SFR 44: My Little Black Book Of Business

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The "Re-Epiphany" I Had While At Breakfast with Russell Brunson

Hey, what's going on everyone? This is Steve Larsen, and you're listening to Sales Funnel Radio.

Welcome to Sales Funnel Radio, where you'll learn marketing strategies to grow your online business using today's best internet sales funnels. And now, here's your host, Steve Larsen.

What's going on everyone? I've been trying to be more consistent in these podcasts. There's so many cool things going on right now. I wish I could capture it all and show you things that are going on, so many awesome little masterminds I've had with Russell lately, with lots of people, and it's been really, really fun to just learn and glean from other people. It's just been great.

I've really enjoyed it, and it's been fun to, you know, like when you get in flow? You know what I mean? You get in state?

Anyway, it's been cool, especially today. It's kind of funny ... So Russell and I have just been burning the midnight oil like crazy for the last couple months here, and it's been really, really fast and that's part of the reason why I can't do any kind of funnel building for anyone else anymore.

What we're doing is so fast paced. It's almost out of self preservation...

I mean, I really can't handle it that much more, to be honest, and, like I said last episode, we got a house, and I'm super excited about that.

It's been a lot of fun to start making those preparations and things like that...

But, anyway, it's been cool to ... Over the last few months, we were kind of redoing the front end of ClickFunnels together. I mean, like crazy. It's been a whole lot of fun. Russell had me go through tons and tons of quizzes, and I started noticing these patterns in how people were doing their quizzes.

I promise that there's a point to this whole story, okay? Just follow me on this path, all right?

Because I had this really cool thought today, and I was like, "Oh my gosh. I've got to podcast that. That was so awesome. I've got to share this." So just bear with me a little bit. This is going to sound crazy and sound random, but I promise there's a point coming to it.

It's kind of fun, because we sit down and Russell and I were talking about different cool things we could do for the new front end of ClickFunnels. We wanted people who didn't know what ClickFunnels is, or didn't know what sales funnels are, or didn't know hardly what internet marketing is.

We wanted those people, who don't know marketing, who don't know all that stuff, to be able to go to the front page of ClickFunnels and go, "Oh my gosh. Like, that's what this is?"

We're trying to close the education gap and make that bridge even smaller so people get it ... Faster, you know, just super cool tool...

You guys obviously know I'm a huge advocate of it. Someone asked me if I'm a partner. I said, "No, not yet, but hopefully someday."

I want to lead down that path sometime, but anyway ... So we've been talking all this stuff, right? We've had all these different events. I'm helping prepare the FHAT event. That's F-H-A-T, Funnel Hackathon, right, and Russell's, he's put me in charge of that. I've built out and created what's called the secrets master class. It's been really fun, just fast pace, you know? We were talking to somebody, and they're like, "Is it always this crazy?"

And I was like, "You know what? It's always really intense, but there's been this extra flavor of intensity since like, you know, October, November timeframe."

It just seems like the heat really turned up. I was finishing a whole bunch of funnels for Funnel Hacker TV, which is going to come out soon, and I think we're going to get it here on Netflix soon, too, which is so cool!

I'm gonna be on Netflix! Really excited about that...

Anyways, that's what the plan is, anyway, and we figured out, we think, how to do it. And you guys will get to see ... I think it's like eight different episodes for that. It's just been really fast. You know, really, really intense.

I feel like I'm looking up and going, "Wow! Three months just went by!" You know what I mean? Look up again, "Oh my gosh! That was half of a year!" And I've almost been with ClickFunnels for a full year now, which is super awesome.

Anyway, it's been great. But it's kind of interesting, because I was drinking tons of caffeine to keep up with the pace. Russell was too. Just, we were kind of trashing our bodies, to be honest.

There were so many reasons why I stopped building funnels on the side for other people...

And that was another one of the reasons, is that I was just like, "Man, I'm not taking care of myself very well." It really started affecting me mentally, and I could tell. And Russell could tell it was doing it to him as well, and I was like, "Ugh."

So we decided to do a three day juice fast cleanse. And any time Russell has any
idea like that, sometimes it's like this little lurch inside me, like, "Oh, crap. This is gonna be awful. Ugh." He wants me to do colonics and stuff. I don't know if I can hack that. I'm like, "Nah, man. And if I was to go do that, I'm not gonna go with you to do that."

Anyway, it's been kinda funny. So, we've been on this three day juice fast, and today was the last day. We were gonna do four days, but just so much has been going on. We're such low-energy. You basically drink juice every single day.

We got it from this certain place that prepares it for us every day, and I go pick it up on my motorcycle every morning, and I bring it to both of us. We'll have a green drink together and then these wheat grass shots, and every two hours you drink another 16 ounces of a different juice.

Like beet juice, to cleanse the liver. You know?

It's got ginger in it, and all this other stuff. Other greens, and things like that. Another one's coconut water. Another one's almond milk. Another one's back to wheat grass juice. Back to grapefruit juice, all over the ... Anyways, it's actually a lot.

It actually was more work to continue drinking that stuff than I thought so, you know? I had to do over and over and over again.

It was fine, like, the first half of the day, and then I got really hungry, obviously. I started feeling it, getting headaches, things like that, about 24 hours in. And that kinda stayed that way, kind of low-energy, for the next 24 hours, but the third day was actually pretty easy for me.

But Russell's really feeling it, because he was only sleeping like four hours a night this last little bit here...

And he ... I could just tell, he's really struggling. And I was hungry, and today was the last day, and we made it halfway through the day, and he turns over ... We were rebuilding the front end of ClickFunnels, and I was finishing things with funnel hacks ... Anyway, we were updating lots of stuff, lots of products, to get ready for the book launch.

And he turns to me, and I can just tell he's dragging, full dark circles under his eyes. And he's like, "Dude. I have got to eat!"

And I was like ... Because these juice fasts are like 900 calories a day, and I was like, "Man, I'm not gonna be lifting during this." And he's like, "Dude, you have to! Make it even harder!"

And I was like, "No." But he's been up, a lot, and anyway ... So he was like, "What do you want to eat, man? Does breakfast sound good?" I was like, "Sure." And it was the middle of the day.

So we went and we had IHOP, and we were with Winter Jones. He helps us do some of our coding and things like that, and design work, things like that, which has been awesome.

The three of us just kinda crank all of that along, and we get a lot of stuff done. It's been fun...

Full sprint, which, you know, is not out of the norm for us...

But, we get in the car, and Russell's driving, we're going down to IHOP ... And I know how to code a little bit, and Winter obviously is a pretty hardcore coder, and I know design, and Winter knows some design. He's very good at that also. And I know funnel stuff ... You know what I mean? And Russell kept saying, "Man, I wish I had those kinds of skills."

And I thought, "That's interesting that you say that." And I said, "Well, it's okay. You've got other skill." And he's like, "No, no, no. It's totally fine. I get it. My skill has always revolved around getting other people to do the things that I can't or don't want to do, and that's how I've grown everything so fast. And that's how I move so fast."

And I was sitting back, and I don't think he realized what he had said. I mean, he realized, obviously, but the impact that it had on me. I was sitting back there and I was thinking, "How interesting. How interesting that-"

And we're both foggy brained, we're both feeling it from the three day juice fast thing. We're trying to cleanse and get out of our caffeine ways, trying to be more healthy and take care of ourselves, things like that.

And we're going to have our first meal in a long time ... But my mind was racing...

I was like, "That's so interesting, because I've had the same kinds of thoughts before that." I didn't learn how to code in school. I didn't learn how to build stuff in school. I didn't learn, really, sales, very well. I mean, there was a sales class, but it wasn't very good.

It was only a couple weeks, too. It was like two or three weeks. How can you ... Sales turns all of the economy in the entire world. How are we not spending more time on this in business marketing degrees?

But, anyway ... And everything, I'm self-taught, you know? I've just pushed my own way through. I was sitting there, and I was listening to him, and I thought, "Gosh, that's really interesting." And it reminded me of an experience that I had had. And I think I've shared this with you, but I'm not quite sure if I have or not, so I thought I would.

There was this time I was playing ... This is gonna sound so stupid, okay?

And I know what my next podcast is gonna be, and this kind of story will make more sense when you hear the next podcast. But we used to go to a gym, like basketball gym, where these two gyms in our church, side by side. But we'd turn over all the tables, and we'd bring in dozens and dozens of tennis balls. We'd split into two teams, and we would play dodge ball with tennis balls.

It's slightly stupid, you know? But it was so much fun, because you really didn't want to get hit. I mean, you'd get welts sometimes. And people would get black eyes from getting hit in the face and the eyes. It was intense.

You'd go sprinting as fast as you could from table to table, playing dodge ball with tennis balls...

I remember that there was this time that ... And you guys are gonna think, "Why would you say something like this on Sales Funnel Broker?" Well, I'm gonna tell you why. Bear with me. It's been nine, ten minutes now. I'm still going full circle. It's been a long circle, but there's a really strong point to this, and I want to make it, because I've had several people ask, "I wish you could do this. I wish you could do this. I'm not good at this part."

I was like, "So what?" Anyway, back to the story. So, we're playing dodge ball with tennis balls, and there was probably 20 or 30 of us. I mean, we'd get a big group of people together. It hurt. It was a lot of fun though. These balls just go whizzing by your face, and it was pretty close quarters. But we'd throw as hard as we could at each other on purpose, and it was really fun.

But there was this time that we got there ... Because we did this for months and months, every week. There was this time we got together, and everyone was just kinda sitting around and talking and stuff, but I really wanted to play. I was trying to get everybody together to play.

And I was like, "Come on guys! Come on! Let's do this together! Here, let's do this! Here, let's do this! Come on! Where's the team? Who's the team captains?"

Like, whatever it is, let's split down the middle. Whatever, I just want to play. You know? And I kept walking around, and I felt like nobody was hearing me. It was really frustrating. I didn't understand why. All of the sudden, this guy, who was really tall ... And we're talking like 6'6', 6'7'. Super tall, big big big guy.

He turns around, and he goes, "All right! Let's just do this!"

It was like he barely said it, and everybody in the huge gym heard it, stood up, and walked over. And I was like, "What on earth just happened?" I was almost mad. So I was like, "I've been trying to get everyone to start for like 15 minutes! Why did this take so long?"

And I was like, "Whatever." I kinda just sat back, and I was like, "I'm gonna just watch." I remember, I really like to observe people, and I really like watching them and observing behavior. You know what I mean? I've always been that way.

So anyway, I sat back and I watched, and this guy, in like a matter of two minutes, organized the whole thing, and we got going. And I said, "How was this guy able to do it that fast and not me?"

I didn't understand it. It was really confusing me. It actually really bothered me...

And I realized that there are some talents and skills that people just uniquely have, that I don't. And that's okay.

And there were things that I was really good at, and I knew he was not good at. It was true for everybody in the gym there. And I was like, "Huh." I remember immediately thinking ... You guys are gonna laugh at this. But I used to walk around and carry a black notebook with me, and a pen. And any time I'd have a business idea, or any time I would have any kind of what I would think was inspiration, or some kind of thing that could bless me financially, or whatever.

I had a notebook, and every time I had one, I would write it down. If it was a stupid idea, if it was a great idea, whatever. I should go find that thing and read you guys some of the ideas, because some of them are pure crap. But that's not the point.

The point is, I was just trying to always be in a state of flow. I was trying to constantly come out and say, "Okay. Here's this cool black notebook, and I'm ready to just have ideas. I'm ready to pursue stuff."

I was always trying to be in this mental state of productivity, and execution, and, "What can I do next?" And looking for opportunity. I did that for a very long time, almost two years. It was cool.

It was almost like it trained my brain, almost, to look for opportunity and see what was good, and see what was bad, and come back to it two weeks later and realize, "Wow, that was a stupid idea. Oh wow, this one might actually have potential."

You know, and look at it from fresh eyes or share it with other people. I didn't hide my ideas. I started sharing with other people. I mean, there was all sorts of ... Tons of ideas. Tons of them. I almost got into condiments once. Tons and tons of stuff.

A lot of you guys will know, I actually was trying to start a diamond company. We found some cool suppliers for that, and custom ring design jewelry.

Really huge stuff...

And a lot of it had to do with that notebook, and a lot of it had to do with me realizing that there was all these skills around me.

When that happened in the gym, we were playing dodge ball with tennis balls, I realized,

"Oh my gosh! That is the secret to everything! I do not have to be the best at everything."

It was such a freeing thing to realize, okay? And that's what Russell was saying in the car, while we were going along.

He told me. He's like, "I don't have to be the best at everything! I don't have to be the best at this. I don't have to be the best." And that's what I was realizing in the gym. That was like seven years ago that I realized that. I remember the distinct thought. I wrote it in that note book. "I do not have to be good at everything. All I need to be good at is orchestrating others' talents. My job is to be the orchestrator."

And that's what I wrote, "I am the orchestrator. I'm the guy standing in front of the band or the choir or whatever. I'm the guy just putting it all together, and that's what I'm gonna be the best in the world at."

I'm gonna be the best in the world at funnel building. I gotta be good at sales. You gotta be good at sales, but then that's kind of it.

You don't even have to be that good at building funnels! You could have someone else do it. Lots of people in Russell's inner circle don't actually ever use ClickFunnels, ever. They have other people build their stuff for them.

The only reason why I wanted to bring this up, and I know it took a while to get there, but hopefully you have this huge "Aha!" with me that I had like seven years ago and revisited today ... Anyway, it just hit me right between the eyes again. If you guys are struggling, and you feel like you are taking forever to actually produce and launch something, my guess is that you think you need to take everything on yourself.

You need to stand out, and you feel like you have to be the best in the world at every little thing...

Best in the world at putting a picture up, at headlines, at copy, at videos, at video editing, at sound editing, at hooking up the emails, at doing the email automation, right? Putting domains up, getting hosting, DNS records. I mean, there is so much that goes into it, all right?

ClickFunnels makes it so freaking easy, way easier than it ever was. But it is still technical, right? And it creates this huge barrier, and lots of people will stand back and go, "Oh my gosh! There's so much to do!"

It's like, "Yeah, but you don't have to do it alone!"

And then some people will be like, "Well, I want to do it alone so I can keep all the profits." I actually understand that. I get that, but ... Shoot, use freelancer.com! I mean, you guys have seen salesfunnelbroker.com, right? Half the images in there I didn't make. I went to freelancer.com and created a contest, and had people who love doing that, and that's what gets them going. They're the ones that did it for me, right?

I built Sales Funnel Broker, but I didn't do all the images. I didn't do all the little pieces here. There's a lot I didn't do. I did make my own podcast intro and outro, because I love that, and I did a lot of sound editing in high school ... Anyway, I'm obsessed with music. I'm super excited to go to concerts this summer. It's gonna be awesome.

Anyways, ADD brain coming back to it. But that's the whole thing I wanted to say, is that we were coming off this three day juice fast, and it was awesome, but this crazy huge epiphany came in, again, like, "Oh man!" There's a few projects that I have been wanting to get done, that I kind of have been thinking ... There are some aspects that I do need to do on my own, because I'm trying to build my own brand. I know a lot of you guys are trying to do that for yourself as well, and that's awesome.

But just know that you do not need to do it all alone!

Like, go find a copy writer. Go find someone who's good at the funnel building if you don't want to do that. Go find someone who's good at the images. Just orchestrate it.

You don't have to have all the pieces, or all the positions filled to start. Just start! Just get it done! Just move! Take ridiculous, massive, imperfect action.

Anyway, super cool. Sorry, I feel like I'm blabbing now. But I just hope that you guys understand, and I've had it shoved into my head again, I hope you guys understand the incredible power that it is to not be tied to every single task in your business.

You will die like that...

I am begging you to only be attached to the tasks that bring revenue into the company. If the task does not bring revenue into the company, do not be in charge of it!

Okay? I still sit down next to ... I did that today. I still sit down next to Russell and I say, "Dude, give me your hardest stuff! Whatever's giving you the most pressure in your life right now, whatever funnel, whatever project, whatever it is that you are not looking forward to doing, you just throw it right at me."

And that's seriously one of the ways I've grown value in ClickFunnels so fast...

I haven't even been on there a year yet! But it's because I made that habit, right? So I knew what tasks I could take on, because I was living on the revenue side of business. I've ranted about this before as well, but it's all tied in to that.

Whatever you do, be the best at it, but then don't worry about all the other stuff...

Hire it out, and try and do things that are only tied to revenue. If you can do that ... And that might mean that you need to go develop a new skill, which is fine. Just make sure you're passionate about it.

Anyway, I'm going and going and going. I'm so sorry. But just wanted to point that that out. It was a really cool experience I had, and I feel a lot more energy in my body, which is probably why I'm ranting the way I am. I feel a lot more energy in my body after actually eating food today. I had a big old omelet. Russell had a big omelet too, and we felt life return to us.

It was good though. Those juice cleanses are awesome. I'll have to do it again sometime.

Anyways, guys, hope you're doing awesome! Super stoked for those of you I'm gonna see soon at the FHAT event. Well, I guess it's not for another six weeks, but it feels like it's coming up fast. Working on the book launch, working on all sorts of stuff. I got another product that I'm personally gonna be launching here, probably ... Well, I mean, we're moving. We're doing a lot of stuff, so it probably won't be for another like six weeks.

But, anyways, guys, talk to you later! Bye!

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