Colby Harris is a Gen Z trailblazer who’s obsessed with health, wealth, and leadership. He launched a pressure washing business at 17, cycled 100 miles in one day to raise money for under-served kids, works in private equity, and is about to start his own company. He certainly has a bright future ahead. But during Colby’s journey, he was once so broke that he had to put gas in his car with quarters, and he even lost 30 pounds because he couldn’t afford to eat.
Here’s his inspiring story of grit, resilience, and relentless optimism. And the mindset it takes to go from rock bottom to being a top 1% earner in your field.
What a growth mindset means to him:
“I always say I feel my best when I’m doing the things I know I need to do. So, working out, coming into the office, being ready to work, taking time on the side to focus on projects. I’m an active investor in terms of creating long-term wealth. I like to keep my eye on my money all the time. I like to read and do my personal development throughout the day as well. I feel better doing the things I know I need to do to hit my goals and ultimately being a positive contributor.”
What Colby has learned about achieving success:
“There is a blueprint. So, you can look at successful people and see that they kind of have this subset of things that they do in their day to day. So, you can look at that and model that. You need to be doing a lot of what these other people are doing. And what you want isn’t just going to fall from the sky. I learned that what I really wanted ultimately wasn’t just going to come to me, and I had to go out and get it.”
How important is it to have grit:
“Grit is the number one determining factor for future success. And I always say, it’s not something that you’re really born with. It absolutely can be something that you’re taught that you can then implement into your life. And then you can ultimately make grit a habit in your day-to-day life to be developing and building over time.”
The future is bright for Gen Z:
“I think there is a shift coming where there are just so many good men like (Moshe) that are impacting young men like me and showing us that (success) is possible and (the journey) is worth it at the end of the day to make the sacrifice in the short-term.”
The tough time he’s experienced:
“It’s crazy to go from running a podcast, speaking on stages, and having a business where we were doing 100k in revenue every summer to doing manual labor and having zero dollars in the bank. And putting gas in my car with quarters. I did lose 30 pounds over the course of about four months by not being able to afford to eat.”
Colby’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing:
“I love my work. I feel like that’s rare. You know, talk about things that are rare in my generation. Like, I love my work. And I think that is such a blessing, honestly.”
His new company, Gen Z Trailblazers:
“I love the idea of people coming out and saying, ‘I’m a Gen Z trailblazer.’ Everyone throws around Gen Z in a negative light, and all of the ads and all of the headlines. I would love to change the narrative and make people take pride in that. … We could create something better than the world has ever seen if we do it right. We have more opportunity than ever in terms of technology and health all across the board. So, I really just want to change the narrative of what people think of when they look at my generation.”