How To Stay Motivated When Business Gets Hard

behind her as the angels pour into her soul. Oh, she closed out. She's going to reboot.

Good morning.

Hey Renee, how are you, girl?

I'm good, uh, Last week was a rough week for everybody, I think, and just trying to mentally reset.

You know, we're going to talk a little bit about that. I don't want to go into it too much. Um, it is unbelievable. You know, you got Martin Luther King Jr., who was executed by sharing his vision, sharing his dreams speaking his, his opinion. You've got John F. Kennedy assassinated for going against the, the current of the political dynasty at the time.

And then Abraham Lincoln against slavery.

Slavery. Abraham Lincoln.

I mean, Jesus Christ.

And then of course Christ, you know, our, our, the number one, the first martyr ever in the world. Uh, and then you got Charlie Kirk. And, you know, 12 years ago, Charlie set out to do exactly what he was doing. He wanted to get in front of— you know, he has no college degree, uh, barely graduated high school, but he, he wanted to be in front of the campuses. He wanted to be out there debating, not, not arguing, not, not criticizing, not demanding, but just chatting with college students about the reason and why they think the way they think, and for him to share what he thinks and what he believes.

No, and, and I've watched, I've watched probably, oh, a dozen, not a whole bunch, but probably a dozen of his, of his performances, and they're all very calm, very non-argumentative. Uh, he allows, he allowed the students to have their say, and he would tell you, if you disagree with what I'm saying come to the front, come up here, grab that microphone, and let's talk about it. And he would never get into an argumentative—

he would never get into an I'm right, you're wrong.

And yet some— and, and the sad part, that's what's really sad about all this, is that the, the, the guy that's accused of shooting him, his family is 100% Christian and Republicans. Throughout, they can't find any left-wing, they can't find anything that was influencing, nothing to this degree other than the social media that this kid was on.

And it's just heart-wrenching, um, and it's— it really, it really does, um, cause us to pause And to know that— and, and it, it, it, and, you know, uh, it falls right in line with what we're going to discuss today and go over. I don't think that Charlie Kirk, if, if, if he knew what was about to happen, if he would change anything. I think that the man was so driven on his convictions I believe that he was so embedded in his belief that he would have continued to do it. And I'm sure he's had many, many death threats. I'm sure if you— it'll come out through the media that he was threatened by many. So, um, it's hard to say what, you know, what we would all do, but we all need to have a conviction. We all need to have a dream. We all need to have a path and then never look back. So, all right, it looks like, uh, everybody— but I got two people that said they're gonna be just a hair late this morning, but we are going to jump into this. What an amazing last week, aside from the Charlie Kirk, aside from all the, the, the national drama and all the, the, uh, uh, the crap, the negative Uh, we had an amazing event in Kansas City. Rick, thank you so much for flying down from Canada, coming down, sitting there amongst all of us. What an honor and a privilege it was, buddy. Um, so real quick, Rick, what did you think about the event and, and the people you got to meet?

I've told this story now since I got back. Probably, um, I don't know, half a dozen times. And everything I've said— Brenda, check your chat— everything that I've said, Toby, is I've been to, I don't know, hundreds, hundreds of seminars, webinars, and this one actually sits in the top 2. This was absolutely amazing. But Toby, I am a little confused.

Yeah, okay, finally, brother.

I don't know, should I call you doctor? Should I call you Mr. Potter? Or should I call you Toby? Does everybody here know? You gotta tell them, man.

Yeah, yeah. So yeah, and, and thank you so much, Rick. Um, so yes, you can now, you can now call me doctor, Toby. Toby Potter, Dr. Potter. I am the first doctor in my family. Um, you know, you see all these, these deals that come up and say you're going to be the first millionaire in your family, and I'm like, no, too late, that wasn't it. But I am now the first doctor in my family, and, and, um, I appreciate it, Rick. And you were there, you, you, you got to witness it, you, you saw it. Um, you know, it's, it's, it was an amazing honor. Um, As you, as you were also introduced to a king. I don't know if you've ever been introduced to a king before.

Yeah, and I got the pictures, I can prove it.

That's right, right. So, so as you know, I sat with, uh, King Clyde Rivers the whole event. He and I have just, uh, along with Brenda Ringwood, have got a new mission, a new passion, a new a new vision that we're going to ignite and take off. And, and I'm going to rely heavily upon Nick and Randy and Rick to continue this as we continue to grow, because I can't serve two gods. But we will continue to grow and build this platform because this is where it all started. This is where the, the Ignite, the Unshakeable Self was the foundation that has launched this thing, uh, to to the world. And, and, and Dr. Clyde Rivers, King Clyde Rivers, uh, read the book. He's read several of the books, and then he saw all that we were doing and was so enthralled, so empowered. I had written another book just for Kenya called Unshakeable Servant, or Unshakeable Shepherds, and I showed that to Dr. Rivers, and he's like, we're taking this to Africa. We're taking this and see, with Brenda, with myself, with, uh, Juma that you guys all got to meet, we're all at the bottom level. We're all in the villages. But with Dr. Clyde Rivers, he's at the top. He's a king in Africa. And we go right to Parliament and we now bring this down to the masses versus taking it to the masses and try to climb up and, and fight through the political, uh, beatings.

Well, look who's in person! She gave me so much crap this morning that she had so much to do.

But we have the honor of having Miss Brenda Ringwood on the call. I think I guilted her on being on the call because we just came—

Rick, correct me if I'm wrong— we just came from an event that said no excuses, right? Is that what the tagline was? And then she was giving me excuses this morning and I said, wait a minute, I have some clips from an amazing event I can shoot to you. About no excuses, if that will help you understand your commitment, your loyalty, your dedication and devotion to this organization.

She's— hey, Juma, how are you, my friend? King Juma, you're on mute. Uh, but, uh, it is, it is so empowering of the lives that we're getting ready to transform, the, the where we're going, we're doing. And this, this ties right into— because this whole event that we were just at, there was 8 to 10 speakers a day for 3 days. So we had 25 to 30 speakers, and listening to their stories, listening to their, uh, resistances and their, their fights through life to achieve this dream that they had, and it was just empowering. And so with that, I want to, I want to share with you guys, every one of you, because we all have excuses, we all have battles. But I, I was watching football yesterday, and, um, I watched about 4 different games. But for some reason—

and I've watched football my whole life—

but for some reason yesterday, I was so tuned in to the running backs. And, and, and it started coming through my mind about these running backs and, and their sole purpose and their sole job and the sole responsibility. So, so for those who don't watch football or do, I'm going to give you a little bit of visual about it. But a running back is the guy behind the quarterback. He's about 3 yards back. And when his number's called, his job is to take that ball and advance it forward.

Now, if you understand football at all, you have to understand that there's 5 offensive linemen in front of him and those guys all weigh about 300-plus pounds. Some of those guys are getting close to 400 and they're not fat.

They are solid. Brick walls. I mean, they are stout. But on the other side of them is about 3 to 4, sometimes 5 defensive guys that are just as big, just as strong. And their job is to stop that running back. Their job is to plug that hole, is to create this brick wall.

So if you can just see this, you got about— you got about 8 to 10 guys, big old boys piled up there that this running back has got about a 2 to 3 yard head start, about a yard. But by the time he gets the ball, he's got about 1 yard to go before he hits that brick wall.

His job is to advance that ball.

And for a running back, the average— if he can average 3.5 yards per carry, he's extremely successful. He's extremely successful because if he does that, 3 times, it's a first down. If he does that every time, it's a first down and they advance and eventually get a touchdown. So when that running back's number is called, he has a job to do and he knows, he knows that he's got to plow through and he's just looking for a little crack, a little opening, a little spot of light to be able to, to weave in quickly, immediately while that opening is there. To funnel through there with the hopes that he can break through there and get his 3, 3.5, 4 yards.

And most of the time he hits that hard and he drives, and sometimes he gets 1 yard, sometimes he gets caught behind the line of scrimmage and has a loss. But he gets up, and, and, and here's the other thing, when, when he gets tackled, there's usually 2, 3, 4 people weighing 300 pounds plus laying on top of him. It is a heavy, heavy plow to the ground. You just imagine, you're talking 1,000 pounds laying on top of you, 1,000 pounds of solid muscle mass. And he's got to get back up, get back in the huddle. His number gets called and he goes again. And never does he say, hey coach, you know, hey, hold on, man, that wall is big, these guys are tough and they're hitting me hard. I, you know, set me out on this. No, his number gets called, he goes back here.

But here's the good thing, he also knows that if he does it and he does it and he does it, every now and then he'll break through, he'll see an opening, and he takes off and he gains momentum, and then all of a sudden, bam, he gets plowed 4 or 5 yards back into past the line.

And there's that strong safety. Now, if you all understand football, you got a middle linebacker and you got a strong safety, and these guys are, are 280, 320, 20, and they're fast, they're solid, they're strong, but they also have momentum because they're 4, 5, 6 yards back and they're watching that running back and they're watching him break through.

And the minute he breaks through, they just take off in full speed.

And I mean, it's just like taking candy from a baby because he's looking at the goal line, he's looking at the dream, and he's not looking at them. And out of nowhere they come and they smack, and I mean, it hurts. It hurts. And sometimes you'll see them kind of skid, they get hit so hard, or they hit head-on. But regardless, that defensive strong safety or that middle linebacker's got a little more momentum. They didn't have to just pile through this defensive line and wiggle their way through. They've had some momentum, they've had some open field, they've had some stride, they've had some momentum. But when they hit, they hit hard. And that running back gets back up, heads back to— and you can't even tell it hurt. I guarantee it, it hurts. He gets back into the huddle and his number gets called again. See, they do this run after run after run, inning after inning, down after down, because they have a job to do. They have a responsibility. They have a team that is counting on them.

They have a—

they have a, a, a owners and coaches and fans that are counting on them to do their job. And so they get in, their number's called, and they do it again, and it hurts. Sometimes they have great success, sometimes they have minimal success, sometimes they have a loss, sometimes they don't even make it to the line of scrimmage. But they don't ever stop doing their job.

And every now and then, the greats, the ones that never quit, the ones that continue conditioning, continue studying, continue driving forward, break through for a 20, 30, 40, 50-yard touchdown. See, that's what it's all about for a running back.

It's about gaining yards and scoring points. It's their job, their duty, their responsibility.

And when they do it, we all see them as heroes.

Like, oh my God, look at Emmitt Smith.

Oh my God, look at Tony Dorsett. Oh my gosh, look, look, look, look. What an amazing athlete.

But if you go to every one of them, they'll tell you it wasn't easy. I got knocked down more times than I didn't. And I only made it to this level of success because I continued getting my number called and I continued going at it head-on, driving forward.

See, this is life. This is everything that everyone on here faces every day. We have a vision, we have a dream, we have an aspiration, we have a goal that we want to achieve. We want to be something more than what we are today. Every one of us are on here because of that sole purpose. Every one of us get up every day for that sole purpose because we want to achieve the rewards of our efforts.

We want to achieve financial freedom.

We want to achieve greatness. We want to impact lives. And no different than that offensive running back, there is a huge brick wall in front of us, a powerful wall called life. And every day your number is called. Every day you are called to get up and get after it and plow forward every day. Your number is called, and all you need to do is look for that little break, that little crack, that little opening that your team, your mind has opened up for you. And when you see it, you die for it. You plow for it. And if you break through that, don't let up, because guarantee you there's a strong safety, there's a middle linebacker who's gunning for you. And when they hit you, which is going to be life times two, it's going to hurt. Because every time we think, oh my gosh, we made it, things are going great, life is going great, oh my gosh, look, we got a loan funded, we got this, we got that, I got a real estate deal, life is great, it's worth it. Bam! Borrower walks, appraisal comes in low, contract falls out. Something happens right in the middle of our glorious moment, and now we're like sucking our— can't breathe. That guy hit me hard. I didn't see it coming. And you don't say, crap, this shit doesn't work, I'm done, I quit, it's too hard, they lied to me, they misrepresented, blah blah blah. We can, we do, or we can get back in the huddle, listen to the next play, hope and pray that our number is called to do it all over again.

Because if you do it enough, you do it enough, you do it enough, you do it enough, Boom, you're going to break through. The strong safety or the middle linebacker is going to be asleep, and you're gonna plow right through, and you're gonna go for a 30, 40, 50, 60-yard touchdown, and you're going to score. And then you're going to say, you know what, it hurt, but now I know what to do different because I've seen the results of my efforts.

I've tasted the, the, the, the glory. I've got a good understanding and I've got a powerful feeling. And now I'm excited.

Now I'm excited because it was all worth it.

All the pain, all the hurt, all the bruises, all the mishaps was well worth it because I achieved Step number one of my ultimate goal. The game's not over just because the running back scores a touchdown. The game's not over. The game of life will never be over. The game of life will always continue every day that God graces you with the ability to get up, and your number will be picked every day to get up and get after it. Will it be easy? Heck no. You would be amazed at the stories I heard this last week. My heart broke in so many pieces listening to the stories, listening to the hardships, listening to the bullcrap that these people were subject to at different stages of life, some of them as little as 10 years old. And then to see them today, and I'm like, you've got to be kidding me. How did you do that? How did you make it through that? See, we all think we have a shitty life. We all think that life's done us wrong. Every one of us has a story, but I guarantee you, don't ever say, I'll put my story up against yours, because I'm telling you, you'll be heavily, heavily disappointed.

The stories that I hear, the lives that we have witnessed, and the power within people to achieve greatness is unbelievable. And it makes me proud to know, like I've always seen, that if they can do it, I know I can do it.

If they went through all that and never gave up, never quit, and achieved this, then by gosh, I know I can. Then I know that I can. I gave out 4 Tobyisms on my speech, and I've coined that so nobody can use that. It's Tobyism. Okay, Tobyism number 1: decisions. The decision you make will shape your life. You guys should be writing this down. The decision you make will shape your life, but the life you want should shape your decisions. So that's number 1. The decisions you make will shape your life, but the life you desire, the life you want, should shape your decisions. Tobyism number 2: take no excuses. No excuses. And 99% of the excuses you accept are the ones you create. Sometimes you'll hear noise from somebody around you. They'll say, oh, can you really do that? I mean, you really need to be doing this, or you should be doing that.

And we hear it, but then we talk ourselves into that being the right decision, the right reason for not doing what we know we should be doing.

So no excuses. So Tobyism number 2, no excuses. I have a dream, I have a vision, I'm making a decision. And I'm not accepting any excuses to achieve it.

And then Tobyism number 3, which is where I believe the rubber meets the road. Without this one, nothing will be accomplished.

We can all have a vision, we can all have a dream, we can all have a goal. We can all say, I'm taking no excuses. I've made a— drawn a hard line in the sand. I'm not listening to anybody around me. Nor am I going to listen to myself. That doesn't push me forward. That's number 2. But number 3, if we don't do this one, everything else is negated. And this is: if it's going to be, it's up to me.

Tobyism number 3.

If it's going to be, it's up to me.

Randy's not going to do it for you.

Nick's not going to do it for you.

Henry's not going to do it for you.

Rick's not going to. Nobody on this call is going to do it for you but you. And we're so quick to blame. Oh, you know, so-and-so was supposed to do this, and because they didn't do that, I wouldn't. And then we start going into now the excuses.

We now revert right back to Tobyism number 2.

Here's our excuse: because I didn't take action, I want to blame somebody else, therefore it didn't get accomplished.

Accomplished.

See, yes, we all count on other people, we all want support, we all need support, but if you want success, you want to achieve your ultimate goals in life, it's up to you, period. And if somebody helps you along the way— guides, directs, mentors, coaches, whatever—

Wonderful.

But if they don't, too damn bad. Make it your own. Stop banking on other people to put money into your account. You can only control your own financial situation, only you. And if you don't like the support, the direction, whatever, then make a decision to do something differently. But don't make excuses.

Don't make excuses. And then number 4, it's like that running back. If you don't quit, you can't lose. If you don't quit, you can't lose. It is a proven fact in everything in life.

If you don't quit, you can't lose. It's impossible. It's absolutely scientifically impossible to lose if you don't quit. So I'm going to recap real quick. Number one, decisions. The decision you make will shape your life, but the life you desire, the life you want, the life you dream of should shape your decisions. Okay, number 2, no excuses. Stop it. Stop the noise. Stop listening to yourself. Stop listening to outside influence. Stop listening. Put blinders on and plow forward. Do you know how easy it'd be for a running back to go, wow, those guys hit hard. I just—

man, I don't know, I can't—

Coach, pull me I just can't do it today. You know what? You know what happens when that happens? And it does. They get replaced.

And that guy said, this is my chance, this is my opportunity.

That little weasel can't do it. Watch me. See, he's been waiting for that moment for that guy to give up so that he can get his shot. So number 2, no excuses.

Number 3, if it's going to be, it's up to me. I had that on my visor in my car when we lost the millions and millions and millions of dollars, and I had to go into all sales, all commission, not making a dime. And I wanted to be mad at the world. I wanted to blame everybody for my hardships, and I could, and I did. But the one thing that I absolutely stood true to was If I was going to turn this around, if I was going to get us back on top, it was up to me.

And with that, we have to say, what does that mean? What does it mean?

It's up to you.

It's up to you to dig, to look, to find, to build relationships. When you see an opportunity, capitalize on it. When you see an opening, capitalize. Only you can make yourself get up. Only you can take that first step forward. Only you can plow forward. Nobody's going to come over there and pick Sandra up and say, Sandra, I'm going to carry you through this line. So I'm going to carry you through these problems. Renee, I'm going to carry you. Nobody's going to do that. You got to carry yourself through that. You've got to be the one that says, I'm going to plow forward, and I know it's going to hurt. I know it's going to be painful. But I'm gonna do it because nobody's gonna care. Nobody's gonna open that door, make that pathway, and carry me through that. I know I gotta do it. And so through our mind, through our spirit, through our physical body, we stay conditioned and we keep plowing forward, looking and waiting for the opportunity. To capitalize on. It's going to be— it's up to me. I have to do the disciplines. I have to be in shape. Do you think for one second that running back could not work out all week long because he'd been playing football since he was 10 years old? Why do I need to keep working out? Why do I need to keep training? Because you know what? When he hits that 600-pound wall, it's gonna hurt. And if he isn't physically strong, mentally prepared, and spiritually sound, it will knock him out of the game. No different for you. If you are not spiritually sound, mentally strong, physically empowered, you will get knocked out of the game. You will hit that wall and say, I quit, I'm done, it hurts. Why me? Why not you? Why not you? Why not you getting your doctorate? Why not you changing lives? Why not you empowering people to be the absolute best they can become? Why not you?

And then if you don't quit, number 4, if you don't quit, you cannot lose. It's scientifically proven. If you don't quit, you can't lose.

It's going to hurt.

You're going to get beat up. You're going to get bloodied. You're going to get bruised. You're going to have some broken bones, broken hearts, broken spirits.

Peep— and here's the other thing I will tell you, and I hate this, I hate this more than anything But it is a proven fact, and we all must face the facts. People will let you down. People will let you down. Not on purpose every time. It just is what it is. But see, here's what you have to be solid with. Am I doing everything in my power to empower them, to give them the opportunity? And then the ball is in their court. If you can say yes to that, then don't worry about it. Get up and move on. But people will let you down. You will always be disappointed in people. There's two people you can never be disappointed in, two absolutes.

Well, three if you have grandchildren. They'll never disappoint you. Number one, Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, will never, ever, ever, ever forsake you. It's written in the Bible. I will never forsake you. I will never leave you. I read the other day, we did a, a webinar with Juma, uh, a video, and I read the, the poem Footprints. I have it in a very beautiful framed picture. It is the most profound poem ever for me. And if you haven't ever read or haven't read it recently, I challenge you to read it today and read it slow, especially the last paragraph.

But see, Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, will never ever ever let me down, ever, no matter what.

I believe that. Number 2 person is me. I, I can't let myself down.

It's just, it's impossible.

I will do exactly what I want to do for me, so there's no way I can let myself down. I cannot do what I need to be doing, but I'll never let myself down.

So those two people are an absolute guarantee that you can bank on, count on, and rely upon—

Jesus Christ and you. If you have grandkids, they will always lift your spirit. They will always lift your spirit.

Mine do.

I know how empowering they are. So I throw that out there because Everybody needs a grandchild. They're just so amazing.

But so understand that aside from those two people, we invest in people.

They will not always perform to the level that we hoped, dreamed, and begged and desired, but that's okay.

See, it's not a measuring stick. It's not what I did for you, now you got to do for me. When you have that mentality, you will always be disappointed. When my sales guys would get hired, when I was interviewing them, I'd ask them, why do you want to work?

I want to make lots of money.

Wrong. Ah, you're out.

Goodbye.

See, money is not a goal, should never be a goal. A money is a byproduct of your activity. Money is a byproduct of your activity.

Of your actions.

What you do every day should be empowering, solving solutions for others, empowering others, solving solutions, solving problems. If you do that, you'll get paid.

That's right, Kristy. Money is a tool.

Money is a byproduct. Money is, is a reward. It's like the running back making it through, plowing through enough times that he breaks through and gets a touchdown. That was his ultimate goal. He got rewarded for his efforts. He got rewarded for his actions. He got rewarded for the repeated activity he did, not just there on Sunday afternoon, but every day prior to. The hours and hours in the gym, the hours and hours watching film, the hours and hours running drills. These are all the conditions they have to do so that they can be rewarded on Sunday in front of millions and millions and millions of people. See, when we change our mind, when we start realizing that we have a duty and money is nowhere in the picture all of a sudden it starts kind of coming to you. It's kind of like when you're, uh, dating.

I don't know, I think everybody here is married or has significant others, but you know, the most powerful thing is you go, you hang out, you date, and then you ghost them.

Ah, you know, they want you more when you're unavailable. They want you more. My youngest daughter was the queen of catch and release. I mean, the queen in high school, she was the queen of, I really like this guy, really. And the minute he liked her, she dumped him like a hot rock. I mean, the minute he showed any interest in her, she dropped him and went on to the next one. And I think it was just a game for her. I think it was just something she wanted to see how many men, how many boys she could get to like her because the sec— I mean, just the second they showed interest, I'm over them.

They're done. I don't care. We're out. And it was comical.

It was comical. But see, that's kind of— money is— if you, if you're chasing money, you'll fail every time. It'll never be enough, and it'll never get here quick enough. Chase a vision that's bigger than you. Chase a passion that inspires you. Chase a transformation of people's lives in whatever demographic you want— real estate investing, lending, computer science, it doesn't matter. But if your goal is to become the absolute best you can be in that department and everything you do inspires the people around you, the money will come. Because here's the deal, You can be a waitress or a waiter at a restaurant, and if you are the absolute best at that, the tips will come, number one, and the promotions, the responsibility. Because see, that is something that takes—

I mean, you got to put up with a lot of crap to be a waiter or waitress at a restaurant. Trust me, I'm a customer there. I know how I've treated some of them sometimes.

But see, if you don't look at, oh, I— if I'm really nice to this person, I'm gonna get a big tip, or if I'm really nice, I'm gonna get a big— no, you just go and be the absolute best you can be and don't worry about anything, because then everything that you get will be exciting, will be rewarding. See, if we're expecting it and we don't get it, it's now a disappointment. If we don't expect it and we don't get it, no big deal. But if we don't expect it and we do get it, it's that much more empowering. It's that much more fulfilling. But we go through life saying, I got to make a lot of money, I got to make a lot of— what can I do to make a lot of money? I heard a guy— oh my God, Lord help me, please— I heard a guy who has a lot of talent. He's a very likable person, very likable person. I heard him go up to the king of Africa and say, hey, I want to go to Africa, I want to speak. And he said, okay, how much money can I make doing that? And I almost fell down when I heard that. His whole goal was, I want to go to Africa, and how much money can I make? Never did it ever cross his mind, how many lives can I change? How much can I impact the culture? What can I do in Africa that will help change nations? That never came out of his mouth, so I know it never crossed his mind. What crossed his mind was, oh my God, I see all these people that you're— that's under you that's going to Africa, and obviously they're doing great. How much money can I make? And I wanted to just go, oh my God, son, you are the biggest idiot I've ever met in my entire life because you're missing the value. You're missing the purpose. You're missing it all.

This is why I built the Ignite program. We as a community have to be spiritually, mentally, physically in line with our purpose, with our calling, so that We can achieve greatness and be rewarded according to our actions.

See, if you don't expect it and it comes, it will fire you up. If you don't expect it and it doesn't come, you won't be disappointed. There will be no hard brick wall that you hit. If you're doing a loan, if you're doing a real estate deal, if you're doing something and you're expecting a financial gain from it and it falls out, it is the biggest disappointment that hits you. My loan officers, they would, they would work hard on loans and they would have this pipeline of $4 or $5, $6 million and they're like, oh my gosh, and they've already spent that money. Like, okay, so, so for $6 million I'm going to make $30,000 this month and so I can pay this guy and I can pay this, I can buy this, and they've got it all spent.

And then It all falls out or it pushes to the next month. Appraisal came in low, borrower's bank statements weren't solid, whatever reason.

Always something above and beyond their control. Nothing that they did happens, and the loans push or fall out. And they're like, oh my God, Toby, what am I gonna do? I can't pay rent, I can't pay my mortgage, I can't— I said, you know what, Number 1, where's next month's pipeline? You were focused so much on this $6 million and all these commissions that you're gonna earn, you didn't continue building, and now you're at zero twice. So you're all focused on the money, not the purpose. And I just, I just shake my head and I go, what? What? Why? Why? When I interviewed you, I told you if money is your priority Please go somewhere else. Our job, our duty, our fiduciary responsibility is to solve problems, period. And 99% of the problem is that people need money to buy real estate. So all you got to do is find out how you can help them solve that problem. And if you focus on that all the way through the finish line you will be rewarded.

Blows my mind. Blows my mind. I have goals written down, and everybody says— and I'm not saying it's right or it's wrong, I'm just saying this is me—

everybody says when you write your goals, how much money do you want to make in the next 12 months?

How much money you want to make next 3 years? How many 5 years?

What is your financial goal? And you know what? Every time, always in the last 30 years, my line has been blank. Two reasons. One is I don't want to focus on that. It's always the first thing they ask. So that means it's at the top of the list. How much money do you make in the next 90 days, 6 months, 12? I mean, you got short-term goals, midterm, long-term goals. How much money you want to make? We gotta be able to map that out.

And I leave it blank.

Two reasons. One is I don't want to focus on it. Number two, I don't want to put a limitation to it. I don't want to put a limitation. By putting it in writing, that's our focus. Whatever our mind thinks about, whatever our mind focus on, that's what we will achieve. I swear to God to you guys, and I should never do that, but I'm telling you Whatever you focus on, you will achieve. And if it's money, you're going to get disappointed because money is something that will destroy your dreams. Find something bigger than you. Money is not bigger than you.

You are bigger than any dollar anywhere. Find a passion, find a vision, find a dream It's bigger than you. And just let the money be.

Write your goals out. Set a plan.

But put money— if you have to, if you have to list financial, I need, you know, some of, some of the people that are in our program are saying, I want to go into real estate investing full time. I have a, I have a job now.

I want to get out of that. And that's, that's a different story. That's replacing so that you can grow and build, so that you can take all the time that you're spending over here and build it over there.

You can dedicate and devote so that, that you can multiply 10x, 20x your, your financial future. That's different. That's a goal that is something that needs to be worked towards, but it's not putting limitation, because then once you get over to this side, now the sky's the limit. So I need you all to continue doing your daily disciplines.

Continue looking at who you are, where you want to be, and what is your calling, what is your purpose. And if you don't have a purpose, if you're like, I don't know really what I'm supposed to do, who I'm supposed to become, then let's talk. That's what I'm for. We all have a purpose.

We all have a passion.

We all have something that's bigger than just us.

It's empowering, because when that plan is bigger than you, there's nothing in this world that can stop you. It will beat you down, it will beat you up. You'll hit a brick wall, you'll get banged up, you'll get bruised up, it can get a little bloody.

But see out of all the running backs year after year, out of all the running backs coming out of high school and college into the NFL, and all the ones that actually make it into the NFL, there's only like less than 0.004% that become legendary.

There's only a small percentage that get their number called play after play, and they plow forward, and they don't quit, and they make remarkable strides, and they're remembered by millions for decades. They get put into the Hall of Fame, they get put into the Ring of Honor, they're remembered long after they've left the game because they were so remarkable, they were so powerful, they were so inspirational. That's who you are. That's the opportunity in front of you. That is the calling that you have. All right, we got a few minutes.

Any comments, questions?

Thoughts or ideas?

Come on, Chrissy, you always have one. Don't let me down now, girl.

Well, I'm just having a moment, so you're good. Um, just remember our conversation on Saturday, if you don't mind.

I'll never forget it.

Sandra, anything to add?

I need to tell you that I, uh, last year I said I would work a conference, and so I'm going to go work at a conference Wednesday through Sunday. So, um, I may have to disconnect for a few days. I don't know how what the schedule's gonna— one, I have the schedule, I just don't know anything about it yet. So I was just gonna let you know that.

And speaking of, real quick, Sandra, before you jump in, um, I will be on a mountain next Monday and Tuesday. I will not have the ability to inspire, lead, and fire you guys up.

I have not decided whether we're going to have Miss Brenda or somebody fill in But I will let you all know before I climb on this 9,472-foot mountain to go shoot me a big old bull elk.

But I'll let you know what's going to happen next week. But right now, I saw I'm prepping everybody. I will not be on the call Monday and Tuesday of next week. Sandra, what you got?

I don't really have anything. I was just going to respond to your question to say I don't have any questions.

Renee?

Is Renee—

where's Renee?

I don't know what happened to her.

Renee!

John, talk to me, buddy.

I just love the, uh, football analogy. I mean, just, just thinking about every step that you are taking us through and, um, and relating it to ourselves and our life and what we go through each and every day, and that you got to just be relentless and keep on going. I really like that.

Thank you.

I really like that.

Now, now apply it.

And apply it now.

Exactly.

Now apply it.

Yes, yes. Thank you so much.

You bet, buddy. Henry, what do you got, buddy?

Um, the one, one of the things that stood out to me was, uh, when you're unavailable, they want you more, uh, you know, that stood out. Choose a vision that's bigger than you. Banking on God and yourself, you know, that, that was huge. And I think I need to put a little bit more reminders around me. Like, you got the 'If it's to be, up to me' on the visor. I want to put, put something in my car because my visor's always down, you know, California sun and all that stuff. So like, I'm going to put a little something right there on that. I like that idea. I'm going to utilize that.

So, uh, I'll tell you another real quick story. When I moved down here, I was, uh, 22 years old. My dad had just died. I had zero money. I had never— I only been in two states at that time. I've been in California when I was a kid up to 10, and then I moved to Oklahoma. I'd never been anywhere else. But when I— after my dad died, I loaded up my 1985 Chevy 4x4 pickup truck that was a piece of junk, but I loved it. Loaded it up and drove down here. And I had gotten the book See You at the Top from Zig Ziglar, and he talked about visionary boards, you know, putting up quotes throughout your, your house so that you're always walking. And so I had this little— this— I had rented this garage conversion. So a guy had converted his garage into an apartment. So just four walls, which made it easy. But I take this paper and I wrote all these quotes, stuck them everywhere. I didn't know anybody here in Dallas, had no money, had no family, had nothing. Had nothing, had $600 to my name, and drove down here to start a life. But I also, from that book, knew that I had— I was, I was given the God-given talents and entitlement to become something. And so I wrote those, and they were everywhere. And that's where I, I continued that through every pitfall, every, every disruption in our life. There's always been that if it's going to be, it's up to me. And, and it was on my— you know, when, when we lost the, the money from 2008 and lost the millions, it was on the mirror in my bathroom, was on the sun visor. Because when you're out making calls all day long, and I was calling on businesses, and, and you would get ran out—

I'm calling the police, there's no solicitation!

I'm like, you're right, dude. And, and, but then I have to— and I'll be beat down.

I'd want to take the excuse, I'd want to say, you know what, this shit doesn't work. And I pull that visor down and I would see it.

It's going to be— it's up to me. And I drive to the next business. So it is empowering because, see, we can talk ourselves out of everything.

Everything. It's so easy.

Oh, you know, my daughter, she was on here. Yep, she's still on here. Uh, you know, they're giving me shit all the time.

Dad, you gotta get in hell.

You got to be in shape because, you know, you got grandkids, you got to keep up with it.

But I love chocolate chocolate chip cookies more than— almost more than anything in life. And I'll go a few days without eating a chocolate chip cookie, and I'm like, oh, look at me. And I'll say, you know, one cookie isn't gonna hurt. One. Well, it ain't one because you can't have one homemade chocolate chip cookie. That's a disservice to the cookie industry. You gotta have 3 or 4 with a big glass of milk. So you just— every other—

all those days I didn't have one, I just made up for it in one day. But see, it's so easy to talk ourselves into anything in life or out of anything.

I don't want to go to the gym today, I worked out really hard yesterday. Oh, I'm sorry, I need to give my body a break. Bullshit. Now's the time you need to go back more than anything.

So put those up there because they'll help you hold yourself accountable.

They just remind you of your why. It's a 3-letter word, why. And everybody needs to write this down, and it needs to be a paragraph of an answer. If you wrote your why and it's a one-sentence explanation, that's weak. Your why needs to be a paragraph long— 4, 6, 8, 10 sentences long— as to why you want to do what you're doing. And that needs to be on your visor, that needs to be on your mirror, that needs to be on the refrigerator, that needs to be everywhere. So that when you hit that defensive line and those 300-pound linemen pile up on you and it hurts, you get back up because you remember your why.

You remember your why. No. Okay. All right, ladies and gentlemen, it has been an amazing hour. I am drenched. I am, I am literally sweating, and I don't know if it's because the heater's on or the AC's off, or it's been just that invigorating of an ignite moment, but regardless, it has been empowering for me. It's just always Monday mornings are the most exciting time for me because I get to share with you guys how great you are, how great we're going to become, and all the lives we're going to transform. Okay, you guys have an amazing week. Uh, you're gonna get a little bit of a breather on your homework assignments, but I'm telling you, my wrath is coming. My wrath is coming. Get your assignments done. Quit making excuses.

Get in shape— spiritually, mental, physical. Get in shape, because without it, you will get pummeled by life. Okay, you guys have a great one. On kit, Brandon, I'll see you guys tomorrow. We'll discuss. Fired up, Chandra, Renee. Figure— or, Sandra, find out what happened to Renee. Make sure she's got good signals. We got a lot we got to discuss tomorrow, okay?

Okay, thanks.

All right, guys, be good. Love y'all.