In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Tommy Thompson, an author, blogger, coach, and serial entrepreneur. Thompson shares a deeply personal story about his daughter’s battle with stage‑4 kidney cancer, which taught him to prioritize what truly matters over business metrics. He emphasizes the power of asking insightful questions in coaching and relationships, and stresses that entrepreneurs must understand their financial numbers to make informed decisions. Reflecting on his own drive, he advises younger entrepreneurs to lighten up, accumulate experiences, and keep perspective. Thompson identifies faith in God and close relationships as the core of happiness, and recommends the book Margin by Richard Swenson, highlighting the importance of creating space in life. He cites Winston Churchill’s “Never, never, never give up” as his favorite quote, and directs listeners to his website (tommythompson.org) and Instagram for more content.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite makes the process of becoming a published bestselling author as simple as sipping your morning cup of coffee. You can learn more about Authors Unite at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode. Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Tommy Thompson with us. He is an author, blogger, coach, and entrepreneur, having owned a half dozen businesses in multiple industries. He loves sharing practical wisdom to help people move forward in their lives. So welcome to the show, man.
Great, thanks. Great to connect.
Of course, man. Pumped to have you here.
How you been?
I've been great, dude. I know you're up in Richmond, Virginia. I'm down here in Miami, and we were just talking about how I'm nice and toasty down here and you're starting to get a little cold up there. Is that right?
Yeah, but you know, fall's okay if it wasn't followed by wintertime.
Yeah, I got you. So we'll dive into the first one, Tommy. The first question I have for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Well, great. That's a big one to start off with. Yes. You know, I hate not to take it on a negative bent, but really my best story is kind of my worst story at the same time. About 8 years ago, March 2010, got a phone call from my wife who was visiting my daughter down at college and got the news that she had been diagnosed with cancer, stage 4 kidney cancer. And that started a long process really of the last 8 years of a battle that we couldn't even fathom at that time. She was 20 years old, a sophomore in college, and Life got turned upside down, you know, that day. In the midst of some really, really difficult days, there were also some days that were, you know, just filled with unbelievable joy. During that time, she got married. A little under 2 years ago, she passed away. And, you know, the lessons that we learned during those years were lessons that are difficult, but they'll always stick with us. And that's, you know, never lose sight of what is really important. And as an entrepreneur, you know, we get— we can get so tied up in making the numbers and in growing our business, but there are bigger things that are a lot more important. And so my best story is my worst story, but one of my most valuable lessons.
Yeah, man.
Wow.
Thank you. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Sure.
The next one that I have for you is, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Well, great. Well, you know, one of the difficult things with me is I've been in so many different industries— retail, manufacturing, service, real estate, you know, across the boards. And recently, over the last couple years, I've really been investing my time in coaching and mentoring and writing. And I'd say, you know, one of the most valuable pieces of information I've learned is just the power of an insightful question. You know, when you're, when you're getting together, whether it's just in a normal relationship in your family or in business, or, you know, when you're trying to help someone, if, if you can kind of move from that place where you feel like you have to have the answer to be to the place where you're asking an insightful question, then amazing things can happen.
And it might tie in, but what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
Yeah, this really comes from having run a lot of different businesses and also worked with other people. The thing that I find is so often unfortunately the case with entrepreneurs is that they rely way too much on their gut and their instinct. They don't know the numbers. And I've always been one in all our businesses that's been responsible on the finance side. And I found that, you know, if you don't know the numbers, then you don't really know what's going on. So I really encourage entrepreneurs, particularly the ones that it's a little bit against their grain, they don't feel confident when it comes to finances and profit and losses and balance sheets to, to do what it takes to know the numbers because that can so, so well guide the direction and decisions that you make.
And I could not agree more. And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Well, probably like a lot of entrepreneurs, I'm a pretty driven guy, very goal-oriented, push really, really hard. You know, if I could look back, I'd say that, you know, the advice I'd give myself is to lighten up a little bit and also to accumulate experience. You know, again, we can lose sight so easily and drive and drive and drive and run our businesses and you know, there's kind of, well, the why, what's it all for? And I've just now, as I've kind of moved in a little bit later in life, just come to appreciate so much the value of accumulating experiences. And that's where some of the rich things of life happen.
And it probably like perfectly ties in then with my next one. Like, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Well, you know, this is real personal for me, and I kind of understand that, but for me, it's absolutely tied in with having a vibrant faith in God and living that with the people you love. You know, walking with God and walking with people you love, it just doesn't get any better than that.
And what is the best book that you've read, and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Yeah, a book that absolutely changed my life back in the, you know, '90, '91 timeframe was a book called Margin by Richard Swenson. And it was at a time when I was running 4 businesses, kids were at their, you know, early ages, I was involved at church, just absolutely running myself ragged, all with good things. Here came along this book, Margin, which really suggested that life is really infinitely better when we create some space in our life to be able to enjoy, to be able to relish the things that are going on. And so that started really a long journey for me, decades long, of just learning that life's better when we create some space and learn to breathe and enjoy and experience life, and that we can do that without sacrificing meaning and purpose and value.
And what's your favorite quote?
Margin by Richard Schwab.
Yeah, I'm gonna have to check it out. I was actually, I was born in '91, so I, that when you were reading that, I was just entering this world. And it's called Margin, right?
Yes.
Yep, I will definitely, that sounds like a very good read. The next one I have for you, Tom, is what is your favorite quote and why?
Well, I love quotes. I've just got file folders full of them. And so that was, that's a daunting one, but I have to go with one that I've got a plaque on my desk here at home that the kids gave me a while back because I always kept on using this same quote. It's a Winston Churchill quote. It's, "Never, never, never give up." And I've just found that so many great things happen when we push just beyond that point when we think, you know, we just can't go any further. And yet we still go further, we still push further, we still work harder to survive and make that business go or make that relationship go. So I've just, I've learned just the incredible value and the wisdom in that never, never, never give up.
Thank you so much for coming on. The last one I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Ah, yeah, great. Thanks. Appreciate that. Love being on, on, on the show. So thanks so much for asking me. You can find me probably most easily at www.tommythompson.org. It's a pretty easy one to remember, or Coach Tommy Thompson on Instagram. So, but Tommy Thompson.org. Pretty easy.
Perfect, man. Thanks again for jumping on.
Great. Thanks so much, Tyler.
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