Episode 17: The Story Behind The Results Tree

In this behind-the-scenes episode of the Navigating Leaders Podcast, host Gabriel Griess sits down with Marcos Perez, CEO of Harp & Sword Media, to unpack the story behind The Results Tree and tackle a question so many people are asking: Why am I doing everything right and still not getting the results I want?

What began as a more than 20-year idea has become a message that is impacting lives today. Gabriel shares how it all came together, why it matters now more than ever, and what it really takes to bring something meaningful to life.

This conversation dives into purpose, action, and why so many people feel stuck despite doing “all the right things.” Gabriel unpacks how The Results Tree was designed to cut through the noise, bring clarity, and help you uncover your vision, take aligned action, and use your results as real-time feedback to move forward with confidence.

Whether you are building something, feeling stuck, or searching for clarity, this episode will challenge and inspire you. It’s a reminder that your journey matters, your vision is worth pursuing, and it’s never too late to begin again.

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RESOURCES

🌎 Website: navigatingleaders.com

📖 The Results Tree—A Proven Path to the Life You Really Want: TheResultsTree.com
📖 Harp & Sword Media: harpandswordmedia.com 

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

🎥 YouTube: @navigatingleaders
📸 Instagram: @navigatingleaders

👍 Facebook: @navigatingleaders

🎵 TikTok: @navigatingleaders

🗣️ LinkedIn: @navigatingleaders

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ABOUT GABRIEL

Gabriel Griess is a retired US Air Force officer, the CEO of Excel Medical Staffing and MedForceX, and the founder of Navigating Leaders. A graduate of the elite Air Force Weapons School, he has spent decades leading teams in high-pressure environments and equipping others to reach their full potential. As a combat veteran and an entrepreneur, Gabriel helps individuals cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and the ability to create lasting impact.

An internationally sought-after keynote speaker, he addresses audiences on personal transformation, strategic leadership, and veteran empowerment. The Results Tree is the framework he lives by, and when applied, it will unearth your destiny.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Have you ever thought about writing a book? Have you ever thought about writing a book? Well, in this episode, we're gonna have a chance to look into how strength him and turn a lum. That's great. My name is Gabriel Grease, the host of the Navigating Leaders Podcast, where we awaken your vision and live boldly. Today, our guest is my publisher, the founder and CEO of Harp and Sword Media, a longtime media expert and publisher. His name is Marco Perez. Marcos, welcome to the podcast. Thanks, Gabriel. How are you? I'm good. It's good to have you. Thanks for having me. Yeah, thanks for the book.

SPEAKER_02 0:57

Yes, sir. Well, my name is Marcos Perez, and I'm the guest host of Navigating Leaders for a day. Just for an episode.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Okay. All right.

SPEAKER_02 1:07

And uh and I have an incredible guest for you today. His name is Gabriel Grease. Oh, that's me. The founder of Navigating Leaders. Um, but today we're pulling back the curtain. We're um we're just gonna, it's gonna be a little bit of a different episode. Um not just uh not just on the idea of the results tree, but on the journey of becoming an author, the process behind the book, um, what it really takes to bring something like this to life. I think it'd be fun to just unpack an episode and and just bring people into the uh the journey. I couldn't have done it without you. That's right. We couldn't have done it without you. Fair enough. And so um I think it would be really beneficial for your listeners and your audience to uh to just understand and learn from this experience and this journey. I think there's so much to unpack here, and uh and so I think it'll be valuable.

SPEAKER_00 1:57

Great.

SPEAKER_02 1:58

Well, um, so we're we kind of broke the podcast episode into a few different chunks. Um the first thing that we want to do is to go into the origin story. So um it's the origin of the results tree, why this book exists. So let's start there. Um, why this book and why now?

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Well, it you know, the book has been about 25 years in the making, and uh and then about two years in the publication process, right? And so it just it was so instrumental in my life. And and and it was kind of crazy because when you get into the book, you you see the story of me applying the elements to the results tree, you know, the vision, clear intention, committed action, results, and how I got into the Air Force Academy well before I ever was equated to anything like emotional intelligence or advanced leadership training or any of the things that that later gelled together to be the book, the results tree. I was actually living it.

SPEAKER_04 2:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

And and so and so the beauty of that was is that I knew it worked. Right. That when I when I came into the construct of it and then looked back on my life, I could see moments in time where I genuinely was living and acting from my vision. And in doing so, was creating these outsized, epic, amazing, life-changing, oh my gosh, results that that that that frankly I wasn't worthy of, honestly. Right? Like, you know, you're like, oh look at my wife, totally not worthy of her. Look at me going to the Air Force Academy. I was one of the last guys allowed into the class. Like these things where it's like, only by the grace of God am I lucky to be here, right? And so why now is I just I think we've gotten too used to you know, 140 character tweet sized, you know, social media post-sized uh communications, and and life is deeper than that.

SPEAKER_04 3:56

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

The the juice, the marrow, the purpose of life is so much more impactful and powerful than that. And and so I was able to bring all of that together into a book that ultimately is the results true.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

So you you you just talked about the this 20 plus year journey. Um, and you said that at some point in this journey that you realize it worked. Um so at what point did you realize that this message needed to become a book and not just coaching or conversations?

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Um I think probably in the teens, you know, 20, you know, 2013, 14, somewhere in there. I was nearing the end of my military career and and I'd begin, I'd begun penning and and keeping notes and and journaling on on the elements of it.

SPEAKER_04 4:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

And then and then uh as associated with our company, Excel, we we help doctors and nurses go to work. Um one of the one of the things in our industry is that it's it's pretty commoditized. Like one staffing firm to the next staffing firm to the next staffing firm, they're they're a little hard to differentiate because it's because the math is all the same. Like um, every staffing firm has you know similar costs and burdens and and employment costs and and software costs and all that stuff. And so, and so the deal that's made to put somebody to work, um, everybody suffers under the same math. And so when you're now trying to differentiate yourself in the marketplace, it's it's a little challenging, right? So now you've got culture and you've got giveaways and you've got gimmicks and you've got all these different things. And so it was early in early in our company's history, I think I was actually interviewing employee number five. I think it was number five, number four, actually, number four. And um he was coming on to be our director of recruiting. I've known him for years. He'd been a club promoter in Las Vegas, super handsome fit, jack dude, super outgoing. I'm like, if there's anybody designed to recruit, typically female nurses, like this is the guy. Like he's got all the skills. And uh, and he and I had both been through uh some emotional intelligence training together and some different workshops, and we also co-staffed some things, and so I knew him well as a as a person. And and so what was happening is in the interview, we were going over our values, our company values. And and they kind of were hollow, frankly. As I listened to them, they're winning and excellent, and clinician focused, and adventurous, and responsive, and ethical. And I'm like, well, what what other staffing firm wouldn't say that they're ethical? Right? Sure. Or adventurous or want to be responsible. Like these are they're these are just sort of standard business things. And and it hit me. I'm like, what do what are we gonna do to differentiate ourselves? I'm like, well, why don't we pour into our people? Let's coach our people, let's invest in our people. And by people I mean our traveling clinicians who are usually only with us with an agency for about 13 weeks, and then they take a new job somewhere else unless they've extended. And so I'm like, well, how do we become more sticky? And and the way to be more sticky was, well, hey, I'm gonna pour into and invest in that clinician in a way that nobody ever has. And in doing so, when it comes time for their next job, they're gonna be like, hey, I'm not gonna go anywhere but be with Excel because they've given me more than a job. Yeah, they've they've they've helped me with my faith, finance, fitness, freedom, family, whatever it is. And and the beautiful thing is, and this came from our from my my coaching era, really, you know, 08 to 15 or 16. Um when that same group I was working with, I was describing before, is um we we broke the Europe basically into basically 90-day segments. Right. And so that's almost exactly how long a clinician's on assignment, 13 weeks. And so I'm like, well, it's perfectly designed that at the start of an assignment I can dig in with a with a clinician and go, hey, what do you want to do? Like, what would be meaningful in your life that if you could shift this over the next 13 weeks, it would it would add value. Yeah. Right. And and then we have the perfect perfect length of time to change a habit or to instill a new habit, or to uh you know, repair a relationship, or whatever it is, right? And so in that, then we needed a tool. We needed a tool in order to deliver that, deliver that coaching and caring element for our company, and that ended up being the results tree.

SPEAKER_02 8:42

Awesome. And so just to kind of dig down deeper into that just a little bit, what what problem were you seeing over and over again that people just weren't solving that led you to the results tree?

SPEAKER_01 9:00

Well, it's it's it's that we're just confused. The world is bombarding us with so much that we're constantly being shared. You should do this, you should look like this, you should buy this, you should try this, you should wear this, you should go there on vacation, you should, should, should, should, should, should. Yeah. We're being should on all over the place. And um, and the reality is the only thing we should be doing is what our purpose is, like why we were sent here, what is what is on our heart, right? And I would argue for the vast majority of medical clinicians, right? They're in it because they were called to it. And the only reason you stay in it is because you have a passion for it. It's sort of like teaching.

SPEAKER_04 9:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Right? It's you know, everybody loves teachers. We don't always pay them like we love them. We don't always honor them and respect them like we love them, right? And the same thing kind of with nurses. And so, and so, you know, pouring into that, into that group and and giving them a technique with which to to truly meaningful change their lives uh and be grounded in that purpose, right? Because that's that's the whole point of this is to find that purpose that each individual has and then begin to live from that.

SPEAKER_02 10:10

So if the problem that you're seeing over and over again is confusion, um, it sounds to me like confusion because having having now worked with you on the results tree and seeing the message, you know, uh unpacked the way that it is, uh, one of the clear takeaways of the results tree that I've learned is action, you know, um having you know solid vision that leads to uh repeatable action that leads to you know steps you can take. And so it sounds to me like confusion, a big problem you're seeing, is paralyzing people. And it's preventing them from either having clear vision or preventing them from being able to take whatever that next clear action step is towards their vision.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

Yeah, I I don't know if I'd quite go there because you have some people who are highly successful, successful by earthly standards who are highly confused. Okay. Right? They're winning in life, ostensibly, you know, apparently. You know, they they they they're just not on purpose. And so it's hard. Life is hard. They're grinding it out, they're going to a job that's soul sucking, they're lit working with a boss that that is you know, not respecting them, they're in a company that they don't align with the culture, they their voice isn't being heard, like all these things, right? Well, each one of those is a sign, right, that you're not in the right place.

SPEAKER_02 11:29

I see. So they've taken action, but not necessarily towards the right. Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

Some are paralyzed, some are some are preoccupied, some are, you know, some are just plain out lost, right?

SPEAKER_02 11:41

So for someone hearing about the results tree for the first time, what is it simply?

SPEAKER_01 11:50

Uh it it's it's simply a mechanism to help you find your vision and purpose for your life. And from there everything begins.

SPEAKER_03 11:59

Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

But we've got to undercover, we've got to uncover what it is each of us individually is here for because each of us has a unique, very unique individual individual purpose. We're here to to the life we're here to live. Yeah. And without uncovering that and without living from that, we're just running around, I mean, frankly, as a farm kid, like a chicken with our head cut off.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

Yeah. Well, and and one of the things that I appreciate about the results tree, there's a lot of books out there about vision and about purpose. I mean, purpose-driven life is best-selling, you know, best-selling nonfiction book of all time.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

People should read it.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

It's a great book. But what it what's interesting to me though about the results tree is its simplicity, is the simplicity of the framework. You know, vision, clear intention, committed action, results.

SPEAKER_01 12:45

And so um well, and I and I would and I would say two things on it. You're right. Vision, lots of books on vision. Um I don't know how good they are at helping you find your vision, right? Yeah. Clear intention, I think, is differentiated because now that intention attached to vision is is something I'm willing to strain and struggle and continue through the fire on. Committed action, you can read a thousand books on it. Right. You've got compound effect, atomic habits, grit, the list continues, and they're all great books. And if you don't have a great action-related book, you need to get one. Yeah. I think where the where we really um are are groundbreaking in this is that how we use results. Right? Results are are the mirror, they're the feedback, they are um it's the truth teller. Right. And this is the hardest part. Um this is it doesn't have to be, but it can be the hardest part for some people beginning this process is the results you have today in your life are there because you want them. And there's a lot of people who'd be like, but I don't want, and they can now list seven, eight, nine, ten, a hundred things in their life they don't want. And I would posit, no, you want them because you've created them.

SPEAKER_04 14:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Oh, but what about this? Or what about my mom, or what about my dad? It's like you're an adult, you've created the life you want. Now, the cool thing is you can change it.

SPEAKER_04 14:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:17

But you must take responsibility for the place you are in life right now is where you are.

SPEAKER_02 14:24

Yeah, I love, I love your the way you've distilled um somebody reckoning with where they are and the results that they're achieving. Um, how the struggle that so many people go through in defining themselves by that, and you just kind of take that pressure off there and say, you know, they may not be what you want, but great. Now we can change it.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

They're neutral, right? It's just and and a result is like, you know, Harrison last night went to a basketball game. He he he had some some basketball cards or you know, some trading cards. So he opens it, and the results are what you get out of the pack. But if you don't like what's in the pack, get another pack, right? Or go to market and buy the card you want, right? But like we're not changing, I'm not, I'm not changing the result until I take an action today.

SPEAKER_04 15:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

Otherwise, it's just feedback. Right. And it's and it's the most honest and pure feedback you can get because it's it's real and it's right in front of you, but but you you must come to grips with it and accept it and and not judge. Yeah. And not make wrong, and not develop shame and and all that stuff that we we can do because those are all reasons to hold yourself back, all reasons to stop, all reasons to not take the next bold action, and to maybe go back into the stands and look into the arena and then beat yourself up because oh, I don't belong out there anymore because I'm broken or I screwed up. Yeah, we're all broken.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

We all screwed up. So many people draw just final conclusions out of whatever results they're achieving in the moment as if as if that's the uh the end result. Yeah. When it's not. No, it's temporary. Yeah. What are most people getting wrong when it comes to results in their life or leadership? And I think we've touched on some of that so far, but is there anything else you can say about that? What are most people getting wrong when it comes to results in their life?

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Well, I I think I think that they believe that that it's it's final, that it's done, that it's over, that it's it can't be changed, that it's cast in stone, you know. Um when in reality everybody's so busy with their own lives that most people don't know what you've done. They don't know the mistakes you've made. Um heck, most of them can't remember your birthday.

SPEAKER_04 16:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

So like you get to forgive yourself and have some grace and and connect with what matters and begin again, right? Just begin again today.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

Yeah, love that. What's one concept from the book that if somebody really understood it, it could change everything for them?

SPEAKER_01 17:06

That you're right where you're supposed to be.

SPEAKER_02 17:09

And tomorrow you'll be right where you're supposed to be. You're right where you're supposed to be. Many people would disagree with that.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

Well, but it's the only place you can be. So you can fight with me that you should be over there, but you're not, you're here. Yeah. So what what do you want what do you want to talk about? You're right here, Marcos. So let's let's deal with what is, not what should be, ought to be, any of that, any of that nonsense. And and we burden ourselves, and I I think it's not a burden. I think it's we paralyze ourselves intentionally, and then we make excuses not to take the actions we need to because we feel safe. Because we've tried so many times and we've failed. We've tried so many times and we've been hurt, we've become vulnerable and we've been abused or taken advantage of. We've we've made a business venture and gone broke. Like all these things, all these failures, if you will, yeah, they they hurt us. They hurt our hearts, they hurt our spirit. And and Christy, my wife, would say it's not rejection, it's protection.

unknown 18:17

Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:17

So if I've stepped out in an endeavor and it didn't work, great. Awesome, yes, right? I went bankrupt, yes, awesome, right? Uh and I've almost been there, right? So I I haven't crossed the line, but I've I've I've stared it in the face, right? And so um that's that's that's God's way of trying to nudge you back towards that purpose that's on our heart. And until we connect with that, and that's the vision piece, we're really just spinning our wheels. We're really wasting our time until we're on vision.

SPEAKER_04 18:50

Yeah. Yeah. Good.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

And I would say you're a man of vision.

SPEAKER_02 18:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Right? You're sitting here with a publishing company that three years ago, four years ago was probably an idea.

SPEAKER_02 19:03

Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, uh it I've I've struggled with, and I've actually grown, I I would say in in this area in particular, when it comes to you are right where you're supposed to be, that that statement has grown a lot more comfortable on me since we've worked together. Um, because if if you would have asked me that before we met, I would have almost never been comfortable telling you that I am right where I'm supposed to be. I'd always feel like I'm chasing where I'm supposed to be, you know. But but I think the concept of the results tree and how you're using results as a feedback loop and getting comfortable with where you are, I think is is a new paradigm even for me, you know, as a visionary, even. Um so thank you.

SPEAKER_01 19:48

Well, we have to. We have to be comfortable where we are, because we can't be anywhere else.

SPEAKER_02 19:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

So I mean it it's and I know it's, and I hate to say this, it's counter-cultural, right? Because no, no, no, no, you're you're 50, you should have this, or you're 60, you should have this, or you're 27, you should be married with your first kid. And I mean, like, there's all these artificial goals or barriers or expectations or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

Culture puts on us, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

Yeah, yeah, or family, or whomever. Like they come at us from a thousand different social media. Yes, yes, yes. We're trying to influence social media right now so that you buy the book and join the community and all that stuff. But we must be comfortable where we're at because it's the only place we are.

SPEAKER_02 20:31

Yeah. Why do you believe most people stay stuck even when they want better results?

SPEAKER_01 20:39

Well, I tell you they don't, or they'd have them. Based on results.

SPEAKER_02 20:44

Now. Because you're matching their desire with their actions or you know.

SPEAKER_01 20:49

Right. And and this is I know this is so hard and it's mind-blowing, but it it must be we must take 100% responsibility for our lives and where we're at. Because then we can change. Then we can change. But until that happens, all we're doing is is beginning to build on an unstable foundation. Right? We're we're we're laying the groundwork for future sabotage in whatever we may create, and in some ways intentionally so, so that when it does fail, I can look back and say, see, I never I knew it was never gonna work. I shouldn't have started. I'm just gonna stay here and stay stuck.

SPEAKER_02 21:30

Well, what we've done so far, boys and girls, and for those listening, is trying to unpack uh some curiosity and some value behind the message to get people to understand the framework, the concept of where the book and the message is coming from, because I think this could be really helpful for a lot of people, as as it even has been for me. What I'd like to kind of pivot towards is the actual publishing and writing journey. Okay. Um, just just getting people uh kind of peel the curtain back. A bit as we said before. So let's talk about that journey. What surprised you most about writing a book?

SPEAKER_01 22:07

What surprised me the most was how I found a publisher. Yeah. Yeah. You wanted to touch on our I do, I do. On our uh media. Yeah. Well, so you would ask the question of when did I know it was supposed to be a book? And it was probably, you know, 2014, 2015, somewhere in there. And then it rolled around. And then in about 2020, it really began to take some form. And then 2020, probably 2022, I was really like, all right, I need to I need to figure this book thing out. Right. I'd I'd written a lot of pages and collected a lot of anecdotes and a lot of journal stuff. And and so it was like, well, how do you how do you do this? Right? And and so I'd met with a couple of groups that could do the media, could do the production, could do the book, could could just do all this stuff, and they were young and they were flashy and they were engaging and they said all the right things. But it it it never felt right. And and I'm like, but I want to do it. And they're and they're so close and and and I like them and I think they're friends, and but it didn't feel right. Right? Like when I got still and quiet, and in my soul, it was like it's just it's just is it's just not it's just not right. Yeah. And so we we worked in a co-working space, uh, Kevin, my partner, and I, and then our our team is is national, and um and we'd moved around the co-working space a couple of times, and so we'd we'd left a much larger office because a ton of our workers had said, hey, we just would prefer to work from home, and so we downsized in this co-working space to a tiny like an office literally it's not much bigger than this table and our two chairs. And um and I'm working late one night.

SPEAKER_02 24:02

All right, let me pause you there. Okay. So this is 2022. It is 22?

SPEAKER_01 24:08

Yeah, 22, 22.

SPEAKER_02 24:09

23, probably 23. Yeah, maybe early 23. Um, so I'm uh I'm living out of town almost 45 minutes away. My kids go to school here in Great Vine Faith, and we're bringing our kids to school from a long distance every day. I'm like, I gotta find a co-working space. And I started looking at different places around town, found a spot, dropped the kids off at school, and I was on my way to that other co-working space when I saw this one right on Main Street. Oh, I didn't know that. And I saw, oh, that's a co-working space, and it's a cool spot. So I get out and I go in there, I fall in love with the place, I sign up. That was early 2022. So now I'm in there for several months, and I'm going to the same seat every day that I'm there. And that seat was right outside of your office.

SPEAKER_01 24:59

Well, it wasn't our office yet.

SPEAKER_02 25:00

Well, actually, you're you're right. Yeah, there was another empty office.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

There were two guys that had it, but never ever showed up.

SPEAKER_02 25:06

But I'm going to that same spot every day. They ended up leaving, you guys ended up coming in, and I and I just kind of saw you in passing at the time. Uh, and then several months go by. Yep. And then I'm there late one night working on a ghostwriting project, um, and also working on a couple of major proposals. And then you walk in. And so now we're at that same point in the story.

SPEAKER_01 25:29

Yeah. So I'm I'm inside the office and I This was like a Friday night. Yeah, it's like 6 30, 7 30, somewhere. It's it's way past working hours. And and I and I come out the door, and for some reason, I I make conversation. I'm like, hey, you're working kind of late or whatever. Like it was just a natural conversation piece of like, hey, we're both too dumb to be at home or taking care of our families, doing something else. We're sitting here, right? And I and I'm like, well, what do you do? And you're like, I have a publishing company. And I'm like, tell me more. And you kind of tell me a little bit about it. And I'm like, uh, I've got a book I want to write.

SPEAKER_02 26:05

Yeah. I'm showing you a proposal of another coaching client. I'm like, yeah, check this out. Like, we're working on this media proposal, and I showed him this podcast thing and this book publishing thing and this other branding thing. And he's like, Oh my gosh, that's like the kind of thing I need. Yes, and uh exactly. And it's ultimately what gave way to navigating leaders.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

Well, and I think what's beautiful about it is a couple of things is that is that A, I knew I had a book in me.

SPEAKER_04 26:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

B, I'd met with people and it didn't feel right, and I didn't force it. Where in times past, I would have likely forced that decision. Right. I would have been in a hurry, or I would have been urgent, or it would have been, you know, whatever, but I but I chose not to. And then I think the most beautiful thing is that God literally puts you outside my door. Yeah. Right? Like I I the where that desk was and where the door was, like if you put your bag down in the wrong place, I was gonna trip over your back on my way out of the office.

SPEAKER_02 27:04

Yeah. So I mean, yeah. So that that is definitely a great answer to what surprised you most about writing a book was the journey on how we even met. Yes. It's certainly a huge surprise. What part of the process was harder than you expected?

SPEAKER_01 27:18

I think the number of edits, right? The refining of the product, um tweaking of stories. You know, it's it's interesting, is that uh um Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson, said um he would have he would have been more brief if he'd had more time with the Declaration of Independence. Right. And so I think that that was one of the elements in refining, not that I'm not comparing the results to declaration. That's that's not the point. The point is is the the authorship and the writing process I'm referencing. And um you know, each each version, you know, became more clear, became more succinct. Um I know I know we cut stories that just kind of hung a little bit, like we were trying to give um meaningful experiential stories from other people. And and and it just they they just didn't translate the way we wanted them to, right? And we're like, well, there's so many exercises, there's so many opportunities to dig in, and and even in the forward, we ask people to read chapters multiple times and mark it up and take notes that that the the story to be written is their story. Right. The person who buys the book, when they're done with done with the book or done with the e-course, what they've done is they've written their story.

SPEAKER_02 28:47

Yeah. I will say uh working with um hundreds of authors over the years, um, it's a very common um misnomer to think that the editing process is just either a quick thing or that it's uh, oh yeah, they're just gonna correct some grammar and then we move on. What truly a good editor is going to offend you in many cases, you know, because the manuscript is your baby. I mean, you've worked so hard on this, and now we're going in and we're just slashing stuff and cutting things, and you know, and it could be a really offensive process, especially as a first timer, you know. Um, and I have to say, you were as as as many rounds as we had in the editing process, you've been a dream to work with as a client, you know, just in terms of your grace, your your positive attitude. Um, it's not always been that way with other authors. And so thank you for your grace. Um, but thanks for your patience. But yeah, it's but it's a it's a it could be a grueling process, the editing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:52

Well, I think that and that's it. It's like, you know, you've got editors and typesetters and proofers, and like in and there's a whole industry behind putting words on the paper and and turning them in, right? You see the movies, right? Misery or whatever, the people show up with their shoebox and you know, all the types that and they turn it in, and they're like, oh, it's a book. It's like not even close to a book.

SPEAKER_02 30:14

Like it's an idea on paper. Well, and and and that leads me to the next question. Where did you feel the most resistance or doubt in the process?

SPEAKER_01 30:24

Um, I I really got vulnerable in the book. Um and uh to the to the point that that like the first time Christy read some of it, she's like, You're gonna publish this? And I'm like, yeah. And she's like, Really? And I'm like, Well, it's the truth, you know, like what else are we gonna do, you know, like and and uh and I honor her for her courage and her trust and her willingness. I mean, we put some stuff out there that is not that's certainly not flattering, right? And um I uh I did a lot of things I'm not proud of in my life. And uh But I don't know that I'd change anyone because I wouldn't be who I am or where I am. That's right. You know, like if I could take away hurts or I could take away wrongs, or I could take away disappointments that maybe I caused others, then then I would totally you know make amends for those things. But but in terms of um changing my path or trajectory, I d I just I don't think I can because it gave me perspective.

SPEAKER_02 31:54

Well, and I think I would even argue that those things that you're not proud of become the greatest hooks for for for this very message because we we just in a lot of these episodes we just hear the the shiny, polished, fancy stuff, but you know, but I think what makes the message most relatable are those moments, you know.

SPEAKER_01 32:18

Well, and that was one of the one of the early pieces, is and one of the edit pieces was um was I added the introduction, right? The introduction got plugged in uh during one of the other elements. And uh it says all of us have areas in our lives we've avoided, issues we haven't confronted, habits we haven't broken, conversations we haven't had, commitments we have failed to keep to others and more, more importantly, to ourselves. We push these things aside, hoping they'll fix themselves, or that we'll get to them eventually. If we're honest, we know the truth. These are areas are out of alignment with the kind of life we say we really want. When we ignore what's broken or out of place, we set the stage to sabotage our own success. And that was my that was my entire life, basically from age, well, zero, but call it maybe 16 to almost 36. So almost 20 years of my life, I was building upon a fractured foundation. And in the book, what you find out is that I didn't love myself. And I've talked about that here in the podcast, right? Is that if if I don't love myself, then by default I'm unlovable.

SPEAKER_04 33:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:33

And if I'm unlovable and you love me, well, that makes you even more damaged good than I am because you're pretty dumb to love me because I'm unlovable. Like, like it's this really vicious dysfunction, yeah. It's 100%. And so I had to come to grounds with with you know loving myself, and then from that point begin to have grace and forgiveness and you know, to reflect and and to start to make different choices, right? And that and that was the the watershed moment, you know, probably really when I went from being a boy to a man, frankly.

SPEAKER_02 34:07

Wow. What did working through the structure of the book force you to clarify that you hadn't fully articulated before? You had a good answer for that when we were talking about this in planning.

SPEAKER_01 34:18

What did I tell you?

SPEAKER_02 34:19

Because I think you you were talking about the um, you know, you have the results tree framework, but you're setting people up for failure if you don't know.

SPEAKER_01 34:27

That's kind of it's the introduction right there, what I just went to, right, is you gotta we get to clean stuff up, right? And so we're not building on we're not building on a faulty foundation.

SPEAKER_02 34:35

Yeah. And in other words, your situation's not unique in that we all screwed up, we've all got 100% background. We've all got we've got we've all we're all human. We all got things we got to deal with before we get to the place where we can build on a healthy from a healthy place.

SPEAKER_01 34:51

Well, and I and I would invite everybody today, right, who's listening, is there's there is somebody who you owe a phone call to, either to say, I'm sorry, or I respect you, or I honor you, or I love you, or hey, can we have a do-over, or I could have done this differently, like whatever it is. And my encouragement would be is you know to take to make that call because there's a burden we carry in the back of our mind when when we have stuff that's messy and out of alignment. Right.

SPEAKER_02 35:20

And so just to distill that down to the book itself for those listening, when you read the results tree, you're gonna have the benefit of being introduced to the message first from a place of, hey, you you may have some a few things you need to touch on here before we actually get into the good stuff of the book. Yep. That's gonna help you to really identify your vision and walk through to the results that you want. There's a little site planning that needs to be done before we start the construction work. Yes, you know, 100%. Yeah. So that's good. Uh who is the book really for?

SPEAKER_01 35:53

Oh, that's that's a great question. Um and I think there's a couple different audiences, right? The first would be my kids. You know, um, because I don't know, you know, I don't know if it's a New York Times bestsellers or a uh you know, a bargain basement, you know, discount book, right? Like we don't know.

SPEAKER_02 36:13

Yeah, so you're it's a legacy project for you.

SPEAKER_01 36:14

Yeah, there's a piece of it there, right? And and there's a transparency and an honesty piece. Like I've you know, I've asked my my my eldest especially to read it uh because there's unflattering stuff. And I don't want you know a friend or a or a parent or somebody to read it and be like, hey, did you know your dad did X, Y, or Z? Yeah, like what? Um and so it you know it's been good conversation there. But but in general, who I would say the book is for is for people who feel like they really have been doing it right or living by the rules or following the rules or doing what they were told they thought would be successful, that would create the results that they thought they they were here to create in their life. And they just don't feel like they're getting any traction. Right? And and and sometimes when we're not winning in life, meaning achieving what it is we're looking for, we we look at that as rejection, we look at that as failure. And the answer would be is we would say it's protection, right? You're not you're not supposed to be successful in that domain because that's not the domain you're here for. Right. And so um this this book is really designed to help people uncover that vision that only they can achieve, that's written on their heart, that was written at their heart on their heart at the dawn of time, right? When the universe was first begun, right, we were in that ripple.

SPEAKER_04 37:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

Right? We were in that energetic movement, right? And so, and so we have a part to play. We have a role in this giant script, in this giant, you know, cinematic display that is life, that is the world. And until we get on that, on that script, right, we're fighting with the director, we're fighting with the producer, we're we're causing do-over, like we're making, we're making a mess of it. And so, and so this is for that person who has tried so many things, has tried so many solutions, has followed, you know, people on Instagram or Facebook that are giving them, you know, the the little meme answer. And and it's work.

SPEAKER_04 38:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:20

Right? It's work to uncover your purpose. But once you've got it, you'll never let it go.

SPEAKER_02 38:26

I want to read something uh here that I uncovered just in in a little bit of research that I did before this episode. Um my my two oldest sons are, I would say, on the older echelon side of Gen Z. Okay. Um so I would say from their age group, which is high 20s, high to mid mid to high 20s, to millennials, which were born, you know, I mean, there's a few different age, uh, there's a few different year gaps depending on who you're asking in terms of where these generational gaps uh or uh categories lie. But millennials born 1981 and 1996 to this older Gen Z crowd. Um, I would say that when we talked about the avatar of who the book was for, we were kind of aiming at that 20 to 40s to 45 kind of thing, yeah. Type of age group. So for that, for the folks in that in that category, um there's there's a lot of them that are currently facing intense challenges driven by high burnout rates. You know, research shows here 66% financial instability, 52% live in paycheck to paycheck, significant mental health struggles. You know, key stressors include managing $1.56 trillion in U.S. student loan debt, navigating a competitive job market, balancing high cost of living. Um, there's just so many challenges, right? Um, so what would you say to them as it relates to the results tree and what it can do for them?

SPEAKER_01 39:54

Well, first I'd say is don't buy into the narrative.

unknown 39:56

Right?

SPEAKER_01 39:57

You just read a bunch of statistics, and I'm not saying the math is wrong, but it's it's it's generalized, right? All of those statistics probably don't apply to every single individual. Sure. So some might have loan debt, but not living paycheck after paycheck. Right. Or some might be burned out, right? But so like some of that may be true for some of the individuals, but not all of it's true for all of them.

SPEAKER_02 40:23

Well, and the reality too is that challenges like this, not the same, but challenges like this are somewhat cyclical generation to generation. 100%. And it's great for those who are dealing with challenges in these arenas to know you're not alone, right? Um there's a there's a generation of people that are that are fighting the same fight with you, um, but it's also history has a tendency to repeat itself. And so there is a sense of, gosh, you know, the previous generation didn't set me up right. But then every generation said that.

SPEAKER_01 40:53

Um and so every older generation looks at the younger generation like, oh, we're doomed. Oh, we're scrum, or it's going to, you know, like the grumbly old guy, right? But like I was literally at a lacrosse game the other day talking to like three high school sophomores, and they are so articulate and so attuned and emotionally intelligent and so relationship oriented, it's it's awe-inspiring. I'm like, whoa, like like they're eons beyond where I was, right? But but back to the question of what do you say to these to these folks, and that is um you don't have the benefit of time yet.

SPEAKER_04 41:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:34

Right. So one of my favorite books is called The Compound Effect. And and compound effects work in your favor and they work against you. Right. So if I make a series of bad decisions over and over and over again over time, that that compounding effect is gonna be horrible. Right. If I eat a pint of ice cream every night for dinner after dinner for 20 years, I'm gonna be way overweight. But instead of having a pint of ice cream, I decide to walk around the block three times, I'm gonna have a material difference, like like a massive difference between those two people over a 20-year period, right? Yeah, but you're not gonna probably see a difference at 18 months or even 36 months. Right. Right? It's gonna take years for a statistical difference to show up. And so so to the to the person who doesn't feel like they're getting anywhere right now is we just haven't had enough time. And so it's it's get grounded in your vision, show up every day and make good decisions aligned to your vision, make more good decisions than bad decisions, give yourself grace, only fight today's battle because tomorrow has enough worries of itself, and repeat that over and over and over again, and and be gracious and enjoy the journey.

SPEAKER_02 42:44

So it sounds to me that that's what transformation actually looks like for someone who applies this.

SPEAKER_01 42:51

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, and it takes time. You know, but here's the other part, and this is this is one of my favorite things, is that like a body at rest tends to stay at rest. Yeah. A body emotions tend to stay in motion until acted upon by an outside force. Right. And so if I'm stuck and I'm staying stuck, it's really hard for anything good to happen.

SPEAKER_02 43:15

And that's actually my next question. What would you say to someone who feels stuck right now and doesn't see a way out?

SPEAKER_01 43:21

Well, first off, it would be do the introduction and start cleaning some stuff in your life and then begin the journey to find your vision, right? Yeah. And then it's and then it's make actions and decisions on a daily basis that are aligned with and go back to your vision. Right? And that's and that's the joy. And then and it and we and frankly, we don't get to be attached to results. I don't get it I don't get to be attached to the destination.

SPEAKER_02 43:47

Takes the pressure off, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:48

I get to be attached to the practice. I get to be attached to the journey, I get to be attached to to showing up and doing my best in this moment with the tools and resources I have.

SPEAKER_02 43:58

It becomes an actual Manageable dance. 100%. Yeah. Alright, rapid fire. Memorable moments. I'm totally good. I'm really good at short. Go here. What's one sentence from the book that means the most to you personally?

SPEAKER_01 44:13

You're right where you're supposed to be.

SPEAKER_02 44:15

Love it. What's the biggest lie people believe about success?

SPEAKER_01 44:22

That when I achieve it, everything will be taken care of.

SPEAKER_02 44:26

That you hit the easy button?

SPEAKER_01 44:29

Yeah, I mean like when I when I that life doesn't get hard. Well, success, success, you just see, I gave you an answer. This is on you. Now it's like you don't you that's like the attorney doesn't ask the an open-ended question of the person in the juror box because then they go wide open, right? But so I'll I'll just be quiet.

SPEAKER_02 44:50

What mindset has had the biggest impact on your results to love yourself.

SPEAKER_01 44:59

And that's and I mean that's the number one rule in the eye.

SPEAKER_02 45:02

Well you you gave me a different answer before, similar, but you said that you're lovable.

SPEAKER_01 45:08

Love yourself?

SPEAKER_02 45:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:15

Usually I don't do so well like that.

SPEAKER_02 45:17

If someone only read one chapter, which one should it be?

SPEAKER_01 45:21

Uh chapter two on vision. Because it's the beginning. Because it starts there, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:28

What do you hope that people experience after reading the results tree?

SPEAKER_01 45:37

That life isn't as complicated as it turned out to be. That it's digestible, that I can eat the elephant, that there is a process. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:47

Hope, hope, and inspiration. Yeah, there's a process. You you said a great um, this is actually, we're probably gonna take this and make it like a social media meme uh because it's a great uh two-sentence statement you made before. Action generated from vision will lead to inspiration. Action not aligned with your vision will lead to exhaustion.

SPEAKER_01 46:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:08

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 46:10

Well, and that's where most people live. Right? They're chasing shoulds and ought to's that have been generated by parents, friends, social media, culture, culture, wherever it is, right? They've been burdened with these things. And there's too many of them. And none of them are you. Yeah. But they're chasing them all because they're supposed to. And then they wonder why they're exhausted.

SPEAKER_02 46:35

Yeah. So I'll repeat that statement again just because I think it's worth repeating. Action generated from your vision will lead to inspiration. Action not aligned with your vision will lead to exhaustion. If there's one thing I'd say the reader can take away from reading the results tree, is that they will develop a life of action that's generated from vision, which leads to inspiration.

SPEAKER_01 46:55

Yeah, and then I and then I can get through anything.

SPEAKER_02 46:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:58

But if I can wake up in the morning energized, encouraged, inspired, you know, then I'll then I can get after it. But if I'm like, oh, not another day. Really? Yeah. I gotta go back to that desk. I gotta show up to that boss. I I gotta pay that bill. Like that's that's that's life, that's soul sucking.

SPEAKER_02 47:19

Two final questions, easy ones. Where should people go to get the book and connect with Gabriel Grease?

SPEAKER_01 47:25

Uh, navigatingleaders.com. You can get to everything, right? You can learn about uh you can learn about our e-course and the workbook that goes along with that that's that's coming out.

SPEAKER_02 47:34

You can get a free chapter by the way. And the free chapter you'll get will be chapter one, which is not the most important chapter you're supposed to read. Chapter two is. So hopefully, hopefully you read chapter one and you like it so much, you'll be like, Well, I know chapter two is the most important. So if there's any reason to buy the book, it's just to read chapter two.

SPEAKER_01 47:50

It's like we had a marketing person set this up for that. That's it. I'm telling you. Yeah, so navigatingleaders.com. You can join our community, get to our socials there, you can buy the book. Um, you know.

SPEAKER_02 48:02

And what's next for you and navigating leaders?

SPEAKER_01 48:05

Continue to grow the community, right? Um this journey is foreign. It is weird, it is odd, it is it is special in that you're choosing to do something that in many ways nobody else around you is doing.

SPEAKER_04 48:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:24

And you're choosing to live from a place of responsibility and commitment to self and surrender and faith and and and and joy and forgiveness. Like all these things we say we want, there's a mechanism to get them here.

SPEAKER_04 48:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:38

Right now, that might be terrifying for some people. Because it'll be a change. It'll be a change.

SPEAKER_02 48:47

Especially the early part that you got to work through before you get into the meat of the book. Yeah. Doing that early work, going into the going into the closet, uh, could be pretty terrifying. So I would encourage you not to do it alone, to do it in community.

SPEAKER_00 49:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:01

Um and so speaking of which, um, we've touched on that, but there will eventually be a community here very soon uh online where um well folks can join us on our socials. I mean, you can join the socials now, but eventually we will have an actual uh coaching community uh that you can access through Navigating Leaders. Uh and they'll that there'll be an e-course there, the results tree experience that you'll be able to engage with here very soon.

SPEAKER_01 49:29

Um and it's already produced, it's in final edits.

SPEAKER_02 49:31

We're in final edits, we're building that uh infrastructure now for the digital community. And the intention there is again for you not to do this alone, for you to be able to, you know, do life uh in community with like-minded people.

SPEAKER_01 49:45

Uh well, in and you're gonna screw up.

SPEAKER_02 49:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:48

Right? We're gonna fail, we're gonna fall off the horse, we're gonna scuff our knees, we just get to get back up and do it again, right? And that's the value of the community, right? Is is that's the value of the accountability, that's the value of having a group that's that's in this as well, right? And and all we have to do is remember.

SPEAKER_04 50:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:05

Remember why we're doing it, remember our vision, remember our purpose, and recommit to that, right? Knowing that that that energizing inspiration is is if it's not here yet, it's coming. It's just around the corner. And it's worth having, right? That's that's life isn't supposed to be drudgery and painful and you know, it's not, right? It's hard, right? But when we're on purpose, we it it begins to unfold.

SPEAKER_04 50:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:35

Right. We're still gonna be refined, right? We're still gonna come up against things in life because growth, as we've said in prior episodes, growth requires discomfort. You can't grow in the comfort of your in your comfort zone.

SPEAKER_04 50:47

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 50:48

Right. But as I get better at growing, I get more comfortable being uncomfortable to the point where I will intentionally make myself uncomfortable because I know the growth is coming. Yeah. And it's valuable and it's worth having.

SPEAKER_02 51:02

Well, Gabriel, thank you for your investment that you're making in the lives of others and uh growing leaders. And I think it's a a worthy cause uh to help work with you on. And uh, we're just honored to to play a small role in helping make it happen. Um, so thank you for uh for the journey so far. I hope this has been helpful to each of you that have been listening and watching. And um yeah, we look forward to to growing this community together. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 51:31

We couldn't have done it without you, Marcos. Really, really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 51:34

Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 51:35

So well, hey, as we wrap all these, I'm certain that something in here struck a chord, right? Maybe there's something in here that that will lead you to want to get the book. Please do. Maybe it'll lead you to say, hey, I think this is a book for somebody else. Uh my invitation would be to get your own copy and share it so that you're on that journey with your with your friend or loved one that you were inspired to reach out to.

SPEAKER_02 51:58

Listen, free food tastes better when it's free. Okay. I bet you this reads a whole lot better when it's free. So give it to someone.

SPEAKER_01 52:06

There you go. There you go. Let's do that. So thank you for joining us again. Thank you for giving us your time. Thank you for for participating and sharing and choosing to take yourself on, choosing to uh have a different perspective, choosing to learn something new, right? That's that's the joy. That's the essence of this. So my name is Gabriel Grease, the host of the Navigating Leaders podcast, and my co host, Marcos Perez today. Thank you, Marcos. You're amazing. Until next time, be well. God bless you.