Ep 18 It’s Not As Bad As You Think A Conversation with Kevin Thompson

Welcome to Remembering the Forgotten, a space where leaders think out loud without polish or performance. No scripts, no personas, just the quiet clarity that emerges when the noise drops and the mind is free to speak for itself. Today I'm joined by Kevin Thompson, founder of the Impact and Legacy Collective, and host of the Million Dollar Relationships podcast, and I was honored to be one of his guests. Kevin is a strategic partnership expert who has personally generated more than $16 million in revenue through high-trust relationships alone. After building a million-dollar one-person business, he chose a different focus. Helping entrepreneurs collapse time, cut through surface-level noise, and access relationships that actually matter. Featured in Forbes and known as a true conduit of trust, Kevin operates from generosity, authenticity, and integrity. He creates introductions that don't just open doors, They lead to meaningful collaboration, long-term value, and impact that reaches far beyond a single deal. And with that, Kevin, welcome to my show. Such a pleasure to having you.

Well, Markus, I have been looking forward to this, and it's an honor to be here.

Happy to hear that. I'm honored to having you. Absolutely. So before we begin, when I say stillness, I don't mean peace or quiet. I mean the place in you untouched by pressure, noise, or performance. The place that knows before the mind thinks. That's the layer I'm inviting you to speak from today.

Okay, okay, very good. Challenge accepted.

Wonderful, wonderful. So here's the first question which I would like us to talk about, and especially for you to think about and, and to share your thoughts and what comes up. So where in your life Do you meet the you untouched by expectations?

You know, it's interesting. I, uh, when I was a little kid, we lived in this really small community where everybody knew everybody. And, uh, and I had, uh, you know, my, my, my friends that I had just grown up with And, and, you know, I just— it was just such a great experience. And, and we lived in that community until I was in 4th grade. And my, my, my dad, where he worked, was like an hour away from where we lived. And so we commuted an hour each way to work, hour in the morning, hour at night. And so we moved to be closer to his work so Dad didn't have to commute so much and we could see more of him. And at the same time, though, you know, I was thrust into this place of not knowing anybody, you know, now being out of the community that I grew up in since I was born to now being in a place where I didn't know anybody. And, you know, I felt like an outsider. And to them, I was just like, you know, and it was, you know, it was a really interesting experiment. And for many years, I felt like I just didn't belong. I made some friends here and there for sure, but it was not like what it was before. And then years later, I had, you know, in 11th grade— my dad passed away at the end of my 10th grade year, and my mom, after that happened, she wanted my brother and I to go to this private school. And I was hesitant to do that, but, but she was like, well, you just try it for one quarter, and if you absolutely hate it, then you can go back to public school. And, and yeah, and at public school, uh, my, my class size— there was about 900 kids in my class at that public school. When I went to the private school, there were like Well, there was 16 kids in my graduating class at that private school. The whole high school had like less than 80 kids in it.

Mm-hmm.

But yet, as soon as I got there, one of my good friends, him and his sister went there. And so, they like started introducing me to everybody. And so, right away, I just felt this connectedness and like, oh my gosh, this is my people. These are my friends. And I had the most amazing experience. My 11th and 12th grade years of high school, and and I made so many friends, and it was just it was just in fact I even took two girls to the senior prom, two beautiful girls to the senior prom, and and it was such an amazing experience. And so like you know now I I go back to that, and it's like you know what I have now realized what it means. To find our people, and, and we don't have to work at it. It doesn't have to be a challenge. It doesn't have to be difficult. It's just so easy when we find our people. And, you know, I, I have now for many years have found my people, and I help other entrepreneurs find their people. And it's so cool to see, because what you just said. There's no expectations of us. There is no requirements of us. There we, we, uh, we get to be seen, heard, and understood by others. And, and we get to be surrounded by people who just love us for who we are, including our idiosyncrasies or whatever, you know.

Mm-hmm.

And, and what an amazing place to be. And, and so, you know, I get— I, I am really blessed in that I get— I, I find myself— because like I'm in conversation with amazing entrepreneurs pretty much every single day. And, uh, it is— it's, it's really awesome being me. And, uh, and, and it's really awesome that I get to just hang out and do cool stuff with my friends. And I, man, I could be doing this for the rest of my life, you know. And, and I, and of course, anything I can do to help others find their people, man, I'm all about doing that and helping them so that they can experience what this is like too.

So for you, it's about meeting the right people.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because, you know, as long as—

So what do you do, Kevin, if you do not meet people? Do you have sometimes that sense that you are feeling like having to live by somebody else's expectations, or is that something that is so foreign to you?

Feeling like I need to live by somebody else? Well, I mean, you know, so My, my wife and my kids, you know, I, I want to be, uh, the best husband that I can be. I want to be the best father that I can be. So I suppose there might be some self-imposed expectations there. Um, and, you know, sure, like when my, when my wife wants help with something, you know, I, I want to be able to help her with that.

Mm-hmm.

You know, whatever it is, you know. And and I got two of my two of my older daughters are over here because it's my wife's birthday today, and they're all out in the kitchen right now. I don't know what they're doing out there, but I hear them out there, you know. And and so but yeah, you know there. I mean, so I suppose that there is expectations there, but yet there are expectations that I'm totally cool with because I absolutely love that woman.

I hear you, and you can tell. In my voice, there is almost a little bit of a marvel behind, because to get to that point where you say, look, if I have expectations, then they are either allowed by me or they're self-imposed. Mm-hmm. And those come Based on relationships.

Mm-hmm.

So I'm curious, Kevin, have you ever had a time in your life where that was different? When you felt almost like you felt the expectations of having to be this way, having to be that way, having to be that for that person, having to be that for that job. Have you ever had this kind of a time in your life?

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I remember when I got— I spent 7 years working as a commercial fisherman on Alaska's Bering Sea. And I had gone— I live near— I'm about 40 miles north of Seattle, Washington. Seattle is a big fishing hub. And, and so in 1998, I went down to Seattle to Fisherman's Terminal, and I was just hitting all the docks, talking to all the captains of all the boats, trying to get a job on a fishing boat. And none of them would hire you because they were like, man, we don't hire off the dock because you have no idea the work that you're getting into and all that. And we only hire based on, like, you know, like the crew that we've already got. And when they recommend somebody, you know, that's how we hire because they can tell the story of what it's like. You know, and, uh, but this one skipper, this one captain, John Waddell, I ended up talking with him and he's like, well, he's like, give me your number. He said, I'm not going to promise anything. But about a week later, he calls me up and he's like, Kevin, he's like, how fast can you be down here to the boat in Seattle? I said, well, I said, I could be there in 2 hours. He's like, okay. He's like, pack yourself up and come on down here. And when you get here, come up to the wheelhouse and see me. And so I did. And when I got up there to the wheelhouse to see him, he's telling me, he said, Kevin, he said, you know what, I have never done this before. And, and quite candidly, he's like, I'm nervous about this because you are in for— he said, you are going to be working the hardest you have ever worked in your life, and you're going to be dealing with extreme weather conditions and extreme working conditions. And, and, uh, and he's like, man, he's like, I am just praying That this works out for both of us.

And, uh,

and he gave me a shot, and I, I was so grateful to him. And at the same time, I'm like, you know what, I am not gonna let this guy down. I'm not gonna let these other guys on the boat down either.

Mm-hmm.

And I was like, I am gonna work my tail off to prove that I belong here. I'm gonna prove to John that he made a good decision in hiring me. And I did. And I will tell you, man, that to this day, that is the hardest. Those seven years was the hardest I ever worked in my life. And but at the same time, yeah, there was definitely an expectation because John said it. He said the expectation was he's a man. I'm just praying you don't let me down, you know. And and I'm I'm just like, okay, I'm not gonna let him down. I'm not gonna let him down. And and I will tell you that during those seven years. There were other people that got hired on boats, not just his boat. I worked on a number of boats over those 7 years, but a lot of guys came on the boat and didn't pull their weight and didn't work out. And, and man, it really sucks when that happens because if one guy's not pulling their weight, everybody else has to cover, you know, and everybody else has to work harder, you know. And, and a lot of times they're not happy about that because they're already working hard, you know. And so, yeah, I've definitely had Those experiences, and and yeah, and I I I was like I am not well. The last year I was on that boat, 1995, we were we were in a heck of a storm, and I got we got hit by a wave. I did, and it threw me across the railing. That's what this scar on my chin is from. I I

wow!

Failed across that boat. I smacked into that railing on the other side with my face, and I cut my chin open. I knocked my front teeth out, and. But the alternative, if I wouldn't have hit that railing, I would have been right over the railing of that boat into the freezing temperature of the Bering Sea and that would have been it. I would have died right then and there.

So meaning you were on one of those big ships that go out, for example, and go for crabs and that kind of stuff?

Yes.

Because I love to watch that TV show.

That Deadly Catch.

Yeah. Yes. So you were one of those.

I was one of those. In fact, a bunch of those guys on that show I fished with. So,

wow.

Yeah. Yeah. So

to see those waves,

it's insane. It is insane.

And especially looking at those captains, how they steer their boats through the waters.

Yeah. Yeah.

That's mainly why I watch it. Yeah. I love to see the count. But I mainly want you to actually see the craftsmanship of those captains.

Yeah, yeah.

Like, how high were those waves?

Oh my gosh. I mean, you know, we've been in— I mean, I've seen, you know, 15, 20-foot waves before, you know. I mean, there can be some really big waves. And yeah, and it's a little— it can be a little bit nerve-wracking. But you know what we always did? Was I would just concentrate on my job, which was to get the catch onto the boat. We didn't really look so much. The, the captain in the wheelhouse, he'd keep an eye on the big picture, you know, and he'd let you know if it— and we were in any real danger. I mean, and even when that wave came in, he yelled at me. He was over the intercom system. He's like, Kevin, duck! But you know, before I could even react, we got hit. And there's not a whole lot you can do. Yeah,

that's when nature hits, then it really hits, huh?

Yeah. Yeah.

Wow. So you did that for 7 years?

I did that for 7 years to save up money to start my first business.

Yes. So let me ask you a question which I was wondering. Did you become the super connector Because of that experience in the beginning of finding out how hard it was to actually build these connections so you get this 1 gig? Was this out of necessity that you started becoming this connector or what was your drive?

So no, and, you know, what's interesting is it was another gentleman I had a conversation with some years back that we were just talking about my childhood. And, and through that process, that was what I figured out was like, you know what, it's— man, the experience that I had when I was younger was what really drew me into what I do. I mean, that's why I get so much satisfaction from what I do now. You know, it definitely does not feel like a job at all. Um, but my, my connector ability Um, it, it, a lot of it, at least initially, it was what's called, you know, my, one of my mentors, Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach, calls it unique ability, you know, and that we have these unique God-given gifts that each one of us has. And so, I, I love talking with entrepreneurs. I love hearing about what they're working on, what they're excited about, what, what challenges they're having, what problems they're dealing with, what opportunities they might be wanting to take advantage of. And I just naturally default to, who do I know who might be able to help them with this? And I just do that. And so, over the years, I've really honed that ability and I've really focused on becoming more and more effective at doing what I do. And now, it's just kind of nuances, just little discoveries here and there. But I've gotten really dang good at it. Really good. And, uh, but yes, so part of it was unique ability. But in my other business, I used to own a publishing company for 12 years, and I grew that business, uh, primarily through doing strategic partnerships with other entrepreneurs who helped me get my marketing message out into the world.

And,

and I was just so appreciative of all those partners. I did almost 600 partnerships over 12 years. Wow. And it was through that that I was just so grateful to them that I was always looking for how else can I serve them. And it was through making introductions. And so, I did it for years for free just because I appreciated these people in my life and just wanted to help them. And it was the first big introduction that I made was 14, well, now 15 years ago. And that's what first got me thinking, man, wouldn't it be cool if I could have a business where I just got to do that all the time? And now that's been my full-time thing for 8 years now. It's what I do.

That's incredible. So how did you come up with making a business out of making introductions?

So it came from— so the first big introduction that I made was these 2 guys, Perry Marshall and Brian Kurtz, and within eight months of introducing those guys, they were hosting this big event together back in Washington, D.C. area called the Titans of Direct Response. And there was about three hundred entrepreneurs who had attended that event. I don't remember what the investment was. I think it was like two or three thousand dollars to attend that event, you know. And and the first morning of that event. I'm getting text messages from 3 of my friends who were there in attendance at it, almost all of them saying identically the same thing, going, hey, Kev, I'm at Brian and Perry's event and they're on stage right now in their opening comments talking about you and talking about how this event would have never even happened if not for you being the one who had introduced them and stuff. And like I said, that it was that experience of getting those messages and just hearing about that experience. that first got me thinking, man, wouldn't it be cool if I could just do that all the time, you know? And so that got the seed planted. I will not say— I mean, it took some time for that to germinate. And, and, you know, while I'd think about it here and there, and while I'd have conversations around it, I still had the other publishing company. Sure.

Um,

and, and, and sometimes those conversations were were— made me feel I was on the right track. And other times those conversations made me feel like, man, maybe you're crazy for wanting to do something like this because nobody else had ever done it. And even to this day, I don't know anybody else who has a business where they do this and they get compensated for it. There's all kinds of—

You're absolutely right. That's why I'm extremely curious because I'm sure that many people who watch our show now We'll ask exactly that question.

Yeah.

Because so many people, Kerry, as you know, are sitting on a treasure trove of connections.

Yeah.

Probably don't even know how to make introductions, to be honest, because it takes a very special skill and cannot even dream of earning a buck for an introduction.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's totally true. Yeah. And I've had, uh, I had friends of mine that are like good Connectors that I would have conversations with when I was trying to like, just like when I was just exploring it for myself, you know. Yeah. And I remember one of my good friends who's a Connector, and I was telling him about this, and I'm like, man, I'd really like to have a business around this where I just got to do this all the time? And he's like, he's like, you know, he said, man, he's like, Kevin, he said, I make introductions for people all the time and I couldn't even imagine charging money for that. And I mean, I left that conversation, Markus, feeling so dejected. Yeah. Because this was somebody that I really respected, that I really admired, that I really valued their opinion. And I left that conversation thinking like, man, maybe I'm crazy. Maybe I'm off my rocker. Maybe I shouldn't even be trying to do this. Maybe— is this even ethical? You know, and all these questions, you know. And, and it wasn't until, uh, April of 2017 when I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine, and, and, uh, you know, almost in passing thought, we were done talking about what he wanted to talk about, and he was like, Kev, I'm just gonna ask you, why have you never held an in-person get-together for all these entrepreneurs that you know? And I'm like, I don't know, Tim. I guess I just never thought about it. And he's

like,

well, he's like, you should give it some thought because if you did, he said, I would totally want to be a part of that. And I'm like, you would? And, you know, keep in mind, he lived in Tampa, Florida, all the way across the country from me. In fact, you couldn't get further away from me and still be in the country, you know? And, and I'm like, so Let me make sure I'm understanding you. So let's just say I held a get-together here at my home and I charged whatever I charge. Are you, are you saying that you would invest both financially and time-wise and you would hop on a plane and you would fly all the way across the country to come to my place? Right? He said, I would do it in a heartbeat. I'm like, why would you do that, Tim? And he said, because I know the kind and caliber of people that you would invite and they would be people that I want to meet. And I was just like, wow. And so that's what really— it was that conversation that really set this thing in motion. And just a few months later, August and September of 2017, I held the very first 2 events at my home right here on the other side of this wall in my living room and stuff. And that's what launched the whole business.

Dang triangle. Where would you say with this idea of actually being able to do something so crazy, unheard of? And you know, Kevin, I'm asking before you talked with him, because this idea came to you and I don't think you asked whether it's possible.

You just thought, what if? No, I didn't.

Right.

Yeah. Yeah.

Where did this idea come from? What do you think?

Well, it came from Brian and Perry seeing what transpired after I introduced those 2 guys. And also just— and my goodness, since then, 15 years ago, those guys have become such great friends. They have done so many amazing things together. they have created millions and millions in revenue together and impacted millions of people's lives, you know. And, and, and that for me, you know, it's, it's not even the revenue or the money is not what inspires me. It's the impact. And, and the thought that I can do what I do and impact so many people's lives, so many people who will never even know I was there. But I know, and that's cool by me, you know, and it just makes me feel good. And, and I, and, and I, I want to just— I just want to make my biggest impact, you know.

Mm-hmm.

And, uh, and even right now, you know, we regularly make introductions that lead to 5-figure, 6-figure, 7-figure opportunities. We do that all the time. And in my— where I'm going, I want to be making 8 and 9-figure impact. And that's not a secret because I put that out there all the time. And because I put that out there that, hey, this is where we're at and this is where I'm going. Well, I now find myself in conversations with people who, ooh, you know what, man? This has the possibility for 8 or 9-figure impact right here. And it's it, but it's the impact is what inspires me. You know, and revenue is the natural organic byproduct of impact. The bigger impact we make, the more revenue that gets created.

You know. I don't want to impose. I'm just curious because, you know, I was in sales and I'm pretty knowledgeable about these worlds. When you started out, how did you picture your business model to be?

You know what? I did not even— I didn't even give it that much thought.

And that's great.

So little thought that the first couple years was so painful.

So interesting. So interesting, Kevin.

Yeah, the first 2 years. Oh my goodness. So those 2 events that I held at my home in August and September of 2007, I had the first event, I had 15 entrepreneurs that came to that event. And on the opening morning of that event, I'm just like, on one hand I'm like, wow, look who's sitting in my living room right now, because there's these amazing entrepreneurs, you know. And on the

other side, I'm going to the Bahamas and let them do this stuff.

Yes.

Now, yeah, now you had to facilitate. Yeah, tell me more about that.

Yeah. And so I'm like, wow, look who's sitting here. And then at the same time, I'm like, God, please let this be valuable for them, you know? And—

Tell me more about that. I love it.

But, you know, my— I just, I just, I just started by just saying, hey, you know, nobody knew each other. And I was like, you know, for one, all— every one of you, all 15 of you are just absolutely amazing entrepreneurs who are making such a big impact in the world. And for you, getting connected with just the right people, having the right conversations with the right people for the right reasons are going to be what really allows you to grow your own business and make a bigger impact. And that's what you're going to have happen this week over the next couple of days here. And I'm going to help facilitate that. And what my goal is, is I want you to make real meaningful connection and relationships with people here that you're going to walk away from here Uh, that, you know, you're all going to be opening your networks for each other, helping each other, supporting yourself, each other. And, and, uh, and, and the thing is, is, you know, that whatever is shared here stays here, and that you're not going to get an ounce of judgment from anybody here. You are going to be met with nothing but open arms from like-minded people who, if we could help you We would love nothing more than that because every one of you are just givers through and through. You couldn't show up any other way. And, and I also want you to not only give— we know you're going to do that— but I want each one of you to receive in a really powerful way. Let the rest of us pour into you and just open yourself up to just receiving that and taking that in and accepting that. Mm-hmm. And so, that's what happened over the next couple of days.

That laid the ground.

Yes. Yeah, I laid the groundwork. And I still to this day, you know, I do lots of stuff virtually. And every time I'm hosting a group on Zoom, I just did a group this morning with 4 or 5 entrepreneurs. And every time I'm doing that, I lay the foundation for the conversation because that is an integral piece that has to be done in order for the conversation to take place. Otherwise, the right conversation won't take place, you know?

Yeah.

And so, and, uh, but at the end of that 2-day, 2-and-a-half-day event, I just simply said, you know, hey, if, if you got value from this and you created some new relationships here that you just know are going to allow you to grow your business and expand it and make a bigger impact, and, uh, if, if you would like my help in doing more of this and you'd like to be more intentional about this, I would be totally open to doing that. And I would be open to, you know, any one of you. I would be willing to ride with you for the next year and make a lot more introductions for you. And what I would like for my role in that is I would like $25,000. And right away, my friend Travis Sago was sitting on my couch. Well, I'm in. And then 5 other people followed his lead and said yes to that. Wow. 6 people said yes to that. Uh, 1 month later, I had another event. I was supposed to have 15. 1 guy couldn't make it last minute, so we had 14, uh, at that event, but 6 more people said yes. So, in a 1-month period, I had 12 people that had invested $25,000. And I started working with them.

You probably never seen that much money.

Not at that time in my life, no. Not at that point. I had not. No, that was because that was, uh, yeah, that was that I had never had. And not only that, it was so easy because it was just, it just felt right, you know. And I was so excited going into that because I'm like, wow, I'm so— and, and like, they were all people that I knew already, you know.

Mm-hmm.

And, uh, and over the next 2 years, a total of 30 people said yes to that offer over the next 2 years. Wow. And so, 30 people had invested $25,000 with me. And by 2019, by September— I remember September 19th, 2019, uh, being on a flight home from Dallas to Seattle, uh, wishing that the plane would just crash because At least my wife would have the insurance money because I was at my wit's end. I was like, I, I felt like I, I was, I was working my tail off. Um, I was having one-on-one conversations with all these 30 entrepreneurs every week and stuff. I was trying to make introductions for them, and I'm like just, you know, scrambling and, and all of that kind of stuff. And, and sometimes I was hitting some home runs. But most of the time, we were maybe hitting first base, second base, and I felt like I was letting people down. And of course, the story I was telling myself was way worse than reality. But in the moment, man, it was the darkest place of my life. Wow. And fortunately, I had a good friend reach out and just point some stuff out to me. And they were telling me, you know, Kev, You're, you're, you're— I don't think this is as bad as you think. Because she goes, they were like, have you ever— have you actually talked with these people about how you feel? And I'm like, no, because I, I, I was scared to have that conversation, you know. Yeah. And, uh, they're like, you know, I don't think this is as bad as you think it is. I think you should talk with a couple people because they're like me, Kevin. They know you. They know who you are. They know what your intention is. And they, they probably love you just like I do. And the other thing, she was like, I just feel you might be— you just need to figure out a model that works better for you and stuff for this. You're just not using a model that's in alignment with who you are and how you want to show up. And imagine this though, you know, now hindsight's 20/20 because I look back at that now and go, well, if you're trying to make connections for entrepreneurs, why would you do it in a bubble? Having one-on-one conversations with all of them. Why not? Why wouldn't you start bringing them together and facilitating like you did at the event? You know,

exactly.

And I'm like, what you did at the event is not what you're doing now. But I did not compute— that did not compute at the time, Markus.

Makes sense. Yeah, makes sense. You kind of moved away from your first love, which was so natural. Into almost a sophistication of a consultant.

Yeah. Yeah.

And that totally burned you out, as you said.

Oh, it burnt me out so much.

What was your, what was your saving grace? Because I assume it was not just that phone call with this friend and Kevin was the old buddy again. What was it that actually brought you back into standard English?

Well, it was having conversations because my friend challenged me.

Interesting.

Start having these conversations because I don't think it's as bad as you think it is. And they were absolutely right.

So, you reached out to those 30?

I did. I started having conversations with those clients and they were right. It wasn't as bad as I thought. And so, that alone, I was just like, wow, okay, I could breathe again because it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought.

So, let me ask you, please, 2 questions because I need to understand this. It's so fascinating. So, thank you for sharing so openly. What was it you feared was the case? And what did you fear that the clients were thinking in regards to you?

Yeah. So I feared that they thought that I wasn't delivering, that I was, you know, that I was dropping the ball and not being of value to them and stuff. And, um, I, I, I just— because that's my biggest thing is I want to be of value to people, you know. And like, I mean, heck, I, I don't, I don't even bring on a client nowadays unless I feel going into it— I don't, I don't ever want to feel like I have to deliver for somebody. I want to feel like I get to deliver for somebody. And I have this feeling that like, oh man, This is gonna be good.

That lands.

This is gonna be so good. Yeah.

Yeah. That lands.

Yeah. Yeah.

It's the alignment you need to have with this client that there will never be a hidden pressure on you unless it's been openly communicated.

Yeah.

And if the scope of that expectation doesn't meet what you believe you can deliver, you'd rather walk away of that deal, right?

Totally.

Totally. Yeah, I hear you.

Yeah,

I hear you. So today, what is for you a scope that you say, hmm, I can deliver and it makes the money for the client worthwhile? You must have figured that out in that many years.

Oh, we definitely got that figured out. Yeah, we've got that figured out. So there's a, there's a few things that are in place. So You know, as far as what business they're in, I do not care. It doesn't matter to me at all.

I understand that.

As far as size of business, they're probably anywhere from, I don't know, $300,000, $500,000 a year on the low end, all the way up to $750 million on the high end and everywhere in between. And but the commonalities are that every single one of them is using their business as the vehicle to make their biggest impact. That is the reason they're in business. Yeah,

I love that.

And, uh, um, they also, they place a very high value on relationships. Um, that, that, that has to be a given as well. Uh, they are also a person who just shows up Ready to help and serve and contribute and pour into others. That is hardwired into their DNA and they couldn't show up any other way and stuff. And the other piece, they have something of value, something where a value where a client is worth on the low end, $50,000 a year to them on up to, I don't know, to whatever. I don't care. It might be $200,000, $300,000 a year. And then they already know how to, when they are put in front of the right person that they just get and that person gets them, they can communicate their value effectively so that that person can make a decision that, yep, this is what I want. They're already successfully selling whatever it is that they sell, you know? And so, all those pieces have to be there in order for me to be able to be of value to them. Fascinating. And if all those pieces are there, And then I'm like, yes, this is gonna be good.

Yeah. But when you spoke with those 30 people, how was it? What were the feedbacks like? What was the question you asked the 30 and what was the answer to your question?

Well, I would, I would, I just asked them a really simple question. I asked them, how would you rate the experience that we've had together Over the last, whatever that working period is, whether it was 6 months, 18 months, 2 years, whatever, how would you rate it on a 1 to 10 scale? And not one person was under a 6. I thought there was going to be some that were going to be 1s and 2s and 3s. That was in my mind. Nobody was under a 6. And I was like, I was blown away by that, you know. And There was some 8s, 9s, and 10s too, you know. And so that one question let me know that, like, wow, this is not nearly as bad as I thought it was, you know.

That is so incredible. So that basically leads me to 2 conclusions. The first one is fear. That was what drove you at the moment and basically hoped that, that plane would crash somewhere around Dallas-Fort Worth so your wife has the insurance money.

Yeah.

And that fear turned out to be false evidence appearing real. So if you had just lived in your mind, that false evidence appearing real would actually have led to the end of your life.

Yeah.

But instead, you went to the source of the information you needed and asked a simple question.

Yeah.

How pleased are you in regards to us working together between a 0 or 1 and a 10? And you've been blown away how much tricks your mind actually played with you.

Yeah. Yeah.

Isn't that crazy?

Yeah. Yeah.

And when you receive data, how did you change your scope in terms of working with new people? Were you realizing that you basically had no guardrails of expectations and basically promised them a unicorn? How did that change?

So what's interesting, What's interesting is I didn't even promise— I didn't even make any big huge promises to them to get them to say yes, you know. Um, I, I just said I'll start making introductions for you. And,

um, see where this is? It was your own expectation that put you under so much pressure that you were absolutely sure no one will be above a 3 or 4 or even a 5. Because how can somebody else feel I'm enough if I don't? Wow, thank you so much for sharing that. What did you get out of that? Because that is debilitating.

Yeah.

That's crippling.

Yeah.

What did you get out of that, Kevin? Well, so— Masterwork.

Yeah, so all of this was happening around September, October, November of 2019, which was right before COVID hit in like February of 2020. Sure. And COVID just ended up being this godsend because what happened was Uh, when COVID happened and everything was shut down, I was like, well, let me just start using Zoom and getting my entrepreneur friends together. And so I would just start hosting these Zoom calls and I'd get like 5, 6, 7 entrepreneurs together and just start connecting them. And they were like, Kev, this was so awesome. If you did this regularly, I would totally invest to be a part of this. And so we did. We started charging for it. And in 2 months, in March and April of 2020, 52 people said yes to that. And in fact, I ended up capping it because I'm like, I got to figure out what I'm going to do and how I'm going to manage this.

You were all back in your living room back then.

Yeah.

Now I have 50 people. What the heck am I doing with this?

Yeah, yeah.

And so congratulations.

Yeah, now we're doing it on Zoom. And, uh, and, and so, and it was really awesome experience. And now I'm just like, oh, this is way better. This is way better because now I'm just there with everybody. And then now I can see what I see and I can point stuff out and say, oh, you need to connect. I need to introduce you to this. But then everybody else started doing it for them too, you know?

Yeah.

And that became the whole thing. And, and so now you talk about having some exponential power instead of just doing it in a silo.

Yeah.

Now we're doing it in a group and our whole phone, you know, what happened was now we created the network of networks is what we did.

Yeah.

And it's just an empowering thing where everybody is supporting each other. Everybody's opening their networks for each other. And it took until September. So we launched it in— so I'm just trying to figure my years here— 2020. So it took until 2012, September of 2012. So it took almost 2 and a half years until one of the members, Misty Lown, announced on her monthly call that she had just added $1 million of revenue to her business over the previous 30 days. Wow. After talking with this guy, Richard, that I had introduced her to. And I have— I was like, what? I'm like, wow. I was like, Misty, congratulations. I was like, that is amazing. And I don't want to take up the whole time on this call, but man, I would love to talk with you one-on-one and get all the details about how this unfolded. How did this—

Yeah.

You know, and so we did that, and that's when I realized That's who I'm most valuable to right there is Misty and people like her. And so now I start looking, well, and then I realized there's only like 5, 6 people in the group that have the foundational things in place, all the stuff you asked me about earlier, all these foundational things in order to be able to have a win like that. And I'm like, so I committed to Finishing hosting that group for the rest of the year. And then in January of 2013, I was like, I am only going to serve this kind of an entrepreneur going forward. There were 5 of them in the group that moved forward with me and invested at a much higher level now that I realized that, like, I and they both realized, you're Kev, you're going to be way more valuable to me now. that too. And so, but even at that, my income went way down. But at the same time, my bandwidth opened wide up too. And so, ever since then, now, once I made that distinction, once I made that discovery of who I'm most valuable to, now I don't accept somebody unless they meet all those criteria. And yes, that makes the pool way smaller.

Uh-huh.

But yet, right now, today, I have 23 clients that I serve. And it is absolutely amazing experience serving. Wow.

Congratulations, brother. Really. Did the moment ever come where you said, I'm actually doing a hybrid system, meaning I charge for my consulting and at the same time I take a cut of what is being generated through my introductions? Or did they never come to that?

That's, that's, that's kind of where we're at now. Because what I do, I mean, I give them the option because the ownership track, if they want to do the ownership track, it's, it's just a flat $4,000 a month. And then they keep 100% of any revenue, any and all revenue that comes. Uh, but most everybody is on the partnership track. And what we do is there is we just do a $2,000 a month retainer. And then they do a revenue share of between 15% and 20% with me depending on their business model and stuff.

And so simple, right?

Yes, it's really simple. It's really simple. Yeah.

It's leave it or take it.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Congratulations. Yeah. And so really, I'm really amazed. And you know what? I meet a lot of people, but I'm so amazed about your clarity. Which started all in your living room.

Yeah, yeah.

Think about

that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's definitely taken a little while to get here for sure, you know, and, and there were some ebbs and flows and some highs and lows and some really dark moments in the, in the midst of it all. And sure, but I will tell you, uh, it's been an amazing journey and every bit of it, every piece of it is what led us to where we're at right here, right now. And, uh, you know, and I'm, I'm really excited for where we are right now, and I'm also just as excited for where we're going to be in a year or 2 years or 3 years, because I can only imagine what's going to be taking place, you know. And it just continues to grow, continues to expand, continues to become— making a much bigger impact, you know.

You and I, we definitely have to continue the conversation off camera because I believe we will go into a way deeper level than we have been so far.

Yeah. Yeah.

So I'm so grateful that you have come on this show, Kevin. I want actually to end our call with one very pivotal question. You described the moment When you flew toward Dallas-Fort Worth and you really wished that the plane would go down.

Yeah. Yeah.

If someone, Kevin, who is listening feels lost in that noise, what is one thing you'd want them to remember is still true despite of that noise, despite of the darkness?

Yeah. You know, I'll tell you one thing that I learned for sure is that it's, it's never as bad as we think it is, you know. And, and we can be— man, we can be brutal on ourselves. We can be so brutal on ourselves. We can be our own worst critic. We can tell ourselves all kinds of stuff that, like, you know, that, that seems so real Because we look and we see it right in front of us. Look at what's going on, you know? And we paint this picture. But what we do is we paint it way more dramatic, way bigger than what it really is. And when we find out that, like, you know, like in my case, just asking one simple question. Yeah, did it take a little bit of courage to do that? You bet. Because I thought the answer to that question was going to be way worse than what it was. Yeah. But when I found out, they're like, wow, this isn't nearly as bad as I thought it was at all. And just one simple question. And, and I can tell you that if you're in— when you're in that dark spot, it's probably not as bad as you think it is, you know. And just reach out to somebody that you care about who knows you, who knows you and knows who you are and knows what you're all about. And just, you know what, they're— you're not going to get any judgment from them. Because they know you, they love you, they love you for who you are. And just let them know what you're going through, you know. And, uh, and, and you know what, just, just let them be a sounding board for you because it's not as bad as you think it is.

Wow, what a beautiful word to end our show today. Thank you so much, Kevin. I'm really blessed to have had you as a guest.

You bet, you bet. My honor.

So this was Remembering the Forgotten, a conversation held in clarity, not performance. If something in this exchange helped you see differently, carry that forward.