S5:E141🎙️ Live with Coach Richard Vickers (MULTI TRACKS AUDIO)

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Welcome to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ, where we help you lead with purpose and succeed with impact. If you're ready to grow into the kind of leader others want to follow, this podcast is for you. If you're determined to elevate your success and leave a lasting legacy, this podcast is for you. As my mentor, Dr. John C. Maxwell, reminds us, everything rises and falls on leadership. Our goal is simple, to inspire you, challenge you, and equip you with insights that can transform the trajectory of your leadership journey. Welcome aboard to another episode of the Leadership and Success Podcast with Coach Easy that we're exhibiting some of these amazing trades.

So, first off, what I'd love for you to do, Richard, is, you know, what was the motivation and the inspiration? When I, when I write a really good post, or when I think I write a really good post, I, I feel like, you know, there was something that kind of was the spark or the catalyst. What prompted this post? You know, what were you thinking in the, in the moment? Well, a couple of things, because if, if you go to amazon.com right now and you, you type in books on leadership, Obviously, you get thousands upon thousands upon thousands of books, you know, how to be a great leader, whatever. I like to look at things completely opposite because if you type in the cost of leadership, it— you probably— your search engine will be reduced much more because I think there's much more to a cost of leadership than there is to learning how to be a great leader. And then I think about it. On the flip side of the coin, and it's just the way my brain is wired, the oxymoron of leadership. I was in a one-on-one with some of my team and we were bantering around a couple of different problems and situations that we were trying, hurdles we were trying to overcome. And at the end of it, quite honestly, Carson, we came up with about 3 good solutions or 3 positive different directions that we could go. And I remember I was coming up against a hard stop and I was going to jump off the call, and I told my team, I said, listen, I'm, I'm good with all three of these solutions, but I trust all of you. I, I trust you all. So whatever works best out of these three, I trust you to come. You would have thought— the look on especially two of their faces was You know, nobody's ever said that to us from a leadership perspective, the words, "I trust you." And so, it just got me to thinking, what are some other—

All right, you are in for a great show today. This is Coach Bizzy. Thank you so much for watching live. Please let us know where you are joining us from today. Okay, what city, what state? And since we are now a global show also, which country if outside of the United States? And also let us know what you are grateful for today. And as you know, we like to start our show with what we call here the moment of gratitude. And of course, if you have a question for my guest, please type it in the comments and we are going to be answering your question live on both LinkedIn and YouTube. All right, without any further ado, let me see if I can properly introduce our guest today. I am really excited to welcome my fellow Maxwell Leadership Certified Coach and Executive Communication Coach, author, mentor, lifelong learner, Coach Richard Vickers to the show today. Richard has really dedicated his career to developing leaders, strengthening communication skills, and helping people become the very best version of themselves. With more than 18 years of leadership and learning development experience, he has impacted countless professionals through training, mentorship, and coaching. As Richard says, we are human beings first, not human doings. I love that. That simple yet profound truth is needed now more than ever before because we are living in the fast-paced artificial intelligence-driven world. And we will also be discussing Richard's newly released book, and the, I believe, a Kindle version is coming out tomorrow. You can already pick up the hardback and the paperback version today. Getting Smarter Every Day: Practical Lessons in Leadership, Communication, and Personal Growth. So we're gonna be talking about getting smarter every day, leadership, communication, and becoming your best self. This episode is really for leaders at every stage of their journey, from naval junior officer to aspiring command, to individual contributor preparing for their first leadership role, or executive committed to lifelong growth. And part of what we're gonna be learning today is why the best leaders never stop learning, but also the leadership lesson Richard wishes he had learned earlier in his career. So without any further ado, ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome to the Leadership Success Podcast, the one and only Coach Richard Vickers.

My goodness, BZ.

Good afternoon. How are you today?

I don't know how anybody could live up to that introduction. My goodness. Thank you so much. I, I have seen, uh, so many of your podcasts and I've been a fan. So thank you for this invitation. Appreciate it.

Thank you. Thank you. And I didn't say what I was grateful for today, but I'm really grateful for people like you, but also my old buddy Carson, which everybody can watch. It was season 4, episode 92. He's the Salesman on Fire. Carson Vitti is just the GOAT. So thank you so much for being here.

Yeah, Carson's a great friend. We're both actually in the city of— I'm located in St. Louis, Missouri, in the outskirts of St. Louis. So Carson and I both are in St. Louis. So yeah, great friend. And, and actually, Coach, that's how I, that's how I came, stumbled across some of your content. And amazing.

Wow. That is just— it's really amazing how technology makes the world smaller and smaller. So what is one thing that you are grateful for today, Richard?

Oh my goodness.

I—

the list goes on and on and on, but probably my family. It's easy to say, you know, your career. I've got this book launch. I've got this working. I've worked for a great company, US Foods, and all of those things are phenomenal, but I'm most grateful for my family, my beautiful wife, Laura, and my two beautiful daughters, Brittany and Jordan. They are amazing. Just very grateful for my family.

Yeah, I definitely feel the same way. And Demetrius, we've been married 25 years now, if you can believe that. It's incredible. And, uh, we have two daughters too. It's, it's, it's just, uh, there is no words to say how much appreciative I am of my family, because the truth is, without them, you know, I feel like I'm absolutely nothing and nothing really matters, right? And I know, uh, Papa John, Dr. John C. Maxwell, I really love his definition of success, right? When he says people closest to you respecting you the most. That's what success means to him. And I think that is so, so powerful. So for the people meeting you for the first time, sure, who is Richard Vickers beyond all of your titles and your accolades and accomplishments?

Wow. That's a great question. Well, I'd start with being a husband to that beautiful blonde woman upstairs, to my wife, Laura. I mean, she's my biggest cheerleader and fan and a father of two daughters, Jordan and Brittany. And I'm a grandfather of 3. My grandkids, I try to get them to call me G-Diddy, so you can appreciate that, Coach BZ. But they started calling me G-Diddy long before it was controversial, uh, with the whole P. Diddy thing. But yeah, I try to get them to call me G-Diddy. And, uh, I think I would consider myself by definition, if, if And this may sound hokey to say, I like to think of myself as a student of life who happens to teach those lessons. And that's really all I think I am. And that's probably going to be on my epitaph, I would imagine.

That is really, really insightful. Student of life. Because it seems to me like, especially in this new era, we're going to have to be students forever, aren't we?

Yeah, and then some. We're, you know, just— and I think that's kind of with the book Getting Smarter Every Day, that's kind of where I was trying to go with that.

Yes, yeah, I know. I think the last generation didn't really have to learn forever, probably my grandparents. By then, even with just a high school degree, that's all they really needed to be successful. But today, even with a doctorate, you never stop learning. Wow. Incredible. So you've described yourself as having 5 pillars, right? Leadership, facilitation, mentorship, communication, and an indefatigable attitude. I like that. Actually, the very first time I met Dr. Maxwell, I remember the sermon he preached. It was in Birmingham, Alabama. One word they kept saying over and over again is your attitude will determine your altitude. So simple, but so powerful. So which of those pillars has been the hardest for you to develop?

Oh, out of, out of those, for me, I think mentorship. And I think for the longest time, and this, BZ, you probably relate to this, I thought more that that monster of mentor was for someone else or somebody much more smarter than me or wiser than me. And so being called a mentor was— and I'm going to admit this, this mic is on, right? So I'm going to this out loud. I'm not sure it was embarrassing for me because I didn't know if I had anything to give to somebody. Maybe it was called imposter syndrome. I don't know. But the more people ask me for advice, And the more I started, you know, just talking with people and listening to them on about various topics, whether marriage or leadership or job, whatever it had to do with, um, I realized you don't crown your own head with that title or nameplate of mentor. Uh, it's something that others do for you, and eventually that's how I accepted that. That other people were giving me that nameplate. And so I had to accept it.

I love that. I think it's kind of like leadership too. Many people I meet, they're like, I am not a leader. I don't see myself as one. What's your current definition of leadership these days?

I would say a definition of— first of all, if you call yourself a leader, and I think this is John Maxwell, so forgive me if I'm quoting John Maxwell. John says, if you call yourself a leader and there's nobody following you, you're just going on a long walk.

Yes.

So, uh, by yourself.

Yes. And so many on social media influencers these days who think they are leaders too.

Oh yeah. And, and they think they're leaders because they got a lot of followings or they get a lot of likes. But, uh, Maxwell's ultimate definition is, you know, having that influence. And I think of leadership is, um, if you can lead people in a volunteer organization, or vol— if they follow you voluntarily, yes, then it ought to be not a big step for people to follow you when they get paid to follow you. So if people are going to follow you volunteer— voluntarily, uh, when it comes— and that's why I coach people, hey, If you want to be a leader, go and do something like lead a Boy Scout or Girl Scout group or coach a basketball league or something where people have to follow you voluntarily, and that will test your leadership skills.

I love that. Wow. Yeah, because if they can follow you when they don't have to, they don't have to. Yeah, that's, that's true leadership. But ultimately, like I know in the Bible, for those who are believers, it was just kind of extraordinary, right? Someone like Jesus, he would go to Peter or somebody says, hey, follow me. That's all he says, follow me. Two words. And then people would change their entire life and just follow. Man, what kind of a leader is that?

Yeah, yeah. Two words, follow me. Yeah, that's, that's, uh, that's some pretty powerful leadership right there. And, you know, you have to have that draw, that charisma, and Yes. The things that all the things that lead up to leadership attributes. But you're exactly right.

Wow. Powerful. So let's talk about your leadership journey. You have spent nearly two decades now developing leaders and sales professionals.

Sure.

What leadership lessons have remained timeless despite all the changes in business, including AI?

Yeah, I'm thinking now. Now you got me going back in the reels of my mind. 25, 30 years of leadership. I think probably the one thing— I want to be careful here. One of the things that has always been true is authenticity. Authenticity, attitude, and transparency, I think, are three things that still set you apart no matter, no matter where you're at. And no matter in all of the transitions of leadership and what it looked like in the '60s and '70s and '80s, And, you know, I think about the boardrooms and, you know, the 12th floor and a bunch of guys sitting around in a suit smoking cigars and drinking bourbon in the '80s. And it was the, you know, those were the leaders. But leadership even then were, was the people who were authentic and had the right attitudes and really were transparent with their people and they trusted them. And that same thing is true even today.

So powerful. And who are some of your, uh, the people who have really shaped you early in life?

Well, like famous people or just—

No, no, just, uh, leaders. Any, anyone who has, uh, impacted you growing up?

I had an 8th grade coach, uh, Coach Ruble, who saw something in me that I did not see.. And he just poured into me and had a huge impact in my life. And I had several, and just so you know, I had several bad bosses along the way that taught me what I didn't want to be. Yeah. And so I think that's important to point out. But now, you know, I think some of the, some of my leaders and the people I report to even now have really had a profound impact on my life. And helped me to see some amazing, amazing humans.

So, wow. As, uh, which, which one is your favorite Maxwell book?

Oh my gosh. Well, I, I think it's right behind me. If you can see up there, The 360-Degree Leader probably has had a great, uh, impact on my life. I, I, I, most of my library, I probably have most of Maxwell's books in, in my library, not just here around the corner. But I think the 360-degree leader just— it was the first time I started looking at my leadership in that 360-degree view.

So that is really powerful. Yeah, he has so many bestsellers, sometimes it's difficult to choose. How has Dr. Maxwell's teaching changed your approach to leading people?

Ah, I heard him say this in a conference in Kansas City, Missouri a long time ago, and it stuck with me because I don't know that I believed it at the time, and it flipped the script in my own head. Hmm.

Easy.

He said everyone deserves to be developed.

Yes.

And I remember writing it down.

And I was—

I put a question mark by it. I was like, everyone? Everyone deserves to be developed? Well, if, if you have faith in humanity and faith in the fact that everybody you meet has, has the potential to teach you something, then that means that everybody that you meet has the potential to learn and grow and change.

Yes, yes.

And I have this philosophy that A lot of leaders, a lot of people, uh, take a picture of— a Polaroid camera picture of you at your worst moment in your life.

Yes.

And they keep that Polaroid in their back pocket, and every time— and they want to keep you as that Polaroid picture. And BZ, if people will just realize that, hey, I don't have to be that Polaroid picture, I can be a motion picture.

Wow.

And You might have taken a picture at 1 minute and 23 seconds into the movie.

Yes.

And the movie just keeps on going, baby.

Mm-hmm.

So don't let people take that Polaroid picture of you. So everyone deserves to be developed. I think that's it. When Maxwell said that, so powerful.

Yeah. I heard him and Max also say everyone deserves to be led well.

Oh, that's, uh, exactly the same.

Yeah. Powerful. Because one thing he started to say is, first I have great values. You have to have very good core values, but then I value people and then I add value to people. Another quote he has said that really makes me think, I mean, he says a lot of things that just makes you think and think and think. It's like, if I see you as weak, I will help you. If I see you as broken, I will fix you. But when I see you as valuable, I will serve you.. And I think to me, that's really the definition of servant leadership.

My gosh, I'm writing that one down.

It's just incredible. But if you could mentor your 25-year-old self, what advice would you give Richard?

I would tell him to shave his head as quickly as he possibly can. And stop trying to comb it over. I used to I spend so much time in front of the mirror spraying my hair to make sure that it covered all the bald spots, BZ.

Yeah.

So I would say that would be the first thing I would say is shave your head now.

I think I will be next. But yeah.

Uh, I think, you know, and in writing this book, uh, that we'll talk about in a little bit, but I, I, I think I, I actually wrote a chapter about this in my book, advice I would give my younger self, but I would, I think I would tell that 25-year-old that failure is not the opposite of success.

Mm. I like that.

So I would say try many things so that, you know, you're, hey, 25-year-old, don't be afraid to fail and say yes a lot more than you think you should.

Mm.

So most people get hung up on, they think, well, success is what I need. So failure is the opposite of success, but failure is what drives you to get to success.

So powerful.

We just— ah, man, if I could grab the face of that 25-year-old, I think what I would tell him.

That is so, so powerful. It reminds me, uh, one of my best keepers gave me this coin. One side it says success, the other side failure. So two sides of the same coin. Oh, it takes so long for young people to learn that. Uh, so let me ask you then, how has failure shaped your life?

Well, it's everything, uh, because I've had public failures, I've had private failures, I've had, you know, words that came out of my mouth that I was trying to pull back, uh, in the moment, and I, I, I just think that's, that's, that is what shapes us. And if you fail, that's, you know, it's, it's things that you learn. You think about all of the quotes, you know, Michael Jordan taking 1,000 shots and missing them. And you think of Benjamin Franklin, all of the inventions that, uh, Albert Einstein, all of the things.

And, and yeah, Thomas Edison. Yeah.

Oh, Thomas Edison is a great example. All of the things that they tried and attempted and and wrote down and they scratched through and those were their failures.

But it really takes a special mindset though, right? Because he tried 10,000 times. For most people, they would have quit by number 3. But he's like, no, I just found out 10,000 ways it doesn't work. And eventually he got the light bulb. That's quite amazing.

Yeah, exactly. And you know, you think about the former CEO of, I, I believe it was General Electric, but that would have been Jack Welch, so I don't think it was. But it was a famous CEO, and he, he had an employee that made a $720,000 mistake. And a lot of people came up to him and said, man, are you going to fire that guy that made that mistake? He goes, are you kidding? We just, we just invested $720,000 into that guy's learning.

Wow.

And I think about those kind of statements, and that is— we don't give people patience or time or permission to fail.

That is powerful, especially when you have leadership that supports you that way. I think you know Joe Christophe.

Oh yeah.

Yeah. Joe's a great friend and partner to work with. All right, Joe, let us know where you are joining us from, what city, what state, what you are grateful for, and if you have a question for Richard. Oh my gosh, Joe, people are going to be listening live. That's one reason why I really love this. When I started 5 years ago, it was just me, myself, and I. Nobody was listening to me. But now we have people from all around the world. So let's talk about communication, which is a very important topic in your book as well. Because you often say we are human beings first. Said in the intro, not human doing. I really, really love that. What does that mean in today's AI-driven world?

BZ, how long do we have?

My—

a lot of my coaching and the training that I do is based on that statement that we're human beings first, not human doings.

Yes.

And I think we double down. I think we've got to double down on human skills. Some people call them soft skills. And I think there's a multitude of human skills that you and I will continue to develop that will set us apart. Attitude, of course, just being pleasant to work with, I think is going to set you apart in the future. Resiliency, adaptability, and agility. And if I could use another A word, availability, just being available to be coached.

Being present.

Grow.

Yeah.

And, uh, the work of doing— and I call that being a human doing— that's going to be replaced, uh, some of it at least, by AI. All of the data, all of the analytics, all that doing stuff. So I, I think if we focus on being the human being, we will never go out of style, sir. Wow. I don't— I, I think it's going to make us more marketable.

So powerful, being your authentic self. I think it was Oprah who said, right, nobody can beat you at being you.

That's good.

Powerful. What do you think is one communication skill every executive should master?

I'm going to pause because I think there's a lot of— I talk a lot about communication, but I think if I could say one thing that an executive or a leader, mid-level manager can master— two things, I'll nail it down to two things. I think listening, and some people say, oh, well, listening, that, you know, they need to become— I think most of us think we're experts at listening, but we are, we just really aren't. Um, I, I think listening and truly absorbing what the other person is saying is a skill that needs— and asking those questions, well, tell me more about that. Um, yes, you know, how is that making you feel? Do you want me to give you advice, or do you want me to just sit with you with what you're saying? Just teaching and coaching yourself Some of those questions to ask when you're listening is so important because we listen to respond, period. We— I call it, uh, I call it being a conversational narcissist.

Wow.

And I don't mean that ugly because I am. Most of us are. We are conversational narcissists because we wait for our turn. If somebody says, hey, man, I'm, I'm going through a divorce. Oh, let me tell you about when I went through a divorce. Or if somebody says, hey, I lost my job. Oh my gosh, let me tell you about when I lost my job. Because we steal the microphone, we become conversational narcissists. So I think listening— and I didn't mean to go down this rabbit hole, BZ, but I think it's so important. Yeah, I think listening is probably It's something we say we should do and be better at, but I think it's so powerful.

No, things that you said, I think it was Stephen R. Covey, right? 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It's true that most people, they listen to respond, not to actually understand. And what you said about listening and not trying to solve problem, if you have two teenagers in your home, you definitely learn to do that. Because I was trying to fix all of the problem my girls are having. Like, no, dad, we don't show you to fix anything. Just listen. Be quiet. Just listen. And that is so, so, so powerful. Wow. Okay. So let me ask you this then. Actually, let's— man, the time is already running out. My goodness. We just got started. We do have to talk about your book. Again, the Kindle version will be out tomorrow. And, uh, when will the, uh, Audible version come out? I think you're working on it.

Yeah, as a matter of fact, uh, the— this past weekend I was working on the audio version. And just so your listeners know, working on the audio version of a book is much harder than actually writing words and typing words. Uh, the audio, number one, it's draining. And but the audiobook should be available here in the next couple of weeks, so That is awesome.

Awesome. I really love audiobooks. Back in the day, it used to be tapes and then CDs. But now, of course, everybody has one of these. You put it on your phone, but while you're driving, working out, you just listen. It allows you to read a lot more than you would by just picking up a book. But yeah, so Getting Smarter Every Day, right? Practical lessons in leadership, communication, and personal growth. You talk about leadership, communication, living well, and attitude. I love it. Why did this book have to be written, Richard?

Well, several things, Bizzy. I would be on some podcasts like this or do a seminar or do a training or a keynote address. And almost invariably, every time I would be with somebody, they would ask me the question, you know, have you written a book on that? Or is that— do you have a book available? And I'd be like, No, why would I, why would I have a book? Uh, eventually, with a lot of encouragement from others, I started to formulate some of my thoughts. And, you know, some of my LinkedIn writings I would put, and I started leaving my, uh, I thought about leaving my thoughts and my writings for my grandchildren.

I like that legacy.

I wanted to leave something behind, some of the lessons that I've learned along the way. And then That just kind of rolled into— I like that, uh, that title, Getting Smarter Every Day, because I would, I would write some things on LinkedIn and I would put a hashtag. I'm— I don't have it all figured out, but I'm hashtag Getting Smarter Every Day.

Wow.

And, uh, I actually, I thought about calling the book Human Beings, Not Human Doings. You know, it's kind of been one of my little monikers. Maybe that's my next book. I don't know. But I realized, you know, most of my taglines were getting hashtag getting smarter every day. So I just started throwing it into chapters and, and making it, making it a reality.

That is so powerful. And one thing that draws attention, you don't just say getting smarter and you can get that everywhere, but you say every day. Why every day? Why is that important?

And again, if, if everyone can teach us something and we have the ability to teach somebody something, I think every day as human beings we are either resting in who we are or we're moving forward. And I think it's probably Tony Robbins that first started with this concept of if you think about the past, that's going to stagnate you. If you think about the past too much. If you think about the present, that's a great thing, but the present will only get you so far. But if you focus on the future, you have something to drive toward. And so I think every day, that whole concept of getting smarter every day for me is just, hey, I'm just a little bit better today than I was yesterday.

So that is so powerful. It reminds me of the other book by one of my mentors called The the compound effect.

Yeah, there it is.

Sometimes they don't think— oh, another thing Dr. Maxwell said, I'm probably not going to get it right, but he says we tend to underestimate— is it? No, we overestimate what we can do in the long term, something like that, and then we underestimate what we can do right now in the short term. Yes, it's quite incredible. But if you are consistent, you do it every single day, Like he says, one thing I love about Dr. Maxwell, he says every single day he writes, right? He asks questions, he thinks, he files. And there is one more thing he does every single day, including Sundays, every single day. No wonder he's written more than 100 books because every single day he is writing, no exception. And even if you aren't a good writer, and he wasn't a pretty good writer when he started, but eventually, when you are in your 70s, you're going to become excellent at it, right? If you've done that every single day. Wow. The power of consistency. So if someone picked up your book today, and I want everybody listening right now to do, what is the primary message, the one message you want every reader to live with?

Who? I— one of my chapters, I have a Post-it note right here on my computer. You know, I write things on Post-it notes and I put this on my computer. And I, I really feel like it helped me to get my arms around this whole concept. I put on this Post-it note, how would the best version of me respond to this situation right now? Wow.

I like that.

And it's, it's basically me looking in the forward and forward coaching me in the present. Wow.

So say that again, please. Say that one more time.

How would the best version of me respond to this situation right now?

I love that.

And I have it on a Post-it note right here. Wow. And so I just think if somebody remembers one thing, one capsule from the book, I think that's it. If they could take that away, I think they're able to coach themselves and to help themselves be better every single day.

That's so powerful. Getting better every day. Human being, not human doing. Because I do feel like for most people, they tend to react to everything that happens to them. It's like an automatic reaction. They don't add the pause that they need to figure out how should I respond to this? Wouldn't you say? What is the best version of myself that should be called for this moment? Wow.

That's good.

Powerful, powerful. Now, in the book, you do focus, like I said earlier, on leadership, communication, living well, and attitude. Why are these 4 areas so interconnected?

Well, I think they're interlocking building blocks that build on one another. Attitude and altitude, like you talked about. Leadership can be— we could be talking about leadership at work or leadership at home. Communication is the number one tool that helps people.

Yeah.

Um, you know, if, if 50% of marriages end in divorce, number one cause for divorce, we are told by marriage counselors and therapists and divorce attorneys that most of the time it's communication.

Yes.

So I, I think, you know, if, if those little building blocks of attitude, communication, living well, leadership all tie into that human being that is going to work, being that human doing, and coming home being the human being. I just think they are interconnected and interwoven in such a way that we need to wrap our arms around that.

Wow. Was there maybe a chapter that was particularly personal, difficult, or most challenging? For you to write?

Ah, I enjoyed writing all the chapters. It was so much fun, right?

You know, uh, it's, it's good to be a fun author.

Yeah, it was fun.

Yesterday I talked to another author, he's like, he spent at least 2 weeks looking at the blank screen on Microsoft Word before it started flowing.

But yeah, that, that was a big part. I, I think in the dedication, I dedicate the book to my failures. And I think it was hard. That was probably a hard part for me, just to look back on my life at all the times I've, you know, taken a right turn instead of a left turn, or took this set of stairs instead of that direction, or somebody gave me some advice and said, hey, why don't you do this? And I didn't. So I think the dedication, uh, because part of the dedication is around dedicating it to my failures And, um, I, I, I, that, that was probably— that I, I'm gonna stick with that answer.

That is really powerful. Um, yeah, like we said earlier, failure is really part of success. You, you cannot succeed unless you fail. Even here in Silicon Valley, many entrepreneurs, right, they have this idea that You need to fail as fast as you can because the faster you fail, the faster you will get to where you need to go. Yeah, it's a different way of thinking for sure. But you write extensively about personal growth. Why do so many people stop intentionally growing, you think?

Why do so many people stop intentionally growing? Well, I— and I love neuroscience, BZ. So neuroscience is my favorite.

I, I—

if I could come back and be born again and go to— I probably would have be— would come back and be in neuroscience, uh, because our bodies and our brains are built to be on autopilot. Like, you think about the hunters and gatherers, uh, they wanted to get as much food as they could and then store up in the cave and be safe. And somehow our brains are wired to drive through stoplights and drive to the grocery store, and we get to the grocery store or the school or wherever we're going, we're going like, how did we get here? I don't even remember driving here because our brains are wired to be on autopilot.

True.

And so I think that's why people stop intention— it's not an intentional, it's just we're more comfortable being comfortable. And so we have to continually push ourselves to grow, push ourselves to remind ourselves, hey, I want to be a moving stream of water. I don't want to be this stagnant pond.

Hmm. I like that. Wow. Yeah. You made me think of another quote by Papa John where he says, you don't accidentally succeed, right? When you go uphill, you do have to put some effort into it. It doesn't just happen by chance. But of course, going downhill, that happens to everyone. But wow. So which lesson in the book changed your own life the most? Because it looks like you're really looking back into 25, 30 years of your own life teaching, coaching, and developing other leaders. And which one of those lessons that's really the most impactful to you?

Well, I— there's several. As a matter of fact, different people— I've been talking to different people that are reading it right now, and they're sending me messages. Um, I, I think there's a story I tell in the book about running into a chainsaw artist that had a bunch of stumps, and they had a, a bear and a cowboy, and they had a Native American carved out of wood, and they had raccoon, but they had this eagle that was carved out of this stump, and it was a beautiful eagle, BZ. And I, I, I talk about talking to the chainsaw artist and asking him, how do you carve with such a rugged instrument out of this stump, this leftover piece of wood, this beautiful Eagle. And he tells me, almost as if it's obvious, well, I carve away everything that doesn't look like an eagle.

Powerful. Wow.

And I think if people can take away anything from my writings at all, it's that This is a book about discovering who you already are in the best version or best form that you can be and just carving away everything that doesn't look like the best version of you.

Powerful. Powerful. I believe Michelangelo was the one who said the same thing when he did the Statue of David.

Yeah.

Yeah. Just get rid of what doesn't look like David. And yeah, yeah, it's incredible.

Wow.

That makes you think. What daily habits then can our listener implement, like, right away to become smarter every day?

Well, I think one of the daily habits for me, uh, and I write about it, it's called the Pink Elephant Syndrome. So whatever, whatever you have a tendency to focus on, that's what you're going to see. Like, if I told you to close your eyes and, yeah, don't think about a pink elephant, don't think about a pink elephant. Well, you're going to be thinking about a pink elephant, you know.

Yes.

And so I, I, a lot of neuroscience did, uh, scientists did a research on, on this whole syndrome. But people who consider themselves lucky and people who consider themselves unlucky, they interviewed them. Well, the unlucky people just, they, they felt like, you know, the world was against them, things are happening to them that are bad. But the lucky people, it was just transverse, it was reversed, because they considered themselves lucky, good things kind of came their way, or, you know, they found a quarter today, and they start finding the small little things in their life. Oh well, that car didn't hit me. And it's just a change of mindset.

Yes, your attitude will determine your altitude.

That's right.

Amazing. Yeah, it's really amazing how two people, similar background, they go through the same exact challenges, one of them just falls and fails and the other one just thrives. It's like, wow, sure, mindset, powerful. Yeah. So if you had to summarize the book, man, we are already running out of time, I can't believe this, but if you had to summarize your book in one sentence, what would it be? And again, the book we are talking about is going to be, I'm gonna Professor, what not, bestselling book Getting Smarter Every Day by Richard Vickers. What would that sentence be?

I would say if I had to summarize it just in one quick little sentence, I would just say this. It's for me, growing and becoming and getting better is intentional and Finding the smaller things and the little things in everyday life. I tell a lot of stories about how I learned to swim when I was 12 years old. I learned at a later age, and, uh, how that little lesson impacted my life. So all of these little bitty stories that I tell throughout the book, it's discovering who you are already in the best version or the best form you possibly could be.

That is so powerful. So as we come near the end of the show, I want to ask you, what can we do to add value back to you?

Well, you know, I have a lot of folks that follow, follow me on LinkedIn, and I appreciate all of that. So if you'd like to follow me on LinkedIn and I learn from most of the stuff that I write about, I learn from somebody else. And so I guess I, you know, I should credit all of the people that I've ever, you know, gotten advice or, you know, somebody that's commented on a post on LinkedIn. So please do that. But then I would love it if folks would either buy the, buy the book or the paperback hardcover, like you said, the actual Kindle version. I think, and I have no idea why it's coming out tomorrow, but it's actually coming out tomorrow. I'll tell you one of my favorite quotes, and I'll just be quiet after that. The Dalai Lama, uh, has said so many wonderful, beautiful things, but he said one time, our purpose in this life is to help others, and if we can't do that, let's at least not hurt them. BZ, I'm telling you, I, I think all of us can help somebody else. Yes. And for the very least we can do is just not hurt them. And so that, that, that's my philosophy.

Wow, I love it. I love it. So simple, but yet so insightful. So as we come to the end of the show, is there a question I should have asked you I didn't get a chance to ask?

Sure. You know, that's maybe legacy. I think for me, if there was legacy moment that I can leave. Not only— I wrote this book for my grandchildren and for people who want to get smarter every day.

Yes.

That for me, I think the legacy question is a big one because I want to leave a legacy that people will learn from. And I hope that my impact outlives my accomplishments.

Yes.

I hope somewhere down the road somebody says, hey, I'm getting smarter every day. This bald-headed dude from St. Louis, Missouri wrote a book and it was okay. But that whole concept of getting smarter every day, I want to keep getting smarter every day.

That's amazing.

That's my legacy.

That is amazing. And I really believe every leader should truly think about writing a book. Book because it will definitely outlive you. One of my mentors, General Colin Powell, I met him once only, but I've read— he's only written 2 books, number 1 New York Times bestselling books, each one of those. But even though he's no longer here, I can go back to his book and still be mentored by him. It's just amazing how a book can do that. For those who believe that the Bible says, uh, it was Cain and Abel, right? Though he was dead, yes, yet his blood spoke. It's really, really powerful when you can continue to speak to future generation even though you are no longer physically here. So as, as we, we end the show, another way I like to ask about legacy is, uh, if you had one and only one day to live, what would you have liked your final contribution to be?

Oh my gosh. Well, first of all, with my family. I, I, I would— one final day, it would be with my family gathered around me, uh, because those that are closest to you know you better than the people You know, it's easy to be an expert on something to somebody two cities over, but to really live out the things you talk about with the people who are closest to you. Yeah, I think, I think every single person that we meet has a story.

Yes.

And they can teach us something because I think there is gold in every person. The biggest leadership lesson I think is for me as a leader to get out of the way of my people.

Yes.

And to help clear a path for them.

Wow, so powerful, powerful. And if you had like a magic wand, you could solve any problem in the world, what is the one, one problem you'd like to solve first thing tomorrow morning?

Yeah, I think it goes back to those listening skills. I think if we would truly genuinely stop— everybody says, well, we need to have a conversation with each other. If Russia can only have a conversation with Syria, If Israel could only have a conversation with Lebanon or with Iran. Well, that's— having a conversation is one thing, but actually truly listening and sitting with people while you're listening to them, and like you've done with me today, just listening to my heart today, I think That's a powerful thing that we do not do enough of.

Powerful, powerful. Wow. I wish we had more time. I feel like I could be speaking with you for 2 or 3 or 4 hours. But as we end the show, I guess the last question I have for you, something you are feeling optimistic about.

I read a report the other day how 11, 12, and 13-year-olds are starting to think that social media isn't cool. And that they're starting to kind of go, well, everybody's on social media, so I'm, I'm turning away from that and I'm starting to read or develop my hobbies or focus on my sports. And I, that, I think I'm pretty optimistic about that kind of stuff. Not, not that, I mean, I love social media, I love this platform, I love doing podcasts, I love all of the things. However, I think if we could, uh do everything in moderation.

Yes, yes, yes. I think we need more sanity for sure. Thank you, thank you so much, Coach Richard Vickers, everyone. Really appreciate you stopping by on the Leadership and Success Podcast. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Bizzy. Thanks for having me.

All right, everybody, again, I want everybody to get a copy of the book. It's available right now, paperback or hard copy, Getting Smarter Every Day. The Kindle version will be out tomorrow, and in a couple of weeks you're gonna have the audible version. I'm gonna wait to get that. Thank you so much for watching and follow him on LinkedIn. Actually, we are going to have back-to-back shows today. That's another reason why I need to quit now. I'm gonna be speaking in 5 minutes with Dr. Elizabeth M. Adams. You don't want to miss this. Purpose Before Code, bestselling author of In the Edge: Artificial Intelligence. We are gonna be talking about that. And then this afternoon, in a couple hours, I'm gonna be talking to the Chief Surgeon Major US Army, Jason Schmidt. We're gonna be talking about the backbone of leadership inside the noncommissioned officer corps. All right. Thank you so much for watching. And I have two more shows I have planned for tomorrow. I will let you know later today. So I hope to see you in about 5 minutes. Thanks again. And bye for now.

Thank you for tuning in to the Leadership Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ. If today's episode added value to your leadership journey, Be sure to subscribe, share, and join us again for more wisdom nuggets on how to lead better and achieve greater success. Remember, leadership is the most critical skill of our time. The world will always need leaders to inspire others, drive innovation, and execute meaningful strategy. So why not count yourself among the bold leaders shaping the 21st century? Until next time, stay inspired, stay committed, and keep leading with excellence.