Michael Fabber is the Founder and CEO of UnleashU Now! He created a 6+ figure business in 4 months with no ad spending, no email lists, and all organic lead generation. Michael and his fearless team host conferences internationally in addition to courses, programs, groups, retreats, and the UnleashU Now mastermind group. In addition to UnleashU Now, Michael is also the Executive Director of a nonprofit that focuses on suicide prevention and owns several other businesses. He is known in the entrepreneurial space for the impactful movement he has created while focusing on business and personal growth!

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Audio: Ariza Music Productions

Transcription : Vision In Word

Marlana: Founder and CEO of unleash you now an executive director of a nonprofit and owner of several other businesses, Michael Fabber, is known in the entrepreneurial space for the impactful movement he has created while focusing on business and personal growth. Welcome, Michael. 

Michael: Hi, how are you? 

Marlana: Good! You know, if anybody doesn't know who you are, and they were to look you up, there are a ton of things, it is obvious that we could glean from you from a business perspective. But instead of that, today, we're going to talk about something bigger, and creating a legacy. So first of all, tell me what does that mean to you, legacy?

Michael: To me, your legacy is a story you wrote by your actions and being here. And that's everything.

Marlana: You know, it was interesting, because this morning, it just so happened that something came across my Instagram feed, and it said, legacy is a story you leave behind for others to tell the impression you make on the next generation. And I thought, yeah, that's a pretty big thing. And it's also a pretty weighty responsibility. So, when did you decide that it needed to be bigger than business for you?

Michael: By 2011, was really when the realization that how I was living and what I was doing was pointless, was meaningless. And that if I continued that way, the only thing at the end would be a number in a bank account. And anybody ever lost somebody you never were like, hold on, What number is that not backing out again. Alright, that's never happened for all the people I've lost. So, at that point, I realized I lived life in a way that I never want to live again.

Marlana: So, what did you start to change?

Michael: Everything started with me; my mindset, I believe, my focus, and then started working outwards. I believe everything comes in out. So, if it's real, true, and sustainable to be here first, and then it's going to work this way. But I changed everything about what I believed when I looked for who I wanted to be, what I was about. So, it was a lot of interiors to start, and then start working on the process of how does this come out? Like, how do I show it's always this funny story the first time. So, I told my buddy, we were going to change the world, right in 2011. And his response was, Are you high? And I was like, no! All right! But that also tells me where we've been right? So, I'm like, No! But seriously, like, we're gonna change the world. He said, That's impossible. And like, nobody changed his world. I was like, how does the world change? Right? Like, people change world. And he goes, Well, how are you gonna do it? I said one person at a time. And I'm very like, I'm, I look ragged, and I played sports a lot. But I'm really a nerd. I love to learn. So, I love to go to places and learn different things. So, when like, coaching space, a lot of people were like, *** me! I didn't eat the brownie this morning, my health coach. Like, I did not want that to be my life. Right? So, I was like, I'm gonna learn everything about this coaching space. And I came from human behavior, neuroscience, mental health space, sorry, knew some of it. And I was just like, let me dive in and see what they're doing and saying, and what resonates with me and what doesn't, what aligns with me and what doesn't, or who I want to be. Sometimes really say, Who am I now? Does that align with me? And sometimes we have to ask who I want to be? Does that align with me? Right? Because some of the things serving us now won't serve us where we want to be. And I went and got like, a million certificates, right? That says, I'm a coach. Alright, so whatever that means, but I take my buddy on, like, watch, I can help people like we can do this, I can help you. So, we went to a diner in local town. And I walked in, and I'm just looking around to see who I'm going to help. Right. Like talking about like, crazy people have diner. I didn't think this through beforehand, clearly. And there's a guy that counter and he's sitting there and he's eating and I'm like, This is my guy. Right? So, I walk up to him. I'm like, sir, how are you? looks over at me. I'm like, my name is Michael Fabbre. And tell me what your biggest problem is. I'm going to help you to I mean, guide you through and solve it. He goes betray me dead my eye and goes, you. Right? And I go, you got it, sir. I walked away. I walked my buddy. And I said, See one down. Let's keep going. So, it was such an awkward, horrible beginning, but really, it was exactly what it needed to be for me. 

Marlana: So how did you then take all of this learning knowledge and start to really play. In Motion aside from the awkward guy at the diner, right now? 

Michael: So, it's like, this is back in 2011 to 2012. And the first year I think we did like 300 ads free, like style like moments, right? Like we did, we had numerous clients, I can't remember the exact number. None of them paid a dime, right? I was like, we are going to go out of business. Right? Like, we do not have a business. We have a hobby. Yeah, but we had 300 and some odd sessions. And then we did some, some different kinds of like, one on one activities, and experiences. And I was like, This is great, but we're not going to Vegas. Like this isn't a business zombie. Alright, and my buddy, actually, same buddy, Alex before he's been here from day one of this door still is with me. He literally emcees every single event we had except for the last two. Oh, no, go monster. Amazing, dude, hilarious doesn't shut up now before he never talked never gonna shut up. It's weird. But we were going through. And at the end, he goes, Mike, do you really want to do this? Are you just doing this for fun? Usually, if you really want to do this, you have multiple other businesses, you know how to run a business. And my fear was that if I let business get involved in this, it would become every other business. And that was that was my interior dialogue happening. That's why I was like, no, no, like, we don't need to charge like, let's just find people help it. And that was the time where I had to question myself and go, you know, can you do this differently? How will you do this differently? What serves that purpose? And how do we make this something bigger than just hey, do you need something? Right? Can we help and make this something where we were actually part of transforming lives? 

Marlana: So, talk us through that a little bit. Because I think a lot of people, when you have a passion for something, and a desire to change people or do something for people, a lot of people are hesitant about the money part of it. So how do you shift that?

Michael: Right? So, what's great? So originally, when I got to this, I didn't want to talk business. Right? Right. Today, you're like, we're not going to talk business yet. We're talking some business. Because somehow, I always find a way towards it. And I'm like, I want to talk about mindset, I want to talk dreams and goals, and how like, what's fulfilment? What makes your heart neat? Like that stuff. So, when you say that passion, alright, a lot of people coming entrepreneurship, they know nothing about business, putting myself, my first attempt in nothing about this. I was like, I can do this, let's do this, right. And then I was like, Oh my God! I'm losing my butt over this. Right. And it was a lot of hard lessons. Right. And again, one of my buddies was like, Mike, you see all these people with passion? I want to help people. My ultimate goal is to end selfish behavior and suicide as my ultimate goal, right? When you say that you sound like a lunatic? Like, okay, buddy, right? So, it's like, how can we make that somewhat logical, so people can then believe it enough to follow you through the journey enough for you to actually be able to guide and serve them? So, one of the biggest things we have to change was, whatever the exchange policy is, we all need it. Right? Like, I don't care if you call it money. Now, crypto or NF Ts like any, like, used to be like furs, animals, and products. But whatever it was, that is your exchange policy, we all need that. And why I always say I want to serve Empowering Entrepreneurs is because we will typically take that and how can we better serve our people? How can we be better to be better, right? Because we have to be better before we can do better for others. Right? So, it's how, when you create that exchange policy, what you use that is for completely as you write like whatever you want the Lambo cool, right? Like, I'm really not a Lambo guy, so go enjoy that right, but cool, whatever it is you want to do. That's what you get to do with it. So, when we talk about money, a lot of people look at money as like, evil, or we'll bring them back out, right? No! It just highlights what's already there. Right. So, if you're good, you're good hearted. If you care, if you love, right, your people if you want to serve, that is going to be a tool to serve greater. So, we get out of the way of it being this crazy thing. And it's just a tool, right? Like anything else. And when you get it, you get to determine how you use it. But I know the more you have that tool, the more things you can do to help where you want to help and serve who you want to serve. And it's creating that mindset around it, and that you are worthy of it. Then that can create the change, and then like everything else, we work mindset first, and then we can start working outwards to who's your who and being able to explain your work in a way that resonates with people and make it realize investment, things like that. But that's some detail I won't get to. 

Marlana: You know, and it's interesting that you say that too, because I know a lot of people that are in business, that money is not their driving factor. It's good people, you know, for a lot of us, it's a result of what we do, but it's not the reason for what we do. And that's okay. 

Michael: That's great. But anything you do for the money, you're probably not gonna be able to earn it long enough to get the money. Right? There's two reasons why businesses fail, right? And it really comes down to one, right money. And I hate when people say that because that's not helpful at all. Right? We were having this, I literally almost walked off the stage was we're in this panel, and everybody kept talking about cash flow, right? And I'm like, that's a byproduct of what we do. Right? It's like even people that work, check to check you work, then you get your check, right? It's not like you get your check. And then hopefully, you work. Right, it does work that way. So, it's, we have to do what we have to do, order to create the impact, the value, add to whatever community or society we're trying to give it to. And then orange be reciprocated with the cat. So, if you get in this for cash, you're out, right? Even I can't work, I can't help you. It's over. Right? It's over. It's just when is it over? Right, because some people hit early. And then phase out, I would say like, there's so many people that come in that are hotter, right, or flashier than we are, right? I'm like, that's great. I, when I first started, they used to annoy the hell out me. I'm like, come on. We're here, like three years. They're just here three days, right? And now I'm just like, oh! That's going to happen. Let's see if they can maintain, right? Because it's a marathon. And if they're in it for the right reasons, they probably will. If they're in for wrong reasons, they probably won't. Right? And that's why we don't talk about opening businesses, we talk about starting, because movements never die. Businesses closed all the time. The movements never die. And the businesses that have been built in movement form, have survived product changes, leadership changes. And it's because movements don't actually live forever. You talked about legacy one.

Marlana: Yeah! So, talk to us about some of the difference between a movement and a business. 

Michael: Right? So, movement is like there's a greater cause to it. All. Right. It's like I always talk about Apple being Apple. And Apple's like, look at their logo. It's like the worst logos ever happened. Apple, right? Like, I always tell people like oh, your logo is it, go to the store, buy an apple in half walk outside and try to sell it. And at an Apple users won't even cover it. Because they want you to know why. Because it's the best product. It's not what what do they make us the best, they don't make the best phones, right? Data can say this, I'm just gonna buy that I'm not gonna buy my opinion. I have an iPhone. So, for iPhone users get really mad, I raffle everything, right. But it's like, why because Apple came out and set up for the missed it. I'm for the one that doesn't want to be in a cubicle, you know, round holes, square peg, or vice versa. Right? Like they came out for that person that was like, this isn't my life, and I don't want it to be it. So, like anyone that has a 20 or videographers’ younger guy, I call him a kid he gets very upset. But he's a younger guy. And he has his laptop. He has 7000 stickers on this laptop and was like why? Like, I couldn't have done it like any one of them. Right? But you don't want to sticker is not covering that apple. You know, he has like 7000 stickers on there. Why is because that's a beacon to all the other ones that feel the same way that believe the same way. They created a movement, a community, which was something bigger than just a product. That's why they went from computers to phones to headphones, to like a million other things, right? That people are now bought, buy, buy, buy, buy, why it's a different product, it's not what they originally sold you. If you're a product-based business and try to do that consumers gonna be like, That's not loyally, you didn't follow suit, you broke our trust. But if your movement based, they don't care what you give them because they know what it's for. And that's why when we say movements, it's like, it creates the idea that it's for something bigger, and your part of something bigger. And people we want connection as a cornerstone of the Union exists. Right? Like, there's a popular TED Talk says connection is the cure for addiction. And it's a dope, TED talk, I just disagree. And connection is part of addiction. I have an addictive personality. All right. I used to use it, booze, drugs, and parties and fun and all that good stuff. And then now I use it for personal growth and serving. I still have the same addictive personality. What I'm addicted to now serves me the person I want to be going forward rather than the other stuff served the whole I want to fill it; it didn't fill it was going to get worse and worse and worse and worse and worse. That's the problem. Right? So, connection is like we all want to connect this up. Right? It's like people that jump into different groups and communities and they're like, yeah, like you'll see on my post. People post, I looked like a Care bear, people will post a million hearts. Right? Blue and green hearts. I would say people make fun of me because I came from a different lifestyle. Right? Are you seeing a lot of trouble? I went through some things. Right? And now you'll go to my Facebook page and people were like so, people I know from bigger, like my whatever, like now you got like 40 hearts on your profile. And like, man, it's our community, we're strong, we believe in what we're fighting for, in what we're going towards, in the life and the world we think we can be part of, we can make, we can be part of setting. And that makes it important, right? Like that makes it matter because no offence, like, I'm just a person, right? Like, I'm just gonna bones, right? Like, they say, you know, what is the phrase “die hero” because we live long enough, they make you not want, right? And it's like, so the person is interchangeable. There could be someone else sitting in the seat tomorrow, right? But the movement, what we're going towards the calls above us all, I can't be stopped. 

Marlana: And you know, you hit on an interesting point that I just want to touch back on. Because sometimes when we go in a different direction, not everybody from our past is on board. Talk to us a little bit about being able to move forward regardless and having to trim around. 

Michael: This was the hardest thing for me like literally, they say we all have Gremlin. Right? And the Gremlin is something inside of you. That is like your hardest thing to get past. Right? It's like your Goliath. Right? And another sense. And mine was, I never want...