In this interview‑style segment, the speakers discuss the rationale behind spending six‑figures annually on personal development as a business owner. Speaker A frames the challenge as a fear of failure that keeps entrepreneurs from investing in growth, emphasizing the coach’s role in exposing blind spots and prompting action. Speaker B shares his personal practice of allocating a six‑figure budget to attend networking events, speak on stages, and sit alongside influential figures like Tim Storey and Big Brand Ventures, arguing that the decision to invest is straightforward when the fear of stagnation outweighs the comfort of the status quo. The conversation underscores that high‑cost personal development is a strategic investment to overcome inertia, expand networks, and accelerate business growth.
Chapters
What if you met a Todd Polk in 2009, 2010? Would you be better? Would 2011 ever happen the way it did? And you were, the answer was, I could, and I didn't prep you on this, but the answer was exactly what I was looking for. No, because I wasn't ready. Most people give themselves an out, give themselves an excuse saying, I don't need that. I'm not gonna gain anything from that. What's in it for me, I'm not seeing. Even though we create that messaging, it's only because they're scared of failure, scared of investing in something and it not working out. And the story that I tell them back is, you've already invested in yourself up to this stage and it's not working out. Why don't you give somebody else a try to help you overcome what's holding you back? That's my job, that's your job. That's our job as coaches, as leaders, as businessmen that have been there, done that. Our job is to help you see what you're missing. And if you don't come to the event, we can't ever do that.
Yeah. I told somebody the other day, they said, you know, they, they were questioning me on why I still spend, cuz you know, I, I, I do well, I'm blessed. And, and I told 'em that same thing I'd said to you earlier, like I spend six figures on personal development every single year, whether that's putting myself in a networking room, whether that's, um, you know, I mean, even Nashville, you know, when I went down and talked with Big Brand Ventures and, and got on that stage, like, they didn't pay me to come down there, but it was putting myself in that room with the right people, guys like, you know, Tim Storey and a couple other people that I wanted to be around. Uh, you know, but you got an airfare, you got your hotel stay, you, you have things. So somebody's like, well, why do you do that? And I said, for me, my decision's always easy. When I decide to, if I decide to come speak at Unshakeable Investor or Kansas City, or you decide to come to my event and speak, which you are. For me, my decision's always very clear. If my fear of staying where I'm at overcomes the possibility of doing something great, my decision's easy, right?
It's easy.
And for me, I'm always fearful, right? Um, becoming unshakeable doesn't mean that you don't have any fear. Oh, but you're always fearful of sliding backwards or not moving forward. Or for me, my fear is being poor and broke again. And that is enough for me to do everything that I absolutely can and to exhaust all resources that I possibly can and to make sure that no matter how much money I make, I always take a little bit back and I put it into some very high caliber events and with people that I really trust, um, and also spend the time to come to events like yours and make sure I'm on stage giving the same in return to people. And hopefully when they listen to guys like you, because on your social media you're raw, you're, you're, you're straightforward, you're not a bullshitter. Like, look, there's too many fake gurus out there, we could name them. Yeah, but when they listen to guys like you, sometimes you don't— not just you, but all of us, we don't get as many followers as the guy that's out there driving like crazy cars all the
