Glenn Lundy

A once broken man now an inspiration and an innovator joins host Kraig Kann on Tracks To Success. 

Meet Glenn Lundy, a man who won’t hide from a disappointing past that saw him living a life in bars and also behind bars, leading him down a path of self-distraction and ultimately a failed suicide attempt that actually turned him in a new direction.

Today, Lundy has found a voice and a growing audience as an automotive industry leader and expert in sales.  He travels, he speaks and he has developed a daily internet morning show called #RISEANDGRIND

You’ll be wowed by his candid storytelling and learn how he’s helped auto dealers around the country reach sales numbers they couldn’t imagine.  Plus... his secret to finding a passion and a purpose in life and how to get a hold of yourself when you need it most. 

Enjoy one of the most compelling life stories yet on Tracks To Success.

Watch Tracks To Success on Kraig Kann's YouTube Channel!  

Transcript

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1 (4s):
Welcome to tracks to success brought to you by presentation partners. This is the podcast that brings you inspiring people, and they're inspiring stories. How did they find their way to the top and how can their path help you do the same? Here's your host network, broadcaster, executive and entrepreneur Craig cam

2 (27s):
Right now on this edition of tracks to success, you'll meet a man who takes the meaning of entrepreneur to a whole different level. And it all begins before most people even wake up. He has a morning show on Facebook, 5:30 AM sharp called rise and grind. Born from a belief that the world can change by altering the way we attack our day in short, this man, once homeless and desperate in San Diego at a wake up call and porn from Nat was a desire to make the most of a new lease on life. He's actually an automotive industry, inspiration as well, a car dealership, general manager who grew a small town dealership by more than 800% with a strategy and an energy you won't find anywhere.

2 (1m 22s):
He found faith and belief in himself. And in this time of challenge is combination of leadership and fellowship is changing the minds of men. So how did he find his way from nearly taking his life to a successful self built platform where he's moving so many people to change their own lives for the better. And where does he see it all going? His name is Glenn Lundy, his inspiring story. And this addition of tracks to success starts now.

2 (2m 2s):
Glenn, thank you so much. I really appreciate you spending some time with me. And I will say this in all my time in searching for just the right guests on this podcast. I do some research. I read a lot of things and I can tell you right now, straight up, that your stories stood out. So I am excited to help share it. And I thank you for your time. How you doing?

0 (2m 24s):
I'm doing well, man. I really appreciate being here. Like it's just a, it's an honor and a privilege to share this space with you.

2 (2m 32s):
Thank you. I want to read something that's been attributed to you. Quote, who I was is no longer who I am. However, who I was has made me the man I am today. That's pretty powerful stuff. Who were you? Exactly?

0 (2m 54s):
I was a lost, I was a very lost human, very, very, very long time to be, to be honest, I was, I was too sided for a good season of my life. I was not three dimensional. And so, you know what I mean by that is, you know, I was living my life very surface level. It was very survival of the fittest, the very mind and body, but I was leaving out the spiritual side of myself and it wasn't until I discovered that spiritual side that I was able to grow into who I am today.

3 (3m 34s):
I mean, you are a motivator, you're a speaker. You are a businessman. You are an entrepreneur, you are a family man. There is so much to you that is intriguing that I want to get to, but I want to kind of start with this whole idea of rise and grind. Okay. It's kind of a movement as much as it is your show that you do on Facebook. How did it start and what is the goal that you have in having this?

0 (4m 6s):
Yeah. You know, so rise and grind is a, you know, it's a daily morning show, Monday through Friday, 5:30 AM build with motivation, education and inspiration. Those are our three key areas of, of development and purpose behind the show. And so really it started two fold. Part of the reason it started is there was just a ton of negativity in social media. And I found myself complaining about all of the negativity that existed in that realm. And so part of me was like, well, Glenn, don't complain about it, do something about it, right?

0 (4m 45s):
Like this platform exists. Let's use it. So I decided I would start filling the feeds with motivation education and inspiration by doing a daily show. And the reason it ended up being five 30, to be honest, 5:30 AM is that was the only time that I knew for sure nothing else would get in the way. You know, I've got seven kids I'm number eight on the way. And at that point in time, I was running a large dealership in Paris, Kentucky. And so I just knew like I had to do it early enough to where I wasn't going to have any engagements or people weren't going to be calling me or kids. Weren't going to be needing me so on and so forth.

0 (5m 28s):
And I also am a believer that if we can change the way people start their day, it'll make a massive impact in their life cause it has in mind. And so that was one motivation behind the shows. Let's create a space where we can consistently can show up daily with motivation, education, inspiration, and help change the way people start their day. Meanwhile, filling the feeds with positivity. That was one, the other side of it was from a business side, from a business side I knew. And this principle of frequency plus proximity equals affinity, which ultimately Craig, it's just, the more often you and I can connect. And the closer in proximity we can get, as long as there's a positive, it's a positive interaction, not a negative one.

0 (6m 15s):
As long as that is the case, the affinity will increase. I will begin to like you more. You will begin to like me more. And people like to do business with people that they like. So I thought, wow, you know, from a business standpoint, if I can go live every single day and fill people with a positive and emotional impact, you know, that that's a, that's vibrating on a powerful frequency. I can actually draw them into either want to come work for me or want to come do business with me. So I was killing two birds with one stone. We were handling a marketing aspect. And then also also serving this, this pool that I had to change the narrative on social media,

3 (6m 57s):
Super smart and super catchy frequency plus proximity equals affinity. Have I got it right? That's correct. Yeah. All right. I want to get inside your head with more stuff later. I know you're a motivational speaker. I've seen some of your talks. We'll talk specifically about, you know, the mechanics of how you do what you do, but most of the time, and I speak as well. The best in motivational speaking, have a story to tell a story that resonates something that, that grips people, your story, your childhood, go back for me. What was that like when you were a kid, was it a good experience that helped shape you in a positive way?

0 (7m 39s):
So my childhood was really interesting. My dad is an African American man and my mom is Caucasian. She's a white woman. They were married in, you know, in the, in the seventies. And it was an interesting time back then, as far as race, it's an interesting time now as far as race, but it was even more interesting back then. And so they were married and my dad was very military. He was very strict. He was abusive. He was a very hard man for the, the, the first season of my life. So I grew up in a, in a home where you had to ask to have a glass of water.

0 (8m 23s):
You had to ask to take a shower. You did things right. And you did them right the first time. And there were, there were very extreme consequences to your actions. If you didn't do things the right way, my mom also was stuck in that environment. She wasn't allowed to have a driver's license. She wasn't allowed to have a job. She wasn't allowed to have friends that weren't approved by my father. She wasn't allowed to do any of those, any of those things. So it was an interesting climate. And ultimately my mom finally got the strength to get out of that relationship. So my parents got divorced when I was roughly 11 years old. And here's actually where things got interesting

4 (9m 5s):
To say the least because my mom

0 (9m 8s):
Remarried my mom, who's white remarried, a white man, and my dad who's black remarried a black woman. And then they ended up moving into an apartment complex Greenlaw garden apartments in Flagstaff, Arizona, and they moved two apartments apart. So my mom and her new husband were in apartment 28 and my dad and his new wife were in apartment 30. And it was insane. It was crazy. Every stereotype that you could possibly think of

4 (9m 39s):
You have existed in these homes, right? Like my dad's house was all about sports. There was a TV in every room. We were listening to

0 (9m 47s):
Gospel music and hip hop and you know, all of that stuff, heavy, heavy, heavy, like discipline. It was just gospel. Like it was just, you know, fried chicken Koolaid, every, every possible,

4 (9m 60s):
Well stereotype you can think of existed over in dad's house. And the woman that he had married,

0 (10m 4s):
She had four kids and they ended up having two kids. So there was eight of us in this three bedroom apartment in apartment 30 now over at apartment 28 and my mom's house.

5 (10m 16s):
It was just my mom, my stepdad, me and me,

0 (10m 18s):
My sister. And in that house, it was like rock and roll country music. My mom was actually a country singer for a,

4 (10m 27s):
A period of time. And so I'd walk into that house.

0 (10m 30s):
It would be nice and quiet. Mom might be

4 (10m 32s):
In the book on the couch or something like that. It was just so

0 (10m 37s):
Drastically different between the two homes. And I kind of grew up right in the middle. So on a positive side of that, now I can look back and see that that helped me to develop into somewhat of a chameleon where I can connect with people from different races, different backgrounds, different cultures. I've always had this gift of being able to walk the line of in the middle, on the negative side, when I was young and going through things like puberty and, and, you know, growing up as a teenager, I never felt like I fit in anywhere. My skin was too dark to be white.

0 (11m 17s):
It was too light to be black. And so I created this environment around myself. That was not, not a positive one, you know, in mom's house. I had complete and total freedom. I didn't have a curfew at age 13. I could run the streets. My mom just couldn't control me at all. Dad's house, super disciplined. That was only there every other weekend during the month. So I grew up kind of in the streets, man, hanging out in pool halls and with people that are a lot older than me and getting in a lot of, you know, a lot of trouble with the law, running from the police and, and things like that. Committing small crimes, shoplifting, things like that.

0 (12m 1s):
I just got in a lot of trouble, you know, kind of in those teenage years. And then ultimately, as I became an adult, some of those troubles followed me into my, into my late twenties.

3 (12m 13s):
Where was that? Where, where did you grow up? And you say that you were that kid that kinda struggled to fit in. Were you an athlete at all?

0 (12m 24s):
I, I was, I was, I ran track and I played basketball. I was a decent athlete. Like I was always the, the two guy. I have a lot of second place trophies, a lot of second place ribbons. I was never the best, but I was always, I was always decent. And so I would, I would, I would go to school. I was always very academically. You know, academics was easy for me. So my mom's agreement was as long as I got straight, A's no curfew do what you want. And so I would get through school, easy peasy, go to track, practice, hang out for a while. And then after that, all the other kids were going home to their curfews and so on and so forth.

0 (13m 6s):
And that's when I would hit the streets and spend my nights out there causing trouble.

3 (13m 10s):
Is this San Diego, California? Where was it?

0 (13m 13s):
This was in Flagstaff, Arizona

3 (13m 14s):
Flagstaff in your website, Glen. It talks about from behind bars. You know, that that's where it leads you to this great success story. So what's that story. Are we talking bars like drinking holes, establishment, or are we talking about a, you were in trouble with the law? What happened?

0 (13m 33s):
It's a combination of both. I was always very drawn I've. I mean, I'm a, I was a bar hopping junkie from about age 15 all the way through until I was like 30 years old. I actually married, my wife now was a bartender at a, at a local bar in, in Lexington, Kentucky. That's where I met her. So I spent a lot of times I'm a social person, man. So I loved being in social environments with all types of different personalities. That was just my jam dude, if you ever want to go bowling or play darts or shoot pool or any of those things, you better watch out cause I'm coming at you. Cause I spent a lot of time in bars.

0 (14m 16s):
Now on the other side of that, you know what comes with that? When, when, when you live a life, my dad used to say nothing good ever happens after midnight. Right? And, and, and there's a lot of truth to that. Cause as the bar, as the bar scene starts to wind down and you've had your drink, so you've had whatever you've got your liquid courage. That's when I would tend to get in a lot of trouble, whether it be getting in fights or I've been to jail a total of 17 times. Wow. And 16 of those 17 times were just one night, one night stays where I was out and I was fighting. I was drunk. I running from the cops or, you know, silly, silly stuff like that. There was one time where I stayed an extended stay and that was some more it's for bad checks.

0 (15m 1s):
And, and you know, all these, all these different, crazy things in Arizona, but ultimately, you know, there was a good 15 years of my life were hanging out in bars and in those environments and causing trouble was the normal for me.

3 (15m 16s):
Bars can actually lead to bars. That's exactly what I'm saying. So who wins, who, who did inspire you? Who was maybe your biggest influencer when you were going through all of that? Or were you completely lost with no faith? I know you've got faith now. It's a big part of your life. But back then, who influenced you?

0 (15m 40s):
Yeah. So influenced in a positive way or Nick.

3 (15m 46s):
Yeah, it could be both, right? I mean, you you're, you're the guy that's always trying to find positivity. So, so who helped you in that regard?

0 (15m 56s):
So it wasn't until you know, that that scene and living that lifestyle ultimately brought me to what you would expect it to bring me to. You know, I very much was a Darwinistic mindset, survival of the fittest. And I took advantage of a lot of people. I always had a gift of being able to be relatable. People liked me, I could speak well, I was convincing those types of things. And so I could talk myself into situations and with no moral high ground on the other side, it always ended up me taking advantage of someone else. And I burned a lot of bridges. So those burned bridges ultimately led me to where I was living in San Diego, California.

0 (16m 41s):
I ended up homeless on the streets and I would spend my days searching for enough change to be able to get a sausage McMuffin with egg, which would be my meal for the day. And then I would get enough change to jump on a bus. And I would ride the buses at night. I'm over there in San Diego, they run 24 seven. So I would ride the bus at night and then 6:00 AM. They'd pull into the bus Depot and I'd have to get off and kind of do that whole, that whole thing again, I did that for awhile until I reached a point where no, Craig, there's nothing worse. People, people think that homelessness what's bad about homelessness as being hungry or being broke.

0 (17m 22s):
But really the worst part of homelessness is you become invisible. Like people won't make eye contact with you. They're fearful of you. They don't know if you're going to ask them for something. If you're going to mug them, if you're anything like that. So I slowly drifted to this place where I was completely invisible. People would look right through me and I had nowhere to go, no one call, no one to connect with. And that just sent me into a really deep depression that ultimately led me to attempt to take my own life. Tried to, tried to go back to the comeback, to the stereotypes of black people.

0 (18m 5s):
I can not swim very well at all. Water scares me. And so I thought, you know, I'll just go out here into the ocean as far as I can, and I won't be able to make it back. And so I attempted to take my own life. I was unsuccessful at that. And as I was washed back up by the tide that was coming in, as I was washed back up onto the beach, I laid there looking up into the stars and I realized in that moment, a couple of things. But one thing I really realized is how small my problems were in comparison to how big the universe was and that smallest something about that smallness affected me.

0 (18m 51s):
And then I was able to start to realize that though, I had thought I was a victim in all of these situations, the truth was everywhere. I went there. I was, I was the constant, I was the consistent, it didn't matter what city I lived in, what people I hung out with, what environment I was in, all of the trouble, all of the chaos, all of the woes and worries of my life had been created and developed by me. And so once I realized that there was kind of a shift, it was like, okay, wait a minute. The universe is huge. And the opportunities are everywhere. I am the one that's ultimately in control of where I end up.

0 (19m 32s):
So therefore, if I can develop me and get a better understanding of myself in all aspects of myself, then I can now control where I end up versus being a victim to the universe. That makes sense.

3 (19m 46s):
Yes. So let me make sure I get this straight. You lost the will to live. You almost took your own life. Failed attempt. You were completely off the tracks, but you got yourself back on. If you were going to pinpoint how it all happened and how it all fell apart, would you blame yourself?

0 (20m 8s):
Yeah, 100%. You know, it was, it was a compound of me living a 2d life, serving self over others. And over time it just compounded man to where, to where I ended up at the bottom. You know, I ended up at the model like people don't realize and understand. I don't think how important relationships are to success, mental success, spiritual success, physical success. If we have strong relationships, we can get healthier in the gym. If we have somebody that's egging us on or pouring into us or supporting us, if we have coaches and mentors and people like that, that are feeding our minds with positive things, we can grow to Heights.

0 (20m 56s):
We never imagined from a spiritual standpoint, if we have outside influences that are pouring in, that are encouraging, that are continuing to, to poke us a little bit, to, to spark those embers and spark those fires. That's how we reach higher levels of that's how we ascend as humans is through others. It's the impact that we can make in other people's lives and the impact that other people make in ours. So when you strip all that away, you strip away all of those relationships, all of those connections, and you're in the end, it's just you, that's all that's left. It's, it's a deep, dark, very terrifying place to be completely disconnected from the rest of the world.

0 (21m 40s):
And knowing that I was the one that put myself there, it then became, and I wish I could just say, you know, snap and everything went back together. That's not the case. It took a long time to rebuild, you know, from all of the mess that I've made, made to clean all of that up. But once I realized that ultimately through networking through relationships and through development of South, I could, I could climb out. That's when I started to head down that road.

3 (22m 9s):
So you go out into the ocean to take your own life. The tide pulls you in, who pulled you up once you had your life back, was it a relationship specifically, somebody that, that helped get you back on the tracks? Was it a relationship with God? What was it?

0 (22m 28s):
So it's actually really, really unique, man. This woman comes up to me on the, on the beach and she hands me a book called Dianetics and by L Ron Hubbard, it's the basis of Scientology. So she hands me this book called Dianetics. And then she brings me down to the orange County church of Scientology, where they interview me, find out I have a high IQ. They offer me a position on staff immediately. They start to teach me this Scientology stuff, the beginning basis, which is like the art of communication, understanding the subconscious mind, how to overcome a, what they call engrams, which are these preprogrammed parts of the mind that come in traumatic situations that ultimately control your decisions going forward.

0 (23m 16s):
So they started teaching me all of these things and then crazy enough, they started to teach me that we are actually not just mind and body, but that there is a spiritual side, there's a third dimension to us. So as I started to learn that in the church of Scientology, this woman gave me a home. There was like 15 of us. She like basically just recruits people off the streets, gives them a place to stay, gives them food and introduces them to the church. And so I started studying that and started really getting an inside peek at what's going on in this mind of mine and where some of my patterns had originally developed and how to break through those.

0 (23m 58s):
And then the understanding of spiritual is where I started to seek. I was like really into that, like, how do I get in touch with the spiritual side of myself now, Scientology itself ended up not being my jam. I'm about six months in. It was, it was clear to me that that was not the path I wanted to stay on. I was thankful for the enlightenment, but things started to get a little weird on the backside that didn't align with, with me and my beliefs. And so from there, I started studying like Buddhism and Christianity and all the different religions to try to find what really resonated with my soul. So I could get to understand that spiritual side even better. And I landed on Christianity, Rez resonates with me and I started to study the Bible and started to serve that side of myself.

3 (24m 47s):
Really cool. And you're back on the track. Tell me how you got from San Diego to Kentucky and how you became, here's the other part of your story? This, this car industry sensation, I'm not calling you a car industry salesman. I'm calling you sensations.

0 (25m 2s):
Right? And I love that, man. I appreciate that. So the car business, you know, was a part of my life in Flagstaff. I re I worked at a Nissan Subaru dealership from 20 to 27, right, right. In there before this whole, you know, homeless season and so on and so forth. So when I, when I left the church in San Diego and all of that, I ended up back in Phoenix, hanging out with some friends. And there was an opportunity for me to move to Kentucky with a guy I had met traveling on the road years before, and he was looking for a roommate. And so I jumped on a plane.

0 (25m 42s):
I had $1,500 cash in a suitcase full of clothes, terrible credit, lots of burned bridges. And I came to Kentucky to really just get a completely fresh start. I wanted to go somewhere where no one knew my name, no one knew my past. I could really create someone in something new and impactful. And I felt like I couldn't do that back home while I was still living under the, you know, the, the stories and with the relationships I had developed in that season. So I moved to Kentucky, a little bit of cash, bought a $400 car, got a job as a night, auditor at a hotel for a short period of time and did everything in my power to try to avoid getting back in the car business.

0 (26m 27s):
I still was blaming the car business for a lot of my downfalls. And ultimately I started my own business. I started something called Kentucky blue poker crew. So Craig, you gotta get this right. So I was a gambler, right? I was a bar guy. That was my thing. And I quickly realized that you cannot build wealth, longterm, consistent wealth through gambling. I don't know why it took me forever to figure that out. I think I'm pretty smart, but for some reason it took me a while. But once I figured that out, I thought, well, if I like gambling and I like social environments and I like being in bars, but I don't like the downside that like the losing side, how can I create an environment where I can get all of those things and actually make money at it?

0 (27m 13s):
And so in doing so I created something called Kentucky blue poker crew, which was a free poker league that set up in bars and restaurants all over Kentucky, where people would come together. They play poker for free. We had a point system is a league just like a dart league or any other league. And we gave away prizes and so on and so forth. And the bars would pay me to have people show up for these tournaments. And so I got Budweiser to sponsor it. It was the fastest growing, you know, poker league in the state. We rapidly went over 10,000 members and it was crazy. We were running in bars and restaurants seven nights a week, multiple different places all over the city, making a lot of money, but there was still one key element and problem.

0 (27m 56s):
And that is that I was still in bars every single night until three o'clock in the morning, drinking like crazy and still causing trouble. And it wasn't until I met my wife, she rapidly gets pregnant. And then she was like, bro, you cannot hang out in bars till three o'clock in the morning. You're 30 something years old. We got a kid, you got to get a real job. Right. And so I gave up, I sold the business and the only thing I knew how to do was, was, was the car business. So I went back into the car business in Paris, Kentucky in January of 2011 and was able to do some pretty miraculous things with that dealership and continue to serve the auto industry here, you know, 10 years later.

0 (28m 43s):
Wow.

3 (28m 44s):
You talk about gambling and longterm wealth. I know that gambling can definitely, you know, that's not a given, but longterm poverty and longterm bankruptcy can definitely happen from a gambling issue. Okay. That, that I know. Hey everybody, I really want to tell you about ahead. One of our new partners this season, and now the official headwear provider of tracks to success, creativity, a sharp look, dozens of styles to choose from a, head's been supplying the most prestigious events and outfitting the world's top golfers for 25 years. And it's perfect for you as well. So if you're looking to dress for success, make sure you think ahead.

3 (29m 27s):
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0 (29m 48s):
<inaudible>

3 (29m 50s):
Speaking of audience, let's talk about this 800% growth story. You've worked with several dealerships. I know you were a general manager and all that of, of a dealership, but this thing is something that's gone. We'll call it nationwide now. And I want you to tell me about this. Is it a sales strategy or is it about culture

0 (30m 17s):
In order to sell it? You have to tell the dealers it's a sales strategy. You say the auto industry is interesting, man. It's a bunch of guys that are built in these 30 day windows, everything from the manufacturers to how we do our advertising. Everything's built around doing things in 30 days. And so they like to see instant results and they're always searching for light switches. And so I took my experience, the dealership that I started, you know, that I worked at in Paris, Kentucky, we grew 800% in a period just under six years from a, just a small town dealership. Nobody knew about to being the second largest used car franchise dealership in the country.

0 (30m 57s):
So when I left there back in October of 2018, I wanted to create and help other leaders in the auto industry create environments where they can have that type of growth ultimately so that they can serve and create more opportunities for their employees and for their communities. And so what I do now,

3 (31m 20s):
Glen Glen, hold on a second though. How did you do that in a small town at one dealership, 800%. What was the, what was the Willy Wonka golden ticket?

0 (31m 32s):
Well, first thing we did is we sat down right? When I went in, I was like, if I'm going to go back in this business, I'm not going to, I'm not going to repeat what I did before. So when I was in the industry to begin with, it was your typical car dealership, whatever you see in the movies, that type of thing we took advantage of customers took advantage of our employees. I was able to rise the Rue that through promotion, but ultimately after seven years in, in, in the industry on that side, I ended up homeless, you know, on a beach in San Diego. So I was like, I'm not gonna do that again. And so I made a list of everything that I hated about the car business as an employee.

0 (32m 13s):
And then I made a list of everything that customers hated about buying a car. And we made a decision the day that I started with that company, I made a decision that I was going to get myself into a position of power so that we could do exact opposite of everything on this list, exact opposite, 180 degrees. And so I started in sales, worked my way up into, into management, ultimately GSM and then became the general manager of the store. But the way that we got all of that growth was by flipping your traditional business model upside down on its head. So most people will start a business, they'll say, okay, I'm looking to make profit.

0 (32m 54s):
And as I make more profit, I want to speak, expand, and scale. And so I have to get more customers. If I get more customers, I'll get more profits. So I'm going to serve and try to reach more customers. And as I get more customers, ultimately I need more people, right. To be able to expand and grow. So that's your traditional business model. I want to make money. I have to have customers. I need people to serve the customers. So I flipped that upside down and said, no, no, no, let's not make profit our first priority. And even make customers our second priority and our employees, the last priority, let's do this the other way around. Let's make our employees the first priority. If I can get amazing, talented, incredible individuals to work incredibly hard, then ultimately they will serve my customers in such professional and excellent way that my customers will not only do business with us, but they will continue to spread our name and our word to their friends, their family members, and ultimately increase our profits.

0 (33m 55s):
So by flipping that upside down and really helping my employees grow and develop by having morning meetings where we would motivate, inspire and educate by teaching them self development, by growing their minds, by creating a culture where everyone involved is ascending and becoming ultimately the best versions of themselves, they can possibly be. We were able to expand both organically and strategically in a way where we took this no name dealership in a town of population, 9,600 to be able to grow it to what it is today. Wow,

3 (34m 30s):
Cool. I think about that stuff all the time, the minute, and I travel around doing workshops on leadership, communication, presentation skills, and storytelling to help build brands. And the minute I hear an executive say, yeah, my employees are this or that. I cringe because they're not employees. They have the ability to be the biggest brand ambassadors that you could possibly have, but you have to empower them, tap them on his shoulder, give them that authority to go do that. And then they become Paul Revere riding around on a horse, telling everybody about the great place they work and the reason you should buy the brand. That's my take. And it sounds like you're right online with that.

3 (35m 11s):
So if am I correct? Are you online with that 100%? Okay. So then why is it in your mind that some companies, some businesses absolutely fail when others don't or more importantly the, how do some soar well beyond what they ever imagined? What's the key,

0 (35m 33s):
The key is, is your people for sure prioritizing your, but I think a lot of people intend to do that, right? Like they, they, they have this intention that they're going to develop an offer opportunities for people. I think most people are inherently good. I would say the difference between the businesses that grow and thrive and the ones that don't, you know, really comes down to a community. It's a communication gap. It's a communication issue. So in the auto industry, you've got a lot of third generation owners. You've got a lot of people that, you know, their dad owned the business, their dad's dad on the business.

0 (36m 14s):
They kind of do things a certain way. They always have, it's always been profitable. It's always worked. You know, the carpet is kind of an easy business to make money in for, for the short term anyway. And so as we get generational gaps, as we start to fill our, our, our, our, our work families, per se, as they start to fill with more millennials that speak differently, talk differently and think differently if we don't study and grow as leaders and figure out ways to continue to be able to communicate effectively. Like you're talking about to be able to tell that story in a way that it absolutely resonates with the next generation and the generation after that, if we can't keep those communication lines on point, then the culture starts to crumble.

0 (37m 1s):
That's what I feel like most dealerships miss is they don't understand how important communication is in the overall success of the business.

3 (37m 8s):
When you travel around, you do these workshops and you've got a workbook that you put in front of people. These are car industry folks, but I'm guessing that there are things that apply to people who aren't in the car industry, frankly speaking. I'm sure we can learn a lot from the car industry business, keeping in mind, of course, that most people are not attracted to car dealers dealerships or the process. It's not a place we love going to. So what is it in a nutshell that in that workbook, you teach them that can maybe help other people in other businesses.

0 (37m 41s):
Yeah, sure, man. The very first thing that we teach day one week, one part of the program is we teach an acronym called the L it's not called, but it's an acronym of lead L E a D D two D's in lead. And the way that that acronym breaks down is the L in lead stands for listen two years, one mouth, right? We've been taught this since we were kids. So we have to listen to our employees and their feedback and what moves them and what's going on in their world and in their lives. What's going on at home? Who are they hanging out with? What's what are the words that are coming out of their mouth? We have to really take the time to listen to that.

0 (38m 23s):
We also have to listen to our customers, what do they want? How do they want us to serve them? What do they hate about our business? And how can we change that? Right? So it all starts with listening now, after we listened, it's super that we encourage the East stands for in courage. It's a lot of times we might listen in hopes to defend or to deflect, or we might listen so that we can object or so that we can overcome or so that we can solve. But we skip this step of encouragement. People are built and will run through brick walls for you. If you can feed that aspect of human nature, where we need to be recognized, right, we need to feel valued and more than so we listen with the intent to encourage.

0 (39m 11s):
And when you do that, it shifts your mind a little bit, because now we're not looking for areas of necessary development or solutions, but we're looking for areas where we can highlight that human being for who they are and what they do best. So every moment that we have an opportunity, every conversation, every time we're on the phone with a customer or, or face to face with, with an employee, we want to listen first. And then we want to encourage, encourage the good behaviors and the benefits of that human, that once we've done that, we've now earned the right to advise, which is your a and lead. We've learned that right now, when it comes to advise, I'm a firm believer that to be kind as to be clear.

0 (39m 53s):
And if you're going to err on one side or the other, let's err, on the side of clear, I would much rather hurt somebody's feelings and give them direction on how they can ascend then to be kind and not give them the clear direction they need to evolve and get better. So advises the point where I get to share with you areas of development, weaknesses in your chinks, in your armor, things that we could be doing better, right? Same thing with a customer, we go into an advisor period, right? I can advise you that maybe the car that you're looking for is not going to fit your needs or maybe the car you're looking for is too expensive for really what you can afford in your budget. I can advise you on different programs and perimeters, so on and so forth.

0 (40m 35s):
So we listen, we encourage, we advise and then we develop the D and LEED stands for develop. So developing is something that takes time. When you hear the word develop, you think of like, you know, a photo or a skill with there's an understanding that development takes time, whether developing a relationship or developing, you know, whatever it is that we're trying to develop. So we have to commit as leaders to that time. It's one thing to tell someone what they're doing wrong and then expect them to go fix it. It's another thing to advise someone on areas of improvement and then take the time to develop that skill for them, enhance their ability to serve themselves and to be able to serve you.

0 (41m 23s):
The last D in lead with two DS is daily. This is something we have to do every single day with our employees, with our customers. And with ourself, we must listen and encourage a advise and develop. And we do it daily. It is a marathon, not a sprint. So that is the very first thing in the workbook. Very first thing that we go over. Very first thing that people that work with me have to understand is that's how we're going to do business. That's how we're going to build everything going forward.

3 (41m 55s):
Very cool. Talking with Glenn Lundy, that's Glenn with two ends, by the way, I'm impressed by your website. You've got a lot of video testimonials on there, and I want you to talk to our listeners about the topic of branding. It's something that I think about quite a bit. I know you do as well. The importance of, of making that impact on your customers, that they will go on camera talking about the experience they had with you, but comfortable enough to go share with others about the experience they had. How important is branding to you? I mean, you've got books, you've got gear, you've got products. You're not afraid to put yourself out there and have others talking about it too.

0 (42m 37s):
It comes down to this, this philosophy of omnipresent, right? Where you, we want to create, if you're going to be in business, you know, we want to create an environment where people casually bump into you everywhere they turn. So the old days of, you know, bam, bam, bam, buy a car, Hey, we got flashy gorillas, or, you know, whatever, the slam it down your throat, high pressure days are gone. Like people have realized now that they don't have to do business with anyone. They don't want to do business with back in the day before the internet and social media, you know, geographically, you kind of had markets quarter because people didn't really know that they had choices and options.

0 (43m 19s):
But now our competition is the entire internet. The entire United States, people will ship things. They will deliver things. So now that people have options, we can't go into this high pressure style of, of branding. We have to softly and consistently frequently daily cause people to run into us and leave with some type of positive vibe. It comes down to the frequency. Plus proximity equals affinity comes down to that equation. Again, I want people to run into me everywhere. So by following the lead process, listening, courage, advise and develop. I was listening to the members of rising Ryan.

0 (43m 59s):
I listened to my dealers and the people in automotive, and I'm able to see opportunities to spread the brain. So we started as a show and then people told me they wanted a group. So we created a group that now has over 30,000 active members. We, the people in the group told me that they wanted t-shirts. So now we have t-shirts right? The people that have t-shirts said that they wanted water bottles and they wanted a planner where they could write down their gratitude and goals. So now we have water bottles and now we have planters. So as we listen, we just continue to build the brand. But I think nowadays in 2020, like there's so much noise out there that if you are not developing and building your brand every single day through the content and products and testimonials and video and all of that stuff, there, you have no opportunity to survive going forward.

3 (44m 48s):
Totally agree. Absolutely agree. You've got to put value out there. You gotta make people feel something emotionally charged, emotionally connected to feel that they are a part of you, your brand, not just a consumer of let's talk about public speaking. Did you ever see yourself doing that long, long time ago? I mean, you've told me your story. You come flying in the room on roller blades, man. I mean, I I've seen this thing. It's pretty cool. I don't know if you do that every single time, but it is an attention grabber. It's also a good calf workout. I don't know how you stay on those things for an hour back and forth talk. And I mean, I walk a stage back and forth.

3 (45m 28s):
You're you're, you're putting in a workout and some sweat equity with a suit on. Tell me about that. So I don't put the blades on it

0 (45m 37s):
Every single time that I speak, but my, my, we actually grew up, you know, by my dad. That was the one fun side in place of my dad. My dad was a, he loved to roller skate. He was a skate guard at the local skate rink in Flagstaff, Arizona, as we got older, that was, you know, my dad got, got nicer later in life. And, and that was the one thing we do with him is we'd go skate, man. So I've always loved skating. It's fun. But as far as like being a speaker, Craig, I've known, I've known my entire life that ever since I remember when I was, I was in middle school, it was in eighth grade. There was a girl named Kara Thrasher and Kara Thrasher accidentally got shot in the throat, her and some kids hanging out after school, messing around with a gun.

0 (46m 24s):
And she got shot in the throat and paralyzed got put in a wheelchair for entire life. And we decided me and mr. Howard, my teacher at the time we decided we were going to have a talent show for Kara Thrasher to raise money for Kara Thrasher. And so we put together a talent show and I got to be the MC. I got to, I got to host the talent show. And from the moment that I stepped on that stage with a microphone and the audience that was able to engage them and use my voice and the power of words to, to emotionally connect with people, to move people, to get them, to laugh, to get them to cry. Like literally from that moment, I always knew that I would end up on stages somehow somewhere using my voice to, to move people.

3 (47m 15s):
That's pretty powerful stuff. Season two of tracks to success is brought to you by presentation partners, presentation partners is a unique team of award-winning executives, helping you build a presentation. Others will talking about presentation. Partners teaches you the true art of storytelling. And if you haven't heard about their neuroscience of persuasion, you'll see how valuable it is to own it. Whether you're a company or an entrepreneur presentation partners is the team you need behind you for almost 15 years. They've helped clients raise millions in capital and countless dollars in sales simply by making top leaders successful presenters.

3 (47m 57s):
The time is now to find your authentic voice and learn your authentic story, presentation partners, creating persuasive story presentations based on something other than just your good looks. We're talking with Glen Lundy and I want to get back to your morning show rise and grind because you talk about stages and whatnot. You basically built a platform for yourself to do that in the morning. And you told me why five 30 and all that. That's a public speaking opportunity. You don't have a stage, but you do have a platform. I don't think a lot of people understand that public speaking is actually an email.

3 (48m 36s):
Sometimes it's a, you know, a webinar. It might be a phone conversation any time you're sending messages back and forth and sharing. So for you, is it a new message every day? Do you, do you have to think about it before you start? Or do you just let it rip? And then everybody's a part of it. Tell me a little bit about that. Facebook chat every morning.

0 (48m 57s):
Yeah. So I, I believe that there are five simple steps to an extraordinary life that if you do these things every single morning, you can really ascend and activate your potential. And so every single day I wake up, no snooze button that's step one, no phone, first thing in the morning, that's step two. Then I go into gratitude and goals. And so I write down all the things I'm thankful for. And then I write down my goals that step three, I know it sounds like two steps, but it's really one goals without gratitude or just wishes that can add negativity to your life goals with gratitude, thankful for where you are, is how we extend and reach and ascend.

0 (49m 39s):
So that's step three, step four is take care of the physical. And then step five is to send out an encouraging message. So what I do every day, wake up, no snooze, no phone gratitude goals, get my body in motion. And then I literally grab this book right here. You can't see on video, but I grabbed this. I grabbed this book and I write down the words good morning. Today is whatever day it is, whatever year it is. And what's crazy is today's the very first and very last time it will ever be whatever the date is. And then from there I pause and I listen.

0 (50m 19s):
And whether you want to call it, you know, spirit or God or energy or whatever you want to call it, the like literally gets downloaded. I download the message at about four 24:30 AM. I will write it. And then at four 50, I'll jump in the car. I drive to my studio. I build it in my software that I use with videos and images and so on and so forth to really invoke the emotion. And we go live at five 30. So every show is written roughly 30 minutes before it's delivered. I do give myself themes.

0 (50m 59s):
And now that we're 646 episodes in, I do have a theme for the week, which helps spark that creativity and keep it fresh. So I'll have a theme that, that falls in line, but each show is written daily based on, you know, the feeling, the spirit, the message that I received, what's going on in the world. Cause I want it all to be relevant. I tried procre recording and setting messages up before and it just doesn't have the impact that, that live raw, immediate type delivery does.

3 (51m 32s):
Makes sense. You're also known as the millennial whisperer. You believe in that group, don't you?

0 (51m 41s):
Oh man. They're the most powerful humans that ever walked the face of the planet. Are you kidding me, man? You get, you get, you get millennials, you know, fighting for you in the boat and all in the same direction. And there's literally nothing you can't accomplish. They're are amazing humans,

3 (51m 56s):
But a lot of people think they're, they're lazy on motivated. They take a lot of heat millennials. What is it that you see in them that others don't?

0 (52m 8s):
Well, again, it comes down to communication, right? That's why people see things that way it's they don't know how to communicate with a millennial, but once you know how to communicate with them, my goodness, they're just amazing. So what I see in the millennials is they are very vision minded, right? They have vision, big dreams, big hopes they for themselves, right? They think they can achieve at super high levels, which is the type of people that I like to work with. I like to work with people that are obsessed on something that's ridiculously like up there. I'm not a small minded or small goals kind of guy. So millennials tend to have vision. But what I really love about millennials is they grew up in a world where if I do this, then I get this right.

0 (52m 57s):
It's a very results, mind degeneration. So for example, if I'm on an iPad, if I swipe to the right, I get this result. If I click this button, I, it does this. If I play the game a certain way, I make it to the next level. So they're just very programmed in doing repetitive actions, aimed towards a target or a result. And so what I'm able to do with millennials and the reason I I'm an advocate for them is I help them develop that overall vision and then give them a strategy filled with expectations that they can apply on a daily basis of growing and developing themselves, but then also growing and developing within our company.

0 (53m 43s):
So when you combine those things, I mean, these guys can run these guys and girls, they can run, man. It's crazy. How long and how far? And then the brand ambassador side of it. Oh my gosh. Yeah. They, they, they, they run in packs, huge, tremendous packs that are, are far and wide because of their social media reach that they've grown up within, that they're used to and accustomed to. So they're really a huge asset to any business. If you can just reign, not even reign in, but expand on that vision they have for themselves and give them the direction they need to get that result.

1 (54m 23s):
In addition to hosting this podcast, Craig leads the Cannes advisory group focused on elevating communication for companies and individuals, company consulting and powering team and individual workshops, mind altering webinars. And Craig's inspiring keynotes for your conference or company meeting. They're all on the menu of services. Can advisory helps companies clarify their message, helps professionals build and showcase their brand and helps everyone present their best selves. So if you're the leader of a team or company looking to give your employees a game changing one day experience or an individual who wants to become a speaker and presenter that gets other people talking visit can advisory.com.

1 (55m 13s):
And when you do connect, make sure to mention the tracks to success podcast, to receive a special discount on any of the can advisory services. That's can advisory.com. Now back to the interview,

0 (55m 30s):
Let's help some people. This podcast is called tracks to success. A couple of things before I let you go, what is the greatest lesson that you have learned about yourself in your own personal journey, professional journey that can apply to everybody else? The greatest lesson I ever learned is that we are most comfortable in life, right before death. My grandfather passed away a little over a decade ago. He died from cancer and my grandfather was an incredible human military man, his entire life and took care of my grandmother.

0 (56m 10s):
They were married for 49 years. She never had a job. She never had a driver's license. Not because he was forceful like my father, but because he was an incredible provider and my grandmother just always knew that she could count on him for everything. My grandfather was the type of man that I never once saw, not wearing a tie. He always, Sunday morning, he came out, he had his tie on and his slacks and his white colored shirt. He would read his newspaper, drink his coffee. He was just an incredible, incredible human. And so when we, when I got the call, I was actually in Kentucky and I got a phone call that he was, he only had moments left to live.

0 (56m 50s):
And so the whole family being military family, we were all over the country and everybody was racing to get back to Arizona to say their goodbyes to my grandfather. And this man held on for two and a half days when they, they said he only had moments left to live, but he held on for two and a half days while everybody gathered. And once I got there and I saw him, Craig, like he didn't, I didn't recognize this man. He wasn't this strong military man here. He was first time I ever saw him not wearing a tie. He's wearing a hospital gown. It's got that silly little slit in the back. He's got tubes all over me. He just he's completely unrecognizable to not look like my grandfather at all. And so the final family member arrives, we're all standing around in like a semicircle around my grandfather's bed.

0 (57m 37s):
And my grandpa being military, he loved to tell dirty jokes. He was a God fearing Christian, but he sure loved to tell dirty jokes. And he, all of a sudden, he says to my stepdad, my stepdad's name is Everett. And he says, he says, Everett, will you come over here please? And tell me my favorite dirty joke. And so my stepdad goes over there and Craig, I don't know your audience or your podcast. This is not like vulgar or anything, but it's a little <inaudible> right. Okay. So my, my, my stepdad goes over and he says to my grandpa, he says, Al, that's my grandpa's name. Now. He says, Oh, what do you call Moby Dick's father?

0 (58m 22s):
And my grandpa smiles a little bit. And he says, whatever, what do you call them? And my stepdad says, pop a boner, right? Yep. So everybody chuckles briefly and the tears come rolling down our eyes. And then my grandpa says, bring me my wife. And so my grandmother, she's like tiny man. So like all four foot, two over, she walks over to my grandfather. She climbs in bed with him. He wraps his arms around her and he passes away. And in that moment, Craig, I learned two really important things. One, it was confirmation for me that we are spiritual beings.

0 (59m 4s):
Science cannot explain to me how my grandfather, who had moments left to live held on for two and a half days until the last family member arrived was able to be told his favorite joke and died with his wife in his arms. Science can't explain that to me. So that understanding was, was, was a really powerful for me. But the second thing was this lesson that we are most comfortable in life, right before death, because there was a moment, Craig, there was a moment and it was brief when Everett was telling him his favorite joke. And when his wife was walking up to his bed and he wrapped his arms around her, there was a moment where my grandfather was comfortable and you could see it. The pain had gone away.

0 (59m 44s):
The lights had come back on in his eyes. What once was sunken? All of a sudden became full. I recognized the man on the table as my grandfather. And it was a brief moment, but he was so comfortable in that moment, right before death ever since then, I've looked at it in all aspects. I see it everywhere. An athlete gets comfortable. He's gone in business. You get comfortable. You're done. You're toast in your relationships, in your marriage. All of those things, we are most comfortable right before death. And so I continue to push.

0 (1h 0m 26s):
I see people that are all the time. They're like, I just want enough to be comfortable. I just want to be comfortable. I just want to live a comfortable lifestyle. And I'm here to tell you, unless you're ready to die, you must continue to seek environments that make you uncomfortable. Challenge yourself, continue to grow. And so that's how I live my life. I seek the uncomfortable because I'm not ready to die yet. I believe I still have an impact that I can make in people's lives. And until that changes, I will continue to put myself in uncomfortable situations,

3 (1h 0m 58s):
Got to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. I think you're the perfect guest for this. I want to challenge you right now. I see this as not an obligation topic, but an opportunity topic. You were from a mixed racial family. We are in a period of time in this country where race is the hot topic. And it's an uncomfortable topic. My challenge to you is in one minutes time, see if you can do it in that, tell us what's wrong with society. From your perspective, who probably sees the world without color. That's my guests and how we can fix it in our lifetime

0 (1h 1m 44s):
In 60 seconds, Craig, that's, that's huge. I think that it comes down again to communication. And I really feel like on both sides of the fence, that there people are not following the lead process. It's not listen, encouraged buys and develop relationships.

0 (1h 2m 27s):
It's, let's advise other people on what we believe in how they should think, how they should walk, how they should talk. And as we bark orders at one another, not from a place of understanding or a place of true wanting to serve one another. But as we do that, we continue to spread this, this communication gap. And so there's no, there's no ability for us to get through this or get past this when we're standing on either sides of it. It just does. It just doesn't work. We have to find a way as a nation and as people we have to educate ourselves, ultimately to be able to get to the point where we can listen blindly from a place of service and not a place of defense.

0 (1h 3m 19s):
So I think we're a long ways out, Craig, I think what's really wrong right now. One of the things that's missing with the movement to really create an effect change is everyone is moving in a million different directions. There's so much chaos. There's no end game. Nobody really knows what the end game is. There's no true leaders that are showing themselves right now. I think people are scared to death to talk about these different things. Cause you can get so quickly judged or polarized. And so we've just got a lot of chaos going on right around right now. We don't have any real leaders in place that can help us move through that.

0 (1h 4m 1s):
No, one's trying to communicate to the masses. Everyone's trying to push their own agenda on what they feel is right without an understanding our place for or without coming from a place of understanding our service for others. So the solution in a nutshell is let's let's, let's, let's try to listen to one another. Let's encourage each other for what they believe and what moves them and motivates them. Let's advise them in areas that they can grow and develop to become stronger and better and let's develop long lasting relationships and let's do it daily.

3 (1h 4m 35s):
You know, I always have this vision in my head. I, I played sports and, and sounds like you have an affinity for that as well. And you think of a team and how everybody holds hands in a circle and it might not just be sports. But man, if this country could just have imagined every single person in one huge, massive circle, holding hands, that would be a real cool thing. I doubt that would ever happen or could happen. And I know that's not possible, but it's a nice vision to think about. And I think it's needed before we go. You almost took your life. You found faith, you found purpose, you found marriage, you found family.

3 (1h 5m 17s):
My seven kids

2 (1h 5m 18s):
Eight on the way, what do you want your legacy

0 (1h 5m 22s):
To be Glenn Lundy? So I believe that if humans would rise every single day with intention and purpose and ultimately that would lead to them, evolving into the best versions of themselves that they could possibly be in and becoming that they can go out and make a massive impact on their friends or family members or coworkers, everyone that they can come in contact with. And this is something that we can do together. So my legacy that I want to leave is I want people to say when Glen Lindy was here, he, he showed us how to rise, evolve, and impact together.

0 (1h 6m 8s):
That's that's what I want on the, on the tombstone. That'd be goes back. What's that that'd be good. That would be good, man. It goes back to that invisible feeling, man. I just know there's so many people that feel invisible and feel lost and feel like they're not a part of something bigger and it's just not real. It's it's it's not true. And so together we are so powerful, man. So powerful together with different backgrounds, different experiences, like that's why the world is expanding and growing and technology as fast as it is right now. It's cause we finally like created a network where people can come together.

0 (1h 6m 50s):
You know, they used to say, two heads are better than one. I mean golly, 7 billion heads. What could we do if we would just come together as one? You know? So that's, that's the mission. That's the legacy. If I could leave that behind then I could, I could say, okay, now I'm comfortable and I'm ready to go.

2 (1h 7m 12s):
There's a guy, 17 times behind bars. You raised it on this podcast. I really appreciate you being with me. And I hope our paths cross in person on a stage or somewhere. Glenn, thank you so much for being a part of this.

0 (1h 7m 26s):
Hey, thanks Greg. You're like an awesome interviewer. Very thought provoking questions. I truly appreciate your time. Like this has been great. Thank you.

2 (1h 7m 38s):
In our conversation, Glen talked about bringing energy to every meeting and passion to every speaking opportunity. He built a unique morning audience of more than 30,000 people by doing something others simply aren't willing to do. And that leads me to my one last thing. If you want to be an influencer, find it within yourself to set sail on an adventure. Others won't even map out. I'm always impressed by people who do things out of the ordinary and actually disrupt the normal flow of what we're used to. Seeing entrepreneurs are many things afraid is not one of them. They wake up with a desire to take an idea and put it into motion.

2 (1h 8m 21s):
People might not believe in their idea or what they see in the future, but the best of them don't care and they don't dare quit. From my view, Glen has people buying cars, not because his cars are better or his deals are more enticing. It feels like he's created a movement that gets people excited to say they were a part of it. Do something special that you can drive off the lot and be proud of stick with it, work to get people excited about it. And don't be afraid to be a promoter of your own idea. The more you share, the bigger your brand will become.

2 (1h 9m 1s):
The less you share, the more anonymous will remain. It's your choice. Put it out there with confidence and your tracks to success will be a whole lot easier. If you have a guest, you think belongs on the podcast, share it on our Twitter site at tracks to success. And please give this podcast a rating and a review. It means a lot until next time I'm Craig can. Thanks for listening.

1 (1h 9m 32s):
You've been listening to tracks to success, brought to you by presentation partners, visual storytellers, passionate about connecting presenters with their audience. Don't forget to subscribe to the show for more great interviews and thoughts on reaching your highest personal and professional summit. You can follow Craig on Twitter and Instagram using the handle at Craig can and for exclusive tracks to success, content and news about our upcoming guests, you can find tracks to success on Twitter. It's at tracks to success.