How Brad Smith Rebuilt After A Business Collapse to 2 Million a Month

We sit down with Brad Smith to unpack what it really feels like to lose a decade-long business, carry six-figure debt with family on the hook, and rebuild a life when your old identity collapses. We talk through the exact mindset, leadership moves, and daily disciplines that help him regain hope, pay off the debt, and build a purpose-driven insurance agency while navigating grief and massive change. 
• the emotional weight of shutting down a business and losing your identity 
• giving yourself grace while rebuilding a future you can believe in 
• choosing a career worth mastering by evaluating lifestyle and purpose 
• chasing an identity you respect instead of only chasing money 
• negotiating and paying down debt with an intentional monthly plan 
• casting a vision big enough for other leaders to join 
• pivoting fast during COVID and turning change into opportunity 
• losing a twin brother and watching a team carry the mission forward 
• treating vision as a blueprint and growth as “more bricks” 
• breaking plateaus by shifting from producing next to people to producing through people 
• balancing the five pillars: mental health, physical health, philanthropy, relationships, spirituality 
• using physical discipline to create momentum that spills into business and life 
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Transcript

A Brutal Reset And A New Start

SPEAKER_00 1:00

So what if it took you 30 years just to get back to zero? My guest today spent a decade building a multimillion dollar business with his brother, and then he had to close the doors. He walked away with $285,000 of debt that his parents co-signed on, which meant bankruptcy was never an option. At his lowest, he had $142 to his name, maxed out credit card, wife, a one-year-old, a five-year-old at a home that was 800 square feet. He had zero interest in the insurance industry. Today, 13 years later, he leads the Smith agency at Cemetery Financial Group. Every dollar of that debt's been paid off within a year and a half of going all in, and a milestone year he never got to celebrate with the person who mattered most. You'll hear why that is and why his calling is living an authentic life through the insurance industry. This is a conversation about building a goal big enough to pull you forward, getting around the right people, and finding a reason to get excited about the future again, even when life takes the future you had planned. Brad Smith, welcome to the show. Thank you. Great to be here. Excited to have you. Excited to have you on the hashtag Clocked In Podcast. But before we touch on any of the success, take me back to the day that your brother, you and your brother, closed the doors on that business. 10 years of your life, 285,000 of debt, your parents' names on the loan. Walk me through what that actually felt like for you.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

Yeah, it was hard to understand the weight of that day. There were 17 full-time employees that we had to have the conversation that this is your last day. Let's go up for pizza and have a beer, and this is it. And it was it was like 10 years of life, like hard work, long hours, late nights, money invested, a lot of debt, and it's like all for nothing after 10 years. So that was, I think anyone that's owned a business or even given a lot of their life to a big career, you attach your identity to it. And so when that business was gone, it's like I don't even know who I am anymore. The person that I thought I was, I I don't even, I don't even know like who am I? And I think a lot of us attach our identity to our future. And so

Closing The Doors And Losing Identity

SPEAKER_01 3:13

when that future and that vision is gone, it disappears, it's it's it's hard to, you know.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

It's devastating.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

Yeah, it's devastating.

SPEAKER_00 3:21

Yeah, it's it's like a death or a divorce or a family. It's really, really challenging for us because we just have so many things, and a lot of the work I do with coaching is a lot about identity stuff because there's so many of us that just don't realize that we're running from an old identity. So, Brad, for you, how did you start to get out of that and start to climb out of it? Was it the next day? You gave yourself six months. What'd you do?

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Well, you have to give yourself a little grace. I've learned that there's been a few times where I've had some major, major loss in my life where my identity was like it's an identity crisis, and you have to give yourself a little bit of grace, but you you have to get in a place where you can start dreaming again and start imagining a bright future and and remind yourself that the best days can be ahead of you, not behind you. So, you know, I at that point, I even though things were really bad, I hadn't lost hope. It was probably good for my ego. I became very humble and just started looking at who's having success, who has the lifestyle that I'm looking for. And I I started doing interviews for the first time in my life since high school. I'd always been the one to do interviews, but now I'm being interviewed. And and you know, I was just looking for who's got the lifestyle that I that I want. And once I found something, it's not like I immediately knew this is it, like for the rest of my life, that's gonna be an insurance. But, you know, there was a there at that point in my life, I was kind of looking at different options and and different career choices. I'm not like a I'm not like an opportunity hopper where I just go from one thing to the next. Once I decide that I want to do something, like really decide I want to do something, I give it everything I have. And there was a time that I was sitting down with my father-in-law, and my father-in-law is a farmer. So we live out in the country. We live right on the on the family property, almost 400 acres. And I've always had a lot of respect for him. I don't think he ever, I think he finished high school, and that's about it. What he he's a multimillionaire with no debt, and I always looked up to him and his success. And there was a day, there was a day that we went and played poker with his friends, and we sat down around this poker table, and everybody's folding when the pot got to five dollars, and they're wearing like John Deere hats and muddy boots and plaid shirts, and just really good guys, but no, I didn't think anyone, any of them had money. And at the end of the the poker game, everyone left and he said, Would you believe that other than you, I was the poorest person at that table? And I was like, What? How is that possible? And he was probably worth five million dollars at that

Finding A Career Worth Mastering

SPEAKER_01 6:03

point. Oh wow. He said, The guy to my left, he was worth about 10 million. He made his money in oil. The guy to his left was worth about 25 to 30 million. He made his money in cattle. He has about 6,000 acres and 6,000 head of cattle. The guy to his left just sold his car business for $200 million. Oh, wow. And he still owns all the property and leases it back to the new owners. And he said, you know what they all have in common? They all found something that was worth getting good at and spent their life becoming a professional. You need to find a career that's worth getting good at and spend enough time to become a professional. And it was right at that time that I found the insurance industry and I found the company that I'm with, still still to this day. I've been with the same company for 13 and a half years. And I remember those words, and I remember sitting down with the people that I was interviewing with and asking that question, what is their lifestyle? And they were making the income that I wanted to make, they had the time freedom, they had purpose, they were smiling, they were happy, they seemed fulfilled, they had everything that I wanted. And I was like, okay, maybe this is it. And I just kept going down that path. Sometimes you have to just go through doors not knowing exactly where they lead, but it just feels like it's the right door to go through at that time. And if it starts checking the boxes, and I think it's important to know what is important to you? What are you looking for? If you're just going based off of a feeling, that's not enough. There were certain things that were important to me, and I just started checking off the boxes. So, and this is a long answer to your question, but how do you get out of that? You have to start being able to see a different future. And it takes going going through some doors, meeting through people meeting meeting people, having those conversations, and start to just kind of get yourself to think, what could my future look like? Is that something I want for myself? How is this gonna benefit my family? And pretty soon life starts getting exciting again. You start becoming positive and optimistic, and yeah, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

I mean, the biggest takeaway I got from that is the redefinition of success. Because most people are like, I want a new job because this guy's gonna make this much money. I'll make this much money or that much. And it's nothing about the money, it's about what's the long-term vision that you see for yourself. And that's why when I work with clients, we always go, What's your five-year vision? We need to work backwards. If it doesn't include this, you might need a new job, new role, new business. Not one's good or bad, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:41

What you said is so important, redefining what success is for you. I was not, and I I can say this reflecting back. I didn't know this at the time, but I wasn't chasing money. I wasn't, it was part I wanted to make a great income. Here's the thing, here's the three things, and I'm gonna I'm gonna make this full circle. Edward Pritchett was the guy that interviewed me. He's been my mentor, he was the number one guy in the company. He's become massively successful. His agency does probably five million a month right now. And he asked me, What are you looking for? And here's what's funny: most people that are sitting down looking at an opportunity, doing an interview, they don't know what they're looking for. They know what they're looking to get away from. They they know what they're running from, but they don't they're not running toward anything. And and I actually had the answer. There were three things. I said, I want to help people because to me, I don't feel like I'm I want to I want to have purpose and and I want to be passionate about what I do. And I can't be, I can't have purpose. So number one was actually purpose, and I want to be passionate about what I do, but I can't do that without helping people. So I need to be able to help people. And number three is I want to make a lot of money doing those things. So money was on the list, but here was the bigger thing I was chasing identity. There was a certain identity that I wanted for myself. I wanted to become a certain person. And I think a lot of us in life have a hero that we look up to, different people that have influenced us throughout our life. And there was a couple people that I always looked at, like, man, I want to, I want to be like them when I grow up. When I get older, I want to, and it's it wasn't just rich people, it was people who made a lot of impact. And those people also made a lot of money because it's hard to make, you know, you can make a big impact without having money, but it's a lot easier to make an impact when you have money. So there was an identity that I was chasing, and I started to be able to see, you know what? I want to be a little bit more like that person. And that's what kind of led me down that path.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

And I think you're bringing up a really good point because when I do the identity work with people, it's like, hey, let's look at a leader. Who's a leader that you like? And people have like eight different people. Cool. What is one attribute from each of those leaders that can apply to your life? Like, I like how charismatic that guy is, or I like how energetic this person is. And I'm just saying this so that the audience, if they're thinking about identity and creating this, they can do that on their own. But it's a it's a way to really think about it because it's not so much I need that person's life. I like what that person has to offer. And you might not like everything about the person, but it's okay to like a good amount of the stuff because not everyone's perfect.

SPEAKER_01 11:21

100%. And that's when life starts getting more exciting. That's when you can start visualizing who you want to become. To me, that's the part about my vision of the future that kind of pulls me. There's a lot of things in life that push you, like debt and bills

Chasing Identity Not Just Income

SPEAKER_01 11:38

and and you know, things that are just like they're draining to think about. But when you can get pulled, and to to be pulled, it's it's an identity that you're chasing that's gonna pull you.

SPEAKER_00 11:49

So to me, there's a big difference, you know, in in So you're in the you're in this moment where you have 285 debt, which is pulling you down. Exactly. And then you're in that same moment where you're just like, I'm trying to be pulled, that's pushing you down, and then the other one's like, I'm trying to pull myself to this higher level version of myself.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

It's the difference between internal motivation and external motivation. There was a lot in my life that I was externally motivated, but it was all those things that you talked about the debt and the the bills, and but internal motivation is the strongest. And Tony Robbins talks about this that the strongest human motivator is the desire to be true to who you are.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

Yeah, living that authentic life, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

And that's and and there was a time that there was like an aha moment for me, and it was when my brother and I were doing a conference call for our team, and we got off the call. And and the call that we did, I'm sure a lot of people, a lot of your listeners and and viewers have done this where you've maybe created a vision board, and you you put on the vision board your dream house and your dream cars and your dream vacations and and all the material things that we all think, you know, when I get those things, I'm gonna be happy. And and we got off this call after doing this, and we're just like, you know what? We're so motivated, but it's not because we're picturing a house or picturing cars or picturing all those things. What is it that is why are we so motivated? And we talked through and it's like, well, because the person that I know who I am on the inside does not reflect my circumstances right now. I have always thought of myself as a good business person, a good husband, a good father, a good community member. All the things it's like this is who I am, but nothing in my life is saying that. I'm a terrible business person. I'm not being a good father, I'm not being a good husband because of the situation that I've created for my life. And that was the motivation. It's like this draw to be true to who I am. I had to fix everything. So that's a little bit off on a tangent, but that's that's where that motivation came from for me.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

But that's important because there's many people listening right now who might be at rock bottom and they're like, how do I even get out of this? How do I even think about this? And I love the fact that you took more than a normal decision time. Because what I've realized when coaching people, the decision time on a big decision should be a lot longer. Like, some people go get a car, like they're gonna grab a Reese's or a Snickers, like, or they're gonna be like, I'm gonna take five hours for the car. The car is like a much bigger purchase than the Snickers. Just because the car is in car dealership is open for 10 hours, maybe you should do some research on the side, see what financially works, what you want to have so that you can go through these things, and then even making a job is an even bigger decision. And most of us are just like, Yeah, seems better. I'm in, let's do it. And it's like, dude, you you're interviewing them as much as they're interviewing you.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

That's right. Easy in, easy out.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

Yeah, and I don't think people realize that that's kind of the journey that that gets us going. So, how did you and your brother really get started in insurance? Like when you started, was it like we are paying down this debt? How did you get that done in a year and a half?

SPEAKER_01 15:11

Well, okay, so it's $285,000 in debt. We ended up settling the debt for probably around $170,000. So I was getting collection call after collection call after collection call, and I was answering them. Most people don't answer them. I was answering, I was like, I'm not trying to avoid you guys. I'm gonna pay it eventually. I just don't have any money. And but then as I'm selling and as I'm, you know, building up a few thousand bucks in my account, get up to five or six, seven thousand dollars on my account, I'd get a call, and a credit card would say, you know, you're past due with this credit card, it's seven thousand dollars. And I would say, Well, I can give you $2,500, I'll give it to you today. And that's just how I did it. And they accepted the offer, got the credit card paid off, and it was just one after another, after another, after another,

Mapping The Debt Payoff Strategy

SPEAKER_01 15:58

until we eventually, after 18 months. But it was it was very intentional. It was very intentional. Like we looked at the promotional guidelines, we looked at the commission grids and how, and we mapped it out and said, okay, this is what we want to accomplish, this is what we're gonna have to do to get that. It wasn't just crossing our fingers and hoping it would work. It was, and you know what? I'm not an analytical kind of person, but I think when you're under so much pressure, sometimes like that analytical side just comes out and I put stuff on spreadsheets. But here's what it did I mapped out January, February, March, April, May, June, and I mapped out what every month what I wanted to accomplish. And here's what it did. I started to be able to see it, and we always say seeing is believing, and once you believe it, once you believe you can accomplish that, there's something changes in your work ethic. Something changes. Like, I didn't need an alarm clock anymore to get me out of bed. And we started to to build an agency and build a team around it. And yeah, within 18 months, we just had so much momentum that we paid off that last dollar of debt, and it was the best feeling in the world. I mean, I can't even I can't even explain to you the the piece, the it's like even even food tasted better, colors got brighter, like everything got better in my life.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

Well, I I I think it's so important because there's so many. I have friends of mine, a lot of them, that are like, I have $200,000 saved up. I still have 20 grand of student loan debt. And then they're like, why would I ever pay that off? And it's like, dude, once you pay that stuff off, the peace of mind goes, Wait, there's no one pulling at my money this month. There's really just me here. Like, I'm a person, and you don't realize it, but you probably felt better hitting zero than when you went on your trajectory and started making a hundred, two hundred, five hundred. A minute, like that's the biggest point, and you feel the richest you've ever been in that moment.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

And you're like, I mean, you don't even realize the weight that it has on you. And I know that there's people on this call that are in like a survival mode, which is where I was when I started the business. I was absolutely in survival mode. You are a reactionary to everything, you're constantly thinking about the debt, the stress. You're waking up at two in the morning, you've got this pit in your chest that just won't go away. And I remember being in that position, and you know what? It's like 90% of your conversations with your spouse is about money and every argument, it's about money. And and when you can start having some hope and some progress, and here's what I realized. I used to think that I had to have that lifestyle that I was chasing in order to be happy. And I realized when I was in that 800 square foot house built in the 50s, never upped. I told you this earlier. The floor was sinking, the ceilings were sinking, my daughter's bedroom. You could put a ball on one side and it would roll to the other side because it was literally sinking down to the ground on one side. And I was happy. I was happy six months after moving to that house, not because of the situation, not because of I had accomplished, you know, I didn't have the house that I wanted or the cars that I wanted, but I had hope and I had progress. I was I was able to see that we are paying down this debt, we're starting to put a little money in the bank account, the team is growing, and just having that progress and the hope that things, it's just a matter of time now, man.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

It and I I I completely agree. I think it's all about the journey. The destination is just an output because if you wait so much for the destination, you're gonna put yourself in this stressful moment where it's like, I got it now. What? And that happens to so many people because they don't have that bigger vision to pull them forward.

SPEAKER_01 20:03

100%. Absolutely. So that and that's why I get passionate about what I do. I'm not passionate about the insurance industries necessarily. I liked helping families and protecting families, but where I've really gotten passionate is helping people that are in a similar position that I was. Maybe they're not almost 300,000 in debt, but they're they've lost some hope. They're there, they don't have direction. Because man, when you can have that kind of an impact in somebody's life, it's life-changing. Just like Edward had in my life. That's why I get passionate about what I do.

SPEAKER_00 20:38

I love it. And when you started, Edward was doing how much was he doing in his agency? And then you guys were like, Yeah, like maybe we could do a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01 20:49

Well, I mean, all you can believe is possible is what you can see. And so Edward Pritch at the time, you know, the company was only a couple years old. And Edward was doing 300,000 a month, and he was number one in the company. And we were just like, man, I mean, he that meant he was making about 300,000 a year and had a good lifestyle. So we said we were as soon as we started, we said, you know, we're gonna build an agency to 300,000 a month, just like Edward did. And Edward is the one that said, why would you cap yourself at 300,000 a month? You know that there's other agencies in different companies that are doing 2 million a month.

SPEAKER_00 21:26

And when well, that right there is true leadership. That's where you go, dude, just because I'm somewhere, that doesn't mean that you're cat. Like you have to believe in the bigger vision, otherwise, you're not gonna want the opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Yeah. Exactly. And I've always just been a big believer that if someone else can do it, I can too. I just need to, I just need to learn what they did and do what they did, and I can have what they have. And and I believe that's possible for anybody. So when we realized that somebody had built, and there's lots of them that have built agencies much bigger than that now, but we said, we're gonna do that. We're gonna, we're gonna keep building our agency until eventually we get to two million a month, and then we're gonna set it higher at that point, but we're gonna go as far as we can see, and then once we get there, we're gonna be able to see further and set the new goal after that.

SPEAKER_00 22:15

And how how hard was that? Because I mean, you're sitting there, you guys are like the two new guys, and you're like two million a month, and everyone's like, What?

SPEAKER_01 22:22

Yeah, who are these guys? I mean, we didn't really know how much that was it, it was way harder than we thought it was gonna be. Uh it always is, it always is. But I'm a big believer that you need to set goals that are questionably obtainable.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Yeah, I like it.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

If you know for a fact you can hit it, then it's not exciting. It's like that's boring. Like, I want to, but but I also think that you shouldn't set a goal that you really don't believe is possible. There's a sweet spot that's like, okay, I think I can hit that, I think eventually I can hit that, and if I Do man, would my life be great?

SPEAKER_00 23:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

And and who would I have to become? Who do I have to grow into in order to accomplish that?

SPEAKER_00 23:05

That's exciting too. I think that's a much better question. Because a lot of people are like, who do I have to meet? What do I have to do? Who do I have to become? What a better question.

SPEAKER_01 23:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

Because if you're looking at a big goal, it's like, what does that person have to be doing? Who do they have to do? How do they have to show up? How do they have to lead?

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Yeah. Yeah, because we know John Maxwell talked about a lot of a lot of people talk about you have to grow into the person that can build that business because your business will never outgrow you. You will always be the ceiling to your business. So when I realize that, to me, that's liberating. Because if it's all on me, if it's not dependent on someone else and some other circumstances, and you know, if it's all on me, I can control me. I can grow myself.

SPEAKER_00 23:55

I I completely agree. I think there's a book called Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willock, and he talks about that moment of extreme accountability. And in the book, he talks about how his team went out there, he was in the military, and his team went out there, and they ended up having like a friendly fire, which is basically when they shoot their own person. And his boss, his higher up in the military, was basically like, whose fault was that? And Jocko goes, It's my fault. And everyone's like, dude, Jocko, you weren't even out there with the team. How could it be your fault? He goes, I trained those men. This is my fault. This is my thing. And a lot of leaders aren't willing to take that blame. You know what I mean? Most of them are just going to start screaming at the other guy, point and blame someone else instead of being that leader that you really need and being like, I led this team to the to a demise. It's my fault. That is that is to me the kind of leader I would want to follow. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. So when you got into it with Matt and you guys started building that business together in the insurance space, how how did that journey go for you?

SPEAKER_01 24:59

So we were, I mean, we we here's the thing. Like if you want to build a big business, you've got to cast a big enough vision that other people can fit inside of. And so many people, their vision is to get out of debt, it's to make a certain amount of income. It's like I want to make a few hundred thousand dollars a year, you know, I don't need to get crazy. Well, if if I heard that that was somebody's vision, I don't see how I can fit inside of that vision. That's not compelling enough for me. So you might recruit some people, but you're not gonna get anybody like really excited to follow you. And so, you know, once we realized, okay, we want to build a business to 2 million a month, we're gonna have to have this many people, it's gonna create this many millionaires, and there's gonna be this many people making six figures a year, and we can kind of like cast

Casting A Vision Others Join

SPEAKER_01 25:48

that vision. Now people are saying, Well, I want to be a part of that, and so what we said is in order to get to two million a month, we're gonna have to have, and we kind of did the math, we're gonna have to have help five people get to the top of this company, yeah. And getting to the top of this company is at least fifty thousand dollars a month in personal income. So we're looking for five people who want to go with us and get to the top of this company, and so that was attractive enough to get some leaders in. And we went, you know, in eight months we were doing a hundred thousand a month, 12 months within 12 months, we were doing 200,000 a month, and then 18 months we were doing 300,000, and then 24 months 400,000, and it was just a stair-step growth. Now we did have some years where we plateaued and then we grow again and plateau and grow again, but we yeah, we were almost, and this is this is back to one of those times it was like an identity crisis happened. Yeah, because we were pushing and everything was going well, and then COVID hit. And when COVID hit, everything, the way we did business changed. You know this. Anybody that was in the industry, we were going into people's houses, we were you know sitting at their kitchen tables, and all of a sudden within two weeks we had to pivot to virtual. And that was a nightmare, that was scary. I would get on the calls and be so certain, like we're gonna we're gonna grow through this, and then I'd get off the call. I hope. I don't know how it's gonna happen, but we're gonna hopefully we can figure this out.

SPEAKER_00 27:18

And in I mean, that that's a really good point right there, because I think anyone going through change or challenges or anything, the true leaders are looking at this, going, how can we make this an opportunity? Where the the self-serving ones are like, hey, like it was better at the other way. Like, can we go back to the other way? Instead of sitting there and being really

COVID Pivot And Flexibility Wins

SPEAKER_00 27:38

in it, like, I'm not leaving this business, how can we build? How can we make this a better opportunity for us?

SPEAKER_01 27:44

One of the things that I've realized, because there was a lot of people who are doing really well that aren't in the business anymore. And I've realized that the people who continue to grow even through those times that are like major shifts have to happen, it's flexibility. It's it's a willingness to be honest with where you're at and where things are at, and and look into the future and say, okay, what pivots do we need to make? They're gonna be painful. Change is always hard, but being willing to make that shift because the ones who do are that much further ahead.

SPEAKER_00 28:22

Yeah, yeah. And the quicker you're willing to make that shift, it's gonna be an even bigger change for you. Because most people aren't even willing and they're reluctant, and they're still knocking doors and they're still doing that. Meanwhile, you know, I mean, you talked, I just talked to 10 people across the country in a matter of one hour. How did that happen?

SPEAKER_01 28:39

Like exactly. Like after a couple of months of adjustments, our leaderboards were twice as big. Oh, wow. Yeah, I mean, there were people that were the most anyone was writing in a month was 30,000 a month. And then all of a sudden, after like COVID was we were in COVID, people are writing 100 grand a month. Wow, lots of people writing a hundred grand a month because there were new opportunities that opened up that we didn't even foresee. We didn't, we like we were limited when we were working in a local market, we could only get leads in that local market, yeah. And so there's only so many leads that could go around, but once you we opened it up, there's no more borders anymore. Now we've got agents working multiple states and they're booking up their calendars like they never could before.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

So there was new opportunities, and so we just we made those adjustments, and yeah, so absolutely, and then so you're still going on this journey to reach the two million. Did you end up getting to that point?

SPEAKER_01 29:35

We did. We did, it didn't look quite the way I had imagined it, and this this really is a testament to the power of a team, and sometimes when you cast a vision to your team and something happens, your team starts to to take over, and that's what that's exactly what happened. So unfortunately, my twin brother Matt, my business partner, passed away because of COVID. Yeah, it was a complete shock, hardest thing I've ever, ever, ever been through in my life. And you know, we talk about how your future, your identity is tied up into the future that you see, and he was in every part of it, every part of my future, from growing the business together, personal life, like everything. We did everything together. We talked

Grief After Matt And Team Power

SPEAKER_01 30:28

five times a day, sometimes 10. And so not having him here, it was just it turned my world upside down. And the big the thing the biggest month we'd ever had was like 1.7 million. So we were getting really close, and he passed away. And I had to take a little time off. Like I didn't take a ton of time off, but I had to check out for a little bit. And I got on a call that my team was hosting, they were still running calls, and it was the it was the next month, and the biggest leader at the time in my team did a rally and cry. And he said, We're gonna push for two million. We're gonna do it for Matt. We're gonna do it to honor him. And he got the team all excited about it. Like, we're doing this. This is this was a goal of theirs from the beginning, and we're gonna see it through. And I I after that call, I called this guy that was the the bigger, the bigger lead in the team, and I said, Man, I I so appreciate you. I love you for doing this. You're you're unbelievable. I really feel like you're setting the team up for failure. I don't think we've never hit it. He was like, No, we got you. Hold on, just just watch. And sure enough, the very month after he passed, he he passed away September 14th, so the next month was October, and we hit 2 million for the first time. It was like 2.1 million, like they they blew past it, and it was the most unbelievable thing to watch. And I just I remember thinking, man, my team, I've got an awesome team. I've got an awesome team that they like it's one thing for people to push for their own goals, but when other people are pushing for your goal, it's just it's hard for me to put into words, but but yeah, and then we continue to grow after that too.

SPEAKER_00 32:21

So I appreciate you sharing that. I mean, that that was really vulnerable. I appreciate you sharing that because it gives people real context to what vision casting can look like, what leadership could really look like, what going through hard times could look like, you know what I mean? And it can be really challenging for a lot of us. And people on the call are definitely relating to this because they have moments in their life where they're like, I don't even know what to do. And most people don't have the team behind them, or they're not on the right team. So when you're building a team and you're thinking about that, how how do you think about bringing people on the team, thinking about building a team, empowering the team? How how do you think about that?

SPEAKER_01 33:02

Well, to me, vision is a lot like a blueprint. A lot of people hear vision, they think it's a feeling. It's not a feeling, it's a it's like a blueprint. So if you're building a house and a lot of people there, it's like two million a month, that's so bad. I can't even I can't even imagine it. But you realize like if you have a blueprint for a 2,000 square foot house versus a blueprint for a 10,000 square foot house, yeah, you realize they're not using bigger bricks. They're not heavier and bigger, there's just more bricks. So you got to break it down to what are the bricks of our business. And the bricks of our business, to me, are in in my business, it's it's it's people that we call team leaders, and it's they're new builders, they're they're doing production, but they're also doing recruiting. They've got a couple of new recruits in their team. And if I can help somebody become a team

Blueprint Leadership Recruiting And Coaching

SPEAKER_01 33:58

leader, and then I can teach them how to build another team leader, those are building blocks, yeah. Those are multiple. So the difference between a 2,000 square foot house and a 10, you have to have a bigger blueprint and more bricks. Yeah, so but but if ever you if you have you have to have a whole team of people, I can't build a 10,000 square foot house by myself, but if I want to recruit other people to help me build that, I have to give them the blueprint. Yeah, that's the vision. Yeah, so what is your vision? What are you trying to accomplish? You've got to know that so that you can communicate that. Yeah, I think that's where a lot of people miss it. Is they they might even have a vision for their life and for their business and what that could look like, but they're not communicating that, and it's not compelling enough to bring other people with them. So but to answer your question, to what does it look like to bring other people on? I want to let them know this is what we're accomplished, this is what we're building, this is what we're accomplishing. But I also want to know what they want. What do you want? And because everybody comes into this business wanting something different, yeah. And sometimes I have to like almost like peel back an onion because they haven't really thought about what they want. Of course. And some people say, I want to make $5,000 a month, and it's like 10, I want to make 20, and all of it's possible, but it's gonna take a different recipe. Just like baking a cake. You can have your cake turn out the exact same way as long as you know what recipe, you don't change the ingredients. So many people come into the business. Well, I like this and I like that, but I don't want to do this. They're changing the recipe, it's not gonna turn out the same. If you if you take eggs out of the recipe, it will not turn out the same. Or you you replace sugar with something else, it won't turn out the same. But if I can take somebody's goal and I can say, here's the recipe, and if you just follow this recipe, and then we put them into accountability and coaching and yeah, you know, and groom them, then that's how we onboard people.

SPEAKER_00 36:02

No, I love it because it it really comes down to the big challenge for a lot of people in general, is also they make a big decision and they like saying it, and it sounds nice, but they're not willing to sacrifice. Like there's things that you got to put on the sidelines, like we can't talk to our friends during work hours. You're working from home, you still got to take this thing seriously. Like you have work hours. Like I was on a call with someone earlier today, and they're like, I'm like, I saw you answered the email, like you accepted my invite at 2 a.m. Now they live in California and I'm in Tampa, so it was 11 p.m. But I'm like, why are you up until 11 p.m.? And they're like, Well, like, I'm just talking to my daughter, and I'm like, that's nice and everything, but like you have a goal. You you what are you gonna get three hours of sleep? Like, I'm sorry, you got to take your stuff seriously. Like, and going to sleep on a certain time is taking your business seriously, and people don't realize that. Yeah, there's too many people that are like, I don't get it. Like, works for Brad. Why is it not working for me? And it's like, are you looking at what he does every day? Are you making the sacrifices? Are you doing the changes? Are you following up? Are you doing the things? So, I mean, for you, Brad, if you have a seasoned guy in there and they start to run into plateauing or a little bit of a rut, how how do you usually think about getting them out of that rut?

SPEAKER_01 37:22

I usually start by, and I don't remind them, but they remind themselves of why they started here in the first place. What are they trying to accomplish? And in our business, for at least for a producer, it all it always comes down to resources and activity. There's always it's that if you want to identify a problem, it's resources or activity, you're not getting enough leads, or you're not making enough dials, you're not sitting enough, sitting with enough people. If it's recruiting and building, you're not talking to enough people, you're not having enough recruiting conversations. But a lot of times ruts come from let's say you're building an agency and you just hit a plateau and people aren't following you, they're not doing what you're doing. That that's a big frustration for people. Uh why don't people just do more of what I'm doing? I'm I'm I'm getting the numbers, I'm producing, and they're not. And it's I think there's a transition that has to happen between you're producing next to people versus you're producing through people. That's where a producer becomes a leader.

SPEAKER_00 38:25

And that's yeah, no, that's a huge identity shift because it's like, why do they always take the top sales guy and make him the sales manager? And it's like, you most of the time they can't teach, they don't know the skill set, they don't even understand what they did. They go, I talked to the person. Like I've had many producers that I coach where they get on the phone with someone and I'm like, did you see what you did there? And they're like, No, I'm like, you called them sweetie, darling, you were super friendly, you had this approach, they opened up to you right away. Why don't you tell people about that? And they go, I didn't even know I did that.

SPEAKER_01 38:54

It's like it's true, it's like you gotta you gotta be able to start developing the people around you, yeah. And I used to just assume that people will learn just by watching, yeah. There's only so much, there's only so much, but if you have a plan of of developing people, but I mean there's lots of reasons we hit plateaus. I think it all comes back down to we've hit a ceiling, yeah. And you have to take ownership as a leader. You've got to be able to say, where what what is what could I do differently? You know, even if I'm if I get a plateau at 2 million a month as an agency, we're play if we're plateaued at 2 million a month, what can I do? I can't point fingers at people in my team. I've got to look at me. Where do I need to grow?

SPEAKER_00 39:44

I love that. Because it comes down to Brad, you ask yourself better questions. And everyone in the audience should be thinking about this when they get in times of moments of despair or upset or disappointed. Are you taking accountability for it? Like if you're rich, are you taking accountability? Are you poor? Are you taking accountability? Overweight, in shape, are you full accountability for everything going on? Because people start to realize that elevates their lifestyle. You know what I mean? That elevates their business, that elevates how you show up. And even by just realizing you're in a good energy space or higher energy, that's a good thing for you as well. And I think too many people miss that. So, Brad, on every podcast, I do something where it's Edwards Consulting. We have five pillars. So I want to ask you about the pillars, and you tell me on a one to ten where you're at, and maybe a reason why. So, Brad, for your mental health today, because we want to show that you're not a superhuman, we want to show that you're a normal guy. So, Brad, for mental health on a one to ten, where are you at today and why?

SPEAKER_01 40:44

I would say I'm probably 7.5 to 8.

SPEAKER_00 40:49

Okay. Why do you say that?

SPEAKER_01 40:53

And I would say if it if you asked me this six months ago, I would have said a five. Oh wow. Yeah, just things stack up sometimes. Things stack up and they add stress and anxiety. And sometimes, you know, and it's it's it can be for different different reasons. It can be money, it can be it can be a lack of growth, it can be relationship

Five Pillars Mental Physical Relationships Faith

SPEAKER_01 41:18

things, just things that aren't the way that you want them to be. It just adds stress. And there's several things that happen between around December and March. And you know, I was doing a big event with a couple thousand people, and we were doing a lot of planning, and then there was like one thing happened after another happened after another happened. It was just it was a lot, and and then some, I think when we get in those situations, we we put so much focus on our current situation, and we just keep thinking about the problems, and it and we tend to magnify our problems in our life, yeah, and make them into much bigger things than they really are. And sometimes I just have to like remove myself a little bit, take a 30,000-foot view, give myself some perspective, and then remind myself of where I'm going, and then I get back into this you and then you also at the time I was I was a little bit overweight, not bad, but not where I wanted to be. I felt like I had drifted a little bit spiritually, and so that some of those things too, they just add tension, it you get out of balance.

SPEAKER_00 42:25

It's the no, I mean the reason the four of the five pillars is that you're absolutely right. Like some things are a 10, some things are a three. And if your business starts to explode, that's great, but then that doesn't mean that we throw our body away. There's a debt that starts to compile, and it might not be a financial debt, but it's a a debt on your body, or it's a debt on your relationship, or it's a debt on wherever, and you have to put the deposits in positive deposits if you can, because it will help you get there. So I love that. I love that explanation. Physical health, one to ten. Where are we at right now? How do we feel?

SPEAKER_01 42:59

And just today, probably an 8.5. Um okay.

SPEAKER_00 43:03

Why do you say that? Again, I was seeing he's like, Have you seen me?

SPEAKER_01 43:10

No, I'm just making really good progress.

SPEAKER_00 43:12

What are you doing exactly?

SPEAKER_01 43:14

Just every morning, I'm going to the gym, I'm working out, lifting weights, eating, eating pretty healthy, you know, eating a lot of protein, low sugar, and you know, went from a 19 point something percent body fat down to 14.3 and working to 12 and just making really good progress.

SPEAKER_00 43:33

So I just want to add this in because I I know some of the stuff. But when you what Brad's basically getting at is you want to measure and monitor what you're doing. So if you don't measure, then you're not gonna see the progress. So most people who are like, I'm looking to lose weight, or like, I'm gonna measure my weight. Brad has hit a second level where there's after a point you realize that you really shouldn't lose any more weight, and then you're gonna start to put on muscle. So you start to measure body fat. So you measure a different parameter, a different input, because then it will help you keep that goal going in the right direction. And people don't do that where they just say, I'm at my goal weight. Like, what do you want me to do? And it's like there's a body composition that goes on for most of us that we don't realize.

SPEAKER_01 44:15

100%.

unknown 44:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:17

So I started going to a clinic and getting routine measurements, blood work, and looking at all the different levels of my blood and like you're saying, muscle mass and all of it. So, and it's really encouraging when you can see that you're making progress that no matter what area of your life, if you can see progress, it's like, okay, I'm gonna keep going.

SPEAKER_00 44:34

This is working. 100%. The third one is community service philanthropy. I don't know if you're if you if that comes up right now. Some people are like, dude, I got zero. Some people are like, I'm a 10 plus. So for you, where are you at right now?

SPEAKER_01 44:49

I would say I would love to say I'm a 10 plus. I would say realistically, probably a seven.

unknown 44:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 44:58

I've got I mean we we make a a lot of donations to like make a wish.

SPEAKER_00 45:02

Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 45:03

Yeah. But there's some other ones that I would like to start putting a plan around. I don't just I don't just like throw money at different charities, but I want to have some involvement so I can like feel the change instead of just like putting money toward the change. And there are some things that I want to start doing. There's some a couple of charities that I'm looking at. I just need to put a plan together because I've got some friends that are just very intentional about that, and it's super inspiring.

SPEAKER_00 45:30

Super Oh, yeah. I mean, it makes a huge difference when you look at it and you go, hey, we're gonna give a percentage of every commission that comes in. Percentage, it could be very small, very large. It really doesn't matter. You start to see the compounding of that, and you're like, holy smokes, like we just gave 500 grand to this organization and we built 27,000 homes in Africa or whatever it is. And then when you go on a trip like that, you're like, you start to see the other side of it.

SPEAKER_01 45:57

It's life-changing, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:58

Yeah. So yeah, absolutely. I love that for you, and I would definitely challenge you to consider whatever that is. But I mean, even if you could fly out the group or something along those lines to see the actual impact, that'll definitely be a cultivating thing. Instead of it being like, hey, we're gonna go on this trip and party. It's like we're gonna go on this trip and actually see the impact that we're making from you selling insurance. Like, that's pretty cool. Something a little different. And then relationships. Relationships can be in the business, personal, whatever you want them to be. What do you think about your relationships on like a one to ten?

SPEAKER_01 46:34

It's hard for me to ever give a 10, but I'm gonna say 9.5.

SPEAKER_00 46:38

Okay, so if you're 9.5, people are sitting there going, What do we have to do to be a 9.5? Like, what are you doing differently that allows you to have great relationships? While others are like, What are you talking about? Like, I can't get above a three.

SPEAKER_01 46:51

Yeah, I think sometimes you think that to have a better relationship, you need to spend more time, and I would say it's more quality time.

SPEAKER_00 47:00

Yes, 100% agree.

SPEAKER_01 47:02

So, like when I'm when I'm with my daughter, instead of just being next to her, I'm actually helping her build a Lego set and working on it together. And or with my wife, it's it's focused time, it's not just we're on our phones, but we're actually talking together and sitting next to each other or going for a walk together. If it's with my friend, you know, we're like last week and we went mountain biking, and it was, you know, it's just doing stuff, you know, with them. So my relationships, I feel like, are just you know, there's always room for improvement, but I feel like I'm just really tuned in with the it's not with everybody, but with certain certain people, it's just really good.

SPEAKER_00 47:45

I think the intentionality part I really like. Because so many people are like, oh, we hang out every night and we just watch three hours of television, and it's like, okay, that's good, I guess. Is that really what you want? Not good or bad, and I'm not saying people can't watch, I watch TV, but I'm just saying in general, like it's good to have that impactful stuff, especially when your time is pulled in a million different directions. It's like, how do we get the most out of this? And then the last one's spirituality. Where are you at on spirituality on a one to ten?

SPEAKER_01 48:15

I'm I would say an 8.5. I'm definitely growing in that area. So yeah, so me and three other leaders in the company, and we have a weekly Bible study, and that's really helped. We study not just the Bible, we study other books that help us, you know, like study guides and stuff. And and just looking at where in my life, where do I feel like I need improvement? And a lot of it for me is not just daily prayer, but prayer throughout the day. And and always seeking to have, you know, wisdom in everything I do, the decisions I make, the interactions I have, the conversations I have, always coming from a place of truth and honesty and not just personal gain and manipulation. So, but just having that constant thoughtful reflection has really helped. So I feel like it's about an 8.5. Again, still a lot of room for growth.

SPEAKER_00 49:16

100%. And the thing that we don't realize sometimes is like our version of a 10 or our 8.5 or our whatever can be like, dude, I just getting started. You're not comparing this to somebody else. This is your number for you. So I just think that's really important to realize. And I like the weekly cadence because if you have a weekly cadence, it's like a reminder of like, oh, I skipped this. Oh, I gotta get back on this, or I gotta think about this. But it also doesn't have to be I gotta go to church 27 times a day or go to temple 27 times a day. Some people relate them like that, but it could be even like I run into people and I pray for them or think about them in a positive way.

SPEAKER_01 49:51

I can't tell you how impactful getting together with another group of people, a group of men for me, that I highly respect, that help hold you accountable to that too. And and ask those questions that you're not asking yourself, that man, it has it has affected every part of my business, that my life, my relationships, my mental health, my 100%, even my physical, my business. Every one of these five pillars affect everything, each other.

SPEAKER_00 50:24

They all stack 100%. And that's that's a lot of the stuff I do with group coaching, where it's you start to have these different conversations. It's not biblically, but we just have conversations about like this week, it was what holds your standard to a super high level. And then people start to share around. And when you get that group share, they're all like, Whoa, but you definitely need a facilitator because when you have a facilitator, it's not like my turn, my turn. No, it's I'm gonna call on the people and everyone speak, but everyone gets to share. And then half the time I ask them at the end, and this is something cool that the audience can do or you can do, whenever you're in these group environments, I always ask people, what's your greatest benefit of this conversation? Like, what's your biggest takeaway, biggest insight? Half the time, it's not what I even talked about. They're like, Brad said this, and this really resonated with it. I'm like, okay, cool. Like, because it's not the me show, it's everybody else bringing in the wins together.

SPEAKER_01 51:16

It it definitely helps to have a group that you're reflecting with. And and and I would also say if you're looking for the quickest way to start getting momentum in your life, don't start with business, start with physical. Yes. This is for me because physical is something I can control. I can get and I started like I started going to the gym, even though I didn't feel like it, I didn't feel motivated to do it. I didn't even know what I was gonna do when I got to the gym, but I convinced myself to just get in the car and go to the gym. Once I'm in the gym, now I'm in the environment and I've got other people working out, there's music playing. Now I'm in the right environment to actually start exercising. It's hard to grow a business when you don't feel good. And especially in what we do, there's a there's a mental energy that you have to have, some positivity. The number one attribute for success in our industry is optimism. And it's hard to have optimism if you don't feel good. So I think if you can start getting physically a little more active,

Build Momentum Through Physical Discipline

SPEAKER_01 52:18

and then when you get momentum there, momentum is contagious. It starts to bleed over into other things. You start to, you know, when you start getting consistent with that, you start becoming consistent with other things. So I always say if you want to start getting some traction, start physical and then let it bleed over into other areas of your life.

SPEAKER_00 52:34

I I love that. I mean, the biggest breakthrough for me was probably 2020. I did 75 hard, which is like when you don't drink for 75 days, you do two workouts, one indoor, one outdoor. I'm drinking a gallon of water, read a personal development book. I was like wired, wired. So then by the end of it, I end up, funny enough, my first time going out again, I end up meeting the girl who ends up being my wife. You know what I mean? And it's like it was because I was in this headspace of like, I'm not giving up. Like, I'm gonna follow up, I'm gonna get this, I'm gonna make this happen. And I'm like, this is just part of the journey, and people don't realize that that when you're at a very high level physically, yes, some people take it a little too far and they don't ever focus on the business stuff, but there is a good component of like, hey, it's good to get in shape and you do feel better about yourself, and it's just a lot easier. So, Brad, where can people learn more about you? Where can they hear about the agency? What's the best way to get connected with them?

SPEAKER_01 53:29

I would find me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn. I'm on all of them. I post regularly. You can find me. There's a scheduling link that you can schedule a time to talk to me if you want to on any of those platforms.

SPEAKER_00 53:41

I love it. I love it. Thank you so much, and I really do look forward to this release. Thank you for the time.

SPEAKER_01 53:47

Absolutely. It was fun doing it. Thanks a lot.