Before I exited, we crossed $140 million in sales.

  Last year I walked away and pivoted to what I really love, which is the work we’re talking about today. Human behavior, psychology, identity, and performance.

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  Early Influences

  7:40 | Patrick Francey:
  Before that moment, was there anything setting the stage?

  9:27 | Keala Kanae:
  About a month earlier, a friend showed me the movie The Secret. It was the first time I’d ever heard ideas like “your thinking creates your reality.” I thought it was interesting, but also kind of fantasy.

  Looking back, it was the perfect precursor. It planted the seed.

  10:26 | Patrick Francey:
  That era had The Secret, Joe Dispenza, Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer. Today it feels like the space is flooded.

  Your language is unique though. Operating systems, identity rewiring. How did that evolve?

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  Experiential Rewiring

  11:55 | Keala Kanae:
  What we teach is an amalgamation of what I’ve studied for fifteen years.

  The main distinction is that we’re experiential.

  The brain is an adaptation tool. It changes through experience. If you want to change results, you change inputs. That means behavior. That means thinking. That means the brain.

  Experience is the fastest way to create neuroplasticity.

  There are no lectures in our programs. There are facilitators. But people learn through doing, interacting, and experiencing concepts in their bodies, not just hearing them.

  The brain rewires to adapt to the environment it’s placed in.

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  Meta Values and Procrastination

  15:00 | Patrick Francey:
  What brings people to you?

  16:00 | Keala Kanae:
  The core of our work comes from axiology, the science of values. We call them meta values.

  Most people think values are aspirational slogans like honesty, freedom, integrity. Meta values are unconscious. They drive how you invest time, energy, and money. That becomes destiny.

  Lack of discipline doesn’t exist. Every human being is disciplined.

  Procrastination is not a problem. It’s a solution.

  When people say they want change but don’t change, it’s because their goals are incongruent with their values.

  When goals align with values, you get clarity, diligence, precision, follow through. That’s inspiration. Motivation is a cheap external substitute.

  Nothing is missing in a human being. Most personal development is putting on a new mask. We work on self mastery. Tapping into what already exists.

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  Who This Work Is For

  30:00 | Keala Kanae:
  Two types of people find us.

  One, people who have done a lot of work but are still stuck in procrastination, imposter syndrome, and self sabotage.

  Two, people who achieved the goal and found it empty.

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  Identity and Perception

  34:06 | Keala Kanae:
  There is no difference between your brain and your reality. Reality is constructed through perception.

  If identity creates perception, then to change reality, you change identity.

  People think changing who you are is hard. Becoming who you are was hard too. You just accepted it.

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  Future Self Decisions

  41:26 | Keala Kanae:
  When I was broke, I asked, “What would a six figure earner do?” Then seven. Then eight.

  Now I ask, “What would future me advise me to do today?”

  When you act like the person, you get the person’s results.

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  When Money Was Not the Answer

  45:35 | Keala Kanae:
  In 2017, when we hit a million a month, I started waking up with panic attacks. I drank whiskey just to calm my nerves. I thought I needed a vacation.

  I went to Hawaii. It got worse. Anxiety turned into depression and suicidal thoughts.

  I realized the thing I said was the thing was not the thing.

  I grew up around domestic violence. I thought money meant safety. When I had money, there was no safety. In some ways it felt worse.

  I went back to values. I had built a business that no longer reflected who I was.

  What emerged was a belief: every human being has something remarkable to offer the world.

  That became the mission.

  Money is just points on the scoreboard.

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  Relationships and Evolution

  55:36 | Keala Kanae:
  The person you choose to ride shotgun with is the most important decision you make.

  She loved me when I had nothing. She grounded me. We’re evolving together.

  If I love you, I demand the greatest out of you.

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  Infinite Game and Purpose

  1:03:17 | Keala Kanae:
  I want to spend my life on this because it’s timeless.

  Who am I? Why am I here? What am I here to do?

  I’d take this conversation into every household in every corner of the world.

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  Final Reflection

  1:20:00 | Keala Kanae:
  Everything has both a blessing and a drawback.

  When we accept that, we free ourselves from the illusion that life is happening to us and not for us.

  Challenges forge the person capable of holding what they want.

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  Rapid Fire

  1:23:31

  Apple.

  Favorite swear word: fuck.

  Music lately: country folk.

  Texas land: 322 acres.

  Favorite movie: Braveheart.

  Pivotal book: The Breakthrough Experience.

  Recent influence: 10x Is Easier Than 2x.

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  Gratitude

  1:26:35 | Keala Kanae:
  I’m grateful for the courage to take the shot.

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  Closing

  1:28:52 | Patrick Francey:
  If you found value in this episode, please rate, review, and share it.

  You can reach me at CEO@REINCanada.com.

  Until next time.