Welcome to the Hope Unlocked Podcast. I'm Kristen Kurtz, your host. I pray this episode is like a holy IV of hope for your soul. Please help me welcome Rory Paquette to the show. I'm so excited to have him here today. I met him through actually being on his podcast a couple times, and I was like, you know what? We got to get you on. So before we get into your testimony, everything that you have here to share with us, I would love for you to share a little bit more about yourself.
SPEAKER_05Great, sure will. Thank you for having me on. Appreciate it very much. And uh, you were an absolutely wonderful guest on two of my podcasts. So, I mean, you you raise the bar really high here. I'm gonna have to really, really step up and perform today. I know you will.
SPEAKER_04I know you will.
SPEAKER_05But my name's Rory Paquette. I appreciate that. I am I'm a podcaster. I currently have seven active podcasts that are uh all doing very, very well. I am a coach of a lot of things. I coach podcasters, speakers, authors, uh, content creators, and course creators. I also am a husband and a father to three fantastic grown kids. So I'm also an empty nester, which is the one thing that I wish I wasn't out of all those other qualifications. But yeah, other than that, I think that just about covers like you know who I am.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Well, one thing I I had a friend mention to me one time, I thought it was a really great flip, but rather than being an empty nester, you're a bird watcher.
SPEAKER_05I like that a lot.
SPEAKER_04What do you think about that?
SPEAKER_05Well, we just moved to be close to two of my sons, so that's two of my three kids. So I would say that's pretty accurate.
SPEAKER_04Isn't that good? I love it. So I want to go back to you've got seven podcasts, and you coach in how many different aspects? Seven?
SPEAKER_05Well, I coach at least five, at least five.
SPEAKER_04Okay. So for sure, let's let's touch on the seven podcasts because I think when I met you, I was like, oh my gosh, you have how many podcasts? I have one. I have one, and one one baby is is good for me, but I would love for you to just you know kick it back a little bit, a few years to however long you've been doing this. What got you into podcasting?
SPEAKER_05You know, I think that podcasting is the sort of the ultimate way to communicate personally. You get to connect through audio and in a lot of cases also video just by doing your podcast. People can hear your voice, they hear your stories, you get to share with them. And podcasting is kind of a way for them to see behind the curtain. So, you know, with some of the things that I was doing and you know, the mission that I was on in life, it really seemed like the the most effective way to kind of get my message out.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. And how many years have you been doing it?
SPEAKER_05Uh seven.
SPEAKER_04Seven. Wow. Seven is very highlighted today. Seven uh represents completion. So that's beautiful. I would love to hear, and if you could just maybe list off if you can remember all your baby's names, your podcast, so people can go tune into them. Remember, like, well, what are his podcast names?
SPEAKER_05I appreciate that. My first podcast, I'll do them chronologically. How about that? Okay. My my first podcast uh was uh power of man. That's you know, helping fathers and husbands just become more accountable, you know, better men, better fathers. My second one is The Podcaster Nation, which you've been on, and that's an incredibly popular podcast where we highlight other podcasters and the work that they do. Then I have one called Wake Up the Lions, which you also have been on, which is where I invite Christian folks on to share their testimony, talk about how God has influenced their lives, and encourage others to do the same. Then I have Step Up to the Mic, which is a podcast that's for speakers to come on the show and give their talk uninterrupted. So we basically say, Hey, you know, welcome to the show, Kristen Kurtz. And then I disappear, and you would be able to just do your talk. And then afterwards I come back and I go, Hey, Kristen Kurtz, everybody, a quick QA, and they leave. And then they also have a link to send to you know event planners and stuff showing that they actually have done the the talk. So it's been very helpful for a lot of folks. Uh after that, I have the right path podcast, which is for authors, and we talk about the the author and kind of the reason why behind the book, as much as about the book. It's really more about the author than it is about the book. Then I have one called Real Talk for Realtors, which created, I think maybe second in line, but then I put it away for a while because I I was in real estate, very successful there for a long time, and was coaching that for a while and stopped. Now I'm bringing on realtors to kind of tell their stories and help them in some of these areas that I coach. And then the last one, the most recent, is called Restoration Nation. And this is where I get into the commercial work that I do. And I work with a lot of restoration and you know mediation guys that help folks clean up after fire and and flood and stuff like that. And I help them create their own podcasts and build their social medias and that kind of thing as a company. So that's the seven that are out there right now that are all just killing it.
SPEAKER_04Amazing. So when you say killing it, how do you like how what is your gauge for that?
SPEAKER_05That's a great question. My gauge for that is is it working for the purpose that it's intended for? The Restoration Nation, for instance, we have a moderate amount of downloads on that, but it's connecting with all of the clients in the commercial world that I needed to. And it helps as kind of a sales piece. You know, the other ones all have a purpose, and they all have I mean, several of them at this point, thank God, and all the glory to him. He has put me on this path and has helped me do this. They all have incredible numbers. When I started The Right Path, for instance, we had over 500 downloads in the first hour after we dropped it. Yeah. And I mean, it's doing literally thousands
per week at this point, which is crazy.
SPEAKER_04Wow.
SPEAKER_05So yeah. Incredible.
SPEAKER_04Well, since you and you also coach podcasters, I don't maybe we're this is where we're landing today, where we're just gonna talk podcasting because I I know for me personally, you know, as a coach, I have women who have either they're I'm gonna just you use quote unquote pregnant with podcasts, they just haven't birthed them yet. And they they feel like it's just so overwhelming, it's just too much. And I think you're gonna probably blow the lid off that because you have seven podcast quote unquote babies that you're you know taking care of and they're doing well, they're thriving. Let's let's let's kind of let's get after some of the lies that maybe you've seen some of the people that you've worked with who've come to you and they're like, I I want to start a podcast, but you know, I can't do it because XYZ.
SPEAKER_05Okay, some of the lies, is that what you said?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah. Some of the lies that would try to prevent somebody from starting a podcast.
SPEAKER_05Oh my gosh. Wow, what a great question. The the lies I think that that people tell themselves and that they hear in their own minds, the spiritual warfare that goes on within folks, that I think maybe keep them to use your phrase pregnant with the podcast instead of giving birth to it. The biggest one is that imposter syndrome, of course, like, well, who am I? Who wants to listen to me?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05The I mean, that's that's classic. Everybody kind of feels like, well, I don't really have anything of value, or I don't have value, and that type of thing. The another big one though that doesn't get enough attention is the well, it's already saturated, there's you know, four million podcasts, you know, there's no room for me.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_05That's a huge lie because people absolutely bond with the podcaster. You know, they they care who's doing the podcast. You can line up five people and have them all talk about the exact same thing, and they are not competition to one another because people are gonna vibe with either your voice or your attitude or something you said or a fact, or I mean the way you look on the podcast cover, or it doesn't matter. Something's gonna click. Yeah, it's so personal that they're going to click with you in that way. And when somebody you know can identify with you and feels like you get them, they're gonna listen to you and they're gonna listen to your stuff. So it doesn't matter if there's you know four, four million or four billion podcasts out there, you will always have a place in the podcasting world because you're you and nobody else is. Yeah, people don't want to get that.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. I mean, I just had somebody today tell me the exact same thing. Like, why would I even bother because there's so many out there?
SPEAKER_05Oh man, that's that's such a it's a convenient way to go. It really is, because people, you know, love an excuse to tell them why. But I mean, you're literally saying I'm the same as everybody else. And you're not, you're just not. Every single one of us is so different from each other. It's it's crazy to me that we have to hear that. So I I'm glad you're out there fighting to sort of knock that lie down.
SPEAKER_04You have oh yes, absolutely and you too. So the seven you you started seven years ago and podcasting at that time. Do you know at that point how many podcasts were out there?
SPEAKER_05Uh there were a little over two million. Two million. Yeah, when I first started, there was like 2.3, I think, something like that. Because I I did. I was the one who looked at the numbers and went, Oh no, there's so many.
SPEAKER_02You had that lie.
SPEAKER_05Oh, yeah. I had the exact same. And then I was like, come on, man. Yeah, you know, you got a decent voice. Somebody might want to listen to what you have to say, you know. And I was like, just try it. If nothing else, it'll be fun.
SPEAKER_04Yes. Did you have anybody like in your corner like cheering you on, or did you have people kind of like butt what I call it, but what ifing you?
SPEAKER_05Oh, I've been but what if'd my whole life, like everywhere you can possibly imagine it. My wife, though, from the get-go. Um she supported everything I've done, even some of the dumb stuff because she loves me. But this one, she was like, You absolutely have to do this, you know. And so I honestly, I was hemming and hawn. Uh, I had the the microphone and I had the headphones, and you know, I had the program on my computer, you know, I started with audacity and free stuff, right? And I was ready to go. And I'm sitting there in my chair, and she's on the couch, and she's just looking at me with this sort of impatient look. And I'm just going, Oh, you know, I I don't know what what I gotta do. I guess I gotta figure this out. And she goes, Wait a minute. Why don't you just go down in the basement into your office and record something?
SPEAKER_03Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_05And I looked at her and I went, Okay, yeah, she's usually right. I probably should do that. I went down there, I did. It was awful. I figured out what I did wrong, I dumped it, I did it again, and that's episode one.
SPEAKER_02Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_05And it all started right then because my wife looked me right in the eye and said, Why don't you stop screwing around and go do this?
SPEAKER_04Wow, what a great wife. What's her name? We need to thank her.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, her name is Andrea. She goes by Andy.
SPEAKER_04Andy. Well, thank you, Andy, for pushing your husband off the cliff.
SPEAKER_05He's been my biggest fan. She and I run everything by her. I'm like, hey, I'm thinking of doing this with this podcast. And she just gives me, she's a little Italian gal, she just gives me straight up answers, you know. Um, wow, that idea is terrible. I don't think you should do that.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, we need we need those people, right?
SPEAKER_05It's great. I need those people for sure.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, wow. So um I have to ask. You know how we have kids. You have kids, you have three kids. I've got two kids, and I don't know if you've ever been asked this before, but people know, well, which one's your favorite?
SPEAKER_05Which one's your favorite? Which kid is my favorite?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, which which podcast is your favorite?
SPEAKER_05Oh, I thought you were actually asking about my kids. I know.
SPEAKER_04Oh my god have you ever had people ask you that? Like about your kids? Which one's your favorite?
SPEAKER_05Oh, yeah, all the time. But they were all athletes too, so I got that question at like every event, you know.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_05So your podcast babies. My podcast babies. My of all of them, my favorite really is is Power of Man. And I and I can say that just because it's the one that birthed it all. It's the one where we went through some very, very tough times. And when I was going through those tough times, I was just very alone. And when I came out of that, I really wanted to somehow help other fathers and husbands to not feel like they were alone when they were going through stuff. And so that's really where the idea came from. And so, of all the podcasts, I mean, they all are fulfilling, they all are wonderful, frankly. I really do feel like they're children, but the power man is the one that that started it all, and that even today still allows me to connect with other men who are going through stuff that I've been through. So all that pain and suffering and the scars and all that that I carry personally, not professionally, I I understand why I went through them all. Every time I can help somebody else not have to deal with it or not have it hurt as bad, or you know, maybe it ends quicker, you know, for what they're dealing with, any of those things. Uh, it's a very, very big deal to me personally to have those small victories all the time. And that podcast allows me to do that.
SPEAKER_04Wow. Well, would you would you be open to sharing? I know I know most of my listener base is is women, but I do have some men that that do come on. And even with women who are on, they
have significant others that they could maybe even share this with as well. That, you know, would you testify to to some of what you'd walked through?
SPEAKER_05Oh, sure. Yeah, it's you know, the the thing that kind of birthed power man was I I was in real estate, like I said, had a big successful real estate company, five offices in two states, and 2008 hit. And uh we were independent, we were doing it all, bootstrapping it. I was loving life, but you know, we went from you know, making you know a real strong six-figure income off this business to just crickets, you know, because of what happened with the economy. And uh we held on for four years before we finally had to give it up. And we literally lost everything under the sun, sold everything we had, lost it all. And you know, uh long story short, I'll I uh I hit a point where I just couldn't take looking at my kids anymore and not being able to come through for them. And I made a decision that I wasn't gonna be here anymore.
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_05And God God pulled me out of that in a big, big way. And you know, when you have something like that where you you fall that far and you quite literally have rationalized somehow that your family's better off without you. I mean, the devil has a big strong hold on you at that point.
SPEAKER_04Absolutely.
SPEAKER_05I even went down the hall and and kissed my sons goodbye, type of thing. I was just done.
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_05And yeah, uh it didn't happen. Walked back to the kitchen and was ready to pull the trigger and take care of things, and I just lost it, you know, like started convulsing and shaking and everything else, and fell to the floor and uh passed out. No idea what happened right there. It's never happened before and never happened since. And when I woke up, I was literally just sort of washed over and overwhelmed with what were you thinking? And I was just really disgusted with myself at that moment, like more than ever. And I said, You you can't possibly do this to your kids. What are you doing? Right, you don't even believe in this. What are you doing?
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_05And so, you know, grabbed uh a legal pad and just on each page wrote down one problem, one thing that had to be solved, and just started putting them out all around the living room floor. And you know, I was up all night, my kids, my wife wake up and they had no idea what I went through, of course. And they see they see like a thousand pieces of paper on the floor in the living room. They're like, okay, dad finally lost his mind. What's going on? And from that moment forward, I just started taking them one at a time. One at a time. And I I decided that day, I told my wife, I said, I'm getting this out of this. She said, Okay, I believe you. And uh sorry. She actually said that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_05So and I said, Look, I'm gonna do this. I know I can. I'm gonna put some jobs together, I'm gonna figure this out. I'm just gonna have to not really sleep hardly at all. I'm just gonna really need your help. And she's like, I'll down with you. I found a combination of three jobs, a full-time, a part-time, and uh throw in two routes of newspapers every morning. And it all worked out together to where I got to sleep from 12:30 to 1.30.
SPEAKER_04One hour.
SPEAKER_05One hour. And I said, you know what? I'm just gonna do this. And I managed to bring in all that income and all those jobs and somehow live. And I said, I can do this for about six months, and you know, before I like either go crazy or die. And I did. I made it seven months doing that and got us all the way out of it. Got all the bills paid, got everything taken care of, got us back on our feet, got us a place to live that you know, I didn't have to be packing a gun to walk in and out of the whole bit. And then we started over.
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_05So yeah. I didn't want anybody ever to feel any man to ever have to feel that alone again.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah. Because at that point, did you have I mean, did you have people that you could have reached out to other men like in your life, whether it's family or friends, to you know, vulnerably share what you were walking through?
unknownNo.
SPEAKER_05Nobody. No, the people I thought were my friends, you know, even family, either they didn't care what was happening to me, or they were kind of glad, you know, that it was happening.
SPEAKER_04You'd walked through all of that?
SPEAKER_05Yeah. No, they were just like, hey, you know, uh this this guy thought he, you know, was all that, he thought he had this, he'd built this company up. And it's amazing when people see you rise up, how much they enjoy seeing you fall.
SPEAKER_04That's that's really sick.
SPEAKER_05It's really true, though.
SPEAKER_04I'm so sorry that you want to. I know like I've heard people talk about in Australia, and maybe in your interviews that you've done with people in that area, they talk about like is it tall poppy syndrome? Is that that phrase before?
SPEAKER_05I th I think I know what that is. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Like you, you they just try to keep you into a place of like you can't rise up.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_04Who do you think you are?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, it's the crabs in the bucket thing. You know, every time one of the crabs tries to crawl out, the other crabs all pull it back down, you know. And uh it was a lot of that. A lot of that. So but that's that's pretty much the story in a nutshell.
SPEAKER_04And uh, you know, sorry if I took too long, but that's that's it's like I believe like our testimonies and the fact that you are still sitting here, right? And you're speaking this out. We're recording today on April 27th of 2026. How many years ago was this? Oh gosh.
SPEAKER_05Eight.
SPEAKER_042008. Okay.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that's when when I yeah, when that happened to me. But I mean our crash started long before that, but when I hit that moment of yeah, being at the at the lowest point ever. Uh that was eight years ago.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So my my question for you, and I'm these are I I sometimes have interesting questions, but I'm I was imagining you with this legal pad. Do you remember what the first problem was that you wrote down?
SPEAKER_05Hmm. First pro rent.
SPEAKER_04Rent.
SPEAKER_05Rent, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Behind on the rent, you know, facing homelessness, yada yada. And so that was the first one, because I I really just like went right down the list of you know what. So the first few were like, you know, rent, you know, car, this and that, and you kind of list your bills, and then you get into all the other stuff. Okay. So yeah, rent.
SPEAKER_04And I'm just curious, so like at that time, you're you're, you know, you felt pretty alone, you know, in essence, not having a lot of men in your life to to speak to. I'm so thankful you had a wife that supported you in this way, and have a wife, right? Who who's continues to what was God saying to you at this time? Like in your prayers, like were you were you reaching out to him? Was there hiding, right? Because there's times I I've walked through stuff myself. It's like, God doesn't want to hear about my stuff. I'm I'm too bad. I've done
you know, do you know what I mean? Like, how was that in that situation with God? Like, how did you reach out or not reach out to him at that time?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I'll try that's another uh I'll try to keep a long story short for you. I did not have a relationship with God at that moment. Okay, and I was not reaching out to God, I was very angry with God. I spent most of my life angry with God just because of the way I was raised, and very uh abusive alcoholic type upbringing. So I started my life very angry with God, and that just continued. I just sort of kept being angry, you know. I I always knew that there was a God there, but I was just going to be mad at him for what he had done. And then I started building myself up. You know, we had this big successful company, and I really kind of felt like, you know, hey, I did this in spite of God. You know, you're trying to keep me down, but you know what, I succeeded anyway. So ha. You know, and then then it all comes apart, and you're like, Really? You couldn't even let me have this. I worked so hard for it, and you even have to take this away from me. So I mean, I was I was done with God at that point. When I when he saved me that night, I didn't recognize then that he had saved me.
SPEAKER_04Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_05I didn't recognize that until just a few years ago, actually.
SPEAKER_04Just a few years ago, like as Of in the 2020s?
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Matter of fact, it was 2024 when I finally realized it.
SPEAKER_04Well, would you mind telling us a little bit about that if you're open to it?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, sure.
SPEAKER_04I go deep. Can you tell?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I can tell. No, it's I get it. I uh I had a near-death experience. I I really should be dead, to be honest with you. I shouldn't be sitting here talking to you.
SPEAKER_04I'm with you. We both should be dead. You two are many times over.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. So I um I had a uh uh really bad pneumonia and had no idea why, and I was just you know self uh you know negligent, really. Self-neglect. Everyone else was more important to me than I was, took care of everything else under the sun, just figured I'd get over this at some point, and didn't realize that for over a year I was carrying pneumonia and it was getting worse and worse and worse. And one night my breathing was getting more and more shallow, and I was kind of timing it. I looked at my wife and I'm like, if this keeps going in this direction 10 minutes from now, I won't be able to breathe. I said, We need to go to the emergency room. So turned me in the truck, got me in the emergency room, broke like 10 laws to get me there, and I walked into the emergency room, and I remember reaching out to the lady behind the desk, and that was the last thing I saw. I passed out, couldn't breathe anymore. And uh yeah, my left lung was totally filled and frozen, and my right lung about half capacity and couldn't move or breathe anymore. So that should have killed me. And then they tried like nine different remedies for it while I was spending you know over a month in the hospital, and they finally said we have to do this surgery and go in and do this, or you're you're gonna die. I was like, okay, and the surgery had about a 20% chance of me making it through it. So it's like, well, you're you're probably gonna die if we do the surgery, but you're gonna die if we don't do it. So let's go. And here I am talking to you. So clearly that's the end of the story. But it was in those uh about three, four weeks of recovery also from that, and uh sit in the hospital with my wife, and she was there every night, uh, right there by my side, never left. And you can only watch so many of those old, you know, welcome back cotter TV shows on the hell hospital TV, you know, before you just turn it off and and you just realize that you you know you start talking. Yeah, my wife and I basically just had talks we never had before. And it was in those talks because my wife has always carried the torch for our faith in our family, raised our kids to be faithful the whole bit. But to knew I I had to I had to do it on my own. She wasn't gonna force me. She was like, Well, and that's why you know I heard your story on the podcast that really hit home because I know you deal with a lot of the same type of stuff.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05But she just said, Hey, you know, God's gonna meet him where he is at some point. And apparently God had to slap me pretty hard to get me to wake up. Yeah, but it was in those talks that I looked back and started realizing, you know, there was no denying that God had saved me this time. Okay, because I shouldn't be here. There was no denying it. And I finally said, Okay, I I give. He absolutely did. But then you start looking back and you start to see all the different times when you know he was carrying you, he was there, he helped you, and you're like, I didn't even realize that.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_05You know, why did I crash to the floor that night that I was getting ready to take my own life out? Why did I just start convulsing out of nowhere? Why did I pass out? I don't pass out, you know, and it's never happened before, never happened since. Why did that all happen that night?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_05I mean, what happened to me when I was out cold on the floor that night? That I woke up and had this completely different outlook.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_05I mean, that just doesn't happen on accident.
SPEAKER_04Exactly.
SPEAKER_05It wasn't until I took the time to, for the first time in my life, get quiet and talk to my wife and start talking to God that I actually kind of heard him back.
SPEAKER_04So what was that what was that like, you know, talking to God for the first time? Because I I do have some similarities. Like I I wasn't saved till I was 25 and I actually hated God part because of my upbringing as well.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_04So just a completely different outlook with him. And do you remember just conversing? Like maybe one of the first things that you, you know, we say like hearing your spirit or like hearing God for the first time. Was it through like the word? Were you hearing kind of that still small voice? What'd that look like for you?
SPEAKER_05Yeah. You know, I'm I'm I'm talking to my wife one minute, and then she's you know passed out because it's three o'clock in the morning and she's uh you know been there nonstop. So she's like even she's trying to talk to me even as she's fallen asleep, and she's just trying her best. And she finally falls asleep, and I'm sitting there awake, you know, in all this pain, and I just start out out loud talking, and I just start telling them all these things. How I felt, why I did what I did, you know, and and I feel like I'm outwardly having a conversation. I'm a guy who who speaks, that's what I do, you know. I talk, right? Big shock. So I just talked, and it somewhere in the middle of that, somewhere between like 3 and 5 a.m. And I don't remember the exact day, but it was I could pinpoint the week, you know, that it happened because you always lose track of time in a hospital. But I it was right in that time slot where I just felt like he was answering me back, and I started kind of hearing this answer back, and then I would respond to that. And I was literally having this conversation back and forth, yeah. And I just could tell what the answers were. And there was some stuff that I had never thought about before that was coming into my mind as an answer to the question. And I'm like, that's not coming for me. I've never talked that way.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05You know, there was some stuff about scripture, for instance, you know, that came up, and I was like, I don't even know if I know that.
SPEAKER_04Do you remember which scripture came up for you at all?
SPEAKER_05He uh I I I I don't. I wish I did. But I remember you know hearing these these things that I found out later were actually scripture. There was a bunch of stuff from the book of Matthew.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_05And so my wife is the one who looked it all up and was like, You're talking about the book of Matthew right now. Oh, that's going, I am.
SPEAKER_04I mean, it's like you can't make this stuff up.
SPEAKER_05It was crazy. It really was. Well, when I came out of that, I became much more faithful, much more wanting to educate myself on it all. And I brought that faith piece into the Power Man podcast.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. So you would have a shift in in that everything then in the Power Man podcast.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah. I mean, I I had always been pro-faith. I've never discouraged anybody from talking about their faith.
SPEAKER_02For sure.
SPEAKER_05Especially on the podcast. But but I I started promoting it at that point. Going look. If you guys don't want to hear this, feel free to tune out.
SPEAKER_04That's really that's very bold. I mean, some people aren't willing to do that.
SPEAKER_05I I just didn't care anymore. You know, I built everything I have now. I've built on being just open, honest, and authentic and truthful. I don't I and I I can't care.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_05You know, I'm not building it to sell something. And I think that well, I think some of the reasons why I'm successful right now is because people know that I'm just being open, honest, and authentic.
SPEAKER_04You guys, you guys, pause for a second. Like whoever's listening, I want you to write those words down. Can you say them again?
SPEAKER_05Open, honest, and authentic.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. I I I do believe that our world is is like yearning for that, and we need more who are willing to be that. What would you say to that?
SPEAKER_05I agree with you completely.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Go go a little deeper on that. What does that look like?
SPEAKER_05I do. Well, let me go this way with it. I I am on social media a ton. We all, for better or worse, build our businesses at least in part on social media. And every day, all I see is people who are you know spouting this and spouting that and and lying about this and claiming that and trying to sell this and trying to take money on that. And there's nobody out there actually offering real honest to God help that I see. I mean, there are folks, you know what I mean? Like you know, yourself, for instance.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_05But there's so much.
SPEAKER_04Thank you for seeing that.
SPEAKER_05Of course. I wouldn't be on your podcast if I if I thought otherwise. So, but seriously, it's you know, there's there's a few of us that are like, hey, we're teaching from what we've learned. We're our our scars, you know, have have showed us some things. And so, you know, let us help you so you don't have to get the same scar. And that's real.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And that is is good. And I think we need more of that. But there's too many of this other thing, you know, which is, oh, I got a system, I gotta this, I gotta that. And I'm like, you know, you're not gonna sell one system and any anybody like that that's gonna work for everyone because everybody's different. Yes, it doesn't work.
SPEAKER_04Thank you. Say it again.
SPEAKER_05So anybody who's coaching and and doesn't treat the coaching as individual coaching is not really coaching. They're just selling a product.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. It's it's uh and wouldn't you say it's not even really coaching, it's more consulting.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, honestly, I think it's just selling a product. I think you just that's it. You see you have this this course and you're selling it. And you're like, well, I hope everybody can figure out how to put a square peg into a round hole. Because you know what, this isn't this isn't actually for you.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. So and and I want to just you know touch on, you know, I I I I know people who have courses and and things out there that are beneficial, but it I think the the problem is when we see that it's like, you know, it it goes with anything. This is gonna be your magic ticket for everybody, right?
SPEAKER_05Right. And it's not well, don't get me wrong, I'm not bad mouthing courses. I mean, I have courses too, but it's the way you implement them and it's it's the way you present them, you know, and and you're right, you know, hey, this course works for everyone. Okay, no, it doesn't, you're lying, get out of my face. You know, it has to actually be absorbed, you know, it's gotta be tailored to.
And everybody's gonna take that course and treat it differently. So, you know, anyway, I don't know how I got on that, but okay, so let's let's kind of touch on your coaching.
SPEAKER_04So you've got five different areas that you focus on with your clients. What can you just say them again?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, sure. Absolutely. I teach that there's five building blocks to online sales success, and those building blocks are podcasting, public speaking, writing, or being an author, you know, your book, content creation for social media, and course creation.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I think those five things are of the utmost importance. The more building blocks you have underneath you, the more verticals you can plant that will help you grow.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_05And that's that's how I coach.
SPEAKER_04How did you like how did you get into this aspect then?
SPEAKER_05I've done all of those things. You know, I've I've written two books, I've been on stages plenty, and I've been podcasting for seven years. I mean, by most metrics, I would say, successfully. Okay, and so I take what I've actually learned and teaching people, you know, how to not take seven years to learn it. Right. Right.
SPEAKER_04And so which of the five areas do you love most? Again.
SPEAKER_05Podcasting by far. I don't even mind saying it. Yeah, absolutely. You know, I'm really good at all the other ones, but um podcasting is just I it's it's it's who I am. And I think podcasting is the engine for all of it. I really do.
SPEAKER_04Do you do? Tell us more about that.
SPEAKER_05I think that if you're doing your podcasting the way you should be doing your podcasting, that it literally can house and help grow every other aspect that we've mentioned in you know so far. I think the podcast can can assist it, the podcast can help it, the podcast can be the thing that helps sell it, the podcast can be the thing that features you, that builds your brand, the podcast can be the thing that brings you clients, it can be the thing that brings you fans, it can be the thing that just brings you listeners, it can bring you credibility. The podcast literally can do everything you need done in a business atmosphere if you're doing it correctly.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_05And I I just think it's one of the most powerful tools out there.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. What would you say is like one of the, I don't know, if we were to say correctly and kind of the flip of it, right? So there's the correct way and then there's like the incorrect way. What would you say would be maybe something that you're seeing done incorrectly a lot these days in podcasting?
SPEAKER_00Oof.
SPEAKER_04Maybe that somebody's come to you and maybe clients that you're working with and you're like, oh, I you know, I can help you with that.
SPEAKER_05Sure. I think one of the biggest things people are doing incorrectly is they don't know what their podcast is for. You know, if you have a podcast that is built for lead generation, then it should work that way. That's what you should make it do. If your podcast is there for public service to spread information, you know, then that's what it should do. Everybody wants their podcast to be everything. Okay, so I think that's that's a big problem, is that people don't really dive down and make the podcast sort of part of the business plan. They just say, Oh, I just want it to grow, or I just want to monetize, right? And you know, I think that's probably the other big issue is that people think that, you know, in order to monetize your podcast, you have to have 10,000 downloads, or you have to have this, you have to have that, or I'm not big enough, or well, I really can't do that. You can monetize a podcast right now. I don't even care who you are. There's 50 different ways to do it right off the bat. And people get so stuck in what the industry tells us needs to be done. They go to Podfest and they hear the experts and they go, Oh, well, then that's how it all has to be. And I have news for you the experts are all being paid to say that. That's not that's not real. And you know, I have big conversations with some of the bigwigs about this stuff. You know, if you have 20 episodes on your podcast, you can be monetized. If you have 10,000 views on social media, you can be monetized. Period. And it's not that tough to get.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. So how how have you like strategy-wise, I guess I could say, like, how have you like do you feel like the Lord gives you these like unique downloads to step into? Because I know like for me too, it's like I just say like I can't make this stuff up, right? And there's areas that I'm definitely not an expert in. So as you've walked this out, what would you say is like one of the most unique and most powerful like downloads he's given to you to help somebody, you know, I'll use my language of sore and rise up and whatever it is that they're doing.
SPEAKER_05Sure. That's a great one. And yes, I do believe that I'm getting them all from from him because I see things and I don't even know how I saw them sometimes. And I'm like, wow, that really makes sense. No idea where that came from. Yeah, yeah. But okay. I don't charge very much at all, to be honest. You know, I'm not a five thousand dollar guy. I I'm just not. And the reason that I don't is because I want to help as many people as possible. But that's why I have so many people who recommend me also, you know, openly, freely, yeah, in forums and stuff. I get tagged all the time,
which is great, you know. But one of the, I guess, things like you're talking about, in terms of that most people don't know, that I think is is done wrong, is social media. When it has to do with your podcast, with your speaking, any of these other things we're talking about, everybody believes what Facebook or Instagram, you know, or whatever the platform is. They believe what they tell them. Facebook tells everybody, for instance, that they have to have engagement. Engagement's meaningless. It doesn't help you monetize, it helps Facebook grow, which is why they want you to do that.
SPEAKER_04Like doing ads.
SPEAKER_05Like getting likes and hearts and comments and all that. They think that's the most important thing.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_05They it's Facebook's goal. And when I say Facebook, I mean all platforms. Okay. But Facebook's goal is to get you to buy an ad. They want you to pay them money. So they'll give you, it's like a slot machine. They give you just enough success and then they stop you. You know, and hey, here you are, you tasted success. If you want more, go buy an ad. Right? But the the thing that helps you monetize on social media is views. I mean, any I used to sell billboard advertising. I mean, I think that's one of the reasons why I get this, and a lot of people don't. You know, you we drove to Chicago a couple weeks ago, and we're on I-90 going to Chicago, and my wife was helping me count. We got uh like 60 billboards at one point. Really?
SPEAKER_02Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_05And she was writing down the company and stuff for me. I went and looked some stuff up. I called around just because I wanted to see rates, and people are getting, you know, five thousand dollars a month for a billboard that gets, you know, 800,000 views. Wow, I have social media I have social media students who have 250,000 views every 30 days on their social media because they followed my systems and stuff, and they do what I tell them to do to grow it. And I'm like, Do you have any idea how much that's worth? Those are views, just like the billboard. And as soon as they start putting that out to the world, it's like all of a sudden people want to pay them money to advertise on their social media, to advertise in their podcast. Yeah, and it's like there that's a sponsor. When a sponsor is willing to pay you $500 a month to be your sponsor, you have a sponsor.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_05I don't want to hear about five cents per 10,000 downloads through BuzzSprout. Buzzsprout's the one making all that money, not us. So, I mean, something as simple as that, you know. How many times does somebody blow a kiss or give a hug to a billboard? They they don't, they just view it and they drive by.
SPEAKER_04That is that is really interesting.
SPEAKER_05You know, Anheuser Bush and Pepsi, they know what they're doing.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, some of these billboards. I was just I went to a cabin over the weekend, so it was a three-hour and then three hour back, and some of these billboards are just brilliant.
SPEAKER_05And you noticed them, right?
SPEAKER_04Absolutely. My friend and I were like, that is really crazy, but it it sticks. I was like, huh. Wow.
SPEAKER_05All the same stuff that you could do in a social media post or three or four a week, even to the same number of people.
SPEAKER_04You know, so what would you say to somebody? And and I've even had this too, because I've you're you're kind of opening my mind a little bit, because you know, back in the day with social media, it was like you would see a lot more quote unquote engagement. I I feel like people were more prone to like comment and you know, maybe like something or or love something to somebody who's just like, I think I think I just need to give up because nobody cares, nobody's you know, talking to me, nobody's liking it. What would you say to that person then?
SPEAKER_05I would say that's not the way things go anymore, because and this is this is really is the reasoning, the climate that we're in today is that if anybody disagrees with anything, they want you canceled, they want you hurt, they want you violently like encountered. You know, I mean, look what just happened a couple days ago or yesterday. So if somebody I had to deal with this for a long time, I thought uh power of man was not doing well because my accounts only had like a couple hundred followers and like nothing, but I would get 30,000 views.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_05And I'm like, how does this make any sense? What's happening here? And I asked a couple of the guys that happened to contact me directly. I'm like, just curious, you're not following me. What's up? And a couple of them were honest, and they said, Well, I can't afford to have somebody else see that I'm following you. Because it's a masculinity podcast, and they're going to cancel me, or I could get fired.
SPEAKER_04Interesting.
SPEAKER_05And right now, if you have a faith-based anything, people will watch you, they'll love you, they'll you know listen to you all the time, but they won't like your post.
SPEAKER_04That's so interesting.
SPEAKER_05Because it shows, you know, hey, you know, Kristen liked this post and it gets sent out to people that know you.
SPEAKER_02Oh.
SPEAKER_05Right? This post was liked by Kristen and Mary and Joseph and everybody else, right? And now all of a sudden I know that Kristen liked something that was faith-based.
SPEAKER_04Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_05I'm never talking to her again.
SPEAKER_04I know, right?
SPEAKER_05Right?
SPEAKER_04We're canceling her.
SPEAKER_05Right, exactly. Oh, I'm gonna start sending hate her way. I'm gonna make horrible comments now. Yeah, you know, Kristen, I've received to date six death threats.
SPEAKER_04Have you really?
SPEAKER_05Actual death threats. It's a joke in my family at this point.
SPEAKER_04Now, do you know what it's attributed back to? Is it is there a specific episode? Is it just in and in in general? Is there anything that They've like alluded to that points back to something.
SPEAKER_05I would uh four of them, uh four of them were from the Power Man podcast.
SPEAKER_02Really?
SPEAKER_05Now, in that two of them had to do with some some father's rights stuff that we were highlighting, you know, how dads are treated in court and stuff like that. And that that got just absolute hate. And then we had two more. One was about raising sons in a strong fashion. And another one was was was actually about being grateful, you know, and I'm like about being grateful, grateful, yeah, for what you have in your life. And they accused me of being covertly Christian and trying to hide that I was Christian. And I'm like, wow, I I talk openly about it, so I don't I don't think I'm hiding anything. But they just felt like being mad that day, right? And then the other two came when I started Wake Up the Lions.
SPEAKER_02Sure.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. I put out two days before that podcast came out, I put out a reel saying, hey, coming soon, here's the new art, and this is what we're doing. A place for Christians to share their testimonies and encourage others to do the same. I wasn't calling for a war or anything. I mean, that's all it was. Well, we got just under 300 comments on that. Comments, like actual, you know, engagement, right?
SPEAKER_02Engagement.
SPEAKER_05Over 230 of them were negative and somewhat violent. And basically telling me I better not. And calling me every name in the book.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_05And so I've gotten two from different episodes that were completely different. About Wake Up the Lions, where we're not talking badly about anybody else, it's not about any other religion, it's just simply celebrating our own, which I don't know, is one of the principles that our entire country was founded upon. And so yeah, when you know that, then you look go back to social media. Because we, you know, again, I'm waxing on here and I apologize.
SPEAKER_02Oh, you're good.
SPEAKER_05But when you put something out and you don't get any likes, you gotta look at the views. Okay, if you're getting 20,000 views on that, you did a good job.
SPEAKER_04Wow, that's so good. You know, I and I think it it, you know, we the podcast is Hope Unlocked, so I'm always wanting to just help people go from you know, this like potential hopeless state, because you know, there's a lot of hopelessness out there. And I I talk to a lot of people and they're they're just like, Well, what's the point of me even putting my stuff out there? Like nobody cares. So I feel like this is definitely unlocking something for somebody today. And what so like what keeps you going? What keeps you continuing on? What keeps you even though you're receiving these threats, like what is what is it that keeps you moving forward? Because you could just bail out. And I think a lot of people do that.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean I could have. I uh you know, part of it is I do this for a living. I mean, this is my full-time job. I don't have another job. I support my entire family on this. So I you know, bailing is not an option. But uh, you know, I mean, I could have years ago when I first started getting them and I had another job and everything else. But you know, the thing of it is is I look at my life right now and I should not be here, like I said. And on one occasion, I really almost did it to myself, and on another occasion, well, I guess technically, I did it to myself by ignoring what was going on with me. But God gave me these chances. Yeah, He brought me back clearly for a reason, and pretty sure that I'm in my purpose in doing what I do. If God sent me back here, then I'm not gonna worry about some you know guy with purple hair eating Cheetos in his mom's basement who thinks that I should go die.
SPEAKER_04Amen. Yeah, I'm getting quite the visual.
SPEAKER_05So, you know, every time I put out another episode and every time I have somebody else on who, you know, puts out a powerful testimony or you know, really helps people or something, I just imagine, you know, that person I just described, and I just blow them a kiss. Like so good. There's another one for you.
So good. Yeah. Well, what is what is something that's like stretchy coming up for you this year? Is there anything that the Lord is leading you into that is maybe new and different, is a little stretchy beyond what you've ever done before that requires his help. Are you doing anything like that this year?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, actually, that's great. I love that. I am I'm getting back on stage this year, which is really, really big. It's been a lot of years.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_05And so I've I've been I put myself back out there as a as a speaker. I'm already getting things lined up to go back out and speak. And it's you know, I get to tell my story on some stages, I get to talk about faith on a lot of stages, I get to talk about real estate in a couple spots, which is kind of fun and interesting. But I get to do a lot of talking about podcasting and growing your business and that kind of thing. So for me to do that requires that I actually get my body back in shape, also, which has been quite the interesting phenomenon because I'm not 20 anymore.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that happens.
SPEAKER_05Oh, yeah. I actually had to hire a uh a trainer to help me with it. Because you know, if you if you really can't do it yourself, you hire a coach.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_05I believe that, and I am a coach for a lot of folks, but this was something I needed help with. And I hired a coach. And boy, that guy's I mean, he's talking to me on the phone before I even got on with you today, going, what do your calories look like, man? You know, why'd you eat that then?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Like, yeah, well, yeah, that's a really good point. Probably shouldn't have.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Well, so if somebody's listening and they're hearing like Rory's going out, he wants to speak. Is there something specific that you would love to really like you would really love to speak on, like first and foremost? Is there a favorite topic? And does that come bring up anything for you if somebody's listening in today?
SPEAKER_05Yes, I love that. Thank you. I I would love to speak on on anything about helping people liberate themselves. You know, as I love speaking about podcasting in general and also specifically, but podcasting is part of online business. Yeah. And you know, I I did a reel about it yesterday on Facebook. It's you know, it's there for everyone. You don't have to have a great voice, you don't have to have a great look, you don't have to have, you don't have to have, you don't have to have. You just have to start. And you can use any of the tools that are out there to get a message out, to get a word out, to get yourself started. The only way that you stop hating what you're going to do on Monday is if you start working towards it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And, you know, there is no magic pill, you know, there's no magic bullet. There's no, you know, spend $10,000 on this and in 30 days you'll make a hundred grand. It just doesn't happen. But it's a very real process. And I love to speak to folks about whatever your particular passion is, there's a vehicle for it, there's a way to package it, there's a way to promote it, and there's a way to make a living at it. You just have to start. And I that's really what I love uh more than anything right now is working with those five building blocks of online sales for folks because everybody's got a path there. They just have to find it.
SPEAKER_04That's so good. Well, if you're gonna name your like TEDx speech, what would you call it?
SPEAKER_05Stop hating Mondays.
SPEAKER_04Stop hating Mondays. That's good.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. How to stop hating Mondays.
SPEAKER_04What do you love most about Monday?
SPEAKER_05I love most about Monday that I'm going back to helping people. And I'm going back to helping people improve their lives. So every time I have a coaching call, I know I'm helping somebody get further down the road to where they want to go.
SPEAKER_04So good.
SPEAKER_05I love that. I really can't wait.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Well, you're amazing. It's been so awesome to have you on the show. Thank you for coming. Uh to have you back on again at some point. Tell us the names of your two books.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. First book is The Lone Wolf Selling System, which is for anybody who's ever sold anything, kind of a good way to look at yourself in the mirror. And then the other one is my giant battle with weight loss back when I was huge and I lost over 100 pounds doing it. It's called the 5% diet. Wow. And it tells a couple of stories in there. It's a personal accounting of what I went through, what I did wrong, and what finally worked.
SPEAKER_04Okay. Amazing. Well, and how can people get a hold of you?
SPEAKER_05Best place, honestly, I'm an old guy, is find me on Facebook at Rory Pocket. All my stuff is there. Follow me on Facebook, and you're gonna get any pathway you need to anything. And you can always DM me there and ask me any question. I'm I'm on Facebook almost all day, I think. So that's the best one for me.
SPEAKER_04I love it. Well, and I'll be sure to have his contact information in the show notes. So well, and I I I personally do this seed cast for the one. So if you could just get in mind somebody who's listening in today, would you just think of anything like else that you'd want to share over this one who's listening in? Any words of encouragement, any other words of wisdom? Anything that's coming up in mind for this, this one that you're getting in mind?
SPEAKER_05Goodness. I would say stop limiting yourself. Uh you know, we we are not limited by the world around us, we are not limited by material things. We are limited by our own thoughts, our own expectations, and our own beliefs. God put you here for a reason. Go find it.
SPEAKER_04Yes. Huge key. Say that last line again.
SPEAKER_05God put you here for a reason. Go find it.
SPEAKER_04It's like a treasure hunt, isn't it?
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_04It's beautiful. Oh, you're amazing. I am gonna close with the hope unlocked anchoring verse. It's may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. And that's Romans 15, 13. So thank you, Rory, for being a brave voice who's setting so many free. And I appreciate you. So I will be back with another episode next week, listeners. Have a wonderful day. Bye.