Catalyzing Change Through Compassionate Entrepreneurial Leadership

Unlock the power of heartfelt leadership with Nicky Ballou, the visionary behind eCircle Academy, as we explore his transformative journey from humble beginnings to entrepreneurial success. Our conversation is a testament to the strength of service-driven entrepreneurship and the profound influence of leadership in shaping dynamic cultures within organizations. Nicky's personal saga of choice and freedom, intertwined with philosophical insights from influential minds, will not only inspire you but also equip you with the wisdom to become an authority in your field.

Ever felt hesitant to reach out for fear of seeming pushy? This episode challenges that fear head-on, celebrating the shift from sales to genuine service. I share a personal reflection on pushing through low-energy days to believe in the untapped potential of those we serve. We also dive into the life-altering story of Carl Kramer, showcasing how embracing the service mindset can lead to a harmonious blend of professional achievement and personal fulfillment.

Wrapping up, Nicky and I underscore the magic of leadership collaboration and the importance of extending a supportive hand. In the spirit of cooperation over competition, we invite you to join us on this journey of growth and gratitude. Whether you're starting out, seeking a boost, or aiming to 10x your life, the Unpacked Podcast is your weekly dose of practical leadership solutions that reinforce our belief: people always matter.

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Just Make A Difference: Leading Under Pressure by Ron Harvey

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Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organization or entity. The information provided in this podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice. Listeners should consult with their own professional advisors before implementing any suggestions or recommendations made in this podcast. The speakers and guests are not responsible for any actions taken by listeners based on the information presented in this podcast. The podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice or services. The speakers and guests make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in this ...

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to Unpacked Podcast with your host leadership consultant, Ron Harvey of Global Core Strategies and Consulting. Ron's delighted to have you join us as he unpacks and shares his leadership experience, designed to help you in your leadership journey. Ron believes that leadership is the fundamental driver towards making a difference. So now to find out more of what it means to unpack leadership, here's your host, Ron Harvey Good morning.

Speaker 2: 0:28

This is Ron Harvey, the Vice President, chief Operating Officer, global Core Strategies and Consultant leadership development firm, and we're out of Columbia, south Carolina, and all of our work on a daily basis is built around creating a winning culture and organizations and helping develop leaders where they can create that culture that they want, that they need and that they desire to have, and we truly believe it's done through the lens of a leader.

Speaker 2: 0:49

Leaders do make a difference, but what we do every single Monday is release a podcast that really came out of COVID and we get to talk to leaders from around the world that talk about leadership and their journey and their challenges, and we let you behind the curtain of what we've done, the mistakes we've made and successes that we've had, but we talk openly with leaders from around the world. So today I'm super happy to have Nick on with us and I'm going to pause and ask Nick to introduce himself, his business, his organization, and then at the end, we'll do the same thing. So you have all this contact information. So, nick, thank you for saying yes.

Speaker 3: 1:23

Ron, thanks for having me on the show. My name is Nicky Ballou. I'm the founder and CEO and chief thought leader of eCircle Academy. What we do is we help entrepreneurs, particularly service-driven entrepreneurs. Most of them are folks who are solopreneurs or maybe have one or two staff, and these are folks that are good, heart-driven people and they're looking to make a difference for the world. And what we do is we help them be able to make that massive impact that they want to make 10x that impact, 10x the influence they have in the world and obviously also 10x their income, through some very powerful methodologies, by nailing their message and becoming seen as the go-to authority or thought leader in their space.

Speaker 2: 2:12

Yes, yes, they're going to love this conversation, nicky, so I'm happy that you're on with us and the information that we share. I'll kind of dive right in what I'll tell the whole audience. Nicky doesn't get the questions, and our podcast guests always know we just have a real open, candid conversation about things, and so I don't know what question I'm going to ask, nikki. Honestly, it's based on this conversation, so everybody that's listening. There are no questions. That's set in advance. We have a real transparent conversation about things that's happening, about things we know, and so we lean in heavily with you. So, nikki, you talk about leaders and you talk about really helping people. 10x. How did you really get started and what were some of your challenges, becoming an entrepreneur yourself?

Speaker 3: 2:50

Well, that's a great question. I'm actually originally an immigrant from the Middle East. I'm a Christian from Iran. When I was 11 years old, the Islamic Revolution took place in Iran and my late father, God rest his soul he could see the writing on the wall. This wasn't going to be a place to raise a Christian family. So he and my mom got together, they made a plan and they got us out of Iran eventually. It took a while to have all the pieces fall into place and we settled where I now live, in Toronto, Canada.

Speaker 3: 3:20

Now, at the time I was 11, I didn't want to leave my home, I didn't want to leave my friends, but it was the still greatest thing my mom and dad could have done for the family. They took us from a legacy of tyranny to a legacy of freedom. And I just want to say this it takes an immigrant from a tyrannical country to truly appreciate the level of freedom that you have here in the United States, in Canada I live, and in the rest of the Western world. And it takes someone like me to warn you that right now, specifically at this point in time, there's dark forces that are trying to take those freedoms away, and freedom is the most precious thing we all have. It resides in every human breast the desire to be free to choose life and to choose the path that you want. So I just say to everybody listening don't let anybody take your freedom away from you. Stand up for it, strong and tall, especially in the name of some nebulous things like security and safety. It never works, never has, never will. But this desire and love for freedom informs my worldview.

Speaker 3: 4:21

I've become quite the reader. I don't know if you can see the bookcase behind me. This isn't a virtual background. This is my actual office. I've got over 5,000 books in my library. I've read over 4,000 of them so far, and many of the books that I've read have been all about how to improve oneself and also philosophical books about freedom. I've read people like Milton Friedman, Ayn Rand, Friedrich Hayek and folks like that.

Speaker 3: 4:46

And my dad he was an entrepreneur. He was a freedom lover too. He was also the greatest man I ever knew, Ron, If you knew my dad and you were looking for work, he'd sit you down in his office. He'd call all his entrepreneur buddies and browbeat them until one of them hired you and he'd say hey, you're starting in two hours, Get out of here. Here's your starting salary, God bless. If you were trying to start a business, he'd sit you down in his office. He'd listen to you and he'd help you put a plan together. He'd help you get access to capital. He'd even try to get you some clients Now in Iran.

Speaker 3: 5:16

Back in the day, if you knew him and you were trying to buy a car or a house, you couldn't, you know, necessarily get everything you needed from the bank that only give you so much. So you'd go see my dad and my dad would give you a loan to top you up so you could buy that car, that house. And later on, whenever you pay him back, he'd say what you're talking about, that was a gift. And I was the kind of man my dad was. He would tell people all the time and he'd tell me life is not about money, it's about people. And I was a little kid and he'd say to me, son, business is even not about money, it's about people. Now I'm eight years old and I'm a smart alex. I go, dad, what are you talking about? Money? Look, without money you can't do business. I'm like so pleased that I got my dad right.

Speaker 3: 6:01

He said he said that's you son, so without people, there's no need for money. And he said remember that every person sitting in front of you, that's someone's father, that's someone's brother, that's someone's son, that's someone's husband, that's a hero to somebody. Okay, and your job is to remember that especially remember that they may have had a bad experience with someone in business, just like you, and your job is to restore their faith in humanity. My mentor in business, mark von muscher, says it's not a numbers game, it's a people's game, and my father passed away february 23rd, 2020, and he passed the torch on to me because he'd always tell me you need to believe in people.

Speaker 3: 6:40

Every human being needs someone to believe in them when their belief in themselves wob. Human being needs someone to believe in them when their belief in themselves wobbles. They need someone to believe in them, to provide them a spark of belief that then they can turn into a roaring fire. And every person in business also needs the ability to persuade other people of the majesty of their dreams, goals, visions and their purpose. And that's what it's all about. My superpower I teach thought leadership. I got amazing methodologies around that. I teach people about podcasting and podcast guesting books, because you know I've got two podcasts top rated and I've got 10 books including two New York Times bestsellers that I've written. But the most powerful thing about me is how much I love on people, how much I believe in people and how much I stand with them when that belief wobbles and help remind them that they're a child of God given a mighty purpose. And all I got to do is help get that belief straight and they're going to kick butt and take names.

Speaker 2: 7:37

Yes, yes. So if you're listening, nicky dropped a lot of wisdom, a lot of nuggets, really really fast. So, nikki, when you think about it and the work that you're doing, you know God bless your father what he planted. He planted some seeds and it says you reap what you sow. So he sowed some really great seeds and you're beginning to still live through those. When you think about the people that you're helping entrepreneurs mom and pop, two people in business what are some of the major challenges? You see that business entrepreneurs. They have the belief, they have the dream and the desire. What are three things that you can share that you're normally seeing that entrepreneurs that are trying to get a leg up or head up or serve people. What are some major mistakes that we're making?

Speaker 3: 8:14

Well, I'll tell you, man. The first one is what I was talking about just before this. A lot of people have imposter syndrome. They go through life putting on this mask, this brave face, but inside they feel, oh my God, who am I, who am I, who are you not to? God gave you that beautiful purpose and I got to tell you. It's important that if you cannot muster that belief from within, that you plug into something that allows you to get that belief going for yourself, something that allows you to get that belief going for yourself. You know, I say hashtag don't do it alone. Don't do it alone. You need to have coaches, mentors, people who love you, that are around you. You know, the great Robin Sharma, who was a client of mine, the author of the book the Monk who Sold His Ferrari, once told me when I was coaching him Nicky, if you ever want to double your income, you should triple your investment in personal and professional development you've got to pause that.

Speaker 2: 9:09

Say that again. So hashtag what you just said. If you really want to double your income, you do what again?

Speaker 3: 9:14

you have to triple your investment in personal and professional development yes, yes, triple hire the coaches, join the masterminds, do the courses, buy the books, attend the conferences. It's all super, super, super, super important. You're the most important asset in your business. If you're not investing in you, my God, how the heck are you going to get better? For things to get better, jim Rohn said you have to get better For things to get better. The great Jim Rohn said I'll repeat it you have to get better. And how do you get better? You work on yourself, you work on yourself. You invest time, energy, money in you, in you. And if you're listening to this and you're trying to do it on the cheap, oh my God, beware of bargains and self-improvement and brain surgery. They are not worth it.

Speaker 2: 10:09

Yeah, when I first started I'm a veteran for the US Army when I first started my business. Thank you so much. I thank you for your support. When I first started I got into the business I knew absolutely nothing about the backside of business, entrepreneur, and so I went to the seminar, the workshop, if you will, conference, and the woman that was running it, which is still a good friend and a coach of mine, when she first asked me to invest, I literally said you lost your mind. You want me to pay what? There's no way I'm doing that. I called my wife and told her. My wife goes well, do you have another way to do it? I'm like no, it I'm like no. She said do you know how to do it? I said no. She said write the check.

Speaker 3: 10:46

It's time for you to invest in you. She said write the check, honey. Most spouses would tell you how much Forget it. So I mean, you're married up, son. You're married up. You know, you did, you know, you did. I tell people that I know you're married up, right there, right there.

Speaker 2: 11:01

So what is the struggle for entrepreneurs? When you look at the people that you work and you've done a lot of phenomenal work, let them behind the curtain a little bit. Let's unpack. What are some of the major reasons why entrepreneurs don't invest in themselves or triple the investment in themselves? I've watched them invest in cars, machines and technology, but you still got to run the business. What is that? Why do we get stuck investing in ourselves?

Speaker 3: 11:22

You know, my friend, I think it comes down to that imposter syndrome at the end of the day, and that lack of belief. They don't believe they're worth it, that they deserve it. They don't believe that they can do anything with the investment that's worthy of them actually taking the step and pulling the trigger on that investment. And pulling the trigger on that investment. And to me, when I meet with somebody, regardless of whether we end up doing business together or not, the number one thing I want him to feel is wow, that man cares about me. He doesn't even really know me, but that's the kind of man he is. He cares about me. Because when someone just feels that somebody cares about them, that is enough, is enough to straighten that wobble, because the wobble is there. You go through those wobbles, I go through those wobbles, everybody goes through those wobbles. We all need someone to believe in us. We all need it. The blue torch that my father, the late great Napoleon blue, passed on to me is all about that Bring the belief forward. And the more I believe in others, the more the good Lord believes in me.

Speaker 3: 12:38

Yesterday was a brilliant day and yesterday was not a day that I felt at my best energetically, but I still plowed through it. I got up, I did my workout I'm part of a program that my mentor, mark Bamusa, runs, so I sat in on that I did my clean eating and I had a bunch of podcasts that I hosted and I had a couple of podcasts that I was on, and the first opportunity I had to host a podcast was with a man that he was really great. But there was something in our conversation that said, you know what? This man, it sounds really great, but he's not a fit for working with you. For you to open up that door is a possibility and I just let it go. But then there was a woman who was on my show and, man, she was a fit for potentially working with me and I'm like, wow, that's amazing. So I asked her if she needed help with X, y and Z at the end of the interview and she said she actually did. We set up a conversation to speak, which was awesome.

Speaker 3: 13:40

And then after that I had a conversation with a young man in business who's invested a lot of money to buy into a business and he needs to sell, and that conversation was a great conversation and at the end of the conversation, you know, it was clear that he needed to sell and he said I want to sleep on it. I hadn't even given him an offer or price or nothing because I want to sleep on it. And I just even given him an offer or price or nothing. He says I want to sleep on it. And I just said let me ask you a question. He said sure, other than you thinking you need to sleep on this, is there any other reason that you wouldn't want to learn how to sell so that this investment of yours won't go down the tubes in the next 12 months? And he was silent for a minute. He said I guess, when you put it that way, that sounds pretty stupid, doesn't it? And I said I need to sleep on it. Right, you put it that way. I'm like I do put it that way. Yes, sir and brother, I enrolled him into one of my programs $7,000. And he paid me on the spot.

Speaker 3: 14:47

And I'm telling you, this was not my best day. This was not a day where I had my highest level of energy. But I know this, that I believe in this man and that I was going to continue to show up, even though I didn't feel good. I wasn't going great and the good Lord blessed me with an opportunity to be of service and he blessed my family with abundance of money. And that, my friend, is what it's all about. One of the challenges, just to segue from this, another challenge, because you said to give you three, so we've given you one, let's give you the second one. Second one is the good.

Speaker 3: 15:13

Men and women are scared of selling. They're scared of selling. They don't want to be seen as this pushy man or pushy woman. They don't want to be seen as reeking of commission breath. No, no, no, no, no. Man, I'm not that guy, I'm not that like gal. No, no, no.

Speaker 3: 15:30

The problem with that is that oftentimes, because of that, they pull back, they hesitate, and that hesitancy kills their opportunity with people that they could really serve, people that the good Lord put in front of them and said help this person. I'm not going to help you because I don't want to be seen as pushy you think about how crazy that is. Because I don't want to be seen as pushy, I'm going to let you continue to suffer. Yeah, you keep suffering. You keep hurting. Whatever it is that they're hurting is, their health may be suffering, their business could be suffering, their marriage could be on the verge of breaking up. Maybe this person is even ready to blow their brains out because that's how hard life is for them. But hey, you don't want to be seen as pushy, so that's okay. You let them keep suffering and you think about how nuts that is.

Speaker 3: 16:16

And so what I've done is I've talked to people and again, this is my mentor, mark. I got to give him full credit. I don't sell people. Even though I do sell people, I serve people. I'm here to serve you to victory. And if I teach people how to reframe sales to service, sales to service man, then they don't worry about being seen as pushy. They're serving. That alone helps them. Help the people that need their help. Helps them. Help that man whose business is about to crumble. Help that woman who's about to get type 2 diabetes. Help that man whose wife is about to leave him and who's about to maybe blow his own brains out. So they're going to make the difference they were born to make and they're going to be blessed by abundance by the good Lord because of that. And it's so important to stop being scared of the word sales and start being excited and attracted to the word service. Yes.

Speaker 2: 17:19

I have to agree. I tell people, if you serve people, you don't have to sell anything. Be of service. Yes, yes, I have to agree. I tell people, if you serve people, you don't have to sell anything. Be of service. Yes, yes, mickey, I am in line. What's the third thing that you're noticing? You've given us two Phenomenal. Love it, you know, triple. Invest in yourself. People don't want to do that. People are scared to think of this sales mentality. Shift that mindset to service mentality. What's the third thing you notice? What's the third thing you notice?

Speaker 3: 17:41

So many good people have real expertise, but they don't know how to stand out. Their message makes them look like an expert. So there's a fellow out of Australia who said an expert is someone who knows something. Well, experts are a dime a dozen. There's a lot of people who know things, but a thought leader is someone who's known for knowing something. The great David Meerman Scott says that an expert is like a cover band, while a thought leader plays original music. If you want to stand out in the crowded marketplace, you've got to nail your message. You've got to be seen as the authority, as the thought leader in the space Period full stop, end of story.

Speaker 3: 18:19

Now I'm going to tell you a story of a client of mine. When I met him, period Full stop, end of story. Now I'm going to tell you a story of a client of mine. When I met him, this man was 57 years old. His name was Carl Kramer.

Speaker 3: 18:30

This was back in 2018. He had been an executive vice president of manufacturing concern in my home's province of Ontario in Canada. Successful man made $350,000 a year as an executive vice president, but he was burnt out. He'd been working 50, 60, 70 hour weeks. He was done with that. So he quit. He became a business coach, but his income fell 80%. He went from $350,000 a year to $70,000 a year. That's a big drop. So he wanted to recoup that same level of income. He loved being a coach. He didn't want to work 60 hours a week and he wanted to make $350,000 plus. That's what he said to me when he met me. If I could just make the money I used to make Now he'd heard of me from a client of mine who was a fitness trainer, who, I'm just going to be very direct with you, was a good man but dumb as a post.

Speaker 3: 19:22

And I tell this to his face you're dumb as a post, but you're a good man. And he figured out with our help how to stand out and as a fitness trainer he made a million dollars a year. Now you ought to understand. Not a whole lot of fitness trainers make a million dollars a year, especially back in 2018. Today there's a bunch more who do, but back then it was unheard of.

Speaker 3: 19:42

So carl came to me and said you think you can help me. And I'm saying I know I can help you. Sit down, let's talk. And so I asked him carl, what's your message? Who do you help? He says well, you know I can help anybody with any business problem. I'm an executive vice president with x number of years of expertise. You you understand, and I'm like that message is going to get you nowhere fast. Nowhere fast. We need to narrow your focus.

Speaker 3: 20:08

And we helped him decide that he didn't want to work with anybody on any business problem. He wanted to work with business owners with the problem of rapid growth. He loved creating rapid growth, but doing it for all people, all business owners, that wasn't really working. So we narrowed the focus to solo practitioner law firms with a million dollars plus in income who wanted to double, triple and beyond their practice. So carl kramer by narrowing his focus and also charging more, because carlcharged a lot of people in this industry massively undercharged. I don't believe in price gouging, but I also don't believe in undercharging. So he charged what he was worth in six months, from $70,000 a year to $500,000 a year, working 15 to 20 hours a week. His success was coming to him so quickly. He said let me see how high I can take this. He was going up to $100,000 a month. So a million, two a year run rate. But he just didn't like working that hard. So he cut it back to about $500,000, $550,000 a year, $600,000 a year, and he said, yeah, that's good, I'm working 25, 30 hours a week. That's all the work I want to do. But that was the power of Carl being a thought leader. He was seen as the thought leader who had real expertise in helping solo practitioner law firms of a million plus grow fast, double triple. He was sought after, sought after. That's thought leadership being sought after.

Speaker 3: 21:54

Now you look at me. You found me through Podmatch. I don't know if you went, you checked me out before you brought me on your show or not. If you did, you will see a few things about me. Number one is I'm on a lot of podcasts. If you go on Spotify, there's about 600 shows that I've been on. You may know nothing else about me, but the moment you see my name on that many shows, you're going to go.

Speaker 3: 22:19

He's probably not a dummy. He probably can hold a conversation. He probably can hold a conversation. I'm safe, it's okay. I can bring this dude on the show, right, and if you decided to dig a little deeper and go, okay, well, maybe I'll listen to a few minutes of some of those appearances. He said, maybe I'll even go on his own podcast and you take a listen, you go oh yeah, this guy knows a lot about a bunch of topics when it comes to business mindset and growth. And then if you went online and you just typed in my name and said, okay, let's see what else shows up about him, you'll see, oh, he's written all these darn books, and it's not just business books. He's written a kid's book. He's written a couple of political books. He's written a fitness book with an Olympic gold medalist. Holy crap, maybe this is a well-rounded individual. So as a podcast host, you might think, okay, I did, okay, I didn't bring a dud on the show because that's important. Right, that's important for you.

Speaker 3: 23:16

You're investing your time, your energy, your money and your attention on a guest as a host. That is a risk on your part. It's a risk. You are taking a risk every time you bring someone on.

Speaker 3: 23:29

And my job, when I come on a show, I have a triple purpose. Purpose number one is I'm looking to inspire the people. The last four years have been hell on people, absolute hell, and unfortunately it looks like the powers that be are deliberately trying to make that hell worse. That's another conversation for another time. I'm here. I'm here to inspire the people. I got energy to burn. The good Lord has gifted me with the ability to be articulate, persuasive, powerful, and people are going to listen to me and go man, I'm inspired, I'm fired up that dude. He's on fire. Let me watch him burn. You know what I'm saying. That's what they're thinking of themselves right Now.

Speaker 3: 24:09

Secondly, I want you, as the host, to go. Okay, this dude is the best dang guest I ever had. I'm so glad I brought him and, again, for all the reasons I said, you've taken a risk and invested time, energy, money and attention on this. I want you to be happy. Thirdly, for me, I'm a businessman, I'm a business owner. I'm old school. I do business with people that I know, that I like and I trust. I qualify them. They don't just get to work with me just because they got a wallet and a pulse. I'm not at that stage in business anymore. So what better way for you and I to get to know, like and trust each other than spend half an hour to an hour on a podcast? And so many people in this PodMatch universe don't understand how incredible a tool PodMatch is that allows us to do this.

Speaker 2: 25:02

Yes, yes, phenomenal information and everything that you said you wanted to accomplish. You've accomplished your three things inspire, you want to be the best guest and you want to build a business. I totally agree. 100% is why this is there Behind the curtain. Unpack it, keep it real, have a conversation, because I think in this world that oftentimes we make it look easier than it is. We've accomplished a lot more by not spending 80 hours a week. I want to let the behind the curtain a little bit. What has been the biggest challenge in your journey, wherever you may want to pick it up at? What was something that was a major challenge that you had to overcome to be who you are today?

Speaker 3: 25:37

Well, I had several of those, my friend. You know I'm 56 years old. Challenges abound in my life, but I'll tell you a story because I think it's a very, very powerful story. Yes, I used to be married and back in 2009, through 2011 timeframe, my then wife, seemingly out of the blue, decided she didn't want to be married to me anymore and kicked me out of the house and I spiraled. I was sleeping on my mother's couch, I was feeling sorry for myself, wasn't making any money Like I'm talking zero, like I was out of it.

Speaker 3: 26:14

And a friend of mine took pity on me and bought me a ticket to go attend a conference with him, just to pick my spirits up Right. And so I attended this business conference and I me a ticket to go attend a conference with him, just to pick my spirits up right. And so I attended this business conference and I heard a man doing a talk. Now, this man, he spoke to me. He was an angel from the Lord. He'd been sent to deliver a message to me, and when I heard him deliver that message, I knew that I needed to go speak to him at the end of his talk. So I raced to the stage. I beat everybody like I, elbowed people out of the way. There was no way I was going to be standing in a goddamn lineup, you know what I'm saying. So I extended my hand. I said hey, bill, his name was bill, my name is nicky. Let me tell you my story.

Speaker 3: 26:56

So I told him my story, and at the end of my monologue, I said to him hesitantly I think I need to hire you, billy. And he was like oh all right, he could tell I was in a bad place, so he just said to me he says that's fine. What you need to understand, though, is that the way I work is I have packages, and my packages range from 5,000 to a hundred thousand dollars. Now, the $5,000 package is for five hours of coaching time with me. The way that it works is that I get paid upfront, in full, in advance, and I don't offer any guarantees or refunds. Do you still want to hire me, son? And I looked at him and I said I don't have $5,000. And he said okay, well, I'll give you some free coaching. And I said free coaching, man, that sounds great. I'll take some free coaching, sure. And so he said it doesn't matter how much money you have.

Speaker 2: 27:53

And I said hold up.

Speaker 3: 27:55

I thought you wanted $5,000 from me. Of course it matters how much money I have. He said, son, I got 20 people lined up ready to work with me and remember, I told you my package would start at $5,000. Most of these 20 people are going to be paying a lot more than $5,000. I don't need your money, but you need me. And that was a hard truth to swallow, but it was important. And I nodded my head and he was right. And he said it doesn't matter how much money you have. What matters is how bad do you want change? I said what he said.

Speaker 3: 28:32

Well, you're sleeping on your mother's couch, your wife has kicked you to the curb, you are not allowed to see your kids until you come up with some money and you feel terrible. How much longer do you want to put up with this state of affairs? A day, a week, a month, a year, a lifetime? And, brother, I was like what, are you kidding me? No, no, I said give me a couple of days, I'm going to come back to you. And we made an appointment for me to see him in two days at his office, which, coincidentally and there's no such thing as coincidence, you know it and I know it, his office is a minute walk from my house. One minute walk from my house. I mean, think about that. That was unbelievable, one minute walk. So in the meantime, I at the time was a fitness trainer. Like I said, I used to work with Olympic champions, I wrote a book with one of them and I had been in conversation with a couple of businessmen who really wanted to lose some weight but had not made a decision.

Speaker 3: 29:39

I'd given them a package, an offer, but I hadn't done a good job of enrolling them and they'd said, oh, let me think about it. And I called them back and I said listen, I got some good news. They go good news. What's the good news? I said listen, here's the truth. Do you or do you not need to lose weight? And they said, yeah, I do. And I said what will happen if you don't? Let me hear it. They said well, I'm at risk of type 2 diabetes, I'm at risk of a heart attack and a stroke. It runs in the family. Blah, blah, blah. And I said, yeah, so that's the truth. And you're fat, right, and I just said it like that. You're fat, yeah, I'm fat. And I said and you need to take action, like now, not someday. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I also said and I'm broke, and they knew my story, and I need money so I can see my sons, my two sons, yes, so I said here's the good news. We both need something that we can help the other with. I'm going to offer you the deal of a lifetime, half price from the price I quoted you before. But here's the catch I need a yes or no right now, and if it's yes, I need payment right now. Two people said yes. So I'm excited. I have had no money in months. Right Now I have two grand in less than an evening. It was incredible, right. So I go and I see Buddy a minute away from my house and I bring the money and I'm just beaming. You know, here you go, man, and he looked at the money and he said this is great. But I said 5,000, not 2,000. And all of a sudden, man, I was deflated. I'm like oh God. And then I looked at him and I said hey, bill, how many times over the years have you told this story to an individual? He said well, maybe 30 or 40. I'm like that's a lot. He goes yeah, it is. I said besides me, who else ever came back with any money? It was his turn to get a little embarrassed because he said you're the first, actually. And I said I'm the first. He said yeah. I said well, then take my money and I'm going to sign a contract with you to say that I'll pay you the balance within 30 or 60 days, whatever the case may be, and I said I want change back. And I guess he saw that I did, because you know I came back with the money and he took the money and within six months I made six figures and I paid him early. I paid him ahead of time because I want to change back. And I'm going to just say this to somebody who's going.

Speaker 3: 32:22

Well, you know, if you're listening to this, your current situation. How bad do you want change? Are you sleeping in a fur-lined and air-conditioned rut and change is not on the top of your list? Or are you raring to go to create change? Because if you want something different than what you have, that white, hot desire for change is the only thing that will get you out of the adversity that you're currently in. And even if it's not an adversity, even if you're doing well, if you're making a half a million dollars a year, but that's what you've made for the last 10 years and you're like I wonder if I can make a million how bad do you want to make a million? How bad do you want change? That's it.

Speaker 2: 33:15

Yes, yes, I love it. Hashtag. How bad do you want change, you know, and what is it going to take? And it will take some behavior or changes and modifications. Nicky, you've shared a lot of great information as we begin to wrap up some of our conversations. Why don't you conversation as we begin to wrap up some of our conversations? What would you leave people with that are listening? And you started off. You shared your story. Your excitement is there. You're passionate, you want to make a difference. You want to help people change. You know you want to inspire people. You really are about serving people. What would you leave the people that are listening that's tuned in for about 30 minutes with this? What are some things you love to leave them with? And then I want to talk about how do they reach you and make contact?

Speaker 3: 33:49

I appreciate the question. So I think that God has created you for a purpose and your only job is to just look for that purpose and keep going after it. Because if you really understand that, you're going to live a life less ordinary, you're going to live a life of fulfillment, you're going to be happy and thrilled and content and you're going to continue to progress Because your purpose will drive you. But if you allow yourself to fall into the trap that the powers that be have set up, those folks don't want what's best for you, and let's just be straight about that. They don't want what's best for you. They want you a cog in a machine. They want to make a slave out of you.

Speaker 3: 34:48

If you let yourself spend all your time on social media or watching Netflix or what have you, or if you let the powers that be say, hey, you know what that fellow looks different than you, he must be a bad person. Because that's what they're doing right now in universities. Can you believe they have segregated spaces in universities? Did not Martin Luther King fight so that shit wouldn't happen? Excuse my language. And now there's segregated spaces in universities and they're actually thinking there's a good thing. I'm sorry. I think Bull Connor came alive. Now he just has black skin. I'm sorry, man, but that's the way I see it. That's nuts. The way I see it, that's nuts.

Speaker 3: 35:27

Those people are trying to divide you because, I'm telling you, your brother, your sister is across from you. They might not look exactly like you, they might not think exactly like you, but they're your brother and they're your sister, and God puts you here to fulfill that purpose. And do not let the powers that be fool you into thinking the enemy is your brother and your sister. The enemy are those people that are shoving those evil messages at us and at our children, and I want you to understand that. Stand up for your freedom, stand up for the people around you, and it does not matter, it does not matter what crap they're trying to say to you about them, because it's all lies. Reach out your hand to that person across from you, say hello, introduce yourself, ask them some questions, find out who they really are, what matters to them, find out what their hopes, dreams and fears are and, if you can be of service to them, be of service to them. That's your job. That's your job. Believe in people. Pour into people. Love on people. That's my message.

Speaker 2: 36:44

It's solid, love it, love it. So people are listening and watching and observing. How do people reach you? What's the best way to contact you? You know one if they're looking for someone that's going to help them. You know 10x their revenue, 10x their life, 10x what they're interested in. You know how do people reach out to you and make contact. You know for your services, because I do want to talk business. It's real and we're both business owners.

Speaker 3: 37:17

How do people find you and reach out to you and why should they call you? Look, if you are stuck in your business situation and you want to get unstuck and, like you want change back, then what to do is get on my calendar with what I call a success call. A lot of other people call it like a discovery call or a breakthrough call. Really, essentially, it's the same thing I like success called that. So go to ecircleacademycom forward slash appointment. It's a free call and you get 45 minutes of my time where we're going to get to work. We're going to look at exactly where you're at, why you stuck and what it's going to take to get you unstuck. I'll give you the blueprint.

Speaker 2: 37:52

And away we go. Awesome. Thank you, Mickey. Phenomenal conversation. Love the energy. So, as we think about for the people that are listening, being stuck is going to be huge. What do you share? Like the person that's just not starting their business, and they're not stuck yet, they just don't know how to even start. Should they also reach out to you Because entrepreneurs are growing all over? I mean doing really, really well. 80% of the revenue in this country is by small business owners. Should they call you if they're just starting off, Because some people may say be a little intimidated or afraid to take that first step? How do you help that person? That's unsure, imposter syndrome, as we talked earlier. Just pick up the phone and call you. What do you tell them?

Speaker 3: 38:34

Look, I'm happy to have the call, but I wrote a book called the Thought Leader's Journey and it is really for somebody exactly like what you described. It is a blueprint for how to go from afraid with an idea into full-blown implementation, and if you go to Amazon, you can pick this up for, you know, 10 bucks to 20 bucks, depending on whether you want to get it as a Kindle or a hard copy. That's what I suggest Invest that much in yourself and read this book first, and then, if you want to jump on my calendar, use the same link. Jump on my calendar.

Speaker 2: 39:10

Yes, yes, thank you, Nicky. Phenomenal thought leader's journey. Amazon, go pick it up. E-circle Academy. You can reach out and you can find Nicky out there. Thank you for the conversation. Thank you for the transparency and the vulnerability to keep it real, which is what this whole podcast is about.

Speaker 2: 39:24

No scripted questions today. Go where we got to go. I'm a faith guy, so you know. No scripted questions. Hey, go where we got to go. I'm a faith guy, so I love that you brought it to the table, because we don't want to talk about that stuff in business. Well, they go hand in hand.

Speaker 2: 39:33

So for everyone that's listening, that's paying attention and following us again, ron Harvey, vice president and chief operating officer, global Corps Leadership Development Organization. We love serving people and always say that leadership is service, selling is service. Take care of the people that you've been entrusted the opportunity to serve and do it really, really well. You can always find us on LinkedIn and you can always go to our web page at Global Course Strategies and Consulting. Thank you all for joining us. What a phenomenal time. Feel free to reach out to Nikki or myself and both of us. We're not in competition, we're in cooperation. We're here to support you and it's one or the other, and sometimes it may be both, depending on what you need. I want to make sure that there's enough for everybody and we support each other. Thank you, my brother, for coming on and looking forward to the next time that we have another conversation.

Speaker 1: 40:20

Well, we hope you enjoyed this edition of Unpacked Podcast with leadership consultant Ron Harvey. Remember to join us every Monday as Ron unpacks sound advice, providing real answers for real leadership challenges. Until next time, remember to add value and make a difference where you are, for the people you serve, because people always matter.