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The Championship Corner
The Championship Corner
Will Baggett: Creativity, Ownership, and Authenticity
What happens when you blend creativity, risk-taking, and extreme ownership? In this episode, we sit down with the dynamic Will Baggett to unravel his unique approach to life and work, inspired by an unforgettable high-speed run-in with a state trooper and a young boy's refusal to color within the lines. You'll hear how these experiences laid the foundation for Will's "coloring outside the lines" philosophy, encouraging all of us to think beyond conventional boundaries and embrace our authentic selves.
We also dive into themes of personal growth and leadership, spotlighting the significance of accountability and resilience. Will takes us through his journey from driving Uber to breaking into the sports industry, emphasizing the importance of introspection and the power of self-improvement. From the emotional challenges faced by student-athletes to the evolving dynamics between introverts and extroverts in the workplace, this conversation is packed with thought-provoking insights and practical advice for anyone looking to transform their mindset and elevate their performance.
Finally, we explore Will's transition from the sports industry to the corporate world, shedding light on the value of seizing opportunities and the role of mentorship in personal and professional development. Whether you're curious about the nuances of leadership, the intricacies of mental health in athletics, or the art of balancing multiple ventures, this episode offers a treasure trove of wisdom. Tune in to discover how you can unleash your potential and achieve true success by becoming the person capable of reaching your aspirations.
Boom, what's up everybody? I got the infamous Will Baggett on here and I had to hit record before we always all the good stuff always comes before you hit record, so it's like let's just deep dive in. But as always, before we get going wild or funny, story what you got for everybody.
Speaker 2:Oh, I've got one for you, man. This was back in. Had to be, oh man, my sophomore year in college. Yeah well, actually going into my sophomore year in college, I just left Mississippi State and transferred to Ole Miss, so the ultimate trader.
Speaker 1:Oh man, yeah, the Benedict Arnold move.
Speaker 2:The ultimate Benedict Arnold move and I needed to get some cash right. And so I took a job an hour away from my hometown, working overnight at Walmart stocking shelves. So my assigned aisle was aisle four with the ketchup, the Lipton tea, the pickles salad dressing. That was my aisle right. I took a lot of pride in my aisle because you can't tell. And one night I was actually leaving and I had an hour drive back home, right.
Speaker 2:And I got up around 7 am and you know I was on the highway headed home a little tired, and you know, was on the highway headed home a little tired, and you know, the male ego kicked in. Yeah, I was driving a 2000 ss camaro then with an ls1 corvette engine in it at the time, and this mustang gt decided it was going to pull up beside me and try to race me, and I didn't take too kindly to that. I was already sleep deprived and so I just I just mashed it and I smoked him. Well, come to find out it was a hot, that was a state trooper. Right down the road that uh stopped me, and when he pulled me over I'm just like, oh my god, I'm going to jail.
Speaker 2:He clocked me at 109 in a 70, right, he caught. He caught me slowing down, yeah, yeah, he came up to the car and he was like, boy, what is your hurry? I said, man, I'm trying to get home for breakfast, right, you come off work. And uh, long story short, I mean, of course he wrote me a ticket, right, and I still have that ticket to this day. And I was, luckily I had a friend of mine, or a friend, slash cousin that was, you know, on the highway, you know, department, state trooper, department, yeah, and he was able to get the ticket thrown out.
Speaker 1:That's hilarious. I love it. I love it. This is one of those too. It's like you don't even have an excuse.
Speaker 2:It's like yeah, I'm just like. Yeah, bro, Just give me a ticket. Yeah, I'm just like. But it's like, bro, because he didn't even the Mustang, just went on past because I put so much distance between us? Yeah, that's true. I put so much distance between us that I mean, you know, by the time he got to me I was already pulled over. You know what I mean. So, yeah, I love it. I love it, such is life, such is life.
Speaker 1:Right, all right. Well, cool man, I guess like the first place I kind of want to start is I'm just really intrigued, I think, like how people come up with ideas and like use imagination and obviously you know you just had a book come out and like a major in like following you and stalking you on social media, right, like your theme of like coloring outside the lines is, I guess, like help me personally just selfishly kind of curious of like how did that come about and how has that evolved and developed and where did it start? I'd love to get a little bit backstory on that.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. You know just the real story. You know I always talk about vulnerability as being your best ability. So I was in a transitional period in early 2021, coming out of, you know, a job, working in sports and the pandemic tough time for everyone and even found some work. And so I actually took a job as an associate teacher at a charter school in South Dallas and while I was there I came across a young man and his name was Jalen and he was actually in the promotional video that I released.
Speaker 2:That's kind of the main character, and he taught me, taught me, a lot, man, things that I'll never forget, and one theme in particular was, you know, he was in, you know, kindergarten, first grade, and one thing he would always do is whenever he got a sheet of paper and was timing to do the coloring, he he just, without fail, never stayed inside the lines, like there was no chance. And week after week, day after day, the teacher would be like, hey, jalen, like can we please try to stay inside the lines? Like you know, these things, you know they were actually happening, and I was there observing an associate teacher, yeah, and I just kind of watched and observed him and he just was relentless in his approach to stay outside the lines and, uh, he kind of had. He was kind of quick-witted, kind of like me. That's why I kind of took a liking to him. And so one day, you know, he got fed up with it. It's been two or three weeks and the teacher said to him Jalen, I thought I told you to stay inside the lines, right, you know, there's been weeks of this going on and Jalen said that, you know, in plain as day, at seven years old, he said it's not that I can't stay inside the lines, it's just that this paper is too small for me to express myself. I said wow, wow, that makes a lot of sense, right. And then I started looking at my own life and it's part. It was partially professional, it was partially personal. And it was partially professional, it was partially personal.
Speaker 2:When I look back in the last, maybe last year and a half or a year or so, even prior to that, I had a lot of competing narratives and themes. I had, you know, my LLC Emerging Executives. I had Bag Talk, I had Wheelbag and I had the Blueprint. I had Executive Image. I had like five, six different things going on. And so, if you didn't know who I was like personally and you didn't know me from the sports industry, you really didn't have a clue what I did. And so I had to take a 30,000 foot view and say, okay, if my brain was represented by a book in a bookstore and it was on a shelf with 10, 15 other speakers, would someone pick my book up? And the answer was probably no, to be honest with you, yeah, and so I thought about that. You know the experience with as a teacher with Jalen.
Speaker 2:And then I started researching the importance and and just the theme of coloring outside the lines and found out there was a quote by Albert Einstein, that in which he said that if you want to make your life a masterpiece, you need to learn to color outside the lines. Albert Einstein said that. And then I look at how I live. I'm a risk taker, right, in my opinion. I'm a seventh generation entrepreneur. In the home I'm sitting in right now, I have about 19 pieces of original crazy art. It's just a mosaic of just art. Everywhere. Whenever I go to a new city, when I travel to go speak, I get a sticker and put it on my suitcase. I got like 40 stickers from 40 different cities and states and my whole theme is about organized chaos going against the grain. You know being bold in your pursuit of excellence and you know anybody that's done anything great has has color outside the lines in some way or form. They may have used different terminology or verbiage or different approach, but I believe in today's day and age we have more opportunity than ever. And last thing I'll say to that, I think, because of the proliferation of social media, you're seeing a lot of carbon copies. Like, if you go to the movie theater, how many remakes are you seeing, year after year, month after month? Right? When's the last time you've seen like a really brand new classic movie, like I'm talking about this fresh new classic movie, and there's not as many as we're coming out. And I don't think we'll look up in 20 years from now and be thinking about the classics of the 2020s as much as we talk about the classes of the 90s and the 2000s.
Speaker 2:To sit and think right and to be in their own space, in their own head and not be influenced by other people's. You know their content, their conversations. Just be able to just be and to think, and there's actual research on that that shows that your best ideas come when you're completely at rest, right, and not engaged with anything but your own thoughts. That's when your best ideas come. But I think nowadays we get to a point where we get bored, pick up our phones, we get excited and pick up our phones and we're losing the ability to just be. And there was a quote, I think it's Basquiat, I think he said that most of humanity's problems come from a person's inability to sit in a room by himself for 30 minutes, right? So that's kind of where everything I think kind of sparked from and was kind of spawned from, rather, and kind of where everything I think kind of sparked from and I was kind of spawned from rather, and kind of where it's going.
Speaker 1:But uh, I want to inspire the world of color again yeah, yeah, okay, all right, we got like 18 different roads to go down, like so many. Uh, I will say I'll touch on is. It's fascinating. It's like um, like with the teams that, like I work with. I always tell them I'm like if, if the prerequisite to win a national title was all you had to do was like 20 minutes of cardio every single day, like you would do that, like as miserable as it would be, like that would be so easy for you, because the physical side of things I go. I literally verbatim, I go. The hardest thing I can make you do is sit in a dark room by yourself with nothing to do for 30 minutes to an hour. It will drive you insane and it is.
Speaker 1:I think that I tie that into kind of like imagination and like how we've lost the ability to create and imagine things. And then for me it's like identity is my jam, right, and so it's tying it back to identity. It's like you have this ability to create whoever you want. You play the video game and create the character. You do it every single day, digitally, but yet we never take time to look in the mirror and, like you know, take your shirt off and be like is that acceptable, right? Like I mean like every from the, from our physical, to like okay, like what's my daily routine? And like am I? Is that acceptable for me? And you know, it doesn't mean that you have like a bad life per se, but like, to me the one of the primary reasons to live is to grow, right? It's this constant evolution, and so I think that people it's just fascinating how much people have lacked the ability to continue to when it's like it's free.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and that's the. I mean that's kind of the problem. It's kind of like when something is free, the value proposition, right, can sometimes be lowered inadvertently and people just you know they don't have any skin in the game and so it was kind of like take it for granted, you know, very, very easily. So I could definitely see what you mean, you know, by that. And uh, yeah, I mean just even. I mean I think they did some experiments, or I'm like a social psychology geek and they had someone where they kind of isolated them for a couple of weeks just completely by themselves, disconnected no community, no connection, no phone, no nothing, no internet, no books, no nothing.
Speaker 1:and they started hallucinating oh damn, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:They started hallucinating, like seriously, I mean it's, it's, it's that deep man. Uh, I just, I, I really truly believe like we think back to when we were younger. Even now we think about you know, the screen time, right, and the screen time and the addiction. You know people have to screens, and even younger kids. When we were younger man, you give me a cardboard box and some popping like popping plastic paper that pops play with us yesterday.
Speaker 2:Oh man, I'm good for like two or three days, you know, uh, like you said you mentioned it I'm dovetailing off your power of imagination. Um, what I do like think there's a lot can be learned from the digital space and video games. There are still constraints to it, like you can only do with that program, that API, whatever it lets you do, you can only do that, right. And that's where I kind of draw the line of like okay, you know, can we truly create here? Right? Can we truly create, create a flip book? Right? You know what I mean. Remember, flip books. You just do a little, so I would I tie back that a lot. The power of play I think it's so critical for success in your personal professional life.
Speaker 1:And I think, too, it's like going back to, like your, the concept of like free is. I actually made this mistake when I very first started, is, you know, like Ryan's ego kicked in and like wanted to sound super smart, and so it's like, as I was getting in front of people, it's like I was making things real complex because it made me sound really smart, and that was like it was total disconnect, right, and like I had a coach tell me and it was like it's like no, no, no, no. It's like literally like you, like you have to be able to speak to them on a third grade level, and so it's now. It's like I'm like hey, this is like I draw third grade pictures right on the whiteboard, right?
Speaker 1:I'm like hey this is going to seem so elementary, but it's like simple wins and it's like I can make this complex but like it won't help at all, and so it's like don't push it away, because you're like seems too easy. Right Like and I think that's the concept of of like. When people hear something of like, you know, even just getting in shape, it's not complex right Like most things in life aren't, but we like to make them complex because we think that simple is just not the way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it gives you a cop out too, right, you know, I think it gives you a cop out, you know, instead of getting in shape. You know, while I just rather, I'd rather blame spoons and forks. Yeah, Right, that's a lot easier. Right, because we all know that exercise, you know. You know it's, it's, it's, it's, it's been, just hasn't changed since the beginning of time. But that's when you're talking about. Now. You get into a conversation about discipline and that's a whole different ballgame and kind of, how bad do you want it? And you know being able to tie, you know? Hey, this is. We're talking about longevity here, right, and the power of longevity, and if you're not taking care of yourself, I mean, it's just not a good chance of that. So I completely agree on that. I'm an extreme ownership guy. Hey, it's my fault if it goes right or wrong. It's my fault, right, yeah, and I think accountability is lacking a lot these days.
Speaker 1:Well, I think that's part of. I don't remember where I read this or who said it, otherwise I'd give them credit, but it was. I don't remember if it was talking about leadership, but the kind of the quote or the premise of it was. You can tell how successful someone's going to be based off of how much ownership they take when things fail and how little they claim when things go well.
Speaker 2:And I was like man, that's like really powerful.
Speaker 1:Right Like because, like, when things go well, it's like you want to, if you're a leader. Right Like you want to push it. Like no, no, no, like they did that. And it's like I think back to like conversations with athletes and like parents or whoever coaches are like oh my God, thank you so much. I'm like I don't really do anything, doing anything right, I just like they did it right, I just handed, like the tools or the resources, but they're the ones that implemented.
Speaker 1:I didn't like, I didn't do anything and so it's like, I think, the ability to to your point of, like extreme ownership. Obviously, jaco, right, like there's only good and bad leaders yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean you talk about extreme ownership. Man, I I have a sticky note on my mirror and in my uh bathroom I can't say it on this because this is a public show, but there's a constant reminder to yeah, that yeah, not to. Yeah, you know what I mean. Yeah, so that totally, totally yeah I think too.
Speaker 1:It's like I want to go back to kind of the concept of like coloring outside the lines is it's? I was having a conversation, actually recording, with um, a coach, very intelligent, and um had research. I don't remember if he did the research or if he got it from somebody else, but it was because I the. My question to him was was like why do you feel? Like? Actually it was like what is the number one like emotional problem, you see, like student athletes trying to overcome, and he was like anxiety, obviously. And then in the sports realm he's like performance anxiety. He's like for sure. And I was like so why do you think? That is like across the board and he goes, I think because most people are unwilling to take risk and he goes. One of the pieces of data he fed was the number of doctor visits for boys broken arms was like drastically lower, and he was like, wow, that might be a good thing, but he's like the idea here is is like we're not climbing the trees.
Speaker 1:You know we're not like roughhousing and playing football in the backyard of, like you know, just these accidental things that happen. He's like we're digitized, we sit inside and he was like. He's like. I really think that when it comes to performance and things like that, they're unwilling to take the risk because early on in childhood they're not doing all the things that like put them and expose them out there. Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 2:I mean, you make a great point, man. I don't have children yet, but if and when I do have them, you know I'm going to send them outside, you know, without any access to technology. You know, make sure they're safe, of course, but basically they're not gonna be able to come into the house unless they draw blood. Yeah, like I would go go scrape your knee, go do something, right, don't come in. Because you know and I say that jokingly, right, um, but there's a quote I don't know if dabble sweeney coined it, but I know he said it at least once. He said they don't put championship rings on smooth hands, right, and you got to take some risk.
Speaker 2:And that's the piece that you know. Because when you think about from a psychological and a developmental perspective, there are these critical periods, critical developmental periods, you know, from three to six, six to nine, nine to 12. And if you're not being exposed, right, if you don't have these kinds of opportunities to grow and develop, in certain ways it's going to be hard, not impossible, to reverse them as an adult. And the other quote goes I don't know who said it myself, but they talk about it's much easier to raise strong children than to repair a broken man, and so yeah, totally agree with you, totally agree, yeah, yeah, I think going um, you, you kept using the phrase like to be, and I think that that's like super, super super powerful.
Speaker 1:Again, pulling it back to like identity for me is um, how is that related in? How do you pull that into like what you're doing in terms of like speaking and whether that be? I guess, honestly, you can enlighten me a little bit too. It's like of like what, what niche is kind of like you really focus that piece on. Because for me is is, if I could sum everything up into like a phrase right, I always tell everybody you don't get what you want, you get who you are. So you can make your long list of goals and it's like, just cause you wrote them, them down, doesn't mean they're going to happen. Like you have to become that person. You have to be that person.
Speaker 1:I had a coach tell me, um, because I was struggling to I don't even remember what I was struggling to figure out and he goes Ryan, you're asking the wrong question, because the question I was asking him I was like tell me what to do, tell me what to do, tell me what to do, and he goes, ryan, he goes, fill in the blank. And he goes you're a human and I go being and he goes. Exactly, he goes you're still not going to do it because you're not that person yet. You have to become the person he goes. You be, you think, you do, he goes. Once you become, you start to think differently and that person, as they think, will start to do the things. So it's like he's like I can tell you what to do, but I can already tell you that like yeah, you're probably not going to be able to do it, and so that's like super, super powerful for me to always think about.
Speaker 1:It's like okay, like how would that person you know like if, if Elon had all his knowledge right and he was in my shoes, he would still succeed, Right, Because he is that person Right.
Speaker 1:And so it's like always thinking back to like okay, how would that person think? What would they do? How would they hold this conversation? Would I reach out to you to like get on here and have a conversation, or is it too risky? You know, it's just little things like that, and so I guess for you, how is that tied into your message? And like, who do you tie it into specifically?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I would say the biggest thing is it's the constant question of and it's in a way it's a conundrum of why not me, right, why not us Right, you know, because we all have the same 24 hours. It's just how we spend them. Now some people do get you know, get a leg up, and and some people I get that right, there's, there's privilege. That does exist, but based on just how I was raised in my upbringing, I have every available resource to me to be the best at what I do, right, and so that's kind of where the stream ownership also kind of ties in. But also, years ago I created a personal mission statement that basically goes if I am to be all I can be, then I owe it to myself to be the best version of me. And that's the constant reminder, because there's the quote or the saying that what you want the most, or greatness or excellence, is on the other side of I don't feel like it Right, and so learning to embrace that suck and doing that extra thing. I think Roger Straubach once said that there's no traffic along the second mile and most people don't even go the first mile, and especially, I think, in today's day and age because we're it's so focused on convenience and, you know, whatever is the quickest, whatever is the easiest, right, but going that extra step, I think, is the biggest thing. And so I think that's what the color outside the lines narrative is kind of focused on, is like, hey, if everybody's doing one thing, if everybody's going right, maybe consider going left. And even my favorite poet, you know, robert frost frost, talked about the two were two roads of erosion are wood.
Speaker 2:I took the background in acting and performing arts, right, and in marketing. And so, when it comes to how I even you know work in my business, there's not one speech of me available online talking for more than five, 10 seconds. Not one, right. And I've done that purposefully, you know, to be able to create a different level of mystique and wondering, ok, what's going on here? And it's kind of like when you go to a comedy show, for, like a big time comedian, they make you put your phones in the pouches. You can't record it, right, you've got to be there, you've got to be in it, you've got to be in the experience. And so I'm trying to create an experience that is, that's not replicable, right. And so I have other tactics in which I, you know, I've grown and built it.
Speaker 2:But I decided to do it a different way and everyone told me said well, if you don't, you know, post your speeches out there, you're not going to get booked. Well, I'm seven years in, right, and you know what I mean and this is my full-time job. I mean, and this is my full-time job, and so part of that has been also knowing. Hey, trust me, you know what I mean. I bet on myself and there are people that are you know, that are doing it different ways, that are in better positions. So I'm not saying my way is right, it's just my choice because I'm doing what's authentic to me and what I embody, and I think a lot of people are seeing what worked for someone else. And while I do think you can learn from the greats, as we should, we should take their lessons and their insights, but we should massage them and make them authentic to us. Like my mentor, darren K Roberts is probably responsible for who I am today and a lot of the success I've enjoyed, but I don't want to be a second version of him. I want to be a firsthand version of me, right, but I've definitely used a lot of his tactics and information to grow and build.
Speaker 2:And so, to answer your question about how it falls into the speech, I mean it's a direct embodiment of how I live, because when I get on the stage, it's not something I'm pulling out of my shorts for 30 minutes to an hour. I'm telling you legit, legitimately, right. I mean this morning I did four miles on my bike. I just went out and did a one hour workout. I have another one at 12. I have a speech at six. You know what I mean. Like it's just you know it has to be something that you actually live, because I think what people are able to see, now more than ever, is a lack of authenticity, because they're filtered, their guard is up because of the online element and they're looking at so many faces and they're getting so many sales pitches and so many ads, to the point where their discernment and their ability to decipher has to be heightened or they're just going to lose all your money, to be honest with you. And so that's what I would say is the authenticity piece.
Speaker 2:But also just coming from the standpoint of I coached for six years the strength and conditioning coach and that's where I kind of got broken in a way, because there are people and I'm very just frank about this there are some people that are naturally gifted. I'm reading a book now called Range really good, really really solid book, and even Malcolm Gladwell wrote about it in Blink about people that just have a natural ability in neck and for snap judgments. And to make you know just snap judgments and decision-making, I believe athletes can process the game at a higher speed than you know anyone else, and so in thinking about that, I just wanted to be like, okay, how can I, you know, use that in my own life? You know what I mean. How can I speed up my processing? That's going to come through repetitions. That's going to come through reading. That's going to come through practicing. And so I practice and the way I live is harder than most people actually perform.
Speaker 2:Right, and that's just where it comes from, because in some cases you can be naturally talented and let's say, ryan, you're, you're great, you're a great host or great at speaking. Right, just you coming off the dome with no notes, you probably could host this show better than 80 percent of the population. Right, you're just off the dome, yeah, but there's the other, there's that other gap. There's that 20 percent to say, hey, if I just take the time to prepare, make show notes, do all these different pieces right, double check in, check all my stuff, whatever, then you get to that elite status, that level of undeniability.
Speaker 2:But that's the hardest part, though, because you know that with nothing else at hand you could be better than 80% of the population. You could be on that tail end of the bell curve, right. Percent of the population you could be on that. You know that tail end of the bell curve right. So it takes a special person to have just a natural talent but still maximize it in the face of people you know and circumstances being average and not calling for elite performance. And I think coaching and being in that environment is what broke me from saying, okay, yeah, I know I can probably do this just naturally, but why am I not giving a hundred percent at all times? And once I broke that, that's when everything changed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's fascinating. You say that is I'm at a um, like just vulnerable moment, is like at this, like point to where, um, like I want to build a community of all the things that I talk about, um, I don't know if you're familiar with like the platform, like school right, Like having school, yep, yep.
Speaker 1:Yep and so, um, like being able to put the information and things like out there. And then obviously kind of like, my niches is within coaches and so it's just invite them in and show them and there's this spin, like you said. It's like I can get on it. I can stand in front of a team and have no problem, like literally off the top of my head, hit record, and it's like an oh shit moment kind of type thing right, like, and I'm like oh, cause it's like I can't see their face when they're watching it.
Speaker 1:I don't know what they're thinking. I don't, I don't have the interaction with that, because I feel like I do have a knack for, like, reading body language and then knowing when like when people are in tune and it's like all right, dude, it's time to go Bye.
Speaker 1:Right, absolutely, and so it's like I like literally am at this point right now. I'm like, okay, I've, like, I've just got to make the decision right, like to go to Hermosi again I think it's actually Myron Golden but to cut off right, like, make the decision, go, do it. Who cares about the outcome? Because, like that in and of itself, like nobody else is doing that right, Like at least in the space, and so it just it's. It is that separator that? Yeah, I've got the podcast. It's probably the 80% right, but what's the next level to that?
Speaker 2:It's that next level. Yeah, so I think it's Pareto's principle about. You know, 80% comes from 20%, right, and the whole flip-flop or whatever, and that's just. I mean I've seen that time and time again. Just, you know, you look at, you know how much of the US''s wealth is owned by a small percentage, right, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Other population, um, yeah, that's the biggest thing, and it's tough, it's not easy, especially when there's no pressure on, and so I think the biggest thing is having these, the three eyes, what I call them, uh, introspection, uh iterations and influence. And the first thing is and darren says this all the time who did you want to be before the experts got involved? That's number one. So, doing some introspection we talked about it earlier, about sitting in that room for 30 minutes who do you really want to be Like? What do you want to create? Who are you really like? What do you really care about? And not what social media or the world society tells you what you think you care about. What do you actually care about? And world society tells you what you think you care about. What do you actually care about, and you know, be able to stand on that and wholeheartedly believing in that thing. Second thing is iterations and some people I probably talk to at least one or two people a week that are dealing with imposter syndrome and you know not thinking oh well, if I do, or thinking that, oh, if I do this, people are going to think that and you know what I mean. They don't know that you can bring different iterations of yourself. You're allowed to be good at more than one thing. I watched a ted talk called it's like becoming a multi-potential light, right, and it just spoke to the importance of being able to just expand and bring different versions of yourself, like actively. Right now I have six different spaces that I'm showing up in in different ways and that's kind of like that goes with who I am and that's what I care about, because when I get a release from speaking, I get at least release from this other thing I have going on, other business I'm going on. What I'm doing is it's kind of like um, cross-pollination, yeah, it's going.
Speaker 2:You think about in sports, some people over specialize in one sport but they talk about a. You know going and playing different sports and getting and getting the. You know getting the just activating just different parts of your brain, neuroplasticity you talk, you talk about. You know the, you know the micro and macro when it comes to, you know the motor skills and things like that. I mean there's just a whole, you know a plethora of research on that, and so that's what I'm trying to do.
Speaker 2:I try to have different things I look at and things I'm involved in, because I use my experience as an actor to help me on stage, and so I try to create that flywheel. So the introspection is one, iterations are two, and then the third thing is influence. Once you know who you are, you know all you are and all you can be. Now you understand who and what and how you can have a positive impact and positive influence, and I think that's the biggest thing. But you have to do that work first. People want to go influence first yeah Right, without knowing who they are and what they can actually bring and what they actually can do at a really high level.
Speaker 2:And that's where the scales get imbalanced, I think, because you haven't done the pre-work. You know, to be honest with you. So that's what I've kind of learned, that I've tried and sought to do is make sure I'm doing the actual, you know work, putting the time in. Like, even now, I still coach on Fridays. I'm at TCU every Friday coaching and I'm the low man on the totem pole and you, every Friday coaching, and I'm the low man on the totem pole and it's like you get on my LinkedIn. Oh, it's, this, is that and you know this and that. There it's like hey, move these boxes yeah right, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:They move these sleds over here and like they don't because they don't care. You know I mean they don't. They know this is the job at hand and this is the expectation, and so for you to coexist in this environment, this, this is what we need, right? And so now I'm able to take that experience you know working with these guys here and be able to go into a room full of you know division one or two or three athletes and be able to knock out of the park because I understand what they're dealing with, the collective consciousness. I understand, you know that workout schedules and I can speak to that and speak their language, right no-transcript.
Speaker 1:Like you're, uh, in strength and conditioning, like for a while, like what was like that moment to where like, oh hey, like I can stand in front of people, a I'm like good at it and I like I enjoy, like it sounds like like I enjoy the, the behind the scenes work, working on myself so that I can show up and serve others and influence and transform others, whatever word you want to use um what was kind of that like tipping point, that moment of like hey, like that's the route that I'm gonna go.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was the gift and the curse that I'm going to go. Yeah, I would say the gift and the curse that I have is I'm an ultimate competitor. I ultimate like for me, my, my personality, by nature is very laid back and a little bit nonchalant. When I get on stage, I flip, I just flip a switch Right and um.
Speaker 2:Part of the I think of the calmness and having peace of mind is just understanding where everything is Like. I know where all my stuff, I know where my bike is, I know where. I know my workout schedule. I got them, I know what my assistant's doing right now Like, so I have nothing to really worry about, to be overly anxious, and one of my kind of favorite acronyms is the acronym for system, which is save yourself stress, time, energy and money, and so I think, by making sure that I'm doing the pre-work and doing the things beforehand, that allows me to be fully present in this conversation and every space I'm showing up in.
Speaker 2:I didn't do a good job of this pre-2020, to be totally honest with you, and so that was a huge push to make that happen. But to answer your question more specifically, I'll give you an example. I saw a stat yesterday in Dallas, texas, there's 68,600 millionaires in this in the city alone, out of like 6.4 million people. Right, and I got to thinking about it. I was like there's no way that 68,600 people are smarter than me.
Speaker 2:I can do that you know what I mean. And so I create these kind of abstract or arbitrary adversaries I like to call it and I create it in my mind and I create this target right that I, I go after, and that's what keeps me going, you know, because some people just wake up it's like, okay, I'm gonna attack and go, you know, cut down this tree, like that's not me. I need to create some level of uh, competing against myself yesterday, some type of adversary. That's how I get going to be honest with you. And so, when it came to actually speaking, I think part of it comes from part of my history. My grandfather was a pastor, and so was my older brother. He was a minister for a number of years as well. And just seeing that, even as like four or five, six-year-old, like I'm in, I'm in, you know, I'm in church playing with my, you know, my little sketchbook and whatever, but I'm seeing the visual right and I'm seeing that and it's it's locking somewhere in my brain, somewhere, you know, somewhere it's locking in because oftentimes you know, if you can't see it, you can't be it, and so having that exposure, it's just like, okay, it's possible. My grandfather did it and I think what you're exposed to is a performance enhancing drug in and of itself, and I don't say drug in a bad way, but it's a performance enhancing opportunity. And what's your exposure? Because a lot of people have capacity but no exposure you know to it, to even know that this thing exists, community, to be honest with you. And so I think having that exposure is one thing, that kind of planted the seed. But then the next piece of it was walking into rooms and seeing people delivering information and I'm thinking, man, I could do that Right. And then understanding like, hey, this is how they started, this is how they built it, um, and then also being able to look at things and say, you know what, I respect what they're doing, I know it's not easy, but I can do it better. Right, and that that was kind of my approach. And so there's some other like things I did in terms of tactically and I'll kind of briefly cover that.
Speaker 2:But I was driving uber. I was an uber driver in atlanta for three years and I think sometimes you get to a point where you just know like, hey, there's something more out there. And I was working full time at IMG, making $39,000 a year driving Uber trying to make ends meet. I had a roommate just doing all the things you know, first real job out of internship and I pulled over after my last Uber ride it was in late 2016. And I called up one of my friends from church he's a minister, but he also did graphic design and video editing and I said, man, you know, I've been sitting on this thing for about, you know, about three or four years. I've been sitting on it and I think I'm ready to start. And I said I don't have any money, but I would. You know, I need some help getting my brand together. Uh, I got an opportunity. You know why I did. I did my first book. A guy had bought some books and wanted me to come in and do a book review. And I'm thinking, how do I capitalize on this opportunity? Like having a face-to-face with the athletic director of a small division two school. And so he marked up all my grant, all my branding for me. The administrator did and just got me one-sheeters and graphic templates for my slide deck, all that kind of stuff. I said, man, when I make it, I'll take care of you. And so, long story short, went in, did the book review After that was over and everybody left but me and the AD, I got my backpack and I pulled out the sheet that my administrator created for me and I slid it across the table and I said man, you know, I'm working on launching this new business.
Speaker 2:You know, I would love an opportunity to come in and work with your student athletes. And he read through. He said, man, I love it. He says, listen, we don't really have much money to pay you. I said I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll buy 30 more books from you for $10 a piece and that'll be your pay. I said you got a deal. And that was my first speaking. That was my first one, right?
Speaker 2:And so you know, after that a lot of things transpired, but you know, I went back and took care of my guy from churches. You know he has his own church now and I've he's been on auto draft for my account for four and a half years, right, you know what I mean. So you know what I mean. So that's, you know. I make it on my word, you know.
Speaker 2:And the lady that took my first pictures I used for years on headshots and stuff. She did it for free. She also worked in my church in the media department. She was taken care of very handsomely, right for what she did for me, and so I'm a product of people that saw something and believed in me, offered their skill sets and expertise for free, but I definitely, you know, made good on my promise to take care of them and the rest is kind of just. You know history, but also learning the strategies and the tactics positioning. I came from the sports world so I learned the inner workings of how that worked, and now I'm kind of in a relearning period because I've entered the corporate space for the last year or so and so relearning how to, you know, enter that market and to grow in that market, because it's way different, you know, from the sports market. And so that's kind of how a lot of things transpired and you know and how they came about and to kind of help where we are today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how, what pulled you into the sports world originally? And then what was the original draw like as you got into it and like releasing the book of like hey, like I think I want to start this in the sports like industry. What was kind of like the inner draw to that?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, I mean, I kind of did every like what everybody does make it a cause. I'm gonna be a doctor, right, I'm gonna be a doctor. And then, and I took a weed out course and got weeded out, right, that was finance for me, oh for sure right.
Speaker 2:You know how it goes, man, and I, honestly, after that I was like I'm going to be a physical therapist. I mean I've done everything, I've tried everything. I took the LSAT one time, right, you know what I mean Like I've literally tried everything but my heart just kept pulling me to, you know, the sports arena. And uh, you know, I stumbled upon a grad assistantship at the american football coaches association and did that for two years and just literally fell in love with it. But think about it, I didn't know it existed before I got there. I was just trying to get my grad school paid for at baylor. They said they had some money. I said let's do it. You know, I mean I don't care. I was like what's africa? No, it's afca. Oh, it's not africa.
Speaker 2:Okay, whatever, you know what I mean like so I stumbled up in the net man, I just fell in love with it. But even when I was there, I bought a book online. It cost me like 60 bucks. It was like the you know, the ultimate guide to career in sports by, like glenn wong. He was at arizona state big time professor and I read that thing every day for like three months. It was like over 450 pages and I read it cover to freaking cover and so even then I was trying to get that edge because I'm like, hey, my logic was I did not play college sports, I got to do triple what everybody else did, that did play to make it in this industry.
Speaker 2:And so what happened ultimately was I after AFCA, I left there and went to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and got an internship and in the bowl business and, as I did also with the college football playoff, there is a lot of hurry up and wait time, and so we wouldn't have anything to do. Like we had a kickoff game in like September. We started in June. Kickoff game was in September, around Labor Day, no-transcript. I said let me create a guide for people that may not have good mentors. I mean, I have people that believe in them or take them under their wing and try to put that out to give back.
Speaker 2:And so, at the peach bowl, I literally started writing my book right there, you know, like September of 2014. And and that's that's. That's kind of where it all started, and from there it took me a while to finish it. I actually quit writing on it like three times. That's why it didn't release till two years later. Um, but I had a, an english teacher that inspired me to write when I was in high school told me I was a writer. I said no, and by that back then I'm like. I'm looking like Nelly in the like 0405, with a shirt down to my ankles and a chain down to my navel Like yeah, I'm like, I'm not a writer Like.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. I'm trying to get me a car with a big rim and loudspeakers, right. But it came back around full circle and she actually passed away about a year later after I told her I wanted her to help me with the book and help me edit it, because she's the person planted the seed seven years prior. And when she passed away, that's when I just sprung into just action mode. I just got activated, and so I'm going to finish this book and dedicate it to a memory, which I did. That's why the second page has her favorite poem on it and dedication to her. That's why the second page has her favorite poem on it and dedication to her.
Speaker 2:So I think after that experience, I was like I didn't want anything to happen to people that I cared about and loved before I did what I said I was going to do. Yeah, right, and so that impetus, you know, was really to push and to get that done, and you know, it ended up coming out a couple of years later, and I think the push for creative is always tough because we put this internal pressure on ourselves to get this out by this time. Really no one's waiting. No one's waiting on it. You know what I mean. So, yeah, that's the tough part. It's like do I like? Okay, no one's waiting on it, so I really don't have to be in a rush. But also, you know, the push to get it done and not procrastinate. It's kind of like a tug and pull, pulling the push, and so you know I had to learn how to overcome that. And again, that comes with, again, maximal effort at all times. And that you know and that was again a part of the training that I got when I was coaching I'll never forget the conversation after a workout I was at Baylor that changed the way I saw life. It was 2013. After a workout, fall 2013.
Speaker 2:And he says who are you? He said what are you the best in the country at right now? Or are you the best in the country right now at your position? And I thought about it. I'm like man. I'm not the best at anything. I was like man what am I doing? And we and the last thing I'll say we had this. I think that was very interesting we were black shirts, that's what.
Speaker 2:That was our thing. And so we had plain black shirts, no nike, no, nothing. Because we were like low man. Low man on the telephone pole and everybody else had like nike comeback gear. I mean fresh, they were dripping.
Speaker 2:I'm like they're fresh, I'm like man, I'm like coach, like how can I get one of those nike shirts? And he's like what do you do better than anybody else in the nation? Right now? I was like I'm just doing my job. He said that's the problem, you're doing your job. So I found a way to create some value outside of my job and I started washing all of the bottles out after all workouts all 120 bottles I had two tubs full of soap I got a picture of it Two tubs full of soap, suds and water. And I got a scrubber and I got to scrub it on every single bottle in it, on it and for it. And doing that I started cleaning out the refrigerator, you know, weekly, and that's how I earned my Nike Combat shirt. And that was one of the first times I actually had to swallow my ego and really like, put in some real work to achieve something, because everything else prior to it just come natural. And that's what I think sparked it everything.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. At what point? Like did you trying to think how to ask it? Did you always want to be more in like the college world, or like?
Speaker 2:did you have the desire to be like?
Speaker 1:the professional, because have you dabbled a little bit in the professional world too like yeah, I've dabbled, um as a speaker.
Speaker 2:Um, like some of my clients of the um detroit lions, miami dolphins, arizona cardinals um, as an actual employee I have not. I've done the Super Bowl back in 2022 as like a third, like a third party deal. But I did want to be in the pros at one time, but it was all ego and once I had. Once I asked myself why I want to be in the pros. I didn't have a good answer yeah, right. And then I thought about the and then also the developmental piece of the college game, because back then they weren't getting paid and so it was like I had to show up every single day, right, and be on my P's and Q's If I want to have a chance at making you know any significant money.
Speaker 2:Obviously that's changed now. They still have to, you know, show up and to earn it and all that kind of stuff. But it was a different game back then when you had complete uncertainty yeah, right, yeah had complete uncertainty. And so that developmental period and bringing a guy in freshman year again pre-transfer portal, right and seeing most of them go from you know freshman year to junior or senior year and seeing how they developed, you know and how they matured. Oh man, I loved it. I fell in love with it being a part of it, and some of my players actually live here in Dallas and I'll see them out at different restaurants and bars and stuff and they see me.
Speaker 1:They still call me coach, right, and there's not there's not many greater titles I currently own than that one. Yeah, yeah, cause actually a small world is prior to I guess it was about a year and a half ago when I went, so I owned a strength and conditioning facility for like 12 years. So that was at what. At some point it was like I was dabbling right I?
Speaker 1:was like hey, like I'm over here in the strength world and, like some of these college teams are like paying me to come out and I was like, if I'm gonna like do this, then like yeah.
Speaker 1:I gotta be a product of like what I'm saying, right. And so, um, ended up, you know, shutting that, uh down those gyms and kind of going all in. But I think for me the reason I asked too is, like, obviously, in the gym like had a couple pros like you see, the college kids, but like a month or two out of the year when they're home for the summer, it was nothing significant. So it was a lot of like middle school, high school, and I just saw, like to your point of like the biggest shifts in that in that college age, and so it was like, hey, I'm already like got my foot in the door with a couple of teams and I was like thinking back to my own story, that 18 to 22 is like so pivotal You're on your own, you're finally making decisions for yourself.
Speaker 1:It's like I've had a mentor kind of to your point of like how do I give back to what I was given in terms of like mentors? I call it like having like a tour guide, right?
Speaker 2:Like, if you travel somewhere.
Speaker 1:It's like you want to go ask somebody that's been there right, Like you want, like what's the best local place? Don't just Google right Like they're going to give you like the, the, the, the, everything place that you, you know, that everybody knows about, versus that local. It's like hey, that hole in the wall, that like real sketchy like that's the spot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, got the grilled cheese Like you never had in your life, absolutely.
Speaker 1:And so I think that, yeah, like that was kind of the draw to cut off there, and so I was curious if that was like very similar for you, because it was like those pivotal years of like this is where I can, like I can really make an impact, I can really serve, and I can really serve at a high level, like with this age group.
Speaker 2:No question. No question, 100% agree. No question.
Speaker 1:I'll ask you too is this is kind of like one of my, my go-to questions. Obviously, I ask coaches and so I feel like sometimes I get a little bit of like generic responses or maybe they just like haven't put a whole lot of thought into it, but you're in a unique situation, kind of being on the other side of it. What do you see as like the biggest emotional hurdle that most student athletes are like facing head on today?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would say the biggest thing you mentioned earlier there, I guess, from an emotional standpoint, they're dealing with a lot of anxiety. From what I'm seeing, it's the, it's the comparison and it's starting early. It started even prior to sport, right. And so I think now, if you look at the economy itself, and just from five years ago in 2019, what it caused to even just be able to afford a house, right, and where things are going and they're looking on their social media and seeing their friends out in Terps and Tecos and they're here, you know, sacking groceries. You know what I mean. That's tough because back then, or even, I'm sorry, back in the years when we were growing up, years and years ago, you didn't really have access to know what everybody else was doing, right, you know what I mean. You may see something they got a new car or something you know but you didn't really see them see as much, because they'll take some pictures, get them developed and they stay in the house pretty much, and I was like everything's just on front street, and so I think the comparison piece has been an absolute challenge and also, as you know, the mental health epidemic is. Oh my God, I mean it's. I'll give you an example. This is a true story.
Speaker 2:So in 2019, I've been doing this program the last five, six years. I speak at the Careers in Sports Forum every single June at the NCAA in Indianapolis at the headquarters, single June at the NCAA in Indianapolis, at the headquarters. In 2019, they really bring in about 250 kids, 200, 250 kids that want to are interested in sports junior, senior, you know, pretty much around that age range and in 2019, everyone back then, all of the students, student athletes, they would attend. They wanted to be like ADs and coaches. I would say that was 85% of the room.
Speaker 2:I went back just this past June, just over a month ago, and 75% of the student athletes there wanted to work in mental health and clinical psychology. For athletes Over 75%, I mean it completely flipped. I was like wow, every I'm sorry, every I would. I talked to a bunch of them in the course of two or three days and I would say every other um student athlete I talked to, they all wanted to work in clinical psychology, mental health, mental well-being. It was all this, it was all the same across the board.
Speaker 1:I think, too, is, um, to be an elite level coach, I think that you're gonna have to like you as that coach, are gonna have to do your own research and homework, and that's gonna have to be part of like who you are as a coach too um because I think that, um, especially probably assistants, right, I like label them as like their big brother. Big sister, head coach is mom and dad, right, they're, they're God right they, they control the destiny.
Speaker 1:So I think a lot of assistants are going to have to learn how to have those conversations versus. I think a little bit right now it's like hey, like, use your resources.
Speaker 1:You know, go talk to Susie or go talk to you know Dr, Whoever right Like, but I think that's going to have to become. You know, I don't think they have to have a degree in it, but I think they have to be knowledgeable of, like, how to have those conversations to build elite level programs. I think that's going to definitely be a new norm.
Speaker 2:I think you're right and this is kind of like. This is kind of just, I guess, recency bias or the fact that I went to school there, but I think Lane Kiffin was one of the first ones to make sure all of his coaches, you know, had went through a training Interesting, and in power five or power four he was. I think I'm pretty proud that they were the first school to do that and I'm sure others have picked it up. But I do think to a degree that's going to be true because you know the relatability, the relationship you build with your coach is very special, right, and so they want to be able to come to you on a few different levels and layers, as opposed to just talking to you know, at least have some conversation, you know, be a listening ear and things of that sort.
Speaker 1:And so and just very experienced in the field is obviously, and you come from the strength and conditioning world too, where, like everyone's like, we want to create better young men and women. Right? Like that's the. When you come here to school, it's like you're going to leave a man, you're going to leave a woman, right? Do you think it's real? In the majority, I just don't think so.
Speaker 2:In today's day and age, I mean, it's all about the money. Now. The kids don't know they would get paid. So do you mean like currently, or do you mean in the past?
Speaker 1:I guess both. Yeah, it's about the bag.
Speaker 2:It's 1,000% about the bag. They want the money. It's not the facilities and the arms race. It used to be Okay, oregon, I love these facilities. This is beautiful, but how much am I going to get paid? Right, I can't put this in the bank. You know what I mean? Yeah, so I would say that's the biggest thing. The money thing is the number one conversation. It's not even a question about it. It's no ifs and buts about it. I think it. I think in the past, I think you did have. This is my. This is my honest, honest opinion. Unpopular opinion. Some of the guys that made it to the top of the pecking order didn't care as much oh, I totally, I totally yeah and I'll, I'm gonna say this and, uh, my rubble some feathers, but I really don't care.
Speaker 2:Um, there are a lot of people who look like me that will never get head coaching opportunities but are relied on to bring the recruits in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, right, right, but they'll never get a head coaching opportunity. They're maybe, they're just looked at, maybe, as just the, the relatable face or the person that looks like what we're going to try and get. This DB. You look like a DB, so come in and be a coach, right, and we'll kind of take it from there. So, and they, I think, I think, and it does this is not in any way saying that there are, is anybody right, that's just, it's not determined. Your race is not determined. What you care about a person, right, right, it's not determined. Right, there's people that look like me that I love, people that look like me that I can't stand right, and vice versa. You know, but I have seen it time and time again where a lot of talented people that look like me that don't get the same opportunities and just, but they're bringing in these recruits time after time. Now you can, you could say now in fairness that with the money conversation, only color matters. Is green now, right, you can, someone could say that and I'd have to agree with them. But I think you're talking about yesteryear and pre-nil. I think that was a huge topic of conversation where guys were getting passed over despite their recruiting prowess, and so I I do think that that that wasn't, um, the best thing to happen. We mean stuff that happened in a, in Arizona basketball and things like that years and years ago.
Speaker 2:But I do think and I know there are some guys out there that truly, truly care, but it kind of if I'm flipping it to a different narrative it's like the difference between an introvert and an extrovert. An introvert may have the answers, but the extrovert seems to have the answer and they'll get more opportunities and get promoted quicker because they're more outgoing, more gregarious or whatever it is. And so I kind of liken it to that from an analogy standpoint. Is that, yeah, you can, you know you're, or you're good enough to play here, but you can't do X here, or you can't be a head coach here, or you can't. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:It's kind of like that, that ceiling you run into, and so I think it's, I think a few things ceiling you run into, and so I think it's. I think a few things take out the money conversation are going to be just culturally based and I think a couple of them are going to be personality based versus introversion and extroversion that prevent people that are very caring for getting to that next level. And I say this as a business owner speaking out the other side of my mouth if you're always working in the business, you can't work on the business, and so if they see you as the guy that's you know always holding shop, you know every day and every other day, and guys always in your in your office hanging out, chilling and stuff, they may not see you as a CEO that can run a program because you're too far in the weeds Right and so it's kind of like a catch 22, if you will.
Speaker 1:That's my opinion. Yeah, that's how I feel I love it.
Speaker 2:I told y'all, yeah. Yeah, I mean it needs to be said. I mean there's too much dancing and people don't want to speak the truth and we all have lived experiences and I think it's important for us to understand what it looks like across the aisle, you know, with the next person, maybe thinking their experience, you know what they see, because it I always say that you may not be able to relate, but you can always empathize. Yeah, right, and empathize comes through learning vulnerability and and having conversation and immersing yourself in that person's shoes and so, yeah, that's, that's. That's kind of my been my experience doesn't mean it's the only experience, but that's been my experience.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think too is it makes me think of like personally too, of like within the care and connection is like making sure like not everything's like black and white, like there is a spectrum right, and so it's like kind of like like how you said. Is is like your cool, calm and collective like 80% of the time, but like the other 20, like when the lights come on, it's like I'm a whole different human being and I think that's been this past year like a big because like I am wild, loud, obnoxious like they even they're like are you like this all the time?
Speaker 1:I'm like ask my wife right, like you know, it's like but I had to learn that like that doesn't reel everyone in and if I want to continue to expand and grow, it's like I have to know, like when to like shift down that spectrum of like, okay, 37 F-bombs in the middle of that was probably, probably a lot for this crowd.
Speaker 1:Right right, yeah, right right, yep um and so I think that like because I think that boils down to or pulling it back to like care and connection is I can think of there's an athlete, um, on a team involved with that's like like like you wouldn't even know that they're in the room, Like like if you didn't go have a conversation with them, just very to themselves, like probably one of the hardest workers like I've like ever been around, like when it comes to like athletics and stuff like that Um, but I've had to learn that like inside conversations it's like I got it I have to come down to like your personality, Like I have to, otherwise I won't reach that person right.
Speaker 2:If I'm like all the time they're gonna be like all right, bro, like thanks, but no thanks yeah, no, I mean, but you know, if I see it like, you know I feel it like and I see it's authentic, I mean I can, I can turn it on pretty quick. You know what I mean it. Uh, it's just, it's just a matter of you know, um, you know time and place. Also, this workout I did this morning, kind of kicked my butt a little bit, so I've got a little bit of like hello.
Speaker 2:But yeah, when I'm, when I'm coaching man, it's fast Friday and it's fourth quarter and we got the bars up and the music blasting. Oh man, I mean, we're going at it. It's the bombs, it's everything, everything is coming out. At that point in time, and we've always got the coaching point that says if you're chilly, not hot, when you walk in this door, you will be asked to leave.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's good, yeah, yeah, all right, last question, yeah all right.
Speaker 1:So if you're in a stadium with a hundred thousand people and you can only leave them with one message. What would your message be?
Speaker 2:if I was in the stadium. I'm gonna repeat the question so I can think about the question. Yeah, yeah, if I was in the stadium with 100,000 people. Are they sitting or standing? Both Okay sitting and standing and I got to leave them. Like what? Like a one-liner. It's got a one quote, one message or whatever it could be a one-liner, or it could be like an over.
Speaker 1:I've had people it's kind of like always, like my ending of like what's you know? Like for me it's like I would, I would say my one liner, and then I would go down the rabbit hole Like you don't get what you want you get who you are. It's about being a human being and like I would kind of go down that route, Like that would probably be a little bit of my message, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Mine would be that's the story I heard. They said that during the California gold rush more people made money selling shovels than the ones looking for gold. Oh yeah, right, yeah. So in one of those stories and it's a little bit of folklore, but I love the story there was a guy who was digging for gold and he went down about a foot and he actually hit some gold.
Speaker 2:He struck some gold right, and so after doing that he's like man, I'm about to make it big. So he went and bought a bunch of equipment, a bunch of equipment, thousands of dollars worth of equipment to find the actual gold vein. And so he went down a foot or two and he began to go across horizontally or laterally to try and find the rest of the gold. And weeks and weeks of searching went by. He couldn't find it. And so he finally sold all of his equipment for pennies on the dollar to a guy.
Speaker 2:And the guy that bought it he was asked by a friend like why would you buy that? He's been looking all over the place. He got holes all over the. You know all over the. You know the ground here Hadn't found anything. Why would you buy this stuff? He said.
Speaker 2:There's one thing he didn't know about how gold grows. Gold doesn't grow horizontally. Gold grows in a vein that goes vertically. So if he had just came in from a different side or just went deeper and went down diagonally and continued to go downward and attack it from the side, he would have hit the gold vein.
Speaker 2:And I think what that speaks to is sometimes you have to take some steps back in life, right, you have to dip, you have to dig down and go deep and you know, kind of get in the trenches a little bit, get your hands dirty a little bit to really, you know, strike gold and to get to where you ultimately want to be. So when they talk about it and I kind of analogize it or anaglyze, whatever it it is, I kind of tie it to the stock market they talk about buy the dip, right, because you know what goes down, because it'll come back up eventually. And so when you have dips and you have, you know um valleys in life, just know you're being set back to be set up. And that would be my message to the hundred thousand people, a hundred thousand sitting and standing sitting and standing.
Speaker 2:Sitting and standing, absolutely so. Sell shovels. Sell shovels, baby. Sell shovels.
Speaker 1:Well, and I think too it goes back to what you said earlier. It makes me think of like you have to go deep within yourself before you go for the influence. Right, you got to do the work internally. I got to go deep inside yourself before you start to like really like see the results. Um, last thing, I like like tie it to actually my coach. I don't think he cared if I tell the story is like, uh, very, very, very smart, now a very successful, like business owner and coaching program, whatever you want to call it, but at a time is dark place and he hired a coach and, like everyone, he like interviewed four or five and they were all selling him on like funnels and marketing and like copy and everything I just like I don't think that's it and he came across a coach and she, ultimately, she was just like, like.
Speaker 1:I know that there's greatness inside of you and I will pull greatness out of you like, like, if you, if you make the decisions like, and he was like that was it, and so anyways, uh, he had, uh, he had $8,000 to his name.
Speaker 1:She said he's like, great, how much is it? She goes, I'm $60,000. And he was like like uh, and he was like, okay, Like like, got off the phone, called back 15 minutes later and said do you take a payment plan? She's like, yep, she's like we can do five grand a month, but I need 5,000 today. And so, um, he ended up paying her the $5,000. And long story short is he was like I had, you know, three grand to my name left over, and so, he's like I had no choice but to listen to every single thing that she said. And he goes, if you had told me that she was going to like, do all this inner work on me and figure out who, who I was as, like, a human being.
Speaker 1:And he goes. Uh, he goes. 28 days later he goes. I was selling the exact same thing that I had not made any money on, and he goes. I made $150,000 in a day.
Speaker 2:And so he was just like. It was literally the same thing.
Speaker 1:He's like I changed and he was like so to his Whoa hey, fireworks Um to his point of of like in your point is is like I just that's just another example of a person that like they're selling the same thing, whatever, but like when you change as a human being, like everything else shifts for you.
Speaker 2:I love it, man, I love it. I mean that's. I mean, the best investment you can make is making yourself. You know, and my favorite speaker, jim Rohn, always says that don't wish it was easier, wish you were better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love old Jim.
Speaker 2:That old voice just like on the chalkboard yes sir, baby Going to work, man Absolutely. I love it, brother, love it Well cool man, I appreciate it yeah. Thank you for the opportunity, man. This was an absolute, amazing conversation. Your preparation, energy to flow, outstanding, first class all the way.
Speaker 1:I appreciate it, appreciate it Until next time, everybody, peace.