What if the fastest way to level up isn’t adding more, but removing what’s quietly holding you back?
Chris Thomson hands the room to Amer Abu Shakra, StudentWorks record-breaker and co-founder of Contracting.com, for a rare orientation-style talk built entirely from his own story. From a childhood in Jordan to a $500,000 sales year, Amer traces how three lessons rebuilt him.
He gets honest about the year he wasted almost 40% of his time on his phone, the mentor who told him he wasn’t reliable, and the dopamine trap that quietly steals ambition. Then he shows the loop that turns it around: remove, keep your word, put others first.
If your team feels unreliable or your goals keep slipping, the problem might be what you refuse to remove. Listen now.
Timestamped Highlights
05:02 – The gap Amer spotted that turned a summer job into Contracting.com
05:27 – The “300 lifetimes” math that explains why a franchise is worth it
08:05 – A highway stop in Jordan that rewired how Amer sees fairness
09:26 – Lesson one: why improving your life is about what you remove
11:43 – From busboy to bank vault, and the income ceiling that made him leave
14:20 – “Successful people are reliable, and you are not”: the heart-to-heart that changed everything
19:04 – The rooftop meeting with Grant Cardone he got on 30 minutes’ notice
21:04 – The 40% of his time that was quietly killing his business
22:02 – The rat, the button, and what dopamine is really doing to you
29:33 – The accountability call that made keeping his word automatic
33:48 – The loop: remove, stay reliable, attract better people
43:39 – Eat last: the closing challenge on who you’re becoming
About the Guest
Amer Abu Shakra is the co-founder and CEO of Contracting.com, where he and co-founder Patrick help remodeling and home-service contractors build self-managing businesses, now serving around 700 members. A StudentWorks alumnus based in Toronto, Amer broke the program’s all-time sales record and profited over $200,000 in a single summer before finishing university at the University of Toronto. He now speaks, hosts a podcast, and coaches contractors on the systems and mindset behind durable growth.
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