Latest / The Vincere Project / Episode 8. That's the spirit
Transcript
- Vincent: Man. Feels like last episode we were talking about who gets better, who doesn't get better. You don't want to end up in purgatory. And there's certain things you can do to avoid that as an individual or a group or a team, whether you're leading a large institution or your mom and pop business, or you're just an individual on a journey trying to experience life. And what do you know, spirit airlines has dropped in our lap as a case study for that. And I'm not going to rip on spirit airlines or pick it apart. Mary and I are chatting the other morning over breakfast and immediately the superior lens headline or it was on face chat or something. There goes the light. So now we're blue and that's what we're going to be today. And that's okay too. But yeah, good riddance, right? They talk about not getting better. That is an airline that was doomed from the beginning. Their business model was cheap, low, uncomfortable, poor service, add ons for everything. don't have time for that lost luggage a few times with them delays every time we've gone anywhere. I think we had one good flight that we checked off to say and give them a little bit of credit. That was to Central America. The flight to Central America was actually pretty good. Yeah, bad experience. I don't know. That's my experience. Some people love Spirit. They love it. think it's a bus ride. It's discount airfare, whatever. not me, I want to I want a little bit of comfortability for the purposes of that price point. So if it means paying an extra hundred bucks or extra 500 bucks sometimes, or like, I'm always going to pay that at this phase of my life. Because never, never elbowing and jockeying for position on an armrest. That's, that's like poor people stuff. Yeah, poor, poor people stuff. They they they go, what if what if what if I don't have I have to share the armor like what if what if what if right like what if like, limit it all the what ifs. just going to make sure we don't have to jockey for enormous but your spirit lines, right? Like, and why does capitalism work? It favors the innovation, progression, ambition, right? And that's, that's really what I was kind of going back and forth. And, know, the owner of success or failure, it's unfailed, fair spirit lines, those are real people that lose jobs, but they're, they're just going to chop it up for parts. And then they're going to sell the parts to other people. And those terminals are already getting bid on or got bought out like, oh, United will put a few more flights there American will put a more flights there, some of the regional airports, they'll get crushed. But airlines haven't been honoring trade agreements since the beginning of time. So nothing changes. And that's not in my lifetime. That's long before stuff when I was a kid or whatever. And now we're here. And so my personal, I'm not a financial guru, but I don't particularly enjoy thinking about or even considering investing in airlines. think it's it's it's foolhardy. it's razor thin margins on airline experience and very poor use of right? In terms of what they earn, they don't grow it at any rate that interest this guy for a regular minor little retail investor, not even a little bit. Anyway, that's my stuff. look, capitalism, gets to play, but not gets to win. Everyone gets to play, not everyone gets to win, right? And you you go to the folks that have more of a left leaning social justice mindset and they'll tell you a story about everybody that's been a victim has always been a perpetrator. Nothing has been equal, fair or just at any given point in time because of race, religion, color, all of those things. always sort of confounding variable that you can't account for in terms of why it didn't work out. Yeah, they're always counting other people's stuff. Right. folks that have that scarcity mindset, that lean left more to the socialist Definitely the communist folks. Right. They want to hoard it all and then distribute to who's the most worthy in the story based on criteria that's make believe. So yeah, it doesn't have to work. It's not to be a product that anybody likes or needs or wants. know, and that's that's a problem. That's a struggle because you look at spirit lines, they generally tailor to that particular consumer. Right. So there is a place in the market for that that want the lowest end. And so then the flip side is that people will say, well, that's all that I can afford. about you. That's your belief structure. Right? And I'm not saying somebody needs to own or have the right inability to fly private or be in a private plane or first class. I'm you just need to give consideration to a little bit of planning and a process and be able to put yourself in a position to maximize your time and attention. That's it. Right? ⁓ That's There's a reason Spirit Islands developed a reputation of what they became, right? In many ways. And I saw it in firsthand, right? Those those videos of people acting out obnoxiously, being rude to staff, to each other, right? It's not saying that I haven't seen that stuff on other airlines or in other airports of Atlantic City or regional airport here in South Jersey. Yeah, flying's a difficult thing and stressful thing for most people. I think the biggest challenge is when you're expecting kind of behavior and you're setting conditions for it to be that way, that is exactly what you're going to get. And so last podcast I mentioned referred to that as purgatory. I think that's it. think it's like purgatory. think a spirit alliance flight is close to purgatory as you're ever gonna get. I think it's actually a physical form of purgatory. You never really actually be comfortable, right? But you're not quite uncomfortable, right? You never actually have any privacy or space, but you're never actually touching on top of people except for the people that are rude and with the elbow thing and they're kind of like trying to establish that that's their space. And then there's an idiot like me trying to avoid them at all costs. I don't wanna talk. Look, I'm. I'm walking in like this, like what's her face in that movie? That's me walking, because I can't psychologically be in that space. Never, right? And then God forbid, what if somebody touches and help us, one of my kids or my wife? That's a weird moment. That's just a weird moment for everybody to include me. I have something to lose, right? And I'm stupid. I don't need drugs or alcohol attacks, stupid, right? I can't be in that kind of environment. So yeah, no. Good riddance of spirit airlines. I feel bad for the folks that lose their jobs. But that's okay, Breeze is coming behind them or somewhere they're aligned. You throw your application in there, right? And you planted all the things that spirit did wrong when they hire you. So then you can improve those things at your new airline. And I think that's how we make the world a little bit better. But yeah, that scarcity mindset drives that stuff and creates that. And there's a market for those things that will always exist. But I think here's it, right? That scarcity or abundance mindset speaks to the capitalism thing and why capitalism works and it speaks to innovation and things like that. ⁓ we need some sort of social net to catch people? 100%. I've been on the receiving end of those things at times in my life and I benefited from them. I needed them and I'm not unique. And there are other people that are 100 % period of time might need a plus up, whether it's in healthcare and a financial situation. We have a very forgiving system to folks that commit crimes, whether you believe that or not. think bail reform has been a little bit extreme. But if you have a mindset that is an abundance, Abundant people are always thinking opportunity, right? They consider risk all the time and what their personal risk threshold is in comparison to the task, right? Am I as brave as this group of people or this thing in terms of what I'm gonna do? ⁓ I consider what I know, I would consider what I don't know, right? the biggest thing that people that seek abundance want, right? They want to be treated well, the law of reciprocity. All right, so when I show up to the airline, I want the line to move at whatever pace and whatever selected thing you have. If you have, you know, maybe you're in Newark airport and you're at such a high status, you're pulling up to the side of the airport and they sneak you onto the plane like Governor Murphy. He was on one of our flights, right? A turd, total turd. total turd, right? Or you know, like a pro athlete, right? He pops up all of they're on the flight. You're like, Oh, God, like I didn't see him out in the area. Like, of course you wouldn't use six foot five, 300 pounds. Like you would know exactly who he is. Like he can't be out in the public and TSA and get hounded. That's crazy. So airlines have this thing set up at your major regional airports. Even for regular people, if you had the money, can buy that or you fly private. That's another level. Like my buddy says the best way, right? Yeah. It's like, yeah, dude, he's like, drive up to the air swirl and my family gets out, we get on the plane and then I wake up and I'm in Fort Lauderdale two hours later. That's a thing of beauty, right? Like that isn't a bad thing. That's a good thing, but it's not something to be jealous or envious of either, right? Somebody had to create a system that created that for them and generate enough capital and resources and a lot of reciprocity along the way to create the machine system that generate enough income and wealth to do that. And I think that's a transition, right? Between rich and wealth. Every single person in United States of America, whether they're here legally or illegally, is one of the richest people on earth. You have access to the most the world, bar none. There's nowhere else. There's nowhere else. Now I get it. Some people are like, ⁓ it's so much better in the mountains of Central America or no, know, the Europeans figured this out and you know, back in Africa, whatever. Look, I've been to all those places. They're wonderful. The people are beautiful. They're great. It's not for me. I'm too ambitious. And only in America can you go up the system and come back down. To me, that is wonderful because it's a calculation of risk. Right? You'll have people, right? That will point to things and be like, oh, it's generational and this. Yeah, we all have a story. Grandma, grandpa, all the way back to the beginning of the time somebody had it duffer and rougher and uphill both ways, disease, famine, war. Take account inventory of your own stuff and then make a self-select. I'm not going to stay in purgatory though, because this is hell right here. I managed to create hell while I'm alive, right? Like, hey, can I get to a place or a heaven or bliss of peace? Because if I achieve peace of mind in my process, or maybe I never achieve peace of mind, but I'm in the pursuit of peace of mind, can equal stable mental health. I can represent, I can present, I can share stability with other people. And if you think about numbers and you put them down on paper, of course, that's hard to say when you an empty stomach. But I would tell in any situation, because I've been homeless, I've been without housing, I've been estranged from family, I've been in... I've been in places where they take all the sharp objects and all the strings away from you because you can't be trusted. reality, you can't be trusted. ⁓ behaving in a way that tells us there's something about what you're doing ⁓ isn't gonna work for us. And I gotta keep an eye on what you're doing with the rest of the people that you're with in the Polar Bear exhibit here. That's right? Like, ⁓ where am gonna go now? Where am gonna live? I don't know what I'm gonna do. And the reality is I didn't wanna stop doing drugs. Me and else that was out in Kensington, we didn't wanna stop doing drugs. Everybody, that's it. 95 % have a place to go. Access to resources. but I gotta get sober. That's It's foul. they're trapped. They're stuck. Yeah, it's all true. Everybody is. And there's complex trauma in that story. But man, versus abundance, right? I think abundance is where you want to be. I don't think want to get caught in the spirit of alliance. That's purgatory. It's not hell. It's purgatory. It's actual purgatory. So your experience is purgatory. That's what purgatory So if you're okay with all that, then I now know in my mind, heaven or hell don't matter to you. It doesn't make any sense. You're okay with that, what that is, but that is to me very much purgatory and not everybody wins, right? That's the part everybody gets to play. Not everybody wins, right? So I think this is maybe the biggest thing in all of it, right? Is if you think about why a company goes out and or an individual or a community or society. And I think our government is estimation as an example of that. think these businesses are, I think individuals are, I think we have a society and system that's very forgiving to individuals. And that's probably what I don't like is how the federal government bails out. larger corporations, companies and entities. I struggle with that in my mind sometimes because I have a small business and there's no bailout coming for H- Hour Me or Brooke fall apart tomorrow at this phase of this thing. Like it's going to struggle to grow into what I think it can be in 10, 20, 30 years because like, you know, anybody any significant, you're going to need capital at some point. So in the next few years, when I start going to friends and family, it's not a judgment or assessment evaluation of what they think of the relationship or how I value them in my story. It's just like, Hey, if you want to make a bet, Let's make a bet on H-hour and Vince. These are some of the things I figured out and I can show you how proud I'll be to share that quarterly dividend with you. Because I have a good idea of how to put your capital to use within this entity to generate returns year over year of a long period of time to satisfy our relationship, to help us create something that's really, we're really proud of. Maybe that's what we're doing. And I think in that is like, whether it's a scarcity mindset, that wouldn't be the person I'm going to engage with or talk to. They're not my partner, but the abundant people. whether they have or don't have, which makes it more dynamic, right? Because let's say 10 grand is everything. That's 100 % of what somebody has. They're like, hey, I don't have much. I can give you $10,000 towards this thing because I believe in you and I trust that you're gonna do exactly what you said you're gonna do and you're gonna really hard. You're gonna work really hard on this stuff. I'm gonna take that equally as serious as to somebody that's maybe more independently wealthy, but they cut a check for hundred grand. It's like, yeah, they have to count and look in the well and be like, all right, I'm giving a hundred grand to Vince. This is serious. But they know I'm a serious guy because the paper doesn't even matter. Because it flip it around and like things get messed up on that. I just show up. That's how it is. And I'm backing it with my words. So that's about being credible. It's abundant. I want to share that with people. So yeah, that's the two mindsets. For me, there's people that are like, oh, I got this great idea, but I let Vince bet on it. I want to bet on good ideas. I'm an investor. believe in those things. And I believe my neighbors when they go to work at Costco or Home Depot or you logged into your Adobe today. Right? And I watched that babe, I'm hunting and I'm tracking it for like two years. It's up here at five and boom, it hits 220. And I'm like, that's it. 350s, the alert goes off. I got a certain zero in and focus, focus, boom. It's like a hunt, stalk the prey, stalk the prey, stalk it. It's dead, right? And so now I know at that price point, right? Based on the simple math of Ben Graham, Warren Buffett and all these super smart people, you just apply that same math, right? And you see that the margin of safety has been built in. The risk has been calculated, right? And It could potentially go to zero. That's still a real thing. But statistically speaking, somebody logged into their PDF today. If you made it this far on this podcast, I guarantee today, if you're in a business or office setting, you're going to open a PDF or you're going to sign a PDF or you're to use PDF because it's built into the workflow. So I'm betting on them to use Firefly and AI to weave it into their workflow to can you do the mission and keep that subscription model going. Yeah, because that's what helps me see the world through that abundance mindset. There's people out there doing things that are really hard to do. They're much smarter than me. Right. But counseling, when it comes to that particular thing and over delivering human services for people and corporations, we're winning in that space. We know exactly what we're doing at this point. We have a product we want to share with the world. So I think if that is what I disclose, right. It's like last last last podcast I shared and I want my kids to know this, right. It's like building a business revealed all of my character flaws investing. It let my psychological demons creep on me and it still does sometimes. I got to award them off and I work on that with my coach therapist or whatever. you know, what is all of this for? Why? It's to build a degree of independence so you can do what you want to do with who you want to do it when you want to do it, right? And that's all relative. That's all relative. And I think a good tool or principle for life in support of that is avoid ⁓ debt people, companies with high debt and, and, or, and, or other people running on debt. doesn't mean you don't have a mortgage doesn't have a car note doesn't mean you might have some sort of credit card or other stupid like that's not what I'm suggesting. It's just saying people with high debt companies with high debt and or people that run on debt. Right. And I think that speaks to Ben Franklin's one of my favorites. It's one of his virtues like free of vice free of right like you do those two things in the United States of America way it's designed. You can have a life of abundance. It doesn't mean free of problems, issues and dilemmas. You still get to all the anxieties, the fears and the stresses if you go West, right? Or if you decide to state claim or you open up shop or you build the frontier, go and you're out there clapping beaver furs or whatever you do. You set up the post or you're running the brothel out at fucking Carson city or whatever it is, right? See somebody catches that, make it this far. But yeah, what we got. Avoid companies with debt, man. So true, but. avoid people with high debt, avoid companies with debt and people that run on debt. I think those are just good rules for life. right, cheers. Enjoy the day.