Trevor's entrepreneurial journey began not with privilege, but with a clear rejection of his circumstances. "My father was unemployed and unemployable my whole life. My mom was dying of cancer and we were on welfare," he recalls. When his school's best suggestion was becoming "an apprentice manager in a chicken packing factory," Trevor knew he wanted something different. This created immediate friction with family and friends who questioned his ambition: "Who the hell are you? Where's your ambition coming from? How dare you think you're better than the rest of us?" Trevor learned early that wanting more automatically separates you from the crowd, preparing him for the criticism that comes with entrepreneurial thinking.

Bullied for being English in the wrong place at the wrong time, Trevor found refuge in the one place bullies wouldn't follow: the library. There, reading biographies of Henry Ford and Madam CJ Walker, he discovered a pattern among successful people. "There's a point in your life where you say enough is enough. I'm no longer going to be influenced by my family's poor opinion of me or my colleagues' hatred of me. I'm just going to go and do my thing." These stories taught him that extraordinary success often comes from ordinary people who simply refused to let others define their limits, regardless of their starting circumstances.

Trevor learned to protect himself using what he calls the "bell jar technique," first described by Scottish self-help expert Jack Black. "Imagine this bell jar descending from the sky and covering you completely, with everybody's animosity bouncing off like bulletproof glass and turning to dust." This mental shield allowed him to pursue his goals without being affected by the inevitable criticism that comes with thinking differently. The technique proved crucial throughout his entrepreneurial journey, helping him maintain focus despite external resistance to his unconventional approaches to business and success.

Trevor avoids the word "manifestation" but embraces the physics behind it. "Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only converted from one form into another," he explains, quoting fundamental physics. He parallels this with magician Aleister Crowley's definition: "Magic is the transforming of energy from one form to another within the laws of nature under the power of will." Before starting his first company, Trevor set a specific intention: "I have sold my company for at least $100 million." Six years later, he sold it for $105.5 million, viewing this as simple energy conversion from desire to physical reality through focused intention and action.

Trevor advocates for what he calls "the practical magic of the 5-hour workday," working in focused two-hour blocks with breaks between. "I'll work from 9 to 11 and it doesn't matter what's happening at 11. If I'm on the most important Zoom call of my life, it stops at 11 and I go for a walk for an hour. No phone, no distractions." He contrasts his balanced friends with his hustling friends: "My hustling friends are on their third marriage. Their dogs don't recognize them. They're on anti-depressants or alcohol." Meanwhile, successful people who understand balance, from Richard Branson to Ray Dalio, all have their version of stopping the hustle to let insights emerge naturally.

Trevor emphasizes treating your physical body with the same care you'd give an expensive car. "Most people have vehicles and will take their vehicles for annual checkups, replace tires when needed, put in oil when it runs out. But most people don't do that for themselves." He shares how his wife thought she had panic attacks until he recognized it was low blood sugar, and how hormone imbalances can create symptoms people mistake for mental health issues. "Make sure your vehicle is as good as it can possibly be right now before you try to diagnose anything you think you have," he advises, emphasizing the connection between physical optimization and sustainable performance.

This interview was probably one of the most exciting I've had so far. On the one hand, I was meeting in person a founder you would somehow call a “legend” in his field, but most importantly, he’s the live representation and proof that you can be successful AND enjoy life, totally avoiding burnout and/or hustle. Trevor’s teachings and book came to my life exactly when I had the hear to listen to this message. I still remember when I read the 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris and I totally repelled the book. I kept stopping reading because I couldn’t accept the idea you could fully outsource most of your business operations to some other companies and somehow, still be successful while traveling the world and opening emails once a week. The reality was that my old BS (belief system) and ego were unable to process this information with the current software I had: “successful people work hard so they can deserve it.”

I hope this conversation, and the work I’m bringing on at Wholegrain Wisdom, can somehow support your quest to find a more balanced lifestyle. The one you truly feel is yours inside, not some accommodated version somebody or something else put in your head. Speaking of how BS are accumulated in your subconscious mind and drive 95% of your daily actions, here a deep dive I wrote some months ago.