How to Become a Great Leader in Challenging Times with Moe Rock

Welcome to True Grit and Grace, a podcast designed to empower you to claim your resilience and thrive through life's challenges. I am Amberly Lago, a mindset coach, fitness expert and bestselling author. Each week, I'll dive deep with the world's brightest thought leaders and elite performers to share tangible tools and practical advice to inspire you to keep your eyes on the prize and forge ahead. So get ready to conquer your fears, heal any trauma, lead with your heart, and elevate your life with grit and grace.

Well, hello, and I'm so grateful that you're here. Thank you for tuning in. Today's guest, I actually met on the new app called Clubhouse. His name is Mo Rocca, and I am grateful that I joined Clubhouse just so I could meet him. I actually met him in the second room that I was ever in on Clubhouse. And if you don't know what Clubhouse is, it is a new app. It's an audio app where you can go into either private rooms or big rooms, and there are speakers and listeners, and whoever created the room can call you up on stage so you can talk. So it's kind of like going to a conference and your ability to walk down the hall and see different rooms with different topics, and you get to choose what room to go in, and you can see who's in there. And so I'm loving it, but I have to say it's a little bit addictive. So they actually even have Clubhouse Anonymous rooms and groups because people have spent like 12 hours at a time because you can learn so much. But the only thing is it's currently in their beta testing stage. So it hasn't completely developed. So you have to have an invite. Only so you can get on their waitlist, and I have let some people in the app that are like someone's waiting, let them in. And when you let them in, you get credit on your account for letting them in. So it's also only available on iPhones. So if you've got an iPhone or iPad, I would hop on because it's a great way to connect. And and you know, I feel like it's kind of of an app that is was developed by Apple for celeb. Celebrities because you can only use it with an iPhone. And some of the biggest celebrities, thought leaders, authors are on this app, and you can go into a room and hear them speak live and then raise your hand and ask to come up on stage and talk with them. And it's kind of like LinkedIn but with the ability to really connect and network. And so I've seen it not only as a way to connect and build community, but I also was inspired to create my own support group for CRPS. So whether you have chronic pain, a chronic pain illness, or you just experience pain, I've decided, you know, I've looked everywhere to find a support group that was uplifting and loving without any bullying or a competition for who has it worse or shaming. I couldn't deal with some of the groups that I was in just because of the shaming that was in there. So I was like, you know what, I'm just going to start my own group and I'm going to invite people in to share their experience, strength, and hope and come together and rebuild our lives to our fullest potential, because I do believe that we're stronger together. So if you're not on Clubhouse yet, get on the waitlist, or I have a couple of invites left. You can text me. At 818-214-7378. Text me and let me know that you want an invite. You want to come in so you can network, get into some support groups if you want. But it's not just for support groups. This is for entrepreneurs. This is for thought leaders. It's for anybody in business who, because they have free coaching rooms, they have book club rooms, they have podcast rooms, they have how to build your LinkedIn rooms. And I wanted to do something a little bit different and have a room just for people who want to turn pain to purpose in every aspect of their life. So my room is on Fridays at noon Pacific. It's called Turning Pain to Purpose. And if you are on Clubhouse and you want me to send you that link for that room, follow me on Clubhouse because the only way I can invite you to come to the room is if you're following me on Clubhouse. So on Clubhouse, I'm Amberly Lago. Come join the support group at noon on Fridays, Pain to Purpose. And if you need an invite, text me 818-214-7378. I do have a couple of invites left, so just let me know. Now, I also want to give you a productivity tip of the week because I don't know about you, but it seems like there's so many distractions, especially now with Clubhouse. I'm constantly getting pinged to, you should be in this room. Um, And that's what happens with Clubhouse is if you've got some friends on there and they want you to come to their room, they'll ping you in. And I want to be in every room because there's so much good information. And I found myself trying to work and getting like lured into these amazing rooms. And so what I've had to really focus on is my productivity. And I think a good hack for that is to turn your notifications off. Also, first thing in the morning, When you're trying to get something done. I mean, I'm all for turning those notifications on, but when you're trying to get something done and there's something you really need to focus on, turn your notifications off. Also, first thing in the morning, get the most important thing done first. Like, put it on—

I may—

I'm so big on making lists. I make a list. I've got sticky notes and I put my Most important things on the top of the list. Now, for me today, the most important thing to do was to make sure that I got this podcast uploaded because I couldn't wait to share some other news with you and today's guest, Mo Rocca. And so I'm actually— I put it on my list first. I'm still in my robe. I am sitting in my office closet because it's where it's the quietest. And I'm like, before I check social media, before I check my email, before I do anything, I haven't even had breakfast.

I know.

I am going to go and get this podcast recorded because it's the most important thing on my day, on the list today of things to do. So turn the notifications off, write down a list, make sure you're doing one thing at a time. I sometimes feel like I have ADHD because I am easily distracted, and I will have a big list and I want to do all of it, and I'll do a little bit over here and a little bit over there, and I have to really almost like visualize myself switching hats. So, okay, today I'm focusing on the podcast and I'm going to put my podcasting hat on and I'm only doing the podcast. Okay, that's done. I'm now going to put my coaching hat on and I'm only going to focus on my clients for the next few hours. Then the next hat, whatever your next hat is, is, oh yeah, I'm the lunch lady. I got to go downstairs and get lunch ready for Ruby. She's in virtual school still. And so whatever it is, do one thing at a time. one day at a time and focus on the first step, not on the full project, because that can be just overwhelming. So I hope that helps. Also, productivity tip is just to commit to one thing and focus. If you can just get one thing on that list done per day, then you've done well. Especially if you live with any kind of chronic illness or chronic pain. I have some exciting things coming up I wanted to share with you. I'm actually going live on Instagram with David Meltzer, and he was just a guest on the podcast a couple of shows back. His interview was amazing. He is all about empowering a billion people to empower others to be happy, and that's what he is doing. He is amazing. I'm going live with him on his Instagram. At 8 a.m. on February 26th, so I hope you'll tune in there on Instagram. I am speaking at the Quantum Leap Forum on February 20th and the 21st. I'm trying to remember all these dates off the top of my head. This is Mo Rock's event, and he's who I met on Clubhouse, and I was like, oh my gosh! Somebody said you should know Mo. He's amazing. And when I went to go, like basically stalk him, I was like. Oh my God, this man is amazing. He's putting together an event, and I'm so grateful to be a part of it. There's Sharon Lecter, Kevin Harrington. Let's see Forbes Riley, David Meltzer will be there, Lisa Nichols. And these people have been in the industry; they're top of their industry. I mean, best-selling authors, thought leaders, coaches. Kevin Harrington was. You know, of course, the one of the first original sharks on Shark Tank. So this event is going to be amazing, and you can go to amberlylago.com and find a link for all these upcoming events. Also, I wanted to share that I'm doing an event with Rosie Acosta. It's the Radically Loved Summit. You can find a link for that event on the website at amberlylago.com. And Secret Knock is coming up next month in March. Details on that. It was going to be an in-person event, but still with everything going on with the pandemic, we're going to do this one virtual. And then the Secret Knock with Greg Reed will be moved to September where it is going to be incredible. There's going to be a red carpet event. There's going to be 3 days of meeting and networking in person where we get to hug people. So I will keep you updated on that. And then finally, last but not least, we have the Unstoppable Life Mastermind coming up soon, and that will be starting at the end of March. So if you have interest— well, first of all, if you don't know what a mastermind is, it is basically a handpicked group of like-minded people who are passionate and they're paving their way to success. This group is a group of coaches, mentors, leaders, people who are ready to turn pain to purpose, who are ready to live life to the fullest and reach their highest potential. And here's the difference. You can go around all day asking for people's opinions and, or you can seek counsel. And the difference is like when I went to write my book, I was asking family members and friends, hey, I want to write a book. And of course they had never written a book. So they're telling me, oh, You write a book? You don't have a college education. I don't know how you're ever going to do that. But when I went to a bestselling author of 75 books, he said, oh yeah, of course, that's an awesome idea. This is what you need to do. This, this, and this. And so I had great counsel and I was able to write my book. So the mastermind is getting great counsel from others who have already spoken on top stages, who've been coaching for years and years and years, who have written books, who have turned pain to purpose. And so if you want to get to point A to point B faster, I highly suggest whether you're in a mastermind or you get a coach or you get a mentor is to align yourself with people who are moving the needle on their business. So I'm excited about this next mastermind coming up. I'm going to have some of the top celebrities and coaches and thought leaders pop in the group. To share their wisdom. And it's just a great way to collaborate and move your life, your business, your health, and your wealth faster. So go to amberlylago.com for more information. And I'm only— there's only going to be 8 to 10 people in the group. So if you really want to be a part of this group, text me and I will put you on the list because it's We're only allowing that very small group amount of people because I want you to have plenty of time in the hot seat or the opportunity chair where you declare who you are, what your goals are. Then everybody in the group, we go around asking clarifying questions. Then we go around and you get your your chance to have a lot of suggestions, and so you learn from everybody in the group. So text me at 818-214. 7378. And let me know, just text me the word mastermind and I'll give you a call and give you more information. Because like I said, it is really a small group of just a handpicked group of like-minded people that are working well together. The quote for this week is, coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous. That's by Albert Einstein. I had never heard that quote before, and I saw it on Instagram, and I was like, oh, I'm going to share that because I feel like today's guest was definitely a divine intervention. Because as I got to research and know more about him, I was like, oh my gosh, the first thing that his book says is great leaders are grateful. And so Mo Rocca is coming on the show. He's an American businessman. He's a producer, speaker, thought leader, and author. He's the president of the World Philanthropy Group, a global NGO that supports the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. And he's the publisher and CEO of the historic Los Angeles Tribune. And he's doing this event coming up that I'm so excited to be a part. I just feel honored to be there. And he really talks about not just how to be, you know, achieve great success, but he shows you steps and he had people who share their struggles to their success. So this event is going to be about grit, like what it takes to really be successful. So I hope that you will join us for the event, and I can't wait to share more about Mo in the podcast. And one last thing I just have to mention, because You know, I check all the messages that y'all send me, and I'm so touched by just by the the DMs I get on Instagram, but also just by you know your reviews here on Apple Podcasts. Those really help too. That really helps people find the show. So if you've written a review, thank you really from the bottom of my heart because that really does help. If you do write a review. Take a picture of it and tag me at Amberly Lago Motivation so I can share it on my Instagram or Facebook because I want to empower others. I want people to have the best life possible, and I'm hoping that these tips and everything you learn are going to help you get there. But I saw a message from someone who was actually in my book club And from the beginning of the book club, the True Grit and Grace Book Club, from the end, I saw such a huge transformation in my new friend, Jen Hein, and her complete— it's like the light switch went on. And she went from— I could see her go from victim to victor just in a short span. And she's still growing and still shining bright, but just the transformation has been amazing. So this This message comes from lioness_with_toss. This is my friend Jen's page. And she said, I read True Grit and Grace: Turning Tragedy into Triumph. I would highly recommend it to anyone who struggles with chronic pain. It's a great way to kick off your transformation towards gratitude and happiness. Amberly's an incredible CRPS warrior and has become a close personal friend. She talks the talk and walks the walk. She will help you get unstuck in your life. She has been referred to as a hope dealer, and I can tell you she's the real deal. I'm so thankful to have her in my life and on this journey with me. You can also find Amberly and me and other amazing chronic pain warriors on Clubhouse every Friday at noon Pacific. We'll finally have a support group.

Y'all, it is—

when I read this, I am like, this is my why. This is why I do What I do, because I get my strength and my joy when I see other women like Jen and men who are transforming their lives. She lives in pain every day, and, you know, she's had a challenge of shifting her mindset. But she says in here, here are things that I do that have really helped, that I've learned to do. Every morning I text my accountability buddy 3 things I'm grateful Every night in my journal, I write down the best part of my day. Even on my worst day, it forces me to find something good. Every night I journal 5 things I'm grateful for. So she's really embracing this mindset of gratitude and this practice of gratitude. So keep sending me messages. They really just— they fuel my passion. So without further ado, I would love to introduce the next guest, the rock star, Mo Rocca. Welcome to the show. Here we go.

Hi, and welcome back to True Grit and Grace. I have a new friend on the show, somebody I have been so excited to talk with. Mo Rocca is here with us. He's a bestselling author. I just read his amazing book, Lead by Example. He's an angel investor, producer, publisher of the Los Angeles Tribune and CEO of the LA Tribune TV network, available worldwide on Roku. That's just a few of the things that you've done. I want to get right into this because I've been so excited to talk. I read your entire book last night, and the first page that I opened to, I was like, oh my gosh, I love this man because he is like everything I stand But Mo, thank you for being here and welcome to the show.

Well, thank you so much, Amberly. I'm really humbled by your nice words. I mean, I'm probably twice as excited as you are to have a chance to talk with you. You know, what you stand for is also very inspiring as far as grit. You know, I think I shared with you how much I love that word grit, and I think it's an important word. And we can talk for 30 minutes just about that word grit, and I'll be happy to do so because I think it's such an an important word, particularly in today's world, Amberly. I mean, if this past year has taught us all collectively anything, it's that we definitely need more grit and certainly more grace.

Oh, yes. And you know, I was looking— well, I was stalking you, basically. I was looking at all your accomplishments and everything. And what you've accomplished so far— and I mean, you're young, and already what you've accomplished had to have taken a lot of grit. And at age 19, you were already extremely successful. And then you did something else and you went on kind of a spiritual journey. And I wanted to ask you about that. What— so you tell us a little bit about how you became already famous and wealthy and well-known at age 19 and the grit that that took. And then what— Really led you to go on a spiritual journey?

Well, it took grit to be able to enter an industry which is known for being relatively ruthless, and that's of course the music business. Anyone that has experience in that industry knows to survive and to be successful in that business is not easy. But I think the real grit in my story is when I left, because it, you know, one thing that that experience taught me at a very young age is that what society has conditioned me as a man to believe is what I want. What I was taught through media, through schools, through my peers, that this is what every man wants. Some notoriety, some money, a couple nice cars, a relationship with somebody just physically attractive, not really considering too much about what's on the inside. The things that we're conditioned in this society to believe that as a man, you know, if you have these things, checklist, checklist, checkmark, checkmark, you should be happy, fulfilled, and content. Well, most people live their entire life chasing those things.

Mm-hmm.

And so, to actually have those things and have them very quickly while I'm still learning what it is to be a man, while I'm still learning who I am, and to have those things Really, for me, I look at that more of a spiritual experience because my interpretation of that experience was that this was God's way. And I use that word, some people may not like it, but that's just my language. That was God's way of showing me very early on that this is not for you. And I'll prove it to you by giving everything to you so you know that it's not for you. Because although from the outside looking in, I had everything a man could want, I was not really fulfilled. I was not really content because I wasn't living my life. I was living someone else's life. I was living socialized mind's life. I was living society's life. The fame, the money, the cars, whatever the case may be, the fast-paced lifestyle that comes with that world, it didn't come from my inner, you know, my own inner spirit. And so very quickly I realized that. And so, you know, I decided to follow my intuition and I left, which is something very few people would do when they have every opportunity in the world, you know, surrounding them. And so that did lead me on an inward journey and an outward journey, but primarily an inward journey to really discover who I am. Sometimes you need to receive what you think you want to know that it's not what you really want.

Well, I think, you know, now, especially with social media, it's so glamorized. I mean, I actually we have a friend that owns luxury vehicles and he makes his living on renting out his Lamborghini or his Escalade or his other cars to people for weeks so they can post themselves in the car. And I mean—

Yeah.

To make it look like they have, you know, fancy cars or whatever. And so I think that social media even glamorizes it even more now. It's like it's everywhere. You said you listen to your intuition, and I think that's powerful because you may have even had people say, you are crazy, what are you thinking? You're on top of the world, why would you leave this? Did you just have this deep knowing within you that you were meant for more? Because now you're impacting so many lives. You're, you're thought— you are one of the top thought leaders. And get your message out and share your gifts and make sure others are empowered and share their gifts as well. But how did you learn to listen to that intuition or that calling that you had inside of you?

You know, that's a great point. I think it's because I didn't listen. And because I didn't listen, and that led me to pain. Ultimately, I realized that I got to start listening because like I said, even though from outside looking in, a person might have everything that you might imagine, when you're not fulfilled, it's not a good place to be. And so a lot of times people don't listen. And this is why I think we see a lot of people that it seems as if they have everything, but tragedies happen, you know.

Mm-hmm.

A lot of times we might read about celebrities as an example. Where from the outside looking in, we think, well, this person has absolutely everything a person could want. Why would they go into drugs? Why would they go into suicide? Why would they live a life like this when they have everything that a person could want? And sadly, a lot of people actually lack empathy for these kinds of people because they don't understand what that world is like. And so very quickly, I realized, you know, hey, this is not for me. And it was that pain that led me to kind of tap into my intuition. But really, it was mostly unconscious, Amberly. I wish I could tell you that I was just so wise. Well, you know what?

I think pain is a really good indicator.

Yeah.

You know, and it can lead us either to— 2 ways, either down further into the depths of unhappiness and despair, or it can light a fire up under us and push us towards our calling. And our purpose. And it sounds like you were, you were wise enough to go, okay, I want more. There has to be more. I want to be deeply fulfilled. And I saw that you went and studied with shamans and traveled. And how long was that journey that you went on to really get that fulfillment for yourself?

You know, I spent about 2 years just experiencing life.

Wow.

At that point, I had, you know, I had made a couple dollars, and so I was able, fortunate enough to at least do that. And I decided I just want to kind of unplug.

Yeah.

I just want to unplug from the lifestyle here in Southern California. And I did traveling, and I went on lots of different retreats, and I met lots of interesting people. And, you know, when you go on a retreat, you meet somebody, they introduce you to another thing, they introduce you to another group, you kind of vibe, you kind of operate on the same frequency. And so it opened up the doors to lots of different experiences with lots of different people that I had the ability to meet.

And— I mean, that's how we met. We met on Clubhouse.

We did. We did meet on Clubhouse. And, you know, we even have people that are our mutual friends and that we are kind of just vibing on the same frequency. So whether it's online or offline, it's the same principle, right? You just meet people. And that's really my life, honestly, Amberly. The thing that I'll say is that I'm blessed and grateful and humbled that I consistently, constantly have great people like you and like others enter my life. And I think that is really an important lesson for people is you've got to meet people, you've got to talk to people, you've got to, you know, be open-minded and get yourself out there.

But you know what, Mo? I have to say something too because this shows in you, in the You know, small amount of time that I've known you, and I hope that we're going to be great friends, best buds for life. But you know what it shows that you do? You are really good to people. And I think that when you're good to people, people are good to you. And it shows in, in the way that you treat people, and it shows in just the people that you surround yourself with. You're like this light, and people want to be with you because You've got good mojo.

Thank you. No pun intended, right? But, um, no pun intended. You know what it is, Amberly? It's something that is very simple, and anyone can apply this right now. It's not like a— it's not a superhero skill. Give without expecting anything in return. That's really as simple as it is, right? If I give, but in the back of my mind I'm giving to receiving, the energy's off.

Mm-hmm.

But if I give for the sake of giving, automatically people will want to give as well. So it's a byproduct, but it has to be authentic. Otherwise, it's called a negotiation. Otherwise, we're at the negotiation table. But I appreciate you recognizing that, and I hope somebody really starts applying that. Somebody listening, spend the next 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, just give, you know, just give, just be Be a giver and see what happens. I think that a person will be pleasantly surprised because I do believe that there are universal principles, universal laws. There are certain things that are constructs of our reality, of our life, that are in motion, just like the law of gravity, right? Our species has lasted this long for a reason, and our species still has a lot of life left in it. And there are universal principles that cannot be broken. People that are takers never win at the end of the day. If you look through world history, you could be the most powerful person in the world that has taken so much from people, and yet you'll still crumble, you'll still fall eventually. The ending is never good. It's the givers that last, and even when we're gone, it's the givers that still continue to live because there's a reverbing effect, there's a reverberation with every good deed that lasts when I'm gone.

Mm-hmm.

My path to immortality is to provide value, to give, and to send good vibrations on the planet because while I'm gone, those good vibrations will continue to exist. There's a reverbing effect. The good deeds, the good energy, the good thoughts, those will continue in other forms of life, in other people. And that is my way of achieving immortality, because I'm connected to that good energy the same way that people that came before me and before you put out good energy, good thoughts, good deeds that lasted and continue to exist past when they were gone in this physical form.

Yes, it's kind of— it reminds me of that saying, people might forget what you said, but they won't forget the way you made them feel or something like that.

Yeah.

I don't know. Building your legacy. Well, I think you're really living your legacy. You practice what you preach and you teach others how to be good leaders. And you say that people can learn how to be a great leader. And one of the things that I really liked about your book, when you first open it up, it talks about gratitude. And that is a big thing in my life. I loved what you said about being good, good to people and giving without, you know, expectation. Because I think in my darkest times, when I was able to be of service to others, is what pulled me out of my despair. It gave me purpose. It gave, it gave me a reason to keep going. And then there were gifts that came along with that. The connections that I've made along the way have been the biggest gift And I love that you talk about gratitude and how important that is to you. And you also have 6 golden rules. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Sure. Well, thank you so much, Amberly. And I'll start off by firstly saying that you kind of reminded me a little bit with something you said of why I know there's a lot of people right now in the world that are dealing with addiction. And I know that this pandemic that we're in right now has also increased the number of people that are in addiction, that are, that are suffering. And I think what you hit the nail on was why AA has worked so well for so many people, is because in our darkest moments, when we are feeling helpless and hopeless, what is incredible— and this goes back to one of the universal principles— is when we give, when we help another person, something magical happens where we are actually helping ourselves without realizing it. This is why AA has been able to be so successful for so long and has impacted so many people is because it's predicated on this idea of helping others. And while you do that, you start helping yourself. And so I just wanted to touch base on that because I think that it's a very powerful spiritual law, whether you're dealing with addiction or not. The point is, when you help others, something magical happens, and you're a testament to that. Because as you just shared, when you were going through what you were going through, you turned that into meaning, you turned that into purpose, you, you know, and whether there's a philosophical debate as to whether you created the meaning or whether the meaning was already instilled in you. And that's a can of worms that we don't have time to get into because it's a paradox, right? But the point is the purpose and the meaning was there. But the door, the key to that door was gratitude, and helping others. And so that is, I think, something to highlight because it's very important. And it's definitely not an accident that the first chapter of the book is about gratitude because without gratitude, nothing— success is impossible. Without gratitude, a life of service is impossible. Without gratitude, I don't believe you can be a successful leader. I don't believe you can run a business. I don't believe you're going to be the type of leader that people want to work with or work for. Because if you're not grateful for your employees, if you're not grateful for your clients, if you're not grateful for your customer, if you're not grateful for your position as a leader, that energy is going to leak out. We all have had experiences with people that have no business being bosses or CEOs, and what is interesting is a lot of them don't have gratitude. They take their positions for granted, they take their employees for granted, they take their clients for granted, and the businesses usually don't last very long, right? So whether it's in our personal lives with our families, with our friends, whether it's in our professional lives with our associates, gratitude is a fundamentally important attribute that does have a tangible result. There's a very tangible aspect to gratitude for sure.

Oh, for sure. Gratitude is alchemy. It changes everything. It really changed my life and that's why I do a gratitude practice every day. Every day. Every morning. There's some mornings where it's not quite as easy to be, yes, I'm grateful to wake up. I'm grateful that I can walk. But I really think about, I really get focused. And before I get on my phone, before I check emails, do anything, I really focus on what I'm grateful for. And I also have an accountability partner That I text every single morning who we keep each other, you know, accountable and check for. Did you do your gratitude practice this morning? Because it does change everything. And I love that I see it in my daughter, that she's grateful. You know, we were just hit by a car about 6 weeks ago.

Hmm.

We were riding our little Razors and got hit going through a crosswalk. And I could I did see that she has gratitude in her heart because we were released from the hospital about 6 hours later. And she— we were so grateful that it wasn't worse. The CAT scan, her CAT scan came back good and everything. And we're leaving the hospital and she goes, Mama, we were rolled in here on a gurney and we are walking out of here like champions. Aren't we blessed? And I thought, She's getting that gratitude. She's annoyed with me at night when I like, I ask her every night, what's the best thing that happened to you? What's one thing you're grateful for? But I'm like, she's practicing it. She's feeling it. She's living it, you know? And so our children pick up everything that we do. So when I saw that that was the first chapter in your book, I was like, oh, I love that he correlates that to great leaders.

Yeah.

Are very successful when they have gratitude.

How old is she?

She's 12. My youngest daughter's 12.

Well, I'm glad you guys are okay.

Oh, thank you. Yeah, it's a miracle. Not one broken bone.

Wow.

Miracle. I saw the difference in the hospital because we were so grateful to be alive and okay. And just, you know, road rash and my thumb is still— I can't open a jar. But that's the worst of it. You know what I mean? We were so grateful. And we could see the difference that it had in our interactions with the nurses and the doctors because the lady next to us was not grateful. She was not happy. She was not nice. And the nurses and doctors brought us over food. And we got out of the hospital before her. Yeah.

So you saw You saw a tangible benefit.

Tangible benefit.

And this is something that a lot of people don't get, Amberly, is, you know, I've spoken on many stages about this, and quite frankly, a lot of times I've spoken at business conferences, and a lot of, you know, I can tell while I'm speaking I'm losing half the audience because a lot of people are just business-focused. They want to know, you know, what can I do to make more money? What can I do? You know, what's the secret? What's the trick? What's the hack for me to 10x my money right now? And that's— they're so obsessed with that that when someone like me stands up and says, look, you need to be grateful, I immediately lose half the audience. But I'm okay with that because the people that get it really get it. And it's not just a pie in the sky when you die. Everything that I talk about, as mystical or esoteric or woo-woo as it might sound, it's never pie in the sky when you die. It's sound on the ground while we're around, right? I love that. You got, you got better service, you got out of the hospital quicker, you were treated with more respect, you sent good energy to other people and you received good energy back, and you went out of there in a much more positive mood than that other person had to leave with, you know, 12 hours later when they finally released that person.

Mm-hmm.

That's a tangible benefit and that's just a small tangible benefit from one afternoon. Imagine a whole life. Imagine a compound effect of those kinds of things that happen every single day in business and in life. And so gratitude is not just a woo-woo thing. It's a very tangible asset to have in life for sure.

Oh, it is. And I, I can tell you that for me, that started at a young age. I remember when I was 19, I went in to audition for a— I was a dancer, professional dancer, and I went in to audition for some Japanese commercial. And I had just gotten back from Japan, so I knew a little tiny bit of Japanese, basic, mostly how to count to 10. Yes, that's about it. But I went into the audition and I said, "Thank you for seeing me today." I was like, "Arigato gozaimasu," and I was like, "They booked me out of the whole lineup." They're like, "You're hired," and the other girls looked at me like, "What?

She's not the prettiest. She's not the best dancer.

She's not that." But because I was truly grateful, and I didn't even think about that moment until I just talked to you now.

Isn't that amazing? I mean, here you had this flashback. Your mind's like, okay, here's an example of a moment, because the mind is— our brains and minds are incredible things. Here's an example of a moment where you got a tangible benefit because you showcased gratitude. Now, who knows how many other moments in our lives we're so unconscious about? But I remind people every single day, it doesn't matter what happens Maybe a horrible thing happened. Maybe you received bad news from a doctor. Maybe there's just something horrible going on. Have gratitude while you're breathing, while you're alive every single day. Have gratitude. We may not be here tomorrow. No one knows how long we have on this planet. But when the man upstairs calls me, I know I'll be ready, Amberly, because my purpose will be finished and my mission will be accomplished while I'm here, right?

Mm-hmm.

And that mission and purpose cannot be accomplished without having gratitude every single day, for every single interaction. Gratitude for who we're talking to. Gratitude even for the things that may not be good on the surface. You know, a lot of times I hear from friends that they're heartbroken. Maybe a relationship didn't work out, and maybe something bad happened. Maybe people parted ways. Try to have gratitude for the experience and gratitude for what's ahead in your future. Or if something happens with the job, you might, you know, people might get laid off. And yes, I'm not minimizing pain, I get it. The point that I'm making is if you have gratitude, your mind also starts to see more options. When your mind starts to see more options, there's an effect, right? Even from a neuroscience perspective, there are connections of neurons that happen when you practice gratitude, and our minds actually function at a higher level. So whether it's looking at it from a mystical point of view or whether it's looking at it from a neuroscience standpoint, gratitude is a very fundamentally important thing. thing for any leader, for any person that wants to lead their life or lead their business.

Well, that— I love that you give the example of more of the spiritual aspect, but also show us that it's nice to hear you explain it where you get tangible things. And I honestly, Mo, I never really even looked at it that way. But it's so true. I just looked at it as always how it made me feel.

Right.

But it really does.

It really—

that gratitude, man, it works. It works. Okay, we— I want to talk about this exciting event that you—

Oh, I'm so excited about this.

Have coming up. I am blown away at the speaking lineup that you have for this event. But I have to say, I'm really blown away and touched and so humbled that I get to be a part of this event. So thank you. I'm actually really grateful for you. And I want to talk to you about— I think one of my favorite things to do is to go to self-development events.

Right.

I love to learn. I feel like I have to make myself like turn off my phone, turn off my computer, like shut the book, go to sleep, because I'm like a sponge. I love learning from different people. But how did you first of all get involved in putting together such amazing events? Because these are not just like little conferences. You put together huge events.

Well, thank you for that, Amberly. And first off, you are a big part of this upcoming event because what you stand for is what this event stands for. We're talking about the Quantum Leap Forum, which is February 20th and February 21st. So there's twofolds to this event. On one hand, we have brought together people that have been associated with some of the biggest moments in pop culture history. So not only personal development, but also in sports and entertainment and pop culture in general. As an example, we have an actor, one of the stars of the film The Godfather, 78-year-old Gianni Russo. I'm going to have a conversation with him about the lessons he learned from Marlon Brando, from Francis Ford Coppola, Coppola, from Al Pacino. He played Carlo in The Godfather, so he had a big role in that movie. I'm gonna have a wonderful conversation with him. So The Godfather, moment in pop culture history. We have several people, people that were the co-authors of the book and the film The Secret. That was a moment in pop culture history when The Secret came out. Every— the world stood still and everyone became obsessed with the law of attraction. So that's a moment of pop culture history. We have an actor from The Karate Kid, moment in pop culture history. We have co-author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Sharon Lechter, moment in pop culture history.

I love her.

She's incredible. We just, I just had her on a show that I do 2 weeks ago. She's a wonderful woman. I consider her a friend and a dear mentor. I'm very grateful for Sharon. And we have about when Rich Dad Poor Dad came out, it's actually a moment in our American pop culture history. Everyone went out and bought that book and put it on their bookshelves. You have one right there. I'm like, I've got it right here. There you go. That was a historical moment. It was a historical moment in our history. Shark Tank is a moment in our pop culture history. We have Kevin Harrington, you know, was the original shark in Shark Tank. And so we brought together people. Oh, here's a fun one. We have someone from the O.J. Simpson case. And I only say fun, not because of the case, not to sound insensitive, but because he's kind of turned the fame that he got from the O.J. Simpson case into a career in comedy and a career as a host and a career as an actor. But you may remember Cato Kaelin.

Oh, I served him coffee. I worked at a little coffee shop, and he comes up to order his coffee, and I was like, you look so familiar. I was like, I know you from somewhere, don't I?

Well, we might have to pull you in. We might have to pull you in when we, when we bring him on, Amberly. We might have to bring you in for a quick cameo so you can share that story with him.

I was so embarrassed when he left. my coworker was like, are you kidding me? You know who that is, right? You've seen him because he's been on the news. I was like, I will never forget that moment.

So you've already had an interaction with him here. And now you're about to have, you're about to have another interaction with him, you know, a few years later.

Who would have thought?

So whether it's the O.J. Simpson case, whether it's The Secret, whether it's Shark Tank, whether it's The Godfather, whether it's Rich Dad Poor Dad, these are moments in our pop culture history and they're full of leadership lessons. You know, they're full of lessons that people can learn. So while we have the traditional personal development where we can do deep dives financially, mentally, physically, spiritually, relationally, we're also adding a whole new element. You know, there's never— most personal development conferences don't bring the stars of The Godfather, don't bring people from the O.J. Simpson trial, but there are lessons there, Amberly. There are things that we can learn from these moments. And so I'm excited because this 2-day event, and, you know, you are a pivotal and big part of this because Because at the end of the day, grit— I love that word grit. I can talk to you for 7 hours about how important that word is. Grit is what it really comes down to. Hey, it takes a person with grit to practice gratitude. Let me tell you something, you know, a lot of, a lot of times people see someone that meditates or is all about peace and love and they might get a wrong impression. Let me tell you something, you need to be strong to enter the world with grit, with grace, with gratitude. It's much tougher and much more of a challenge to enter, you know, the world, enter the rat race with those qualities than it is to have lower energy. It's easy to get angry. It's easy to be jealous. It's easy to be vindictive. That doesn't impress me as far as, okay, you know, those are not strong qualities. It takes courage. It takes grit. It takes grace to practice gratitude. So it's strength. to be graceful. It's courageous to be full of gratitude. So grit is a prerequisite to everything. If you don't have grit, you can't be a leader. You absolutely can't be a true authentic leader.

Amen to that. I tell you, yes, I wanted to just keep going. I love that. It's so true though, because it does, no matter what you're doing, if I wanted to feel better, I had to wake up every day and be willing to do what it took to feel better. And that for me means really focusing on my gratitude practice, moving my body, because I do believe it's a mind-body-spirit transformation if we want to have a fulfilled life and be a good leader. And for me, set a good example for my children. So that they grow up to be nice humans in the world and good leaders. So I am so excited about this event. So again, the event is February 20th and the 21st. If you're listening to this or you're watching it, you can find all the information and the link for it in the show notes. But Mo, go ahead and tell us where they can get a link.

So you can go to latleap.com, sign up, and we'll send you all the information. As we go toward the event, to the final stretches of it, it's a 2-day event. Clear your schedule, you know, because you don't want to pop in and then take a break and then pop back in a few minutes later. You really want to give yourself the time to listen to these incredible speakers because we're going to do deep dives. We're going to really go into the nitty-gritty, whether it is mentally, physically, spiritually, financially, or relationally. Whether it's with Dr. Joe Vitale, we are going to have an incredible conversation with him actually we're going to talk a lot about gratitude with him as well. And whether it's about grit and grace, which we're going to have a real deep moment where you're going to really delve into those things. So you're going to come out of this experience touching on some of the most important qualities that a leader has to have. And when I use the word leader, there's some people out there that say, well, I don't identify as a leader. It's not for me. Are you a mother? Are you a sister? Are you a brother? Are you a human being on this planet? Because you've got to at least lead your own life. You see, being a leader is not about being a CEO. There's a lot of CEOs that are not leaders. There's a lot of people that have very fancy business cards and wear very fancy suits, and they're the furthest thing from a leader. Once you have a 10-minute conversation with them, sometimes it becomes very apparent. So to be a true leader, it has nothing to do with a title. It has everything to do with your character and who you are as a human being. Not what you do, but who you are. I don't give a damn what you do. I care who you are. It's actually a pet peeve of mine when people ask me, what do you do? As if that's going to determine how they feel about me. But when someone says, hey, who are you? I respect that much more.

Oh, I love that. And, you know, I think it's really common, especially for men. Like, I notice conversations, you know, my husband will have, and a lot of times they will go and say, oh, uh, what do you do? And I don't notice— well, I guess I shouldn't say this all the time, but I never go up and just ask someone what— I try to get to know them more. But I think it's common now for a lot of times for people to say, what do you do? Like, they want to look at your scorecard.

Exactly. And the intention is not even a bad intention. It's just people have been conditioned, like, that's the first thing you ask. when you meet someone. They have a good, you know, they're not coming from a bad place. But it's just, it's a testament to where we are as a society. Whereas if what you do determines where I should put you in my hierarchy, should I respect you? Should I not respect you? Oh, you work at a grocery store? Oh, you're a doctor? Let me treat you with more respect. These things are not reflections of a person's character. I want to know who you are, what you stand for, what your values are when I want to get to know someone. Do you care about your fellow man? Do you care about helping this world? Do you want to leave it better off when you're gone than it was while you're here? Those are the things that I'm interested in connecting with people on, right? And what's fascinating though, as a byproduct, I noticed that most people that live that way end up excelling anyways, you know, but it's a byproduct of the values most of the time.

I think it's really important to know your values and it really helps you make decisions in every aspect of your life. Um, so I, I could talk to you all day. And I know you're in the Los Angeles area. You're in Orange County, right?

Yes, I'm in Southern California.

I'm in Woodland Hills. I'm not that far. So we'll have to get together.

You threw me off with that accent.

Well, I'm originally from Texas, but I've been out here a little bit. I don't know. It's hard to tell. But I'm really excited about this. So if I want people to be able to find you and connect with you, I'll have all your information in the show notes and on the website. But y'all go follow him on Instagram. Tell people it's— your Instagram handle is @morocklovesyou, right?

I get a lot of flack for that. It's a little funny. But yeah. I love it.

See, I remembered it. I was like, oh yeah. Yeah. So follow them on Instagram, shoot them a DM, or if there's a part of this that really resonated with you, take a screenshot and share it and tag us @morocklovesyou and @AmberlyLagoMotivation. And I hope you will join us for this amazing event because there are, if you don't know who Sharon Lechter is, she's one of my favorites. Actually, I just, we did an event together and I just saw her this morning online.

Incredible. And we also have David Meltzer, who I know was on your platform recently.

Oh yeah. And I'm actually doing a live with David in a couple of weeks.

Incredible. So a lot of your audience will be familiar.

Yeah, we're— you know what? Yeah, David Meltzer. And when I go live with him on Instagram, I'll make sure to mention the event too. But yeah, y'all—

He was at our last event and people love— people just love David Meltzer.

I love him because he's not afraid to be vulnerable.

That's right. Yeah. Oh, you know, he definitely is. He's the perfect example of a true Exactly.

He sure is. Yeah. So tell us the best place to find you, your website.

The Instagram that you mentioned is probably the best place because we will be posting things on the story relevant to the event. And I think that's probably the main place right now that people could be connected to the work I do with the Tribune, with the events, and a lot of the exciting things that you're involved with, like this event that I'll be promoting very soon on the Instagram page.

Okay, well, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your wisdom and your light.

So I appreciate it.

We had fun, huh?

Yeah, I knew we would.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks so much for joining us this week on True Grit and Grace podcast. If you like it, please rate it or share it with your friends.

That would help too.

If you're not yet on the newsletter list, come over to AmberlyLago.com and jump on it. While you're there, you can grab a free downloadable gratitude journal, and you might just want to check out my book or even check out my monthly motivational membership. Thanks again for tuning in. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll see you next week.

Bye.