Episode 451: Explode Your Life by Doing Extras with David Landrum

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 here with David Landrum and David is talking to us from Jackson, Mississippi and enjoying the air conditioning.

Thank the Lord. Praise the Lord.

And David has got an organization of 224 offices, 80 in Canada, all the way from Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona, all the way down to South Florida and impacting people everywhere he goes. David, thanks for taking the time this afternoon.

Good to be here, Larry.

And we're having a lot of fun talking about winning, real life insights on winning. Let's talk about exploding your life by doing extras. So many people, you know, this has to do with the idea of not only bloom for your planet or think about the phrases of servant leadership like look for places where you can make an impact, but also look for places where you can expand your business. And a lot of times people get no. I just, you know, it is important to learn how to say no. But you don't say learn. You're never going to grow if you say no to everything. You know, the fear of over commitment. You know, most people are run ragged and they've got too many things to do and their stress is too high. That's right. But you know, there's a certain amount, there's healthy stress too. There's a stress of putting pressure on yourself to grow, to do bigger numbers, to get more efficient and also to eliminate stuff in your life that really doesn't need to be there, you know, in your diet, in your schedule, in your things you're spending money on and who gets your time. And so the thing is, David, as you add in opportunities come along, you don't want to say no to everything because those extra things like, you know, people get involved in community projects and this, that and the other. And I say why are you wasting your time on that? Because I just despise myself. I just despise meetings. How many meetings have you and I sat in? How many meetings have you and I held in ourselves? And so the deal is you get meeting fatigue. But on the other hand, if it's with new people, if it's in a worthy cause and it's something where you can make an impact, chances are you're going to find some like minded people there you're going to learn some things, you're going to have some experiences.

That.

Will enrich you and you can bring back into your regular family and business life and add some new inspiration. And so talk about some of the extra things that you've gotten involved in over the years.

Yeah, well, you know, first of all, you know, there's. I don't know, man. I, you know, I think one, one of the scripture I've tried to live by and it's kind of, you know, Psalms 32, 8. I will guide and instruct you in the way you should go. And I think really to me, as far as kind of looking to the Lord and asking, I mean, to me I'm kind of bullheaded. So especially the word I will guide is kind of like a cow on a cattle chute. Right. Sometimes the Lord has to.

With electric prod.

Yeah, yeah, right.

A Taser.

Yeah. So. But the thing about it is, you know, and I've gotten over the years, I mean, I mean there was, there was one time I was on like 12 different boards, you know, a lot of nonprofits and all that stuff. And I just think that, you know, especially when you're building your business, you need to really kind of narrow things down. Right. I'm kind of like God, family business. You really. I mean, to me there's. But you know, then the other thing. I've been through chapters in my life where once I got kind of financially done. And I remember, I remember years ago I was in good. I mean, I started my business 43 years ago. So about, I guess about 20 years ago, Jill and I, my wife and I, we've been married 44 years. So we, we'd been married almost a year when I started my business. But, but anyway, I was. We were, we had our. We were living on our dream home. We had. I had a gardener, I had a. A guy that would. Running errands for us, a full time housekeeper. And so anyway, we had this pool in our courtyard and it was a beautiful fall morning and I was in the hot tub. I'd gotten through working out, it was mid morning. And Anthony, our friend who worked with us there too, and he bought me a. So I was in the hot tub and he bought me a Perrier with lemon in it. And when he handed it to me, as he turned around and walked away, all of a sudden this. So I was kind of kicked back, in other words, at that stage. And all of a sudden this thought hit me and I know it was the Lord and I Just out of nowhere, just came out of left field, said, a life of purpose and passion is better than a life of leisure and pleasure.

Yeah.

And that, that hit me and I, I got out of the, got out of the hot tub, went and found Jill and I told her, I said, man, Jill, this, this life is not for me. I know that I'm, I'm not here for the, for the hot tub, you know, I mean, how do you retire from purpose? And so I'm, I'm going to go, you know, I'm going to get refocused again. And, you know, so. Yeah. And then. So I think it's. And I think it's. I know that I have a tendency because I don't like saying no to things, but I think we do need to learn how to, how to focus on more of the important things and really kind of, you know, look at our get up, you know, get out of the forest where we see the trees and kind of get up above your life and say, you know what? And that's where it's good to, to have a mentor or people that you, you know, you know, care about you and that you can kind of bounce things off because they aren't living in your world. And there's a lot of things that are probably real obvious to others that you, that, that you don't even realize you're doing. So to me, that that's valuable too, to have that.

Now where specifically what would you say, how your life, did your life change? You know, any, any of these experiences that you look back and say, those were different makers. You know, I went in there, I saw some things, I learned, you know, you know, you had that light bulb experience, and then what did, what did that trigger? You know, what came after that? You know, the being. How do you get on 12 boards? You know that.

How do you. What?

How do you get on 12 boards?

Yeah, yeah.

Like probably look back at that and say, what was I thinking?

Yeah, I mean, that was a mistake. I mean, I remember going to board meetings and thinking, what am I? Because I'm kind of like you. I mean, after so many meetings, I remember it became like a job, right? So anyway, I'm on, I'm on. I'm on one board now. You know what I mean? So, but, but you know, then the other thing too, and I think back there was a guy that I respected so much, Bo Adams. I know Larry, you know Bo. But I remember one time he did a convention for. I was at the Grand Hotel, Jill and I had Lunch with Beau. And he was. They came in to speak for me at that time he was living in. Well, I guess he was still in Atlanta then, but. But anyway, so Bo. We had lunch with Bo, and he. He told me, I. We have been on a pretty good run in our business. And he told me, he said, look, he said, david and Jill, what y' all need to do? What, what you. The. The. The key to making it in business? He said, one, you want to master your craft. You want to get good. You want to master your craft. You. And he said, the second thing is save money, right? Save money. And the third thing is stick with one thing long term. Right? It may be one field or whatever, but one thing long term. He said, you have to fight boredom. Because once you get good at something and you get that cookie cutter exactness and you know what to say and you know how to say it, you know, you tend to think that you could do that anywhere you go, and that's not necessarily the case.

Right. Absolutely.

As a matter of fact, As a matter of fact, Mr. Smart here, myself, back in 80708, I had. Jill and I were guest speakers. We'd flown out to. To be guest speakers in Oklahoma to another organization. It wasn't part of my business, but anyway, and we were there and I had gotten involved politically. I had started doing fundraisers for people that I believe in. And so all of a sudden, a friend of mine who was back then Secretary of State, called me while I was in Oklahoma and said, hey, David. Hey, man. You know, the third congressional seat, Congressman. And he was a friend of mine is. Step is retiring. And he said, man, you ever thought about, man, I think you would do good in politics. So back 0708, I came home next week, had lunch with the congressman, started hiring his team, fundraisers. All of a sudden, 07 08, I ran for Congress. Oh, you did? And I was bored, though. I mean, you know, but. So anyway, I just said, okay, I'll run for Congress. And we, we almost won. I had never ran for me for anything, but. But I look back on things like that, Larry, and I met a lot of good people and it was, it was, it was neat. And I became the finance chairman for our governor for the last eight years. So I've been involved politically. But, you know, I look back on that and I'm thinking, well, I don't even know that. That, you know, boards and, you know, when you get bored. Yeah. A lot of times you, you do things that maybe you don't need to be doing and where you really maybe, hey, go take a month off, get counsel, anything, anytime you feel like you need to go do something else. Right. Again, just because you're good at what you're doing doesn't mean you're going to be good at something else. Right?

Right. Yeah. And that lesson cannot be overstated often enough because we all have to learn it, you know, because we all feel like, you know, I could. I can pull that off. I know how that works. But every situation is different. Every relationship is different. Every. You know, the economy's different. Things that work, you know, we learn this in business. Things that worked last year won't necessarily work this year. And one of the marks of successful leaders is they've got a lot of tricks in their bag and a lot of experience. This is why the experienced guy will always beat the inexperienced guy consistently. You know, the inexperienced guy can look up, but the experienced guy will be able to recognize the telltale sign of, now, let's do this, and let's do it 30%, you know, for 15 minutes. And then we're going to reverse feel and go back and do that. You know, they know how to work. Work the knobs, work the controls, and life is complex. And that's one reason, David, I appreciate you, you know, taking the time for this and where the value of this is the fact that people can learn by listening and hearing. How people like yourself have negotiated the complexities, because very few people have been through what you've been through, where you've gotten pulled. In a small town, you have success. All of a sudden, they want you in everything, don't they?

Right? Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Absolutely.

It's like what I say about my high school athletic career. I lettered in all sports. I was a star in every. And it helps if you want to do that to go to a very small school.

Yeah, you were the man.

Yeah. Because if you show up, you're a starter, you know, but the thing is that if you bloom business success in a small community, everybody knows your business, everybody wants a piece of you. You become a Kardashian, and I'm sure you're like a Kardashian in Jackson, Mississippi, and you can get pulled, and people are listening to this. It's like, that could be your future. We talked about, look at people who have been down the road 10, 15 years, 20 years further than you and see what happens to them. Well, David's telling you what's happened to him, and maybe you can be a little smarter, but David, what I don't know if it's smarter. It's just that you can learn from because that was the experience that, you know, was cut out for you. I'm sure you made an impact in all those areas. But I would say what I used to stay on track. First of all, we traveled a lot. You and I have traveled a lot when you had offices and we're always expanding. You don't get, you don't get 200 plus offices if you're not focused on growth and expansion. And you don't get from Phoenix to South Florida without a lot of traveling and meeting new people and going through ups and downs. And that refreshes you, that refreshes you and gives you new insights and new ideas because you meet new people and all of a sudden these people are pretty sharp and you wind up, you're training them and you're learning more from them. And so that, I'm sure that played a big role. And also you going up and expanding into Canada and getting that mindset had a large degree of keeping you fresh. But no matter how energized you are, there's going to be times where you hit a lull. Like, you know, Trump was on the attack his entire life, you know, building buildings in New York and then golf, got in the golf thing and he's got golf courses and then resorts around the world. Then he runs for president. Now they get some TV and then he gets the president, you know, go, go, go, go, go. But now there's a law, you know, there's a law and he's out, but he's, you know, he's doing different things, meeting new people, lighting up the next thing. But there lulls always will come into your life and you've got. Lulls will come in your life and negative situations will happen. You know, the economy turns against you, life turns against you. It's not. If you look at the stock market charts, you see ups and downs. What does that tell you is going to happen to you in every area of your life? Ups and downs. And you're a pretty stable guy. But you had to have some really pressure points in your life, David, some challenges. When your character's tested, your everything's tested. Have you ever gotten that point? Can you think back to where you've been at that point? I mean, this is just almost too much to bear.

Yeah. Yeah. You know, another thought I had, you know, is, you know, and having those times, you know, whether it's, you know, all the business things and, you know, My business. I look back on the last 43 years. I mean, I mean we've grown a lot. It's been an incredible run. There's. There were many times though that I mean I didn't think we were growing like we should be growing. You know what I mean? I mean, I mean I look back a lot of my run, it was, it was a lot of frustration. You know what I mean? Because you see more potential in people than they see in themselves. Yeah. You know that, that can be very frustrating. The whole then when you tried different things, you know, you like, you know, the congressional thing was very frustrating to me. You know. And then, then I've done. I've invested a good bit in real estate. I've got. I started back in 06, bought some property of an old town that used to be there in 1829 was the first courthouse in the county was there. But the railroads went a different direction so the town dried up and there was nothing but old foundations. Well, I bought the town and then we're rebuilding the town. It's called Livingston just outside of Jackson. But anyway that was kind of a hobby type thing just on the side that has been interesting. My dad was a history teacher. I love history. And so you know, kind of rebuilding this old town. But that you know that's. That's been frustrating too. I mean there's nothing, you know one thing that I had a thought years ago.

What's frustrating about it? Because it seems like you've been building that town for about 20 years.

No, well really the main, main part started about 10 years ago. But you know, I think a lot of it that what's been frustrating. I bought in a developer.

You need to partner up with dis and get them to come in.

Yeah, maybe so. Yeah. Yeah. But you know, I bought in a developer person out of state to help do it. But I didn't like the way that they had that. And there's another lesson there again, sticking with what you know. Right. If you're gonna, if you're gonna start your own business, two best, best things to hires and a good accountant and a good lawyer.

Right.

Don't ever sign anything that hasn't been reviewed by a great lawyer. You know because man whatever I found out, whatever you sign your name to man, you, you. You know that that'll hold up in court. But so anyway but we've been trying to you know that some of that things that you can't control have been frustrating. But I tell you Larry, I had a thought years ago and that is, you know, I've never persevered that I didn't break through and I've never broken through and regretted persevering. Right. If you just persevere, if you keep on keeping on, you're going to break through and then when you break through, you're going to look back and you're going to be glad you kept going.

So that is a great, great lesson. And say it one more time.

Yeah, I've never persevered that I didn't break through and I've never broken through and regretted persevering.

Fantastic. David, thanks so much for taking the time. This has been fantastic.

Thank you, Larry. Man, I've enjoyed it.

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.