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. Aug 28

    You Have One Slot Left. What Are You Filling It With.

    You have one slot left. What are you filling it with. Because whatever goes there right now is quietly deciding what the next five years look like. In Episode 70 of First in Market, Jay Awal breaks down the one decision most builders get wrong when they finally have a little momentum. Here is what happens. You start building. You get some traction. A little income comes in. And instead of protecting the next open slot in your business, you fill it fast. With a new product. A new offer. A new platform. It feels productive. But most of the time it is just noise dressed up as progress. The slot gets filled with something that needs constant attention and returns almost nothing that stacks. This episode is about the Slot Audit. One honest look at what is sitting in your primary business slot right now, whether it is earning you something that keeps growing, or whether it is just keeping you busy. If you have been building for a while and still feel like you are starting over every month, this episode will tell you exactly why. You'll learn: • Why getting busy fast is one of the most expensive mistakes a builder makes • What separates a slot-filler from a slot-keeper in your business • The one question that reveals whether your current focus is compounding or just consuming your time • How to run a fast Slot Audit without slowing your momentum • What to do when you realize the wrong thing is sitting in your primary slot What you put in the slot is not just a business decision. It is a direction decision. And direction held long enough becomes destiny. 🔥 SEASON SEVEN: 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. What is sitting in your primary slot right now. • Send it to someone who's still filling every open slot with the loudest idea instead of the right 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.

    You Have One Slot Left. What Are You Filling It With.

  2. Aug 27

    I Was Busy But I Was Building Nothing

    I was grinding every single day. And every single day, I had nothing to show for it. Busy is not the same as building. And I had to learn that the hard way. In Episode 69 of First in Market, Jay Awal breaks down why staying busy can actually keep you stuck, and what the difference looks like between activity that disappears and work that stacks. There is a trap that catches a lot of people early in their business. It feels like discipline. It looks like effort. You are up early, you are posting, you are in your inbox, you are responding, you are doing things. But at the end of the week, you cannot point to anything that will still be working for you six months from now. The busy feeling is real. The build is missing. This episode names that trap directly. Jay walks through a simple way to test whether what you are doing today is adding up or just adding noise, and why the shift from activity to architecture is the one move that separates people who stay stuck from people who eventually step out of the grind. You'll learn: • Why busy is one of the most dangerous feelings in business • The difference between work that disappears and work that stacks • A simple test to run on your to-do list right now • Why Jay spent years in motion but not in momentum • How to start building things that work even when you stop Busy feels like progress. But progress leaves something behind. If your week disappeared and nothing stayed, you were not building. You were just moving. 🔥 SEASON SEVEN: 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. Busy and building look identical from the outside. • Send it to someone who's still mistaking movement for momentum. • 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.

    I Was Busy But I Was Building Nothing

  3. Aug 24

    What Are You Actually Selling Right Now

    What are you actually selling right now? Not your product. Not your service. What are you actually selling? In Episode 68 of First in Market, Jay Awal breaks down the one thing most people skip when they build a business online, and why skipping it is costing them more than they realize. Right now, attention is everywhere. Ads are everywhere. Offers are everywhere. But the people who keep winning are not the ones with the biggest budget or the loudest pitch. They are the ones who figured out that before you can sell anything, you have to sell yourself. Not in a fake way. In a real way. People buy from people they trust. And trust does not come from a product page. It comes from what you show people over time, consistently, before they ever open their wallet. This episode digs into a simple shift in how you think about what you are actually putting into the market. Jay walks through a practical framework called The Trust Gap, what it is, why it exists, and the one question you should be asking before you send one more email, post one more offer, or run one more ad. You'll learn: • Why your offer is not the first thing people buy from you • What the Trust Gap is and how it silently kills conversions • The difference between selling a product and building a signal • Why most businesses push louder instead of building trust first • The one question that tells you if your market actually trusts you yet If you have been showing up, working hard, and still wondering why the sales are not matching the effort, this episode is for you. The problem is almost never the product. It is almost always the gap between what you are offering and what the person on the other side actually believes about you yet. 🔥 SEASON SEVEN: 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 the first thing sold, and most people forget that. • Send it to someone who's still pushing harder on the offer instead of building what people believe about them first. • 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 Are You Actually Selling Right Now

  4. Aug 7

    The People Who Get Found First Built This

    I noticed something this week. The people who never have to chase customers all did one thing before anyone was watching. In Episode 67 of First in Market, Jay Awal breaks down the one asset that separates businesses that get found from businesses that stay invisible. Right now, a lot of people are spending money on ads, posting every day, and still feeling like they're starting from zero every month. The problem isn't effort. The problem is that effort without a searchable trail leaves nothing behind. Every day you work without building something findable is a day that disappears. This episode gets into what actually creates the kind of trust that brings people to you without a pitch. Jay walks through the Dead Trail Problem, a simple way to see whether your business is leaving a trail people can follow or just producing noise that vanishes the moment you stop making it. You'll learn: • Why posting every day can still leave you invisible • What a searchable trail actually looks like and how to start building one • The difference between content that disappears and content that keeps working • How trust gets built before a buyer ever reaches out • The one question to ask about everything you publish going forward The people who get found first didn't get lucky. They built a trail early and let it do the work. Start building yours. 🔥 SEASON SEVEN: 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. Invisible businesses leave no trail. • Send it to someone who's still posting without a plan and wondering why nobody finds them • 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 People Who Get Found First Built This

  5. Aug 6

    Build the Shelf Before You Need the Sale

    They tell you to work harder. The work is not the problem. The problem is what happens when you stop. In Episode 66 of First in Market, Jay Awal breaks down why most people are building income that disappears the moment they step away, and what it actually looks like to build something that keeps producing after the work is done. Right now, a lot of people are grinding. Long hours, real effort, real sacrifice. And the income is there while they are. But the second they take a week off, or get sick, or need to be somewhere else, the money pauses with them. That is not a hustle problem. That is a structure problem. The advice to work harder keeps getting louder, but it never addresses the gap between effort and output that outlasts you. This episode introduces a simple idea Jay calls the Shelf. Not a system, not a funnel, not a strategy. A shelf. Something you build once, put up, and it keeps producing without you having to hold it in the air every single day. This episode walks through what the Shelf is, why most people skip building it, and the one question you need to ask about everything you are currently building to know if it is shelf work or just more carrying. You'll learn: • Why working harder on the wrong structure just builds a better trap • What shelf income actually looks like versus active income in plain terms • The one question that separates shelf work from carrying work • Why most people delay building the shelf until they are already exhausted • How to identify the first shelf asset you should be building right now You do not need to grind less. You need to build things that keep working after you do. That is the difference between income that follows your effort and income that outlives it. 🔥 SEASON SEVEN: 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. Building the shelf before you need the sale is the move most people make too late. • Send it to someone who's still trading every hour for every dollar they make. • 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.

    Build the Shelf Before You Need the Sale

  6. Aug 5

    The Business That Runs on You Is a Trap

    47 countries. One broken system that almost ended all of it. In Episode 65 of First in Market, Jay Awal breaks down why the most dangerous business is the one that only works because you show up every single day. Right now, a lot of people are building things that look like businesses but are actually just jobs they created for themselves. The income comes in when they push. It stops when they stop. The leads are there because they showed up today. The clients stayed because they followed up. That is not a business. That is a treadmill with a logo on it. And the longer you stay on it, the harder it gets to step off. This episode goes into one specific shift that separates a business from a trap. Not a mindset shift. A structural one. Jay walks through what he calls the Before and After Line, the moment a business stops needing you to be present every hour and starts running on what you already built. He breaks down what that line looks like in real life, what you have to build before you can cross it, and the honest confession about how long he ran the wrong kind of machine before he figured it out. You'll learn: • Why most people build income that stops the moment they do • What the Before and After Line is and how to know which side you are on • The one question that reveals whether your business is a system or just you in disguise • What you have to put in place before your effort starts to travel without you • How to start moving from daily output to built infrastructure, one layer at a time If you are still the thing that makes your business move, this episode is the honest conversation you have been avoiding. 🔥 SEASON SEVEN: 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. Your business structure is either working for you or against you, and most people do not know which one until they stop. • Send it to someone who's still building a job and calling it freedom. • 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 Business That Runs on You Is a Trap

  7. Aug 4

    Your Business Works Without You or It Doesn't

    I was in Puerto Rico on a Saturday morning. Waterfall on the weekend plan. Phone buzzing with a question only I could answer. That buzz told me everything I needed to know about where my business actually was. In Episode 64 of First in Market, Jay Awal breaks down the one test that shows whether you built a business or just built yourself a new job. Right now, a lot of people are working hard and calling it building. They are the first one in and the last one out. They answer every message. They make every call. They fix every problem. And they call that hustle. But there is a real difference between working hard and building something that works. The two feel identical from the inside. The results look very different from the outside over time. This episode walks through the Dependency Test, a three-question check that shows you exactly where the bottleneck in your business is. Spoiler: most of the time, the bottleneck is you. Not your team. Not your tools. Not the market. You. And until you see that clearly, no amount of effort fixes it. You'll learn: • The one question that reveals if you built a business or just a busy schedule • Why being needed by your business feels like success but works against you • The three-question Dependency Test and what each answer tells you • How to find where you are the ceiling in your own operation • What it actually looks like to start removing yourself from the daily grind without letting things fall apart The goal was never to be the hardest worker in the room. The goal was to build something that keeps working when you step out of the room. 🔥 SEASON SEVEN: 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. Dependency hides in plain sight inside the habits you are most proud of. • Send it to someone who's still confusing being busy with building something real. • 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.

    Your Business Works Without You or It Doesn't

  8. Aug 3

    The Income You Build Once and Collect Forever

    You trade eight hours for a paycheck. Then you do it again tomorrow. That is not income. That is a subscription to your own exhaustion. In Episode 63 of First in Market, Jay Awal breaks down why trading time for money is a ceiling, not a career, and what it actually takes to build income that keeps moving after you stop. Right now, the conversation around money has shifted. The old model, where you clock in, work hard, and retire at 65 with enough, is not holding up. Prices are rising. Job security is shrinking. And the people who only have one income stream tied to their time are one bad month away from starting over. This is not a warning about the economy. It is a wake-up call about the structure of how you earn. This episode breaks down the difference between active income and residual income, why most people never build the second one, and the one decision that changes the game. Jay walks through a simple framework called The One-Time Build that helps you understand what you are actually selling when you trade your time, and what becomes possible when you build something that earns while you live your life. You'll learn: • Why trading time for money is not a strategy, it is a trap with a salary attached • The real difference between active income and residual income in plain terms • Why most people never build residual income and what stops them • The One-Time Build framework and the three questions that reveal if your income can survive without you • What to do this week if you are still 100 percent dependent on your own hours to earn You built the skill. You showed up every day. Now ask yourself if any of that work is still earning while you sleep. If the answer is no, this episode is for you. 🔥 SEASON SEVEN: 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. Residual income starts with understanding why you do not have it yet. • Send it to someone who's still trading every hour they have just to keep the lights on. • 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 Income You Build Once and Collect Forever
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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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