From Armenian Refugee to American Millionaire: The Relentless Rise of Bedros Keuilian

What this episode is about

Bedros Keuilian's journey from an Armenian refugee to a successful entrepreneur exemplifies resilience and determination, highlighting key lessons in respect, reputation, and the willingness to take risks. As the founder of Fit Body Boot Camp, he has grown a thriving franchise recognized among the fastest in the industry, while also serving as a business coach and author who empowers others to embrace accountability and personal growth.

Key takeaways

• Respect is the currency of success; build your reputation before you build your empire.
• From shackles to success: Bedro's journey redefines the American dream amidst the ashes of communism.
• Pivoting fast is key; entrepreneurial resilience does not arrive uninvited—it demands a seat at the table.
• Life's training wheels off: to thrive, one must embrace risk and discomfort with open arms.
• Mentorship often comes wrapped in family bonds; Bedro learned entrepreneurship at his dad's tailor shop, not a boardroom.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Tommy Mello (Host) · 9 min speaking
• Bedros Keuilian (Guest) · 20 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Rome, Italy, Fit Body Boot Camp, Soviet Armenia, Man Up
2. 10:00 – 15:00: Fit Body Boot Camp, Compassion
3. 15:00 – 20:00: Fit Body Boot Camp, EOS
4. 25:00 – 28:52: Compassion, Shriner's Children's Hospital, Toys for Tots

Notable quotes from "From Armenian Refugee to American Millionaire: The Relentless Rise of Bedros Keuilian"

• Entrepreneur, Bedro is the embodiment of grit, discipline, and the American dream. He is the founder and CEO of Fit Body Boot Camp, a franchise he launched in 2009 that has…

  about Fit Body Boot Camp · at 0:59

• America, you end up in Siberia instead, right? And so Italy at the time was communist sympathizers. So my dad lies and he goes, Hey, I'm taking the family to Rome, Italy for a…

  about Rome, Italy · at 2:45

• Like big lie. Big lie. Gina Wickman said, he's been on my podcast several times, and he's Tommy, when I sold 87 half% of EOS, I got a bucket, tons of money,.

  about EOS · at 18:29

• Hospital. Da. It's no it's no accident that I donate to Shriner's Children's Hospital, Toys for Tots, and Compassion 97 Kids Adopted through Compassion. These are all kid-based…

  about Compassion · at 26:28

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Bedros Koulian — Person · Main guest · 2 mentions
  He is the featured interview subject, sharing his refugee-to-entrepreneur story and explaining how he built Fit Body Boot Camp and his coaching/investing portfolio.
  Entrepreneur, Bedro is the embodiment of grit, discipline, and the American dream. He is the founder and CEO of Fit Body Boot Camp, a franchise he launched in 2009 that has…

Books & papers

• Man Up — Book · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at 1:33
  Book authored by the guest, discussed as part of his contributions to mentorship and leadership.
  On yourself. Take the [ __ ] bubble wrap off. Take the training wheels off. Take risks. Today, Bedros is also a savvy investor, a sought-after business coach, and the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Man Up.

Companies & orgs

• Fit Body Boot Camp — Company · Business focus · 5 mentions · first at 1:03
  Primary business discussed by the guest, highlighting its growth and franchise model.
• EOS — Company · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at 18:32
  Mentioned in the context of a business model and exit strategy discussion.
• Compassion — Company · Referenced work · 2 mentions · first at 10:22
  Charity mentioned by the guest as part of his philanthropic efforts.
• Shriner's Children's Hospital — Company · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at 26:26
  Charity mentioned by the guest as part of his philanthropic efforts.
  Multi-millionaire. Moving forward, I will donate to Shriner's Children's Hospital. Da. It's no it's no accident that I donate to Shriner's Children's Hospital, Toys for Tots…
• Toys for Tots — Company · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at 26:30
  Charity mentioned by the guest as part of his philanthropic efforts.
  Hospital. Da. It's no it's no accident that I donate to Shriner's Children's Hospital, Toys for Tots, and Compassion 97 Kids Adopted through Compassion. These are all kid-based…

Places & events

• Soviet Armenia — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at 0:46
  Origin of the guest's family, providing context for his background and motivations.
  Reserved for the few who are willing to push through. When he was 6 years old, Bedro Koulian and his family escaped the communist regime in Soviet Armenia and had to rebuild their lives from scratch.
• Rome, Italy — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at 2:38
  Transit point in the guest's family's escape from Soviet Armenia to the US.
• Inc. 5,000 — Event · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at 1:22
  Event listing where Fit Body Boot Camp was recognized, highlighting its rapid growth.
  Recognition in Entrepreneur Magazine's list of the 500 fastest growing franchises and appeared three times on the Inc. 5,000 list of America's fastest growing private…

Media & podcasts

• Entrepreneur Magazine — Media · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at 1:16
  Magazine that recognized Fit Body Boot Camp, indicating its success and growth.
  Locations worldwide. Change can take place in an instant if you are willing to flip the switch. The brand has earned recognition in Entrepreneur Magazine's list of the 500…

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 when you've got some built-in mentor, your dad who's an entrepreneur, I start working in his in his tailor shop. And so that was one of my first experiences thinking it pays to be respected. Like I knew right there, it pays to be respected. And from that point on, I was like, I'm going to build my reputation. I'm going to make sure that I'm respected. That was probably more powerful than any entrepreneurial lesson he taught me in the years coming. It's just the reality of life. Confident, direct, charismatic. Our guest today overcame the unthinkable and scaled a 9 figureure business empire.

0:35 You better know how to pivot and make fast decisions because success is reserved for the few who are willing to push through. When he was 6 years old, Bedro Koulian and his family escaped the communist regime in Soviet Armenia and had to rebuild their lives from scratch. They possessed only a single suitcase and $86 in cash. I didn't speak English. I didn't understand the culture. We were broke. We were poor. From refugee to entrepreneur, Bedro is the embodiment of grit, discipline, and the American dream. He is the founder and CEO of Fit Body Boot Camp, a franchise he launched in 2009 that has since grown to over 600 locations worldwide. Change can take place in an instant if you are willing to flip the switch. The brand has earned recognition in Entrepreneur Magazine's list of the 500 fastest growing franchises and appeared three times on the Inc. 5,000 list of America's fastest growing private companies. Like, be hard

1:26 on yourself. Take the [ __ ] bubble wrap off. Take the take the training wheels off. Take risks. Today, Bedros is also a savvy investor, a sought-after business coach, and the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Man Up. It's time to man up. His nobullshit approach to mentorship helps leaders cut the excuses that dominate in the business world and beyond. He doesn't just build businesses, he builds people. As far as I'm concerned, you have what it takes. Get ready. This conversation will reshape how you think about business resilience in the American dream.

2:00 Thank you for letting us do this. Thank you for the opportunity, Tom. Appreciate it. This is going to be great. That was a pleasure meeting you. Yeah, you too. Yeah. Tell us a little bit about the American dream when you came here, how you got so inspired, and how you're leading other people. Yeah, man. Well, the American dream for me is is pretty rad because when you come from a communist country, like there's such a stark difference between Armenia where there at the time in 1980s, uh, famine, uh, rationed water, rationed power, you're under a communist dictatorship, and my dad was a member of the Communist Party. So, imagine that contrast of a life compared to lying to the government, which is what my dad did. He said, "Hey, we're just taking the family on to a vacation to Rome, Italy." And people go, "Well, why why not just write to America?" Because in a communist country, if you go, "Hey, we're going to

2:45 America, you end up in Siberia instead, right?" And so Italy at the time was communist sympathizers. So my dad lies and he goes, "Hey, I'm taking the family to Rome, Italy for a vacation." So we had to make it look like we're leaving with two suitcases. We leave everything behind never to come back. We go to Rome, Italy. My dad marches right into the American consult and says, "Hey, I'm a current Communist Party member. I denounce communism. I want to go to America. You guys can pump me for all the information you want. And so they do. 10 days later, we end up in the United States. How we ended up in California is because Armenia was cold.

3:19 My dad knew that Florida and California were warm. Uh he chose California. He just wanted a warmer climate than what we were used to in Armenia. So then growing up, my dad keeps brainwashing me and telling me like, "We're in the greatest country on the planet. You could achieve whatever you want. As long as you serve the people, you're good to the people. you could achieve anything you want because there is no limit. There is no dictatorship. There is no communism here. It's all democracy and republic. Awesome. I think being the youngest, I actually believed that.

3:47 Here's why. When you look at the case study, my brother, who was 19 at the time, my sister 22, so you do the math. I'm the oops baby. I was six. My brother was 19, sister's 22. They didn't assimilate as well to to the United States like I did. when you come at six years old, you lose your accent, you assimilate, you make friends, you adopt a culture. And I believed my dad because I was naive. Whereas when you're 19, 20, 21, 22, you're going to be a little skeptical. And I saw him also working as an entrepreneur. He opened up a little tailor shop in Anaheim, California, not too far from here. And when you've got someone who's a mentor to you, a built-in mentor, your dad, who's like, "Well, I can't get a job. I don't speak English. um I I I want to make my own money and I don't have the education to go and be a doctor or an accountant so I got to be an entrepreneur. So he becomes an entrepreneur. I start working in his

4:40 in his tailor shop like literally after school. So imagine you come you get picked up by your mom from school. Instead of going home I go to his tailor shop at 6, seven years old. Dude, I'm selling ties, socks, um, cover buns, anything, any accessories for men's clothing at my dad's tailor shop when I'm eight, nine years old, right? And he's teaching me entrepreneurism as he's learning salesmanship, uh, people skills, rapport building, and before I knew it, I was just destined to be successful. I certainly have hit my uh you know struggles and adversities like everyone else has. But I believe that my dad brainwashing me into you could become anything you want in this country and then him leading the way by being an entrepreneur. I was like well [ __ ] he's 45 if he can come to this country and be successful. Why can't I starting out so young? And the rest was history. Grocery stores have food on the shelves bro.

5:34 Yeah. Like that doesn't happen in Armenia. So all I got to do is earn the money that I need to get the food. It's it's simple. It's so do you remember a lot of Armenia in the first six years or is that kind of like you not the first six years but I I do remember it because you know at that point you start kind of experiencing things and you have memories and I remember waiting in line with my mom in the snow long bread line just to get to the store and them saying that you know they didn't have bread or cheese and then my dad just happened to show up and my dad since he was a card carrying communist party member just to inform your audience about 18% at the time about 18% of the population were actual communist and his party members.

6:10 So, like has an important role. You got a different passport. So, my dad rolls up and I remember this. I was wearing a thick fur coat. It's snowing. We're in line forever. And now my mom's like, "What do you mean there's no bread? There's no cheese." My dad rolls up. He just happens to show up at the right time. And he has a word with the shopkeeper, shows his passport, all of a sudden magically bread and cheese appear. And so, that was one of my first experiences thinking, "It pays to be respected." Like I knew right there, it pays to be respected. And from that point on, I was like, I'm going to build my reputation. I'm going to make sure that I'm respected. That was probably more powerful than any entrepreneurial lesson he taught me in the years coming because he wasn't feared. He was respected. And because of that, they gave us what we needed. And I knew that you can get whatever you want if you're respected.

6:56 And if you're not respected, then you get treated like trash. And that's just the reality of life. You've coached Navy Seals, CEOs, athletes. one what's one thing uh they all secretly struggle with that nobody would expect? That's a really good question because a Navy Seal can go to battle, hear gunshots, and run towards it, right? And an athlete can kick ass on the field knowing that his team's going to show up and they're going to do the best they can. But then they get into this a new space when someone is typound high-speed like us.

7:26 That's what I've found between multi-millionaire entrepreneurs, pro aletes, and like tip of the spear, like Delta guys, Rangers, SEALs, type A, tightly wound, high speed. We're really good at one thing. That's called situational dominance. When you're so type A in one area and then you go to a whole new field, you don't have situational dominance anymore. You're the new guy. Y Yeah, that's scary, man. Make it till you make it. I remember my first time on a stage, 800 people. I was soaked. But that stage was tough. 800 on your first stage, right? That's huge.

7:58 You know, I always had 100 people with the people I work with. But that was different. Pain is a gift. Yeah. What do you mean by that? Well, look at it this way. Anytime that you've experienced hardship adversity pain frustration uh re rejection, all of those are are forms of pain. Pain is a better motivator in terms of taking people towards an action than than the desire to acquire something, right? Because you will want to leave pain, regret, fear, loss, rejection. And so people don't understand that when you feel adversity, when you feel hardship, when you go through pain, it will introduce you, assuming that you push through and you get out to the other side. But if you push through, you get to the other side, you meet the higher version of yourself.

8:46 You've never met the highest version of yourself sitting in comfort and convenience. You just haven't, right? You look pretty jacked. I'm guessing you didn't just sit around on the couch and develop sprout muscles. It's because you put yourself through pain through adversity throughout the process. In fact, you probably have acquired some injuries. I was on the mats. We're talking about before the cameras roll. I was doing jiu-jitsu 5 days straight. I have a lot of pain on my body right now because of the five days of jiu-jitsu.

9:10 But what I learned in the five five days trumps what I learned in the last month because it was just compounded pain is compounded knowledge if you're willing to push through. If not, then you become the loser who sits on their sulks and that becomes your victim story. And I don't think anyone around here or watching your podcast is interested in being a victim. So what's the most painful moment in your life that turned into be a blessing in disguise? Well, I've had several painful moments in my life. Uh, probably one of the biggest ones that ended up being a blessing is the fact that I was molested as a young boy between the ages of four and six.

9:42 What my parents don't realize, us escaping the Soviet Union, coming to the United States, um, wasn't just bringing me to freedom and opportunity in the American dream. They literally saved me from daily constant molestation by two older boys. When you have experienced any kind of sexual, physical, mental, emotional abuse, you end up looking at life through these filters of lack of self-worth, self-hate. Um, you don't feel like you're worthy of success and happiness. Well, I was able to reframe that because as I worked with the therapist years later, he was like, "Dude, anyone that can survive that and end up still showing compassion, humanity, love, grace, he's like, "That's a [ __ ] superpower you've developed." I was like, "Holy shit." And so, most people think that when something happens to them, some hardship has happened to them, some abuse, some trauma, whatever has happened to them, like that's the

10:37 end. That's that's my end of my story. You could reframe that and go, I survived that, right? And if you've survived something hard, you've probably developed a superpower because of it. One of my superpowers being in business is I had to compartmentalize. People are coming to you from different directions. Accounting marketing sales operations, they're coming to me from all the different angles. I can compartmentalize things, prioritize, and then execute as I need to because I've developed that superpower. So, it helps me in my personal life in terms of being kind, compassionate, and and empathetic towards people. It helps me in my business life and making millions because I'm able to compartmentalize, prioritize, and execute. Listen, Mad, thank you for that story. You found serious success training people to build discipline, resilience, and strength. Uh you talk a lot about mental toughness,

11:23 but what's something that still makes you question yourself today? What makes me question myself today is my ability to father Andrew and Khloe. Not am I creating great humans, but will they have the resiliency, the fortitude, the grit that I have because I faced a lot of adversity. I faced a lot of hardship, right? And so I I I wonder, am I raising them with enough grit and resilience? Um, it seems like it, but we'll see. Uh, what's the riskiest decision you've made that paid off massively? The riskiest decision I made that paid off massively was putting $1.3 million out of my pocket to start trulene supplements because I had committed to the idea of when we get to 500 FitBody boot camp locations. We I want a supplement line to sell in there.

12:10 I'd never been in the supplement business. I know it's a competitive business. I'm in the business of recurring revenue. The software company that I own, my franchise, my coaching business, everything pays me on reoccurring. I don't want to just make a transactional sale. I want to make a sale and get paid. Yeah. Hey guys, just hopping in here to give you a little context. Recurring revenue is the golden ticket in business. It's steady predictable income from clients who pay monthly, also called MRR, or annually, which is called ARR. It's like selling on autopilot. The catch, it's powerful but tough to build. And that's why most franchises can't lock it in long term, right? And so with that in mind, I was like, man, supplement companies don't have a lot of MR, monthly recurring revenue. And so I was like, I'm going to do mine differently. I knew it was a risk. And I talked to a few homies who

13:02 are pretty big in the industry. And they were like, man, it doesn't work. You can't put clients on subscription, customers on subscription. It's not like your franchise. It's not like software. I was like, all right, I'm going to do that. And so I did. And now we've got our wellness shot. Our bestselling product that actually was a byproduct. It wasn't even on the skew to be it wasn't even like a skew that we made. It was developed a uh truly wellness shot was developed as an answer to the immune system problem during 2020 COVID right and now it's become our bestselling product ever thousands of people on subscription stick rate of 14 and a half months but it was risky because I knew nothing about the supplement industry and I put my money out instead of other people's money but I also knew that I can get this thing on subscription and I believed in myself and belief in self is a very big thing. I know a lot about

13:49 franchises and franchises there's still the same amount of franchise as there were 20 years ago because just as many are failing that are coming in. So how'd you figure that out and do you have in every business? Do you plan with the end in mind what an exit look like? Yeah. Well, it's always with scale and exit. Build, scale, exit for me. I've just I love that model. But so where franchising is concerned, currently there are 175,000 franchise brands out there. Just so you know, less than 1% of franchise brands ever make it to 100 locations. Less than 1%. Uh, Fit Body Boot Camp made it to 118 locations in the first 24 months.

14:26 And I didn't even know this until the IFA, International Franchise Association, called me and said, "We'd like you to speak at our annual conference, big event in Florida." I'm like, "What for?" They go, "Well, you hit some record. You got over a 100 locations within the first two years." I was like, "Isn't that what we're supposed to do as marketers and entrepreneurs grow?" They're like, "Yeah." And they told me that stat less than 1% get to 100 locations. And so I knew for myself that one I had to make a product that's different, right? So Fit Body Boot Camp is a boutique gym group training program, but you look at there's so many other group training programs out there. So how's mine different? Well, mine's different because we cater to the house mom. So there's no mirrors in Fit Body Boot Camp. Mrs. Jones doesn't want to see herself in the mirror yet. We also know that if we can get her in, we can get

15:10 her circle of friends in because she's connected in the community. So that's how I differentiated number one. Number two, I made sure to focus on my franchisee health. So how can I get my franchises to sign people up, keep them on monthly recurring revenue, sell them nutrition services, that's their secondary income stream, and then supplements and apparel, right? Four income streams. And about four years ago, we introduced their fifth income stream, which is fitbody forever. So So let's say that your wife is working out at Fit Body Boot Camp. She probably has parents, you probably have parents that want to stay fit and active and be able to pick up your grand their grandkids.

15:44 And so that means FitBody Forever, which is a baby boomer and aging adult program. So I built something in there where my current clients already have they become the marketing machine for my next clients, aging adults and baby boomers, right? And they don't just want to lose 30 pounds and leave. They don't leave until they die because they want to stay active. They want to stay fit. They want to stay mobile. they want to stay out of the assistant living home. So, I created one, I differentiated my marketplace and number two, I found at least four and then now five different income streams for my franchises. And I knew that if I could do that and if I could use good direct response marketing to get them traffic, as long as the franchisee knows how to paint by numbers, they can get it done. Uh, but most people think that, hey, I was successful at my restaurant, coffee shop, gym, whatever it is. They'll pay

16:33 the buying fee. Give me 8 to 10% royalties and that's that. Well, they didn't create a system. They don't have differentiation. And that's how all these brands end up failing. What's a piece of gamechanging advice you wish you knew in your early 20s? No one gives a [ __ ] about you. No one's watching. No one's judging. Take more risks. Take action now. What are some of your millionaire habits that set you apart from the rest? I have a very simple morning routine. I know Ashton Hall just popped off with his like 82st step morning routine. I have a very simple routine. Wake up, drink 30 ounces of water. And when I wake up, I don't hit the snooze button because that tells my subconscious mind that I'm already a loser because I've already given in to my first weakness. So, don't hit the snooze button. Wake up when you say you're going to wake up, drink 30 ounces of water, send out three gratitude text

17:16 messages, take a shower, get to work. After I get about two and a half hours work with work done and do this brain dump, uh, and the work is always on money and meaning in that order, money and meaning. And then I go to the gym and work out. That's another big hack. You work out in the morning because willpower is low. You're never going to work out at night. And even if you do, you're not going to bring the thunder. And if you don't bring the thunder, you're not going to look jacked. If you don't look jacked, you don't have the energy. You're not going to be able to go to war as an entrepreneur.

17:43 If you had to start over with $10 million tomorrow, what would you do with it? If I start off with $10 million tomorrow, I'd probably invest that in in probably real real estate. And this is me in real estate and crypto. And then I would go raise another 10 million and use other people's money to start a business. You like crypto or gold better? I have both. I like crypto currently, but I've also been investing in crypto since 2015. Okay. Yeah. What's one belief that you had in your 20s that you know was complete [ __ ] Bluecollar people can't make it in life.

18:15 Immigrants and blueco collar people can't make it in life. And that's because I was the victim. You know, it was everyone else's fault. you know, they they tell me to go back to my own country, speak speak English better, uh, your parents should have never brought you here, etc. It's an absolute false. Like big big big lie. Big lie. You know, Gina Wickman said, he's been on my podcast several times, and he's like, Tommy, when I sold 87 half% of EOS, I got a bucket, you know, tons of money, more money than I knew what to do with, but I felt empty. I lost a piece of my DNA. Uh so he wrote the book shine and I think a lot of people they they they really they define themselves with this uh their company becomes a part of them and I I get that but but I'm like man I've already invested in 25 other companies still own 47% of my company but the finish line looks great and then I just have more a lot more finish lines

19:10 coming. Y and how quick can I double I I count I count my money in doubles. How many more doubles do I have? If I could double every three years you know I got a lot of doubles left. Yep. But what are your thoughts on just this idea of you you sell and you lose a piece of yourself? Well, it's not only that. I'll break it down to you this way. The people that you're talking about is going to be mostly men. Yes, us men. So, men need purpose. In the absence of purpose, men start digging holes in their life. No different than a German Shepherd would dig holes in your backyard if the dog doesn't have purpose. Uh the holes show up for us in way of uh drug use, alcohol, pornography, infidelity, video games, screen sucking. You name it. Well, look, I I'll tell you this that I figured out about myself is I'll never be the CEO again. Bingo. My purpose is not through being the the CEO. Like, there's a lot

19:58 of stuff I want to do, but the Warren Buffett doesn't want to be the CEO of another company, right? Or any company. You're an extremely influential voice for young men on social media. You coach alpha-minded men to level up. What's the biggest lie men believe about success and masculinity today? Men believe that success is financial. And while a good portion of success is financial, it doesn't stop there. Success is generational, meaning success is knowing how to handle yourself. Success is emotional discipline. Success is being fit and athletic. Success is being able to use words. Like English is a second language for me. Yet Tony Robbins was like, "Dude, you are gifted speaker." I go, "How come?" He goes, "You can paint word pictures better than most people who were born here and have gone to university." And it's because I made it one of my goals to become a good articulator of the American language.

20:51 Right? And so I share this with you because success is very holistic and I see this happen a lot. Now we have a 57% divorce rate. So the other 40 some odd percent of the dads that are there in the house, half of them are completely absent emotionally. They're physically there but emotionally, mentally absent. They're not teaching their kids how to be capable, confident, courageous young men. And so I created a program called the Squire program which is a father and son program that's 12 hours long. Myself and a couple of my instructors who are Marines and Navy Seals put these young men and their fathers through this awesome bonding experience which is a right of passage for these young men who are teens into manhood. Um and it's now we're on our fifth year of doing this and to see these young men who started off in the first couple of classes now in their early 20s reaching out to me and they're lead they're leaders on

21:39 their sports teams. They're leaders in sales. are leaders in their own companies, some of them leaders in a young family. And that's a beautiful thing to see. You know, we're we're almost at a thousand people for A1. And I've been heavily involved in the recruiting side of it because I think marketing is to get great clients, but also get great people on your team. We hire for attitude. And there's all these things that I've noticed like athletes, farmers, hard workers. They smile a lot. They tell a great story. Eye contact.

22:08 And then here's the last thing. They got somebody. They've got accountability. They've got someone at home holding them accountable. They've got some best friends, someone in their team. You find those things. All of a sudden, KPIs become easy to hit. And they make great money. So, it's pretty easy to get good guys when you say, "This guy's making $320 a year." Yeah. You know what I mean? But if they're doing that, they're they're doing $1.6 million in revenue and I'm fine sharing it with them. So, it's all performance pay. It's funny you say that because again, over the years, and these are all things you learned over the years, right? Like in the beginning, you're putting an ad on Indeed or Monster.com and you're like, "Oh man, I'm getting trashed." If you had a Paul said would hire you most likely. So what what I found is if they come from like any kind of professional sports, specifically sports where

22:49 they're the only competitor not on the team. Wrestling. Yeah, wrestling is great. I I will take any kind of wrestler, high school collegiate wrestler because they one they have a chip on their shoulder. They can learn everything else. Like they're enthusiastic. They have the attitude. They have a point to prove to the world because they have a chip on their shoulder. I can teach them to sell, market, lead, manage, hit KPIs. Good. Uh you know, I used to think life was really my mom and dad got a divorce because of money. Yeah. I was about six years old. I used to hear them argue about bills every day. I I'd listen through the drywall and hear them argue.

23:24 So I just decided I'm going to get money out of the way. And by the way, we didn't have a lot of money. So when you start from zero, it's sweat equity. Bottom up, it's not top down like I do now. I had great leaders. They built the team underneath them. And so, but I started paying attention. I'm like, well, what about fitness? And what about fun? What about family? What about faith? I've really switched things in priorities, but the money's coming even easier now. Yeah. It's like unfortunately I got too much. So Dan Martella, he's like, "Dude, you're going to lose billions a year of opportunities. You can't say yes to everything." So part of what I'm working on now is saying no more often. It's very hard. I mean, how do you handle saying no? Well, because it's an opportunity cost. Every time you say yes to something, you just have to you're forced to say no to something else. Just like you, I've had to develop the art of

24:11 saying no because in the beginning, you think like everything is an opportunity. So, I once heard um I think it was Charlie Munger say uh an opportunity of a lifetime comes at least twice a year, right? And when I heard that I was like, "Holy [ __ ] that is so powerful." In the beginning when you first are getting by, you start becoming an entrepreneur. You start building a bit of a network. Opportunities come. You're like, "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes." And then you're given 20% to everything. You're not giving 100% to everything. And therefore, it fails or the person thinks that you're just a flake or whatever.

24:39 So, I've developed this ability to say no by saying, does it go through this filter of mine? Uh, one, do my values align with whatever the thing is, right? Let's say it's a great opportunity to make a ton of money. Do I give a [ __ ] for this industry? So, if it's yes, I move forward. If it if it's a no, then I don't. The second thing is, what does the opportunity cost? I'm going to look down the road. What is it? What is it going to cost me? How much are my team members? Do I have to divert their attention? Hey, now I need you guys to focus on this. So, am I taking their money off of the dollars to focus on the pennies? If the opportunity cost is worth it, then yes. My lness test is when the phone rings, if I'm not excited and like pumped, uh, you know, every every once in a while there's bad news, but if it's just a one person that's calling that they always need need. Uh, so we're getting ready to

25:25 wrap up. Some last final questions is uh, Versus, how do you win today? How do people find you? What's what's something you want somebody to take action on? I I think the biggest thing people should take action on is they need to understand that whatever like story that they they've told themselves is usually a lie. Uh your story is a byproduct of whatever abuse, whatever traumas, you know, maybe grandma said that you're clumsy and your parents said that you're big boned. But when we're kids, we hear these stories and people kind of give these narratives and then we grow up.

25:50 It's like the elephant. It's a baby little elephant, a tiny little stake in the ground with a tiny little thread and that elephant stays put. That is what your false narrative, your story is. And when you believe in a false story, you end up looking in the world, finding evidence to identify with that story. So your book of life, all right, I get it. Grandparents, parents, school teachers, bullies, abusers, wrote in the first few hundred pages of your book of life, there's thousands of pages left. Grab the pen and rewrite the story. From moving forward, I will be leaning jacked. Moving forward, I will be a multi-millionaire. Moving forward, I will donate to Shriner's Children's Hospital. Da da da. It's no it's no accident that I donate to Shriner's Children's Hospital, Toys for Tots, and Compassion 97 Kids Adopted through Compassion. These are all kid-based charities. What am I doing most selfish

26:38 way? I'm healing myself. Yeah. By using my money to heal myself by giving to child-based charities, right? And so I've changed the story that this immigrant can donate millions every year, can change and transform, can be fit and jacked, can be an amazing uh orator. And when you start rewriting the story, it's like a script. You see it and act as if and you do it enough and it becomes a habit that's was anything habitual it comes to reality. Most people believe the [ __ ] lies that they've told themselves or others have told them and they just carry the weight of that to to all the way to the grave.

27:09 What a sad way to live. I probably didn't ask all the right questions. So you can close us out with whatever you got. Final thoughts for the listeners. Yeah. One of the the greatest thoughts I can give people and I was just talking to someone this morning is don't take advice from people who have never been to where you want to go and aren't doing where what you want to be doing. I get it when they say, well, you know, let me let me go talk to my family members or let me go talk to so and so. Your family member does not know if that's the right mark. Like your business coach is telling you this is what you need to do to take your business from 20 million to 30 million. Don't ask your wife or your uncle who was an attorney or someone else. Is this the right idea? Because you liked him and you trust him. Well, listen, man. Means a lot to me that you did this. I really enjoyed it.

27:52 Appreciate you. Thank you, Tommy. Appreciate it, brother. All right, guys. Thanks so much for listening to this episode. Like always, we're going to close it out with the Tommy truth, which is a little slice of wisdom from me to you that can help guide you in whatever you're striving towards right now. People will pay 63, that's 63% more for something they built, even if it's not perfect. When you put the effort in, you'll value it even more. This is known as the IKEA effect. Let's just say you're building a piece of furniture from scratch. It's a challenging process, but when you finish, the bookshelf isn't just a piece of furniture anymore. It's your creation.

28:26 It's not about perfection. It's about connection. Let me repeat that. It's not about perfection. It's about connection. When we invest time and energy into something, we see it as a part of us. This applies to furniture, yes, but also to relationships, team projects, even customer experiences. And that's it, guys. We'll talk to you next week.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "From Armenian Refugee to American Millionaire: The Relentless Rise of Bedros Keuilian"?

Tommy Mello (Host), Bedros Keuilian (Guest).

What is "From Armenian Refugee to American Millionaire: The Relentless Rise of Bedros Keuilian" about?

Bedros Keuilian's journey from an Armenian refugee to a successful entrepreneur exemplifies resilience and determination, highlighting key lessons in respect, reputation, and the willingness to take risks. As the founder of Fit Body Boot Camp, he has grown a thriving franchise recognized among the fastest in the industry, while also serving as a business coach and author who empowers others to…

What is mentioned in this Tommy Mello episode?

11 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Fit Body Boot Camp, Bedros Koulian, Soviet Armenia, Man Up, Rome, Italy, Entrepreneur Magazine. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "From Armenian Refugee to American Millionaire: The Relentless Rise of Bedros Keuilian"?

The episode runs 29 min; the transcript is about 6,050 words in 43 timestamped sections.

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