SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to the VC Code, where we unlock real stories of small business owners who've battled chaos, crushed doubt, and conquered their challenges. Faith, family, and finances. No fluff, just raw, honest conversations that decode the path to victory. One story at a time. What is up? Thank you for joining us today as we explore our latest purpose-driven journey, the AI Edge, where we unpack human-centric AI enablement, how seven to nine figure founders are using AI to amplify their identity and values, shifting from technological overwhelm to extreme operational ownership. What happens when an entrepreneur with 15 years of human-first experience spends a thousand consecutive days in the trenches of AI? You get a leader who doesn't just use tools, he builds futures. Today's guest is in the top 0.01% of AI users globally, but he's here to talk about your heart, not your hardware. A coach for high performers, Rob Cressy is a host of a thousand-plus podcast episodes and the man helping seven to nine figure founders become AI dangerous. Rob is once again another Dan Martell Elite Mastermind Connection. He is a high performance catalyst who has achieved with what few have done a thousand-day streak of daily AI integration. He represents the bridge between cold logic of technology and the warm energy of human leadership. By focusing on being AI dangerous rather than just a technologist, he empowers leaders to scale their output without using their soul. We are exploring identity-led automation. We're diving into Rob's eight core values and how AI is the ultimate lever for yes and leadership. We'll filter Rob's relentless energy through our four pillars faith, family, fitness, finance. Rob, welcome to the show, brother. Joe, super excited to be here. I really appreciate you having me on. Absolutely. Thanks for taking the time. We're gonna jump right into the breakthrough, man. A thousand-day discipline. Your value number five is the live in action, and number six is be relentless. You've used AI every single day for over three years, and that streak's probably grown since I last spoke with you. For the leader who is scrambling just to keep up with their inbox, what was the internal breakthrough that happened around day 500 where the tech stopped being a tool and started being an extension of your identity?

SPEAKER_02 2:48

Yeah, and it starts even with the language of the question, because there is two ways that you can show up in the AI era with a scarcity mindset, oh my God, I don't want to get left behind, I don't have enough time, or an abundant mindset, seeing this is the greatest opportunity we have ever had in the history of the world to grow our business, make our dreams happen, and create positive impact in the world. Because Joe, the thing that if you could see my DMs and the conversations that I would have, even people who are interested in working with me, guess what? One of the number one things they say for why they don't move forward with AI. I just don't have enough time. But here's the thing that doesn't make sense to me AI by design is there to help you create more time. So you're telling me the thing that helps you create more time, we don't have the time to learn and integrate. And one of the big shifts that can happen, and I know this speaks your language, is when you look at AI from the lens of leadership. How do you want to lead in the AI era? It's not about tech tools and automation, it's not around I've got a background in AI or I'm a coder. I don't have any of that, but I'm a leader with a growth mindset. And the AI era is just like a Tuesday for me as an entrepreneur because you're gonna have to learn something new you've never done before. There's gonna be challenges and there's gonna be obstacles. And my goal every day is to turn a dollar into a dollar fifty.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

I love it. I love it. How do you maintain that one is always greater than zero mindset when the world feels like it's moving at a hundred? Because I'm not most people, right?

SPEAKER_02 4:45

So uh simple scales and more does not actually mean more in the AI era, where when you have so many choices. So, like, if you've ever been to the Cheesecake Factory, you get a menu, and I've only been there like once or twice in my life. There is legitimately advertising in the menu. I was like, this is nuts. You're eating somewhere, and other places are advertising while you're just looking. And they're like, here's chicken and shrimp and ribs and pasta and seafood, and you're like, there is a thousand choices here, but then you go to your local sushi place, your favorite place, and they're like, here's the 10 rolls. You're like, Well, this is way more palatable. I could just choose the three that I like and let's go. So the reason why I like to say stacking ones over zeros is because uh I've got over 500 hours of coaching entrepreneurs one-on-one group coaching from the stage around AI. And the term that gets used the most, and this is everywhere in AI, is I'm just so overwhelmed. It's moving so fast, I've got so much going on, I don't know what to do. What is it that thing that scales? Simple. Let's stack a one. I shipped one thing over a zero. I did nothing. The same is true with how do you learn and grow in AI? Stack a one, 10 minutes, not a zero. Oh, I just got so much going on, I just can't get around to AI. Because Joe, here's the true bridge for anybody who wants to become great at AI. Get in your first 20 hours. That is it. It just so happens for me, I got in my first 20 hours in about four days. Right? The second I used AI, actually, it was Chat GBT. I used it the first week it came out back in December 2022. Within the first minute, I felt like I used the internet for the first time. I saw the next decade of business and where things were going. I was all in. For the next four days, I used AI every moment that I could. So I got in my 20 hours, but a lot of other people, I don't got enough time. There's just so much going on. And then they're like, oh, AI doesn't work for me. It's like, well, no, it's the way that you design this for yourself as a leader.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Yeah, you know, it there's a lot of excuses out there. There's a there's a lot of reasons, just make the room, right? You know, you get you if you audit, like I actually track all the time I I spend in a day, whether it's going to the bathroom, whether it's scrolling, whether it's with a client or I'm eating. I want to know where my time's going. So I track that. We all have time. If we all tracked our time, we'd easily find a couple hours a day where we can definitely learn AI. So it's just a mindset shift. And Rob can definitely help you uh shift that mindset. Now, when it comes to becoming AI dangerous, you coach founders of seven to nine figure companies. Many of them are brilliant at their craft, but feel like analog dinosaurs in a digital age. In terms of finance and operations, how do you teach a CEO to become AI dangerous without them needing to learn a single line of code?

SPEAKER_02 8:03

Because it has nothing to do with tech tools and code. And the unlock legitimately is when you realize everything you need is already inside of you. Because what matters in AI, gold in, gold out, garbage in, garbage out. Or in many cases, put a zero in, you're gonna get a zero out. So the AI era is completely unromantic about who you are, what you do, what your title is, and how much money is in your bank account of your business. It says, show me your receipts. And time, as you said, Joe, is the most honest assessment of where you actually are. So when I'm sitting there talking with CEOs and leaders of teams, I sit there and my virtual assistant is better at AI than they are. Why? Because I have a system and process for training them to be better at AI, and I create inside of their schedule this is how you're gonna learn AI over the course of the next month. And what do I do? Watch one video a day for my program for the next 30 days, implement it, drop me a message in Slack of what you've learned. Cool, moving on to the next. And the key is that when you understand that it is experience that compounds. So, how does somebody who has no expertise at all in AI, I did not know this existed four years ago, right? I ran a sports marketing agency for a decade. How do you get paid to speak on stage as a speaker around AI with no background in it? Uh, you teach yourself how to do it, and then you integrate it into your business. And then, like we're cut from Joe, you naturally share this with other people along the way. And then a few people are like, wow, Rob, I would love to learn how to do some of those things that you're doing as well. Cool. The fastest way to get somewhere is to go with someone who's already doing it. For those CEOs at the top, this is all around seeing this as an opportunity, not an obligation. I'm not pushing a rock uphill to convince you that AI is for you. I work with the people who are like, I want to change the world and do great things. Let's go.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Amen, brother. Amen. And I think people get in their own way, like we've already said. When it comes to being the best version of themselves, a lot of people stunt themselves by caring what other people think. And they're not honest and genuine and authentic with how they live their life. But I think AI has the opportunity for us to be genuine, authentic with AI, right? Without feeling judged. How does how does your value of talk with candor help a team move faster during AI adoption?

SPEAKER_02 10:51

Because I come from a backwards approach and philosophy to AI than the majority of the world. I come from a human first, hard first approach to AI. Well, what in the world does that mean? I lead with my identity, my vision, and my values because I know what's about to happen in the world and it's happening already. Everybody's gonna outsource their authenticity and connection to the robots. We're gonna automate more, things are gonna become more sterile because you can just go into Chad GPT or Cloud right now and say, create me a blog post for a finance company that helps save them money on tax strategy, and it's gonna spit something out there. But it's gonna be very generic. It's not gonna come from the lived experience that Rob and Joe have around what we're doing, right? So our ability to keep being more human in a world that is going to outsource humanity becomes an absolute superpower. Because once again, Joe, what was that thing that I said? Everything you need is already inside of you. So your key to the next level of AI is, and I say this to my clients, take what's in your head and get it into AI. Half-baked idea, friction, challenge, dream, goal, vision. And with candor being one of my core values, I'm going to talk to you the way that I want you to talk to me. Well, the same is true with how we work with AI because you know what matters the most in AI? Context. Your ability to not just say, write me a marketing strategy. It goes, write me a marketing strategy for posting one short form video a day on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. I want to batch record these things. I'm going to have my virtual assistant do this process. I want to lead with a hook. I want to end with a CTA. And when I want to design this in my brand, right? Look at those two different people. Which one of those do you think is going to get better results? All I did was add on an extra 12 seconds. So it's not like this is significantly harder. And here's the word, Joe: intention. So part of being human first, heart first, is I am intentional about every single aspect of my life, every word that comes out. So with candor, one of the things I believe in for self-creation is abracadabra. I create as I speak. Your ability to speak things into existence. The same way where those of us who believe in visualization and mental rehearsal, we do that because your mind moves towards what it is most familiar with. The same is true with how you create and what you put into AI. So someone who operates at our level will have significantly different inputs into AI than somebody who is working at McDonald's because they don't have the language and the mindset and the vocabulary to get the level of results that you and I do.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

Yeah, because we believe in people. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 13:57

100%. Hopefully they're listening to this episode right now, legitimately. And this is the thing, Joe, because that CEO who sits there and says, Oh, I'm 60 years old making 500 grand. AI doesn't matter for me and my company, can get crushed by a dude at McDonald's who says, All I want to do is learn AI. I'm going to listen from the best in the world. I'm going to integrate this here. And that's why this becomes the great equalizer. Because one of the episodes that I previously created for my podcast was called Falling Behind with AI is invisible. Because that leader at the top who's not doing anything with AI, they're not going to know why slowly their customer retention goes down, why their user acquisition isn't working as well. Why everything isn't humming as well. Oh, it must be the market. It couldn't be us, it couldn't be what we're doing or not doing, right? There's an invisible tax being paid by every single person who chooses to not integrate AI into what they do. But Rob, I don't like AI. I'm not a tech person. I'm not saying everything has to be about AI. I'm just saying this train is not stopping. It would probably be wise to think about how we can integrate a strategy for this and figure it out along the way.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

And also question whether you're trying to be a self-fulfilling prophet. Is it doom and gloom because you're actually lazy, right? Are you just too scared to actually do something different? You know, there's a lot there, um, especially with like intentionality. It requires effort, right? To be intentional. And that's why, you know, people who are going to do well are the people that are going to intentionally be comfortable with being uncomfortable, learning this stuff, and they're going to be able to spend more time like you and I, Rob. Yeah, sure, things will be automated in the background, but that doesn't mean we sit back and we relax. That means we get to spend more meaningful time, more intentional time with our clients, with the people we care about, and making more memories and driving that connection in a world where it seems like connection is going away further from the truth. If you're doing it right, you can develop better connections.

SPEAKER_02 16:19

This is an example of this. You and I are both in Dan Martell's community. We are friends with people in the community. We've never met in person before. There's a lot of people who have not met in person before, but we're cut from the same cloth, we have similar values, we show up certain ways as high performers, and then we find ways to share value with each other and connect here, and we are paying this forward for everybody else. And quite frankly, this is simple. Audit your inputs, right? Are you learning from Dan Martell or are you learning from the news that will tell you where you fall on the AI spectrum?

SPEAKER_00 16:57

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. One of my favorite values, Rob, is radiate positivity. You believe energy is transferable. In the family pillar, how's your AI mastery allowed you to show up better at home?

SPEAKER_02 17:12

Because I'm the opposite of perfect, right? So I'm very aware of where I have holes in my boat. And at times this can become a high performance paradox because we're so intentional, we see everything going on in our business, in our life, and our mindset. So we see all of the holes in the boat, which is good because we can plug all of the holes in the boat. But at the same time, a lot of people don't even have the levels of awareness to where they can see areas where they can improve. So one of the earliest ways that I learned how to use AI, this is back when I was using Chat GBT um more prolifically. Now I'm using Claude more, was I would coach myself, right? So I'm a coach, and of course I have coaches that I'm on the receiving end of because I constantly want to grow and get better. But why? Because I want to show up for my family better. And this goes back to the human first, heart first perspective to doing all of these things. It does not mean that I'm in the AI era because I was like, I'm doing this for my family first. But my family's at the top of all of this, creating the freedom for them in me, moving forward forever. And I also know this we are mirrors for our children. How we show up, what we say, what we do is going to be reflected on our children on top of our spouses there. So I am somebody who believes in leading by example, whether that's through AI, through the way that I show up with this positivity, because Joe, you'll relate to this. Um, early on in my entrepreneurial journey, this is like 16 years ago, I left my corporate job making multiple six figures to go all in on living my dreams of getting paid to talk about sports for a living. So I went from six figures to zero dollars overnight. No clients, no revenue, no website, no nothing. And at that time, I did not have any self-awareness or growth mindset. It's wild. For 30 years of my life, not a single person or any education system, K through 12 and four years of college in a decade in corporate America, not once did a single person say, Hey Rob, do you know what self-awareness is? Hey Rob, do you know what a growth mindset is? It didn't exist to me until that very first morning of entrepreneurship when I was like, holy smokes, there's no one to tell me what to do, when to wake up, who do I call, what do I do? And I quickly realized everything is on me. For some people, that's big and heavy. Oh my god, everything's on me. For me, I was like, can you believe this? Everything is on me. And that level of intentionality in how I show up has become an absolute superpower for me because I've had to turn myself into a high performer because I wasn't. And the way that I did that was every single day make myself better today than I was yesterday. So I created a reading routine where every single day, first thing in the morning, the thing that I do is read a book for 30 minutes, weekends included, rinse and repeat for 16 years. So then when the AI era comes, I can adopt these things like it's any other day because this is in the DNA of who I am.

SPEAKER_00 20:45

I love that. Every day is an opportunity to get better, and you may not see improvement in the first week, but if you start stacking those lessons over the course of a year, one year of absolute discipline and consistency can literally change your entire life, Rob.

SPEAKER_02 21:04

Yeah, and Joe. So here's the quote that changed it for me. So I realized everything's on me, and I asked myself one question. And to this day, I don't know how or why I asked this because I was not this person you're hearing today. But I asked myself, what will help me achieve my goals faster? Positivity or negativity? And the answer is positivity, of course. Negativity is gonna slow you down and take you further away from where you want to go. Therefore, this became binary, a one or a zero. Radiate positivity became my core value because living anything but this is gonna take me further away from my dreams. And because I'm all in on my dreams, then I'm all in on positivity. It does not mean that every day is puppy dogs and rainbows for me, but this is how I choose to show up. Rob, are you always like this? Yes, what you are hearing right now, I am like 100% of the time. Why? Because it is an intentional choice. And it's not hard to not have negativity in your life because the second you see it, it's like the Mr. Yuck sticker. You're like, eh, get that away from me. I'm getting down with the people over here in elites.

SPEAKER_00 22:23

Yeah, no doubt. And you know, there's there's power in belief. And a good example of that is if you've ever heard of somebody who's died of a broken heart, it's real. Your your your health rapidly declines when you can't pull yourself out of dwelling on all the bad things. It it's a real thing, then and and I guarantee most of our audience have heard that. Now, Rob, I'm curious if you're saving 10 hours a week through systems, where is that positive energy being redirected in your personal life?

SPEAKER_02 22:56

So one of the things that the AI era has given me is the ability to dream bigger. And as part of it, I truly believe we have the greatest opportunity in the history of the world to make our dreams happen faster and create positive impact. So with this, I am both winning and designing on a short-term micro basis, right? Stacking ones over zeros today, while at the same time building my foundation for the next decade of success in the AI era. Because my goal is to create these levels of freedom for myself and for my family. So I have a significantly more single track mind than most people. There's really only a few things that actually go on in my life: AI, sports, in my family and friends, right? The relationships and the experiences there, but it allows me to show up differently. Because Joe, and I know this is you too, we earn our confidence. So what I do in business bleeds into how I show up on the personal life. And for me, ultimately, there is no separation between business and personal life because this is who I am, this is what I do, this is how I show up. I have systems and processes for everything. Yes, the time and where I'm spending it with other people might be slightly different, but I do not see a separation like I did 20 years ago.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Yeah. So, and how how does uh how do you yes and your relationships the same way you build frameworks in your business?

SPEAKER_02 24:54

I'm a go giver. I get I give without any expectation of receiving because at some point, all the time, there have been mentors, coaches, books, podcasts, articles, magazines, or random people that have paid it forward for me. So the best thing that I can do is to take what I've learned and experienced, package it up, and share it with others along the way on their journey so that I can help them because others did the same for me. And this goes back to that human first, heart first approach. I truly want people to win, right? Because I left my life of running a sports marketing agency to become a coach, but I never set out to become a coach. I just lived like one for more than a decade until I started to get hired to become one. So I come from a place of service by design because I love people and I want other people to win because I truly believe we can all win.

SPEAKER_00 25:58

Speaking of loving people, you have a value from your dad. Do what's right in the world of AI, which can often feel deceptive or hollow, how does your faith or your personal integrity guide you the way you build?

SPEAKER_02 26:14

It's a non-negotiable and it's the best thing ever. Because, Joe, uh, one of the terms I say often is I'm not most people, and neither are you. You said, Rob, I track what I do every single day all the way down to going to the bathroom. That's not most people. And in the AI era, there's gonna be a lot of shortcuts of not doing the work. But here's the thing confidence is earned. So for me, doing what's right or karma or whatever you want to call it there, to me, it's the better way to go because sure, someone might get it over on someone now, but I play a long-term game and it's irrelevant to me because this is what I would want somebody else to do with me. People work with me because of my integrity, it's not the only reason why, but you can't listen to this and be like, wow, I would rather work with somebody who doesn't do things right. And I know in the AI era, there's gonna be so much sameness, so much tech, so much sterile. Nah, you want to work with someone who's got your back.

SPEAKER_00 27:28

Yeah, I mean, and nothing's really changed, right? You put in the hard work more than everyone else, you're gonna get better results. If everyone's using AI on a level playing field, but they're just basic with it, they're gonna get basic results. If you're we're outworking everyone else, you're gonna see better results. It's that simple, right?

SPEAKER_02 27:49

Million percent there. Um, you become extraordinary by doing things that other people do not do. And for people like us, Joe, we do that by design. One of the declarations I speak every single morning is I am an epic overachiever, right? And then I say to myself, I do things no one else in the world does. So when I'm training for a marathon, so I live in Sarasota, Florida, and as you can imagine, from pretty much March until October, it can get blazing hot. Well, that can become a challenge when you're going from 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 miles. So I cannot afford to go run at 3 p.m. when it's 95 degrees and it feels like 108. So instead, I get to get up at like 4:57 a.m. in the morning and get in my miles. But here's the beautiful thing about this: despite how challenging it can be at times, and it's never easy when that alarm goes off and it shows 5 a.m., you're like, uh, this is so early. But then once I get my shoes on and I'm going for a run, and one of the things that I love about Sarasota, um, I lived in Chicago for 12 years and I loved the city, but you couldn't see the stars as much. But down here in Sarasota, there's none of that city noise in the air. So you can see the stars. And at like 5:37 a.m. on a Tuesday when you're going for a run and there's not a single other person or car anywhere. And I speak to myself, I'm an epic overachiever. I do things no one else does. And then I look around and I'm like, yep, ain't nobody else doing this.

SPEAKER_00 29:37

It feels good. It it once you get to that point where you're doing things that other people aren't doing and you feel alone, but you also feel like, man, I'm I'm really earning this today. Uh it it it's all mindset, right? You said it, we let off with that. It's all about mindset. Now, here's another mindset shift. You know, how does your physical fitness play into the stamina required to be a growth mindset leader for over 15 years?

SPEAKER_02 30:05

It's a non-negotiable. And once again, I had to learn this. So, way back in the day, 16 years ago, I audited the success habits of the most successful people in the world because I didn't have a growth mindset, I didn't have self-awareness. I'm reading Fast Company and Inc. magazine when magazines were still a thing, and like living in that dream and vision. And you kept hearing a few things. The average CEO reads 60 books a year. I'm like, crap, I'm reading zero. And then you would hear about the average CEO uh wakes up early and then they go to the gym. And at that time, fitness wasn't as much a priority for me, but now it's a lifestyle, right? So I think there's a shift. You can work out, but when it becomes who you are, aka a lifestyle, it becomes a completely different level. Because since I've been called the last 20 years, I've worked out five days a week for 20 years in a row. Because I turned it into a lifestyle, because you earn your confidence, and if you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you're more confident. If you're more confident, great things are gonna happen for you. And like attracts like. So it's okay that I want to be around other attractive people who look good, who are doing awesome things because we're all putting in the work to make that happen. But Joe, on the days in which I don't work out or my schedule goes a little bit sideways, I can't stop thinking about working out until I actually do it. It is actually easier for me to work out than not work out in this. I'm not a bodybuilder, I'm not some big meathead, but I'm somebody who trains for a living because this is my standard of expectation, and I know you're putting in the work, right? How could I show up on this podcast as somebody who is the best in the world and then be like, oh yeah, fitness is a nothing for me? But Rob, it's great that you're great at AI. No, that doesn't work. This is excellence in all areas of your life, your standard. Do you think that standard bleeds into AI? A million percent.

SPEAKER_00 32:30

Yeah, I mean, it fitness is truly that if you if you can if you're talking the talk, walking the walk is really like doing all these other things, right? A lot of people can say certain things, but if you're not actually living it and you're not, you know, taking care of yourself, you know, you're you're not being authentic, you're not being real with yourself, right? Um where can listeners join the we are creating the future from the heart movement?

SPEAKER_02 33:00

Yeah, 100%. So I'm someone who truly feels a responsibility to share what I am doing here. Um I've stepped into the identity of somebody who is leading a global movement. Because here's the crazy thing, Joe. Those of us who are crazy enough to believe that we can change the world, do. So with AI being someone who's best in class at this, I know I have the ability to lead others who want to lead others in business, life, entrepreneurship, mindset, AI, and everything in between. So if you vibe with this and you're somebody who wants to be the best in the world with AI, then hit me up on Instagram or LinkedIn. Just DM me Joe, and I'll send you over my best resource I've got around how you can integrate AI into your business.

SPEAKER_00 33:54

There you go. And in the show notes, we're gonna have all of Rob's handles, his LinkedIn, his YouTube channel, his website so that you can uh work with Rob and improve yourself. Um, I just want to go over some key takeaways uh from our our conversation, Rob. Um, AI is a lever for identity. Like I said before, AI gives you an opportunity to really be honest with yourself, talk to AI, and say things that you may otherwise be uncomfortable saying to another human. It gives you an opportunity to be really who you are and hold yourself accountable. Also, there's true power in the thousand-day streak that Rob has endured. Discipline and consistency will take you everywhere that you want to be. Set out on your own thousand-day streak of whatever it is that you want to do, and I promise you, you're gonna see results. And then third, why leading with the heart is the only way to win in a digital future is everything. And it's not just in the digital, it's always been the case. It's always been leading with heart. God, family, fitness, finance. You know, you gotta live, you know, if if you're if you're a Christian or if you believe in, you know, something, you know, it all starts with love. It all starts with doing what's right in your heart, right? So nothing's changed. If anything, it's all the more important to lead with a heart now more than ever because of the digital age. So do the right thing. Rob, thank you so much for bringing the undeniable superpower energy to the VC code. If you're ready to step into the future without losing who you are, visit RobCressy.com or connect with him on LinkedIn or Instagram. Those it those links are gonna be in the show notes. In the meantime, Rob, thank you so much. Everyone else at home, stay relentless, stay positive, and keep creating the future. We'll see you on the next episode of the Vici Code. Thanks for tuning in to the Vici Code, where the underdogs rise and the numbers finally make sense. If today's story hit home, share it. And remember, faith fuels a fight, and your comeback is already in progress.