Kevin Palmiere Shares His Next-Level Journey to Success

Kevin Harrington
Hi, I’m Kevin Harrington, an original shark from the hit television show Shark Tank and you’re listening to the underdog podcast

Pamela Bardhi
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the underdog podcast today I have an incredible guest here with me, Kevin, how are you, my friend?

Kevin Palmieri
I’m doing very well, thank you so very much for having me. I did a very appropriate post about being an underdog. So the universe has aligned us nicely.

Pamela Bardhi
I absolutely love that. My goodness, Kevin, I can’t wait to hear your story in full detail of right up on you. And I’m like, man, he sounds like such a badass. I can’t wait to hear more.

Kevin Palmieri
I appreciate it. I want to be a badass with a good heart. I think that’s what we’re playing for.

Pamela Bardhi
That’s the greatest thing you could ever ask for badass but good heart. Oh, man. So I’d love to know though I’m for my first question for you. what inspired you to where you are today to be this badass with a big heart?

Kevin Palmieri
I was raised by women. So I was raised by my mom. And my grandmother didn’t know my dad didn’t meet my dad until I was 27. So I wasn’t always capable of in the beginning. but I always want it to be a safe place for people. That was important to me. Because I know that for a lot of people, that’s what we’re looking for. I mean, we’re looking for a place of safety, a place of, of belonging.

And then when I started the podcast, I realised that our primary demographic was women. And it was like a tattooed bodybuilder who loves mixed martial arts and all things fighting. then I started to hear the stories of how our listeners had been treated by toxic masculinity. that just redefined for me like, Okay, we’re going to do this our way, and we’re going to be the best men we can be.

Because at the end of the day, if we’re not the best men we can be. we’re not gonna be to help people at the level we want. So that really reaffirmed that and yeah, helped me stay as focused on that as humanly possible.

Pamela Bardhi
I absolutely love that. Kevin, man, you just dove in deep on that. Oh, my goodness. So to back up just a little bit on you and your story. So as a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Kevin Palmieri
It started I wanted to be a baseball player. Originally, originally, I wanted to be a professional wrestler like Hulk Hogan. You know, the rock, I wanted to do that. After that, I wanted to be a stuntman. Because I was like, I can take a beating. So I feel like that might be a good, a good industry for me to get into. Then when I was nine, I started playing baseball. And then I wanted to play baseball.

And then that was kind of the dream until I graduated high school. And then we, we kind of pivoted that. but I think as you can see, I don’t really know if I ever really knew what I wanted to be. I just assumed I didn’t want to be what everybody else wanted to be.

That was always kind of my feeling is I kind of always felt like an outsider. I didn’t want to go to college. I didn’t want to do that stuff. I wanted to do something different. but those are the things I was somewhat certain of in the beginning.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that. Kevin, I love that and like, Who or What inspired you at your early age. I mean, you said you wanted to be a baseball player. Was there a particular player that inspired you?

Kevin Palmieri
Yeah, so I grew up in Massachusetts. So I was a Big Red Sox fan back in the day. And there was a player named Nomar, Nomar garciaparra was his name. And he was number five, and he was the shortstop and I was number five, and I was the shortstop. So he was my early motivation for wanting to be a baseball player. but I don’t know it’s it’s interesting.

I think looking back now I never really tried as hard as I should have. I never really tried as hard as I could have to get where I wanted, I was naturally talented. And I think I kind of fell back on that. but you don’t really know that at the time.

Pamela Bardhi
Hmm. Nomar, Garciaparra. That’s so funny that you said Boston because that’s literally where where I live. So red zone, Celtics, and all of the above. I love that. And so growing up as a kid, so you mentioned you wanted to do something differently. When did you feel that was like that in like middle school or high school?

Kevin Palmieri
Pretty early in high school. I remember thinking I’m not after this. I’m not going to school anymore. Like when this is done. I’m not going to apply to colleges. I don’t want to do that At the time. And then I think I don’t remember exactly when I came across it but I started watching UFC.

For those who don’t know, Ultimate Fighting Championship. It’s a mixed martial arts organization. So I started training, martial arts in high school. and I was like, Oh, I’m going to be a professional fighter. That’s what I’m going to do. And my grandfather was a boxer and my great-grandfather was a BA boxer. if you think of the wrestler, I wanted to be a wrestler.

I wanted to be a stuntman. Like this is kind of everything encapsulated. So I started training, mixed martial arts. And that really was, that was kind of the plan after high school again. Did I know what I was getting myself into? Absolutely not. Was I relatively ignorant? Yeah, I had no idea. But I felt like I was on a path.

And I think for many of us, progress is really what we’re after. Or the illusion of progress. I had many illusions of progress at the time. Didn’t necessarily pan out but at the time it felt really good.

Pamela Bardhi
Love that I love it UFC that so funny. There’s actually a fight going on. I always watch it. It’s been in my in laws. that’s so funny that you said that. That’s so interesting. So how do you go from mixed martial arts to where you’re at now? It’s just so fascinating to because it’s just so incredible. So walk me through that what happened after mixed martial arts?

Kevin Palmieri
Yeah, I had a weird life, I was training to fight. I had a fight scheduled, I was like, Oh, my God. I’m gonna do this gonna be awesome. And then I blew up my shoulder. So I had to get surgery on my shoulder. at the time, I was working at a gas station, I was pumping gas from six in the morning, till two in the afternoon. I would go to the gym, and lift weights for like an hour and a half, I’d go home, eat dinner.

And then I drive a half hour to the mixed martial arts gym. I trained for two or three hours and like that was my life. it was awesome. But then I tore my shoulder. And I started to ask myself, how reckless is what I’m trying to do here. I remember I used to say, I don’t have a plan B. because that’s just a convenient way to get out of Plan A.

And when I got hurt, I was like, huh, I kind of wish I had a plan B. because I can’t pay the bills. Now I’m not working. So it’s interesting. I ended up after healing my shoulder going back to work at the gas station. I remember thinking I wanted to be a personal trainer. and I was in fitness, I was in shape, I loved helping people. Cool. Let’s do that.

So I went and told my boss, I said, Hey, just a heads up. This isn’t happening anytime soon. But I just want to give you a heads up, I’m gonna be looking for a personal trainer job. And then I got fired. The next day, he fired me called me up and said don’t bother coming in. So like, so much for trying to do the right thing. Then I ended up working overnights at a hospital cleaning floors and bathrooms.

Because I couldn’t find anything else to do I needed money. So that was the next logical thing ended up doing the personal training,left. that ended up due to being a truck driver and a forklift operator, left. that ended up going to the Fire Academy because I wanted to be a firefighter. Left that and then I ended up getting a very unique opportunity in an industry called weatherization.

So we would go into state-owned buildings and government-owned buildings. and we would make them more energy efficient. That was my job. So we’ve worked in the attics, we work on the windows, we’d work on the doors. since I was working for the state, or the government at times, I would get 60 to $120 an hour. And I was like this whole knock-on college thing. definitely paid off.

For me, this really paid off. But here’s the problem. Fast forward to when I’m 25 beautiful girlfriends, she’s a model. I just want a bodybuilding show. So I was in the best shape of my life, a sports car, good money, a new place all the things. But I was just miserable. I was so unhappy, I was so unfulfilled, I was so insecure. my girlfriend ends up leaving me, I’m not a bad partner, but I just have a very empty cup.

So it’s very hard to pour from an empty cup. and she ends up leaving me, I go all in on making money. I’m gonna make as much money as humanly possible. I made $100,000 at 26. And then shortly thereafter, I was sitting on the edge of a bed contemplating suicide because I was so miserable.

And I felt so trapped and so stuck and so helpless and so hopeless. I felt like I reached the top of the mountain. the top of the mountain sucked worse than I thought it would. And I was so afraid to start over again. But I ended up leaving that job three or four months later after that rock-bottom basement moment. then going all in on what we’re doing today. And that was in 2018 Wow.

Pamela Bardhi
my gosh, Kevin, thank you so much for sharing that. Of course, that’s a hell of a journey, my friend. It’s a hell of a journey and what you experienced with that, on fulfillment. And when you get to this, like mountain of capital gain. you thought was like everything you ever wanted, I’ve been there as well. It was right after I hit my net seven-figure year when I was 27 years old.

And I’m sitting there I’m like, This is everything I worked for my whole life. like you know, as an immigrant coming to the US and watching my parents struggle. like felt like that was everything to me. And then I got there and I was like, this isn’t as great as I enjoy this. but it’s just like your heart just doesn’t feel it. You know, I had this little tap on my shoulder that was like Pam, you’re doing great things for yourself.

What are you doing for the world kind of thing. just watch like you it was like, this awakening moment. What am I actually doing? Yeah, fascinating how you get yourself to that point. and like it’s those Moments that you’re like. but this is everything I’ve ever worked for. like, What do you mean? You know? Yeah. So that’s pretty much like picking up and starting over.

So if you could walk me through that a little bit. what helped you during that state of mind? Because there’s a lot of entrepreneurs listening that have gotten to some pinnacles in their business. or maybe they’re in a transitional state right now. And they’re just like. Man, how do I forward knowing in my heart like that? You know, this isn’t the right thing for me, and like, how do you pivot? You know, if you will?

Kevin Palmieri
Yeah, it’s interesting. My answer has changed a lot. Even over the last couple of years, I think you start working on yourself. I think one of the biggest reasons, you and I had similar issues yours was. you had made a lot more money. So I’m interested and intrigued by what that was. But this is what I think it is. there is a huge discrepancy between the internal state and the external state. I could not be as happy as you thought I was not a chance.

And I think we know that we realise one of two things. One, I am trying to make my external world look as good as humanly possible. So nobody knows what the inside of the house actually looks like. or I’m trying to make the outside of the house look so darn good. Because I think that’ll make the inside look good. And that’s what I tell people is, you can keep making money, and you can keep doing your thing.

And you can keep having achievements, and success. I’m all for that you do your thing. But unless you start working on the internal parts of yourself. I do not believe anything external is going to help you. Now, here’s my deeper thought on that. If I go get a Mercedes, I will be happier from moment to moment. momentarily, I’ll have bouts of good vibes and good emotions and good feelings cool. But a Mercedes is not going to fulfill me.

There’s a large difference between results-based happiness and purpose and mission-based fulfillment. So I think those are a couple. A couple things to touch on. People say money doesn’t buy happiness. It doesn’t buy sustainable happiness, it values opportunity, which can lead to happiness. I don’t think money can ever touch or create fulfilment. I think those are very different things.

So I would say I would question or I would challenge somebody to question what success is to them? And I would say this, on a scale of one to 10. How well do you know how to achieve on a scale of one to 10? How well do you know yourself? And if those answers are 10, in one, I would try to close the gap. Because I think that’s where a lot of our unhappiness, a lot of our lack of fulfilment. a lot of are just bad feelings about ourselves. Low self esteem, low self worth, I think that’s where a lot of that comes from.

Pamela Bardhi
Absolutely. I love how you pointed out those two differences. Right? Because they say money can’t buy happiness. It’s one thing and then fulfillments another now and that is so the god honest truth. When it comes to all of that, like, yeah, of course, like the Mercedes will make you happy. You know, a Lambo will make you happy. But will you be fulfilled at the end of the day? It’s a whole nother ballgame.

Oh, my goodness. I love that. And I love the important distinction that you pointed out between the both of them. Now, how did you pivot into next level University? So like, pass this point, like what was like the first steps in your pivot on this journey?

Kevin Palmieri
Yeah. So when I left my job, I had already started a podcast. So I was interviewed on it’s interesting how everything kind of came full circle. my business partner, who I went to middle school with and high school with, he had a podcast. It was a YouTube channel. I can’t call it a podcast because it technically wasn’t. And he was like, Hey, Kev, you’re into fitness, and you’re into mindset and stuff. Like I want to do an interview with you.

That wasn’t Alright, this is probably gonna suck. I don’t know what I’m talking about. I’ve never done this before. And he’s a guy, let’s just do it. So it ended up getting pushed off and pushed off and pushed off. And I texted him one day, and I said, Alan. are we going to do this? Or what?. Like, what are we doing here, man, let’s do this. Let’s it’s past due. So we ended up doing the interview. It was myself, Alan and one of our other friends.

And after the interview, which was like an hour and a half. I said, Imagine if you could do that for a living. If I could do that for a living, oh, my goodness, that would be the best. My buddy said to me. It’s possible. There’s people that do it. And then shortly thereafter, I got all the equipment I needed for the podcast. So once I had the podcast up and rolling. it was just a matter of how do I actually turn this into something. after I left my job, I just became a full time entrepreneur.

And my sole purpose was to try to grow this. So I post on social media every day, I would track my habits. I would track my finances. I tried to build a relationship with a listener every single day. in the very beginning, Pam, I would literally just I was going through my DMs the other day. somebody reached out and said, Hey, I’m a podcast listener. And I was like, Cool. Here’s my phone number.

Let’s jump on a FaceTime so I can learn more about you. And that is literally how we started building the business I will pour more into you than anybody else. I will do all the things that are not sustainable or scalable. because I believe those are the most valuable things in the world. And I will learn how to carry the weight of all that and grow this business.

Because at the end of the day, I want you to feel like we actually care. I don’t want you to feel like a number. a cell phone, I want you to feel like a real human. So that’s really how it started. For us, it was just one on one relationships with real human beings. And then eventually, it was like, Alright. now it’s how do we turn this into a business I started coaching people for free. and then I ended up charging people.
So it was very much our growth and our quote, unquote, success was very much like a startup. In the beginning, it’s just like, everything was funded on credit cards. I couldn’t pay my rent, I couldn’t fix my car. it was just like, I told my grandmother, this, when I left my job. I will never punch a clock for somebody else. I’m either gonna die, or I’m gonna make it. And we’re hoping for the second one,

Pamela Bardhi
I love oh, my gosh, I’m gonna look like you literally poured your soul into it. And it’s like, the entrepreneurial journey is not an easy one. But it means right Oh, my God, the amount of time it takes to build a business. you’re funding it on credit cards, you know, you’re doing all the things. the mental strength that you need to get through that. Because sometimes, like I remember, you know, I had two restaurants before I got into real estate development.

And then I got into real estate development didn’t financially forecast a few deals the way that I should have. And I ran into, like cash problems, cash flow, basically charged up all my cards. I’m still, you know, have to make payroll for all my employees. I’ve got the projects going on. I remember like, back against the wall, like failure type thing.

it was going through my mind, and then my mentors are like I call them up. I’m like, oh, man, this like, suck Steve and say this, but like, I fucked up. And like, they’re like, that is so normal, like, so normal. I’m like, what? And they’re like, yeah, you’ve done that, like, five times. so like, you feel a little bit more at ease to know, like, listen. all of us have had this journey of screw ups.

because we’re all learning throughout this process. so I’d be curious to know, like, your mental mindset. what helped you get through all of that, because I feel like, the entrepreneurs mindset is just like next level. especially the ones that make it through. because a lot of people do quit, which is unfortunate. but like, What helped you kind of navigate the waters during those times?

Kevin Palmieri
Yeah, this was very hard for me to admit, for a long time. because I just felt like I needed to take it for myself. My business partner was huge instrumental for me. I mean, I’ve had a mentor in my pocket every day for the last since 2017. Pretty much. So the last six, seven years, almost, him. he’s the one that helps convince me to leave my job.

He’s the one that said, like, we’re gonna make it we’re gonna be fine. Is it gonna suck for five years? Yeah. But if we work our faces off for five years. you’ll never have to worry about anything again. Now, I still do worry in it, we’re on the mission. But like, that was huge. For me. I’m a very certainty driven human, I am not a natural entrepreneur. I have very few entrepreneurial tendencies. Like I didn’t do the lemonade stand.

I didn’t do the paper route, like you hear you know that often about entrepreneurs. So that has been instrumental having somebody in my corner. who I’ve been able to borrow belief from. And here’s the other thing, too. I’ve always been the type of person like, I’ll admit when I don’t know. something like I didn’t know a tonne at the beginning. But the one thing I believed is I will just endure more than most other people.

So just like telling me what to do. And I’ll go smash my head against the wall until I figure it out. And then if I don’t figure it out, I’ll try to get up and do it again. That’s kind of a unique strength that I’m grateful I have. Here’s the thing I realised pretty early on, there’s three things that stop people from success. you kind of talked about this. Number one, you have false expectations. I never had the expectations really, that we were going to succeed quickly. I that was never promised to me.

So I never really expected that. So false expectations. Second thing is false approach, misaligned approach. or you don’t know what you’re doing, you have no idea what you’re doing. And the third thing is a false time perspective. I didn’t really have those because I had a mentor who said, Kevin is going to take five years. like nothing’s going to change in five years. that helped me a lot Get through the dark nights, really. And then I think the other thing too is I really admitted what was important to me. I’m a money driven human being I like money I do.

I love the mission, but I like money. I’m a materials and possessions guy I value that when I started in meeting that. that helped me unlock that part of me it’s not selfish to want money. I’m very generous with my money and one of the reasons I want money so I can help more people. I was ashamed of that for a long time. So the breakthrough that I had regarding that. also allowed me to break free of the shame I had around that which is very important.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that gun. That’s super important to note too. because sometimes, like, I feel like society just in general has this relationship with money. that’s like so shitty, like money is a horrible thing. Money is the root of all evil. It’s like, no, no, no. the biggest realisation I’ve ever had in my life was money in the right hands changes the world.

which is why I believe so much in entrepreneurs. because we are the ones that help people get there. knowledge systems support all the things. And by sharing our stories, ultimately. because then people know that they’re not alone, like, Hey, I’m not a screw up.

This is just part of the process, you know? Yeah. Which was really hard for me to understand for many years. until I opened up and became vulnerable. I was like, Okay, well, why do I like it’s okay for me to receive, it’s okay to want things. It’s okay to treat yourself. And it’s also okay to help as many people as you can kind of expand that.

Like, as a young kid, I had this whole ideology that was like and I would watch it. It’s like all the people who had the money. I had all the power and the respect, and it’s like, that’s what influences society. So I made it a goal that I wanted to be rich when I grew up.

because I wanted to help more people, because then I could get that power. when that influence and then help them and then so on. and so forth, you know, becomes a big ripple effects. It’s just interesting how money really can define that for us. But yet, like society just has a horrible relationship with it. which is so fascinating to me, you know,

Kevin Palmieri
yeah, I think one of my favorite quotes is money doesn’t make you. it makes you more of who you are. And that I believe that at a deep leve. I’ve met many people who have very high levels of wealth that you would never know. and they’re unreasonably kind. I’ve also met people who have very low amounts of wealth. that would make you think they have a tonne of wealth, and they’re just not kind people.

it’s like, all right, I don’t think it’s the money that changes you. I think it’s the money that magnifies who you were, to begin with. I think that’s, that’s a very, very important understanding. And this is the other thing, too. This really, really helped me. I used to think that where people are today is where they were forever. And I used to think that where I am today is where I am forever.

If somebody is 20 years ahead of you. it’s very hard to accurately account for what 20 years can do for your journey. I could not conceptualise what that meant. And I still can’t fully. But what I can tell you is our first year as podcasters, we had 1050 downloads. Now we have days, where we have multiples of that. 5000 downloads in a day like okay, cool.

That’s 5x the first year, but that would never happen if we stopped after a year one. So don’t compare where you are to where somebody else is because where they are isn’t where they started. Where you are, is where you’re starting from. So you can’t really compare that. That’s something that really helped me. Appreciate the time more.

Pamela Bardhi
Yes, absolutely. And everyone has different timelines, different journeys, different backgrounds, different everything. I mean, you don’t know who helped to or what type o. there’s just so many parts that you can’t compare yourself to someone else’s timeline. which is so key. Okay. Oh, my gosh. But Kevin, tell me a little bit more about like next level University. and like everything about it, like I’ve read up on it. I’m like, This looks so amazing.

Kevin Palmieri
Yeah, there’s a lot going on. So next level University is our podcast. So we do seven episodes a week, we do an episode every single day. Our goal is to bring holistic self improvement to the masses, heart driven. but no BS, and I hope you’re getting that vibe if you’re, if you’re listening or viewing. But below that we have a bunch of other stuff.

At the end of the day, it’s not just a podcast, it’s a business. because we want to make sure that we’re profitable. so we can pour more into the podcast and help more people. So we do seven episodes a week. But we also have free courses, and we do free meetups, and we have group coaching. and one on one coaching and retreats and live events and all these other things.

At the end of the day, we set the business up from a place of regardless of your self-improvement setpoint. And regardless of your financial setpoint, there is somewhere for you in our business. If you can’t afford to pay, don’t worry, there’s more content that you can possibly consume.

If you do want to pay Awesome, we have stuff for you too. But we want to make it inclusive. I want you to be able to be a part of the journey no matter where you’re starting from. because that’s what we would have wanted when we were younger boys. and we didn’t necessarily have those opportunities.

Pamela Bardhi
That’s incredible. Kevin, that’s incredible. So it’s just like oh multitude of things and like the coaching and retreat says I love that. I absolutely love that. And share with me a couple of like your best stories. like biggest transformations that you’ve seen through through next level.

Kevin Palmieri
This was earliest probably 2018. Maybe I had somebody reach out to me and she said Kev follow the podcast. I’m afraid to approach people one of my biggest fears. because we talked about fear chasing all the time being courageous. She said one of my biggest fears is going up to strangers and having a conversation. I’m at school and I see all these people.

There’s all these groups and all of these cliques. and I want to go start a conversation. but I’m so afraid to get laughed at. And I was like, yeah, no, I’ve seen, I feel like that’s pretty normal. You’re not alone in that. I found out this person was local to me. So I said, this is what we’re going to do. You and I are gonna go to the mall. and we’re going to approach people, and I’m gonna help you face this fear.

I’m gonna face my own fear too, because I don’t really want to do it. So I met this person at the mall, we hug it out. I say, please do not meet people from the internet at the mall, like it’s me. So we’re safe. But please don’t do this anymore. Because I think this is sketchy. We ended up going into this store that sells these beanbag chairs. And I said, I want you to go up to the desk. And I want you to ask them how much that chair costs. she was like, no, no, this is gonna get so weird. I said, it’s literally their job.

They probably are bored. They probably want someone to talk to. I guarantee it goes better than you think. Just borrow my belief borrow my belief. Does it goes great. We go to another store, same thing, another store, same thing, another store. So then we go down to the food court, then like alright, this is level two. Ask them what comes with this meal. What is it cooked in? How much is it? What would you recommend?

Alright, cool. She does that. Then she’s starting conversations with people on the escalator. Perfect. So we’re getting ready to leave that day. And this mall for some reason had these motorised zoo animals on wheels that you could rent. and you can drive them around the mall. You might pheasant Lane mall in New Hampshire. I don’t know if you’ve ever been there. But your, your local, so.

So you can rent these for like 20 bucks, you can drive around for like 10 minutes. And she’s like, if we were brave, we are really fear chasing, we would rent those. And I’m like, oh, no, what have I done? What am I created here, I’m in trouble. So I have a video on my phone of us writing those around the mall. So this young lady who did not believe she could start conversations with strangers. due to her fear of rejection, fear of judgement.

Literally intentionally got judged at the end of the day by riding these zoo animals around the mall. You can’t miss these. So there were definitely people looking at us. So she ended up messaging me shortly after I’m not smart enough to go to school. she goes back to school, she’s got a 3.9. I think she was perfectly smart enough, she ends up getting her dream job and moves from a small town, Rhode Island to Nashville, Tennessee.

And she’s actually on our team. She actually works with us on the team on the next level you team. And she’s been on the team since I don’t know 2000. But shortly after this happened. So that’s just an example of when you’re surrounded by the right people who believe in you. when you’re surrounded by people who really want what’s best for you. there’s a lot of things that can really shift for you.

I think it has to come from that place of I want what’s best for you, regardless of me. I’ll put myself into the fire if it’s going to help you get through years. So I would say that’s probably my favourite story of anybody we’ve encountered. Because that just shows when somebody believes in you and pours into you. and you’re willing to believe in yourself and pour into yourself, luck and shift.

Pamela Bardhi
I absolutely love that story. Oh my gosh, I was getting goosebumps on your team and stuff. Wow, incredible. Kevin, oh my gosh, I love hearing stories like that. And like it just takes those cheerleaders, your leaders in your life make all the difference and pour into you. And it’s just like, sometimes you see it right away. sometimes you realise years later, like holy crap.

That person really empowered me and like what impact that really had on the trajectory. Incredible, Kevin, incredible. And I mean, you’ve coached a tonne of people at this point. And, you know, gotten so many podcast listeners and everybody listening to you.

I’m sure you’ve heard all multitude of stories experienced a multitude of things. But what would be your number one piece of advice for those who are looking to live a more fulfilled life. just anything, your the best piece of advice that you’ve really ever heard,

Kevin Palmieri
it’s probably you are the most valuable investment you can make. I just think for a lot of us, we don’t really, we’re focused on learning. which is great learning is so powerful, but unlearning is just as powerful. I think learning is taking things from the external and bringing them internal. unlearning is taking things from the internal and putting them out. getting rid of them or bringing them to life. That I think is super, super important for people.

Somebody asked me that recently, and I said therapy, therapy or counselling. something that’s going to allow you to understand yourself at a deeper level. Reading books is great, right? I mean, it’s great. But there’s only so much you can learn about yourself by doing stuff like that.

So focus on learning about you. I think we believe that the results I’m getting in my life are based on what I did yesterday, the previous week, in the previous month. or my beliefs are based on what I’ve learned and what I’m learning. Many of our successes, our potential failures, our beliefs, our lack thereof, that’s from childhood.

That’s stuff that’s just been around for years. It’s just flying under the radar. So if you can make friends with that and understand what that means. potentially with the help of some professional. I think that’s just is infinitely valuable.

What Would Kevin Older Self Tell His Younger Self

Pamela Bardhi
Absolutely heaven. I love that. And this one gets a little bit more personal. but it’s one of my favourite questions ever. And this could be life business, whatever it is that you want to share. what would your older self tell your younger self based on what you know now,

Kevin Palmieri
it’s not your fault. For a long time, I assumed for some reason I was the reason my dad left and he wasn’t there. And I manifested that through anger. I used to punch the concrete until my knuckles bled. And I was just angry, I ended up meeting my dad when I was 27. I realised this is just a and I don’t mean this with any negativity.

but this is just an underdeveloped man who probably wasn’t capable of being the person that you needed. That gave me a lot of solace to the fact that I have allowed this person to have such a giant impact on my life. and I villainize them for so long. When in reality, none of that energy is good. So yeah, it’s not your fault. And the way people show up in your life isn’t necessarily a suggestion of you. Oftentimes, it’s a deeper suggestion of who they are not you.

Pamela Bardhi
I love that. Kevin, thank you so much for sharing that too. I mean, that’s, that’s deep soul-level stuff.

Kevin Palmieri
We’re about Pam, that’s what we’re about.

Pamela Bardhi
I’m all about it. Man. That’s powerful. Oh, you’re just like, I just I love how in depth you get with everything. and how real and personal because you can feel it like when you speak you can feel that you know. and I appreciate I appreciate really beautiful. Oh my gosh. So like, Kevin, what’s up in your world? like the next few months? What’s happening?

Kevin Palmieri
Yeah, too much. Honestly, there’s a lot going on from the business realm to personal stuff. It’s all good stuff. But we have a live event in Western Massachusetts in April. April 1, we have we do a charity. So we do next-level Hope Foundation. It’s an event for children of single parents. So we have another one coming up on Father’s Day.

And we do one around the holidays as well. So we do two a year. So that’ll be coming up in was June. I don’t even know when Father’s Day is because that’s something I never celebrated, obviously. But I think it’s June. live event in April Hope Foundation charity event in June. Those are a couple of important things to us coming up.

Pamela Bardhi
That’s incredible. Kevin, thank you so much for sharing that. Hopefully, you know, we’ll drop those in the show links and everything. Everyone can check those out. And now where can everyone find you and your awesomeness.

Kevin Palmieri
Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it. Do you search next level University? You’ll find us well, we’re on all the podcast platforms. We’re on YouTube as well. And since we do so much content. you’ll either love us or you’ll get sick of us very quickly. So that’s the litmus test to figure out if you’re our type of people. the best place to contact me is probably Instagram. My handle is at never quit kid. I respond to all my DMs. I will try to get back to you as quickly as possible. Anything you need questions, comments concerns, a shoulder I will try to be there.

Pamela Bardhi
You are amazing, Kevin. It’s been an honour having you today. I think your journey, your energy, everything that you’re up to. So thank you so much for being here today. My friend.

Kevin Palmieri
My pleasure. I appreciate you. Thank you for what you’re doing. And thank you for the wonderful conversation.

Pamela Bardhi
Thank you so much, Kevin. So that’s it for today’s episode of underdog. catch us next week, always dropping on Thursdays. And remember, if you’re interested in real estate, or want to learn how to create more money and magic in your life. check out meet with pamela.com and let’s chat sending you so so much love