Episode 261: Finding Your Right Routine with Joel McKinley

Welcome to the Unstoppable Profit podcast. This podcast will give independent insurance agents all of the tools to grow your business and live life on your terms. Wherever you are today, if you're starting with nothing or well on your way to the success you desire, with the right people, processes and promotions in place, you will be unstoppable. And now I'd like to introduce your host, Mike Stromsol.

Greetings, everybody. Welcome to the next episode of the Unstoppable Profit podcast. I am excited to have my podcast partner, Mr. Joel McKinley, with me today. Hey, Joel.

Hey, Mike. What's going on? And UPP Nation, it's good to see you again.

Good to see you as well. So to lead us into the podcast today, let me share with you a story. I was reflecting back many, many years when I was just getting started. In fact, I was starting in the independent insurance agency business from scratch. And it was a lonely time. In fact, there was nobody else in the office. From the early morning, sometimes before dawn when I got started, to the middle of the day, to the time that I had to lock the front door so I could go to the restroom in case somebody came in, to the end of the day when I locked the front door again and then sat there and worked to get things wrapped up just to the point where I could go home and have dinner with the family. And then finally came the day when, at a networking meeting, I finally had the money and the budget to hire somebody. I was at a networking meeting and my friend Larry, I put the word out, hey, I'm looking for somebody. Looking for somebody. My friend Larry came up and said, hey, are you still looking for somebody? And I said, I am. He said, my daughter Celeste is looking for a job. I said, fantastic, I'd love to meet her. And the good news is I hired Celeste. And that was my first injection of what I want to share with you today. And Joel McKinley and I were on our weekly session this morning. He said something to me, and I said, we need to make sure we share that with the world. So I brought Celeste in and she started answering the phones, and it took people away from me and it got me free time. And I don't know if you're struggling right now with having enough time to get done, getting the things done that you want to get done that you need to get done.

Or if you're making the right choices. But through that, once I finally got a little bit of freedom of time, then I started identifying. I need to start making the right choices. And through A lot of wins, or, excuse me, some wins and a lot of lessons. Lessons in our world are failures, right? Through a ton of lessons, I started learning the right way. The right way to make the right choices with time. Joel McKinley, in Serving People, are members part of UPP Nation, as the director of AFY, accountability for you helps people with that same thing. You get on the fast track on how to make the right time choices and bigger than that, find the right routine. But the great thing, Joel, and correct me if I'm wrong. Isn't it interesting when you're helping other people make those kinds of decisions, you start identifying what's right for your own situation. Right.

Every single time. Because I'm taking notes for them. And as I'm writing it down, that mirror of truth is always hitting. Are you doing what you're saying right now?

100%. So you identified time choices. We started learning about time choices a number of years ago, and it's just amazing to me to. It's been more than four years.

That you have been serving independent insurance agents as the director of AFY and upp, and we're super grateful and thankful for your journey and who you've become through that journey. But on that journey, up until this morning when we were having a conversation, the first thing you said to me when we logged on this morning, are you willing to go ahead and share that?

Yeah, of course.

Repeat. I mean, in context.

So I don't remember specifically what I said, Mike. I just said I have. I cannot remember a time where I woke up and I saw myself in the mirror of truth. And I've ever been happier with the reflection that is staring back at me. And a lot of it has to do with my time choices, the decisions and making the routines that I have in place. And it's just. It continues to fuel me from the moment I wake up before my alarm goes off, which is. I did not think that was possible. I thought that was only something that happens to you all the way up until that alarm clock says it's time for to go to bed and. And start that. And just the journey has been absolutely incredible.

So that's a result. Right?

Right.

When people get into the right routine and start making the right time choices and maybe doing things that are in their top three.

Personal talents, gifts, vital functions, that things will start to change for the better.

Right. And, you know, the thing about it, Mike, is I, you know, after we had that conversation, you said, we got to tell the world about it. I was like, oh, I better make sure. I'm prepared to speak about it. I went through and I. I looked at, well, why did I make a decision to change my morning routine? Well, I had built in a morning routine, and there's a book that you and I are studying. A matter of fact, I sent you an email, I think, over the weekend that said, this is too good not to share. And it was before you automate anything, you have to do all of the questioning and deleting everything that's no longer serving you before you ever begin to automate it. So I went through, and I started questioning my morning routine. Am I just doing these things in this order because it's what I've always done, or am I doing and making the choices for the things that truly serve me and allow me to serve others.

A hundred percent? You got to have that predictability. Right? Right. I'm looking at a sheet of. From our teammate, the unstoppable Andrea Wyatt, and it talks about, and it's at the very top of the chart of our implementation plan out of one of our own personal trainings that we recently were at. And I'm trying to make it out, but it's really about being predictable and humanizing.

The experience and everything that we go through, including our own. Right, right, right.

Yeah, Absolutely.

So fantastic. So, you know, I was so happy, and it made my heart so happy. When you logged on this morning, you said, I'm in such a good place, and I'm grateful for that. And I'm grateful you did the work because, you know, according to the late, great John Wooden and many others. Right, right. If you want things to change, you got to be willing to change. And if you're willing to change, everything will change for you. So you made the changes, but what. What caused the change, Joel?

Well, I mean, Mike, you know, you get. People get into routines, and they get comfortable, and you. You say constantly, you never arrive. Complacency kills.

So never be settled.

Never be settled. So it was asking myself the question, am I settled into a daily routine and has it put me in a place where I'm comfortable with the choices that I make every single morning? Was I functioning? Absolutely. Was I getting everything I need to get done? Yes. Was I operating at my peak level of.

Of.

Of what I'm capable of? And I was so tweaking and asking myself those questions.

You know, you have to. You have to force and look in the mirror and say, all right, do these things serve me? And is there a better way to do it, a better time? You know, Instead of just getting sucked into a comfortable routine because it is good enough. Good is the enemy of great.

100% good is the enemy of great. In addition to that, you can't be great if you're content being good. Right, right.

So what has been the result of this routine for you? I mean, you're serving agents and sharing this thought process with independent insurance agents across the country. What kind of results are they having? I know we talked about a couple this morning that have also found the right routine.

Right. So, I mean, it's very easy, especially if you're at a job that's at a computer, for your mind to be absolutely exhausted at the end of the day. But are you resting to the same level? If you don't bring your body to the same level of fatigue, it's very, you know, you just, it's very easy to get complacent in that. So, you know, some things that I threw in is, you know, exercising at a higher level, not just doing enough, pushing to the level that I'm exhausting my brain, my body as well.

Exactly.

And seeing, you know, seeing agents that do this, they, you know, at, at boot camp, there's that. I think you guys go by the four. Some of you are on the 4am Club out there and destroying your body before you ever sit down in the room to start either learning or teaching. And I mean, Mike, I think probably about 8:30 at night, you're about done. Because at that point you've put in everything that you have, and I don't think anybody in the world could wake you up once you, once you go to sleep.

No, I do sleep quite well and I'm very fortunate for that. But you know, the philosophy that I learned years and years ago about this exact subject is the eight by eight by eight philosophy.

Right.

And I was just sharing this with somebody the other day, an agent who kind of had that same question. Mike, you get so much done and it seems to be consistent. It's not just sometimes, it's all of the time. You're always on, you're always on point, you're always on time. How do you do it? And I started questioning them a little bit about, you know, what kind of time choices they're making. Right. I said, how much time you spend on social media every day.

How much time you spending in your email inbox every day.

How do you start your day? And to point, you were in Dallas, Texas a couple years ago at Mastermind.

Right.

I don't know if you remember this or not. I remember like it was yesterday.

We went around the and asked everybody, what is your morning routine?

Well, in more specifically, just go ahead and share.

Right.

All progress starts with the truth. Yep.

And.

And this is a safe, confidential forum, which our mastermind sessions are safe, confidential forums.

I just want to go around the horn and everybody share how they start their day, including how long is it before you look at your phone?

Remember that session? Oh, I do, yeah. And I think it was fairly common that within five to 10 minutes of getting out of bed, if not while they were still in bed.

They were looking at their phone and email. Exactly. They were looking at email and social media. So let's take it up to another level. And because I was just repositioned myself and my own advancement and personal growth within the last 72 hours.

About my dream, where I want to go, where I intentionally plan to go. Right. And so everybody out there, Joel, when you're in a good place, I mean, to point this morning. Right, right. You came on this morning, you said, I just got to tell you, I'm in such a good place right now, personally, professionally, everything just seems to be going well. At the point I'm clear that Fred Kramer's in the picture, he said, right. My friend Fred Kramer, who said, things are good, never perfect.

Bumps are going to come. Right, right. You said, I'm in such a good place. And that's where I said, that is fantastic. That made my heart so happy. But share with me how that happened. Right, right. And so if you've got that big dream, that big goal that you want to accomplish.

And that is part of your routine and habit to be looking at your phone and social media and email within 5 to 10 minutes of waking up in the morning, is that part of your routine, Joel?

No, Mike, because the email inbox is a to do list for everyone else.

Aha. And so your dream is not everybody else's.

No. And it's not an emergency, Mike, because No one emails 911.

Hmm. So let's talk about mental capacity. So you're in a really good place right now. You're in the zone, if you will. Right?

Oh, yeah.

Who else is in the zone with you?

What do you mean, Mike?

So in. In your mind, when you're in that really good place you're in, you're in the zone. And the good place, who are you allowing to come into the game with you, to be on the field with you?

Well, future me is there. Okay, that's going good.

It's also future filtering out. It's it's not so much who's there, it's who I filter out.

Aha. Okay, so let's go there for a second. So you only allow certain players on the field and let's just take the players on the field to be a players. Right?

Well, that's the only players that are on my team personally. The rest of the players get cut.

Fair enough. So you allow only a players on your team if, if they're not a players, you know, identify through transition that they're not a players, you cut them. So only a players are on the field. And so those are the only people that enter get on the field with you. Right. To be in that zone.

So. Right. So you know, it's my daily reading and I recommend that for everyone. I since there's two different books that you and I both read, one secret per day or one lesson per day, one in the morning, one in the evening. Building that into my routine has been a game changer because it's, it's a no fail task. Having a no fail task to bookend your day is how you start your day and it's how you finish your day. Journaling, Mike. Journaling. I, I, I've resisted this for many, many years. I was like, that's writing in a diary. That's, that's not what tough guys do. But what I, I heard a quote from Anne Frank and it says, paper is more patient than people forgetting. Whatever your thoughts are that you would normally try to dump on someone else, they've got enough stuff going on. But the reason you write out what those thoughts are is it puts your thought to the test, it takes it out of your brain, puts a little bit of distance between you and that thought so that you can look at it more objectively and say, does this make sense? Does this thought serve me or hold me back? If it holds me back, cross it off, discard it, let it go. If it serves me, it's written down, it's ink it now I think it and now it becomes part of the routine, the exercise, like we talked about, and more importantly is getting up early. The earlier you get up in the morning, the more tired you can allow yourself to be. Because nothing good happens after 10 o' clock at night. Nothing. So why are you up that late? That's where junk food comes in. That's where junk on the TV comes in. Soap opera type shows that don't feed you, they just occupy your time and your brain space. Let them go.

Well, not only that, if you're consuming that kind of stuff later on in the evening, it goes to bed with you subconsciously, right?

Oh, yeah.

And what happens when you get up?

Well, that's your first waking thought too, right?

Right. So if you're consuming, like if you're consuming, for example, social media.

Within the last hour of going to bed, it goes to bed with you.

Oh, yeah.

Especially if you see something that might be bordering negative or if you're looking at your email all the way up until bedtime, it goes to bed with you. And what are you doing right out of bed? Go ahead.

I thought social media was just full of all these positive people that have nothing but encouraging statements to make.

But let me take this in a different direction. Have you ever seen something on social media and been, all right, say, an admiration of somebody else's dream?

Yeah, absolutely.

And so automatically that person is, you know, at this level, and you're not quite there yet. So do you feel any defeat?

Well, that's where you start focusing on the race they're running and not the race you're running.

100% agree. I just wanted to put that out there for everybody because, I mean, this is your dream, it's your future, it's your business, it's your life. And our goal is to impact people's lives personally and professionally. That's our mission and our purpose at upp.

So we just want to share with everybody there out there what the things that we do that are working for us. If it, you know, if it makes sense to you, great. If it doesn't, hey, thanks for joining us. But we want to lend you tools that are working for us that are allowing us to serve people at a higher level, to impact people's lives personally and professionally in their businesses. We have agents as an example we're talking about today, agents that are getting company appointments that nobody else can get because the company says we're not appointing, but we've got members that we work with that won't take that no say, well, too bad. I'm going to get the appointment anyway.

And they're not appointing people that accept. No.

Aha.

Exactly. And we've got multiple agents that are doing multiple acquisitions right now that are growing by leaps and bounds and their businesses are flourishing and they're growing organically as well. But it's back to the right mindset, right? Finding the right routine. And these people, another one that I'm just thinking of now down in the great state of Texas is very big on routines.

Very big on early morning routines in Fact, sometimes routines at night in the gym. Right. I think we know who we're talking about.

Right.

So back to finding the right routine. Based on what you've learned, Joel McKinley.

Especially over the last six months, what would you say to anybody out there whose enemy or nemesis is time choices? I just can't find enough time. What would you say to them? And what did you do to overcome that and make that reality in your life? The eight by eight by eight. You invest about eight hours up to eight hours working serving agents. You invest eight hours sleeping. You've got that extra eight hours. Right? Eight, right. What would you say to them?

Well, it's not even just that you have the eight hours, Mike. Everybody has that eight hours. It's are you busy or are you productive?

And there's a big difference between the two.

Right.

Look at. I mean, if. If you take the time maximizer, which is another tool that you know is in the vault, if you really sit down and calculate how much time you oftentimes waste doing specific tasks, that number one can be pushed down to a lower level or number two, that don't serve you whatsoever. So there's three things you can do with your time. Which is the most valuable currency in the world? You can waste it, you can spend it, or you can invest it. If you're wasting. If you're wasting it, there's the Bob Newhart. Stop it. If you're spending it, are you spending it in the most effective way possible? And if you're investing it, double down on your investments.

That was gold right there. I hope you got that one. I'm going to repeat it just in case you missed it. And if you need to pause and grab something to write with, please do. It's a writer downer. You can either waste time, you can spend time that might be busy work, or you can invest time.

That'S doing the right work, having the right routine, and the results of having the right routine. Because once I found the right routine, many, many years ago, after I finally got somebody to answer the phone, and I started learning about right routines. And today I intentionally block the first two business hours of my day. It is. It is my haven. It's my sacred time. Nobody gets it unless it's absolutely supporting my dream. And that's actually after the first hour and a half, I get out of bed. Yep. Right. Because I'm on this same boat. You are. I go to bed roughly 9, 9:30 Pacific Time. Unless I've got something going on like I did the other night, and I'm up early without the alarm clock. And you know what I find, Joe McKinley. And you probably find the same thing.

What's that?

You're out exercising or doing something that time in the morning. Lots of other people out there doing things. Right.

Oh, it's amazing, Mike. I hit every single green light because there's nobody waiting at the red light.

There's nobody else out there. Is it? What are they doing?

But while they're still. They're still dreaming about hitting good traffic, right?

Exactly. They don't have the right routine. Maybe, or maybe they need to shift or alter their routine. So the eight by eight by eight philosophy, I just want to make sure that I, I answer that for everybody. Invest eight hours in working, invest eight hours in getting rest and sleeping and make sure that you are doing the right things with the extra eight hours you have. Invest it in something that supports your dream. Be clear. But the naysayers, out to bed, out to pasture, do the things that support where you are going, which you need to be doing. Stay focused on your goals. Again, Joel, just to give everybody some meat as we wrap up today.

What.

Were one or two key items that you did in your shifting to your right routine other than the reading? I, I heard you say that first.

The first thing and the most important thing, Mike, was I questioned my routine that I had previously.

Aha.

Does this serve me? Does getting up at this time serve me? Does looking at this thing serve me? Does spending, wasting, or investing my time here serve me? Because if I'm not my best, I can't be my best for anybody else.

It's the airline flight attendant's philosophy. Right?

Right. Put on your own mask.

That's right. And we teach that at Mastermind. That's one of the first things that we remind everybody of. Hold up a picture of an airline flight attendant. Because next time you get on a plane, watch that flight attendant and what they're doing before you take off. They're teaching everybody on the plane to prepare themselves in the event of an emergency. Why are they doing that, Joel McKinley?

Because they can't help anybody else if they're not there.

That's right. They can't help anybody else if they haven't taken the time to prepare themselves first. And we talk about this all of the time. If you think you have competition out there in any industry, whether it be the independent insurance agency industry or any other industry, if you think you have a competition, we will be happy to have a long conversation with you and explain to you the fact that you do not have any competition because the majority of the world is not doing these things. You're going to add something. I cut you off. Go ahead.

When you, when you question your routine, you have to be brutally honest with yourself. You have to be brutally honest. You have to be willing to tell yourself the truth. The truth is kind. And it's very easy to lie to yourself and deceive yourself and into believing that certain things serve you. But you will not see results unless you are honest with yourself, honest with what you see in the mirror. Then you can make the decisions that serve you and that will make the investment in yourself, your family, your business and beyond.

100%. So let's just help some people as well. I know you and I read two books. One of them was a gift from one of our members and I'm looking at the other one. It was a game changer for me this week. By the way. Let me jump back to one other thing. Sorry everybody, I'm squirrel in just a second. The thing that you just said.

Kindness is telling people the truth. I wanted to emphasize that point. Kindness is telling people the truth. Even though the truth might not be very pleasant. You're actually being kind when you tell them the truth. That was also born at that mastermind in Dallas. It was. And I know who said it. I remember that moment.

And that truth was not very pleasant to the recipient, was it?

No, it absolutely was not.

But that person needed to hear that. And that person cared enough to tell him the truth.

Rather than sugarcoating the matter.

Right.

That's awesome. So 177 mental toughness secrets of the world class. That's one of the things that we read daily. And I had a game changing moment yesterday in my life. I will just share with everybody. I was looking, I was reading secret number 150. 150 in the book one secret today in my world. Okay. The great ones are powerful public speakers. And isn't it interesting.

That the action step for today.

Said this at the end of each secret is an action step for the day. So you get an action item at the end of every day. And it said decide to become excellent at speaking in public or speaking online. And if you need help, get training and coaching. And it gave some suggestions on training and coaching. And that's exactly where I was. I was at a training and coaching session to become excellent. I've got a good amount of experience on public stages but I want to continually elevate my game.

And so what do I do? I invest in Myself, I invest in myself. I invest in myself to continue to get better. And it's going to be game changing. I got what I needed there for sure. Joel McKinley. The other one is from Maxwell, I believe.

Right? It is.

What, what is the book?

It's Leadership Promises for Every Day. A daily devotional by John C. Maxwell.

Fantastic. And we're both in that one as well. Absolute gold. And some of that gold on certain days is like mindblowing, right?

Oh, yeah, yeah.

So it's stuff that you can apply to your life and, you know, back to telling the people the truth. Kindness is telling people the truth. That's core leadership.

That is core leadership. Sometimes people need to hear the truth. And if you're withholding the truth to them, why are you preventing them from growing?

You're doing them a disservice.

Right. You're doing them a disservice by holding them back and not telling them the truth.

Or maybe keeping. Keeping somebody on your team that doesn't need to be there.

Oh, wait a minute. I'm going to take the easy way out. I'll just leave it as is. That's what I got to get back to. Golf, social media, whatever I'm doing.

We'Ll leave it at that, eh?

Well, for those, for those listening that are parents, don't you tell your kids the truth when they need to hear a lesson?

Yeah.

And oftentimes they reject it because it's not what they want to hear. But it's crazy. The older we get, we start to remember those lessons that our parents taught us and we say, why didn't I listen sooner?

Right. If I had to do it all over again, I would have just done.

What they told me.

That training I was at yesterday there was the third day of the three day. They were talking about that. They were talking about that reflection with somebody who's in your ancestral history game changing. I was having that exact thought during that session. I wish I had listened more earlier. Yeah. Great tip. Thanks to all the parents out there. Thank you for what you're doing. Thank you for being the greatest influence in the most important part of our society, which is our kids. So thank you, Joel McKinley. I know you're working very hard to be a great influence for your kids as well.

Oh, yeah.

So anything else to add as we wrap up today?

That's it. Just question your routine. Does it serve you? And absolutely question. If it doesn't apply or it doesn't serve you, delete it, get rid of it. Or the Bob Newart stop it.

Exactly. And by the way, you said that twice. Go to YouTube search Bob Newhart. Stop it. It's about five minutes. It's funny, but it's true. And if you're doing something right now as part of your daily routine that you shouldn't be doing, what should they do? Joel, stop it. Stop it.

You might want to write that down.

Exactly. That's another writer down. Just stop it. Stop it. Great stuff. Thank you for your willingness to share. Joel McKinley, thank you for all that you're doing for independent insurance agents and everywhere to help them get better, to stay accountable again. Joel McKinley, our director of AFY accountability for you in UPP. You rock, man. Keep it up.

Thanks, Mike. And thanks all of you that showed up here for making a difference, to step up and do something different and make yourself better.

That's right. And if you are one that this is your first time in showing up, welcome. My name is Mike Stomo. I'm widely recognized as a leading author, speaker and coach for the independent insurance agency industry. You can learn about what more about what I do Joel does, our teammate Andrea Wyatt does atundoppableprofitproducer.com. everything that we do is all designed based on our 35 plus years as a proud independent insurance agent. And we share with you our best money making strategies to grow your business, create wealth so you too can have more freedom to live life on your own terms. And let me go back to something that I just talked about. I mentioned, you know, golf, that kind of thing. Golf is good. But you've got to build your business and your foundation and bring on the excellent people, have the world class processes and systems and then promote the heck out of it so you can have the freedom. And if that's what you want to do with your free time, great. But you can't substitute it for the work that needs to be done. Right Joel? Right.

Build the foundation.

Build the foundation. And so that's what we teach. And it's all based on our 35 plus years as a proud independent insurance agent. We have figured out the stuff that works and that's what we teach here. That's what we come every week to share. So again, if this is your first time, welcome. We also encourage you to go to unstoppable profit podcast.com go to unstoppableprofitpodcast.com go up to the top. Please click subscribe so you don't miss one valuable episode of everything that we share here every week. Again, all designed to help you grow your business, create wealth so you too can have more freedom to live life on your own terms. And if there's anything more that we can do to serve you, please let us know. Additionally, if you know somebody else who would get great value out of this podcast, do them a favor. Do us a favor. Thank you. As well, forward them unstoppable profit podcast.com and encourage them to go up to the top and click subscribe so they don't miss one valuable episode of everything that we share share here to help them grow their business, create wealth and have more freedom to live life on their own terms. I'm going to go back to something Joel McKinley said. You only allow what kind of people on the field Joel McKinley on your field.

A players.

A players. Thank you for being an A player because this is where a players hang out with that. We will see you in the next episode. Until then, go get you some. Thanks Joel. Have a great day. We'll see you everybody. See you in the next episode.

Can't get enough of the Unstoppable Profit Podcast. Come join our next live three day boot camp in warm, beautiful San Diego. Invest in your ticket today at be unstoppablebootcamp.com that's be unstoppable boot camp dot com.