204. Building Resilience and Leadership w/ Guest: James Robbins

Ever wondered how a shy ranch kid transforms into a sought-after leadership consultant? On the Mindset Cafe podcast, we welcome James Robbins, who shares his incredible journey from introversion to standing confidently on stage alongside figures like John Maxwell, Brene Brown, and even Bill Clinton. Discover how a single college speaking gig at a church ignited his passion for public speaking, and learn why focusing on the message rather than the fear of failure can be a game-changer for personal growth. 

James Robbins offers listeners a treasure trove of leadership insights, drawn from years of experience and his popular book, "Nine Minutes on Monday." He reveals the power of simple weekly reflections to boost engagement and fulfillment in leadership roles. We discuss common pitfalls leaders face, like the lack of positive reinforcement, and explore how genuine appreciation can transform professional relationships. Hear James's firsthand account of the unique energy and insights gained from speaking alongside world leaders and how his ministry background provided a launchpad for his career.

In our conversation, we delve into the transformative power of harnessing emotions and changing beliefs for personal growth. James introduces his upcoming book, "The Call to Climb," where he emphasizes the importance of aligning desires with actions and the role of resilience in achieving success. We explore the significance of vulnerability in leadership, the lessons learned from high-risk adventures, and the impact of sharing stories to inspire others. With a focus on building supportive communities, James encourages us to help others rise, highlighting how mutual support leads to personal and collective success. Join us for an episode brimming with heartfelt stories and leadership wisdom.

https://www.jamesrobbins.com/

Chapters

• 0:00 Journey of Personal Development and Growth
• 13:50 Lessons in Leadership and Connection
• 25:43 Harnessing Emotions for Personal Growth
• 32:31 Leadership Lessons
• 41:48 Empowering Leaders Through Shared Inspiration

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Yeah, it's mindset cafe. We all about that mindset. Gotta stay focused. Now go settle for the last. It's all in your head how you think you manifest. So get ready to rise, cause we bout to be the best. Gotta switch it up. Gotta break the old habits. Get your mind right. Turn your dreams into habits. No negative vibes, only positive thoughts, thoughts.

Speaker 2: 0:35

What is up guys? Welcome to another episode of the Mindset Cafe podcast. It's your boy, devin, and today I'm honored to bring a special guest on James Robbins. He is a leadership consultant, he is a change specialist, he is an adventure, to say the least, and he is also an award winning speaker and his journeys and his story is a huge testament to personal development. So you know, I can't wait to have him on, james. Thank you so much for being here, devin, thanks for the invite, great to meet you. So let's dive in a little bit. I mean, I know I've seen some of your stuff with your hiking and everything like that, and some of the talks and stuff that you've done. I mean you've been on some of the biggest stages, so let's start with your journey. I mean, what, from childhood to now, what's the story of James Robbins?

Speaker 1: 1:28

For sure. I grew up on a tiny cattle ranch in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. I was a shy, introverted, redheaded, freckle faced kid, deathly afraid to get up in front of the class and do show and tell as a kid, and you know the journey. Now I do get on stages and speak to thousands of people and I can tell you that I would have never thought I could do that. Everything comes down to changing how you think, which is why I love your podcast. Right, talking about mindset, it's the power tool, for sure.

Speaker 2: 2:03

So I mean, how did you get started in speaking on stages? I mean, that's like being an entrepreneur and you know even someone that just wants to get on and talk about their story. What's that process even like?

Speaker 1: 2:16

So my journey was one that surprised me. I was in college. I was on my way to become a film director. That was something I loved I love stories and then I started attending this church that a lot of college students were going to and I really liked it. And then they gave me a summer job and I thought, okay, this beats waiting tables. So I did that. And then, when I graduated, they said, hey, why don't you come work for the church for a while, which was never in my plan, like not even in the top 100 things that I planned to do with my life but I really enjoyed helping people and so I said, okay, well, why not?

Speaker 1: 2:49

So I started doing that and you know, eventually you get asked to get up front. And you know, to me that's like, oh, like I can't do this. But I remember one day in fact this was back when I was a college student the preacher had said hey, we want you to get up in front of the church and share five minutes what you're learning in the Bible, as I was just this young guy. So I was like, oh, I hate this, right, like I don't want to get up. And doesn't he know that I can't do this.

Speaker 1: 3:20

But I remember a distinct day I was sitting on the grass and moaning about this and it was like a voice inside my head that just said, hey, could you just for one time, could you not be so worried about what everyone thinks about you and just go for it? And if you fail, like then let's really fail, like let's at least make it a great story. And I thought, okay, one time I can do that. So I actually prepared and then I went and I was still nervous but I decided, all right, I'm going to go for it.

Speaker 1: 3:52

I was passionate and I shared what I was learning and when I got done afterwards, people came up to me and said, hey, you should do more of this. And so that's where it began. And so I worked for a number of years in ministry, sort of followed John Maxwell's path, where I was a minister for a while and that gave me the reps on stage. So every week I was having to, in a sense, create new presentations and fail and fail and fail and, you know, put people through a lot of bad sermons, but over the time that and reps, but over the time that and reps that held me out.

Speaker 2: 4:25

No, it's so interesting. I mean doing podcasts and doing. You know I run a business and you know, with my gym, like I could get in front of the whole gym and talk and stuff like that. But I can say for myself, you know, getting on stage, you know, earlier, late last year, even though you're talking about stuff that you know it's a completely different feeling and even like myself, like all of a sudden I did feel those nerves. You know, my voice was a little shaky and stuff. So with you know, speaking the first time, being an introvert, you know, I'm I'm sure that that was. You know, even though you might've built up the confidence, you know, to a degree, like there's still those nerves. Do those nerves subside or do they kind of go along with each stage or audience size? You know, as you continue to grow as a speaker.

Speaker 1: 5:15

They are still there, but it's different. You frame them differently. It's an excitement. It's like that feeling you had when you get up in front of your gym. I still have that. I can go to, let's say, speak, and it might be a big audience, like 1,000 people, or it might be 300 people. I still feel this sense of I'm activated. Let me say that in a positive way, like my heart's up, I'm ready to go. But there's also a difference between being activated and being stressed, and so one of the one of the uh, there was a study that was done. I find this fascinating.

Speaker 1: 5:54

There's something called the tree air social stress test, where psychologists have basically come up with a test guaranteed to stress you out, and so how it works is, let's say, you're in the test, devin. They bring you into this room and they say hey, devin, nice to meet you. So here's what's going to happen You're going to go out and give a five-minute presentation to this audience on why you are the best candidate for this fake job. They give you the job description and you don't really get to prepare and all of a sudden, you get out there and you're speaking in public, which is one of the most terrifying things for people and and they don't laugh If you crack a joke, they just like. You know it's like a tough crowd, like speaking to teenagers, right? So you're there and then when you get done, no one claps. And then they tell you to stay on stage and they say, devin, we need you to count backwards by multiples of 13. Start at 2048. Go. And then you're trying to think through it and then they're like faster, devin, you need to go faster. So, anyways, that's the Trier social stress test and it stresses everyone out. And how they know is they swab your saliva before and after and measure your cortisol, and your cortisol always spikes.

Speaker 1: 7:04

Well, they took a group and when they first came in they would say hey, devin, um, welcome to the study. First of all, we just want to ask you what are some things about you like that you value, what are your values, devin? And you might write them down and then they're. Then they ask you take one value and how does that show up in your life? Write a couple paragraphs about that. So there you are, and maybe you like to give back to others, right, so you're writing about how you like to give back to others. Then they're like hey, devin, you're going to have to go give this five minute presentation and you know whoa? Ok, and you do the whole thing.

Speaker 1: 7:38

What they found was the people that did that, though they were activated, meaning that their heart rate was up, you know they had that moment, but when they measured their cortisol after it didn't spike on a biological level, they weren't in a in a place of stress. And that's the difference. When you go to do a presentation, you should be activated but you shouldn't be stressed. And so how do you not be stressed? Well, that was a great study to show that when you can ground yourself in who you are, actually, it's your identity, that's your home base. So when you get back in touch with who you are, you're less concerned with what anyone thinks of you. It's like the greatest inoculation against stress.

Speaker 1: 8:23

So that's a long way to answer the question, but to say, yes, I still get activated, but I don't get stressed. And when I do, I'm able to catch that and bring that back down. And two things I do to help me when I do a presentation and just for whatever reason, I walk in that day and I notice I'm feeling insecure or something, I'll get my body big, kind of like Amy Cuddy's you know TED Talk. I'll go somewhere where I can get my body big and the other thing I do is I look out over the audience and I try to empathize with them. Meaning it might be a group of HR executives and I think what's it like for these people? I mean, they're busy, they're stressed, they're at this conference, might just be there like the only break they get in their daily grind. And I want to serve these people and it's that transference of getting your eyes off of you and onto other people and a place of service. And that's where you're really able to show up.

Speaker 2: 9:24

No, that's so awesome. I mean two things like one. You know, I think, from that study and everything that shows to like you hear that saying and it sounds so cliche like preparation is key. But from that, and even though it's just, you know that the stress test of you know writing it down and you know having a little bit of time, you are preparing in a certain degree, versus you're going to go talk, you know, and it's like doing things just spontaneously, and so it's like preparation can lead to you might still be nervous, you still might still be activated, like as you said, but the stress level, the cortisol levels, you know are definitely reduced from that and that's so interesting.

Speaker 2: 10:01

But the other thing that you did mention, the getting big. I think it's so cool Cause I mean like the superhero pose that you put your hands on your hips and you know you puff your chest out and you hold it, and it's one of those things where there is a psychological aspect to it that you start to get that self-confidence, you start to get that self-belief in in everything from it, cause I mean, I've tried it before and just to see same thing, if you all of a sudden you're feeling a little sad. You just hold a smile, whether you feel like you're not, just hold a smile and you just start to feel a little bit lighter.

Speaker 1: 10:29

So I mean it's so interesting for sure, yeah, the mind, the mind body connection is fascinating. Uh, I don't think anyone fully understands it yet, but it's pretty cool do you do any like guess, breath work or like meaning?

Speaker 2: 10:46

I know there's different ones. I mean, I read a book by Jay Shetty. You know, think Like a Monk and I believe there's like nine different breath. You know techniques that he does in there, but there's ones to get you in your words activated. There's ones to, you know, calm you. There's. You know anything like that.

Speaker 1: 11:11

So, before you go to speak on stage, do you do anything like that to kind of like settle yourself? I don't intentionally. If I do, it's just in subconscious. I should do more of that stuff. Every time I hear about meditation or breath work, I think I got to do more, but I think on the speaking end I am able to be aware if my breathing is shallow and then I know, okay, that's not good, right, like I can't be in that place Again.

Speaker 1: 11:28

So much of, let's say, speaking and this translates to anything in life so much is getting past that barrier of you being afraid of what people will think. And so, again, I'm still that redheaded introvert from this tiny cattle ranch. I'm still that person. I have to fight against it. So, let's say, when I go to speak at a conference and maybe it's a really big one there's two things I always do in addition to the things I already told you is I go and meet the front row, which I don't want to, to be honest. I don't want to talk to anyone, I just like get me up on stage and then just get me down. That's my nature, right. But I go and I meet the front row and I'll try to joke around like oh, no seats left at the back, or I try to get them laughing. But it's more for me, right, I just need some friends. And then the other thing I'll do is I'll go to the back as people are coming in and I'll pretend I'm like volunteer handing out flyers and uh, and I'll just joke around with people like hey, sarah, uh, you're not late yet, like, cause they all have their name tags and they don't even know that I'm the speaker until I get up on stage. But it's just me breaking the plane. I it's like an icebreaker for myself. And once I do that, I'm in a different place. And the last thing I would say this goes back to the kind of the power poses.

Speaker 1: 12:53

I remember a breakthrough I had once. I was going to speak at this conference with a bunch of bankers and nobody was allowed in the room yet and the sound guys had done their check and they had left and I was the only one in there, and so I just walked around the room, arms big, and I just said this is my space, like this is my room. I own this place and I had to like take ownership that I'm not a guest speaker. This is my room. They're coming in and kind of like they're coming into my house, because when people come over to your house you're not nervous, right. It's more like when you go to their house. You're like, oh, like, what's the rule? Should I take off my shoes? I can't just open the fridge. But your house, you do what you want. So there's that sense of ownership, of kind of your domain. That's going to help you as well with your confidence.

Speaker 2: 13:48

No, that's so awesome, I mean. One last question I have for you on the speaking thing before I want to kind of transition into some of your ventures and some of your books and stuff like that. You shared the stage with some of the biggest names, from John Maxwell from John Maxwell, you know Brene Brown and even, like Bill Clinton, you know. Former president, what are maybe some of the lessons that you learned from those experiences? Or what did you learn from those experiences?

Speaker 1: 14:16

I learned that it doesn't matter who other people are, they all have great messages, but you have a message and your message is going to speak in ways to that that theirs doesn't. So, to give you an example about president clinton uh, he spoke right after me, which you know he. It's amazing. Anyone who's become president like to be able to do that is quite the feat, whether you like a person or not. Um, but I had many people come to me after and say, you know, yes, it was cool to hear his stories, or whatever, but what you said, uh, really resonated with me, or what you said really helped me, or I liked your presentation better, or whatever. So it wasn't about whose was better, it was just understanding that wherever you are in life right now, you have something to say, right, you have value, and so you don't have to get to some other level. And social media has made it easy to compare ourselves and it's just one of the worst things that we can do. Everyone has a message.

Speaker 1: 15:24

And the other thing I would say about John Maxwell was an interesting one, because you know, I told you my journey started out as just a young preacher and I didn't know anything about leadership. So his book was the first book I ever read 21 Laws of Leadership and I read many of his books over the years. When my book came out, called Nine Minutes, on Monday, his team ended up inviting me to go down to South America with John and to teach this leadership framework of mine to a thousand business owners, which was his audience, and it was really cool. It was literally was him and I for the entire day just getting to work together, and so that was this surreal moment for me, right To go from. Like he was, it was the first leadership book I ever read, and now I'm on stage with him. That was, that was a cool moment.

Speaker 2: 16:14

That's so cool. I mean that is to have someone that you know reach out to you as as big a name as that and and something that you know you read his books and all of a sudden you just released a book and get reached out to. I mean that. And all of a sudden you just release a book and get reached out to. I mean that probably felt so rewarding or giving yourself a pat on the back. Definitely for that one With your book Nine Minutes on Monday. It was a game changer from what I'm seeing for a lot of leaders. What was the core message or what was the inspiration for wanting to write that?

Speaker 1: 16:45

It came out of my work with helping leaders in different companies, because the challenge for a lot of people is leadership feels a bit nebulous right, it's not like a checklist of you know, let's return an email. So it's a bit nebulous because we're working with people. The second thing, though, is people are busy, insanely busy, everyone's busy, and so what I noticed was the problem is that leadership is not easy, but it doesn't have to be complicated, and leadership comes down to really some basic things that just have to be repeated relentlessly and that actually don't take a lot of time. So, nine minutes on Monday.

Speaker 1: 17:22

The concept is every Monday morning, you come in and, before you jump into your work, you ask yourself nine questions, and these nine questions each question has to deal with relates to what we call an engagement driver, which is a need that someone has, like the need to be more than a number, the need to grow, the need to find purpose at work, and so you just ask yourself these nine questions and you make a small micro commitment for each one. Who am I going to recognize this week? Who am I going to help? Who am I going to give some feedback to on their progress? And it's by making it simple that people were able to go. Ah, okay, I can do this. And it's those tiny steps right, repeated 20,000 times, that's what gets you to the top of the mountain, not the big speech at halftime.

Speaker 2: 18:12

No, I mean, I think that is so, so crucial, that is so cool. You know, with that, you know I mean that's such a such an awesome like technique and stuff to to use and kind of strategize your week, what would you say maybe are the biggest or some of the biggest like mistakes that leaders are making and how could they maybe a shift their approach?

Speaker 1: 18:32

you know, alongside the obviously the nine minutes on Monday, the one of the biggest mistakes leaders make is that they don't give enough deposits. What I mean is think of, think of, think of your staff. It's a little bit like a bank account. There's deposits and withdrawals, right, and so withdrawal is like, hey, I need something from you, or hey, you need to do better or anything that I'm asking from you. Well, that's part of work, you have to do that as a leader. But there also has to be deposits. It's how we balance out the in a leader, but there also has to be deposits. It's how we. It's how we balance out the in a sense, the relationship, because any work relationship is a. It's a value exchange and it goes beyond hey, you're going to come here and work, we're going to give you pay, all right. So that's the first part of the value exchange. But then it elevates right. So it's like um, if, if, a boss is just constantly like uh, devin, why are you late, devin this, devin that, right? Just all the things you do wrong, but never says I appreciate you, never says, hey, let me help you get better, never says never, just takes an interest in your life Over time.

Speaker 1: 19:40

What people do is they kind of reset the account, they pull back and they'll say things like okay, well, I'll come do my job, but don't think I'm going to do anything extra. And so you always want to make sure that you're having more deposits in the account than withdrawals, because if you have too many withdrawals we go into the red right. Then that's when we're overdrawn, and that's when we're overdrawn and when you're so what happens is leaders aren't thinking enough of appreciate people, recognize great work, help someone, grow, be interested in them as people. All those things stack up so that when you have those moments of hey, this isn't like you, I expect more. Hey, I need you to stay late and to get this done right, then people are people will go to, uh, they'll run through a wall for you if they feel like you care about them and and that bank account is is stacked. Does that make?

Speaker 2: 20:40

sense? No, definitely. I mean, it goes into, kind of like what you were saying with those, you know 20 000 steps to get up the mountain. It's like part of those 20 000 steps is, with those, you know 20,000 steps to get up the mountain. It's like part of those 20,000 steps is that constant deposits, you know, so that your team, you're building your team and you're creating that connection so that it isn't creating a separation between them. You know clocking and clocking out, and just you know doing what bare minimum they need to get done. You know.

Speaker 2: 21:04

It does make so much sense, though, because I think that's something that we do overlook as leaders or as business owners. You know we're like, well, we're paying them. You know they shouldn't want to do their job or they should just do the job I'm paying for. It's like, yeah, but they're people you know and and they want to be recognized. They, you know, and that's a huge part of it and when they are doing well, like you got to make sure that you give them that recognition and let them know this is you want more of this because they're doing awesome. So I think that is so, so key.

Speaker 1: 21:31

Exactly, and you could be a leader to people who are your clients and your customers. Like in your case, I don't know much about your gym, but you know when. It's one thing if I go to a gym and no one talks to me. It's another thing if I go to a gym and the owner's like, hey, what's up gym and no one talks to me. It's another thing if I go to a gym and the owner's like, hey, what's up? Hey, did your daughter pass the exam that you told me about? Right, like the owner knows something about me and my life.

Speaker 1: 21:57

The owner's like what are you working on today? Hey, how can we help you get better? Like, all of a sudden, that gym owner is now a leader in my life and why am I going to want to go anywhere? And so, part of for those of you who are listening, who are business owners, it's not just about you know, serving the client with whatever your product or service is. Think, how can I also be an influence in this person's life as a leader? Because I tell you when, when we find a good leader in our life, whether it's an actual boss or just a mentor or someone else, we will be loyal, we'll stay with them.

Speaker 2: 22:34

That is so true. I mean it's funny because you know my gym's like a bootcamp style model, you know we have no class time so it's a little bit different. But me and my business partner, you know the members respond to us differently and so if I'm on the floor with the members and everything like that, everyone's working a little harder. And then one of the clients is like oh, devin's, here, you got to make sure you're working out hard. And I was like I don't even yell at you guys, what's going on? And then one of the members told me that it's almost like you're like the father figure on the floor, that we're just trying to do as good as we can to impress you or make you proud. And then I thought about that, like I laughed and we joked it off and stuff. But then I thought about it later on and I was like it does make so much sense Because I mean I do make.

Speaker 2: 23:21

I try to make those deposits as much as I can, you know, with the members and not superficially, but you know actually giving those deposits. And it's different when you know someone just gives them a high five, another member gives them a high five, and when myself or one of the other trainers like, really acknowledges them for them doing well. You know you could see them light up and you could see them feel that, like self, you know confidence, or that self pride essentially in their work that they're doing. So it is so true exactly what you're saying you have to give those deposits not just to your team, but to your clients, to your members. You know, whatever the case is, if you do have a business, you know to your family and realize that that's what's part of about building a community, building a tribe, building, you know, a true connection with people about building a community, building a tribe, building a true connection with people.

Speaker 1: 24:14

Devin, that's such a great story that you shared and it shows how great a job you're doing in a leadership role, like with your clients, that they're saying things like they want to work hard, they want to impress you, they want to do a good job for you. That shows reciprocation. So, in other words, because I'm guessing they're already paying you right, Like they're already giving you something, but they they. What human beings want to do is we want to reciprocate. So when we see reciprocation, it means that they feel like they're getting, give like they're they're receiving and they want to give back. And sometimes that's just like hey, I want to do a good job for you, because I know if, if I'm working hard, it's going to make Devon feel great. So I just want to pass that on as great feedback to you. Uh, don't take, don't, don't think that's a small deal, that's a big deal that your people are saying. That it shows you're doing a great job.

Speaker 2: 25:05

No, I appreciate that you know. So I want to combine the two topics that we've kind of discussed so far with this, with the stage presence and with you know the leadership, and with you know the books and stuff. What do you believe that there's a role in? You know, because speaking on stage you know storytelling is, is a huge part of it right and connecting and so forth. But do you think that there's a role in leadership with that storytelling?

Speaker 1: 25:31

100%. Storytelling is how you influence people, and storytelling is one of the most powerful things you can do as a leader, because so much about leadership. It's not always about getting people to do stuff. If you really want to help people, and you want to help them grow and change, you have to get them to think differently. I mean, that's what change is about it's just thinking differently, because when you think differently, then ultimately you act differently. Well, how do you get them to think differently?

Speaker 1: 26:04

You have to change one belief for another and depending on how rooted that belief is in there, and this is where the role of emotion comes in right. So emotion is just a power player for helping us change beliefs. In fact, some of the strongest beliefs you will have, or even, let's say, a trauma, which is just a belief, but it doesn't help us the traumas in our life, our stories embedded because of an emotion. Emotion is just that multiplier. Well, how do you communicate, how do you use the tool of emotion in the workplace? Through story. That's really the only appropriate way to do that. So a well-crafted story can not only change how people think, but then help, in a sense, cement and embed a new belief, and that's where people are going to change.

Speaker 2: 26:53

No, definitely. I mean. That makes so much sense. You have an upcoming book or it might be already released the Call to Climb.

Speaker 1: 27:01

The Call to Climb comes out on August 5th of this year and I'm super excited about it.

Speaker 1: 27:07

It's not a leadership book, but it's a book that has been 12 years in the making, and the book is written in a fable format about this person that in a sense, is called to climb a mountain, but it's a special mountain, where you're called when your life gets out of alignment, where your inner life, like your soul, is wanting one thing, but the ego part of you is on a different path and eventually those two can collide.

Speaker 1: 27:36

And what happens with a lot of people is that the soul will nudge you when something's not right or out of alignment, but the ego often won't listen, because the goals of the ego are safety, being accepted by the tribe, by the herd, and the soul's goals are different. Your soul doesn't care. Soul, psyche, inner life, whichever word you want to use, your soul doesn't care if it's liked by the crowd. The soul seeks to express the highest version of you, and so because of that, there's often a collision of those two, and so the book's all about that. And how do you live more authentically and how do you really live your life? Not your parents' life, not the life of your friends, but truly walk the path you're meant to walk. That's what the book's about.

Speaker 2: 28:29

I love that. That's so awesome. I'm excited for it to come out. I'll definitely be getting a copy to read in on that. So, guys, you're ready for August. The call to climb is coming out. You've climbed mountains, both literally and metaphorically. What lessons would you say from climbing? Could you apply to both leadership and to business?

Speaker 1: 28:51

The highest mountain I climbed was in the Andes in Bolivia. It's 21,400 feet, and the lesson I learned there which was that been repeated in many mountains is that you cannot do it alone. I mean, some people, of course, they will climb a mountain, but if we're going to use it as a metaphor, you just need the strength of other people. At least I do. You need a rope team, and when you find that rope team, whatever it might be for you, you protect it, right. So, whether that's that inner circle of friends, whether it's that inner circle of business friends, for those of us who are business owners, right, like so often, we're on different rope teams, we have several, but that rope team is so important, you got to protect it and you got to give back to it as well. That's how we keep those relationships healthy, because there's so much interplay between humans. Like, you can be on a mountain.

Speaker 1: 29:54

You know, when I climbed that mountain in Bolivia, I mean halfway up, I just wanted to quit, but I didn't want to ruin it for everyone else, because we were down to only three people left and if I quit, then literally it was over, and but I was so tired.

Speaker 1: 30:10

I got to this place where I thought, well, I hope the guy in front of me quits, and I really was like, if he quits, I get to go down, but it's not my fault, right? And so, you know, at that point you start becoming a bad team member. And the last thing I would say about climbing mountains is that it's like anything in life that's hard, especially for entrepreneurs. You just have to have hard things in your life. Now, business is hard enough, right, like business is hard enough, and we got AI coming in but doing hard things just helps you grow and be more resilient, and so, whether that's climbing a mountain, running a marathon, cold plunging, it's important to have things in your life, if not daily, like every other day, that you're like I don't want to do this, but I'm going to do it because it's strengthening that muscle that says no, it's, I'm the boss and I will say what we're doing.

Speaker 2: 31:09

No, and what you're saying about, like the you know, wanting to give up, but not not wanting to be the person while the other two couldn't complete it you never know if that's the same thought going through their head too, Right, and sometimes that's what the you know just kind of pushing through that, that grind or that going through the mud together as a team, a team, everyone could have that feeling, but no one's going to verbally say it and they just don't want to let the rest of the team down. And sometimes that's enough motivation, right, just to keep going on. And having that circle or having that rope team, as you said, can be such a huge part, because it's almost that accountability system for you to just to keep going forward.

Speaker 1: 31:50

Exactly. It's like your bootcamp workouts. I guarantee you that most of the people in your workout would not work out that hard if they're alone and you know a few will, but most won't. And I'm. I'm like that, uh, if I'm away from my workout group, I I just can't push it as hard, I just don't. And part of that is that I don't want to let the team down.

Speaker 2: 32:13

No, definitely, they believe me. They say it all the time. I would not be doing this exercise if I was by myself, or I would not be doing this many reps if it was just me. So yes, that is 100% true. An accountability system can be super, super beneficial, just to give yourself that extra push. Do you have any plans, you know, for another hike? You know, are you going to do Everest one of these days? You know what's that looking like I'm not going to do?

Speaker 1: 32:38

Everest. But first of all, it's super expensive. Second of all this is just my personal feeling Everest has almost become this thing that I don't think it's a really positive thing anymore. Like you know, I'm quite a bit older than you, so when I was in, let's say, my twenties, if you climbed Everest like you're going to, that's going to open doors for speaking gigs galore. If you climb Everest now, I don't know that it's it's. I mean, that's still as hard as it was 20 years ago. But because so many people have done it and some of the controversies on the mountain, that a lot of people, I don't know that they're inspired by that story. I mean, if I'm climbing it purely for business reasons, but personally, no, I'm not going to climb Everest. I mean you can do everything right on Everest and still die right, so I'm not going to climb everest. I mean you can do everything right on everest and still die right, so, uh, I'm not gonna do that is, is that is, you know, with the risks of, you know, essentially, death.

Speaker 2: 33:36

Is that what you mean by the controversies, or what do you mean by the controversies of it?

Speaker 1: 33:40

I think, uh, the controversies of um, you know, taking risks, and if something would happen to you, what's the collateral damage? So, for example, I've got three kids who are all in college right now and I know that if I went and did some stupid risk and because I'm pursuing a goal for me and then I'm no longer there for them, that's a great argument. Is that the right choice? Everyone has to make that choice for themselves, but for me I wouldn't feel good about that. I know I play a role in their life right now. I know if they had a choice they would rather have me here. So them wanting me in their life is more important than me doing something like that. Now I don't have to climb Everest to do hard things right or to push myself to the limit, but that's just where I land on it and you know I remember.

Speaker 1: 34:41

So one of my main keynotes is me telling the story of us climbing this mountain in South America. And so I begin the keynote and it's very dramatic and we're climbing up and well, within 10 minutes people quickly learn I am not the hero of the story, because I'm the one that was like I want to quit, but I hope my friend quits and basically what happened was I just stopped talking to him because I thought I'm not going to encourage him and then eventually I thought I'm going to discourage him so that he quits, right. So, like I was, I was like terrible on this mountain, but as I tell that story, it actually pulls people in more because they, because I put them into the story, right, like that I'm doing something that I wanted to do, but now I'm so tired I don't think I can do it anymore and now I'm acting in ways that are not consistent with my values, right. So that's actually a very universal story. But anyways, one day I get off stage and this guy comes up to me and he says you know, when you got on stage I thought, oh great, here's another one of these guys. I think he said middle-aged white guys. But here's one of these guys, another mountain story. You're going to conquer some mountain, he said. But then, as you got into it, I realized how wrong I was and you know it was so inspiring.

Speaker 1: 35:56

So there's and this this almost opens up another door of this idea that we are not inspired by the people who always knock it out of the park and who just go and do you know crazy big things without struggle, and you know it's that piece of vulnerability. Most of us have some kind of doubt and insecurity inside of us, and when we can see someone else that we might be looking up to and they have that same doubt or insecurity, it's one of the most inspiring things, because we think, oh, I thought I'm the only one, but if they can do that, then maybe I can do that. And what happens in that moment is people begin to believe again believe in themselves. So that's why, even for those of us who are business owners and you have employees, just remember that if you always have it all together, okay, that's one, that's fine, but you're missing out on actually inspiring your staff, and my staff know I don't have it all together.

Speaker 2: 37:07

I think that if you think you have it all together, you're probably a little delusional, because we all don't have it all together. There's some area of your life that isn't as good as it could be At the end of the day, at different levels, there's different, new doubles. It's like we're all just figuring it out as we go, you know, and we're conquering the obstacles in front of us. There's new obstacles ahead, and that's just the game of life, let alone. Believe me, I know in business, but how would you say, for you know leaders, whether it's in a business, whether it's? You know, you're the leader of your household. You know how would you, or what advice would you give to a leader that's facing a setback but still trying to motivate or inspire their team?

Speaker 1: 37:57

That's a great question. So the one of the mistakes I made early in my career was that, when things weren't going well, I just wanted to hide that fact right, because how is this reflecting on me? But that's purely coming from the ego. One of the best things you can do as a leader, see, you don't have to have everything figured out, you don't even have to be succeeding all the time, but what you have to have is that resilience and that determination and that courage. That's really what comes down to leadership.

Speaker 1: 38:29

So, for example, let's say, in my company I don't know let's say I said hey, we're going to launch this new division and we're going to start. You know, we're going to focus on whatever manufacturing companies and we launched that and it totally fails. And then our cashflow is we're having tons of cashflow problems, whatever it might be fails. And then our cash flow is we're having tons of cash flow problems, whatever it might be. Well, at the end of the day, I'm going to own that, but I'm also going to say like hey, we're in a. We're in a tough spot. I'm not going to lie to you, we're in a tough spot, but and this is where the leadership comes in but here's what we're going to do right.

Speaker 1: 39:03

And so people key off the leader's belief more than they key off the leader's results. We even see this in a negative way, in a sense that someone can be just like failing left and right and not even actually know what they're talking about, but they just talk about it confidently and people are drawn to their confidence. They're drawn to their belief. So, at the end of the day, as a leader, the belief has to be in number one yourself and number two your people. And as long as you have those two things, hey, products can change. You know. So I don't always believe in a product I created like, hey, maybe this will work, maybe this won't, but I believe in me and I believe in my people, and as long as I have that, we can rebuild anything into an empire that has been scorched to the ground.

Speaker 2: 39:54

That's awesome. Before we wrap up, I'd like to ask one question, and this question? It's not a tombstone, it's your legacy wall, right? So, on the James Robbins legacy wall, what would be the one lasting message that you would give the up and coming generations from the lessons you've learned along your life's journey?

Speaker 1: 40:13

If I was going to give a parting lesson to people, it would be to realize that the purpose of your life is to bring the most honest, authentic version of you to this world, and that's the gift. That's the gift you bring. It's not what you accomplish. When you eventually have your own funeral, someone will read a eulogy, which is usually all the things you did and accomplished, and that eulogy will last a minute, a minute and a half, and the rest of the hour is everyone talking about you, and so have the confidence that, wherever you are, it's okay to be where you are, but continue to grow. But understand your worth comes from who you are. That's what I would pass on.

Speaker 2: 41:06

I love that. That's awesome. That's a mic drop and a half. Where can people connect with you? I know your book's coming out in August, but in the meantime, where can people connect with you and learn more about what you got going on?

Speaker 1: 41:19

They can go to jamesrobbinscom and find me there or on LinkedIn the book that's coming out. If you want to go to that website, it's up now. It's iwillclimbcom. Iwillclimbcom. You can go there and either pre-order or just sign up for updates and release notes, things like that, but either of those places you can find me.

Speaker 2: 41:42

Awesome Guys. Those will be in the show notes. If you're watching on YouTube, that will be in the video description below. Make sure you guys share this episode with a friend. I mean, james's story was inspirational and it shows you that you know you can achieve anything but more. So I mean, share this, this episode, with a friend that is a leader. Share it with a you know, a dad, a mom and you know, really help them, lift them up. Because, again, if you're helping lift other people up your circle that gets bigger and lifts themselves up. It's only going to lift you up and you might be that weak link on the rope team, but they're going to be the ones to pull you up. So, james, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to come on the Mindset Cafe Devin great to be here.

Speaker 1: 42:26

It's really good to connect with you and I appreciate what you're doing. I wish I had been doing what you're doing when I was your age, so keep up the great work inspiring people.

Speaker 2: 42:36

Thank you, I appreciate it, we'll definitely connect soon Got my mind on the prize. I can't be distracted. I stay on my grind. No time to be slackin'. I hustle harder, I go against the curve, cause I know my mind is rich to be collected.