My Thoughts at the Mastermind.com Launch…

Did you watch the Launch event that has over 460k people registered!?! Here was my small contribution.

On this special episode you will hear Russell at the Mastermind.com launch talking about what it’s like to be called to serve, and the reasons why maybe you’re scared to take the step to accept your calling. Here are some of the awesome things you will hear in today’s episode:

• Why being afraid to get started is okay, but you’ve got to do it anyway.
• Why being a “chapter ahead” is a good way to start.
• And why accepting not accepting your calling could be a tragedy not only for yourself, but for other people too.

So listen here to what Russell had to say at the Mastermind.com launch with Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi.

—Transcript—

Hey everyone, this is Russell Brunson. Welcome back to the Marketing Secrets podcast. I’m whispering right now because I’m actually sitting here at Dean Graziosi’s office. Tony Robbins is in the room next door and we are doing this huge launch for the KBB method at mastermind.com, which is kind of crazy. And I’m going to be up in like 30 minutes from now. So I asked my brother when it’s done to rip whatever I say, to make it a podcast episode.

So I have no idea what’s going to happen. I don’t know what I’m going to say, hopefully something good comes out of it. But it’s part of a really fun promotion that we’re doing. Last year we did this launch and it was the biggest launch in the history of the internet and this is year two. So hopefully we do well.

But I’m going to be sharing stuff about the knowledge of business and being an expert and just all the cool things. So hopefully you guys enjoy it. When we come back from the theme song, as long as nothing goes really, really bad, my brother will be plugging in my part of the presentation from tonight’s live event. So I hope you love it, and we’ll talk soon. Bye everybody.

Dean: Look at this, by magic of video, Russell Brunson.

Russell: How’s it going man?

Tony: Good to see you.

Russell: You too. Good to see you.

Dean: Good to have you back. Look at, two years in a row.

Russell: I know, thanks for inviting me back I’m so happy to be here.

Dean: For those of you who don’t know Russell, Russell’s been a dear friend for, I think we’ve known each other for 12 years, since we were both at a charity event. We met, I think it was over a decade. Russell started a company called Clickfunnels, one of the fastest growing, what would you say, what’s the definition of your company beside a world changer? He made being online and marketing and building webpages, I’m using simple terminology, the easiest on the planet. One of the fastest growing SAAS and development companies that’s not backed by other capital, just by bootstrapping. Built one of the most amazing companies on the planet.

Tony: And started with no business background, really. Right? Was a wrestler, a dedicated human being and was just wanted to help people. I mean, that’s really your driving force, it still is. You come across as so humble and yet you’re so skilled. And we met when you came to one of my seminars 12 years ago, as well. So we’ve known each all that time, and I’ve just watched you grow geometrically. And you know, in the online business like anyplace else, there are industries where there are people that are extraordinary and there’s a lot of people that are soso, and some that are crooks. And unfortunately, there’s a lot of crooks.

You are so the opposite, you offer it with such integrity and such commitment to add value to other people. And we’re privileged to have you as a dear friend, and thank you for coming on.

Russell: Thanks. Wow, that was amazing. I’m excited because, I told Dean this before. I got started in this business watching him on infomercials with a pad of paper taking notes like, “this is amazing.” And then Tony, the first time I heard about Tony, I went on EBay and bought every one of your courses, literally every one of them. And then my wife and I listened in the car driving everywhere. And the first time I had a chance to meet you it was one of the most amazing moments of my life. So I’m just grateful to being sitting in the room with you guys, which is so much fun.

Dean: So you were back there watching us, sometimes there’s so much information to share you can complicate it. And I just want, I was hoping you could come in and say, what are the parts where we cut through the chase and show people how they can get started on this path?

Russell: For sure. I think for everyone who’s watching, you’re listening to this and there’s a reason why you showed up here today. There’s what, 460,000 people registered. So there’s a reason everybody is hearing the message and they showed up to be here. I think then becomes a time where like, hey, if you like what you’re learning there’s the opportunity to go and take the next step.

And people get scared all the time. And I’ve kind of found in my time doing this online, there’s usually three main reasons why people don’t get started. And the first one is they’re scared of the vehicle, like the thing. So for this whole opportunity, it’s all about you taking your knowledge and turning it into these amazing things. And I’m not going to spend too much time on that because I think, I mean right there is the stack of what, 1000

Dean: 1100.

Russell: 1100 wins in the last 12 months. You’ve seen this is how I’ve built my companies, Tony’s done it, Dean’s done it, Jenna’s done it. It’s not like it’s a new weird thing. It’s there, it’s happening. I think that for most people they believe that like, okay this is actually a legitimate, it’s a real thing, it’s a way that I can serve and I can change people’s lives.

But then the second one, this is what I want to spend the most time in, is people’s internal fear of like, “Okay, I believe that this is really, really good, but I don’t know if I can actually do it.” So I want to spend a little bit of time talking about that. And some of my notes I was writing back here, and I think, I’m a big believer in this, and I’m guessing these guys believe the same thing, but I really do believe that business is a calling.

Tony: Yes.

Russell: It’s a calling that you’ve been called to serve a group of people. And for any of you guys who are here today, my guess is that you heard that calling and it’s like this tug and this pull. And you know, in the new testament it talks about many are called but few are chosen. It’s like, we get the calling, everyone has a chance, you have these opportunities where you’re called and you feel this pressure pulling you into something and you’re not sure what to do and you’re nervous and you’re scared and all these things happen.

And most people just walk away from it. You feel the tug and then like, ugh, there’s too much fear, they’re scared or whatever that is. So again, my guess is you’ve felt that calling and you’ve been called to serve and there’s a group of people that you can literally change their life, which is the most amazing feeling I think most of us can have in this life.

I have a close friend, Ryan Moran, he had a quote that he told me the other day that I thought was the coolest thing. He said, “An entrepreneur is someone who takes personal responsibility for a problem that is not their own.” If you think about that, most of the world see there’s a problem, “Ah, that’s not mine. That’s not mine.” They’re running away.

Dean: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tony: Yeah.

Russell: Whereas entrepreneurs are like, “Huh, I think I can fix that. I think maybe I’m the one who’s supposed to be doing that.” And it’s the opposite of what the rest of the world is doing. So you’ve heard that, you’ve felt that calling and it’s like, maybe that’s me. And I look at these 1100 people and how many, 4000 niches?

Dean: Yeah, 4000. 4000 yeah.

Tony: There’s more than 1100, those are just the ones we printed out. We ran out of this paper.

Russell: It’s amazing. So 4000 niches means 4000 problems out there that are being solved. There’s a person like you who’s hearing that and like, “Maybe, that’s my thing. Maybe I’m the one who’s supposed to….” And you know my first business was teaching people to make potato guns, so I was the guy like, that was my first thing. I don’t know if you remember I sent you…

Tony: I do remember, you sent me one.

Russell: The first time I met Tony I was like, “How do you impress a guy who’s got everything.” So I sent him a potato gun.

Tony: It shoots far though.

Russell: So fun. But that’s the thing. That’s like our role, we hear the calling and then we’re the ones who say, “Man, that’s a challenge, that’s an opportunity. I’m going to take personal responsibility. I’m going to be the person who does this. Who helps this.” You know, Dean when he started this business he was like, ‘I’m going to be the one who helps people to bring knowledge out>” When Tony started his it was like, “I’m going to be the person who’s going to take this thing.”

And I think that’s the thing. Now, what’s interesting I think for most of us, is the calling when you hear it, when you feel it, that feeling, it’s never at a convenient time. Ever.

Tony: And you don’t feel prepared when you go for it either.

Russell: Yeah, it’s the scariest thing in the…

Dean: You’ve got to work your courage muscle.

Russell: It’s the scariest thing in the world. And I was looking through just, as I was listening to everybody, I was thinking about some of the people that I’ve had a chance to be around who have a big impact on me, and I’ve seen have a big impact on different industries and different markets. There are a couple of stories that really spoke to me that I want to share with you guys.

One of them is from one of my friends, Chris Wark. Chris runs a site called chrisbeatcancer.com. And Chris is a perfect example. He’s a guy living a normal life, everything is happening, and then he comes down with cancer, which is, I can’t even imagine that. And the fear, and all the things that happen with that. He went through the process and he figured out the ways, and eventually was able to cure himself of cancer.

And in this time it’s like, he feels this calling of like, I need to help other people, but man, I just got my life back. There’s so many things I could be doing. But that calling, that feeling of I’ve got to help people, I have to give back, I have to serve. I’ve been given so much in my life, I need to help other people. And I’ve seen it transform now thousands of people’s lives because of this challenge he got, which became such a gift.

Tony: His mess became his message. We talked about it right. It’s a mess that became something that can help everybody. It’s beautiful.

Russell: Yeah, such a cool thing. Another one is Annie Grace, is one of my favorite people. Annie actually had a problem with alcohol addiction, and she was a business woman, she was traveling all around the world and she got to a point where she was doing these meetings with people and everyone went out, and they had a drink and eventually she woke up one day and realized, “I have a problem and I need to stop this thing.”

And she didn’t know how to stop it. And she tried a whole bunch of different things to try to overcome that. And none of the traditional routes of things really worked. So she sat down and said, “I have to figure out how do our minds actually work? What causes addictions? What is the thing that’s making it so I can’t break this addiction? No matter how much I try all the different programs that are out there.” And throughout time she figured out the psychological effects and how to shift and how to break it and how to reverse it.

And she’s gone on and written books, she does events, she does courses teaching people how to break the chains of alcohol addiction, which also relates to pretty much any addiction. I’ve watched her, she had this thing that was the worst, and like, you just recovered from this problem you had, and all the sudden you feel this calling of like, you need to help people. Why am I qualified, I have the problem. I’m the least qualified person in the world.

Tony: That’s actually what makes you the most qualified. When you solve it.

Dean: Yep.

Russell: 100%

Tony: It’s not intellectual, it’s real results. That’s the difference between traditional education and what this is really all about.

Russell: And I’ve had a chance to see now with her, just looking at her community, these people’s lives she changed, families she’s saved. All these things because she’s going out there. I assume everyone’s felt that. I’m sure all you guys listening have felt that call and that pull of just, I need to help.

Alex Charfen calls it the contribution gap, like I know I need to be doing more. I don’t know what it is, I’m scared, I’m fearful. But it’s like, being willing to take that step, being the entrepreneur saying, “I’m going to take personal responsibility for that problem. I’m going to take it and make it my own.”

So that’s kind of the first step in this process. One question that we got on the questions I was reading through here was, “Who’s going to listen to me? I’m just a person.” And I don’t know, I always kind of laugh, when I go back home tonight, I’m going to back to my family and I’m just a person. But here I am right. But we’re all that way. I think a lot of times we’re scared of, I don’t know if I’m, I’m not qualified yet. Or maybe when I get to this certain point, then I’ll be ready. Then I’ll be ready.

And we have this, we call it the manana principle, it’s like, tomorrow, manana, manana I’ll be ready, and keep pushing it off til forever and it never actually happens. And there’s a movie, Catch Me If You Can, have you guys seen that?

Dean: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tony: Yeah, of course.

Russell: And there’s also a book and the book version is a little bit longer than the movie. There’s a, it’s a story of a guy who’s a con artist, so it’s not the best role model.

Dean: It’s a fun movie.

Tony: I’ve met the guy, he’s a real guy.

Russell: Oh, did you really?

Tony: Yeah, it’s a true story.

Russell: Well in the book he tells this story when he actually, between all the different things he did, he was an airline pilot, he was a doctor, he did all these different crazy things. And one thing, he went to Brigham Young University and actually became a sociology professor. He walked in one day, there was no teacher, he grabbed the book and gets up there and teaches an entire semester of advanced sociology. Later when the feds catch him for all the crazy things he’s done, they ask him, “how did you teach a semester of advanced sociology to these people?” and he’s like, “Oh, it was easy, I just got the book and read one chapter ahead.”

I think what’s interesting, it’s so true for all of us. We’re thinking, when I’m Tony Robbins, then I’ll go serve the people and I’m going to help people. It’s like, no, you can help people today. You look back, who am I one chapter ahead? Who am I one or two steps ahead of that I can look back and start helping?

If I would have waited to share my message about, you know, I teach people how to build companies with sales funnels. If I would have waited until I was ready, I never would have been ready. In fact, talking about this whole concept of if the calling is never convenient, I remember when I started this company it was like I had built up a company, it collapsed, I’d fired 80 people, I was in the brink of bankruptcy. I literally emailed a bankruptcy lawyer, we were talking through all the things and all the sudden I felt the calling. I was like, what? It was like, you need to start talking about this story. I’m like, I don’t want to tell this, this is a horrible story. I don’t want to tell it.

Dean: This is a horrible story.

Russell: And for me, I started sharing it. I started a podcast, I started talking about it, I started talking about it, I started talking about it, I started talking about this journey I was going on. And it was painful and it was embarrassing. And at first, it’s kind of interesting because when you first start talking, I think a lot of times we’re nervous because it’s like, people are going to make fun of us. But at the beginning nobody is actually listening to you, so it doesn’t really matter. At the beginning that’s the chance for you to find your voice and learn how to actually do it. So it’s not about how to actually do it. It’s about you learning your voice and how to do the thing, and getting a chapter ahead of the times.

And after you get a chapter ahead, you can look back and start helping people. So I’m in the middle of the brink of bankruptcy, and I feel the calling, start publishing, start doing a podcast, doing whatever. I start sharing these messages, and I started to figure out my stuff. And really quick all these people started kind of following me. And like, oh my gosh, Russell’s a couple of steps ahead. And I could look back and start helping them as well. I think that’s the big thing to understand.

And then the last thing internal I think that, I don’t want anyone to think this business is always going to be so easy, I’m going to get rich overnight. That’s not what this is. This is a career, this is a lifestyle, this is a mission. This is something to be driven beyond that. And I think a lot of times we’re like, “Okay, I’m going to sign up for KBB tonight, and then next week I’m going to make 50,000 dollars.” That’s not how this works. That’s not the game.

The game is you come out here and you’re building a business, you’re building a career, this is a lifestyle. This is something more than any of those other things. And I was reading a blog post the other day from one of my friends, Nathan Barry, and the blogpost was called, Endure Long Enough To Get Noticed. And in this blogpost he talked about, he said, “How many movies or TV shows did you not hear about until season 3 or 4 or 5?

Dean: Yeah, yeah.

Tony: Well, Seinfeld was a total failure and nobody was going to do it. Ended up being one of the greatest of all time.

Dean: Yeah.

Russell: Exactly, and I think what happened, there was so much content, so many people, so many things happening, so much noise happening that us as humans, we wait to see what’s going to stick around long enough to actually rise to the top.

So for a lot of us it’s understanding that and going into this like, this isn’t going to be an overnight thing. This is something I’m getting into, this is going to be a business, but I’m going to start the process and I’m going to get a chapter ahead, and then a second chapter, and I’m going to be learning this. And as you keep doing that, that’s the process, and if you endure long enough…like if you start today, and then a month from now, 2 months from now, 6 months from now, a year from now. A year from now you’re going to be in that big old stack of paper. And then 2 years from now you’re going to be up here on stage and you’re going to take Jenna’s seat and you’ll be telling your story. But it’s all about enduring long enough to get noticed. Keep doing the thing, keep doing the thing.

So I hope that helps you guys, those who are thinking, “I don’t know if I could do it.” You could ask my friends in high school and my family members and stuff like, that, in fact, I served a mission for my church and we had the guy who’s kind of the lead of the mission, he’s called a mission president. And he came to our last event we did, and he said, “man, of all the people that I worked with 20 years ago, you were the least likely that I would have ever thought would be this person.” And it doesn’t have to do with your skills now, it has to do with you talking and sharing, and the more you do it, the better you’ll get and the more comfortable.

So again, the first thing, the first big fear is that people are scared of the vehicle. I don’t know if this is for me. I promise you, this works. It’s worked for so many people. Number two is, can I do it? And the answer is yes, you can do it. And the third fear people have is the external fear of, “Well, I believe that this is right, I believe that I could do it. I just don’t know how to do it.” That’s the whole point. You shouldn’t know how to do it. That’s why we have KBB for you so you can go and figure it out. That’s the best part.

Tony: Save yourself years and years. And also what you said earlier is really true. I want to save you, but I always tell people, most people overestimate what they’ll do in a year, and underestimate what they’ll do in a decade. Look at what’s happened to you, and I’ve known you this last decade, the growth has been insane. But you know, I always overestimated, but because I kept doing it, endured, it just grows and grows, and when you got multiple decades on you, you’ll be in a place you never dreamed of.

So that may sound too far off for people who want an instant answer. But you do have an instant answer. You have the answer of what to do now, so you start with, like I did, 7 people, then you go to your 20 and your 50 and your 100. And pretty soon you’ve built something that you’re unbelievably proud of because it’s meaningful and it’s impactful, and you’ve been able to take care of your family and have the kind of economical freedom that you want. And you’re a perfect example of that Russell.

Russell: Thank you.

Tony: Also a perfect example of what integrity is. You have tremendous integrity. You are always looking to add more value, the same as us, I think it’s why you’ve prospered so much, brother.

Russell: Well, thank you. I appreciate that.

Dean: Yeah, and it’s great. I mean, you write books on this. You help people uncover, and you know, Jenna was right, we call it unpackaging your super power, exposing your super power, and it sounds so big, but when you look at people helping parents with eczema, or through a divorce, or the examples you gave here, you realize your mess could be your message. Or just that thing you didn’t realize took you 5years to figure out, there’s somebody starting on day one and they need it.

So before, only because I know we’re getting late here, and I want to give everybody the opportunity, but I don’t want to leave without any last words or any last thoughts.

Russell: Yes, I have one last, in fact it’s a quote. So I’m going to quote someone much greater than me, if that’s okay, because this one of my favorite quotes of all time, and hopefully this will ring true for you. This is from Sir Winston Churchill. He said, “To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered a chance to do a very special thing unique to them, and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared, or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”

Dean: Wow. That is…

Russell: For everyone listening, again, business is a calling. You have been called to serve a group of people. You have been called to change their lives and you felt that. That’s why you’re here, that’s why you’re still on 2 hours into this thing, because you’re feeling it, and you know this is for you but you’re scared and you’re nervous, and all those things. And it’s okay. You should be scared. Do you think I’m not scared coming out here and hanging with you? I’m shaking in my boots right now. It’s okay. You still gotta show up and just do the thing, because there are people out there that are waiting for you to change their lives and you can’t do it until you take that first step.

Because the chance is going to come where you could have changed someone’s life, but if you’re not prepared what a tragedy that would be for you. But more importantly, what an even bigger tragedy it is for them. So take advantage, move forward because you have the ability to change somebody’s life. And the tools you’re going to learn in this process will help you be able to do that.

A lot of times we worry about ourselves when we make a decision like this, “How is it going to affect me?” and things like that. And I would challenge you to flip it around the other way. Who are the people I’ve been called to serve? How will me taking a step change their lives?

Tony: Or your family.

Russell: Yeah, your family, people around you. It’s interesting, when you shift away from “How am I going to make money?” to “How can I serve people?” the money will come, it just does. But that, I can’t tell you. I’ve had a lot of big wins in my life, and it’s like, “it’s really fun.” But when you can have a chance to help someone else have that impact and you see them win, there’s nothing better than that in the world. And you guys will have a chance to experience that. Some of you for the first time in your lives. And you have a chance to do that, and you see somebody else’s light bulb go off, and their life change, you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I was a little piece in that journey.“ There is no better feeling than that in the whole world. So I hope you guys can all experience that as you go through this program and change the lives of the people you’ve been called to serve.