How to Manage Multiple Business Obligations with Joy and Purpose
About This Episode
In this compelling episode of the "Mind of George" podcast, I had the privilege of exploring the depths of risk, success, and the essence of entrepreneurship with George Bryant. Our discussion revolved around redefining the concept of risk—not merely as the potential for failure but as an opportunity for success. I shared insights on how embracing the possibility of success, rather than fearing failure, can shift one's approach to business and life.
We delved into the importance of failure, highlighting that it's an inevitable part of the journey, serving as a valuable learning tool rather than a setback. I emphasized that the real risk lies in not giving ourselves the chance to succeed, suggesting that the fear of failure should not deter us from pursuing our ambitions.
Throughout our conversation, we also touched on the critical role of relationships in personal and professional growth. I discussed the concept of the "critical few"—the essential people in our lives who provide support and enable us to be our best selves. By focusing on these key relationships and how we can contribute positively to them, we can enhance our ability to succeed and lead fulfilling lives.
This episode is packed with enlightening discussions and practical advice for anyone looking to understand risk better, embrace their failures, and cultivate meaningful relationships. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a business leader, or someone passionate about personal development, this episode offers valuable perspectives to help you thrive in all areas of life.
Episode Outline
00:00 Redefining Risk: A New Perspective on Success and Failure
03:52 The Power of Embracing Failure and Rethinking Risk
05:37 The Stamina of Success: Learning from Failures
08:25 Navigating Business and Life with Core Values and Goals
10:24 Building Strong Relationships and Cultivating a Supportive Team: Finding Focus and Mitigating Priority
19:15 The Importance of Being Intellectually Honest About Your Values
25:49 Finding Identity and Navigating Business Decisions
32:03 The Power of Presence and Personal Transformation
32:30 Reflecting on Success and the Importance of Authenticity
33:27 Redefining Success: Climbing the Right Ladder
33:55 Simplifying Life: The Quest for Ease and Clarity
34:44 Insights from an Intense Airbnb Lock-in: Questions that Spark Change
35:36 The Value of Intellectual Honesty and Self-Reflection
36:13 Navigating Change and the Importance of Speed in Decision Making
55:08 Embracing Authenticity and the Journey to Self-Discovery
About The Mind of George Show
The Mind of George takes you inside the lives of some of the most respected and successful names in the digital world to reveal what it takes to succeed in life and business today. George Bryant, a New York Times best-selling author, and highly sought-after digital marketing expert, has one goal - to help entrepreneurs ethically scale their business through his trademark Relationships Beat Algorithms model. Hit subscribe and get ready to listen in twice a week for a mix of interviews and solo episodes that will give you priceless frameworks to increase revenue, create maximum impact, and harness the power to authentic voice to beat the algorithms.
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George Bryant 00:00
Let's talk about risk. And let's really talk about some humble pie for me, because in today's podcast we talk about redefining risk as the possibility of success and not just the possibility of failure. We talked about how failure is inevitable and should be embraced as a learning opportunity. And I got to eat some Humble Pie because I got to take pages of notes on this podcast and learn from one of the greatest, most successful, grounded heart centered living by example, men, that has more numbers and more revenue and more businesses under his belt than I can even count. And when we were done with the show, I dove deeper and deeper and deeper. And this episode is not only an episode filled with gold and golden boulders as our dear friends Luis and Luis called them on risk about staying in your power, staying congruent, staying consistent, how to have a team around you how to be supported, how to make sure you can win, and even one of like, how do you run ADA companies that do a combined number of big, big numbers of billions every year with a smile and ease on your face.
George Bryant 01:04
And it's loaded with all of those nuggets. On top of the fact that if you watch and listen to how the incredible guest today operates and thinks and engages and talks about it, it is a master class and someone that I would love to emulate and it's someone I look up to massively to be able to hit that level achieve that level and really become the man or the person to have businesses operating at that level. And so this episode was humbling on so many levels. And I have three pages of notes personally sitting next to me, right here from when I recorded it. And it's page after page after page. And if you can't see this, because you're listening to it. It's loaded. And so this episode is one for the ages and our dear guests. If you're listening to this, thank you so much, Mike, I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart. And thank you for sharing your wisdom. Thank you for sharing your guidance. And thank you for literally making it tangible, heart centered and giving away all of the best in the episode. And so without further ado, let's get into the show with Mike Rubin. And let's go master all of these things and work towards that goal. Or everybody welcome back to another episode of the mind at George show. And today to say I'm under qualified for today's guests wouldn't be a true statement, I think it would be looking at the lens of qualification. But after the first 15 minutes of us talking, I have my notebook next to me and I was like, All right, our incredible guest today is going to just take us to church.
George Bryant 02:32
But really, I couldn't be more excited, more aligned. We've rescheduled this few times. I just got back from the event. We've been talking about relationships and success and all these things. And I feel like today is gonna be the perfect get go. And so to even try to do this guest justice, like I'll just drop a couple of names right? Stanford, MIT, Harvard, you're like, what I'm like, yep, just teaches there. Minus the fact that he founded his own venture capital firm and in science and tech and entrepreneurship and believes in relationships and serving people. And no one ever goes through the front door. But I don't want to name him the back door master. So the success of every other door in life and how to keep walking through them and husband and father and family oriented in so many magical things. And so Mike, I am just honored and excited to welcome you to the show. So thanks for being here.
Mike Rubin 03:20
George, thanks for having me. It's such a kind, gracious introduction and just such a big fan of yours and the podcast and all the amazing things that you stand for. So it's just an honor to be here with you today.
George Bryant 03:34
Yeah, man, and I got it. I got to do this real quick. Because I, you took me to church right before we started. And I was like, wait, I literally already have a half a page of notes on my notebook up here from talking to Mike. And I was like, I should probably hit record at some point. But one of the things that he would have mentioned to me was risk, and I love your take on risk, like your view on risk. And so I would love it if you can just kind of take me to church and unpack that for us to kick off.
Mike Rubin 04:01
Yeah, no, absolutely. George, you know, the conventional notion of risk is what if I try something and it doesn't work out? Right. That's generally how most people think about risk. But I tend to think about it a little differently. Which is, what if it does work out? And I don't give myself the opportunity to actually succeed? And to me, that's risky.
George Bryant 04:36
Yeah, I'd say so. Yeah. So like, I loved when you were sorry, I don't mean to cut you off. But can you say that one more time, like just the part where you're like, because that's the part that hit me the most was like, I've thought about risk so much in my life, right? I'm like, Oh, I'm risk averse. I can do it. I can do it. But I never thought about the notch shot and how much implication that has and like later really tickled my soul when you said it.
Mike Rubin 05:02
Yeah, 100%, you know, and again, to reinforce it, most people would think about risk as, what if I try something and it doesn't work out, right? That's, that's risk in the conventional sense. But actually think the much greater risk in life is not giving yourself the opportunity to figure out whether you can or cannot achieve the things that matter to you. That's a much riskier way to live your life. And, you know, I've been fortunate to do some pretty cool things in my life. But let me tell you, I've yet to meet anyone, myself included, who hasn't failed at something generally repeatedly. And so that's an inevitability, you don't need to worry about failing, you will fail, sometimes publicly, sometimes privately, like, over and over again. And even if you're amongst the best in the world at what you do, you'll still fail repeatedly at it, right. And so you can sort of remove and cross off that that worry from, you know, your your list of worries, and, you know, that really gives people the latitude to just think about risk differently. You know, and we're all still here, which means that somehow, someway, we manage to work our way through it, right. Like, you've had spectacular failures in the past, but you're listening to this program. So, you know, you've clearly found a way through it.
George Bryant 06:34
Yeah, I had somebody show up to the event. And it was like the morning of day three, and they said something very profound and so simple. And they looked everybody dead in the eyes, they're like, listen, you've survived 100% of the days that got you here. And I was like, yep, that tickles like 100%. Because I can think of 1000 moments where I was like, it's all over. I'm not gonna make it anymore. And then, and then to end your eloquent fortune cookie to my soul, you're like, it's not that I went through the front door. And that, you know, success was through the front, or you're like, I've just done this long enough and made enough mistakes that like, I just know what not to do. Like, like, failures, lessons, and then just changing the view down to like, Oh, I've done that, learn that lesson. I've done that, learn that lesson. I've done that, learn that and you're like, How can I not succeed now? And I was like, I love that view, too. Yeah,
Mike Rubin 07:24
I mean, 100%, sometimes I feel like I've exhausted the number of ways to do something wrong. And so all that's left is, I guess, the way that works. But, you know, in life, there's, there's Plan A, which is great. If that works out. For me, often, that's not the case. And so then you're off to Plan B and Plan C and Plan D. And then if Plan D seems that works, then you're off to different tactics. And, you know, ultimately, you sort of figure it out. And so even at what point you sort of determined something as a quote, unquote, failure, is hard to say. And then what happens if five years down the road, something good happens of it, then you sort of have to revise your entire story of Well, maybe if all that would have wouldn't have precipitated the way it did, then I wouldn't be where I am. And I like where I am, you know, and so, you know, it's all a story. So you might as well tell yourself a good one.
George Bryant 08:19
Yeah. Oh, for sure. Oh, for sure. Well, I actually have a question about this now for you because like, as I think through even like the, the rough intro that I gave everybody, which I got to, you know, read your bio been stalking you online, and I was like, one bio, and I was like, I could do like 17 podcasts with Mike just based on his bio alone. But like, as somebody like, I think you've said, you know, I don't even know the number. But you've started over like 100 businesses, I think, in your fund. You guys have a giant fund a ton of businesses, you have like, I forgot what you call them, not tenured, but academic spots where you like teach at Stanford and MIT and Harvard. And then you have your family, which is the most important and then you're actively investing, but you're also in science, and you stand for humanity. And I'm like, I look at my day sometimes.
George Bryant 09:08
And I was like, I think if that stacked up on me, I might I might be risk averse, just for pressure, right? And my friend Alec scharffen says this all the time. And and I love this because I'm sitting in front of somebody who I get to learn from as well. But he says, you haven't, you don't have the business you want because you haven't become the person to run it yet. Right? And I feel like 100% of the answer to that statement is the emotional availability to be in that under any level of constraint and then think methodically without the emotion to mitigate that risk or to make those decisions right, but for somebody with you like, I feel like if I looked at your calendar, I might have like a panic attack, but that's a that's a Schrodinger cat theory, right? There's also it could be one hour a day, it could be anything but like, with all of that, how do you find focus, right, because in my side, I'm like, God, Mike's over here, and he's like, Yeah, I got So I invest in people I know relationships here, I take the side door, I do this, and I was like, you make this look effortlessly, and you talk about it so effortlessly. And we were joking about this before, but like, what does that look like for you? Like? How do you mitigate priority in the lens of that risk and navigate even with all those balls in the air? Like, what's that like for you? Yeah.
Mike Rubin 10:22
You know, George, it really comes down to the privilege that I have of working with exceptional people. Great people, make everything so much easier. And enable me enable others to do so much more than they could ever do alone. I mean, that's, that's really the answer. It's just all the amazing people around me that I get to work with and collaborate with and enable me to be the person that I am.
George Bryant 10:53
Yeah, yeah, well, and when that I have that tube, Ashley, my CEO, who coordinates all of this, and just spending four days I'm like, without you, I don't think I exist in the world, like you're my life mom, my nanny, sometimes you feed me, you know what to have to catch me in a net. But I also know that relationships are like a massively important for you. And we were talking before about kind of the buckets of relationships. But I'd be curious to like, when you think about this team, and these incredible people around you, from my seat, it seems really, really easy to know why. But you also are a master at this, and you help a lot of businesses this as well, right? Like, I feel like to lead this, like relationships are number one for you. Right? But like, how do you even go about fostering or cultivating that relationship with those team members? Or creating that culture? Or having those pieces?
Mike Rubin 11:42
Yeah, you know, and I sort of break it up into two buckets, if you will, George, the first bucket is what I call the critical few. And to me, it's who are the critical few people, both in your life personally, as well as professionally, that enable you to be your best self. And this is sort of a really interesting sort of paradigm shift that we've seen in society, and it's not a wrong or right, it's just more of an awareness thing, right? Where, you know, there's a tremendous, people are tremendously compelled to have a very large number of followers and a large number of likes and a large number of views. And I certainly understand the utility behind that. And certain business models require that. But there's another way to be considered, which is having very few likes, but having those likes be from people who are enormously critical in your life, right. So for me, if I, if the only likes, quote, unquote, that ever have are from my wife, and my three kids, and my anchor clients, and my mentors, and my, my critical business partners, you know, then I could accomplish 80%, if not 90% of I want to achieve in life.
Mike Rubin 13:03
And so it's these few critical relationships that are so enabling. And for me, the way I cultivate these relationships over long periods of time is I just really focus on how I can be useful to other people. It's not about what I can derive from them. It's, it's how can I be useful? How can I be impactful? Because I trust if I work with people who I'm aligned with, who are compelling, over the long run it all work out in terms of whatever it is that I may or may not even think about deriving from it. But focusing on being useful and impactful is just a great way to build robust relationships. And you know, everything I have, that I go back to, you know, really started with one of those kinds of relationships. Yeah,
George Bryant 13:53
I will eat as you were speaking, I'm getting tickled over here too, because about earlier in risk, and you said something, before we hit record, you're like, the only people ever like my stuff is like my wife and my kids and like I'm doing okay, and even in the lens of your buckets, and I love your buckets, right, I feel like I operate in that. And all too often I get stuck in the the be of use bucket and giving all my critical use time. And that's a that's one of those areas of just like adjusting as I go for priority. But also as you were speaking, you're like, yeah, the only people who liked my stuff is like those key business partners and those those people in my life, I was also thinking about how much weight we give to the like, or non like, from the least critical people in our life and we make business decisions or adjustments off that instead of staying the course
Mike Rubin 14:42
100% You know, and life is a lot about focus, and finding the things that work for you and finding the people who support you. And in some ways the conversation that we had both about risk as well as about relationships sort of intertwine. Because when you have people who are with you for the long term, and you put disproportionate weight on those relationships that you know, that are robust, you know, then you could take all sorts of risks and go for things and know that it'll be okay. Because the people who critically mattered to you are with you for the long run. You know, so that, you know, to me is just been the biggest difference in my life, like, none of us, you know, some people post their fails. And I think that's great. But, you know, you look at my bio, we didn't talk about what percentage of the time, right, like a client, you know, ended up on boarding, or we just, you know, we just sort of gloss over all that other stuff. Right. You know, and, and that's unfortunate, because a lot of people just sort of think that, you know, people who are, quote unquote, successful or just people who always seem to, you know, be on the mark, and it's just far from the truth.
George Bryant 16:02
Yeah, yeah. And it reminds me of something. And I don't talk about that a lot. But I just It tickled my body because I was in the Marines for 13 years, right. And I was like, how did we work together so well, when we like, hated the mission? We would fistfight in between it right. But there was this moment where like, when it was ever needed, like we knew they were there, like no matter what happened, right, good, bad, ugly, like I didn't have to turn around. I didn't have to look, but it makes you feel invincible. And I feel like that's the critical few is having the relationships like that where you get to be yourself, and they get to be all in but they get to know those parts those, those quote unquote, failures, or the lessons that are posted online. But when you have that feeling, it kind of makes me feel like a superhero with no kryptonite, because I'm like, I have this net of people that love me, because I'm not my results. I'm not my bank account, right?
George Bryant 16:53
No one's gonna judge me at the end of my life based on what number I hit, right? And so I it just reminded me of that so much. And then I laugh over here, because like in reading your bio, right? I know, I've been on the other side of this for so long, you're like, oh, yeah, helped and launched 100 successful businesses like glue, let's talk about the 11 177 that didn't make it past the filter or got too deep into the filter, or like, Wait, how'd you get into my house? where's this going again? And I think people forget about that. And I love hearing your perspective. Because the thing that I also want to call out, and I noticed this is also how quickly you make decisions and speak about the things that you've achieved or not achieved to stay in that in that mitigation, right. It's decision mode versus like emotional mode. And I can hear it so well, because like, there's a part where you spoke and I'm like, I could go pause that. And give an entire one hour keynote, about that one thing that you just shared, but you also focus so much on like, what it feels like is the critical details as well. Right? So it even feels like in the lens of decision making. When I hear you speak, you're like decisions go into the bucket of like, there's a critical few decisions. And then there's be of use to these when I get to them, but like these ones require my priority.
Mike Rubin 18:07
Yeah, 100%, you can take on as many things as you want in life, as long as you know what your priority is. Because, you know, if you don't get to number 12, on the list, well, it's okay that you had 12 things. The problem is, you have 12 things, and then you convolute, your number one and your number 12. And, you know, you don't really audit, how you're spending your time or your focus or your energy. You know, that's where that the challenges, you know, come in. So it's just knowing what your priorities are, you know, starting with your values, what are your core values? Why do people don't know these things? They're important, right? They drive everything? And then what are the core roles you want to serve in life? Like, what and in what order? You know, and it doesn't mean that if role one is, you know, being espoused that you don't ever do role for, you just have an awareness of what your critical roles are, and how you generally think about them in terms of importance. So you can, you know, make the right decisions for you. You know, and then similarly, goals. And not that these things don't evolve, but having some awareness of what's important to you what you want to focus on. And in what order is, is just so critical.
George Bryant 19:25
Yeah, I love that. And I just had a random question pop on my intuition when you said that, because I love the I feel like I struggled for so long, because I didn't know who I was. And so I was trying to find my identity and all the work that I was in, right. So I ended up in business partnerships are in things that are there and I had a mentor years ago looked me dead in the island and it's like, you're not what you do. You are what you tolerate. And I was like, Ha ha and he's like, of course that's happening. He's like, What do you believe in? Like, what matters to you like, does family Time mattered to you, does integrity matter to you? Does asynchronous communication matter to you?
George Bryant 20:04
I was like, oh, oh, I have a part on this game too. I forget, like I'm player on the field, I get to make my own rules. And that that's been a big, big, big part. Because even me, like, I'll share a shadow for everybody right now. Like, I was just at my event five days. And my phone was off pretty much the whole time minus family emergencies. And I celebrate my my presence muscle like I was like, 98.6% Present. And then when the vasoconstriction releases, I'm like, Who? Where did all this stuff come from? And then I'm on the other side of like that, that come from, and then I'm sending messages and like, Oh, my God, like, forgive me, it's taken me five days, I love you. And they're like, bro, we didn't care. We didn't care. Like, you can get back to us, whatever. And boom, boom, boom. And I'm like, I send those message so quickly, because I'm also like, over here, like, oh, Mike's mad at me, I didn't get back to him in time, and boom, boo. And I'm like, closing those traps. But it's really, really funny to hear you say that. And I remember when I was reading your bio, and we did this the first time I saw something that I loved. And you talked about the stamina of success, the stamina of success, and I feels like it's so tied into what we were talking about earlier. It's like, I've just basically run out of options to fail, right? I'm like, nope, I've turned that stone overturn that.
George Bryant 21:19
So that one looks the same. Oh, it's a little different underneath it, maybe I'll grab that part. Right? But how do you start to to navigate this, because I feel like what I noticed so often, and even in myself is that I'd measure in days and not decades. And I would make these really, really fast, rash, short, focused emotional decisions that felt real in the moment. But like you said, if I fast forward it, like 90 days, I would have been like, oh, man, that I really stopped watering the plant on day seven, and get really, really upset about this, right? And so like, how do you go about navigating that or advise your companies that you're investing in, or people you bring into your fund?
Mike Rubin 21:57
Yeah, you know, I sort of make a pact with myself day one, and I sort of come to an agreement that no matter what happens, I can handle it. Like, whatever it is, I'll I'll handle it. I've handled everything up to now. So whatever ends up happening, I'll take it at face value, and I'll process it, and I'll move forward, whatever it is. And so once you've already accepted a scenario where you sort of don't get what you hoped for, you know, then you've sort of you've released that tension. And then you can just stay focused on how can you best achieve your goal. And you understand that it's probably not planning, you know, you choose Plan A, because you think it's going to work. But you know, and experience, things take longer, they cost more. And they generally take a Plan C and you may not even know what plan C is day one.
Mike Rubin 22:54
And that's the other thing people think that they can see 10 miles ahead. And the reality, the way life works is you never know what's right around the corner, right. So you can be three feet away from something. But if it's at a 90 degree angle from you, around the corner, you can't see it, even though you can get to it within 10 seconds, and then you turn that corner, and it's like, Whoa, I didn't know that would be there. And life is a lot like that, right? And so you just got to stay on your feet, keep moving forward, make the best decisions that you can and realize things are not always visible, and they're not always linear, right? So you might feel like, geez, I didn't make any progress this week, or this month, or, you know, I've been working really hard. And the reality is sometimes, you know, that gratification or that clarity, you know, doesn't doesn't come in the timeframe you want it to you know, and that's okay, you just got to, you know, you got to keep moving forward, and you got to keep making the best decisions that you can.
Mike Rubin 23:52
And, you know, one of my mentors is a best selling author, Jim Collins. And one of the things that he taught me, is we all get lucky in life. But, you know, what he wants to know is what's your return on lock, right? Like, so many people get lucky in life in so many ways, and they don't see it, they don't get any return on that lock, right? And that's something I constantly think about is like, jeez, there's all these opportunities around me, how do I avail myself of them? How do I, you know, take advantage of the amazing things that are happening around me and, you know, sometimes people they don't have the acuity to see that they're so focused narrowly on a specific way. They don't see all these amazing things around them that, you know, they could leverage well
George Bryant 24:39
in like, I feel like I'm like crucify myself Federico, but Mike is just like speaking when it comes down to So what you said earlier, though, like, even when you were riffing, riffing out about like, how to start you're like, you kind of get to know what your core values are right? And then from there, you can determine like what your core role Ozar and then that's the only thing that gives you the barometer for lack of better terms of the pin in the map to know when those opportunities arise. Like, I'm going to make a decision and that decision, I feel like I have to be a triage nurse of every situation in my world. And I'm like, you know, there's times where I'm like, You know what, today is the day that I'm choosing to go this extra mile because this is opportunity meets preparation.
George Bryant 25:25
And this three hours today is way more important than me going home or running up the mountain or doing blank, but I feel like I struggled for so long because I didn't have any barometer to put that against. And so I didn't know what might need them overs, whereas Mike McCalla wits will call them right, like what those core roles were aware of those inputs when it and so I have a question. This is going to be an interesting question. Because when you were speaking about the goals part, I also realized personally, that I struggled a ton in making decisions in business because I didn't have an identity outside of the business. And so I wasn't pursuing personal goals. It was like every goal I had was inside or on the other side of some imaginary starting line and finish line in the business. And so then it was like, Yes, man. Yes, man. Yes, man. Yes, ma'am. Because I didn't have anything outside of the business to focus on. Have you seen that to be true as well? Or do you have any thoughts on that? Because I feel like I'd love your expertise. Yeah,
Mike Rubin 26:22
no, that's a really great point, George. And that's, I think, the beauty of values. Because when we don't have values, and all there is, is I'm going after this one client, and I either win the client, and that's great. For about 10 seconds until you look for the next one, or I don't, right? But when you take that and zoom out, and then think about, well, why do I even want this in the first place? Well, I have this core value of intrapreneurship. And the really, the reason I love intrapreneurship, is I love the discovery process of learning new things, and of exploring and of trying things and then you're like, Oh, so that's why I do all of this. And then when you really connect to the core abstract value, rather than just the exact specific details of how it instantiates itself in the world, you know, then you're in a much more sort of comfortable place.
Mike Rubin 27:26
Because it's much easier to understand all the different ways that you can achieve a value of being of use to people, or of learning or of exploring, or of experiencing new things, whatever your values are, you know, it's so much more liberating. But if you don't pause and think about it, and that level of abstraction, you know, then you just play so much importance on specific things happening a specific way. That's a really difficult sort of way to you're live your life. And so I just, you know, I really encourage people to be intellectually honest about their values. And it's funny, because I stopped even telling people what my values are, because everyone would then say, oh, yeah, I liked that value, too, or I liked that value. And that's great. You can have my values, I'll share them. But like, the point is, you got to really, you've got to be intellectually honest. And the other thing, I'll say George's is really important about your values and your roles is you got to be intellectually honest with yourself.
Mike Rubin 28:28
Like, I've seen so many people who say, Yeah, my number one thing in my life is x, whatever it is my family or my business, but then you look at their lives, and they spend 98% of their time doing anything but x, and it's like, Well, okay, like, which one is it? Right? Like, you got to, I'm not telling you how to live your life, but like, there seems to be tremendous tension between who you want to be and who you actually are. And maybe you should just allow yourself to be who you are, you know, I mean, it just see so much of that.
George Bryant 28:58
And I feel like that even validates what I was saying earlier in such a profound way, because there wasn't space to be who I was. And so I couldn't even find or have the ability to be intellectually honest with what those values were or were not because it was just more washing machine, more rumination, more collapsing constraint. And so that tickles on such a deep level. Such a deep level. Yeah.
Mike Rubin 29:24
You know, people know who they are. You just, you just got to pause and observe, you know, it's, you don't even need to overthink it, right? It's like, it's like, well, you know, I go long hikes every day trying to think about who I am. I'm like, Well, you seem to be someone who likes to go on long hikes. So why don't you start there and figure what that means to you like, Oh, that's really interesting, you know, and so, it's so much just about observing, you know, and just being intellectually honest with yourself. That
George Bryant 29:52
that point that Oh, even when you said that I used to do that. I'm like, Oh, I'm going hiking to find out who I am. I'm like, I'm a hiker. Nature is important to me. There's nothing to find out here. This is the thing. It's not what I'm finding in this thing. It's the thing itself. 100%. And that that is it. But also like even, even the observer, like I, I feel like in the life that I've had, right, like, I've had to spend my life tricking myself out of my own bullshit very, very eloquently. So everything's down to like a fortune cookie, you know, for me. And I'm like, oh, there's a fortune cookie out. But I'm like, Hey, listen, like if you drafted me for $100 million to be the quarterback on the field, and I'm playing football and you are like, Hey, bro, you threw that wrong? Like, I'd want you to tell me so I can make an adjustment. But then, when I would throw my own pass, I'm like, Oh, my God, you should never play football again. You epic failure, how dare you pick up that football? Right?
George Bryant 30:46
And it was like, this gap. And it wasn't even that I wasn't being like intellectually honest. It's that because I didn't know who I was. Everything else was evidence that I wasn't being myself, instead of being like, Oh, this is who I am. No, I'm committed to learning. I love breaking stuff. I love fixing broken stuff. I'm like, give me the biggest mess you can find. And let me come into it with you. Like, we'll find the meat, we'll find the values, we'll find the needle movers. But because I didn't know, that's who I was. Everything was like, Oh, you failed. You didn't do it again. And now I'm like, oh, no, no, like, I'm in the mass. This is where I belong. This is what I said. I love to like this is it. But I didn't have that self some sense of identity. And so it just became this trap. And it was just this like, as much as I thought I wasn't in the spin cycle. Like I was getting an F five hurricane all day. And it's been this and even even the collapse after the event. I was reflecting and I had my come down on the flight. Right? Everyone's like, how was the event? What are the words? What are the words were like? How was it and I'm like, empty, like, I'm empty right now.
George Bryant 31:53
Like, I have nothing like nothing. And then, you know, I started to have the feelings come up, right? And it was starting in my brain on the flight, no Wi Fi just looking out the window. And I was like, oh, man, you didn't do this. You didn't do this. And it was like, no, no, no. Presence is like the number one value that I have. Like it is it is like I'm about to cry thinking about it. Because I wasn't present for 37 years of my life. And so presence is it. And then I'm like sending a message to Ashley. And she's like, so you mean, you were just you know, being perfectly yourself the whole time. And I was like, oh, yeah, there we go. But there's a time in my life not so long ago, even when on paper Mike, like, on paper, New York Times best seller out on book tour, making hundreds of $1,000 a month. And I was like, but do you guys remember the photos I was 260 pounds. Wow. I was 168 this morning. And it looked like there was a shell of a human and there was nothing on the inside. And like those moments would last months, like months. And they would just stack and stack and like as simple as as profound as it is that you say it.
George Bryant 33:02
I ignored that point. It was just I wouldn't look in the mirror and be like, Hey, you did good today. But you maybe you don't want to throw the ball that hard and throw your shoulder maybe throw it in the right direction and just make these micro adjustments. And so that lands profoundly for me. So thanks for letting me share that. But that was that one tickled that one tickled? Well,
Mike Rubin 33:21
I appreciate you sharing that anecdote. You know, there's another saying that, that goes, it doesn't matter how fast you climb the ladder, if it's leaning against the wrong wall, you're only getting farther from where you want to be. And I you know, there's just so many people who are just vigorously climbing that ladder as fast as they can leaning against the wrong wall only to discover, you know that if they had just placed the ladder in the right direction, they could have gone a lot slower. And, you know, that's an important principle, I think, as well.
Mike Rubin 33:51
And one of the things that are underestimated is we can all stand to make things easier in life. I think we all make things much more complicated than they need to be. And, you know, we all get intimidated, because we think everything has to be hard because, you know, how could you possibly be successful and have a big business and have all these great things in your life? It just has to be hard because good things have to be hard, but like, why? Like who said That's true? Right? Like, yeah, I mean, sometimes we got to work really hard for what we want. But like, that's not a law of the universe. Like you know, sometimes you can allow yourself to make things easier and you know, still get the outcome that that you want. You know, and I think sometimes all of us can stand to do that in certain aspects of our life. I
George Bryant 34:40
will tell you right now, the two the two questions that came up at this event, so there were 40 of us locked in an Airbnb for four days and I mean, like 6am till 1am The two questions and these ones always tickle me what would it look like if it was easy? That one I heard I probably said it 100 times and then her It repeated like 900. And then my other favorite one, and this one was installed in me like eight years ago, from one of my incredible mentors, and I was like, in my hole, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do like, and she's like, What are you pretending not to know. And it literally was like, somebody took me from 150 to zero, instantly. And then she's like, and before you do it, George and you ask me anything else? There's a second part, what are you also pretending not to see? And the true true answer is what you alluded to earlier is that I'd actually just never given myself the space to be intellectually honest with myself, like, advocated from emotion, no fault, no blame, no guilt, no shame, but like, okay, like, really, if I pull the ripcord right now and like, take a peek up, like, where am I right?
George Bryant 35:52
Like, what does this really really look like? And I've come to figure out that in my life, like, my job is to be as obsessed as possible about being a triage nurse as often as possible, right, like, and I think about things that we see all the time, because I know you're seeing this right now. Like, the markets changing, the world is changing, people are under constraint, their behaviors are different. But for years in business, it was always like, speed is King speed is king. And I was like, yeah, yeah, but not speed and climbing the wrong ladder, leaning against the wrong wall speed in your accurate current state and your decision making to make micro adjustments, not change the entire thing every single time it comes out. And so I hear like, even most of what's happening in the market now and people's webinars not working. And this isn't work, you know, it's like, well, yeah, but if you go spend 90 days locked behind a wall to make another one, I promise you 90 days from now, that's not gonna work, either. And so it's all of these like potent reminders. Even we were talking about this. Before the show, you said something so eloquent.
George Bryant 36:57
You're like, yeah, these are the things we hear. But we all need to hear them all the time. And, you know, from my seat to yours. Like I'm, I'm incredibly honored and humbled by your humility. But also, when I hear you say that, I'm like, Thanks for the permission slip. And thanks for letting me know I'm not crazy. And like, hey, I'll shoot you a text like me, too. Me too. Me too. And I think there's this trap that I fell into for years. And I would love your thoughts on this. And I'm asking you this, particularly, because when it comes to the position you're in, I don't think a lot of people understand the value of being able to build your own, but then watch other people build it, but then go behind the scenes of them building it. And I've gotten that seat as like, an influencer that used to have all the followers and then I deleted them. And I was like, Yep, I don't care. Couple 100,000 people, my life is back. I know who I am now. Right. But then going behind the scenes and seeing it. And so you have this very, very, in my opinion, like probably one of the most valuable views in the world that exists when it comes to entrepreneurship. And so the reason I'm asking this is because you see so many people and I would love to hear like what are some of like, the common mistakes or the traps that they fall into? Where some of these simple reminders and for myself included, I feel like if I fast forwarded us 10 years, I'm gonna come back to the show. And I'm like, Dude, if I just wrote down what Mike said, and listened to it every day, I'd be living a drastically different life right now. And so I would just kind of love to hear your thoughts and perspective on any of that.
Mike Rubin 38:34
Yeah, no, thank you for asking George you. No, I'm an I'm going to share an anecdote. I was privileged to have breakfast with the president of, let's call it a top 10. At minimum University. It's not my place to sort of disclose which one of them so we'll just keep it vague, but I assume that, that it it's one of the handful of elite sort of schools in the country. And I, it was a very interesting conversation and very illuminating conversation speaking to the president of this university, because she had mentioned to me what a small portion of the people who go to the school who have phenomenal records to get in near perfect scores and perfect grades and you know, these perfect resumes, they can't do very much wrong in life in order to get in.
Mike Rubin 39:34
But only about 20% of them on the back end actually realize anything close to their potential. And the reality is 80% of them all do the same thing. They take the same job that all their peers do. And you know, they take the path that's expected of them, and very few of them know how to fail, because I've never failed before, right, there's the people who got perfect scores on their SATs. And then there's the people who missed one question, right? Like that. Those are the two varieties of people that end up at some of these places. And then, you know, they realize when they hit challenges in life, and it doesn't work out, they don't know how, what to do with it. And then on the back end, they're just like, Well, okay, here's the top, you know, there's nothing wrong with them. I love investment banks, I love consulting firms, you know, but, you know, the reality is, a lot of these individuals have sort of incredible creative talents that they should allow themselves to harness, rather than going to more conventional routes. And, you know, we as a society are relying on them to use all that talent in creative ways.
Mike Rubin 40:49
And more than anything else, you know, being behind the scenes that, like you said, at Harvard, and MIT and Stanford and teaching there and mentoring students, and we have an internship and fellowship program, and we bring a lot of these people into our own organization. And then, of course, we have a lot of academic startups. So we see a lot of these folks. And it's really just encouraging people to be the best versions of themselves and to realize, and give them permission to fail. And, you know, we don't we don't celebrate that a lot in our society, we don't talk a lot about it. And you know, and the whole system is set up that way, like universities, especially the top tier ones, explicitly bias themselves towards people. Right? Like, Well, you got an A minus, so what are we going to do with you? Right, like, you know, there's someone who never got an A minus, right. And it's like, yeah, I don't know, maybe we got to rethink all this.
Mike Rubin 41:46
Because, you know, maybe that person figured a whole lot out during that process. And, you know, maybe on paper, you know, because look at all the phenomenal success that you've had in your life, you know, George, and it's such a privilege to be on this show, right? And all of the challenges that you've had, you know, have challenged you to be more authentic, and to be stronger, and to do phenomenal things, right. And, you know, that's what I've learned, you know, that's, those are the people I've seen as successful. People are just like, you know, I'm just gonna be myself, and I'm gonna keep going, and I'm going to figure it out. You know, and those are the people ended up being successful. And like we talked about, it's those two things. It's how you define risk, and how you think about relationships. And if you're healthy on both of those fronts, you know, more often than not, you're gonna find a way through.
George Bryant 42:44
God, I just love how you just landed the plane. I'm like, Mike's just over here, like, landed tied together. And I feel I feel humbled, humbled to hear that but you know, you even said something, and I think we said it before the show. But, you know, I consume a lot. And I'm obsessed about the human brain and my own brain. But you know, it's the thing that I've realized is that once I really figured out who I was, like, you spoke to values wise, right? Not that that's who I am forever. It's who I am today. Like, when I wake up this morning, I was like, this is important to me today. This is what it feels like today. And in the lens of your vein. Like, I'll tell you my daily practice, but just like Mike said, you can borrow values, just like you can borrow a morning routine, you can borrow an affirmation, and you can check the box or you can feel the box and feeling the box is the only place it lands like if you have family as my number one thing, but you're doing this for your family. And I asked your kids, Where's daddy? And they're like, work. I'm like, You're not doing it for your family. Right?
George Bryant 43:44
Like my favorite one. Mike, is this happened at the event? I was like, Let me guess you're an entrepreneur because you want to make more money, right? And like what else you got there like time and I was like, amazing. I was like, there's this one law, pick God pick the Bible pick abundance, gratitude. Scarcity is like, you have to be grateful for what you have before you can have any more of it. And I can't I just, I just want to time I'm like, amazing. Give me your phone and like, okay, and like, I'll give it back to you tomorrow. What are you going to go do right now? And they're like, and I was like, but you said you wanted time. And like, I'm like you have it. And they're like, and I was like, Oh, we don't know what to do with it. And that was me, I fell into that trap for so long, of just like not even having a clear picture. And I was actually creating what I wanted. I just didn't realize it was a byproduct of not really knowing what I wanted, right? And so for people listening to this, like what Mike said about his values, who are things like it's easy to look in the mirror and see who you are, and see what's important to you.
George Bryant 44:41
And whether that's important through the lens of like, I do this every day. And this is important, or you use inversion theory. And I'm like, right at the end of the day, when you're sitting there and you can't sleep, what are all the things you list out that you're upset you didn't do for yourself that day, and I'll tell you what your values are, but you have to be intellectually honest to look at them and to put them down because like even what you said earlier, I had to share this like you're like, it's not always the front door, the back door, the side door. But when when what was it? What was your? What was your success on luck? That one, that one tickled because just like you or maybe not like you, but for me like, I don't know how I ended up on this with you. I don't know how I ended up in the boardroom of Adidas or with these professional sports teams or all of it. But then when I hear that, when I hear that quote from you, He reminds me of a story. I just told us the event.
George Bryant 45:33
And I was like, Well, sounds like how'd you get that sports team? And I was like, I'll tell you the whole story in one minute. I was like, I was boarding a flight in Amsterdam. And I got on first class got my bed and this tall, dark gentleman sat down next to me. And he's like, how do you get up here? And I was a smart ass and I was like, Oh, let me guess You played basketball, obviously. And I had a blue Mohawk and pajama pants on. He's like, Yeah, but how do you I'm like, Well, I'm a consultant, and boom, boom, boom, he's like, Oh, my God, I'd love to connect. Like I work for this team. We're having this issue. And most people would get his business card and be like, amazing. And I looked him dead in the eye. And I like looked at my list. And I was about to sleep. And I was like, well, we have nine hours till we land. Can I just fix it right now. And he's like, Ha, and I was like, I'll just teach you all this right now. So I whipped open my iPad, and I literally did like an eight hour keynote.
George Bryant 46:23
I'm like, Do this, do this, do this. And here's the column like, here's my number, call me if you need anything. And then I didn't hear from him for like five weeks. And then I get a phone call. And he's like, Hey, you and your wife, can you be in LA like tomorrow? I'd love to introduce you to the president of this company, the owner of this company, former president of top 10, you know, Fortune company? And I was like, Yeah, and I was like thinking about that back to that moment. And I'm like, if I just took the card, didn't have the conversation or didn't take that time. I have no idea. But then in hindsight, looking back, Mike, I have probably like 12 of those. So when you said like, what's your odds on luck? Or what's your success rate with luck? I was like, oh, yeah, that tickled? Because I can think of the millions of those that I was like, oh, no, it's showing up on accident, like No, not right now. No, no, I'll do that later. And so that one really landed for me a lot. Well, thank
Mike Rubin 47:13
you for sharing that. George. And, you know, I, I had to interject on one thing that you said. Because I hear this all the time, you know, people talk about, I'm just so busy. And I don't have enough time, right? How many? How often do you hear people say, I'm just so busy, and I don't have enough time. And, you know, I posit the following 99% of the time, when people say they're just too busy, don't have enough time, that's not their issue actually. Like, the reason that you're frustrated. The reason, whatever you're feeling right now, it's not about time, so give it up, right? It's something mouse, right, you know, maybe there's some some relationship in your life that isn't going the way you want to, or maybe there's something at work that isn't going the way you want to or, you know, you're frustrated about something, and I'm empathetic to that.
Mike Rubin 48:03
But you know, people just say, God, if I had more time, no, you know, you're frustrated because something isn't going the way you want it to, or because you have less control over the outcome, you did everything that you can, or things aren't working on, on the timeframe that that you want them to. You know, one is, yeah, we can all talk about being more efficient. And I have all these strategies, and I believe in them and, and they work and they're important. But the vast majority of the time. It's not like I just need to be 10% more efficient. And that's my issue in life, right? Like, now there's something much more fundamental. So you're better off just, you know, rather than telling myself, gosh, I'm just so busy this week, you know, just digging a little bit deeper, and really understanding what what the core is, is going on, because I always laugh. At my end, I catch myself saying all the time, gosh, I'm so busy. And then I'm like, What am I even talking about? Like, you know, like, why is that the case? And and then I go it's like, you know what, it's not so much that I'm busy. It's just these three things that are, you know, just sort of frustrating me. And then I was like, okay, you know, and then yeah, know, so that that was just something that, you know,
George Bryant 49:16
and I thank you for calling me out because I fall into the trap. I think more than anybody and I it's to our point and like, oops, oops, oops, oops. And like, Mike, I will tell you the biggest breakthrough. I told us on the show quickly, but my son's seven, right. And so we use declarative language and helping him learn and label his feelings and all of it. We were talking to teachers, and they're like, he's having anger stuff, because he doesn't know what these feelings are. And I was like, oh, like, how am I gonna show him they're like, you have to model it for him. And I was like, Well, what do you mean? She's like, well, you ever in the kitchen and get frustrated? I'm like, Yeah, I spilled my coffee today, just like what your normal look. And she's like, all right, you're reading all the gaps. She's like, you got to say oopsie and then make fun of it. And then she's like, do you ever lie and like I catch myself Little White Lies all the time. She's like, Yeah, but you fix them in your head really quickly.
George Bryant 50:03
And then you just say the correct thing, right? And like, yeah, she's like, I need you to do that out loud with your son. And I was like, Okay, and so then everybody, like even our CEO, Ashley, she's like, what's going on? Like, you're so happy. Everything feels easy. You're like, owning conversations and Boombah. Mama was like, Oh, well, for the last two weeks, I've been modeling to a seven year old how many times I make mistake or mistakes, I'll say out loud. And so it's like, oh, whoopsie or drop the coffee oopsie or Oopsie. And then reframe it. And then he's around me so much in the business. I'm like, Oh, Daddy forgot to send a message. Oopsie. And then I send them like, hey, sorry, I forgot to send you a message. Oopsie. And all of a sudden, no, what I realized though, is it was like, very out loud reconditioning this muscle that I've done internally that got a little got a little lackadaisical in me. And I'm the same way where I will fall into that trap of like, Oh, my God, like, I wish I had more time. I'm so busy. And I'm like, in this moment, you're wasting it. If instead of asking the question, right, and so somebody asked at the event, or like, you know, like, why don't I have the thing that I have?
George Bryant 51:03
And I'm like, because you're asking the question instead of doing the thing, right? Like, why gets in the way of an intentional aligned action to recreate it, whether that action is a current state of like, hey, you know what, I'm gonna be really Integris about how I feel right now. Right? Like, something's bumming me out. I feel like I'm too busy. I feel like I don't have time. And I'm like, right, Byron, Katie it for truth? Is it true? Is it absolutely true? What evidence do you have to support that it's true? And what would happen if it wasn't true, right? And it's like, just finding these pockets to like, break, check, or pause yourself, for me allows us in even in your, in your language here to realize, okay, if I have energy to pour, am I pouring this into a critical relationship for me? Or even more with myself? Where am I wasting this in a completely other one? Or am I getting feedback from one of those critical people? Or am i Believing the feedback that doesn't exist from all these other people that aren't there? And I feel like it's just the series of finding the present, and then making micro adjustments while measuring in the macro. And I think that that's where I land for me,
Mike Rubin 52:10
you know, George, that thank you for sharing that. And you said something that really resonated with me, which I wanted to sort of say back to you if if if I can, which is please, you know, you mentioned something that I thought is really interesting and very much true, which is when we communicate to others, even if we're not intending to first and foremost, we're communicating to ourselves, right, as we hear everything that we say, more so than anyone else hears it. And even if we're intending to impress something upon somebody else, how how great we are, how smart we are, how perfect we are, or, and then, by doing that, you're implicitly telling yourself, well, I'm, I'm okay. Or I'm good, because I'm perfect, because I'm great, because I'm smart, because I have all these things and and you think you're trying to impress that upon the other person, but what you're doing is you're inculcating in your own head, that these are all the identities and all the hurdles that you're creating for, for yourself, right.
Mike Rubin 53:16
And then you're training other people, you know, how they should value you, right? But the funny thing is, if I just spent the entire conversation rather than talking about anything that I ever did, right in life, and all I did, literally the entire time was like, this guy hasn't done anything right in his life, like, all I did was talk about my fails like nothing, right? Just like, like, to the point where you would go at the end of the show and be like, Why did George even have this person on? Right? Yeah, the reality is, you and everyone else on the program would like me every bit as much as if anything that worked like it honestly doesn't even matter. Because like, I'd be like, you know, we'd be sitting here and be like, laughing if the deal worked out. Or if I told you, hey, sold this business for a billion dollars, like, Wow, that's great, Mike, I'm like, Hey, George, the whole thing blew up, you'd be like, Oh, that's interesting. What did you learn and be like, and it's okay, either way and right.
Mike Rubin 54:09
You know, and that's, like, you know, that's an important message. And then once you sort of realize that, then you're like, Well, geez, now I can think about risk differently. Because we're all I mean, if these kids at this one institution, you know, are realizing 20% of their potential because they're so afraid of being who they are, of being different than the people around them of doing something and it not working out of trying to explain to their peers why they took this funny looking job or went on the road and it failed while someone else went to this fancy place. You know, you know, as soon as you realize that, like, well, that's okay. You know, then that gives you permission to do all sorts of cool things like you've done right and you've discovered all these amazing Think things about yourself, because you've allowed yourself to, and conch
George Bryant 55:04
contrary to what most people think I didn't wake up and be like, I'm going to be homeless than be a Marine, tried to do 30 years get medically separated accidentally be a food blogger, New York Times best seller number one app, realize I hate cooking in the process, delete all my social media followers, I ended up in a jungle, accidentally become a consultant to realize I don't like the soul sucking side of the Fortune 100 side to come back to entrepreneurs and be like, let's put our hearts back into our business. And here we are today. And I'm like, if you want any more evidence that it's not linear, right, I can give it to you all day
Mike Rubin 55:39
and permission for everyone listening to the show to be like, Look at the smiling, laughing happy face of this magnificent human being here who's gone through all these things, you know, and so you have permission to at least do as much, you know, and you'll be fine. Right? And you'll be fine, then it's like, Well, okay, you know, then what are the things and, you know, as someone who's dedicated his life, most of it at least to intrapreneurship, and to science and innovation? You know, these are just really critical points for the kind of work that, you know that I do. Because there's a leap there of, I don't even you could call it a leap of faith, but there's a leap of some sort, where you just make a decision that I'd rather live my authentic life, and believe that that's going to lead to better outcomes for everyone over the long term, you know, then have to live on everyone else's terms. Because you think that's what's expected of you that very rarely works out well, in the long run. Anyway, so you might as well start early, I wish someone would have told me earlier in my life, but I don't know why. And no one can ever, like learn that lesson. It's like you and me both George like we've gone through all this stuff, right? It's like, can you just like write a book about all that and be like, you know,
George Bryant 57:01
yeah, it's the one lesson that has to be fully felt because we ended up in the same place and like what it is in the morning, it's like, you get all of me all the time, because that's my freedom. Anything else is a prison. And if that's I'm sad, today, I'm going to you're going to ask how my morning as I'm going to tell you, it's wonderful because I'm in front of you. And I spilled my coffee on and I was worried about this. And I'm so glad to be here. Yeah, and right. It's all these choices and these pieces over time and God even the way that you like, when you when you reframe things back and add things back, it's just like tattoos, it intimate.
George Bryant 57:33
I'm like, Thank you, Mike, like, Thank you for the reminder, like, Thank you for being in this thank you for being the man that that's created all the results that you have, and also giving people the real answers because as as much as it's out there, I can find hundreds of people that have accolades that don't have the results and don't have the happiness and don't have the joy because they didn't choose to do it for themselves. And you're a big relationship guy, and I can feel it from a mile away, right? There's no accidents. And you know, for me, this is my show. And I'll say this, I say this to everybody listening, there's, there's two ways to learn, you can learn and listen to what people are saying. But you can also learn a whole lot more by watching how they're being.
George Bryant 58:13
And I think that that's where we look for when we want the real answers, to be intellectually honest, to look in the mirror and make some adjustments. And I feel like you're an example of that, like, I will do this with you all. Gratitude fast, we do fill each other's buckets, I mean, we can do it all I do want to ask you, and I'm gonna I'm gonna land this because we're coming up on time. And I want to be respectful of everybody. They get mad at me when I had to, but like for our shows, because I will just go all day. But I would really, really love, love to hear from you. And so one of the questions I ask people all the time is like, imagine everybody listening just got men in black, and they forgot everything that we talked about. And you have the ability to tattoo, Mike wisdom or wisdom for them on their soul, like what would your like takeaway for them, you want them to be to carry with them forever? A reminder, anything short, long, just we'd love to hear like what your big focus will be for everybody? Well, that's,
Mike Rubin 59:04
you know, that's a great question, George. And you know, what I really love about your, your show is, you told me before we started that you'd like to start with the desert, you'd like to give people the bottom line message upfront and give give them the benefit of of that in the first couple minutes. And then we can drill down further on it. And because we started with the desert, it only makes sense to end with the desert as well. And, you know, I'd sort of reinforce that that very same message about risk if I if you allow me to be redundant on that point because I I just think it's it's so incredibly important that you understand that no matter what happens and you can go and if you don't know about George's life or you know my life you can read about Both of us and many other people like us. Whatever happens, if you pursue your passions, you pursue your dreams, whatever the outcome, it will be okay.
Mike Rubin 1:00:09
And you'll find a way through it. And you'll find people who will support you and love you for who you are, and praise You for the courage, you had to, you know, live, live your best life, and really challenge yourself to redefine risk, not as the notion of the possibility of failure, but the possibility of success and not allowing yourself to have that success. And in the end analysis, failure, whether you take what you think is the conservative or quote unquote, risky life, failure is an inevitability, you will fall down, right, sometimes in a humiliating public manner, and sometimes privately, right. So you could just sort of eliminate any concern about that, that'll all happen, everyone has their stories, and they end up making great stories anyway. But, you know, please permit yourself to be your best authentic self, you know, lean into who you are, because that's how you're going to be the happiest and also contribute, contribute the most, you know, and that, that would be my, you know, biggest message.
Mike Rubin 1:01:23
And then, you know, the second message, you know, again, is about people, you know, find those critical few people in your life who you feel like you could be of service to who you could be of used to take that lens. Gosh, there's this group of people who can really benefit from who I am and what I have to offer. And know that investing in those kinds of relationships, you know, over time will be reciprocal, and those will be the most beneficial relationships to you. And I think if you do those two things, it'll it'll carry you far. Oh, man,
George Bryant 1:01:58
I couldn't, I couldn't think of a better way. And I am so glad that you brought the front to the back, because it's always going to be the takeaway is it will always be the thing. And if you ever forget, just come back to those things, and they will help presents you and so the only thing that I want to add is that consider this and I'm speaking for Mike, consider this your official permission slip from two gentlemen who talk about this, who live this way, who be this way, and one on paper, who I don't even exist in the world. But luckily, as men, we understand that there was a results come because we take different paths, but let this be your permission slip to go write your route, to take that action to send that phone call, it can be as simple as picking up the phone and sending one text message that you've been afraid to send, or posting one video or going up to your spouse and telling her that one thing or him that one thing that's like really on your heart and those buckets and it's the practicing of the muscle, and one of my favorite things that Mike Tyson ever said that I love is the magic you're looking for is in the work you won't do.
George Bryant 1:02:59
And the only thing I added is the magic you're looking for isn't the work you won't do and the feelings you won't feel, feel the feelings, they are the greatest superpower that you have. And I will remind you that the day your heartbeat becomes flat, you beg for it to have a ride again. And so enjoy the ride of your emotions because when they're numb and when they're gone, you're gonna wish that you had another one and so here's your permission slip. Take it from us and I'm going to tell you this we're going to put all of Mike's contact info in the in the show notes because he's on LinkedIn he will meet you over on LinkedIn where I'm banned for life so you get your mic on LinkedIn and you gotta come to me on Instagram with the Alliance and you guys know that story and we'll have everything out there then Mike genuinely man from like the bottom my heart I would love to do this again in the future if your game I could talk to you all day but I would love to do this again and I just so honored you came on the show today my friend
Mike Rubin 1:03:50
Well, I'm honored that you had me I'd love to be on the show anytime I you know I'm better for having had this conversation with you and bless that our lives cross paths here and just really thankful for you and thankful for all the people who are are listening because I I know you're listening because you're you're connected to this message and you know, please send it along. You know, please please share this with people in your lives. Because there's there's a tremendous network effect to sharing, sharing goodness. So appreciate all of you out there.
George Bryant 1:04:30
There is thank you so much. And for those listening we will either see you in the next episode or you will hear me in your ear balls but either way, we're out
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