Changing Tomorrow Starts Today with Dick Walker

Welcome to this episode of the Million Dollar Mastermind.

I'm Larry Weddell.

And before we get started, if you want to know exactly how to win again and again, go to Wydell on winning.com webinar now to watch something I've put together for you. Now let's get going into this episode of Million Dollar Mastermind.

I'm getting ready to talk to Dick Walker. And before we do, let me just tell you, I don't know where this conversation is going to go, but one thing you'll, you'll hear and you know, Dick grew up in Pennsylvania and played sports with and against Joe Namath and his brothers and that family. So he, he's known him all his life. And the interesting thing is Dick was a great athlete, but he had an injury and he got sidelined for, I forget what he said, maybe 15 months, something like that, and had an accent. And so, you know, his aspirations of going forward professionally were gone. And, you know, if you're in an area where you've got a megastar like Joe Namath and he's getting all the accolades and everything, it's a little, you feel like, you know, life has passed me by. I've got all the bad luck that could be how you reacted to it. But Dick did not do that. And here's an interesting sideline that he probably hasn't even thought about. Namath went to Alabama, won national championships, played for Bear Bryant, but then in the early stages of the American Football Conference, before there was a National Football League, before the super bowl era and everything, he went to the jets in New York and signed this outrageous contract, $400,000 at least at that time it was just like, wow, $400,000. The interesting thing is that's about $33,000 a month. I met Dick Walker about 15 years later. And I remember going up and shaking his hand. And in fact, someone introduced us and said, larry, come on over here and shake the hand. Dick Walker. I want you to shake the hand of somebody making $35,000 a month. Dick Walker went through several business situations, did well, relocated down to Florida, made a couple of moves, started a new business, got that thing going. And by the 80s, early 80s, when I met him, he was already up to, he had matched what Joe Namath signed as the outrageous athlete. And of course, Namath only had a 13 year career. And 40 years later or longer, Dick Walker is still blowing and going in his business and is still compounding the income, growing. And so the thing is, Dick did pretty well where you could have been crushed by that situation. Dick dug his heels in, didn't have any particular education or training or whatever direction to go in. He just took what was in front of him, excelled at it and kept moving up. And it's really the story of an amazing life of success. And Dick has offices all over the country. And the thing about Dick, and the reason I wanted to get Dick on, is that for decades I continue to hear second and third hand people saying they had a conversation with, they visited Dick, he said something to him at a meeting or a convention, or they heard him speak on stage and how it really impacted their life. And so Dick not only created something wonderful for himself, he's continued to have an amazing impact on so many people around the country that are trying to do the same thing he did. And start off with maybe some strikes against you, maybe no big advantage to work with, but a willingness to work and a willingness to accept responsibility and to move forward. And Dick has proven it, continues to prove that can happen for you and you can build something far more long lasting and profitable than just what could happen in an average professional athlete's career, which, let's face it, the average national football player is as like a three or five year career mammoth was about 13 years, but you know, the average player doesn't last that long. And so, you know, if you don't have a lot of these great abilities and whatever, so what, you know, you can go out there and live your life and have great things happen to you. Dick is a great example of that. So let's talk Dick Walker.

How you doing, Larry? Great to hear from you, man.

Yeah, we're talking across the state. You're over in Tampa, Florida, and I'm over here on the east coast. And so glad for you to be on and share some of these priceless insights that you've gained over the years as you built a multimillion dollar business and also passed on the information and had so many others be successful inside your organization and also outside your organization and other industries and an impact far bigger than your own company. So thanks, Dick, for getting on. And how long have, I mean, how long have you been over there in Tampa?

How long have I been in Tampa? Since 1970, Larry.

Wow, you're just about to learn where all the streets are.

Yes, more or less. It was a, a big little town at that time. Now it's a big, big town.

What, what brought you to Tampa?

Well, I was on the east coast area for a couple years. I moved out of Pennsylvania When I realized and understood that I didn't want to follow suit, what was happening with the steel workers and Western Pennsylvania and the whole bit. It was a wonderful place to grow up. And I tell people all the time, banking in Pennsylvania have something in common, Larry. They're both great places to be from. Not. Not at, but from. Yeah, so I moved. I had an uncle in Mount Dora, and I used to come and see him in the summertime. I called him up one day. I was the vice president at age 20. I don't know what was that, 26 or something like that of a savings and loan. And I was dealing with a bunch of people that were 40 years older than I was or more. And I was frustrated. And I came home and called him and I said, hey, I'm going to come and see you. He says, when are you coming? I said, tomorrow, if I can get a ticket, I'm going to get sick tonight. So I said, I'll call the airlines and tell you what time I'm coming in. Can you pick me up? And he was a chiropractor in Mount Dora. Beautiful little town, as you know, up north of Orlando.

Yeah, you don't hear about Mount Dora that much, but it's a beautiful town.

Oh, it's a beautiful little town. I flew into there, but long story short, he had a couple of contacts. And I called a guy in Titusville about an hour after I got there. Went to Titusville an hour later, I had a job. An hour later, I had a. Had a place to live. And I was married. But fortunately, I didn't have any kids. So, anyway, that's how I got to Titusville.

How did you get to be a vice president at age 26? You hit the ground running in your career?

Well, what happened was, Larry, I grew up in a town in western Pennsylvania about 22 miles north, right across the river from Beaver Falls. And I knew Namath real well. In fact, I'm gonna see him tomorrow night. He's got a restaurant over in your part of the country, in Jupiter. Yeah, a good. A good friend of mine happened to be a. An end on that team when Namath was a senior at Beaver Falls High School. And I grew up in New Brighton, right across the river, and we played against each other, but he and I played on a couple basketball teams together. We shot a lot of pool together. And we've maintained. I mean, I don't see him very often, but I see him once in a while. But I'm going over to see my buddy in Jupiter and we're going to dinner tomorrow night at Namus Restaurant. And supposedly my buddy says, Joe's going to be there and he's looking forward for us to get together. So I'm kind of looking forward to that.

Yeah, congratulations.

That's how I got to Florida, and I was lending money to different people, and when I was in the savings and loan business there on Titusville, and I loaned money to a couple of guys that were bankers in Tampa. Doesn't matter their names because it's not important. But one of them handed me the card, and he says, I like the way you handle this. If you ever decide you want to come to the good coast of Florida, here's my card. Give me a call. So I kept it, and a couple years later, I gave him a call, and he said, yes, we have a correspondent bank here. They opened about four months ago, and they're not happy with the fellow that's in charge of the loans. In fact, he's the only real officer in the bank other than the president. Small bank, just started. He said, I think you need to give him a call. So I did, and we got together and I drove to Tampa. And about two hours after I was there, I got the job. So it was right by the University of South Florida.

Oh, okay. How did you get steered away from the steel and over to the financial world at an early age?

Hey, listen, there's a lot of information online, but there aren't a lot of people who have actually done something. In my case, I've actually built a successful business, has accrued over 5 billion billion in assets under management, and has done well even during trying times. Now, if you want to know exactly how I've done this, go to Whiteellumwinning.com webinar Now, I've compressed a decade of learning into five short weeks. Just for those of you who want to give yourself an incredible advantage and are tired of waiting and watching others move up.

Well, quite honestly, it's pretty amazing, Larry. Oftentimes in life, and I think it certainly wasn't just for me, it was probably for you and many, many people, and especially the ones that have done pretty well in business. I didn't know what I wanted to do. You know, Larry, at age 19, I fell off a ladder. I had a partial scholarship, and I had finished two years and to play basketball and fell off the ladder three days before to go back to my junior year and broke my neck in three places. Good Lord. That's. That's not a good thing.

No, especially for an athlete.

It took 15 months out of my life, three operations and about seven or eight months of rehab after three different cast. And it's only, only by the grace of God that, that I was able to walk again, let alone do some of the stuff that I've been able to do. So I feel that, you know, that Larry, I, I really feel totally this. I didn't for a long time. I was raised in it, you know, in a family, in a church. But I didn't, I didn't, I didn't know. I knew who God was, but I didn't know the Lord. It's different now, but I want to talk about that. But I do want you to think about this. This is pretty amazing. When the president of the bank, I was there for a couple years and I got very frustrated because I feel like I was driving a horse and buggy down a four lane highway. I didn't like the way it was headed and something happened in loan meeting and he asked me a question about something and, and I stood up and I was very polite. I didn't tell them to stick their job or anything like that. But I said, gentlemen, it doesn't matter because effective immediately, I resigned. I had a three year old daughter and a one year old son and twelve hundred dollars to my name.

Wow.

And I walked out of the bank, walked past my assistant, my secretary, she's, where are you going? I said I'll be back tomorrow to pick up my stuff and I'll explain it to you. But I don't work here any longer. I just quit. So I got to the exit to leave the bank and the president of the bank stopped me and he says, he says, listen, he said I got to talk to you. His name was Charles. I said Charles, please, I mean this respectfully, please don't call me and ask me to come back. Because I know that's probably what you're going to do. Because they had nobody there that knew how to make loans. That's the only way you made any money back then. And I said don't worry, I'm not going to another bank. I don't want to be a banker anymore. He said, well, what are you going to do? He said first he said where are you, where are you going? I said eventually I'm going to go home. If I was a drinker I'd go Taiwan on, but since I don't drink I'll probably go get a Coke or something. But said, well, what are you going to do? And I thought for a Second, I said, charles, that is an amazingly outstanding question. And I don't know the answer, but this I do know. And Larry, at that time, I was not a Christian, okay? But I said, if the good Lord is willing, I will never work for another human being for the rest of my life. I will never have a boss again, ever. And I shook his hand and walked out the door. And I stayed in touch with him from time to time. Larry, I, you know, I made good on that. My first year out, though, I only made $8,000. A friend of mine, I had loaned money to to buy cars. The guy came to the bank and he and I became friends. He was a, he was a customer of the bank and he was in the insurance business. He was buying new cars and he bought a new house and, and I loaned him some money to buy a place in the Carolinas. And I thought, man, I'm going to call this guy. So I did. He said, I'd love to have you come on down. So that's how I got an insurance business. And eight and a year later, Larry, I made $8,000. Whether I needed it or not. That's all I made. But I sold used mobile homes part time, and I made $12,000 doing that, which is what I was making at the bank. So my first year out, I made 20 grand, 12,000 selling used mobile homes to some of the dealers. I used to loan money to their clients and $8,000 selling auto and homeowners insurance. So that's how I got out of the banking business and doing something else.

What crystallized in your mind, the idea of. I'm not just. There are people that are frustrated where they work. They don't see like, the opportunity and like how they're being treated. They don't see a future, but they don't necessarily make the decision, I'll never have a boss again the rest of my life. What caused that to crystallize so clearly in your mind at the moment you decided to walk away from that situation?

Larry, that's interesting, the way you phrase that question. Nobody has ever asked me that question exactly like it. They might say, you know, what made you do that? But they never said it as clear as you just did. I'm going to have to think about that for just a second. But basically what had happened was this. My dad was the only hero I ever had. Not because he made a lot of money, but because the way he lived his life. And he and my mother were married 67 years. He's the only hero I Ever had, Larry, my whole life. The most money he ever made was $9,000 a year. And he was my hero. Not because of where we lived, because he never had a new car until I bought it for him, but many people at his memorial. And he lived to be 99. He actually got into his hundredth year. And I revered the ground this man walked on. And my mother basically same way. And. And I love. I love the way I grew up in many, many ways. But oftentimes during, when I was growing up and playing ball and going to school, high school, and then I love being around my. My family and my grandparents. My granddaddy used to be chief of police at the town. But I felt, even while I was in high school, I felt like I was kind of in a rut. It's really hard for me to put this into words. And I didn't know what the reason was, because I had everything that I think any kid would ever want to have. I had great parents. I had great family. I had great background. I didn't have any negative stuff. But there was something Nana and I I didn't want. No person in my family had ever gone to college. Well, actually, it's not true. My dad went for two years, but he didn't graduate. Nobody ever had a business for themselves. And everybody worked in steel mills and so on and so forth. And Larry, the more I thought about it, the more it gnawed at me. And I moved from that bank I was at after my accident to that savings and loan. And I thought, well, maybe this will be better, because I was in charge. I had eight or 10 people. I'm 26 years old. I had eight or 10 people answering to me. And I thought, maybe this will be a challenge and something that I really will enjoy. And we grew the savings loan during that period. We doubled the size of it. The thing was 45 years old the day I went there. And a year later, it was twice the size it was. Hilary I was so frustrated, I couldn't stand it. That's when I came home and called my uncle and ended up in Florida. And I tried really hard at that bank to find what I was looking for. But, Larry, the longer it went on, the more I realized and understood I was not cut out to answer to somebody. I had to find something where I could make my own way. And I didn't. I didn't buy into the. To the ideology that the security you have is in your job, because that's. That's a ridiculous thought. And. But I Thought it. I thought it made sense because that's what I was exposed to. That's what my family did. That's what my dad did. That's what everybody did. But it kept gnawing at me that, that, that wasn't. That wasn't for me. And I always felt pretty good when I was playing ball because I was a pretty decent ball player. And I. I just felt like every game we started, we had a chance of winning if everybody did their part. And I felt if I could apply some of those same attitudes and competitive spirit. I mean, I. If I play games with my grandkids, Larry, I try to win. I know that sounds crazy, but. But I do. And I think that came from my grandmother. But, Larry, I just. I knew that, again, I didn't know what I wanted necessarily, or where I was going to go, but I knew what I didn't want. And I think there's probably a lot more people, Larry, that feel that way, but they just don't realize or have an option or they're not willing to take the step, you know, if we want something different. I think I understood if I wanted something different, the change had to begin with me. In fact. In fact, I wrote this down, Larry, years ago. I'm trying to find it, and I still have it changing tomorrow starts today. And. And I just. I realized I had to get out of what I was doing. And I didn't really know where I was going, but I knew where I wasn't going to stay. So I'm not sure if I answered your question or not, but.

No, that was absolutely great. And talk about what that means to you. Say it again. And then elaborate on if you don't.

Mind changing tomorrow, comma, starts today. And, Larry, I. And like you and I, and a lot of people that, that I've known, and regardless of the business, a lot of us aren't the most educated people. I don't have a college degree. I'm not the smartest or the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm competitive. And I wasn't married. Well, I was married when I moved to Florida. I had only. I didn't have any children. We've been married a couple years, but I didn't. I had no real idea at that time that I was ever going to be in business for myself. You know, I mean, I was 20. Let's see, 24. I was 26, almost 27 years old when I moved to Florida. And I was the vice president of that bank. And so I always had People who reported to me. But Larry, I never had any training in management or anything like that. And I just, I kind of do what my dad told me. He said, just try to do everything, Dick, by the golden rule, just treat people the way that you would like to be treated and you'll probably do just fine. And I tried to, I tried to do that. And we built every place where I went. We seemed to improve the situation better than it was before I got there. And I. I think it's because we had fun doing it. We knew what the goals were and we created a team attitude. And I just enjoyed that. By the way, Larry, none of my kids, I got four kids and none of them have a job. I mean, they all earn a living, but they don't have a job. They all do different things. Of course. My son Mark is in the business and he's primarily on the security side. He helps me a lot and I. He's kind of. He's kind of like my dvp, but he's not designated as a dvp.

Right.

But he's. He's functioning in that regard in our business. So the thing that, the thing that really excites me, Larry, is being able to sell people on the, the understanding. It's not an ideology. It's. It's a. It's a. It's a mind changing thought process that because you are where you are does not mean that's where you have to stay. I believe we were all put on this earth for purpose. And our purpose is not to serve another. Another master, which is the boss or the job. And it took me a while to understand it because I was never exposed to anything like that. So I'm not sure if I. If I answered your question or not.

Yeah, you do it. You did great, Dick. Thanks so much.

If you enjoyed what you've heard and are dead serious about finding out for yourself exactly how this works in the real world. I've taken the most valuable business lessons I've learned over 40 years and put them into something for you to watch. Go to whiteellawinning.com webinar now in order to move up as fast as possible. I'm Larry Wydell and I run the Million Dollar Mastermind. Go, go, go.