Move Your Body if You Want to Move Up with Glenn Hopper

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 talking with Glenn Hopper. Hey, Glenn.

Hey, Larry. Thanks for having me.

Yeah. Where are you today, Glenn?

I'm in Nashville, Tennessee.

Nashville, Tennessee, downtown?

No, I'm actually kind of out in this out in the suburbs. But yeah, downtown is booming right now. I'm a little too much of a homebody to be rolling around with all the bachelorette parties and tourists down there.

And Glenn has quite a resume right now. He is chief financial officer at Sanline, which is an ediscovery and document management service provider. And he's the author of Deep Corporate Finance in the Information Age and showing how you can embrace tech innovations that are shaping our world where you use it or not. And you might as things that you might as well get a little bit familiar with and start using at least a little bit. And he's going to make that simple for us. But he comes from a background. He's a former United States Navy journalist, public affairs specialist. He's worked for the Naval Technical Training Center. Was it Cory Station? Is that was it, was it called.

Yes, down in Pensacola, Florida?

Down in Pensacola. His naval commendations are Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy Pistol Rifle Marksmanship Medal. He's on the Forbes in January of this year, he was, I guess, nominated or honored the Forbes Finance Council. Is that an award or is that a membership? What is that?

Yeah, it's a membership where we there's a community of finance professionals and it's an invitation only. And you get into the Forbes network and you publish monthly through Forbes. So it's a good venue to let you sort of share your thought leadership with the community.

Yeah. And pick up ideas and contacts and friends and things like that. So.

Absolutely.

Wow, what a great start to your career. And I know you are really excited now about what's in front of you and your opportunities to get this kind of information out. You obviously love helping people and from a journalistic standpoint, you're a student and when you learn things, you find out stuff, you like to get the truth out because there's so much disinformation and misinformation out there. And so it's going to be fun talking Today, how did you reach. How did you get going in that direction early on? What do you think made the difference?

I think the foundation of a military background gave me some real direction I was in for five years. But that five years was transformative in my life. It helped me hone my discipline and a direction. And when I started early in my career, I thought it was going to be journalism and I thought it would stay journalism after the military. But I quickly learned when I left the military and I went into the private sector, I translated the. I went to business school and then translated the journalism more into a marketing role. And in marketing I was using the skills from the Navy. But I was also. That focus served me better. And when I was in marketing, I started to pick up the finance skill set and I sort of became the de facto numbers guy for the marketing group. And then from there I got poached from by the chief operating officer of that company and I became the finance guy for the operations group. And then that sort of kicked off my finance career. But I think that the military background gives you a foundation, but also a journalism background gives you a foundation. Because so much you could be the best engineer in the world, you could be the best philosopher in the world. Whatever venue you go down, if you can't communicate your ideas, then it's. It's kind of pointless. So having that fundamental communication basis I think would serve whatever direction my career would have gone in from there.

And you joined the military, which. Which branch were you in?

Navy.

You were in the Navy? And where'd you grow up?

So grew up in Memphis, but my dad was a lawyer in the Navy and we were stationed in D.C. we were stationed in Naples, Italy for a while. Moved around a little bit and then. But Memphis is my hometown. Memphis, Tennessee.

My father was Air Force. We spent three years in high school when I was over in Italy and we used to play Naples. Unfortunately, Naples High school was eight times bigger. And so Naples would always beat our brains out, except for one basketball game. We beat their butts and I scored on. I remember now. I can remember being on the free throw line. We needed this thing to beat up 80 to 79 if I made it. And for once in my life I came through like Michael Jordan winning the national championship when he was at college. And you remember those things forever. But Naples, I love Naples. I've been back down there. Beautiful place. And being overseas gives you a different viewpoint. Doesn't is transformative to have those exposures especially early in your life?

It really is. And you take it for granted. I think you reach a certain age and you start to look back and you look at the things that made you who you are. And I compare my experience with moving around a fair amount even in my adult life and looking at people who've sort of stayed in their same zip code their whole life and just didn't get exposure. Of course you can take trips, but really immersed in different cultures and getting to different parts of the country and different parts of the world really can shape who you are. And it makes you more tolerant and more understanding of the sort of global community. It's been a. Yeah, it definitely shapes who you are.

And the thing is, I mean, you know, one thing that people are listening to this, who might a thought they might think about. If you've been someone who's grown up because of your circumstances and pretty much been in one area, one spot, it's not like it was in the past. You know, you got the Internet, you got, you know, the cable tv, you got the whole world coming to you all the time, plus you got all the documentaries and you know, you're studying the animals and all these trips. But it's not like being there and it's not like being with the people in those. It's not, it's a totally different experience when you're there. It's like going to a live, going to the super bowl live rather than watching it on television. More convenient on tv. But it's mind blowingly different experience to be there in person. And so one thing people who are listening this might think about, you know, if they're saying, you know, I want to get myself revved up, you know, I want to be fresh, I want to get inspired, I want to get fresh this, that, the other. It's not a waste of time to travel. You might say, I don't want to spend the time traveling. You know, hotels cost a fortune and you got, you know, the, well we've had the restrictions on with the, the virus and all that. But the deal is it's worth it and it's not, you know, no matter how much crime you hear, unless it's the middle of the Ukraine, you know, if you hear about crime and all these things, don't let it keep you from going there. Even New York City and, you know, you're probably not going to be the guy hatcheted on the sidewalk or whatever, you know what I'm saying? Or pushed in with a subway in there. You know, those things happen one out of a zillion Times and they're publicized. Don't let fear of things you hear about these areas keep you from getting out and seeing it with your own two eyes and also with your kids. One of the greatest things you can do for your kids is get them out and let them travel. You know, just travel, go somewhere, do something. You know, it's like going, what kind of schedule I need to have in the gym to work out. Just get your butt in the gym, find something and lift it and move it and take how many reps? Well, just do some, you know, and then, you know, and so it's just like, get yourself moving. Because there's one thing I found, Glenn, I just. If you want. I've always told people this. If you want to move your business, move your body, you know, if you want to move up in life, move yourself around, go to different meetings that you have been to get, you know, go to trade fairs or association, you know, go to other towns, you know, get different experiences, stir your butt up and create something, you know, plow some new territory in your mind where some of these new. Well, number one, you can meet people that you wouldn't meet locally, but you can also create different cracks in your. What you thought was always the case, and then go out and find somewhere that's totally, you know, totally different. And so that happens to a lot of us who grew up with military families. And like you say, you do take it for granted.

Larry. I couldn't agree more. And, you know, you talk about moving, as in moving around the world, but also moving as an exercising. And I'm a big. I'm a. There are two things that have served me well through my whole life, and both of them, I think, contribute to brain plasticity and being able to stay sharp and being able to stay focused and have that edge. And the two things are, one, I'm a lifelong learner. I've got two master's degrees. I've done all kinds of certification programs. I've just stayed. I'm always learning something new. And I think that that really helps to shape how you think and to be sure that you're up on the latest technology, the latest trends, what changes. Because it was 20 something years ago that I got my MBA, so had I not gone back to school after that, I mean, I would have forgotten 90 something percent of it. Um, and the other part. So that's, that's exercising your brain, but also I think you have to exercise your body. And I've. I'm a triathlete and runner. And a cyclist and was a weightlifter for years. I've kind of backed off that because I'm trying to get faster on the triathlons. Um, I've had kind of a tough run. I had a couple of Achilles surgeries. Dislocated my shoulder doing. Yeah, dislocated my shoulder doing an obstacle course race a couple of years ago. So I'll never be as strong as I was, and I don't know if I'll do. I may be retired from obstacle races, but I'm. I just did a marathon in December, and I did a half Ironman back in October. And I'm hoping to. The plan is right now to do a full Ironman this year. We'll see how that goes. But it's just. It's hard to find the time, but it contributes so much to the rest of your life. So it may sound like, wow, that's a lot of hours to commit to exercising every week. But that time is not wasted on long bike rides. I might be working out a problem for work or a strategy issue or whatever. And then also just the sort of the endorphins and the chemical balance and everything that it gives. I think that both of those have served me well.

And so basically what you're saying is you found that it's smart to push yourself.

Absolutely.

Push yourself. And that's what, you know, we're trying to get people. It's like, don't just settle for where you are and this, that, and the other. And it's amazing how many people find a way to get another degree studying at night and this, that, and the other. And now for me, as somebody who despised formal education, you know, I got my. I got my Georgia Tech bachelor of science and then waved goodbye in the rearview mirror. And I did not have the kind of experience, you know, at that time, Georgia Tech didn't have professors that inspired you to want to come back and keep learning, you know, and it was more like you ran a gauntlet. And I think there's a lot of people out there that have that attitude and have that experience that I had, however, had. I had, like, one or two professors that got me intrigued about some other subjects and had gotten me thinking while I was there about going on and pursuing that. Later, I might have gotten back and gotten another degree. I mean, there was times where, you know, you could. You could fit it in, you can do other stuff. But, you know, I got my inspiration by doing other sport. You know, I got started skiing. We started going to Colorado Skiing and you meet people and, you know, you know, it's amazing how many people you can meet on the lift in conversations you can have in the gondola, things like that. Or I did show jumping for 16 years with over fences, you know, riding against Olympic riders towards the end. And it doesn't have to be going to school, but I mean, those are totally out of my comfort zone. Totally a stretch, you know, riding, keeping three to four horses trained and fit for competition every day took a lot of time, but you find out, you know, thank goodness for the cell phones came in. And, you know, you could be productive going and coming in transit whenever there's a lull. You can be productive and you can make things work, but there's just no advantage going to happen to you. If you go, like, I play golf, I'm going to play golf with the same four guys. You know, we have our foursome. You know, I was talking to a guy yesterday on here, and he said, you know, you know, I did that for a while. It's like, I just don't want to do this anymore, you know, I've already gotten bored. It's like the old folks home, you know, and anything can be like the old folks home when it gets stale.

Exactly.

And if you're in a stale situation and you let yourself stay there, it's your fault. Isn't that right?

Yeah. And it's, I mean, it's just you get complacent, and when you get complacent, you get lazy, and it's, it becomes, you do what you can do. And you've worn these grooves, you've worn these ruts, and rather than push yourself, you just say, you know what? I did my 8 to 5 job. I'm going to get off work, I'm going to have a drink, I'm going to watch tv and, you know, for four hours and go to bed. And that's the end of my day. And that's really, I mean, that's, that's the enemy of success to me, is when you're just in that you're just satisfied with where you are and you're just coasting.

And so how, how were you when you started with the Navy?

I was late going into the Navy, so I'd already been in the. I was, I guess I was 23.

Wow. Yeah, you were, you were the old guy.

Yeah, I was.

What caused you. Well, you'd gone to school, right?

You, you went to, went to undergrad at University of Memphis.

Okay. Your family had the military Background, you had that exposure. And so did you have journalism as a priority for you? Because a lot of people don't realize that you can have different specialties inside the military. You know, not everybody. Not everybody's a soldier or sailor, you know, and so talk about how. Because I guess maybe because you grew up with your father in the Navy, it. You were aware that you could go into the Navy but still have that specialty and get involved in that while you were in the Navy, rather than waiting till you got out.

Right, right. So my grandfather was a pilot in the Navy. I had two uncles in the Navy. One was an electrician, and I can't remember what the other one did. My dad was a lawyer in the Navy, and I wasn't really planning on going, but after banging around in school for a few years and not really knowing what I wanted to do, I got married. And I felt like, okay, it's time to get some direction in my life. So I just saw the Navy as an opportunity, and I. But I knew I didn't want to just go. Go in and just, you know, roll the dice and see where I got assigned. So, like you said, you take the. The aptitude test or whatever to get in, and based on your score, they open up certain jobs to you. And journalism was one of the jobs that they had. And as soon as I heard that, I was an aspiring fiction writer back then, and I thought, well, fiction writing isn't paying the bills, so this would be a great career path. And everybody that I talked to initially, before going into the Navy about being a journalist, they wanted experience, and I didn't have experience, so the military would give it to me. So I got the opportunity to serve my country and also get that experience. So.

And so how did that serve you? How did the experience serve you when you came out? And then also while you were in the military, in the Navy, you. You took it serious. And how did that, you know, you. You got the commendations and the recognition. And how did that benefit you in terms of you getting more bang for the buck from those five years?

Yeah, so so many. I mean, there are. There's two ways to go do the military. One is you treat it as if it's a prison sentence. And I encountered a couple of people who did that, where they're just basically counting the days till they're out. They just want to do their obligation and get out. And then there are people who come in, you know, for the patriotic reasons and want to serve their country and do all that. But even if you come in as a patriot, you can still go one of two paths. You can just do the bare minimum and you'll be fine. You can fly under the radar. But there are so many opportunities for advancement in the military and for benefits and perks. So one of the things that I was stationed in Pensacola, shore duty, and I could use the GI bill and Navy tuition assistance to pay for school while I was in. So while I was on shore duty, actually, that's when I got my master's in Business administration and just doing that part time. And the Navy gives you time, you know, to work out every day so you stay in great shape. They build in time to do training and then to follow your own goals. And at the same time, you're very focused on your mission. And then there's constantly, every day there's something going on where the sailors are going to volunteer at Habitat for Humanity or do whatever they're doing. And I think as a journalist, because the kinds of things you write about when you're a military journalist are more these feature stories. So I'm learning about all these programs and Special Olympics and everything that's going on, and I would go do a story on it and then I would get interested in it and then next thing I know, right, the story one week, and the next week I'd be out there volunteering with them. So it was a great opportunity that I surely maximized to the fullest extent.

And you are so just. How did you say that you could approach it two ways? As a prison sentence or what?

Or to take or to look, to kind of milk everything you can out of it. To explore, find the benefits that are available to you and focus on those and find ways to move up. And those are people who get promoted more quickly. They have opportunity for more commendations and they get the attention of their superiors, so they get better duty assignments. And there's just a. Or you can just fly under the radar and just take whatever they hand you.

And wouldn't you say that that also would apply two ways you could approach going to college?

Very much so, yeah. When I was in, so my undergrad, I was on the seven year plan. And I think there's a quote from a David Spade and Chris Farley movie where Chris Farley says, I went to school for seven years. And David Spade said, yeah, a lot of people go to school for seven years. They're called doctors. So it was just seven years for me to get my undergrad, but I ended up with like, I don't know, 180 credits or something because I was in school for so long and changed majors so much so even, that I look back and I think, eh, well, I didn't, you know, I was, at first I was sort of coasting through not knowing what I was doing and I sort of picked up some experiences, but when I got focused, it was time to bring it down. But yes, very much so. When I first started, I was not, you know, 18 years old. I wasn't paying attention.

And it's also the way when you get out and you get your first job, you know, you know, you tend to, when you get in these things and you're young and inexperienced not to realize this is a temporary period of my life and it's not going to last forever and there's no advantage for me. You know, I always thought that the time. And I don't. They may do it now, but they didn't do it when I went to school. It's like you need to start thinking about your grades for college when you're in junior high school before you show up as a ninth grader. Because if you start waiting till you're a junior, you already got two years of grades to try and average up. So if you really want to do well, someone needs to be. Hopefully there'll be some junior high kids listening to this. But you're preparing your resume as you kind of come up the ladder. And the earlier you could start thinking about doing things that will give you an advantage rather than just getting through it. And what I see for you, what you did, Glenn, you did things. I mean, there's no miraculous thing. I was, you know, had this skill with a piano and I was doing sonatas at age 5. And I mean, you grew up, you went into college, you went in the military, but the way you did it allowed you to have unusually great foundation preparation, skill, personal discipline for what came later, which is some pretty phenomenal stuff. And we're going to get into that in the next episode. So thanks for sharing so far.

Yeah, thanks, Larry.

If you enjoyed what you've heard and are dead serious about finding out for yourself exactly how this works and 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.