S5:E3🎙️ LIVE with Terri Maxwell

Hi, I'm John Maxwell. When the top companies in the world are looking for trainers, speakers, and coaches, there's one name that stands above the rest, and that's Maxwell Leadership. Our certified team members have gotten proven results for companies all over the globe, and our reputation, I'm proud to say, is second to none. Some of our members have risen to the top of their profession, including the one you're going to meet today. I proudly introduce you to my friend Bob Fabien Zinga.

Welcome to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ, where we help you lead with purpose and success. 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. Welcome aboard to another episode of the Leadership and Success Podcast with Coach BZ.

Terri Maxwell here. What a year we've all had. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to create something amazing. You know, this last year caused all of us to reflect on our lives and evaluate what's important. You've probably done the same, and maybe the direction isn't as clear as you would like, but you know that you're craving something more out of life. For the Succeed On Purpose Team, we're even more committed to serving those who want more meaning and more success in your life. We're on a mission to ignite your potential and empower new levels of success, however you define that. And regardless of where you are on your path. So I am excited to introduce you to several new and powerful programs that we have tested and refined over the last 2 years. The first area is what we call Find Your Spark. You know, I am driven to help people find fulfillment and joy in all aspects of your life, and that starts with finding your spark. That thing that creates a fire within you. The Find Your Spark series is delivered in affordable, bite-sized, on-demand courses. And we've created 3 options for you. Get Clarity is about figuring out who you wanna be and what you wanna do with your life. And after this last year, that's a really important aspect. The second is Be You. B.U. is identifying and dealing with the barriers that are holding you back, such as fear or confidence. Then in Have More, you will learn how to use a powerful methodology to create more abundance, joy, and more freedom in your life. These microcourses are affordable, effective, and proven. For those further along on your self-improvement journey, we have also created the Change Your Life series. These courses provide you with a set of tools to impact a specific area of your life. The courses here are delivered in more in-depth 6 to 8 module programs, and they can be done totally on demand or with additional coaching options if you want help implementing them. We focus these Change Your Life programs in 5 areas. Inner, or what I call Pure Confidence, Leaping into Abundance and Prosperity, Success Accelerator, which is about speeding up success, Career Accelerator for those ready to take your career to the next level, and the Business Accelerator for those who want to start a purposeful business. We invite you to learn about the changes that we've made at Succeed On Purpose Browse our website and stay tuned for some upcoming webinars so that we can together succeed on purpose.

All right everyone, we have a very special guest here today in the green room, and before we get started, like it is our custom, we always start with a moment of gratitude. So this is actually the third time we are going live today, so you guys already know today I'm grateful for the new New Year, but also for Terry Maxwell, who have agreed to be on the podcast and to really share what they have learned and to help us be better leaders and have greater level of success. So I am so, so grateful for that. So without any further ado, let me see if I can properly introduce our guests today. So very briefly, Terry is an investor, a business growth expert, and author. And founder and CEO of Share On Purpose. Over a 30-plus-year career, she has launched, scaled, turned around, and exited 50-plus companies, including ventures tied to a NASDAQ IPO. So Terry is known for providing that purpose and performance are not opposite, but force multipliers. So she's the author of Succeed On Purpose, Everything Happens For a Reason, and the architect behind purpose-driven platforms like ShiftCo and Ignite On Purpose, helping founders and leaders grow business that make the world better, not just being profitable, but actually making the world better. So ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome to the Leadership and Success Podcast, the one and only Terri Maxwell.

Hey, Coach Bob Z, good to see you.

All right, good morning. How are you doing today, Terri?

I am great. Boy, you just are just like the Energizer Bunny. You just lift everybody's spirits.

Thank you. So maybe to get started, what are you grateful for today? Today is January 2nd, the day after New Year's 2026. I can't believe it.

You know, I'm grateful for my family and my health. Um, I, uh, turned 60 in the last year, and, um, the things that are most important to me are my family and my health.

That is really, really powerful. And by the way, the introduction video, I believe you recorded this during the pandemic or right after, but I think it is still applicable today, right? It's when I was publishing for Forbes, they used to call them evergreen or something. Yes.

Evergreen.

So it really, really never goes out of style. But I think right now 2025 has been a very, very tough year for a lot of people. And I think we need the help of people like you to help coach us and really help us get back on purpose and on track. So that's why I'm so excited that you are here. Maybe as an icebreaker, is there something about you that most people may not know about?

I have the word grateful tattooed to my arm. It's a real tattoo. So when you said a moment of gratitude, I felt right at home. I take that very serious, so seriously that I have it tattooed to my arm.

That is powerful. I think Oprah was one of the people who influenced me because when you are grateful, You cannot be depressed or suicidal at the same time. It's just not possible. Wow. But you've had quite a career. So your leadership journey kind of began long before Boardroom and Exit. How did your early life experiences shape your relationship with adversity, responsibility, and resilience?

Yeah, so I was given up for adoption at birth, and then I was adopted by parents who were alcoholics and abusive in every way possible. And, um, and so I developed a kind of a chutzpah, kind of a toughness about me at a very early age, and that served me really well. But there was a story that I frequently tell from stage about my grandfather. He knew that my life was going to be difficult, and he taught me this lesson that you get what you focus on. And That really stayed with me, and he taught me how to look at even failure as just a stepping stone to success. And he taught me how to look at life from what can I learn from it and how can I give more back. And so that, that, that really, I think, is how my life prepared me to lead and certainly to lead at the next level like I'm doing today.

Well, that is very, very insightful. You get what you focus on. I didn't know you got it from your grandfather because you do say that a lot. And I was thinking there's got to be a story.

There is a story, yeah. There's a story, yeah. So the story was I used sports to overcome this difficult life. And I was a point guard early in high school. And the first half, you know, we were just killing it. And I just couldn't do anything wrong. And so I got really cocky, you know, as, as all of us do sometimes. And then the second half, I came out and the opposing coach had recognized that I dribbled down the right side of the court with my right hand, and so he called for what's called a trap, where two defenders come up and trap you at half court. And so I lost the ball, and then I got really even madder and ran, and I ran to the exact same spot, and this time I had an offensive foul called against me. And so the Short end of the story is 6 times I ran to the exact same spot where the trap was because I was focused on getting past the defenders and lost the ball. And so the coach takes me out, we end up losing the game. I'm furious. I storm out of the gym. It's all the coach's fault. And I went into total full-on victim mindset. But I went to my grandfather's, and he had this very calm way, and he started kind of rubbing his chin and as I was telling him about this horrible coach and what the coach had done. And he said, well, Terry, you get what you focus on. And I was like, Grandpa, it's not my fault. And he said, let me ask you a question. The first half when you were scoring, what were you focused on? And I thought about it. I'm like, I was focused on scoring. And he said, in the second half, what were you focused on? And it was like, oh God, I was focused on the obstacle. He goes, right. The obstacle. You get what you focus on. You couldn't get past the obstacle because you were focused on the obstacle. Man, that just blew my mind then. And he said, look, you're gonna have challenges. You're gonna— you have a difficult life, you know. Um, you've been handed this difficult life, you know. Focus on where you want to go. Don't focus on what's standing in your way. And it changed my life, and it caused— most of my success I attribute to his guidance and that particular phrase.

That is really, really powerful. You get what you focus on. And you also mentioned two of your fathers earlier, and I received information from you in the green room. I want to talk about this. Your grandfather definitely had a huge, huge impact on your life, so I'm sure his legacy lives through you. Can you tell us about your fathers?

Yeah, this is a great story, and I love that you found this. So Dan Beeman is my birth father. And, um, uh, he was not involved in my life, and my mother gave me up for adoption. She was young, she was like 19, and my father wasn't involved, so she didn't know what to do. And so I was given up for adoption through Children's Home Society in St. Pete, Florida, and the Fryes raised me, and they were alcoholics and abusive. They did their best, but it was a difficult life. And, um, so You know, they— I really learned from that experience, again with my grandfather's insistence to focus on the good. I learned how to be tough. I learned how to be resilient. And then there were others. Keith Maxwell was my, my very good friend, uh, was her father, and he really helped me kind of step into my faith. And I took the Maxwell name because I didn't feel like I was a Beeman, even though I had found my birth family. I wasn't a Beeman, and I didn't feel like a Fry. And so I took the Maxwell name And he was such a gentle soul. I learned so many good things from him, and, uh, he was just very powerful. And then there were others along the way that I adopted. Papa Bill Harrison, I, I adopted him. Um, and then the DeAndreas, um, I married into their family, and so I adopted them as well. And so, you know, family is what you make it.

That is so true. Family is definitely what you make it. You and who really are concerned about your welfare. That is powerful. Wow, man. Wherever in this life you can find love, I think you really need to hold on to it because there's nothing in life more important than that. Thank you. Thanks so much for sharing that. I really do appreciate that. But it looks like for most people, though, many leaders, they kind of try to hide their trauma. You actually transformed your trauma into wisdom, which is really powerful. And I think people can relate to that. What kind of helped you shift from surviving to leading?

It started— I really think it was 3 shifts. The first one was the get what you focus on. And I learned very quickly, if I focused on where I wanted to go, I was darn gonna make it there. And then what happened to me though is I started using success to make me feel good enough. And then I couldn't get enough success to make me feel good enough because that broken little girl— and that was the second shift that happened in around the 1999, 2000, 2001 period. Um, I began to really shift away from success to really looking for meaning and looking for ways to make a difference. So that was the second big shift. And then the third shift was really to purpose, um, which is what I call full circle. It's really using my business growth skills to do good in the world. So it takes meaning, but it, it really is really about a soulful evolution as much as it is really about just getting what you want. So the book kind of has the three sections kind of laid out in there of this journey that I went through.

That is really powerful, and I really love the work you, you do about purpose. You've built and turned around more than 50 companies. So what does purpose actually look like in day day decision-making when revenue, people, and pressure collide?

Yeah, and that's one of the tricky things is when you choose a path of purpose, all of your demons are going to pop up. You're going to be tested beyond measure. And it really comes back to being crystal clear on your why and never forgetting your why. And so my why is to inspire potential. It's what I was put on this earth for. And whenever it gets hard, I take that step back and I say, okay, I know, I know why I was put on this earth. It's to inspire potential. How can I use this to inspire the potential of others? And you do that so well, Coach BZ. So you know that. So that, that's, I think, the first piece. And then the second thing is to get crystal clear on your values personally and within your business and When it gets difficult, I pull those values back out and say, look, are we acting in accordance with our values? And so, those are really the two things, is fall back on your why, know why you're here, know why it matters. And then, second is be crystal clear on your values.

That is so powerful. I've been in Silicon Valley for the last maybe, what, 11, 12 years. And that's in my own experience, especially working with startup. Many of them, they have flyers on the wall, what supposedly their core values are. But the reality is no, those are not core values at all because they don't live by them, right? Because in my mind, if you have core values, you should live by those, hire, fire, and make decisions who gets promoted and so forth. But I have had quite a few jerks who keep getting promoted because they're bringing a lot of money or whatever, but they don't live by the core values of the organization. And that makes people like me very concerned. Like, I don't really want to be part of an organization that doesn't have any integrity. Can you tell us a little bit more about that, why it's important for a business?

Yeah, we have at Share On Purpose, we have 5 values. S stands for supportive, H stands for hungry.

I—

sorry, A stands for authentic, R stands for resourceful, and E stands for enthusiastic. And we use those when we hire people. We use them in their first 30, 60, 90-day evaluation and If they're not operating and living by those values, we do what we call a compassionate exit and help them leave the organization. So the values that a company stands for and the purpose that they're trying to live, every person on the team from the top down has to live by that or the values will never take root and it just will be a sign on the wall.

Yes. Wow. Another quote that you say a lot, I call it Thereseism. You say, "Your business grows as you evolve," right? So what type of leadership behavior must founders unlearn before they can scale?

Man, that was one of the biggest ahas for me is that your business grows as you evolve. In my old self that was more not very purposeful, it was really about money and profit, the business grew based on how hard I worked and how much money I spent on marketing and those types of things. In a conscious business, that is not the way that works. You as the leader have to evolve, and your business really grows through your evolution as a leader. And you have to evolve everything. You have to evolve the way you market, you have to evolve the way you speak, you have to hold yourself, the way you handle stress. And so your business grows as you evolve. Is— yes, you— anytime your business is stuck, go inside. It's going to be somewhere that you're stuck, either mentally or somatically or through your act, your actions aren't matching your words. And so that's really the key is if you want your business to grow as a conscious leader, you have to go inside and look at what's, what's holding you back.

That is really powerful. One of my primary mentors, Dr. John C. Maxwell, same last name as you, probably not related, but 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership has been our curriculum last season and for season 5 also. Actually, it's number 1 law of leadership, the law of the lead, right? Leadership ability determines a person's level of effectiveness. You will never be able to outgrow your leadership ceiling. So as you evolve, as you say, your business will too. That is so powerful. It's kind of simple though, but in my experience, a lot of those leadership principles are not really complicated, but it's really in the doing, practicing it, putting it into practice. That's really what makes the difference, doesn't it?

It's 100% that. I mean, your actions really will dictate your results. And as a conscious leader, and I do love that book, by the way, as a conscious leader, people are looking at what you do, not what you say. And so if I come and I show up for a meeting and I'm all stressed and all that type of stuff, then what are they saying is, oh wow, we should be stressed. If I come regardless of what's happening inside the business and I come very calmly, if I listen to them actively and I really pay attention and I'm interested in them, then that's the way that they're going to behave. Um, so it's really your evolution that will dictate the level of your success in business.

And I think it's probably something I heard you say too, or that you've written about, work, the difference between working in the business and working on the business. Is there a difference?

There's a huge difference. And this actually came from somebody else's work a long time ago. I think it was called The Entrepreneur's Myth. And I was living that myth, you know, where I was working in the business and I needed to be working on the business. And It's one of the things that I've realized. I call it the Conscious Business Growth Platform. Businesses go through these stages, much like an infant goes through stages. Businesses go through stages, and you have to work on yourself enough that you're truly able to delegate effectively so that you're working on the business and not in the business.

Wow, that is so powerful. Again, very, very simple. It makes sense, but it's really in how you implement it. What about in high-stakes environment? For me, in the military, but startups as well, tech, crisis response, speed does matter a lot at times. But how do leaders balance urgency with intention without burning out their teams?

Yeah, great question. It really, it really comes in conscious space, creating the space. If you really think about it, when you're in a state of urgency, so, you know, I had a situation as a child where my parents had too much to drink and they were fighting and the knives came out and it was going south really fast. And my nervous system got hijacked really quick, but I was calm on the outside. And I use that as a reminder to people that, you know, you can get your nervous system jacked up, but with just a few deep breaths, what I call the success switch, you can calm your nervous system down and then you can respond rather than react. And that's how you move forward with intentional urgency is really making sure that you're regulating your nervous system through breathing, or what I call the success switch. And that by regulating yourself, you're able to see clearly— we should turn right, we should turn left— so that you can make an urgent pivot, which I think right now, having a sense of urgency intentionally, I think is very important in business because there's so much coming at us. But if you do that from an unregulated nervous system state, you're going to make mistakes and you're going to lead your team astray. And by just simply breathing and getting yourself calm before you react, you make better decisions.

That is so powerful. Yeah, because I think most people, they just react to everything that is happening. They don't actually take the time to respond. And I'm glad you're talking about breathing. Some people, they do meditation, prayer, or whatever works for them. But that is so key though, because many times, especially now in 2025, there is so much happening and the world seems to be changing around us so quickly with emerging tech and all of that. So as a leader, what would you recommend for leaders to kind of remain calm and kind of find their center in the midst of all of the chaos around us? What type of activity do you recommend?

Yeah, we actually do this with our team all the time. It's called the Success Switch. And it's ABC. So it's real simple. I like to keep things simple. So A stands for awareness. And, and you just use the prompt, the truth is I feel, and whatever comes up is basically what's in your subconscious and in your nervous system. So if I said the truth is I feel frustrated, that's basically what my nervous system is reacting to. And I may on the outside think everything's fine, but that whatever I say, the truth is I feel Whatever is in my subconscious is going to be there. So, oh, okay, I'm frustrated. Great. And then you go to step 2, which is to breathe, and it's just 4 breaths in through your nose real deep and out of your mouth 4 times, nice and deep.

Wow, that calms you down.

Yeah. And then you do it the second time. And what's happening is your brain is sending hormones, dopamine and serotonin, into your bloodstream, which is calming everything down. You do that 3, 4 times. So real simple. And after the 4th time, you'll find you just have like this space. And then C, which is the 3rd step, is claim what it is that you want. So, you know, I claim that we're going to move forward and we're going to be successful, or whatever the— whatever.

Wow. Yeah.

And there's a little guide on the Succeed On Purpose website under resources for that to walk you through the steps. But it's so powerful. We teach it to every employee. We use it in our leadership meetings. We start everything with what we call the success shift or switch. And it switches your brain out of fight or flight and into the place where you can actually create success. So I call that the success switch. It's very quick. It takes just like a minute and a half. And you turn on the parasympathetic nervous system. And then, all of a sudden, you get out of the fight or flight, and now you're in the rest and digest. And now, you can see your way through to the other side.

That is really powerful. And for those who practice gratitude every day, I think it's a great way to do it while you are breathing because it brings you into awareness of what really matters in the moment and not be distracted by all of the stimulus and signal out there. Wow.

And if you think about it, fight or flight kind of puts you in this sense of urgency where your world is like really small. But when you do the ABCs and the Success Switch, what happens is all of a sudden, it creates space.

Yes.

Now it's like, wait a minute, I can see my way through this crisis. I can see my way through this situation in a very calm way. And by teaching, in our case, is teaching our employees and our leadership team to do it. Every meeting starts with that just minute and a half. Wow. And then we can approach the business at hand, which can be anything from how are we going to onboard these new clients to how are we going to get results for these clients in a much more calm way.

Wow.

And also all of the work you've done with businesses, helping them scale and grow. So from your vast experience, what do you think is the most dangerous lie leaders tell themselves when growth stalls?

Yeah, the most of the time they start looking for someone or something to blame. And what I have found about growth, particularly on a conscious level, is it's happening for you. It's not happening to you. And so if you're stalled for some reason, there's a good reason why, rather than just hitting the hammer harder and trying to just be throwing more money at it or yelling at your team or blaming somebody. Just take that step back, do those ABCs, and then just say, okay, this is happening for us, not to us. What does it mean? And it could mean that if you kept going, you would spend too much money. It could mean if you kept going, you would lose clients because you're not really ready to handle the growth. It could mean a million different things. But what does it really mean? And a lot of times it isn't about your marketing or your growth strategy. A lot of times it's your operations aren't really ready to handle the growth. But you as a leader want to grow anyway, which is a very, very dangerous thing.

Wow, that is really, really insightful. Let's talk about conscious capitalism for a minute. You've pioneered the pay for performance and conscious business model. So we kind of touched about this earlier, but why do so many leaders say they value accountability, but in reality, they avoid true alignment?

I really don't have a good answer for that. I think it's just, it's a convenience. Thing more than anything else. I know it was for me when I first started the portfolio of companies Share on Purpose and Succeed on Purpose. I had the dream of purpose, but I didn't know how to live in a state of purpose. I didn't know how to do that when times are hard. I didn't know how to do that in spite of my own need to evolve. So I think it's just, it's convenient sometimes to fall back on those ways rather than to lean into what What is this telling me about myself as a leader? What is this telling me about the way that we're trying to grow? And that requires your nervous system being regulated and things like those ABCs in order to see that for what it really is.

Hmm.

Let's, let's talk a little bit more about this, especially for people in the military, but in high tech as well, people who are in transition, especially those who go from being an individual contributor to eventually becoming a manager or a leader for their organization. What kind of shift happens when you move from being the doer to becoming the multiplier? I know for me, it happened about 25 years ago and I was having a very hard time delegating because I felt like part of the reason why they wanted me to become a supervisor is because I was an outstanding individual contributor. I did so well, they wanted me to kind of try to multiply that across the organization. But the problem is I was doing it so well and people I was supervising, We're doing it so bad. I wanted to do it myself so I would meet or exceed my own expectation. But the problem is, if you keep doing that, nobody is ever going to unlearn. So how do you help leaders kind of let go and be more of a multiplier than a doer themselves?

Yeah, we say that there's 5 levers. The first one is do, that you actually can do what you're being asked to do. The second one is manage, where you can manage resources, people. And a lot of times it breaks down there, but the biggest breaks are after that. So Level 3 is where you really need to be able to think strategically. You need to be able to think in a way that your team can follow. And then in Level 4, it's really where impact really is, is that's where you become a multiplier. And then Level 5, um, is really where that impact is fully realized within the organization. And so most people really struggle and between the do and manage and then the manage and the think. And I think that we overlook that because we want to just get to the impact. We want to be the multiplier. But we don't realize that true leadership is about creating space for thinking, thinking things through and not just reacting all the time. And you have to be able to teach your brain to get out of that high reactivity state and really get yourself to the point where you're really thinking things through.

Hmm.

So powerful. Again, all of that is not rocket science. It's not really that complicated, but it's just, man, how do you apply it every single day and start to see results? Like, for example, you do invest in founders and develop a lot of emerging leaders. What traits have you seen that kind of let you know if someone is coachable? Or what signal tells you that they just are not? Because I mean, I see that a lot of people are like, no, I already know that. Well, if you knew it, you would be doing it. You're not doing it, therefore you don't know it. Maybe you know it intellectually, but you really are not applying it. And they don't want to be coached in order to get better results. How do you handle that?

The real key is self-awareness. When somebody is not coachable, and we won't hire somebody that's not self-aware in our portfolio. I won't coach somebody that's not self-aware. I certainly won't invest in a business if they're not self-aware. And self-awareness is, you know your role. And you know what you don't know. The most dangerous thing as a leader is when you don't know what you don't know. That, I mean, it sounds like, what do you mean? Like, but most leaders don't know what they don't know. And that really requires depth of self-awareness. So for me, the gating factor is self-awareness. And if somebody doesn't have it, I just disengage. You know, if it's like, okay, great, knock yourself out. Good luck with that. No judgment, but if the self-awareness is not there, you're not coachable. And I'm not down for that.

Wow. Now, when we talk about value-based organization, in my experience, last 11, 12 years in Silicon Valley, especially working with startups, a lot of companies, when everything goes well, they make money, they have clients, they appear to be living by their values. But as soon as there's a little bit of pressure and things change, for example, is how do you preserve culture when the mission is under stress?

Yeah, I think culture is built when the company is in stressful times. I think who you really are, if you think about it as a human being, businesses are a living organism, in my opinion. They're just like human beings. They have a life of their own. And so we are forged— who we are shows up when we are under stress as individuals. And it's been the times that I've been squeezed that I saw who I really was and saw the pieces of myself that I didn't like. The same thing is true in a business. Again, it's a living organism. So when you're under stress, and we've had several of those periods in our portfolio, That's when our culture really was forged. And the people that stuck with us, the ones that are really leading the culture today, those are the ones who are living by our values and they take those values seriously. So I think your culture is forged and tested in those times. And that, and whatever shows up is who you really are. It's not who you say you are. It's who you really are.

Well, I usually reserve this later in the podcast when I ask about success and failure. And I usually ask, how has failure shaped your life? But since we're talking about stress and pressure right now, maybe now is a good time to mention this. You've lived through economic downturn, exit, reinvention, and risk. And sometimes it feels like, no, the wind is taken out of you. But what has failure taught you the most about yourself as a leader?

Great question. So back to this grateful word. Our largest business in 2018 lost its largest client, and the client refused to pay a very large amount of money. Wow. And over the course of the next 6 months, we lost about $1.4 million. It was a lot of money. Wiped our cash out, almost took the whole thing under because— not just because they said, oh, we're canceling the contract with a 2-month out, but they said, we're canceling the contract, we're not paying you anything.

Wow.

Yeah, so we literally went from being profitable and knowing where we were going to invest to losing a lot of money really fast. And I— it was one of those things, it's like you see this thing crumbling down, there's nothing you can do, right? There's nothing you can do. I didn't create this situation, there's nothing I can do. I just have to let the walls come crumbling down. And I realized through that process that my DNA was changing. That I was becoming grateful for the failure because then I could see what wasn't really built to last. It was the failure really showed me what wasn't built to last. And that's when I embraced this in April of 2019, and I got this tattooed to my arm, is I'm going to be grateful when it's working, and I'm going to be grateful when it's— because what's not working is showing me what I need to shore up to create what it is that I want to create.

Wow, that is very inspirational. Thank you so much for sharing. Man, sometimes you just wish that people would do what they are at least contracted to do. I mean, that's just the ethical thing, but wow. So for leaders who are listening right now who might feel stuck or misaligned, what do you think is the first courageous step they should take today based on your experience?

Yeah, this is always hard when I get asked this because people don't like the answer. But the, the truth is, I believe that 9 times out of 10, we know what we should do. It's that we're afraid to do it. And so what I always do when I'm at that place is say, okay, the truth is I fear. I start journaling about what I'm afraid of, and 9 times out of 10, I know what to do. It's just that I'm afraid to do it. And so that's my guidance for people is I think 9 out of 10 times we do know what to do. We're just afraid. And then we make all these stories and we tell ourselves we're confused and all this kind of stuff. We make it more messy than it really is. But I start journaling. The truth is I fear, I fear, you know, being rejected and I fear starting a business and losing money, whatever it is. Um, I, and that's usually what leads me to the right action to take and the clarity that was already there. It's just that my brain didn't want to see it because I was afraid of what would happen.

Wow. That is really, really powerful. And again, thank you so much for sharing your experiences. And everybody that's listening now, they really need to get this book. Hold on, I have it here. Here we go. Succeed on Purpose: Everything Happens for a Reason. And we hear so many people say that, right? Everything happens for for a reason. And I'm sure that I've probably evolved for you. I'm trying to talk about legacy, service, and leadership charge right now. So when people say that, sometimes, you know, they roll their eyes and all of it. But what does that phrase mean to you now after decades of leadership? Everything happens for a reason.

Yeah, the— probably the best story that I have of that is there's a, there's a family that I came across about maybe 7 or 8 years ago, and we did some work for their foundation. And they had 3 children, and their oldest daughter died in a freak, um, skiing accident. And how do you look at a family like that and say everything happens for a reason? But they lived that statement, and they started a foundation because they gave their daughter's organs, and they ended up helping all of these people, um, you know, by, by— I guess I think her daughter was 13 or 14 when she died. They gave her organs.

Goodness.

They donated— I mean, imagine that, right? And what I realized from that is, you know, if they could do that, if they live from that place to say, look, this is the worst possible thing— I mean, they were heartbroken, can't even imagine what that's like— but they said, there, we have to turn this into something good. From there, from giving the organs, they donating their daughter's organs, which I can't even imagine doing that, they did a foundation to really spread the word about donating your organs. And now they have helped thousands and thousands of families get the support that they need in these situations, as well as spread the word that donating your organs is a real thing. They've legislated in Texas now, you— it's part of when you get your driver's license, it's part of that. They legislated that. So that's— they're my walking example. And if they could go through that There's nothing that can happen to me that I can't somehow turn into good.

Wow, I am really amazed by the strength and the resiliency of the human spirit. Wow, it's really amazing to me how two people can go through similar circumstances, one of them completely falls apart, and somebody else would just go through it and they triumph. Why do you think that is? What is that mindset, that fortitude?

Yeah, you know, there's a great book about that. It's really having a growth mindset or not having a growth mindset. I can't remember what alternative is. But I saw that in my family. Um, my brothers and I lived in the exact same environment, and my older brother is no longer here. He died. And my younger brother is killing himself every day with drugs and alcohol. And what's the difference between us? The difference was that I chose to look for the opportunity. I chose— you get what you focus on— and he focused on different things, or they focused on different things. And it doesn't make one right or one wrong. It just is really deciding what you're going to perceive about life. And so often I think people choose to tell themselves stories about, oh, well, you know, you were fortunate and I wasn't. I don't believe that because in our family we all had the same opportunities presented to us, the same challenges, and we each took a different path. And I just believe that you get what you focus on.

Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing that. Wow. Okay. This is the part of the show now. We have about 20 minutes left. Uh, I want to focus specifically on leadership. I guess one of the first questions I want to ask is, what do you think is the greatest lesson you've learned so far in life, in leadership in general?

It has to be you get what you focus on, followed by my grandfather taught me another lesson that you also get what you give. And, um, I didn't learn that until later in life. It was a lesson that he taught me right before he passed away. Um, and that our legacy really lives on through the gifts that we give others. The gift of knowledge— you're giving a gift with this podcast. The gift of insights. It doesn't have to be money. It does— it can just simply be sharing your story. Um, I keep a prayer list, which I learned from Keith Maxwell, right on my computer. And anytime I come across anybody who's on my prayer list, I say, hey, how is your brother? You know, how is your sister? You know, how's your dog Luna? You know, and they're always amazed, but they don't realize that every day I just take a minute, and that is legacy. So I think it's you get what you focus on, but it's also you get what you give.

That is really powerful. And another thing that is completely free, doesn't cost any money, is just giving your presence. I shared with you in the Green Room when I was growing up, I really wanted to spend time with my dad. Everything I've ever done, all of the accomplishments in my life, it was to get his attention. That was really what was driving me. But, wow, that's powerful. Okay. You've had so many successes, especially in businesses and things you've been able to accomplish. Why do you think you've been so successful? What's the secret of your success?

Managing my focus on a daily basis. Anytime I'm not feeling good or I'm frustrated, I'm like, It's me. It's not this. I'm not blaming anything out here. I'm going inside. And so I feel like I manage my focus and I manage my energy. The second is another one of my quotes is, earn from your mistakes. Don't just learn from your mistakes. So every mistake that I've made, I found a way to turn it into a tool or a technique or a training course or something along those lines, insight or a story. So any failure that I had, any mistake that I made, I I earn from, um, because it's the giving of it back and creating like the ripple effects.

Wow.

And I think that's really that. It's, you know, you get what you focus on, you get what you give. And then that idea that you earn from your mistakes— take them seriously. That mistake happened. How can I turn this into something good?

That is so powerful. It's really a change in mindset, uh, what you expect And how you see the world really makes all the difference, doesn't it?

Right, totally, totally. When I first became an entrepreneur, there was a speaker— I went to a conference and I was trying to learn this thing called entrepreneurship. This was way back in 2002. And her name is Pat Musiex, and she said, you get what you expect. And I was like, now that's a different way of looking at my grandfather's lesson. Too much of the time I was expecting to fail. I was expecting it not to work. You don't get what you want, you get what you expect. And so, you know, we put a governor on our life, on our accomplishments, on our level to create money. I did that when I first became a purposeful entrepreneur. I was like, well, money is not important. Well, then guess what? I struggled with the money side. I had to recognize that was me putting that expectation out there. That's not true. There's lots of people that make tons of money and they're still living from a place of purpose, and I should be able to do that too. So That kind of really kind of tied together the whole idea, you get what you focus on, is you get— and that was from Pat Musiak— you get what you expect, not what you want.

That is quite powerful. OK, I know that leaders are learners. What are you learning right now?

Oh, wow. Let's see. Right now, I'm reading a book called Your Body Keeps the Score. And I've done a lot of healing work on my brain and a lot on that little hurt girl in me. But what I didn't realize is a lot of the pain and the trauma is still trapped in my body. And so I'm working on that right now. I'm doing a lot of what's called somatic work to release some of that trauma that's in my body so that I don't repeat those patterns. So right now I'm doing a lot of self-work and, um, really trying to release that trauma. And a lot of the research for the book has been used with veterans with PTSD, and, um, and because they carry traumas, you know, and from small traumas all the way up to horrific traumas But that, that trauma actually gets trapped in your body. Joe Dispenza says the body is the unconscious mind. It's trapped in your body, and then your brain is, is, you know, kind of the— it builds like a neural pathway from the brain to the body. So that's what I'm working on now, is releasing some of the trauma from my body.

That is so powerful, because later today I'm gonna be talking with, uh, Dr. Shona Springer. She is the one who co-wrote Relentless Courage. It's really a book about PTSD for the military and emergency force, the police and so forth. But they really do a lot of work into helping veterans really deal with this. It's really the silent killer, truly, especially in the military. About 21 veterans commit suicide every single day. The price that we have to pay for supporting and defending the Constitution and really protecting our freedom. It's a pretty high price. It is. Thank you, thank you for sharing that. Is there maybe, if you are willing to share, one of the greatest fears that you were able to overcome?

The biggest fear really was in the last 10 years, and that fear was I was almost afraid of my own light and my own power is the only way to describe that. I think Some of that came from that early trauma. And so I worked with a somatic therapist and really just got comfortable with my light. I got comfortable with the fact, no, I am here to change the world, and that's okay. I am here to stand on that big stage and to give people guidance, but I'm also here to be authentic and to tell it like it really is. You know, people say that all the time, Terry, you just tell it like it really is. You don't tell me it's going to be easy. You tell me to choose your heart. You don't tell me that, you know, building a business is, you know, we're going to make tons of money. You say you're going to work harder and then eventually you'll make some money. So I think that it really was just being comfortable with my light and standing in that was probably the biggest thing I had to overcome.

Wow, that is so powerful. It reminds me of Marianne Williamson, which I think Oprah made very, very famous a few years back. One thing she used to say all the time, our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, but our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

Right.

Wow, that makes you think. Yeah.

And that was what I had to do, is I was playing small and I was allowing people to take advantage of me. And I was allowing— because I was donating— not donating, but I was investing in their businesses. And, and it's real easy, you know, for people to take advantage of that. And I, I was like— and I was afraid of just standing on that stage and just telling it like like it really is. And yes, not anymore. No, it's like, nope, shine the light as big and bright as you want. Here we go.

Wow, that is really, really powerful, man. You have to think about that. I know Brian Tracy, one of my mentors— actually, I think he lives in San Diego now— but anyway, he used to say, what would you do if you knew that you could not fail? Wow.

And I would do exactly what I'm doing today. That's how you know when you're on the right. Exactly what I'm doing today.

Wow, that is, that is just fascinating. Okay. Let's talk about maybe some of your role models or thought leaders, some people that you follow. Let me ask you this. If you could choose 3 people to have dinner with, it could be anyone dead, alive, or even mythical figures, who would you choose and why?

Number 1 would be Maya Angelou. I think that her wisdom is just beyond belief.

Yes.

Second would, um, more than likely be Wayne Dyer. He's one of my personal mentors, um, and has really, really helped me. He's kind of like a soulful father in many ways, you know. I just absorb everything. And third would be Oprah, you know. I just feel like, um, we're destined to meet at some point, and I just feel it as a bone in my body. And it's like, Oprah, you want to talk about purpose? Great, here's how you build something on purpose. And so I'm just waiting for that door to open up.

Wow, that is really powerful. I know Maya Angelou was Oprah's mentor, and Dr. Dyer has been featured on her show many, many times. And one thing Dr. Dyer really taught me was to live with intention. That is so powerful. Wow. Okay, okay, okay. What are some of the books that you've read that we should read? I believe you recommended this one here.

The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer. I read that book almost every year. And he has another one called The Surrender Experiment that's kind of like What's Behind the Untethered Soul. But this method, um, really, really unlocks that addiction to that mental chatter. And, um, and I first started reading that book in, uh, seems like it was 2013-ish, and really started helping myself, um, disconnect from the mental chatter using the techniques in that book. And so I go back to that book on a regular basis.

Wow, that's powerful. And, uh, what about this one, especially the yellow one, Conscious Capitalism?

Yeah, I highly, highly recommend this book. Um, you know, when I first started the Share On Purpose portfolio of companies and Succeed On Purpose, which we started both of those in 2009, I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew that I was never going to live another day and not have everything be about purpose. I thought I was the only person in the world. Well, come to find out, there are millions and millions of people hundreds of thousands of businesses that are operating this way. And so that book and that organization kind of became my roadmap for how do I build something that is both purposeful and profitable.

Wow. So if you had one and only one day to live, what would you have liked your final contribution to be?

Uh, probably just with my family. You know, it would probably be that. I, I'm blessed to live in a family that I love and adore, and quality time with them is like the best thing in the world. So it probably would be something like that. I feel like those bigger things are already well on their way. I think if it was just the last day, it would just be with my family, letting them know how much I love them.

Powerful. And if you had a magic wand and could solve any problem in the world, when you wake up tomorrow morning, what is the one problem you'd like to solve?

You know, it's a tie between helping people realize that they do have the power to shift their life and just helping us become more kind as a society. We've really lost that, and we've lost empathy as a natural response. And everybody's kind of got into this attacking the other and fear of the other. But I feel like the way to that is that people have to realize that they have the power to create what they want. So that's why I feel like it's a tie. If we realize we have the power to create what we want, we wouldn't allow ourselves to get stuck in this kind of anti-kind world that we're living in today.

Wow. That is so powerful. And actually, the person I interviewed before you about an hour ago, they said the same exact thing. I think more and more people are feeling that way. For people from my generation, for sure, 9/11 was a huge milestone, and then the global pandemic was another one. So nobody liked 9/11. That's part of the reason why I joined the Navy. But I really loved 9/12, right? The day after 9/11, I think we were connected, we were united, and I've never seen anything like it.

It was beautiful. It was beautiful. It gave me great hope, um, in that horrific— it gave me great hope. Um, and I, I think we'll find our way back to, um, Coach BZ, I really do think we will find a way back to it, but it— what it requires is it requires us realizing that we have the power to create what we want and to change the way things are.

I believe you know this lady, Connie Whitesell.

Yeah, she's amazing. She's an amazing coach and mentor as well.

Okay, Connie, if you have a question for Terry, go ahead and ask it now. She's going to answer live. We have about, what, 5 minutes left. Okay, thank you so much for watching. I really do appreciate it. I think I am addicted to live comments when I do this interview because the first time I did this show 5 years ago, it was an audience of one, me, myself, and I. That's it. So I really love getting the response from the people watching. All right, so we are going toward the end of the show, but what can we do to add value back to you, Thierry? How can we do that?

I would love to be connected on LinkedIn. You've got my information there. And then on Succeed On Purpose, which houses the bulk of the work that has been spun into these other companies, there's incredible tools on there that help people unpack your fear, you know, figure out what kind of your prosperity mindset is. There's a guide on the Succeed On Purpose website under the Resources tab to do the Success Switch with the ABCs. So that would probably be it, is I love to connect with people. I love to hear how people are growing. I love to share other people's work. I do that frequently. And then connecting with me through Succeed On Purpose and the powerful tools that we have there.

Well, that's powerful. So I'm showing on Succeed On Purpose and under resources, you actually give away some free resources too, don't you?

Yeah, there's a, there's a tool kind of what, what fear Yeah, there's— we talk about fear that is on there. There's also the What's Prosperity? What Growth Zone Are You In? That's that growth mindset career persona. And then also there's an energy clearing guide and lots of other tools up there, but those are the main ones. Mm-hmm.

For free.

Yeah, well, here's the thing is, you know, you know, this is in order for me to help somebody, they need to be crystal clear on what's holding them back. So what I found is that if I just give away those tools for free, people will have their own breakthrough. Oh my gosh, you know, it's this holding me back, or it's that holding me back. Then when they're ready, they can buy any of the programs that they want. So the tools are really to help people get clear on what's holding them back, and then they know how we can help them.

That is so powerful, and it reminds me of what your grandfather told you, right? You get what you give. So powerful. All right, so we are toward the end. Is there a question I should have asked you that I didn't get a chance to ask? Anything you wanted to share to the audience?

My question is, how can I share the amazing work that you're doing?

Well, thank you so much. Just by being here, it is really a great honor. I think I've been trying to interview you for almost a year, I think. I'm really, really, really grateful. Sometimes you send a message on LinkedIn and it gets buried or whatever, but really for the premiere for season 5, I can't believe I've been doing this for 5 seasons now. This is really, really insightful. And I do have a couple of mentees here who have started their own businesses and I'm definitely going to make sure, I think I invited them to watch live, but they need to hear people like you. And they happen to be females. As you know, there's a lot more male in position of leadership. It's difficult to find role models. But I think when a young woman sees somebody like you, you know, really leading at a high level, it gives a lot of hope. And yes, I can do it too. And that's what I am trying to create here.

Good for you.

So thank you so much for that. Okay, so let me ask you the most important question then on the podcast, I think. If you could go back then and give a piece of advice to your 17-year-old self, standing at the edge of this incredible career you've had, what would you say to 17-year-old Terry?

Oh wow, uh, it's easier than you think it's going to be. Don't work so hard, because I mean, I think I thought I had to prove to myself that I was good enough and it had to be hard. And what I've learned is, you know, it's, it's not that hard. It's just we make it harder. And so I think that would be the one thing I would like my 17-year-old self to know, is It's going to be easier than you think it is. Don't work so hard. Follow the path and let it lead you where it's going.

I wish I had known that when I was 17 years old. And the reason why I think this is the most important question is because I was 17 years old when I came to this country, couldn't speak English. I had huge, huge, huge dream. I didn't think I would become a senior officer in the most powerful Navy in the world, but things just worked out by themselves. And at times it was very, very, very difficult. I couldn't see what my next step would be, but some way, somehow, I have made it. So thank you so much for being one of our master teachers on the show today. So to end, if we can, lightning round. So don't take too long to think. Think fast and answer quickly. What is one word that defines great leadership?

What is one word that defines what?

Great leadership.

Intention.

Intention. Okay. Morning routine or practice that keeps you grounded?

Breathing and meditation.

Yeah. ABC, be aware, breathe, and claim it. Wonderful. What is a book or a quote that changed your life?

Um, the funniest book that changed my life was Where the Red Fern Grows. Um, it was— it's a fairy tale I read when I was a young kid, and it really taught me that you could— he, you know, this little kid kind of unpacked this amazing life for himself just by deciding he could.

Wow, that, that is powerful, powerful. What inspires you most today?

Making a difference. That's, you know, every person I try to make a difference in their life, whether it's a checker out at the grocery store or your listeners. I'm just going to try to make a difference.

Powerful. What is the leadership habit you refuse to compromise on?

Self-awareness.

And what is the question you believe every leader should ask themselves frequently?

Who am I becoming?

And what did you want to do when you were a kid?

I wanted to be a teacher.

Wow, well, like, you are a teacher now. You are a best-selling teacher, and with your business and your mentoring, you are definitely doing it at a very, very high level. So congrats. All right, uh, what are 3 adjectives describing you as a child?

Uh, what's an ad— what's an adjective that's, uh, tough?

3. 3.

Tough, resilient, and driven.

What about as an adult?

As an adult, I would say tough, resilient, and soulful.

Wow. I guess you haven't changed much. Okay. The very, very last question, and this is it. What is one word that represents our shared experience on this podcast today?

Joyful. Good.

And I am always grateful. Thank you. Thank you so much, Terry Maxwell, everyone. I really appreciate it. You've really enlightened our day, and this is a great way to start 2026. Thanks. Thank you again.

Appreciate that. Thanks, Coach Bizzy.

All right, everyone. That was Terri Maxwell. This is such a wonderful, wonderful experience we've had. So I'm gonna have another podcast right after this. I believe the person coming next, let me make sure, I believe is going to be Dr. Deena C. Brown. She has a PhD. She's a founder, a speaker, executive coach, and we're gonna be talking about stillness meets strategy. She wrote two bestselling books, Testimony, and also The A to Z Guide of Leadership. Like me, she's a Maxwell Certified Leader and Coach. So, I am really excited to talk to her very, very soon. But, after her, like I mentioned earlier, I'm going to be talking with Dr. Shona Doug Springer about mental warfare and moral courage, especially for those who are dealing with mental illness, especially those who are in first emergency military and police work. You really need to be there. She could Literally save your life. And then tomorrow I will be speaking with Colonel Chevy Cook, US Army. He's a mentor-in-chief, soldier scholar, and a strategist. We're gonna be talking about beyond control. How do you lead when you do not actually control, but you influence others? And I also have Admiral Melissa Burt. She was the JAG for the US Coast Guard. She's retired now. She's principal strategic and empowering. Again, I love to see those women in high position of leadership. What great model she is. We're gonna be talking about leadership at the intersection of law, trust, and national security. I think this is really, really a timely conversation to have in 2026 with everything happening in our country as of last year. But I will also have the honor and privilege of speaking with somebody most people don't know. His name is Charlie Wetzel. He's actually the writing partner of Dr. John C. Maxwell. Most of his number one New York Times bestselling books, this is the man behind the scene who made it happen. So I want to make sure to share the spotlight on him. Actually, the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, if you look at the dedication page, the first page of this book is dedicated to this man, Charlie Wetzel. Again, nobody would know his name, but he is the one behind John Maxwell, is the one who even helped with grow grow up with faith, and he helps a lot of other leaders really fulfill their destiny, and that is so important. So we have many, many other guests scheduled for season 5. And another thing I've been doing, I am going through the book of Proverbs. I've been doing that since I was a teenager, like 12, 13 years old. When I got married, I did it with my wife every year, the first month of the year, 31 days, 31 chapters in Proverbs. We go through the entire book, one chapter a day. Yesterday we did chapter 1, and today we're gonna do chapter 2. So I've decided to do it public. So we're going to be doing ancient wisdom mentoring from the Book of Proverbs. This is not religious at all. It's just about leadership. It is about wisdom. It is about what are the principles that are ancient from 2,000 years ago that are still applicable today, right? Ancient wisdom and leadership lessons from the Book of of Proverbs. So today is January 2nd, so we are going to go through Proverbs chapter 2, and tomorrow we're going to go through Proverbs chapter 3, and so on. And the last session we're going to do on the book of Proverbs will be at the end of the month on January 31st. Okay, that's all I have for you. I will be updating the Leadership and Success podcast book recommendation. I will include the Untethered Soul, but the Conscious Capitalism book, and I had already added the bestselling book from Terry Maxwell, Succeed on Purpose. So get those books whenever you guys get a chance. It looks like, yeah, Connie says, thank you. So glad to have this pop-up in my feed. That is fantastic. All right. This is it for now. See you again in a few minutes. Dr. Dina Seabron will be next on the Leadership and Success Podcast for 2026. Thank you so much. That's for now.

Thank you for tuning in to the Leadership and 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.