Fabien Pataud

Fabien Pataud: So, and then I’ll weave into, you know, where I’m really at right now. Like the real stuff. And then talk in because it’s the truth where most people are at, I think. And then talk about what I’ve picked up through the coaching. And that, you know, the transition that I’m actually going to be… that I’m gonna be working towards which is pretty much helping men that are in these kinds of circumstances. I’m not saying this to promote myself.

Nick Abregu:  Yeah. It’s okay.

Fabien Pataud: But just, I’m just saying the realness of, of where I’m at. And now we can talk about politics or whatever, you know, like, but just for me real ****.

Nick Abregu:  This is if, if it gets too much like we don’t have to air this. So, just keep that in mind. Like if we get you to… into stuff like if you not come to airing.

Fabien Pataud: Oh, no, no, no. I just, there’s a lot of things that I haven’t shared. Like you’ve heard a little bit about my story and stuff like that. But we’ve all got one. But I’ve realized that, that’s the reason why it’s made it hard for me to, to enjoy building the business that I’ve been building because it’s not the business that’s the problem. It’s how it’s the product and it’s the market that I’m dealing with. I’m

not in the space where I meant to be doing my work which is **** healing.

Nick Abregu:  Yeah.

Fabien Pataud: And so, you know, that was the light bulb for me over the Christmas break. I was this, like man, why were I keep resisting this like, you know.

Nick Abregu:  Do you feel good with it now?

Fabien Pataud: A hundred percent! Yeah, yeah. So now, it’s now… it’s about getting the balance right of still being bringing income in. Whilst now building out and, and making a push to start communicating a slightly different message. So, it’s like hey, successful guys, successful sales people that are suffering from addiction. So, you’re making six figures but you’re pissing it up on gear, hookers. And you got *** relationships because you’re just splurging out the cash. You don’t have the structure. You don’t have clarity on what you want to do next. So, you’re selling something that you’re not fulfilled with. But you’re addicted to the paycheck, you know. There are heaps of that. And I just wasn’t seeing it unfold.

Nick Abregu:  Did that happen in law and real estate?

Fabien Pataud: Heaps man! Heaps.

Nick Abregu:  Because that’s, there was a lot of money a lot of money in real estate.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah man. Yeah bro. And even the three guys that came, that did my pilot program. Their results transformed in the first few weeks. I didn’t talk about sales man.

Nick Abregu:  Yeah.

Fabien Pataud: And then they asked me afterwards if I’m talking more around that. The personal development stuff helping them get alignment. That’s what they wanted man. They came because of…

Nick Abregu:  The news and guidelines.

Fabien Pataud: And yeah, they found it. I found a safe space to be able to get the support without

feeling as overly inadequate. That’s what us men do, yeah. What I want to say where we really at a lot of the times because if we do, there’s a level of inadequacy, yeah.

Nick Abregu:  That’s true.

Fabien Pataud: And so, we’re like no, no I’m all good, you know. And we’ve got to play out through because we’re meant to have the answers.

Nick Abregu:  Well, I read somewhere recently that the like that the whole game of like why women are attracted to men, why men, what, men are attracted to women. And it’s like the whole reason why men go out to buy these, like they can’t afford like a hundred-thousand-dollar watch led by the fake replica. And they dress cool, you know. They, they’ve appeared to be something they’re not because women seem to be attracted like physiologically. Is it biologically?

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, yeah, biologically, yeah.

Nick Abregu:  They’re attracted to the, to the best person in that whatever it is that they’re doing. So, if someone was talking about like, I think it was the Joe Rogan podcast that were talking about how, like bowling. Like it’s not a sexy sport, right? But there’s always groupies or there’s always like the head, the main guy.

Fabien Pataud: The king ping.

Nick Abregu:  Right, the king, yeah, exactly. And then these girls that would be attracted to that guy because he’s the best in his, in that, in that jungle.

Fabien Pataud: Well, he’s the best, he’s the best performer. And so, I think there’s an element of truth to that.

Nick Abregu:  Yeah. Which brings us to a point like that’s why as men like we know that, right? Even on a subconscious level we know that that’s the case.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah.

Nick Abregu:  So, we have to say we’re okay because if we say we’re not okay, we’re weak. And if we’re weak, we’re not the best.

Fabien Pataud: Well, well, that’s true man I think women, women look for stability in a man. So, I think when they see a high performer that, from the surface they, they see, there’s some form of stability there. And that’s what women are attracted to. How the man carries himself. How he portrays himself. And it’s the same when a guy might not be as attractive but the dude carries himself. And then all of a sudden, you’ve got this guy who’s a six out of ten or five out of ten carrying a, a 12 out of 10. And people

like how did that happen?

Nick Abregu:  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Fabien Pataud: But dude just knows how to carry himself so he’s got this other swagger or charismatic or there’s this thing that he has and then the woman’s like, yeah, I want that, you know. But I think with high performance that the perceived ones as well, that gets you to first base. But then for the longevity of a healthy relationship that’s when the curtains start to come back and that’s when either person find out what’s really going on. And that’s probably why we see such a high rate of divorces and, you know, like *** that relationship. It doesn’t work. But on paper they look like it was great, you know.

Nick Abregu:  Like the curtains come out, like that guy that was being someone else like oh well he’s a loser.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Abregu:  Or she’s a loser!

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, exactly!

Nick Abregu:  Like you know what I mean, like…

Fabien Pataud: You know all the, you know this, there’s still broken pieces from previous relationships or whatever.

Nick Abregu:  Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Fabien Pataud: And like, dude you need to fix that, you know.

Nick Abregu:  Yeah, that’s tough.

Fabien Pataud: That’s tough man!

Nick Abregu:  And like the peeking, like when people peek at the, like at I say a high school level, right? And then afterwards they got nowhere to go. Like they look for it. They look for these, these things where, like where am I gonna get the attention from?

Fabien Pataud: Yeah man, yeah.

Nick Abregu:  How am I gonna get in? And they start doing the stupid things.

Fabien Pataud: Hundred percent man.

Nick Abregu:  That’s what testosterone.

Fabien Pataud: That was me to a team man.

Nick Abregu:  Really?

Fabien Pataud: My, you know, I was the class clown. I, you know, grew up in a very disrupted household. So, my level, my need for attention came from the ability to socialize and to have multiple friends and multiple groups. And to be seen as the one that always was dicking around. And the challenge with that is that, you know, I lost a lot of opportunity to learn or understand how to learn properly because I was too busy distracting everyone else. and impress and ***.

Nick Abregu:  Trying to find out, like trying to find acceptance.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, man.

Nick Abregu:  Is that what it was?

Fabien Pataud: Well yeah, yeah, the need to feel approved and validated and be seen because at home as a kid I just wasn’t seen how I needed to be in order for me to regulate. So, I just dicked around. And then, you know, down the path of drugs and alcohol and all that kind of stuff to find, you know, they say and I’ve been doing research on drugs and alcohol as to why people do it. Because when you first do it, it actually gives, it gives you the closest, it actually allows you to become present in a moment. And we’re all searching for that ability to be present right here in this moment. Like right now. Very rarely are we able to be like right where we’re sitting right in front of each other. And actually, be here and not in the thought of, I’ve got to sort out this thing or this deal or my wife or my partner or whatever. And actually, be in the moment. And when you take alcohol and drugs it gives you that for the moment. It’s actually the closest form of pure presenting but the problem is you don’t get to stay there. It actually takes you up and then really far down. But the addiction is in how it makes you feel in that moment. But then the aftermath is the thing that’s tearing people apart. As I experienced.

Nick Abregu:  And the more accessible these drugs are they uh, like someone said you can you can get drugs to fuji house pasta then a pizza.

Fabien Pataud:  Yeah, well, yeah man, I think, I don’t know. There’s a lot of theory around the accessibility of it because I think, it was Portugal that decriminalized all their drug laws because they had a huge epidemic. rehab is not working. How do we flip this? And so, they flipped it by going off a theory that a guy said, if we decriminalize it and we offer support networks. And we healed the reasons as to why people are taking the drugs not the fact that they’re taking it. But why are they taking it? And we didn’t frown up on them. That when they implemented that, they had I think a 40 or 50 percent reduction,

Nick Abregu:  Wow, really?

Fabien Pataud:  In overdoses, in crime, in etcetera. And now because it’s so accessible it says like well uh, you know, this guy’s having a bit of coke, okay cool. It’s not a hidden thing anymore whereas before it’s like most alcoholic’s most drug users hide. You know they’ll go in a corner and they’ll do it.

Nick Abregu:  And it’s got that feeling of doing something bad.

Fabien Pataud:  Hundred percent!

Nick Abregu:  Or trying to do something that’s dif-…

Fabien Pataud:  It’s an element. The secrecy of it, yeah. It’s like I’m not cooping or I’ve got some going on inside. So, I’m gonna just do this. And I’m gonna rock up to work having been on the gear or using the gear to get me through because that’s what I’m gonna do. But it’s gonna be my secret. It’s powerful man! Like that study that they did and then what transpired was just phenomenal. It’s counterintuitive. If you like what, decriminalize it and like just let everyone do it. And then offer them hugs and, you know, hey! You know, that’s support. And its actually what people are screaming for.

Nick Abregu:  Because unless you break the cycle of why to make, why you feel *** or why you’re feeling the way you do. Like from whatever reason in the past or whatever, like you’re

never gonna stop it.

Fabien Pataud:  It will find another form. It’s like the smoker that stops smoking but then smashes chocolate or food and puts on 100 kilos or, you know, becomes a sex addict or whatever. So, we tend to, we can shift something across and then find a replacement somewhere else to fill the void. And it’s finding the cause. The initial impact of where it’s actually stemming from. And that’s the hard part. That’s the work man.

Nick Abregu: Man, sex addiction that’s a *** one, isn’t it?

Fabien Pataud:  Sex or porn. Porn addiction, yeah.

Nick Abregu: Like that one, yeah. That’s just breaks relationships. You can’t have a relation; you can’t do anything.

Fabien Pataud:  It’s true man. It’s true.

Nick Abregu: That’s so sad, that’s hard.

Fabien Pataud:  Yeah.

Nick Abregu: On both part who was involved.

Fabien Pataud:  True man, true. And you know it’s just one of those things that human beings were all interesting yet awesome creatures’ man. Like there’s, I’m fascinated with the human mind. Like that’s I think, that’s part of the reason why I’m doing the work that I do. It’s because, you know, as a kid and all, I might take this conversation a little bit to the side. But as a kid, you know, my parents suffered from a lot, there was a lot of violence in the home, a lot of alcoholism, there was a lot of stuff. We didn’t have a safe environment growing up. And I remember once my parents are fighting and I was 11. And I couldn’t understand what was going on there was a lot of alcohol involved. And I ran into my room crying after separating them saying, I’m gonna, this is my mission to make it my pact to figure out why this happens. So that no one else has to go through this stuff.

Nick Abregu: At the age of eleven?

Fabien Pataud:  At the age of eleven. And so, when I look back at my career and all these transitions. And I became an electrician, a project manager, then I got into real estate. And then I found a bit of a groove there and then I became a sales coach. A lot of it started to move towards working with families and helping people psychologically. And I, and it was only until the last 12 months where that memory of me being 11, resurfaced. Going through some really tough times building the business and I was reflecting and reflecting. And somebody’s like why have you had this desire to help

people family. Like where’s this come from? And so, I had to reflect. And in that moment, I recalled, me running into my bedroom like crying, going, this is my mission. To actually help people unblock

and find out why these things are occurring. And its proof is, you know, all the books that I’ve kind of read around human behavior, psychology, all the NLP courses that I’ve done is all being geared around that.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fabien Pataud:  And when I’m not feeling my best is when I’m not working in that space.

Nick Abregu: Wow.

Fabien Pataud:  So, it’s fascinating man, yeah.

Nick Abregu: It’s nice that you’ve go through so many industries. You’ve got so much knowledge of, like,

Fabien Pataud:  Yeah, man! Look, to be honest, there was a period of time there was a lot of guilt around that. I thought, I can’t hold a job. Like you know, like people are saying I was crazy for leaving electrical. I did it for about five or six years or maybe seven years. And they’re like, dude you’re making good money and that’s a great career. Like why on earth would you change? Like, you know, when I went in real estate people saying, man you’re crazy going into real estate. Like you were earning great money, like why? And for a moment I’m like, I think my past is coming to hone me where no stability,

no consistency, just chopping and changing, distracted and all that kind of stuff. But now that I’ve matured and evolved, I’ve actually looked back and go, well I was trying to find the thing. And so, I look back at that guy and, well that’s not me chopping and changing because I can’t do it. It’s me going no, no, no.

Nick Abregu: It’s not right.

Fabien Pataud:  Where’s the purpose? Where’s that alignment? Where is the thing? And so,

Nick Abregu: And if you thought of it as the way like you can’t hold a job, you can’t do whatever. Like that would have just like spiraled you down.

Fabien Pataud:  It did but it was interesting because I then used it to fuel me. Which was a good fuel at the time but the wrong type of fuel for longevity. So, when people said I shouldn’t have got into real estate and I’m gonna flunk it. And even one of the employees at the time she’s like, oh are you new here? I’m like, yeah, I am. She’s like, I’ll give you three weeks.

Nick Abregu: Are you serious? Oh my God.

Fabien Pataud:  Yeah, one of the ladies in the office man and I was like, up yours! And because that happened,

Nick Abregu: Look at me now son!

Fabien Pataud:  Yeah, yeah, exactly! And because of that I used it as fuel to say *** this but there was

tons of times man, I was gonna quit. Like yeah, the first six months in real estate, dude I was sleeping in my car. For three to four hours. No, not long like half a day. I was meant to be out prospecting looking for new business. And I was getting rejected, the door slammed! I had no sales experience then. Nothing at all. I was an electrician man. It was like putting wires together. And I would go to my car and sleep man because I was getting abused. Like hey, go away from my neighborhood. Like get out of my house. Yeah, and I was like.

Nick Abregu: How long ago was the start of your real estate career?

Fabien Pataud:  2013.

Nick Abregu: Okay. Were you with your partner then?

Fabien Pataud:  No, no, no. Single then. Single and just moved into the bachelor’s pad and, you know, the drill, you get that. And then I met her not long after.

Nick Abregu: Oh, really?

Fabien Pataud:  Actually, yeah, so, the bachelor’s pad turns into, you know, Netflix and chill. The boys wanted me out man. Yeah. Because I was having parties every weekend and me and Jackie, me and my wife. She wasn’t the wife at the time but we’re like opening up the doors. Like one is like, guys you mind turning the music down? And then like, what? Three months ago, man you were dancing on the tables.

Nick Abregu: Who did you move in with? Who were your mates?

Fabien Pataud:  A couple of other boys, Benny and Justin man. So, a longtime friend and, you know, Chapel Street. We lived on Chapel Street.

Nick Abregu: No!

Fabien Pataud:  Yeah man, yeah.

Nick Abregu: Dude at that age you should be loving that.

Fabien Pataud:  Yeah and primary not just, you know, had the nice Audi, just got into real estate so, you know, I thought of…

Nick Abregu: So, you’re a catch?

Fabien Pataud:  I thought I was a certified boonger, you know making 500 bucks a week at the start. And I was like, yeah, I got this, you know.

Nick Abregu: I’ve never lived with my mates. I’ve never had that experience. I will always, I only ever had one roommate that I met. And I only stayed for like a month. And then I’m most the time I live on my own and with a partner.

Fabien Pataud:  Well, okay. Interesting.

Nick Abregu: I’ve never experienced that better life.

Fabien Pataud:  Yeah, well it’s different but it’s good, right?

Nick Abregu: I can’t imagine.

Fabien Pataud:  Did you have some mates that did that stuff? Like did you have a group of dudes that moved in together?

Nick Abregu: No! Everyone was pretty independent. My mates where from when I did engineering. Like we did electrical engineering together. And like you have no money when you’re studying. I swear, I was like no money. I remember my first job.

Fabien Pataud:  So, we’ve had a similar past.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, exactly.

Fabien Pataud:  Starting an electrical and yeah, that’s amazing man.

Nick Abregu: I almost quit Electrical Engineering midway because I wanted to be a chef. But I had never cooked at that, actually no I cooked like a little

Fabien Pataud:  But it wasn’t a passion.

Nick Abregu: But you like your food. I love my food.

Fabien Pataud:  Yeah exactly.

Nick Abregu: Like oh my God how good is this? You mean a food critique, I was like. And then after that

we just used to go into engineering and you start on a salary of like 70k. And you’re making all this money like, what do you do? So, most of my friends just moved out. They all moved in to their own place or with their partners itself. So, we never really had that,

Fabien Pataud:  Sounds like your crew was pretty much more mature than my crew.

Nick Abregu: Oh, you think? I think they still got some maturity.

Fabien Pataud:  Couple of my mates that, you know, feel the boys still actually live together and that was six, seven years ago. So…

Nick Abregu: Really?

Fabien Pataud:  They’re still in the security scene of their life.

Nick Abregu: They just can’t. They just love it.

Fabien Pataud:  I get it though man. Like you walk outside, it’s a hot day, people are skateboarding and women around. Like if you’re a guy, single, it’s like dude, you know. Coffees are great! Food is good. *** here. Like you know, as if you’d want to be like, you know, a single guy going out in, way into the burbs. you know, and you know, settling down and like you just *** man. Just whatever man.

Nick Abregu: Did that thing like, the, my bachelors saying like when I was single. I was single for a period of like five years. Now after my last girlfriend I was single for about five years. Like I don’t have that swagger. Like I don’t have that, like if a pretty girl comes out to me and talk to me like I just, I

get so nervous. I sound like such an idiot.

Fabien Pataud:  Yeah, yeah.

Nick Abregu: It’s like those scenes, like they, as a single guy you’d be like, oh. I just don’t have what it takes.

Fabien Pataud:  You do bro, you do. I think you just got it in different areas, you know.

Nick Abregu: You reckon?

Fabien Pataud:  Hundred percent. Like you know, looking at this path that we’re in now. Like the full setup man, you know, there’s a bit of bromance going on in here. Like, Yeah man! So, you got the creative aspect man. I think you’re probably one of those cats that like has the quiet time. And then goes, hang on this is what I want to have happened. What I want to look like, you know. And it’s showing man with the work that you do.

Nick Abregu: Nice. Thanks, Broman.

Fabien Pataud:  Told you this is a bromance man. It’s the mood in here man! And now do you hear the music, boom chicka wah wah!

Nick Abregu: I’ll choose you voices, there’s something else. Dude, we didn’t get to introduce you. We’re like 20 minutes and we haven’t introduced you.

Fabien Pataud:  Alright, well let’s do it.

Nick Abregu: Let’s do the introduction.

Fabien Pataud:  Yeah, man.

Nick Abregu: So, what do we, what do we want to discuss? What do we wanna, what is your title?

Fabien Pataud:  Cool man!

Nick Abregu: Let’s do it, let’s do this.

Fabien Pataud:  Yeah, man! Well

Nick Abregu: What do you want to be remembered at?

Fabien Pataud:  Well what I want to be remembered at? That’s a great question man. I did a mission statement about a year ago and my ultimate message or remembrance if you will be to impact the lives

of families across the globe. That’s obviously, you know, I’ve touched on a little bit earlier around my childhood. And I haven’t gone into the full depths of it yet but the real reason why I loved real estate

was because I helped families facilitate one of the biggest decisions that they had to make around selling their home. And help them prepare a plan as to what they were gonna do with their money. How they were going to structure things which most of them didn’t really have a good comprehension of. And so, I got a lot of joy out of helping them alleviate any pressure and stress that they all going through. Also facilitating divorces. That’s the reason why some people sell or financial troubled. And so, for me it’s like well, you know, I’m a sales coach now and I help individuals or, you know, businesses that want to increase their profits but deep down I’m not aligned with that. Like that’s not me. I don’t come home satisfied knowing that a client has made a truck ton of money, like I enjoy that. But what I’m more satisfied is when the client comes back to me afterwards and says that he’s a relationship with his partner has been the best it’s ever been by doing the program, or he knows himself better now, or he’s connected with his kids better, or he’s been able to reopen up a relationship with a fractured friend or a relative that’s been hurting him psychologically. And so that’s what I, you know, that’s when

I crack a woody man like in all honesty that’s the stuff. And so, I realized, and just recently were talking affair that, that’s my calling. Like that remembering the trauma that I had experienced and

that is my burning desire to make sure that you know, as many families as I possibly can provide them the tools and the strategies that are required to provide not only healthy resilient children but a healthy

household where both parties have the ability to communicate in a way that’s, you know, that empowers them. Not puts each other down. And that inspires their children as well. And so, I think from

parents now that I’m a new dad with two kids, it’s not what I’m saying to my kids. It’s what, it’s how I’m communicating with my wife that’s going to determine how they develop. But the problem is the

children come along and we start course-correcting them and telling them, this is what you need to do, this is what you need to do. And it’s going in one ear and out the other. They’re going, we’ll hang on how’s dad operating with mom? That’s what I’m actually gonna do. I never forget dude

like, I’m stretching on the floor got a little boy Leo he’s nearly two. A newborn Matteo, he’s like ten weeks. And I’m rolling on the little, you know, those foam rollers in the back. And this hit me, straight there. It’s like, he lay down next to me and started rolling up and down on the floor. And I just looked over and I was like holy ***.

Nick Abregu: Do everything you do.

Fabien Pataud: Like just do everything that I do. Not the things that I’m telling him, hey bubs, you know, do this and then count that. And how many of chicken and whatever. Like he’ll sort of respond but the things that he mimics is me walking around the house when I’m sometimes on my phone too much with the headphones in. And him walking around putting a headphone in because he found it and going,

yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, okay, yeah. Uh-huh, thank you. Bye. And just, you know, doing all that

stuff and I’m like, wow! And so, I’d realized now it’s around what I do for myself, like how I show up. And then how I show up around my wife and how we communicate is going to decide or at least have a huge impact on the path that they create for themselves. And so, you know, call me the sales coach, you know. Some people call me the sales coach that doesn’t teach sales. But as a consequence, the clients

that I work with end up making a bucketload of money because they feel better about themselves. Things at home are jammed and like they’re just on fire and means when they shop in the work world it’s like, ah, man I’m their present, they’re aligned, they’re feeling good and as a consequence they make more money. It’s like, you know, and I experienced that when I was only trying to teach sales my business was suffering. When I was only concentrating on trying to make money I was suffering. But the moment I went into service of, let me just see if I can help these people outside of work first.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fabien Pataud: And as a consequence. And proof was in the putting when I trained all these sales guys. They were having up and down months. And when I interviewed them and I said, you know, what’s going on in your personal life right now? How’s your relationships and what’s going on there. The guys that were having the slums and up and downs typically had going on *** at home.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fabien Pataud: Whether it was with themselves, financially, drugs, partners, whatever. And I soon started to realize, it wasn’t about the best script. It wasn’t about the best technique, and the tie downs, and all the stuff that all these sales dudes teach. It was actually about Helping them regulate what was going on at home. And as a consequence, they just showed up better.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fabien Pataud: You know like you’ve ever had a fight with your missus, yeah? How does the ***? How do you feel?

Nick Abregu: It *** you up.

Fabien Pataud: **** you up man! Bad!

Nick Abregu: Horrible.

Fabien Pataud: And it can be days. It can be weeks. You don’t know how long it goes for but you

can’t think properly, yeah? Your, you know, clients are talking to and you’re like yeah, yeah, yeah, uh-huh. And then you’re sitting there dwelling like, you know, and if it’s a really bad fight then we suffer the

consequences afterwards. And so…

Nick Abregu: I, yeah, it’s horrible. You just, you feel so, like not focused on your work. But when you’re in a relationship with someone and you have a business, you have these two relationships.

Fabien Pataud: Hundred percent man.

Nick Abregu: And to sometimes go in between the both is hard.

Fabien Pataud: The balance of knowing what to give the attention to, and when, and how and…

Nick Abregu: But in that, I would 100% always rather have a better home life than the business.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, hundred percent. What’s the point of having a mad business when the home life is crap. And that’s what a lot of people end up work towards.

Nick Abregu: They forget about it.

Fabien Pataud: Forget about its man and it’s easy. And I learned from an old mentor, and he said to me, Fabien don’t get confused with the business and yourself. The business is separate to

you. You are not the business. And I’m like, what do you mean by that? He goes, well when something’s going wrong with the business, I at that point was saying that there was something wrong with me. Like I’m not good enough or you know I can’t make this work. He’s like no, no, business is just not working yet. And then he goes the reason why you want to separate them is because If something’s going on at home then what you don’t want to do is bring that into the business. And now that there’s something wrong with the business.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fabien Pataud: And it’s not learning how to differentiate that. And so, it’s not switching off emotionally but it’s actually going, oh well if my business is having a crap week it doesn’t mean that my personal life has to have a crap week as well. But what a lot of us do is we bring; we blend both of them in.

Nick Abregu: And that’s the key, right? Like to be able to not do that.

Fabien Pataud: Hundred percent man! It’s a…

Nick Abregu: I’ve closed some of my biggest deals after I’ve had a, like we had a fight at home. And because I brought that into the work and I was like I don’t give a ***. Like that’s the price. Take it or leave it. Like I do not give a ***.

Fabien Pataud: No attachment.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, no attachment and it closed.

Fabien Pataud: No attachment. See that man?

Nick Abregu: Like it was just so crazy.

Fabien Pataud: And when you give a ***, there’s a level of attachment, they smell it, they sense it and then there’s hesitation.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fabien Pataud: Powerful man.

Nick Abregu: I know. So, on that, so I’m gonna say, hey Google who, Let’s start that again. Sorry. My phone’s going off. It’s stuck. Hey Google, I have a business. And I want to make a truckload of money but more importantly I want my home life to be perfect. Fabien Pataud, do I go to him? Alright, cool! It gave me some list but that is gonna come up with your name next time because that’s, it’s an important thing that you’re doing.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah man, yeah. Thanks brother man it’s, look it’s about alignment I think, I was getting called in choosing a business and in being attached to it. And then wanting to grow this sales business but realizing that, that wasn’t my, my passion. It wasn’t getting me out of bed and I wasn’t jumping for joy and the stress, that the things that I’m teaching now with the things that I’ve experienced with my wife. The pressure that the business brought into the relationship. The dynamics in them shifting. And the only reason why I feel comfortable doing it now is because through that process we were able to work it all out. Were able to actually go, well hang on let’s not, we got stronger. As depression mounted.

As the finances dipped. As the babies came, all these dynamics change in my health took a massive feat. Like, you know, it’s a high risk of a heart attack and I’m 34. And I’ve got a kid and a kid on the way. When the doctor says you’re at high risk of a heart attack and I look fit. I can run 10ks. I did a couple triathlons. So, for me I’m like I’m fit. That was the consequences of years of drug abuse but then also doing something that I wasn’t fully aligned with. The stress.

Nick Abregu: Yes, stress is a really *** thing man. Like stress deteriorates your health so quickly. Like faster than anything else. And we don’t even know it’s happening. Dude, I’m getting these gray hairs here.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah man.

Nick Abregu: I only got them like in the last six months.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, I feel you. That’s about the same time you got the missus that you, Edit, edit, don’t say that.

Nick Abregu: But yeah, that’s the thing man. Like it’s a, it’s crazy.

Fabien Pataud: Shows up in so many different ways man. Our body’s amazing though with how it stores stress and shifts it but for everyone it shows up differently man. White, gray hairs, sleep. You know for me it’s; you know, I can’t get out of bed sometimes.

Nick Abregu: Oh yeah, I get that too. Sometimes like I can’t go to sleep and then I kind of like have to, I sleep four hours sometimes.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah.

Nick Abregu: So, business is like, for anyone watching or listening or whatever like business is hard. If you’re going into business, if you think that it’s easy like you just get a side hustle or whatever they call it these days. Like be prepared to cry, to laugh, to like just to be angry. It’s not easy.

Fabien Pataud: Everything can above man.

Nick Abregu: Sometimes like the, I speak to some people and they’re like, I’ve got a $500,000 job doing this thing for a company, right? What am I doing for a company where I can just go and do it myself? And I’m like, dude listen, you are crazy right now. It seems you land a job you’re gonna *** everything up. These 50 to 60-year-old guys that still have their hair. And like they’re the ones that stayed in

the job. They were cushy, you know.

Fabien Pataud: Well they might of have had a crack but your right man like, I think what’s hard though is building the wrong business.

Nick Abregu: Oh yeah, for sure.

Fabien Pataud: That, and that was my experience but I think if you find the business that you’re most passionate about. The business that I’ve seen scale or accomplish the things that I want to have just been able to simplify it. And I think when you’re new in business, you think, you tack on all these things.

You’re like I need to do this. I need to have more. I need to give more. That’s what people want but what I found is actually the reverse. It’s actually like having just the one or two things that you offer and being dynamite at that. If you know, if you’re in a service-based business as an example. And then getting good at that and once you got the foundation then expanding, you know.

Nick Abregu: One of our mutual friends, he told me he had, when he started his business, he had 70 something products.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, wow!

Nick Abregu: And now he has five.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah.

Nick Abregu: And that he makes way more money now than he ever did. And he laughs at me because I’m that person like yeah, let’s have 70 products.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah and we can do this, and we can do that.

Nick Abregu: We can do everything. Even you laughed at me. You’re like bro just relax! I remember once I said that we start with a blank canvas. And you’re like, uh, don’t do that.  It just adds stress,

Fabien Pataud: You’re a creative guy man and I think anyone that’s ballsy enough to get into business typically has an element of flair, stupidity or creativeness and then it’s about fact-finding your lane. So sometimes you might have the idea for the business but you shouldn’t be the businessman. Like you know in my business as an example, like I’m way better at closing deals than I am at running my business. And so, in essence what I discovered is that I needed to hire somebody that could run the business for me so that I could go close deals. Instead of going, nah, nah, I’m the bigwig. I’m gonna run the business and I’ll get some sales people, you know, whatever. It’s like, now that’s actually where I’m best at, you know.

Nick Abregu: That’s funny you say that like in one of the other guests that I had on. We’re talking about how I; I was the creative and then I removed myself from the creative, letting my team do the create because they were even a lot better than me. And me run the business or do the sales but I’m like, just from his conversation I was, I’m so *** at sales. Like I’m not a salesperson. So why am I doing that? Why am I trying to run the business, do the sales? Like I should be doing things like setting up this stuff, you know what I mean? Instead of and put, keep the sales to someone else to do or even run the business.

Fabien Pataud: Well yeah, we get to a point where we have to understand where our lane is. And

then just doubling down on that. And, so the benefit is tons of sales people out there that work on different structures. And it’s about finding them but I think what’s important though is that as a business owner you must have the skill or at least some level of comprehension to sell. Because if she hits the fan, you know, I forget an old mentor mining real estate said that, you know what Fabien like if she hits the fan and we can’t cover our expenses anymore. He goes, sure I have to let go of staff, you know, that’s a given but he goes, then at least I know how to sell so I can go knock on doors and bring business in. And he goes, but if I didn’t have that skill and she hits the fan, then she hits the fan, there’s no opportunity to bring the business in. So, I think learning the skill of selling is a fundamental thing. But again, like what you’ve identified if you’re staying there all day or you know however many times a

week. And it’s not allowing you to be in your creative space in your genius zone then that as a consequence is gonna impact the business. It’s gonna impact the way you interact with your staff because you’re doing *** that you don’t like. We have to do it for a period but then the tricky is to be able to get out of it as quick as possible.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, not everything’s, like the things that you do in your business is not forever.

Fabien Pataud: Exactly, exactly. But you sometimes find that you end up doing him forever because you’ve attached to it, you know, like it’s like oh well, nah, I’ve been always doing it this way. So, I’ll just keep doing it this way or when you hire staff you’ve been fortunate to hire staff that are better than you.  And that’s perfect but that doesn’t always happen. We tend to hire people that aren’t as good. And we end up micromanaging or coming in over the top and finishing off their work you know.

Nick Abregu: So now I have the luxury of, like we can do this while the teams do, sending emails, creating stuff, you know, working with our clients, right? But 10 years ago when I started my business I was micromanaging because I didn’t know how to run a business. And still I think I have no idea on how to run a business.

Fabien Pataud: You have more idea than what you used to.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, definitely, definitely.

Fabien Pataud: That’s amazing man. But you know, and to have a team operating for you while you’re doing this is an actual business. And that you know, that’s what a guy said to me when I first started. He goes Fabien you’re not a business dude. Like you’re a consultant, you’re a coach but if you all seek this week. You’re not eating dude! It’s like a business is when you have the ability to step away and things continue running. And I was like, ah yeah! So as a wake-up call he’s like, you’re a glorified employee that has way more stress and probably earns less money than what you could, working for somebody else. And so, there was a light bulb moment of, I need a change a model here. I need to restructure things.

Nick Abregu: Yeah. It makes so much sense. I’ve always thought of that not so much not eating but if you hurt yourself or you get sick. You know like if you break your arm or something you got like good luck to you. If you haven’t set up your business properly, so, for anyone that’s setting up the business now. Like make sure that you can.

Fabien Pataud: Weather the storm.

Nick Abregu: Yeah. And test it out!

Fabien Pataud: Yeah.

Nick Abregu: See if you can go on a, just start off by taking one day off. Maybe a week off and then see how it runs. And then because when things go south, right? At least you can start to repair.

Fabien Pataud: Hundred percent.

Nick Abregu: So, for us sometimes we get like tremendously bad clients, right? Like they want the cheapest price. Like they grind you down to the ground. They want the cheapest price and then they want so many things. But I encourage those clients coming on board because it makes us look at our, like where we’re stuffing up, where our systems are failing. And when we take them on like we tell the

whole team like keep in mind how we can fix this so it doesn’t happen again. And how we can make the experience better for the client.

Fabien Pataud: So, you are getting money to identify problems. Like you know,

Nick Abregu: Exactly, exactly.

Fabien Pataud: That’s awesome.

Nick Abregu: If I push them away. If I said no to these people. We wouldn’t find the, what’s the, what’s that I’m looking for?

Fabien Pataud: You would find them but it’d probably cost you a lot more.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, yeah, yeah. But what’s the word I’m looking for? The…

Fabien Pataud: Fault?

Nick Abregu: No, not fault. The…

Fabien Pataud: Improvements or I don’t know. System, I don’t know. The faults?

Nick Abregu: It will come.

Fabien Pataud: But the key on that is like, you know, for those that are listening is understanding what

it actually cost your business to run. And how long is it sustainable if no money was coming in. How long would it be sustainable until you’re in the ***. And the thing that I learned was my insurances as well. So, when you first take out a business, you’re typically a sole trader. So, you take out like very basic insurance and you know cheaper whatever. But then if you’re in the game for a little bit longer and

you start to build up revenue, then the one thing that doesn’t normally get looked at again is all the insurance levels. Your income protection and, you know, death and disability and all that kind of stuff. And that was something that I realized especially now that I have a family I was like, mine was at 500k. And I had no income protection. So, if I was off for three months then my wife and my family are ***.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fabien Pataud: And so, I had to go back and go, hang on I need insurance to, you know, a couple million now because circumstances are changed. And in high-income protection to weather any storms if something did happen.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fabien Pataud: Easily overlooked man.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, for sure.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, man.

Nick Abregu: Absolutely like yeah, especially with the family.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, yeah, massively. Everything’s evolving man. We’re constantly evolving.

Nick Abregu: We’re growing up.

Fabien Pataud: And if we’re not then with the cane, you know, if we’re not growing, we’re going backwards. So, I think adaptability, flexibility and gone are the days of, you know, having a business

or a career for 10, 20 years. I don’t, I can’t see that happening in the future man. Like I think industries are gonna keep getting reshape and change.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, for sure. And with population growth like it’s, you know, that’s a big one.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah man, yeah.

Nick Abregu: How can you possibly keep a job when the next person is better than you.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, and from overseas with five more qualifications especially in Australia. I don’t know if you’re familiar but half the population of the world sits just above. So, for those that are listening and around and that, of not from Australia. Where we are, there’s like if you draw a circle around the top of Australia. Just a small circle. In that circle, covers three and a half billion people. So that circle covers Indonesia which has got 300 million. It covers China and just above, Australia as an example and we’re running a 24 million. And so, you can see how Australia is this prime real estate for opportunity and whatnot because we’ve gotten half the population of the world. There’s China and India just above us.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fabien Pataud: I’m in Indonesia so it’s massive, yeah.

Nick Abregu: And we’re going, it’s all vacant.

Fabien Pataud: Well yeah, most of us are getting cleared out now.

Nick Abregu: Bushfires.

Fabien Pataud: With the bushfires, yeah. So…

Nick Abregu: So, do you think that’s a…

Fabien Pataud: Well I don’t know. Is this a… are we gonna go there? Are we gonna go there?

Nick Abregu: My head also the other day, I was just cutting my hair and you just went straight into this conspiracy.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, yeah. That’s the rail line one. Have you heard that one?

Nick Abregu: No.

Fabien Pataud: So, there’s a proposed rail network that where the fires are right now and, you know, really tragic event by the way like, you know, the lives have been lost, villages, towns destroyed. The smoke is ruining, you know, people like you see them smoke here in Melbourne. Like imagine being 50, 20 case from the action man. Like, ah! But you know through any major event there’s always this kind of, there’s the other side of it, and there’s some papers circulating right now suggesting that a rail, a faster speed rail for Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, etcetera. With the proposed plans of creating, I can’t remember the word man, it’s like, smart hubs. Smart city. So, the theory is that they’re trying to a lot of these fire have been lit purposefully. Well and that’s been proven. It was a guy that lead about seven of them but they’re also seeing some forms of technology. Some like radar thing is actually piecing down and causing a lot of the fires.

Nick Abregu: Like on purpose?

Fabien Pataud: On purpose and there’s been reports of residents saying that there was an area that was fine and all of a sudden there was just the fire there.

Nick Abregu: Really?

Fabien Pataud: And they’re like that’s a little bit odd. And the way the fires are paying out but I’m not gonna get into the detail. And I’m not gonna say if it’s true or not. Either way it’s a horrific thing that’s happening. But what they’re saying is that these smart hubs are going to be created which is a city next to these stations. Which is good and everyone that was in those homes where they’ve been burnt down, or no longer be able to rebuild there. They’re gonna come back and rebuild closer to probably the safety

zone they might call it or whatever. So, I guess, you know, it will find out in time if these people aren’t able to rebuild in these areas because it’s deemed unsafe. And they couldn’t get access to their quick enough and all those things. And they try to push people closer to towns. And then all of a sudden there is a speed rail network. Then coincidence? I don’t know. So, there was a report on 10 daily or News daily about this which there’s been huge traction on social media. So yeah.

Nick Abregu: And if this stuff happens like say this is what’s going on, right? Like if they build it in five years from now. No one’s gonna remember.

Fabien Pataud: True. True. Very few will. Well those all that have listened to this podcast.

Nick Abregu: Yeah now we’re on to it. But no one will remember. It’ll just be like no one give a *** enough to say like it was because of that.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, well I tell you who will remember though. The people that are in those towns. For sure they can.

Nick Abregu: Oh, for sure.

Fabien Pataud: So yeah, I don’t know. Time will tell man. And I haven’t done enough research, you know, to say that I think that this is factual. I’m only going off these reports and they’re always a little bit

skewered. There’s always there’s always another side but,

Nick Abregu: These conspiracies excite me because like, and not in a good way but it’s like, how can we not at least say that this might be a scenario. Like you have to look at all the possible scenarios.

Fabien Pataud: Hundred percent. Like the fact, the whole country’s on fire at the one time. We haven’t had our hottest summer. We have had our driest land though. And you know, that’s sane that this has been done on purpose. Money was pulled away from the RFS. They, you know, revoked 80 million or whatever the number was on their services. They stopped back burning a couple years ago. And so there’s been signs and these reports are saying that this was getting primed. You know and then there’s all this climate change stuff as well. So,

Nick Abregu: Jesus.

Fabien Pataud: You know you got a podcast show when *** comes back in. When *** gets turn into conspiracies.

Nick Abregu: We’re not even drinking anything.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, nah, nah. This is vodka bro.

Nick Abregu: Oh well, but I hope that people can recover from this.

Fabien Pataud: Hundred percent man. Hundred percent. Like I think, and that’s what we were talking about before around the landscape changing. Around business changing. Like you know, my old mentor, the property guy. A dude came in to see him and it was the 10th of September. And he’s like, hey Greg, you know, what do you think the markets gonna look like? You know, in a few months’ time? And he says, my mentor at the time says like, I don’t know. And no one knows. No one has the crystal ball like it can change overnight. For better or for worse. Literally the next day, September 11 happened. And it crashed the global market. Like it killed the market. Prices dropped. Everything was affected, you know,

stock markets, etcetera. And so, and he uses that stories and, you know, not as an analogy but as a way of saying well, we’ve got to be prepared for, you know, to weather the storms. To change and adapt and not get caught, you know, not get caught with that pants down.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, how do you like, yeah, it’s a serious business. That’s hard to do like we always, we’re always worried that you’re always trying to find your next customer even if you’re making, say like $10 million a year. So, it’s been, you’re always still looking for the next.

Fabien Pataud: Hundred percent and that’s why passive income is King. And so, for anyone that’s listening now. That wants to start a business or that has a business. Then the only way that your business can not survive but the only way that you can be in a position of stability and not untouched growth but in a strong position is to be able to create residual income that doesn’t require you to work. And then to have that surpass your expenses. Just like the cash flow, quadrants, you know, Robert Kiyosaki’s like methodology. Because if you’re in that consulting or that service base, you hunt, you kill, you eat. But then you got a hunt, kill, and eat. And so, the ability to find a stream of income that comes in that, you know, provides that ongoing cash flow with limited time or no time, you know, a couple hours a week. Whatever it is. That enables you to go and hunt and kill. And knowing that there’s that safety net in the background. And, you know, for some people that’s property and shares but they didn’t know what they’re doing in that stuff man. Because if not, that’ll just eat your money up.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, I’ve always said, the best way to do business is to exchange your knowledge for money not your time for money.

Fabien Pataud: Nice man.

Nick Abregu: Like you just don’t want them. Actually, I can’t speak for everyone. For me, I can’t work for someone. We become unemployable. We can’t be employed because we’re a risk of leaving.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah.

Nick Abregu: Right? But for people that don’t have that entrepreneur mindset. Well I’m not wired that way.

Fabien Pataud: We need them. We need them though.

Nick Abregu: Exactly. We need them.

Fabien Pataud: We hundred percent need them.

Nick Abregu: Like don’t let everyone tell you, you need to start a business. You know because if you’re changing the world or say like you’re an engineer, you’re a doctor or surgeon or whatever. Like we need you so bad.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, hundred percent.

Nick Abregu: Factory workers, we need factory worker. Truck drivers.

Fabien Pataud: Everyone has their place man.

Nick Abregu: Exactly.

Fabien Pataud: Everyone has their place and everyone’s finding their place. So, you know, the entrepreneur that tries it and then fails. But then it’s like *** I need money. Has to go back into work. Like you got to just like you got to eat *** a little bit again. Until you come back and go, hang on I’ve got to do this better, you know. And, And I think that’s the beauty of it that especially in our country we are so blessed that you can actually fail in your business several times.

Nick Abregu: And get back on the horse.

Fabien Pataud: And get back on the horse. Like there’s an opportunity. So, like you can go get a job anywhere man. The news agency and still pull 700 bucks a week man. Like do you know what I mean?

Well you don’t need any qualifications. And so, I think that in that sense we’re freaking blessed.

Nick Abregu: Absolutely.

Fabien Pataud: Because, you know, some other places they don’t just get that chance man.

Nick Abregu: Dude let me ask you, what’s the ratio of low risk to high risk decisions that you make in your business? Like how many high-risk decisions we implement that would take you, say to the next level as opposed to smaller decisions that just cruise you along. Just slowly get you back to that point.

Fabien Pataud: So how many decisions do I need to make and which, and where are

they in terms of risks.

Nick Abregu: Well rather, yeah, how likely are you to do, to make a big risk that could *** your business?

Fabien Pataud: Heaps. Heaps of time.

Nick Abregu: Yeah? Is that the high-risk mentality?

Fabien Pataud: The high-risk, well in this social world excuse me, in this social world we’re all making high-risk decisions because right now, every single one of us, everyone that is listening to this and watching this has a profile online. And so, every time you open your mouth, you’re at high risk because very quickly reputation takes a lifetime to build and a moment to fracture. And so, you can say something that’s not aligned like I think it was Gillette that did the ad and boom! It’s like they’ve got enough loyal customers that has protected them but very quickly prime ministers have been good in a moment because of what they’ve said.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fabien Pataud: And so, I think that, you know, in my business there’s a lot of social media presence. There’s a lot of communicating and then there’s the numbers and teaching businesses how to sell in a particular way. So, there’s always risk on that front. But every time I open my mouth like this podcast can be at risk because I say something, you know, we talk about that particular area and it causes a big, you know, a coup on whatever. And then all of a sudden, you’re gone in an industry. So, I learned in real estate, you know, to always play things with the straight bat. To broaden the shoulders and to feel comforted you got told to do things and not that I followed it completely and you laugh at this. But I’ve got told that when you’re doing something that no one is watching, pretend there’s a camera on you right now. And the whole world can flick the channel 8 and they’re watching you in that moment. And you guys, if you could live like that and not that I’ve done that because I probably pick my nose and you know. I’ve done some stupid *** and I’ll admit that but in a business sense and in a relationship sense that I’ve always done my best to adhere to that. And it’s the reason why I still get opportunities from past employees from clients to come and work with them even after the contracts are finished. Because I’ve always left that bridge. I’ve never burnt it.

Nick Abregu: That’s nice.

Fabien Pataud: I did burn them in my early 20s and in late teens before I got this advice. But when I got the advice, and I looked back and I realized, there’s a lot of bridges that have burnt down. And they’re all my fault. I was like, ah *** yeah, okay. How do I rectify that?

Nick Abregu: What’s the biggest bridge that you’ve burned. What’s the one that

affected you the most?

Fabien Pataud: The biggest bridge that I’ve burned, probably when I was an electrician. So, I had a really good job. A big company. I became a service manager like I had a team under me. And I was hitting

the drugs really bad. I was smashing the drug. Smashing the alcohol on the weekend. And I

was blowing up my paycheck every week. And I was getting paid $1500 to $1600 a week. And that was gone. I was broke by Monday I wouldn’t eat until Wednesday until I got paid again. And then the cycle would continue. And The problem was because of that scene that I was in, I was taking a lot of sick days. A little bit sick day here, there, there, there. And, and then I had a major car accident. A couple people nearly died. I nearly went to prison for five years. And so, life was at my worst, my lowest. And the only thing that was propping all of that was the fact that I had actually a really good job. But then one day, you know, I lost my license. Had to shuffle things around and then there was another sick day. And then there was you know because I was in the ***. I was rubbing shoulders with the wrong people. Pissing people off because I was rocking up late or leaving early. I was just a loose, loose cannon. And then the director’s like, pulls me one day. He’s like, dude here’s the envelope. You made redundant.

Nick Abregu: Can’t do it, yeah.

Fabien Pataud: Nah, he’s like man, you know, I’ve given you so many chances. And the,

Nick Abregu: As a business owner that probably was the right thing to do for you and for them as well.

Fabien Pataud: A hundred percent. Hundred percent.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fabien Pataud: But at the time it hurt because he was like kind of a supportive father that was listening to my s***, heard my story but I was stuck in the story. I was like, oh yeah but my childhood this, and you know my this, and my that. And you know at the start he took that on. But then afterwards he’s

like, man, dude you’re 24, 25. Like when the *** are you gonna grow up? And so, the benefit of that was that he starved the oxygen that was fueling a lot of that lifestyle. And then I realized, you know, and he was very well-connected. And, but I couldn’t get a job straight away in another electrical firm or somebody that started out because they all knew my thing. I was known as the loose guy that always got *** up. That always took sickies. Not of my capabilities, not of my talent. I was known as that guy. And so, when I ring up another guy who has had a business that might work. I’m like, hey dude! He’s like, uh, yeah, look man. But then I found out he took on two other guys three weeks later. I’m like, ***! And so, all of a sudden that industry started to close on me. There was only one guy that actually took me on. And I’m still close mates with him now. He’s like, I’ll throw you a little bit of work Fab. Seen you when I was in the *** and we clicked on a movie. We gelled on a movie. We both knew the scenes to Friday. Yeah, yeah. Friday, yeah. And because of that connection, yeah, he hooked me up through that

difficult time. And yeah, so, but that was my biggest bridge. That was burned man.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, I get that like when people say I did all this stuff because of say my childhood or whatever like that keeps you in that realm. Like you don’t move on because you need to get the *** out!

Fabien Pataud: Married to the excuses bro. I was married to the reasons rather than solutions.

Nick Abregu: Yeah.

Fabien Pataud: Get married to the solutions man, not the reasons. It’s easy to get caught on why. And I was always getting caught their man but how?

Nick Abregu: It’s hard to picture you as that person because I know you. I’ve known you for two years, maybe. 2 years.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, 2 years man.

Nick Abregu: And like I would wholeheartedly refer you to every single person that needs any advice

and anything or sales or whatever. Without it but into, to think that.

Fabien Pataud: No one gets it. And I think, even my wife when her best friend was my first girlfriend in primary school.

Nick Abregu: Really?

Fabien Pataud: Yeah! It’s weird though. Her best, one of her best friends was my first girlfriend in primary school man. And when I met Jackie it was after all that *** but then I knew she knew Andrea. And I was like ***! And I knew she was gonna ask Andrea about me but the last time I saw Andrea was at the end of high school which this pattern hadn’t started yet. And so, Andrea was like, oh yeah Fabien, here’s his character, he’ll makes you laugh, you know, he’s cool. Because she didn’t know me from 19 to 27. She didn’t know about all that stuff because we, you know, we went different ways and whatnot. And when my wife, when we got together and she started chatting to some of my friends. And

they’d seen the flip in me. And they’re explaining the stories of me to her. She’s just like hang on are you guys talking about the same guy? Because I don’t see that and, you know, she’s an engineer, very logical, very thorough in her decisions. So, she sassed me out hard. But I asked her if you, if we met then do you think we would have had a chance? She said, no way! She’s like, no way, you know. And I’ll admit, you know, that there’s nights where I’ve still got and loose her in our relationship. There are nights where I’ve doubled you know, a little bit of coke. And like because I will fall back into, there’s too much pressure going on. I need a release and I will fall back into that pattern of who I used to be. And so, and that’s why I’ve still engaged coaches like some of the best coaches in this world. I still pay to help me fine tuning and course-correct but knowing that, we’re still gonna make mistakes. Like you’re still gonna slip up. And what I’ve learned is to not beat myself up when I do that. It just goes, okay, what is the triggers that keep pushing me back into that,

Nick Abregu: Identification.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah man, yeah. Whereas before I had the baseball bat and I was whacking myself in the head man. Going down and *** man. I slipped up that night like, you know, I just I fell back into that thing, that’s not me, that’s not me, you know. And, and I found it kept perpetuating because I wasn’t treating myself kindly. And going hey dude, that’s okay man. Like you slipped up, alright. Let’s look at this, where’s it coming from. And going back and going, ah, when I get into this position. When something happens with my family dynamics, I revert back to an old version of me. And now having the awareness of, ah, that’s actually a trigger. Now I’m working through the trigger. And now that’s the stuff that I teach to my clients because I’ve been through it. And I’m going through it still, you know. So, you know, when they say the coach has to have his *** together, I say well no. You know, the coach has to have be one step ahead at least of their clients but don’t portray that you got your *** together. Like the vulnerability component of, hey guys, I still *** around sometimes. I still slip up but we’re in this together. So, when you do it, don’t beat yourself up, you know. And I think that’s what enabled me to have the kind of relationships that I have now with a lot of my clients. So, what’s your plan with all this,

so like, you know putting the show up. What do you,

Nick Abregu: Just content for my guests like the whole.

Fabien Pataud: The content for you as well, yeah?

Nick Abregu: But I just, Actually I think we’re, we’re just we’ll just keep going.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, sweet, sweet.

Nick Abregu: This is just content. I just want content like the, I just want talk *** like everything is so structured in business. I just want to be able to people get to know me. Get to know you guys like on a personal level.

Fabien Pataud: I love it!

Nick Abregu: So, you guys can use this. So, if ever you do want to show your clients or whatever, like you can.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, for sure man, for sure. So, what’s, like you’re doing this so that you can help people come out of the the like the daily grind that they’re in? Is that what you’re saying? Like the seriousness of business and that, like just take the edge off like, you know.

Nick Abregu: Look I want to start a podcast but I didn’t know what to do. So, I just wanted to, and I thought let’s just try one. So now we ran, we do all this for clients. Right? So, if someone wants to start their own podcast with own channel, they just have to come in here. We’d take care of all the bookings. Yeah, all that stuff. They just have to get their eyes in here. For one hour, a week, for a month

or whatever. And then we splice it up into so much different content and we have to dominate their industry.

Fabien Pataud: Amazing!

Nick Abregu: But for us I just wanted to talk. Like it’s nice to talk with your friend.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah man, yeah. I feel you though, I feel you.

Nick Abregu: And then we’ll gonna look back at this one day and, you know, we’ll gonna you’ll gonna laugh, or cry, or whatever. And I think it’s nice. It’s nice to blow up something.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah man, for sure. I think creating an avenue, and your right man because, you know, when you look at a lot of the podcasts that are out there, most of them are geared around strategy. There are some that aren’t like, you know, you got Joe Rogan’s and all that. But there’s an, there’s a good blend there of like, you know, smoking weed on the podcast and, you got any weed brother? Now you know what I mean.

Nick Abregu: Well dude I, I’d love to like have a drink and stuff. And like just chill out and relax. But that’s the next podcasting station.

Fabien Pataud: That’s the next one.

Nick Abregu: We’re gonna go more state-of-the-art stuff.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, but I mean, you know, it’s about starting and I think that this is a great, you’re demonstrating like, it’s like, you know, you can go and get the fanciest this and the best of that. And get caught in all that *** and then miss the purpose of just starting and then seeing how it evolves.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Fabien Pataud: But you know, having worked with you in the past and seeing your work from a content creation perspective and your team’s ability to edit. And then, and then turn that into content that actually converts. That’s phenomenal and the value that you’re gonna, that you are bringing for this. Like I’m excited to grab some of this content even though these contents are not even geared around the stuff that I’m speeding right now. IE sales coaching and how to make more money. It’s actually geared around the stuff that I’m more passionate about. As a consequence, will help those that are listening right now. Like you know for those that are like kind of in, like you know, nine years ago. 25, nearly a hundred granddad got a court case. I’m stuck on drugs and alcohol. And I’ve lost my job. I’ve done my knee and I couldn’t even afford to get a knee operation. So, I’m on a waiting list for 12 months. And, you know, there’s thoughts of, what do I do with my life? Do I end my life? Do I, am I just gonna be a bomb? Am I going to prison? And, you know, the 25-year-old dude just like asking all these questions and now 34, so nine years has passed. You know, married, two kids and you know, successful in real estate built a business it’s been successful that are ***, I’ve hated a part of it to be honest. And that’s why the pivots coming on, helping men in that field. Helping dudes that are in my position.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, exactly.

Fabien Pataud: Anything’s possible. Creating a medium like this is gonna, hundred percent gonna change somebody’s life.

Nick Abregu: Yeah. And I hope anyone listening is like it doesn’t have to be all serious, you know. I hope they’re having a laugh. Just don’t crush your car on it.

Fabien Pataud: I hope something probably like if I’m listening to this right now about to have a line like hold on. So, you mean I can keep having these stupid successful. What the *** cocaine man.

Nick Abregu: Yeah That’s a, like that’s a powerful thing.

Fabien Pataud: It’s a hell of a drug as David Bell says cocaine’s a hell of a drug.

Nick Abregu: You see this 60-year-old, like men that are just successfully rich and they got these young women. And everyone all they want is that stuff. It’s a,

Fabien Pataud: Well you know you’ve made it when you’re on the coke man. That’s the, that’s the made it drug, yeah. When I was starting out in the scene it was speed, pills, weed. but, you know, and it was like coke. It was like 300, 400 bucks a gram. You’re like and as a young guy I’m like, I’m not paying that much for that. I pay my 20 bucks for a pill or eighty dollars for the speed. Then you start, you know, you’re making, you get into the six-figure mark. And you find out that if you’re taking pills and speed like you’re a peasant in the drug scene. It’s weird and then it’s like, you know, I remember being out and I first started going out and with some chicks. And I’m like, hey do you want some, you know. They’re like, oh what is it? Oh my god, it’s Louie, you know, the name for the speed. And they’re like, ah, nah, nah. We aren’t doing any coke. And I was like, oh, okay. And I realized, I’m like there’s distinct now, yeah man, yeah. And after,

Nick Abregu: You got to shift to suit your target market.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah. Hundred percent man. So yeah, it’s funny man. It’s, you know.

Nick Abregu: It’s like it has that power here in like in Australia. Right? But when you go to countries where it’s made, right? Like the power is different. It’s like, you go say, to like any South American country.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, for sure.

Nick Abregu: Which is like so accessible. It’s almost like it’s just your brunch.

Fabien Pataud: It’s like you, well yeah, it’s like, you know, picking up milk and bread from the milk bar, you know. So true man.

Nick Abregu: And it loses that appeal. Like it’s not a status of being rich. It’s a status of just like

Fabien Pataud: It’s like a whatever. It’s like an every day. It’s a part of, you know, part of your everyday. You have your coffee and you have your your thing and you’re reading newspaper. It’s true man like I over here it’s a five to ten times the amount of over there. And ten times less like not as good as what it is over there, you know. By the time it comes here it’s like

Nick Abregu: I’ve got a story.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, sure man. Tell me, what is it? What is it?

Nick Abregu: So, a few years ago, I went to a South American country because I speak Spanish, right?

Fabien Pataud: Hola!

Nick Abregu: Si senior. So, at a hostel and my mate who came with me, he went fishing for the weekend. So, I just stayed at the hostel and I just went to have few drinks with some friends that we made there. Like some Spanish guys, some, you know, some Aussie guys and whatever. And they go like, let’s go to a party! So, I’m like, okay let’s go. So, we get in the cab, oh actually we just walked down the road because the party was near our hostel. And we get then and they’re like, all right we’ll gonna do some coke. I’m like, oh okay. Right? So, they’re like, but we have to get it. Right? So, they started on

getting on their phones. They ask the bar man to do his stuff and then like 20 minutes later, they’re like, they grab me and like come on let’s go! We have to go get the stuff. And I’m like what the ***, like I just wanna.

Fabien Pataud: They like to bring you just in case they were getting kidnap. They’re like, let’s bring the

solid guy with us. Yeah!

Nick Abregu: So, we go out. We walk about five minutes to this like the dodgiest corner that I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Like dock, it’s like Straight light, street light, like flashing So we stand in the corner, we’re standing there for like what seemed to be an hour. Right? But it was probably like 15 minutes but like everyone knows, like you stand in these corners you’re gonna get raped by a prostitute or you’re gonna get capped. So, I’m *** of myself.

Fabien Pataud: And you’re not in this scene normally, yeah?

Nick Abregu: Yeah, no, no, exactly.

Fabien Pataud: That’s why. So, this is like

Nick Abregu: So, I don’t understand. Like all I know it’s from movies.

Fabien Pataud: And you’re the movie guy.

Nick Abregu: Yeah exactly.

Fabien Pataud: You’re in the scene with the guys. So, I could imagine the movies that’s going on in your head right now.

Nick Abregu: I’m the stupid idiot that gets shot first.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, yeah. Like he knew what comes out of the bar and then Vin Diesel drives by like

Nick Abregu: So, and I don’t know what we’re waiting for. Like I know we’re waiting for something but I don’t know what it is. Right? So, all of a sudden, we, from the end of the street, the dock street, we just see the flashing lights. Like the killer guy that flushes his lights.

Fabien Pataud: I’m saying, I’m thinking Scarface right now with, oh man!

Nick Abregu: So, we get in. So, it’s a taxi.

Fabien Pataud: I’m getting nervous now you telling me it’s a

Nick Abregu: It’s a cab. So, the taxi pulls up.

Fabien Pataud: So, he’s got a side ***

Nick Abregu: Yeah, this guy, this guy.

Fabien Pataud: His passive income before. That’s his passive income.

Nick Abregu: Should referred him to content creation. He pulls up, right? Like he opened the door from the front seat. He opens the back door like he just reaches out there.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Abregu: So, we get in. I’m like, ah ***. We get in. We drive around the block for a little bit like cops passed us and everything. And the guy, the guy was just nowhere. He pulls over to the side of the road while he’s in traffic like he just cuts across like this lane highway doesn’t give a ***. And he, the first thing he does is he pulls out a gun. He pulls out a gun and puts it on that console. Just to let us know that this *** will take us out.

Fabien Pataud: So, in the sales world that’s called holding the frame. That’s called the authority fire me. It’s like, That’s a good idea for our next business meeting. Oh boys.

Nick Abregu: So yeah, they just light it with it. So, he puts the gun on the console and like pointing at us man. I’ve never had a gun pointed at me in my life. It’s a *** feeling.

Fabien Pataud: It’s *** up man.

Nick Abregu: Whether it’s loaded or not loaded.

Fabien Pataud: It doesn’t matter.

Nick Abregu: It is ***. So, he puts that and then he starts talking in Spanish. And like I couldn’t, like everything in my head just want [makes sound] Like I couldn’t hear the

Fabien Pataud: Fight flight, you’re in fight flight man.

Nick Abregu: Like I started sweating in places I didn’t even know I had like sweat crazy and then he pulls out the drugs and then my friend, no not my friend but the guy I was with, he couldn’t really speak. So, I had to start translating.  So, I said, the first thing I said, like no one was talking, so I said, oh what’s this? I said what’s this?

Fabien Pataud: It’s just a laundry detergent. I will come and pick it up.

Nick Abregu: And I felt like it was just such a…

Fabien Pataud: You’re trying to break the silence.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I was nervous man. Like if I, I would just keep talking and talking. But anyway, they started saying whatever and then the guy was asking me things to ask him like

where is it from and all this stuff. Just get the ***, get it, just get the *** out of here.

Fabien Pataud: It was like, does it work? Yeah, yeah, well, oh, it’s sweet, you know.

Nick Abregu: Yeah and it was like this rock. It was like in a rock.

Fabien Pataud: That’s a pure cocaine mate. Columbia, you know. And so, how’d you go afterwards? Charging?

Nick Abregu: Yeah, now it’s like, that’s how we, and that is like the kind of like a good experience. Because I’m alive.

Fabien Pataud: That’s a pure South American experience like, you know, that’s a movie scene space man.

Nick Abregu: But just to, just…

Fabien Pataud: So, don’t try this at home kids.

Nick Abregu: Yeah, don’t go to South America.

Fabien Pataud: If you do go with Nick because he could translate for you.

Nick Abregu: Because I can translate. And then you read things like when they were doing the knockos. You know knockos?

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Abregu: That was doing the, so, that were doing the site scouting for the movie in the Mexico

one that killed the guy.

Fabien Pataud: And what? The people that own those areas

killed the guy that was scouting, huh?

Nick Abregu: Isn’t that *** up?

Fabien Pataud: It’s crazy man. Yeah, I’ve seen some stuff online. Some of those videos. And if you’ve

seen them, there’s some you know you know; drug dudes and they’ve got the pit bulls and they make videos of them. You know, and letting the dogs out with some cats. Yeah man, it’s some horrific stuff. Something like woah!

Nick Abregu: That world is just something, I just like, I don’t understand.

Fabien Pataud: So whenever when you went back to the room and to the hostel you can finish the story. Everyone’s likes on 8 years, and so, we really got it. And there’s a woooh hoo!

Nick Abregu: So, it was an interesting night. But it was, the place we’re at, like the party at the hostel. It was just filled with all these people like these trekkers. Have you ever hung out with people that trek? Like for days?

Fabien Pataud: I’ve done Everest Base Camp.

Nick Abregu: Have you?

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, yeah man.

Nick Abregu: With your wife?

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, yeah. We did that man. So yeah, that was two weeks man.

Nick Abregu: Crazy. You guys are crazy.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, that was on our honeymoon too man, got to figure out like…

Nick Abregu: Dude, what are you doing?

Fabien Pataud: We’re looking at the Maldives. And then all of a sudden like, nah, ** that! We’ve got almost six months travelling. And she said to me once that she wanted to do Everest. And I said, ** it, let’s do it. Let’s do Everest.

Nick Abregu: In like the dating phase which like yeah, I’d like to give you Everest.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah because she did like a 100k walk and we’ve done a few 50k charity walks and so she loves that endurance stuff. And I said to her what’s next? Like endurance wants, she’s like Everest. I’m like Everest? I’m like *** man! I’m like, all right. Cool. Maybe one day.

Nick Abregu: A brisk walk at a sunset through Foots Cray. That will give you horrific.

Fabien Pataud: You won’t come back alive! So, yeah man. That’s what we did man. We’re like *** it. Let’s go against the norm like what you’re doing here with this. Like let’s not follow the trend and yeah, we packed up and went to Southeast Asia for three months. And in Europe for three months man. It just went up hard and and base camp was one of them man. Two weeks, full throttle.

Nick Abregu: I think my friends at the base camp right now. She just did it. It’s really awesome. The determination but this girl that I know, she is like she’s just one of those girls that were just, like there’s no limitation. Like she did I think, like 100k Oxfam walk or whatever it is. Like she just did it. She trained for like a month. That was it and I’m like There goes into it and all that man. Like the mental strength that you need.

Fabien Pataud: *** for a 100k walk.

Nick Abregu: to do that stuff.

Fabien Pataud: The 50k one that was like, ah, man. That was killer and, you know, my missus, she was just flying through it. And she’s just like, come on babe. And I’m like, yeah, sweet, sweet, hang on.

Nick Abregu: So, doing taxes and, hi mum, hey guys!

Fabien Pataud: Yeah. Multitasking.

Nick Abregu: Yeah but seriously the determination and mental strength you need to do that *** is just out of this world.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah, yeah. Some people man like you know the David Goggin’s and all those cats. Like one of my clients actually I just saw before like past clients. He’s training for an ultra-marathon now. Because I see him running in the neighborhood. He’s putting it up on Instagram. He’s got his socials

gone. Last run he did was like 15-17k. So, were you training for a marathon dude? He’s like nah, nah. Something more than that. I’m like, have you been listening to David Goggin’s? He’s like, yeah, I have. I’m like, how far? He goes, as far as I can go. I was like, damn! So, he’s wanting to, he’s wanting to give it a crack on me. What marathon 42ks, you know. Who knows, he’ll probably just try to go 60,70,80. I don’t know man.

Nick Abregu: I’ll get that David Goggin’s mentality when I do stretch ups.

Fabien Pataud: Yeah. That dude’s next level man. But he shows you know, he’s the same as everyone

else in the sense of physical but the ability of where we can actually take ourselves is ***.

Nick Abregu: Dude, let’s wrap this up.

Fabien Pataud: Let’s do it man.

Nick Abregu: But, can you tell everyone where they can find you?

Fabien Pataud: For sure, for sure. So, if you’re listening, you’re watching, hit me up on Facebook Fabien Pataud, connect with me. If you’re a man or you know, you’re in business. You’re you know a semi-successful fuel, you’re on six figures and some of I’ve been spitting today resonates for you. Or you got some really bad habits and you’re a bit disconnected with your relationships, with yourself, with your partner, whoever. And you want to take things to the next level, you know, you’ve hit some success but you’re not satisfied. Then you’re the kind of person that I want to speak to man. And so, don’t be afraid to reach out and it’s not about ego and how big dicks are. It’s more about assessing where we’re really at and where we want to go. And that’s the kind of people that I’m helping right now man. So, helping you level up and take the next step in your career. So, email is Fabien@pataudconsulting. I’m sure a Nick will probably put that up. Yeah and just hit me up. Send me a message. Tell me where you’re at and let’s see if we can help each other out.

Nick Abregu: Awesome! I fully refer this guy to anyone because he’s just genuine. He’s very genuine when he cares a lot. So, if you reach out to him, expect a lovely relationship.

Fabien Pataud: Awesome man. Thank you for, thanks for having my brother man. My man!

Nick Abregu: Let’s break this studio. And we’re out!