99. The Great One, How do you pursue Greatness like Gretzky

You are listening to the Wealth Without Bay Street Podcast, a Canadian guide to building dependable wealth. Join your hosts, Richard Canfield and Jason Lowe, as they unlock the secrets to creating financial peace of mind in an uncertain world. Discover the strategies and mindsets to a financial future that you can bank on.

This is episode number 99. And we thought what better than to honor this episode number 99 than to talk about Wayne Gretzky.

The greatest hockey player.

Of our generation, probably ever to play in the National Hockey man whose hockey career began when he was a fetus. But his professional career spanned 20 years, and the reason, among many, one reason that we want to dedicate this episode to, to Wayne Gretzky.

This is a fellow who holds or shares 61 records that are listed in the National Hockey League's official guide and record book. He's got 40 for the regular season, 15 for the Stanley cup playoffs, six for the all Star games. We're talking about most goals in one season. We're talking about countless, countless records that are held by Wayne.

And I think there's something to be said about.

Persistence continually improving, recognizing that potential in you is not. There's no arrival that you're continually developing your potential. You're continually improving. You're continually striving to be a great teammate, as Wayne Gretzky was over his career, having helped so many other players in the National Hockey League to achieve far more than they could have ever done without Wayne helping them along and continually working on his own game. Rich, do you have any memories of.

The great one?

Oh, yeah, there was. There was. Anytime there was an Oilers game on, you know, growing up in my house, it was. There was. It was, it was. There was some, obviously some heated. There's always heated moments, you know, when the Oilers put one in the back of the twine. And then, of course, when they don't or they weren't playing well enough and they. They lost the game, I, I would hear about it, you know, for sure. But, you know, I, I do recall not understanding, you know, when I, When I was young and I wasn't really into hockey a lot at that age. I'm more so now today. But just, I was just aware I knew who Wayne Gretzky was, and I was just, more importantly, I was just really aware that there was something ridiculously special about this human being, because you'd see it in the news, you'd see, you know, the newspaper, or you just hear people talk about it and you're just like, like, wow, like this. This is something that People are resonating with and it's becoming a topic of conversation. And so I think that the takeaway that comes up for me as I'm reflecting back on that, Jason, is that there is when, when something that inspires you happens, people want to talk about things that inspire them. Wayne Gretzky and his accomplishments in sports. And we could think about any prolific sport player who's well known, Michael Jordan, anybody of that nature. And it's their strive, you know, to win often is the thing that accelerates them and it, and it allows them to surpass certain levels. Yeah, there's some natural talent, obviously that's there, but there's, but their talent is backed up by hustle.

Needed a desire to, to achieve and get it done. That is the, at the forefront. There's a driving force of like, I can do this, I'm going to get it done. And that's the thing that I believe people are in. That's what they're really trying to connect with. When you think about an impressive player like Wayne Gretzky, you're trying to connect with what's the thing that makes him great and how can I channel a little piece of that and take it, you know, and achieve some of the similar results.

He often said that the highest compliment that you could pay him was to say that he really worked hard every day, that he didn't dog it. And you could imagine.

You know, him showing up with his teammates each and every day. He's showing up to practice, he's showing up to games, he's media availability, he's taking care of all the things that he needs to do for his own personal well being as a professional athlete.

And that's what he refers to as the highest compliment that you can pay him is that he worked hard every single day. And that's one of the recipe ingredients to, to achieve greatness. And.

It'S definitely, you know, it also speaks to, I think, a number of other things, Richard, that come up for me. You know, when people of most people have heard him say that he's not going to skate to where the puck is where it has been. He's going to where the puck is going to be. That's where he's skating to. And so he's always forward thinking. He's always, he's got, you know, had great vision for the game.

And he was doing something that enabled him to operate in his unique ability. He's just naturally gifted and. But he would, he would say often, you know, I didn't, I Didn't you know? I wasn't born with this natural gift to play hockey. It's something that he had to work at and recognize that we're creatures of habit. So the better your habits are, then the better your habits will be in high pressure situations, which of course, he experienced, you know, so many times over his 20 years, decades of them, career in the National Hockey League. And as it relates to, like you said, Rich, you know, wondering, okay, what is it about him that made him great and what are you searching for to achieve your own greatness in life and whatever.

Passion that is that you choose to pursue? So we think about habits, we think about discipline, we think about coaching, we think about mentoring. If you surround yourself with quality people and great friends, I mean, the sky's the limit, really. Truly, I, I think it was Denzel Washington. You remember, Rich, we were talking about this. Denzel had this remark about, you know, if you're, if you're in a room with five successful people and you, you're the sixth person in the room, you're gonna end up being successful. If you're in a room with five high net worth individuals and you spend a lot of time with them, chances are if you're the sixth person in the room, you're going to become a high net worth individual. If you're in a room full of five idiots and you're the sixth person in the room, chances are you're going to become the sixth idiot. And so.

Make sure that you're surrounding yourself with people who have a lot of ambition, perseverance, great habits, who are disciplined and who never permit you to devalue your own dreams and your own pursuits and your own passion in life. They would never allow you to do that because they truly, truly want to see you succeed. And if you have that dream or you have that ambition or that goal.

I guess not doing it is certainly the best way of not getting it done.

Right.

And so, you know, Wayne didn't stop after Stanley cup number one and say, I've arrived, I've achieved my potential, because he loved the pursuit of it. He, he loved how it made his teammates around him even better. And by proxy, that made him even better.

That's the beauty of achievement. It feels so much better when it's not done alone and it's done with among such a great group of people. What are your thoughts on that, Richard?

Well, I think, I mean, I, I don't, I don't follow, you know, Wayne's career today, because his career has changed. He's in business. He.

That's right.

Wineries and all kinds of different things that he's doing. And I know he's still involved in hockey and overarching capacities, but so he. I have no doubt that the same things that led to him being successful in his hockey career is the same attitude that takes him into the ventures that he now pursues. And so again, the correlation is whatever it is you want to do. You mentioned goals at the time of this, you know, this episode being released, episode 99. We're in January, we're in Q1 of 2022. We're at that goal setting, completion, driving, beginning of the new year force that people feel, at least usually for the first quarter before it starts to wane. As you know, life beats you up along the path a little bit. And, and it. There's things that are going to happen that are going to try to take you off the track. They're going to try and push you. They're going to try and push you down on the ice. They're going to throw you up hard into the boards and smash you up a little bit. You might get bloodied as you go through, and you're going to be frustrated. Yeah, you're going to want to turn around and maybe throw some sucker punches when the ref isn't looking in life around what's going on in your life, you know, there's, you know, the pan. There's a pandemic. There's all this crap that could interfere with your goals. And, you know, you, you can still achieve. You have to institute some of these good habits now. Working hard. I don't, you know, a lot. I think most people know how to work hard and. But we all have your own little definition of what that looks like. But working hard isn't the only thing. It's not just about that you want to be able to have. Be able to channel that when you need it, but you also want to be able to work smart. You want to be able to think about how can you do more with the Reese's resources you have, Whether those are. Those are time resources, energy resources or financial resources, or maybe they're physical resources, things like, you know, whatever tools, property, equipment for your business. These are all resources. Right. And I think people look at their, maybe their financial resources, think, what can I do with this? But they don't look at the other kinds of resources around them, like energy. And there's certain things that drain your energy and certain things that channel your energy. And there's people around Your circle, whether they're team members in your own business or company or their family members or friends in your circle. You know, you talked about the, the, the five idiots in the room or the five high net worth purple. Well, who are the people that have the thing that you want? Whether it's their health or their energy levels or their time, they have more time, they have more quality time with them. What are the things that you're trying to channel into the goals that you want? And now who are the people around you who are supportive but also demonstrating a measure of what you want? Are they demonstrating in their life that they've, they're achieving either some degree of what you're looking for that's better than yours, if they're get, if they have a worse degree, if you're, if you want a better quality of life around your family, spending more time with them and you hang around with people that never get to spend time with their family. Are you going to have more time with your family? Probably not. So recognize what's the goal you're trying to achieve? Who are the people who support that and who also demonstrate it in their life and try to get connected with them, spend time with them. Add them to your team in some way.

Yeah, I love that. Add them to your team in some way. And you personally, you've got to have that. It all begins with the mindset and then it begins with, you know, recognizing that there's, there's really a difference, I think, between a goal and a dream. You know, goals you, you work toward incrementally, you, you take them one step at a time, one, one milestone at a time. You're making continued progress. The dream. So to use Wayne as an example, so the dream, I want to play in the National Hockey League and I want to, I want to be able to hoist the Stanley cup with my teammates. That's a dream.

Getting up four mornings a week at five in the morning, driving to the rink, lacing up the skates, focusing on getting better at at least one thing. Every time that you're out there on the ice, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, et cetera. And then he goes on to play a 20 year career in the National Hockey League. 22 years after his retirement from the National Hockey League, he still holds 60 of the 61 goals that I referenced earlier or records. Pardon me, what does that say? Throughout his 20 year career, he didn't, you know, like I shared earlier, he didn't get to his first Stanley cup and go. Okay, we're all set. I've realized my dream.

He, he recognized that with his mindset, his persistence, his perseverance, his determination to really see the greatness that that was inside of him and to bring it to the surface, he had to work hard at it every single day of his career, and he kept getting rewarded for that perseverance and ambition and hard work and dedication and good habits and all of that. So this translates to you, into, to your life, into any area of your life where you want to achieve greatness. It all begins with the mindset. It all begins with what Richard shared around surrounding yourself with the right who's who are going to encourage you and never let you devalue your dream, Whatever that dream is in your life, pursue it. I tell, you know, four children, Rich, you've got two, two children. And tell my kids all the time, pursue your dream.

With the understanding that it requires time, study, hard work, dedication, perseverance, commitment, and an unrelenting determination to see it happen. And don't let anybody, including me, try to distract you or talk you out of it or devalue that in your life. Don't ever allow that to happen.

You've heard people all the time from all walks of life, pro athletes like Wayne or, you know, musicians who are receiving their Grammy Award or actors who are getting the Academy Award or whatever it is, and they say, if I can do this, you can do this.

There's no category that you have to be in in order to be eligible to achieve your dream. You gotta put in the work. Look at what we're setting out to do with wealth without Bay Street. We truly want to be Canada's number one financial podcast. We're working toward it. Getting up, doing the work, putting in the time, study the energy, the commitment, the perseverance, the ambition.

And so few people.

Have the ability to process what, what an endeavor like this is going to look like five years from now. Because they're thinking about, I want, I want the success now. I want to record three episodes and be the best podcast in Canada. Doesn't work that way.

It just doesn't. And, oh, I wanted to give, oh, we should probably share this at some point in the episode, the thumbnail image of the one that the YouTube video that came out where the editor actually aged us.

We'll be doing a podcast like that with this, the aged version. But, but, but speaking of that, it's, you know, again, you know, there's one service that we, we use to, to kind of do Some tracking and stuff. It's called Listen, Listen Notes, Listen. It's a podcast service. And, you know, it produces a listen score and it like a. Measures a global rank. And so, you know, I'm looking at it right now and it says that we're ranked in the top 3% of global podcasts that they, that they measure against as ranked by listen score. And that's out of two point. So 2,756,000 podcasts. So to be in the top 3% of all of those, that puts us at the, you know, 80. 82,000th. You know, 82,000 of all those podcasts. And I mean, hey, that's, that's not number one in Canada. I don't know how many of those are in Canada, but I mean, that's, that's impressive on its own. And we're only getting started. You know, we're. This is episode 99, you know, now we're. We're over 60,000 downloads on the podcast itself from an audio standpoint, not including the YouTube views that a lot of our viewers do focus or only watch on YouTube. And we thank you all for doing that. But, you know, if we look back and we think about, you know, the average, the average downloads that are happening from an audio standpoint, we're over, you know, 3,000 average downloads a month right now. So. And that pace is increasing as more people are becoming aware not only what we do, but about, you know, Nelson's message of becoming your own banker. And I, I think it's phenomenal because what are we doing is that we're. We're listening to what people are asking us for. We're trying to provide that content them as best as we can. We're interviewing our clients. We're interviewing top professionals in business who are giving us great ideas and tips on how to be successful in whatever business you're in. And we're talking to people about things that matter to them, and we're doing it in a format that's. I think it's fun, but it's also, you know, it's, it's got a Canadian flair to it, which people tell us they appreciate. We have. I had a guy from New Mexico who reach out recently who wants to conserve with ibc. And I'm like, wow, that's awesome, dude. Like, hey, let me refer you to one of our colleagues in the States and thanks for listening to the podcast. Another guy was reaching out that he listens to us and he's out in Alaska. So awesome for all of Our American colleagues who are listening in as well. But we. We just want to help support the message of Nelson Nash, and we want to support helping Canadians get success in whatever area of their life they can. Yeah, our focus is around money, but everything else in your life correlates to the money that you want. And so if you end up getting all the money but you. Your life sucks, we haven't helped you out a whole heck of a lot, have we? But if your life is awesome and you also increase the amount of money you have, now we're talking. So that's, I think, part of what we're looking to achieve here. And when I think about, you know, the goal of getting the Stanley cup and being able to hoist it, I mean, it's very defined and measurable. And what can we measure? Well, we can measure where we rank on a podcast list, but for you and your own goals, think about what do you. What's your measuring stick? If you can get really clear on the measuring stick, and your measuring stick is, you know, it's something you can track and measure effectively, and then you can check in with it on a regular basis, you can see how. How you're tracking towards the objective that you have. And one thing that you say all the time, Jason, is there's no such thing as an unreasonable goal, only unreasonable timelines. That's right.

That's very true. And, you know, there's. There's something to be said about. About that, because.

You can. You can establish, you know, any. Any goal.

But what are you doing? What steps are you taking incrementally to work toward it?

Because if you just want it all tomorrow afternoon.

It'S unrealistic.

And you might.

Be a nine quick start on the Colby attacks, if that's also highly real.

Yep. I want to talk. I want to mention one of our team members who, you know, recently in a. In a conversation, we had a big, big team meeting. And, you know, he indicated about his goals, and his goals really were a lot were about how do I help other people achieve the goals that they have? And, you know, it's kind of a specific and measurable way, which I thought was fantastic. And so shout out to Peter, you know, so again, there's different things that drive us. Everyone is driven by something specific. And so, and there's usually multiple categories, but get. Get clear on what's that driver, and then try to align the. The goal target that you're looking for, and then the mechanism by how you. You move progressively forward to it with the Dr. The driver in you. And maybe that driving force is how you help other people. And if that's the thing that really connects with you, figure out how you can do that. And it also pulls you in the direction of the goal that you're trying to achieve for yourself.

Yeah.

And of both of those things, and you.

You can't rely upon enthusiasm. The enthusiasm is going to dry up.

Where are you going to be when that enthusiasm dries up?

Are you going to be steadfast? Are you going to be continuing to make progress? Because the enthusiasm really meant nothing in the whole process. You were so committed to the achievement of that outcome, that goal that you've set for yourself. Personal goal, professional goal, both.

It's where you are standing when that enthusiasm dries up and that believing it'll dry up. And that's what happens in. In a new year. So it's January 14, 2022, when we're recording this episode, and within about another week or so.

A lot of gyms, a lot of fitness trainers, a lot of people are expecting a tsunami of new memberships and new trainees to fall off because the enthusiasm dried up. And they're going to return.

To the same version of themselves that they were when they woke up January 1st and said, this is the year. I'm enthusiastic, I'm ready to go, but didn't take the time to sit down and say, what specifically is it that I want to get done? But more importantly, why do I desire it?

Why do I desire that outcome?

Your goal is to lose weight. My goal is to lose 30 pounds this year. I desire that outcome so that I can be even healthier, so that I can be even more energized, so that I can be even more active with my kids, so that I can be more productive than I already am, to name a few reasons. And then think of who, not how.

Who possesses the unique capabilities to help me get the how done. I need a nutritionist, which I've done. I need a trainer, which I have. These are who's. So I became a who finder.

You need accountability, which may just be every podcast listener.

There we go. Yeah, they just threw it out there. I better be 30 pounds lighter on January 14, 2023.

And I didn't set the goal because of enthusiasm.

I set the goal because my desire for the outcome is what really is driving me and motivating me, the reason why.

And so think about this practically in your own life.

And, hey, share your goals. Be, you know, get them out there, talk about them. That's what I'm doing. Rich and I had a conversation about this earlier. Now I'm sharing it with the YouTubes and the podcasting platforms out there, the.

Spotify and the itunes of the world. Well, and it's. The more, the more people that you tell about it, the more likely you're going to follow through because there's peer pressure. Yeah. You share that with a lot of people. You're putting it out there. That's. Sometimes that's very difficult. It's very hard to do. And, you know, nobody wants to be called out. But if you don't put yourself in a position where you could be called out, you won't rise to the occasion.

Totally.

So you're positioning yourself for success by sharing it with more people. Because your brain will automatically go to work and say, wait a second, I do really want this goal. And I also don't really want to be called out by all these people. So the combination of those two things is like, you gotta, You. You gotta get to work, boy. And so I think, you know, another piece that comes up for me is just recognizing that there is, there's people in your life who want to support you. Yep. And try to tie those. Those objectives together. So there's. There's what you maybe want. Like as an example, Jason, you mentioned losing some weight. I've also got some. Some weight initiatives I'm looking towards, and I've got some timelines and I have. I also have some planning in place on how to do that. I'm doing some intermittent fasting that seems to work out for me. I'm drinking a ton of water. I have a big note over on the side of my wallet says my word for my health, word for the year is water. It's. It's posted there, and it's also posted over here. And I have it posted at one other location in my house that for the year 2022, my health word is water. I'm dramatically increasing my intake of water. My enthusiasm will probably wane, but I'm also sharing that accountability with my wife, et cetera. And so I have a goal that I want to achieve. And so what I'm going to also do is put in some success targets. Hey, if I. If I reach this goal, here's what the reward is for me. And then if I don't quite hit it, you know, but I get to here, there's a crappier reward, but there's still going to be reward. Cause I did something. And if I blow through that target And I get way out to here. That's going to be one heck of a reward. Now, the reason I haven't designed them yet is because I, I'm going to take some advice from a coach and a friend of mine, Jimmy, and I'm going to try to tie that objective and that reward to something that the family wants. My wife and I will decide on. Hey, if we hit this target so that I'm not the only one being accountable to the reward. It's not just something I want, it's something that they want so that I get the support and the buy in to be able to reach the initiative. Hey, don't forget, if you don't hit that target, you know, we're not going to get this thing that we decided that we want over here. So then you have a, you got cheerleaders pushing you on and that's what I'm looking to achieve. And so, you know, again, consider who are the cheerleaders in your life? And it's great if they're cheerleaders cause they just naturally do that. They love you, they support you no matter what. But instead of just letting them do it no matter what, how about you give them a what and you get really specific on that so that they know what they're cheerleading you on and how they're supporting you in it properly. Love it.

That's awesome. You know, I get really inspired when I just happen to be a.

Just a lifelong, you know, fan of hockey. And Wayne Gretzky still serves as an inspiration. And with him having moved on from, you know, being out there on the ice surface to being more engaged and involved in the business and they've got a number of really awesome things going on. Building arenas all over the world and really promoting the game and promoting the, the real substance of the game. Teamwork, people pulling with and for each other to help the team succeed. And that's very, just very, very appealing. What a great episode. This was good, Wayne. Appreciate you tuning in. Hopefully you're listening to this while you're.

Jet setting around the globe somewhere and you just happen to stumble across the youtubes If Wayne hasn't caught this episode. If anybody knows Wayne, please communicate this forward to him. We appreciate him.

Slide it on over there, make it like a puck. And you're just making that pass. You know, you're just trying to hit the tape and hit the tape of the episode.

And so for all of our viewers and listeners, thank you again so much. This is episode 99. We're super excited about that and make the rest of your week great. You'll see the playlist. As always, continue your journey of learning.

Don't forget to check out 7 steps CA to learn how you can implement this process. Becoming your own bank in your life. And you're going to love episode 100. Keep your eyes open for that. Jason and I get into some taxation.

So you're gonna can't wait for that. And again, it's not five steps, it's seven steps. So if you go to seven steps.ca ca again, that's seven steps. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 steps ca on the seventh day, at the seventh hour and seventh minute, then you'll be able to just think of that movie.

Yeah, no, do you remember the one was. I think it was something about Mary where he, he takes the hitchhiker and he's talking about se6 minute, 7 minute abs. Yeah, that's going to be great. Until someone comes out with six minute abs. You can't get a proper workout in six minutes.

So this is about seven steps. So go to seven steps ca Again, that's seven steps ca.

You'll be glad you did make the.

Rest of your week. Great.

Thanks everybody.

Thanks for listening to the Wealth Without Bay street podcast where your wealth matters. Be sure to check out our social media channels for more great content. Hit subscribe on your favorite podcast player and be sure to rate the show. We definitely appreciate it. And don't forget to share this episode with someone you care about. Join us on the next episode where we continue to uncover the financial tools, strategies and the mindsets that maximize your wealth.