Daniel Francis: From Debilitating Stutter To Public Speaker, Explore How He Revolutionized His Life To Become A Ambitious Entrepreneur, Mentor, And Leader

I do really believe 100% from every part of me that everyone has the capacity to be able to do the things that they want and not to be held back by the mental baggage that's in our head that we want to push through.

Welcome to the do the Thing podcast. In each episode, we get down and personal with people who go after the things they want to make all their wildest dreams come true. Join us as we unveil and dissect a formula for what it takes to do the thing. Here is your host, Stacy Lauren.

Hey, everyone. Welcome to the do the Thing podcast. This is your host, Stacy Lauren. All right, guys, so today's gonna be fun. I got introduced to our next guest through my sister, who actually has been following him for a while, both through a stuttering program that he's created and then also by him helping other people create their own coaching programs. And it's been amazing to, like, see his journey through, even watching my sister grow and develop. And I love getting to talk to people who make the most out of the situations they're dealt and don't make it a story about themselves and are actually able to really turn it into something amazing and beautiful and not only for themselves, but for other people to then learn from and to grow from. So I am so excited to talk to our next guest about his story and how he was able to kind of, like, work through the stuff that he did to be able to do the thing. So I am welcoming Daniel to the show. Hi, Daniel.

Hello. How's it going?

I am great. How are you?

I am doing fantastic. I'm very excited for this podcast, and I'm a big fan of. Of good energies. And I know from your sister and from yourself, you guys are both very, I guess, positive. Very positive and just enthusiastic and looking at the world from a. From a great light. And I think that is what the world needs more of. So I'm honored to be on this podcast with you.

Oh, I love that you said that. That's so cool. And it's funny. Yeah, she's amazing. She has. I think I feel like I have good energy, but she has, like, a hundred times my energy. So it's cool that you have experience working with her directly, too.

Cool.

So I'd love to start off and have you just tell everybody about you and your story.

Yeah, for sure. So my name is Daniel, Daniel Francis. And so I'm Canadian. My mom and dad, so my mom's Italian, but my dad's from Malta. If you know too much about Canada, we're just a bunch of, bunch of people that came from different countries and we just kind of built a country from that. And so I'm. I'll be 30 in, in March. And for majority of my life, as the, as the oldest son and the oldest, I guess, individual with my cousins in my family, as I have a big Italian family, I would say there was a lot of pressure on me to just be a good influence to everyone else. The problem was that genetically in my family, I grew up with a stutter. And it may sound like a small deal to some, it may sound like a, like a big deal to others, but if you've had one, and they say about 1% of. Of individuals have a stuttering issue, it really affected me in a negative way. And, you know, I went to speech therapy when I was 3, 6, 9, 12, 15. Like, I tried all different speech therapists. My mom and dad tried their best, and it really held me back, I guess, tapping into my potential growing up. And so at 30 now, I've realized that it was the biggest blessing in my life because it. I have this, like, drive, this look on life, this ability to go after these crazy things that none of my, you know. You know, like, I'm really the only entrepreneur in my family. And I look back at it like, you know, at some level, God has. It's almost like you have to go through something painful, you overcome it, and then you become an inspiration. So a lot of my life has been around this idea of overcoming my stutter. And I initially it was, I use music as therapy. So for me, speech therapy didn't. Didn't really work for me. And I can really get into the details of that. But I would say the biggest, you know, there's amazing speech therapists and a lot of speech. I have a lot of friends who are speech therapists. I would say the biggest problem is some of them don't even have a stuttering issue and they're reading from a textbook. And then the second part is, to me personally, I think a lot of it is like one on one. And for me, my philosophy is to overcome a stutter, you must confront the scariest thing in the world in relation to communication, which is public speaking. And so before I kind of get into that, for me, growing up, what I did initially is I used music as therapy. So I learned how to play guitar, taught myself, was in a band, and I learned how to sing. And then I realized when I sing, I don't stutter. And so that was. And then I Realized I couldn't sing in every conversation. So that only lasted for so long. And then I moved, you know, I went from my, I would say my music phase to my, I would say my, my science phase. And so I think when I was 18, I was like, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to become a doctor because I, people are going to love me because I am successful as a doctor. And that was my thought process. And I'm going to become so smart because anyone who has a stutter realizes that or if, if, if you do or even struggle with speech, like when you don't know how to communicate with your words, people don't look at you, what you're talking about. It's like they don't take you seriously. And so that was majority of my life growing up was, I was like, oh, you're the guy who doesn't talk. You're the guy who almost like laughs at other people's jokes. You're the guy who sits in the, you know, not sits in the corner. But I was scared of having the limelight on me, right? Like for example, be in a group of four or five people with, with, with a bunch of friends. I wouldn't be the guy talking because if I stuttered on the word water and embarrassed myself, no one would, no one would actually laugh at me. But you could tell I just got uncomfortable, you know what I mean? And so that was, that was it. So then I went to my science phase. It feels like I'm from a doctor. And then I took what's called the, the Asian six pack in, in high school. It's funny, it's probably not the best term to use, but it was chemistry, bio, physics, advanced functions, calculus and data management. And so from a kid who wasn't really smart, I was like, I'm gonna learn that stuff. And so I took an extra year of high school, it's called grade 13. And I, I, I just learned biology and chemistry and, and more advanced physics and, and, and maths. And then I, I, I got accepted into university for neuroscience. And so I was like going down this path and I, I realized a year in, I was, now I'm really not speaking at all. And I'm just always behind a textbook. And so then I hit this like massive depression. 20, I think it was 2013 and it was January, February, really cold in Canada. And I was, I was living, living on res. And I was just, you know, is life even worth living? And I, I remember calling my mom at like 3 o' clock in the morning, being like, why am I even alive right now? And I, I think that's the scariest thing to hear from a child. And especially, you know, I was living from home and, and yeah, like, I, I really, I really thought about, like, if I'm going to have this for the rest of my life, like, this sucks. My life sucks. I don't have the confidence. I feel like I, I, I can't build solid relationships because I can't communicate to them. And I'm going down this path and I feel like a fraud because, like, this isn't even me. I'm just doing that to prove something, to prove to others, for them to accept me. And then, yeah, then it was a difficult time. But again, like, looking back at it, I was 19, so about, you know, 10, 11 years ago, it was me getting through that was a blessing. At the time, it's hard to see it, but I feel like that's what makes, that's what makes great people, is like going through something really hard and then overcoming it. I know I've said that a couple times, but yes. And then I stumbled onto a, a public speaking event on campus I was invited to. And I think God works in funny ways. And yeah, I, I saw this speaker at the front of the room and he gave this presentation for about 30 minutes and I was, that guy is an amazing speaker. How do I speak like him? Then he even said he had a speech issue growing up. I'm like, what? That's crazy. You know, I always thought you're born a great speaker, you know, you can't develop that muscle. And so I went up to that individual and I was, I don't know what I got to do, but I need you to teach me, you know? And funny enough, that ended up being a network marketing company. I didn't even know what a network marketing company was at the time. I was 19. I was 19. I was like, oh my God, this sounds great. Did I see a Mercedes Benz? Right? And I signed up and I was like, dad, I think I signed up for something. He's like, that sounds like a pyramid scheme. I was like, I don't know, but he's, he's gonna help me with my communication and I gotta do this. And at the time it was like, my parents just like, whatever's gonna make you happy. We're at, we're, we're there for you, right? And so, yeah. And then what was really cool was I feel like I tapped into something and I actually grew A team, believe it or not. And I grew a downline of like 3, 400 people over the next six months. And I, I moved up the rankings. So I went from bronze, silver to gold to diamond to platinum. Not that that really matters, but I had like what, 1% of people in the company and it was like this, this aha moment of look what I'm capable of. This is crazy. And so one of the, one of the biggest things was, I remember that at the time his name was Paul, who was the leader that spoke at that event. He, he goes, look, Daniel, you're starting to get success. People are starting to sign up under you and, and you know, you're building a great, you're a natural leader. I need you to give your first ever speech to a group. What I do, I'm like, no way, man. I'll invite them out, I'll be excited, but I'm not going to be the guy giving a 45 minute presentation. He's like, you don't have an option. He goes, we're going to invite people on Saturday because I think I called them to come out to my house. That's right at the events. And he goes, we're going to book a time and I'm not going to show up. We're going to say I'm coming and then you're going to do it. And I was freaking out on the inside and I practiced this presentation, oh my God, 200 times. The people, people came in, it was like 12 o' clock on a Saturday. And they're like, where's Paul? I'm like, paul's not doing it, I'm doing it. They're like, oh God. Then I, I, everyone came downstairs, I gave the presentation, I had TV behind me and I swore like I blanked out for like the next 40 minutes. I did it. And then everyone stood up and gave me a round of applause and I'm like, this is cool. And then I realized like, that was like a, oh my goodness. I can actually, I can actually speak in front of people. And that was like the big, the big change in my life. And then fast forward, I went into door to door. I went into leadership. I was an executive director at a telecommunication company. You know, I, I, I grew myself. And that's looking back at like my stutter is what has allowed me to be the person I am today. So don't be terrible for the last 10, 15 minutes, but figure I'd give you an overview of who I am.

Yeah, no, I love it. I'm so glad. Yeah. And thank you so much for sharing. Being so vulnerable. I wanted to actually start off, if you don't mind, just with the. The call you made to your mom when you asked her, while you're even alive, like, what did she. Because I do have a lot of parents that are listening. So just from that perspective, I have to ask you that question first. What did she say to you? Do you remember? How did you. How did you get through that, that moment?

Yeah. So. So being 30 right now, and I, I, again, I. I have. I have a lot of cousins. And it's funny because they're at that age right now between, like, 18 to 22. It is a difficult time. It is a difficult time because it's almost like the world is saying, you got to have your stuff together. You don't know what you're going to do for the rest of your life. And there's this massive pressure, whether it's going to college or university, whether it's. So do you know what you're going to do for the rest of your life? And it's. And it's like you're kind of transitioning into, like, becoming an adult, but you're. You just. You just were a child, you know, a couple of years ago. And so I think I was struggling with everything. I was struggling with my identity. I was struggling with what I want to do in life. I was struggling with confidence. And so my mom. I had my uncles call me. I had friends call me. You know, it was. It was bad, too, because, like, she was going to call the cops because she was so worried. It was an emotional time. What she did is she helped me, like, just kind of like. Like, let's talk things out. Right? Let's talk things out. And it was almost. She tried her best. And I remember even talking to my dad, too. Is. It's almost this. You are. I don't have kids, but what I. What I understand is each kid has a different spirit or soul. So even though they come from the same parents, they're different. They're different individuals deep down. I don't know if you have kids, Stacy, but do you kind of agree with that? Like, totally?

Yeah.

Okay. Like, even though they have your genetics, they're a different soul. And so I think the problem is when you try to force a soul or a spirit or a. A child down a path and they're not in alignment, you putting more pressure on that kid is very stressful. And especially if, like. But we spent all this money going to school what do you mean you want to. I don't want you to end up like me or end up this other person. And. And I don't know how. I just feel like everyone's journey is different. And I feel like you have to let someone go through their journey on their own. Like, the only thing my parents could have done is given me the. The. The confidence at some level. Lead by example, be a good person, be like, be an ambitious person. And to me, like, at 30, things figure themselves out. If someone is lazy, that's a different story, right? Or if, like, for example, I was babied as an Italian, I was babies, I moved out of my house, and I went across the country when I was 22 years old because I was finding myself. My mom was like, crying at the airport, what are you doing? But I was finding myself. And then I came back when I was 25, 26. Obviously I would come back for Christmas, but I came back and I'm a different man. And so I just think the answer is, you can never force someone to be something that they're not. And everyone has a journey, and all you can do is love them and let them figure it out. But the more pressure that's added, like, you have to do this because I. I'm your parent and I know better than you do. My personal opinion, like, I just don't think that works. And I don't know if that's resonating with anyone, but that's my personal opinion. And so my parents had to let me do me, even though at the time it was like, maybe you might be making a wrong decision. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. But only time will tell. And so, yes, I don't know if that answers your question.

Yeah, I do it. And. And I just love what you said with the. Love them and let them figure it out. And I was wondering too. So how did you. I mean, just. I'm thinking still, and I have a lot I want to ask you about from what you said, but just the thing that is really calling to me right now is your. That 3:00am moment, right? Because that is the moment that. That really, like, changed a lot, right? When you get to the bottom of where you're at and then you're able to then kind of almost like your path has been lighted since then.

It.

I'm not putting words in your mouth, but that's just what it sounds we're talking about. And I'm just curious what helped you. For you, how did you then kind of start to get outside of that. Was it just then you saw that speaker and that was what then you saw Way to Out or was there something else that kind of got you to the next step?

Yeah, so, so my personal opinion is we are social beings. And so when I was talking to my mom at 3:00am, she goes, you need to socialize more. Like, you can't be in your room all day long, you're gonna go crazy. Or you can't be studying all day long at the library, you're gonna go crazy. And so at this age, I realized that my biggest problem at that time was I was not social enough. And I really believe we were wired to be social. If you wanna get, if you wanna be depressed, just don't talk to anyone for weeks and months. Just cut out your whole social life. And I understand there's some people that are introverts and extroverts, but I, but I, but looking back at that, what when I talked to those, my mom was, okay, well, when you, you, you need to go out more. And so one thing that I was like, well, I don't know, I, I, I met somebody on campus who, who's out of frats. Maybe if I join a frat house, that'll be, that'd be good. And I tried it and I was like, this is not for me. Right. And so I was trying out all these different social events. I even like, believe it or not, it's hilarious now, like, it's kind of embarrassing, but there was what's called the Brock Badger at my university. And I was like, I'm going to go to a basketball game and put on the Brock Badger uniform. And I did that one time. No one knows me. I'm just wearing this rock like I'm a Badger at a basketball game. I don't know why. And I remember, like, putting on the uniform.

It's so gorgeous. As you're getting to spend, you know, you're getting to like almost embody something else and see that you're capable of kind of behaving a certain way. So it sort of opens up a portal to another. Another way.

Yes. And, and I, and so these experiences were fun, right? And so I did that. And then, and then that's where I kind of landed on that network marketing opportunity where it was, I don't know, I'm going to go, I think I. Actually what happened was someone from the frat who I met, I just quit. He's like, hey, man, I know you just left the frat. I wish I still had that text message. But there's this business opportunity that I really want to show you. You want to show me? Wow. I would love to go. You know, and then I went and I saw this, and I was just inspired. And that's what was. That's what spoke to me at 19 years old. Was it the right decision? I don't know. Obviously, I'm in my position now, so I don't know. Maybe.

Yeah, it would have been something else. Yeah. I think you. It got you to build up these assets, right. Of being able to see that you could speak in front of people. You saw that this other guy who you respected had a stutter or something similar to you and was able to overcome it. So that gave you a vision for your future and where you wanted to body and be. And then you had the opportunity to coach and lead people, which it sounds like that's been something lateral through your life since then, which is cool.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so that was it. That was it.

Yeah.

That's what.

Yeah. Yeah. It sounds like your. Your first step then from that 3:00am moment, was, number one, well, asking for help, and then number two, getting out of your room. And then three, was finding different ways to socialize. And then number four was to kind of see someone that you admired, that you were able to ask for help.

Yeah. This also goes back to the parents, which is. I talked to my uncle this New Year's Eve, and he goes. He's asked me questions about what he can, like, how he can help out his son. And I go, unfortunately, man, like, it's hard to. To mentor your own son. Like, it's hard. And so, like, my mom did her best, my dad did her best, but they're my parents, and it's different when it comes from a different voice. And so for me, what I needed at that time was almost like a mentor who was similar to me. That wasn't. I mean, even like an uncle or an aunt, but to me was. Here is a mentor in my life who inspires me, and I want to. And that. That will motivate me, that my parents can't motivate me. And so that's what I found. That's kind of in my whole life now. It's like I'm almost like, who's the next person who has the results I want, that I can model, even entrepreneurship or sales or leadership. It's. It's. It's a line that I live by, which is, who do you listen to for advice? And the line goes, you only Listen to someone who has the results. You and has been similarly in your shoes. So even with stuttering, when I'm like, here, listen, you don't have to work with me, but my personal advice to you is this. If you're going to find someone, you better find someone who speaks the way you want to speak. Like, because if they're going to give you communication advice, you're going to model the exact way they speak. Secondly, even if they sound really smart. Secondly, they have to be in your shoes. They had to been in your shoes at some level. Because someone who's never stuttered doesn't really know what it feels like. It's a mother. It's like someone who has never had a. Who's never been pregnant and has had a child and giving other mothers parenting advice. So at some level, what you're teaching me, you haven't gone through. You can give me your perspective and your opinions, but it's going to be different. I don't know if you want anything to that.

Stacy, it's so good. It's really, definitely speaking to me right now. And it. It feels really alive in this moment, what you're saying. I think it's. It's so easy to get kind of stuck in that way of being the end all know all for your kids. But having the idea of having a mentor or someone that they're able to look forward to, and I even think of that in my own life and different mentors I've had, it definitely came from them.

Right.

So for sure. And then I was wondering too, when you ask that guy for help, because that's a big thing. Right. A lot of people have too much ego to ask someone for help. Like, how did you get yourself to do that? Was that natural for you? Or did you have to muster up some courage there?

Yeah, I think that's why it's. That's why it's good to hit rock bottom. Because me hitting rock bottom was like, I need to get out of my comfort zone and look for help. It's the classic thing of, like, when someone goes through a divorce, they go through a whole life change. When someone goes through a breakup, they go through a whole life change. When someone, the doctor says you're, you're unhealthy, X, Y. And it's like they go through a whole life change. It's like when you hit this rock bottom and you're like, I need to transform. That's kind of what I hit of. I am this loser at the time. That's Why? I told myself I'm this loser who's, who's gaining too much weight, who is, doesn't have any friends who, you know, talks so much crap to himself every single day. Enough said. Enough, buddy. Like, we need to change. And so I think I was just in a such a rough space that if I look at the network marketing company, right, it was just, okay, you want me to join? What do I have to pay? Because that was in such a rough space in my life.

What would be a big. If you had a piece of advice for someone kind of going, like, if they're in that situation of where you were now, like, what would you tell them to do?

Yeah, like, I think this is a general rule. Like, I think, number one, you have to get clear on what you want in life. So what do you want? Do you want to be a great parent? Do you want to grow great business? Do you want to become a great entrepreneur? Do you want to become a great career professional? Do you want to, I don't know, become a great sister, brother, parent, whatever? Great. Now you know what you want. Do you want to lose weight? Great. Now, now show what you want. The next thing to do is you should go find someone who has that and then you need to then model it, right? So for example, I'll get slack from some personal trainers because I go, okay, great. I've always been the chubby Italian. My, none of that, too much pasta growing up and bread and everything. And so naturally I grew up where I gained weight very easily. So if I'm going to go get a personal trainer, the personal trainer better have the body that I want, period, right? Like, like period. Because if you're more overweight than me, if you don't have the body I want, then why, why the heck would I listen to you? And the second thing is what I'm looking for in a trainer. Have they been overweight as well? If they've been always fed, you understand what it feels like. And so that, and that goes to like every aspect of life. What do you want, who and who has it and how can I model that? So, for example, my parents, I love them to death, but they've never built a business, they've never built an online coaching business. They've never built. They've never been an entrepreneur. They've always been salary people where they had a check every Thursday. Why would I go them for business advice? Why would I go them for career advice? Why would I go them for anything unless I want to be like them? Now will I go to my mom or my dad. Hey, you guys raised me in a very loving home, 100%. But outside of that, depending on the situation, I'm not going to go to them for advice. So I think the problem is a lot of people go to the wrong people for advice. Hey, let me go ask my best friend, who I've known for years, if I should do this thing. Well, do they have the results? Then why would you ask them for advice? And it's the closest to, it's the closest people to you because you want to respect their opinion. And so I think for everybody, A, find what you want, B, who has the results and then see how do I get close to them. So every, every aspect of my life now it's almost like, okay, I want to do this thing. Who has it? How can I go pay them? How can I go. How can, how can I go get near them? So when it was the network marketing thing and the speaking thing, I went to Paul and I. And I joined the opportunity. The second thing I did when I, when I went into my sales role, sure. Did I pay for that sales job? No. But I paid in other ways. I paid with my time, I paid with a thousand. I'm going to find a good leader, a good mentor. I'm going to work under them and I'm going to make them a lot of money because I'm going to sell for them and they're going to then mentor me and then now as a coach. Right. If I want my own business, I'm going to have to pay for someone's time, pay for someone's advice. So I don't know if that answers your question, Stacy, but that, that's it. That's it right there.

And I have to say, I have, I love how many times you're using do this thing. So that's been really great to hear you.

Am I, am I so unconscious, so perfect.

I was also curious if you don't mind sharing about the actual, like stuttering side of the coaching business that you started. Because I know that was something my sister kind of followed for a long time and just said how amazing it was to see your journey with that from a bystander. But I'd love to hear it from you and like how that began and what that's been.

Yeah. So it's cool. Cause I'm creating a webinar right now of. I created a webinar. It's like a 40 minute presentation of how it overcame my stutter through public speaking. Do a quick plug masteryourstudter.com you can go and see it. It's just a free training. But now I'm creating a new webinar on basically like my journey going into the coaching space. And so what happens? So my thing was Covid happen. So it was March 2020, the year before. I was a director of a big sales team, about 60 reps across Ontario, which is in Canada. You know, I just cleared $250,000 in income. I had the Mercedes in the driveway. I was with a partner at the time. I had a closet full of suits that I liked. I had a personal trainer. I just bought a house and I was like, I made it on paper. I was, I was, I was 26, right. And when Covid hit, I just realized I'm like, I can't keep going down this journey. Like I love it. I'm just not growing anymore. And what. Sure, I, hopefully if I, if I roll the dice properly, I might make 400,000, but I'm still working 12, 14 hour days and I'm still at some level to me, like I didn't have the real freedom. And so March happened and I was deemed non essential by the by the marketplace. Daniel, you know, you aren't able to work so you got to stay home and watch Netflix. And the character I am like, I just can't do that. I'm sure you're the same. And so honestly the best parts of life is when you step outside of your comfort zone. And so I'm going to take a massive risk. And the previous year or two I was writing a book. So sorry. The previous year I was writing a book on my life called the Stuttering Salesman. And I was writing that book and I just, you know, I'll always like go to it and just add, add some more sentences and chapters whenever I had the time. And I almost, I almost finished it and I realized that every decision that I made in my life was to overcome my stutter. I'm like, this is cool. Whether it was public speaking, door to door, network marketing, you know, I was just like music, blah, blah, blah. And so I don't know. I've always wanted to build an online coaching business. Like I think there was something speaking to me if I could build a business where I could help people with their stutter. Even though I'm not a speech therapist, I don't, I don't want to claim I'm a speech therapist because that aspect didn't really work for me and I could live the same lifestyle that I have right now, and I don't have to show up to an office and report someone and blah, blah, yeah, let's do that. And so I think I was trained a certain way, and that's where I was very lucky, which is if you want to go find something, if you want to go do something, find someone who has it and then model that and be willing to pay the price. Like, it just so embedded in me. So that's what I did. I had so many buddies. You're like, oh, I'm going to go figure out this coaching business by myself. Because I'm going to see. It's like, sure. And then I realized six 12 months later, they're still in the same boat because there's things that you don't know. And so instantly I was like, okay, who my network can I go to? And so I had a friend who built a coaching business. And I go, I like what you're about. What can I do? How can I learn from you? And so initially he's like, well, I think for right now, I have leads that you can close. And I think that's how we kind of start our relationship. And then. And that's what I was doing. So he ran a coaching business, and I sold for him, did his sales. And then over time, dude, okay, I want to start building my own coaching business now. And he kind of was like, you're so good at what you do. I don't want, you know, to lose a good. A good closer.

Yeah, lose you.

You know, I am going to go do this. And he's like, cool, okay. Then after pushing and pushing, so what I did was while I was working for him was like, dude, I'm going to try to figure this out at some level by myself or kind of look at what he's doing and do something similar. And so I built the Facebook community, and I was kind of unsure. All I knew is that I want to help people who stuttered. And what I would do is outside the sales calls, I was, I'm going to find people in stuttering Facebook groups and say, hey, I'm a new stutter coach coming out with a program. I would like to test some of my. Some of my methods on some people. And the only people that said yes are people like, in India and Pakistan and Bangladesh. I don't know, the Canadians in North America want to talk to me. And I was like, whatever, I'll just work with them for free. So I would try different techniques. I had, like, the mirror technique where you look into the mirror while you're talking. I had certain breathing techniques. You know, there's the way you smile in your body language, and the mindset, and there's all these different things. I'm like, this is cool. People were like, daniel, like, you really helped me. Thank you so much. You know, there's one kid, he's like, I'm on antidepressants, and he's, Dan, you've helped me so much. Like, I have the testimonial picture. You've helped me so much, Daniel. You're such a blessing in my life. You know, I was on antidepressants, and I knew I had to. I knew it wasn't going to help me long term and blah, blah, blah. And so I started showing the guy who I'm working for, him, like, look, I'm doing it behind the scenes. I. You did all this by yourself? I'm like, yeah, but I'm not making any money, so what the heck I'm doing right now? Just kind of like, seeing how do I join? He's like. And then we figured out a plan. And that was July of 2020. And then by August of 2020, I grew a Facebook group of four or five hundred people. I did this, like, live presentation. And I can get into the details of what I did in the group, but I just, like, I share my story and what I did and how I overcame my stuttering and. And even. Even the coach, the guy who I. Who I worked for at the time, he helped me get clear on my offer. So what I got very clear on is I help people who stutter overcome it through public speaking, because that's what I did. My aha moment of overcoming my stutter through public speaking was the big moving. And he said, look, Daniel, if you can get someone to mash up the art of public speaking, technically, you can basically help them overcome their stutter. That's an awesome idea. And that's basically my life. Now I have to go test this onto a group. And that's kind of what I did. And then so I did this big presentation. I had six people sign up at, like a beta rate, right? So it's not the full rate. So it's like, hey, guys, normally my program is going to be US$2,500. I'm doing it at a 90% discount for $300. Who's in? You know, and 60 people signed up. And then what I did was I taught the course live. So I had like, week one, we talked about mindset. Week two, we talked about overcoming fear in life. We three, we talked about, like, speaking and influence. Week four and five was like, public speaking. So I had to build a presentation, the pillars of a great public speaker. Number six, how to socialize with confidence. And then we'd. The last, like, thing, we're going to do a live, a live interview in front of a group of people. And so I realized I brought all these people through it, and I'm like, dude, this is, like, changing the game right now. And I remember when I, when I made my first sale on my own, when someone's giving me the credit card from across the world, I'm like, this is crazy. Like, like, this is, this is, this is kind of scary right now. Like, should I even be doing this right now? But yeah, and then I just, I just, I just kept growing it, and I just, I, I, I built a membership area. I did, you know, I have weekly coaching calls. And then what happened was, over time, you know, a different type of client was entering my business. So it was initially, it was like, students who were. Then it became people who were 25 and 30. And I had someone named Harpal who was 62, and Prakash is 55. And I was, I, I started getting doctors in my program and engineers, and, and it was just the power of marketing and sharing my story. You know, I've done all the speech therapy, but, Daniel, it's like, I, I, I want to work with you because I saw your story, I know who you're about, and I love you. I saw all your testimonials, and it's been really cool. Stacy.

Yeah, and it's exactly what you said, right? Like, if it's a speech therapist that's never had a stutter, that's hard for people to connect to, but when they've, when they're able to hear your story from, like, true experience and you being able to overcome it, I mean, it's a whole nother. A whole nother world. I wrote this down earlier, which I love. Let's see if I can find it in all my notes that I've been writing here. It's like, almost here. Hold on. Yeah. What you said earlier with, you have the pain, and then you overcome it, and then you become an inspiration, which is exactly, it's exactly what you did and why people are so resonating so much with your message, because you've literally been there and were able to overcome it and almost make it as part of who you are now to be able to, like, have gone through that experience.

Yeah, yeah. And like, that's, that's basically like what I've done. Like, even with my stutter coaching business and my business coaching business is for my, my stutter coaching business. What I've done is I've basically downloaded my life into a program. And the other aspect is like, I've downloaded my business life into a coaching program. And so it's like, I'm not talking from theory. I think this is the biggest problem with education is a lot of people. It's like I go, I go get a business degree and it's like, it's theory. It's not coming from someone who's actually running a business. It's like, who would you rather get mentored by? Would you rather get mentored by Elon Musk or Steve Jobs or a business professor who's been at the university of college for the last 25 years teaching? And so to me, like, real education is from someone who's, who's done it and is doing it. That's a good mentor right there. So I think that's the other line too, is like, how to find a good mentor, someone who's done it and is doing it or. Right. And so that's.

Yeah, yeah. And something I want to point out while we're on this topic is, and this is for the listeners, but sometimes you, you don't need to find the person that's like 5,000 steps ahead of you. You could just find the person that's been doing it like one month longer than you because you can learn from them just from like, at least getting started.

Yeah, well, this is, this is also like, you know, dealing with different entrepreneurs. Like, I'm realizing too, it's the imposter syndrome. It's like, I'm not ready. I'm not ready. I'm not ready. I'm not ready. And so I hope I've inspired you at some level, depending on your journey. But it's. I'm not a speech therapist. I don't have any coaching certifications. You know, and I think, I think that's, that's a business in itself because to me, you're coaching. Am I educated? Of course. Of course. That's all they do is I what's my next course I'm going to take? What's my next program we're going to take? But it's realizing that, A, you're never going to know it all, and B, it's like you get better when you do the thing plug right there, but you. Right. And so when Could I be ready to be a stutter coach? Right. I was down the whole time. And then guess what? I had a couple of people that went through my whole program, like, Daniel, you changed my life. Daniel, I just got a promotion from work because of my speech. Daniel, I just landed at a job. Or I just found myself a partner and a girlfriend. Love my life. Because my speaking. I just gave a speech in front of my whole family. I gave a speech in front of all my co workers. I would work, like, thank you so much. It's like, I could have said for so long, I'm not ready to give advice on communication. And. But to me, and this is. This is the line I tell a lot of people, you're being selfish. I'm not ready yet. I'm not ready yet. I'm not ready yet. And the second part is, like, you think you got to be like, five. Like, what you say, you give me 5,000 chapters. No, you don't. No, you don't. You have enough life experience for the most part now if you haven't. And that's why it's like, we can get to the whole discussion of, like, what is your purpose and passion or what's your knowledge base? Realize, like, what you said, like, you only got to be a few chapters ahead, and then you'll just grow as you're down, that I'm a better coach because I've coached more people. And so the more people that I coach, the better I get, the more things I can see.

So, yeah, yeah. No, I love that I interviewed someone. Gosh, I wish I remember his dad's name, but he was telling me his dad's quote, which was, the game is the best coach, which is basically exactly what you're saying by you living the life and you doing it. And also, one of the pieces of the do the thing formula is educate, which is both what you're speaking to, learning from someone, but then also teaching because you learn more as you're teaching also.

Yeah, exactly. I think a lot of people go, once I get this certification, once I get this degree, then I'm ready. Once I get this thing, then I'm ready. It's just. It's always like, next. Once New Year's happens, then I'm ready. Later. Later, later, Later.

Yeah, I wanted to pivot to this. I love the idea, too, of, now you're coaching other people to basically, once they find their thing, now they're able to. You're teaching them to be coaches. And if you could just speak to that side of the business. While we're.

Well, technically, like, I didn't plan for this. I was very big on. I'm the stutter coach guy. I'm the speaking guy. But then what happened was everyone like, your sister too, right? People were following me for. I think your sister's actually a perfect example. She actually joined my. My speaking program. But when she saw that, like, hey, I'm sharing the blueprint of what I built, she, like, she jumped on, like, instantly. It was. It was so funny. And what I've done is to kind of go back initially at the beginning of 2022, people kept. I had my first person, he booked a call with me, goes, hey, I don't join your stuttering program, but can you show me what you do? I'm like, nah, man, I don't really do that. Like, that's. That's a lot. And then I was. I don't know. Let me get back to you. And then it was like. Like two weeks later, and another person, hey, oh, my God, like, I have this thing in, like, relationship coaching. I was like, I really am inspired by what you did. And then a third or fourth or the fifth, you know, six. And then, you know, sometimes you have to realize in business, like, the market is going to ask you what. What they want. And so this is like a big pillar in just business in general, which is you give the market what. What it wants. And this is like, I can get into this for so long. But, like, you know, the biggest problem with, like, a lot of entrepreneurs, they go build the product first before they actually go and sell it. And so, like, all right, guys, the product's done. Who wants it? That's. Yeah, we don't want that. Where it's. A good professional in business builds something or, sorry, says, hey, hands up, who wants this? And then they then give it to the. To the audience. That's what a good professional does in marketing and business in general. Right? That's why with my stuttering program, hey, guys, I'm not going to go spend three months building a stutter coaching program and then go and offer to people. They're like, no one wants this. Like, what I did was, I was like, hey, I'm coming out with this stutter coaching program on how to overcome it through public speaking. We'll be covering mindset, fear techniques, socializing, who wants it? People raise their hands and use the credit card. And so that's just like, my core fundamental in business. And so after hearing the marketplace, you know, come from the place of because, you know, there's a lot of like business coaches, it gets a bad rep and you know, it's like people are just, it's. I don't, I don't want to enter that because I'm going down this path, right. And I'm a big fan of like sticking to one thing and not adding more things to the plate. But I just kind of had conversation with myself and like my team at the time of people keep asking for this. Why don't I just do something similar where I am? I'll take a beta group, like what I did before. I'll teach them my whole blueprint from getting clear on your niche, on your offer, how to share testimonials on how to do organic marketing. So like, you know, how to build a profile, how to do content, how to build a Facebook group, how to do ads, how to run a webinar, how to do like high ticket selling, how to, how to onboard clients, like, you know, how to build a coaching program. I was like, let me just kind of bring a group through. And everyone started kicking ass. I just think, you know, I realized that I have a passion with helping people with communication, but I also have a passion working with entrepreneurs, which is why I love the whole entrepreneurial community. Like, that's, that's my people. That's, that's who I am deep down. I'm the risk taker. I'm the entrepreneur. I'm the go getter. I'm the, I'm the, let me build something that isn't, isn't, isn't in reality right now. And so, yeah, that's, that's kind of now I run both. And so they, and to me, like, they, they intermingle with one another. It's like, hey, you just want to overcome your, your speech problems. No problem at all. And then I've also had some people who've joined my speaking program and said, hey, very inspired. I'm a fitness co. I'm a fitness guy, or I'm a relationship guy or like your sister, like the Amazon. And so it's just cool. And I think that's what life is about, is about creating and evolving.

And so, yeah, and I think it's so funny that the thing that got me to reach out to you to have you get interviewed on this podcast was your email that said I messed up yesterday. Embarrassing story because I think it speaks to who you are that you're not afraid to just put yourself out there. And I think that is kind of the, the, the way to get through things is to be able to show people the imperfection but then moving anyway. And I really just. I think that's. I think that that was really cool, and I'm glad that we were able to talk today.

Yeah, I think. I think the word is authenticity. And even though that was a very. Like, I woke up the next morning, and I'm like, this is so embarrassing. Just so everyone knows, I'll be. I'll be even more vulnerable or even. But I did a live presentation in front of my Facebook community, and for the first 13 minutes, I was muted, but I had my phone on an airplane mode, and I was just, like, talking to the screen. And we had, like, 20 people on live, and they're like, we can't hear you. We can't hear you. And then I was. I think it was. Whatever. It was like, 15. 15 minutes in or whatever. I look at my phone, like, oh, let's see all the comments. And I realized everyone's like, we can't hear you. We can't hear you. It was just so embarrassing. And I got up next day, I'm like, this is. This is painful. Like, I feel like my whole team is on there. I had people who looked up to me. I'm like, this. What I need to do is I need to own this and share it with the world. And I think that's what. That's what makes you. Yeah, that's. I think that's what. That's what shows character is. Like, I could have just. I don't know, like, not said anything about it or. But I was. I need to share who I am, what I'm going through, because I know that's what's going to resonate with people, and we don't have it happen.

Yeah. Isn't it funny that all of your success wasn't the thing that got me to reach out to you? It was you owning that. Owning that. So many people have. I mean, especially. I don't want to get too crazy with social media, but we all have this perfect image that we're portraying. Right. And so by seeing someone that does. I just feel like it does. It's an attest to your character. I actually just had something. I went to Europe with my daughter, and I did these really cool interviews at the Eiffel Tower and all these really cool places, street interviews with people on doing the thing. And I had this microphone, and I realized when I got back that it was not on. And so I'm trying to at least get some audio from it. And I'm still going to use it. And I think I was thinking about it and even thinking back to what you were saying, it's to me that's what inspires people. Right. It's to. Because what stops most people from doing the thing, it's thinking you have to do it in a certain way. But by building it in public and showing people that you could be a little messy as you go, but it still is getting done and it's moving doesn't negate the fact that it's still great.

Yeah. Like you get good the more you do something. And so I think it's. This is the biggest thing, this is the biggest thing I have to learn in door to door specifically because you know, I have a, I have a whole five to six years of doing door to door. Like knocking over 300,000 doors. Like it's. That's, that's a whole nother conversation. Because what I learned, like I saw everything, the good, the bads and the, and the complete ugly as you're knocking on someone's door. Right. But the character or the biggest thing that I had to learn was the concept called failing forward. You're not going to be perfect on the first door you knock on. And even when you do get good, like you starting to warm up as even like when years go by, it's like that's you're still nervous on the first door you knock. And what I had to relearn or unlearn of if I failed this means it's bad. It's like, no, if I fail, for example, the thought process was I'm going to do this event. It's not going to be perfect the next, the next week I'm going to do another one and it's going to be better. And so yes, it sucked the first but I was. But I'm doing one next week. People are going to forget about this. Me doing this is the only way I'm really going to grow. And so even endured over.

Yeah, you're making me think too this. So I think there's another. There's a huge piece to this that I want to make sure the listeners hear is I interviewed writer the other day that her name's Jane Borden, really successful writer. And she was saying she got into writing because she went to a comedy, a comedy performance years before and it was stand up, it was a standup comedy performance. And I asked her how she got into that standup comedy, how why she was ended up signing up for the class because a Lot of people will be, oh, that's cool. I want to do that. But they don't. And she was, honestly, the guy was so terrible that I was, oh, and I'm not saying this is you, but I'm just saying this idea of this guy was so terrible that it made her believe that she could do it. And then what? That shifted for me. That moment of her saying that was, imagine if the guy that was bad knew that he inspired this amazing writer because through comedy, that's when she learned to write, because that's. She had to write the sketches and stuff. And so imagine if that guy knew that by him being bad at something, like, inspired this writer who now is amazingly successful. And it's like, imagine this moment of you. And again, this is just such a minor thing of everything that you do. But it is important, I think, you know, of you sharing that story and still having the live and emailing it to your list after and talking about it on this podcast. This could be the thing that gets someone to want to do their own Facebook Live and go, well, what's the worst that could happen? Maybe I'll do what Daniel did and not my volume on. But then that gets them to move and to do it and see that. What is the worst that's going to happen? This picture we have in our head is not nearly as bad as what is going to happen in real life.

Well, that's. Again, at the root of it all was this is how I overcame my stutter. And I'm sure there's going to be some people like, oh, I don't think his stutter was even that big. Like, listening to him. Oh, trust me, I. I will get my mom and my nana on this call if you guys need convincing. That was a joke. I'm not going to. But the. The thing is, the thing is that how I did it was I confronted my speech. Meaning that when I say something, I know I'm going to stutter, but I have to push through it. That was the only way I could. Ooh, I'm getting chills just talking about it. Like, the only way I could overcome my stutter was embarrassing myself in front of all these people. Like, I would knock on someone's door, and if you know anyone, the hardest word in someone's dictionary is their own name. So I'd be like, hi, my name is Daniel. And the person just opened the door, and they're like, what's wrong with this person? Should I. Should I go? Did I. Should I go get something? Should I go like, call the cops. Like, what's going on? Right. And. And I, I swear, Stacy, I would have such a bad stutter off the bat that I would say, you know what? It's all good. I'm actually gonna walk away. They'd be like, huh? I gotta go.

I love that you're gonna be. I'm gonna be asking you to come back on because I'm gonna do a panel on people that are talking about sales. So just keep in mind that's coming up at some point.

Okay. But no, that it's literally to do the thing. Like, that's the only way to really overcome the thing, the insecurity, the fear, the whatever the case is. And so I, I speak at this level because all I do now is speak. And I've built the muscle. It's what it is. It's a muscle. If I stop speaking for months and if I don't constantly improve myself, I will naturally go back to my old voice without a doubt.

Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. So I am going to. This is like my normal time that I would ask you, what is the number one thing? If you could tell the listeners on doing the thing? What is that number one thing for them?

I think that. I don't know. I, like, after coaching so many people, I've realized that sometimes, Sometimes you got to get yourself depending on the scenario. Like, everyone's different, but you need to get yourself uncomfortable. And so that might be different for everybody, but realize that if you're not achieving the thing that you want, it means you're not. It means you're too comfortable. Like, you got to, like, I just had a buddy of mine just fly to Columbia. Like, he was debating whether going back into the door to door realm or continuing down his coaching journey because he's, whatever, going through his thing, right? And it just. People get. It's like your past will creep up and opportunities, whatever, Right? And so he's like, you know what I'm doing? I'm moving away and I'm going back to Columbia. And he. And now he's in Columbia. I just got off a call with him before I got onto this call or this podcast. Some people are investing money into a coaching program or into something. Others, it's. Yeah, like moving others. It's just, it's like signing up for that personal trainer and, and, and, and. And actually putting your money where your mouth is. Not just saying, oh, I need to do this for New Year's Eve or for, for New Year's resolution. Oh, I need to do this thing. I have anybody. Your actions don't say that. Right? Like, one of the scariest things that I did was I invested into a $30,000 coaching program, right? So I'm Canadian, so that's. So it was USD, so it was like 37, 000. I was scared out of my mind. I was scared. I was, oh my goodness, you have no idea. I can go buy a car right now, but I'm giving it to this, to this individual. But there was beliefs in my head that I had to break. Why would someone spend that much money? Why is that really worth it? And then guess what I sold. Like, that's, that's how much my top tier coaching program is now. And I've sold many of those. And so you have to do the thing that scares the hell out of you. That's the only way where growth lies. And so to me it's, there's a ticking time clock on everybody. So whatever journey that you're in, there's a taking time clock. We're all gonna, technically, at least in this body, we're gonna die. And so I understand things are in your life and blah, blah, blah. To me, it's, what can I do to get myself uncomfortable? Because my personal opinion, when my back's against the wall, that's when you're the most creative, right? It's like that classic line, it's so bad. But there's a lot of, there's a lot of merit to it, which is like if someone put a gun to your head, right? Let's say, let's say you've been in business for years, right? And you're struggling in business and blah, blah, blah. Should I find this funny, Stacy? And you've been in business for years. If someone put a gun to your head and said, we're going to kill your family unless you go and make a million dollars this year. Question for you, Stacy, do you think you'd figure it out?

Oh, yeah.

And so even to the audience, do you think you'd figure it out? The answer is probably. And so the idea is depending on your journey, the same thing with losing weight. I'm struggling with losing weight. Trust me, if some put a gun to your head and said, you got, you better lose weight or I'm killing your whole entire. You would do. And so my point is, to me, growth lies in the uncomfortable. So what are you doing to get yourself uncomfortable? Right.

So. So good.

Yeah. Love it.

Well, you mentioned Masterstutter.com. is there anywhere else that they can go to. To find you and get into your.

I mean, yeah, I would say, I would say come follow me on Facebook, Daniel Francis. You can go check out my website, officialdanielfrancis.com and a lot of my trainings I do is in my Facebook group. It's called Master your coaching Facebook community. But if you go to my profile, Daniel Francis. Yeah, I also have a podcast, too. It's called the Underdog Podcast with Daniel Francis. You can come check it out. And that's a lot of plugs. But yes, whatever the case is, hopefully I've made an impact. Whether you follow me or not doesn't matter. But I hope, I hope I inspired you at some level. It's a pleasure and I can't wait to do this again one day.

Yeah, thanks so much for coming on.

Thanks for listening to the do the Thing podcast. We hope you enjoyed the show. But even more, we hope you'll be inspired to do the Thing. Do you have a burning question on Doing the Thing that you'd like answered? How about an inspiring do the Thing story of your own that you'd like to share? We'd love to hear all about it. Just leave us a voice message at dothing callcast co or email us@helloothethingpodcast.com Sam.