[INTRODUCTION]

Hal Elrod: If you’ve got 10 ideas pulling you in 10 different directions, today’s guests, Seth and Tori Bolt, are proof of what happens when you pick one and refuse to let go of it, even if you’ve struggled to get the results you want up until this point. Now, I need to start with a confession, though. My wife, Ursula, and I just got back from staying at Seth and Tori’s Bolt Farm Treehouse in Tennessee, and it was, without question, the most extraordinary romantic getaway of our entire marriage. Now, in this episode, I’m about to be a little over the top talking about it today, and I already know it. I’ve sent their Instagram to more people than I can count. I quote them in random conversations, and more than one friend has assumed I’m getting a commission. I’m not. I have zero financial relationship with Seth, Tori, and their company.

I just genuinely cannot stop talking about what they built, and after you hear their story today, you might not be able to either. Now, if you’re not familiar, Seth Bolt spent 23 years as a founding member of the Grammy-nominated band NEEDTOBREATHE, sharing stages with Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, playing late-night television, racking up more than 10 albums and billions of streams.

Tori Bolt was an aspiring journalist in Houston the night she interviewed Seth’s band before a show, and everything changed. But what neither of them saw coming was that the real story of their lives would not be the music. It would be a tree house that Seth built with his own father and their own two hands on the family farm, meant to be a surprise for Tori for their wedding anniversary, or their honeymoon, I should say, but it eventually would cost them their house, get them run out of an island community by neighbors who tried to legislate them out of existence, and land them living in an RV twice before it turned into one of the most talked-about hospitality brands in the country.

Now, be sure you stay until the end, because you’re going to hear how a rock star and a reporter turned a homemade wedding gift into a world-renowned mountaintop destination for couples, and how faith, discipline, and a refusal to quit turned two people living paycheck to paycheck, barely hanging on in a camper, into the founders of a place my wife and I now consider sacred ground for our marriage. It is my great pleasure to bring you this conversation with Seth and Tori Bolt.

[INTERVIEW]

Hal Elrod: Seth and Tori, it is so good to see you again.

Seth Bolt: Good to see you too, man.

Hal Elrod: It’s only been, what, a few days?

Seth Bolt: I know. I know. It’s an honor to be here.

Hal Elrod: Yeah. Maybe a week. Time flies, man. So, look, before we dive in, I have to tell you both something before we even get started because I don’t say this often, but… And I told you this in person, but I want everybody watching or listening to hear this, which is my wife and I, Ursula, just got back from staying at your Tennessee property, Bolt Farm Treehouses, and it was, without exaggeration, the most extraordinary romantic getaway we have ever experienced. Wow. We did not want to leave, right? I asked y’all, “How much to live here full time?” Like, is that an option, right? And what was cool, I told you this too, that I binge-watched y’all’s Netflix series on how you built this dream of yours, and I was so inspired.

So, I was like, this is cool that I love y’all as a couple, but the fact that I get to have you on the show and hear and share, your journey and how you created this magical place that so many couples are rekindling their love, saving their marriage, taking it to the next level, all of the things. So, thank y’all for what you do, and thanks for being here.

Tori Bolt: Thank you.

Seth Bolt: I love that.

Tori Bolt: I mean, what an honor. That is such high praise coming from you. And y’all are well traveled, and I’m just so glad that you got to experience the heartbeat of what we do. Because it’s not about building a tree house or yes, there is an amazing view, but it is all about clearing the table for couples to really remember why they fell in love in the first place.

Seth Bolt: Yeah. Like, I mean, we built this because of our own need. And I think some of the best products are based on a builder building from a point of need. So, first we were solving our own problems. Like, we’re high-output people, and we do a lot. We know we need to recharge our cup. We also work together. And so, having a place that we could do that, recharge, get inspired, get clarity about the road ahead, like zoom out where you know where to zoom back in. And truly, I mean, we would not be here today in Tennessee had we not had the Miracle Morning to lean on. Because this has been an 11-year journey for us, and it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

We went through some really hard stuff, and it was just that repetition of “I’m going to get up and look at my vision board anyway. I’m going to get up and do the SAVERS no matter what.” That carried us through a lot of tough times, and I think, I mean, might not be here without it. So, really, thanks to you. It’s our honor that you actually, you and Ursula got to come and enjoy it, because you deserve it.

Hal Elrod: Cool. And I want to zoom in on a couple of things that you just said, which is it’s not just about the view. Like, for anyone that hasn’t seen it, you have to go to your Instagram, right? Bolt Farm Treehouse. Is it Treehouse or Treehouses?

Tori Bolt: Treehouse.

Hal Elrod: Bolt Farm Treehouse. So, I had high expectations, but here’s the part I wanted to highlight is your team, you had your entire company read The Miracle Morning, and that’s how we ended up connecting through your brother, Seth, your brother Chandler, my friend, who connected us. And I came on and did a Zoom for the book club. And what I was so impressed with, again, you said it’s not just a view. The view, the treehouse is extraordinary, but what I was so impressed with is that the company culture that you have, it is like, “Hey, we are going to provide people with the most amazing customer service and experience, and go above and beyond.”

And that is like, I was like, “Wow, this company…” I remember, that’s what I told… I called my good friend, Jon Vroman, and I was raving about your company culture. Where did that come from, by the way? Your background, Seth, you are a world-famous touring musician, or you used to be, right? And then Tori is the person that she was the media… Tori, what station were you working for when you interviewed Seth? I’m butchering this whole story.

Tori Bolt: No, you’re good. I was an aspiring reporter in journalism. I was working at a local station in Houston, which was like a top 10 market. I interviewed the band. That’s how we met, you know?

Seth Bolt: Yeah. So, I think I got to give a shout-out to my brother, Chandler Bolt, who runs cellphonefood.com, because literally, like the first 23 years for me, it was like music, which is just such a different bubble of it’s a lot of creativity, but not a lot of business, you know?

Hal Elrod: Yeah, sure. You’re not running a business. You’re performing, right?

Seth Bolt: Yeah, totally. Yeah. And so, there’s just so much that goes with it. I mean, a hospitality business is just so multifaceted because you’ve got 11 different departments, right? And all totally different personality types and everything else. But we learned a lot from my brother in the early days, and he gave us the foundation to build on. And then I think us, like we’re– Bolt Farm is one of the first AI-first hospitality companies. Just because so much in hospitality was just sort of like very much verbal and hand-to-mouth, and it wasn’t really like, obviously AI is a newer technology. So, like we rebuilt everything to where we were like, “Listen, the most important thing for us is what we know as a company, like our company brain, and what we know about our guests.”

Because if we’re going to show up big time for our guests, we need to know our guests. Know your customer, right? And then we built a system that would connect everyone to that. So, even if it’s your first day stepping into Bolt Farm, like you have immediate access to all the institutional knowledge. You can get any answer to any question. You can know how to wow any guest that we have on property. And that is a big infrastructure piece that took a lot of work and effort to build. But like now that we have that, we can just thrive. And like our sights are on, like how do we revolutionize and raise the standard for what hospitality can be, for what that experience can be? How can we make it the most personalized experience? Because right now I think there’s just you go, and you visit somewhere, and like maybe at best they have a little welcome note or something like that, but like they don’t really know you. Like you’re a transaction to them, and they’re just trying to…

Hal Elrod: All it is, is the TV. That’s the top customization I’ve seen is that when you go into a Marriott, it says, “Welcome, Hal.” That’s where it ends. Like they don’t know you. They just inserted your name on the TV. Yeah.

Seth Bolt: Yeah, totally.

Tori Bolt: Well, it means so much that, like the big takeaway for you after that time with our team was the culture, because it’s really important to us, and a lot of the people on our team don’t have a background in hospitality. We say, “Hey, it’s not fair to hold them to that standard if we didn’t do that ourselves,” you know?

Seth Bolt: But they love people.

Tori Bolt: Exactly.

Seth Bolt: Like, that’s the part that’s the most important in like the future of hospitality is that you get the right humans on your team that just know how to love people and want to take care of people and want to personalize experiences, and it makes their day when they make somebody’s day. And so, that’s how we’re able to attract some of the best talent in the industry is that a lot of these people, like they didn’t have a voice somewhere else. Like, yesterday I just told the team, “Use your voice.” Like this is, Bolt Farm is a place where like you can literally use your voice, your voice will be heard, you can shape the future of these experiences.

Because we love when we hear stories like this from you where you’re like, “Man, your team was locked in,” and like everybody wanted to really make sure that we were having the best time, and they thought about all these things.

Hal Elrod: And I want to clarify that. When you say that you’re an AI-first hospitality company, like there aren’t robots that are taking care of people. Like, you’re using AI underneath the hood, right, to really deeply understand every touchpoint with a customer. But then it’s, yeah, it’s the kindest Southern hospitality. These humans from, oh, what’s his name? I’m drawing a blank. Who welcomed us the first…

Tori Bolt: You’re thinking of Lucas, aren’t you? Yeah.

Hal Elrod: You what?

Tori Bolt: Lucas, who probably welcomed you.

Hal Elrod: Lucas, but then, but then it was the, was it Bill?

Tori Bolt: Uh-huh.

Seth Bolt: Yeah, Bill.

Hal Elrod: Yeah. He was willing to drive… You guys had a lightning strike, right, before we arrived, and your Tesla chargers had gone down, and Bill was working furiously to get them fixed, and we needed to charge our Tesla. And Bill went on, like we literally just walked in, we’re like, “Hey, the Tesla chargers I heard are broken.” He’s like, “I’m working on it.” And he goes on and he researches to find the closest place that has a Tesla trickle charger that we can plug in for the weekend while we’re there. And it’s an hour and a half away. He goes, “I’m going to run down and I’m going to get it for you guys. You’ll have it by tonight before you go to bed.” We go, “You’re going to drive three hours round trip?”

And anyway, we go, “Let us just go try,” and luckily the charger ended up working. It somehow got miraculously fixed. But like, right, that’s your culture. It’s like drive three hours round trip at no cost to the guest to make sure that their Tesla is charged. That’s just a very real life example. And then from there it was just every touch point. We did the couples massages. We wanted the whole experience. In fact, for anybody that I want to actually like zoom out or for y’all to share, what is this place? Like, because it’s not really tree houses. When I describe it to folks, I’m like, “Well, it’s not in a…” They’re like, “So is it in a tree?” They’re like, “Does it have air conditioning?” I’m like, “Dude, it’s the most luxurious spot you’ve ever stayed in.”

We had a two dozen roses at the foot of the bed, rose petals all over, private deck with our own jacuzzi, two outdoor showers where nobody could see us, the view where you’re literally above the clouds looking, like you feel like you’re looking over heaven. Like, anyway, I could go on and on. But what the heck? What is Bolt Farm Treehouse?

Seth Bolt: Man,

Tori Bolt: I don’t think we can say it better than you did.

Seth Bolt: Yeah, that was great.

Tori Bolt: You’re right. Treehouses could mean anything. And usually once I tell them, “No, there’s heated marble floors.” They get the idea that these are luxury treehouses. It’s like we’re a mountaintop boutique resort with treehouses, domes, and mirror cabins all centered around reconnection and connecting with the person that you love.

Seth Bolt: Yeah, it’s 55 acres with a view of three states. So, I mean, I think in real estate, it’s location, location, location.

Hal Elrod: Oh my gosh, yeah.

Seth Bolt: We looked and looked and looked and looked until we found the perfect place. And so, you’re up, and like you said, some mornings you wake up and you’re above the clouds. And you’ve got that big, inspiring view, because it’s really not about, okay, features and benefits and this is what our tree house has that others don’t. It’s like, oh yeah, just from the downbeat, we knew table stakes, like when we started back in I conceptualized this in 2013. It took me two years to convince my parents to build the first tree house on their farm, because back then it was like people don’t travel to small towns like ours, and people don’t rent tree houses as a standard thing. Like, that was my vision over 13 years ago.

And I just saw how it’s not about the place. It’s about the environment that you can put yourself in. So, making the environment first and foremost be on top of the world, where you’re literally on top of a mountain, you’ve got a view of three states, like it changes how you feel. It changes how you show up during that time. And then our big mission is to be a place where people can reconnect with nature, reconnect with their person, their spouse, their partner. And then for some people, reconnect with God. Like, it’s a place where literally it’s quiet. And I think, we’re so busy in the modern world that our spirit, our minds, all of it is just waiting on us to slow down so that you can actually connect to what matters most.

And so, that was like, if we just build this environment and tell people, “This is what’s available,” they will come. It’s like Field of Dreams, right? If you build it, they’ll come. Like, my favorite movie when I was a kid, and here we are as an adult doing it. Then people will come and get what they need from it. And now we get to hear those testimonials, like people saying, “This probably added 25 years to our marriage,” or, “I rediscovered my best friend this weekend.” Like, just remembering why you fell in love and, like, laughing with your person, learning something new about them, deepening your connection. That is what we consider a win. And it’s one of those things where, obviously, like, yes, this is a business too, but I feel like if you just really serve people and create way more value than they can get anywhere else, like, so much of the business just takes care of itself.

Hal Elrod: Well, I love this. It’s the Zig Ziglar quote, which I just happened to read this morning. You can have everything in life that you want if you help enough other people get what they want. And, I mean, when you think of the first…

Seth Bolt: Did you know…

Hal Elrod: What did you say?

Seth Bolt: Like, I heard Zig Ziglar say that on a cassette in my dad’s pickup truck in like the ’90s.

Hal Elrod: Let’s go.

Seth Bolt: That resonated with me, and that has really like been a guidepost for my life. It’s just like just focus on creating value. So, I did that with music with NEEDTOBREATHE, doing that for the past decade with Bolt Farm Treehouse. And it’s free.

Hal Elrod: I want to go… So, there are so many places that I want to go in this conversation, just so many things to talk about, but before I came out to visit y’all, I mean, I was a huge fan of NEEDTOBREATHE. I told y’all, like, I either got a concussion or cancer. It was one of the two. Can’t remember the timing, but I had tickets to NEEDTOBREATHE. I had like splurged and bought a box seat for me and 11 of our friends, my wife, and I got sick the day before, and I wasn’t able to go. So, I haven’t seen you in concert. I’ve just listened to y’all for a long time. Question one is, or one question is, Seth, you were living the dream. Like, you were literally a rock star traveling the world, sharing stages with Taylor Swift and Tim McGraw and the biggest acts out there.

I think I saw y’all on one of the late shows. I mean, you guys were huge and phenomenal sound. Why would you give that dream up? Like, what inspired you to give up that dream? Or am I looking at her right now?

Seth Bolt: Yeah. Ta-da. Family was the biggest leading driver. Because from the ages of six months to 18 months like that year of my daughter’s life, we have one daughter. She’s now three. I was touring. Like, we toured America, and then we went to Europe, and then we went to Canada and then we came back, did America again. And, when I got back home, she was referring to a cellphone as dada. Like, she was calling cellphones dada because that was the only way I could show up during that season. And the thing is, I waited until long, later in life to have kids. I was 40 when we had Ama, and I’ve just been looking forward to it my whole life. And to your point, I mean, I really have been able to do it like 23 years, all the late-night shows, all the morning shows, multiple continents.

Billions of like streams and downloads. Over 10 albums, some of them were like the number one record when they came out in America. So, it’s just been a blessing of a lifetime to be able to not only just make it in music, but like to have a sustained career to have a great team, and I think when I realized both how much I wanted to be home with my family and not miss that. We’ve got another child on the way. This is the season we want to grow our family. And so, being there for that, and then also just knowing that the organization that we built, because I’m one of the founding members of NEEDTOBREATHE, is just it’s so strong, and the fan base is strong, and I’m like initially I was worried.

If I leave, I want to make sure that this doesn’t fall apart. And I knew confidently it wouldn’t. The talent’s there from the team that we’ve assembled.

Hal Elrod: So, the rest of the band is still touring. They’re still going.

Seth Bolt: Yeah. Oh, 100%.

Hal Elrod: Okay. Got it.

Seth Bolt: Yeah. It’s wild now to see the band on the feed and where they’re at and follow along with the journey that way.

Hal Elrod: You hear a new NEEDTOBREATHE song on the radio, you’re like, “Oh.”

Seth Bolt: Yeah.

Tori Bolt: Yeah.

Seth Bolt: We joke. I mean, I’m still going to call him and give him some notes on…

Hal Elrod: Yeah.

Seth Bolt: But that gets to continue, and I still get to watch that flourish. And at the same time I get to be home with my family, and we get to flourish, and Bolt Farm can flourish, and it’s an abundance mindset.

Tori Bolt: It was wild, though, like before he stepped away and retired, knowing that NEEDTOBREATHE had been a thing for, what, 23 years?

Seth Bolt: Yeah.

Tori Bolt: And there was such a grind in the early days to get it off the ground, right? Like, I wasn’t there to see this, but I love hearing the stories where they’re driving the van themselves overnight and playing these tiny, dirty bars, you know? And then they broke through Velocity, and they made it. They’re doing massive things. So, there was a period for, what, seven, eight years, where NEEDTOBREATHE is on top of the world, and we’re in the grind phase trying to get Bolt Farm off the ground. We’re in the early hustle phase. And so, he comes back from tour flying in on a private jet, comes home to a camper. It’s like, well, that will keep you grounded, you know? And it was just kind of interesting to watch you live both of those lives at the same time, you know?

Hal Elrod: And I love that you made the choice that you did, and obviously choosing family first. And that was kind of me where my career was taking off, and then I got cancer, and that was my wake-up call, where I was like, “Oh, I’m a workaholic.” Like, my career’s thriving, but I said family was first, but they really weren’t. Like, in my heart they were, but I wasn’t actually there. I was all over the place traveling. And what I loved is when I asked, Seth, when I asked you, “Oh, do you miss it? Do you miss touring?” It was like there wasn’t even an ounce of conflict. Like, you were like, “Nope.” Like, “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.” And I think you grabbed Tori’s hand and snuggled in with her. But it was just authentic. Like, I love that you’re completely, it sounds like, just at peace with, like this is the phase of life that you’re in. And like you said, you lived the dream for 23 years. That’s pretty epic, you know? I want to talk about… Oh, go ahead.

Seth Bolt: I was just going to say, I mean, I think I haven’t… it’s a moment of clarity here, like for how to language it for me. Like, I knew that I never really identified as a rock star, as like, okay, this is the end-all, be-all. This is what I want to be remembered as. I think I’ve just always identified as a builder. And like I’ve just got more and more clarity around that. Like, I want to build, I want to be surrounded by people who love to build, and I want to build every day. And now I get to build my family, build with my family, and build with other people that see the potential that we have in raising the standard for hospitality.

And so, it’s exciting to be around builders, and I think that to me, it probably is what the thing that made the transition easy is I didn’t have a big identity conflict, and I didn’t for me, it wasn’t a thing that I needed for ego purposes. I’m like, if this helps people, great. And then also there are so many ways that I want to contribute and add value to the world, with the Zig Ziglar quote. So, I just knew that there was a big opportunity to do that here too with Bolt Farm, and hopefully in a way that outlives me. There’s something about architecture. Like, when you think about a place like Paris, you picture the architecture. And when people invest themselves, and I think this really applies to your listeners most of your people are builders, right?

Like, the reason why they have a Miracle Morning is because there’s a reason they need it to help them build the life that they want. They’re using SAVERS because they want more for themselves than just to sit and scroll on their phone. They want to build things. And so, with that being our direction and where we want to go, again, I just don’t think we would be here without that. And want to thank you for what you’ve created and just giving us the framework to literally start each day in a way that is just going to continue to point us towards our dreams and what we want to build.

Hal Elrod: Heck yeah. You are very welcome, and it inspires me that the Miracle Morning has helped people to like y’all to bring your dreams into the world. Tori, I want to ask you… Well, let me set this up with, I told y’all when I saw you, because I came and did your podcast when Ursula and I were staying at Bolt Farm Treehouse, and I told y’all I’ve spent all morning binge-watching your YouTube channel. I said, “I was not planning on doing that.” It wasn’t like a research thing where I’m like, “I should get to know them more before the interview.” That probably would’ve been smart. But no, it was literally like, oh, because I watched one of your videos that was the intro video for people that are staying at Bolt Farm Treehouse for the first time, and then I was like, “Watch the next video.”

And then Ursula overheard it from the bathroom while she’s getting ready, and then we both end up watching like two hours’ worth of videos. It was crazy. But I went from being like, wow, these people have created this amazing place called Bolt Farm Treehouse, to go, “Wow, this is a couple that has some of the most extraordinary courage and resilience, and teamwork.” Like, so this is the Achieve Your Goals podcast. And so, I want to dive into the goals, the dreams, the way that you did this. And so, Tori, I’m going to ask this to you, which is, going back to your first tree house property, was it South Carolina?

Tori Bolt: Yeah.

Hal Elrod: So, South Carolina. So, talk about how that dream came to be, the disaster that occurred, and then leading to Bolt Farm Treehouse as it is now. And I’ll say that on the YouTube channel, I mean you’re in tears so many times. Like, you guys are living in an RV. You guys go from being world-famous rock stars flying on jets to living that life, to being like, “We’re living in an RV on a muddy cliff doing construction every day, building something, risking our entire fort- like, all of our money for something that may or may not work.” To me, it was extraordinary. So, that’s the setup. Walk us through the journey of how you all started, and then what led you to Bolt Farm Treehouse today.

Tori Bolt: I absolutely will. But because you watched the whole series, I have to touch on this, because I think this is for somebody who’s listening. It’s like we were embarrassed to put that video out there into the world for four years. We filmed the process of building it in 2021. We self-shot the whole thing. We hired an editor to put it together, and then we were like, “Oh my gosh, we’re a luxury hospitality place. Like, this doesn’t give people the confidence to come and stay.” So, we sat on it, we buried it, we were embarrassed. Then a friend saw it and was like, “Guys, this is gold. You have to put it out there.” And we did. And what’s crazy is we commonly get reactions to what you just shared of like how much courage and faith, and you just want to root for us, you know?

And so, I wish that we had released that sooner. And now is the time to build in public. You know, if you’re building something, don’t wait for it to be perfect. Like, lead with authenticity. Bring people into the process, and they’re going to connect with you and want to root for you. So, anyways, that was a lesson learned at the end of all that. But man, our 10-year overnight success story, Seth built the first tree house in South Carolina by hand with his dad on the farm where he grew up. It’s still there. His parents run it. It’s so charming. And we met in the process. And so, inspired by love, he said, “You know, I don’t want this just to be a tree house. I want this to be a romantic, luxurious tree house worthy of my wedding day.” So, that was the standard.

Seth Bolt: Well, I had to convince her that instead of going to Tahiti, we would instead stay in a tree house on my parents’ land on the farm.

Hal Elrod: So, your honeymoon was in the tree house?

Tori Bolt: Yes. Yeah.

Seth Bolt: We got married on the farm and then honeymooned in the tree house.

Hal Elrod: Yeah. I can imagine most wives are like, “You cheap son of a gun.” “No. We are not staying at your parents’ house for our honeymoon.”

Seth Bolt: Exactly. And that was the pressure I felt. I was like, “I’ve got to make it so good that this is an obvious yes.”

Hal Elrod: That right when she walks into it she goes, “Whoa.” Yeah.

Seth Bolt: Yeah. I mean, I was inspired by love, which is the most powerful force on earth, I believe. So, right, when that is what’s driving you to create something, usually it turns out pretty good.

Tori Bolt: I just realized, though, you were trying to save like $10,000 on a honeymoon vacation, so you spent $100,000 building this tree house.

Hal Elrod: Yeah, smart.

Seth Bolt: That’s the entrepreneurial story, right? I mean, entrepreneurs are the only people that they work 80 hours a week so they don’t have to work 40 hours a week.

Hal Elrod: There you go. That sounds like rockstar math, I think, right? Like, you’re asking your manager, “Hey, if we chart the private jet, that’ll save us on commercial airfare, right?” All right, Tori, so keep going.

Tori Bolt: Yeah. So, our honeymoon there was absolutely transformational. Like, I was pursuing a career in journalism, Seth was doing music, and we were just two newlyweds on our honeymoon dreaming about what we wanted our life to look like. You know, our values, the environment we wanted to raise future children in, and we spent three days just dreaming, praying, journaling about what that would look like. And everything was pointing to build more tree houses, create more environments like this for other people to get this clarity and this uninterrupted time together where you can just laugh and be present with the person you love, because it was so good for us.

That was our launchpad. And so, right after our honeymoon we were like, “Okay, that’s what we’re going to do.” We put it on Airbnb. It’s pretty much an overnight hit. Six-month waiting list. We can’t even get into our own place. You know, we’re just getting all these dream PR features. BuzzFeed called it the number one Airbnb in the state, and we’re like, “This is working. Like, people, people want this.”

Hal Elrod: Wow. And I mean, that was, Seth, on your parents’ property. There was no view, there was no cliffside, right? Like, I mean, and that’s wild to think that what y’all created with just the tree house, just the building was so magical in the middle of the woods. And then when you add that view and the location that y’all found, it’s like, I mean, incredible. So, just the tree house becomes the number one Airbnb in the state. Okay, keep going.

Tori Bolt: Yeah. And we’re forward-facing for the brand. We’re connecting with everybody on Instagram. We’re telling our story. And that’s something too for someone who’s building. It’s like, what’s your story? That people are going to connect with people, not just don’t get caught up in the product, right? It’s like what’s the story? What’s the outcome? And so, that gave us the confidence to do more, right? And so, this first one was kind of a test. It was a low-risk test. Now, we buy 35 acres on an island outside of Charleston. I mean, we’ve got it all on the line. We sell our house to do this. We sell most of what we own to do this. I mean, for land alone, it was over $500,000. It was just such a stretch.

 

But we thought, “Okay, people want this. This is our next spot.” And we were going to build a whole tree house village out there. We started with four. And we’re living on site in a camper, building at breakneck speed to get this done. And as we finish construction, I kid you not, as we’re finishing construction and getting ready to welcome our first guests, the island adopts these anti-Airbnb laws that shut the business down. And we’ve got months of guests and bookings on the calendar. And so, instead of getting to like have the satisfaction of now running this business, welcoming our guests, we’re now in this political battle to just fight for our business.

And if anyone has gone through like a rezoning or anything like that, oh, my goodness, that is a s- it’s a painful experience.

Hal Elrod: A nightmare. And you feel powerless. You’re like, A, this isn’t fair. B, this is our life’s work and like all of our money. And C, we have customers booked, and you’re robbing all of us of what should be a heck yes. Okay. Wow.

Tori Bolt: Yeah. We like didn’t consider ourselves developers. We’re like, “Oh, we build a few tree houses,” you know? And so, it was shocking and also really painful because we were trying to work on the land. And long story short, the community on that island, they knew that if we broke through and got our yes and…

Seth Bolt: That’s what they thought

Tori Bolt: They thought that it was going to set a precedent for bigger development. And so, they made it their mission to shut us down. I mean, we attended a community meeting where somebody said, “We must rid them of all hope.”

Seth Bolt: And then it was like a public stoning. We were their persona non grata not, like the unwelcome party, and they just pretty much let it fly. It was just like they just stoked up all this fear on Facebook.

Hal Elrod: Like, they made you the villain, right? You became the villain, which is so crazy.

Tori Bolt: Facebook hate groups.

Seth Bolt: Seeing the face of evil when you’re trying to do something good.

Hal Elrod: I mean, anybody watching this right now can tell what villains you are. It’s just so obvious.

Seth Bolt: Yeah, exactly.

Tori Bolt: We were like, “What is happening?” And mind you, this is in our second year of marriage, after Seth convinced me to quit my job and told me that entrepreneurship was going to be fun, okay?

Hal Elrod: Oh, my gosh.

Seth Bolt: And we’re living in an RV.

Tori Bolt: We’re in an RV. I mean, just like…

Hal Elrod: Living in an RV. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh.

Tori Bolt: So, it was crazy.

Seth Bolt: They went so far as to having the RV taken away from us. A lot of people had RVs on the island, but they found some law that you’re not supposed to live in an RV. And so, literally, the county came and said like, “You can’t live here anymore.” It was blitzkrieg. It was like total war, we must annihilate them. And we didn’t even see any of that coming.

Hal Elrod: What year was this?

Seth Bolt: It was 2019. We were in the fight for our lives.

Hal Elrod: So, right before COVID. So, I don’t know if I missed a video, because I didn’t catch the like, what did you do with that property before you like were you able to sell it with the tree houses on it to somebody?

Tori Bolt: We were, but it was a long process. And in life, things are not always a perfect sequence of events or a straight line. When we realized, okay, we could spend the next five years of our lives fighting this or we can just move on because we believe in this and we know what we’re doing is a good thing. It just happened to be in the wrong place. Let’s start over. Coming to grips with that was really a difficult decision but something we felt totally clear on. We’re going to do this, even if we have to start over. We list the property for sale. We don’t find a buyer overnight because it’s like a commercial property with no commercial value. You can’t do anything with it, you know?

So, we had to fix it up ourselves and start over before we even found a buyer. It was like a year, right? In between like starting over and finally like selling the property, which we did at a lot. We like a bit, almost covered our costs, but…

Seth Bolt: Two years.

Tori Bolt: It was two years?

Seth Bolt: Two years total, yeah.

Hal Elrod: Two years of your life. Yeah, so you didn’t cover that cost, right? The time couldn’t get back.

Tori Bolt: No. But we started over. That property was in like the island, the swamps, if you will, of Charleston. And we were like, after living through this, like we want to be on the mountaintop. Our spirit needs that. And we want our guests to feel on top of the world too. So, we knew we were looking for a mountaintop property. We knew we wanted to be in Tennessee for a few reasons. And my parents lived just north of Nashville, so we decided to move in with them. We moved into their barndominium and started looking for land. And looked at dozens of properties in person, hundreds online. Found the perfect one and lived in the camper again for the third time, right?

While we like were in the due diligence phase to make sure that this would really work for us, thankfully, the previous landowner was super kind, and he’s like, “Hey guys, I know it’s going to take a process. It’s going to take some time to close on this deal, but like I know this is going to be yours, so you’re welcome to camp out on here and stake out what you need and whatnot.” And that was a huge blessing because we got a lot of work done in that process.

Seth Bolt: Yeah. Tori was like, “Where do we use the bathroom?” In the Tennessee accent, he was like, “Oh honey, there’s bathrooms everywhere.”

Tori Bolt: Oh, good.

Hal Elrod: Love it.

Tori Bolt: And I’m like, “What have I gotten myself into?”

Hal Elrod: How did y’all find that? Because it’s 1,000 feet of cliff-front property, right? I mean, it literally is like a slice of heaven that like how did y’all find that? Was it was online, and then you just went and looked at it?

Seth Bolt: Yeah. We have a mile now of bluff frontage all along it. So, like everybody gets a front-row view, which is awesome.

Hal Elrod: How many units are there on? How many tree houses and mirrored cabins in total are there on the property?

Tori Bolt: There’s 33 villas. And then we also have the spa and the wellness haven.

Seth Bolt: Multi-acre. They have a view of three states too.

Hal Elrod: And no children are allowed. Now, is that to keep it just adults only for like the romantic aspect, or is that because you don’t want kids accidentally falling off the cliff? Because I thought of both. I’m like either way it’s good they don’t have kids here.

Tori Bolt: Yeah. I think it’s both. I mean, we started as a honeymoon tree house for couples. And so, it’s hard to like speak to that customer and talk about preserved peace and then have a screaming kid next door. You know what I mean?

Hal Elrod: Ah, it’s so true. It’s so true. Yeah.

Seth Bolt: We just talked to our guests and they were like, “You know, we’re really glad that it’s adults only. And this gives us a chance just to strengthen us as parents or as grandparents, or whatever that might be for their season of life. And they all really like that.

Hal Elrod: I’m so glad you did that because, I mean, in hindsight, yeah, if there were kids there, it would be a completely different experience, like you said. If there was a kid screaming or even in the jacuzzi or whatever, it makes it a very purposeful experience for anyone going there. And my wife and I really we reconnected. Our marriage, I mean, I’m not kidding when I say this. I’m not exaggerating. Our marriage is the strongest it’s ever been, and that was like we were in a good place going to Bolt Farm Treehouse, but literally it just took it to a different level. Like, we really deepened our love and connect. Like, it’s everything y’all are trying to do, we completely experienced the benefits of that, so thank you.

Tori Bolt: I have goosebumps, and it is summertime in Tennessee, so thank you. Okay. And I, and I have a question for you, Hal, if it’s okay. Yeah. This is not me fishing for a compliment. I’m genuinely, like, how? Like, what did it? What helped you guys connect to that next level?

Hal Elrod: Yeah. No, this is real-time research. Let’s go. I mean, so first of all, and we had high expectations because of your Instagram. I told y’all, you guys have the best Instagram. I have sent your Instagram videos to so many people. Like, ahead of time like, “Guys, we’re going here in a few weeks,” right? And now, I mean, I screenshotted you guys like seven text messages that when I got home, I just worked it into every conversation. Someone’s like, “Hey, can we connect for a call this week?” And I would send them one of your Instagram posts and be like, “Yes, and Ursula and I just got back from Bolt Farm Treehouses, and you have to take Becky there. Y’all would absolutely love it.” Yeah. No, if I believe in something, this is just my nature, like I want everybody to experience it.

But, so anyway, to answer your question, on the very first night we were there, the point is that we had high expectations just from what we had seen online, but we go there and we’re just, like we’re driving the golf cart through the woods and I’m like, “This is unreal.” And we already had the experience with Bill and Lucas at the front desk, so we’re like, we’re already feeling like, “Man, they’re taking care of us.” But then the visuals, and then we get to our treehouse, number 18, highly recommended. But we get to our treehouse, and we walk out and we see the view, and we’re like, “Oh…” Like, you’re like speechless. And so, it does something to your psychology and your emotional well-being.

And then I’m looking at Ursula and I’m like, “Is it just me? Are you looking at what I’m looking at?” She’s like, “Wow.” So, we’re both in awe. Then we open the door, and again, roses at the end, rose petals all over the bed, like beautiful refrigerator, all the things, and we’re just like, “This is amazing.” Then we walk into the, I guess it’s called the dream closet, right?

Tori Bolt: Yeah.

Hal Elrod: I call it my Miracle Morning room, just so you know.

Tori Bolt: Oh, yes.

Hal Elrod: But honestly, it’s amazing. When I stay with Ursula somewhere, because I wake up naturally at like 4:30 in the morning for my miracle morning, and she’ll sleep till 6:00 or whatever. and I usually don’t… I will often do it in the hotel bathroom, right? So, no matter how nice the hotel is, it could be a five-star hotel, but there’s nowhere for me to go. I’m in the bathroom on the toilet or the floor of the bathroom, right? So, y’all have this, in all the units, this dream closet that’s like, I don’t know, eight feet by… How big is it? What’s the size?

Seth Bolt: It’s probably like 9 feet by about 15 feet.

Hal Elrod: 9 by 15 feet with this like bench at the end. It’s like the walls are beautiful. It’s just visually appealing. It was great. The low lighting. And I did my Miracle Morning the first day, and I was like, “I…” That’s when I was like, “I don’t want to go home.” Like, I want… We only stayed for three nights, and the next time we come, I think we’re going to stay for a week because I’m like, “I am really bummed that I’m only get to do two more of these Miracle Mornings.” Yeah, so I mean, that was it. And then, what else was it? Making the pizza the first night. So, y’all have, Is that like, is that standard with the food kit? I don’t know, right? The pizza because there’s a pizza oven outside.

And I wasn’t sure because like I don’t cook. Ursula’s a phenomenal cook, but so I’m like intimidated. I’m like, “Oh, we’re supposed to make pizza together.” I’m like, “I don’t know how to cook,” you know? And of course, it was super easy and instructions, and you just put a few things together. but we did that together, and it was just fun. And we’re kneading the dough together and then it was the taste was incredible. We’re like, “Oh my God, this is some of the best pizza I’ve ever had,” right? We had to cut ourselves off because we’re like, “We probably shouldn’t eat the whole thing.” But yeah, so that was night one. And I told Ursula, and like we got there at 3:00 in the afternoon, so it’s only like it’s like four hours later.

I go, “This is the coolest pla- Is it just me? This is the coolest place we’ve ever been to.” So, four hours into it, not after the weekend was over, I’m already like, “I want to live here. This is the coolest place. When can we come next? How often should we do this?” I’m like, “Should this be quarterly? Should this be annually?” So, yeah. And then waking up, like we agreed, I’m like, “No computer,” which is hard for me. Normally, I’ll wake up early, I’ll do Miracle Morning, then I’ll work for an hour before Ursula wakes up. I’m like, “I’m not opening my computer.” and then we watched the every morning, she woke up right around sunrise, and we went outside and sat on the deck and watched the sun and like looking at the clouds below. So again, I could just ramble on and on, but that’s a little bit of what was such an incredible experience for us.

Tori Bolt: I love it so much. Oh, thank you. Like that, you don’t know what that does to our heart. And even like the pizza, it’s so simple. Pro tip, like pizza tastes better when you make it yourself. Like it’s your creation, right? But that was one of the things that we started from day one with that first little tree house in South Carolina because it’s like, how can we get people to just like engage together, have fun, laugh when you get flour on your face or whatever. And just like, again, kind of set the table. And this is something that Will Guidara teaches in Unreasonable Hospitality. It’s like, it’s not about look what we can do. Look at these shiny, fancy things. It’s like, look what you can do. Look what you two as a couple can do. Then just get out of the way for it to happen.

Seth Bolt: Yeah. I mean, we’ve heard the objection plenty where people say like, “Listen, if I’m going somewhere nice or it costs a lot of money, I’m not cooking.” And that’s why we make it optional. You don’t have to cook your own pizza. But for the people who lean into it and do it, like they realize like, oh, the art of slow living, the joy of cooking together, like making something new, doing something, learning something, like that’s when we feel most alive.

Hal Elrod: Well, you mentioned Will Guidara. I wanted to mention, he wrote, for those that don’t know, Will wrote the book Unreasonable Hospitality. He had the number one, literally number one rated restaurant in the world in New York City. And it is the book on, right, it’s the bible on how you treat people and create an amazing experience. And I’m like, “I know Will. You guys got to meet Will and have him on your pod.” You’re like, “Will has stayed here.” So, I texted him afterwards. I’m like, “Hey, my wife and I, we just left Bolt Farm Treehouse. And Seth and Tori had some time with him,” and he’s like, “I love Seth and Tori, and I love Bolt Farm Treehouse.” And so, I mean, you all literally have the author of the bible on hospitality who is like a raving fan.

And I know y’all said it was a lot of pressure when he was going to stay there. You’re like, “Wait a minute,” like, “This guy wrote the book on this. How are we going to exceed his expectations?”

Seth Bolt: We felt the pressure. He didn’t have the pressure. He’s, he’s a gem. He’s incredible.

Hal Elrod: We felt the pressure.

Tori Bolt: But we’re like we’re hosting Santa on Christmas. Like this is crazy, you know?

Hal Elrod: Yeah, I love that, hosting Santa on Christmas. That’s totally it. That’s totally it. Well, again, I could go on and on. I just can’t wait to come see y’all again. And for anybody that is listening right now, what would you encourage them as a next step to, like, talk about your YouTube. Like, what’s the name of your YouTube channel? I don’t remember if it’s Bolt Farm Treehouse.

Tori Bolt: Yeah, everything is Bolt Farm Treehouse.

Hal Elrod: Everything’s Bolt Farm Treehouse. I highly recommend anybody listening, go to Bolt Farm Treehouse and go watch. I don’t know where they, do they go back to the beginning? Like, how do they find like the video? Because we just binge-watched one after another after another, but it’s so inspiring.

Tori Bolt: There’s a playlist called Building Bolt Mountain, and that’s the series that we’ve been talking about where it shows us on this wild adventure of bringing it to life.

Seth Bolt: And from the scrappy start of like literally starting over with nothing, and building this, bootstrapping what is now Bolt Farm Treehouse.

Hal Elrod: It’s so crazy. So, I said y’all are two of the most courageous, resilient entrepreneurs because to put your whole dream into South Carolina and build four units and live in a trailer and sacrifice everything and over-leverage yourself financially, and then before even the doors are open to be shut down. And also what says a lot about y’all, there was a loophole where if you didn’t charge people, they could come stay there, I believe, right? You refunded everyone’s money and still gave them their stay. They got to come stay at the tree house. Is that right?

Seth Bolt: Yeah.

Seth Bolt: Yeah.

Hal Elrod: It just goes to show that y’all aren’t in it for the money. You really are in it for the impact that you’re making, and that is rare in today’s world and it’s special. So, boltfarmtreehouse.com?

Tori Bolt: That’s right. Yep.

Hal Elrod: Everybody, go to boltfarmtreehouse.com. Subscribe. Can they subscribe to a newsletter to be on your email list there?

Tori Bolt: Yeah, they can do all the things. And I feel like we should tell the listeners that Hal is not a paid affiliate.

Hal Elrod: I’m not an affiliate. I know people think I get paid. Like, whenever I talk about it they’re like, “Oh, so you’re selling this thing now?” And I’m like, “No.” They’re like, “Oh, why are you… Like, I thought you were for sure getting a commission.” I know. I am not an affiliate at all. I know. I’m a little over the top when I get excited about something. And then the YouTube channel or the YouTube channel, you got to go watch the series, Building Bolt Farm. And then the Instagram. It’s just visually like I like every single one of your posts, and I repost and share some of it, and now they show up on my feed. Like, I get all of them. but yeah. Any last words to share with our listeners before we wrap it up?

Tori Bolt: I have one thing on my mind. You probably do too.

Seth Bolt: Okay. Yeah, me too. You first. Ladies first.

Tori Bolt: Okay. Yeah. Mine will be faster. No. It’s…

Seth Bolt: Hey.

Tori Bolt: I think for people who are listening who are working to achieve their goals, they’re building something, one of the biggest keys to what we were able to do was laser focus. And you are a master of this, Hal. Look at the wall behind you. It’s all Miracle Morning. You’ve been behind one thing, you know? And we meet so many business owners, because we have a mastermind. We help people who want to scale their Airbnb or their hotel, and oftentimes they have 10 ideas, and they’re chasing all of them. And it’s like you’re going to exhaust yourself and nothing’s going to get across the finish line. And so, in order to do this, we’ve had to say no to so many things consistently, amazing offers, deals, opportunities. But it’s like if you can just get behind one thing and see that through, then you will do it, you know? And so, just encouragement to, to have that laser focus.

Hal Elrod: Amazing. That’s such a good tip. And to your point, I said no to everything that doesn’t further the Miracle Morning mission, so just similar to y’all.

Seth Bolt: That’s perfect. Yeah. Great. And then I would add to that living below your means and just keeping your customer first. Like, so many people they start a business for the material things that they want. And then they try to get those things too fast, and it jeopardizes their ability to actually get their goal. So, like you might say, “Okay, well, Seth was in this band.” There’s all these perceptions around rock stars and that life. And like I just didn’t want cars, and I didn’t want fancy houses and stuff. And we put literally every dollar that you put towards lifestyle is a dollar that’s not working towards your dream that you’re building. You’re a builder. And that’s your audience. Like, so we were just like, “Hey, we’ll rough it.” Like, I think literally we…

Tori Bolt: We bought our first car, like a month before our daughter was born, because I was like…

Seth Bolt: First new car. First new car.

Tori Bolt: Our first new car, yeah. Because I was like, “I need a safe SUV.” This is crazy.

Seth Bolt: But like, when we were starting over, we financed an RV. It cost $308 a month. So, our mortgage was $308 a month. Every single dollar was going towards building Bolt Farm, and that’s how we were able to bootstrap a multimillion dollar real estate project, and actually build it in steps and stages to where we still have all the ownership of it. And that’s part of how we were able to run towards our dreams is that we didn’t make stupid decisions with money that put us in a situation where we needed a partner or we needed something that would slow down our ability to make decisions. Because I knew along this path we were going to do some very unconventional things, that if these decisions were made by committee, they’d just never be made.

And sometimes it’s like I can see the future and where it’s going, and I’m comfortable being the tip of the spear, taking chances, and being very calculated, but being very unconventional And so I think that’s a lane for innovation that is available to most entrepreneurs if they don’t get in their own way and just start spending money on credit cards and on lifestyle before it’s time. If you’re doing it for the lifestyle, that’s fine. I mean, that’s your prerogative. It’s just that I find that actually the faster path to the lifestyle piece is just to forget about the lifestyle piece. Create value for people, and then before you know it, you’re going to find yourself in this position where you can literally pay for anything, you know?

Hal Elrod: Where there’s so much abundance because you kept your eye on the prize.

Seth Bolt: You’re like, “Oh, this is the real freedom that people hear about or think about when they think about financial freedom.” It’s like any problem in the world can come up, and you can basically buy your way out of trouble. And the thing is I didn’t come from that. Neither of us came from money. We have very beautiful, simple, humble families. My family, we grew our own food. My grandma made her own clothes and all that. Like, we were like almost Amish. Like, we pretty much did everything that you could do to just be self-sustainable and to know how to do it and know how the world works and that kind of thing. And so, shout out to my parents because they gave me such a great foundation to build upon. Just understanding the way that the world works and the way that money works.

So, it’s like even though we didn’t have the resource that we understood, we started studying the principles of how to manage that resource, and then when it came, we were prepared for it. And now we can just live to be a blessing and bless other people and really get our dreams faster. But the thing is that no one… Like, in the instant gratification world that we live in, no one wants to hear, “You may have to sacrifice this to get this thing for a decade, maybe two decades,” just for you to get it. So, you’re going to have to just say no to yourself today so that you can say yes to yourself in the future. And I’m grateful that we did that, but I just don’t hear many people talking about delayed gratification or long-suffering as virtues that you should actually aspire to.

But I think any mission worth chasing is going to require you to probably walk through fire more than once, and you have to have something driving you more than just a quick hit of money or something so that you can buy a new truck or something like that. Like, it really needs to mean something because those tests will come, and when they do, I think when your mind is prepared, then you can really step into that future well. And I think the other piece that we missed, for way too many years, like probably the first five years we were doing this, is just we were just trying to figure it out ourselves, and now we’ve changed our approach entirely.

Like, if we’re going to do something, we want to learn from the best and have a mentor, a coach in our corner telling us what we don’t know so that we don’t spend years trying to find it and figure it out. If you did that, it’s very painful, and it’s actually way more costly to pay for the mistakes than just to pay for the mentorship.

Hal Elrod: Yeah. Well said. I want to ask you one follow-up question, which is you mentioned the 10 years delay. I believe very much 10 years of being overnight success, I experienced that. But the delayed gratification and all of that, and you even mentioned the word suffering, what’s your mindset around enjoying the process, right? Meaning, like delaying the gratification where you’re not taking too much money off the top of the business so you can buy the cars and the houses and the lifestyle that you want. You’re really focusing on building, as you talked about. and then what does that look like in terms of when you are delaying the gratification, when you are, working really hard, and you even used again the word suffering, is it enjoying that process? Is it gratitude? Like, what’s the mindset that gets you through that time?

Seth Bolt: Yeah. I kind of look at it like this. There’s the science of achievement, and there’s the art of fulfillment. And most people just focus on the science of achievement, but achievement alone doesn’t equate to happiness.

Hal Elrod: Sure.

Seth Bolt: The art of fulfillment is an art because it’s different for everyone. Like, what fulfills you, what drives you is different. So, for me, I’m fulfilled when I’m building because I’m a builder. So, like, that is joy for me. So, I’ve really enjoyed the process of building this, and I use long-suffering as a way to express, I guess, sacrifice, where really you’re creating. You’re not consuming. Like, when you’re just in creator mode, it means you’re creating something. And for me, that’s been a big difference. Like, I mean, I don’t scroll on Instagram. I gave that up years ago and watched my productivity go through the roof. Like, when you’re just fully in creator mode like you’re going to create value and the rest is going to work out.

But the long-suffering piece is that it’s partly attached to money and just making sacrifices in the short term so that you can build a legacy in the long term. And that’s if you’re coming up from nothing. Like, if you’re already well-established, then that’s not a factor for you. But oftentimes, like the people who have it all, and I saw this in music too, like here are these musicians and artists and singers, like they make it. They’re on top of it all, and then they take their life because like they’ve been studying the science of achievement, not the art of fulfillment. So, what is it that makes you happy? And so, the thing for me that was most sustainable is like it’s not that like, well, when we reach this number in our bank account or this number of tree houses that we build, then I’ll be fulfilled.

Because people ask us, “Okay, so at what point will you stop?” And I’m like, “Well, I just, I want to build.”

Hal Elrod: Yeah, just keep building.

Seth Bolt: Like, that to me is happiness. Like, if I can build and be with my family, that’s joy. And I think you speak to this a lot in Miracle Morning. It’s like you really want to create a system where just the rhythm of your life produces your joy and your happiness and your success. You’re content with that rhythm, and the rest are byproducts to the discipline and the habit, right?

Hal Elrod: Yeah. That’s very well said. Yeah, it’s just the committed to the process of, for me, becoming. Miracle Morning is the process of becoming the best version of myself, right? And then to your point, building, creating, contributing, all of that, and that’s where the art of fulfillment is found in that process versus in the outcome or the result. And to your point, I think a lot of folks, because they’re so focused on the science of achievement and they’re focused on the outcome, then they get it and they’re like, “Oh, I never learned how to be fulfilled and happy and grateful and at peace along the way. And so, then when I got what I thought I wanted that would give me all of that fulfillment, it didn’t, and now I don’t know what to do,” right?

So, practicing that art of fulfillment on the journey, toward achieving what you want. Well, y’all have made a huge impact in my life and my marriage, and so I cannot thank you enough for that, and you’re doing it for so many other people. So, Seth and Tori, I’m such a fan of both of you and, deep, deep appreciation. So, thank you for everything you’re doing.

Tori Bolt: Oh, likewise. Yeah. Thank you, Hal.

Seth Bolt: And Hal, I feel like we’d be remiss not to add one more thing, which is just the role that our faith has played in this journey.

Hal Elrod: Please.

Seth Bolt: Yeah. I mean, I think the fact that we share core beliefs, and like for us, like the life of Jesus and the way that he lived his life for other people has been what we have tried to consistently model our lives after. And for those familiar, like you hear about this concept of like a peace that surpasses understanding. Like, how can people walk through hell and have peace in the middle of it? And we live that, and it’s because we understand that like, this is temporary, and this also, this test is probably for our good. Like you get to assume the best in the situation. Yeah. Like, what is this teaching me?

Like, not why is this happening to me? It’s like this is happening for me and for my good so that in this like tough times, I can like learn a lesson along the journey that’s going to equip me for something that’s probably coming next.

Hal Elrod: Yeah. That’s so important. I’m glad you brought that in because, yeah, as someone who’s gone through major life-threatening things, like I always had faith that there is a greater purpose in this adversity that is going to benefit me and others in the future. And so, I’m going to make the best of the challenges in the present so that I can come out better on the other side of it. So, I love that you talked about that. And you see that, again, I think everybody really should go watch y’all’s YouTube series. You see y’all’s faith and positivity and love for each other and the process when you watch your YouTube, you, when you see that journey.

And I’m glad that y’all, you may have waited four years, but I’m glad you finally put that online for everybody to see because, yeah, I don’t binge YouTube, except for y’all’s videos.

Tori Bolt: Thank you. We’re going to let you leave this with your head’s just this big.

Hal Elrod: Ah, I know. I love it. Well, I love y’all, and I cannot wait until next time I get to visit Bolt Farm Treehouse. And if you come to Austin, hit me up. We got a spot for you to stay. And, everybody, go check out boltfarmtreehouse.com. Check out the Instagram and the YouTube. And, I’m telling you, for your next wedding anniversary, like plan a trip there. It’s something that my wife and I are so excited about. So, love y’all. Talk to you next week, everybody. Take care.

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