Phil Bohol is a founder, entrepreneur, and mentor who documents the real journey of building a meaningful life and business. In this episode of his mindset podcast, Phil speaks to entrepreneurs and business owners who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or uncertain about their next move as the year comes to a close.
This episode is for anyone trying to build something bigger than themselves while navigating pressure, responsibility, and self-doubt. If you’re an entrepreneur who keeps waiting for clarity before taking action, this business podcast conversation challenges that approach and offers a more sustainable way forward.
Phil reflects on recent life updates and conversations with people who wanted to launch businesses, grow momentum, or break through plateaus but froze instead. He explains how the desire for perfect clarity often becomes the reason progress stops. In business, waiting to feel confident before acting usually leads to inaction. Real confidence is built after action, not before it.
Using a simple but powerful analogy from everyday life, Phil breaks down how overwhelm works. When there’s too much to do, people shut down. The solution isn’t doing everything at once. It’s choosing a starting point and moving one step at a time. Action creates a new vantage point, and that vantage point creates clarity.
A recurring theme in the episode is focus. Phil explains why trying to clean everything off your plate at once leads to burnout and why slow, intentional movement produces better long-term results. Drawing on lessons from the Marine Corps, he reinforces the principle that slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. Consistency beats intensity when the goal is durability.
Phil also shares parts of his own journey, including business setbacks, leadership mistakes, family pressure, and seasons of doubt. He explains how personal development, mindset shifts, and changing his definition of success allowed him to keep moving forward even when things felt heavy. Growth didn’t remove challenges. It increased responsibility.
The episode emphasizes the long game. Business success comes with cycles of momentum and collapse. The difference between people who win and people who quit is not talent. It’s the ability to keep moving, learning the lesson, and adapting when things get hard.
This episode reflects Phil Bohol’s broader body of work around mindset, discipline, and execution. It’s part of an ongoing documentation of what it really takes to build a business, raise a family, and keep going through uncertainty.
Listen with the intention to reflect, simplify your next move, and take one step forward. Momentum is built by movement, not perfection.
What's going on, you guys? I thought it'd be good to reconnect, especially as we enter the end of the year, just some life updates and maybe some things for you guys to think about. I always want you to remember this channel was created to document my journey throughout time.
Um, obviously I've been more active some years than than others, depending on the season that I've been at, and we're probably gonna start getting active again. You know, I'm talking to a lot of people that just need a little bit of clarity, some guidance, crazy stuff happening in the world. People still wanting to do what I think we all want to do, which is build something meaningful in life, give our families lives that.
You know, we, we dream of and we want to actualize. And the biggest question is always, well, how do we do it? You know, I think that's why I am gonna maybe get a little bit more tactical. You guys can implement it and obviously there's a ton of resources I, I've talked to, uh, uh, to you guys about over time, which are still available to you.
But I also know how crazy life can get in making decisions. So, um, I was talking to a. Active duty Marine right now as we speak. And he wanted to launch a business, I wanna say last year, about this time last year, October last year, I think 2024. And he was like right at the stage where he was about to launch.
And you know, I touched base with him just maybe today or yesterday or something like that. I said, Hey man, how, how's everything going? You know, like. You make progress, you're building momentum, picking up steam, and he's like, nah, man. Honestly, if I wanna be brutally honest, I just got stuck basically is what he said.
Um, life happened. And this is what I want you guys to understand. This is, this is the thing that if you could master this one thing, it will help you make progress. See, a lot of people want perfect. A lot of people want to always know what to do, when to do it, and they wait for that moment. They wait for that clarity, but here's how that actually hurts you.
In business, it's very easy to first want to be confident, and then through confidence we think that we will execute at a much higher level. So until that confidence is established, the natural human state is to do nothing right. I'd rather do nothing than to do something the wrong way. As an entrepreneur, as a business owner, you have to do it backwards.
You have to take action, messy, crazy amounts of action, and with every step that you take forward. It gives you a different vantage point, and I talk to my brotherhood a lot about this, and the biggest thing that we work on is focus. If you have a million things on your list to do, the worst thing that you could ever do for yourself, for your mission, for your business, for your family is like, think that you have to clean everything off your plate.
I was cleaning the loft for my kids the other day, got this ball pit for my 2-year-old. She's the more you know, active one. And what she likes to do is she either likes to flip the ball pit over, so all the balls go everywhere, basically in the loft. Or she'll go jump in and then she'll start smacking everything out, right?
And it just creates this massive mess. I was thinking about it the other day as I was cleaning and I said, man, this is a lot. And, you know, we're teaching her how to clean up after herself right now. And for kids it can be very overwhelming. It's like there's so many balls to throw back in the ball pit.
Where do I start? You know? And, and then they, they get overwhelmed, overstimulated, and then they don't do anything, right? That's why the kids can be upstairs for like an hour and maybe there's three more balls in the ball pit, you know? Not much movement, not much progress. What I'm teaching them. And what I also did for myself was just choose an area to start and you just pick up one ball at a time.
So that's all you can do, right? We've got two hands. Okay, well I'm gonna grab one with one hand, one with the other hand, and I'm gonna walk it over and you're like, well, this is kind of inconvenient because I'm walking, I'm wasting time walking back and forth. Why not just throw it so we try something new?
And so then I started throwing the balls into the ball pit. What I noticed was when I would grab the balls, throw into the ball pit, and I was focused, they would go into the ball pit. When I tried to rush the process, even though I was trying to condense time, I would throw the balls and they would miss, and then they would bounce off, shoot to another side of the room.
Then I realized I was being un optimal at that point because I was trying to rush something. I was doing it messy. In business, we can look at that like, man, like, well, isn't that a waste of time? Well, no. If you think about it, I created two different iterations of how to approach the problem, but first, I had to take action and through action I was able to then uncover a different problem.
Not that my way was wrong, but the way that I was conducting myself was incorrect to the outcome that I wanted. So then what I did was I said, okay, I'm gonna slow down, pick up the balls right fast, but when it's time to shoot into the pit, I'm gonna focus. Then I would make more, and then I start getting more confident.
And then instead of just picking up one ball at a time or two balls at a time, I pick up four, right? Four in this hand, four in this hand. And then I would throw 'em. And then I noticed, based on my form, if I threw it overhand. Because of the way my, my hand releases some would veer off track and I was making about 50% of them.
So because of that, I said, okay, well it's working, but it's only working at 50%. So what I need to do is I need to try different method of doing the same thing. So then I tried underhand. Under hand. I would be eight out of eight every time. Eight out of eight, eight out of eight. And every so often, you know, one would bounce off, but I wouldn't stop and say, oh, I need to change my process now, because I went from 50% to about 99% of the time I was making the balls into the pit.
Why do I give you this example? Well, in business, when you're trying to launch something or you're trying to fix something, right? You hit, you hit a hundred thousand dollars and you're like, man, I'm trying to double this, triple this, quadruple this. What it takes is action to allow yourself a different vantage point to then say, did that work better or did that not work better?
If it worked better, is it working at a hundred percent capacity and and optimization, or can I optimize it? See, when we have the courage to just take a step forward, it's a lot easier to diagnose, to optimize, and to do better, faster, stronger, right after. But imagine if I was like my kids and instead I would get overwhelmed by so many things I have to pick up.
Then I have to put it into the ball pit and then blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It can very overwhelming. So in business, it's the same whether you're launching your business or whether you are trying to break through that a hundred K level, 200 K level. The best thing that you can do for yourself is to, number one, give yourself some grace that you've probably never done it before.
Number two, take the action. Whatever you're scared of doing right now, take the action, because let's say it was wrong, right? Let's say that I did the overhand and I'm like, man, I'm not really making anything. At least now I know not to do it that way, but the decisions prior to that, I would've never known that way, and that method doesn't work for what I'm trying to accomplish.
I say all of this because you know when, when you watch my journey, if, if you've been around the channel for a while, it looks like I've always had forward momentum, which is true, but I've had a lot of bullshit along the way. I have had terrible toxic clients when I, when I didn't understand that I didn't have to work with everybody.
I had a lot of fluctuations in my businesses throughout the years because I was learning how to lead not only remotely, but with different people that really weren't fitted for the business and the mission, and obviously that that challenged my personal operating system. Then you mix in having one kid.
And then having another kid and then having a wife in postpartum, you know, for years. And there's a lot that can get very overwhelming. The thing that's always served me was displacing from the situation, right? Taking a step back, taking 10 steps back if I need to, so I can look at like what's going wrong.
And sometimes it can feel counterproductive to do that because you're like, well, we have to be in a constant state of motion to make progress. But that goes against my philosophy, which I learned in the Marine Corps. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. If you go slow, you never stop. You're consistent. If you go too fast without methodology or intention behind it, what's gonna happen is it creates a slinky effect, right?
You, you go and then you stop. You go, and then you stop. You go, and then you stop. And then you start challenging your own burnout, right? Everybody has a burnout, um, threshold, but when you have slow, intentionally. You're taking steps forward and you're taking uncomfortable action every day. What it does is it allows you to make incremental changes every single day, but you never stop moving forward.
And this is the whole concept of, you know, the, the hare and the, the hare is the rabbit, the hare and the tortoise. Right? The rabbit loses because the tortoise never stops. The rabbit got so overconfident. He would go, stop, go, stop. But the tortoise stayed consistent. And so what I want to impart onto you is take action.
You know it, it's a very scary thing to do something you've never done before, something your family's never done before. Something people you surround yourself with has never done before. So you can't expect that you're gonna be perfect at it. You're gonna screw up along the way. You're gonna build a business that you end up actually not liking.
Caning that, or you're gonna be like me and actually build a business you love, and then try to chase quick money and do, uh, a wrong business decision, trusting the wrong people, and then losing years of time, which happened to me. You know, fortunately, I understood the lesson that God was trying to teach me, which was every great entrepreneur goes through seasons like that.
And one thing that I'm learning and I'm continuing to learn, you know, people think I'm like 45, which I compare myself a lot, which is, you know, a toxic trait to people that are like 45, 50 years old. I'm 32. What I've been able to do at 32 years old is like a top percentile thing. And I don't say that to like brag on myself.
I say that because I had to actually do like market research and be like, is it normal for me to have accomplished what I have? At my age. Number two, is it normal for me to accomplish what I have at my age with my background and upbringing? Because that, that is a big thing. You know, I was born in the Philippines, we grew up in humble beginnings in the United States.
Family started going through divorce and shit at 10 years old. You know, I've known nothing but like hardship, leading all the way, uh, until I was 18, even from 18 to about 26 years old. You know, it was just a shit show of life. I was just. Trying to get by. And it wasn't until I started looking at all these things that I'm talking about with you today and that I've been talking about for years, where things actually started to change because I started to change because my mindset started to change.
My focus points started to change. How I deemed success, how I, uh, defined success changed who I surrounded, myself changed, you know? And, and that's the part that. Can get very uncomfortable. You have to become more than you ever were, and you gotta step into arenas that you've never been in, and every new arena that you join, you're like at the bottom of the totem pole.
So, you know, I always wanna remind you that even though every year over year life has gotten better, it comes with equal amount, if not more challenges. You know, a lot of people are like, back when, you know, I, I wasn't making a hundred thousand dollars a year in corporate. I always be like, man, it must be so nice to make a hundred thousand dollars a year.
Then I'd have, um, I, I'd make a hundred thousand dollars in a year and I'd be like, damn, I got different problems now. These are fucking stressful problems. You know, there's more on the line now. When I started making 200, I was like, fuck. Like I thought I wanted to make double, but that came with double the responsibility.
Then double that, double the responsibility again. So over four x what I was used to. This is why personal development is such a big thing. Your ability to manage and handle stress and make decisions under duress is, is like key. It's the only thing that makes somebody lose in business. And I think that when we go through hardship, which I did, you know, it's a couple years ago, I went through a very big hardship.
Um, sometimes it's very easy for us to feel imposter syndrome like we did something wrong or we're not who we thought we were. And like so many what ifs and so many fucking. Just lack of confidence, self-worth issues start coming up again. Like there's so much that's part of this journey, which is why as corny and and cliche as it sounds, it really is like a long game.
You know, you, you have to be willing to do this for the long game. Otherwise, when you go through your lows, which you will, we all do. Okay. Like anybody that tells you, like they just been fucking crushing it. They don't, they, they haven't, you know? And there, there's a couple years ago where I posted a video of just me completely breaking down because of the stressors of, of business in life.
And it's important to show those things because, you know, there, there's other people. Just a couple steps ahead, uh. Behind me who are probably looking at me. 'cause I've talked to you guys and you guys think that it's like just fucking rainbows and sunshine, but it's not, it, it, it's a lot of random things, you know?
Um, there was a time where business started picking up again and then, you know, we had this health care with my daughter and it just fucked me up so bad. Dude, I, I, I thought I was being a bad dad, but, you know, I really had to come to terms with like, well, medically, like there's nothing you could have done.
There's nothing you could do. And so we have to sometimes like look inward and see like, fuck, dude, we're, we're human going through a human experience and we're just trying to do the best that we can. And that's why it's just so important to like always stay plugged in. Always. Like, even if it like takes everything that you got to like continue to reprogram your mentality.
It's so important, man. There's been so many times throughout these past few years where I just wanted to like give up and I've even asked my wife like, Hey, so what happens if I just like give up on all this shit? Would you still support me? Would you still love me? And she said, yeah. And she and I both know, like, I would never do that, you know, but sometimes it really does get that hardware.
You're just like, man, grass is greener on the other side. Don't gotta deal with all this shit and responsibilities, uh, that a business owner has to deal with. But. You know, it's part of the game and it's very important to always recognize that if life is hard for you now, you could choose a different life there.
The mediocrity door is right there. It's always available to you, but that's gonna come with its own hardship, you know? And so you gotta kinda ask yourself, well, what kind of hard life do I want? Do I want a hard life where at least I get to try to self-actualize and, and create something meaningful in my life, or.
Do I want the hard thing where every day I also have to live with the thought that I didn't go all out, I didn't go all into myself. And when we talk about things like this, it's so powerful because then you know, the younger buck can like listen to the stories and be like, oh shit. I guess it's not always rainbow and sunshines.
You know, I gotta be prepared for what's to come because business will will crush and then business will get crushed. You will crush and then you'll get crushed. And it's about asking yourself like, are you in an ecosystem that supports you during those times or are you not? Because if you're not, it sucks.
Can you do it? Absolutely. I did it and it sucked. It really sucked. So I don't really know where, you know, I really wanna bring this home. It's just, I, I just felt called to, um, reconnect with you guys, you know? 'cause there's a lot of you that don't comment, you don't like, you don't really engage with my channel.
But I know you watch, I know you listen. And I've also gotten messages here and there, whether it's email or on Instagram or whatever, that the content has helped. So whoever it is that's out there that's like, fuck, I really wanna dominate this, this dream that I have, I just don't know if I can do it. I hope this helps.
You know, I hope these little inputs that I put on, on the channel help and even if I'm not like super active here, 'cause I'm more active on a different channel for that season in my journey. You know, I hope you go back to, to the same philosophies I've taught for years. Because everything that I've taught for years is everything I still apply to my life.
You know, nothing's really changed. I've changed, but I've basically remained the same as far as my operating system goes. I fully believe in everything that I was talking about five years ago. I fully believe in them today, and that's what's kept me going, you know, so just understand this game is about really not stopping, but more so like asking yourself, what causes me to stop and what is the solution?
That I need to provide myself, uncover, you know, pen to paper, whatever, that will allow me to finally break through. Because the reason why, you know, you might get stuck in a season that you're in is because you have not yet learned the lesson that God or life or the universe is trying to teach you. It's point, blank, simple.
And what I found is God works in very mysterious ways. He'll put you through shit. He's put me through shit that I'm just like, man, I don't even know. Why this has to happen. And it's, it's trusting that it, it's serving you in some shape, way, or form, even if you don't see that clearly yet. So that's all I got.
You know, I always love to hear from you guys. I always love to hear, you know, how you're doing, how things are progressing. If, if these, you know, videos and inputs in recorded diaries or are helpful, you know, that, that always inspires me to do the next one. Um, but as always, you know, subscribe. Like share, do the thing and just keep going, man.
You know, like we just can't stop. No matter if, if, if we win crazy for a year or we lose like crazy for a year, in the grand scheme of things, it's a blip of time. As long as we can always come back to that, it's just a blip of time, you know, we'll bounce back, then you'll be good to go. The bounce back, it's, it's a fight.
But when you bounce back from the bounce back, the confidence that you. Achieve. It's priceless. So priceless. And, and I will tell you this, it never stops being scary. It's always gonna be fucking scary, bro. Every level, you basically have to risk it all, all over again to get to the next level because, you know, if you stop risking, you stop investing into yourself, you stop investing time, you stop, uh, cultivating your skill sets or expertise that becomes your new normal, which then becomes your new mediocrity level.
And if you're just like me, something's always gonna call to you and say, Hey, you know, your potential is far bigger than this, but I need you to dig deep. I need you to figure out what's holding you back. And I need to work through that to break through it. Stop trying to go around it because that's what's wasting time.
See you on the next one.