About the Episode
From being ‘Ricky,’ a curious kid dismantling bikes, to becoming Rick Jordan, the tech innovator and business leader, this episode is a deep dive into my formative years. I discuss the importance of curiosity, the value of pushing boundaries, and how these traits have been instrumental in my success. Join me as I share stories from my childhood, my adventures, and the lessons learned along the way that have driven my entrepreneurial journey.
About Dennis
Dennis is a father of three, mentor of countless young men and the founder and CEO of Building Men, a motivational destination for real talk about purpose, mindset, relationships, connections and the foundational building blocks to success. A former teacher, coach, principal and member of the Enlifted Team, Dennis now works with individuals, schools and organizations all over the country providing professional development, assembly programming, motivational speaking and life coaching. Dennis specializes in working with young men navigating the difficult terrains of adolescence. Dennis has counseled, mentored and coached thousands of teenage boys to build confidence, create healthy lifestyle habits, overcome self-limiting beliefs and understand the pillars of masculinity. Work with Dennis focuses on: mindset, confidence, educational strategies, relationships, motivation, self-discipline and resiliency.
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Episode Topics:
- Uncover the early influences that shaped Rick Jordan’s entrepreneurial path.
- Discover the power of curiosity and boundary-pushing in business.
- Learn how Rick transformed from a curious child to a tech innovator.
- Hear about the challenges and triumphs of Rick’s journey.
- Get inspired by Rick’s unique perspective on life and business.
Rick Jordan
What’s shakin, hey, I’m Rick Jordan today. We’re going all in.
Dennis Morolda
What is up everyone? Welcome to the Building Man podcast or welcome back. If you are a longtime listener, as always, I’m your host, Dennis Miranda joined today by Rick Jordan. He is the CEO of reachout technology, the host of the all-in podcast, the author of situational ethics, and he’s like a superhero in resolving chaotic situations, has a pretty cool story, and he just seems like a great dude, we met a couple of minutes ago. Rick, good to see you.
Rick Jordan
Thanks for being on the podcast. And it’s what’s shakin, it’s good to be here, man.
Dennis Morolda
I gotta say, the haircut is great. It’s like I got that high and tight, man. Like, it reminds me a little bit of like, a pre-Vanilla Ice kind of thing. But it’s what my hair aspires to base. Start off with that.
Rick Jordan
That’s awesome, man. I appreciate that. I do get compliments on my hair quite frequently. You know, it’s great. Thank you. Thank you. It’s one thing I think of it, you know, like the sides and everything because I mean, I’m 44 Right? And I’ve got the grades that start to creep up the sides. Not so much on the top unless you get really close. But I do skin fades on the side in the back. And then it just completely kills the gray and people like you look like a solid 34 100% Thanks. I’ll try to keep away.
Dennis Morolda
I wouldn’t guess 44 I just turned 47 Not too long ago and so I when I get the haircut to what I get the haircut I like people to say the same kind of thing. But it grows really quickly and the gray pops in through the
Rick Jordan
for sure they go. That’s why super short.
Dennis Morolda
I got it, man. I 100% get that. Well.
Rick Jordan
Everybody’s growing up. Were you listening?
Dennis Morolda
Have you always been recorded? Did you go by Ricky or Richard? Like has it always been Rick? Dude,
Rick Jordan
that’s a great question. I was always a rookie when I was growing up. Yeah. And the reason was, is because my dad was Rick. But both of us were Richard. The funny thing is because so my parents called me Ricky. And then everybody really around me up until about probably seventh eighth grade. You know, when I determined it’s like, you know what, I don’t like this so much anymore. Yeah. But the odd thing is that with my dad’s family, so his mom’s my grandma like his mom, and then his siblings and all those cousins on his side would call him Ricky and when we were with them for holidays, I was Rick. Even if I was five years old, I was wrecked bid and then my dad who was you know, 35 at the time would have been right, Ricky It was hilarious to me. So maybe that’s what I saw. You know, it’s like I saw his siblings and his, his nieces and nephews and they’re calling him Ricky when he was 30-something years old. And I was like, well, that doesn’t sound right. Yeah,
Dennis Morolda
seems like a prom with that. And I can resonate with that story wreck because I’m, my father is Dennis. I’m Dennis and my son is Dennis. Yeah, so when I was growing up, everyone called my father Dan, and they called me Dennis. And then once my son was born, I was gonna name him something totally different. It was gonna be like Xavier or something along those lines and something shorty just looked. He was like a little mini-man. I don’t know if it was an ego thing. But I want to call him Dennis. And immediately we called him Danny. Wow. And he’s now he’s going to be 19 years old and in a couple of weeks and he stayed Danny but I’m like, Alright, you’re gonna have to make a decision as you can a little bit older is not going to carry with you. And that’s all we know, masses, Danny, but I get it with Ricky. I mean, I’ve grown up I would think I remember Ricky Henderson, who played for the Oakland A’s in the Yankee
Rick Jordan
years and most ballplayers who were called Ricky were black too. And I’m like, I’m away.
Dennis Morolda
Hispanic, or Lauren. Yep. Right on those are only rookies that I know you’ve got to be a black athlete or a Latin dancer that also sings. Yep. Neither of those. Right, so I totally get it. So bring us back to when you were a rookie. Like back in that timeframe. I like to start off the episode and dive a little bit into who you were as a young man, a lot of the listeners are young men or are the parents of young they heard the struggle and trying to figure out what is it like to be a young man in the world today versus when we were growing up? Right. So take this back and talk a little bit about who you were when you were growing up. You know, that middle school-ish, maybe high schoolish timeframe?
Rick Jordan
Yeah, I was a very curious guy. You know, I’m very curious, but I’ve heard stories from my mom when I was, you know, on the merry-go-round or carousel when I was one year old, and she loves it. This is her favorite story to tell. So kudos to my mom today. Right? Who’s who actually just turned 72 Yesterday, you know, her birthday was yesterday. Wow. That’s why she’s an awesome woman. She’s also you know, I’m six foot one jacked and she’s like five foot three tiny you know, it’s a it’s a really interesting difference between the two of us. My dad was a was a good size dude, too. And when I look back at that, my dad was quite literally that like this amazing guy. He was overweight most of his life too. I remember that. You know, and the funny thing is, is like I have this visual of my dad. Always eating cookies over the sink in the kitchen. You know? Like something a memory from when I was like five or six years old and I’m like, why don’t you just sit down at the table? I remember thinking that. So it’s like the curiosity that I’m talking about. It goes along with the story about the tub of my mom. And she’s like when you are one year old. Isn’t it interesting why people say like yours because she says yours? You know, when you were one year old. Really, I was one year old. But she says, when you were one year old, you were riding the carousel, and you were not enjoying the ride. You were looking up at the gears and looking to the middle where all the mechanics were and just trying to figure out how the thing worked. And she’s like, you were like that with literally everything. And I think back to like, when I was four years old. I remember grabbing a wrench, you know, from like my dad’s tool set from his small Craftsman tool set and starting to take apart my bike. I had a I had a huffy bike, and I looked at this thing, and again, it’s almost kind of like the Ricky Rick thing. It’s like I looked at it. I’m like, Well, that looks like a little kid’s bike. I’m only like four or five years old. I hit the memory. And I was like, Well, I want to take that plastic fender. I didn’t know it was called a Fender at that point when I wanted to take that blue thing off. So I did I took the blue thing off and I made the thing totally black after I took all these plastic pieces off. And ironically, I still like it even today, it’s on my brand for me. I’m always in black. I’m always in a black T-shirt and black jeans. I used to get made fun of when I was in my teens because this was in the 90s right you mean, we’re talking grunge nirvana. That era right? You would you would recognize that. And I was all black then this was before like goth or emo was even a thing. Right? I was wearing all black. And it’s not because I was that way or like that subculture. It’s just that that’s what I wore. I was always attracted to that. So now when I was rebranded going through my personal brand now they’re like, you just need to be an all-black like, Thank God, somebody sees me, you know,
Dennis Morolda
it’s 100% You don’t have to worry about the sweat stains under your arm if it was like the light gray. Yep. It’s phenomenal. And I gotta tell you, the logo is really, really cool. It is really well done. I mean, it has what I mentioned before the superhero thing it has that Superman look to it. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but it strikes you as like a superhero-esque type load I was. I was
Rick Jordan
thinking about getting some T-shirts made kind of like some black on black or something. Because I’ve been told that kind of looks like an Iron Man. Arc Reactor as well. You know, it’s like, and some people that I’ve worked with, like, you are totally Tony Stark. I’m like, how do you think like, you own a tech company, you took it public, you do all this cool stuff. And you’re also loving luxury things like you love cars. You know, I had an Aston Martin, you know, and I’ve got this new BMW X m, you know, it’s like, you seriously are like Tony Stark. I’m like, but I’m 6155. Like, like Robert Downey. He’s a good actor, though.
Dennis Morolda
Sure. And listen, I mean, the coolest thing about the whole Iron Man character, he did have the ego he likes you know, like being in the limelight a little bit. But ultimately, he was the one that saved the entire universe. It was him that did it and so I definitely see that so real quick about you as a young man, Rick, I appreciate you talking about the curiosity thing. I think that that is just a pillar for young men to constantly be curious and instead of just going along with the system, and the machine okay, this is the way it’s supposed to be see things that aren’t asked why not? Like why can’t it be in a certain way? Were you also adventurous? Were you like the kid that you mentioned in the carousel? Were you also the kid that was on that merry-go-round? That was just like a wild ride that you would spin around. Like, talk to us a little bit about that?
Rick Jordan
Yeah, a little bit, I remember kind of getting into sixth, seventh eighth grade. And I would, you know, I’m letting out some secrets here. So maybe my mom who I mentioned is actually going to be listening. I remember sneaking away because they’ll go to a friend’s house you know, and I remember sneaking away and riding a bike literally was like an hour bike ride away. So if it was a car drive, it would have been you know, 1530 minutes or something like that. You know, like going way far away past the boundaries that were given to me just in the spirit of adventure, going to find new places, you know, find new friends and just getting outside it’s like I always knew that I would be okay. At the same time. It’s not like it was completely in line with my parent’s expectations of me. I’ll say that you know, but it was always me to was pushing boundaries in the end. It was a curiosity, man. It always was. It’s like it wasn’t what can I get away with? It was really like, what’s out there? You know, and why are things the way that they are? Why do I have these boundaries? It’s like I pay it to I remember paying attention my oldest son is similar to this and my youngest actually both boys. Oh, boy, that’s 116 and one’s 13 So now I need to check with them. See what they’re up to these days. Right? Yeah. But it’s one of those drives now. You know, but it’s all good on different days. Right? Find my Find My iPhone. We’ve got a different scenario. But that was
Dennis Morolda
like the 100% and it was like you were afraid a little bit for the milk carton. As you know, everybody was afraid of being on the milk carton. But now if there’s a kid that rides their bike an hour, the parents are getting locked up. Oh, I know exactly. When the kids need that adventure. They need to be able to do all quote Jordan Peterson kids need to be able to do dangerous things carefully. Absolutely. To figure out like, how can you go on that, you know, get to the edge, but also look over the edge like, alright, I like being here, but I’m not gonna jump. Yeah, right on the clip. So did that serve you? Do you believe that whole idea of like, Alright, I’m gonna go take this adventure, I’m gonna see what the boundaries are just to see what’s out there? You and your entrepreneurial life, like we’re sure
Rick Jordan
Man, it was like a friend of mine and I were talking about that same thing. It’s like, you know, we were responsible rebels. That was one of the words that we came up with, you know because we didn’t do those things to where we were going into territories of extreme danger, right for for just the sake of putting ourselves in harm’s way or whatever. But the entrepreneurial side of it ended up really forging a lot of who I am now. And even when I was, it was 18 or something. I had a family friend because my dad passed when I was 16. But but he and his wife kind of even sort of like, not adopted, that’s the wrong word. But it was like the Big Brother Big Sister program for my younger brother and my sister is who these two are. I ended up working for him for a little while. And I got turned down by the Marines because I was going to be a cop. Very first career choice, right? Since I was like, 14, I was a police cadet for a few years, then I was going to do Marine Corps, military police, then do state law enforcement. Maybe that’s where the high insight came from. I don’t know. I mean, I like my hair. You know, that’s another thing with my dad. It’s like my dad lost all pretty much all of his hair when he was in his 40s. You know, I had a nice comb-over going on. I’m like, I will never have that. I will make sure of it. I will have surgery after surgery, I don’t care, you know, I will maintain my hair. It’s when I looked back at the Marines, they were like, sorry, we can’t take you because you have a medical history of asthma. Like from when I was a kid when I was a rookie. And I couldn’t understand why. But then this family friend, he’s like, who was a Marine? He’s like, you wouldn’t have made it like, What are you talking about? He’s like because you ask why to everything. You always need to know the deeper reasons to think so. But in a command structure in the military, if they’re like, Hey, go attack that hill, you’d be the one that would be like, Well, why? Why can’t we like, go around and sneak up on him? You know, like, like, come up with some other plan, maybe come back tonight parachute in, you know, drop on top of them. You know, it’s like, so the strategy and the cure is like, there’s got to be a better way than just like bum-rushing this thing and maybe dying, you know, but he’s like, You can’t do that. The brain. So like, I could see that. He’s like, Yeah, that never would have worked out for you. I’m like, so then what about an officer program? And he’s like, just started laughing. And that was the end of the conversation. It’s like, maybe I should be a strategist. You know, that was kind of the scenario. But the curiosity, man is something that if you don’t have it, I mean, I’ve learned that if you don’t have it, you need to cultivate it. And the only way to cultivate curiosity is actually to have higher awareness outside of you. You know, so it for me, it was a natural thing. But there are certain things that I’ve had to learn to be curious about, too. I’m able to use that curiosity from my childhood as an anchor point to be like, Yes, I can do that. But then also be like, how do I do that, it’s like, cool. If I’m, if I’m stuck too much in here inside myself, there is no way to be curious about what’s going on anything anywhere around you. But when you focus on a lot of other things, it’s cool, because it’s like, even last night, I was speaking to a group of business owners, right? Looking for businesses to buy, right, and they’re there to see if they want to sell to me. And the way that I started out is like, you know what, I just want to learn more about you. And I want you to learn more about me, I want to bring the most value out of any kind of event like this, that you’ve ever been to. And if I do that, that is my desired end state to fulfill your curiosity tonight. So that you can walk out of here in that position, even if we don’t do a deal, I will be happy if I can just give you value. So that’s getting outside yourself and cultivating that curiosity. I love
Dennis Morolda
that. And it speaks to the whole idea of building trust and what you’ve done that wreck is basically it’s creating this mix of confidence of curiosity and humility. Yeah, for sure. As you’re answering and if I’m someone who’s, you know, wanting to do business with you, that’s the sweet spot right there when you could the Venn diagram of all those things, working together, Rick, you, you open the door to talking about your father. So I’d like to jump through that real quick. When I was doing the research for this episode, what struck me more than anything was the story that you told about your father’s passing and then an interaction that you had with your uncle. And it was one of those moments when it was so cool for me to watch a man who’s super successful like you had mentioned everything that you’re doing the Tony Stark idea, but expressing something so vulnerably where I think there’s such power in the the combination of strength and vulnerability and you were showing that in the one video that I watched, so if you don’t mind sharing that that story and then talking to us about the conversation that you had with your uncle. Because again, it really, really hit on a deep level. Yeah,
Rick Jordan
Yeah, for sure, man. For for everybody. I mean, if you haven’t looked me up before my dad passed when I was 16. And it was from a disease called leukemia. I know a lot of people have heard of it. Some people haven’t said leukemia is, it’s really like a blood cancer. And for him, it wasn’t something that he had caught from somewhere because certain exterior things can cause it. His was absolutely genetic. There’s a difference just there’s a difference between genetic and hereditary hereditary means that can be passed down from one person to father to son, whereas genetic is just it’s in your genes. And the way it happened is everybody you know, I mean, if it’s like 13 years old, and up, you said, is everyone listening? Yeah, for the most part, then everyone’s probably heard about chromosomes, right, Howard, just a bundle of these chromosomes. They have like little pigtails on them. And his kind of leukemia was from one chromosome that flips on one side. So when it gets into your like, middle life, really how old you and I are right now, it switches on, and it becomes cancer in your body and your immune system just kicks into overdrive, like floods your body with white blood cells. And when they have nothing to do, they actually just start to attack you. So that that that’s the type of leukemia he had, he passed, he had a procedure done called a bone marrow transplant, where you wipe out all the existing bone marrow, you get new bone marrow from a donor because that’s where those white blood cells are created, and where that mutation lied. You know, I wish it was a mutation. We’re talking about superheroes.
Superheroes, today. I wish he had some special powers or something like that, you know, like back from X-Men or break up that kind of mutant. His special power, though, as I think about that was really creating just an incredible, stable family life. And I see a lot of traumatic scenarios with parents and kids today, and it’s like, I, I have compassion. However, I cannot relate. Now, because I look back, and it’s like, I have a had a fantastic loving home that I grew up in. And it was just absolutely incredible to have that foundation to set me up and even see, like how my dad treated my mom, you know, in such amazing ways, you know, still being the man, right? Still leading the house, the home, in a very confident position, but at the same time, in a position of compassion, love, and affection serving my mom. It was this cool juxtaposition, you know, to where I actually got to see what I saw. What masculinity actually is. Yeah, because of so many things masculinity is just super toxic, right? It’s almost become this buzzword now, to where it’s a bad thing to be masculine. Yep. But it’s actually a bad thing not to be masculine, in its truest form, which is how I’m observing my dad through all these years, even looking back and recalling the memories. So when he contracted leukemia, he had the procedure, but the procedure just, it was like graft versus host thing. And he also got a virus. I think it was a simple staff, if I remember, right, it was years later, I ordered the reports like 15 years later, I ordered the reports from the hospital and read through it, you know, and it was a some of it was a staph infection. And since you had to wipe out the existing immune, so he just couldn’t fight it off. You know, after having this procedure, which was supposed to cure the Leukemia. And it just happens. It was just bad timing, you know, if you want to call it coincidental, I don’t know if you want to call it his time. I don’t know. I don’t I don’t really dwell on that sense of analysis to see, you know, like, should he have gone by that time? It was that his time, you know, was it? It’s like, does it really matter? You know, because it just did. So it’s a point in life to where I learned is like, whatever is going to happen for you, is going to happen for you, whatever is going to happen to you is going to happen to you. But no matter what happens to you, it could still also be happening to you. And it developed a lot I know Tony Robbins says something that I kind of spun his words a little bit. He’s like, life’s not happening to you. It’s happening to you. I should have acted that out like, life started happening to you. It’s, you know, his gruff voice. It’s happening to you. You know, everybody’s pretty good. Thanks. Thanks.
It’s, uh, I don’t fully believe in what he’s saying there. Because going through what I did, it’s like, that absolutely happened to me losing a parent’s right. It’s something that I had no control over whatsoever. You know, there’s a lot of things, and people talk about control. So I mean, like boys, men, parents who are listening. There’s a lot of BS floating around about you. You have the Abyss allows you to control everything. And I believe that there’s a lot that you can a lot of stuff is a result of all of the choices that you make throughout your life, there’s still stuff that is part of me today, because of choices I made when I was Ricky, enter in directions that I took when I was when I was that age in my teens. At the same time, there are things that you can’t control, like a tornado smacking into your home, you know, the stuff just happens, you know, or like, all of a sudden, just like the woman of your dreams walking in your life, you know? And you could try to quantify that by saying, Well, I’d made all these decisions and went in there. It’s like, what if it was just supposed to happen that way, you know, and that’s just what happened, and you’re just in the right spot at the right time. Thank goodness, you found your person, for real, you know, the stuff that does happen to you can end up being something that can happen for you, which I believe fully and wholeheartedly with my dad, and then also my uncle. When my dad passed after he had that surgery, my mom my uncle, and her sister-in-law, who was my aunt flew out because we lived in Chicago, at that time, leukemia was still at least this kind and medical stuff was not that far along for this. And the best place to be treated for this is to have this type of procedure. I mean, they do bone marrow transplants all over the country. Now, you know, for a lot of different things. You know, in almost every major market, it’s all good. But at that time, the place to have it done was the University of Iowa, which had a leukemia division out there. So that’s where he had all this none. But he was airlifted from here to the University of Iowa where he had the surgery performed just two weeks prior because his fever went up to like 105 do just overnight, it’s happened suddenly, she was out there. And I remember being in church because I was playing drums when I was 16 in church. And there was a phone call like the secretary came and got me we were going through like a rehearsal like your mom’s on the phone. Like, okay, so I go and take the call. And she’s telling me that, that he’s not doing well, you know, and it’s like I knew she didn’t actually say like, he’s like, he’s done, you know because he hadn’t passed yet. But at the same time, she also didn’t say that. There’s nothing they can do or anything. She just said he’s really, really not doing well. And it’s just I knew, you know, I knew what she meant by exactly what we what she was saying. And she’s like, do you want to come out here and see him one last time? And I asked the question, it’s like, what do you even know that I’m there? And she’s like, No, he wouldn’t like that. To me, my choice at that point is still something I stand by. Because even being 16, you know, the awareness of that was just I wanted to remember him.
Dennis Morolda
How he was not over the same. You know, I wanted to remember that guy, you know, you definitely yeah,
Rick Jordan
you got it, you know, and I had seen him for two weeks when he was back at the house back at home after he had the transplant, absolutely no hair because they because of the radiation they had to give them to have the procedure. But whatever. Like I said he didn’t have much hair to begin with. Anyway, so he’s still pretty similar, right, you know, still himself still joking around, you know, and just happy to be alive. And that was a cool thing about him is that, regardless of anything that they went through, you know because we weren’t rich by any means. We actually struggled a lot for money. You know, our dinners were like frozen meals, man. I mean, like Salisbury steaks, where there were five tiny little hamburger patties. And each of the five of us in the family, we get one. And I remember those Yeah, there might be like a little side dish or something. But that was like corn, canned corn might have been the side dish. Not a lot of food either. But dude, we always had like gallons of milk in the fridge. So if you want to look at protein shakes, that was the original protein shake, I would down three full glasses of milk every meal to fill up, right? And that’s also because milk was 99 cents a gallon at the time. It was cheap. Now it’s like seven, eight bucks. I mean, a huge, huge difference. When she called the very next day, she showed up, you know, and I knew at that point he’d already passed. And it was back at the house. And she walked in, she went immediately to my brother and sister and I’m like reliving this for you here. Yeah, you know, and it’s just that I knew. And in that moment is when I’m like, man, and that’s when I bolted out the door. You know, cuz it’s like in the moment, it’s like, what, what? What happens now? I didn’t have an answer for that. I had no idea even being 16 and working full time in addition to going to high school. It’s like what what happens now? I didn’t know so I bolted out the door. Dude, I still tear up when I think about this. Yeah. I didn’t even know my uncle was there. Yeah, and I was, I was starting to jog, because it’s like that, that moment. It’s like, whatever it is, you know, and I can remember the emotions. It’s like, um, I felt like I was on my own. That’s it, you know, it’s like the dude, the one dude, you know, I love my mom. But she, I mean, tremendously. She’s an amazing woman. But at the same time, there weren’t many who I felt actually really understood me. I mean, when it came to teachers to authority figures, you know, and other people that were supposed to pour into me as mentors. I never really felt like they actually understood me. Except for maybe a few people in my life. My uncle was one, but dude, my dad was somebody who always saw me always could see what was going on in my head. always understood me. And it’s like, that one person now is gone. When I bolted out, it’s like, I just felt like that. That’s it. It’s like the connection to the life that I knew was gone. And I run out jogging. Didn’t know my uncle was there because I was running down like, the sidewalk path on the side of the garage that was attached to the very front of the house. So I was going to curve around to the front of the house. And he’s dude, he’s literally right there. And just catches me, like, bear hugs me. Just melt. Yeah.
Rick Jordan
And all he said was, like, he got he called me, Rick, at that moment, now that I can’t believe I never remember that until this point that as well is. He’s like, Rick, you’re the man of the house. And I just remember asking the question, why? And his answer was, quite simply, and parents who are listening to, for real, this is probably the best thing you could ever tell your kids. For real? His answer was, I don’t know. Who has an answer for something like that? You know, you don’t know. And it’s okay. Because it’s one of the things I never liked growing up was that that phrase of like, we’ll do this beat just because I told you to, you know, because I’m a curious guy, I always ask why, you know, and for parents who always seem like they have to come up with some sort of answer, even if it’s just made up because they don’t know because your child’s asking about it. You know, from a parental perspective, it is one of the best things to be able to tell your kids I don’t know. And I heard that from my uncle. And it was, it was comforting. Because it was validating for me in my emotions of, you know, like, what happens now? That was my question. And it’s like, literally, the answer was, I don’t know. No idea. But I do No, now with him. It’s like, okay, I’m not alone. Never knew that. He saw me like that. And he’s on that list now of people that actually understood me. You know, and that, that was it. He was shorter than me still, which was funny, but it’s, I remember being kind of lower than him, almost like, I have collapsed in his arms when he just grabbed me and bear hug me. Huge, huge impact on my life because of that. And after that, of course, he was always around, he supported Obama and anything that was needed, right, I could always lean on him for anything. And as just an incredible influence in my life and the trajectory that it went. He also in the way that he treated his wife, my aunt, I could see similarities and how my dad was very masculine in the way that we’re talking about how masculinity should be. Just amazing, stable family home there. And no wonder why I got to 33 cousins that I have literally 33 first cousins, my mom’s the youngest of seven. He’s in that family. It’s like, like, so I had like four cousins over there. No wonder why I was closest to those cousins. Because it was the same kind of vibe right now. 33 of them. It’s incredible to think back and just the awareness that he had at the moment just to be present how he needed to be
Dennis Morolda
what do you say? Right? That’s one of the biggest things is just showing up. Yeah, right. Just showing up and the biggest. Absolutely biggest. And dude, like thank you for sharing that story. I felt it and as as I was getting to know you peripherally you know, doing the research that story like hit this spot and I didn’t have the father figure that you did. I didn’t have a male role model in my life. So that’s one of the reasons why I went on the journey of trying to figure out what is a man and why It was so important for me to do the work that I’m doing right now, and I applaud you for telling the story for your father for what he did to provide that masculine role model and, and your uncle to be there in that time of need. And, and those of you that are listening, like, here’s the thing, that it was such a pivotal moment in your life, right? Like just your uncle, just giving you a hug, like, Alright, hold on, I got you. But also saying, I also, I’m going to pass this on to you. Like there’s a responsibility that comes with it, like with great power comes great responsibility, the whole, you know, we’re singing the superhero role and the Peter Parker. But what he did to you, as he gave you this gift of, I have you I’m here to support, I’m the safety net. But you got this, I believe in you, you have this. And it went from rookie to Rick. And as you’re looking up, right, like, you know, trying to figure out the carousel, how it works. There’s no way to figure out why this happened. Yeah. Right. And to be able to say, I don’t know how this works. I don’t know how this happens is so much strength in the way your uncle interacted and just what what’s your uncle’s name? I just want to just give him credit right now, really,
Rick Jordan
ARD O N ARD en ze Arden, he actually passed a few years back to he had esophageal cancer that he passed him in, at his his funeral. I mean, it’s interesting because I’ve been around this age, just like I saw a lot of death when I was young, like then my dad’s sister died, too. My only aunt on that side, my grandmother on that side, you know, all different reasons, you know, but it was, it was sort of within a few short years. So it’s when you experience that it sort of sort of kinda desensitizes you a little bit. You know, what, when you go through those things, and I try not to be that way, it’s just you start to, it’s like, yeah, it happens. And it’s not that I’m without compassion. Because I mean, when my uncle Arden died, it’s like crying at his funeral, you know, because that was another guy, another dude in my life and another person who I always knew saw me and understood me.
Dennis Morolda
And you had two guys that were there for you. There are so many kids out there that don’t have that guy at all in their life. So if you’re listening, you have the ability to go in, and volunteer and coach and mentor, take those opportunities. Because one little act of kindness that you believe in another, another human being a young man, going through something challenging could make all the difference. And those couple stories that you shared with us. I mean, they definitely changed the trajectory of your life. Like if you didn’t have those guys, who knows what I mean, you might be learning how to hotwire cars really quickly to, you know, to do something in a negative way.
Rick Jordan
Well, look at Tony Stark, right, right? Yeah, I am Iron Man. Yeah, super genius, dude. And also didn’t do things really above the table the whole time.
Dennis Morolda
Yep, absolutely. But what you did was you figured out a way, when you were a role model, you know, a father figure for your younger brother, your younger sister, you stepped up, you were working full time, you went from working at McDonald’s to working in a warehouse to kind of climbing that ladder. And that led to you trying to figure out how things worked on a deeper level. So talk to us a little bit about how you got into the whole cybersecurity realm, like where did because there’s, I mean, we’re spending a couple of minutes to bridge many, many years of your life. But there were a couple of key moments like those forks in the road for you during that journey. Right?
Rick Jordan
Yeah, before the warehouse, and I don’t, I might have put that in there. Maybe it was in the, in the short film you saw, you know, there was an image of RadioShack I worked at RadioShack when I was 17. And it was in the manager training program. And I was taught how to read business financials. Because when you when you’re given a store, I was given a store when I was 18, they have to wait till you’re 18 I guess, you know, insurance purposes, whatever. Three days after I turned 18, they promoted me and gave me a store and it’s like, here’s a million dollar business, you know, for you to run and you had control almost everything over almost everything, inventory people, you know, labor rates, just everything in real estate, you know, negotiating terms with the property owner, you have control over everything. It’s then I moved to the warehouse that I was talking about because that’s where I really got into technology. And I built 15,000 computer servers, 150,000 workstations for Merrill Lynch, and shipped those out. And then that’s when I started to see some of the security things, you know, again, just naturally curious. I was always good at tech built my first computer when I was 10. From that family friend that I was telling you about. Yeah. And then after the warehouse, I was in Geek Squad. I was the very first Geek Squad agent in Chicago. I started working at BestBuy literally just for the discount. That’s it because it’s a while since I had another full-time job I was just going to do Friday night, and Saturday mornings, I was a technician before the Geek Squad came around fixing computers, you know up at the tech bench. It was there just because you got substantial, huge crazy discounts working there. You get everything at Best Buy’s cost plus 5%. You know, so like if it was 1000 $1 TV, you might pay like 450 bucks for it, you know, because there are huge markups on TVs, other things like computers, you know, you might save $2, literally, because they’re not high margin things. After they heard about my background, and I was just on the tech bench, like, Would you be interested in something like this? I’m like, Well, yeah. And by that point, I actually quit the other full-time job, and was the supervisor of one of the tech branches, one of the most profitable tech ventures in the whole company, you know, and it’s because I taught my people how to sell.
Really, that’s what it came down to. I learned how to sell it at McDonald’s when I worked there. Do you want fries with that? That’s the best sales question in the world. It’s the art of the upsell. You know, it’s, I carried it into RadioShack at one point, too, because when, when I was 17, I got a $30,000. commission check one December, because I sold 100, over 100 Cell phones. And at that point, you got a $300 spiff a $300. Commission for each phone you sold because they were doing like three and five-year contracts for cell phones back then. Every person that would buy just even batteries, if it was a TV or if it was batteries. That’s it. If there’s been three bucks on a battery, I’d be like, you want a cell phone for a penny to go with it. That was the question but it was literally mirroring like, you want fries with that? It’s the same thing. The more people you ask, the more people are gonna say yes, it’s that simple. And I sold over 100 phones best in the country. And literally just because all I did was ask the question, is the sale that simple? You know, because it was, I learned a lot there like irresistible offers, right? It’s the the art, if you want to call it of consistency and sales of just asking many people, it’s simply a numbers game. So I carry that in a Geek Squad. And they’re like, how are your numbers three times better than any of the other seven testers that we have? I’m like, did you ever work in McDonald’s? And like, What do you mean? I’m like, do you want fries with that? demand? So if I’m already there, and I’m already fixing something, I’d be like, Hey, I see I can help you with this too. Can I fix it right now? It’s the same thing, the same exact thing that I trained all of Canada, literally all of Canada, they ship me up there for three months, you know, it’s home on weekends, to train the entire country for Geek Squad as they rolled out. Then I wrote the sales playbook for Best Buy for business, how to sell technology business to business from, from Best Buy to other businesses, and trained all those consultants. And then they eliminated the whole division from Best Buy, right? When my twins were going to be born like two weeks before my twins were born. That’s when I started reachout, which is now 14 years later, we just went public a couple of months ago. So I mean, we did span a lot of time, and just a couple of minutes, as you said, it’s, it’s the overnight success that was like, what 17 years sounds like, a long time, with a lot of different skills to pick up along the way to get to where it’s at now.
Dennis Morolda
And the people don’t I mean, I appreciate you taking us on that journey. There were so many ups and downs during those times not come to Jesus moments and, and things like that. But one thing that you speak about often Rick is just, you know, the level of resiliency, you know, the difficult things are going to happen, you know, like, like the Tony Robbins thing that you were mentioning, you know, things don’t happen to you, they happen for you, well, there’s gonna be some shit that happens that it’s not for you,
Rick Jordan
like, Best Buy, you know, right? There’s no control, I have over that whatsoever.
Dennis Morolda
But you responded with a level of perseverance and resilience that, okay, I’m going to take this shitty situation, I’m going to make the best of it. And even though I know, you said you hate the word pivot, you were able to shift your energy and your focus and use it as something that was really positive
Rick Jordan
that I saw on the show, I don’t think so, you know,
Dennis Morolda
I pride myself on that. But I do the word pivot, I wanted to qualify first thing, I do know that you don’t like that word. But I also would love to hear, like, I have three kids in my own right. They’re 1916 and 13 years old. So their digital natives are growing up in this world where they have constant, you know, communication with the rest of everything that’s ever happened in the history of the universe, right? So they have the supercomputer at their hands on, you know, and all the kids that I work with the same thing. They’re the technology is just part of who they are. But there’s a lot of risks associated with it. Right? And so if you know if you could give a piece of advice around the whole idea of cybersecurity, something that a kid who’s listening or someone that I’m going to speak to in the future, what’s one or two things that they really, really need to know capital T truce? Yep, absolutely.
Rick Jordan
The biggest thing for anybody to do is two-factor authentication. I tell everybody that it’s a, it’s getting easier, you might see things like pass keys and all that for signing into Gmail these days. But if you sign it with a password, also have some other methods so that you can’t just sign in right away on a new computer, you know, so it’s like a text message that gets sent to your phone, you know, or it’s a coding app like Authy or Google Authenticator. Something else, some secondary form, and I see this everybody’s trying to find out ways to get rid of the password now, you know that that’s the next trend that I see inside. Cybersecurity and they’re replacing it with past keys. Past keys are quite simple, it’s almost like a face ID, right to where you can link those digital signatures to those services. You know, I’m a little skeptical about those. And being in this industry so long, I’m not exactly sure how the handshake takes place, because it eliminates that two factors. The thing with two-factor authentication is it’s something you know, which is a password, and then it’s something you have, you know, in this case, would be like a phone, or in a business office, it might be like a key fob, you know, with a rotating number on it or something like that. Or it might be a fingerprint, you know, or a retina scan. It’s something like that. So we’ll see how that transitions. I mean, I’m all for getting rid of passwords, man, you know, but it’s like, let’s see how that transitions right now. But two-factor authentication is the best thing anybody can do. And even right now, for parents that are listening, and when you’re 1314, whatever, freeze your credit reports. Even though you can’t get a credit card right now, people can still use your social security number, when you’re 1516 years old to open up accounts. They just put in it’s there are ways to bypass the birthday part of it. And they can actually use your brand new, clean, untouched credit to actually open up a new credit card or something like that, under your name. I’ve seen kids who have already had their credit messed up before they even turn 18 When they’re supposed to actually be able to apply for something that’s like, from that point on, oh, my kids, the reports are frozen, man, it completely frozen right now. It’s so simple because it shows with an app for parents when you need to apply for credit, like TransUnion, Equifax, or Experian, it’s just a tap, and you unfreeze it from their app, then you can get the new credit card, you can buy the furniture, you can get the car, whatever it is that you need to do. It’s that quick. So those two things are the biggest two that can actually help protect you.
Dennis Morolda
That’s really great advice. I why I’ve my daughters are 16 and 13. I’m going to do that right now. I haven’t heard that yet. I haven’t. I haven’t thought about that yet. It was really, really great advice. I appreciate that. 100%. And I want to also respect your time. So I’ve just a couple more questions for you. Yeah, this has been awesome. I appreciate I I like to try to get to know the guests a little bit and joke around a little bit. But yeah, diving in so deep, but really appreciate it and you’ve given us gold so far. You talk a lot about like, you know, those those focusing on the holy shit moments. Yeah. You know, and one of the reasons why when we started, I was like saying, you know, you are in some respects a superhero because you people reach out to you in these moments of like, how are we going to handle a situation like this? What are your tactics as you go through when Tony reached out like Rick, holy shit, this happened, this happened, this happened? What are your strategies as far as you can take and teach to other people as far as leadership is concerned, especially when the chips are on the table?
Rick Jordan
Yep, there’s, there’s three things right. And it sort of stems actually from something that the Geek Squad would train into all their agents. And there was one phrase that they had called never let them see you sweat. So I mean, in technology the black shirt works, works. It does now Yeah, Geek Squad was white shirts, man that stalked. It’s, and I realized that that’s, that’s very experiential. You know, so it’s in the creating HOLY SHIT moments came from a customer of my company right now is one time, we were just showing them something new that would benefit, you know, like, keep the law I think was a law firm, keep the filings on time and everything. And it was just like, one of the simplest, common sense things that technology enabled. And when we did that and showed him it was mentally two minutes, he goes, holy shit, I’m like, That’s it. That’s what we’re looking to do. So when Geek Squad said don’t let them see you sweat, you know, in those moments to create that experience, like you’re talking about, it’s in like, it’s people come to me because stuff in chaos, right? And that’s not just in computers, you know, that was even in like leadership and churches, and everywhere else, it was always just, I was there. And people gravitated towards me because of three things. And it’s the three best things you can do as a leader. Stay calm, be confident, and never hesitate. If you trust yourself enough to be that leader at that moment, you don’t need a long, long time and amount of chaos to make a decision. So as long as you’re calm if people see you that like because they’re going to be frantic, be like, alright, I had a pastor to church say this because I was an I’m an ordained pastor to and help plant three churches. I was always a worship leader.
You know, so I like setting things up. And of course, stuff would break things wouldn’t happen in the churches, like 1000s of people too. And it’s like getting ready for that service, you know, to provide that experience for people at the like I said, everything’s experiential. And I moved on to a different place. And he was we were having lunch. He’s like, he’s like, you know, I was telling the new girl that’s there like cuz she’s Having people go all around and be frazzled and everything, and they’re just not used to this like she can’t get across. And he’s like, You got to understand there used to wreck, the walls could be falling down and rook could be like, that’s all good. Let’s figure this out. You know, and it’s like, immediately. So it’s like, stay calm, people will see that you are centered. And it will allow them because the idea of a leader doesn’t necessarily have to come from you. So when you stay calm, it actually allows them to remove the emotions from it, and come up with ways to contribute to the solution right there on the spot, then it’s be confident in whatever the next steps are, you know, to be like, Okay, who’s got a plan who’s got an idea? Or this is what I’m thinking, like, literally saying that, you know, and then whether it’s your idea or someone else’s, it’s like, never hesitate, because you don’t have the luxury of time when it comes to chaotic moments, you know, someone spouts out, you know, hey, we’re gonna do, how about we do this? Like, even if you’re not sure, that’s the confident part, right? Like, cool. Let’s do that. Let’s go right now, action is almost more important in those types of scenarios than being right. Because at least you’re moving somewhere, right? Because even if a mistake is made, it still means, that a decision was made.
Dennis Morolda
100% And it’s those those moments that action dispels overwhelm, as well. Yeah. And the people are looking to you in those moments. It’s almost, I think, of Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, right? The whole time, you know, everything that’s going on. And there’s that moment where the bullets are coming out from the agents, and he dodges them. And all of a sudden, he’s like, Stop, yeah, I got this and all the chaos around him becomes this, you know, space where now He is in control of the environment. So as the walls are falling around you wreck you know, people like, Oh, my God, this is crazy. Like, it’s a sunny day out there. Look, it’s beautiful. Look at that bird over there. And you could you could people down by you, you know regulating your own space there. I love that. And the whole calm, confidence, and then never hesitate. And the hesitation piece is such a big thing. When they’re looking at the leader, you take a look around, you figure out your environment, okay, I’m going to make a decision here, but I’m not going to wait for you know, sometimes it’s like, paralysis by over-analysis in a situation that last few questions. Rick, you haven’t won? You know, I’d love to hear. So you mentioned you are the father of sons. Yep. You shared a daughter too, right? So when we learned so much about being fathers from our daughters, that’s one thing I’ve learned as well, you know, like, how do you manage the, you know, the soft side and the, you know, the tougher side as well. But being raised in a space where you have these really positive male role models, what’s a lesson that you took from your father or from your uncle that you’re like, you know, by hell, or high water, this is something that my sons are and even my daughter is going to learn from me that I took from my upbringing that they need to know this about being a man or a woman growing up, yeah,
Rick Jordan
standing your ground is one. And it’s, you know, when it comes to, when it comes to discipline, a lot of I’ve received feedback over the years, and it’s like, well, you’re pretty strict with your kids. And it’s, um, I’ve never seen it that way. Because they probably are just seeing a glimpse of really what life is like with my kids. And it’s, it’s more because we talk about everything. And there are a couple of points to being that father that I’ll give everybody. The first, as I said, is standing your ground. And that means when you make a decision, it comes back to us talking about being a leader, really, when you make a decision. Explain why it is that way. You know, don’t just leave it there. Like I said, well, because I told you so or it just is what it is, you know, explain why. So that they understand. You know, and you can do this very easily with younger kids, especially when you get down to their level. And I’ve seen other parents do this too. But it’s like, you know, if they’re five years old, it’s like, get down on your knees so that you’re just like, same height. So it’s not towering over them. And you can just have a calm conversation with them, and walk them through what happened, what’s going to happen, and here’s why. And in those moments, you do absolutely stand your ground because it isn’t like what parents will give in from what I see a lot at least I see it more these days, I believe, to where it’s like okay, whatever, because the child throws a fit the kids or you know, just pushes back or whatever. And then it’s like they give in just to not hear the ruckus anymore. And I’m telling you that is the biggest way that you lose respect from your kids. Because they will understand that you never stand your ground. And what that means is that externally you will never stand your ground for them. Now that space around you is not stable. It’s not safe, standing your ground, provides safety, provide security and also elicits respect. That’s one of the biggest things man. The other that I can give you is proximity. Because it’s like my dad always wanted to be around. He worked such a low-paying job selling insurance in the ghetto literally like collecting cash for the premiums in Chicago, so that he could leave the home after we went to school and be home before we got back and always showed up at different places, you know that whether it was ballgames, like he never missed a single one of mine, you know, and all that. It’s like, I’m a little different with my kids. But I take the same note, it’s like, I’m a CEO of a public company, I travel, they don’t come with me, you know, but ever since they were young, it’s still been proximity, even having like a three-month-old or two, three month old when it because it was twins, it’s like, I just need to go to get some toilet paper and some tissue, you know, it’s just a quick errand, maybe some toothpaste. All right, I’m grabbing a kid, you know, that could be three months old, you know, it’s like, what they’re still with me. And I still do that to this day. It’s like, even there, two of them are 16 they drive I just call us like, Hey, I gotta do this, you want to come with? No. And it’s that the best conversations happen in those car rides to Walgreens. Proximity is the key. So standing your ground for a bunch of reasons to create that stability in the home. And then the proximity is something that they will absolutely grab on for life because now it’s like hardwired into them. That’s what a cohesive stable and safe family environment looks like.
Dennis Morolda
Love all that. And while you’re saying strict, it’s like I think of the word sturdy, you got it. You are sturdy, you are steadfast like there’s a big difference there too. Yeah, great parenting advice at the end of that too.
Rick Jordan
Because when you stand your ground in the moment, if it’s discipline, or whatever it is, and then say it’s like, okay, you had a privilege. Now you don’t have that privilege, whatever it is for a week, because of what happened, it’s a consequence, right? But then you see them not throwing fits, you know, and just being just an amazing individual, like getting right back into themselves. And three days, four days, dude, it’s perfectly okay to be like, You know what, I appreciate the respect. And the turnaround that you’ve made in the three to four days, you can have it back early. That’s cool, because then it’s like, you can save the day, but you’re also recognizing and rewarding them for being stable, being sturdy, you know, can contributing to a good family unit, because now they’re gonna realize like, oh, okay, I understand this, I understand what my dad does. And then the best things you can also here’s number three, ready? The two best things you can ever say to your kids is, I’m sorry. Thank you. Because when you say I’m sorry, it’s like you’re recognizing I’m also human, and there are moments where I’m gonna mess up with you. And when I realized that, it’s like, I apologize. Can I ask your forgiveness? And then when they do things for you, because the right it’s like, thank you. I really, really appreciate you. Thanks for showing up for me because kids can teach adults so many different lessons to
Dennis Morolda
have that dude from Salisbury Steak to Tony Stark. In one episode of the line, absolutely. I’ve really enjoyed the last hour my man this has been a great adventure that you took us on here. Where can we get in touch with you? How do we how do we find you? Where do we find all your stuff?
Rick Jordan
Yeah, Instagram Tiktok. LinkedIn. I mean, probably not for this crowd. LinkedIn, but Instagram, and TikTok at Mr. Rick Jordan. I’m mostly active on Instagram more active. I’m on TikTok, too, of course, pretty heavily. But yeah, some DM me, you know, do whatever. You know, parents shoot me some questions. If you have an issue with your kid. I’m not a therapist. I’m just a guy that loves my kids.
Dennis Morolda
And you took the lessons that you learned from your dad and from your uncle and from your mother and what they did was they planted the seeds and you are just watering it to create a legacy for your own kids moving forward. For the building that audience if this episode resonated with you, please like it, review it, rate it, and then more than anything, share it with anyone that you think might get some sort of value. Rick Jordan, this has been awesome thank you so much. 100% to the building that audience go one step further than you thought you could go. We’ll see you next time on building men.