Full Transcript for From Intention to Action: Season 4 Recap

kind of dictates who we are as a person. 00:03:10.660 --> 00:03:15.459 And in my opinion, it also dictates what sorts of results we get in life. 00:03:15.699 --> 00:03:21.699 If you look at anybody who becomes excellent at any sort of skill set or or vocation, right? 00:03:21.780 --> 00:03:30.259 Like it is probably because they actually enjoy the challenges of that particular skill or or or occupation. 00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:43.459 But what you see over and over again is that people tell themselves that they they they should want something, and they don't want to admit that they don't actually want to, you know, bear the costs or make the sacrifices to have that thing. 00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:47.620 And so it's almost like they they'd rather like it's they want to want this something. 00:03:47.780 --> 00:03:52.259 Whereas if you actually wanted the thing, you would also want the costs associated with the thing. 00:03:52.660 --> 00:03:56.660 I'll give you a really tangible example of something that probably everybody will relate to. 00:03:56.740 --> 00:04:03.300 So I have a friend, he's in his late 30s, he wants to settle down and start a family, right? 00:04:03.379 --> 00:04:10.899 He's single, he's had a number of long-term relationships, he's he's dating again, and he's very explicit. 00:04:10.980 --> 00:04:13.620 He's like, I want to settle down, I want to start a family. 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:18.980 But when you actually go hang out with him and spend a weekend with him, right? 00:04:19.860 --> 00:04:23.780 He is still acting like a 25-year-old in a frat house. 00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:30.579 Like that is kind of his lifestyle, his mindset, the way he sees girls, the way he sees dating. 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:33.939 Um, he hasn't totally grown up yet. 00:04:34.579 --> 00:04:38.980 And so it's a bit of a conundrum because if you ask him, like, what do you want? 00:04:39.300 --> 00:04:41.939 He'll say, I want to settle down and have a relationship. 00:04:42.100 --> 00:04:43.780 But then he's out till 4 a.m. 00:04:43.939 --> 00:04:50.580 on Friday night and he's uh, you know, ditching a really nice girl because she's too boring for him, right? 00:04:50.740 --> 00:04:53.540 And it's it's like, well, clearly you don't want that. 00:04:54.340 --> 00:04:57.540 Because if you did, you would be behaving differently. 00:04:57.620 --> 00:05:05.379 And so there's often a mismatch between our thoughts and the verbal desire and the actual behavior, right? 00:05:05.460 --> 00:05:14.980 And it's like the behavior is what you actually want, and if your behavior is not lining up with the things that you say you want, then you're probably just kidding yourself. 00:05:17.060 --> 00:05:23.220 If our thoughts are not lining up with our behaviors, then we might just be kidding ourselves. 00:05:23.460 --> 00:05:27.939 In other words, our behavior reveals what we actually want. 00:05:28.340 --> 00:05:38.740 And if wanting something means wanting the cost that comes with it, then the next question is: what gets in the way of us paying that cost? 00:05:39.379 --> 00:05:42.980 For a lot of us, it's the voice in our own head. 00:05:43.939 --> 00:05:49.379 Tina Robinson is the founder of WorkJoy Executive and Leadership Coaching. 00:05:49.699 --> 00:05:57.140 We spoke with her live in Orlando, Florida about imposter syndrome and the inner critic that we all face. 00:05:58.180 --> 00:06:04.580 In our conversation, Tina shares a personal story about a moment when her own inner critic took over. 00:06:04.740 --> 00:06:17.939 And then she offered a simple three-step framework to help us recognize that inner voice, challenge its influence, and move forward with greater confidence when that self-doubt creeps in. 00:06:18.180 --> 00:06:19.460 Take a listen. 00:06:19.780 --> 00:06:21.060 I'm a simple girl. 00:06:21.300 --> 00:06:27.860 My brain is full, so if I can do having have any kind of structure in threes, I think that's a fabulous day. 00:06:28.100 --> 00:06:35.140 So it was frame, name, and tame your inner voice, inner critic, inner gremlin. 00:06:35.620 --> 00:06:37.699 So framing it is understanding it. 00:06:37.860 --> 00:06:39.379 When is it loudest? 00:06:40.259 --> 00:06:43.620 Is it when I'm on the cusp of doing something new? 00:06:43.860 --> 00:06:46.580 Is it when I am having to work with leaders? 00:06:46.819 --> 00:06:48.500 Is it when I have to present? 00:06:48.660 --> 00:06:50.340 Is it when I'm tired? 00:06:50.580 --> 00:06:52.259 Is it when I've just been promoted? 00:06:52.420 --> 00:06:56.740 Like really starting to understand when is it louder, when is it quieter? 00:06:57.540 --> 00:06:59.939 Because when you frame something, you give it structure. 00:07:00.100 --> 00:07:02.819 And that's helping you understand it. 00:07:03.300 --> 00:07:06.500 Because then the next step is to name it. 00:07:06.740 --> 00:07:10.340 And this is a very human thing for us to name something. 00:07:10.580 --> 00:07:13.860 We it gives us more power over it. 00:07:14.100 --> 00:07:18.819 So if anybody's heard of Harry Potter, you know, it was like a little book that came out. 00:07:18.980 --> 00:07:23.860 Um, I read all of them, I've read them way too many times. 00:07:24.100 --> 00:07:24.980 Slightly obsessed. 00:07:25.140 --> 00:07:26.580 Ravenclaw, all the way. 00:07:26.819 --> 00:07:27.460 I know. 00:07:28.259 --> 00:07:35.939 Professor Dumbledore insists that they call the villain by his name Voldemort rather than he who shall not be named. 00:07:36.020 --> 00:07:40.980 Because he said, whenever we don't call him by his name, we give him power over us. 00:07:42.180 --> 00:07:45.060 So naming your gremlin is really important. 00:07:45.140 --> 00:07:48.819 And so mine is named Bert from Sesame Street. 00:07:49.060 --> 00:07:50.100 Mine is Frank, actually. 00:07:50.340 --> 00:07:50.900 Is it really? 00:07:51.060 --> 00:07:51.540 Yeah. 00:07:51.860 --> 00:07:53.060 Where did Frank come from? 00:07:53.300 -->

00:07:54.580 I I I have no idea. 00:07:54.660 --> 00:07:57.780 I I may my my grandfather was named Franklin, but he was a nice guy. 00:07:57.860 --> 00:07:59.860 I don't know where it came from, but I'm like, you're Frank, bro. 00:08:00.020 --> 00:08:00.180 Yeah. 00:08:00.819 --> 00:08:01.780 Similar playbook here. 00:08:01.939 --> 00:08:06.580 And so it gives you a little bit more power because you can't take it as seriously when you call it Frank. 00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:07.540 Yeah, you can't. 00:08:07.860 --> 00:08:11.780 So mine's Bert from Sesame Street, who was always serious one, had to be perfect. 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:13.939 Ernie, you know, stop goofing around. 00:08:14.100 --> 00:08:15.460 You know, life's too short. 00:08:15.699 --> 00:08:18.420 You know, no more joy. 00:08:18.580 --> 00:08:20.500 We have to do things right and properly. 00:08:20.580 --> 00:08:20.660 Yeah. 00:08:20.819 --> 00:08:23.460 And I'll and I'll sometimes I'll just go, oh, Bert, shut up. 00:08:23.540 --> 00:08:24.819 Like give it a break, right? 00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:34.980 And it de I don't know, uh just depowers it, which is not a word, but just somehow takes a little bit of the sting out of it. 00:08:35.139 --> 00:08:38.580 So I had my massive audience pair up and talk. 00:08:39.139 --> 00:08:43.539 And then I called on people and I asked for, you know, hey, what's the name? 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:45.460 And somebody raised their hand and I said, yes. 00:08:45.620 --> 00:08:46.980 He goes, Lindsay. 00:08:47.699 --> 00:08:49.539 I said, okay, very specific. 00:08:49.860 --> 00:08:50.899 Where'd that come from? 00:08:51.139 --> 00:08:52.419 My ex-wife. 00:08:53.139 --> 00:08:56.500 And I went, she's not here. 00:08:56.740 --> 00:08:57.379 Is she no? 00:08:57.860 --> 00:08:59.139 He's like it's just a very familiar voice. 00:08:59.379 --> 00:09:00.819 So, oh, that was so powerful. 00:09:00.979 --> 00:09:05.860 And people chose, you know, childhood nemesis, they they chose characters. 00:09:06.259 --> 00:09:09.459 I people stop me in the hall and go, I thought of the perfect name. 00:09:09.539 --> 00:09:10.579 And you're right. 00:09:10.819 --> 00:09:14.579 When I call it the name, it's a little bit less scary. 00:09:14.740 --> 00:09:17.299 And then the last one is taming it. 00:09:17.939 --> 00:09:24.259 And that goes back to if anybody remembers the 80s movies Gremlin. 00:09:25.219 --> 00:09:31.299 So do you remember the three rules what you couldn't do with a gremlin? 00:09:31.779 --> 00:09:32.740 I don't remember. 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:35.059 Are we allowed to ask the studio audience? 00:09:35.459 --> 00:09:35.699 Of course. 00:09:36.179 --> 00:09:46.339 Studio audience, what are the three things you could not do with water, feeding it after midnight, and light, sunlight. 00:09:46.579 --> 00:09:52.740 Because if you do any of those things, you're either it it's going to cause it to grow or somehow, you know. 00:09:53.059 --> 00:09:58.259 And so each of those is about nourishing your gremlin. 00:09:59.059 --> 00:10:01.459 And so if you water it, you're nurturing it. 00:10:01.860 --> 00:10:02.979 You're allowing it to grow. 00:10:03.139 --> 00:10:05.299 If you feed it, you're allowing it to grow. 00:10:05.459 --> 00:10:07.699 If you give it sunlight, you're allowing it to grow. 00:10:07.860 --> 00:10:12.659 So it's thinking about, I mean I think it was a deceptively deep movie. 00:10:12.819 --> 00:10:13.219 Yeah, I know. 00:10:17.620 --> 00:10:21.860 But I think we unintentionally feed it when we say, You're right, I am a failure. 00:10:21.939 --> 00:10:28.740 You're right, I was an idiot, you're right, uh, maybe I shouldn't be a speaker because real speakers don't forget their pants. 00:10:30.019 --> 00:10:38.019 What stands out to me from what Tina's saying is that we don't have to silence the critic, we just have to stop feeding it. 00:10:38.579 --> 00:10:46.500 And once that voice is quiet enough to act, the next challenge is what we do when the world doesn't cooperate. 00:10:47.059 --> 00:10:55.059 Every business owner knows that we have to expect the unexpected and prepare for the pivots that we can't see coming. 00:10:56.019 --> 00:11:02.979 Blake Lawrence is the co-founder of OpenDORS, the athlete marketplace and NIL technology company. 00:11:03.379 --> 00:11:14.019 And in this clip, Blake shares the story of when he told his first investors that to make OpenDorse a billion-dollar company, they'd have to do something illegal. 00:11:14.500 --> 00:11:18.579 Because at that time, college athletes couldn't legally be paid yet. 00:11:19.379 --> 00:11:24.019 So they spent years building for an industry that didn't exist. 00:11:24.979 --> 00:11:32.979 Take a listen as Blake's shares when that bet started to pay off, and then what he did when it nearly fell apart. 00:11:33.779 --> 00:11:37.139 2019, we're five years into venture capital funding. 00:11:37.539 --> 00:11:40.819 I keep telling him, like, hey, we're prepared for a future that's not here yet. 00:11:40.899 --> 00:11:45.699 And we get a letter in the mail from the NCAA, the largest governing body in college sports. 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:50.659 And it's a letter that says, We are contemplating paying college athletes, like letting them get paid. 00:11:50.899 --> 00:11:53.699 You are the only person that's built technology for this industry. 00:11:53.860 --> 00:11:55.139 Can you come meet with us? 00:11:55.379 --> 00:11:59.139 And so that bet, a five-year bet, paid off when we got that letter. 00:11:59.299 --> 00:12:04.339 So we met with the NCA, joined the working group, and we built the infrastructure in that pitch that we won. 00:12:04.419 --> 00:12:12.819 We won the RFP to be the back end that every single transaction that the NCA was going to allow 500,000 athletes to do had to go through our platform. 00:12:13.219 --> 00:12:15.059 So we won that RFP. 00:12:15.219 --> 00:12:16.740 Again, the bet paid off. 00:12:16.899 -->

00:12:20.979 And then the day before NIL went live, something happened. 00:12:21.219 --> 00:12:22.339 July 1st, 2021. 00:12:22.419 --> 00:12:24.979 So we're coming up on five years of college athletes being able to make money. 00:12:25.059 --> 00:12:27.939 So when you hear the word NIL, just think college athletes getting paid. 00:12:28.019 --> 00:12:28.819 That's what that means. 00:12:28.979 --> 00:12:34.339 The schools can pay them now, but back in 2021, it was, hey, everyone but the schools can pay. 00:12:34.579 --> 00:12:47.620 And the NCA, when we won that RFP, was going to say every athlete that gets paid has to disclose this transaction through this platform open doors that becomes like the clearinghouse to track and see like, is this the school paying the athlete or someone else? 00:12:47.939 --> 00:12:52.579 June 30th, 2021, we are 24 hours from actually going live. 00:12:52.819 --> 00:12:55.620 We get a phone call from the NCAA saying we got to pull the plug. 00:12:55.779 --> 00:12:59.459 And we've sent spent several million dollars building this platform on spec. 00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:01.219 We're like, hey, can we sign this contract? 00:13:01.299 --> 00:13:04.019 Like, we can't sign the contract until the rules change. 00:13:04.179 --> 00:13:05.699 Okay, so the rules are changed in July 1st. 00:13:05.779 --> 00:13:07.459 So we're gonna get paid on July 1st, right? 00:13:08.099 --> 00:13:10.419 June 30th, they pulled the plug. 00:13:10.579 --> 00:13:12.500 No clearinghouse, the lawyers wouldn't allow it. 00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:14.179 They were fearful of litigation. 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:22.899 And so we're sitting there having put a tremendous amount of effort in winning this RFP, building up the infrastructure, telling our investors that we had won and we simply lost. 00:13:22.979 --> 00:13:24.419 And it was outside of our control. 00:13:24.579 --> 00:13:26.979 And that would be a moment where most people just run away. 00:13:27.219 --> 00:13:32.899 But the calendar flipped over to July 1st, 2021, and we had 100,000 athletes we had to go help. 00:13:33.059 --> 00:13:34.179 So we didn't run away. 00:13:34.259 --> 00:13:37.379 We just leaned into monetizing in different ways. 00:13:37.779 --> 00:13:50.179 But that journey from having a vision that this could happen to it becoming a reality to winning it, to setting the rules and then not being able to win that day kind of sets you back as a founder and entrepreneur. 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:51.860 But again, that's not unique to me. 00:13:51.939 --> 00:13:53.699 Every founder has those stories. 00:13:59.059 --> 00:14:00.339 Blake is right. 00:14:00.500 --> 00:14:03.459 Every founder has stories like that one. 00:14:03.779 --> 00:14:10.099 But what stands out to me about Blake's story is how he responded to an impossible situation. 00:14:10.500 --> 00:14:17.860 The calendar flipped to July 1st, a hundred thousand athletes still needed help, and they didn't run away. 00:14:18.099 --> 00:14:21.699 That's the inner work and turning it into action. 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:28.419 Next, I want to shift from the inner work and how we build to how we get heard. 00:14:29.459 --> 00:14:33.059 Messaging strategist and founder of Conscious Brand Agency, Dr. 00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:33.539 J.J. 00:14:33.699 --> 00:14:39.620 Peterson, talks about why story works and why so much marketing gets ignored. 00:14:39.939 --> 00:14:49.620 Because we can do the inner work, we can build an innovative business model, but if no one hears our story, all the work we've done gets cast aside. 00:14:50.419 --> 00:14:55.219 In this clip from our conversation on why story works, Dr. 00:14:55.379 --> 00:15:01.620 JJ Peterson makes the case that the goal isn't to be liked or even to be entertaining. 00:15:01.860 --> 00:15:04.500 The goal is to be remembered. 00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:10.579 Right now, everybody is looking for that little advantage in the marketplace of trying to help people stand out. 00:15:10.659 --> 00:15:20.979 And I will say, and I'm a little biased because I've been studying this for about 20 years, but story is your advantage because story is what we call a sense-making device. 00:15:21.139 --> 00:15:24.979 It helps bring clarity to information, right? 00:15:25.059 --> 00:15:31.779 So, like if we're watching a Jason Bourne movie, we don't see what Jason Bourne eats for breakfast. 00:15:32.019 --> 00:15:34.339 He eats breakfast every day of that movie. 00:15:34.579 --> 00:15:38.819 We do not see it because that's information that's not important to the story, right? 00:15:39.059 --> 00:15:44.659 Or Jason Bourne probably has thoughts and insecurities that are happening in the morning. 00:15:44.740 --> 00:15:46.339 He might even journal and meditate. 00:15:46.659 --> 00:15:48.579 All of that stuff happens throughout the day. 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:51.139 It's information in his daily story. 00:15:51.379 --> 00:15:53.779 It's not good information for a story. 00:15:54.019 --> 00:16:14.419 So when you you have to understand, like everybody has going back to say a brand or a leader, we show up often as brands and we have so much information about our brand and our product that we're trying to put it all out there in a way that we think is important because we're like, well, this is really important for people to hear. 00:16:14.579 --> 00:16:16.259 This is really important for people to hear. 00:16:16.419 --> 00:16:24.419 And in reality, when you're doing that, people are ignoring all of that information because it doesn't actually make sense in the context of a good story. 00:16:24.659 --> 00:16:30.339 What you have to do in order to not be ignored is understand how good stories work. 00:16:30.819 --> 00:16:32.979 Stories are actually formulaic. 00:16:33.059 --> 00:16:41.059 And it's not about being entertaining, it's not about even being uh liked, it is about being remembered. 00:16:41.299 --> 00:16:45.939 And if you are not remembered, then you

will be ignored in the marketplace. 00:16:46.099 --> 00:16:53.459 And the way that you help people remember your story is by actually following a very specific set of rules. 00:16:53.779 --> 00:17:05.220 Because when you follow those rules, it gets rid of all of the noise, makes the story about your customers' journey, and invites them into a story they can understand. 00:17:05.460 --> 00:17:08.500 And then that is what is going to help you be remembered. 00:17:08.579 --> 00:17:11.220 It's weirdly enough, the story is not about you. 00:17:11.380 --> 00:17:16.579 The story is about your customer being invited into a story that they get to be the hero of. 00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:27.860 And when you understand the rules of story and understand how to organize information in a way that makes your customer the hero of their own story, that's when you will be remembered. 00:17:28.100 --> 00:17:33.539 Everybody else, you throw out a bunch of information, facts, you are like Jason Bourne's breakfast. 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:35.460 It doesn't matter in the story. 00:17:35.620 --> 00:17:37.220 You will be ignored. 00:17:39.380 --> 00:17:40.740 So my takeaway from Dr. 00:17:40.820 --> 00:17:51.779 JJ Peterson is that when we understand that the story isn't about us, but that it's about the customers being invited into a story where they become the hero. 00:17:51.940 --> 00:17:56.100 The next question then is how do we keep the story believable? 00:17:56.340 --> 00:18:02.740 And what is the one characteristic in telling the story of our business that sets it apart from the noise? 00:18:03.460 --> 00:18:08.980 My answer would be that what makes our story believable is authenticity. 00:18:09.300 --> 00:18:14.500 But marketing expert Seth Godin, he has a different take on the matter. 00:18:15.140 --> 00:18:19.380 I was totally waiting for you to ask me about authenticity because authenticity is a croc. 00:18:19.539 --> 00:18:22.660 Authenticity is overrated, authenticity is a trap. 00:18:22.900 --> 00:18:30.340 Authenticity is for your best friend, authenticity might be for your family, authenticity is not for your customers. 00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:37.700 Because if your surgeon is authentically in a bad mood, you don't want them to do a lousy job on your knee implant, right? 00:18:42.180 --> 00:18:47.060 If you go there and they're in a really bad mood, you don't want them to spill syrup all over you. 00:18:47.300 --> 00:18:49.620 Authenticity is not what you're asking for. 00:18:49.860 --> 00:18:52.019 You're asking for consistency. 00:18:52.980 --> 00:18:55.539 Consistency is what professionals do. 00:18:55.779 --> 00:19:02.580 Consistency is what we buy when we pay money to a brand or a company or a small business. 00:19:02.740 --> 00:19:06.340 Consistency is what your employees want when they get paid, right? 00:19:06.500 --> 00:19:10.580 They don't want the check to come Wednesdays and sometimes on Fridays and sometimes be a little higher. 00:19:11.220 --> 00:19:13.700 They want it to be consistent. 00:19:13.940 --> 00:19:18.420 So as soon as we can say, and actors have no problem with this, right? 00:19:18.580 --> 00:19:21.620 George Clooney doesn't say, oh, George Clooney would never say that. 00:19:21.779 --> 00:19:24.500 Because he's not George Clooney, he's an actor. 00:19:25.539 --> 00:19:32.740 Small business says we're looking at a customer and we're saying we make these ballet slippers and we think they will help you. 00:19:32.900 --> 00:19:34.900 But they don't actually do ballet. 00:19:35.060 --> 00:19:40.180 They're 60-year-old white guys with ballet, making something for someone else. 00:19:40.420 --> 00:19:41.140 Empathy. 00:19:41.620 --> 00:19:50.980 So what we're looking for is the ability, the commitment to a fake authenticity that is called consistency. 00:19:51.220 --> 00:19:55.140 To say no matter which angle you look at us from, we're gonna be like this. 00:19:55.300 --> 00:20:03.060 We're not gonna talk about you behind your back, we're not gonna manipulate you, we're not gonna sneak things into the contract when you're not looking. 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:07.060 We're gonna be consistently the people we say we are. 00:20:07.300 --> 00:20:11.300 And if you want to go home and do some other weird thing, that's on your time. 00:20:11.380 --> 00:20:20.500 But when we're here, we're consistently doing the thing we promised, and we don't care about being authentic. 00:20:21.700 --> 00:20:25.460 All right, everyone, this concludes our recap from season four. 00:20:25.700 --> 00:20:30.980 And as we go, I want to invite you to take Mark Manson's question with you. 00:20:31.300 --> 00:20:35.300 Are my daily actions lined up with what I say that I want? 00:20:35.860 --> 00:20:47.380 And take Tina's advice to quiet the inner critic, name it, give it a framework, and keep going when the plug gets pulled, as we saw in Blake Lawrence's story. 00:20:47.700 --> 00:20:50.100 Make your customer the hero, like Dr. 00:20:50.259 --> 00:20:50.660 J.J. 00:20:50.820 --> 00:20:56.100 Peterson showed, and keep your promises, stay consistent like Seth. 00:20:56.580 --> 00:21:04.100 Huge thank you to every guest who sat down with us this season, and especially to you for listening and sharing the podcast. 00:21:04.340 --> 00:21:11.860 We'll be taking a short break as we prepare our next batch of conversations geared to help you run and grow a better business. 00:21:12.100 --> 00:21:20.980 If any of these clips caught your attention, the full conversations are waiting for you on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. 00:21:21.140 --> 00:21:24.019 You can find links in the show notes of this episode. 00:21:24.340 --> 00:21:29.860 I'm the producer of the show, Steven Roach, and this has been the Entrepreneur Studio Podcast. 00:21:30.019 --> 00:21:31.700 We'll see you again soon.