Maxwell Leadership Podcast: If John Maxwell Could Spend the Day With You

Mark Cole:
Welcome to the Maxwell Leadership podcast. I am so excited. A brand new episode this week, and I am excited that you’re here. It lets us live out our commitment, which is to add value to you, your listeners believing you’re a leader that will multiply value to others. In today’s episode, we’re giving you an inside look into what a day with John Maxwell himself looks like. You know, often we get the question, John, can I get some time with you? John, do you have some time? John is going to be sharing with you today a few different thoughts that he would share with you and through you, if the two of you could spend the day together. I can’t wait for you to listen. I’ve experienced many days with John, and after this lesson, Traci, who also has spent a lot of time with John, Traci Morrow and I will be giving you some ways to apply what you’ve learned not only to your leadership, not only to your life, but to the life and leadership of the people around you.

Mark Cole:
Make sure that you download the bonus resource for this episode, or you can watch us on YouTube by going to maxwellpodcast.com/SpendADay now here is John Maxwell.

John Maxwell:
The title of the lesson is, if you and I could spend a day together now. I love this title because I’ve had the privilege of doing that with some key people in my life. And I think the first thing that I want to do is I want to give you questions that I ask when I have time with somebody. So if I was going to sit down with you, and I’ve got these already in your notes, but just let me extract them for a moment, what is the greatest lesson that you’ve ever learned? The reason I ask that question is out of that comes wisdom, because what I have discovered is in the area that you have gained the most benefit. In the area that you’ve gained the most benefit, you have the most wisdom. Question number two, what are you learning now? The reason I ask that question is for passion. Nobody is passionate about what they learned 20 years ago. They may have strong belief and conviction about it, but they’re not passionate about it.

John Maxwell:
So I want to know what’s their present passion? Number three, how has failure shaped your life? That’s going for the attitude. I’m just looking to see what kind of an attitude that they have in the process. Number four, who do you know that I should know? I love that question. Who do you know that I should know? That’ll take you further than anything you want. And that’s a networking question. But I ask that all the time now. Who do you know that I should know? Who do you know? I mean, we’ve spent an hour together. Who do you know that I should know? And they’ll just direct me and take me to people and they’ll give me a phone number.

John Maxwell:
Really help you. So it’s a great question. Question number five, what have you read that I should read? That’s a growth question. Question number six, what have you done that I should do? That’s an experience question. Then number seven, how can I add value to you? Which is a gratitude question, which, in other words, after I have learned from a person, the greatest way to express gratitude is just what could I do for you? How could I add value to you? Now, those are questions that I ask when I have time with someone. And so these are some thoughts that I would share with you if you and I had a day together. Number one, I would share with you that you need to get a personal definition of success. What I’ve discovered about success is everybody wants it, but very few can define it.

John Maxwell:
So if you ask a group of people, do you want to be successful? Everybody puts their hand up. But then if you ask them to define what success would be, you’d get all kind of different answers. And as I have taught for years, success is three things in my life. Success is knowing my purpose in life. Let’s just stop for a moment. How can you and I be successful if we don’t know what our purpose is? I mean, I can’t even equate success with lostness or meaningless or driftiness. I can’t even imagine anybody being successful. So I’ve got to know my purpose in life.

John Maxwell:
And the two paths to discover your purpose is passion and giftedness. What do I care about and what am I good at? Well, you can answer those two questions. You begin to find your purpose in life. You know, the why make your why bigger than you. If you’ve got a purpose that is greater than you, I think you can say I have a calling. You know what I’m saying? But if you’re greater than your purpose, you don’t have a calling. You’re just living. Okay? I think secondly, success is growing to my maximum potential.

John Maxwell:
So I think success is knowing my purpose in life, growing to my maximum potential, and thirdly, sowing seeds that benefit others. And I define success as the seeds I sow, not the harvest I reap, okay? Just. Just sow seeds. If you and I are to spend a day together, the second thing I would like to share with you is that you need to select your inner circle carefully because they will determine if you reach your potential. Now, listen carefully what I’m about to say, because it’s an absolute fact. Your talent nor your dream and passion will get you to where your potential is. It is. Here we go.

John Maxwell:
Here we go. It is impossible to reach your potential without the help of others. It’s impossible. I know that for a fact, because nothing great can be accomplished by one person. So if you can’t achieve greatness by yourself, you have to achieve greatness with others. And if you have to treat greatness with others, then the people you bring around you is going to determine the level of your greatness. So if I have potential, greatness of an eight in me, whatever an eight means, from a one to a ten, it’s pretty good. But I have fives and sixes around me.

John Maxwell:
I can’t be an eight. You can’t be an eight. With fives and sixes around you, you will again reduce yourself to the lowest level of people that are around you. So your inner circle and who you have around you is absolutely essential for your success. If I could spend a day with you, I would just say, in your area of giftedness, work on your strengths, and in your area of choices, work on your weaknesses and don’t confuse the two of them. In your areas of choices, don’t work on your strengths. And in your area of giftedness, don’t work on your weaknesses. Okay.

John Maxwell:
Don’t get them confused. Giftedness, strengths, choices, weaknesses, because we all have choices that we make that, you know, if, for example, if I have a tendency to be emotive in my choices and to be a kind of intuitive and emotional in my choices, that could be a great weakness. You follow me? Because I don’t make good decisions, but I made decisions that made me feel good. Well, that’s a weakness, but that’s a choice. So I’ve got a. That I have to work in. And by the way, anything that is a choice can be quickly improved and greatly improved. Anything that is a strength or a skill set is.

John Maxwell:
It’s a given. It is. It’s already who you are. It’s already who you are. So the growth is not that much greater in that situation. Does that make sense? Okay, good. So if I could spend a day with you, the fourth thing I would say to you is find and follow the rule of five. In fact, if I could only say one thing to you, I would say find and follow the rule of five.

John Maxwell:
The rule of five is if you’ve got a tree in your backyard that you want to cut down and you have an axe, if you pick up the axe, you go to the tree and you swing just five times at that tree, put the axe down, go back inside, the next day, pick up the axe, swing five times, the put it down, next day, pick up the axe, swing five times, three, put it down, next day, pick up the axe, swing five times. In other words, every day you just swing five times. Not 25 times, not 50 times, not 500 times, not 5000. You swing just five times, no more, just five times a day. But you do it every day. What is going to happen to the tree? The tree is going to what? It’s going to fall. That’s not theory. That’s not what would be nice, it’s fact.

John Maxwell:
If it’s a big tree, may take a couple years, it’s a smaller tree, may take a month or two, I don’t know. But that isn’t the issue. The size of the tree isn’t the issue. The issue is if you swing five times at that tree, that tree is going to fall. Now the question is, what is your tree and what’s your ax? You see, your tree is the thing, the most important thing that you can accomplish, and your axe is the tool to accomplish it. So what’s your tree and what’s your axe? Whatever your tree is, whatever you’re trying to accomplish, you got to figure out what your rule of five is. Now let me help you. The rule of five doesn’t ask what are the five things that I would like? That’s your passion.

John Maxwell:
The rule of five asks what are the five things I must like? What are the essentials? What are the five things that I have to do? Without one of them it won’t happen. What are the five things I’ve got to do to be successful? The rule of five is a everyday behavior, and that’s the grid. You got to take a rule of five through what’s the everyday behavior? The first thing on the rule of five for leadership is lead me. So the first rule of rule of five is got to lead myself. If I’m going to lift my lid, I got to lead me, lead me. That’s number one. The second thing on the rule of five is every day I must add value to people. And the reason that’s a leadership, you say, well, where does that get in leadership? It’s everything leadership, because what is leadership? Leadership is influence.

John Maxwell:
The third thing on the rule of five in leadership is, every day I must study leadership. What am I doing every day to study leadership? Am I reading leadership book? Am I talking to a leader about leadership? Every day I must study leadership. Number four, every day I practice leadership. Studying makes me know what a leader does. Practicing allows me to grow as a leader. In other words, what leadership practicing did I do today? Who did I lead? What did I bring together? What leadership practice? So every day I practice leadership. And number five, every day I intentionally grow. Every day.

John Maxwell:
Now, that’s the rule of five on leading. Every day I lead myself. Every day I add value to people. Every day I study leadership. Every day I practice leadership. And every day I intentionally grow. And if you do that every day, what’s going to happen to your leadership tree? You’re going to knock that baby out. You’re going to win.

John Maxwell:
It’s going to be a touchdown. Why? Because you do that every day. Now, if I could spend a day with you, number five, I would improve your thinking. And if I could improve your thinking, you will improve your life. Greatest gap between successful and unsuccessful people is the thinking gap. People with great potential never reach it because they don’t think correctly. Their thoughts, their thinking is the lid on their life. If I could spend a day with you, those are the things I’d want to talk to you about.

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Mark Cole:
Hey, welcome back, everybody. I love how John taught this lesson. You know, Traci, you’ve heard John teach this. He talks often about learning lunches, and it was really the learning lunch concept, how John gets very intentional in preparing to get things out of learning lunches. And he has learning lunches every single month of his life. He’s got a learning lunch with somebody he wants to learn from. But John makes any meeting, any opportunity, a learning meeting, a learning opportunity. And often we get asked the question, hey, can I get some time with John? Can I spend the day with John? Can I do things with John? And it’s almost like what people don’t really understand.

Mark Cole:
Traci. And you know this, spending time with John will not be so John can pour into you. Spending time with John is so that John will pull out of you what’s already in you so that you can become the best version of your. And so I love how John set this lesson up because he starts the lesson with these learning lunch questions that he has these seven questions, and then he goes into thoughts that he would share with you if he had time with you. And so, Traci, again, you like, I have spent a lot of days with John. Fortunately, he loves us both and loves to spend days with us. But it’s a true learning experience every time we get time with John, isn’t it?

Traci Morrow:
It really is. And I think that is one of the most surprising things because you prepare to spend time with John and you think you’re going to get something, you know, from him and sit at his feet, which would be so wonderful. We all would love that. But he does. He’s a question asker. It turns into you feel like you’re almost an over sharer because he’s asking you so many questions and you leave that. And you think, I pretty much talked that whole time. And it’s because he’s such a great question asker that it really does flip the script on you.

Traci Morrow:
And so I think my first before we get to these questions, you probably more than anyone else, maybe with the exception of Margaret, have spent more time with John than anyone. And I’m curious, do you still ask these kinds of questions of John when you’re with him? I know that you’re doing a lot of day to day stuff. You guys are in the trenches doing a lot of different planning and world transformation. Do you plan ahead with these kinds of questions? I bet the temptation is to think, oh, I know John inside and out. I know a lot of these answers. I could answer these for him, but do you actually pause and take the time to ask these questions again?

Mark Cole:
Yeah, I love this question. And the answer is yes. So let me back up in the significance of what I’ve been given in life blows me away. Traci, people literally spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for a day with John. Literally. That’s not an exaggeration. And yet I’ve had all this access, I’ve had all this opportunity to be mentored, to grow, to ask questions. So I will tell you this right here.

Mark Cole:
If I could deliver one thing to you in this lesson, it’s about the importance of preparing intentionally for opportunities to learn. John does that. If John were to have a lunch with you today at 435 o’clock this morning, he would have already thought of the questions he wanted to ask you at the lunch you set up with him. He is the most intentional. I try to be that intentional too. So your question, tomorrow morning I’ll be on a plane with John from Atlanta to Charlotte and try to add value to some people up in Charlotte. And then boom, we’re flying back down and he and Margaret and I will be on the plane together. And I already have my list with John.

Mark Cole:
And every time I’m with John, I have two sets of lists, two sets of thinking that I’ve been intentional on. One is on running the business, leadership input, leadership thought in application, running the business. The second is mentoring questions based on current realities I’m trying to lead in and lead through. So one is very practical, tactical. What would you do here? What do you think we ought to do here? Very clear there. And one is more mentoring, more opening up and asking John, how would you, who do you know that I should know that would help me with this particular situation that I’m going through? And so I’m in a constant posture in that category, in that lane. I’m in a constant posture of learning new ways to apply answers to the same questions. Because my realities, my leadership responsibilities, my leadership requirements are different today than they were six months ago, twelve months ago when I asked that same question.

Traci Morrow:
That is so fascinating. You know, John is such, you might say that John could be accused of being an over sharer on stage.

Mark Cole:
Yeah. Yeah.

Traci Morrow:
Because I think there is nothing that John doesn’t share. Like he doesn’t withhold anything he shares in his books and he shares on stage. And so I think that is something important for our audience members to know that being a part of John’s life off stage, off cameras, that he isn’t withholding anything. If he extracts a lesson in a learning lunch or on a bus or on a plane, with talking with someone and asking those questions, he somehow extracts whatever that person has, turns it into a lesson and it becomes something that he shares on stage or with people as soon as he possibly can. So if you come to an international Maxwell certification conference or if you are on one of his maximum impact mentoring calls, or if you are anywhere where John is in the world, he is sharing what he is just recently, like I just recently learned this is fresh he’s so great at that. But have you ever been in a situation where you have asked him one of these questions where you’ve been surprised by one of his answers, where it’s taken you off, off guard because you’re like, wow, I’m so glad I asked that because I hadn’t heard that from John before. Is there ever any time where you’re with John and you find and discover something that’s new or untaught?

Mark Cole:
Yeah, the answer is all the time. And I really have checked myself to say, you know, am I just a forgetful person? Has he said this? And I couldn’t remember, but I really do believe that I am surprised quite often. Literally this week we had a conversation. He was, I was going one direction to meet with the head educational leaders in Texas. He was going another direction to meet with some head educational leaders in, I think it was Wisconsin. And so we came together and we compared notes. And when he told me the questions he asked in his meeting, and I told him the question I asked in my meeting, I went, how did you ask such great questions? I’ve been with you for 25 years. What is going on? Here’s my point.

Mark Cole:
Yes, I’m constantly surprised, but that’s less about me and my hunger to learn and more about John and his hunger to learn. Because he’s 77 and still committed to learning application illustration understanding of leadership, he is constantly a fresh source of new ideas, new thoughts, new aha moments. I think that’s something for us podcast listeners to take away from. You’ve got to constantly be learning or you be become predictable. And nobody wants predictability. I don’t care how much we like consistency. We like to be surprised by that loved one when they come and surprise us by taking us to a new experience. John is constantly growing and learning so that his application can be ahas.

Mark Cole:
It can be. Wow.

Traci Morrow:
I love that. I love that. Thank you for sharing that. Okay, so let’s jump into. I want to just take a couple of these questions and have you answer them as the number one person who has spent the most time with John. What are you, Mark Cole, learning right now?

Mark Cole:
Yeah. So you guys in my podcast family, if you’re new, go back and listen to the last couple of years of episodes. You know that I’m learning how to be a CEO owner. I’ve been John’s CEO for 14 years, but now being that owner and just, just this week, I learned that when we want something to happen, we can have two mindset postures. We can have the posture that says, oh, if that happens, it’s going to be a bad idea. We can almost point out the things that’s going to go wrong if it happens, or we can point out the things that need to change for it to work out. Right. Let me illustrate.

Mark Cole:
So there’s this deal that I really want. There’s this, this negotiation that I’ve been involved in. And it was pointed out to me that every time we come to the table for the next layer of negotiations, I would talk about all the things I didn’t like from the last point of, of negotiations rather than all the things I need so that I’ll be satisfied to take it to the next level. And the person I’m negotiating with that wants the partnership, wants to be involved with what I’m doing, just like I want to be involved with what he’s doing. He went, I got to ask you a question. Do you really want this? Because every time we have a conversation, you tell me all that’s wrong with it, rather than all that could be right if we made this modification. And I realized something. I grew up in sales in John’s organization.

Mark Cole:
24 years ago, I was a telesales. I was selling my way to the top, so to speak. And I realized as an owner, it’s no different if I want to focus on the opportunities rather than the liabilities, it will make a bigger difference in the negotiation conversation. So, yeah, I’m learning how to lead from a different vantage point, maybe at a different level, but at a different vantage point that it still requires us to anticipate opportunity rather than to dread potential liability. If you want a deal, if you want to really grow your business entrepreneur or small business owner, you’re going to have to look at things from an opportunity perspective, not just always the uncertainty of the liabilities.

Traci Morrow:
Yeah, that makes me think of the six types of working genius book by Pat Lyncioni. And it talks about not bringing the discernment part of you too close to the creation part, whatever the eye was. It’s like where you are inventing the inventor, because if you do, you shut down the creative spark too soon. So I love that. Thank you for sharing that. So John talks about things I would share with you if we had this day together. And so the filter that I’m kind of asking these questions through is, as the person who has spent the most time with John, I just was thinking, how has that directly affected you and your leadership? And so my first question for you as John was sharing, you know, you need to get a personal definition of success. So you’ve been very open on the podcast of how your leadership journey has unfolded from a young leader to today to a mostly still young leader.

Traci Morrow:
See what I did there?

Mark Cole:
Thank you.

Traci Morrow:
You’re welcome.

Mark Cole:
I like it. That’s exactly right. Thank you.

Traci Morrow:
You’re only a year older than me, so I have to keep you very young. So how would you say that? Through your influence of John in your life and through walking close, up close and personal with him over the last 25 years and especially in these last couple years, how has your personal definition of success changed as a result of that proximity to John?

Mark Cole:
Yeah, well, you know, John’s definition of success is hard to uplevel. He says that success is when those that are closest to you love you and think the most of you. And I’m sitting here going, ah, that one really works. I think I will try to spend my life with that one right there, because I’m a relational person. I think that’s why it connects with me so much, Traci. And I think that’s why it connects with you. Love my family, boy, I want my family. I want words of affirmation from my family more than I want a hundred people giving me words of affirmation and external from family environments, those that are closest to me.

Mark Cole:
I want to love and respect me the most. Now, that would be truly my greatest aspiration, is to let people see the real me and for them to love and respect that real me more than anything else. I think another way that John has really helped me with success, because that is his success statement. Success really is learning and growing today and putting that learning and that growth into action tomorrow. It’s. It’s really the stewardship of what John’s dad, and to be honest with you, what my dad taught us over and over again, to the person who’s given a lot, much is required. And I think that learning can be so passionately pursued, but then get overrated with so much content that we don’t put into action. I’ve heard John say this a lot.

Mark Cole:
It says it mostly to religious people that spend so much time learning, learning, learning. All of us have learned more than our obedience shows, more than our application shows. We’ve all learned so much, yet we don’t apply what we’ve learned. And I think success really comes, Traci, with growth, progress more than destination and accomplishment. Am I growing? Is this year better than last year? Because too many people have destination disease to where they say, if I get here, then I will have been successful. And the problem with that is, what are you going to do after that? Most people stop. They go, well, I reached it. I accomplished it.

Mark Cole:
John’s mindset of success means growth. It’s what’s kept him in the game of exponential growth for 77 years. And I want that to be my story. I don’t want to find myself having been successful. I want to always be successful. And that means growth and aspiration to me. Nothing. Destination and accomplishment.

Traci Morrow:
I couldn’t agree more. I see that in you. I see how your family is such a priority, you especially, coming back as Macy is heading off to college. Has she left yet?

Mark Cole:
Yes. Gone. Gone.

Traci Morrow:
I’m sorry. I’m sorry to bring it up.

Mark Cole:
Oh, it’s killer. It’s killer. Every single day. It’s killer. I know.

Traci Morrow:
Our baby leaves in just a couple weeks, and it’s just like, as we’re packing up and getting ready, those are hard, hard days, but healthy growth. But, you know, you talked about knowing what your priorities and your, and your purpose is and you’re having your family love and respect you and then learning and growing. Those are the first two that John said is success is three things, but the last one is sowing before we get to point number two, what seeds are you currently sowing?

Mark Cole:
You know, John has done such a favor to me of spending so much time developing me to lead at the level that I’m leading right now. And so I was challenged some time ago now that who am I pouring into? So I’ve been poured into with great intentionality with John. And the quick answer of who am I pouring into? Is everybody. I’m trying to give to everybody. But no, I’m talking about at the specific mentorship, training somebody day in and day out to lead better than I am. And so I started sowing seeds in the next generation of leaders here at Maxwell leadership, and believe that a good five to ten years of doing that, like John has done that for me very hands on. The last ten to 14 years will reap great benefits. And so making myself available, being very intentional to watch a leadership environment they’re involved in and then give them coaching and mentorship, like John has done for me, giving them access to ask me any questions as they watch me go through leadership decisions, all of those and what’s interesting and fun.

Mark Cole:
And now I know what John means when he says he gets great joy in watching me tackle a very difficult leadership decision and being successful with it, because he feels that sense of pride in what he’s invested in me and I’m starting to watch that with a couple of the people I’m putting sowing seeds in. There’s nothing like it. You mentioned Macy. I mean, watching her make some of the decisions she’s making now that she’s 18, she’s in college. And I’m going, I taught you that. And she would go, no, I learned it on my own. Cause she’s still in that phase. But I’m going, no, no, I got you right there.

Mark Cole:
And so it’s just fun to watch some of that fruit happening with the seeds that you sow.

Traci Morrow:
Mm hmm. That’s exactly right. It’s such a rewarding feeling. Okay, so going to number two. He talks about selecting your inner circle carefully because they help determine, you know, your potential. So what, at this point in your leadership journey, what have you learned about choosing your inner circle, either positively and how that’s impacted you, or maybe choosing inner circle members that you’ve learned some hard lessons, but still you have extracted the lesson and it’s worked for the benefit of your good.

Mark Cole:
I have an inner circle right now that is very similar as John’s inner circle, and we’ve done that intentional. And here’s why. We are trying something that very few succeed at, and that is succession of greatness. Like somebody like John. In fact, we’re talking about this whole lesson is John spending a day with you. And there’s people that just love and long for that opportunity. And as we thought through and are working through how to best set ourself up, that our future is better, brighter, and bigger than anything we’ve done in the past. It’s required John and I to lean into a group of people that we’ve learned to trust, we respect, we, we hunger, hunger for their input.

Mark Cole:
And John and I have these group of people that keep John and I focused on staying connected and collaborating. That’s very important because most of the time in successions, that doesn’t happen as it relates to somebody that are some time in my life that I’ve had an inner circle that didn’t go as well. I’ve had those. I’ve had inner circle members that I bet on. I believed in. I was passionate about them. And then you end up and you’re disappointed. Either they’re disappointed because they want to go a different direction or you’re disappointed because you thought they would be with you for life.

Mark Cole:
And I’ll tell you, I’m reminded in that question of John’s statement back when somebody said, man, aren’t you disappointed when you train people and they leave you. And John says, yeah, I am, but I’m more disappointed when I don’t train them and they stay. And what I’ve determined, Traci, what I’ve determined is I would rather bet on people and trust them in my inner circle than to be burnt and say, nope, it doesn’t work letting people get that close to you and miss out on the crazy, awesome benefit of having people to take the journey with you. And I. I’m passionate about my inner circle. I’m passionate about the idea of an inner circle. And I suggest every last one of you listen to this podcast or viewing this podcast, get you an inner circle, it’ll be a difference maker for you.

Traci Morrow:
I feel like that could almost be, truthfully, another whole lesson, talking about the inner circle and how you prepare yourself and how you repair on the back end as people leave and how you walk through the process of an inner circle leaving. Let’s put that in our hat and think about that for the future. That would be great to hear from you on that and from John. So, okay, so we have five points, and our time is running low. I would love to land on one of these two, so I’m going to toss it to you and let you pick one or the other. I would love to know both of these, but since time is short, pick one either. What is your five, your rule of five that you’re currently working on and really focused on? Because we know that as leaders, we have rule of five in several different areas. But what would be one that you would feel like, that you would like to share, or what is your thinking lid that you are currently working to lift? I know both of them are good.

Mark Cole:
We would love to hear about that.

Traci Morrow:
Pick one.

Mark Cole:
And what I love is, Traci, Jake, and I, we sit at the beginning of this lesson, and we just make sure that we’re going in the same direction. But we never really talk about the questions. We just want it to be a live conversation. And so I didn’t know this, and I want to answer both, but we don’t have time. I want to do the lids of my thinking, and that’s because I’m discovering one right now that has really helped me. I mentioned it just a little bit ago of how for years, working with John, John doesn’t let me say working for John, but working with John as his implementer, I’ve constantly had to. John’s so opportunistic. He’s never seen an opportunity that he didn’t say yes to.

Mark Cole:
And in most of the time it’s an emphatic yes, oh yes, we will do it. John loves the new of opportunities. And so I’ve spent the last 14 years of my leadership assessing or forecasting what could go wrong if we chase this opportunity or if we chased all these opportunities. And I’ve had to work to watch John’s opportunistic backside, just protect his backside to where we didn’t extend ourselves too much. How’d you like how I said that?

Traci Morrow:
Visual?

Mark Cole:
No problem.

Traci Morrow:
Just watching your opportunistic backside.

Mark Cole:
I’m watching it because there is a backside to too many opportunities. And so now I’m in the envied position of being able to take us into the future and look at opportunities from potential rather than problematic and making that switch. Traci has demonstrated to me over and over again that by being an implementer as long as I was, has created lids to my opportunistic thinking that I have always had and I’ve, I’m reworking. I just, again, I mentioned this a little bit earlier. Just this week it was pointed out to me at how I was coming into an opportunistic conversation, trying to discount the opportunity without letting the opportunity flow. And that’s been because I put a lid on my opportunistic thinking so I could be a great implementer with John rather than loving and loving to dream the opportunities that are hitting me now as an owner. And so I’m really enjoying it. It’s painful at times.

Mark Cole:
I’ve missed a few opportunities because of it, but I love the learning, I love the lesson in it.

Traci Morrow:
So it looks like you need a no wingman or no wing woman.

Mark Cole:
That’s right. That’s exactly right. And I’m really one of the seeds that I told you I was planting a while ago is exactly on that. This is how I need you to be an implementer for me. This is how I need you to watch my opportunity backside for me. And so I really want you, I want to challenge us as we kind of close today. I want to challenge you. We have this program called every day with purpose and it’s a whole course that John has done and we’ve made it available online.

Mark Cole:
I think it’s $199 online. But I want to challenge those of you that are listening today that really been impacted by this lesson to look at this content. In fact, we’ll make it available to you, we’ll half price it, we’ll take it down to dollar 49 and we’ll put that in the show notes. But here’s why this is relevant today. Because many of us may not get to spend a day with John, and many of us may not get a day that John spends with us. And some of us are still reaching for that person, that hero, that that mentor, and trying to get them to convince them to spend time with us. But here’s what I know. Tomorrow you’ll wake up and you’ll spend time with yourself.

Mark Cole:
You’ll spend time, in my opinion, with the most important person in your life, yourself. And if you can figure out how to put purpose into your life every day when you get time with that mentor, maybe some of you get time with somebody like John, you will treat that time with the intentionality and the preparation, because you’ve been intentional in preparing yourself. And so I want to challenge you. Go check that out. It’s a great resource. It’ll help you. The takeaway I want from you this day on this podcast is to be intentional. Always be prepared.

Mark Cole:
Always walk into an opportunity of spending time with greatness, spending time with yourself. Walk into it with intentionality. I love what Nathan said. Nathan listened to the podcast experience breakthrough, part one that we did. He said, I listen to this podcast nearly every day. In fact, I think I’ve heard every episode at least once. Thank you, Nathan. You and my mom, we’re so thankful for you listening to every podcast at least once.

Mark Cole:
But he said, to hear Mark and the team who I admire with their take on leadership, their authority on leadership, talking about needing his own coach was eye opening to me. I remember talking about that and I still have that coach, Nathan. He said, doctors need doctors, trainers need trainers, coaches need coaches, and leaders need leaders. Thanks for the consistent encouragement to be bigger, better and brighter. Nathan, you’ve made my day, buddy. Thank you. I know the world is going to be better because Nathan and other podcast listeners are bringing powerful, positive change because everyone deserves to be led well.

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