RJon Robins: From The Vault
RJon Robins: From The Vault
Leave The Cave: Your Comfort Zone Is Holding You Back
Welcome inside the vault. This is a collection of previously unreleased lessons from eight-figure entrepreneurial mastermind RJon Robins. And in case you didn’t see the warning label - this content can be explicit and it is for serious entrepreneurs only.
In this lesson from 2018, RJon delivers a wake-up call about the importance of leaving your entrepreneurial cave and embracing the unknown. Through a thought-provoking exercise, he challenges law firm owners to confront the stories and excuses that keep them stuck. RJon emphasizes the danger of complacency and the high stakes of never trying. He argues that even in the face of these risks, flying is still worth it. Get ready to discover why stepping outside your comfort zone is a scary necessity for business growth.
Let's go to the vault!
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Welcome inside the vault. This is a collection of previously unreleased lessons from eight-figure entrepreneurial mastermind RJon Robins. And in case you didn't see the warning label, this content can be explicit, and it is for serious entrepreneurs only. In this clip from October 2018, at the Live Quarterly Meeting in Las Vegas. RJon brings the heat. Get ready for a no holds barred, hard hitting, straightforward look at why stepping outside of our comfort zone is a scary and necessary part of business growth. Let's go to The Vault.
Testimonies:Working with RJon is like having a shortcut to future you. Every time I can have an opportunity to spend time with RJon, I try to take it and be a sponge. I thought everyone was crazy. You know, they were running to the front of the stage to see this person. RJon's wearing his crazy shirt. You know, he drinks tiger blood in the morning just for fun and he's like breathing down my throat. Sometimes it's terrifying to work with him. It's like he's looking into your soul, but it's growth the whole way.
RJon Robins:This is an interactive exercise. I got to read the instructions with you so that we do this smoothly. If we do this smoothly and efficiently, it should work great. A is in that back corner. B is in that back corner. C is over there. And D is over there. It's pretty simple, right? A, B, C, D. If your firm's revenues this year are likely to be 0 to $250,000, when I ask you to get up, you will take the workbook with you. You will take something to write with and go to A, alright? If your revenues this year are going to be between $250,000 and $500,000, you're gonna go B. 500 to a million, C, over a million, D. We all got this clear? This should require no math. So we should be able to follow these instructions. Alright, so right now find a piece of paper and write down how much you expect the firm to gross this year. This is not the time to let your ego take you away. When we do the exercise, you will understand, I think. If you're not sure if your revenues are going to be $249,000 or$252,000, go with the smaller number. Be conservative here, alright? When we get to the corners, what we're going to do is we're then going to have C's pair up with A's on that side of the room. And we're gonna have B's pair up with D's on that side of the room. You got it? Now there's a lesson here for you to pay attention to. And this is a lesson that we have learned the hard way. What we have learned the hard way is that if you let too many people with revenues of between two-hundred...,$0 and $250,000 get together, and hang out together for too long. Guess what's going to happen to the group? It's going to start going down, right? Because everyone with revenues between $0 and $250,000, they got a lot of reasons why their firm is at $0 to $250,000. And they've got some really good stories and some very good explanations. And a lot of justifications and they can make a very compelling argument for why their business is where it is. And they start telling each other these stories and they start enrolling each other in these stories. And since everyone's stories, let each other off the hook. Pretty soon you've got like a cabal going and you know, they form like a faction. You got what I'm saying? What we've learned the hard way is that the people with businesses in the next stage up between around $250,000 to $500,000 we can't let them mentor, or coach or advise or give advice or really have almost any contact at all. If we can help it with people one step below. Because the problem is that the people with businesses between $250,000 and$500,000, half the time, you don't even understand how you got from the first stage to the second stage. It's still kind of a mystery to you that it's actually working. And you get triggered by the stories that the people below you are trying to tell you. Right? So here's a piece of advice for anyone in the $0 to $250,000 range. Pay attention to the people you're going to meet who are$500,000 to a million, right? Those are the people you want to hang around with at Live Quarterly Meetings. Those are the people you want to ask them, "Can I take you out for dinner?""Can we meet for a drink?" You don't need to hang around with people in the same revenue range that you're already in. You already know all the bullshit stories you've been telling yourself that make it okay to stay in the revenue range you're already in. You need to stay with a group of people who are, not one step above you, but two steps above you. You follow what I'm saying? If you're one step above the people you're mentoring, or coaching, or advising, or answering questions to, you're liable to get sucked down by their stories because those stories are going to emotionally trigger you because it's like you're still too close to all of that. It's like you've still got P-. P T S D about living that way. And like you start getting flashbacks about it and next thing you know, you're like unraveling and we see that happen all the time, but if you are two steps above, it's enormously valuable to talk to people who are two steps below where you're at now, because you've got that buffer in the middle and you can like see it with more perspective. And what happens is. You get reminded of the fundamentals that you've probably started getting lazy about, right? So, I love working with people that are starting businesses because, you know, every time I'm giving them advice and pointing, I got three fingers pointing back at me to remind me, I got to stay in integrity with this basic fundamental advice that I'm giving, right? Cause it's so easy to get so full of yourself when you get to a certain level that you forget the fundamentals that create the solid foundation that got you there. You get what I'm saying? All right. So that's part of the lesson. Now we're going to go through these questions. The people with the bigger firms, the people at the, at the higher level firms. Are going to be the ones asking the question of the people at the lower level firms. You follow what I'm saying? So the C's will ask questions of the A's. The D's will ask questions of the B's. Got it? The bigger firms will ask questions of the lower firms, right? The lower firms will benefit by being asked the questions. And the lower level firm owners will benefit by being challenged and called out and held accountable. On their answers by the firm owners who are two steps above them, who have the objectivity and the perspective, right? That's what's in it for the people with the lower level firms. What's in it for the people with the upper level firms. Is you will get reminded of those fundamentals that you forgot. And you will see people with lower level firms giving you answers that quite frankly, let me just brace you, especially everyone with D, the answers that you're going to be getting are going to shock you. You're going to have a completely new level of respect for just how much self control I actually have. But this will be a really good reminder for you. Not only number one, of where you once were, so you don't ever backslide there again. And if you ever catch yourself starting to tell that kind of a story, you'd be like,"Whoa, I remember what that sounds like." And it'll also help you when you're coaching your own team to know that this is the kind of stuff that people are thinking and feeling that your team won't tell you. See the people with the lower level firms here, they'll tell you the truth with their answers because they don't work for you. So they don't really care if you like them or don't like them. You can't fire them. You're not going to give them a raise and all of that. But the same kind of crazy shit you're about to be exposed to, you got to understand they have no idea that what they're about to say is crazy shit. They really don't. But this is what's going on with your team also. Make a note of it. All right. So you're going to go through these questions."Where is your firm now in terms of gross income and Total Owner Benefits?" Total Owner Benefits is your W2, your K1, and all of the other owner benefits you run through the firm."What are your primary needs that are already being met at this level of gross and net income?" I'm paying for this house. I'm paying for this car. I'm taking these vacations. I'm, you know, hiring a maid once every six months to come in and clean the pigsty that I live in, whatever. Right? Or maybe you're extremely neat and clean and you can make do with a maid only once every six months. I can't."What is your best reason for leaving?" And what we mean by leaving is leaving the cave. Remember the whole story about Daedalus and Icarus? You're in the cave."What's your best reason for leaving the cave?""What known future are you the most afraid of if you stay safe in your cave or fuselage?" Now, if you have not done a Mindset Mastermind with us, you don't know the term fuselage, don't worry about it. It's your cave. It's that safe, comfy place where all of your current needs are presently being met. For those of you who've done a mastermind, you know what I mean by fuselage. Same difference.
Narrator:If this episode is resonating with you. Click the link in the show notes below to learn more about the upcoming five-week business plan bootcamp. Yes, this is a free virtual bootcamp, which means seats are limited in order to provide personal attention and laser coaching. Click the link below and turn this podcast episode into an actionable business plan to grow your law firm. And now, back to the show.
RJon Robins:"What unknowns are you afraid of if you leave?" What unknowns are you afraid of? I'm afraid if I leave the cave... I'm afraid of what it might be like to show up at Thanksgiving in a new car instead of an old piece of shit. And what my friends and family will say about me to me behind my back if I show up in that car. Got it? Actually, in my case, that wasn't an unknown future. I knew the shit they were going to talk about me, which is why I went to the first multiple family get togethers in 2011, still drive my old piece of shit and left my new car at home. Because I didn't want to hear from them."What are the top three stories/excuses that you rely on that make it okay to stay where you're at?" Right? So I relied on a story that I told myself that made it okay to not wake up this morning and go for a run. That's the story I relied on that kept my ass in bed instead of out exercising this morning."What's the worst thing that you can possibly imagine happening if you try and fly, if you go for it, and you discover, I can't make it, right?" Icarus crashed into the ocean and died, right? Is that the worst thing that you can imagine happening? I can imagine things that are much worse than dying. Getting eaten by a snake. Living with doubt and regret and wondering what life could have been if I had ever finally got out of my own way. I can think of a lot of things that are worse than dying. So what is the worst thing that you can imagine if you try and fly and discover that you can't? Higher level firm owners, higher level business owners, more mature entrepreneurs, your job in this exercise is to call them out on their shit because they're all going to go, "I would die!" Really? Is that the worst thing that you can imagine happening? See, those of us who have lived know that there's something worse than dying. We know that not living is actually worse than dying. What's the worst thing that you can imagine if you never actually try? What's the worst thing that you can imagine happening if you never actually try? Now, what you're going to hear, and I'm speaking, I'm coaching the people with the bigger firms. What you're going to hear is a reluctance to even consider these possibilities. They're going to say, "I can't even imagine not trying." What they're going to say is,"That's not even an option. I- there's not, not trying isn't even an option." All right. Now, what I want you to recognize, if you're in the higher level firm coaching and advising the person with the lower level firm, they will have just finished describing to you with the earlier questions. An entire environment that they live in, which is one giant testament to the fact that they're not trying, right? They're living in a shitty house. They're driving a shitty car. They're eating shitty food. They're taking shitty vacations. They're scrubbing their own fucking toilets. They're living these horrible, miserable little lives. And then telling you, "Not trying isn't even an option." Like, really? Because everything in your life makes it look to me like you're not really trying. And your job is to call them out on this shit, and let them see the truth of it. Now, they will think you're an asshole, and that's okay. Because we have a no assholes policy, and the no assholes policy is, you're not allowed to be an asshole. You're allowed to be accused of being an asshole. I get accused of being an asshole all the time. But I'm not an asshole. I'm actually like your best friend because I'm the only person in your life who will tell you the truth. Well, me and my team."Paint the picture of how many and what things would have to actually go wrong before your attempt to fly could reasonably and realistically end in disaster." People will say, "Well if I try, you know, I'll lose my Bar License." Really? Okay, I mean, first you try. Then it doesn't work. Then you get a chance to fix it. Then you get another chance to fix it. Then you get another chance to fix it. Then someone really raises hell. Then they file a Bar grievance. Then the Bar gives you another chance to fix it. Then the Bar gives you another chance to fix it. Then the Bar gives you another chance to fix it. Then, cause you're such an asshole, that you fucking missed every chance there was to fix it. The Bar finally says, "We're not even going to disbar you because you made the mistake. We're going to disbar you because you're so fucking stupid that you missed every chance we gave you to fix it along the way." You got the idea? So, and I'm saying this, by the way, specifically to the non-attorney spouses and significant others. Raise your hands. You've got to understand that when your lawyer is whining to you about,"Oh, I'm going to get a bar grievance.""Oh, I'm going to get sued for malpractice.""Oh, I'm going to get disbarred." It's bullshit. Okay? I'm not saying these things don't happen, but it's usually, it is the end result of a lot of irresponsibility before that finally happens. Alright, and so what you're going to do is you're going to help them lay out all the things that actually do or would have to go wrong before that worst case scenario could actually really happen. Next, to each of the things above that would have to go wrong before your attempt to fly would end in total disaster, ask the person with the more developed firm to help you think through all the different things that could be done to build in one or more protections for each of those things. Does that make sense? Is there anyone that needs me to repeat that? That's crystal clear."Why is it worth it to me to fly?" Why is it worth it to you to fly? Because along the way, you heard Erika talk about that it's going to be painful. You've heard me talk about that it's going to be scary. You've heard us talk about how people are going to criticize you. You've heard us talk about how it's not going to be easy. You've heard us talk about how you're going to have to do a bunch of things that are out of your comfort zone. You've heard about all of these things. The one thing that matters more than that is why is it worth it to you to do it. Got it?
Narrator:Thanks for listening. Tune in next week for more lessons From The Vault.
