Episode #744 - Overcoming Adversity And Building A Thriving Company with Red Buisson

Foreign welcome to this edition of the Million Dollar Mastermind podcast. This is where we pick the brains of high achievers from all walks of life and get their hard earned real world insights on winning. I'm your host, Larry Wydell. Now you've been able, you know, both your boys are in the business, but they've, you know, they didn't grow up in high school wanting to join the business. They had other interests and talk, you know, it's important to let them find their own way and make their decision about what they want to do because that's really the only way any of us are going to be super successful is because we decide for ourselves this is what we want. But it's kind of hard to have that hands off things with kids, but what else can you do? So what are some of the things, phases they went through?

Okay, well, Beau, our youngest, when he first got out of college, he wanted to be a professional race car driver. So you know how you make a million dollars being a race car driver? You make 2 million.

Yeah, yeah.

It's not, it's not a big money making situation until, you know, way down the road when you get big sponsors and stuff. So he tried that for a while and he was really good at it. But he could see this being a long term thing, you know that.

Yeah.

So then he got a real job and you know, his friends getting out of school, they were getting jobs. So he got a job and he was sitting in a cubicle and he, he says that one one day he calls mayor and he's like, well, how are you? And she's like, are you okay? Are you fine? And he's like, well, yeah. She says, well, we have tornado warnings. And he didn't even know because he's sitting in the middle of this building in a cubicle. He has no windows, he can't see what's going on.

Yeah.

And then the guy next to him had been there for 20 years and at the end of the year he gets like a 1% raise. And Bo's like, okay, this is the. And both said everybody in the office thought he was crazy because he would walk in and walk down the high aisle and he's like, high five. And everybody and you know, they have a little meeting in the, in the conference room and it's supposed to start at 10 o'. Clock. He's there at 10 minutes till 10. Because dad always says, you know, show up, show up early and stay late for everything. So he's there early. Nobody else is there. Until 10. Oh, they show. They all show up at once. And he's like, guys, you know, the meeting was supposed to start at 10. You got to be ready for the meeting to start at 10. And I mean, it was just. It was a whole different mindset, I guess, from. From the way he had been raised and the way he had watched our business grow. And it was kind of a culture shock to him. And he lasted a little over two years. And then he's like, okay, dad, tell me again about this prime Erica. He didn't. He didn't. He didn't stay in the. In the corporate world too long. It was not his cup of tea.

Yeah. And. And how many years did he do the racing?

Probably, I would say three years, two and a half to three years.

But those are all learning experiences, too. You know, they're kind of priceless learning experiences if you go on and find your natural spot, you know.

Right, right.

We've had a lot of people be successful come out. That came out of racing of one. Motorcycle racing, car racing, you know, bicycle racing, whatever. There's something about racing that. The mentality of racing rather than just.

Working, you know, now he's off of cars and onto bicycles, so.

Oh, is he?

But it's not his means of income.

Yeah, yeah, right. And so as you. As you've gone out there, what. What have you seen that you guys have learned from? And, you know, in life, you. You either continue to improve or you go backwards. And so I've seen you guys, you know, continue to develop other interests, other activities. You know, you're always fresh, you're always energized. And that's not by, you know, that's a decision. And so, you know, it shows up in the, you know, the way you present yourself and in all of that. So what have you guys, what do you do that keeps you fresh and keeps you moving forward and developing because, you know, you keep. You know, you got your kids to stay, keep inspired your organization coast to coast. And I, you know, I'm one of those who believes that an organization will not outgrow the leader. And so you always want. I used to carry this around in my mind that I never wanted to be the reason our organization did not have, you know, a fantastic year. You know, I didn't want to be the one that put a lid on what our possibility was. So that's why I'd always come up with these crazy goals and unbelievable projections and projects because, you know, I didn't want to be guilty of small thinking. And so what do you. What, what have you guys found that's the most rewarding for you personally to keep putting your time and energy in, that pays off in allowing you to continue to develop?

Okay. I think we still have goals, but the thing that pays off and keeps us excited and motivated is not reaching one of those goals. It's. We feed off the people. I mean, it's their goals almost. It's their successes. It's the things that they're accomplishing that keep us excited. And as long as they have goals and are that. That just. It's almost like you can't help but be excited. You can't help. We love to be around our people because it's just. It's so inspiring. It's so uplifting. It's just. It's great for us. We feed off of that.

Yeah.

Say, oh, well, don't you get tired? I mean, you guys are old. You know, you're almost 80 years old and you're traveling and doing all this stuff. Stuff. And I'm like, yeah, that's what keeps us going. That's what keeps us young. We love it.

Yeah. People ask me, why do I do the big hitter call on Mondays? I said, I do it to keep me from turning into a grumpy old man.

That's good. I like it.

I was like, you don't need to do that. I said, oh, yes, I do. How are you? And so as you, you know, you guys have not neglected your spiritual growth. Talk about that.

Okay, well, I think that's a. That's an another outgrowth of this business. It's that you see the things that happen to people, and then you see bad things happen to people, and you just. You want to. Our pastor said the other day that. That people don't study the end times to stock their freezer. They study the end times because it makes them aware that they have a finite amount of time left on this earth to. To spread the word of God, to do good things for people. And I think that's kind of where. Where our mindset is right there, you know, that the more we can. We can share our faith and share the things that we believe in with people, the happier we are.

There's a mentality from people that have not had great success, have not had. They're not exposed to people who are successful. And the mentality that people like you and Bobby, that the success that you've had are stuck up, you know, hard, you know, full of yourself and, you know, like this basically for lack Of a better word, like the Hollywood celebrities, you know, where it's all about, you know, everybody's a narcissist and everybody's selfish and throwing temper tantrums and screaming at people behind closed doors. But what I've found that super successful people, by and large, are pretty nice. What's been your experience?

I agree. And I think that, that especially in our business, because people don't come into our business as super successful people. And they're down to earth and they're, they're real people and that's what they keep that, they keep that mindset. They don't become these, these people that become the center of their own universe. They become their, their organization becomes the center of their universe. Other people become the center of their universe. I think when we're all babies, you know, an infant are just the center of their universe. And that's part of growing up is learning that you're not the center of your universe. You know, that it's, it's. Things are a lot bigger than you, that God's in charge of everything, not us. And I think, I think our business helps people realize that.

Yeah. And as, you know, you move forward, you know, looking at your future. Oh, what do you. You know, one thing I thought along that line is that to do great things, you have to have a team. And the people that achieve great things have a team and a lot of teams. To have a. A great team, you have to build, rebuild, you know, this, that and the other, and you get to where you, you go through a lot of rotten eggs. And so when you get some good people, you treat them right and you're under a lot of stress. Maybe you pop off occasionally because of just the stress situation, but by and large, you want to take care of everybody around you because you don't want to have to go through the problem of replace them at all. And you realize the value they add to your life. Do you think that's one of the reasons why, you know, when we moved to the nice side of town in Greensboro, everyone said, no, I don't go over there. Everybody's stuck up. They're all snobs. They won't talk to you. I found the nicest people, you know, some of the nicest people in the world were in the new neighborhood, you know. Yeah, but do you think that has something to do with it? The fact that to do great things, you've got to build a big team and you've got, you know, you're responsible for creating that, you know, Attitude is everything. And if you've got a positive attitude, people are more likely to perform in a positive way.

Absolutely. I mean, absolutely, yes. I think that, that loving on your team is so critical in our business. And we've had people come in the business and. Or look at our business and say, well, you know, I'm just not money motivated. I want to do something great for people. I want to do something that's important. And we found out that you can do a lot more important things for people if you have a lot of money.

Yeah.

You know, if you're just trying to survive, it's harder to do great things for other people. You can influence a lot more people with money than you can if you don't have it.

Well, one of the things, when you get the resources, you get a chance to explore things that you're curious about. And I think those things are valid because it refreshes you. Either you love it, you keep doing it, or not. I know. Talk about some of the things you guys have done. I know Bobby, for a period of time, maybe even now, was big into motorcycles and he would ride his motorcycle all the way to Colorado. And I've heard that you would follow him in a car. Is that, is that right?

I've done that. He's driven the motorcycle out west several times. That was in our younger years. Yeah, but, but Bobby goes through phases. The kids teasing. It's kind of like you, you, you do your art, you do your photography. Bobby does that. You know, he gets, but he gets all into whatever he's doing. I mean, he like dives into it with both feet. You know, he's in the motorcycle, then he went through an art face. And I mean, you know, it's always something you and, and he gets excited about new things and he doesn't lose interest in it. He just gets excited about something else.

Yeah.

So it's, it just progresses further, but it's never boring.

Well, it's a lot like travel. You get exposed to different places, different things, how different ways, different people think. And it helps expand your viewpoint of the world and also possibilities because leaders have to solve, come up with solutions and solve problems. You know, when things go wrong in your family and in your universe, people can't handle it. They're going to come looking to you and, you know, it's good if you could come up with something positive for them, you know, and those, those experiences help, don't you think?

Absolutely. Yes, for sure. I think the more experiences you have in your life, the more well rounded you are. The more. The more you can relate to people in whatever situation that they're in.

What are the things that you are looking forward to this year and the next few years that maybe of all the things you guys have done, places you've been, activities and everything that you're looking forward to, maybe that you haven't gotten to yet just simply because you haven't had the time. Like, you like what, you know, he's on the motorcycles. What would you like to be doing?

Well, I'm kind of a homebody. You know, I like being at home. I love being around my kids and my grandkids, and we're looking forward to more great grandbabies. And it's just I'm kind of a family homebody type, you know, the. I'm not. I'm over travel. I've been everywhere in the world that I ever want to go, and I've been most places I want to go two or three times. And, you know, I'm kind of done with that. But I love being around family and friends.

Absolutely. So what would you say to wrap things up here? And I always give my guests a chance to have a final word. What would you say if you want it? You know, we have some people that are entrepreneurs or want to be entrepreneurs or want to grow their business and want to go on another surge or what would. What would you pass on to them from your vantage point that would. Could be a big difference maker that they might not think about.

Well, I think it's. It's. It's the same things that you and I did and Bobby, is that you just don't quit. If you found the niche that you want to pursue and you're happy in it, don't quit. Don't become discouraged. Just keep on keeping on. Just put one foot in front of the other and good things will happen. If. If you just keep working hard and handle your money, good things will happen. That was Art's mantra to us. He said that to us over and over and over in the early years. Just. Just keep working hard and handle your money and good things will happen. And I mean, you went through that, we went through that. Everybody goes through that. And you don't see light at the end of the tunnel, but that's okay. You don't worry about the light at the end of the tunnel. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

All right, Red, that's as good as anything. I could imagine you would come up with great parting words. This has been a lot of fun. I hope you've enjoyed it.

This has been so much fun. Thank you. Larry.

Thanks for listening to the Million Dollar Mastermind. If you felt there were any valuable takeaways from this episode, please take a minute and leave us a five star review. Your feedback is important and really helps us get the word out to a wider audience. Remember, we have a valuable webinar that is absolutely free. Register for it right now@whiteallowinning.com thanks for listening.