SFR 276: Making Peace With The Past

Anyone can make extra money on the side.    But the moment you get serious about having a big impact on others, you'll be forced to deal with a lot of your own skeletons in the closet…   I love my childhood, but just like anybody, there's a lot of garbage which can come from things that were even unintentional.   So this episode’s a little bit different.    Recently, I took a five-mile walk around where I grew up, I wanted to face some skeletons in the closet to help me move forward.   You have to will your future into existence.   … but that’s waaay harder to do if you’re still hiding from your past!   BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR…   Oftentimes, we think that if we leave, go somewhere, or sacrifice time to go and build something, we'll miss out on things.    But it's just not the case.    I walked through my childhood haunts and it's pretty much exactly the same when I was last here.    And so you're NOT really missing out on anything by choosing to go sacrifice some…   Time   Comfort   Pressure   ... in order to create the life that you really want!   You'll realize that ‘the sacrifices’ aren't really sacrifices at all.    So with that, let's cue the ghosts; it’s gonna be a little bit raw. VISITING WITH SKELETONS   I grew up in this house…   ...and I’m walking down memory lane here.    I was at a Russell Brunson event in Denver, (which is where I grew up), and on the first day, I just couldn't get an idea out of my head.    I was like, " I gotta  go walk around where I used to live."    It was an hour's drive, so I jump in an Uber and did some filming…    I'm the eldest of six kids…   When I was growing up, we weren't poor.    My dad was an executive at IBM most of my childhood and he started two companies and ran them.    I watched him be an entrepreneur; he changed my life, and obviously, my mom did too, of course - she gave me life.    I love my parents and my family - they are amazing; they taught me so many things.    All those yard stories I tell you about - the yard’s behind that house.    All the times where we ran from golf course rangers...   … the golf course on the other side of the house across the road.   My family doesn't live here anymore….   I knocked on the door here and I was like, "Hey, I used to live in this house."    That's probably weird... but from age 5 to 20, I lived in this house.    During my late teen years, I was in and out, but I officially left the when I was 20.    DOCUMENTING THE JOURNEY   One of the purposes of Sales Funnel Radio was to do something kinda ballsy - I wanted to leave my job and document all the aspects…   … and Sales Funnel Radio has been an awesome platform.    As you grow up, there's a whole bunch of stuff that happens to you, and one of the purposes, (like I said), of Sales Funnel Radio, is to document the journey.   And over the last 3-6 months, something different is going on for me, so I want to document that too!   And so, this is me documenting the garbage that I've been trying to fix… and WHY it’s sooo important for my success.   FACING GHOSTS   I believe anyone can make money in this game, but there's a certain spot you hit where you stop and you can't go any further into the future until you find some way to shake hands with your past.    ...and that's what I'm trying to do.    A lot of you guys have reached out and been like, "Steven, take more time for yourself."    I actually take more time for myself than you might realize or know that I do, and it’s because of systems and processes - I've gotten good at them.    I haven't built a funnel since November of 2018   I’ve maybe built a single squeeze page or something like that…    But for the most part, I haven't touched my own funnels. I don't do much on my podcast episodes anymore.    It's the system.    It's the team.    I have incredible teams and incredible funnel builders - they’re awesome.    Q: So what it has allowed me to do?    A: Let me tell you...   I've never been able to go spend time on myself because I've always been in a job.    I've always had to work, work for somebody else.    I've worked in...   Construction jobs.    Discount Tire.     A plastic factory - that was my first job.   Pool Maintenance - I was a pool boy.     A golf course across the street.    A clothing store   Sports store.   ... I did all kinds of stuff.    I had 16 jobs by the time I left home   (... a lot of side stories there)   But here’s the point…   If you don't learn to make money for the sake of making more money in general, do it for the hidden benefit of being able to spend money and time on you.   Because I just want to share a pattern that I'm noticing.    If you’re feeling stuck, you need to find some way to shake the hands of your past   … and, frankly, you may not enjoy it.    I'm not saying that my past is super dark, but there's a lot more dark than I've ever let on…   … which is super challenging.    There was a lot of death when I was growing up - there was some intense crap that went down. ARE YOU A STUDENT OF EXCEPTIONS?I grew up in Suburbia and which was great.    It's not like I was fearing for my life, it’s wasn’t like it was The Bronx or anything…    But any childhood has something inside of it, usually, and I'm kind of a student of exceptions...    There's a lot of stuff that I've done in my life that isn't the norm.    … and that was a pattern I started exhibiting as I was growing up.   I almost got kicked out of high school for selling pens.    If you guys know the Columbine shooting, that's right over there - my wife and her siblings went to college there.    I went to their rival high school, which is just a mile up that direction   A lot of things happened, and …   Trying to figure out ways to be okay with ‘where you've been,’ for some reason, is super important for where you're trying to go.    MONEY AND GROWTH   A low month for me now is 100 grand.    ...and please don't feel weird about that - as I said, I'm just documenting.    We’re only halfway through the month and we’ve almost hit 200 grand.    I'm helping people, lives are changing, it's profitable and everything's going the way it's supposed to go.    There have been ample times when it's NOT been that way… and you all know those stories.    But I've always wondered what you would spend your time when you’re able to make enough cash to buy back your time?    Well, one of the most natural things that you go spend your time on when you start buying some of it back is working on yourself.   Right now...    I'm going through EMDR therapy   I have a massage therapist.    I have a chiropractor.   I'm getting my blood work done.    I'm doing all kinds of stuff to help my longevity - 'cause I'm realizing the mission that I'm on is larger than me, and it's an honor to be able to go do this stuff.    I really believe that… In order for you to move forward, you really need to find a way to shake hands with the past and stare those devils in the face.   You don't have to hug them... but give them a nice, enthusiastic high five.    You have to like everything that happened but you'll find that it's so much easier to face the future and do the things that I'm teaching you how to do.   The content that I give away is not normal, I know that - I teach you stuff that most people charge for.  I'm trying to help you make money, but so much has to happen inside your head if you're really trying to make this a career.    If you're gonna be a leader, you gotta have your head on.    And there are increasing levels of self-discovery and personal development that I've been going through…   A few weeks ago, I told my wife, "Man, I can feel like I’m being required to level up."     …  it was scary!    And this happens every three months now!   FACE YOUR FEAR!   Sometimes people reach out and ask:      "Steven, do you ever have fear?"      DUH!      "Steven, have you ever been afraid?”     UH - HUH!     “Stephen, is there any weirdness that you're trying to overcome?”     YEP!   #FACT: EVERYONE goes through that - there's no one who doesn't.    Funnily enough, I can teach you the formulas that cause cash, and you can make it without going in any of this stuff, but there comes a spot where you have to go and finally say,  "You know, I got to work on me."  .  The whole point of this episode is:    Don't try to hide from stuff in your past that keeps nagging at you.    You know what I'm talking about when I say that