The First Or The Last with Jay Awal

Jay Awal
  • 5.0 (10)
  • Self-Improvement

“The First or The Last” is the podcast for those done waiting on the world to change… because they were born to lead it. I’m Jay Awal, college-dropout turned entrepreneur, speaker, and builder of systems that help people multiply their income, influence, and impact. Over the last 7 years, I’ve traveled to over 47 countries, helped thousands of leaders build residual income, grow their businesses, and build their freedom without burning out or selling their soul. This podcast is your weekly challenge to grow spiritually, mentally, financially, and relationally. If you’re ready to stop coasting and start building with intention, this podcast was made for you. Listen in for: First in Mindset → How to shift your thinking to lead First in Market → Systems for building income & impact First in Manhood → Spiritual + leadership growth for men First in Legacy → Building for your last name, not just your first Whether you’re still stuck in survival mode or scaling something sacred to you, every episode will push you to rise above culture and walk in your calling. Lead or follow. Build or consume. Obey or delay. Because in every season… You will either grow first or you’ll finish last. 📲 Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mr.jayawal 📣 Tag your favorite episode in your Story and I’ll repost it with a personal message. 👊 Your friend, Jay Awal , https://www.jayawal.com

  1. 8h ago

    You Are Not Losing Sales. You Are Losing Trust.

    You are not losing because your offer is bad. You are losing because nobody believes you yet. In Episode 5 of First in Market, Jay Awal digs into the real reason your sales slow down, your audience stops growing, and your income stays stuck. and it has nothing to do with your product. Right now, a lot of people are building offers before they build belief. They launch before anyone knows who they are. They ask for money from strangers who have never seen their name twice. That is not a sales problem. That is a trust problem. And you cannot fix a trust problem with a better price point or a flashier ad. This episode breaks down one idea that changed how Jay thinks about building income: trust is not what happens after the sale. It is what makes the sale possible. You will walk away with a simple framework for figuring out where your trust gap actually lives. and what to start doing this week to close it. You'll learn: • Why your audience size does not equal your income potential • The difference between attention that rents and attention that buys • What the Trust Debt framework is and how to spot yours • The three places trust breaks before a sale ever happens • One thing you can do this week to start closing the gap Trust is not a soft idea. It is the infrastructure. You can have the best offer in your market and still finish last if nobody believes you enough to say yes. 🔥 SEASON 11: FIRST IN MARKET This season is about: • Build systems before you hustle harder • Build income before you chase money • Ship it before it's perfect • Earn attention before you ask to sell • Build before you react We are building foundations not highlight reels. 🔗 CONNECT + TAKE ACTION If this episode hit different: • Re-listen. Trust is built in layers, and so is this episode. • Send it to someone who's still wondering why their offer isn't converting • Follow or subscribe to The First or The Last • For dreamers ready to start building for themselves, learn real skills, and join a global community of builders, visit https://www.jayawal.com. • For founders ready to scale, implement AI and tech, install sales training, culture training, or compliance training if you sell online, visit https://paradigmconsulting.io. • If this episode hit you, post it on social and tag me at https://www.instagram.com/mr.jayawal so I can recognize your journey. Lead or follow. Build or consume. Obey or delay. Because in every situation, you either grow first or finish last.

    You Are Not Losing Sales. You Are Losing Trust.

  2. 1d ago

    Stop Building on Rented Ground

    I spent years building on land I didn't own. And I didn't even know it. The second someone else changed the rules, everything I built on top of it wobbled. In Episode 4 of First in Market, Jay Awal breaks down why most people are building real businesses on top of borrowed ground, and what it actually means to own the foundation you build on. Right now, a lot of people are growing fast. Followers going up. Revenue coming in. Momentum feels real. But fast growth on a weak foundation is not a win. It is a countdown. The platforms shift, the algorithms change, the rules get rewritten, and suddenly the thing you built starts leaning. Most people don't feel it until it falls. This episode digs into one specific question: what do you actually own in your business right now? Not what you have access to. Not what's working today. What is yours when everything else gets taken away? Jay walks through a simple way to check your own foundation before something outside your control forces you to. You'll learn: • Why fast growth on a borrowed foundation is more dangerous than slow growth on your own • What it means to own something in your business versus just using something • How to find the one thing in your business that nobody can take from you • Why the builders who last long term almost always build the unsexy stuff first • What the Ground Check is and how to run it on your business today The business that lasts is not the one that grew the fastest. It is the one that knew exactly what it owned before the rules changed. 🔥 SEASON 11: FIRST IN MARKET This season is about: • Build systems before you hustle harder • Build income before you chase money • Ship it before it's perfect • Earn attention before you ask to sell • Build before you react We are building foundations not highlight reels. 🔗 CONNECT + TAKE ACTION If this episode hit different: • Re-listen. Rented ground looks like owned ground until the rules change. • Send it to someone who's still building everything on top of a platform they don't control • Follow or subscribe to The First or The Last • For dreamers ready to start building for themselves, learn real skills, and join a global community of builders, visit https://www.jayawal.com. • For founders ready to scale, implement AI and tech, install sales training, culture training, or compliance training if you sell online, visit https://paradigmconsulting.io. • If this episode hit you, post it on social and tag me at https://www.instagram.com/mr.jayawal so I can recognize your journey. Lead or follow. Build or consume. Obey or delay. Because in every situation, you either grow first or finish last.

    Stop Building on Rented Ground

  3. 2d ago

    What Happens When You Stop Being the Product

    What are you actually selling right now. your time, your skill, or something that works when you're not in the room? If you had to stop showing up tomorrow, would the income stop too? In Episode 103 of First in Market, Jay Awal digs into why most people have built a job for themselves instead of a business, and what it actually takes to cross that line. There is a pattern running through almost every person who feels stuck right now. They are good at what they do. They work hard. They show up every single day. And the money follows them around like a shadow. meaning it only exists when they do. The moment they step away, everything pauses. That is not a business. That is a very personal, very exhausting form of employment. This episode breaks down the difference between being the product and building one. Jay walks through the Detachment Test. a simple way to check whether what you have built can run, sell, or grow without you being the engine. If you have never asked yourself this question honestly, this is the episode that will cost you some sleep. You'll learn: • Why working hard is not the same as building something that lasts • The difference between income that follows you and income that runs without you • How to use the Detachment Test to see what your business actually depends on • What it means to stop being the product and start building one • The single shift that changes how you spend the next twelve months You can keep showing up every day and calling it a business. Or you can build something that does not need you to survive. One of those is freedom. The other one just feels like it. 🔥 SEASON 11: FIRST IN MARKET This season is about: • Build systems before you hustle harder • Build income before you chase money • Ship it before it's perfect • Earn attention before you ask to sell • Build before you react We are building foundations not highlight reels. 🔗 CONNECT + TAKE ACTION If this episode hit different: • Re-listen. Being the product versus building one is a line most people never find. • Send it to someone who's still selling their time like it's unlimited. • Follow or subscribe to The First or The Last • For dreamers ready to start building for themselves, learn real skills, and join a global community of builders, visit https://www.jayawal.com. • For founders ready to scale, implement AI and tech, install sales training, culture training, or compliance training if you sell online, visit https://paradigmconsulting.io. • If this episode hit you, post it on social and tag me at https://www.instagram.com/mr.jayawal so I can recognize your journey. Lead or follow. Build or consume. Obey or delay. Because in every situation, you either grow first or finish last.

    What Happens When You Stop Being the Product

  4. 3d ago

    The Boring Stuff Is the Business

    I set something up once and forgot about it. A year later it paid me back. That one boring decision did more than a week of hustle ever could. In Episode 1 of First in Market, Jay Awal breaks down why the most valuable thing in your business right now is not your next idea or your next sale. it is the infrastructure you have not built yet. Right now, a lot of people are focused on the exciting part. The offer. The content. The launch. And that energy is real. But here is what keeps getting skipped: the boring stuff underneath. The systems. The backup plan. The thing that catches you when the exciting part fails. And it will fail, at some point. The question is whether you built anything to hold you when it does. This episode is about what Jay calls the One-Time Build. Not a strategy you run every day. One decision, made once, that keeps protecting you or paying you long after you have moved on to the next thing. You will walk away understanding why the unglamorous setup work is the most leveraged thing you can do right now. You'll learn: • Why exciting work without boring infrastructure is just expensive noise • What the One-Time Build framework is and how it works in real life • Why most people wait until something breaks to build the system that should have been there from the start • How one decision Jay made a year before he needed it saved him from a 1,900 pound bill in London • The one question to ask about every system in your business right now The business that survives is not the one with the best idea. It is the one that built the boring stuff before they needed it. 🔥 SEASON 11: FIRST IN MARKET This season is about: • Build systems before you hustle harder • Build income before you chase money • Ship it before it's perfect • Earn attention before you ask to sell • Build before you react We are building foundations not highlight reels. 🔗 CONNECT + TAKE ACTION If this episode hit different: • Re-listen. Boring infrastructure is the real competitive advantage. • Send it to someone who's still chasing the next idea without fixing the foundation under the last one. • Follow or subscribe to The First or The Last • For dreamers ready to start building for themselves, learn real skills, and join a global community of builders, visit https://www.jayawal.com. • For founders ready to scale, implement AI and tech, install sales training, culture training, or compliance training if you sell online, visit https://paradigmconsulting.io. • If this episode hit you, post it on social and tag me at https://www.instagram.com/mr.jayawal so I can recognize your journey. Lead or follow. Build or consume. Obey or delay. Because in every situation, you either grow first or finish last.

    The Boring Stuff Is the Business

  5. 6d ago

    They Told You to Work Hard. That Was Never the Problem.

    They told you to work hard. That was never the problem. The problem is you have been working hard on the wrong thing. In Episode 101 of First in Market, Jay Awal breaks down why effort without a distribution system is just noise, and what it actually takes to get found before you have to chase. Right now, a lot of people are building good things and going broke doing it. They post. They film. They send emails. They show up. And the work is real. The hours are real. But the system that carries the work to the right people? That part is missing. And without it, the hardest worker in the room is still invisible. This episode names the gap. Not the effort gap. The distribution gap. Jay walks through what the people who get found first actually built, and why the ones who ignore it will keep grinding without growing. You'll learn: • Why working hard is not the same as building something that travels • What distribution actually means in plain terms, and why it matters more than your output • The one question that tells you if your work is reaching anyone or just existing • How to build a simple path that carries your work forward without you doing it every single time • Why the first person to build the trail wins, even if they were not the most talented Effort without a path is just movement. Build the path. 🔥 SEASON 11: FIRST IN MARKET This season is about: • Build systems before you hustle harder • Build income before you chase money • Ship it before it's perfect • Earn attention before you ask to sell • Build before you react We are building foundations not highlight reels. 🔗 CONNECT + TAKE ACTION If this episode hit different: • Re-listen. Distribution beats output every time. • Send it to someone who's still working hard without a system to carry the work. • Follow or subscribe to The First or The Last • For dreamers ready to start building for themselves, learn real skills, and join a global community of builders, visit https://www.jayawal.com. • For founders ready to scale, implement AI and tech, install sales training, culture training, or compliance training if you sell online, visit https://paradigmconsulting.io. • If this episode hit you, post it on social and tag me at https://www.instagram.com/mr.jayawal so I can recognize your journey. Lead or follow. Build or consume. Obey or delay. Because in every situation, you either grow first or finish last.

    They Told You to Work Hard. That Was Never the Problem.

  6. Nov 5

    The 36 Days You Stopped Being the Anchor

    36 days. That number means something by the end of this episode. In Episode 100 of First in Manhood, Jay Awal digs into what it actually looks like when the person your home depends on quietly goes missing. not physically, but in every way that matters. There is a version of being present that is not really presence. You are in the house. You are at the table. You are answering questions when asked. But the people closest to you stopped bringing you their real weight a while ago. Not because they stopped trusting you. Because somewhere along the way, you stopped feeling like a place they could land. That shift is quiet. It does not announce itself. And most people do not notice it until the distance is already wide. This episode is about what it means to be the anchor in a home, a relationship, or a life. Not the loudest voice. Not the most successful person in the room. The anchor. The one whose steadiness other people build on. And what happens when that anchor quietly lifted without anyone saying a word about it. You'll learn: • What the difference is between being present and being an anchor • Why the people close to you stop bringing you the hard stuff before you ever notice • What the Anchor Check is and how to use it before the distance becomes damage • How this dynamic shows up differently for men and women in a relationship • What to do in the next 24 hours if you feel like you have been drifting You do not lose the people you love in one big moment. You lose them in 36 quiet days where you were there but not really there. And the rebuild starts the same way the drift started. One day at a time. 🔥 SEASON 10: FIRST IN MANHOOD This season is about: • Lead at home before you lead anywhere else • Show up before you show off • Build the man before you build the brand • Keep your word before you raise your voice • Be steady before you be loud We are building foundations not highlight reels. 🔗 CONNECT + TAKE ACTION If this episode hit different: • Re-listen. Presence is not the same as being an anchor, and the gap between the two is where relationships quietly drift. • Send it to someone who's still confusing physical presence with emotional steadiness. • Follow or subscribe to The First or The Last • For dreamers ready to start building for themselves, learn real skills, and join a global community of builders, visit https://www.jayawal.com. • For founders ready to scale, implement AI and tech, install sales training, culture training, or compliance training if you sell online, visit https://paradigmconsulting.io. • If this episode hit you, post it on social and tag me at https://www.instagram.com/mr.jayawal so I can recognize your journey. Lead or follow. Build or consume. Obey or delay. Because in every situation, you either grow first or finish last.

    The 36 Days You Stopped Being the Anchor

  7. Nov 4

    The Day I Stopped Pretending I Had It Together

    I was sitting in my car in the parking lot of a grocery store in Puerto Rico. Engine off. Couldn't go inside yet. Not because anything was wrong. Because I didn't know how to walk in without a mask on. In Episode 99 of First in Manhood, Jay Awal breaks open the habit of performing strength instead of practicing it, and why the people closest to you can always tell the difference. There's a version of strength that looks like holding it together. Calm face. Steady voice. Always the one with the answer. But that version has a cost nobody talks about. It costs you honesty. It costs the people around you the real version of who you are. And over time, it costs your relationships the depth they were supposed to have. The performance becomes the wall. This episode is about the difference between performed strength and real strength. Jay walks through what it actually looks like to drop the mask, not in a dramatic breakdown, but in the quiet, daily choice to let the people who love you see what is actually going on. He names the framework he is still working through. And he asks the question that changes everything. You'll learn: • Why performed strength is a slow way to become a stranger in your own home • The difference between holding it together and actually being okay • What the people closest to you are really asking for when they say 'talk to me' • The one habit that builds more trust than any accomplishment ever will • Why letting someone in is an act of strength, not a sign of weakness The mask protects you from being seen. But it also keeps you from being known. And you cannot build a real life with people who only know the version of you that has everything figured out. 🔥 SEASON 10: FIRST IN MANHOOD This season is about: • Lead at home before you lead anywhere else • Show up before you show off • Build the man before you build the brand • Keep your word before you raise your voice • Be steady before you be loud We are building foundations not highlight reels. 🔗 CONNECT + TAKE ACTION If this episode hit different: • Re-listen. Performed strength compounds into isolation. • Send it to someone who's still confusing the mask with the man • Follow or subscribe to The First or The Last • For dreamers ready to start building for themselves, learn real skills, and join a global community of builders, visit https://www.jayawal.com. • For founders ready to scale, implement AI and tech, install sales training, culture training, or compliance training if you sell online, visit https://paradigmconsulting.io. • If this episode hit you, post it on social and tag me at https://www.instagram.com/mr.jayawal so I can recognize your journey. Lead or follow. Build or consume. Obey or delay. Because in every situation, you either grow first or finish last.

    The Day I Stopped Pretending I Had It Together

  8. Nov 3

    The Man Who Runs on Empty and Calls It Strength

    You've been running on empty for a while now. And somewhere along the way, you started calling it strength. In Episode 8 of First in Manhood, Jay Awal gets into one of the most dangerous patterns in any relationship or household: the person who pours into everyone else and quietly stops refilling themselves, then wonders why they have nothing left to give. There's a version of dedication that looks admirable from the outside and is quietly falling apart on the inside. It shows up in homes, in partnerships, in friendships. The person holding everything together stops asking for anything. They tell themselves that's what it means to show up. But depletion isn't dedication. And running on fumes doesn't protect the people around you. It just delays the collapse. This episode breaks down why so many people confuse exhaustion with commitment, what it actually costs the people around you when you refuse to be honest about your limits, and a simple personal framework Jay calls the Refill Rule. You'll walk away knowing how to stay present, steady, and genuinely useful, not just technically there. You'll learn: • Why running on empty looks like strength from the outside and feels like resentment on the inside • How depletion quietly damages the relationships you're trying to protect • The Refill Rule: a two-part check that tells you when you're running low before you hit zero • What it looks like for a man to refill well and what it looks like for a woman to create space for that without losing herself • Why asking for what you need isn't weakness. It's the most honest thing you can do for the people who depend on you Depletion doesn't announce itself. It just shows up one day as distance, sharpness, or an empty stare at someone you love. The Refill Rule isn't about being selfish. It's about being real enough with yourself to stay in the game long term. 🔥 SEASON 10: FIRST IN MANHOOD This season is about: • Lead at home before you lead anywhere else • Show up before you show off • Build the man before you build the brand • Keep your word before you raise your voice • Be steady before you be loud We are building foundations not highlight reels. 🔗 CONNECT + TAKE ACTION If this episode hit different: • Re-listen. Depletion compounds silently. • Send it to someone who's still calling exhaustion a personality trait • Follow or subscribe to The First or The Last • For dreamers ready to start building for themselves, learn real skills, and join a global community of builders, visit https://www.jayawal.com. • For founders ready to scale, implement AI and tech, install sales training, culture training, or compliance training if you sell online, visit https://paradigmconsulting.io. • If this episode hit you, post it on social and tag me at https://www.instagram.com/mr.jayawal so I can recognize your journey. Lead or follow. Build or consume. Obey or delay. Because in every situation, you either grow first or finish last.

    The Man Who Runs on Empty and Calls It Strength
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5
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

“The First or The Last” is the podcast for those done waiting on the world to change… because they were born to lead it. I’m Jay Awal, college-dropout turned entrepreneur, speaker, and builder of systems that help people multiply their income, influence, and impact. Over the last 7 years, I’ve traveled to over 47 countries, helped thousands of leaders build residual income, grow their businesses, and build their freedom without burning out or selling their soul. This podcast is your weekly challenge to grow spiritually, mentally, financially, and relationally. If you’re ready to stop coasting and start building with intention, this podcast was made for you. Listen in for: First in Mindset → How to shift your thinking to lead First in Market → Systems for building income & impact First in Manhood → Spiritual + leadership growth for men First in Legacy → Building for your last name, not just your first Whether you’re still stuck in survival mode or scaling something sacred to you, every episode will push you to rise above culture and walk in your calling. Lead or follow. Build or consume. Obey or delay. Because in every season… You will either grow first or you’ll finish last. 📲 Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mr.jayawal 📣 Tag your favorite episode in your Story and I’ll repost it with a personal message. 👊 Your friend, Jay Awal , https://www.jayawal.com

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