190. You Don’t Have to Do It Alone: Ryan Ray on Community, Wealth, and Purpose

You Don't Have to Do It Alone: Ryan Ray on Community, Wealth and Purpose Ep.190

In this episode of the 90 Day Wins Every.Black Entrepreneur of Excellence series, Coach SandyB sits down with entrepreneur and community leader Ryan Ray to talk about the importance of community, faith, and building with intention.

Ryan shares his journey from a small town in North Carolina to experiencing a life-altering setback that forced him to rebuild from nothing. Through mentorship, personal development, and a shift in mindset, he discovered that success is not something you chase, it’s something you attract by becoming a better version of yourself.

The conversation tackles the power of collaboration over competition, the role of faith in entrepreneurship, and why financial literacy is critical for closing the wealth gap in our communities. Ryan also breaks down how taking risks, executing quickly, and surrounding yourself with the right people can completely change your trajectory.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re navigating life or business alone, this episode will remind you that support, guidance, and growth all happen in community and your next level may be one connection away.

Connect with Ryan Ray: https://ryanrayofficial.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

I had to change my programming, right? I had to change my associations. I could not continue doing what I was doing thinking I was going to get different results. Decide what it is you want, figure out what it's going to cost to get it, and now make the tough question of execution, which is go pay it. Go pay whatever that price is. And it is just incredible what will begin to happen when you build the belief and take action in the direction of the life you would purpose to live.

SPEAKER_04 0:26

Episode 190. Welcome, new and old listeners. This is your host, Sandy B, and I invite you to enjoy this episode. Hello, and welcome to another episode of the 90 Day Wins, Every Dot Block Entrepreneur of Excellence series. I'm your host, Coach Sandy V, and today I have another dynamic entrepreneur, Mr. Ryan Ray. Welcome to the show, Ryan.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Coach Sandy Vee. It's an honor, a privilege to be here.

SPEAKER_04 1:02

Well, I'm so excited to have you here because I love talking to all of the amazing entrepreneurs with the Every Dot Black organizations. Before we get started, I like for each guest to tell the audience a little bit about yourself and then I'll go into my questions. Let us know a little bit about you.

unknown 1:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Happy to do so. Well, thank you for the question. Uh, and again, it's a privilege uh to be here as part of the everydot black. Um love what Jimmy's put together, and here's an extension of that. So uh yeah, I tell people I'm from the big metropolis of Dunn, North Carolina. Uh so people get a kick out of that. Um, and so uh I grew up and I always give that because I grew up in uh, you know, the the around the cottonfields and tobacco of Samson County. So um very small high school, um very close-knit family. And so I always share that because I think that's just important uh to who we become um as as adults. And so um came to college um here at Raleigh at NC State, really clueless about what I wanted to do, be or become. Uh college was a five and a half year,$30,000 party. Um had a good time, uh, but still left clueless. Okay, what's next? So finally got out of there and um fate would have it, went right into uh a career in sales and marketing over a couple of years, had some early success there. And again, the reason I share this is because it brought me to a pivotal point in my life. In 2003, I was in a near fatal car accident.

SPEAKER_00 2:31

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

And uh pretty much lost everything, had to start from scratch, ended up moving back home to that big metropolis of Dunn. And um, but it was at that point that God placed a mentor in my life, someone that helped me to begin to think differently uh about life and about what was important. And, you know, one of the key markers for that was uh he said that well, actually I began to really embrace the philosophy of a guy by the name of Jim Rohn. Yes, yes, and he would say things, and one that really caught my attention was that you know, success isn't something that we pursue. Um, you know, we if we focus on becoming a better per a better person, a better version of ourselves, yeah, then success would be attracted to us, right? I like that. Success is attracted to value, uh, money is attracted to value. And so all those years of study, uh nothing landed. But when I heard that, I was like, wow, that makes sense, and I'm all in. And so uh put my head down for um about 10 years, just really became a student, um, trying to catch up and read the books. And you know, back then we were transcribing YouTube videos and these things called cassette tapes. And so um, and so anyway, uh fast forward 2016, I said, you know what, if if I didn't know these ideas and these principles, there's probably a couple other people who don't. And so we launched uh what would would later become known as an entrepreneurial support organization uh called Triangle Entrepreneurial Leadership. And we've done several other things, but we've really spent, that's my connection to Jimmy. We spent the last 10 years, so I really focused on building this ec this entrepreneurial ecosystem.

SPEAKER_04 4:09

I love it. See, good people know good people, Ryan. Absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 4:15

That's the way it goes.

SPEAKER_04 4:16

Definitely, definitely. So let's get into these questions here. So you shared a little bit about your background. What inspired you to start this business and how were you able to take it from vision to reality?

SPEAKER_01 4:33

Yeah, um, again, I was inspired by, you know, my own journey, right? And as I began to really embrace the idea of personal growth and personal development, you know, again, high school diploma, college degrees, grew up at church, like nobody say go read these books, right? And change your thinking and change your programming and what you've been taught really don't work, right? It was like so. When I kind of got the got the key, right, to the hack, um, again, I was all in. And through the through believing that and having the mentorship and getting myself around other people who were where I was trying to where I was trying to go, and it was built in accountability, um, it started working, right? Like it was like, wow, like these principles really work. And so that was the inspiration, was really just seeing the results and the fruits of that application in my own life, and then really wanting to uh share the good news, right, with up with other people and hopefully inspire them uh to do the same. And um, yeah, I would say, you know, what how did we start it and grow it? It was just commitment. Um, first of all, to people, right? I believe that we are put here to serve. Uh and I truly love to see other people win. I truly love to see other people's lives improve.

SPEAKER_02 5:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

And we stay focused, I think, on helping other people win. You can't help but win, right?

SPEAKER_04 6:00

See, you're telling everyone my secret sauce.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

It's not a secret anymore, right? We gotta help people understand that. That's how it works. I mean, we're such an individualistic society today, right? Everybody just, you know, it's all about me, and and that's that's uh that formula doesn't work.

SPEAKER_04 6:20

Yeah, I totally agree with you. So let's talk about challenges. What challenges have you faced along the way and how were you able to overcome them?

SPEAKER_01 6:31

Yeah, great, great question. So, I mean, just challenges have happened all along, and and you know, I would say my greatest challenge was that life-changing event that happened all the way back to 2003. You know, I went from what I thought was success, you know, you're driving the car or the truck, you're traveling, you're living on the right side of town, right? All the things they're like, and um, and then when all that's taken away from you, you're like, now what? But you also become like, now what? Right? It's it's this now next step, next opportunity. And so if you're able to embrace where you are and and and learn from those opportunities, uh appreciate that, get the lessons, uh, and now prepare for the next phase of that. Um, I would say that was the case. I mean, again, I went from again doing fairly well to, and I'm ashamed to say it, Jimmy's heard me say it to broke busted and disgusted, right? Like to seeing more white in my refrigerator than than food, right? From, you know, having the power turned off, having, you know, the water turned off, all the things, right? I went, I had to, I I drove my truck um back to the dealership and said, y'all can have it. I can't make the payment no more, right? And so it was just this realization of, okay, here's this is a short-term window that I'm just willing to sacrifice and commit because I see a greater future. And I think that's what allowed me to overcome those challenges was looking out far enough down the road to say, okay, this is a short-term sacrifice challenge, whatever you want to call it. Um, but I can I can handle anything for a short term, right? Uh and if I can down the road, uh, I know better is coming.

SPEAKER_04 8:11

I love that. And we're probably going to go back to that in this conversation. So let's go back to that. So I want to talk about your visionary leadership. You founded Triangle Entrepreneurial Leadership Tell as a safe haven for entrepreneurs. What personal experiences or challenges shaped your vision to create a space that not only develops leaders, but also fosters collaboration?

SPEAKER_01 8:42

Yeah. Uh again, I can't take credit for the knowledge piece of that, right? It was being in community. I remember uh in that 10-year window being invited out to um Henderson, Nevada, just outside of Vegas, to this uh like weeklong summit, I'll just call it. And you know, I get there and it's just these ultra successful people. And I'm it took all I could to get there, right? Um but I'm in this room with all these guys that they're just pouring out the information, and everybody I meet is like, How you doing? Nice to meet you, how can I support you?

SPEAKER_02 9:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

I don't know, right? I'm just glad to be here, right? Um it's like like it was like so with the five-day summit, but like by day two, I was so overwhelmed by the gratitude, by the the the embracing, you know, because again, I I I couldn't rock with these guys. I was just glad to be. And so anyway, I ended up going into my room and I just kind of close the door for like day three. Like, I get myself together because I didn't even know how to answer the question, right? I had business going on. I was just trying to figure out how to get my my parents back.

SPEAKER_02 9:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

So long story short, got through that week, and uh what I learned though was that it's not so much about cooperation. My mentor, Dr. George Frazier, you probably heard talk about him. Uh one plus one equals two. Uh that's cooperation. But then he says one and one and one is eleven, and that's collaboration. And I define that as let me take my agenda off the table, you take your agenda off the table, and now let's come together and see what we can create collectively, right? With this third mind. And so I don't know. And so that's where the the visionary leadership began to to foster, realizing that number one, I could do so much more in community with other people than I can ever do by myself. And then now having to focus again, how can I help other people win? Um, and when we begin to get that type of mindset in community, um yeah, sky's the limit.

SPEAKER_04 10:57

I totally agree. So let's talk about bridging the wealth gap. Through mentoring hundreds of entrepreneurs, you saw firsthand the financial literacy and wealth gap for people of color.

SPEAKER_02 11:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 11:12

What moment or story pushed you to create faith-focused finances? And how do you see it shifting the conversation around money in our communities?

SPEAKER_01 11:23

Yeah, great question. Um, so again, I take it back to my childhood, which is where a lot of the trauma lives, right? Um I often tell the story of my brother and I. Uh, he's two years younger than me, and you know, we're sitting on the opposite wall in the living room, my parents on the other side of this wall in the kitchen, engaging in heated fellowship. Um, and so uh heated fellowship. Heated their arguing. Yes, yes. So uh and so I looked at my brother, I'm like, man, you know, who are you going to stay with, mom or dad? Right? Like, um, and we're I don't know how old we are, but too young to be having this conversation. And thankfully, long story short, they made it, right? They got to it. And I never forget asking my mom years later, you know, as I was thinking about this program, I was like, mom, like, what would you have done differently? Um, you know, when you and when you and Pop got married, and and she was like, you know, a lot of things. But she said, Ryan, the one thing is that me and your father never had a vision for our finances. Wow. And that kind of shook me to my core. And so again, in working with entrepreneurs, kind of seeing it surface level, yeah, experiencing it firsthand in my own home, having lost it all going from having it to losing it, but I wasn't prepared to lose it, right? Now starting over. Um, it was like, wow, we gotta do a better job of really understanding money and that it is a tool. And so Faith Focused Finances is a biblically based um financial education model. And I say biblically based because it's pr it's driven by biblical principles, right? It's it's because that's the only thing I can believe in, right? It transcends time. I don't have to guess it. It's not trendy, it don't work today and don't work tomorrow. You apply these principles to your life and to your finances consistently over time, yeah, you will get results. That's the only stage that I can stand on and speak with absolute certainty that it will work. And so it's all and and and money, there has to be a function of faith attached to it. So if you're able to focus on the faith aspect of this, you can absolutely use money and we can begin to collectively work to close the wealth gap, which continues to widen. That's a whole nother conversation.

SPEAKER_04 13:39

That is, and uh, I'm thinking you need to come back and talk about that. But we'll talk about that later. So courage and risk taking now. So your bio speaks to your willingness to take bold risks and make decisive moves. What's one risk you took that didn't go as planned? And what did you learn from it that still influences your leadership today?

SPEAKER_01 14:09

Wow. I mean, I can speak as early as this year. Um, you know, working, we're building, we're working towards the Economic Retirement Weekend, which is actually happening this weekend uh here in Raleigh. Uh so it's a three-day, two-day event, three days for our sponsors and partners. But, you know, just you know, investing in people to make this event operate the way we would desire. Uh and you kind of go all in and in order to do what we want to do, you're engaging people. Uh, and sometimes people don't, you know, uh step up to the plate, right? Yeah. So that's one. But uh that's as recent as you know this year, the last six months. Um but I can think back on yeah, just so many things. I'm trying to think of one in particular. Um but but I mean I'll speak from it principally, like you like it's it's it's risk, but it's uh it's really a growth opportunity, right? So you you don't know what you don't know, you can't predict the future. Uh but what I do know is that if you don't take risk, right, you you can't grow, right? Like if only if you only operate in what you can't see, yeah, right. Only operate in what you feel like you control, because really control. I mean every day's a risk, right? Yeah. I walk out here to my car, is a risk that it is going to come or not, right? So, you know, I think we we call them risk, but it's really just a matter of in investment, right? You're investing in an area anticipating a return on that investment.

SPEAKER_02 15:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Yeah. Um and then you get better at it, right? Um, but without that invest, you gotta put gas in the tank, right? In whatever you're trying to do, right? If you're trying to go somewhere, you gotta put gas in the tank. And I look as at risk as putting gas in the tank, and the higher the fuel, the higher the the premium, you know, the the the faster you go, the longer you get to drive.

SPEAKER_04 16:09

So nice. You balance visionary creativity with meticulous attention to detail. How do you navigate the tension between dreaming big and executing precisely when building organizations that impact others?

SPEAKER_01 16:27

I so I I I personally believe that because of our creator created us to then co-create with him. That was a mouthful, too.

SPEAKER_02 16:39

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

Which then means that in some capacity we all are creative, right? I know some people say, I have a creative bond in my body. Probably not true. Right. Um I think the distinction comes though, going back to risk and um kind of putting the the uncertainty to the side and executing, right? One of my coaches, uh, shout out to Mr. Bill Davis, talks about the speed of execution, right? Like you can plan all day long, you can strategize all day long, but the quickest way to move any mission model business forward is to execute. Because you don't know what's gonna happen just looking at a piece of paper. Now I think you should make the vision plain, right? You write it down, right? Get it on paper, get it out your head. Uh but you and then now technology is just even confusing people even more, right? Because now with with AI, AI tells you the whole plan. So now you do nothing because let me go deeper on this part of the plan, let me go deeper on this part of the plan. You do nothing. But so nothing against AI, I use it. Point is you got to execute, you gotta start moving the ball forward.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

It's football season. I like analogies, right? Like, you know, the team can stand in the huddle all day long and talk about the next play. How are we gonna get this first down? How are we gonna get this first down? But you don't know until you strike, until you hide it. Until you run a play. And that's execution. You gotta run a play. You might get three yards, you might get ten yards, you might get a touchdown, you might lose five yards. Only in execution do you know what the next step is.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

And I think a lot of times as entrepreneurs and people in life, we fear this we fear what ain't even gonna happen. This is true. Isn't even gonna happen. But yeah, until you execute. So I think taking that creativity and then having the courage, right, to then go out and execute uh without having to know what the outcome is.

SPEAKER_04 18:54

That's it. I like that. Let's talk about faith and entrepreneurship. Faith is clearly a pillar in your work and in your financial education program. So, how do you integrate faith principles into the entrepreneurial journey? And what role do you believe faith plays in building sustainable wealth?

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Yeah. Um, I mean, I think sometimes again, we we tend to overcomplicate things, right? Like I had faith that this chair was gonna hold me when I sat down in it, right? Like faith is again, it's all around us. We're utilizing it every day.

SPEAKER_02 19:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

Um and you have faith that you leave home without an umbrella, it's not gonna rank. Like we like it is so let's not make it so complicated, number one. Yeah, yeah. Number two, I think faith is necessary because faith is really just seeing something come to fruition before you have evidence of it, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 20:01

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

And so again, analogy or an example. I I live in Raleigh, like you drive downtown Raleigh, you drive downtown Charlotte, you see the hotels, the buildings, all these things. Well, before it was ever a building somebody had a vision or faith that that was gonna turn into a building, right? Uh and so that ability to see down the road the possibilities and again start to execute towards that, right? Like, like that's that's that's that's faith. Uh and so in entrepreneurship Yeah, it's it's uh taking the next step and moving forward and that that behavior compounding over time begins to create these businesses or these communities or you know, competitions and accomplishes these goals. Um and and and because because faith uh you have all the faith in the world, but take no action and you end up with nothing, right?

SPEAKER_04 21:03

Nothing at all.

SPEAKER_01 21:04

But one of the best selling books of all time says that faith plus works. Yes, right. If you go do something, you could do something, you can do incredible things. And so as it relates to, again, building sustainable wealth, having faith that okay, if I apply these principles to put my talent, my resources to work, they're going to compound over time. Like, well, that's faith, because you gotta believe in an engine, right? You gotta believe in the market, you gotta believe in an insurance product, you gotta believe in something that has proven itself over time, right? So this isn't necessarily a risk.

SPEAKER_02 21:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Uh but you gotta have faith that if I do this over time, if I put$100 away every month for 20 years, that is gonna build to something. Yes. Uh faith causes us to make, I think, better decisions today. Because if we aren't looking down the road and we're just making decisions on our current circumstances, that's very short, it's very short term thinking.

SPEAKER_04 22:00

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SPEAKER_01 23:11

So to build sustain, well, we gotta have faith because we're believing that we're building something for a future-dated arrival.

SPEAKER_00 23:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:20

Definitely as entrepreneurs, if you want some longevity, right? You gotta build that faith and continue to exercise it.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

And sometimes that's challenging to think about, but I think you gotta have those.

SPEAKER_04 23:34

Yeah, yeah. So let's talk about how you use AI and technology in your business.

SPEAKER_01 23:42

Thanks to Jimmy, he he gave the the courage to jump in the AI game. So Yeah. So I would say currently, I because of the creativity, uh, I use chat more so now just to help me get build out the strategy around creative idea of something that I have. Um I am beginning now to use it, you know, in uh output like PowerPoints and different things of that sort. Um I was just telling the group Thursday night, you know, if if you aren't adopting AI, you know, what used to take the time that it used to take me to figure out the color palette for a PowerPoint, yeah, have it built and giving the presentation, right? Uh and again, speed of execution, right? And again, that's where AI comes into play. So for me now it is really more helping me to expand my thoughts and research, uh, because again, you I we don't know what we don't know. Well, AI has the capacity to go out and gather all of this information and data that I wouldn't even know existed. Right. Again, it's it it it it it it shrinks time right for us. Um so yeah, that's been my biggest use of of AI thus far.

SPEAKER_04 24:58

So I love it. Each entrepreneur uses it differently, and I love to hear how everyone is learning to adopt it or not quite ready yet, but everyone is on their own individual journey, which is cool. So tell me how you got to be a part of Every Dot Black. I you shared a little bit that you know your friendship with Dr. Jimmy Davies, and then also I want to know why you continue to be a part of this organization.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

Yeah, for sure. Uh I've um sorry, Jimmy, I can't remember exactly how we met, but we spent so much time together in the same rooms we met, we shared meeting space and conference space, and we were just together so much. But um, yeah, we were both literally in ideation stage. Uh at like literally at like the same time. And he was thinking every day black and going out and getting up all buying up all this virtual real estate.

SPEAKER_02 25:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

Uh had a vision for it, and I was like, man, I want to really serve communities. And so we were kind of running just right there together. And so I think I know he was for me a a huge inspiration. Um, again, just the whole technology piece that helped me to understand that um to some degree. I'm probably behind again now. Uh, but yeah, it was it was just a genuine friendship. We had the same mission in mind, each wanting to do it for uh uh black entrepreneurs focusing on technology, where I was really more community. Um a lot of overlap, sharing audiences and things of that sort. So uh yeah, just that that collaboration and and association with with a like-minded, brilliant individual like Jimmy. And I continue to be a part of it for those same reasons. And uh, you know, it's it's a community that uh serves me, but that again I have opportunities um to serve. Uh you know, it's it's collaboration, it's name recognition, it's uh cross promotion.

SPEAKER_02 26:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:58

Yeah, just a lot of great things to do. He he he introduced me to the to Joe Dellisa of the World and you know, open arms, Ryan, come on, be a part, you know, you with me, just let's go. And so he helped me also think about think about more of the those who came up before us, right? And we're really thinking about that. And so um, yeah, it's just it's it's you know, we all kind of have our focus and our drive to bring that other mind, uh uh another way of thinking from another person on board. Uh tremendous value uh to the work that you do. So yeah, great community. I mean, very expansive, just wonderful, wonderful people.

SPEAKER_04 27:43

Definitely, definitely. And and that's that's why I'm a part of it, right? To get to meet entrepreneurs like you and to learn about the work that's been going on for some time. You know, it it's something about being in an environment where you know that exactly what you said, where I'm coming to be fed, but I'm also coming to give of what I have to offer. And that's that's the underlying uh theme that everyone says, right? They are coming to learn and grow as entrepreneurs, but they also have the opportunity to share, which I think is awesome because it just creates this beautiful currency, right? Where we're actually doing the things we talk about doing, right, Ryan? Not just saying we want to get together and we want to build with other entrepreneurs. We're being intentional about it. We're showing up to these meetings, we're making sure we connect with each other so we don't have to go through this journey by ourselves, right? So many people talk about entrepreneurship being lonely, but that's because you're choosing to be alone. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 28:50

That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

Yeah, that's no longer an excuse anymore. I mean, I can see, you know, 10, 12 years ago started, it just wasn't the the community sense. Entrepreneurship, of course, was a thing, but it wasn't as trendy. And so now these entrepreneurial support models, associations, and things are sparking up. And yeah, it's uh absolutely um an option now to jump the community.

unknown 29:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 29:16

Totally. So before I let you go, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:20

You perked up talking about it too, so for you as well.

SPEAKER_04 29:24

So definitely, definitely. Before I let you go, I know there is someone that's listening to this that has experienced that that situation, right, Ryan? That situation that feels as if in a second their life have changed, similar to what you talked about, what you've experienced. And so you also told us that by going through this devastation, you had some huge life changes you had to make, right? All the things you had anticipated, they had changed, you know. So it was a huge undertaking in your life. And right now, a lot of people are experiencing similar things. Maybe it's not the accident, right? But maybe it's the sudden job loss, you know, sudden death of family members, so any number of things, right? But the question is how can you encourage that person? Remember way back then, what was it that helped you to say, okay, I'm gonna have to go back home. I'm gonna have to pivot here. This wasn't in my vision board for the year, Ryan. But somehow you were able to say, I'm gonna keep moving. So I want you to speak to that person who needs that encouragement today, who needs that word to say, okay, I know this seems tough, but I'm gonna have that faith and I'm gonna believe for that tomorrow that I can't see right now, but I have that mustard seed, Ryan. What would you tell that person?

SPEAKER_01 30:55

Yeah. Thanks, Coach Sandy V. Um, yeah, I would I would say to that person uh a a few things. Number one, realize that this is not the end. Um it's it's not over. This is a um a small window in your life. Yeah. Um and if you can think about the longer term, the future of where you're going, that helps you to put that into perspective. That's the first thing. Um the second thing would be is to realize that we cannot do this thing called life alone.

SPEAKER_02 31:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:38

Um and we're we're taught that, uh, we're shown that social media um loses to that, it's a lie, right? First of all, I believe you should be connected to someone greater than you, right? Um, your creator, a higher calling. Yeah, because again, you have to have a faith in something outside of yourself, right? Because we are human beings, right? We are emotional, physical, we are, you know. Uh and so having that connection um spiritually to something greater to you that you can now say, okay, how do I step out of this situation? Literally.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:19

Um, look inside of myself because you are great. You were created with greatness. Greatness is inside of you. You have the capacity to overcome anything uh that life has thrown your way. I'm a witness to that.

SPEAKER_02 32:34

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 32:35

So I I would say that so then to sum that up, there has to be just again infallible belief that you can overcome it. Um and then from there I would say now now take that belief and now have some fun. Then the fun is what do you want?

SPEAKER_02 32:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:52

Like like what is the life that you want to now begin creating? Because what this can serve for you is a launching pad. Maybe the prior to this event, and you probably know it, but you you weren't headed in the direction you were called to go. You were purposed to go. And this could simply be a crossroad, and that if you're able to look inside, have the courage to say, you know what, this is the life I want to lead. This is the life I want to live. And that is absolutely okay to ask that question. Now, once you've taken the time and you won't do it overnight, but to begin to decide the life that you want. Now figure out, yeah, now what I gotta do to go get it, right? Because for me it was I had to change my programming, right? I had to change my associations. I could not continue doing what I was doing thinking I was gonna get different results.

SPEAKER_02 33:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:42

Decide what it is you want, figure out what it's gonna cost to get it, and now make the tough question of execution, which is go pay it. Go pay whatever that price is. And it is just incredible what will begin to happen when you build a belief and take action in the direction of the life you were purposed to live. And then finally, I would say, don't do it alone. Find a group of people or a person, a mentor, someone who's where you're trying to go, already been there, and get in community, get in association with that individual or those groups of individuals, because you need the accountability. Uh you need the the belief, that fuse your belief because you can see other people do it. Really quick story, yeah, I know we gotta go. I'm 18, 19 years old, and all of my life, like I used to just tell myself, like, no, I don't I don't speak. I don't even know why I used to give myself that story. I don't speak on stage. I don't, you know, behind the scenes, I don't none of that, right? My dad and my brother starred a show, life of the party. So I would just kind of and I'm still introvert, right? I th but I've I've learned the skill. Anyway, um I I am at this event, and this guy gets on the stage and he's speaking. This is the power of community. His suit's too big, he can't put a word together, but he's obviously incredibly successful. Um and so that was one of the first times I said, you know what, if if he can do it, I can do it. Right. Fast forward, I went to college and I literally dropped courses if public speaking was on the syllabus.

SPEAKER_02 35:29

Really?

SPEAKER_01 35:30

Yeah, that's part of the reason it took me five and a half years. See? Part of it. Like, no, I would drop the course, literally. Wow. And I remember being in a room and I heard heard somebody say the power of association. We were being in a room and I heard somebody give a Warren Buffett quote, and it said that until you're able to effectively communicate your message, you'll always live below your means. It's like, wow. Well, I knew what it felt like to live below my means, and I didn't like it. So I was encouraged by this community, little steps at a time, yeah, to start speaking, start getting out of this what I thought was a comfort zone, but it wasn't. And now today uh I love it, enjoy it, mainly because I know the value and the service that it's offering to other people. So I hope that encourages someone.

SPEAKER_04 36:21

Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing that because I I know it will. I know it will. After doing this for five years and having such impactful conversations, there's always someone, right? Whether it's a DM on social media or an email that lets me know that something that was said impacted them, made them take that step, make them think differently. Remember, you talk about going somewhere and hearing a Jim Roan quote, and it clicked after all those years of going to school and all those things. So I believe that God definitely works in mysterious ways. And that's why I'm encouraged to share and to have this podcast and to bring people like you on because I want people to see that everyday people are showing up and doing the work for themselves, but also for their community. So thank you so much for being here. And if you don't mind, would you tell us how we can get in touch with you? And I'll be sure to leave it in the show notes as well.

SPEAKER_01 37:29

Oh, very good. Well, first of all, Coach Sandy B, let me say thank you. Uh, you're a great host. I appreciate what you're doing. Thank you. Continued success. Any way we can serve and support you, let us know. Um follow me across all social media at Ryan Ray Official. So Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, at Ryan Ray Official. Um my email if you feel so inclined, Ryan Ray at RyanRayofficial.com. And that's also my website, RyanRayofficial.com. So try to be consistent across uh the online world. So pretty, pretty easy.

SPEAKER_04 38:02

I love it. So we will definitely be in touch, and I will definitely be in touch because I I really appreciate all the work you're doing, and we definitely have some synergies. So I would love for you to come back and talk to the community because we've got to be our own uh support. And when we have the people that are doing the things that have the information, why not connect with them like you so brilliantly told us today on this podcast, right? So there's no excuse we don't have to do it alone. We can be in community. I'm so glad that we're connected by every dot black. And so we just continue to learn and grow together. So thank you again, my friend.

SPEAKER_01 38:42

Absolutely. Thank you. And I look forward to being on the other side of the camera because I know you got a story to share as well.

SPEAKER_04 38:48

Yes, yes. Wow, that was a powerful conversation. I hope you're feeling inspired and ready to take action toward your 90-day wins. If today's episode gave you a new perspective or an extra push to go after your goals, I want to hear from you. Let's keep the conversation going. Share this episode on your socials and tag me at 90 Day Wins. I'd love to know your biggest takeaways. And if you're listening on Apple Podcasts, do me a favor, leave a five-star review and a comment. Your support helps more goal getters like you find this podcast and stay motivated on their journey. Remember, every day is a chance to win. Let's make it count. See you next time on the 90 Day Wins podcast.

SPEAKER_03 39:45

Don't get your win every 90 days.