Whether you are trying to find your tribe in life or business, you will not be a fit for all people. Let’s talk about why you can’t be all things for all people, and how to ensure that you are being your best self!
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Hey, hey! Welcome back to Friday Bullpen Sessions with Andy Neary. Each week I unpack my journey and my struggles in professional baseball, sharing the lessons I learned so you can apply them in business and live a life on purpose. So, if you are ready to join me, grab your gloves, get a ball, and lay hold of a bat, and together we will strike out the limiting beliefs in your life that hinder your personal growth.
It’s already episode 90, and this session is going to be special because today, I will show you how to build a community within your network. You will also learn why a community is important to winning in business in a highly competitive market. But before we get into that, I have a quick announcement to make on how you can level up your prospecting in sales.
If you are an insurance agent struggling with prospecting and building a good relationship with your prospect base, do yourself a favor. Take your prospecting to a whole new level. My Broker Branding Academy is out and enrollment is happening now. When you join the academy, you will receive access to winning LinkedIn sales strategies and learn how to create a bulletproof marketing plan, make sales proposals that win business, and create killer webinars and presentations. You will become a productivity ninja at building a community — a community of prospects asking to do business with you.
Back to our session! Let me give you a quick background on why I decided to talk about community for this special episode.
When the Green Bay Packers won against the Los Angeles Rams during their qualifying match for the NFC Championship finals, I was simply amazed by the consistency of the team. Their quarterback, Aaron Charles Rogers, is very exceptional at 37 years old with so many accolades to his name.
Aaron joined the Packers as a quarterback in 2008 and led the team to the Super Bowl XLV Championship victory in 2010. He was awarded the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was also named the Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in 2011 and voted by the Associated Press as the league MVP during the same year.
As the Green Bay Packers entered the finals, Aaron Rogers squared off with another legend, Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, a 43-year old quarterback considered by many commentators and writers as the greatest quarterback of all time. Tom spent the first twenty seasons of his career with the New England Patriots and led the team to its first Super Bowl title and 5 other Super Bowl titles. Tom is a 4-time Super Bowl MVP and a 3-time NFL MVP. In 2020, he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and powered the team to its first-ever NFC Championship appearance since 2002.
Looking at the two quarterback-legends, they are absolutely phenomenal at their age. At 37 and 43, both athletes are still playing against the best and elite players in the world. While others are already in retirement, Tom and Aaron are still playing at the peak of their careers. Their consistency in their games is nothing short of extraordinary, powering their respective teams to several championship appearances.
Going back to our topic of community, what really caught my excitement is what the Green Bay Packers built as an organization over time. If there is one organization in sports that understands what it means to build a community with its fan base, it’s the Green Bay Packers.
If you have been to the Northern part of Wisconsin, you know that Green Bay is not actually a big place. And yet, the community it has built over time is so huge, reaching millions and bigger than the place. That’s because the Packers built a community around its fan base, even allowing the fans to invest in the team and become shareholders of the organization. No other organization in sports does that. Packer fans have the experience of being a part of the community!
The team does not look at its fans as opportunities to sell more tickets. Instead, Green Bay Packers treat its fans as a family with a community mindset. As a result, its tickets are always sold out — every season has been sold out since 1960. If you want to buy a ticket today, you will have to get in line behind 130,000 other people. This is the impact of how the Green Bay Packers are building a community around the fanbase. It’s the people or the fans lining up to get a ticket, instead of them selling the tickets to the fans.
In a sales cycle, the prospecting phase is the most challenging part. This is where most rejections come. Rejection is every seller’s nightmare, and if you are not consistent with your work, you will quickly burn out. It is at this stage where most sellers and insurance agents fail. They lost the consistency to persist.
But using the same strategies of Green Bay Packers on building a community to sales, you can build a community around your prospects where you can establish long-term relationships with them, providing value to the community. Your prospect list becomes a family.
So, what’s the difference between a prospect list and a community? A prospect list is something you look to extract sales from every single day. On the other hand, a community is something you look to bring value to every single day. Therefore, if you want to win in business today and stay on top of the competition, the best way to do that is to build a community around your prospects by bringing your prospects your unique value.
Some agents have already built a community around their prospects. But along the way, they got lost adding value to the community. They started selling instead of adding value to them, and they defeated the purpose of building a community, causing it to disintegrate. Consistency was lost, leading to failure.
Consistency is one of the key success factors. You have to persist and keep track of your goals. If you are consistent with your works and consistent in adding value to the community you have built, magical things will happen.
There are several strategies for adding value to your community of prospects. You can conduct a webinar or a presentation of the general interest of the community — it could be about financial management, health management, or anything else. You can also launch an email campaign providing tips and daily quotes. Another way is to provide free consultation sessions, helping your prospects learn how to win in their businesses. Think about how you can bring value to the community, and your actions will be truly appreciated.
When the opportunity comes to your community for the need of the products you are selling, they will start connecting with you and ask you to do business with them. You don’t have to hard-sell — your prospects will come to you.
Here’s the key takeaway: build a community around your prospects. However, that’s not quite enough since you can still get lost along the way. You must have consistency in providing value to that community as well. Don’t look at your prospects like they have big dollar signs on their heads. Instead, think of them as opportunities for you to add value every single day.
Do yourself a favor. Sit down, relax, and go over your prospect list. Stop figuring out how you’re going to extract sales from them. Stop making follow-up calls to check on their decisions. Stop sending nuisance emails that fill their inbox with your sales letters.
Instead, start figuring out what value you can give to your community today without wanting something in return. Whether it is a webinar, an email, a free consultation session, or an event to connect your prospects with the others in the same community, make sure to let it happen today. Keep doing that and be consistent in providing value.
When you apply a little consistency and patience, good things will come to you. Just like the great quarterback legends Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady, when clarity and confidence collide, massive action happens. So, go and make it happen today! Start building that community, and you’ll be on track to achieving greater things in life.
Thank you once again for taking the time to read this post. If you know someone-your loved one, a friend, a colleague, or a neighbor, who might benefit from this episode, please don’t forget to share it with them! This show is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast, and YouTube. Please also subscribe to my YouTube Channel for more high-value episodes. And follow me on Instagram and Twitter for some announcements and updates on my upcoming programs and events.
Keep on working on a winning mindset. Go, build a community, and start adding value. With consistency and patience, you’ll soon have a community looking to do business with you instead of you selling to them.
Until next time, folks!
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Hey hey! Welcome back to Bullpen Sessions! Each week I sit down with abundant thinkers who are making a difference in life. We deconstruct the formula they are using to achieve ultimate success in businesses and in life to help you unpack your life so you can also achieve the same level of success. So, grab a pen and paper, and take down notes as we are about to go on a wild ride. Here we go!
I am super excited about this session because I have an amazing guest — Joel Goldberg. One of the major changes of the Tuesday Bullpen Sessions is that I will start focusing on interviewing former and current professional athletes, and those associated with professional sports. Joel Goldberg definitely fits into that category.
Joel is the founder of Joel Goldberg Media, and he is also the author of a fantastic book, Small Ball Big Results, which talks about the little things in life that add up to big results in sports, in business, and in many aspects of life. Joel is the host of a popular podcast, Rounding the Bases, and he is also a part of the Kansas City Royals’ broadcast team as the host of the pregame and post-game shows of the Royals Live. So, if you want to catch the latest updates on the Royals, follow Joel Goldberg on Twitter. You can also check out all his episodes of Rounding the Bases at his official website blog.
What makes this episode really exciting is that we dive into how small-market teams in business can achieve amazing results, just like the Kansas City Royals did in 2015 as the World Series champion. When you lead a team like the Royals, you have to put the right people together in the team and create a winning culture for the entire organization — and by the way, the same principle applies in sports and in business.
Joel also discussed his long broadcasting journey, his rise to where he is today and his work for the Royals. We also talked about his co-host, Jeff Montgomery, an undersized minor league pitcher who rose all the way to the major league level and ended up as an all-time sales leader of the Kansas City Royals. How he applied the principles in sports to business is something you will learn in this special episode.
So, buckle up and get ready to learn a lot from this session.
The Kansas City Royals went through many struggles and challenges. They incurred 97 losses in 2009, 95 losses and 2010, 91 losses in 2011, and 90 losses in 2012. Then all of a sudden, things changed. They found themselves in the World Series in 2014 and won the World Series championship title in 2015. Joel was a part of that journey every step of the way, so I had to ask him what happened inside the Kansas City Royals organization that allowed them to make such a drastic turn.
Joel recalled his first encounter with Dayton Moore in 2007, the General Manager of the Kansas City Royals. He recalled asking Dayton Moore about his plans for the team he managed since 2006.
“What are you hoping to accomplish? What are you doing? And he said, ‘I’m looking to build a championship culture.’” – Joel Goldberg
Joel was absolutely amazed by Dayton’s positive mindset and his long-term goal for the team. Although he was skeptical at first, considering that the team was losing ninety to a hundred games per year, he soon realized what Dayton meant when he talked about building a championship culture and its impact on the team winning the title.
“And he said, I’m not just talking about the 25 guys in the locker room. I’m talking about the ticket takers. I’m talking about the vendors. I’m talking about the accountant. I’m talking about the security guard. I’m talking about the fans, and not just in Kansas City but in the whole region.” – Joel Goldberg
It was not just about the team. The culture that Dayton Moore was talking about building goes beyond the team in the locker room but extends toward the fans and the people involved around the games, such as the ticket holders, the ticket vendors, the accountants, and the security staff.
The culture Dayton Moore built over the years has become phenomenal as observed during the victory parade for The Royals in 2015 in Kansas City, whose population was close to half a million people.
“Early November 2015, the parade in Kansas city had 800,000 people. … We don’t have 800,000 people living in the city here. But I remember the night before — you certainly couldn’t get a hotel in the city because everyone that had come in from out of town had scooped up every single hotel. … That was the culture that he was talking about. This didn’t just happen overnight. This didn’t just happen because of one lucky season.” – Joel Goldberg
Consistency and patience will get you to your goals. These values are what Dayton Moore had when he built the championship culture around the community. It may sound ridiculous at first in 2007, considering the team’s losing numbers back then. Still, Dayton had the patience and consistency to build the championship culture he was aiming to instill around the baseball community. Over time, that culture remained within the team and continued to exist beyond the people in the locker room. The championship culture wasn’t lost.
“What they haven’t lost is that culture. That culture that he mentioned to me back in 2007 has been there. So he had to spend eight years building that culture. … The culture hasn’t left.” – Joel Goldberg
Dayton Moore is the key figure in the championship culture of the Kansas City Royals organization. He is truly an outstanding leader who is very instrumental in raising the team and the fans from a perennial ninety losses per season to the culture of 800,000 people parading the streets of Kansas City, celebrating a World Series title. I asked Joel Goldberg what personality traits he saw in Dayton Moore that made him accomplish such a feat over a span of eight years.
“Well, authenticity for one — there’s no fakeness in him. … That authenticity of being real certainly resonated with this community. But more importantly, I think that … there’s a consistency to these players that have been in this organization. … So, there’s been consistency.” – Joel Goldberg
Authenticity and consistency worked in balance to keep a winning culture in an organization. Dayton has the authenticity to his team as they looked at him as a father figure. The authenticity of Dayton Moore also resonated with the culture he built around the community. But the consistency of the players also played a crucial role in the culture. The players were consistent in their games, and they were consistent in following the culture Dayton built in the Royals organization.
The authenticity of Dayton and the consistency of the players created a perfect combination in forming a championship culture around the Kansas City Royals community. This culture allowed The Royals, who was then a small team not making so much noise in the stadiums, to achieve big results, rocking the stadiums and the streets of Kansas City with thunderous cheers during their victory in the World Series title.
As we talked about starting small to getting big results, it reminded me about Joel Goldberg’s book, Small Ball Big Results. I asked Joel what lessons can we learn from the Kansas City Royals that some businesses could apply to remain competitive and take over the ‘big boys’ in the industry. Joel responded with a fury of questions.
“What is [a] small ball to you? What are the little things that add up to the big things in your world? Ask people about the biggest home run they’ve hit — the biggest swing and miss. I’m not talking in terms of a baseball field, … small ball to me is the culture question. It’s your identity. It’s the little things that you do that, maybe, people don’t see.” – Joel Goldberg
It is all about creating an identity that you can turn into a culture. The little things you do every day and the consistency to keep doing it create your identity. You can use your identity to form a culture that takes care of others and treats people as human beings, empowering them to work for a common goal.
Just as the Kansas City Royals did to achieve victory by creating a championship culture around its community, you can also do the same in business. You can create a culture in your workplace — a culture of leaders and achievers with a winning mindset working as a team for a common purpose.
“It’s a mindset, … and when you have that mindset, you can accomplish anything. [It] doesn’t mean you’re going to win championships every single time. No! But when you get the culture right, you’re going to, for the most part, be in the discussion every day.” – Joel Goldberg
I would like to wrap the discussion by taking it up to the individual level, and the first person that came into my mind was Joel’s co-host in Rounding the Bases, Jeff Montgomery. Jeff was a five-foot, 170-pound pitcher who did not throw a hundred miles per hour like Jordan Hicks. And yet, Jeff Montgomery is known today as one of the greatest closer or reliever in Royals’ history.
I asked Joel to share Jeff’s journey to benefit those who don’t have the mindset to be great and prove that lack of resources should not be a hindrance to success. We can all learn a lot from Jeff Montgomery’s rise to the minor league, becoming the all-time sales leader for the Kansas City Royals.
“He’s my analyst on the post-game show. … He was playing very detail-oriented, very methodical in the way he goes about things. … Those are the things that anyone can control. Does it guarantee you that you’re going to be the top guy? Not necessarily. But it does guarantee you that you’re going to be productive every single day.” – Joel Goldberg
Doing something productive every single day is the key lesson of the Jeff Montgomery story. When Jeff joined the minor league with many future Hall-of-Famers like Barry Larkin, he was ditched by the coach who told him that he’s not as big as everybody else. But Jeff found something to improve on every single day.
At that time, Jeff did not have the resources. He did not have a professional trainer to assist him in improving his skills. Instead, he started focusing on the things he could control by working on his delivery and improving his skills every day during the off-season.
You may feel like you can’t compete with the big boys in the industry in terms of resources. But you can do something with the resources you can control. Keep on improving your skills every single day. Just be better today than yesterday, and great things will happen.
Guys, you need to start following Joel Goldberg if you want to beat the big boys in your own field of business. There are valuable learnings in sports that you can apply in business and your life. Check out Joel Goldberg’s show on Apple Podcasts Apple podcast for more wisdom from his episodes.
Don’t forget to share this episode with those who need to hear it. Share the link to your friends, available at Spotify, YouTube, and Google Podcast. I would be extremely grateful if you would tag me, @andy_neary, and, @joelgoldbergkc, with a snapshot of the episode along with your biggest takeaways on Instagram.
Whether you are an athlete, an insurance broker, or a sales agent, there is so much to learn from the Kansas City Royals’ journeys as an organization and Jeff Montgomery’s story as an individual athlete. Build a culture around the community in your workplace. Do something better today — go, and make it happen. Take care of yourself and the people around you every single day. Anything is possible.
Until next time, friends!
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Welcome back to another episode of the Bullpen Sessions! We’re going to dive into a very important topic today — we’ll be talking about the ultimate secret to creating a successful business and life!
If you ever wondered what the secret ingredients for a successful life are, you don’t have to wonder anymore! These three secret ingredients aren’t much of a jaw-dropping revelation, but the real magic is in HOW you execute them in your life and work. When you master that, you can launch the business of your dreams and live a wonderful life in the process.
Before we get into the details though, here’s one really important thing you must understand. In order to have a successful life, you have to invest in yourself.
Ten years ago, I had no clue what investing in yourself actually meant. Quite frankly, I was just looking for the cheap way out of everything. I wanted to climb that success ladder as fast as I could. I surrounded myself with successful people and tried to understand what they did in order to become successful. If I could just get enough information, I would be successful, right?
Not exactly. You see, there isn’t a fast track to success. At the end of the day, if you truly want to live out your full potential and meet lofty goals in 2021, you have to invest in yourself. In this episode, I share three ways you can invest in yourself and start seeing results in your business and life. Let’s get into it!
What goals have you set for yourself in 2021? Are they huge, out-of-this-world goals? Or are they little, inconsequential goals?
Guys, I want you to set HUGE goals for yourself this year. One of the biggest failures you can make in life is setting a goal so low that it’s easy to achieve. I see a lot of insurance and business professionals just setting these really easy goals, and while there’s nothing wrong with celebrating small wins, if you really want to reach your full potential, you have to set big goals.
To achieve those huge goals, you have to invest time.
Ask yourself, “What am I even doing with my time? Am I spending time on pursuing my goals? Am I allotting time to hone my craft?”
For example, maybe you want to become an influencer. In order to be a successful influencer, you need to be proficient at public speaking, right? In fact, public speaking skills are essential in any sort of business that you’re in. So, instead of just hoping that you’ll “get better in front of crowds,” designate time blocks throughout your week to practice public speaking. By investing time in yourself, you’re unlocking your potential, and you’ll achieve greater things than you thought possible!
You also need to invest time in your business — I know this goes without saying, but you’d be surprised. Some people idly wait for a sale to pop up. When you are doing nothing, do something! Find partnerships, build your network, enhance your social presence, etc! These things take time, but they give your business the upper advantage!
Lastly, make sure you take time to rest — overworking can lead to burnout and exhaustion. I am all about being productive, but when it starts to wear on you, take a break so that you can fill yourself up.
Friends, do not expect a successful business or a happy life if you’re not even trying.
Back in 2014, my career and life drastically changed. Amy and I decided to move to Colorado and I began my career as a salesman in an insurance agency. At that time, I had no idea how to grow a personal brand. I didn’t know a thing about marketing.
In this day and age, if you don’t know how to do something, it’s easier than ever to learn how. You just have to put in effort. My favorite way to do this was by reading books, which didn’t require a huge monetary investment on my part!
Self-education is a great way to invest in yourself and your business. If you don’t know something or want to improve a skill, there’s a book on how you can do just that. By reading books from thought leaders, business executives, and other successful individuals, Amy and I have taken our careers and lives to the next level.
If you’re not an avid reader, you can try listening to podcasts or audiobooks! The point is, you want to consume information that will increase your knowledge and give you perspective about your career and life.
It’s great to invest in some books that relate to your job or work, but don’t forget to also read books on spirituality, health, fitness, and lifestyle. If you want to live a truly great life, you have to consume knowledge on different areas of your life — outside of your business. Yes, consuming information requires effort, but it is effort well spent.
Let’s be honest — you’ve gotta spend money to make money.
About two years ago, I was listening to the For the Love of Money podcast by Chris Harder — an amazing human who has been a mentor, coach, and friend of mine. The episode was about money mindset and dismantling limiting beliefs around money. After listening to the episode, I checked out his Fast Foundations Mastermind — a six-month Mastermind dedicated for startup entrepreneurs.
I’ll never forget when I made that call to Chris. It was a $6,000 investment, and it was scary as hell to invest in something that I wasn’t sure would bring me results. But I ended up laying down the $6,000 and trusted in Chris’ process.
Ever since that day, I’ve never looked back. I’ve made so many more monetary investments in my own growth, and they’ve all yielded amazing results. After the first Mastermind ended, I quickly enrolled in the second one, excited to keep pursuing my dream as an entrepreneur, and I plan to do so for years to come.
Here’s the lesson here — if you want to be successful, you’ll have to spend money on yourself. I don’t regret a penny that I’ve spent on self-development. In fact, I recently re-enrolled to the Fast Foundations Mastermind, and I invested some money into Kyle Depiesse’s Reach Beyond Experience. In a matter of two days, I invested between $15,000 to $20,000 in my own personal growth.
Don’t get me wrong — I experienced a fair amount of doubt and anxiety after laying down the money. But the next day, I woke up and made a commitment to myself and the universe. I’ve invested this money to become a better entrepreneur and version of myself, and that’s what’s going to happen.
And guess what? It did. I’ve made so many valuable connections which have led to more business opportunities, and I’ve learned essential skills that I’m applying to my business coaching program. Back in November, I made the decision to stop working in insurance entirely and become a full-time entrepreneur. And as soon as I made that decision, it was like the flood gates opened wide, bringing in so many coaching opportunities and business. Looking back, I couldn’t be more grateful.
There you have it, folks! The three ways you need to invest in yourself this year — time, effort, and money.
Where can you start investing in yourself? Do you need to spend some time and effort in listening to podcasts or reading self-development books? Should you make a financial investment in a Mastermind or business coaching program? I know that decision can be a scary one, but I promise you, it’s worth doing.
If you’re looking to invest in the growth of your business and life, I want to tell you a little bit about my new coaching program: The Broker Branding Academy! This Academy is for insurance professionals who are focused on HYPER GROWTH! If you want to blow your 2021 sales out of the water, you MUST have a personal brand. Your prospects are buying you — not the logon on your business card. I’ve designed the Broker Branding Academy to teach you, step-by-step, EXACTLY what I’ve done to build a personal brand my prospects and clients KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST. It took me six years … but we’ll get you there in four months! Ready to enroll? Click here!
And if you felt inspired by this article, make sure to check out the full podcast episode! Also, if you would subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts and leave me a 5-star rating, I would be incredibly grateful! And don’t forget to share this episode with someone who needs to hear it! Tag me, @andy_neary, on Instagram and let me know about your greatest takeaways!
Until next time — go out there and start investing time, effort, and money in yourself.
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Hey, hey! Welcome back to Friday Bullpen Sessions! Today, we will be joined by an extraordinary guest who will teach us a thing or two about the power of consistency and positive mindset. So, be sure to get your notepad out and put your seatbelt on because this interview is going to be a remarkable journey
I’ve got leadership and mental health coach Andre Young with us on this episode. I must admit that I was beyond impressed when I read about this man’s journey. He went through a lot in his life as a young man, but now he’s a successful mental health therapist. And not only was I impressed with his past, my curiosity of how he handles life’s troubles as a mental coach got the best of me.
In this episode, we will explore Andre’s not-so-ideal childhood and the relevant experiences that led him to a life of success and value. His story is that of a young child who, for the sake of doing the thing he loved the most, learned about one of life’s harshest truths and used it to transform himself into the person he is now. You will definitely get inspired and be moved by the wisdom of this man. So if you’re ready, let’s get down to business!
If there is one word that I’d use to describe Andre Young, that would be strength. He has gone against the odds of his difficult childhood and built himself a career as a speaker, author, and founder of You Evolving Now, LLC. He has definitely been instrumental in improving the lives of thousands of students, business owners, employees, and leaders.
His mission is a reflection of his own life story — his EVOLUTION. This is why he dedicates his time, expertise, and efforts to improving and transforming organizational work culture, improving employee-worker relationships, and your own person. Through his 19 years of experience as a mental health therapist, he has transformed marriages, individuals, and groups by sharing his life-altering experiences.
He has written four books, including his newest book, 7 Ways to Lead. He also hosts his podcast called You Evolving Now. Even though he is successful, Andre never fails to keep his feet on the ground. If his story has inspired me, I bet he would encourage you too.
Andre grew up with nothing. His family lived in Philadelphia’s inner city, where he first found his gift as an artist after selling an original painting at age 13. But the neighborhood wasn’t excellent. In the 80s, it grew into a wild place with drugs, shootings, and a lot of chaos. Some might even call it a war zone. It was also during this time that Andre discovered his love for music. He still fondly remembers this part of his life.
“I used to play guitar in 1987. I didn’t have a guitar case. I had a triangle or a box, and I’m walking down the street. That’s where my music class was through all of the drug deals, shootings, [the] police station that was stationed on the corner.” – Andre Young
Though he never really had a mentor, Andrei treated his experience as one. He looked at his environment to learn what not to do so his life could go the opposite direction. Eventually, his love for music ended as soon as he picked up football and fell in love with it.
“I remember watching a playoff game. I love that type of competition and intensity. At that time, though, I saw myself as a painter. A painter does not do football. I was an artist, a musician. But after watching a playoff game, I just kind of loved it and fell in love with it. That was the moment where I told myself, ’This is what I want to do.’ “- Andre Young
After realizing what he wanted to do with his life, Andre played for his little league team. Once he finished tenth grade, he transferred to his neighborhood school with 5,000 plus kids. This was a turning point in his life.
“I was studying in a free-for-all school. At that time, I didn’t know that I was an ADHD inattentive type. I had a hard time learning things that I don’t care about [and] sitting in rows. The result? I was left with four F’s, two Ds, and a C going into my 11th-grade year. I never really understand why I wasn’t learning. I still remember my mom looking at the report card saying, try to make out what this F was.” – Andre Young
But the repercussions of the F’s in his card did not just end with his mother reprimanding him.
“I was the starting running back and linebacker. It was such a great experience. One day, my coaches called me and told me, ‘Hey son, you can’t play – Andre Young
So in his eleventh-grade year, Andre couldn’t play football for his high school. He cried like a baby when he heard the news, but there was nothing he could do. It was one of the first lessons that he ever learned about being an adult and professional, whether in business or in sports. The truth is straightforward: Do what you have to do so, you can do what you want to do.
Andre endured the pain of losing his chance in eleventh grade. Once he was able to get his rates up, he went back to playing high school football. This continued until college, where he would cross paths with future football legend John Mobley.
“John Mobley is a first-round talent. First-round draft picks run differently. I say they float on top of the grass. They don’t run on the grass. They have that certain power, explosion, coil, but also the dedication. When you’re in the first round at that level, it means you’re doing a lot. You play with the stamina that takes the will, and the mindset takes. I got to watch him day after day, week after week, and I’ve seen firsthand his dedication, his grind, and everything it takes from a physical standpoint.” – Andre Young
After graduating from college, Andre joined the NFL Combine and spent one year as a semi-pro in the NFL. By the time he was 25, he had decided to go back to school to earn his Master’s in Counseling Psychology with a Marital and Family Counseling specialty.
“I became a mental health therapist, and I absolutely loved it. I love being able to impact people, connect with people, read between the lines, and serve. So I really thought that I’d be doing that.” – Andre Young
Despite shifting his career to counseling and helping people, Andrei still trained like the athlete he used to be. During a time in the gym, a gentleman came over to him and praised him for looking like a football player.
“I said, ‘thank you.’ The gentleman says, ’Well, you look like you could still play’. I said, ‘Stop. I’m done.’ I have three kids at that time. I’m past it. I put that all to the side. He just kept hounding me about it and told me he was a coach for an arena football team. He wanted me to try out for the team. I said, ‘no,’ again, like for the 13th time, ‘no.’ But when he told me that [he would] train me, I just gave in and decided to do the training.” – Andre Young
Once back in training, Andre, now 30, was working out with men in their 20s. These men are in the best shape of their lives and do not need to warm up. On the other hand, Andre needed to run 20 striders at that time just to warm up and stretch. What kept him going, though, was the exhilarating experience of playing for something that he loved. So against the odds, he trained and did what he had to do so he could do what he wanted to do.
His efforts paid off.
“I ran the fastest time that I ever had at 30 years old.” – Andre Young
Unfortunately, he had an injury and pulled his hamstring after his second 40. This was the death of his football career. He was released in week five of the season while his team went on to win the championship. It was still a great experience, though, and he felt incredibly grateful for the occasion.
“I got a second chance to look at it all, after being eight years out of football. It was an awesome experience. My football career might be over, but it was the launch of a new career path for me.” – Andre Young
What Andre went through taught him an important lesson. Despite not playing football for those eight years, he never stopped putting in the work like he did when he was an athlete. That’s what gave him the superpower to run for three 40 at age 30.
Andre’s experience as an athlete taught him how to be great in life. He believes in the power of effort and its necessity in doing the things you want to do. But he also knows that the path to greatness is not as easy as it seems to be. He believes in doing something with a purpose.
“When we do things we want, we need to make it life-changing. We need to take it back to our team [and] coaches and bring it home to our parents. I didn’t have that kind of thinking back then, so in my career as a speaker, I’m honored to be able to give it to them.” – Andre Young
His words were an epiphany. It makes sense. You might be doing what you have to do, but you might not be exactly heading on the right path. You may think that it’s progress, but it’s actually not creating the value you need because it doesn’t support those around you.
Try to ask yourself, “Am I putting in the hard work and putting in the grind when no one’s watching?” Because if you answered yes, that’s real progress. That’s follow-through. That’s the right path.
With this as a good start, Andre also shares essential points on how being an athlete changed his mindset and how this made his career as a leadership and positivity coach possible. He calls it the 4 Cs — consistency, confidence, construction talk, and competition. Let’s look at them briefly and learn how they can help us achieve our hidden greatness.
Andre shared the story of how his son was caught by his friends throwing a football like a pro. . They were having a practice when his son’s friends went over and invited the teen for a pickup football game. To be caught being great is different from showing off being excellent. Getting caught being great means doing what you have to do without anyone watching you. That’s consistency. As adults, leaders, bosses, or whatever leadership role you fill, get caught being great.
We all know that confidence is necessary because it helps us experience life to its fullest. It totally changes our mindset and makes us not afraid to act though things might not go as planned. When we are confident, we become these high-vibe, cheerful, and energetic people who are fun to be around. To achieve confidence, Andre gives us this advice:
“You get confidence when you know that you’re not only doing a good job, but you’re meeting somebody else’s needs. Sometimes in our job, we get paid not because we offered something of value to our company, but because we did a good job” – Andre Young
“The third most important thing I learned as an athlete and I apply to myself now is construction talk. You always gotta be talking good, whether to yourself or others. I avoid dwelling on negativity even if things don’t go the way I want them to be and shift my focus on the question, ‘What can I learn from this?’”- Andre Young
You are always your most prominent critic. I urge you to take this statement with positivity because you are the source of your doubts and insecurities, but you also have the power to shut them off. Be mindful of what goes inside your mind because they might be the words that come out of your mouth. Remember that whatever is in you radiates to others.
“Lastly, you got to compete. You’ve got to compete. As an athlete, you’re competing with yourself, [and] you’re competing with your teammates. You’re competing with people that are about to get drafted or recruited behind you or veterans that they can bring in. It is constantly a competition with a focus on winning. But you have to be very clear on what that definition of winning looks like.” – Andre Young
Take a step back and reflect. What does winning look like to you? Is it a big house? A fancy car? A big paycheck? Probably awards and recognition? By knowing what YOUR definition of winning is, you know what you need to do or what you can give to compete. Only by sitting with yourself can you get to know what satisfies and fulfills your being. Once you know this, trust me, you’ll feel great and start to look at life from a different perspective.
Guys, let’s applaud the wisdom of this man! It is massive. After hearing all these practical and powerful tips, I feel more empowered than ever. If you are a business owner, a manager, or just looking for ways to improve your leadership skills, please grab a copy of Andre’s latest book, 7 Ways to Lead. It contains exciting insights on what it takes to be a leader in this contemporary, particularly in this COVID-19 era. You can also know more about Andre and what he does by going to his website or connecting with him via email at andre@youevolvingnow.com. Start a great conversation with him because he loves meeting fantastic people.
Also, please share this episode with someone who needs to hear it! Tag me, @andy_neary, and Andre Young, @youevolvingnow, with a screenshot of your biggest takeaways on Instagram — I’d be extremely grateful!
Before I go, I want to tell you a little bit about my new coaching program: The Broker Branding Academy! This Academy is for insurance professionals who are focused on HYPERGROWTH! If you want to blow your 2021 sales out of the water, you MUST have a personal brand. Your prospects are buying you — not the logo on your business card. I’ve designed the Broker Branding Academy to teach you, step-by-step, EXACTLY what I’ve done to build a personal brand my prospects and clients KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST. It took me six years … but we’ll get you there in four months! Ready to enroll? Click here!
Remember that where confidence and clarity collide, action happens. If you’re in the rock bottom moment of your life — a health crisis, poor decisions, or a tragic situation, take a step back. Put your life in perspective. Stop doubting yourself and your capabilities. Know that you have the keys to unlock your life’s greatness. So, go make it happen today!
Until next time, folks!
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Hey, hey! Welcome back to Friday Bullpen Sessions. Have you set some huge and inspiring goals for 2021? If so, you’re in the right place! Today, I’m sharing my number one exercise to achieve audacious goals without being intimidated by them.
What I’m going to share with you today is actually how I came up with the name for my podcast, the Bullpen Sessions. Every week during baseball season, I went to the bullpen to work with my pitching coach. We took that time to get back to the basics. I didn’t have any batters to face, and the game wasn’t on the line. I could screw up, try new things, and fail. It was my chance to work on my follow-through, delivery, and pitch selection.
Looking back, I’m confident that if it weren’t for my weekly bullpen sessions of going back to the basics, I would not have been the successful pitcher I was. And, I can guarantee you that anyone you admire and look up to in business, relationships, or sports has developed a habit of going back to the basics.
Today, I’m going to help you put together a game plan to achieve your big goal by going back to the basics. This tool has helped me stay motivated, avoid discouragement, and absolutely crush my goals. It can do the same for you. So, let’s jump in!
I don’t care how successful you are, the first step is to check your ego at the door. You are never too good for the basics. Ego can be our best friend. It also can be our worst enemy. And if you think you’re too good to get back to the basic drills — what, in sports, we call the blocking and tackling that makes you successful — you need to do it even more.
Probably the greatest college basketball coach in history won by this principle of going back to the basics. So, I’m going to tell you his story. John Wooden won ten national titles in 12 years at UCLA. Think about that — ten national championships in 12 years means that he won 80% of the games.
It is almost impossible for a college basketball team to go undefeated. I know some of the Yukon teams and the women’s basketball teams have gone undefeated, but a winning streak in college basketball is almost never done over a 40 game season. And, John Wooden did it FOUR times!
Now, why do I share this? Because this man is possibly the most successful college basketball coach — every single year, no matter how successful his team was the previous year, they spent the first few practices working on the basics.
He literally had his players relearn how to put their socks and shoes on. Guys like Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton — some of the greatest college basketball players we’ve ever seen at UCLA — spent their first few practices every season learning how to put their socks and shoes on. And here’s why. Because John wanted to send this message, “I don’t care how successful we were as a team last year, we are not too good to get back to where we started. We are not too good to get back to the foundational principles that have made us so successful.”
So, I’m asking you the same thing in the first month of 2021. Are you willing to go back to the basics? You might be happy as hell that 2020 is over, and you get a fresh start. Maybe you’re trying to keep the momentum going because you had an extremely successful 2020. Either way, can you check your ego at the door and go back to the basics with me so that you can get hyper-focused and outperform your competition?
There’s a huge difference between being productive and being busy. The most important thing you can do at any moment is to make sure you’re taking appropriate action every single day. You very rarely need to do a LOT of things. More than likely, you need to take massive action in one specific way. So, the second step to this process is clarifying what your goals are.
What I want you to do right now is grab a piece of paper and a pen. Now, write down your goal for this year. I’m talking about your big, hairy, audacious goal. In my coaching community, we call it the B-hag. What is the number one goal you want to accomplish this year? Imagine it’s December 31st of 2021, and you’re looking back over your year. If you only get one thing done this year, what do you hope it is? That’s the goal I want you to write down.
It can be a sales goal, relationship goal, or weight-loss goal. Whatever it is, write it down!
Now that you’ve got the goal written down, I want you to reverse engineer it. For example, let’s say your goal this year is to sell $500,000 in new revenue. The next step is to break your goals down into quarterly goals. In other words, where do you need to be on March 31st so that you can say to yourself, “I am absolutely on track to meet my 2021 goal”? Whatever your answer was, write it down, too. Do that again for June 30th and September 30th.
This isn’t rocket science, but so few people do it. They create this lofty goal, and they do nothing to figure out what they need to be doing every single week to hit it. They set it, forget it. Three months into the year, they look up at this huge goal and think, “Oh my God, I’m never going to hit it!” They end up feeling behind before the first quarter is even over. That’s why going back to the basics of reverse engineering your goal is the most important thing you can do.
Let’s go back to the analogy I shared a little earlier. If your 2021 goal is half a million dollars in sales by June 30th, you need to be at $250,000 in sales, right? Come March 31st, you need to be at $125,000 in sales. It’s simple math, but whatever your goal is, reverse engineer it back to where you need to be on March 31st.
Once you have reverse engineered your goal by setting quarterly goals, you need to do it again for weekly and monthly goals. So, if you need to be at $125,000 by the end of March, you need to be at $42,000 sales by the end of January. And weekly, you need to hit $10,500 in sales. Do you see how we broke down half a million dollars into $10,500 goals? That’s much more manageable, right?
Guys, I used a financial goal because I come from the health insurance industry, so that’s really relatable for me. But maybe you’re a college athlete, and you want to make the starting team. Maybe you’re an entrepreneur who wants to book their first speaking gig. Maybe you work for a corporation and want a promotion. Reverse engineer the steps to getting where you want to be so that instead of feeling intimidated by your B-hag, you can be inspired and motivated to use your days well.
If you’ve read the book, The One Thing, this next step may sound familiar to you. Decide on the ONE thing you need to do daily to reach your quarterly, monthly, and weekly goals. What is the one thing that is going to move the needle towards your goal the most? Pro tip: It’s usually the most basic task and thing you least want to do!
In his book, The One Thing, Gary Keller talks about the power of focus, managing your willpower, and what it takes to truly succeed. I love what he said about how some people get more done in their day than others:
“If everyone has the same number of hours in the day, why do some people seem to get so much more done than others? How do they do more, achieve more, earn more, have more? If time is the currency of achievement, then why are some able to cash in their allotment for more chips than others? The answer is they make getting to the heart of things the heart of their approach. They go small. Going small is ignoring all the things you could do and doing what you should do.” – Gary Keller
This book is absolutely a must-read, especially at the beginning of the year. It’s a powerful reminder that we’re human and have a limited amount of hours, but if we use those hours well, we can accomplish near-impossible things. So, what is the one thing you need to do each day to move you closest to your goal? Write it down.
You have to reverse engineer those big lofty goals all the way back to the basics — exactly what you need to be doing each today. Because big goals are great, but when there’s no game plan, there’s no action. You don’t need to get to the end of this quarter and feel behind and defeated. So, figure out what your priorities are and start taking action. You are capable of having your biggest, most audacious goals yet! Don’t let it slip away from you because you didn’t make yourself a gameplan!
Going back to the basics, reverse engineering goals, and setting hyper-focused priorities is what all the greats do. The ones you want to be like who are having massive success in business and life get back to the basics every year. That’s why, in baseball, they call it spring training. You have to get back and do the basics.
But my point is this: If you want to have massive success this year, and I hope you do, whether you had it last year or 2020 was an absolute struggle for you. You need to get back to the basics and figure out what you have to do every single day to create that success you want.
The more you level-set you are, the better your results will be year in and year out. So my advice is to get back to the basics and do the boring, monotonous stuff your competitors don’t want to do because they want quick wins. While they’re busy, you are going to be productive. Be patient, get consistent, invest in the basics, and you, my friend, will have massive success!
Before you go, if you’re an insurance professional who wants to crush your 2021 sales goals, I have something for you. The Broker Branding Academy! This is my new coaching program for insurance professionals who know it’s important to show up online but don’t want to waste their time trying to figure out what works. In this program, I’m going to teach you, step-by-step, EXACTLY what I’ve done to build a personal brand my prospects and clients KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST. It took me six years…but we’ll get you there in four months! Ready to enroll? Click here!
Thank you for taking the time to read this Friday Bullpen Session. If you know anyone in your family or personal life that might benefit from this, please take a screenshot of this and post it on Instagram. Tag me, @andy_neary, and let me know what your B-hag is! If you have three minutes, could you do me a favor? Go over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe, and give Bullpen Sessions a five-star rating. I’d be extremely grateful if you did.
Last thing, do you know what happens when clarity and confidence collide? Massive action. Now, go make it happen today! I’ll catch up with you next week.
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Hey, hey! Welcome back to Friday Bullpen Sessions! Today, we have an extraordinary guest who’ll share some practical insights that will help you achieve success in business and life. So grab a pen and a paper and sit up, shoulders back because this is going to be one wild ride.
I feel honored to have Richmond Champion, who took some time off in the middle of his participation in the National Finals Rodeo, with us today. I was lucky to have his wife, Paige Lawrence, a Canadian figure skater in the 2014 Olympics, as our guest a month ago. This week, I got luckier as I got to talk to him about how he, as a rodeo athlete, prepares mentally and physically to play and ride to his peak performance.
In this interview, we’ll learn about his early career and how getting on the back of a bucking bronco helped him prepare for life. Shifting from bull riding to horse riding in his teenage years, Richmond successfully built a career as a professional world-class bareback rider over the years. He attributes his success to having the right mindset. So if you’re ready to get whipped by our conversation and inspired to do the same, let’s jump in!
Richmond Champion is a top-ranked world bareback rider. He’s a 5-time Wrangler Finals Rodeo Qualifier and has won significant ranks in multiple rodeo shows. He holds the record of the first cowboy to earn $1 million at a single rodeo.
Richmond finds value in the role of mental preparation in his career as a bareback rider. He sees this as a key for his ability to take charge over his fears of riding the scariest horses and having the courage and consistency of showing up ten nights in a row for national finals.
He has been leading the bareback riding field, and I know that the practicality and simplicity of his approach to riding could definitely make an impact on your life, too.
The Professional Bull Riders were heating up when the 13-year-old Richmond’s fascination with riding bareback horses began. Initially, he rode bulls, but a realization hit him that made him shift to riding bareback horses.
“I rode bulls for three years. I’d got on a lot of them, but it is a very unsuccessful picture for me. I’d say that the only thing I’m most thankful for was when I shifted to riding bareback horses. There’s a lot of crossover between the two — getting on a scary animal and being in a steel cage with them.“- Richmond Champion
After years of riding bareback, Richmond decided that he did not want to do amateur Rodeo anymore. He thought it was time to take things up a notch to college and professional bareback riding. With support from those around him, Richmond learned the value of taking risks and not being afraid. Today, he looks back on the contributions that these people made in his life.
“I had great mentors who pushed me to not be afraid of falling off or riding the scariest horse in the world. They would tell me to just go and do it because I’ll thank myself later.” – Richmond Champion
He also learned that great things take time. There is no such thing as a shortcut, and training and practice are the only ways to go around his dream of being the best in the field. Later in his life, he used this experience to give advice to aspiring bareback riders to get on young horses so they can figure things out together. He would also urge them to ride it bareback and just focus on their balance.
Before graduating from high school, something happened that would change Richmond’s life. He went to a couple of rodeos and won around $4,000. With money in his pocket, he realized that he could make a living by riding these animals. A breakthrough finally hit him when he won another big tour in 2013.
“Winning that big rodeo tour, I realized that if I do it here, I can do it anywhere. I just got to find a way to duplicate what is working.” – Richmond Champion
Richmond’s consecutive wins built his confidence. The following year, he joined The American Rodeo. He won a million bucks, making him a part of rodeo history. In the same year, he ranked in the Cheyenne Frontier Days and by 2017 was the world’s second-best bareback rider. He took part in a rodeo show at Calgary Stampede. He’s currently taking part in one of his most significant achievements so far — the National Finals Rodeo (NFR).
The NFR is the World Series of Rodeo. It consists of ten rounds on ten consecutive days. Each rodeo athlete gets to ride one of the several but similar horses for the first two rounds. The third round, however, is an elimination. This year, Richmond got assigned to the Eliminator Bull called Killer Bee.
The phrase “bull that no man can ride” was coined from country singer Garth Brooks’s song of the same title. The song is believed to be a tribute to the American professional rodeo cowboy, Lane Frost. Frost died due to injuries sustained after a show when the bull’s horn struck him in the back, breaking several ribs and severing an artery.
“What most people do not know is we do not show up with a horse that we get to ride every single event. There are several horses that we draw from. They are all the same in the first and second rounds. But what comes next is the eliminator, and this year’s just terrifying. They call her Killer Bee, and she is known to be one of the harder, tougher horses to ride in the circuit. I’ve seen her take down four-time world champs and sports legends. When you see that even the best rodeo athletes buck off from Killer Bee, everything becomes a whole different ball game.” – Richmond Champion
To say that Richmond was afraid is an understatement. He knew how difficult it could be to ride a scary animal, but he is more worried of the mental war from learning about it the night before the show.
“The mental game can be nerve-wracking. It can make or break any rodeo athlete. You’re terrified and worried, but you got to figure out how you’re going to get some sleep so you can be ready for the long day ahead.” – Richmond Champion
Rodeo’s thrill thrives on the dangerous circumstances surrounding it. In a sport where one wrong move can be the difference between life and death, even a veteran athlete can buckle on his knees while looking at those scary horses. But this fear is just one of many.
“So you want that rank horse because riding it well will get you a lot of points. They’re entertaining to ride, which is a big flash factor that will help you get more points for the animal. Every guy has his own style, and even when you emulate the best, your scores are really up to the judge that day. There’s going to be days where you make a great ride, and they didn’t like it, and that’s just part of it. It’s a judged sport. You just got to get by them.” – Richmond Champion
Knowing that you are up against 14 of the toughest and the best athletes in the field is another Killer Bee. This can put someone with a weak mental state on edge. Though the kind of camaraderie among the men can be questioned by others, Richmond believes that the sports’ inherent danger keeps them together.
“Well, obviously, we want to beat each other every day. But knowing that every one of us shares the inherent risks makes us a family. We can ask each other for help. We get to dine together and have fun.” – Richmond Champion
Rodeo is one of the most dangerous sports, and many wonder what kind of courage or amount of preparation is needed to make it in a show. So imagine competing in the national finals, where athletes have to show up every single time for ten terrifying days in a row.
“When I’m faced with an internal struggle of whether I should show up or not, I always tell myself every time I come that it’s just another rodeo. It’s just like riding ten times in a row. There’s really no difference since I do it all summer long and over the country. … It’s a mind game. You need to overcome your self-doubt as tough as it may be. You need to trust what got you here, that it is the best you have done and can do. And that’s really difficult — finding that place of peace and satisfaction because there is always that little voice telling you that you could have done better.” – Richmond Champion
These are only some of the many difficulties that Richmond encounters in the sport of bareback riding. Yet he knows that he has the choice to turn them around into valuable lessons so he can win against these mental wars. The sport has many rough corners that he can use to change his mindset, so he can be mentally prepared in every ride.
“And if you ride, trust that you’re going to rise to the occasion because it’s going to do you no good to think and beat yourself up about how you’re going to do this tonight. When you’re getting on a bucking horse, you don’t know what it’s going to do. You may have an idea, but you just gotta do your job and trust that you’re here for a reason, and you deserve to be here. That’s the only answer.” – Richmond Champion
Richmond’s approach to preparing himself for bareback riding and all its mental wars seems so easy. However, it also shows the power of a changed mind turning difficulties into sources of inspiration and life lessons. If you always look at life’s challenges in a negative way, not only would you let them affect your performance, you will forever live a life of doubts, second-guessing, and mediocrity. Whatever path you choose, it will ultimately be yours to make.
Luckily for Richmond, he has someone like Paige Lawrence as a wife. Besides being an athlete herself, Paige also works as a mindset coach. She has been instrumental in keeping him optimistic about the battles he experienced as a world-class bareback rider.
“Paige would always advise me to avoid overthinking it. She reminds me to keep my eyes on the outcomes that I want and just forget about everything else. Hearing those would immediately make me feel better. Having her on my team is a success in itself. Since she’s been a part of my career in the last few years, I don’t get to make excuses. That is definitely a big part of my success.” – Richmond Champion
Having the right environment and tribe reminds Richmond about the importance of consistency, persistence, and patience in his chosen field and life in general. But with bareback riding compared to riding a Jackhammer with one hand, having a sense of just going with the flow versus resistance also makes a lot of difference.
“There are individual horses you have to get in a fight with by going with the flow and, and resisting it at the same time. The best rides are when you’re using the horse and fighting them, but you’re using their moment to help you. You’re just flowing with everything and loving it. But to do this, you have to get your brain out of the way. You need to stop thinking about anything else. Tell yourself to go rock and roll with it — no overdoing. Live in the present and enjoy the moment.” – Richmond Champion
Richmond and his wife loved golf. But upon moving to Montana, the bareback rider discovered that he has a love for fly fishing. He even bought a new drift boat to support his newly found passion.
“Obviously, fishing is fun, but there’s a mental aspect to it. That’s why I love it. That’s why I’m obsessed about it.” – Richmond Champion
Fly fishing taught Richmond another way for him to be prepared mentally for life’s wild ride. Taking time off from his usual routine helps him relax and get his mind off from the pressure of bareback riding. If this worked for him, it would definitely work for you too. Combining the importance of having a positive environment, enjoying what you do, and allowing yourself that chance to reset and recharge can prepare you for whatever surprise life might bring.
Guys, you need to start following this champ if you haven’t already. The simplicity and practicality of his insights were empowering, and I’m confident that if he could change his mindset and win over his mental wars, you can topple yours too.
If you’re finding value in Friday Bullpen Sessions in your business and life, please go to Apple Podcast and subscribe. Give it a five-star rating. Also, don’t forget to share this post with someone who needs to read it. Tag me, @andy_neary, and Richmond Champion, @richmondchampion, with a screenshot of your biggest takeaways on Instagram — I’d be extremely grateful! Old and new fans can also get daily updates and inspiration by following Richmond on Facebook.
Before I go, I want to tell you a little bit about my new coaching program: The Broker Branding Academy! This Academy is for insurance professionals who are focused on HYPER GROWTH! If you want to blow your 2021 sales out of the water, you MUST have a personal brand. Your prospects are buying you — not the logon on your business card. I’ve designed the Broker Branding Academy to teach you, step-by-step, EXACTLY what I’ve done to build a personal brand my prospects and clients KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST. It took me six years … but we’ll get you there in four months! Ready to enroll? Click here!
Remember that where confidence and clarity collide, action happens. Life is unpredictable, but anyone can find a way to ride it with style. Learn to roll with it and know that it’s never over until it’s over. Be flexible because things will not always go your way. Trust the process and enjoy! And take it from a bareback rider: Just keep your hands up!
Thanks for reading. Until next time, folks!
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Hey, hey! It is Friday, and that means it’s time for Friday Bullpen Sessions. Are you ready to kick 2020 to the curb? I hope so because today, I am going to talk about something we all want in our career for the new year: a breakthrough.
How was your 2020? Most people I talk to say it was a pretty weird year. That rings true to me, too. As someone who loves to get out of the house and be around people to get my best work done, I felt frustrated when coffeeshops closed here in Colorado.
Though there are days when I’m still struggling with the feeling of losing freedom, 2020 has also been a year when I experienced big wins. In today’s episode, I’m going to tell you how I was able to achieve success in the middle of a global pandemic. I hope that we can all use this experience as a launchpad into 2021. Once you learn how these wins happen, you can definitely up your game and boost your career to the next level.
Let’s dive into how you can achieve breakthroughs and how you can begin applying what I learned in your career today.
The infection rates and death toll associated with the pandemic made many of us feel isolated, uncertain, and vulnerable. I definitely felt those emotions. But, I guarantee you that there are some wins from the last 365 days that you just haven’t realized yet. I’m going to share a couple of my personal wins and I hope that they could inspire you to acknowledge yours, too.
The first big win I had last 2020 in was my coaching business. I officially removed myself from health insurance advising, which I have done for the last 17 years. I built the complete game coaching program for brokers, insurance advisors, and partners in the industry to help them grow a brand, create a crystal clear brand message, and build the omnipresence they need today to grab all of the attention of their prospects. Do yourself a favor and check out the Complete Game Mastermind now and start filling out that application so you’ll learn more on how it’s done.
Overthinking causes paralysis, and overcoming the fears I have was another win for me. I have always wanted perfection. If you were like me, you know the feeling of not wanting to do anything unless you know you’re the best at it. You understand how frustrating it can be waiting on the sideline and watching others grow, knowing deep inside that you can do it — but the fear of failure is crippling you. Last year taught me that failing is the only way to learn. I want you to absolutely embrace failure. As scary as the messy imperfect action might be, it is the only way you can win.
The other lesson I learned was to stop caring about the judgment of others. My whole life, I was afraid of what other people said or thought about me. This fear started in my professional baseball career when I was so worried about what the scouts or my coaches were saying. Unsurprisingly, my business career was no different. Now, I’m just in a place where I don’t care what other people think. It’s a very freeing mindset.
So what made these wins possible? What made me get over my resistance to leaving the health industry where I worked for almost two decades? What helped me reach that confidence that whatever content I put out there is okay because it comes directly from my heart? What helped me break through amidst all of these fears and worries?
Mindset. I know that it’s hard to get the right mindset — particularly at a time when everything seems so unsure. Surprises — especially the ones we do not like — are lurking around the corner. It’s extremely difficult to grow when stability takes top priority during a time filled with uncertainty. But knowing that you’ll learn and grow through consistent action every day — and doing it from a place of peace — will definitely help you make it possible. Think about that sense of freedom you’ll have in knowing that you’re doing what you love and what you’re supposed to do. That is priceless and you owe it yourself.
I urge you to step into your passion and find what you love doing. Stop worrying about what anybody is going to say to you or about you, whether it’s your boss, your colleagues, or your family. That’s how you’ll create opportunities. That’s how you’ll have your own breakthrough.
l would like you to reflect on your goals this 2021. What do you want for yourself? What’s your dream for your career? If your answer is to be the most successful version of yourself, that’s a great start. We just learned about how the right mindset can propel your success, so let’s talk about how we can maximize it to reach your goals in life.
First: Invest in yourself. It sounds cliché, but investing in yourself will help you attain the win that you have always wanted. An investment could be of money, of time, or of effort. I suggest you start by asking yourself these questions:
Does it give me time back?
Does it allow me to be consistent?
Lastly, does this investment allow me to become omnipresent?
If the type of investment that you’re thinking of passes these three, then I’m all in. And let me tell you, if it worked for me, I’m sure that it will work for you too.
The choice of where to invest will ultimately be yours. In my experience, there are specific things that are worth your money, time, and effort. I call them the four Ts: Technology, Team, Tribe, and Teachers. By investing in them, I am sure you can blow 2021 out of the water.
If your goal is to start a business this 2021, you might want to look at investing in Dropbox, Google, G Suite, Adobe Premiere Pro, and other software programs. These online apps and tools, together with social media, could definitely help you grow your business. Since I’m in the coaching industry, I record my podcasts at StreamYard, which was immensely helpful since I can put it up on YouTube, LinkedIn, wherever. Doing so allows my content to be consistent, makes me present everywhere, and gives me time to focus on other things that help me grow professionally and as a person.
A great team helps your business run like a well-oiled machine. In my coaching business, I’ve got an executive assistant who acts as my COO and serves as the brains behind the scenes. I have somebody who edits my podcast, and another person who works on SEO optimization around my content. I’ve also got Steve and his fabulous team at Agency Annex working on the website.
If you have a team, think about investing in training and coaching them. If you don’t have the right team members, make the appropriate changes. If you don’t have enough team members, invest the money, and go hire them. An exceptional team is going to allow you to buy back time, stay consistent, be everywhere at all times. Trust me, you can’t do everything by yourself.
The old adage that you are the average of the five people with whom you spend the most time is absolutely true. Back in October, I signed up for a men’s experience with a buddy of mine, Kyle Depiesse. If you’re a male business professional, do yourself a favor and go check out Kyle’s Beyond Experience. It’s fun, and you’ll get to meet amazing people.
Becoming part of this group reminded me that complacency is the enemy of action. I think we could all benefit from having a crowd of people telling us that we cannot just stand there and give up. As difficult as it may be, I encourage you to let go of childhood friends who are not helping you rise and who may be dragging you down. Take the time, make the effort, and surround yourself with the right people — a tribe of high achievers who are going to force you to play bigger and better.
Who are you looking to this year to help you grow? Who are you seeking knowledge from? Who are you going to learn from so you can become a master of your craft? One of the biggest mistakes I made last year was thinking that I don’t need a mentor. I decided that 2020 should be about taking action and left my Mastermind for five months.
I don’t want you to make the same mistake I did, so I urge you to find a coach or a teacher who will push you to be accountable for your actions. Though they come with costs, these people have the expertise, the knowledge, and the experience to keep you on track for achieving great things in life.
Guys, I highly urge you to do the same things that I did and make 2021 an awesome year. You have the right mindset. You are capable of breakthrough success — and if you want it so badly, it is going to take an investment from you. That investment is effort, time, and most likely money as well. It does take money to make money.
Today is January 1. Take a little time to sit down and think about which of the four T’s makes the most sense to invest in: Will it be technology, team, tribe, or teachers? Nothing is really stopping you from creating a breakthrough except for your actions, your attitude, and your mindset. I want you to have new breakthroughs because when clarity and confidence collide, action happens.
Before I go, I want to tell you a little bit about my new coaching program: The Broker Branding Academy! This Academy is for insurance professionals who are focused on HYPER GROWTH! If you want to blow your 2021 sales out of the water, you MUST have a personal brand. Your prospects are buying you — not the logon on your business card. I’ve designed the Broker Branding Academy to teach you, step-by-step, EXACTLY what I’ve done to build a personal brand my prospects and clients KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST. It took me six years … but we’ll get you there in four months! Ready to enroll? Click here!
Hey man, thanks for taking the time to read this Friday Bullpen Session post. If you are enjoying this content please do me a favor. Go over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe, and give it a five-star rating. If you know anybody in your family or personal life — your friends or colleagues —that you think needs help in finding and creating their own breakthrough, please share this Bullpen Sessions post with them and tag me, @andy_neary, with a screenshot of your greatest takeaway on Instagram! I’d be extremely grateful if you did. Again, your goal is to make 2021 a great year, my man. Let’s go kick together.
Let’s make this year awesome. Until next time, folks!
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Hey hey! Welcome back to The Bullpen Sessions. Normally on Tuesday, I would be sitting down and interviewing abundant thinkers who are doing really well in life. We deconstruct the formulas that they have used to find success in business and in life. But today’s session is going to be a little different!
As we wrap up the tumultuous year that 2020 has been, I wanted to write to you one-on-one about this year. It’s been hard for everyone. From COVID-19 to political unrest, 2020 has ruined plans, jeopardized health, and brought huge levels of anxiety. But instead of dismissing this year altogether, I think there’s a lesson to be gained.
When one door closes, another amazing door opens. Today, we’re talking about how missed opportunities bring growth and open new doors. Back in February, you may have had all these lofty goals, but then the COVID pandemic struck, throwing all our lives into a spin.
The year 2020 has been hard on many and at the same time it has been a boon for some, and I need you guys to really believe that with the new year there is going to be an equal or a much more amazing door opening up for you. So as 2021 begins, I want you all to understand and believe that this is going to be an amazing year for you, you just have to look at it with that optimism and that perspective.
My inspiration for this Bullpen Sessions was a conversation I had with a former colleague. This conversation was so influential to me and my girlfriend Amy, and so today, I’m going to share the same wisdom with you all! Let’s get started.
It begins with an unexpected call from a former colleague, which initially I did not answer, thinking that it was probably a call to catch up and to have a random conversation. I figured I would call him back later. But when he called me for a third time that afternoon, it seemed urgent, so I decided to answer it even though we hadn’t spoken in a long time. After the usual exchange of greetings, my friend asked for advice.
He had gone through a tragic event recently and had lost a loved one — and to everyone out there who has lost someone close (especially in a year like 2020), I completely empathize with you. Due to this tragic event, my friend was analyzing his life by taking a step back and looking at where he was headed next. With the loss of a loved one, someone who was a big part of his future, he could see two options in front of him —
And as we dove deeper into the conversation, it became very apparent to me that he had chosen the latter and knew that it was now time for a major shift. He also spoke to me about a new opportunity in his career, which required a change in job and a possible change in location.
Considering what he had gone through, I told him that it was a sign that a particular chapter in life was ending. And I advised him to go ahead and make the move. It was not just a change in his job or his location, but a full move that was bigger than the career itself. It was time to close a door and to open a new one.
I told him that he had a clean slate now, a new page that was blank, and he had the opportunity to draw and to create whatever the heck that he wanted to. And with that realization, came a sense of freedom. The universe was telling him right then to take up this job and to relocate. And I assured him that a year or two from now he would look back, and he would realize that it was the best decision he ever made in that scenario. As 2020 was nearing its end, he needed to understand that the next year would be a hell of a lot better and that he had the perfect opportunity to make a change.
And I would like to say the same to you all! You have the choice to keep doing the same thing that you did in the past year, which may mean staying in a rut. You can begin 2021 in the same rut, with the same mindset, without any momentum. Or, you can start with a clean page, with a fresh outlook, with a renewed mindset, focus on the moment, and create a life of fulfillment with the smallest change.
The change can be as subtle as a change in attitude, or it can be as drastic as a change in your job or location. Whatever it may be, you just need to make that change! Close the doors of 2020 and let go of the past.
Now, how does this apply to Amy and my life? Amy and I always had the goal of moving out to Colorado, even before we met each other in 2011. Little did we know that we would fall in love and share the same aspiration of living permanently in Colorado someday!
Now, fast forward to 2014. Do you know what hit us the most when we both realized that this could actually become a reality? It was the fact that we were both at a stage in life where it was time to let one chapter close, allowing a more beautiful and amazing chapter to open.
We had both spent our entire lives in Wisconsin, surrounded by the same people all our lives. We both love our family and friends, but we had both realized that it was time to start on a blank slate. So, in May 2014, we took the opportunity and made the shift.
And let me tell you friends, after six years of having moved to Colorado, we were both grateful for having taken the best decision that we possibly could have. This move had allowed us to turn the page, break free from our comfort zones, and live our dreams.
If I look at where I am today, I am starting a coaching business, building a brand. All this would never have happened had we not moved to Colorado. And looking at Amy, she would never have evolved into the person that she is today. We had closed a door and had allowed an equally and more impressive door to open up for us.
What change do you need to make in 2021? It may just be a small change in your attitude or it may be a shift in your career. Take some time today to think about what things you want to change and how you need to change them.
So, how does this apply to the Bullpen Sessions? I’m glad you asked! I have released a total of 83 episodes and interviewed so many abundant thinkers and thought leaders. Even before I had the idea to start this podcast, I always knew that I had to make an impact.
I don’t use this podcast to drive my business, honestly. I use it to create a legacy. I use it to create an impact on my audience, a bigger impact that is beyond me, and what my coaching business does.
The point of having this podcast is to inspire athletes starting out in high school or college, professional and ex-professional athletes, and business executives and sales professionals. It is for people who are transitioning into the second phase of their lives. Remember — when one door closes, another door presents itself to be opened by you!
I am optimistic about where this podcast is heading in 2021, and I am focusing on bringing more current and former pro athletes and sports professionals from all backgrounds. My goal is to talk to them about their attitude, about what they did to play or work at the highest levels, and how they have utilized their mindset and perception to succeed in a new phase in life.
I am joyful to share that going into 2021, I have a great line-up of speakers representing different sports like NASCAR, rodeo, baseball, football, basketball, etc. And I promise you that it is going to be FUN, and we are going to have some amazing conversations. I can’t wait to bring you a whole new list of episodes and interesting topics.
Folks, ask yourself again what you need to change in 2021. Is it a change in your attitude, your job, a relationship, or a shift in your entire career that you need? Whatever that change is, let it empower you to start 2021 off with a clean slate. This is your opportunity to write a fresh story and begin leading a life of fulfillment.
I am so grateful to you all for taking the time to read this Friday Bullpen Sessions post! Don’t forget to listen to the episode as well. And if you are enjoying these episodes and finding them useful, please go over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe, and give me a five-star rating — I’d be really thankful. Also, share this episode with a family member, friend, or coworker who needs to hear it, and tag me on Instagram, @andy_neary, with a screenshot of the episode and your greatest takeaways!
Before I go, I want to give you two special offers: First, I want to invite you to join my Complete Game Mastermind. This is my coaching program, and it starts in just a few days! Masterminds are a great way to get coaching and put yourself in rooms with other entrepreneurs just like you. You can start building your community and gathering people around you who will support you and your growth.
You can also join my FREE text community! Just text the word “Mindset” to 414-622-1462, and I’ll give you access to a TON of free weekly coaching. If you’re not quite ready to take the plunge and join the Complete Game Mastermind, this text community is a great way to see if my coaching might be right for you.
I’m wishing you and your family a very happy, safe, and fulfilling new year! I will be getting back to you all with a new podcast episode in a couple of weeks, and we’ll be ready to start the new year off with a BANG!
Friends, when clarity and confidence collide, action happens. Go make it happen today!
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Hey hey! Welcome back to The Bullpen Sessions! In today’s post, I am going to get vulnerable and share a really big problem with you. This problem has plagued my business career for far too long — up until recently when I made a big change and everything shifted for me.
What was that problem, you ask? Well, I desired to control the outcome. I desired to have all these big expectations, which if not met, made me feel like a failure. As a result, I continued leading a life of unfulfillment because I was not meeting my own expectations, and I was just trying to control every single outcome in my life.
Today, I am going to explain why we can’t have expectations anymore. If 2020 has taught us something, it’s this, right? Every outcome that we wanted to achieve last year probably got altered in a way, didn’t it? It probably got twisted, turned, or even eliminated altogether. At first, that can feel really defeating, but if we change our mindset, we can learn to embrace the unknown and grow as a result. So, sit tight while I help you all in striking out the limiting beliefs in your life.
I look back at the 20 years that I have been in the business world, and I realize now that for so many of those years, I have been troubled by the desire to control the outcome. I have been plagued by having all these expectations, and if they were not met, I was instantly a failure. This mindset led me to a business career of unhappiness, stress, and undue pressure.
Now, here’s something interesting — back when I was playing professional baseball, I never used to focus on the outcome or on anyone’s expectations. And do you know what the main reason for my success was? I just really got good at mastering my daily habits, and that is what ultimately led to my success. I was able to play professional baseball with the Milwaukee Brewers because I mastered those daily habits.
Let me share what I mean — when I was playing college ball at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, we had to crank up our winter practices after coming back from the winter break. We practiced from 10:00 PM to midnight every evening until the season started, and we showed up at practice when most people were going to bed. We were laser-focussed. We’d stretch out, get warm, play a little long toss, and then it was two hours of boredom — doing the same thing day after day to get really good on the field. That was all I focussed on and cared about. I wanted to get really good at mastering my mechanics and locating my pitches.
Before we played Oklahoma State or any other team, I never thought to myself, “We better win that game.” Never did I expect that all this work and practice would lead to a victory on the mound. I just went to practice and put in the daily grind night after night, concentrating on my mechanics and my pitches, getting into the bullpen sessions, and getting one-on-one time with my pitching coach.
In addition to perfecting those daily skills, I would hit the weight room 24/7. And I still do this at age 43! It’s just what I do now, and it is a part of me —it was the same way at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
By mastering those mechanics and habits, exercising, taking care of my body, I did everything that I needed to do to be the best pitcher I could be.
Again, not once during that process did I think that I must sign that free-agent contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, or else my whole baseball career would be a failure. It just happened naturally because I had become damn good at pitching and I mastered daily habits.
Unfortunately, that mindset changed when I moved to the business world. I wanted to control the outcome — I had to win each sale, otherwise, I would be a failure. And when I look back at my early sales career, it just blows me away by how much pressure I put on myself. If I didn’t win a sale, I would be just devastated for days. And this mindset made me completely drift away from the entire process — the process of practicing my proposals and my pitch and picking up the phone and calling prospects. I just didn’t like that stuff, and so I started avoiding it. I just wanted to win. I had the expectation that I have to sell $200,000 worth of insurance a year, otherwise, I flat-out failed.
Are you struggling because you too have that expectation to win every sales opportunity that you have? Are you forgetting that it requires a hell of lot of boring practice off-the-field for you to perfect that proposal? Even if you’re not in sales, this same question applies to you. In whatever your line of work is, are you putting pressure on yourself to be perfect without practicing?
Many athletes are so successful in the business world, especially in sales because they are able to apply their on-field skills into their sales career. And that is what elevates them above everyone else! Unfortunately, I did not do this at the start.
I completely forgot to apply my baseball mindset to the business world. I put pressure on every outcome, on every expectation, and it just did not work. It led to a lot of frustration, a lot of anxiety and losses, and then a lot of devastation after those losses.
So I want to ask you again, “Are you putting too much pressure on getting the outcome that you are trying to achieve?” I am here to tell you to just let go of that expectation. Just focus more on the daily habits that you need to refine. And if you end up mastering those habits, then the outcome is just a by-product. You don’t need to have that expectation — it is just going to happen for you!
And as you sit down to start planning out your goals for 2021, I want you to create lofty goals — big ones that stretch things and make you uncomfortable. And when you have those goals written on a piece of paper, I want you to toss it into the garbage bin and forget about the goal. Just focus your energy on what you need to do every day which will lead to that goal becoming a by-product. You don’t need to have that expectation that if you do not achieve that goal then you are a failure. Nope! Just get good at mastering habits, and everything else will fall in place.
When you focus on mastering your habits in the new year, you will be blown away by where you are in the next year, or in the next two years, or in the next five years! The reason my coaching business has succeeded in the first 18 months of its life is because I don’t care about hitting a certain revenue goal or about hitting a certain number of clients. I just wake up every day, make sure I do the right things, work on the right priorities, master the right habits, and bring as much value as I can. Because I know if I do that, the outcome or the result will take care of itself.
As 2021 begins, make this new year about letting go of expectations and stop focusing on the outcome. Make it the year of mastering your daily habits. Because if you do that and create that clarity and that confidence, you know what happens? Massive action happens. So go make it happen today.
Thank you for taking out the time to read this Bullpen Sessions post, and do listen to the podcast episode as well! If you are enjoying these episodes, then please do me a favor and go over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe, and leave me a 5-star rating. And if you feel that any of your friends, family, colleagues, or business associates would benefit from listening to these episodes, then please share The Bullpen Sessions with them! I would be so grateful! And don’t forget to tag me, @andy_neary, on Instagram with your screenshot of the episode and your greatest takeaway.
Before I go, I want to give you two special offers: First, I want to invite you to join my Complete Game Mastermind. This is my coaching program, and it starts in just a few days! Masterminds are a great way to get coaching and put yourself in rooms with other entrepreneurs just like you. You can start building your community and gathering people around you who will support you and your growth.
You can also join my FREE text community! Just text the word “Mindset” to 414-622-1462, and I’ll give you access to a TON of free weekly coaching. If you’re not quite ready to take the plunge and join the Complete Game Mastermind, this text community is a great way to see if my coaching might be right for you.
Friends, I wish you nothing but the best for a safe and healthy new year, and I hope that you get to spend time with your friends and family! And remember, 2020 has taught us one important thing — we must let go of our desire to control the outcome. We have to let go of those expectations right now! But don’t let go of the habits that create the outcome that you want.
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