What Every Young Man Needs to Hear | Dennis Morolda

Episode Topics:

• Learn how losing a parent at 16 taught me the most important leadership lessons of my life.
• Discover why “I don’t know” are the most powerful words an adult can say to a child.
• Find out how curiosity as a kid became the foundation for building a public company.
• Understand the difference between being strict and being sturdy as a parent.
• Get the two words every parent needs to say to build respect and connection with their kids.

 

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 miralda, joined today by Rick Jordan. He is the CEO of reach out 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 minutes ago. Rick, good to see you. Thanks for being on the podcast.

 

Rick Jordan  

That is what’s shaking. It’s good to be here, man.

 

Dennis Morolda  

I gotta say the haircut is great. It’s like, you got that high in tight, man. It like, it reminds me a little bit of, like, like a pre Vanilla Ice kind of thing, but it’s what my 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, you know, like the sides and everything. Because, I mean, I’m 44 right? And I’ve got the grays that start to creep out the sides, not so much on the top, unless you get really close, but I do, skin fades on the side and 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 it that way. 

 

Dennis Morolda  

I wouldn’t guess 44 I just turned 47 not too long ago. And so I when I get the haircut, too, when I get the haircut, I, like people say the same kind of thing, but it grows really quick, and the gray pops in through that.

 

Rick Jordan  

For sure they go to that’s why I keep this super short too. You know, I get it, man, 100% get that cool. Everybody’s growing up, were you listening?

 

Dennis Morolda  

Have you always been Rick? Or did you go by Ricky or Richard? Like, has it always been Rick?

 

Rick Jordan  

Dude? That’s a great question. I was always Ricky when I was growing up, yeah. And the reason was, is because my dad was Rick, you know, but both of us were Richard. The funny thing is, is because so my parents called me Ricky, yeah. 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 in the odd thing is that with my dad’s family, so so his mom, so my grandma, like his his mom, and then his siblings and all those cousins on his side would call him Ricky. And when we would be with them for holidays, I was Rick even if I was five years old, I was Rick 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, uh, 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,

 

Dennis Morolda  

yeah, it seems like a problem with that, and I could I resonate with that story, Rick, because I’m my father is Dennis. I’m Dennis. My son is Dennis. Yeah, so when I was growing up, my everyone called my father den they called me Dennis. And then once my son was born, I was gonna name him something totally different. He was gonna be like, Xavier, or something along those lines, and then something, once he was born, he just, he looked, yeah, he was like, a little mini main. I don’t know if it was an ego thing, but I want him calling him Dennis. And immediately we called him Denny. Wow. And he, he’s, now he’s going to be 19 years old in a couple weeks, and he stayed Denny. But I’m like, All right, you’re gonna have to make a decision as you get a little bit older, is that going to carry with you? And that’s all we know. Mass is Denny. But I get it with the Ricky. I mean, growing up, I would think I remember Ricky Henderson, who played for this.

 

Rick Jordan  

Exactly players. And most ball players who were, who were called Ricky, were black too. And I’m like, I’m a white boy. Ricky Martin.

 

Dennis Morolda  

Yep, right on. Those are the only Ricky’s that I know you have to be a black athlete or, like a Latin dancer that also sings, yep, for sure, you’re neither of those, right. So totally hilarious. So bring us back into when you were Ricky, like, back in that time frame. 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, or the young men, or they are the parents of a young man who are struggling, trying to figure out, what is it like to be a young man in the world today versus when we were growing up? Rick, so take this back in time. A little bit about who you, who were you when you were growing up? You know that middle school ish, maybe high school ish, time frame?

 

Rick Jordan  

Yeah, I was a very curious guy, you know, very curious. But I I’ve heard stories from my mom when I was, you know, on the merry go round or carousel when I was one years old. And old. And she loves it. This is, like, 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, 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 sized 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, the funny thing is, is like that. I have this visual of my dad always eating cookies over the sink in the kitchen. You know. 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 goes along with the story it’s about to tell about my mom, which is, like, when you were one years old, isn’t it interesting? Why people say like years? Because she says years when you were one years old. So really, I was one year old, but she says, when you were one years old, you’re 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 have this 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 want to take that blue thing off. So I did. I took the blue thing off, and I made the thing, like, totally black after I took all the all these plastic pieces off, and ironically, I still, like, even today, it’s on my it’s brand for me, I’m always in black. I’m always in a black T shirt, black jeans. I used to get made fun of that when I was in my teens, because this was in the 90s, right? So, I mean, we’re talking garage Nirvana, yeah, that era, right? You would, you would recognize that. And I wore all black then, too. 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 in all black. I’m 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 a light gray.

 

Rick Jordan  

Yep. The packing is phenomenal.

 

Dennis Morolda  

And I gotta tell you, though 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 logo.

 

Rick Jordan  

 I was thinking about getting some T shirts made, kind of like some black on black on black or something. Because I’ve been told it kind of looks like an Iron Man arc reactor as well. You know, it’s like, and some people that are working 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, a new BMW XM, you know, it’s like, you seriously, are like, Tony Stark. I’m like, but I’m six one. I’m not five, five. Like, like, Robert Downey. He’s a good actor, though.

 

Dennis Morolda  

For sure is. And listen, I mean, the coolest thing about the whole Iron Man character, he did have the ego he liked, you know, he liked being in the limelight a little bit, but ultimately he was the one that saved the entire universe. I read it was him that did it. And so I definitely see that so real quick about you as a young man, Rick, too. I appreciate you talking about the curiosity thing. I think that that is just a pillar for young men to just constantly be curious, and instead of just going along with the system and the machine, and, okay, this is the way it’s supposed to be, see things that are and ask, why not? Like, why can’t it be in a certain way? Were you also adventurous? Were you like, the kid that, you know, you mentioned 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, into, kind of getting into sixth, seventh, eighth grade. 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 it would go to a friend’s house, you know. And I remember sneaking away and riding a bike. Literally, it was like an hour bike right away. So if it was a car drive, it would have been, you know, 1530 minutes, something like that, you know, like going way far away past the the boundaries that were given to me, just in the spirit of adventure, going to find new places, you know, find 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 parents expectations of me. I’ll say that, you know, but it’s that was always me too. Was pushing boundaries with and 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. I remember paying attention. My oldest son is similar to this too, and my youngest actually both boys. Oh, boy, but 116 and 113’s so now I need to check with them, see what they’re up to these days, right? Yeah, but it’s one of them drives now, you know, but it’s all good different days, right? Find my Find My iPhone. We’ve got a different scenario. But back then,  it did exist.

 

Dennis Morolda  

A 100% and it was like you were afraid a little bit for the milk carton. Yeah, ads, you know, everybody was afraid of being on the milk carton, but now if, if there’s a kid that rides their bike an hour, the parents are getting locked up. Oh, I know exactly. Now, when the kids need that adventure, they need to be able to do, I’ll 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, all right, I like being here, but I’m not going to jump, yeah, right off the cliff. So did that serve you? Do you believe that whole idea of, like, all right, I’m going to go take this adventure. I’m going to see what the boundaries are, just to see what’s out there you and your entrepreneurial life.

 

Rick Jordan  

For sure, 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, you know, that 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 a not adopted. That’s the wrong word, but it was like Big Brother Big Sister program for my younger brother and 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. But it’s no, 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, 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 hair. It’s a when I look 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 Ricky, 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 things 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 them, you know, like, like, come up with some other plan, maybe come back tonight, parachute in, you know, drive on top of them, you know, it’s like, so the strategy and the cure, it’s 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. I’m 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, he 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 if for me, it was a natural thing, but there’s 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’s 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, cultivating that curiosity.

 

Dennis Morolda  

I love that, and it speaks to the whole idea of building trust. And what you’ve done there Rick is basically, it’s creating this mix of confidence, of curiosity and of humility, yeah, for sure, as you’re entering 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. And 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, I mean, one it was so cool for me to watch a man who’s super successful, like you had mentioned, everything that you’re doing, the 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.

 

Rick Jordan  

Yeah, for sure, man, 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. So 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 can cause it. His was absolutely genetic. There’s a difference just for there’s a difference between genetic and hereditary. Hereditary means it can be passed down from one person to like father to son, whereas genetic is just, it’s in your genes. And the way it happened is that 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? How are 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, like, how old you and I are right now, it switches on and it becomes a 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’s, 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. So, you know, I wish it was a mutation. We’re talking about Super superheroes today. I wish he had some special powers, or something like that, you know, like that. You know, like back from X Men, where he could be that kind of mutant. His special power, though, dude, 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, because I look back, and it’s like, I have, I 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, 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 to where I actually got to see what I saw, what masculinity actually is, because so many think that 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 when he contracted leukemia, he had the procedure, but the procedure just, it was like a graph versus host thing, and he also got a virus. I think it was just 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. Wow, 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. You 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, does it and 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’s going to happen to you is going to happen to you. But no matter what happens to you, it could still also be happening for you. And it developed a lot. I know Tony Robbins says something, and I kind of spun his words a little bit. He’s like, life’s not happening to you. It’s happening for you. I should have acted that out, like life’s not happening to you. It’s, you know, his gruffy voice, it’s happening for you. You know, everybody’s pretty good. Thanks, thanks. It’s a 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 is 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 like there’s a lot of BS floating around about you, you have the. Ability 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 we make throughout our life. There’s still stuff that is part of me today because of choices I made when I was Ricky, you know, in directions that I took when I went when I was that age, in my teens. At the same time, there’s just 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 into your life, you know. And you could, 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. The stuff that that does happen to you can end up being something that can happen for you, which I believe that fully and wholeheartedly with my dad and then also my uncle, is that when my dad passed after he had that surgery, my mom and my uncle and her sister in law, which was my aunt, flew out because he we live in Chicago at that time, leukemia was still at least this kind that medical stuff was not that far along for this, and the Best Place to be treated for this, 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, and in almost every major market, it’s all good. But at that time, the place to have it done was the University of Iowa, you know, who had, like, a leukemia division out there. So that’s where he had all this done. 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 dude. Just overnight. Just happened. Suddenly, she was out there. And I remember being in church, because I was playing drums when I was 16 in 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, would he 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 how he was.

 

Dennis Morolda  

He’s over the sink, you know, you 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, you know, when he was back at the house, you know, back at home after he had the transplant, absolutely no hair because they, because of the the radiation they had to give him to have the the procedure. But whatever, like I said, he didn’t have much hair to begin with anyway, so it was still pretty similar, right? You know, still himself, still joking around, you know, and just 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 was five tiny little, like hamburger patties, and each of the five of us in the family would get one, yeah, and I remember those, yeah, yeah. There might be like, a little side dish or something, but that, that was it, like, corn, canned corn might have been the side dish. Not a lot of food either, you know. But dude, we always had like gallons of milk in the fridge. So if you want to look at like protein shakes, that was the original protein shake, I would down like three full glasses of milk every meal to fill up. And that’s also because milk was 99 cents a gallon at the time too. 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 had 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? Because it’s like, in the moment, it’s like, What? What? What happens now, I didn’t have an answer for that. Had no idea, even being 16 and working full time in addition to going to high school, it’s like, 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 was 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 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 wasn’t many who I felt actually really understood me. I mean, when it, 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 that was gone. So when I bolt out, it’s like I just felt like that. That’s it. It’s like the connection to the life that I knew it was gone, and I run out jogging, didn’t know my uncle was there because I’m running down like the 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. I just melt, yeah, and all he said was, like, he called he called me Rick in that moment now that I can’t believe I never remember that until this point, Dennis, he’s like Rick, you’re the man of the house now. And I just remember asking the question, why? And his answer was, quite simply, and parents who are listening too for real, this is probably the best thing you could ever tell your kids for real. His answer was, I don’t know, because 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, well, do this be just because I told you to, you know, because I’m the curious guy. I always ask why you know? And for 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 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 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 know now with him, it’s like, okay, I’m not alone. Never knew that he saw me like that, and he’s in 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, like being kind of like lower than him, almost like I half collapsed in his arms when he just grabbed me and bear hug me. Huge, huge impact in my life because of that and after that, of course, he was always around. He supported my mom and anything that was needed, right? I could always lean on him for anything, and just 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 in how my dad was very masculine, you know, in the way that we’re talking how masculinity should be, yeah, just amazing, stable family home there. And no wonder why? Like, out of 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 out of 33 of them. So it’s, it’s incredible to think back and just the the awareness that he had in the moment, just to be present, how he needed to be. Because what do you say?

 

Dennis Morolda  

Right? It’s and he, one of the biggest things is just showing up, yeah, right, just showing up. And biggest, absolutely the 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 in me, I didn’t have the father figure that you did. I didn’t have the male role model in my life. So it’s one of the reasons why I went on the journey of trying to figure out what is a man and why? Yeah, why? Why it was so important for me to do the work that I’m doing right now. And, and I applaud you for telling the story for your father, for what he did to provide that masculine role model, and then 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, Rick, like, just your uncle just giving you a hug. Like, all right, hold 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 staying in the superhero realm, the Peter Parker, but what he did to you is 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 Ricky to Rick and as you’re looking up Rick, like, you know, trying to figure out the carousel, how it works, there’s no figuring 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, there’s so much strength in the way your uncle interacted and just what’s your uncle’s name? I just want to just give him credit right now.

 

Rick Jordan  

a r d e n, sorry, Arden, he actually passed a few years back to he had a esophageal cancer that he passed from and and his his funeral. I mean, it’s, it’s interesting, because I’ve been around this age. It’s like, I saw a lot of death when I was young, like, then my 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 kind of desensitizes you a little bit, you know, 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, I’m crying at his funeral, you know, because that was another guy, another dude in my life, another person who I always knew saw me and understood me.

 

Dennis Morolda  

And you had two guys that were there for you. There’s 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 and and volunteer and coach and mentor, take those opportunities, because it 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, 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 hot wire cars really quickly, to, you know, to do something in a negative way. 

 

Rick Jordan  

Well, look at the side of Tony Stark, right, right. Yeah, exactly. Game, 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. One 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 of how you got into the whole cybersecurity realm, like where did, because there’s, I mean, we’re spending a couple minutes to bridge many, many years of your life, but were a couple 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, or maybe it was in the in the short film you saw, you know, there was an image of Radio Shack. I worked at Radio Shack when I was 17, and was in the manager training program. And I was taught how to read business financials, yeah, 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, gave me a store, and they 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, real estate, you know, negotiating terms with the with the property on you had control over everything. It’s then I moved to the 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 shipping those out. And then that’s when I started to see some of the security things, you know, again, just naturally curious. Yeah, I was always good at Tech. Built the first computer when I was 10 from that family friend that I was telling you about. Yeah, 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 Best Buy, literally just for the discount. That’s it, because it’s a well, I had another full time job I was just going to do Friday night, Saturday mornings. I was a technician before the Geek Squad came around fixing computers, you know, up at the tech bench. But it was there just because you got, like, substantial, huge, crazy discounts working there. You get everything at Best Buy’s cost plus 5% you know, so, like, if it was 1000 Dollar TV, you might pay like, 450 bucks for it, because there’s 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 on 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 benches, one of the most profitable tech benches 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 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. So it’s I carried it into Radio Shack at one point too, because 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 they’re spending three bucks on a battery, I’d be like, you want a cell phone for a penny to go with that? That was a 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 going to 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, the sale was that simple, you know, because it was an I learned a lot there. Dude, like irresistible offers, right? The art, if you want to call it that, of consistency in 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 test stores that we have? I’m like, did you ever work at McDonald’s? And they’re like, What do you mean? I’m like, do you want fries with that? Come on. So if I’m already there and I’m already fixing something, I’ll be like, Hey, I see I can help you with this too. Can I fix it right now? It’s same thing, same exact thing that I trained all of Canada, literally all of Canada. They shipped 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 how to sell technology, business to business, from from Best Buy to other businesses. 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 reach out, which is now 14 years later. We just went public a couple months ago, you know. So, I mean, we did span a lot of time in just a couple minutes, as you said. But it’s, it’s the overnight success that was like, what, 17 years, something like that, 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, like come to Jesus moments and and things like that. But one thing that you, 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 they happen for you. Well, there’s some, some shit that happens that it’s not for you,

 

Rick Jordan  

Like Best Buy. You know, there’s no control I have over that, whatsoever.

 

Dennis Morolda  

But you responded in 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 I know you, you said you hate the word pivot, but you, you were able to shift your energy and your focus and use it as something that was really positive that I saw on this show. I don’t think I said, you know, I did, I did. I did. I pride myself on that, but I do the word pivot. That’s why 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 of my own, right. They’re 1916, and 13 years old, so they’re digital natives. They’re 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, yeah, they have this super computer 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 cyber security, 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 truths.

 

Rick Jordan  

Yep, absolutely. 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 method so that you can’t just sign in right away on a new computer, you know? So it’s like a text message, it gets sent to your phone, you know. Or it’s a code 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’s the next trend that I see in some. Cybersecurity, and they’re replacing it with pass keys. Pass keys are, quite simply, 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 on those, you know, being in this industry so long, because I’m not exactly sure how the handshake takes place. Because it eliminates that two factor 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 that. Or it might be a fingerprint, you know, or a retina scan, you know, 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. Yeah, they just put in it’s there’s 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 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. It’s like from that point on, all my kids, the reports are frozen. Man, they’re completely frozen right now. And it’s so simple because it’s just with an app for parents when you need to apply for credit, like TransUnion, Equifax, 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 have my 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. Rick, we’ve had fun. Yeah, no, this has been awesome. I appreciate I like to try to get to know the guests a little bit, joke around a little bit, but dude, 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 the 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 somebody reaches out like Rick, holy shit. This happened. This happened. This happened. What are your strategies, as far as like that 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 a sweat, yeah? So, I mean, in technology, in the black shirt works there too, right? Works there too. It does now, yeah, Geek Squad was white shirts. Man, that sucked, right? 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 that technology enabled. And when we did that and showed him, it was matter like 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 and like it’s, people come to me because stuff’s in chaos, right? And that’s not just in computers, you know, that was even in, like, leadership in 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 in that moment, you don’t need a long, time in a mode of chaos to make a decision. So as long as you’re calm, if people see you like, because they’re going to be frantic, be like, All right, I had a pastor at a church say this because I was a, I’m an ordained pastor too. And helped plant three churches. I was always a worship leader, you know, so like setting things up and of course, stuff would break, things wouldn’t happen. And churches are, like, 1000s of people too, and it’s like getting getting ready for that service, you know, to provide that experience for people. Like I said, everything’s experiential. And I moved on to a different place. And he, we were having lunch. He’s like, he’s like, you know, I was telling the new girl that’s there, like, because 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 gotta understand, they’re used to Rick. The walls could be falling down, and Rick would be like, it’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 as 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. So 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? It’s 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 meant that 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 at him from the agents, and he dodges them, and all of a sudden he’s just 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, Rick, 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 calm 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, yeah, man, one, you know, I’d love to hear so you mentioned you are the father of sons. Yep, you shared about your and a daughter too, right? So, and we learned so much about being fathers from our daughter. So 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 and even my daughter are going to learn from me, that I’m that I took from my upbringing, that they need to know this about being a man or a woman growing up.

 

Rick Jordan  

Yeah, 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 the a glimpse of really what life is with my kids. And it’s, it’s more because we talk about everything. And there’s a couple points to being that father that I’ll give everybody the 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, 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 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 then 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, 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 does that mean 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 grounds provide safety, provides 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. 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 ball games, 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, 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, they could be three months old, you know, it’s like, but they’re still with me, and I still do that to this day. It’s like, even they’re two. Two of them are 16. They drive. I just call them. It’s like, Hey, I got to do this. You want to come with? You know? 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 and stable and safe family environment looks like.

 

Dennis Morolda  

Love all that. And I, while you’re saying strict, it’s like, I think of the word sturdy. You got it like, you are sturdy. You are steadfast. Like, there’s a big difference there too. Yeah, great parenting advice.

 

Rick Jordan  

At the end of that, too. 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 in three days, four days, dude, it’s perfectly okay to be like, You know what? I appreciate the respect and the turnaround that you 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, 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 and thank you. Is when you say I’m sorry, it’s like you’re recognizing I’m also human. And there’s moments to where I’m going to mess up with you, and when I realize that it’s like, I apologize, can I ask your forgiveness? And then when they do things for you, because they’re 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 too.

 

Dennis Morolda  

Love that dude from from Salisbury steak to Tony Stark in one episode of the building podcast. Absolutely, I 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 Tiktok at Mr. Rick Jordan, I’m mostly active on Instagram. More active. I’m on Tiktok too, of course, pretty heavily, but yeah, come DM me. You know, do whatever. You know, parents shoot me some questions if you got 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 were just watering it to create a legacy for your own kids, moving forward for the building, men. Audience, if this episode resonated with you, please like it. Review it, rate it, and then, more than anything, share it out with anyone that you think might get some sort of value. Rick Jordan, this has been an awesome hour. Thank you so much. 100% to the building and audience, go one step further than you thought you could go. We’ll see you next time on building men you.