Think Unbroken: Michael Anthony on Healing Trauma & Reinventing Yourself

Michael Anthony (Michael Unbroken) is the founder of Think Unbroken, a movement dedicated to breaking the cycle of generational trauma through education and empowerment. 

Overcoming a turbulent childhood, Michael has become a renowned speaker, best-selling author, and trauma coach, impacting thousands worldwide. His podcast, "Think Unbroken," has garnered millions of downloads, inspiring listeners to rise above self-doubt and trauma.

In this episode of Pursue Vegas, we sit down with Michael to unpack his journey from hardship to healing. Michael’s mission-driven work stems from his belief that “To become you, the fullest version of who you're capable of being, you have to give up who you used to be.” He offers powerful insights on overcoming limiting beliefs, embracing authenticity, and finding fulfillment by connecting with community. This conversation dives into mental health, self-improvement, and Las Vegas as a unique space for growth and transformation.

With practical advice and heartfelt wisdom, Michael shares his strategies for incremental change in health, wealth, and relationships—small steps that, over time, create transformative results. From tackling self-doubt to embracing purpose, this episode is packed with motivational takeaways that remind you to take action and live intentionally.

Key Takeaways

• Transformative Change: Real personal growth requires total dedication and the willingness to let go of past selves.
• Power of Community: Stepping out of comfort zones and connecting with others is essential for personal and professional development.
• Incremental Progress: Small, consistent actions can compound to create lasting change in every area of life.
• Authenticity in Relationships: Genuine connections, especially in environments like Las Vegas, require intentionality and openness.
• Self-Care as Service: Helping oneself is the first step to effectively helping others, a core principle in Michael’s coaching.

Resources

• Connect with Michael: Michael Unbroken on Instagram
• Think Unbroken: thinkunbroken.com – Learn more about Michael’s work
• Free Men’s Coaching Resources: mensmonday.com

Tune in to hear Michael Anthony’s powerful story and find out: "If you're not excited about your life, what the fuck are you doing?" Don't miss this episode of Pursue Vegas for the inspiration and tools to start living with purpose. 

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Transcript

0:00:00 - (Michael Anthony): I'm Michael Anthony, the founder of Think Unbroken and this is Pursue Vegas.

0:00:05 - (Dave Burlin): All right, ladies and gentlemen, we are back with the Pursue Vegas podcast. I'm your host, Dave Burlin.

0:00:10 - (Tawni Nguyen): And I'm your co host, Tawni Nguyen.

0:00:12 - (Dave Burlin): And we are more than excited, probably the most excited I've been to invite today's guest, Mr. Michael Unbroken. He's the founder of Think Unbroken. He's an award winning speaker, best selling author and renowned trauma coach. Rising from a difficult past, Michael has become a leading voice in the mental health space, helping thousands of people overcome self doubt and trauma to build the life they deserve. His podcast, Think Unbroken has garnered millions of downloads globally. And his mission to end generational trauma through education and empowerment.

0:00:44 - (Dave Burlin): Michael's powerful story and practical tools have made him a sought after speaker and coach worldwide. Michael, absolutely thrilled for you to be on the show, brother. What's going on?

0:00:54 - (Michael Anthony): Thanks, dude. I'm happy to be here with you.

0:00:55 - (Dave Burlin): What are you excited about?

0:00:57 - (Michael Anthony): Life. I mean, no, seriously. I mean, it's like if you don't wake up excited, like. But can I curse on this show before I go ruining your guys?

0:01:06 - (Dave Burlin): You can.

0:01:06 - (Michael Anthony): If you're not excited about your life, what the fuck are you doing? Yeah, like, I think about that every single day. And it's like, I woke up, I'm energized, I'm here. Like, I have an opportunity to go and build and create and have the things that I want impact the people that I get to work with and lead a full life. And it's like if you're. I'm not saying it to be funny. It's like if you're not excited about your life, you need to take a real fucking hard look at who you are and ask yourself why not?

0:01:33 - (Michael Anthony): And we live in such a crazy society where people are fucking victims and they blame everybody. It's everybody's fault, theirs. And they're going to die with regret. And dude, I'm just not playing that game.

0:01:46 - (Dave Burlin): You absolutely are not. And you have not been playing that game. You have not, not been playing that game for a long time. When did this, when did this all start for you? Where did you really start to step into your. Step into your power and start helping a lot of people?

0:02:01 - (Michael Anthony): Well, I think there's a path to this journey, like anyone's journey. But at 8 years old, I distinctly remember a moment of being like, when I'm a grown up, my life is not going to be like my childhood. And look, I say this, you don't become one of the world's renowned trauma coaches. Because you had a good childhood, first and foremost, so let's be very clear about that. And I grew up homeless, drug addict parents, alcoholic parents.

0:02:25 - (Michael Anthony): You know this story, so I'll share this. My mother cut off my right index finger when I was 4 years old. So multiple surgeries, skin grafts, discolorations. Like, I grew up in a chaotic environment. And at 8, I was like, when I'm a grownup, my life will be nothing like this. And then I got pretty successful, very young, working corporate America. I was chasing this idea of money, girls, clothes, cars, power, all of that.

0:02:51 - (Michael Anthony): And when I was 26, dude, I'd made a million dollars at 26 years old, which most people do not do. But I was 350 pounds, smoking two packs a day, drinking myself to sleep, cheating on my girlfriend, $50,000 in debt, living paycheck to paycheck, making 200 grand a year, My freaking car gets repoed, and. And my little brother tells me, you're not my brother. Never talk to me again. And so even though I'd had these different levels of drive, I didn't have clarity about the life that I wanted to have.

0:03:22 - (Michael Anthony): And if you don't have clarity, well, then you're just simply on a ship with no compass, and you will land on any island. And so I hit rock bottom at 26 again, 350 pounds, smoking two packs a day, drinking myself to sleep every day. And it's a Saturday morning. I'm laying in bed, watching the fucking CrossFit games, smoking a joint and eating chocolate cake. Like, this is real, man. And I'm, like, looking at my life. I'm like, dude, what are you doing?

0:03:53 - (Michael Anthony): And I picked myself up, pulled myself out of the bed, went into the bathroom. I was looking at myself in the mirror, and I just went to war with myself. Like, for real. I was like, you're a fucking bitch. Like, you are blaming the world for all of your problems. You're not stepping up. You're not living the life that you are capable of living. Yet I have all this stuff to show for it. And I just spent the next four years really working on myself deeply.

0:04:18 - (Michael Anthony): And in fact, like, I am a firm believer in practice, what you preach. When I was 29, I moved across the country with $500 to my name in a rental car with no place to live. Because I was like, I have got to figure this out. And the people around me were like, you're fucking crazy. And I was like, yeah, I know. Because only a crazy person would do this, but only a crazy person would be willing to go for it.

0:04:45 - (Michael Anthony): Right? And so I take that. What has happened, that has transpired over the last almost decade. The coaching, the books, the billboards in Times Square, the podcast, the, you know, all the stuff that this is. Dude, this wasn't my plan. I had no intention of ever doing this, but people were like, hey, will you help me? And I was like, fuck, no. Absolutely not. I will not help. What are you talking about? No, I don't even know what I'm doing myself.

0:05:16 - (Michael Anthony): Luckily, I had a couple of people who were kind of adamant about it, and they were like, dude, really help me. And I was like, okay, I'm just going to make up a random number to charge them, because if I do, that'll probably make them go away. And right out of the gate, I was charging people $250 an hour to coach them. And I was like, there's no way people are going to take that. And now it's well, well, well beyond that because of what I've been able to do and accomplish.

0:05:40 - (Michael Anthony): But this whole concept and idea about being a coach, being an author, speaker, podcast host, while we went through this interesting time four years ago during the Covids, where. And you better bleep that out so you don't, you know, get your show demonetized. But we go through this interesting time in which that happens, in which suddenly everybody's a fucking life coach. Right. You guys probably remember this.

0:06:03 - (Michael Anthony): All of those people are gone.

0:06:05 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:06:06 - (Michael Anthony): Because they didn't know how to build a business. They didn't know how to build marketing. They didn't know how to have fulfillment and follow through. They didn't know how to build customer relations and all these things. And so, Dave, just to be frank with you, dude, I'm just getting started.

0:06:18 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:06:18 - (Michael Anthony): Like, what is in front of me and what I'm working on right now is, in my opinion, probably the greatest thing I've ever stepped into. But that only comes because of my own journey. And I always tell people, if you want to help people, help yourself first. I love that.

0:06:34 - (Dave Burlin): I love that, man. I'm so grateful that you're here because, you know, I've had a similar journey. Not the same by any means, but there's a lot of places where I can resonate the rental car one way. Right. Didn't have the greatest childhood with my mom either. But it's been interesting. There's been these evolutions of what some people see as success. And up until just recently, I looked at With a lot of shame and with a lot of guilt.

0:07:02 - (Michael Anthony): Being successful.

0:07:03 - (Dave Burlin): Well, just about what some people view as success, where some things I just, I couldn't take it. I was still working through so much stuff that it didn't feel like success to me. But then same similar, like people say, hey, can you help me with this? Can you help me with that? And for the longest time, you know this because we went on hikes together and we've been, we spend time together. Yeah, Right.

0:07:23 - (Dave Burlin): But there's like, there's been a lot of stuff that I've just done for free, like for a really long. For way longer than I should have. Sure. And with that, it was all based on guilt and shame. So now I do understand what that means. But same same essence, man. Like, I feel like we're just getting started. And to all those people that didn't stick with it, I think again, that's just the evolution of where some of us continue to go and grow and some people just stay stuck.

0:07:52 - (Michael Anthony): Yeah. Well. And look, I still work for free. Yeah, dude, I coach thousands of people for free.

0:07:57 - (Dave Burlin): Yep.

0:07:58 - (Michael Anthony): Anybody anywhere in the world can have a coaching call with me for 15 minutes.

0:08:02 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:08:02 - (Michael Anthony): I don't charge for it because here's my thing, dude. When, when I look back at my life, I'm a kid who literally had to steal food to survive.

0:08:10 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:08:11 - (Michael Anthony): I didn't have, as my grandmother would say, two nickels to rub together. And when I started this journey, I started at $50,000 in debt. I didn't start with a trust fund. I didn't start with any help. I have no parents. I had nobody to look up to. It was me in the streets trying to figure this shit out. And the very first time I invested in myself was $50. And that was terrifying. Right. And so I know that place where people are. But here's what I'll tell you that's really very, very interesting.

0:08:42 - (Michael Anthony): Nobody who does anything for free takes it seriously. And so while I resonate with people who are in that place and I want to offer that, which I will continue to do, my hope is that on the downstream eight years from now, that person comes back and they're like, let's do it.

0:09:01 - (Dave Burlin): Yep.

0:09:02 - (Michael Anthony): Right. And so I'm playing a long term game. And the people who are like, you should never do anything for free are idiots. Like, don't listen to those people because you build reputation, trust. I mean, I don't know if we're going to business here, but like, you want to build a community and people who are loyal to you, you need to give them something of value. And for me, what's 15 minutes of time when I have the rest of my life in front of me?

0:09:28 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, yeah, that's powerful. I love that.

0:09:33 - (Tawni Nguyen): No, I totally agree with you because from what we've hear, we've heard like on the previous shows, like usually when someone's at their breakthrough is usually just right after what we would like to call rock bottom. And that's the loneliest place that me and Dave, that's how we started our friendship, is starting to have the conversation around what friendship actually looks like and what community that we can lead, lean into each other and ask for help and how can we be of service and how do we do that outside of the shame and the guilt of pleasing everyone else? Because we don't have clarity and direction to where we need to take our own life.

0:10:06 - (Tawni Nguyen): And as we overextend ourselves, like, how much further can we actually hold that bandwidth while we maintain the integrity to ourself? Because I think most people that self abandoned they what we shared, right? It's just there's so much shame, shame and doing things for other people to feel of value because you don't have any worth to rely on because of the childhood experiences that we have of just performing for perfection or doing things out of achievement, getting to accolade so that our parents can see us in, you know, our own success and just doing things because we want to prove ourselves to.

0:10:41 - (Tawni Nguyen): To somebody. Right? But a lot of the shadow work that we've done is kind of like you have to ask yourself, like, who am I trying to prove and to what and why, you know? So that's something that deeply reflects with us when we go on this journey of making friends along the way and going deep into the layers of ourself. And how do we show that authentically and being vulnerable enough just to one shoot the shit, remove the layers and just have the humility to just show up and have the conversation to begin with so that no one wastes their time because, you know, at. At the same time, time is limited and there's so much that we can pass around in the transactional world that we have here in the business world.

0:11:20 - (Tawni Nguyen): But deep down on the connection level, like, people really is lonely and it's really hard to really connect with one another without just saying, like, oh, look at my social media. I have 100,000 followers, but I'm deeply sitting in my room making content because I'm so lonely. I'm hoping someone Will reach out to me and will talk to me and will treat me like a real person and not just as, like, my digital Persona of what I create.

0:11:43 - (Tawni Nguyen): Content to reflect on who I want you to think I am, you know, so those are some of the conversations that we've had in the past, you know, few months, just to how we built the community around Vegas and how do we really reflect how we feel, you know, with support to one another, with each other's businesses, with each other's network. How do we actually, like, hold each other accountable for the things that we want to do and be of service to other people? So I acknowledge for you, sharing, you know, your path too, because all the bumps and roads along the way, it's how we really build our identity and kind of, like, reinvent ourselves and meet the right people along the way.

0:12:20 - (Tawni Nguyen): So, yeah. So, like, let us know what your breakthrough was. Like, what is that moment for you? I know you've hit your rock bottom to where you feel like you were at your edge, right? And taking back to childhood and all that stuff and where you are at now and the level of success that you've reached now. Like, and I'm really glad you said you wake up really happy for your life, but for the people that actually aren't and they're in stagnation and they're just like, they can't find that will.

0:12:44 - (Tawni Nguyen): To find clarity, what would that conversation look like for you?

0:12:50 - (Michael Anthony): Talk about the world's most loaded question. First, let me acknowledge something that I think is really important. We all want to feel significant. That's all it is. We all want admiration. We all want love. We all want to be seen. It's simple. This isn't rocket science. You grow up in homes where, you know, you don't get that and you can never perform enough. You can never get enough as you can never have enough trophies.

0:13:15 - (Michael Anthony): You can never be seen. No matter what you do matters. You'll go and find significance in any way that you can. For me, it was gangs and drugs and stealing cars and breaking into houses and robbing people and getting kicked out of high school for fighting and selling drugs. And that was my. I was like, if you're not going to see me for the good things, I bet you'll see me for the bad things, right? And then that carries over into adulthood.

0:13:38 - (Michael Anthony): And, like, if you're this overachieving, perfectionist person, you think you're going to get love because you became a CEO when you were 27. You have a fucking hard road in Front of you. Right? And so, first and foremost, I want to acknowledge that. I think everybody wants that. I do. I mean, you know, I'm not going to lie. I'm an attention whore. Dave knows this. This is why I'm the leader of my friends group.

0:13:59 - (Michael Anthony): I'm the guy who puts everybody in the room together, generally speaking. And Dave's phenomenal at this too, as well, by the way. But I want. I want the same thing. I want to feel significant, like I matter. And as humans, if you're not useful to the community and to your peers and to the people around you, and you're in your room creating content and you're by yourself and you're spending all this time isolated, I would argue that you're not actually useful.

0:14:25 - (Michael Anthony): And that's a really hard thing for people to wrap their head around. And I'm not saying that you're useless. What I'm saying is, why don't you take that thing that you're doing on the Internet, where it's so detached and so removed from reality, and go and put people together. Go and be the leader of your community, of your friends, group of your peers, and say, hey, guys, we're gonna go bowling or hiking or do a dinner or whatever that thing is.

0:14:50 - (Michael Anthony): And all these people who feel so alone, I don't have a lot of sympathy for them, because the only way that they're gonna feel like they matter is by being the ones to do the thing that they need to do to have the life that they want to have. And I get it. Because people are like, I'm so anxious and I'm so depressed. I'm like, of course you're in your house all day long by yourself. What did you think was gonna happen, Right? And so let's be mindful of that. And I get it, right? Because, like, this is a mental health conversation.

0:15:18 - (Michael Anthony): And people will come at me and they'll be like, I don't like your advice. I'm like, yeah, but it works, Works. It work. Get out of your house, go out here and be a part of something. And people are terrified of that. But why? Rejection, shame, guilt, not feeling enough, not feeling like they matter, not feeling that they're important, not feeling like what they actually bring to the tables of value.

0:15:40 - (Michael Anthony): And I would argue that the best way to grow into your confidence is to be rejected constantly and consistently for having the willingness to take the risk, to jump off, to open the business, to go to the other side of the country, to do the podcast, to ask the girl out or to, you know, leave their relationship or whatever that thing is. It's like people feel like they're on this island by themselves, and it's because they are.

0:16:04 - (Michael Anthony): Because they're not doing the things required to have a life that's fulfilling and joyful and puts them in a position to be seen. The only thing people want is significance, but they're so terrified of being seen. It's like, don't you see the problem with that? Right? And so what you have to do is you have to face your own fear and the internal dialogue that you have about this idea about who you are and who you can be.

0:16:27 - (Michael Anthony): And ultimately, in order to become you, you have to become you. I wish there was an easy way around it. I wish I could just be like, read my book and your life will be better. Right? But it's not. Listen to this podcast and everything will be great. No, it's not. You're gonna listen to this podcast and your life will still suck. Yeah, and your life will suck until you make a decision for it not to and it not becomes involved around you, creating small, incremental goals.

0:16:50 - (Michael Anthony): Not monumental goals, because that's too difficult in the beginning, but small, incremental goals in your health, your wealth, and your relationships. Every single month in my coaching group, I sit down and my one on one clients for that matter, and myself personally, we sit down, we write one goal a month in our health, our wealth, and our relationships. And if you can't tell me, you can't do that.

0:17:11 - (Michael Anthony): You're in trouble. And here's what happened. Here's what's really interesting if you want to watch your life fully transform. All right, so look at your life today. You sit down, you write three goals. If you take one action per day against each one of those goals, over the course of a year, you will take over a thousand actions towards changing your life. You cannot tell me your life will be the same in a thousand steps.

0:17:33 - (Michael Anthony): And that's the thing that people don't understand. They're so tied to this idea of feeling shame about not being good enough, which, generally speaking, is the reason why people feel insignificant. They feel like they're not good enough, so they're not going to try. But I would argue that if you try, you will find that you're good enough. But in the beginning, you're gonna suck. We all suck. Like, in the beginning. We all do. No, we do. Like, you are not proficient at anything the first time you do it.

0:18:00 - (Michael Anthony): Nothing. And you're even bad at sex. Like you are not good at that. The first time you do it, I don't care what you think. Right. And then. So now you're trying to go and have this amazing and incredible life and be a millionaire and impact millions of people and have a great family and be the one who breaks the cycle, but it's like you're at home by yourself in the room.

0:18:18 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, you got to be a thousandaire for.

0:18:21 - (Michael Anthony): I don't even know if I answered your question, by the way.

0:18:23 - (Dave Burlin): No, you did. And so much more. And that's what I'm really glad that you're here because I knew you were going to come in hot, you were going to come in with the truth. But also where I was really excited to have you here is I know when I met you, like, you could have went so many places, you could have chosen. And you have lived in multiple places. I think you were in Denver at one point. You've lived a handful of different places.

0:18:50 - (Dave Burlin): Where were you at a couple of the cities before here. And really, what made you choose Vegas? Because you've been here for quite some time now.

0:18:58 - (Michael Anthony): I mean, I love cocaine. It's like, how could you not come to Vegas? I'm kidding. I've never done cocaine in my life. That's God honest truth. I've never done. I would be so addicted. What did I tell you when I came in? Yeah, I was like, I already had two coffees and an energy drink. If I had cocaine, dude, I'd be under a bridge right now. You don't even want to know what I'd be doing.

0:19:15 - (Dave Burlin): I got a Red Bull if you need it.

0:19:17 - (Michael Anthony): Yeah, here's. I might need a hit. Dude, it's been a minute. So here's the thing. I've lived all over the world. I've been nomadic because when I was a kid, I lived with over 30 different families between 8 to 12 years old. When I was homeless, my mom had disappeared. Who knows where my stepdad was. We were getting bounced around place to place to place. And so I've always had kind of this nomadic energy to me. And I've lived all over the country. I mean, I've been in New York and Indianapolis, where I grew up here, Denver, Portland, I mean, all over. And then I've lived in 20 different countries.

0:19:52 - (Michael Anthony): I mean, you know, this last year I was gone for half a year in South America. I've lived in Asia, Southeast Asia, all over Europe. Like, I've been nomadic because I love the thrill of the adventure of it all. But why I Chose Vegas. Well, it's odd because when I came to Vegas, I think it was the second time I was 23. I'm just going to keep it real because I think this is funny. When I was 23, I was doing incredibly well. I mean that was kind of the stride when I was working in this corporate job. And I was making like 175 at that point. Which for a 23 year old, that's insane money.

0:20:26 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:20:26 - (Michael Anthony): And so we come to Vegas. It's a boys trip. We did some Vegasy things. We ended up at the Sapphire. I spent $3,500 in one night. And the next morning I woke up and I was like, I am never coming back to Vegas. And look. And for just clarity I could do that. It wasn't that big of a deal to me because it was just like, whatever, that's half a week of work for me. And then I was like, that was really dumb.

0:20:52 - (Michael Anthony): Like really, really dumb. I'm not coming back to Vegas after this. Fast forward over 13 years, I did not come back here at all. And then suddenly I was here every month.

0:21:02 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:21:03 - (Michael Anthony): And then it became every other week. And then I was like, dude, you got to just move to Vegas. Yeah, just go to Vegas. It's amazing. And what I've found here, there were a couple of reasons. One, I have an amazing community here. Some of my best friends ever are here. And it's weird because they've all congealed into this place. Right. It's an amazing entrepreneurial hub. For a lot of reasons though, we do need better co working spaces. So that's something I might end up building one myself. I've been thinking about recently.

0:21:32 - (Michael Anthony): I like being hot, so I'm very pro Vegas. Weather works out in my favor quite frequently. It's easy to travel in and out of. There's nonstop flights pretty much everywhere. And I don't really want to pay taxes. I don't want to give the fucking government anything more than I absolutely have to.

0:21:50 - (Dave Burlin): There it is.

0:21:51 - (Tawni Nguyen): I work for the irs.

0:21:52 - (Michael Anthony): Yeah. Oh, this was a secret audit. Well, yeah, but like that to catch a tax evader. But if you think about where I started, it was community first. That's the thing that brought me here. Like I really wanted to. To be. I believe that if you want people in your life, you go and build the people around you. And it's not that I can't have great communities in other places. Cause I certainly have. But here it's like at any given time I can hit somebody up and it's not the bullshit you get in LA where people will flake out on you and they won't drive 33 seconds, you know, which is so true. It's just true.

0:22:36 - (Michael Anthony): And it's not the passive aggressive relationships you get in the Pacific Northwest. And then it's not the overly what do you do for me? Relationships that you get on the East Coast.

0:22:45 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:22:46 - (Michael Anthony): And in the Midwest, they're all just boring and nobody's doing anything.

0:22:48 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:22:50 - (Michael Anthony): All offense to the Midwest. I'm kidding. And so.

0:22:53 - (Dave Burlin): Except Tulsa.

0:22:54 - (Michael Anthony): I don't know what that means. And so I came. And so.

0:22:57 - (Tawni Nguyen): I don't know, it doesn't count.

0:22:59 - (Michael Anthony): And so I came to Vegas because it's an amalgamation of the best things that I like in people and community and restaurants and entertainment and fun. And there are people here that, I mean, I mean this in a genuine way because, you know, this like, there are people here where you're like, I need help. They will help you and in turn you can help them. And that is how you actually build community and business and relationships.

0:23:24 - (Dave Burlin): I love that, man. Thanks for hitting on all those things. And I echo that. And that's, I mean, it's funny because that's why we're, that's why we're doing the show.

0:23:32 - (Michael Anthony): Right.

0:23:32 - (Dave Burlin): That's why we wanted, we wanted to get this different, this different perspective of what Las Vegas is and who the people are here. That's not the Strip. Right. But. And you hit on a couple of great things about the. I didn't even mention the ecosystem. What's up?

0:23:46 - (Michael Anthony): I didn't even mention the Strip.

0:23:47 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, exactly. Not one time. So. So with that, based on what you've seen and how long have you been here now?

0:23:52 - (Michael Anthony): Almost two years.

0:23:53 - (Dave Burlin): Almost two years. So what do you see as the biggest challenge right now in the community, as an ecosystem, as the greater Las Vegas Valley? What do you see? The biggest challenge.

0:24:06 - (Michael Anthony): Two things come to mind immediately. There might be a third that comes out. Two things immediately, though. One, there's no hub. Nobody knows what's happening, when it's happening, how it's happening, why it's happening. That is completely missing. And unless I've just completely missed it myself, I don't know that it actually exists. Where, where's the community of entrepreneurs in here where we're like, Monday is this and Tuesday is that and Thursday is this. And so.

0:24:29 - (Michael Anthony): And look, I'm not going to be the one to do it. Full transparency because I just don't have time. Yeah, right. And you know, and I Think that's such a backwards way to like approach things, but I just don't. And I don't have the emotional energy to put into it. I would happily invest in it.

0:24:47 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:24:47 - (Michael Anthony): You know, I'd pay somebody to go and do it because that benefits me. Yeah, right. Same reason I don't clean my house. It doesn't benefit me. Not, not to be cocky, but I'm running businesses. I. An hour of cleaning my house makes no sense. The other thing that I think is problematic is the co working spaces here are not actually built in a way that are long term sustainable to build relationships. And I'm not being dismissive of them because I know how difficult it probably is to do that because I've built businesses that require people to come into them every day.

0:25:20 - (Michael Anthony): What I will say though is it'd be amazing to have that hub in a way that people don't feel like they're getting ripped off when they walk into your building. Yeah, right. That's hard. Yeah, that's a hard part about the city, especially. And again, there are some amazing people doing great things here and I do not want to be dismissive of that and I don't want it to come off in that way. And I would say the final piece would be, you know, I think it's really easy to get in that place where you kind of just exist on your own island.

0:25:50 - (Michael Anthony): And I think people are afraid to come out and really put on the line where they're at. Right. And the worst part about Las Vegas is posturing, because. And what I mean by this is, especially in the business and entrepreneurial world, people want to play pretend that they're so much more successful than they are, and then that actually traps them because instead of getting the help that they need, they're like, no, I'm good, Dave. I'm not good. I'm not making a million dollars a month.

0:26:21 - (Michael Anthony): I know many entrepreneurs in this city that are. So I'm like, bro, I'll sit down with some of the guys here. And I'm like, help me. Yeah, tell me what I don't know, for the love of God. Right. Because I want to go to that next level. I want to help more people and I want to have more impact. So those would be the things that come to mind immediately. But, you know, this is a young city. All things considered for entrepreneurs.

0:26:42 - (Michael Anthony): This is what I think. This is what. When I went to Miami six years ago, this is what Miami felt like. Six years right before Miami got all weird. But I think what is happening in Vegas is just massive opportunity.

0:26:57 - (Dave Burlin): I love that. I love that.

0:26:59 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah. And I love how you brought up where the city's at, too. Because now in this season of life, like, I feel like we're all here because we want to be of contribution, and we want to bring something to the city for the people that are transient here but are planning their roots here. And for that to happen, we have to set the foundation and make the right connections and be patient with it and not expect anything in return because we don't want to come off transactional either.

0:27:23 - (Tawni Nguyen): So I love the fact that you brought up the hub and this whole community thing, that that's why we got together. And it's like, what are we missing here? And how can we make it better? And how do we continue to do things with other people that are going in the same direction? We don't have to do the same things, you know? So as a man walking in your purpose, like, what do you feel this next season of you staying here and you plan on staying here, and what do you plan on doing in the city in the next, like, five to.

0:27:46 - (Michael Anthony): Ten years being mayor? And I say that, like, legitimately. I. I just think it would be fun, to tell you the truth.

0:27:56 - (Tawni Nguyen): You already planned it out.

0:27:58 - (Michael Anthony): Yeah, well, you know, here's. Here's the thing. Like, just the other day, I was looking at buying a condo downtown, and somebody got it right. Oh, man, perfect place. I loved it. Amazing view, penthouse style. It was like what I wanted, and somebody got it. But I'm looking at staying in Vegas because here's the thing. People do, they get to their upper limiting belief they'll have a great community, great relationship, great money, and they will abandon it, or they will sabotage it, or they will run from it.

0:28:27 - (Michael Anthony): And this is the longest I've been in one place in probably over a decade. Right? And so, like, I love this city, and I hate it, too, by the way. Like, I'm not going to pretend I don't.

0:28:39 - (Tawni Nguyen): Tell us more. Tell us more.

0:28:40 - (Michael Anthony): Oh, my God. Like, there's so much I don't like about it, but what I like overweighs that. And so what I see, especially in the near future, is continuing to grow my businesses here, to bring more people here for events, to be a part of the community in a deeper way, to do leadership, to teach people business and entrepreneurship. I'm working on putting together more dinners for entrepreneurs that's coming here very shortly now that I have the emotional bandwidth to deal with it.

0:29:08 - (Michael Anthony): And ultimately, this idea I Sat down with the former attorney general a couple of weeks ago, and we just talked politics. Because I'm like, can a kid from the hood with no high school diploma become mayor of Las Vegas? Like, maybe.

0:29:22 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. I love that.

0:29:25 - (Michael Anthony): That's great.

0:29:26 - (Dave Burlin): Was that George? We got to get George.

0:29:28 - (Michael Anthony): That's George. I'll connect you guys.

0:29:29 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. Oh, we're connected. Yeah. Yeah, there's. Yeah, that's great. I. I didn't even think it. I. I need to reconnect with him and reach out for sure.

0:29:36 - (Michael Anthony): Amazing.

0:29:37 - (Dave Burlin): So. So when it comes to that, as we start to close, you've brought up a lot of really good points of what you love, some of the things that you hate, and the big challenges that you see. If you could give one piece of advice to somebody who. It's two people, but it's the same challenge, right? For somebody that's looking at breaking out of being stuck, that's already here, right?

0:29:58 - (Michael Anthony): That.

0:29:58 - (Dave Burlin): That's. That knows what's possible, right? I've been there. I've been here for six years now. And there was times where I came here with all the big, starry eyes, driving in a rental car one way, knowing everything was possible. And then there's been seasons where it felt like nothing's possible, right? For those people that are stuck or those people that are, you know, looking at coming this way, and they see an opportunity to come here and be the better version of themselves, step into their power, build their business, whatever that is, what piece of advice would you give to them?

0:30:28 - (Michael Anthony): Great question. Move. I mean that, like, if you really, truly feel stuck, leave. You know, one of the things that I think about, so years ago, if you're familiar, Grant Cardone from 10X and all the crazy stuff that Grant Cardone does, especially in real estate. Grant invested in my company, so I'm one of the few people in the world that can ever say Grant Cardone actually gave them money. And what is one of the most beautiful things that I've taken from him is he said, in order to get something in life, you have to give something up.

0:31:02 - (Michael Anthony): And you may have to give up Vegas. You may love this place. It may be the place of your dreams. You may love the dinners and the heat and the fact that you can drive like a maniac and you're probably not getting pulled over, right? You can love all those things, but then at what point are you sacrificing what you could have? And in order to get what you want, you have to give something up? And sometimes that's just an identity to become you, the fullest version of who you're capable of being.

0:31:30 - (Michael Anthony): You have to give up who you used to be. That's really, really, really difficult. That even, like the moving thing is so crazy, right? Because there's people, and this tends to be a very strong Midwest trait. They're not leaving my friends. Dude, at 29 years old, I left Indiana fine. I was like, I'm not coming back. This is like a not coming back situation. Like, I love you, goodbye. See, if I see you, I go back there once a year, maybe to see my family, see my little brothers and my sister.

0:32:04 - (Michael Anthony): That's it. And even that is like torture to me. I had to give that up to become the person I am today, to become the man I want to be, eventually, whenever the time is right, the husband and father, to become the entrepreneur I want to be. I'm going to have to give up my beliefs about who I am and what I'm capable of doing. I'm going to have to give up friendships, which is a really difficult thing for people to talk about.

0:32:31 - (Michael Anthony): I'm going to have to give up habits. I'm going to have to give up the way I spend, the way I think, the content I consume. Dude, one of my favorite things in the world. I don't think I've ever said this before. I love Project Pat so much. He is a rapper from the Midwest that I used to just get ripped high stone to. And his songs were like chicken head cheese and dope. Murder, murder. And I'm like, how does that serve me today to put that into my brain and into my subconscious when that is the way that I operated my life as a kid and I saw the byproduct of that.

0:33:07 - (Michael Anthony): And so I'm like, well, I gotta give up Project Pat. I'm not saying I'm going to Kenny G, by the way, but I'm saying I had to give up Project Pat. Yeah, right. And then the thing that, that people need to really understand is when they're in these transitions, transitions are the greatest space for growth because this is where you're going to find out who you are and what you're made out of. And I look at life very simply. It's like, are you going to do what is required or not?

0:33:31 - (Michael Anthony): When I was 26 and I had this rock bottom moment, I'm staring in that mirror yelling at myself, I came up with this question, and the question was, what are you willing to do to have the life that you want to have? And the answer Was no excuses, just results. And right now, I swear to God on my bathroom mirror and giant Sharpie is no excuses, just results. When I travel, I put it on the mirror of the hotel room. Like, it's just. It is a part of my life. And every single day I wake up and I asked myself like, what excuse am I making that is keeping me from the life that I want to have?

0:34:09 - (Michael Anthony): For some people it's staying in Las Vegas. For other people, it's not coming to Las Vegas.

0:34:16 - (Dave Burlin): Nailed it.

0:34:16 - (Tawni Nguyen): Well, that's a different perspective, right? It's not coming to Las Vegas because if they have certain addictions or certain desires or where they feel led, that the city might corrupt them further than the life that they say they want. That's actually very fresh. I didn't think of that. It's like, don't come here to begin with because you don't know. You know?

0:34:32 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:34:33 - (Tawni Nguyen): I love that you framed change your input and measure your output so well. And the no excuses thing is because part of the motivational culture on social media, a lot of the Instagram reels are just about motivation, but it some sort of lacks compassion or kindness to the self. And you sound like a very self aware person and you know that you have to work on certain habits and letting go of identities.

0:34:57 - (Tawni Nguyen): What are some of those last things that you feel like you need to shed for you to enter this next season of life and become the next season of you?

0:35:04 - (Michael Anthony): Well, I'm in it right now. Like, I am a firm believer of always being in transition and I'm transitioning my business right now. It's weird. I don't even know if you can say transition these days. People confuse it.

0:35:14 - (Dave Burlin): Well, Meltzer corrected me on that when I used that word, he said expansion.

0:35:20 - (Michael Anthony): Yeah.

0:35:20 - (Dave Burlin): And I was like, I love that. I love that.

0:35:22 - (Michael Anthony): So I'm expanding right now. He also got me out. Speaking of Meltzer, just quickly he got me out of saying busy and moved me into saying active.

0:35:29 - (Dave Burlin): I love it.

0:35:29 - (Michael Anthony): So you know, he's fucking genius.

0:35:31 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:35:31 - (Michael Anthony): Anyway.

0:35:32 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:35:33 - (Michael Anthony): And so being in this expansion that I'm in right now, specifically in look at, let's look at health, wealth, relationship. I'll just give you all my goals because I talked about it. So matters health. I'm like, okay, can I get my six pack back? Like that is so superficial.

0:35:47 - (Dave Burlin): Can we, can we get our six packs back?

0:35:49 - (Michael Anthony): Well, good luck. I'll help you. I will be like, send me your lunch, Dave. I saw you eating four Cinnabuns.

0:35:55 - (Dave Burlin): I had a snickerdoodle protein cookie.

0:35:59 - (Michael Anthony): Yeah, I bet you did. So healthy. Six of them. And so anyway, like, that's it. Like, so, you know, am I choosing the salad or the cheeseburger? Right. Cause as someone who was formerly morbidly obese, who got themselves into amazing shape, I've done it once. I can do it again. So that's health. Wealth is. I'm transitioning. I'm expanding the business by taking away. And so I'm moving to actually only coaching men.

0:36:22 - (Michael Anthony): And the reason why is I think that there is a. A huge gap. I don't think men are served appropriately. I think we have a lot of men who were raised by women who are now getting coached by women. I don't think that's the solution to their problems of masculinity. I think that a lot of men look up to me, and as a leader, I want to be able to speak into them more. And I've been able to help a tremendous number of women who have changed their life, and it's so beautiful.

0:36:48 - (Michael Anthony): But I have so many friends who can help them, and there's just not enough guys. And so I'm going to lean into that deeper, and that's going to be very difficult. And then finally, in terms of relationships, and I'll add this to my beef with Vegas, it's hard to date here when you're actually being intentional. Really easy to hook up, harder to be intentional. So, you know, getting wifey on my vision board.

0:37:09 - (Dave Burlin): I love that. I love that. Thank you. But all.

0:37:11 - (Michael Anthony): Let me. Let me finish. Because what you asked me was like, what are the things I have to give up? Well, in order to do that, I have to give up everything that I thought I was until this moment, and that's what people have to do. You want to become you, the next version of you, the elevation of you, the expansion of you. You have to literally give up who you used to be.

0:37:33 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:37:34 - (Michael Anthony): And even though this version of me is, like, great, I love this version of me. It inspires people. I'm useful. Dave. Hey, come be on the show. Like, that is a thing, but it's not the thing.

0:37:46 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. I can. I can absolutely attest to this. You're 500% right. There's. There's the work that it's going to take to do it. There are shortcuts. There's very viable ones. See Episode with Josh Halle. But there. But it's still work. Even. Even those routes are. It's still going to be a lot of work, and the work doesn't ever stop. So thank you for being really honest and candid in that. But those are, those are great examples of stuff. And I think about that every day. I think about the food that I eat. I think about what relationships mean to me and how to let go of the way that I used to think, the way that got me into different situations. So you nailed it.

0:38:32 - (Dave Burlin): And keep using that expansion word, brother. It changes. It changes everything. Last thing, where can people find you? Where can people connect? Where can they learn more? Where can the guys jump into your coaching world? How do they enter your sphere, my friend?

0:38:46 - (Michael Anthony): Yeah, well, first, gratitude. Thanks for having me. This is fun. And I am everywhere on social at Michael Unbroken. And then I wrote a hundred emails and videos that are 100% free for men about my understanding about becoming a man who was raised pretty much by himself and has had to navigate the world. And these are, to me, the most important things that I've ever done, regardless of the other books, the other podcast, the other things.

0:39:22 - (Michael Anthony): And if you go to Men'sMonday.com, i don't want anything from you. I mean, I'll probably sell you some stuff eventually. But these hundred emails and videos in this community is free. So just go to mensmonday.com I love that.

0:39:35 - (Dave Burlin): Thank you for sharing it. Well, that's about a wrap. Just one final question. If you could wave a magic wand in Las Vegas, since you're plugging in roots here, what's one thing that you'd really like to see in the next three to five years besides you becoming mayor?

0:39:53 - (Michael Anthony): Yeah, I mean, that's going to happen. Magic wand. This is just because I keep seeing it on social media. In Dubai, they have those giant umbrellas that cover the streets, so it's not 8,000 degrees. If we could just get that going because I love being hot. But bro, I was trying to explain this to somebody the other day. Vegas winter is basically end of May through right now, beginning of August. You don't go outside and instead of putting on like coats and hats and mittens, you're like, I'm barely wearing any clothes. It's 8,000 degrees outside.

0:40:32 - (Michael Anthony): So that.

0:40:33 - (Dave Burlin): I love it.

0:40:35 - (Tawni Nguyen): That was unexpected, right?

0:40:37 - (Dave Burlin): I love it. Well, I think that's a wrap, my friend. Thank you so much. And we look forward to catching again soon. Let me know how I can help with any of the things that you're doing and we'll be sure and have you back as you continue to crush it.

0:40:50 - (Michael Anthony): Thank you.

0:40:50 - (Tawni Nguyen): If you like what you've heard, catch us on social media at Pursue Vegas or reach out to any one of us. Let us know how we can help you, offer you anything in our network to serve you in this next season of life. So thank you.