Ok business coach listeners, I encourage you to listen to your inner voice. In Star Wars, they talked about the force or a sense of destiny, but if you think about Socrates … Socrates claimed that he had a inner demon that would warn him to avoid danger. He literally talked about how he had a demon that would warn him when there was danger. Leonardo, the famous polymath Leonardo, he wanted to know what the force was within the world that forced people to be successful because he always had this innate drive to keep pushing. And he kept thinking he had to do one more and just improve. He had to be just a little bit better, and he was obsessed with trying to figure out what was the source of that. Napoleon, the short man obsessed with taking over the big world. He felt like a star in the sky taught him what to do. Albert Einstein said that he had an inner voice that would push him. Marshall, is there anything in your brain, is there any little voice? What is it that pushes you? Has this every happened to you where you felt called to push yourself like being the tallest business coach?
Marshall: Yeah, and I’m going to break this down. My story and allowing my inner voice to speak is that’s exactly what I think most people miss is they’re so caught up in the routine and the speed at which they’re operating their life, they never allow the inner voice to speak. There’s not a time. They make time for appointments. They make time for lunch. They make time to spend with their family, but when are you scheduling time to allow your inner voice to speak. So one of the things that was profound impact in my life is I read a book called Tools of Titans. It’s actually business coach Tim Ferriss’ new book, and he talks about different strategies in which to do this. And he said, by the pure exercise of just waking up 15 minutes earlier and spending quiet time whether it’s with a song that you enjoy or whether it’s in the quiet darkness before you wake fully up, but just allowing some time for your thoughts and your inner voice to speak to you, that in and of itself has allowed me to bring more clarity and crystallized vision to what I’m supposed to be doing.
Jeff: I love that.
Clay: And I want to pile on with the business coach Tim Ferriss knowledge. For anybody who doesn’t know who Tim Ferriss, he has had the opportunity to sit down with billionaires, millionaires, best-selling authors, super-talented musicians, actors, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Fox, just you can go on and on. What happens is when he sits down with him, he wants to break down their strategies, their tools, their tactics. How are you doing it? And this is one of the things he distilled is they all scheduled time to listen to their inner voice. Jeff, am I weird if I’m listening right now and I’m going, “I’ve never don’t that, and I just think that sounds weird”? Is this a weird thing?
Jeff: No, it’s not weird. Everybody has an inner voice. It’s just getting quiet and self-aware enough to hear it, and those moments when you have that are so clear that you don’t doubt it. You realize that you know if you go this way, it’s going to work. I knew when I came to Tulsa, I was driving at 21st and Louis, and all of a sudden I got this awareness if you come here, you will prosper. It was the weirdest thing. It was like I lived in Phoenix. I expected to stay in Phoenix. I came here to write a book, and the next thing you know, I’m in Tulsa.
Clay: Really?
Jeff: Yeah, out of the blue.
Clay: I just want to validate you, Thriver, out there. You say, “What do I do with step number one?” I would encourage you to schedule … “What? You’re saying put it in my …?” Yeah. Put it in your calendar. “Now?” Yes, now. Whatever you need to do, pull over. If you’re at Oklahoma Joe’s having some baked beans, maybe put the spoon down for a quick second, but I encourage you to write this down. Schedule one hour a day. Just do it for a week, to think about your life right now, where you are versus where you want to be. And go back until you can find yourself. Think it back, reflect back, and go, “When was a time when I loved what I was doing, or I loved the activities I was pursuing,” because there might be your area of focus. But step number one is you must determine your life’s work.
Now, step number-
Jeff: Clay, can I say something about that real quick?
Clay: Yeah.
Jeff: It’s very important. The way to determine how to hear that voice is, first of all, to think back about the things that you love in life, the times when you’ve done something you absolutely love. Another time is something that you’re really good at and another is a time when you saw that there was a problem that needed to be solved. And generally, people’s calling come out of one of those three things.
Clay: This is huge. Now, if you’re listening right now and you’re going, “Who is this guy?” … One thing about our show is we like to have experts on the show who know what they’re talking about, and so Jeff Rindt is actually a psychotherapist who’s devoted his career to emotional intelligence. And when he tells you to do something, go do it. If you’re not happy with where you’re are in life, the worst case scenario is you make one of those 360-degree changes, so you’re right back to where you started. Don’t worry about it.
Now, step number two, you must find somebody who’s already doing what you want to do. You got to find a GOAT. “I got to find a goat? You mean like a …?” No, I’m talking about the greatest of all time. “This guy said to find a goat. I’m out there looking for a goat.” No, find the greatest of all time. Find somebody who you can get access to who is great at what you want to be great at because when you find somebody who’s already doing what you want to do, they’re going to be able to show you how to do it.
Speaker 5: (singing) “I am the best business coach in the wooooorld”
Clay: All right, Thrive Nation, welcome back into the conversation, and today’s show is all about you. What we’re trying to do is to help you find you. “Help you find you?” Yeah, see, this is the thing. Every single day I wake up with great enthusiasm knowing I’m on a mission, so I’ll give you three examples recently that have happened to me. I realize I process life differently than the majority of people, and I’ve learned to do this.
But my dad, about six months ago, passed away, and my dad died from ALS, which is … If you don’t know what Lou Gehrig’s diseases is, basically, your body begins to atrophy one part at a time, and then you suffocate, and that’s how you pass. Somebody pulled me aside and goes, “Man, how are you getting over it? How are you coping with it? Do you have any regret? Do you miss your dad?” And I’ll say this, I miss my dad, but religiously from a Judaeo-Christian perspective, I really do believe that life is like the worst part of Coweta, and Heaven is like the best part of a resort. You know what I mean? It’s like a huge polarity. “Why’s he talking on Coweta?” Come on, if you live in the worst part of Coweta, you know what I’m talking about.
But the thing is is that I believe he’s in a better place, and yes, I miss the conversations. But I know I’m on a business coach mission. And every week, I scheduled family time. So the other day, when we had family come over, they came over at 6:00, and they left at 8:00. And I had fellowship with my mom, and I love my mom, and I love spending time with my mom. And you know what? If I wasn’t married, I would spend more time with my mom, but I love my wife, and I love my kids, and I love Dr. Zoellner, and I love you, the listener. I have to find a place for everything. I got to schedule time, block out time, but I know that I’m on a mission. So when the death happened, it didn’t freak me out. I did have a breakthrough after a breakdown. I wasn’t like, “Oh, my gosh. Now I see the world differently.” I didn’t freak out.
Another example that was kind of interesting is recently, we had a Thrive business coach Conference here, and a Thriver was going through the toilet of life. What it is, they went up to Thrive Time business coach Show, and they bought a ticket. They flew here from half a country away. They get here, and you just could tell they’re going through some stuff. And the guy says, “Man, I’m so sorry. I just have a question for you, and I just feel kind of dumb even asking, but …” And he put himself out there. He stood out there very vulnerable, talking to me one-on-one, and I said, “Hey. Let’s go to lunch.” And I don’t go to lunch, right? And I can do anything wit my time I wanted, but I know that that’s my mission was to help that guy. So after the conference, I talked to him again, and he’s going, “I’m not even paying you. I just struggle to understand your motivation.” And I said, “Man, it would cause me psychological dissonance to not call you because I’m on a mission to mentor millions. That’s my goal.”