My #1 SECRET To Success That Will Make YOU SUCCESSFUL! | Peter Taunton

It's easy to write checks, but it's really difficult to give your time. And when you give your time, that's when you realize when you can do the most for people.

You've done a lot of amazing things in your career. But I want to come straight out of the gate with a question with our audience that really centers around how can we help them achieve higher levels of success? What do you think the number one principle people should be operating in, in the 21st century as of right now, to help people become more successful?

Boy, to become more successful. There are so many things that I can think about, but with all the consulting and things that I do, really there's three components. It's discipline, accountability and perspective. Those three discipline, accountability, perspective, and just putting a bow around that. Obviously if you don't have discipline, you don't hold yourself accountable to any standard. Right. Because you can talk yourself out of it. We're all great salesmen, especially when we're talking about ourselves. And then perspective, I like that word because there's so many people that they think they're failing, but they lack perspective on just how long that journey can be.

Yeah, absolutely.

Perspective is very important. Discipline, accountability, perspective.

Yeah. I'd love to go back to the earlier days of, even before SNAP Fitness, because obviously, you know, one of the things I love about you as you talk about, I talk about a friend of mine or a mentor of mine named Steve Myrick that was like a father figure to me. You talk a lot about how important your dad was to you and a lot of the traits that basically ultimately helped you scale all these various businesses, including snap? Like, what are some of the key attributes of your father that you greatly admire that have allowed you to become the powerhouse that you've been for the last several years?

You know, my, I have a great story when I was, when I was 8 years old, that was the first when I grew up. I have an identical twin and I grew up youngest of seven kids in a small rural town. I went to school in a two room schoolhouse, right? So small, small little hometown. And my dad had a grocery store in that hometown. And when you turn 8 years old, you.

It was not an option. He said, look, when you're eight years old, you're going to come and sell popcorn in front of my grocery store. Which is exactly what my other five brothers and sisters did. Okay, so you knew it was coming when you turned eight, right?

Yeah.

Anyway, one day I'm behind the popcorn stand, I'm selling popcorn and my dad walks past me. And he walks about 30ft and he stops. Dead stop. He pivots and he starts back towards me. And at 8 years old, I'm thinking, oh my God, what did I do now? Right? And he stops in front of me and he says, hey, son, how are sales? And I was just getting ready to give him my little dissertation on how sales were slow.

Yeah.

And right. I got about five words deep in. And he stops me, goes, son, it's slow because you're sitting behind the counter. You got to get out from behind the counter and ask people, they want some popcorn. He says, you know what? You're either going to make things happen or you're going to watch things happen. You choose. Then he turns around and walks away. Well, I sat there, I said, then I thought about that. And there's a lot of truth in that. And I didn't realize that, you know, here I am 50 some odd years later, and that there's. There's a lot of truth in that message. And that's so for me, you know, I kind of visualize things and then, and then I do my best to make it happen. And I do that by surrounding myself with good people, with good ideas and relevant products.

Yeah, well, you've done a. You've done a fantastic job with it. I can't. I mean, so many brands, so many businesses scaled. I think one of the things that I admire about you specifically most is the way in which you lead.

Yeah. Thank you.

Because a lot of leaders.

Lead from a place of power and control, where I know that you believe in the word authority, which is different than power and control, as well as collaboration. How did you discover that that works so well? And how did you apply that to your life, to kind of, really, kind of kick start things, you know, My.

Father, once again, in that small grocery store, what I loved about my dad, he owned the grocery store in that town and it was nothing. You would see him stocking shelves, you would see him the checkout stand, you'd see him carrying out groceries, you'd see him shoveling the sidewalk. And what I learned over time was the amount of respect that my dad had from his employees, that his employees would walk on fire for him. Why? Because they knew if their responsibility was to keep their aisle stocked, of the products, that if they were ever getting slammed and my dad would jump in there. My dad was not afraid to jump in the trenches and lend a helping hand. And not from a condescending position, but from literally looking him in the eye and saying, come on we got this right. Big difference in that leadership style. So for me, I've always thought, you know, what if I'm going to get to the promised land of success and prosperity, I'm not going to do it on my own. I got to be able to pull some people with me and that takes, that takes trust and confidence with everyone around you.

Yeah. And you know, to build on that, you've got this amazing story. You were just getting started, I think it was with Snap or at least one of your, one of your fitness brands where you had taken over, gotten. It's crazy part about your success story is it's similar to some of the things that happened in my life in that I walked into an opportunity that came back to me 12 months later.

Yeah, right, right.

I walked into an opportunity, opened my mouth, thought I was a smart aleck, and then sure enough, I get a second chance at a great opportunity. I know that was kind of similar for you, just a little bit different.

Yes.

But talk a little bit about the story because I think it's such a good vision of what success and what leadership really is. As the first day you walked into the new venue essentially that you had just taken over.

Yeah. And that was, I mean, that's a great memory and talk about a character building moment. But I was just, for your audience sake, to give them a little background. I was given an opportunity to turn around a failing health club. And this was the same health club that I played racquetball at as a kid. So I was very familiar with the club and, and the dynamics behind it. Anyway, at the time I'm living in Orlando, Florida. I got a call, they said, hey Peter, we'd like you to come back and try to turn our health club around. And I always say opportunity, it doesn't knock it. Whispers. So you need to be able to take a step back and realize that that was an opportunity. Now this particular business was losing $200,000 a year. Losing $200,000 a year. And many people would have said, peter, why in the devil would you move from Orlando, come back to get paid $16,000 a year to turn around a club that's losing 200,000. That's worse than walking. That's worse than just starting a business. You're starting in the hole by 200,000. Anyway, I show up to this business and the first day when I walk in, I mean, this place is a pigsty. So I have an all staff meeting. I say, look, everyone, tomorrow everyone be here at 8 o' clock. We're going to give this club a deep cleaning. We're going to kind of divide and conquer and clean this club. That's the first step in winning. So 8 o' clock that next morning, I'm there And there's about 50 people there of which, keep in mind 40 of them, I don't even know their names. I'm day one and I'm about 22 years old and most of them are older than me, so think about that. I'm rocking this mullet. I can barely find my ass with both hands. Right?

Yeah.

And anyway, I'm just getting ready to start dividing the group up to kind of divide and conquer and assign them to areas. And this lady steps forward, she goes, peter, I have something I'd like to say. And I said, well, by all means, what's on your mind? She goes, I don't know quite how to say this, but we don't clean. Now that, to me, that was a character building moment. Now, I could have done one of two things. I could have looked at her and said, you know what? You are exactly right. Anyone here who is not comfortable cleaning today, please feel free to go. Ok? I could have done that. But the path I chose with her, I looked her in the eye and I said, you know what? You know what, Barb, you also don't have a job. Okay? And then I pointed to the door. Now that you could have heard a pin drop. Keep in mind, I 40 of the people I've never met, but that sent a message across everyone that, look, I'm not here to play. This is that we are going to change and say we are. Today is the last day of being average. And being average starts being average, stops by cleaning this club. Now, she ended up staying. And I tell you what, I divided up everyone into groups and I said, look, I got the bathrooms. So I took the job that was probably less desirable.

It sent another message to everyone saying, look, you know what, this guy, Many of them didn't know who I was or what I was about, but they knew they liked what they saw. They loved the passion. And then I just went on to talk about, you know, before we broke up because I didn't want him breaking into groups and wondering, who is this guy, this cowboy coming in here and, you know, threatening to fire one of these people that had been, look, they didn't. They. I wanted them to look around and say, look, this guy, his message is on point. And what I said to everyone is, look, we got to figure out how we want to show up every day and that. And this goes for life. And in business, it doesn't matter, but who do you want to be? And for us, we're going to level up. We're going to make sure you know what's going to be important. We're going to clean this club today, make no mistake about it, number one. But number two, we are going to call people by name when they come in. I want them to know that we appreciate them spending their hard earned money at a health club that I believe is substandard and what it delivers today. So we got to make good on our promise. And it's going to start by cleaning. And then as we start clawing this business back and get it to a place of profitability, we got to put capital back into the business to refresh the equipment and give it a new look.

Yeah, I mean, that's so instrumental. You know, most business owners, when they start out with their venture, they're gritty, they're tenacious, and, you know, there's a lot of things going on inside of them. One of the things that I think is one of the driving forces behind your success and all the things that you've done with all the various businesses that you've helped become incredibly successful and the teams that you've built is you've always had a culture first and an experience first mentality. So when the customers come in, it's like, what are they going to experience? Where I think a lot of entrepreneurs fall short and they think that the experience is solely tied to the tactic rather than the actual relational ability. Now, is that something that came to you innately or is that something you were taught over time?

You know, I learned over time. You know, as you, as you have all of these life experiences, you learn as you go. Hopefully you do. And for me, if I'm creating a product or I'm looking at a product that is being replicated multiple times in certain trade areas, the first things you gotta be careful, you gotta understand is, is your product relevant to what the consumer expectation is? So you gotta make sure the product is relevant. So you gotta be able to check that box. If your product's not relevant, the rest of it doesn't matter because it's not gonna. You're not gonna win. Okay, so is the product relevance then? Secondly is how do you want to deliver that product? Cause in many cases, it's not just the product. It's product and service blended together. And what is the community and culture that you can create within the four walls of your business. And I really don't care. I don't care if it's a manufacturing business. I don't care if you're a B2B company. You know, I get people all the time that I'm talking to that have a B2B company, and the founder or the CEO says, Man, I can't get my employees, they don't walk on fire for me. I'm just their boss. And I said, well, that's the culture you created. And I teach them ways to, you know, to lean in with people and get to know them on a more of a human level. Look, we're going to work together, that's one. But I got to get to know you as a person as well. And when you do those things, when people know that you actually give a damn about them, then that resonates with their soul and they reciprocate, right?

Absolutely.

It's so important. So the relevance of the product and then making sure that the team you build around it. And I'll tell you, Steven, every brand that I've built, I will tell you, I may be the face of these brands, but make no mistake about it, I was able to stand on the shoulders of some amazing people that had the same passion and understood the vision I had. And they pulled deep on the oars. And that's a blessing when that happens. That's when the magic happens, to be honest with you.

Well, and that's exactly how you kind of founded Snap. You had a young man that was killing it for you with one business. Obviously you transferred out or sold part of that or all of it. And then that young man followed you because of culture.

Yeah, that was a guy. He had worked for me for years as a kid. I pulled him out of college. Just a hard working guy, would walk on fire for me. So when I started Snap Fitness, he was a partner of mine in that business.

Now.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out because when he made the transition between.

An employee and then becoming an owner, he would get there at 10 and he would leave at 3. And if he needed a haircut, he would have gotten it done between that timeline, okay. And very, very early in our, in our, in our company's growth, I pulled him aside and I said, hey, look, brother, I mean, we literally had like four employees, right? He and I and maybe four others. I said, look.

As a business owner, I want you to know this is something you never get away from. It's seven days a week, 24 hours a day. It preoccupied. I mean, it's the last thing you think about when you go to bed, and the first thing you think about in the morning, and good, bad or indifferent, you got to be that passionate about it, because it's just not going to happen. And he says to me, I remember that he says, I'm not willing to work that hard. I don't want to work that hard. And I said, look, then this is not going to work. And I ended up buying him out of the business for a couple hundred thousand dollars. Okay. Keep in mind, he got into the business with zero, so he probably thought it was a pretty good deal. He got 200,000. He's on his merry way. But, you know, I went ahead and built a $200 million company, you know, probably 10 years later.

Not too shabby. Not too shabby.

Unfortunate. It's very, very unfortunate.

Today.

Today. That gentleman, he's a pastor at a church. He's just a great guy, but, you know, that mindset didn't serve him well as an entrepreneur.

Well, and I think. I think that just goes to show that, you know, here's one of the things that drives me crazy, and maybe it drives you crazy, maybe it doesn't. The flashiness of people who are, quote, unquote, aspiring to be entrepreneurs. You know, you see pictures of airplanes and houses and cars and all kinds of stuff that's like, you're like, dude, you don't own that stuff, or, why are you using that? Is there an insecurity going on inside of you? Like, you know, this entrepreneurship game is not easy.

Yeah, right.

Yeah. It's great to celebrate successes. But I actually, when I meet up with entrepreneurs, I want to. I want to celebrate the sacrifice. Like, I want to celebrate that.

How does that stuff resonate with you?

Yeah, I, you know, I'm glad that you say that. I'm the same way. You know what? I don't think there's anything more boring that, you know, you put 10, 12 very, very successful businessmen together, business people, and all they do is talk about their wins. The real learning, the real growth is in the times of strife, the times of challenge. So I love it when people share about the losses. Right. Because that's. Once again, anyone can run a company with the wind at your back. How do you behave in times of challenge, in unpredictability? Right. Things that are unforeseen, when you feel like you've been blindsided, whether it be a pivotal shift. I mean, Covid is a perfect example of that. But a new competitor comes to your market, the industry Changes on a dime, or you have something that's uncontrollable, like Covid, how do you perform, how do you behave, how do you lead in those moments? And that'll tell you a lot about somebody's character, right? And I always say, look, when you're leading, you better keep it cool, keep it real. Don't be the leadership where you're kicking the garbage can, raising your voice.

That doesn't motivate people, that does not inspire people. It's when you can be calm and collective, take a breath. Because people are looking for you to lead. They're not looking for you to be emotionally tied to the circumstance that you're dealing with. It's a great lesson for entrepreneurs. You know what? Keep it real, keep it cool. And to your earlier point about the flash, look, you know, there's so much, you and I both know, there's so much fake bullshit out there in the social media place today. And that's very unfortunate because anyone today, I mean, so many people, even kids, have an iPhone, have some device, and they're looking at this guy or this woman standing in front of a jet. They don't own a car that's leased or, you know, some restaurant that there's, whatever. And they might, and they're fanning $100 bills and they're making it look real. And I'm telling you, there may be some people that it came easy for them. But I tell you what, for most of us, it was a long haul, man. It was grit, it was hard work, it wasn't easy, and we sacrificed a hell of a lot in the process. And you know what? It's through those challenges, it's through those moments that we become really inspiring entrepreneurs and consultants because we're not talking about business theory. You know, I always get a kick out of that when you get somebody out there, he's charging people who knows what, and all he's doing is reciting business theory. He's never actually had to write payroll with no money in the checkbook. He's never had those gut wrenching moments where you're thinking, oh my gosh, this is it. I've got a respect for those people that are self made, that got the road rash and the battle wounds as they built their successful company.

Well, and that's precisely why I wanted to bring it up. You know, I've had the fortune and honor of having amazing guests like yourself on very successful entrepreneurs in their own rights. And 99% of them so far have had to face immense adversity at more than one time, in many cases to get to the level of success that they have. And 99 of that, 99% of them, 100% of them found a way to now give back and mentor and coach and teach. And I know that's part of kind of like your DNA of kind of what you're trying to, you're trying to give back. You know, I'm a big believer that the greatest purpose in life you ever have is serving the person you used to be. Right. You know, I do is serving the broke kid, the entrepreneur that doesn't have anything and like that kind of stuff. And everything that I see you doing now is so inspiring because there's so many business owners that need to have the truth of what entrepreneurship really is and the practicality of principal stuff, principles and you know, tactics that it takes to do to basically get them to that next level. Now is that what made you go ahead and write Impossible Hill or was it a whole different motivation?

You know what I mean? The motivation to your earlier point, just about, you know, the business and people getting into business and the challenges that come with it. You're exactly right. I, for me, I've been so blessed. I'm a man of faith and I, and I feel like, you know, and the Bible even says for those that are given a lot, a lot is expected. Right. And I truly believe in that. So giving back and giving the most, you know, here's the other thing I realized at a too late of an age in my life. But the biggest asset I have is the hardest thing to give away. And that's my time. Yes, yes, it's my time. It's easy to write checks, but it's really difficult to give your time. And when you give your time, that's when you realize when you can do the most for people. When you get right in the weeds with them and walk them through scenarios and situations and tell them what the real life is like in the eyes of a real entrepreneur of a real business launch what they can expect. And to getting your point on my book, Impossible Hill. Impossible Hill is real life stories about circumstance and how I overcame adversity. How can this kid. And hopefully inspiring. You know what? It's a best selling book and it's not a long book. It's an easy read. It takes about four to six hours to read it, depending how fast you read. But look, it's not citing business theory. It's talking about real life situations and hopefully it lights a fire in the soul. Of that person who says prosperity and winning in business, it's always been fleeting, it's never been for me. And I'm telling you, look, I went to school in a two room schoolhouse, youngest of seven kids. I mean, quit college my junior year, I can go on and on, add off the rails, right?

Me too.

But I still, you know what? I found a way. And you know, there's a word that I love. I mean, if you're going to win in business, you have to have grit.

Okay?

You got to have grit because you're going to have some of these moments and you got to understand business in life, it's unpredictable, it's unconditional, right? You're going to have those moments and you can't feel like every time that you've just been blindsided. You got to expect it. And that's the mindset about winning in business that looks. You're going to have these moments every morning you get up and you look at that person staring back at you in the mirror. You have got to believe in who's looking back at you. Because as long as you believe in yourself, you believe that you will get through whatever tough times come your way. That's half the battle, honestly. I mean, defeat, it starts in your head, right? So you just got to not accept defeat and you got to just absorb what's going on around you and pivot accordingly and adapt and evolve when moments get tough.

Yeah. I want to come back to the book in just a second, but I had something dawn on me as I was listening to you that I think is important for the audience to hear, and that is grit's relationship to fear. How does grit relate to fear in your mind?

That's a great question. You know what fear is? Fear is a dream killer. I've said that all along, man. Fear is a dream killer. And there's two other words that really will defeat you, and that's ego and pride. Okay? So you've got to, you know, you've got to. I always say if you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough. There's some real truth behind that. You know, most people, they don't. And in my book I talk about placing your North Star, which is, think of it this way. I mean, there's so many people that I come across, I'm sure you do too. People that feel stuck in their life. They feel like, you know what? I've always wanted to get into business, but they just never do. So I tell them, look, let's just play A game. Step one, it's a blank canvas. You're holding the brush. What does your perfect life look like? What is your bliss? And now is not the time to start being so rational, thinking. Put everything on there because there's no bad idea. And then the second step of it is, okay, now let's be practical.

Okay?

If one of your dreams was to fly to the moon, you know, I'm probably going to try to talk you out of that, right? Because that's going to be a tough one. If you're 40 years old and you want to be an astronaut, that's a tough road to hoe right there. Right? So I try to bring a level of practicality, but. But we chart a course, we look at the things, we set milestones along the way, which is important because the journey can be long. And if you set milestones along the way, then you start seeing progress. And progress is motivating. But here's what breaks my heart. You go through all these exercises and you got everything laid out, but the last thing that you need to do, you need to make the jump.

Yeah, right.

You got to. You got to leap. You got to jump in the deep end of the pool. And it's scary, right? And people say, peter, I got these butterflies. And they say, you know, I think that's God telling me that it's not to do. And I tell them, look, God doesn't have any part of that decision. I want you to understand the nervousness you feel in your stomach is perfectly normal because you're doing something you've never done before. That's a perfectly normal reaction. So when I'm coaching people, I say, look, you're going to have these feelings. You're going to have these feelings of, oh, my gosh, what am I doing? But I will tell you, as an entrepreneur, there is nothing more rewarding. When you wake up one day and you think, my gosh, I have a business that's cash flowing positive. I'm paying myself a salary, I'm growing my business, I'm diversifying, I'm expanding, there's not a more rewarding feeling that when you're doing that and you're employing people and they're buying houses and they're buying cars and they're having kids, I mean, man, that is Shangri La in the eyes of an entrepreneur. Right?

Yeah, absolutely. You know, I was on a clubhouse call with a good friend of mine, Jason Waller, last night doing his power home solar up in. Well, I guess he's really all over the place now. But you know, we had a young man come on and the young man was basically saying, well look, I keep going into these situations where I self sabotage, I keep going into these, I keep getting access to these, these deals and these relationships and these people and all this kind of stuff and I keep self sabotaging. And we were, you know, the question was like, well, you know, why do you think that is? Well, because, you know, I just don't feel like I'm qualified.

And it dawned on me that that was basically fear in action. So I responded to him, I said, well look, if you're given the opportunity to be in those relationships and be in those kind of rooms that a stock clerk at Walmart is not currently getting, that should tell you that you were, you earned the right to be in that room, Right?

Absolutely. Make the deal happen.

Yeah, make the deal happen kind of thing. I love it, man. Well look, you know, when we talk about impossible healing, is there one like, I know there's a bunch, but is there one favorite story and one favorite principle and takeaway that if you could share nothing else that you would share today?

Yeah, there's a story in there. And once again, go back, going back to my father.

Boy.

And you know what, you talk about it for all you dads out there. Just remember that, you know, when your kids are looking, they are listening even when you think they are not. And they are paying attention even when you think they are not. So I remember one day I was walking by the office of my, in my dad's grocery store. And my dad is sitting in there on a chair and he's, he's kind of leaning forward in his chair and across from him is another man wearing a long green army trench coat, okay? And my dad had a real serious look on his face and the other guy did as well. And so now I'm curious as about a nine or ten year old boy. And I waited for the, for the meeting to get wrapped up, right? The guy, the guy leaves and I walk into my dad's office, I say, hey dad, what was that all about? And he said, his son that, that, that man stole, he shoplifted. And I said, what did you do, dad? Did you call the police?

Right?

And I said, and my dad says no. And I said, well, what, what did he steal? He said on the inside of his coat he had sewn some pockets and he'd filled them full of steaks. So I said, what did you do, dad? He goes, I gave him the stakes. So that was my Front row seat to True Compassion. Right. And doing the right thing. It wasn't about. Keep in mind, now you're talking 40 years ago, the guy probably had $200 of steaks back then that, you know, he, look, he didn't stuff it with pork chops. You know, he had great steaks. But the point being, regardless of what it is, my dad in his eyes, in his mindset, said, look, this is a guy that needs this more than me. I've got a successful business here. I'm going to give the man a leg up. And I love that. I love that idea of paying it forward. And I tried to do that today.

Yeah. I mean, grace and mercy can be incredibly powerful tools. You know, I'm a living example of grace and mercy. I got a second chance I didn't deserve. I had to work for it, but I got a second chance I didn't deserve. You know, I come through the homelessness, I went through all that, you know, but the person that gave me my second chance was the very same person that, what, 18 months earlier I had accidentally betrayed because of my knuckleheadedness as a young teenager. Well, late teenager, anyway. A lot of the audience already heard the story. But, you know, grace and mercy, I think can go a long way, especially when somebody is in that brokenness or contriteness of heart. That's actually the place that you can plant to me, plant the greatest seed. You know, kind of like the story you just related with your father. Because I watched Steve Meyrick, one of my mentors, numerous times put thousand dollars in cash under a basket of hush puppies, walk out the door, watch a single, you know, a single mother essentially, that was waiting on this table, come in and just completely be wrecked in a good way. Yeah, right. And I always wanted to be able to be that kind of gift giver. Yeah, right.

Yeah.

I didn't realize how much I was going to have to change myself to get to the place in which I could become that kind of gift giver.

Yeah, right. I love that.

Yeah. I mean, I think it goes back to. Goes back to the importance of understanding that life's journey is super duper important. Now.

Why was now the right time to put Impossible Hill out in the marketplace?

You know, for me, I think that everything happens for a reason. I overcame some such unbelievable odds. Right. I mean, you look at it in the context, let's face it, I always say, you know, if I was a stock in my early 20s, if I was a stock, you would have shorted me for sure. Right. So for me, I had so many opportunities. It was a lot of hard work and a lot of risk, but it worked out for me in every case. So when I stepped down as the CEO of the company that I founded a couple of years ago, I said, you know, what is next for me? And for me, I took 40 days and 40 nights. I did nothing. Right. I wanted to just clear my head and do nothing and give thanks to the amazing life that I have lived. Because at. And at the time, I had pulled 100 plus million out of my company. And I was.

So.

It was not about the money anymore. It was about.

Just the sheer appreciation of the journey up to that point. So then I said, I'm going to get into consulting. And the consulting and mentoring, it's so rewarding. And I feel like I make a difference in people's lives and within their companies. So I think that this is my calling. And today I'm involved in about 12 to 15 companies. So what companies do is sometimes they'll give me equity in their company to help really help them pivot and direct and soar. So I think that. And then what I was doing, I'm a Forbes masterclass instructor. So it was through that Forbes opportunity that they convinced me to write a book. And you know what's interesting? I always thought writing a book was me sitting at the kitchen table with a pen in my hand. Just start writing. Yeah, it's not.

It's a process.

It's a lot different. But it was a great experience and one that I'm once again, I'm grateful for. I throw it in my war chest of stories and narratives that I've been able to experience in my life. But, you know, I'm really looking forward to what the next 50 years of my life looks like and. And really want to give back in so many ways, which is rewarding to be in a position to do that.

Well, who's the ideal client, if you will, that would get the most at Impossible heal? What season of life are they in?

You know what?

It's so many. It starts with the person who just feels like they're stuck. Like they've had the same job for the last four years, they're in their 20s, and they thought, man, it's. Is this. Is this it for me? I mean, I'm going to. I'm going to make 35 grand for the rest of my life. It's that person to help light that fire. It's the person that feels like they plateaued in whatever it is. They're making 100 grand, and they continue to make 100 grand, but they feel like they're not leveling up. So I taught, you know, the discipline. The discipline, the accountability, the mindset, helping people to prepare. And then some people, literally the people that have had exits in their business, and they're wondering, their whole identity was tied to their business, right? And when they wake up that first Monday when they've been going to work for the last 25 years, and they feel like everyone's going to school and they're staying at home, there's an emptiness that comes in there. So I help people walk through that mindset of, look, this isn't game over for you. Don't get so emotionally tied to that business that you created. Think about it. You did that. You are capable of doing that again.

Okay?

Even if you don't want to build this monstrous behemoth of a company, believe me, you can do it again. Or you can take some of that knowledge, some of that road rash, those stories, and convey it to people where you can make a difference in their lives. So I just help people just embrace everything and then also balance in your life. I mean, work is one thing, but you know, your family, your faith, your friends, you know, your hobbies, your work, it's all balance. It's not all just work. You got to really focus on keeping that chair balanced so you're not teetering all over the place.

Yeah. Award, you end up losing one or the other. That's. I mean, in my shoes, I have been very candid with the audience. My personal. My greatest personal struggle is making sure I keep the commitments to my family. I have a standing date on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings to have coffee with Karen, my wife. Yeah, it's coffee with Karen. Right. It's the day I might get up at 5, 5:30, go to the gym, go there, do my thing, come home, shower, and then it's time for coffee. And it's time to plug in and be present. And we found that having structure around times like that and making sure I met the, you know, the kids. All my kids are now basically adults. So I got one in college, one that's designed. I think he's designed to be an entrepreneur because he's all over the place. It's like, just like me. But.

I want to be present in each one of the situations. You know, my. My youngest grandson recently was. Was joking around. Well, he wasn't joking around. My daughter was going to him and saying, so what do you want Us to name the new baby because she's, you know, they got a new baby on the way. And he goes, well, she goes, what if it's a boy? He goes, steven Scoggins. Because that's okay. That's funny, but okay. What if it's a girl? What do you want to say if it's a girl? Steven Scoggins. Right. You know, and I want to have that kind of impact in my family, but I learned the hard way, like you were just talking about, that that only comes from being intentional and being consistent and.

Yeah, and present. You said it earlier. That's such a great word. You know, honestly, it's. Put the phone down, don't even turn the ringer off, and leave it in the other room and be present. And that's what, you know, in relationships that's so significant that, I mean, there's nothing. There's nothing more. To me, there's not a greater insult than when you're talking to somebody and then their phone rings or buzzes and they look at. They look down at it because it's a choice that they make and we're all guilty of it. I mean, hell, I mean, I'm probably the most guilty of it. But I know in my head, I think about, man, I want to make sure that when I'm with someone, I'm looking them in the eye and I'm present with whatever it is they're throwing at me.

Yeah, man, I tell you what, I mean, it's super important. Speaking of that, you kind of glossed over it a little bit just because it's part. It was part of your journey, the 40 day. So my grandfather used to refer to that as the 40 day walk of faith. And anytime that I was desperately in need of a massive shift, professionally, relationally, you name it, we would do this 40 day walk of faith, which is essentially we were fasting. He would have me fast from whatever it was I wanted most. So, like, I fasted for 40 days straight from dating before I. Before I met my beautiful bride that I now love and admire and cherish. Yeah. So it's become really, like.

Pivotal to me to have people understand the importance of having that margin in space. Right.

Yeah.

How have you used the 40 day window to cultivate margin in space to get clarity on what the next steps are?

Well, for me, I mean, nobody knows ourselves better than us, right? So for me, I knew that having started working when I was 8 years old and never stopped, I knew that inherently. That's kind of in me that I feel like if I'm not working, I'm not being productive. If I'm not productive, I'm lazy.

Okay?

So that look good, bad, or indifferent, that was my mindset. And I knew that I'm going to take a breather. Not for health reasons, but just as I said, to give thanks and more importantly, to take a breath and say, look, what is the next thing that I want to do if I'm going to make a pivot change in my life? What is that going to look like for me? And every time that I was looking to make that pivot into something else, it always brought me right back into entrepreneurship. That's what I was made to do, right? So I came back and I said, okay, I hear you loud and clear. This is my calling. All right? So now how do I leverage all these amazing experiences I've had the last 35 years, good, bad, and different? How do I share these stories to help other people win? And I've done it through my consulting, through the book and things like that. And that's the truth. The truth lies in the real stories of how tough it can be sometimes and what you need to overcome and endure to come out the other side being successful. And it's not just financial success. It's emotional success. Can you come out the other side, you know, with your relationship intact, with the balance of friends and family and faith? Can you come out? I mean, to me, that's the perfect life is when you've got balance in everything. And I'll be the first to say, look, I could have been a heck of a lot better at that in my life. Right? But you don't get to do over. So I'm not overly critical. I'm not. You know what? That is life. And we're all flawed. We all make mistakes. It's okay. But it's never too late to change. You can change at this moment, right? If you're not happy with something, with yourself, don't say, I'm going to do that tomorrow. Just do it right now. Just say, I'm not going to do that anymore. And it's just you telling yourself, you don't need to make a big deal about it. Just tell yourself, I'm not going to do that anymore. That's a bullshit move. I'm not going to do it anymore. Right. And then do your best not to do it. So some people make such a big deal out of making change. Look, you can change right now if you want to.

Yeah. You may not get a do over but you can do it now.

Exactly.

Couldn't have said it better myself, Steve.

I love it. I love it. Hey, look, I want to pivot just slightly. You know, I'm a big believer that the greatest legacy you can ever create is the one that outlives you. Right? Yeah. So if that, you know, that's one of my personal truths. It's something I harness on to. The audience has heard me say it a thousand times, but I think it's so true. What is the legacy that would outlive you? What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind after you've transitioned to be with our. Be with the God?

You know what? For me, I hope that my legacy. I hope.

At my funeral, people say, hey, look, Peter was. He was real. He was raw.

He was compassionate, he was generous.

He was a good father and a good friend.

And he saw and he gave a lot of people an opportunity, especially those that weren't looking for one. And so I hope that that's what they say. I hope so. Right. I mean, that's what I strive for, right?

That's right.

Hopefully it's. Because it's certainly not the stuff we accumulate. You know, it's not. He lived a great life, and I do. I do live a great. I have a great lifestyle, but that's not what. That's not what lights my fire. I always say, money doesn't make the man, and money will not buy you happiness. And as cliche as that sounds, I tell you what I mean, I was at one of my most broken moments, you know, probably. Probably five, six years ago, where, you know, I was. I was in a failed marriage, and, you know, I just felt like, man, what the hell am I doing with my life? Right? And once again, got up, dusted myself off, pulled myself together, and pressed forward. In that same token today, I've never been happier. I've never felt more capable and confident and grateful for all of those experiences, including a failed marriage.

Yeah. I mean, essentially, what you want most is always on the other side of what you're scared of most. How about it?

Right? I mean, so true.

Yeah, absolutely.

And that's why we, you know, we talked about it earlier in this. In this interview that you. You've just got to believe in yourself. You've got to believe in yourself, and then you've got. Also got to have the mindset that even if I take a step. Even if I take a step forward and fail, that's still better than never taking the step at all. And I always tell people that in the entrepreneurship. You know what? I would never. I would never die on the sword of someone else.

Right?

I'm gonna. I'm gonna die on my own sword. So if it's. If I'm gonna fail, I'm gonna fail my way. And there's some real truth behind that. But some people don't have the courage to fail. Once again, because what we spoke about earlier, ego and pride. Yeah, Ego, pride and fear are dream killers, right? So it's, it's really an interesting dynamic. It sounds so trivial and simple, but when you think of things that you haven't done and your reasoning for not doing it, it generally centers around ego, pride, or fear.

Agreed. Hands up. Agreed. You know, I was. If you got a quick second for one more question, I want to do this out here. You know, you mentioned earlier you're a person of faith. I'm a person of faith. I've made that clear here on the podcast before. I'm not ashamed of it in any way, shape or form. I learned I got my stripes, honestly, let's put it that way. Right. I'm one of God's most stubborn kids, so he has to get on me a special way. But. But, you know, we've talked a lot about climbing impossible hills. We talked a lot about adversity. We talked about a lot about grit. We've talked a lot about, you know, becoming a better version of yourself. You know, all these different things for me come out of my faith. How has your faith shaped you in, you know, conquering your own levels of adversity?

You know what, for me, when I'm in times of. Of uncertainty or challenging moments, whether it be business relationships or whatnot, I always believe that there's somewhere in. This is a lesson.

Okay?

There is a life lesson here to be found. If you just look for it, right? Don't let it hit you across the head. Across the head with a two by four. But.

Yeah, you got it. I mean, but look for it because, you know, things tend to happen for a reason. But I can tell you, you know, in most cases, when I come out the other side of real challenging adversity, I come through it a better man. I've grown through the experience, and I'm better prepared for what the future holds, whatever that might be. And that's. You know, we also spoke about perspective. Perspective not only for the timeline that it takes to win financially in business, how long that journey can take, but perspective on just how life twists and turns and it's uncertain and tragedy happens. So and you have to embrace it. I lost my son two months ago. 22 years old. Yeah, 22 years old. And, you know, and I've had so many amazing people that have, you know, surrounded me with their condolences and whatnot. And he died of a drug overdose, which is really unfortunate and sad that he never had a chance to realize his full potential. But I tell you what, on the grieving side of it, I tell people, hey, look, you're going to go down one or two paths grieving. You're either going to bury your head in your pillow and never leave the house, or you're going to get up, you're going to dust yourself off, you're going to dry your tears and you're going to press forward and. And there's that. You mean to me that what I just went through was probably one of the hardest things to deal with emotionally, the finality of your son never coming back. And, you know, when you so dealing with that, that you grow through that experience, you really do. I mean, you think, my God, I'm never going to recover. But you do. You do it through faith and holding on to great memories and just pressing ahead. It's true in life, it's true in business. You know, that's what life is. It's uncertain.

Yeah. Well, from me to you, thank you so much for not only just being part of the show, but, you know, for your leadership style, the way in which you've been trying to inspire folks all this time. Thank you very much for Impossible Heal. I know it's going to touch a lot of lives. It already has and we're just getting started, right. So I know it's going to be amazing. Where can anybody get the book and find out more about.

Yeah, so you can get the book. It's on Amazon Prime. It's a bestseller on Amazon Prime. And I'm launching He'll take her academy, which is a place where people can come and I'm going to run some promotions there, giving away a lot of books and things like that. And the best way anyone find me on Instagram, and it's really. You'll know why I'm not in marketing. My Instagram handle is Petertown.

So I don't have any one of those clever, creative names. It's just my name, as boring as that is. But honestly, I look at every message on Instagram and some people say no way. But I do. I look at every message. I promise you I do. And I don't respond to all of them, but a Lot of them I do. So I'm just another guy just like you. We get up and we grind it every day. And you know, we've been blessed with a lot of success, but that does not define us. So I try to keep it real and put myself out there in that. In that light. Anyway, I'm flawed. I have great moments, but I'm flawed just like everyone.

I love it. And by the way, you're not the only one with your first name underscore last name. You're first name underscore last name. So. Only because the. Apparently there's another Steven Scoggins that refuses to give me the handle. But hey, it's okay.

That is funny. Well, you know what? That's a good thing. We hire marketing people, right?

That's right. That's right. It's so good. Well, dude, I have enjoyed having you. You are welcome on the show anytime you want to come hang out, man. I love it.

I'd love to come back again. I'll come back anytime you'd like. This was great questions, very thought provoking. You did a fantastic job. I'm a fan of your show.

Thank you so much. Well, I wanted, you know, my heart is always to make sure that the guests feel honored and I get to showcase all the hard work and everything they learn for the audience. Because at the end of the day, we're both trying to serve the audience.

Yeah, absolutely. When you do a great job at that. So congrats on all your success. Congrats on a great show. And I look forward one day to come back on as your guest.

Rock on anytime. Alright, dude, well, you enjoy the rest of your day. We'll talk to you soon.

All right, take care.

What an amazing interview. Oh my gosh, Peter. Tout is the real deal. Look, if you haven't already done so grab your copy of Impossible Hill. I know I'm going to right now. And in the meantime, if you love that interview, I know you're gonna love this from right here. So go ahead and check. Check it out.

Every. Every really successful person loves what they're doing. That's why they can work.