The Real Work of High Performance

Carl Richards stuttered so badly as a kid he could barely get three words out. He went on to spend more than 25 years behind a radio microphone, got fired twice along the way, and built a podcast agency during the pandemic.

But this conversation isn't about the microphone. It's about what that career asked of him at home.

Years of nights and weekends. A full-time job, a part-time job, and a part-time business all running at once. A spouse who understood. And an industry where he watched colleagues go through one, two, even three divorces.

We talk about Clean As You Go, Rule 4 of The Chef's Code. In the kitchen, a spill you wipe up now takes five seconds. Leave it, and it bakes on. Relationships work the same way. Carl shares how he and his wife keep the small things from festering, why he has her coffee ready every weekday morning, and the phone call about his grandmother that taught him "later" isn't guaranteed.

If you keep telling yourself you'll slow down after the next big push, Carl's answer is simple: don't wait. That next promotion can wait three months. The people you love may not.

ABOUT CARL RICHARDS
Carl Richards has spent more than 25 years behind the microphone, on radio and on stage, entertaining and influencing audiences world wide. He's a 3x best selling author, TEDx Speaker and TEDx emcee, podcast host and the founder and CEO of Podcast Solutions Made Simple. Carl helps coaches, consultants and other subject mater experts become the got authority by launching, OR being guests on world class podcasts. He lives with his spouse in Gananoque, Ontario Canada, where he enjoys camping and boating in the thousand Islands.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Cold open

00:25 Welcome and what high performance really means

01:07 Meet Carl Richards

01:18 From a childhood stutter to the microphone

04:06 Fired twice: from radio to podcasting

07:53 What building a business on nights and weekends cost

11:29 Why so many careers in hospitality and radio end in divorce

14:32 Clean As You Go: don't let it bake on

17:58 Making conversation out of nothing

19:51 You never know when time with people you love gets cut short

21:55 Not waiting with his mother

28:02 The small things: coffee every morning

32:04 Cherry pie, recitals, and showing up

37:48 There's no such thing as overnight success

39:44 One-hit wonders and the trap of coasting

43:53 What he kept putting off: time away

48:00 Putting career ambitions on hold for his marriage

49:52 Why family road trips bring kids closer

53:06 To the father waiting to slow down: don't wait

55:21 A daily walk, piano, and one check-in call

57:53 Where to find Carl

1:01:05 What would his family say about the real work he did?

1:02:46 How it paid him back

1:03:45 Closing

CONNECT WITH CARL

Podcast Solutions Made Simple (book a strategy session): https://podcastsolutionsmadesimple.com

His show, Communication, Connection, Community: https://podcastsolutionsmadesimple.com/podcast

BUILD THE SYSTEM AT HOME

Most men manage their work life like an Executive Chef. Their personal life, they run like a short-order cook.

The 3x12 Freedom Framework is where you build the system. Every Saturday we sit down together and plan the week ahead across the three areas of your life: personal, professional, and passion. We work in 12-week cycles alongside other leaders building the same kind of life.

If you're ready to build it, this is where that starts: https://3x12freedomframework.com

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Real Work of High Performance is a conversation with leaders and fathers about what's really happening behind the results. Hosted by Nicholas Brown, CHPC, founder of Cooking Physics.

New episodes every other Wednesday.

When Marcus J. Anderson was seven, his dad asked what he wanted for Christmas. He said a Los Angeles Rams uniform. Years later, the Rams were the first NFL team he played for.

He got the dream. Then, after his first season, he looked around and asked: is this all it is?

In this episode of The Real Work of High Performance, Marcus talks about what came after the dream. Moving from the "me, me, me" of pro football to putting other people first. Why being the priest of his home is the hardest thing he's ever tried to live up to. And what it took to rebuild himself after a divorce ended a 33-year marriage, when he needed what he calls a checkup from the neck up. We connect it to Serve With Intention, Rule 6 of The Chef's Code. In the best kitchens, the chefs who leave their ego at the door are the ones whose restaurants rise. At home, it works the same way.

Today Marcus is a husband, father of three, grandfather, poet, culinary school graduate, and a man who's ramping up while most people his age are ramping down.

Because the dream is only the first half of the job. The harder half is what you do every day.

ABOUT MARCUS J. ANDERSON
Passionate follower of JESUS Christ, Former NFL/USFL athlete; poet/author, graduate of Lenôtre Culinary Institute, Father, Grand Father, Husband, avid motorcycle rider (Honda 2025 Goldwing titled "Rapture".

CHAPTERS

00:00 Cold open: "Is this all it is?"

00:37 Welcome and what high performance really means

01:12 Meet Marcus J. Anderson

02:17 A Christmas wish for a Rams uniform

05:06 Speaking life into a dream

08:59 Why his first dream was too small

10:24 Who was the dream really for?

12:30 After the first season: is this all it is?

14:50 What he's most proud of: serving others

16:53 Why being the priest of his home is so hard

18:21 The cost of that kind of love: putting pride aside

21:39 Serve With Intention: the rule that separates good from exceptional

23:52 Where he's fallen short

26:19 The real work it took to reach the NFL

31:23 From the NFL to marriage, family, and corporate life

35:24 The story behind his book of poetry

40:32 Ride Pray Nation

44:16 Ramping up while others ramp down

45:10 Where the work at home asks the most of him

48:39 Is it ever too late to change?

50:01 Being willing to be vulnerable again

52:49 To the father who's winning at work but missing at home

54:28 Where to find Marcus

57:10 What would his kids say about the real work he did?

58:28 Closing

CONNECT WITH MARCUS

Book, Wonders of His Love: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DBGSZJJL

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-j-anderson-052b07a

Ride Pray Nation launches on YouTube in January.

BUILD THE SYSTEM AT HOME

Most men manage their work life like an Executive Chef. Their personal life, they run like a short-order cook.

The 3x12 Freedom Framework is where you build the system. Every Saturday we sit down together and plan the week ahead across the three areas of your life: personal, professional, and passion. We work in 12-week cycles alongside other leaders building the same kind of life.

If you're ready to build it, this is where that starts: https://3x12freedomframework.com

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Real Work of High Performance is a conversation with leaders and fathers about what's really happening behind the results. Hosted by Nicholas Brown, CHPC, founder of Cooking Physics.

New episodes every other Wednesday.

Troy Butterfield calls himself "just an average sort of guy." Second place in the spelling bee. Second place rookie salesman of the year.

He's also been married 37 years, raised four sons who are all entrepreneurs now, ran a business for 22 years, and wrote a book on how an ordinary person can excel exponentially.

In this episode of The Real Work of High Performance, Troy walks through the 8 F's he built his life around, and why the first three never move: faith, family, and food. We talk about what it cost him to hold that order. The client he let go over $8. The golf he gave up. The hunting trips with his boys he wishes he hadn't missed. And the promise to his wife that made one awkward lunch a lot easier to handle.

We also get into his book, Excel Exponentially, the 18 Essential Elements, and what he calls the Enhancers of Existence: happiness, joy, peace, freedom, and contentment.

If your priorities have drifted out of order, Troy's advice is simple. Write them down. Share them with someone. Then let that hold you to them.

Because you can father a child and never be a dad.

ABOUT TROY BUTTERFIELD
Troy Butterfield is a highly successful real estate investor and businessman. In partnership with his wife, Lanelle, the couple has specialized in growing, managing, and selling small businesses. Their past businesses include promotional products and property management companies, and they presently own and operate a service business called Color and Relationships, which helps businesses and families find peace and profit through better personal and employer-employee relationships.

Troy and Lanelle have been married for thirty-seven years. They raised four sons (Lanelle insists that she really had five boys to deal with). Their family has expanded to include two daughters-in-law and 3 grandsons and 1 granddaughter. They love to travel and have set foot in many of the states in America as well as travelled to over twenty-five foreign countries. A man of deep faith and patriotism, Troy loves to talk about two subjects no one is supposed to mention—religion and politics.

Despite his achievements in his personal life and businesses, Troy considers himself to be "just an average sort of guy." Yet he always wanted his life to make a difference—to mean something more than just trudging through the motions of making a decent living. By reading, observing, and emulating good examples, he built his own life around a set of solid principles which he calls "Essential Elements." These elements enabled him to rise above mediocrity and achieve exponential excellence. After watching so many friends, colleagues, and business acquaintances struggle to find peace and contentment, Troy felt a strong need to share with others his elemental discoveries in what it takes to achieve exponential excellence. The result is this book, Excel Exponentially.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Cold open

00:22 Welcome and what high performance really means

01:07 "Just an average sort of guy"

04:04 From commission sales to 22 years in business

06:45 The 8 F's and why the first three never move

12:12 How a set order made the hard calls easier

17:01 Harmony, not balance

19:24 Running a business 1,000 miles away with one parent always home

21:07 The real work is sacrifice: Friday date nights and giving up golf

27:54 Losing a client over $8, and the $1 on the plane

32:43 When the order slipped: the hunting trips he missed

35:46 A promise to his wife and freedom from guilt

39:07 Excel Exponentially and the 18 Essential Elements

44:12 Mise en place for your life

46:54 Perfectionism vs. perfecting: why he published anyway

49:56 The first step for a father whose priorities are out of order

54:16 What would your kids say about the real work you did?

56:26 How it paid him back

57:48 Closing

CONNECT WITH TROY

Book, Excel Exponentially: https://troybutterfield.com

Color and Relationships: https://colorandrelationships.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/troy-butterfield-baa0a82

Excel Exponentially is also available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

BUILD THE SYSTEM AT HOME

Most men manage their work life like an Executive Chef. Their personal life, they run like a short-order cook.

The 3x12 Freedom Framework is where you build the system. Every Saturday we sit down together and plan the week ahead across the three areas of your life: personal, professional, and passion. We work in 12-week cycles alongside other leaders building the same kind of life.

If you're ready to build it, this is where that starts: https://3x12freedomframework.com

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Real Work of High Performance is a conversation with leaders and fathers about what's really happening behind the results.

Hosted by Nicholas Brown, CHPC, founder of Cooking Physics.

New episodes every other Wednesday.