EP49: 11 Years, 8 Guys, and the Real Reason I Win

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Transcript

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This is the Austin Cohen Podcast where we talk real strategies for chiropractors ready to grow beyond the adjustment. If you're building a business, developing your leadership, and trying to build wealth without burning out, you are in the right place. Let's get to work Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. What is up everybody? Welcome to the Austin Cohen Podcast. We are live in Tulum, Mexico, ladies and gentlemen. Wow. For those who haven't been here before, this is a really cool place. Most people that listen to this, I'm gonna assume 90% of the people listening to us right now are chiropractors and chiropractors would love this place. There is just so much wellness here. There's so much holistic living. There's cryo, there's massages everywhere. There's healthy food, there's vegan places. Like anything you could imagine. It's just the way that people live here. It almost feels California style but very laid back, very chill, and just a beautiful place overall. So if anybody has been to Tulum, by the way, and you were listening to this, send me a recommendation. This morning we're actually coming out of our spearfishing, which is an unbelievable experience. But many of you have been asking me about these experiences that I do with the same eight guys who I have been friends with for the last, 11 years. And so what, here's what I want you to think about is this. And by the way, this is why like Growth Summit exists, this is why Adventure Summit exists, like these, those kind of experiences with certain types of people. And let me ask you something. The thing I want you to think about is this. It's who in your life. We'll look you dead in your eye and tell you what you just said is an excuse. Or they'll say to you what you just said, Austen is completely bs because I can tell you right now, it's not a spouse, it's not a team member, and it's not someone who needs something from you. Identify who that person is because I used to not be able to identify them and I couldn't name that person immediately. And so if you're one of those people too as well, then this is a great episode for you.'cause I'm gonna teach you how I did this. So I know if I were to ever come to my meetings or my events with my people that are in my core group with me, they would say, Austin, enough of the excuses. Or they would want to talk about what are the behaviors I'm doing that create that problem? So maybe I blame the economy, maybe I blame a team member. Maybe I blame a location, whatever it is, right? Like they're all excuses. Every single thing is an excuse, right? It's like there are people in every market that are doing very well. Why can't it be us? I'm still here right now, by the way. And here we've got, there's, what we do is for these trips, by the way, they're twice a year. There's eight of us. Every single person in this meeting with us right now are all entrepreneurial. They all have their own businesses. We pick a destination. We don't have phones during the meeting structures'cause those are all agenda driven. And I'll share. Kind of what some of these pictures are gonna look like, because when you picture with a bunch of eight guys going out all these different trips all the time, like we've been to El Salvador, Guatemala, Guadalajara all these really cool places. And when you think about it, you're like, think of this wild weekend. And lemme tell you, it is not that. This is a group of men that I've been in it with for the 11 years, man. 11, 11 years. Same guys. Most business partnerships don't even last that long. Guess what? Neither do most friendships and we call ourselves core. That's the name of our group. And it's not random by the way that, that we've called it that represents everything we are building our lives around. Health, you saw me like running a couple miles the other day. We, these guys know to buy a bunch of health food for me and some of the other guys who are in this group too as well. Family. It's a really big deal for this group. Every single person in this group has kids. Very intentional about the relationships that we have with our kids experiences. We just got back from spearfishing tomorrow we're going e foiling. And so like we put in these experiential moments on these trips, but every single hour is definitely 100% agenda driven while we do this. But this core represents who we are and, we're doing great things with great people. We are not just accountability partners, we are literally values aligned first, and that is the foundation that everything sits upon. So you know, you're not gonna get guys that come into this group that don't have maybe good relationships with their spouses or their kids, or they constantly blame, make excuses for why their business can't grow rather than looking in the mirror. That's who we always, that's who we've had in this group for the last 11 years. The same eight guys. So here how do we operate? This group is every single month. You do the math and that's 120 that's 132 meetings we've had. We get in a room together for four hours, no phones out, no distractions. Just eight guys that are locked in talking about what's working. What's not, where we're stuck, where we're going, and then twice a year we go away together. Like the trip we're on right now, and I know some of you're doing the math right now, like four hours a month, two trips a year. Serious commitment. That is the point. A 20 minute coffee catch up is not a mastermind. Like when you actually when you protect the time and remove the distractions that most you experience things that most people will never experience. And the conversations that come out the room have really shaped my business, my mindset, and who I am as a person. But lemme take you back to really where this started was 2015, and I made the decision that year that I believe was one of the most important decisions of my career in my life. I've decided it was time to level up my circle, especially as I wanted to grow my company. I had to be around people that were gonna help me level up. And this was a purely intentional, deliberate thing. I looked around and I asked myself a hard question, are the people closest to me pushing me toward the life I want or. Are they just comfortable with me staying exactly where I am and I was not comfortable staying where I was by the way. And part of the reason why I don't wanna stay comfortable where I am is because I always think about the people around me and is my office manager comfortable where she is? Are my doctors comfortable where they are? Like they probably want to grow and in order for them to grow, who's gotta grow first? Me And the question that makes a lot of people uncomfortable because the honest answer isn't always to sit with, is leveling up your circle does not mean cutting people off. But it does mean being a potential about who gets your time, your energy, and your trust. And since that decision in 2015, my life has genuinely never been the same. Now, what is the circle? Like what do we do guys, by the way? Okay. Because I shared that we do these four meetings, we do those once a month. We do the two, two or two a year. But I think people think they can just have one and that's it. But I think. Or they think they can have one friend in this circle and that's it also. But lemme tell you what separates this group, by the way, from just a group of friends. First excuse killers, not politely, not gently. Like when I walk into the room with a story about why something didn't work, they're not nodding along with me. They're not validating what I'm telling them by the way, in that moment. And they're looking at me and pointing the finger right back. I can't blame the market. Don't blame your team. Don't blame the economy. The only acceptable answer in that room is to look inward, and I can't tell you how many times that has saved me from staying stuck. The other thing is that they push without any agenda. Like nobody in court needs anything from me. There's no transactions happening. Very rare. Think of think about the people around you right now, your employees. People like you work with, like vendors who work with you. Some of your friends, a lot of them need something from you, which means there's a reason for them to soften the truth. But this group has nothing to lose by being completely honest with me, and that is exactly the kind of people that we all need around us. And third is they just show you what's possible. I've been in this group with some guys who have taken companies from a million dollars a year up to over$15 million a year, just in a few years. And I've been seeing some guys go from 30 to$80 million a year. It allows me to stop thinking small by default. Their wins in this group. When I start to hear them happening, literally that becomes the benchmark. The standards that these guys hold themselves to me are like the floor that we all stand on. Like you absorb the energy of people that you are around, whether you realize it or not. The key is making sure that energy pulls you up. So how do you build something like this? Because I don't want this to be like some nice story, and I actually want you to walk away with a plan. Okay? So here's where you start, okay? You start with values, not accomplishments. Mistake that most people make right there. They want the most successful people they know in their group, but success without aligned values. For those that were a growth summit, know this. It causes friction and if you're building around health and family and meaningful experiences. Someone else is optimizing purely for money at all costs like that will eventually break the group. You wanna find people who you want at that core level first, small six to 10 people. They've shown signs of growth for sure already. It's big enough for diverse thinking too, as well. Some of us have like different political beliefs. Some of us have different beliefs around hell, some of us have different beliefs around everything. So there's a lot of diversity within this group. It's also small enough that everyone has to show up, and when groups get too large, people start hiding. You want a room where everyone is accountable and no one can coast. The other thing is build structure and make sure you protect that. A group chat with a bunch of guys or girls, whatever is not a mastermind, a recurring meeting that is non-negotiable. We are only allowed two misses a year. That is it. Phones off the table. There's an actual format that goes on. There's no telling people what they should do. It's just sharing from experience, like nobody wants to be told what to do. Especially from it just doesn't matter. Nobody wants to be told what to do. I don't like what people say to me, Hey, what you should do is this. Okay, what did you do and how did that help you? That's what I want to, that's what I want to hear. Or maybe not tell me what I should do, but maybe there's something I said that maybe emotionally impacted you. Let me know that because without any structure to this can become another thing on the calendar that people start skipping. And then I would slowly start recruiting it with intentionality. You don't need to fill every seat from day one, by the way. Like one right person is worth more than five, wrong ones. Be patient. Be selective. The wrong person in a group like this can change the entire dynamic. Like one cancer in your company can spread fast. And then from the beginning, just set the standard. Like we have what's called a constitution. In that Constitution is how many misses we have, how much money we have to put in every six months. What the agenda is gonna be like. Make it clear, like no excuses, no blame, no complaining without a plan. Like the culture you establish in month one of this group is the culture you'll be living with in your year 11. So get it right early, and that's all you gotta do. Like I said, just start with, think of your values, then start with one person. And when I look at my biggest wins, and I'm talking like the real ones, not just, revenue but who I become as a man. As a father and as an entrepreneur the through line is always the same eight guys. These guys did not build my business for me, by the way, but they built me into someone who could. And here's the truth I wanna leave you with. If you're the smartest, most driven person in your circle right now, that is not something to be proud of. That is a problem to solve, and I want you to start solving it this week, not next month, this week. Find the one person who makes you better, not just one. You have the conversation, you make the commitment, and you start building your core because the version of you that exists in 10 years, the businesses you build, the life you create, the person you become, that version is being shaped right now by who you choose to spend your time with. Whether that's good. Or whether that's bad. All I ask for you guys to do right now is choose wisely and go be great. Have a great week and I'll talk to all of you guys next week. For those that are coming to SEA four C this weekend, Phoenix, I actually fly from Cancun to Phoenix on Thursday, so I'll be there with many of you this weekend at close for Cairo. Looking forward to it, guys. Have a great day. To learn more about building your business, leadership, and life on purpose, visit chiro one eighty.com or follow Austin on Instagram at Dr. Austin Cohen.