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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: Starting a new business is an exciting journey, but it also comes with its fair share of risks.
[00:05] SPEAKER_00: Business insurance safeguards your hard work by protecting your assets.
[00:09] SPEAKER_00: Without it, a substantial liability claim could put your personal finances at risk.
[00:15] SPEAKER_00: Lability insurance also gives you a competitive edge in the market.
[00:19] SPEAKER_00: Visit Zensurance-Ford-slash-Safe35 to get a free quote for the low cost insurance protection
[00:26] SPEAKER_00: you need so you can focus on your growing business.
[00:31] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Canada's podcast.
[00:37] SPEAKER_01: Hi, this is Cynthia Lockery from Canada's podcast where we talk to entrepreneurs
[00:42] SPEAKER_01: right here in BC who are making it happen. My guest today is John Kirk.
[00:49] SPEAKER_01: John has developed several products that have gone from concept to millions and sales,
[00:54] SPEAKER_01: all based out of its home office and Surrey. This is where he conceives the products,
[01:01] SPEAKER_01: brings them to consumer shows, proves the saleability, develops a pitch, and from there brings it to
[01:09] SPEAKER_01: mass distribution via direct response television. John looking forward to talking to you today.
[01:17] SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the show. Why don't we start by you telling us a bit about yourself and your current
[01:22] SPEAKER_02: business? Sure, I'm a passionate entrepreneur and I'd love developing products that make like
[01:29] SPEAKER_02: a little bit easier for consumers out there. Further to that, in the world of business
[01:35] SPEAKER_02: with a gig economy entrepreneurship, I really like empowering distributors to achieve their dreams
[01:42] SPEAKER_02: and to achieve their lifestyle by design. We do that here with teaching them to be distributors of
[01:50] SPEAKER_01: great products. So what inspired you to become an entrepreneur in the first place? I know you have
[01:58] SPEAKER_02: a little bit of a family history there. Growing up in Langley, my sister and I with my mother,
[02:06] SPEAKER_02: she was a single mom. She'd come off in Finland and she worked six days a week. She worked really
[02:11] SPEAKER_02: hard to provide a fantastic life for us, but it was tough. We didn't have a lot of family time
[02:17] SPEAKER_02: together and I was determined at a young age to go ahead and to build a life of my design.
[02:26] SPEAKER_01: So what job experience that you had really set you up to be an entrepreneur?
[02:35] SPEAKER_02: That's a great question Cynthia. As a young man, I was always looking for something that would
[02:42] SPEAKER_02: resonate with me and I wasn't 100% sure what it was. At 15, I think I was a heavy-duty mechanic
[02:49] SPEAKER_02: apprentice and I was doing that and I thought I would just save and invest and save and invest and
[02:55] SPEAKER_02: build a fortune that way. But I had a good friend in mind who we were talking about sales quite
[03:01] SPEAKER_02: often because my dad was a pitch man, a sales guy and he told me about his cousin who was a sales guy
[03:07] SPEAKER_02: and he made a $100,000 a month in Drogo Land Brigini Diablo and I said nobody makes $100,000 per month
[03:15] SPEAKER_02: and his mother verified he said no it's true and we'll bring you over and we'll have dinner with Blake
[03:19] SPEAKER_02: with his name. So we went to go meet Blake and Blake, he kicked out of school at the age of 19 or 18.
[03:28] SPEAKER_02: He started mowing lawns and he got involved in a business and yeah by the time he was 19 he was
[03:36] SPEAKER_02: he basically took me underneath his wing and introduced me to some of the great leaders at that
[03:42] SPEAKER_02: time and there was my first real taste of entrepreneurial ship and I dove in both feet and at that time
[03:52] SPEAKER_02: I think I was about 16 years old right and I was just I was it was mind-boggling the world that he
[04:00] SPEAKER_02: introduced me to Jim Rowan and Larry Thompson and Zig Ziglar and I just took a full immersion in
[04:06] SPEAKER_02: that and that really encouraged me and I'll say that even before I met Blake I read Napoleon Hill's
[04:13] SPEAKER_02: Thinking Growwich and that really had me looking and happy inspired and then meeting this gentleman
[04:19] SPEAKER_02: Blake Morgan who took me under his wing you know he was extraordinarily successful he had amazing
[04:26] SPEAKER_02: mentors himself and and that really was what got me on my entrepreneurial track.
[04:32] SPEAKER_01: Wow that's a great story. What are you most proud of in terms of the work that you do?
[04:40] SPEAKER_02: Yeah well I you know I think that I went away and I worked in the stock market for about 18 years and
[04:46] SPEAKER_02: I was in front of the computer all day long and you know just moving money around and there was
[04:51] SPEAKER_02: nothing great about that and it kind of reminded me of that that pretty woman movie where Richard
[04:55] SPEAKER_02: Geir is he would he would buy these distress companies and tear them up and just sell them off and
[05:01] SPEAKER_02: people would lose their jobs and neither just doing it for the money part of it. So when
[05:06] SPEAKER_02: there came a point in 2008 where the stock market ceased to exist you know due to the subprime
[05:12] SPEAKER_02: crisis it had a major correction and everyone working in the stock market you know we're looking
[05:18] SPEAKER_02: elsewhere so I literally found myself selling the miracle shami at the Abbottford flea market
[05:24] SPEAKER_02: and I was making 1200 bucks a day you know working a half day on a Sunday so you know I was making
[05:30] SPEAKER_02: nearly five thousand dollars a month just working one half day per week but at that time I realized
[05:35] SPEAKER_02: that I like people right I like interacting with people and I like introducing the products that
[05:43] SPEAKER_02: are going to make life just a little bit better and they're excited to buy it and they're excited
[05:47] SPEAKER_02: for the deal and they're excited to get home and try it and I know the products that that I sell are
[05:53] SPEAKER_02: fantastic because I use them myself and I know that if you've got a knife that's never ever going to go
[05:57] SPEAKER_02: Dell right it's going to make like a little bit better if you've got the miracle shami and you're
[06:03] SPEAKER_02: not using those manmade shammies are going to the car wash all the time you're going to save money
[06:08] SPEAKER_02: you're going to take pride in your fantastic car your neighbors are going to stop talking about you
[06:13] SPEAKER_02: and it's going to be fantastic so making life a little bit better with these products
[06:18] SPEAKER_02: every one of these products that's what gives me a sense of pride with what it is that I do
[06:25] SPEAKER_01: and going off of that is there one piece of information about your industry that you think
[06:32] SPEAKER_02: would be of interest to listeners well absolutely absolutely you know I think that our industry has
[06:39] SPEAKER_02: been called the second oldest industry in the world and you know from from the from the the
[06:47] SPEAKER_02: the pitchman that used to come into the towns and they would set up their banner and they would
[06:52] SPEAKER_02: you know start pitching you know right out of the back of their their wagons they would you know
[06:58] SPEAKER_02: there was a magic to that in today's version of that is you would go to your country fair and you
[07:04] SPEAKER_02: would see the guy up on the box with a microphone and he'd be slicing and dicing and you know
[07:09] SPEAKER_02: people would say jeez honey I don't want to go talk to that guy it's going to make us buy something
[07:14] SPEAKER_02: and he'd say no sweet to be dodgy see this guy he's awesome and sure enough you would garner a
[07:19] SPEAKER_02: massive crowd of people having them all nod their heads on cue laughing at his corny jokes on cue
[07:25] SPEAKER_02: and lining up to buy his slice your dice or widget on cue and walking away with a fancy bag and
[07:30] SPEAKER_02: a smile on their face on cue so you could do it again and again and again so I think that
[07:37] SPEAKER_02: that's where the magic is and I think that people have seen that and they know it and you can certainly
[07:43] SPEAKER_02: say that people know us from television right where you have the wrong appeals the Billy Maze's
[07:50] SPEAKER_02: the Vince the Shamwale guy who's a friend of mine who's awesome but I think that if anybody is
[07:57] SPEAKER_02: looking at this particular industry it's an industry that you know about right you you've seen it
[08:02] SPEAKER_02: and you know about it but the mechanics behind it you don't know because you don't go to university
[08:07] SPEAKER_02: and they don't teach us there right so it's a bit of a of an exclusive club if you will I like to
[08:13] SPEAKER_02: call it a family because when I'm on the road at the Calgary Stampede or the P&E or at the
[08:18] SPEAKER_02: you know Pomona Fair in Los Angeles County it's like a big family you know everybody there right
[08:23] SPEAKER_02: but if you are a person who likes people and you like to entertain right let's face it that's
[08:32] SPEAKER_02: what we do Cynthia is we do our dog and pony show and people put money in our hat and they walk
[08:37] SPEAKER_02: away with the smile the opposite thing is that they walk away with the smile and they aren't going to be
[08:42] SPEAKER_02: improving their lives in their kitchens in their homes with their past whatever it is right so for us
[08:51] SPEAKER_02: indeed if somebody wants to learn this industry I would strongly recommend it if you're that
[08:57] SPEAKER_02: people person if you're that entertainer and if you like to make life a little bit better for folks
[09:02] SPEAKER_02: this is something I've strongly encouraged somebody to look into and if anybody wants to know about it
[09:08] SPEAKER_02: you can contact me my website is johnkirk.com easy peasy yeah that's I love that it's about that
[09:14] SPEAKER_01: entertainment with the sales so it's not just selling it's also entertaining I'm thinking of
[09:21] SPEAKER_01: country fairs that I've been to and yes you're right I always walk away with something
[09:26] SPEAKER_02: and that's what sam waltz said in his book right he said that that is the future is retail
[09:32] SPEAKER_02: payment he's sort of coined the phrase retail payment but sure if somebody's coming into the store
[09:37] SPEAKER_02: they just don't want to see brown boxes on boring shelves right they want to have a magical
[09:43] SPEAKER_02: Disneyland experience and that fantastic store and if there is somebody that does have something
[09:50] SPEAKER_02: that's going to make life better in the kitchen that demonstration it's entertainment we all are
[09:54] SPEAKER_02: familiar with it we all know and love it not all of us love it right but most of us do but certainly
[10:01] SPEAKER_01: it fits into that category of retail payment absolutely so what advice would you give to somebody who's
[10:08] SPEAKER_01: who's starting out as an entrepreneur or thinking about leaving their comfortable job to take this
[10:16] SPEAKER_02: different journey as an entrepreneur yeah like all my friends say to me a karaoke don't quit your day
[10:24] SPEAKER_02: because you don't need to right so if you have a side gig because the gig economy right now
[10:30] SPEAKER_02: more than half of the households in North America are somehow involved in the gig economy
[10:34] SPEAKER_02: or the side hustle economy so if you've got your nine to five and you're coming home
[10:40] SPEAKER_02: forget about watching four hours of Netflix make it two hours and spend two hours on your side
[10:45] SPEAKER_02: gig and build that up whatever it is that you're passionate about now when when when you're thinking
[10:51] SPEAKER_02: about a side gig because that mean you just are going to go to skip the dishes and get a job right
[10:56] SPEAKER_02: or you're going to renovate that spare bedroom in your home to do an Airbnb you can get a little
[11:02] SPEAKER_02: bit more creative than that if you get yourself a journal I always suggest that everyone has a journal
[11:08] SPEAKER_02: and you can brainstorm your ideas on paper right whatever it is that you're passionate about if
[11:14] SPEAKER_02: you can put it down on paper have your goal have your milestones you know that's going to achieve that
[11:19] SPEAKER_02: goal break it right down to your daily method of operation and now you don't need to quit your job
[11:24] SPEAKER_02: go ahead and implement that on the side right bring in your product do your product branding right
[11:31] SPEAKER_02: or identify the service you want to provide do your branding for your company write your business
[11:36] SPEAKER_02: model and I have an easy way to show you how to do that on my website johnpork.com and at that point
[11:44] SPEAKER_02: you can now dedicate like I say a couple of hours per evening okay perhaps on the weekend you can
[11:51] SPEAKER_02: dedicate a little bit of time but you know you don't want that to interfere with your your family
[11:56] SPEAKER_02: life or your fitness or your faith but you definitely want to get serious about that so there's
[12:02] SPEAKER_01: my recommendation great advice a little bit less Netflix a little bit more time strategizing
[12:08] SPEAKER_01: event so we're both located in DC so let's talk about what are some of the benefits of being an
[12:16] SPEAKER_02: entrepreneur who's based in BC you know I when I was younger I I was you know I think I was 19 or
[12:25] SPEAKER_02: 20 and I went out to Honolulu Hawaii and I was selling these magic pants I was making a thousand
[12:30] SPEAKER_02: bucks US per day and I loved surfing I love the beach I love the weather I talked to myself
[12:36] SPEAKER_02: why in the heck that my parents settle in Vancouver of all places right but I traveled all
[12:43] SPEAKER_02: around the world I've lived in a number of different places and I always come back to BC because it's
[12:48] SPEAKER_02: beautiful okay so in respect to the beauty right we get fantastic summers we get real winters but the
[12:55] SPEAKER_02: snow stays up on the hills it's not on our driveway to be shoveled like it is in the east but when
[13:00] SPEAKER_02: it comes to Vancouver as a business center right or British Columbia as a business center I've got
[13:08] SPEAKER_02: to tell you I think it is fantastic so we are the melting pot of North America there's a number
[13:15] SPEAKER_02: of other melting pots I'm sure but BC without a doubt is a melting pot my mother came from Finland my
[13:21] SPEAKER_02: father was born in the UK and in there's so many different cultures here and I love it because
[13:29] SPEAKER_02: the demographic that I'm looking for are at the consumer shows as I mentioned to you right so you're
[13:35] SPEAKER_02: at the the P&E here in Vancouver the Calgary Sapheed and Calgary the C&E on the east but when people
[13:41] SPEAKER_02: are coming there especially to the home shows right the garden shows the home improvement shows
[13:46] SPEAKER_02: they're paying for parking they're paying to get in they might not buy that $200,000 swimming pool
[13:52] SPEAKER_02: addition to their backyard but they ain't gonna leave him the handed they're gonna get something
[13:56] SPEAKER_02: right so so here we get to see all sorts of different cultures and you know I have a brand called
[14:03] SPEAKER_02: the Miracle Chef right at MiracleChef.com but we have all sorts of kitchen accessories like the
[14:12] SPEAKER_02: greater plate like the Miracle Whisk and I have the the Indian folks I've got the Asian folks I've got
[14:19] SPEAKER_02: the European and they're gonna have all different seeding products fantastic for their tabooly or
[14:27] SPEAKER_02: their masala or their you know their wanton their dim sum whatever it is right so I wouldn't have
[14:35] SPEAKER_02: that benefit if I didn't live in BC and the third part about BC that I want to mention is
[14:42] SPEAKER_02: stuff is expensive here right so if you're importing something from America so if I'm selling I
[14:49] SPEAKER_02: just live about 45 minutes from the border okay so if I'm selling something out there right I'm
[14:55] SPEAKER_02: gonna get it for 30% cheaper plus I don't got a pay for the import and export duties coming
[15:01] SPEAKER_02: into Canada right plus I get to sell it for 30% more in US dollars so if we're selling it in Canada
[15:08] SPEAKER_02: if you can do it here then you can do it anywhere and it's the perfect stepping stone
[15:14] SPEAKER_02: because once you develop your market here in Canada or I should say in Vancouver, British Columbia
[15:20] SPEAKER_02: right then you can expand into the largest market on the planet the United States of America
[15:27] SPEAKER_02: right it's a very easy transition if you want to expand by distributors franchise
[15:32] SPEAKER_02: um yeah perhaps affiliate salespeople whatever it is it's very easy to expand but if you can
[15:39] SPEAKER_02: prove it and see success in this market then the world is your oyster and I should also say
[15:45] SPEAKER_02: not just America but also China right I think that we are the closest shipping port to China
[15:51] SPEAKER_00: which is the number two in Canada planet running a new business can be stressful the last thing
[15:58] SPEAKER_00: you need is to worry about unexpected accidents or lawsuits don't overlook the importance of
[16:04] SPEAKER_00: liability insurance it's a critical investment in the success of your business protect yourself
[16:10] SPEAKER_00: your assets and your reputation by securing the liability coverage you need take the first step
[16:17] SPEAKER_00: and safeguarding your business today go to zensurance.com forward slash save 35 for a free
[16:25] SPEAKER_00: business insurance quote get the low cost insurance protection you need from Canada's small
[16:31] SPEAKER_01: business insurance experts now what do you see is the challenges about being located in BC
[16:40] SPEAKER_02: there's another good question um the challenges are that the largest market is 45 minutes across
[16:46] SPEAKER_02: the border right but it's like pulling teeth in order to get your products over there so when I
[16:53] SPEAKER_02: first started with all my different products I could literally have my my factory send over a
[16:58] SPEAKER_02: container to amazon and the warehouse and they distribute it now they say you can't have a
[17:05] SPEAKER_02: container come here anymore you have to ship pallets so shipping a pallet anywhere in the
[17:10] SPEAKER_02: United States is easy and if your product isn't selling then amazon has sent it back for free
[17:15] SPEAKER_02: right without any shipping charges or anything so that's easy peasy but if you're in Canada
[17:21] SPEAKER_02: it's an entirely different conversation you got to ship the container from wherever you're
[17:26] SPEAKER_02: making it to here you have to warehouse the stuff you got to palatize it you got to send it over
[17:32] SPEAKER_02: to the amazon warehouse and they don't have just one warehouse you send it to they give you five
[17:38] SPEAKER_02: different particular warehouses so that you will reach their target audiences across the nation
[17:46] SPEAKER_02: so now it's not just a pallet you're literally sending boxes and you know not just a box
[17:53] SPEAKER_02: you're not talking about Canada Post you're talking about boxes so you typically want to ship
[17:59] SPEAKER_02: them by a career so it gets extraordinarily expensive and if it isn't selling there for whatever reason
[18:05] SPEAKER_02: then they will at will charge you a lot of money to keep your products there right it's
[18:11] SPEAKER_02: it's ignored exorbitantly expensive you got to say forget it send it back right but if you're
[18:17] SPEAKER_02: Canadian they don't pay for the shipping you got to pay for the shipping and they don't send it
[18:22] SPEAKER_02: to Canada they'll only send it to the United States you got to send it from amazon to somewhere
[18:26] SPEAKER_02: in the United States and then from somewhere in the United States back to Canada back to your
[18:30] SPEAKER_02: warehouse right so the economics don't work I was literally DHLing like querying
[18:37] SPEAKER_02: products directly from China for one of my products to amazon and it have almost all my profits
[18:45] SPEAKER_02: I was trying to keep my customers happy but finally I just said listen this product is
[18:49] SPEAKER_02: available anymore and I stopped doing that because it was a headache so I'd say that amazon is
[18:56] SPEAKER_02: probably the biggest challenge the next biggest challenge is if you're fulfilling here from Canada
[19:03] SPEAKER_02: then like I have a couple of exclusive products some brands that I built right and people want my
[19:09] SPEAKER_02: products so I'll use the magic pins for example right there these fellow marker pins they
[19:14] SPEAKER_02: magically change color they erase colored they do 3D design secret messages and much much more
[19:20] SPEAKER_02: but this product it's 20 bucks right so if somebody wants to buy it they got to pay 20 bucks plus
[19:28] SPEAKER_02: they got to pay for shipping shipping to go to the states from Canada pack a lunch it's going to be
[19:33] SPEAKER_02: like 11 bucks to your paying more than 50% just for the shipping if again I was 45 minutes
[19:41] SPEAKER_02: from my home in bling Washington I can ship that same thing out for a couple of bucks so to compete
[19:48] SPEAKER_02: with Americans it's very difficult so you literally have to set up your 3PL shipping there
[19:54] SPEAKER_02: or get a warehouse there have employees there otherwise it is it is a very difficult journey
[20:03] SPEAKER_01: now staying on the BC with with work life balance it's something we talk a lot about
[20:10] SPEAKER_01: what do you do for work life balance and activities that you enjoy in a in a province that's
[20:18] SPEAKER_02: filled with activities yeah I have the brand get great right so life is short get great in the
[20:25] SPEAKER_02: areas of life you're most passionate about and I really touch on the four areas I touch on fitness
[20:31] SPEAKER_02: faith family and finance right and finance is business and everything rolled into one there
[20:37] SPEAKER_02: but so for me I literally get up in the morning and I go straight to the gym right and I work out
[20:44] SPEAKER_02: so I'm literally at the desk at 10 a.m. and my work colleagues are here and it's nose to the
[20:49] SPEAKER_02: grindstone and pedal to the metal right so but also faith right you got to have your faith because
[20:57] SPEAKER_02: if you're stressed out because there's so much work and you're anxious because you're going to lose
[21:01] SPEAKER_02: this contract there's someone's going to copy you or whatever it's just too much so it's really
[21:07] SPEAKER_02: good for you to have a faith whatever faith that is you like I'm a Christian right but I think that
[21:12] SPEAKER_02: you have all this stress you put it on God that it's just it's off your shoulder you'll take it
[21:17] SPEAKER_02: off your shoulder you ask me to and then family right you know you can have business colleagues you
[21:22] SPEAKER_02: run it with you can have great friends you're running with their people that you know follow you
[21:26] SPEAKER_02: but when you're sick and then you're on your deathbed who's going to be there your family right so
[21:31] SPEAKER_02: they should be your most important so I like to I like to I don't always right but I like to have
[21:39] SPEAKER_02: family time in the evenings right and it could be watching that flip right or whatever it is
[21:46] SPEAKER_02: my wife and I go for bike rides a lot right um you know follow these they just happen my girls
[21:51] SPEAKER_02: took me up to the chief here in Squamish which was an incredible hike right my son took you know
[21:56] SPEAKER_02: for a fantastic dinner in a movie just before he had the travel for Father's Day but but family's
[22:03] SPEAKER_02: important then finally uh the finance part right the finance part is setting your goals setting your
[22:09] SPEAKER_02: budgets and being disciplined enough to stick to these things so that they do combat fruition
[22:14] SPEAKER_02: and um yeah so when it comes to you know putting together your life like I say the fitness has
[22:22] SPEAKER_02: got to be number one on the list because if you're dead or sick you're not helping anybody you're
[22:26] SPEAKER_02: certain I helping yourself so um like I said the girls took me to girls right I was sorry to
[22:32] SPEAKER_02: the chief this uh in Squamish but I'm either biking or hiking at least twice a week
[22:42] SPEAKER_02: ideally I like to do it three times a week but I'm working out every morning at the gym because we've
[22:47] SPEAKER_02: got fantastic public pools here that have a grape gyms and and for me to hike I can literally go
[22:53] SPEAKER_02: to the Coquitlam crunch which is very clean very quick gorgeous views I can be there
[23:00] SPEAKER_02: less than 15 minutes I can go to the deep co-pike Cory Rock in deep co-piming Cooper I can be there
[23:05] SPEAKER_02: in 30 minutes right but again I do these ones as my my stepping stones to get up to the gross
[23:12] SPEAKER_02: grind which I do every birthday and this birthday is going to be birthday number 51 so um you know
[23:17] SPEAKER_02: I just did the chief here just two days ago I can't walk right now my quads are done right
[23:24] SPEAKER_02: but you know you have that ambition and okay this is dad's day what do you want to do right I get
[23:29] SPEAKER_02: two days a year father's day I'm birthday um and I want I want to go and do some fantastic with
[23:34] SPEAKER_02: with my family but we literally did this gigantic hike and we're up on the mountain we got the
[23:39] SPEAKER_02: pocket rocket and we're cooking chicken breasts and uh you know just that I had a fantastic lunch
[23:45] SPEAKER_02: with the gorgeous view and we couldn't do that anywhere else I've lived a lot of different places
[23:50] SPEAKER_02: but we don't get that like we get here in BC and you know the other thing that we do I say we go
[23:58] SPEAKER_02: in Surrey on this end of Surrey called Celstery is the Pacific Ocean we got White Rock and we've got
[24:05] SPEAKER_02: present beach we like to go to present beach White Rock is a little too busy for us older folks
[24:11] SPEAKER_02: but present beach gorgeous and on this side we have the Fraser River I live right here on the Fraser
[24:16] SPEAKER_02: River right but um as we go down the river a little bit there's what's called Fort Langley so my wife
[24:23] SPEAKER_02: and I we basically put the bikes up on top of the Tesla and we basically dried out there and we'll
[24:28] SPEAKER_02: we'll do the Fort to Fort Trail on the river and it's just gorgeous right so yeah we got the water
[24:36] SPEAKER_02: sports we've got the mountains and um yeah like you know we we get a lot of rain here people know
[24:42] SPEAKER_02: that right but if you can't do it in the rain you might never ever get to do a Vancouver so we train
[24:46] SPEAKER_02: ourselves to try to do things in the rain so I used to live in South Surrey in Crescent Beach is my
[24:52] SPEAKER_01: favorite place to go yeah yeah gorgeous it's amazing so let's talk about success
[25:00] SPEAKER_01: how do you define success but more importantly how do you celebrate it sure fantastic I talk about
[25:07] SPEAKER_02: that all the time in my videos but I think that I think that the success is is endeavoring to
[25:18] SPEAKER_02: reach a place and then indeed reaching it that's success right in any of those four F's I was talking
[25:26] SPEAKER_02: about or anything else that's that's that you're passionate about but I think that celebrating is
[25:31] SPEAKER_02: very very important right so you know I'll talk about you know the family the family area so you
[25:42] SPEAKER_02: know it was my it was my 50th birthday last year right and all my family came out to Harrison
[25:48] SPEAKER_02: Hot Springs and you know they threw a big party for me and you know saying songs and meet posters
[25:54] SPEAKER_02: and all sorts of really cool stuff and and it was just it was fantastic it happened there right
[26:00] SPEAKER_02: but you know so Johnny reached a milestone of 50 right so they celebrated that but I believe that
[26:07] SPEAKER_02: in every important area of your life you should celebrate it if you're if you're endeavoring to lose
[26:11] SPEAKER_02: 50 pounds and you set your goals and you set your milestones and you get out there and you get
[26:19] SPEAKER_02: into the gym you should celebrate that get out there and buy yourself a new set of kicks right and
[26:25] SPEAKER_02: get in the gym right if you went ahead and you you lost 10 pounds well get out there and get
[26:32] SPEAKER_02: yourself that new tracksuit that you're going to feel good in and look great in right and when
[26:37] SPEAKER_02: you do indeed lose that 50 pounds celebrate that go on a vacation somewhere special and reward
[26:44] SPEAKER_02: yourself because what you're doing when you accomplish these goals right is you're you're
[26:51] SPEAKER_02: celebrating the fact that you kept promises to yourself you stayed consistent enough to reach those
[26:56] SPEAKER_02: goals so when you celebrate that you're programming yourself to get out there and to set more goals
[27:03] SPEAKER_02: and to celebrate more okay and and not just with yourself but with your spouse with your kids
[27:10] SPEAKER_02: whatever it is that's so important right like my wife and I when we go and we do you know these
[27:15] SPEAKER_02: crazy bike rides I will go and have an adult beverage right enjoy right because we earned it right
[27:22] SPEAKER_02: yeah so and again when your kids are doing well in school you know I always used to reward them
[27:27] SPEAKER_02: for getting A's and this sort of thing and yeah so I do believe that rewarding yourself whatever it
[27:34] SPEAKER_02: is it's special to you right you want to reward yourself when you call your soul schools and on the
[27:41] SPEAKER_01: flip side of that as entrepreneur sometimes fear and doubt slips in how do you deal with that
[27:48] SPEAKER_02: sure and it's that's such a good question so yeah you're you know you're you're doubting yourself
[27:55] SPEAKER_02: you're afraid you're gonna let everybody down here you are talking to all sorts of people and you
[28:00] SPEAKER_02: have imposter syndrome I'm not supposed to be here right like should I be doing this right there's
[28:05] SPEAKER_02: someone going to call me out what I found Cynthia that really works for me is two things number one
[28:14] SPEAKER_02: is you have a mentor right and in that that mentor doesn't have to be somebody that basically you
[28:22] SPEAKER_02: go and have lunch with every Wednesday right you can have a mentor that you put in your ears right
[28:27] SPEAKER_02: like Warren Buffett I read all of his books right and he was my mentor in the stock market right
[28:34] SPEAKER_02: whether you knew it but he certainly didn't know it but I I read his books I listened to his audio
[28:39] SPEAKER_02: books and and I knew him inside out and and it was you know a lot of these people on their podcasts
[28:48] SPEAKER_02: in their books their autobiographies you get to hear about the struggles that they went through
[28:54] SPEAKER_02: and you're going through those same struggles on the way to to be that person you can associate
[29:02] SPEAKER_02: and the second thing is you need to inspire yourself I don't care who you are you need to be
[29:07] SPEAKER_02: motivated you need to be inspired and these days it's just so easy when I'm going to the gym at
[29:15] SPEAKER_02: 745 in the morning right I have downloaded podcasts I use Libby I know do you know what Libby is
[29:22] SPEAKER_02: no it's an app for your phone you got to have this L.I.B.B.Y right but it links up to your
[29:28] SPEAKER_02: your your library card so you can download any book that's out there right so you can download
[29:34] SPEAKER_02: it as a reading book and you can read it on your tablet or on your phone or you can use it
[29:41] SPEAKER_02: you can download the audio books so I'm downloading you know it was Atlas Shrub if you ever listen
[29:47] SPEAKER_02: to Atlas Shrub before I read that book no oh come on I know I'm learning stuff today yeah yeah
[29:53] SPEAKER_02: yeah but anyways there's so many different books but you can download these books on Libby audio
[29:58] SPEAKER_02: books or reading books but I download the audio books I download podcasts I have an IT guy that
[30:06] SPEAKER_02: works for me full time so if I see myself a fantastic video on YouTube or training session on YouTube
[30:12] SPEAKER_02: I get them to convert that and I store it as a video on my phone and I watch these things over
[30:18] SPEAKER_02: and over and over so when I'm when I'm going to the gym I'm inspired right when I'm at the gym I
[30:24] SPEAKER_02: pop my podcast my my my airpods in and now I'm really getting inspired and and I got ideas going
[30:32] SPEAKER_02: through my head and what I found is when you when you have an idea coming in your mind right from
[30:37] SPEAKER_02: something that you learned put it on pause literally stop where you are go to your notes go to
[30:42] SPEAKER_02: ever know or whatever note app you have on your phone and write down your idea right so I would
[30:49] SPEAKER_02: do I would literally listen to something on the way to the gym listen to something at the gym I
[30:53] SPEAKER_02: be inspired I'd be writing stuff down right and then I'm away home and if you go to my TikTok
[31:00] SPEAKER_02: channel or my YouTube channel you'll see I kind of put this phone up in my Tesla and I literally
[31:06] SPEAKER_02: talk to people from me to the phone and it's it's it's hilarious because it's pretty good content
[31:13] SPEAKER_02: right but I've had a lot of training like I said ever since I was a very young man with my
[31:18] SPEAKER_02: mentor Blake I had other mentors and I was able to you know sort of I had a point where I was
[31:28] SPEAKER_02: I was I was in a bad condition right my my body was bad I wasn't working out I had too much
[31:34] SPEAKER_02: business going on I had the Calgary Stampede and I I went to rent a vehicle because we're low on
[31:40] SPEAKER_02: inventory so I had to bring a bunch of stock out there but I had rent a car because there's no
[31:43] SPEAKER_02: bands available so I'm driving there like this with my seat hunched forward right and when I got
[31:49] SPEAKER_02: out I'm literally like hauling boxes and putting them on the trolley this for that and I messed up
[31:55] SPEAKER_02: my back and on my way home I I stopped up at a restaurant to use the restroom and I fell out of my
[32:02] SPEAKER_02: car and I was on the ground having a backspads and for literally three minutes and people are walking
[32:07] SPEAKER_02: by me thinking I thought she's got to be drunk or something I wasn't honest but it was it wasn't
[32:13] SPEAKER_02: a bad time right so when I got home I determined that I was going to go back to the best version of me
[32:20] SPEAKER_02: right and that's when I was you know 16 years old listening to Metallica and hammering the weights
[32:27] SPEAKER_02: in the gym right and and I determined to be that guy again so I literally just got myself in
[32:33] SPEAKER_02: that same environment and and now I it's my job if I have a job my job is to go to the gym every
[32:41] SPEAKER_02: single day without Sundays and this I don't believe but yeah so the best version of me so
[32:49] SPEAKER_02: I definitely you want to make sure that you're inspired and and I do to anybody out there who's
[32:56] SPEAKER_02: struggling with any of the four apps I talked about earlier think about the best version of you
[33:03] SPEAKER_02: right think about what you were doing back then right and go back and replicate exactly what you
[33:11] SPEAKER_02: were doing right get back in the gym put Metallica into your ears again right you're not using the
[33:16] SPEAKER_02: Sony walk in this time you're using your iPod but but but remember who you were back then and go
[33:24] SPEAKER_02: ahead and implement those things like I said I was 18 years old I was in Milan Italy I was living
[33:30] SPEAKER_02: there by myself and I was you know mentored by Larry Thompson by Jim Rowan by Mark Hughes
[33:36] SPEAKER_02: every single day and and I it put me on a track to entrepreneurialism that I never got off of right
[33:45] SPEAKER_02: I had some bumps in the road like I told you earlier right but you always remember where you came
[33:51] SPEAKER_02: from and you'll always get right back in line with the path you need to be on and that's a great
[33:57] SPEAKER_01: transition to my last question which is is there any advice that you've been given in your career
[34:03] SPEAKER_01: that's really stuck with you that you think would be of value to our listeners oh for sure
[34:10] SPEAKER_02: I have a set and it is indeed be consistent okay so you're going to have your updates where you're
[34:19] SPEAKER_02: on top of the world you're going to have your down days when you're when you're not on top of the
[34:23] SPEAKER_02: world I had a situation where you know I had these fantastic companies and they and they were
[34:33] SPEAKER_02: shorted we had a big SEC investigation my wife had cancer for the third time and my house
[34:40] SPEAKER_02: literally burnt down to the ground I wasn't covered by insurance the insurance company wouldn't
[34:44] SPEAKER_02: cover me and it was it was a real downtime in my life right but I just you know went back and my
[34:52] SPEAKER_02: faith helped me out a lot obviously right and just refocused on the things I needed to do and we
[34:59] SPEAKER_02: rebuilt our home right without the help from the insurance company and and everything is good so
[35:05] SPEAKER_02: you're going to have your updates you're going to have your down days but no matter what stay
[35:10] SPEAKER_02: consistent and realize that you eventually will get to where it is that you're going if you keep
[35:17] SPEAKER_02: chipping away every single day and and be consistent with the cheery disposition right because it's
[35:24] SPEAKER_02: really easy to be angry about this and mad at that person and blame this person and and all that
[35:31] SPEAKER_02: sort of stuff you don't need to be that person you can literally those the first thing my dad told
[35:37] SPEAKER_02: me when it came to sales and I was you know selling a product to a person across the table he says
[35:44] SPEAKER_02: if you're not excited how in heck do you expect them to get excited right so you've got you've
[35:49] SPEAKER_02: got to have a great attitude because people are attracted to a great attitude right and so so keep
[35:56] SPEAKER_02: your attitude in check remember where you're came from and be consistent every single day you're
[36:01] SPEAKER_02: going to get down you're going to have challenges go back to those mentors go back to whatever it
[36:07] SPEAKER_02: is that inspires you and get in that in that that great state once again so that you're back on
[36:14] SPEAKER_02: track you're in line with your goals right and you're going to make it happen be consistent have a
[36:20] SPEAKER_02: great attitude and remember where you came from well this is some really good advice that you've
[36:25] SPEAKER_01: shared today for our listeners so I want to thank you and and I really wish you well and I know
[36:33] SPEAKER_01: that we're going to be seeing and hearing from you more awesome Sophia thank you very much for
[36:38] SPEAKER_02: having me thank you
