What Do You Stand For? | Ep 106

Speaker A: It's time. It's our time, my friends. Time for millions of maturepreneurs 55/ who are hashtag not done by a long shot to revolutionize how we lead, do business and innovate our world. I'm your host, Jeanette Anderson, and welcome to my conversations with with fascinating people who would rather inspire than retire. Let me ask you a question, an important one. What are you actually stand for? Not what do you do? Not your title, not your LinkedIn bio. What do you stand for when things get uncomfortable, when there's pressure, when there's risk, when nobody's clapping or maybe even looking? Because here's the truth. People don't trust you because of your marketing. They trust you because of your congruence. Especially now we're living in a trust crisis economy where people are drowning in noise, automation, branding, positioning, and carefully curated nonsense. We can't trust what people say sometimes, but we can trust what they do. So what people are starving for is far rare. Rarer than that, it's integrity, character, consistency. Someone who actually lives what they say they believe. And I think that's why purpose matters so much to me. Especially not the fluffy version, not the follow your passion coffee mug version. I define your why as the intersection between what you're healing from the past past and what you long for for the future for yourself and other people. That's where purpose lives. And when you know your why, you stop building your life around approval. You start building it around alignment. Because purpose isn't just motivational, it's directional. It shapes your decisions, your leadership, your boundaries, your resilience. Everything. And frankly, it determines the kind of legacy that you and I are going to leave behind. Because at the end of the day, people may remember what you built, but they will never forget what you stood for. And today's guest, Dr. Rawson, has built an entire body of work around that exact conversation. Character, integrity, and credibility and the choices that reveal who we really are when life applies pressure. And honestly, that's a conversation we need a lot more of right now. So join me for this great conversation with Dr. Rawson. Hello, everybody, and welcome to this episode of the maturepreneur podcast. I'm your host, Jeanette Anderson, and today I have the pleasure of having Dr. Rawson with me. Not a doctor, but we'll talk about that later. And he is, uh, we're going to be talking about what, uh, do you stand for it? And we're going to look at the real foundations behind leadership, business influence and legacy, and talk about Topics like that, as well as doctor's fascinating journey. So welcome. I'm glad you're here.

Speaker B: Well, thank you for having me. I. I've been looking forward to this particular podcast for a long time. I. I enjoy the work that you're doing.

Speaker A: Thank you. I appreciate that. All right, so let me tell you the official word and then we'll find out some of the deep, dark secrets behind the scenes maybe, uh, afterwards. So Dr. Rossin is the founder of Tiny Tales Press, the CIC initiative. Character, integrity, credibility, and a partner in Las Vegas Television Network, A, uh, business. Founder, author, speaker and storyteller. He's launched more than 30. Yep. That's three zero companies written or co authored. 19. Yes, that's one nine books and published hundreds of articles focused on leadership, character and legacy. Through media, storytelling and real world expertise, he helps individuals and organizations build trust, credibility, and meaningful influence that lasts beyond success alone, which is part of what we're going to be talking about. So, obviously, no grass growing under your feet. Um, you know, I know we've been around a while, but still, that's quite a body of accomplishments. Uh,

Speaker B: well, it's, you know, when, when you put it like that and I look backwards, I go, I did that much work. Really? Seriously? No, I don't want to look back. I just keep looking forward. That's probably not as much work looking forward as it was looking back.

Speaker A: There you go. And, and so what would surprise people about you? What would they be surprised to learn about you that they're not going to find on your website?

Speaker B: Um, I started out homeless.

Speaker A: Oh, I did not know that. And, um, how did that end up happening?

Speaker B: Well, my parents divorced. We. We lived on a ranch until I was about 8 years old. And I, I used to feed 2,000 rabbits before I went to school. That's how much of a ranch it was. We had 100 turkeys and 100 chickens and four mean ducks, and I had to feed them all before I went to school. So my dad sold that and we moved up to Los Angeles and, um, they bought his first new home. And, um, about a year and a half later, suddenly my parents divorced. I mean, my dad just walked out, throw his hands up, said, that's it. I didn't see him again for about eight years. And, um, so my mother. My mother was, uh, one of the most beautiful people you'd ever seen. She's really attractive, but she didn't know how to raise kids. She didn't know how to clean a house. She's not a cook. She's not at work. Her parents had never made her do anything. So she told me, at nine and a half, you're going to drive the car your dad left me, which was a, uh, Buick, uh, convertible. You're going to drive that to San Diego from Los Angeles. So I did. I drove it down the highway myself.

Speaker A: Wow.

Speaker B: Nine and a half years old. But at nine and a half, I was five foot seven.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: So people didn't really. Other than just this, you know, looking at it as a young face that I was sitting properly and everything else. So that's kind of fun. But that's, that's a fun fact.

Speaker A: So there you go. And so I assume your mom didn't end up getting work and that's how you ended up homeless.

Speaker B: Well, she didn't know how to work. So I, uh, I was feeding our family out of a sea, uh, of trash cans behind a particular Italian restaurant. And one day this little Italian guy comes out and he goes, hey, what are you doing? I said, well, sir, you got the best Italian food anywhere. All I have to do is wash it off. My family could eat it. I said, we've been homeless for a while, and. And, uh, this is really the best I can do. He said, go get a job. Well, remember, I was 5, 7, so why wouldn't he say that? And I was way bigger than he was. And I said, funny you should say that because I've spent the morning walking up and down a major thoroughfare, and three people offered to hire me until they found out I was nine and a half. You're nine and a half? I said, yes, sir. He said, can you wash your dishes? Yes, sir. He said, you're hired. And I'll feed your family. As long as you work for me, I'll feed your family three meals a day.

Speaker A: Wow, that's an amazing story.

Speaker B: And then after a couple of months, his wife said, where's his mother? And so she calls me into her office. She says, where's your mother? I said, well, my mother's kind of a prima donna. I said, she's very attractive. She can talk to people. She just really is the belle of the ball when you take her to one. I said, but she doesn't know how to do anything. And she says, I'm a teacher. I'm a teacher. Ought to be a waitress. Okay, well, uh, that'd be great. So she brought her in, she told her she's gonna teach her how to be a waitress and she was gonna learn it. And. And she says, and you'll get 5% tips. So my mother comes out of that thing. She says, doctor, did you know I get 5% tips? I said, yeah, Mom, I, I knew that. Do you know how much 5% is? Yeah, mom, M. I, I know how much 5% is. And, and I can work long hours, and I, and I can make money for us. Maybe we could maybe stop being homeless between what you make and I make. And I said, maybe. We'll see. Well, she was right. About a year and a half later, we got our own apartment. We went from homeless to four.

Speaker A: Oh, my goodness. Okay. Well, then that's quite a journey to go from that to having 30 businesses now consulting and doing the work that you do. Um, so obviously we can't go through the entire story, uh, in history, but tell me about reinvention, as in general, because I know your whole life is a story of reinvention and re. Rechoing. So what was the last reinvention that you went through?

Speaker B: Well, in 2021, um, we, uh, we bought this place in 2014, and my wife and I remodeled it for two years. And then she, she said, now what do we do? And I said, well, whatever you want to do. You're retired. She says, oh, no, I'm. I'm going back to work. She says, what are you going to do? I said, well, um, I don't know. I'll think of something. So I started a couple of companies and sold them and did some more. And then 2021, I said, you know, I really need to retire. My wife says, you need to retire? And I said, okay. And then, uh, a friend of mine worked for me at three of my companies. He's a prolific author. He's written 46 books. And he says, so what are you going to do, Doctor? What are you going to do? I said, well, I don't know. Maybe nothing. He said, you can't do nothing. That's. That's not you. He says, why don't you write? I said, right. I said, if you talk to my high school English teacher, he said, what would she say? Good thing I can speak, because I can't write. Oh, well, you can write. I'm here to tell you that I've been the recipient of many of your emails, thousands, maybe. And you've written contracts all over the world. You've written business plans. You can write. Uh, I said, I tell you what my college professor said. He said, I don't care what he said. I said, well, he said the same thing the high school teacher did. So Nothing much changed and I'd already had a couple of businesses by the time I went to college. He said, I don't care. You can write. Okay. So In November of 2021, I started writing. Six weeks later I produced this unlikely.

Speaker A: Uh, okay. Mhm.

Speaker B: And that's, that's a story about unusual things that have happened to me in my life. Like when my flight was hijacked in the Middle east and having dinner with the king of Saudi Arabia and, um, doing things with sitting presidents and sitting prime ministers and just all kinds of interesting things. And all of which prompted me to say at the time it was happening. How is this happening? I'm just a, I started out homeless. I just, just a. A regular guy.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: And I realized in writing this that, ah, hopefully people would read it and get some hope from it that they could go out and accomplish some things. And they can. So it hasn't been a wild best seller and I've probably given away more copies than have been bought. But it's okay. Uh, people. But all my life people kept saying, I tell them a story about something that happened. They go, oh, well, you got to write a book on that. You need to write a book. And I go, yeah, okay, someday I'll get, I'll get around to it. While this is the book. I got around to it.

Speaker A: Okay, but then you also did that 18 more times. So, uh, and some of those are children's books. So, uh, obviously this is a good moral of the story is even if people have told you something that you can't do it in the past doesn't mean you can't do it, doesn't mean you shouldn't try it and you can prove them wrong. So you were told you can't write a few times, and all you needed was someone to believe in you and kick you in the butt and change the conversation. And now you've published 19 books or co authored 19 books. So tell me a little bit about that. How did you end up going in that?

Speaker B: It's actually more than that. We, we did 12 children's books which look like this. These are the children's books. Okay, so that book has 31 stories in it, bedtime stories. Each story takes a minute to read. And for example, on kindness, and when you read it as a parent, you can say, well, Susie, uh, did you ever see anybody being kind? Oh yeah, I have seen that. And they go into it, well, let me ask you another question. Are you kind? Oh, I'm kind. Well, you've just created A moment and a memory. We believe moments create memories. So we got this idea and we, so we started producing these books. This is book number eight. But we started producing them and we produced 12 in uh, 20, uh, 25. And then in 2026, I've already written another 12 which are out getting covers designed and inserts. And that's the children's books.

Speaker A: Wow.

Speaker B: And right now I'm in the middle of writing four books at the same time, all on the subject of character integrity. And I know it's, I'm an overachiever. I don't know.

Speaker A: Yeah, well, the fourth one is a bit. Yes. And, and, and why, why for it once? Why not just one book on that topic?

Speaker B: Well, it's a big topic. It's. It's a really big topic. The first book I wrote was 40 pages and it was, it was how to self test, how to find out what your character is, what your integrity is. You know, we talk about that all the time. And you see somebody and they, they display absolutely zero respect for the person they're talking to and you go, well, clearly that person doesn't understand character. Right. And we've seen the same thing with responsibility and resilience and kindness. And clearly they're in need of a little character. So, uh, we knew that children needed it. And so from 4 to 12, we wrote these books for those children to do that. And we've written journals and we've written comic books and we've written a number of things. So it's, it's way more than 19. It's probably closer to 30.

Speaker A: Wow. Is, is the we that you keep talking about you and the multiple personalities in your head or a team?

Speaker B: Um, for the most part, it's me and the multiple personalities. But we do, we did have two great writers. One is, one is in London, the other is in Phoenix, and CJ in London is, uh, the most amazing writer I've ever written, uh, ever read. And, uh, Rick Allen in Phoenix is also a great writer as well. So when it comes to the 700 children's stories that we've written that are on the website, um, it's, it's probably equally divided between the three of us.

Speaker A: Wow, that's a very prolific. So tell me what your purpose in life is. What is your. Why? Because we've been talking about, you know, what's credibility and character and influence and what do you stand for in children's books and all the values that you're bringing to that. So what's your purpose?

Speaker B: Well, can I take you back in a story, and.

Speaker A: Sure.

Speaker B: So my second business, I bought when I was 23 years old from the money that I made from the first business that I started when I was 21. And it took everything I had and I bought the business. And I also was told that I couldn't play semi pro football anymore because of an injury. And so I had that. And then at the same time, the doctor said, and you'll probably die when you're 42. That was another thing. And then I had also gone through the process of becoming a minister, uh, when I was 25. So I had that going. Then I had a son and my wife, and at the same time, my father in law strokes out and I take care of him and his wife and my sister in law at all that going at the same time. And I, I slipped. Rather than being the person I should be, with the character that I, that I've had most of my life, I. I started just going through people like crazy. Uh, if I found out that you could do something for me that I needed to get done, I would, I would get to you and I would, I would do whatever it takes to get that thing and that. And when we're done, it goes like, Jeanette who. What?

Speaker A: Uh-huh.

Speaker B: And my wife brought me up short. She says, do you know you're just using people and letting them go, right? I said, no, no, I, I wouldn't do that. Yeah, you are. I spent about 10 minutes alone in, in contemplation of that and doing a little prayer. When I came out of that, that was my first big pivot point. And I realized that I, I was running scared. My wife didn't work. I needed to get a pile of money together because my father died at 42 and my mother at 44 while I was in Vietnam. So I, uh, I was just doing the wrong thing. And I, I realized that I was just taking. I needed to give. And I really believe that that's, that's the essence of who people should be. You should be a giver, not a taker. So I came up with the idea that everybody I talked to, I would ask them this simple question. How can I be helpful? Um, and that changed everything, Absolutely everything. So I would go in and talk with somebody that I'd never met before. I'd introduce myself. Hi, I'm Dr. Rossin. How can I be helpful? Uh, and people got used to that over the years. And, uh, one company I turned around and it gave that trick to the sales, to the uh, customer service people. The people were so mad, the software was so bad, they were so mad and they call and just be yelling like crazy. So I brought them all together and I said, if you just wait for a little break and then say, hi, I'm Adam, how can I be helpful? And I promise you, they'll calm down. And when you say that to people, they go, wait, they want to listen. They want to listen to me. Yeah, makes a big difference.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: So that was, that was my first pivot point right there.

Speaker A: And so what has you so fascinated in character and integrity and credibility specifically. So especially, let's start with defining character so that we're on the same page here.

Speaker B: All right, well, character is what you do when nobody's looking.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: Right?

Speaker A: Yep.

Speaker B: So you're, you're not a thief till nobody's looking and then, then you can take stuff.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker B: Okay. Well, it, it goes that way. There, there's actually 53 character traits. With children, we teach 25.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: There's 10. And then the other 15 are supporting. With adults, we teach 10. And the top five of the main ones, these are the ones that if you, if you were looking for a mate, you were looking for an employee, you were looking to create a relationship with somebody. If they were respectful, they took responsibility, resilient.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: Kind, and they express joy, that's going to be a pretty decent person to hang with.

Speaker A: Mhm. Yeah.

Speaker B: My, my grandfather turned me on to this. When my parents died, he, he offered to help me raise the kids. And uh, I had to take my brother, my youngest sister, on and, and I already had a kid. And, and um, I said, Grumpy, you're 2,000 miles away. What, what do you, what can you possibly do? He says, well, I'll tell you, you just give me the problem and I will tell you the principle that you need to solve the problem, but I'll never tell you the answer.

Speaker A: Oh.

Speaker B: I said, well, that, that's a fair deal. He said, but, uh, let's give it a try. So for 25 plus years, my grandfather did that. I would call him if I had a problem with my ministry, if I had a problem with my work, workers, wife, kids, whatever, I call him and say, this is, I'm, um, up to here. What's the principle I should be using? Um, sometimes he would say, do you remember we talked about. Oh, well, that's okay. All right. But for the most part he would tell me these principles. So the day before he died, I'm driving him to the hospital. And we're coming down this windy road and I'm trying to pay attention. He's talk, talking like that. He says, doctor, I want you to become a Mason. I said, oh, uh, Grandpa. I said, do. Do you not understand how much I have on me already? I said, I, uh, don't have time for that. He says, yes, you do. You're going to make time. I said, why would I do that? He said, because, you know, all those principles that you have that you love so much? He said, they only come from two places and you already have one covered. I said, where's that? He said, the Bible and Masonry.

Speaker A: Uh, wow.

Speaker B: Okay, well, yeah, I'll become a Mason. And it, it took me about eight years to figure out how to get there. But when I married My current wife 31 years ago, I was. I told her before we got married, I want to be a Mason. She said, not a problem. Go ahead. That's good. So six months later, I said, you know, I'm really serious. I want to be a Mason. Call my dad. I said, your dad's a Mason? She says, yeah. She says, you didn't notice? I said, notice what? So he comes over, he's got Masonic rings on, he's got a Masonic watch, he's got pins coming down his lapel that, um. Different Masonic organizations. Oh my God, how did I miss that? Anyway, so he gave me an application and I. I became a Mason, and I've been a Mason ever since. So I've been Mason probably 29, almost 30 years now.

Speaker A: Wow. Uh, okay, that's.

Speaker B: That's where those principles come from. And that's what prompted the book. Because as I look around. Don't. When you look around, don't you see that people need this?

Speaker A: M. Mhm. Character and integrity. Absolutely.

Speaker B: Character, integrity, credibility. They all say, oh, I'm credible. Yeah, you can trust me. No, this doesn't work that way. Somebody else gets to decide whether you're credible.

Speaker A: Yes. So what. What are some tools that have helped you stay in the game? Continue to consult. What is. First of all, tell us what the CIC initiative is. What do you do?

Speaker B: The CIC initiative is all about character, integrity and credibility. And what I'm doing is I wrote the first book which measures your cic. Now we're writing the rest of it. I picked up a co author to help with the lab series portion of it. But it goes into what character is, how you get it, what the pieces of character are that you need to study, and then integrity. The same way how you get it, how you lose it and credibility. How you gain it and how you lose it. And things happen. Small decisions at a time.

Speaker A: Small.

Speaker B: And the formula is character plus integrity equals credibility.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And if you keep that in mind, then you understand that the small decisions you make, uh, can be really problematic. We've added a book called Crisis because Crisis is where people lose integrity.

Speaker A: Okay. Because they're reacting and reacting.

Speaker B: Yeah. And. Well, it will just make the. Let's make the decision one time. We'll just make this decision one time. Well, that's a slippery slope. Next time, something even kind of remotely. Oh, okay. We'll just do that again. We'll do that. And now people that work for them see that this is the way they make decisions. Their credibility starts to slide.

Speaker A: So, doctor, are you doing consulting in organizations? Are you predominantly focused on your writing? What, what's your work entail now these days? Is it mostly the writing?

Speaker B: No, uh, we're Tiny Tales. We're, uh, you know, we, we have over 380 videos on YouTube and over 5, 000 subscribers, but we can't make any money from. Videos are like 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes. Something short kids can enjoy. Yeah, that didn't really work. So I bought into this network with the idea in mind that I could get our, our stuff onto regular tv. Netflix to be, um, when you buy a new tv, comes with programming already on it. So we're doing that.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: Monetize the company.

Speaker A: Uh, did you try a subscription model? Because I would think there would be lots of parents who would buy into a subscription model. That kind of positive input.

Speaker B: Yeah, we do have a subscription model and we do have people that have subscribed to it. It's tinytales land.com right there. And teachers, teachers can subscribe to it. We, we produce books like, like this Will Care. We produce it in 100 languages. Uh, we produce books for teachers. And we, we do English as a second language as well. So that's one thing I do. The next thing I do is the CIC initiative. I spend time each day writing and getting that in order. And the last thing I do is. I'm sorry, the last thing I do is, um, The Las Vegas Television Network. I have an event today. There's 60 CEOs that are all talking and giving a talk, a one minute talk, which is unheard of.

Speaker A: Wow.

Speaker B: And, um, so I'm going to be there working with some of the vendors that are there.

Speaker A: Awesome.

Speaker B: We are creating a new product called a trust Video. Oh, what's that people buy on emotion. Would you, would you agree? They do.

Speaker A: Absolutely. Yep.

Speaker B: I've always said for years that stories sell.

Speaker A: Uh-huh.

Speaker B: Details close. Well, the story is emotional. That's, that's what people buy into. They buy into that story. So what we're doing is we've decided to create a product where you can sit in front of the camera and you can just lean forward and say, Hi folks, I'm Dr. Rossa. This is my business, this is what we do and this is how we're trying to help you. Now the idea is that when people go to the website, they see that video and there's a trust factor.

Speaker A: Hm.

Speaker B: Immediately. And so, uh, I use the, uh, the deal with a, uh, personal, uh, injury attorney. If you need a personal injured attorney, you go to Google and you'll get 10 results. Right. And people just start calling. They're, they're ticked off. They've just had this and they just start calling. And they look at each one and then they call. They look at their website and their websites are nothing. They're just, here's the team, here's what we do. Been in business 40 years, we win. That's it.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Yeah, I don't really believe that. And they keep looking, looking. Now imagine halfway, um, through, they get to one where it says, hi folks, My name is Dr. Rossin, I'm the lead attorney here at this firm. And we've been around for 40 years trying to help people like you because we understand the pain that you're suffering right now. We can help make that go away. Maybe not, uh, physically, but we can certainly make people pay.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: So we'd like to help you. If you're interested, please give me a call personally.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: Now what does that do?

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: Instant trust.

Speaker A: Yeah. And I believe that it's part of why it builds trust is because they talk about why their. Why. Why they do what they do. And people want to know and that builds trust why we do what we do, not just what do we do? So I'm going to come back to that question that I asked you originally. Why do you still do all this work? What, what is the purpose that drives you?

Speaker B: It's so engaging. It's so engaging. If I, if I can help small businesses in particular with this new trust product that we have, uh, if I can help them get business and, and get a, get something that differentiates them from everybody else, I'm a happy guy. Well, um, we're doing a TV show, um, that we, you and I Talked about off camera though. That's called what do you stand for? And we're going to be interviewing m. A lot of interesting business leaders and actors, celebrities, all kinds of people. And we're going to ask them that very question. What do you stand for? What, what's your. Why, why are you here? What are you doing? And uh, we think that's going to be an interesting show. We'll put that on Netflix and a bunch of other places, uh, globally.

Speaker A: So, uh, it's exciting. Well, it is exciting. It's, it's interesting too. It keeps you vital. But again, why is that conversation of what do you stand for? Why is it, why are you so passionate about getting that out there, having that conversation?

Speaker B: Because, you know, when I was a young man, people told you exactly what they stood for, exactly what they stood for. You didn't have any question. Uh, I remember this old timer was a salesperson guy. He says, this is what we do. This is how we service customers and this is the way it works. And we don't do anything else. That was, that was what he stood for. And he was adamant. Boy, he gave the best customer service ever. Uh, but you asked some kid today, what do you stand for? Why are you even working at that job? Do they pay me? Oh, okay. Well, that's not really good enough. So for me, what I stand for is I stand for principles first and foremost. I stand for principles. And my, my principles, uh, some are religious, some are non religious. And I stand for the principle of marriage. I was married 31 years ago. My first marriage was 26 years. So it's not like I'm a stranger to marriage. And I'm committed to that. I'm absolutely committed to that. That's what I stand for. And my wife knows that I have a message that can help other people and she's so supportive of making sure that I have the wherewithal and the time to, to help other people.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: So that's what I stand for. That's what I do.

Speaker A: Well, I think it's an important and fascinating conversation to have. It's part of why I am so passionate about supporting people and finding their. Why. Because when we know what motivates us, what drives us, what is it that we are here to learn for God, or that we are here? You know, what's our contract this lifetime? Whatever your frame of reference is, it gets us out of bed in the morning. It keeps us vital and keeps us engaged, like you said. So, um, let me just ask you a couple quick Questions and then we'll wrap up. But you also have a gift for people, right? You uh, speaking of the cic, you have a gift of um, ah, an ebook called understanding your character, integrity and credibility. Right. And so tell, tell people a little about that.

Speaker B: All right, well that, that book is 40 pages. It takes, doesn't take very long to read 40 pages and it just asks you a series of questions and from that you self score. And at the end you'll know that you're either lacking in character or lacking in integrity or lacking in what people perceive your credibility to be. Now, now that you know that, you can start to fix it.

Speaker A: So Doctor, I'm curious because you have an assumption, I don't know if this is true, that most people who are older would assume that, you know, how we all think we're funny and we all think we're great lovers and we all think that we're, you know, have integrity. I would assume most people would say, well of course I have character and integrity and credibility and might not even want to check. So what do you say to that? Is this something that's just for young people who don't know?

Speaker B: No, it's is definitely for older people as well. Uh, this is the first line of a TED talk that I put together. First line is imagine if everybody you encountered understood and practiced respect.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: How would that change our world?

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: And that doesn't just apply to young people, that's old people as well. And those people that are just tired and they just don't, they don't listen.

Speaker A: Yeah, they don't.

Speaker B: They, they just look at you. Yeah. You're a person. They move on.

Speaker A: Yes. Yeah. So, yeah, well, and I think, you know, I, I personally, I'm um, a lifelong learner. I think that when we have a growth mindset, we're always curious about what we can learn. Who we are, who are we becoming? Who are we committed to becoming? I think is a really good question. And so this would be a great tool for those of you who are in the reinvention process or even just are looking at keeping going, having a conversation with yourself and you know, whatever your higher power is about who are, uh, who am I and who am m. I committed to being in this next chapter of my life because we always get to choose back in every day we're here. If we're on this side of the dirt, we can choose back in and choose who we want to be in the world. That's my belief anyways.

Speaker B: Uh, that is one of the most important conversations you can have. It was, it was my second most important pivot. When I divorced my first wife, I had nothing. I gave her everything. And I sit in my chair and I said, okay, now what are you going to do with the rest of your life and how are you going to do it and where are you going to live and how do you want to be for your children and how do you want to be for the, for the business and what are you going to add? All these decisions. I spent 20, 24 hours without eating. I occasionally went to the bathroom, but that was it. And did a lot of praying. And I, and I came away from that going, this is exactly what I want. Yes, I just started, I just started pursuing that. And within about six months I had everything that was on my list.

Speaker A: Wow, that's quite the manifestation story. And I, I think that's a really fascinating, um, little tidbit that I want to underscore here because, uh, in the work that I do with people, a lot of people don't have a vision for their next 20, 30, 40 years. And what you said was you just sat down. You were younger, but you sat down and said, what is my vision? I'm going to consciously draft it. Who do I want to be? What do I want to do? What do I want to have? And then set about taking that very clear vision and creating it, implementing it in record time, by the way. And so I think it's super important for people to recognize how powerful it is to have a vision and how it leaves us at the mercy of or the whim of, um, outside forces when we don't have a vision. Because now we're, we're being by, buffeted by or directed by other people's visions of, um, us and our lives. Um, so, so you obviously still have lots on the go. Uh, when you go to the show notes, by the way, we'll have a link there for you on how to get your understanding, your credibility, integrity and character, vice versa, the other way. Character, incredibility, integrity and credibility. Ah, ebook for you. Uh, so tell me just a little bit. We'll do a couple few questions, but give us some tips on how people can really start to, let's, let's say work on their, um, character. Because you mentioned taking a look at where you stand with regards to certain values or principles. What are some ways that people can, um, choose more clearly who they want to be?

Speaker B: Well, most of us have looked at people and said, that's a good example. I'd like to be like him. M uh, and if you're not a movie star and your movie star is, is your image, that's, that's a problem. If you're practical and you say that person has values, that person has a nice home, he's got a nice wife, he's got nice children, he goes to work every day. Does, does I want a stable life like that?

Speaker A: And mhm.

Speaker B: That's what you plan for? That is exactly what you plan for and you work towards it. You know, in business we do exactly the same thing. I, um, took one company in 20 months. I took it from zero to way past a billion. And we did that because we just focused on the mission. We didn't go here, we didn't go there, as everybody wanted to do. Gosh, I'd have a sales meeting, people say, oh, why don't we do this? Oh no, focus on this. Just do this. 15 months we were profitable. 20 months I checked out of the company and it was sold two months later.

Speaker A: Wow.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: So, uh, so what I took away from that is one, we get to choose to, uh, be clear on what you do want and create or find an example of something that you can kind of use, uh, as a backdrop for clarifying what you do and don't want. And then also, uh, from the business example, pick the thing to focus on and work on implementing and staying true to that vision. Don't go here, there and everywhere, but stay true to working on creating that vision. So what's something about reinvention? Because you are a master of it. You've done it so many times that people don't tell you,

Speaker B: they don't tell you. It's hard.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: It is hard. That's why a lot of people don't do it. Yeah, you know, I, I don't want to start learning that at this age. You know, I, I, I, I've already done stuff, I, I don't need to do that. Well, actually you do. You know, if you want to be a better person, actually you do. You need to get up off your couch and you need to go do something and help somebody. Uh, let me, let me just tell you a little story here. I, I don't know how much time we have and I apologize, but my, I had six kids and one of the, one of the kids came into me one day and he says, I'm bored. I am so bored, dad. And Mom's gone, so what do you, what, how are you going to entertain me? I said, whoa, bud. Hey, that's not my job to entertain you. I'm not the home entertainment center. I said, you need to figure out what is that you want to do. He says, well, I don't want to do anything. I said, ah, uh, there's the problem. That's why you're bored. I said, I'll tell you what. Remember Mrs. Johnson down the street who just became a widow? Why don't you go down, knock on her door and just say, Mrs. Johnson, I've got a little time. Is there something I can do to help you and see what happens? What, what if she says she doesn't want it? I said, then she said she doesn't want it, but go try, just try. Three hours later I'm looking around and here he comes walking up the street. He says, I had uh, the best time. She's a great cook. You should see the cookies I got. Uh, I said, so it was worthwhile. Are you still bored?

Speaker A: Nope.

Speaker B: And all the other kids knew that I did that. No one ever came to me and said, I'm bored.

Speaker A: Ah, ah, that's a good story. You know, really reinforces your. How can I help? Um, okay, so what would you say to someone who thinks it's too late, Too late to get started? Too late.

Speaker B: Oh my gosh, are you tired or you just want to die? Roll over and die because you can do that. Uh, I know a number of people, including my grandfather. I was beloved. He just, he was great one day and the next morning they called me at 5:30 and said, get down here, you're not going to see him alive. So people do that. They just will themselves to die. And I watch people, particularly older people, just sit in their homes and warehouse themselves. Are you kidding me? There's so much to live. I look at my life at 79 years old old, I've got 20 plus years left. I want to live to be a hundred plus one day. So I can say I fully did 100. Now when I was, when I was a young person having a lot of meetings, I never let a meeting go past an hour. I figured if you didn't plan well enough, an hour's enough, get out. Yep, well, 100 years is enough. You ought to be able to accomplish whatever the heck it is that you want to accomplish in a hundred years. And I'm hopeful that I can because I, I still have some plans. I still have some things I want to do. I asked my father in law when he was about my age, I said, dad, what, what's the secret to living A long life. He leaned forward and he got right in my face and he said, keep moving.

Speaker A: Yep.

Speaker B: Is it that simple? He says, that's, uh, not simple. You try and keep moving. When you've got arthritis, you got a hip that hurts, maybe you've got a bad back, but keep moving, keep driving forward. He's right.

Speaker A: Physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. On all levels. That's all levels. Um, and so it's never too late as long as you keep moving. Um, and, and I love your 100 plus a day. Uh, what do you think? Two things. What's one belief that has held you back the most in your life or gotten in your way the most?

Speaker B: For years I, I dealt with the fact that I wasn't worthy.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: I was a homeless kid. I was just poor white trash.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: Oh, um, you know, trying to be a business person. And then, you know, the companies I, I bought into or led were just bigger and bigger. And when I was president of the international oil company, I was meeting with sitting presidents and, and Margaret Thatcher and, um, kings and queens and all. And I'm just a kid who was homeless.

Speaker A: Hm.

Speaker B: So I was dealing with a lot of, you know, am I really worthy? Should I really be here one day? A, uh, fellow in India, a guy by the name of Murley, set me down. Nieces, do you not see that you lead people? I, um, said, well, yeah, I know I'm a leader. And he says, yeah, but do you know the quality of leading that you do? He says, you're an example to so many people. He said, you should be proud of that and just live your life the way you're doing it. Well, he happened to be about 20 years older than I was at that particular point in my life. And I said, okay. So I kind of sucked it up and just kept on going. And I know I'm a leader and I'm okay with that. And I recognize it's a huge responsibility, but if I do the right thing and, and lead people in the right way using principles and values, I'll be fine. They'll be fine.

Speaker A: Beautiful. Well, and that kind of answers my next question, which is what is the belief that keeps you going? Uh, or that has helped you the most? I think you've said it a few ways. Be in service, be willing to, uh, live your values, um, practically. Is there anything that you would like to leave people with as a final piece of advice?

Speaker B: You know, as I got to be this age, I was amazed that I even got here to begin with. I remember I Was supposed to die when I was 42. I, I think the biggest thing is don't, don't let your mind wander. You know, your mind is a tool just like anything else. Just sit down and decide this is what you want to do and then get up and do it. That's it. Just get up and do it. I think one of the greatest corporate slogans in the world was Nike. Just do it.

Speaker A: Yeah, just do it. I just wrote that down. Don't let your mind wander. It's a tool. Treat it like it is. I think that's brilliant. Um, and just go do it, whatever it is. And as long, um, as you keep moving, you can go and just do it. Thank you so much, doctor for being here, for being an inspiration and a leader and an example, and for continuing to do that in so many different ways with children through your leadership, through the books that you have, through the TV station. Uh, and you mentioned there's still things that you want to do. So just tell us, what's your goal for the next 20 years?

Speaker B: My goal for the next 20 years. Oh my gosh. Can we get back together in January? I don't know. Uh, I sit down the last week of every month of every year, year. And I review what I did the previous, the previous amount of time in that year. And I look forward and I say, what do I want to be spiritually? What I want to be with my wife, what I want to be with my children, my grandchildren, my great grandchildren, the people that I work with? How do I want to lead? What, what changes do I think can be made that I can, I can help with?

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And then I, then I set goals from there. So you got to check back with me.

Speaker A: So is there some big project that you have in, in mind beside beyond the TV station?

Speaker B: Well, I, I have a project in mind for Shrine. Most, most, uh, fraternal organizations in, in the United States and service organizations like Kiwanis and Rotary and that they're all taking a hit right now. And because of the Internet, people don't want to get out of their house, they don't want to do anything. People don't think service to others really matters that much. And with Shrine, I'm, I'm attending a conference in, uh, November that's all about how to get people active no matter what their age.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: And I, I think that's a worthy goal if you can get somebody to walk outside their door and say, there's a, there's a world out here that I could participate In. Yeah, so I. I think probably doing that because I. I think I've got some answers that. That can help.

Speaker A: So you're taking what you taught your. Your child when he came and said he was bored out into the world, and you're taking all this bored society who have. Who have, um, isolated ourselves and who are lonely. And, you know, one in four people are suffering from mental health issues due to loneliness. And you're saying, let's go be in service. Let's get out of your house, get out of your chair, start moving, go be in service, make a difference to that person or that cause or that, whatever it might be. Uh, and find in that your rejuvenation and your purpose as well. So I love that. I love that. Ah. All of, all of your work centers around the. How do I help? It's beautiful. Thank you, Doctor, for being here.

Speaker B: Oh, uh, my pleasure. Thank you so much for asking. I appreciate it.

Speaker A: All right, everybody, you've got some great tidbits from this. Please, as always, go and apply it. Don't just listen. Don't just go away. A little inspired and uplifted. Go put something in your calendar that you're going to act on that you got as a result of this. And I suspect it might just have something to do with getting out of your house and going and being of service to someone in some way. Thanks for listening. Please share this episode and subscribe. And we love hearing from you, so if you've got any feedback, let me know. Thanks, everybody. Have a wonderful day and be the difference that only you can be. Thank you for listening. I'd love it if you left a comment and subscribed. And I encourage you to apply one.

Speaker B: Aha.

Speaker A: Uh-huh. From this interview right away, so you can turn your wisdom into wealth and your contribution into positive change. Bye for now.