WHY Not Wednesday with Hugh Hornsby

Who believes what we believe.

Who leads people to greatness, who gets people unstuck. Who unlocks all of your passion. A coach who helps people discover what drives them to tap into their superpowers. That knowing your why is the first step to untap potential.

To focus.

To breakthroughs.

A coach who's looking for a better way.

Are you that coach?

Hello.

Mr. Dominguez. How are you doing?

I am great.

Life is good.

We're busy over here and trying to. There you go. No, things are good. Things are great. Been real excited about having this conversation with you, and your name came up in my mastermind group last night, and so it's pretty.

Incredible what you guys are doing over at the Y Institute. I just want to say before we get started, thank you for including me on this journey.

Well, thank you for being on. I'm hearing an echo. Echo.

I am not.

All right, let me try something here. So everybody. Normally.

Sometimes we have technical difficulties.

So let's.

All right. All right. Can you still hear me?

Yeah, I can hear you. Great.

Okay. Okay. Can you hear me still?

Yes.

All right. Are you still here?

Yeah, I'm here with you.

All right. All right.

Because every time I speak, there's an echo. You want to try plugging in your headset again?

Yeah, let's. Let's give it a shot.

All right.

We'll get through these guys. Guys.

All right. Can you hear me?

Yeah, but I'm not hearing you on my headphones.

Okay. Okay.

So I want to make sure that we can fix that. I don't know how to get rid of that.

Let me do something. Okay, Now, I think we got rid of the echo because I muted your microphone. So what I'm going to have to do, Hugh, is every time you're going to speak, I'm going to turn on your microphone. So it might be a little bit of a delay, but let's get started. We've been looking forward to having you on since I met you, and I'm excited to talk to you. So everybody who's been patiently waiting, let me tell you a little bit about Hugh Hornsby. He's an author, he's a speaker, he's a coach, he's a mentor. He's. And he's the host of the International Business Growth Radio. He has turned around or built up over nine different divisions or businesses, and he believes in, quote, building people so people can build businesses. And I love that quote, Hugh, So thank you so much for sharing that Your specialties are helping others find their sweet spot. Purpose and passion, and that's all based on core values, serving and systems. Now, you sent me something right before the show that I want to make sure I share. When we talked about, how do you. How does Hugh want to be introduced? You said, you know, you said something. You shared something interesting. At the age of 10, you were diagnosed with epilepsy. But little did you know that that epilepsy would be the gift that would propel you to overcome the odds. You were always viewed as being different, and it challenged you to prove others wrong while developing a strong desire to help and mentor others. And you credit your success of turning around or building companies based on the people you surround yourself with and helping them find their purpose. So, man, thank you so much for sharing that. I know that's deeply personal.

Yeah.

It is very deeply personal. I remember Dan, you know, hitting my head, falling off a swing set, thinking that I could go all the way around, just like the Chinese guy that I'd watched on TV that day. And when I hit the bar, I went crashing down on my head. And little did I know at that time that I suffered a major concussion. And.

What I found when I went to the doctors and they didn't know much about epilepsy back then was that I was.

You know, I was epileptic. Didn't really know what that meant. I'd read it in the Bible a couple of times, but really know what that meant. But the doctor said when we left to, my mother said, whatever you do, Mary Ellen, you do not let anybody hold Hugh back. And then he looked at my mom and said, especially you. So that was the beginning of my journey. And I really didn't know at that time that my life had changed at a really young age. And I was. Everything that doctor said was correct because along the way, everybody kept trying to hold me back, except for my mother and my father, who said, you can be anything you want to be. And they just drove that into my head. And I became passionate about looking at other people and looking at them and seeing if they were going through epilepsy or whatever the special needs were on how I could help them and sharing with them how we were different, but we might be different, but we could be better by looking at things from a different perspective.

So you bring up a great point.

And let me mute you before I go. So you bring up a great point because we did your why discovery not too long ago. And so I always start the show with that. And we're starting a little bit later, six minutes later. But we're getting started. So your why operating system is to challenge the status quo, to simplify the complex and to contribute to the success of others. So what we know about you is you like to look at things differently. You like to challenge the status quo and look at things from a different perspective. That's your why. Now how you do that is by making things simple and easy to understand. And ultimately what people can count on from you is that you want to contribute to the success of others. You want to make a difference and make a positive impact. Tell me what have you learned about yourself? What was new to you when we went over your yos.

Oh wow, you double dipped me because you had my wife come on and give and take her why at the same time. So you probably learned more about me than.

I let most people know because my wife is an open book when it comes to that. One of the things that happened from that was this weekend. We went out in the boat. I went out in the boat and you know, my wife and I are two separate type people and I've been trying to get her into my boat, into our boat for a while because the last time I was there I went too fast and hit a wave and scared the heck out of her. So this time I went really slow and we puts around the Chesapeake Bay in and together and.

We started talking and I saw some things that I hadn't seen before and it was just probably one of the most beautiful days that we've had in some time. And because I had a better understanding of what her why was and she had a better understanding of my why it was, it turned into just a great day. So.

So Hugh, I'm going to ask you what was, what's her why and what did you, what did you see differently? What was different about the way you interacted that day versus before?

Well, she, she's, she's a, you know, she likes reading books and she likes being to herself and I'm just the opposite. I want to be the life of the party and, and go out and have a good time and like being around people. I get my energy from people. She, she gets her energy from people while she's at work, but she gets her energy by being quiet and reading books and, and not having to deal with that at home. And so that's, that's a very different personality.

It's, it's also one that when you start to understand it and this doesn't have to be your wife, it can be your client, it can be the people that work for you? If you start to understand what it is that's important to them, the conversation changes. And our conversation changed, and we talked about it again last night, and then I went straight from our beautiful time on the water to, okay, this is how I'm going to use it. And my mind started working and she stopped me and she said, slow down, Hugh. Let's talk about us. We're not into business yet, so.

Right, right.

Anyway, so.

I'm sorry.

It was. It was. It was a learning experience and one that I actually wrote her a letter yesterday morning just telling her how much I loved her and that sometimes I get going so fast that I forget to do that. And so I wrote her a letter and put it in the mailbox and kind of mailed it, but didn't mail it. She came back and gave me a hard time for putting it in the mailbox with a stamp on it when I could have just given it to her.

It was a great conversation.

I love that. Thanks for sharing that. Her wireless just for. We've got some of our coaches on the line, so. So hu is a challenge, Simplify, contribute. Beth is make sense, mastery and right way. So you have none of your top three in common. You communicate differently. She's all about making sense of things.

Solving problems, learning things at a deep level, and then doing things the right way. You're all about challenging the status quo and doing things differently because complete opposite of right way. You're all about making things simple. She's all about digging deep and learning more. And then you're. What is contribute in her? What is right way? I mean, you know, I'm going to say, like, you know, we. My wife and I went to a couples retreat and we did an assessment there, and they said, you know, how are you guys together? Because we were polar opposites. You're almost polar opposites here. I really enjoyed meeting Beth, enjoyed the questions she had about why institute and how we work together and what you were getting yourself into. It was a lot of questions around that. And she's a professional as a speech therapist. Right. So she works in the schools, works with students. So, man, tell me. Tell us a little bit about that story about you and her.

It's, you know, she. She was going through a rough time, and she's a very beautiful woman. So I definitely married over top of my head when it comes to that. But we. We had a lot in common and we had a lot to talk about, and she was just fun, you know, she was fun to be with and she had, she had lost her mother, you know, when she was in college and was something that we, we could talk about and we just became really close friends, even though we're so different. And she's the hard one in the family and I'm the, I'm the guy that, you know, used to do all the fun stuff, but sometimes opposites attract. And she's also my, you know, she's my sounding board when, when I need, you know, advice, she, she's always there. So. And like any other relationship, it grows over time. And we've grown over time to the point that we went from, you know, best friends to best friends to even, you know, can't imagine being without her. So it's, it's been great. But the why helped us kind of look at each other and, and, but I will say one of the things that she does do for me because I do a lot of training and we talk about non verbal communication. She'll come on and she'll, she'll teach me about non verbal communication so I can teach the group. And you know, being a speech pathologist and working with special needs kids, sometimes the way that she reads things is just by facial expressions. So it's something that we've done. And we actually gave the Indian talking stick to 24 of my salespeople. And a few of them said that we might have saved their marriages because, you know, they just talk too much. But it's, she's been great.

Somebody that I was very fortunate to become not only husband and wife, but best friends.

I love that. And I love that even after all these years, you're still learning about each other and that you gained something from what you learned in doing your why Operating system debrief. I did it with you and I did it with Beth together. I want to recognize Rocky. Watson says in the movie Rocky, they call that being gap fillers when you're the opposite. She's your analytical side. She's your mastery to your challenge and to your moving forward and helping others. I want to say hi to Tiffany, Tiffany Marshink from Charleston, South Carolina. I know this is one of her first times joining us, so thank you very much for joining. Tiffany. Hugh, you talked about, we talked about something that happened in your ninth grade year that helped you look at things differently. Tell us about that experience.

We all go through things in life and there are things that stick with us. And I was told by my 9th grade teacher that I should go into special needs class. There was no way I was going to Ever go to college. Math was not my specialty and she was a math teacher. And I remember looking at her and just could not believe that we were having that conversation. And then I went home and I remember telling my mom about it and my mom looked at me and she said, honey, you can be anything you want to be. You do not worry about what other people tell you. You are different, but you are so different that you are God's blessing and you remember that. So it turned me, you know, it really made me look at things from a different perspective. And it made me realize that.

We all kind of get caught up at a time in life where people kind of hold us down or say, and we do it. People hit ceilings and whatever it may be. And I made a decision 9th grade year that that was never going to happen to me. And.

I actually started mentoring people. That same year a friend of mine had epilepsy and I sat down and talked to her. So I started looking at things from a different perspective.

And then shortly after that I played football and I remember going out and I was playing against.

265 pound all state tackle and he had just crushed me that day. And my dad came back and said, you know, what's wrong with you? And I said, I had one of the worst days that you could ever have. And he said, what happened? And I told him the story about Stevie Johnson just, you know, laying me out. And he said he went, he went down in the garage, grabbed a couple of helmets. He was a leather helmet from William and Mary. Threw the helmet at me and said, come on, let's go get down in your three point stance. And all I wanted to do was to go upstairs and go to bed. And he put his helmet down, he went to a three point stance and he got back up, threw the helmet on the ground and he said, what were you thinking? I'm like, what are you talking about, dad? He said, you're 165 pounds. He's 265 pounds all state, probably going to make it to division one. Why did you think that you were going one on one and beat him? He said, you're quicker than he is, you're faster than he is and you can get lower than he is. He said, in life, let me teach you something. In life, it's not about what everybody else is, it's about what you can do. So you need to be different. You are different. So if you can get lower than him, he will never catch you. If you can be faster and quicker than him, he will not catch you. So tomorrow, when you go out and you go one on one with him, you go low and you go quick. And I did. And it was a pretty amazing thing that year. Stevie Johnson and I. Stevie Johnson played tackle. I played nose guard at 165lbs. Nobody could catch me. And it just taught me, and it teaches all of us, and I hope everybody's thinking about this, that if we do stuff differently, if we look at it from a different perspective, then we can change the world any way we want. The other thing, I do want to say this because there's a message I really want to send for those people that have special needs kids or kids that feel like they're different. When you have those conversations with them, have that conversation. Because being different is a great thing. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.

And it makes me look at things from a different perspective. And I'm convinced the way that I built my businesses, I started a fraternity and brought all these people in that were different. They were so different. And I gave them an opportunity to become whoever it was they wanted to be. And I helped get. You know, I went out of my way to help get them there. By the time I left, we were the largest fraternity on campus for I don't know how many years. But I really look at the way that I run my business, and I hope some of my sales team's listening that, that, you know, being different is a good thing. And it's. It's the only negative with being different is if you think it's a bad thing, you make it a good thing. Take that step back and look at it where you want to go. And the sky is the limit.

So we have a couple of comments from the folks that are listening. You know, Watson, Jordan said that's the perfect challenge response, right? You're gonna. You're gonna be different. I love Bill. Bill Summer says it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight and the dog. And I'm sure you learned that from, from your. From your dad. And Tiffany, you know, it's a great story, says, be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. And it's Oscar Wilder who gave us that quote. We talked about that this morning. And I saw Tiffany and I belong to a group that meets every morning. And so, Tiffany, thank you for, for bringing that up and reminding us. Hugh, you mentioned something else. That the few experience, a few situations you experienced growing up that made you begin to look at life differently. So you've already talked to us about, you know, you. You were diagnosed with the epilepsy. You. You were small kid playing football and going up against kids that were much bigger than yourself, and you were different. You were faster, you were smaller. What advice can you give to someone who feels like they are different and they're feeling left out?

I just say, be proud of who you are. Look at yourself and stop comparing yourself to all the, you know, everybody else that's out there. Stop looking at Facebook with all the happy people and, you know, look at all those people that are. Or say they're happy and maybe they're not. The bottom line is just. Just be you and go out and leverage who you are. And there's a. There's another thing that I want to say, and I've seen it all the way through my life and all the way to this day, and it'll continue. You know, we're only as good as the people we associate with.

Surround yourself with those people. You know, it's. It's a saying out there that we're the average of the five people that we associate with. And then it goes on the books that you read. But when talking to those people that feel like they're in a different scenario and maybe have even been picked on at one point, take that step back. Be proud of who you are. Don't accept any of that as something that's going to bring you down. You be the one bringing other people up, because you are special, and we all are special. And I'd like to really talk about this. I have hired 24 people this year. I've hired a finished carpenter, a guy off of a lawnmower, somebody out of a manufacturing facility, another person that.

Had no idea he ever wanted to go in sales. Figure out what it is that you want to do, and figure out what you love to do, and use that passion and purpose to move forward. A good friend of mine, Larry Levine, selling from the heart, and Larry and I were very good friends, is always talking about working from the inside out.

And working who you are from the inside out. Be proud of yourself on the inside. It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside. Be proud of yourself on the inside. And I guarantee you great things are going to happen. And I am convinced that we're all. If we continue to do the right things, you are going to start attracting the type of people that is going to be important to you, because we attract what we think. And if you're thinking negative thoughts, you're going to attract negative people. But if you're thinking positive thoughts and you're out helping other people, you are going to attract them. And that has been the way that I've built all my businesses. If there's a secret lesson, it's there.

I don't hire resumes. I hire people.

I hire people and I try to find out where those people want to go and if I can help them get there. I will do everything I can to make that happen.

Thank you so much. There was a lot there, Hugh so I want to make sure we, we, we piss pass through a couple of people. William Summer says there's a Maori proverb says never spend time with people who don't respect you. And then Watson Jordan gave us the, the gem. We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. And that's what I think you were alluding to. Tell us this because I think it's important to talk about this. Hugh when did you find out that leading was more about surrounding yourself with people than it was about building and building themselves up? That created that. That is what led to your success. How did, how did you come to that conclusion? How long have you been doing that?

I learned it when I was in high school and I learned it from sports. That, that was really important. But I really learned it when I went to Radford University and I was pledging all these fraternities. I had gone through a junior college before and pledging all these fraternities and they all wanted me to joy, but they said that, hey, I couldn't be a president. So I started my own fraternity. And I looked around at all the other fraternities and I did a comparison of who they were. You know, they were the jocks and you know, they were all different levels. They were all nice people. And I, and I realized that, you know, if you didn't wear your khakis, you couldn't get into this one. If you weren't a jock, you couldn't get into that one. If you weren't a big time partier, you couldn't get into the other one. And if you weren't, you know, kind of a jerk, you couldn't get into to the other one. And I wanted to make sure that.

My philosophy of helping other people that I went out and found people that were just different and when I say different, just different from each other. We didn't have to be one type. But, and then I wanted them to realize that just because maybe they couldn't get into the other fraternities, that we could do this thing together and we could build it together. And I told them, I said, guys, I'll step down as president, you know, before my time, to make sure if what you guys, this is where you want to go and lead, I will put you in a position to take those roles. And I actually did that.

And it cost me a Xerox job coming out of college. And I stepped off and I started the Greek Week games at Bradford University. But I wanted to make sure that it wasn't about me, it was about we. And it was about putting people in a position so that when I did step off, I wasn't the only leader there, that they were leading each other. And I look at that with my company, the companies that I turn around today, it is so important that when I turn these things around and the day comes that I move on, that I've done the right thing by the company to leave that company in a place that's. That it's going to go to the next level. And I just. I just really believe that. And I believe that in my people as well. I mean, they'll come in at one level and for me to help them go to that next level. But I have, Dan, I have something that is a requirement from each one of them if I'm going to help them. It's their job to help other people.

They don't have to stick with my company. They don't have to do any of that. But I want them to open the door for somebody today, and I want them to do the same thing that I'm trying to do for them. I want them to do that for other people. So that can. Hopefully that becomes significant.

Thank you. That is. Those are great words to live by, by the way, Hugh. Thank you so much. Bill Summer says that's what we call succession planning. And so thank you, Bill, for commenting. You know, Hugh, one of the questions I want to ask you is around. Around the topic of your biggest why not moment. That's the name of the show today is why Not Wednesday. Tell me about a time when you said why not to an opportunity, a circumstance, a choice, and it made a significant positive impact for you.

Was when I was not failing in sales. I'd already failed once. So I was like, I'm going to prove these people wrong. And I was working about as hard as you could possibly work. There was no way I could put any more effort into my sales job. And I was middle of the pack, and it just drove me nuts. And I remember.

Taking a step back and asking myself.

What can I do differently? And I found a training seminar which I could not afford at all. And I called them up on the phone and they said, come on in. And I went in and they were recruiting me, and it was a lot of money, and I just didn't have it. And I looked at them and I said, why not? That was the day that changed my life, my career, because I did that and started reading books and listening to tapes in the car, which I still do today. Not really tapes, but books on tape and whatever it may be. And it changed my world. And it realized that I was doing things the wrong way, that there was another way to do it. And what I learned from that was I learned that it was really wasn't about me. And it wasn't as much about the hard work as it was finding out what it is the other person needed and figuring out how I could help them accomplish that. And that was a why not Moment that changed my world that I'm still doing today. I'm still reading and I'm still in mastermind groups. I find Dan Dominguez through my good friend Jim Packard.

And, you know, but it's. It's the training, the coaching for your coaches out there. You have such a meaning out there that there's so many people that need that help. And most people don't realize it in their mind. They say, I can't afford it. But what the real thing is, is they can't afford not to. So my why not? Moment was that.

So I've got one more question for you, Hu. And that was. That was great. I love that you led with, you know, you invested in yourself when it looked like you shouldn't. Right? That's the last thing you needed to do because you were down. You had, you had. You were middle of the pack. You weren't making a lot of money. You took a chunk of money and said, you know what? I'm going to invest in myself next. So let me ask you this question, because you're going through our training. You just recently joined Y Institute. We connected so well. Normally I wait till someone finishes training and you've done a few programs and you've put the. Your training into effect. But we had such a great connection. I wanted to introduce you to why Nation. We probably need to do something different because we had some sound problems at the beginning, so we lost a few people. But we have another show called why to Y. And after you do your first event with with with either your sales team or some of the people that you're coaching. I'd love to have you back, but what would you say to someone who is on the fence about joining Y Institute and becoming a certified coach?

Well, I would say, why. Why are you. Why are you doing it? And is it. Is it about. Is it about the financial side of it, which that's always really important, or is it about what you're going to give to somebody else? I really think, and I've seen a lot of coaches that, you know, they're trying. A lot of them are trying to do all the right things, but a lot of them really don't. Aren't really doing it from the right position, which, to me, that's your heart. That's where the why comes in. If you understand your why, that's important. But when you start understanding other people's why, it's going to put them in a position to change the conversation.

I always say changing the conversation is what it's about. It's not about you selling something. It's about you helping somebody kind of figure out what it is that they want. So I love this program, and I am getting ready to use it with my entire team, and I'm getting ready to use it with some other people that I've already had conversations with. But I think it's a start. But I want to say this, Dan. It is a start. There's a lot of other programs.

That tell you how to do it, what to do, how to do it. This gives you a place to start. And if you can start from your heart, then figuring out some of the how to's and being consistent and persistent and everything else to go with it goes with it. It's something that is to be used with your coaching so that you can help them through that. But it is a great place to get started. And I tell you what, it just gets me jazzed up. I mean, I love looking at my why. And then, you know, Larry Levine, I went through his why today, and I was just kind of getting a kick out of it.

You know, if you're in coaching, I would say for the minimal fee that it costs to do this, and it's really not a cost for the minimal fee. If you deal with your why, and that's how you're dealing with your clients. Clients, this is something that I think you can give them is going to be just huge.

Thank you so much, Hugh, and sorry for the delays. I had to mute Hugh every time I go to talk. So we wouldn't get that echo. But, Hugh, you've been a fantastic guest. You've shared a lot. You started out with a really personal story telling us about your background. And then you shared some really great stuff about where your drive comes from to be different. I mean, to go to a college and, and look at the Greek system and say, you know what, you guys are all doing great things, but you're not. For me, I'm going to start my own fraternity. To the way you deal with your teams, how you build teams, how you turn companies around, you taught us about succession planning, the importance of leaving, creating a leader. There's, you know, I think Bill talked about a Maori proverb. Never spend time with people who don't respect you. There's another proverb that says, you know, the chief is in a tribe. The chief's primary job is to find the next chief. And I think you've done that all along. And we finished with a couple of things which mean, which you talked about that I think were very important, paying it forward and what we always talk about at Y Institute, and that is the platinum rule, treat people like they want to be treated. And I think that's the advantage that the Y gives you. Thank you for that great closing comment. I will leave it here and wish you the best. I look forward to watching you finish training and then having you back on to talk about some of the success stories that you're, I am sure you're going, going to have.

Sounds great. Thank you, Dan. And thank you, Y Institute and thrilled to be a part of it.

Thank you so much, Hugh. We'll see you next time. Have a great Wednesday, everyone.