Truth is Truth

Watch the episode here:

• People who don’t want to grow
• Bringing awareness to your situation
• It’s a matter of awareness
• What is winning to you?
• Why do you do what you do?
• It’s everyone’s responsibility to motivate themselves

What’s shakin’? Hey, I’m Rick Jordan. Today, we’re going all in. The stuff that I’m gonna tell you today by people who don’t want to grow by people who, who are happy in their safe place of suffering, you know that that is okay with mediocrity. They’ll take some of what I have to say, as actually being cocky and arrogant and all of that. But here’s the, here’s the thing is that it’s, it’s just facts. And that’s what it is. And you might have heard the phrase that the truth is something that some people don’t even believe right when it’s staring them in the face. So I’m in this new book, and when I was gonna say like, it could be perceived as motivational today. Tim Grover, who’s the author of this, I don’t know if you know, Tim Grover, but I know who Tim Grover is, I have friends who know him personally. And coming from Chicago, people know Tim Grover because people know, Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan, hired this dude, as his full-time performance coach, a couple of years before the Bulls won their first three championships. And if you know the Chicago Bulls, right back in the 90s 1990s, they run they one two, back to back with like a break in between two back to back three Pete’s, I can’t remember the exact years, but it was three championships, like a year or two off than three championships. And these teams were led by Michael Jordan. And that couple of years in between, Michael actually took some time off. 

And if you if you know, your sports, he played baseball for a little bit, right? He was He’s an avid golfer, but he tried to dabble in baseball, you know, which turned out not to be his real gig. So he came back to the bowls and then won another three-peat and other three championships with him three years in a row. His right-hand man was always Scottie Pippen, always. But Tim Grover was the dude the man behind MJ, and he hired him as his performance coach. It was the first big client that Tim ever had. And it’s pretty cool, because as he’s talking about this, so when I say that, you know, this could be perceived as motivational. It’s interesting, because when he works with people, he says, I’m not here to motivate you, I’m not here to inspire you. I’m expecting you to kick your own ass. I’m here to show you how to get better. I’m not here to teach you how to get up out of bed and actually say, Hey, I’m gonna do this, or, Hey, I’m confident in this, or hey, I can go out, this is something I can do. All the people that he chose to work with were people that had a level of self-confidence already, people who already were dissatisfied, that would not accept losing. That’s why the book is named Winning. 

That’s exactly why the book named Winning, is like, when I work with you, I expect you to kick your own ass, I’m not there to kick your ass, I’m not there to motivate you. And I appreciate that perspective. Because while I used to look at it, as that it’s like, Man, if I could just like say the right words if I could just do the right things. And this is as, as a dad, as a, as a manager, as a CEO. Even when I was preaching in churches as a pastor if I could just say the right things, and motivate these individuals to get you from point A to point B or not even so much that to get you to the point where you’re going to make a decision that that’s what you want. Then I’ve done my job, right to be able to move the masses and all that. But that’s not really what Tim does. And it’s not really I tell you, it takes a lot of energy for that. I mean, in that case, sometimes it’s easy to get people to a point where they are aware. And that’s what I really liked doing is I sat back and, and thought about this. The motivation side of things, if you want to put it that way to motivate people is not fun. It’s not fun for me to do. It really isn’t because I actually get frustrated. And I get to the point where I start to think of why is this person not moving. Why are they not choosing this stuff? So then as I sat back after reading this book, it’s like, you know what, it’s really their responsibility, and it’s your responsibility to kick your own ass. It’s your responsibility to motivate yourself. 

What I can do is bring awareness to your situation. What I can do is help illuminate a few things that you might not have become aware of yet. Now, what I can liken this to is years ago when I watched a documentary called Fat Sick and Nearly Dead. It was that in combination with the dude walking in a movie theater that said hey, chubby to her. I was like, oh, man, you know, because I grew up and I tell the story of my weight loss all the time, but I don’t really tell the story of how I got to that point how I got big to begin with. And the reason I got big, to begin with, is that I did not understand nutrition I was not aware. And generally speaking, if you look at like 2030 years ago, not much of America really was aware of really what goes into proper and healthy nutrition, organic didn’t frickin exist. Okay, everything with milk was just milk, eggs were just eggs, greens, spinach was spinach, you know, and I got 18 kinds of spinach, which I like pretty much all of them, but in addition, is 18 kinds, you also have 18 kinds of organic spinach. Yeah, there’s all these different things that just didn’t exist back then. And there wasn’t knowledge around how things actually really affect your body from a nutrition perspective. You know, and that’s really when America if you look at it now, the obesity rates from 30 years ago to the obesity rates right now, they’re hugely enlarged today, hugely. Because the amount of knowledge that didn’t exist before, still doesn’t exist. But now it’s a difference of awareness. The knowledge didn’t exist before. 

But now the knowledge exists. And now it’s a matter of awareness. Because when I started being curious when I started looking at things, and I, that dude walking down the movie theater, and then all of a sudden, I started watching this documentary, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, that’s when it clicked. That’s when I became aware, that’s when everything was placed right in front of me literally on a silver platter. And I was like, wow. And I can’t even call myself stupid. And that’s something that you need to have compassion on yourself for, because things that you were not aware of, are things that you cannot be stupid for. You can be ignorant, ignorant is not a bad word. Some people think it’s a bad word. But ignorant literally just means a lack of knowledge. So if you didn’t know if you were not aware of this, because you were never confronted with this knowledge, then you can’t be stupid, right? Stupid to me, is being aware and doing nothing about it? I don’t know if you’re on the new social media app threads at all. You should go follow me there. It’s, it’s a new people are calling it a Twitter competitor. It’s not really. But it’s a new social media platform from Metal. Yes, of course, from Meta. It’s taking the world by storm right now.

 But what I put down nothing, or what I put down this morning, specifically was kind of about this about awareness. Because once you have awareness of something, and you choose to do nothing, that’s when you’re stupid, right? And when I put down today if you think the cost is too high, wait until you get the bill for doing nothing. They pull it up right now you can go look at it that was literally from the day. So as I’m reading this book, and I’m reading about Tim Grover, I start to see how he interacts with people, but even more so MJ and how he chose his team, and how he didn’t work with people unless they wanted to win. And he starts to define what winning is and winning, he asked people in one word, what is winning to you? And my answer right away was everything. Now it’s whatever I need to do, it’s, I’m gonna, I’m gonna win. That’s the goal. And then when I win, guess what, there’s another game, and I’m gonna go in that one, too. Sure, there might be some losses around the corner, and maybe here and there. But at the same time, I’m just out to win. And I’m not going to play with people, I’m not going to put people on my team that just don’t want to win that just want to be there. I’m not here to play with some benchwarmers or people that just want their two minutes in the spotlight, but who don’t put in the time and the effort to actually prepare for the game. 

So as I’m, as I’m reading this, I’m starting to think it’s like, what’s the purpose of what I really do? Now, why do I really do this right here? Why do I do why do I have a podcast? Why do I go on TV? Why do I try to talk people into something it’s not so much that I’m trying to motivate them because I think now after reading this, it’s like an evolution of my own mind that it’s everyone’s own responsibility to motivate themselves. Now what I will do is I will bring awareness, I will bring truth, I will bring knowledge, maybe something that you haven’t heard before. And then you can look at yourself and it’s your own conscience, you have to look deep in your heart and reconcile with that on your own. So here’s the reality, of some things now. And I hate brutal honesty. I hate that phrase, you know because that’s not it. It’s just things are what things are. Facts are what facts are truth is truth, period. And this is where some people could take this wrong, and it’s okay because you must not want to win if you take this the wrong way. I looked back years ago, and I’m going to tell you a story. I walk into a local liquor store. Right in Chicago, we have a store called Minis and Benny’s

is like it’s a ginormous liquor store. I mean, if you think of like Best Buy, right now that’s kind of like a chain of for electronics beanies is that way so it’s Not like the corner liquor store or anything, these guys, they have a couple of dozen locations across Chicago. They’re really, really clean really, really laid out nicely. It’s like the best buy of liquor stores really everything’s on display. It’s fantastic. And if you know anything about me if you follow me or whatever else, you know that I like scotch, I like Scotch a lot. And I walk in and I especially like McAllen. I walk into the store and I see it’s a brand new Benny’s from a couple of years ago. And I walk in there and it’s, you know, the closest one to me now. It’s like five minutes down the road from where I live. And I walk in and see this bottle of Macallan that is $6,000. And I see it and I’m like, wow, and I looked down. It’s called MacAllan M, that’s it just m no age statement, you know, not MacAllan 1215 1821 2530. None of that, not a rare cask. Because the rare Cask is actually about the same price as MacAllan 18. It’s just a limited edition annual release. I see this bottle like that kind of tastes pretty freakin good. If it’s $6,000. And I was I actually had the benefit of having a half ounce of it. 

Probably about a year and a half ago, the first time I actually tried it. And it was on a flight that I had it was in McAllen flight at a rooftop bar in the city. And I ended up just obviously falling in love with it. So I think back to this day when I was with this general manager at the store, and I’m like, Dude, I’m like, do you ever sell any of these? And he’s like, Well, actually, when we opened, we had two of them. And we just sold one of them. And guess who bought the one and I don’t remember the name you somebody, it was a player for the Chicago Cubs. I’m like, That’s awesome. He’s like, Yeah, he came in, he’s like, you wanted to have a celebratory night with his family. I’m like, that’s really cool. That’s amazing. So I go home. And I think about this. I’m like, You know what, when I do my first million dollar deal, because I mean if you’re looking as a service provider, right? If you’re, if you’re a business owner, whatever, and you’re looking at that you’re like some people like I wish I could make a million dollars a year. And I’m thinking big. And I’m like this for the first time and at this in 2019. You know, that was, I think, if not the first year it was the second year that we actually made seven figures in revenue, a million dollars crack the seven-figure plateau right? Now we’re into multiple eights, which is awesome, right? With our mergers and acquisitions and everything. It’s phenomenal. 

I’m really, really grateful as far as the quick acceleration, right? It took 10 years to get to one point, but then it like took two years to double and triple, and quadruple that’s just natural laws of the universe, because you can accelerate your knowledge. That way, you don’t have to relearn those lessons, you’ve already paid the dummy tax, and you don’t have to repeat those things. Because now you have a greater understanding and things can accelerate that way. So what took you 10 years to do the first time typically will just take one or two the next time. And then after that, it just takes you one to two months. And then after that, it might take you just a week to accomplish the same thing. That’s how this it’s like a law of compounding success. compound growth. It’s a cool principle. I should put this as a chapter in my new book, I’m writing a new book, which I’ll give you an excerpt of today that has to do with this. It’s just how things work. And I’m standing here in the liquor store. Looking at this bottle, and then I go home, and I’m thinking to shoot, you know, we just made a million dollars this year, little over that, like 1.1 million, something like that. The year in revenue of the day, I do a million dollars in one sale. One single sale. Not over a year, but one single sale. That’s when I will buy a bottle of Macallan M. And that’s the promise that I made to myself. 

So then here we are, right four years later. And right here holding in my hands is a bottle McCallum and you can see that there’s a little bit of just a tiny little bit that’s, that’s out of this right here. Ryan, who’s my VP of Operations, and I just cracked this open today, today, because we just had a deal funded a couple of days ago for exactly the promise that I made to myself four years ago. It’s really frickin awesome. And as I went into the store to buy this literally just this morning I see the general manager there and I’m like, I know you have this in your case, it’s a different store by the way, it’s like the other direction so it’s 15 minutes down the road that way rather than five minutes down the road the other way where I first saw this because that the five minutes so I didn’t have it in stock anymore. But this one did. This was another brand new store that just opened up Three months ago, and it’s huge. It’s frickin awesome. I mean, I can get lost in there. And I love the Select huge selection. But welcome like, I know you have one of these, and I’m sure it’s in your case, I didn’t even walk overlook at it right? I just asked the gentleman. I’m like, could you get that out for me? He’s like, Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Let’s do it. I’m like, Cool. 

I’m gonna go look around for a little bit, see if there’s anything else I might want, like regular stuff. And then I’ll come back up, and I’ll buy this. So I walked back up, he’s like, oh, man, he’s like, Hey, are you celebrating or something like that? I’m like, you know, I, I closed the deal. And I made a promise to myself that when I close the deal like this, this is what’s going to happen. And truth be told, you know, I actually teed things up, and then Ryan hit the ball out of the park with this, just absolutely incredible. And so it was a cool team effort. I mean, literally, it’s like, I’m going back to this book with Tim Grover, who is like Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. That’s exactly how I looked at this. And it’s like, Michael, maybe could have won without Scotty but I, probably not six times, probably not six championships. Those two were the two. And that’s a lot of ways in how I see Ryan, who’s been working with me for years. I’ve known him longer than almost two decades now. I mean, it’s literally that way. I see it in that in that fashion. And as I answer his question, I’m like, no big deal. I’m like, you know, I almost talk, I tell him this. I’m like, I almost talked myself out of it. Yesterday, it’s like, oh, I don’t need to do that. You know, there’s no way I need to do that, you know, seven figures hit the bank account in one single day, one single fucking day, seven hanging seven figures hit the bank account. And like, I almost thought, like, I don’t need to do that. But then I’m like, What are you talking about? 

So you made yourself a promise to this. And I’ve talked about if you don’t listen to my podcast, you need to subscribe. Because I talked about what manifestation really is. Manifestation is nothing more than the outcome of the momentum that you’ve generated through consistent action. That’s how simple it gets, you know, so I’m thinking about this. I even talked to a coach of mine last night. And I’m like, why is it that I can’t seem to like, stop at the moment and celebrate these things? And she’s like, well, there’s nothing wrong with you with that because I was thinking there’s something wrong with me because some people go and throw a huge party with stuff like this. I’m like, why is it that way? Because like, well, you should know. But at the same time, don’t think there’s anything wrong with you for that, because it’s kind of like, well, of course this happened. Because I put all of this effort in and did exactly what I did. Well, duh, yeah, this happened today. And it’s like, when it happens, that’s exactly how I feel. I’m like, You hit the nail on the head. She’s like, it’s like going into a, into your new house. Right? And you’re looking around and people like, oh, you know, it’s like, you have a new house you’d like I know, because I built it. It’s like, I read, I realized this, like, I put the actions in. 

So this is like the natural outcome of it. So manifestation is not some woo-woo stuff. It is nothing more than the momentum that you’ve generated from your consistent actions. So it’s like when it happens, it’s like, of course, it happened. You know, and that’s kind of how I felt with this was like, You know what, but to kava continue to happen. I need to, I need to fulfill what I said I was going to do for everybody else. And even especially for myself. The one I’m talking with the guy and he gets he’s like man, the last time we sold one of these. He’s like, I used to be at a different store down the street. And we sold it to a player for the Chicago Cubs. I’m like, that’s the last time he sold one of these. And he’s like, Yeah, it sure is. He’s like, I remember they came in, he’s like, that was like 45 years ago, something like that. I’m like, Dude, I’m like you told me this story, like four or five years ago. So I’m the next person in all of Chicago with this chain with Benny’s, which is really the only one that carries this. I’m the next person. Nobody sends me in all of Chicago that has bought this $6,000 bottle. He was like, No, you’re the you’re the you’re it. And he’s like, that’s so funny. I’m like, you were over at that store. He’s like, I was that was the store manager before they open up this bigger one. I’m like, Oh my gosh, I’m like, Dude, we had this conversation already. And we enjoy a laugh. And, and at that moment, I’m thinking it’s like, you know what, when I look back, it’s like, it wasn’t just that I went home. 

It wasn’t just that I went home and said, and made the deal with myself that when I do this, this is what the reward is going to be to continue to manifest things forward and push even more forward momentum through consistent actions. It wasn’t just that like when he was talking about this when I first saw this four years ago in the store, and he’s telling me the story about the Cubs player. He’s saying, Yeah, we just sold one of these, I had the thought in my head. Would it be cool if I was like the next one that they sold one of these two? And here it is, I end up being that person who dies, this isn’t luck. I don’t believe in luck. Luck is nothing more than time matching your preparation. That’s all it is when you are prepared for something, and then an opportunity comes at that specific time, that matches your preparation because you got opportunities like this passing you by all day long. Every day, same thing that I just got the same type of opportunity. And you could probably even fulfill those types of services right now, with your competency level, there’s nothing more except the fact that you’re missing them because you’re not prepared. And it has nothing to do with being prepared functionally, operationally, it’s about being prepared up here in your mind. 

You start to think bigger, you start to do things and you start to go out that way, you’ll start to see that things are happening. Now, I said that I’m writing a new book, and I actually have it mostly done. And there’s a part about action in thought that I want to read to you today. It’s pretty incredible. It’s pretty powerful. Because it’s actually even about harnessing the power of visualization, right? And that’s exactly what I did. To make your visions a reality, you have to establish a solid connection with them. And the secret sauce to achieving that connection. It’s a simple yet powerful word, gratitude. First off, recognize that there’s a wealth of potential within you from which all of your achievements spring, second, believe that this potential can deliver everything you desire. And third, connect with this potential through a deep sense of gratitude. Those three things are how this ended up happening. How seven figures ended up materializing in the bank account in one day. I want the same for you. And this isn’t a guy that says that has inherited money and decided to start a business or anything like that. This is a guy that literally had $0 laid off in the whole foreclosure happening on his condo. 

On unemployment, that was me. Nothing like I actually drove by my condo the other day, the first condo that I ever had as an adult where my twins were born. And I’m taking a look up at that. And it’s like 900 square feet. That’s it two bedrooms and I had three kids under the age of three in that place. The only reason I got to where I am right now is because of consistent action. But action has to follow thoughts. action has to follow visualization action has to follow what you want. So put it out there. What do you want? You have to think long and hard about that. What do you actually really want? When you figure that out, start to say it literally every single day, I gave you the steps. Number one recognize that there’s a wealth of potential within you from which all your achievements sprang. Number two, believe that this potential can deliver everything you desire. And number three, connect with this potential through a deep sense of gratitude.

Go ALL IN.