Why Entrepreneurs Get Stuck and How to Move

Speaker A: Welcome to the Measure Success podcast, where I talk with top leaders about effective strategies that inspire success. We're so grateful to be one of the top 10 podcasts for two years in a row, and strategic planning and execution. So thank you so much for all your listeners for helping guests here. And, uh, also, of course, it wouldn't be without our guests who bring it each and every week. And today we have one of my favorite people, truly, I call a great friend. Uh, he went to our first workshop in Phoenix and absolutely moved the audience. It was fantastic. Um, he. Who is this person? Scott Ballard is the founder of Confidence Coach, who works with entrepreneurs and leaders to overcome limiting beliefs. And he worked with me before I started here at 40 strategy, which has now also become 40 accounting, and he helps lead them with greater clarity and confidence. As a matter of fact, what's so fun about that is, is the workshop was something we talked about in 2019, six years before it happened, and it's awesome that that happened. He works with mindset identity, helping leaders unlock their potential, but he's beyond that. He's actually had a business, um, that he grew from his kitchen desktop to kitchen countertop with what, $20, $30, $40, something like that, Scott?

Speaker B: $100. Scarlet. We had full dollars.

Speaker A: And then you had over 4,000 agents when you finished and sold that business, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, he shared that story. Um, and it's funny because we've met. Scott and I have this really fun relationship because we met. We were in the same Starbucks building for years at the exact same time, but the opposite sides of the building. And then we finally met, not even through that event. And we're like, oh, you're the guy down the way. And then we moved to a new Starbucks because they closed that down. And, hey, Scott, my friend, welcome to the Methods podcast.

Speaker B: It's great to be here. Uh, the other people have to catch up to all that's happened between our lives. And, uh, we're just two fortunate guys that, uh, ran into each other and have become great friends and have journeyed through all of life, not just on the market side, but the whole life, um, as we all have. And it's been a pleasure. And we reside in Oregon, so we're the entrepreneurial residual that's still here and strong. Right? We're strong.

Speaker A: That's right. Yeah. Well, what's fun is, um, entrepreneurial mindset is everywhere. It's just a matter of how predominant it is and how it's funded. Right. And here in Oregon, because venture capital is not very significant. Private equity is not significant. Um, there's a lot of bootstrap businesses and so you really have to earn it here to make your way. Um, and once you get to bigger markets like you've been traveling to, I've traveled to the Texas and the Florida's and the New Yorks and the Californias. Um, is like, is anything good come Oregon, they kind of wonder. It's pretty out there. And uh, but there's some amazing stuff. You know, there's this little company called Nike you may have heard of. Uh, that's done. Okay. Um, and some other things we won't mention the universities, uh, due to um, conflict of interest. But um, but moving on from there, uh, Scott and other things that you may not know. He has overcome massive challenges uh, too. You know, you talked about your story and I know we're not going to go into in depth today about overcoming dyslexia. Um, and, but you are still one of the most wise people I know. And then beyond that, congratulations, seventh grandchildren Cooper. Yeah, so he, he honestly he can't wait to get off this podcast because he's got to go see his seventh godson, sorry grandson. And um, yeah, so that's super exciting uh, that you have there. And we're not there yet. We have our first son getting married here and uh, this summer. And so we'll be going through that process and that's the first stage. Usually, not always of course, um, getting to a grandchildren. But here we are. Hey Scott, what people may not know about you is you travel around a lot, you go to conferences and you're the, well you're the confidence coach. You speak in these short mini sessions with hundreds of entrepreneurs every year. And so what I asked you before this and I'm really curious to talk about it because it's been a very interesting year. Here we are in 2026 as it's being recorded. It's been a very interesting year from so many different reasons. And I'm very curious for you is what is the mindset of the entrepreneur right now?

Speaker B: Yeah, it's interesting because we talked like you said.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: Forgot on. And I just got back from Texas and a big event and sat down with I don't know, 30 or 40 different business owners, entrepreneurs, whatever. So I've got. This is like big on my mind. So my answer to that currently would be entrepreneurs. Business owners are swimming in only there's only two worlds. There's the world of uncertainty which is really rough and turbulent and has a lot of uh, uncertainty. Just a lot of challenges to it. And then you have the person that is swimming in the world of certainty, meaning I know who I am for certain, and. And I know for certain what we do and the value it creates. And there doesn't seem to be a middle lane. Okay. So when I sit down with these people, they're either in this camp or in this camp, and it's just fascinating how people get to where they're at now. It can change, as we know. We can all change. We can all evolve. We can all choose to be different. But this is like a big thing on my mind. Like, that's what I kept seeing, hearing, watching all of them talk about. It was like they were either in, you know, a death spiral on this river where they're not going to survive. Like the UNs, just the rapids, the every. The disorientation, all that, or they were like, what this last year did for me is. Made me certain about who I am as a leader in this business and. And what we do and what creates value and. And, yeah, so it's a great question. Um, yeah. And in some of these events, and Carl knows because. Because we did it with him. You know, we'll talk to 30 or 40 or 50 of these entrepreneurs over a couple of days. So it's like a crash course of the reality across industries. Not. Not one. Not one segment, but across industry. And these people came from all over the United States, New York, Florida, like, all over. And then you can break it down. And it was funny because Orlena was there, my wife, and we were debriefing, flying back, and she goes, like, okay, what did you learn? And I go, I think what I saw is there's two camps. There's two camps. And it's very interesting because it reveals. It goes right back to what I'm passionate about, is if you don't know who you are, you're going to be in this turbulent, uncertain thing, and it's going to take you down the wrong river. But if you can figure out who you are and how to lead in that and what that tells you to do, that is certain, you can create value, and this is the great opportunity or it's the end of the road.

Speaker A: So one of my observations, what you said there is. I think it's a reality of coaching, what you were experiencing that's not paid for by a company. So generally, people only work with coaches, consultants, when one of two things is going on. They're really struggling. And honestly, in some of those cases, it's forced upon them. Consulting, right?

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: And then there's the other half, which are the ones who are crushing it. And they're like, yeah, of course I have a coach, because I need them. I had them guide me. Or I need somebody else to help me get to the next level because I've not been there before and I want to get there faster. Right?

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: The, the average, for lack of a better term, is they're, they're set in their ways almost. Right? They're, they're coasting, they're mediocre, they're fine. Right. Um, but, but what I was, you know, tell. It's always interesting because that middle ground of entrepreneur, the business person who says, oh, well, hey, I grew, I grew, I grew a little bit. And they'll be like, well, how much did you grow? I grew, you know, 3, 3%, 4% last year. It's like, okay, um, so did you make more money every year? And they don't like that question because their top line might have grown, but what they took home from their business was probably less. And then if you throw in inflation, yes, inflation's a little less than it was, but if you throw in inflation, they lost money year over year. And it's like, it's the dirty little secret that a lot of entrepreneurs don't want to talk about. Because I love what, um, say what you Want to about Mr. Bezos from Amazon, but one of the things I loved is he has this concept of day one, day two, day three, and day one is growth. And every building that he goes into is called the day one building. Day two is stasis, and day three is death. And he's like, we will never get to day two. Uh, the problem is most entrepreneurs are living in day two, but the people we talk with are on day one and day three. Most of the time. Not all the time, but most of the time. It's funny, you run into those day two people and they're like, I don't know why I'm here. Because they literally don't. Right? It's like this, uh, and they're like, trying to figure out if they want to make the part. So let's, let's go on the. Those who are in a mess, so to speak, or they're the day three people, okay? They're nearing death in their business. Which sometimes, of course, for an entrepreneur or a leader, feels like death in their own heart. Right. You know, when you get into that situation, Right. It's very stressful when you're in these situations, extraordinarily stressful. Hey, if you're listening right now and you are in the situation, you can get help, by the way. Okay? So don't, you know, contact somebody like Scott to turn things around. It can be done. And if anything, you should get somebody to help you through this process because it's super intense for yourself and for your family and your employees, if you have them. Um, but describe to me, if you may, these day three people that you're running into, um, what are they saying?

Speaker B: They're lying to themselves and to you and to. About their business. You know, Carl, if you remember, we were in Phoenix. One of the things that I did with the people, uh, at the event, at the, at uh, the strategy event was I, I encouraged them and then I forced them to tell the truth about themselves. Right? Remember that whole process and do you, if you remember how quiet the room got, how uncomfort it felt. And uh, so a day, you know, that day three person, the best gift I can give them is to get them to tell the truth about their business, about themselves, about all of that. Because progress can only be made. And you know this, Carl, because we've talked a lot about this. When you tell the truth, no progress can be made by making it up or faking or pretending or whatever you want to say. So that's the day three conversation. Now, I'll be honest with you, because I had quite a few of them last week in Texas. Um, a lot of those conversations, that's the end. Meaning they can't do it, they won't do it, they won't change, they won't grow, they won't face the truth in order to actually go back to day one. Because here's what we both know. And you know, because I've had so many failures in business, I know it's better than anybody actually, if you tell the truth, you can go back to the day one and start to learn and to live into that and actually have that success that you've always wanted. I mean, I failed 10 times in my 20s and early 30s, like 10 business in a row. So I, I am no person to say I've got it all figured out, but what, what it taught me was, is what did I learn and what I'm going to do next time. And, and that was my wife saying that to me, coach, not some professional person. She was just like, okay, you gotta figure this out. But that actually was the learning. But I had to tell the truth. Hey, that didn't work. That Failed that. That's that product, that service, that employee, that. So it is, it's true telling. But I mean, we've seen grown adults. Like, I've done this long enough now. I've seen grown. It's like people that you think like, huh, okay, they're, they're gonna just be able to walk in and tell the truth, just lose it emotionally or I've had people leave the room and then, and then text me all kinds of foul language. How dare I would, you know, address them or challenge them about that. Um, what's interesting about that is then that becomes revealing for themselves. Why am I reacting this way? Right. And so my job is why you

Speaker A: share that to me, Scott.

Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's interesting because they're threatened. It's fear based. Right? So there's only, there's only two worlds that we live in. You know, there, there's either fear or there's what, love? Like, there's no. That, that's what drives everything that. Entrepreneurs, business owners. Carl, we, we talk about this all the time. Like, where are you living? And if you're living in fear, you're going to react in this way. If you're living in faith and love and that, uh, you believe who you are and what you can do, then sure, it's uncomfortable, but it's not going to have you react that way. Now I will say that person called me three days later and said, you're right, I'm sorry, and can we continue to work together? Wow.

Speaker A: Yeah. Amazing. Scott, you know this from my background being countered by trade. And, um, I have had access, for lack of a better term, for payroll for majority of my career. Um, and I've done tax returns for years. And so I've seen hundreds of businesses and entrepreneurs. I'm going to be, I'm going to be, I want to be super kind when I say what I'm about to say. And by the way, we love you as an entrepreneur no matter where you're at.

Speaker B: They're my people, Carl.

Speaker A: Yeah, uh, I love them. Exactly. But hey, there's a truth here. We know things are not as good as it might appear from the outside. And I could say that because I see the truth. You see the truth in their heart. That's where you work through. I see the truth in their, in their bank account. Right?

Speaker B: Yeah. The numbers, the numbers don't lie.

Speaker A: They don't lie. And well, sometimes people try to get a little off, but, but, but they don't lie. At its core, Right. You know, and um, and what I'm, what I'm trying to say once again is listening is it's okay of where you're at today. It's just true. But it doesn't mean you have to stay there. And what's so fun about what you do from people's heart and mind and what we do from strategy in numbers completely onto that end of the spectrum of how. And it's probably why we get along so well, Scott, because we completely just impact differently the way how people are. And it's so solvable if people are willing to change their habits.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: The people who say this and well, I should ask, but I'll. When anybody says I've got this. Let me ask this question, Scott. When you hear somebody says I've got this, uh, how do you take that? And they're in a situation where they're not doing well, like you know it.

Speaker B: Yeah. Well, what do you mean by that statement?

Speaker A: Well, it's this, it's. When I hear it sometimes it's like this, I've got this, I don't need help.

Speaker B: Well, they're actually saying that to themselves and they don't believe it. Mhm. Right. Because they're trying to convince themselves. So I'm sitting there as a confidence coach going, that's obviously not working because you don't believe what you're saying. I can see it. Like I'm really good at reading people emotionally. Like it's scary sometimes because I'm like, okay, that person is on the edge. Like they're like. So, you know, so I just pointed out, I just say you don't really believe that. Uh, I'm going to say the thing, and Carl knows me well, I'm going to say the thing that nobody else in the room is going to say to provoke the change, the transformation, the insight for them to actually get on the other side and be who they're supposed to be and make the choices and do the habits and get the help from Carl and his team and all these things. I'm going to do that. And uh, I'm so comfortable because I'm so old now of being with people, being uncomfortable. And that's a lot of what coaching, the kind of coaching I do about identity. You have to be really comfortable with people being awkward, uncomfortable, not telling you the truth, trying to convince them they're trying to sell themselves on a lie.

Speaker A: Yeah, no, it's, it's, it's so true. And, and we're going to go down that path. Because there's something else happening and I think it's opening people's eyes differently. I know you touch it upon in your speaking sessions where for whatever reason it appears to be people to be, appear to be more open than they were in recent history. Um, but faith appears to be moving. And I'm talking about my faith, faith in God, um, or people are more open to it than I've seen in a long time. Because I know you challenge people about that directly in these open conferences when these aren't faith based conferences. Mine is not a faith based conference. Just to clarify. They're not. You know, we have people from all walks of life, all different belief systems, like literally all different. We have clients of all different, all around the board type things and hallelujah.

Speaker B: Right?

Speaker A: You know, I mean like, like we are, uh, people come from all places. But what are you seeing there and why, I mean, I'm not sure why is the right thing. But what are you seeing? You know, how are people behaving differently today than they were perhaps like two years ago when you're, you, when you're calling out things about where are you in your position with God or your faith, etc.

Speaker B: Yeah, well, um, the first, the first answer to that is it's gone from this narrow, very narrow, and you had to be very careful and all of these things to just this funnel. Now this is huge, uh, opening. And I think what it is, and I could be wrong, but I think what it is, is there's more uncertainty now in the world. I'm talking about the whole world, not just business, but in every way than there's ever been. And so people internally have this thing of, uh, they want to seek something that would be certain and they don't know what that is, or they're not maybe open to that, or they don't. But when you appear to have some certainty about you, boom, it triggers a conversation, right? And it opens a door. And I've learned a lot of language about how to do this in front of groups that are so diverse. Like it's everybody. And yet the certainty of uh, the way I work with people and the result and how they hear it and how they experience it, it's open. People are more like, I, I, I mean I can't. I never would have imagined this day, Carl would have come. In my career, I've been 47 years in business. Like I never would have imagined that I could go to XYZ event, do this one on one coaching like, like what we do and Then get up and speak and go, okay, I'm just gonna say it. Who does God say you are? M. Right. And, and, and not feel weird about it, not feel uncomfortable, not whatever. And then see the response. Some people know God, some don't. Some, they're all over the spectrum. And it never fails to just like, blow me away of how impactful something like that can be. And I have story after story of people. It's like, wow, I never thought about this and I never ever thought about it in the marketplace, in my business, in my industry, this has never happened. Like, I have. And I'm like, yeah. My simple belief is God has he. He holds all wisdom and discernment. And if you're in business, you're trying to figure it out, maybe a good idea to ask him. Like, I'm not trying. I'm, um. But right, so. So I word us full in now. Now will that change tomorrow or whatever? Who knows? 47 years in. All I'm saying is the window now in the last two years is unlike I've ever seen. And we have opportunities now. People coming to us, Carl and saying, will you do what you did at Carl's event? Like, would you do it for my company? Uh, my, My group, my whatever. Because people see what, how it impacts them and it's transformation. Right. And yeah, I get to a lot about that. So I get enthusiastic about that.

Speaker A: Well, you should. And, and it's, it's, you know, I, I mean, I'll be, you know, candid. Right. I would not ask that question when we started this podcast, even though I've had my own personal faith this whole time. I've. This is not intended nor is to so to. So to speak, to be a. But what's interesting is it's amazing amount of the guests who have come on who have had faith. It's amazing amount of times I've had questions about it. It's amazing how many times. Um, there is definitely a seeking, there's a curiosity. But I think you hit on the core thing there once again. You go back to when do people seek help, Absolute trouble or they're growing like crazy and they want help to get to the next level. They want change right at the end of the day. And that's, I think is going back to faith what has happened and what you were underlying companies, employment, jobs and

Speaker B: government

Speaker A: country of Venezuela and Iran. I mean, there is so much unexpected. Whether you are, uh, rooting for this or not is not the, the. Not the point here. The, the observation is. And Then, and then of course AI where just jobs have been automated away. You have coders who were a few years ago getting offered half million dollar deals to go from company to company. Uh, more. Right. And now they're being replaced instantly. Right. By in some cases not instantly, maybe too strong a word, but they're being replaced with people who aren't adopting AI. Um, it is, it is so fascinating, right. How quickly uh, these things have taken place. And then, and then there's also this. We just don't believe we know how things could be faked. Whether it be from a chatgpt ah script or it's from something that's on the press. There is this of course lack of belief, sense of truth and what is true. Right. Um, so yeah, I'm with you there. So let's flip it around to the positive side. Right. To the people who are, they're like hey, I'm ready or I am in the process of growing. I am growing. Things are going well. Um, but it's still scary, right? Don't get me wrong here. Right. When you are going to somewhere new, even if it's positive, there's still uncertainty. Right. What words are they saying these people who are on the day one side?

Speaker B: Yeah. Uh, the first thing they say is I need community or connection because doing that alone is really hard. Right. So they need like minded, whatever. The second thing that they say to me all the time is I wish I had more courage. Right. To sustain this, to keep this, to keep going. Like I feel like that's where I need to grow. And here's the interesting thing. Courage always comes before any confidence is ever there.

Speaker A: Mhm. Boy, that's so well said. Action is what creates the confidence.

Speaker B: Yes, yes.

Speaker A: It's not the other way around.

Speaker B: Right, right.

Speaker A: Well let me clarify. Sometimes we have confidence and we get shot in the head. I mean for the. It's amazing is how action is what ultimately.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: Brings the confidence. Right. To go. Right. I mean to keep going or sorry, keep going. I just, I thought what you said was profound there.

Speaker B: Yeah. So for example, when you know, I was speaking at your event, Carl, how did I end that talk? I ended that talk by guiding them through, uh, you know, building their courage. Okay. I'm going to write down what I'm most afraid about, what I'm dealing with, the things that are blocking me, the negative tape that's running in my head. I had them write it um, down but I did not tell them that I was going to have them stand up and tell Everybody in the room, what those were. So I'm taking them on this journey of courage and building their courage, building that muscle. Right. It's like a sports coach. You know, we talk about sports all the time. You're not like, that's all I'm doing. And then I get them to the other side and I, I said okay, let's now, now you realize you're not the only one that's dealing with that fear or that doubt or that uncertainty. And so, you know, I, I've talked often in the last couple of years of we should have named the company Courage. Uh, Courage Coaching. Mhm. We should. We've. But not that we're going to change it, but you know what I mean? Like it's more fitting because the uncertainty makes courage more and more important and more valuable every second in this sped up world of AI and economies and wars and all of that. Like courage is really, when you see somebody really killing it out there in the business world, they're very courageous. Like I don't even have to meet them to know like they're carrying a tremendous amount of courage with them. Right. And so, um, yeah, so that's. Courage comes first.

Speaker A: Scott, let's talk about the day two people. Um, we focus on day one and focus on day three. And one of my gosh, it's why I do what I do. I really get challenged and frustrated with inaction. But there's a lot of people and you know what, just this past year and in 2025, the most amount of people were retiring. Like they, they uh, it was the peak of the baby boomers and retirement age and you have a whole group behind them that are like five years away from retirement and they're kind of put on the coasting. Right. You know, they kind of, they kind of put it in uh, neutral and they're just kind of going down the hill. Right. Um, but then they're finding whether they're an entrepreneur or they're an employee, that things aren't coasting so smooth anymore. All of a sudden there's this fear that's happening and jobs are being eliminated and, or their contract with the government has been canceled or their supply chain. How about what a change of that, the, the tariffs. Right. Of that whole, uh, everything that's gone there. I can't wait to talk about Bill Carnally about that issue. These things, right, are, are real. But so what do you do with the inaction group the day two people?

Speaker B: Well, this is going to sound hardcore, but remember I grew up in Roseburg. So, so the idea is to challenge them to the, to the point of provoking them to taking action. Right. But I'll say this too, Carl. I have Learned doing this 20 plus years. If somebody's not coachable, they're not coachable. I can't help them. Uh, I'm not assigned to them. Like, I'm very clear about that. Like, so if I. If I don't see that, that willingness to do that, I'm moving on. Because there's 8 billion people on the planet and I only have a finite. Like, at my age, like, every day is a gift. And, you know, I hope I get to do this till I'm 97, but I'm. I'm looking for people that are not only coachable, but they're doing something inspiring with their business, their life, and they're. They're willing to step out there.

Speaker A: So let me ask the one thing, because I said I. And I'm. By the way, if you're. If you're one of these people on day two and say, Carl, I might want to turn off this podcast right now because I'm getting ready to retire in five years. I'm fine. I'm going to coast in. Don't talk to me. By the way, you're probably not listening to this podcast anyways, if that's the type of person. But if you are there, because I'm with you too. Like, if people aren't, I've got this mentality, right, that one thing or like, everything is going to be fine. Ish. Right? What is that question? And assuming they are coachable, but they've just, once again, they put it into neutral. Right? This is what. And let me just. This is the challenging statement here. There's this belief out there, and hallelujah for those who have it, but there's this belief of I'm just going to retire and not do anything. And you and I both know, Scott, from people who have all the money in the world ten times over, and they go crazy once they start retiring.

Speaker B: Or they die.

Speaker A: Or they die. Yes, because they no longer have within

Speaker B: the first 24 months. Remember, I built a business in the insurance world, health and life. So I know the numbers. I could scare you with the numbers.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: When we retire, Carl, what we're telling our brain is that we're done, get ready, prepare my body to die. That's what actually is happening in the brain, the neurons. That's what you're telling yourself. Okay? And if you saw the actual stats and life Insurance, like, how this plays off from the moment of retirement, the first 24 months. Like, how many people either die or develop such a health issue that they can't do anything either? And here's another state. I don't want to go too far because I don't want to turn off everybody. But in my faith, belief, in the book that I read and I've studied for 67 years, I. There's no retirement. Like, uh, my job is to serve as many people as I can until they kick the dirt in my face and they go, okay, he's done. Because I'm working for a higher calling. I'm sure I'm doing this, but I'm doing this because I was put here. I was put here to encourage people in the marketplace and. And to believe in people until they can believe in themselves and what God's called them to be. And I will not stop doing that until I can't. So I'm not. I'm not. I have no idea about this. Uh, we have great friends, Carl, that, uh, we've known for 30 years, raised our kids here. All this. They've retired, they're dead, they're divorced, they're sick, they're. They're depressed. They're calling me going, I'm so depressed, I don't know what to do. And I'm like, go to work. Go to frigging work now. Whatever that is, I don't care. You got to, like, you were made to do something. Now. We've probably just lost everybody. I apologize. You can.

Speaker A: No, no, I. Well, once again, I know we didn't, Scott, and I know there's somebody listening on this podcast right now who is in that neutral. They're neutral. They're going through the car wash. They put the car neutral, and they're just getting whipped around. They might be cleaner on the other side, but they actually are. They know there's something greater for them. And so this is. I hope, once again, this wasn't the plan. This is, once again, these podcasts. When I come into it, it's a curiosity, it's a discussion, but it leads to insights. And to me, I'm hoping for the insight if you are in this day two type group. And once again, I don't care if you're an entrepreneur or you've been an employee your whole life or something in between. Um, have purpose. Have purpose. Um, you know, one of the.

Speaker B: Carl.

Speaker A: Yes, it's exactly. It's so. It's so short.

Speaker B: I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be 67 this summer. I've been dating the same girl for 48 years. And it, uh, seems like yesterday that we got married. Like, it's. I know that sounds. But it literally can feel like that. And now, you know, we've got seven grand. Like, and life has happened. And at the end of the day, if I want to feel like that my life had meaning, it is about how well I have served other people and what I've been called to do.

Speaker A: There you go.

Speaker B: And I'm telling you what it, it took four years to figure out. This is what God made me to do. Like, and really embrace it and really go, okay, I'm all in for this. Right? And that's where the power is and that's where the meaning is. And that's where I want to go to work, I want to go to this event, I want to speak, I want to pour into these people's lives. I don't know them, but I know I have something that can really help them if they're willing to step in and have a bit of courage with me. And I've, I see it over. And every week, Carl, at these events, every week, people are like, whoa, what just happened? I'm like, what just happened is you went from uncertainty to certainty.

Speaker A: Yeah. And, and for those of you who don't know, because Scott's going to be humble about this, he sold that 4,000 person agent business, did very, very well for himself. And what he was describing there was this four year period of what do I do? And you did do amazing things. And you traveled to Africa and did some incredible charitable events. And I'm sure you had some fun in between here and there as you did things. But you got to that point of. Is that it? Right. And I don't mean that negatively. I'm just saying it's just like this. I think one of. I've said this conversation multiple times on this. A gentleman who was a multiple, multi, multimillionaire never had to work a day in multiple lifetimes. And he said, carl, if I see another luxury pool again, I'm going to drown myself in. Was one of my favorite comments, actually I ever heard. Right? Yeah. And why, why is because he wants. He wasn't built to be, uh, sitting by a pool all the time. And once again, if you were without people, and that is literally what you're called to do, honestly, hallelujah for you. Like, I just know how I'm built. And I know most people are listening to the audience. They know in their Heart. They're not really built for that all the time. You know, it's like, don't get wrong. I really enjoy going to Cancun and lying down by the pool and being totally unwound for, well, trying to get to unwound by the, you know, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth day. Love that. But it's not a forever thing for me. Right.

Speaker B: It's.

Speaker A: It's something that I feel like I have a greater purpose and I'm. And I'm here. Once again, this podcast is here. And why we speak and talk and have workshops is because we want to. Nothing more powerful, more exciting. When you see the potential in a human being, no matter what stages is in our life and they achieve what God or whoever else you want to call it had intended for them to be, and they can go to bed each night feeling job well done.

Speaker B: Yep.

Speaker A: Right. You know, it's. It's so powerful. It's so powerful. It's like, I'm Scott, I'm working. It's. This is weird. Like, Carl, I thought you helped business leaders to, to scale and to get out of the business. Um, growing two business right now. I'm working at the moment more than I have in a long time. And I'm so motivated by it because I could see what we're building.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: And it's so motivating for me. And, and, and this is a season, uh, I can't sustain this forever. What I'm doing right now, it's a season of, of high excess requirement due to some changes that we're making. But, man, it's like today I have four podcasts, five interviews to hire people. What a great day. Right? You know, and, and, and so it's, it's, um. So anyways, this, this day one, this, uh, has been so fun. Day one, right. Hey, if you're in growth mode, get help. If you're in day two m. Find help to start moving and you're day three, you're not dead yet, and you don't have to be, but find people that can work with you. And by the way, if you are in that situation, you're not a failure. It's just a moment in time. You can get through it.

Speaker B: It's never a failure. It's a learning opportunity. I happen to be an expert at failing. I did first grade twice. I flunked out of three colleges. I mean, I'm an expert at failing. And, uh, it's weird. In our world, we've labeled that to be such a negative thing, but I Found my greatest learning, Carl. My greatest learning. That the learning that has shaped who I am today did not come out of my greatest success. It came out of my failures. Right. And I think it's important that we be honest and talk about that. Business is riddled. When we run a business and we grow it and whatever happens, like, it's riddled with that. And if you're not honest about saying, hey, these three things did not work this quarter, we failed at them, those are losses, then you're never going to get the fruit. You're never going to grow into the person that you're called to be. It's just the truth.

Speaker A: So, Scott, if there's people hung all the way through this podcast, what's the one thing you could ask them to do today that might be the beginning of helping them to hit the next stage in their life in a different trajectory or in the trajectory that was intended for them?

Speaker B: Tell the honest truth about your business and about what you're thinking about yourself, and then find somebody trusted. Trusted. Like, don't go to somebody that's going to take off the defense, somebody you trusted, and share it with them. And then when that gets shared and you can throw that away, Literally throw it away, flush it down the toilet, burn it, whatever. Then ask the question, okay, what's the truth? And what's the next step of courage I have to take in order to reset this, to go back to what's going to take me to winning? What's the step of courage that after I tell the truth, that now that that's out of there, I can actually take? And if it's a baby step, yes, I don't care. I'm not trying to do a trillion dollar IPO here. I'm just saying, what is the babysitter? It may be letting go of that person you knew you're supposed to let go a year ago and finally having, um, the conversation saying, hey, Sally or Jim, we need to let you go for the company, whatever that is, make it real.

Speaker A: Hey, Scott, I so appreciate you being on this podcast today. Thank you so much.

Speaker B: Thank you, Carl. We always have a great time. Uh, if nothing else, the two of us really enjoyed it. So that's awesome.

Speaker A: Oh, no, I know this one. This one's gonna move people, and it's gonna move. We literally hit all three sets of people. Day one, day two, day three. You're in one of those three spots.

Speaker B: Yeah. Right.

Speaker A: If you're listening. Right. Because if you're not, you're either before death or after death. And so you're in day one, day two, or day three. And we know the greatest joy is when you stay in day one, just like Mr. Bezos, uh, has every time he moves to a building. That's the day one building. You need to live your life like you're in day one every day, regardless. Once again, even if you're retired, live it in day one every day. And if you feel like you need to get out of retirement, go to day one. If you have a business, get back to growth. M. And it could be done, you know, like you and the amount of businesses you've been a part of. I been so fortunate to be in 10 different businesses. I've doubled in size, but I've been in the. I've been on the dark side, too. And it's not fun, but, man, you get. When you turn it around, it's so inspiring, so exciting, so much more rewarding than growing it for the first time. You know, when you get a turnaround, um, it's absolutely tremendous. So, Scott, hey, you have a wonderful time meeting your. Your seventh grandchild and, um, and being there in person, and have safe journeys, uh, over the hill, um, and God bless you. And, um, thank you so much for being a friend and being on this podcast again today.

Speaker B: Thank you, Carl. Appreciate it, man.

Speaker A: And to everyone else is listening, I hope you've enjoyed this. Um, this, as said, we. We do these podcasts, um, it's just a passion. It's become a passion of mine. You know, this is. This is. And I appreciate you joining. I think there's a reason we. I humbled that we've become a top 10 podcast. And, you know, that's why how we measure success, you know, it's, by the way, your DNA, it's who you are. But through action, we create confidence, right?

Speaker B: Courage. Courage, then confidence.

Speaker A: Courage, then confidence. Exactly. Courage to courage is always first, right? Have that courage to create the confidence you can do it. And so with that, we'll leave that here today, as we always like to say, wishing you the very best at measuring your success. Have a great day.