Rich Cavaness - Unlock Your Power to Thrive (#85)

Tom Bronson is excited to have Author Rich Cavaness back on the Maximize Business Value Podcast. Rich was on the podcast a year prior to talk about his book, The Gratitude Effect, and today’s episode is quite similar. Power to Thrive is Rich’s latest book and Tom speaks with him about the inspiration behind the book/coaching system as well as the Christian content within. Specifically, the core of the book is built off a passage in the Bible from 2 Timothy, which addresses personal development utilizing fear, power, love and a sound mind. Listen now to learn about your power to thrive!

Rich Cavaness is best known as a popular author, trainer, and coach in the field of success and personal development. He is a Master in his areas of expertise; teaching the 17 Principles of Success by Napoleon Hill, personal development and training, helping individuals with divorce and marriage issues, and his passion is the Monthly Wisdom Program, which is a monthly group coaching experience partnering with Derrick Sweet, Founder of the Certified Coaches Federation. Rich has authored many books, including The Gratitude Effect, two seminar manuals, and produced the 16 sessions seminar “Living a No Limits Life.”  Rich has the unique and powerful ability to take any topic and make it easy for people to understand and apply to their lives. He teaches people today how to master their lives - physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially, and relationally. Click here to connect with Rich and learn more on his website.

Tom Bronson is the founder and President of Mastery Partners, a company that helps business owners maximize business value, design exit strategy, and transition their business on their terms. Mastery utilizes proven techniques and strategies that dramatically improve business value that was developed during Tom’s career 100 business transactions as either a business buyer or seller. As a business

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Tom Bronson is a serial entrepreneur and business owner. He is currently the founder and President of Mastery Partners, Mastery Mergers & Acquisitions, and the Business Transition Summit. All three companies empower business owners to maximize business value and serve business owners in different capacities to help them achieve their dream exit. As a business owner, Tom has been in your situation a hundred times and knows what it takes to craft the right strategy. Bronson is passionate about helping business owners and has the experience to do it. Tom has two books to help business owners on their journey to a dream exit: "Maximize Business Value Playbook," (2023), and "Maximize Business Value, Begin with the EXIT in Mind," (2020). Both are available on Amazon.
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Transcript

Announcer (5s):

Welcome to the maximize business value podcast. This podcast is brought to you by mastery partners, where our mission is to equip business owners, to maximize business value so they can transition their business on their terms. Our mission was born from the lessons we've learned from over 100 business transactions, which feels our desire to share our experiences and wisdom. So you can succeed. Now, here's your host, the CEO of mastery partners, Tom Bronson.

Tom Bronson (35s):

Hi, this is Tom Bronson and welcome to maximize business value. A podcast for business owners who are passionate about building long-term sustainable value in their businesses today, our guest is rich Cavaness, a business owner and author of power to thrive elevate your everyday living by unlocking your God-given power. So you can rise above mediocrity. Now you may recall that rich has been our guest before. In fact, it was this same week that we're releasing this podcast. Last year, when I had him on to talk about his book, the gratitude effect, shift your mindset, optimize your outcomes and boost emotional wellbeing.

Tom Bronson (1m 21s):

So Rich's books are wonderful. I mean, he speaks from the heart and he speaks truth and they are so powerful and uplifting. And I am so thankful for his friendship that I thought this is the perfect week to have him back to the podcast for Thanksgiving week. Again, maybe we'll make this an annual event. Richard. I know you've got lots of books. We can have many, many conversations about the books that you've already written, but you'll have to keep up if we're going to be doing this every year on Thanksgiving week, I've known rich for many years and, and my book writing. He is my book writing coach business partner, and a great friend.

Tom Bronson (2m 1s):

So welcome back to maximize business value. Rich.

Rich Cavaness (2m 6s):

I had to be here, Tom, always, always great to be on your podcast. I'm honored and humbled and yeah, it's kind of fun that I always, you know, Thanksgiving is a special holiday to me and I'm very honored that you choose to have you and I pin a conversation together with your podcast and yeah, this is going to be a great one today. I'm excited about it. Okay.

Tom Bronson (2m 28s):

I think all of your, all of your books and I've read them and they all point how thankful I am for, for many things. And so, so I just think it's so appropriate to have you back here now, of course, because this podcast is for business owners, let's start by telling us a little bit, you are a business owner yourself. So tell us a little bit about your business or businesses.

Rich Cavaness (2m 50s):

All right. So my, my major business is an insurance agency. It's a farmer's insurance agency actually that in may of 2020, right during the middle of the pandemic and a great move on my part actually

Tom Bronson (3m 8s):

Good it really bit. Can it really be that long 18 months? Wow.

Rich Cavaness (3m 12s):

Yeah. So it's, it's been going great. We've been breaking records. We've been doing great. You got a great staff, adding staff. I mean, I'm just really excited about it. And so that that's here in Dallas where we're just north of Galleria mall, the toll way. Of course, I have my book writing and Christian coaching business and that's, I'm, I'm really starting to ramp that up a lot more. And so we'll be doing a lot with that over the next 12 months or so. And next year, I'm working with a couple of business partners, Kodiak skins from 8% nation, and then coach Michael Bird who wrote the forward for power to thrive.

Rich Cavaness (3m 54s):

We're going to be actually doing a power to thrive conference next year. So it's going to be dedicated towards Christian professionals. And so it's going to be something like nobody's ever seen before. So we're, I'm very excited about that.

Tom Bronson (4m 8s):

Wow. I, well, I'm excited to hear about that. You and I, you and I haven't talked about that. So I'm very excited about hearing about that. I mean, jeepers D asleep Ridge,

Rich Cavaness (4m 21s):

Well, let's put it this way, Tom, to be honest with you. I I've really learned, especially during the pandemic that instead of paying attention to all the fear and all this stuff going on around me, I really focused on producing and putting things into my mind that were productive. And so, you know, I just use my spare time. To be honest with you, we all have one of the things I teach in coaching is that we all have eight hours approximately a day of spare time, right? You spend eight hours sleeping, approximately you spend eight hours working approximately, and then it leaves you with eight hours of spare time. And I really believe it's what you do with that spare time. That really makes the difference in your life and in the world with what you do with it.

Rich Cavaness (5m 5s):

You can choose to, you know, lounge around on the couch. You can choose to surf on the internet for endless hours. I mean, there's a lot of things you can choose to do. I've just chosen to, and my passion is somewhat your passion as well. I love to write, I love to research. I like to help people improve their lives. And so that's what I'm really committed to doing.

Tom Bronson (5m 27s):

I know you're you are a great educator. Well, although that's that wasn't listed among the things, you are an educator and you're passionate. Like I am about teaching people, things that they can use in their lives and in their everyday business. All right. Well that, that's an amazing kind of backstory. So, so now our audience will have an appreciation that, that the things that we're going to talk about today are things that you've put into practice even in your own business. So let's just dive right into the deep end into power to thrive. Could you explain what power to thrive is all about?

Rich Cavaness (6m 3s):

So power to thrive is actually been something that I've had kind of a, and you can relate to this, Tom, you know, when you're an author and you write books and you put out content and material, sometimes you can have that stuff in your brain germinating for years. I mean, you have an idea. You may even write it down and, you know, it's just kind of there and it formulates and percolates and all of that. And I would say since 2006, I've had a desire to write power, to thrive. Just things happen. There was things that happened in my personal life, business life. It just kind of didn't come together. But then over the last, probably 24 months, I've really kind of tackled it and realized, this is what I need to do.

Rich Cavaness (6m 45s):

And this is where it's going. And it's morphed into different things, just like every book does. But you know, it's, it's a culmination of 30 years of, but I will study professional development, my, my research and study on psychology and science about how the brain works and behavior patterns of people and that kind of thing. So it's a, it's a very powerful book that feedback that I'm getting is that it's a, it's a Christian personal development book like nobody's ever read before. It's very unique. It is filled with lots of busy Bible passages. And it has a lot of very interesting stories and as well as a lot of facts and science and psychology.

Rich Cavaness (7m 29s):

So it's a very unique book with a very unique coaching process that I have built into it at the end of every chapter there's coaching that I actually really do, where I try to help people apply what they've just read. So that's really important to me as an educator and a teacher that you just don't just don't read it, but how does this really affect your life? What's it, the impact on it? But the core of it, Tom, the core of the power to thrive is built off one scripture. And it's probably the most underutilized scripture in the entire Bible, as far as personal development and just personal success.

Rich Cavaness (8m 9s):

And it's comes from second Timothy chapter one, verse seven. And it says that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but power love, and a sound mind. And so what I've done and I've taken those four things, fear, power, love, and a sound mind, and I've kind of incorporated them into the book. And then I've developed a whole coaching and training system based around those four things.

Tom Bronson (8m 35s):

I love that I'm in fact, every time I get into a conversation about fear, I can't help, but think about Tony Robbins and what he says about fear, false evidence appearing real right. And I know you're a big fan of Tony Robbins, the way I am, but, well, that's wonderful. So fear of, I wrote these down so small, I have to put on my glasses, fear, power, love, and sound mind. So those are kind of the,

Rich Cavaness (9m 3s):

And if you think about it, Tom, they all tie together. I mean, obviously God in his great wisdom, obviously he knows how we work the best. But if you operate in a spirit of fear, you lose your power. Okay. If you lose your power, it affects your ability to love. And if you can't, if you don't have your power and you don't know how to love, then it affects your brain, affects your mind. And especially the concept and that scripture, it says sound mind, which has a lot to do with how we make decisions, how we process facts, how we do those kind of things, which a lot of people need help with today because there's not a lot of sound mind going on. And there's a lot of hysteria.

Rich Cavaness (9m 46s):

There's a lot of untruth. There's a lot of fake news. There's a lot of fear. And so you have to really disseminate what's going on out there. And that's what it's not mine comes in to just take the, you know, put aside the fear and then just take a look at what's really going on. So yeah, I think power to thrive for a lot of people, it's going to be kind of a post pandemic, a kick in the pants, you know, allow them to really kind of get life back on track again.

Tom Bronson (10m 20s):

And Lord knows we needed to have a lot of people that need a post pandemic kick in the pants. So now when you talk about power, you're not talking about kind of domineering power over, over other people to what, what I, when I read the book and of course I was, you were kind enough to send me an advanced copy before it was ever published, but it's published now of course, folks, by the way, I'm a little miffed that when you gave me this, although you gave me a wonderful handwritten note on the inside, you didn't sign it. You didn't sign it rich. I know you feel like I do. It's a little precocious when I give away a book, I never sign it unless someone asks me to and dead burned it.

Tom Bronson (11m 3s):

I was with you last week. I should have asked you to sign my copy of the book. So anyway, so what kind of power are we talking about here? Like inner power or power over others? What are we talking about?

Rich Cavaness (11m 15s):

It's a very good question. Very good question. So there's actually three types of power that we talk about in power to thrive. There's the negative power, which is exactly what you did described. You're using power to manipulate and of course, and force people to do certain things for you. Then there's personal power, which is you being empowered to actually take control of your own personal life, right? Personal power. And then there's what I call holy spirit power, which is basically God's power on high given to us when we accept him into our lives and what Jesus promised.

Rich Cavaness (12m 0s):

As a matter of fact, he basically said, when I leave, I will send the power of the holy spirit to you to come upon you. So that's, so when you combine that power with your personal power, that's where you really, your life accelerates. It grows, it expands because now you're tapping into the creator of the universe and not just trying to do it all on your own.

Tom Bronson (12m 25s):

What a wonderful, wonderful message. Now you mentioned as we were, as you were kind of unfolding what the book is really about, that it is a unique book and coaching system. Now you said very unique. And of course my colleague, I here in my college professor, a ringing in my ears, if the definition of unique is one of a kind, how can you be very one of a kind? So, so unique is perfectly acceptable to me because I agree it is unique. So what makes the book and coaching system so unique?

Rich Cavaness (12m 58s):

I've never professed Tom to be a grammar specialist. So that's why I have, that's why I have editors. I just write stuff on paper and then people approve it. So that's, that's the beautiful thing about being an author is I don't have to do that. I paid people to do that and they make me look good. So

Tom Bronson (13m 17s):

Yes, yes they do. And I pay some of the same people. I agree with you,

Rich Cavaness (13m 22s):

But it, what makes it unique is that it's, you know, you have kind of like your Joel Olsteen's out there and then you have your, you know, Wayne Dyer and, you know, those would be like two opposite ends of the spectrum. You know, one's more new age and then you've got one that's quasi Christian and, and that type of thing. What I really, because I'm an educator and a teacher, that's my gift mix. I really like people to, to get value. When I write something it's easy to write and say something like, you know, think good thoughts, or just get out of your comfort zone. And it it's, it's great to tell people those things, but I like to give them ways to help them do that.

Rich Cavaness (14m 8s):

Or I like to explain to them why they're doing what they're doing is to help them understand so that they can then say, I don't want to go down that path anymore. I want to do something different. So I think what really makes power to thrive unique is that it's a combination of the Bible. It's got psychology, science, personal development, all wrapped in together, and then it has kind of a coaching system that's tied to it. And so, you know, it's not just a bunch of words or some crazy thoughts or something. It's something that's well thought out. It's backed by a lot of science and psychology and it's all cited in here. So it's, you know, people can check it out for themselves, but there there's some really good material in here that if you really want to study and research, it gives you the ability to kind of do that.

Rich Cavaness (14m 60s):

And so I'm pretty excited about that, but I just really believe that for some reason, you know, Christian personal, development's really been given a bad rap over the years, Tom, because you know, a lot of times it's, it's lumped together with the, what I call the prosperity gospel message, you know, where it's basically, you know, it think big thoughts, and then you're going to get rich. God's going to bless you. He wants it to be a millionaire, that type of thing. And so that's not what this is. This is not that, that at all, I do believe that everybody was made unique and created for a definite purpose by God. And I do believe that he wants us to do great things.

Rich Cavaness (15m 42s):

There's no doubt in my mind about that. So you'll see that throughout the book, but at the same time, it's not just, you know, say claimant type of thing. That's not what this is. So I think that's what makes this unique is that there's actually some teeth to this. There's some, some really good material that you can sink your teeth into and see some actual change in your life.

Tom Bronson (16m 8s):

Thank you for making that distinction because I think you're absolutely right. I think that there's a lot of bad information out there or, or misinformation kind of about some of the things you referenced there, you know, prosperity gospel, things like that. Look, God does have a plan for each and every one of us and those plans are as unique as we are. Right. And, and we have to be willing to kind of take action. So thanks for drawing that distinction a second ago, you mentioned about, you know, coming back post pandemic, you know, I feel like we're post pandemic, but I think we're still, probably in the throws of pandemic, you know, th th depending on, on how you look at the stats and the misinformation and all of, kind of the, the things that are out there, but when we talked, you, you gave me a term P P S D or post pandemic stress disorder.

Tom Bronson (17m 8s):

So, which tell us about that and how power to thrive addresses this disorder.

Rich Cavaness (17m 16s):

So, psychologist therapist might, my, my daughter is actually a therapist, and she can tell you just in the healthcare industry, there is some serious PTSD going on. There's a lot of people that are being significantly impacted by the hours they've had to work. The things that they've seen, you know, put yourself in some, some people's shoes where, you know, they've actually had to be at the bedside of people dying, and yet the family can't be there. And so they've actually kind of had to almost be that. I mean, if you can imagine you're breathing your last breath, there's nobody in the room except for this nurse. I mean, that's all you have.

Rich Cavaness (17m 57s):

So for a lot of people that are in the healthcare industry, it's been a very difficult couple of years. They they've been isolated from their families in many respects, you know, because they've had to, you know, follow protocols and things like that. So it's been difficult, but PPS, these are real thing. A lot of people have lost, loved ones, have lost friends, lost jobs, lost opportunities, you know, dealing with stress, anxiety, fear, there's all of these things. And it's real. And we're seeing even in the, in the job market where so many people aren't even, I mean, there's businesses that want to hire, and I'm one of them.

Rich Cavaness (18m 40s):

It's hard to find people. I, and it's just seems so bizarre to me that, you know, there's a workforce out there, but for some reason, finding people it's been difficult. And I think a lot of it has to do with this PTSD post pandemic stress disorder, and so power to thrive. What it does is it, it gets people kind of realigned again, you know, the, the first part of the book, you know, if you kind of look at the book, it's kind of laid out in three different parts, you know, part one deals with your identity, part two deals with your mindset, your outer world is a direct reflection of your inner world. And then part three is your physical and mental health will lead to emotional wellbeing.

Rich Cavaness (19m 21s):

And within that kind of roadmap, I kind of put together a design of, you know, finding, you know, making sure that people understand who they are, where they are, where they come from, because I think we've lost a lot of that during the last two years. There's a lot of division in our country. There's a lot of issues that are dividing us. And I think we just need to get back to the basics. Who are you, where'd you come from? Where are you going? And what happens to you when you die? Those types of things. It just, we just need to get back to the basic fundamentals. And I think when people do that, it helps them to kind of find that center compass all over again, and then helping people with their values, their purpose, their why in life, like a lot of people have lost kind of that, you know, fuel that, that fuel of life of when they wake up in the morning, they, they dread the day.

Rich Cavaness (20m 17s):

Instead of being excited about the day. You know, I'm not saying that I wake up every day, just bushy item, bright, you know, going after it all the time. But I do wake up pretty ready to go. You know, I make my bed first thing and I get my day going and you know, it, it's just, I have a purpose and I have a why in my life, and it's exciting to me. And so that helps a lot. And I'm, I, that I'm committed to helping people with that as well, mindset, I believe is more important than talent and ability. And I think a lot of people have a wrong mindset today.

Rich Cavaness (20m 56s):

And a power to thrive is going to help people without, especially those limiting beliefs that a lot of people have. And then just living in the past, you know, even, even if you took these last two years, so let's say you lost your job. There's a lot of people that are angry. There's a lot of people that you don't have anger and bitterness in their heart about that whole thing. And, you know, I tell people, Hey, for you to move forward in your life, you're going to have to put that behind you. Because if you keep living in the rear view mirror of life, all you're going to keep doing is getting reminded about what happened to you instead of what could be happening to you right now. So I help people walk through that as well. And just anxiety, stress.

Rich Cavaness (21m 38s):

We've got a whole chapter on that and just a roadmap for kind of creating some financial freedom for people. And that, that chapter right there, chapter 16 is one of the most unique financial chapters you'll read in a Christian book. It's not your typical budget stuff, which I do believe in a budget. And I do believe budgets are good. They don't have to have a budget, but I do believe they're good in their outflow, but it's just a whole different perspective on creating wealth and the concept of cashflow. I I'm a real Tom, I'm kind of a, I kind of buck the system a little bit.

Rich Cavaness (22m 18s):

I don't believe in it. I don't believe in retirement. I think it's number one. It's not a biblical concept at all. If you read the Bible, you'll find that most people in the Bible live to be very old and they worked until they died. I mean, or they couldn't, they couldn't physically work anymore. Okay. So I I'll make that kind of put that in there too. Cause you know, if you can't work because of physical issues, that's certainly understandable. But you know, I just really believe that, you know, people need to be busy. People need to be active. People need to have a constant purpose and a why in their life so that as they grow older, they have something that they're working towards because that's one of the biggest reasons that people die in their seventies is because they, instead of living to be eighties in their eighties and nineties, because they just give up, it just, you know, they kind of like I'm retired, I'm done.

Rich Cavaness (23m 11s):

So instead of refiring and getting, getting wired up again, they're kind of just, you know, reclining and, and declining. So I'm really big on that. That chapter alone is a really good chapter. I've had gotten some great feedback on that one.

Tom Bronson (23m 28s):

It is a wonderful chapter. And you, you had mentioned that the kind of the three things, but you started with identity, right? So why is identity such a key part of power to thrive?

Rich Cavaness (23m 39s):

Because it really, in my opinion, personal development starts, begins and starts with understanding who you are, where you came from, what your purpose is in life. And when you can understand those things and, you know, from a Christian perspective, you know, I believe we were created, I don't believe we just evolved. And I have, I really go into detail about the difference between creation and evolution and where those, where those beliefs go. I'm not, you know, I don't condemn anybody for believing in rev in an evolution, but I want people to understand the impact of those beliefs.

Rich Cavaness (24m 19s):

And so when you believe that there's a creator and that you were created for a purpose and a divine reason, versus that you just evolved and you're just here by a happenstance, it has a whole different impact on you and how you look at yourself and how you look at others. I mean, if I, if I'm a real true evolutionist, I viewed you Tom, as an obstacle to my success because you write books too, you know, you've bought businesses and that kind of thing. And I kind of want to get where you're at. So, you know, I gotta try to figure out a way to defeat you so that I can, you know what I'm saying? It's just, the whole thing is about survival of the fittest.

Rich Cavaness (25m 1s):

You're, you're improving skills so that you can be better than other people. And that's just not the way that the God, that's not the reason why God created us. He created everybody with a unique and very special gifts so that they can use it in their life, within, in combination with their talents and abilities and their life experience, which is a big part of that. And, and, and God wants to use that to, to be able to reach people. And he does it in a very amazing way through us human beings, which is kind of a crazy thought when you think about it,

Tom Bronson (25m 40s):

I can't possibly imagine what it, what, how, how much despair there must be for folks who, who just think that, that this was a random existence, right?

Rich Cavaness (25m 54s):

Well, it's a very prevalent thought out there. It really is. You can see it a lot on TV commercials and things. So it's running rampant. And I just believe that a lot of times people get their identity from, you know, obviously their upbringing, the, you know, from sports, their education, their careers, things like that. And even when you go to networking meetings, Tom, you can, you can validate this when you ask people, tell me a little bit about yourself. A lot of times people, the first thing they say is what they do for work. Their whole identity is their work, right? Which that's not what I asked you. I said, tell me about yourself.

Rich Cavaness (26m 34s):

And so a lot of times people have to, it takes, and that's why I've put it in the book because I'm trying to really help people to really identify who are you and what makes you unique? What makes you different? And you know, what, w w what, what, where's the value in you? And that's, that's really important because if you get that, then you start to see everyone else in life doesn't matter what their skin color is. It doesn't matter where they were raised their social economic level. You start then begin to need to see everybody is on the same playing field. We all came from the same place. We were all created by the same God, we were all created for a unique purpose.

Rich Cavaness (27m 17s):

So nobody because that person is doing that well, I, you know, maybe that's what they should be doing. I, who am I to judge that? So, you know, it's, it's all about supporting one another love, again, having power, having love and a sound mind. Right. And it's difficult to love people. If you think that everybody's just randomly created,

Tom Bronson (27m 40s):

Hey, before we take a quick break here real quick, before we go, tell us about the Thrivers manifesto.

Rich Cavaness (27m 47s):

Okay. So the Thrivers manifestos, if you've ever looked up the word manifesto, it's basically kind of a creed it's, it's, it's kind of a, a list of kind of to do's and I've got it right in the beginning of the book, it's based off 13, I call it the Thrivers manifesto, and it's based off a 13 really key points that basically the whole power to thrive system is built on. And, you know, each one of them has an explanation. I don't want to, you know, go into every one of them. But like the first one is the greatest gift God gave you is the power to choose your choices, determine where you end up in life, period as number one.

Rich Cavaness (28m 31s):

And then number two, when you accept a hundred percent responsibility for your life, the good, the bad, the successes of defeats, then you open the door to living the abundant life God has for you. So that just gives you an idea. So there's 13 of those. And, you know, it just kind of lays the groundwork for what power to thrive is all about.

Tom Bronson (28m 50s):

I love it that you put it right, is you right at the beginning of the book, right? But even before the forward, right, it wasn't, it's not chapter one it's even before you get into the forward. So, so it's a great place to start and to go out and read this book, we're going to talk more about this book and talk more about how to, to use the power, to thrive, to, to really thrive in this world and in your business. We're talking with rich Cavaness. Let's take a quick break. We'll be back in 30 seconds.

Announcer (29m 22s):

Every business will eventually transition some internet employees and managers, and some externally to third party buyers, mastery partners, equips business owners to maximize business value so they can transition their businesses on their terms. Using our four step process. We start with a snapshot of where your businesses today. Then we help you understand the way you want to be and design a custom strategy to get you there. Next, we help you execute that strategy with the assistance of our amazing resource network. And ultimately you'll be able to transition your business on your terms. What are you waiting for more time, more revenue, if you want to maximize your business value, it takes time.

Announcer (30m 3s):

Now is that time get started today by checking us out at www.masterypartners.com or email us at info@masterypartners.com.

Tom Bronson (30m 15s):

We're back with rich Cavaness business owner and author of power to thrive. In addition to other books that, that we've talked a little bit about already. So in the book you have a whole chapter on forgiveness. Why is that?

Rich Cavaness (30m 34s):

Well, that's, that's a very good question. What I have discovered, of course, I, you know, I've been a senior Aster previously. I've worked with a nonprofit here locally called the road adventure. And I just, I just have discovered in my own personal walk, that forgiveness really it's, it's almost like a freeing experience and it's really not meant for. So like, for example, Tom, let's just say several years ago, you and I had a falling out and I was very upset at you. I feel like you wronged me. You saying a rich, I just want you to know I'm sorry about that. That's great.

Rich Cavaness (31m 14s):

But really forgiveness is for me. Right? And so that's the power with forgiveness is that it releases the poison of anger, bitterness, and resentment from me so that I can have freedom and be able to do the things that God's called me to do. So the reason I have a whole chapter on it is because so many people live in the past. So many people, whether it's childhood trauma, whether it's abandonment as a kid, the way they were raised, things that happened to them, a lot of sexual assault, a lot of sexual stuff that happened to people and all of those things add up in your life.

Rich Cavaness (31m 56s):

And they actually really impact you as an adult. And what I find is that when people can find forgiveness with those circumstances, that it actually frees them up to be able to really do incredible things that God's created them to be. They're stuck. What I believe is that people are stuck and trapped in their past, which means that they are not able to move forward. They just keep, and this is why a lot of times people just keep hitting a wall over and over again, or they just feel they'll use words. Like, I feel like I'm stuck. I feel like I'm not going anywhere. I just, I just can't seem to get traction in my life. Well, let's talk a little bit about that.

Rich Cavaness (32m 37s):

And what you'll find is that there's usually some anger, bitterness, and resentment in our life. And when that's released, it just opens up so many doors and opportunities and frees them and gives them peace. And so I have a chapter here where I actually walk people through the process of forgiveness, which is not like what most people are used to. It's not just a, you know, where you hear a sermon and you say, Hey, come forward. And you know, that kind of thing. It's, it's, it's a lot more involved than that because if you have to address the issue, you have to identify the person who wronged you, and then you have to identify how it affected your life and what was taken from you because of it.

Rich Cavaness (33m 21s):

And when you walk yourself through those processes, then you can truly forgive if you've ever seen the movie. Oh my goodness. Right on the tip of my tongue, I actually have it in the book.

Tom Bronson (33m 36s):

I know, I know exactly where you're going and I'm trying to find stuff because why did I drop?

Rich Cavaness (33m 43s):

If I can find it quickly. I got it right here. Here it is the shack. What? I'm sorry about that.

Tom Bronson (33m 53s):

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The shack, what? Ooh, you gotta be in the right. You gotta be in the right frame of mind to watch that one.

Rich Cavaness (33m 60s):

So when you

Tom Bronson (34m 1s):

Read the book, I actually have the book on the shelf.

Rich Cavaness (34m 3s):

Yeah. Yeah. The book's great. The movie's great, but the concept of Mac, having to forgive the person who murdered his daughter and you watch how God worked with him on that. And, and it, it did it freed him. Right? A very difficult thing. Obviously you can only imagine, but you know, the, the one, the one line that God had used with them was that Mac, it's not about you forgetting or forgiving that person. It's about you allowing them to stop having control of you and holding you down. So that's really what forgiveness is about. And I find that when people exercise that even on a daily basis, you know, you can forgive your spouse.

Rich Cavaness (34m 47s):

You could forgive your employees at your business, you know, not holding anger, bitterness, and resentment inside. It tends to just give you a more of a free experience to enjoy life and experience life to the fullest.

Tom Bronson (35m 2s):

I love that because it's, I forget who said this or where I learned this, but when you're, when you're angry with somebody, are you holding that resentment? I mean, who do you think, who do you think it's hurting? Is it hurting them or is it hurting yourself? And forgiveness is really about letting yourself off the hook, right? That you can be open to receive the blessings. And, and it, it really, really took me a long time to understand that, but I'm glad that, that you understand it so well, because I feel certain that there've been many things in our past that caused reason for you to want to give me forgiveness. So I'm thankful to give you those opportunities.

Tom Bronson (35m 43s):

Every day rate Is a, what do you use that as an example, you know, say for example, I'm really angry with Tom. So now we're going to need to explore that a little bit later. So a is how does a person's comfort zone directly related to their level of fear? Hm,

Rich Cavaness (36m 4s):

Good question. So what, what I find is that the brain, especially the way that the brain is designed to create it, it's designed to protect you. And so oftentimes what happens is that we become comfortable in what I call the comfort zone. And I use a really powerful example. You know, when people climb Mount Everest, there's a, there's this place when you get above a certain meter, I think it's like 26,000 feet. Maybe it's 20, somewhere in that range, they call it the death zone. And if you spent too much time there, your body can't act, it's like your body is dying slowly.

Rich Cavaness (36m 45s):

And what happens is that they get so many groups now that are climbing Mount Everest, that they actually get this long line of people. I mean, it's massive. And these people are just going slow and slow and slow and they're running out of oxygen. And so it's a, it's a real thing. And basically how I relate it to people, especially business people, is that oftentimes for us to go, to, to reach really high levels of success in our business and to do accomplish things that we didn't think we could accomplish, we have to take risks. And sometimes we can't see the beginning from the end. And that's what faith is, where you can actually say, you know what?

Rich Cavaness (37m 25s):

I don't know how this is going to work out, but I know that if I do this, there's a very good chance that my business is going to change or that, you know, I'm going to, by adding staff, for example, that's a big one for a lot of business people they're afraid to, you know, they have their four people, and they're really excited about those four people, but they don't realize that, Hey, if you just added one or two more people, it could literally explode your business. And so a comfort zone is a place where we feel comfortable. It's basically where you survive. It's basically where mediocre is. You're just kind of going with the flow. But as soon as you start to get outside your comfort zone, that's when you experience fear.

Rich Cavaness (38m 6s):

You know, and a lot of times, what I tell people is that when I read that verse to them, that God has not given us the spirit of fear. It doesn't mean that you're not going to feel fearful when you do something for the first time. It just means that you're going to have the faith and trust and know that if this is really where God's leading me, that I'm going to go there because I know it's going to turn out. Okay. And that's what faith is. When you can't see something, you don't even really know how it's going to work out. You still follow that path anyway. And then that's really where the incredibly cool things of life happened. And so when you press through that comfort zone, I think Jack, Canfield's got a great quote.

Rich Cavaness (38m 47s):

He says, everything you want in life is on the other side of fear. And so you, you have to press through the fear. You got to almost learn to dance with it and maneuver with it. And before you know it, you're going to be, you know, fear you'll feel the fear, but you'll be able to do everything you want to do anyway, you know, you'll, you'll experience it as a matter of fact, I've even coached people now that you, if you're not feeling uncomfortable, if you're not feeling a little agitated or fearful, when you're doing things in your business, you're probably not pushing yourself hard enough. If, if every day you come in, you feel comfortable and you feel like, oh yeah, this is good. And you know, we're, we're surviving.

Rich Cavaness (39m 27s):

Everything's great. Then that's probably not where you need to be. If you really want to make big strides with your business, which I'd recommend you talk with Tom about to maximize your business value, he's going to tell you that there's going to be some things you're going to need to do in your business. You're gonna have to change that. They're going to be out of your comfort zone. And, but if you want your business to be as strong and healthy as it can be, that's what you gotta do. So that's why the comfort zone for a lot of people is really a death zone because it just keeps you, yeah. You know, it, a lot of times I think that I forget the quote, but it's, it goes something like this. A lot of people haven't physically died yet, but they live every day as if they are dead.

Rich Cavaness (40m 8s):

And that's very true. And that's where the comfort zone comes in. Because if you're just deciding to stay where you're at, then in a, in a sense, you're just kind of deciding that, you know, life doesn't have a whole lot for you.

Tom Bronson (40m 24s):

Well, it was probably the movie Shawshank redemption. I think it was read that it said either get busy living or you get busy diet. And so, so, but I want to unpack a little bit of that. You know, it's interesting that rich, you know, we do get into our comfort zone, right? And we set up shop, right. This is where we are comfortable and it's hard to push through and have the courage to kind of push through. And courage is not the absence of fear. You know, courage is being scared to death and still going on and taking action, right. And doing the thing that you were afraid of, but it's pushing down the comfort zone. But the interesting thing that happens is that pretty quickly, if you kind of break through that barrier of the fear, you establish a new camp base camp for your comfort zone.

Rich Cavaness (41m 11s):

It's very true, right?

Tom Bronson (41m 14s):

And you can go set up shop and you go get all this stuff in your brand and you set up shopping. And then suddenly we get afraid again, of going beyond our new comfort zone. But if we're pushing ourselves every day, everybody has a comfort zone. I mean, even the, the great minds of research and of, of the things that we're talking about, like the Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi's, the, the rich Cavaness’ of the world. We all have a comfort zone, but we all kind of push through those on a regular basis. And it establishes a new comfort zone for us. Wha what do you think about that?

Rich Cavaness (41m 52s):

Yeah, actually, you know, I've heard people say, you know, you need to expand your comfort zone. I actually say you need to shrink the comfort zone so that it makes it easier for you to get out of it. And so you, the way you do that is that you just constantly push yourself beyond a good example is so I have a trainer that I work with twice a week and we do strength training together. And I can honestly tell you, Tom, what he pushes me to endure every time I'm with him. There's no way in God's green earth that I would ever do it on my own. I may not is insane. I mean, I'm like, wow, this guy's killing me today. And, but if I get out of my comfort zone at least twice a week, what I do strength training, cause he's pushing me hard and that's in that it feels good.

Rich Cavaness (42m 40s):

I mean, it really activates your prey drive and it activates the, it acts, it gets them that zest of life going. And so I just really encourage people. You know, if, if you feel stuck, let's find something for you that can help you get unstuck by making, finding something that's a big, usually a big goal. Something that you really want to shoot for. That's really big. It's going to be hard to get to, if you can keep yourself focused on that. That really helps a lot because you're constantly trying to think, okay. So for me to get there, I'm going to have to change me. So what do I got to change, you know, to, to get there.

Rich Cavaness (43m 21s):

So what, who do I gotta become? What kind of a person do I have to become to get there? So there's that then what skills do I need to acquire to be able to get there? You know, it just, then you really start to get outside the comfort zone. But if you know, there's so many people today that are just content and satisfied that, and I, and I just don't believe that's that that is not, if you read the Bible, that is not the way God wants us to live life.

Tom Bronson (43m 50s):

Right. I agree with you. If we, if we expand our comfort zone, we're just making the place where we are a little bit bigger, right? If we shrink it down, then we make it more portable so that we can move to a new comfort zone on a regular basis. I love that. Well, and you set up a great, quite a great thought for me as well. When you talk about your strength, coach, you know, someone who you're, you're working with, let's back up for a second. We talked about power to thrive, not only a great book, but a great coaching system, you know, that you needed a strength coach, right? In order to, to work out on a regular basis twice a week. And how do people know whether or not they a coach in their life?

Rich Cavaness (44m 35s):

Well, in the book power to thrive at the very back of it, I have an assessment and, you know, I encourage people to, to take that assessment. We also, I also have an assessment@apowertothrive.net, which is our website that you can go to. But, you know, basically if, if you're not satisfied with where you're at, if you feel a sense of uneasiness, if you feel kind of stuck, if you feel like there's more that, and I just not quite sure how to get there. That's an excellent place for a coach to help you, you know, coaches or the whole purpose of a coach is not to do anything for you, but to help you to come by your side and just help the they're not giving you the answers, you're coming up with the answers.

Rich Cavaness (45m 26s):

That's what coaching is all about. Coaches ask great questions to get you to think about what you need to do. Cause ultimately like for example, when it comes to my business, you know, I have several coaches, but you know, the whole idea of having a coach in my business is that I come across things and I'm like, Ooh, I've never done this before. I'm not sure how to navigate this. So now I got somebody that I can go to. And so you have to be humble. You got to set your pride aside. Cause a lot of times business owners think they know everything. And the bottom line is, is that when your comfort zone shrinks and you start extra start moving outside of that more often, you're going to find that you actually know less than you thought.

Rich Cavaness (46m 13s):

So th the whole idea is to expand your mind, not have a fixed mindset, but to have a mindset that allows you to be able to, you know, be open and an open mindset so that you can learn new things. But a coach, I'm a firm believer that just about everyone that I know needs a coach in life, whether it's physically, you know, so for like a, a nutrition coach or some kind of a personal trainer, if you're in a business owner, you definitely need a coach. You need somebody to help you to navigate some of the things that you, that you're going to go through.

Rich Cavaness (46m 56s):

If your financial coach, that's always a good person to, you know, to know. So th there's a coach for everything out there right now. And I encourage people to really utilize coaches. They don't, it'll totally take your life to another level.

Tom Bronson (47m 11s):

Totally. You know, it's so funny when, when I set up our consulting practice mastery partners, I never really thought of myself as a coach, but that is the most common term that our clients use when they describe our relationship to other people. Tom's my business. You know, Tom is my coach. I, I, you know, I guess I'm an, I'm an exit planning coach or a business improvement coach. And, and, and I've learned to really embrace that and, and really realize that, yes, you're like, like you, with going to the gym, you know, a strength coach is going to push you to places that, that you don't realize that you are, or that you can't push yourself to.

Tom Bronson (47m 52s):

So I'm, I'm a big fan of using coaches and in many different places in life as well. You know, this edition of your latest book, you know, you've also written a number of other books, but, you know, one, including one of my favorites, the gratitude effect, which is what we talked about a year ago on this podcast. And so I would encourage people to go back and listen to that. Let me ask you something. Cause I'm, I'm actually finishing up my second book now, does it get easier or harder to write new books and come up with new content?

Rich Cavaness (48m 25s):

Well, actually, so just what ended up happening with power to thrive. So, as I was writing this, I had another one that was like, right. It just came in and I just, in a one weekend, I wrote it and it's called next level, living every Christian needs a coach in life and it's going to be out in the next couple of weeks. So it, you know, it just, it just happened. And I don't know, for me, I'm actually finding that it's getting a little easier every time, to be honest with you. I'm not saying that it's easy, but once you do your first book, then you have the confidence to say, well, if I've done one, I can do another.

Rich Cavaness (49m 6s):

What are some, you know, and especially people who are teachers and educators and trainers and that kind of thing, they have a lot that they can share with people to help them. And so I really encourage people to write a book and everybody's got a book inside of them, at least one, cause everybody has a unique story and that's what it's all about. So

Tom Bronson (49m 27s):

I think it was at yours, your seminar that I went to and encouraged my friends to go to. And it's been a couple of years now, in fact, I don't know if you're doing this, I'm going to put you on the spot because people ask me about this frequently. I went to your seminar that you did with a partner on writing a boat for first time authors. And I learned there that I think what you all said at that time was that everybody's got about three books in them. You've got your life story and then you've got knowledge and things like that. And, and the things that I learned from you in that seminar was a half day seminar.

Tom Bronson (50m 10s):

The things that I learned from you, there are the things that made it easier to write a book and you know what? We can almost do a podcast on, on, on writing a book. Cause I know you're very passionate about helping folks do that, but I'm glad to hear that it gets easier because I'm finishing up book number two, I've already outlined like books, number three and four. And I think you're right. It does get a little bit easier to, to, to kind of bring that information to life if you will, for others. And don't, we don't, we all owe it to, to everyone else to mankind to extract that information and put it into a book for all eternity.

Tom Bronson (50m 53s):

Right.

Rich Cavaness (50m 54s):

You know what, that's interesting because that's where fear comes in. So a lot of times people will be like, well, you know, nobody really cares about what I have to say. You know, who's going to read my stuff. I mean, nobody really, you know, and that's where the self doubt, the fear comes in and all of that. And it's like, Hey, you'd be surprised how many people, I mean, even if it's only, you know, a couple of hundred people, that's a couple hundred people that had no idea about your story or your material, and now it's made an impact on them. So yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tom Bronson (51m 26s):

You know, and that's, that's frankly why we do the podcast, right. I just got a notification that there were up to 4,000 downloads now. And so, so it, and by the way, we started with, you know, 20. So now we have impacted so many lives with the information that, that we give here. And I'm one of those that believes it's not, it's not up to me where it goes, right. There are people out there who need to hear stories and need to hear information. And, and I'm hopeful that, that the things that I'm doing, I'm very passionate about teaching others. And I love it when I get calls from folks that go, you know, I've been listening to your podcast or I picked up a copy of your book and I, and I just wanted to talk to you about these things.

Tom Bronson (52m 10s):

So, so I would encourage you if you've every, every listener here has a book inside you, I would encourage you to go and explore that and, and find that. So, so we've got, we're going to have to wrap up though, a couple of last questions, as you know, I always ask these so rich, you're a business owner and this podcast is all about maximizing business value. What is the one most important thing you recommend business owners do to build long-term value in their business?

Rich Cavaness (52m 40s):

Number one, there's a big difference between being self-employed and being a business owner. And it has to do with taking, allowing yourself to be able to hire people, to do things that you don't do very well. And self-employed people do everything. Business owners, hire people to do everything. That's the biggest difference. And if I could give anybody advice and that would be, if you really want to scale your business and grow it, you need to add staff. And yes, I know that sounds scary. And I know that sounds like a lot of headaches and again, but the bottom line is, is that you're never going to grow unless you keep growing your, your, your staff, because you got to keep giving them and growing them so that you can keep doing the things that you're doing.

Tom Bronson (53m 30s):

I love that. I even, when I started this last business and our listeners already know I bought or sold a hundred businesses in my career, a hundred transactions I've been through. And even when I started this most recent business mastery partners, which is a consulting and coaching practice, I knew that I needed people to help me get to where I needed to be so that the business could take off. And by hiring people before I could ever really support them, right. I recognized that I was coming out of pocket for that, but hiring them early, got me to the point where I could support them so much faster than it would have if I'd have waited to bring those folks on when, when you need them.

Tom Bronson (54m 17s):

So I'm not a big fan of Willy Millie going out there and hiring plan and execute. And it's likely that, that there are places in every business owner's life that their, their life and their business would improve by making the right strategic hire. So I think that that is a wonderful, a wonderful piece of advice. Well, I've, I've asked you this before, and I've had the benefit of actually going back and listening to your prior answers. So I'm really interested to hear what you're going to say next rich, because you always get the bonus question. What personality trait has gotten you into the most trouble through the,

Rich Cavaness (54m 55s):

I would say for me, it's balancing work and family time. I, I tend to work too much. And, you know, even when I'm at home, you know, I'm usually here writing some books or, you know, doing something, but I'm just one of these people that I'm just, I'm a restless soul, I guess. And I like to be creating and building things. And so I've, I've done what I've done to correct help. That is I don't ever take vacations locally. I always take a vacation, so I have to leave.

Rich Cavaness (55m 36s):

And so what that does is it allows me to really focus on my wife or my family, my granddaughters, and so that I, I'm not, I'm not near my businesses. I'm not thinking about them. I'm completely. So that's helped me a lot to, to actually just leave. And so, cause I've, I've in the past, I've, I've taken time off and hang out at home or whatever. And it's like, I'm just completely inundated and hanging on my, on my, my computer, my phone. And it's like, that's just not working. So, but yeah, that personality trait, I'm just, I'm very driven.

Tom Bronson (56m 9s):

Yeah. That is, that is great advice for every business or a look, I I'm a huge fan. I asked business owners when we engage with the most last time he took a real vacation and, and I'll hear things like, oh, well, I went down to, you know, Mexico for, for a long weekend last year or whatever. And no I'm saying, when did you really step away from the business? When did you turn off the electronic devices? When did you not read your emails. When do you not respond to text MES messages? Because the only way to, to recharge our batteries is to, is to disengage them. Right? So big fan of that, I'm glad you discovered that it's hard to take those local vacations.

Tom Bronson (56m 52s):

Now I will do the opposite sometimes. Certainly I love to get away and, and shut down, but, but I'll, I'll take a local vacation only if it's, if it's for the purpose of accomplishing something that I really wanted to in my personal life, for example, people will find this hard to believe, but I'm a pretty handy guy, right? I can paint. I can, I can build things. And when I was younger, I really, really took great pleasure in that stuff. Well, now we've got a couple of projects. I'm thinking I'm going to take a week off and do those projects and step away from the business. We'll see if I can leave the computer off.

Rich Cavaness (57m 32s):

The problem is Tom is that every day you wake up, you got to walk by that door by that room and their house. So

Tom Bronson (57m 39s):

You gonna lock the door and I'm going to, I'm going to give Karen the key. Do you think that'll work out? I've got all the power tools to take the door apart, so we'll see how that works. Hey, this has been a fun conversation. How can our viewers and listeners get in touch with you?

Rich Cavaness (57m 56s):

Best way to get in touch with me. I've got a great website for power to thrive. It's power to thrive.net. I've created some great value. There there's some good coaching videos for free. As a matter of fact, if you go to power to thrive.net, you can actually get the book for free. I'm just asking that you pay the shipping and handling. So it's, it's a tremendous value. I really want people to get this in their hands. So just go to power, to thrive.net, and you can get the, get the book for free with just pay the shipping and have,

Tom Bronson (58m 29s):

You know, I neglected to mention that I was waiting for that to come out in that, that you can get, you made the conscientious decision to give this book away for free, which is just outrageous as an author. You know, I give away a lot of books to business owners and whatnot, but, but to make this book available for free and the power of the content that are contained between the covers of this book, I just think it's a wonderful, wonderful thing. So thank you rich for mentioning that and thank you for being our guest

Rich Cavaness (59m 1s):

Today. Happy Thanksgiving,

Tom Bronson (59m 4s):

Happy Thanksgiving to you. So you can find Rich at powertothrive.net it's powertothrive.net. Or of course you can also find him at richcavaness.com or on LinkedIn. Or of course you can always reach out to me and I'll be happy to make a warm introduction to my good friend, rich Cavaness. This is the maximize business value podcast, where we give practical advice to business owners on how to build long-term sustainable value in your business. Be sure to tune in each week and follow us wherever you found this podcast. Now, if you happen to be listening on the week that this episode is released, then happy Thanksgiving to you until next time.

Tom Bronson (59m 50s):

I'm Tom Bronson reminding you that God truly gave you the power to thrive while you maximize this

Announcer (1h 0m 3s):

And tuning into the maximize business value podcast with Tom Brunson. This podcast is brought to you by mastery partners, where our mission is to equip business owners to maximize business value so they can transition on their terms on how to build long-term sustainable business value and get free value building tools by visiting our website, www.masterypartners.com that's master with a Y masterypartners.com. Check it out.

Tom Bronson (1h 0m 48s):

That was perfect. I wouldn't make any changes.