How to Turn Your Voice Into Revenue: Dr. Sonja’s Playbook | #Success - Ep. 34

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Now obviously if you want to sell stuff online, you're going to need a good funnel, but if you want a great funnel, then you're going to need to use ClickFunnels. ClickFunnels is the number one funnel builder in the world, helping more first-time entrepreneurs to leave their 9 to 5 and to launch their dream than any other company on earth. ClickFunnels was built for the dreamer and the doer, and you can get a free 14-day trial by going to clickfunnels.com/podcast right now. That's clickfunnels.com/podcast. ClickFunnels, because you're one funnel away from changing the world. This is the Russell Brunson Show. What's up everybody, welcome back to the show. We're here at Inner Circle, I've been pulling in some of my favorite people for some really fun, interesting conversations. For any of you guys who were at Funnel Hacking Live this year, we had someone who's newer to my community, my world, who came. I had a chance to meet her, how many months, it was a couple months before FHL. Let's see, 2 months before, and for the most part, Funnel Hacking Live, all the speaking slots were done, and I heard her speak like, 2 times, and both times I was like, oh my gosh, I need to get her speaking at Funnel Hacking Live. How are we gonna fit? So we had to move things around, we had to bump people around, and we got her to come and speak right before I did my pitch, actually, which is one of the scariest spots to, you know, and luckily she said yes, and she came on stage and gave one of my favorite presentations from Funnel Hacking Live this year. Someone who I have so much respect for, and it's been fun getting to know her over the last 3 or 4 months, and excited for those of you guys who weren't at Funnel Hacking Live to meet her and hopefully have a chance to follow her and see all the cool stuff she's doing. So her name's Dr. Sonia. Thank you so much for being here with us today.

Thank you, Russell, for having me. When you say a couple of months prior, I'm like, what? It feels like it's been years already.

I know.

It's only been a few months.

Yeah. Well, you did come to Boise like 5 times in those few months.

I did. I did. That wasn't by choice. It was just like, hey, you need to go back. I'm like, okay. And I said yes. Yeah.

It's been so much fun having you. For those who don't know you yet, I love you tell just a little bit of your history and backstory, how, because you, you weren't in this industry for a long time, but in the short time you've been in it, you have done some amazing things and grown faster than probably almost anyone I've seen who's entered into it. So I'd love to hear kind of how you got started into this.

Well, I'll go backstory, being from a little small country town, not Boise, Idaho, but from Wilson, Arkansas. And so I grew up having 12 siblings. I'm the youngest of 12. And so when I grew up, I knew I wanted to not stay at home because the only thing to do at home was work at a factory or do some other wild things, but I wanted to be legal. So I left and I joined the United States— I went to college first and then I joined the United States Army. That was a thing that I knew I wanted to do. I needed to have legal rights to fight because I felt like that all over.

You're a fighter.

Yeah, pretty much. I didn't want to fight physically. It was just mentally going through so many things. My backstory, you know, child at a very young age and all of that. And so I joined the United States Army, and when I retired after 21 years, 3 combat tours, I said, what do I really want to do when I grow up? And I remember sitting at a roundtable with some senior officers, and they said, well, Stribling, you're about to retire. What are you going to do? And I said, well, I want to find something where I can go to work at 12 and get off at 1. And they just started laughing, like, no, there's got to be a thing. I had no idea that I would ever come into this coaching world. And so I've been in this space for about about a decade, but the last 3 or 4 years have been amazing. They seem like they just took off once I understood what was really happening and where I could just be authentically me.

Yeah, it's interesting because a lot of people— I have people all the time who come to my world and they're like, so if I do this, like, how quick could I— how quick could I make money? And I'm always like, ah, it's the wrong question. Like, the question is like, you know, coming in and like learning it and understanding and who you want to serve and all the things that, you know, the foundation happens ahead of time. I'm curious, when you— 10 years ago when you kind of started, like, what were the I guess what, what were the things you were going through trying to figure out before it took off? You know, like what were the, the seeds you were planting back then?

So I was still having, like most of us that, well, I'll admit to mine, I was dealing with some emotional things. So, you know, retiring from the Army, I was dealing with some depression and all of those things because that's all I've known all my life. And so, and then I went through a divorce. So I'm coming into a space wanting to coach someone else, but I was still dealing with my own issues and my own limiting beliefs and all of that. And so it was very challenging because just like, you know, your clients came to you and say, hey, how fast can make money. I was just thinking like, how fast can I get through this? I didn't think I was worthy of helping anybody else. I started out as a divorce coach, and most people didn't know what a divorce coach was. I started there because I'd been married 18 years and I wanted to help. I wanted to really serve. Like many of us come into this space, I just want to help, I just want to help. And I quickly realized what is the very thing that I went through that I could help someone else go through. And even my worst enemy, I did not want him or her to suffer the way I did because it was tragic for me. And so I came into this space coaching divorce, and I would be in court with the attorney, with the judges, and folks like, what are you? I said, I think I'm on to something. And people began to invest in themselves, invest their money with me. And I was like, you know what, let me just get better. I just don't want to be doing this and be a Toyota in the industry. I wanted to become a Rolls-Royce. I wanted to be the elite of the elite. That's the competition side of me, a competitive side of me anyway.

So you decided you wanted to do that, um, Because again, I love that because so many people, I'm sure you get this, people are like, how did you grow so fast? And they miss that step in the middle where you're like, I don't want to just be good, I want to become the best. Like, I remember me specifically thinking through that. I was like, I don't want to be someone who's just doing this. I want to be the best that's ever done it. And it changed your mindset and changed. But I'm curious, when you made that decision, like, yeah, I want to be the best, like, what does the path look like that takes you down there? Because a lot of times you think like, I want to become best, but what do I do first? What's step number one?

It's honestly getting in the rooms with people who are competitive as well. I don't, you know, it just hit me when you said that. I click with you right away. It's like he understands. Because sometimes being an overachiever is folks are like, okay, let me stay away from them. You're like, no, let's go. And I was like, I need that. But when I started, it was just I had to understand what does the best look like, right? Did I have a representation in front of me? And that I honestly didn't see. I didn't see anyone who represented me. I didn't see anyone with a military background. And again, I was still dealing with my life and being way the military had trained me and taught me. I just thought differently and I just felt like this unicorn born out there just operating by myself. And I needed to get around people who were okay being themselves and just being just very transparent and very vulnerable. And I didn't see that a lot in the industry. So the first step was getting into the rooms. The second thing was really understanding, well, how long— not how long is this gonna take, how fast can I learn one thing and keep growing up on that?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Interesting. What were some of the, like, the transition from divorce coach to what you're doing now? Like, when you know. Because first, I'm assuming you're trying to get better at coaching in that process, but then somewhere along the line, because you're. Or maybe you're still doing it on site. I don't know.

No, no, no. I began when I was doing the divorce coaching. People see me online, Periscope and all those places, and I even got a television show on Bravo because I was doing speaking, I was going live, and someone calls like, hey, we're looking for our next Oprah Winfrey. I'm like, I don't wanna be the next Oprah Winfrey. I wanna be the first Dr. Sonya. And that set the course of I wanted to be the first in everything, not second. I wanted to be first. And so when I went on this journey to do that, Russell, I would be speaking on stages. And I remember one particular event, it was like 1,000 women in a room. I finished speaking, we were talking about relationships, and I sold a course. I've always been selling from the stage. That's, that's what I just, not intentionally, it was just like, hey, come to back table. But you would see a mad rush of people. The first time I saw them, like, What just happened? Why are they responding that way? And this young lady walks up to me and she said, hey, Dr. Sonya, I've been following you on Periscope and I want you to coach me. I want you to teach me to do what you do. I'm like, what am I doing? I'm like, just helping. She said, no, no, no. I said, well, go to the back table and sign up, you know, for the coaching program for, you know, the life after divorce. She said, no, my husband and I are fine. Like, what is going on? That was the first sign, and that was the first time someone asked me to coach them in a different area. And she said, well, I mean, what is— how much does it cost? I can pay right now. She said, you take American Express? Absolutely, we do. Yes, I put the order form all over to on the side, wrote in, um, the name of the program that I hadn't even created yet. It was $10,000. She paid right then and there. Uh, Next Level Business— I know it was, uh, Build Your Business Empire. That's all I did, just like that. I wrote it on there, she signed it, and then we got our official contract after that. I was like, oh man, I gotta go build this. And so I've taken that model, anything that I launch, I just need outline and I need a name and I'll go build it afterward. And it forced me to get into this space. I just start showing her to do what I do. So now my whole thought process, Russell, is let me just teach other people how to do what they already do and teach other people how to do that. You'll make more money teaching other people how to do what you do than you will doing it, is my, my thought.

Yeah. Have you noticed like, um, a lot of times the problem people have is they're really good at the thing and so because of that they don't value it cuz they're like, oh, well this isn't, this is easy. And then other people look at externally, like the, the woman there, right? She sees you like that's a superpower. Whatever you're doing on stage like that, you know, and almost for you, you're like, "I didn't do anything special. I just did my thing," you know? I think that's what holds a lot of people back is understanding that like your superpower is usually something that seems very common to you.

It is. It is. And we begin to make it— we don't think it's valuable. So, we think that there's more value in giving it away for free. Honestly, I call it the free 99. Everybody, "I have a free 99." And they just think— and you're trying to figure out, "Well, it's free. Why don't more people get it?" Because people are starting to look at not— we don't just want your free. There's some people who want more from you. They want your best, the best version of you. And so the best version of me, there's— you have to have skin in the game. And so I believe that people are out here now, have great ideas, have content that they can share, but because they don't understand who they are and their value, they just decide, I'm just going to give it away. And they get burnt out, because after a while, when you give a lot of stuff away, you're going to get tired.

Yeah, for sure. You gotta make it worth it.

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So, okay, so that transition— how long, how many years ago was that when you sold the very first?

Ah, it's been a decade. Yeah, it's been a decade.

A decade when the, with the business coach?

That's 8 years. That's 8 years.

Okay, 8 years. First business coach. Okay.

Okay.

And then tell me about that journey then. So then now, now you've got an outline, you've got a name and $10,000. Most people freak out at that point. Like, uh, I don't wanna do this.

How many more of them can I find? How many more? And I just start looking at things differently. I didn't stop at that immediate point of the divorce side. I decided to have an event, right? I've been in, not in this space. I didn't know everything, but I am definitely a risk taker. Calculated risks are better, but I'm a risk taker. And I'm like, what's the worst thing that could happen? Nobody shows up for an event. That's, you know, that whole thing. But people showed up. I had a less than 100 people after that. I said, wait, let me see how many more of her can I get into a room. And I just had a small event. I invited people in, we were talking about life and relationships, and I made an offer— the business side. 60% of the people wanted the business side. And that was just a whole awakening of, wow, I'm on to something. But who would have thought, PhD or not, that didn't matter. I still had, you know, the self-doubt like many people have. I just had the self-doubt. Well, can I really do this? That's when it began to kick when people— more people start to pay me. Wait, I'm an imposter. I shouldn't be doing this. All of my past. So I had to deal with that internal beast that wants to show up when you're doing some amazing things. And I started to realize, Russell, he, she, or he is always going to show up. For every level, they show up just to test you.

How do you shut that down then? Because a lot of people struggle. They never get past that, right?

I'm smiling because I don't want to yell too loud in the mic. It's like the voice that speaks the loudest wins. Yeah, that voice that speaks the loudest. And I'm very cognizant of what that voice sounds like. It— that voice will say, you can't do this, Russell's going to have you on his podcast, are you sure you're ready for that? Like, that, that voice wants to speak loudly. I'm like, what? What are you talking about? Just sit down somewhere. I'm, I'm worthy of this, right? And so just really listening to the voice and which one is speaking the loudest. I am not saying I have mastered that, but I've become very good at recognizing that the truth— your brain cannot tell the difference between the truth and a lie. So I want to feed myself the truth at times, but I want it to be positive regardless if I think it's not going to work. But I can't imagine something not working. It's going to work. I'm going to learn something from it. And so that's how I see everything now.

So cool. When you said that, remind me, um, Annie Grace is writing another book right now, and I had a chance to read one of her chapters, and she says something was so fascinating. She said that, um, um, she was talking about thoughts, and but she said first off, she's like, you know, our heart beats all the time, right? And our lungs Breathe. And this stuff's happening subconsciously every single day. And she's like, just the same way that your heart beats and your lungs breathe, your brain has thoughts. It's the same thing. And they just show up and they show up and they show up. And a lot of times we think that those thoughts are, you know, it's like it's something, but it's not. It's just, it's just an impulse, just like breathing, you know. And so what default, the default thought for most people, even if you're successful, is the negative thought that keeps coming in, right? And like what you just said about like the loudest voice wins is fascinating because we, the cool thing about thoughts is we can choose our thoughts. Like we can say, I want to think this instead, and then you can drown out these other ones. But by default, if you just sit there All sorts of weird stuff, negative stuff flies in instantly, right? Every single time. It's like learning how to control those. 'Cause I can't control my, you can control your breathing, I guess, your heartbeat you can't control, but the thoughts, when you learn how to master that and control that, then it shifts things, which is such a cool, anyway, I love geeking out on that kind of stuff 'cause it's so interesting.

[Speaker] It is fascinating. Just think about it. Why are there some of the top 1%ers, if you really sit down and talk to them, or you, and you sit down and have a conversation, the conversations are different, the thoughts are different. You know, you can tell where someone is in their life based on what they say. 'Cause when they say something, I'm thinking about what they said and what they didn't even say. And I'm thinking, oh yeah, they're just getting started. Let's say business owners, they're just getting started in business. They're coming outta corporate America. Or wait, he's experienced, he's been doing this. And I can tell if they've been working on their inner thoughts, they've been working on their self-being and self-mastery is the word I'm looking for. So self-mastery is real and many people won't tap into that. They want more skill. Rose Russell, tell me how to do this. Russell's like, wait, work on this part. No, no, no, I need to make money right now. But they're missing the, the most important part of the journey.

We gotta Trick them and sell them what they want, but then give them what they need.

Yes, absolutely, absolutely.

Because it's funny, because half the time in our programs, right, I know it's like they come in and it's like, okay, they want to learn blah, so we teach them blah. But then, uh, actually it was Frank Kern told me this was really fascinating. He had a— it was a $400 a month membership site, and the churn was really high. People kept canceling, so he was trying like a million different things to keep people to stick. And he's like, of all things I tested, the one that worked the best is I made module number 1 a mindset module. And then people like, then they actually implemented and they had success. And, but nobody, he's like, when I sold it as a benefit, no one wanted to go through the mind. I don't need mindset, I'm good. You know, like, I'm gonna skip down and get to the good stuff. But when he forced them to go through that, then they stuck longer, they did better. Like, it's just, it's, it's fascinating.

That's how I start out my programs. We go through some IEP initiative, the effort, and the performance. We go through that and we share with them the percentage. This is if you're operating at this level, it is a whole mastery. And they're like, oh my gosh, that's why I can't get this done. But it really helps set the next steps when they understand. And You don't really say, oh, you need mindset. Who's gonna say, yeah, I need some mindset.

Give me some mindset.

No, I don't need that. It's like, hey, if you wanna get to X amount of income level, let's look at step 1. What is the number 1 thing that most high achievers are doing? And they're thinking it's another skill, it's another strategy. No, they have really worked on themselves and there's self-mastery that's included in that.

Yeah.

100%.

Yes.

Oh yes.

Okay. So now I wanna talk about And you start transitioning, right? Divorce coach, business coach. But there was something or somewhere, I don't know what happened, but I think you told me or FHL, some of the last 2.5, 3 years, what, are you allowed to say the number? Like—

Yeah, yeah, yeah. $28 million.

In how many years?

In 3 years.

Okay, so what, there's a pivot point there, 3 years ago. Yes. What was like, what's the difference? Like what?

So right before the pandemic, I started getting on stages and I was traveling speaking, but it wasn't a thing. It was just part of the journey. You know, people hear me speak like, hey, can you come speak on my stage and whatever. But then I started to make it a business. What is this line of business? And I realized, and I did some studies, speaking is the number one career in the world. It really is. Professional speaking people, you know, they're, they're nervous about it. They, I want to be a professional speaker, but I get nervous in front of people. Hello, so do I, for 3 seconds until I get a mic. That's why you hear me say I've never met a mic I did not like for 3 seconds because I had a message. And so those 3 years I went all in, and I was sharing earlier this framework that I use. I call it my $28 million runway of the 5 things, the, the platform that I find myself. It's just levels— the coaching, the speaking, and events. But what's happening with the essence of all of that? This is not what I do. This is who I am. I can't imagine, Russell. It's like being in the Army. I stayed 21 years because I couldn't imagine getting out and retiring. But at some point, I was like, you know what? I want to do something else. I've been called to do something else. And so that pivot began to happen. But all of the chaos happening in the world, all those things taking place, the pandemic was taking place. I'm like, like everyone else, what am I going to do? I'm I was like, just do what you're already doing, but take it online. We had thousands show up, and that's when I realized that Zoom can only get 1,000 people on there. They can't get in.

What happened?

Yeah, we broke Zoom. But I, I began to do that, and I just went all in. And it wasn't just business. I wanted to teach business from the inside out. And I began to attract some of the most amazing people, and they gave me this title, the General to Giants. They played on the military as a general, and they are the giants. And then I just rocked that out until the wheels fall off. And we are still going through that same process. I haven't change. I just went deeper into what I wanted to do in the business industry, and it's just been a blessing. It really has.

Are you speaking mostly on your own stages, other people's? Is it a blend? Like, what's it—

it's a blend. So I prefer my own because I can do it from the comforts of my home. I will go out and speak on other people's stages. I love that. And then I tapped into this thing that I can speak on other people's stages and sell their offers. So the very first time I did it, it was a Spanish-speaking community, and I was nervous about going to speak there. I'm like, oh my gosh, are we going to have translators in this house? Well, how many people are And it's a small group. I'm good. It's like, oh, it's 1,500. I'm like, what? And you want me to speak all 3 days? And they're like, yeah. And I was like, okay. I don't believe I cannot do anything. I am definitely the CEO, the owner, and tell my team, okay, I'm jumping off this building. Just throw me the parachute in midstream. Okay? As long as I don't hit the— right before I hit the ground, I'm good. So that's what I did. And I got on this stage and it felt so comfortable. All stages feel comfortable to me. Even I had to slow down a little bit, not speak so fast so the translator could keep up. But when I tell you, energy rocks any stage. It does not have any barrier. Doesn't have a language barrier, didn't have a money barrier, didn't have anything. And they made their very first $2.1 million in 1 hour. $1 million, $2.1 million. And they said, "Well, how much do you wanna make?" They said, "Oh, about $100,000." I said, "Dude, no. Like, you need to get somebody else to do that. Let's see what you wanna do." And so, we did that. And that began the journey of— I love— It's the art of sales, and I call it an opportunity because I believe when you're on a stage, Russell, and you know this, I see you on the stage when you're talking, I'm just in amazement. It's just a natural thing for you. For some people it's not, but for those of us who understand the art of speaking and sharing your thoughts and all of that for selling, it was, it just became a piece of cake. So now it's this whole thing of, I don't wanna sell for everyone, but I wanna sell for those who want to help their community, who want to help the people that they Yeah.

And standardized, that's what you're doing a lot of is selling other people's stuff.

And that was so ironic that you put me in a slot, right?

I have known how to plan that from day one.

I wasn't gonna, I was just, yeah, we, we're in the future. And that's, I asked your team, I said, hey, can I step on one of these speakers? And he thought I was joking. He said, you're serious? I said, yeah, can I step on a speaker? I only weigh a buck, buck 25. I was like, let me go ask. And he said, well, they say it's not. I was like, oh man. Because it's this energy of bringing people closer to the front. And so, yeah. So good, so good, so good.

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Of course, we both know Myron. I went through a lot of his training. But you know, Myron, I tell you, I was in this space and place when I met him. And so what I realized, how God has taken me on this journey, the more I want to become the person who could do a thing, the more he puts me in spaces and rooms with people like you all. Yeah. So cool.

Yes. When the student's ready, the teacher's all right, right? That's how I always feel every time I'm like stuck at a level and then all of a sudden like someone appears I'm like, how have I not been aware of this person for so long? You know what I mean? It always fascinates me when that happens. And it's exciting.

That's how I got into Inner Circle. I was like, where is the next person? I want to understand automation. I said, there's something going on. And I went to Marlon. I said, hey, what's going on in Inner Circle? I didn't even know it existed. I told you the story of how—

You were in ClickFunnels like a decade before.

No, he was, but I just didn't know. I guess I wasn't ready or something was taking place. I was doing some other things and I just went, I said, hey, what's going on in Inner Circle? I want to learn more about it. Yeah, absolutely. I went, I talked to Steve, Inner Circle. And then I said, hey, what's the highest one? He said, yeah, normally we count away. I said, dude, are you telling me I can't be? What are you talking about? Do you know who I am?

The competitor came out.

And he said, yeah, you can keep there. And so here I am. And this is where I know I belong. And I should have been here a long time ago, but time is perfect for now.

Yeah, definitely. Okay. So someone who's listening who's right now they're starting their coaching career, they're starting to go through here. You talked about, I think you said your 5-step framework. Do you wanna kind of go through that? Just like, I don't have, we got probably 10, 15 minutes to go through, but just so some actionable things that people are like, okay, what should I be doing? Because I want, maybe they're at the spot where they've been doing this for a year or two, not growing, and they want to have a big pivot point like you were able to have.

Perfect. I was just sharing this with someone yesterday and matter of fact today, that framework in itself, even if you're just getting started, you spoke even earlier about a brand. A brand is who we are. You are the brand, honestly. And if you want to look at just when you first get started, people are looking at a particular area and and they think, oh, but my industry is different. You don't understand, Russell. You don't understand, Dr. Sonia. And I'm like, dude, there's hundreds of thousands of you that I've taught and trained, and it's the same. However, you may be different with different hair, different eye color, but it's still the same issues that you have. And so if you're just getting started, really consider where is your voice and where should it be more profound. What platform should it be? You know, we talk about social media It's the number one free platform where you can just go viral and you can look up and hundreds of thousands of people are seeing and hearing you. Can you imagine, especially for those that are listening right now that truly believe— which camera should I look at? Because I need them to see my face. This one right here. If you're really in this space right now and you really want to help and serve people that are out there, really consider what your brand looks like. And the brand is not just them building a business. You're beyond the business. It's what is that brand? It's going to last much longer than your business ever could. And so it is thinking about what is that coaching look like? What coaching program do you have that you can take people on a journey? And it's no longer even called coaching anymore. You're taking us on a journey. Where is the destination for that? And what are the steps we need to take, right? And then we start thinking about speaking. I always hear people, but I don't want to speak. I'm so nervous. I could talk one-to-one and you give them a mic, they won't shut up, right? And so it's just really, what's that message? What's that one message that you could take to multiple platforms to get in front of millions of people to make millions of dollars? If you can understand and apply that framework, this is a game changer. So you're coaching, you're speaking, you're writing a book. Always. I see. Can I tell you something that I talk about with you all the time? I said, if we sit down and look at what Russell is doing, he is doing these five— this framework is the same thing. I didn't even know who you were, right, when this was developed. But it was Russell's coaching. Yes, that's a yes. Russell's writing books. Yes. Russell's speaking, whether he's having his own events or speaking on his own platform or speaking on somebody else's stage. Russell's having events all the time.. And Russell's also has coaching programs that are out there that if we can really tap with that one brand and put it on all these platforms, God forbid if ads go down or you get shut out or the ad cost goes— oh yeah, we're not even gonna talk about that. What else can you do, right? You can be on a platform, you can write your book, a book that makes you millions of dollars. Not just millions of sales for books, but millions of dollars because of the content and the, I would say, follow-up that happens in a book. That's really the framework that anyone that's just getting started, if you really learn to tap into that framework, it's game changer and it's game over. And you can pull up beside someone at a stoplight and you just pulled up and they're like, where'd you come from? And you're the new kid on the block. That's how I always feel. But I showed up in the fastest, not the fastest car, but the car that has the fastest engine. And I believe that framework has the fastest engine and that's speaking for sure.

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I think it's, the thing I see where people struggle is they come into this and they're trying to figure out, they use like a finish line, like, hey, how do I make the money? How to do the thing versus like, all right, this is a career, this is— I'm going into it, right? This is a career you look at differently. I'm going to be writing books, I'm speaking, I'm selling, I'm creating, you know? And it's like, it becomes that. And I think if people look at it more like that, um, it shifts in their heads, you know what I mean? Like, for me, like, I remember writing my first book was really hard. Took me a decade to get the first one done. I was like, I'll never write a book again. Um, and then 2 years later, the second one. And then I remember I had this really— I was hanging out with Brendon Burchard. Me and him had a weird relationship. We didn't like each other for like a decade, and then we like re-met and turned out we loved each other. And so we hung out for like all day. I was like, I'm so sorry, I was a jerk for a decade. He's like, me too. Anyway, but it was really cool. We reconnected, and I remember he, he was finishing— he was about to submit a manuscript. And so we were in Vegas together, and he was showing it to me, and, and I was like, you're writing another book? Like, aren't you tired of writing books? He's like, what do you mean? He's like, this is my career. This is what I do. He's like, I write a book every 2 years for the rest of my life. And at first, like, for me, it was like this resistance, like, I don't want to do that. And then it was like, okay, if I'm like— if I really want— if I really believe in this, I really want to do this, I really try and change people's lives. Like, that's the pattern, right? I gotta write, I gotta write books, I gotta make it part of it. Like, every, every— for me, every two— well, this last book's taking me longer, but in theory, every two years, like, like, a new book needs to be coming, right? So then it becomes part of who you are, and it's different, right? And then, like, I speak, I gotta find speaking engagement, I need to be figuring things out. Like, and it's, you know, I'm very interested— I still get scared every time before I speak, but then, like you said, as soon as the mic starts, it's just like a wrestling match. You get so scared and you shake the person's hand, then all the nerves go away. It's like getting past But it's like you gotta be actively looking for those things, right? Like, you don't get on 100 stages unless you're— like, people are waiting. Like, no one's ever asked me to be on the stage.

Like, what are you waiting for? Yeah. Don't wait on them to invite you to the table. Create your own table. 100%. Yes. You were a wrestler. I played basketball, and I even played semi-pro basketball. And I can remember playing in Europe, and there's a movie that was out, and it's like the coach was speaking, but he was speaking in a different language. He was American. I think he was German. And I went through that same scenario, and I would ask my teammate, like, what did coach say? He said, make sure Sonya gives you the ball. Ball or put Sonya— I was a point guard, so make sure you do everything she says. That's what she was translating to me. And that's really what I've done in this industry. I became a point guard passing the ball over to my 2 or my 3 or my 4 or my person down low so they can do whatever they need to do right under the goal. So this is really what we do. It's a sport. This is really a sport. And I love sports. This is a game for us.

A game of business. Yes. I joke with my kids 'cause they're all video game, you know? And I'm like, I mean, business like a video game, but the end you get to keep the money. Yeah, exactly. You're playing these games, you're winning money, but you don't get to— like, we gotta spend it afterwards. It's so cool. And you actually help people and it's tangible and it's the best game ever created.

It is. It's amazing. And, but Russell, thank you for creating this community. I just gotta say, I believe one, it's not just for me to be here. I really wanna open doors to, for more people that look like me, more women, more women of color. 'Cause I can't believe, and I hope this is okay on camera, I really want us to understand because there's some things that are sharing in these rooms that we're not learning anywhere else. I don't know anyone. I've been in a lot of masterminds, including Brandon's, and I needed to find someone who is— maybe it's just me— that's competitive, but not against other people, but for themselves. And they just keep going. And I said, I always wanted to be my coach's number one student. It's not being the teacher's pet. They may not know it, but I always— when you put something out there, yep, I know Dr. Sonya's going to do it. Did you do it? Yep, I did it. Matter of fact, I did it 5 times. It works this way. But it is just— I thank you for creating environments like this because I've never seen anything like this in my life. Even the military can take something from this, from the training that we do with our soldiers from every branch of service. So that's going to be my business. How fast can I get back to them to show them this is how it should be done?

The training, at least. Oh, thank you. That means the world to me. I appreciate it. All right. To end out with, for people who heard your story and they want to plug in and learn more about you, where's the best place for them to go? To be able to plug into you and your entire business and your world and see you speak and everything?

Well, you know, I would say unless you— if you want to just be a Toyota, don't come over here. I would say that. But if you really want to level up to the place where they want to be, they can find me on social media at I Am Dr. Sonya. For those that really want to become speakers, it says Women Speak and Grow Rich because that's where my heart is. But I do coach some smart men. So along the way, so they can find me on social media and they can go to DrSonyaBrand.com.

Awesome. Well, thanks for being here and hanging out and it's always fun having you in Boise and, and thanks for being a part of the podcast.

I appreciate it. Thank you. I appreciate the invite for sure.

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