The Secret Sauce Podcast
Realtors & LOs: Level-up your business 🎯. Tips, tactics & strategies to drive more business 🪙 in less time ⌛. Hit 'follow' for the inside scoop!
The Secret Sauce Podcast
Burn the Boats: Ignite Success and Personal Transformation
This episode of the Secret Sauce Podcast dives into the concept of "burning the boats" for success—taking inspiration from the drastic strategy of ensuring no retreat by burning ships. By sharing our stories and experiences from the Summit Funding sales rally, we'll reveal the empowering effects of embracing this no-turning-back mindset.
Reflecting on the past can be a double-edged sword, especially after a painful divorce. But in Chad’s journey, it led to finding new love with Amy and taught him the importance of leaving past failures behind. This episode unpacks how this metaphor of burning the boats is not only applicable in professional settings but plays a critical role in personal growth as well. We'll also discuss insights from a pivotal sales rally that emphasized focusing on present and future potential, rather than dwelling on past successes, which is crucial for building a resilient mindset in today's fast-paced world.
Fully committing to your goals might mean giving up the safety net of a backup plan, and this episode explores just how liberating that can be. Through stories of purchasing non-refundable tickets and the relentless dedication required in real estate, we highlight the impact of accountability in achieving success. Hiring assistance, despite the associated fears can create the pressure needed to push you forward. As we wrap up, we'll leave you with the motivational thought inspired by Tony Robbins: "If you want to take the island, you have to burn the boats." Join us for this compelling discussion and remember to share with those who might need that extra push toward their transformative moments.
welcome back everybody to the secret sauce podcast. I'm chad trees. I'm a co-host.
Speaker 2:Lazy moores happy red friday yeah, I'm ready filming this on a friday.
Speaker 1:It's gonna actually post on a friday.
Speaker 2:So we're legit, so this is legit. Yeah, time of filming.
Speaker 1:The Chiefs are undefeated. Hopefully, by the time this video drops, we're still undefeated. Let's jump into it. So we just got back from an event hosted by Summit Funding right, and the theme really spoke to me. Let's not give it away. I want to tell the story, right?
Speaker 2:yeah, um, I think it spoke to both of us right, sure, well, the event was for our industry in a whole. So, just to kind of set the stage, the industry is for real estate agents and mortgage kind of in. Um, this event was so we had a bunch of people from all avenues there and yeah, it was a really impactful theme. We knew about it ahead of time but it changed when we were there, like the understanding and the passion behind it. Um, so that's why we really wanted to share.
Speaker 2:But yeah, go all right, tell them where it came from all right so a long time ago. I don't, I don't, can't tell you exactly how long ago we're talking hundreds and hundreds of years ago.
Speaker 1:It's the story there was a Spanish conquistador that basically had his fleet and his army. They were going to try to conquer a new land Veracruz Mexico and it had been a stronghold. Nobody had been able to defeat the Aztec empire in Veracruz for over 600 years, so this was a life-changing moment basically.
Speaker 1:It had been a very long and treacherous trip over there, thinking back on ships back in the day, so I mean it was definitely not fun. They get there, they're exhausted and they know they have to go. Try to do something that nobody's done before Can you imagine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all of the troops, or all of his troops are, you could tell, scared, kind of looking back like what's our escape? Plan here if this doesn't work out, and plan here if this doesn't work out. And uh, bernie and cortez is the general's name. Uh, he told everybody to look back. Look at the boats right before they took the island. That are three words that would change the course of history. Earn the votes. Excuse me, right, yes, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1:Um and uh, basically what he, what he's telling them, is we are going to succeed or we're going to die, we're not going to have a backup plan we are not leaving here on these boats, uh, and basically making sure that they knew that, uh, there was no escape plan, there was no plan b, uh, and that's what they needed. They went on to defeat, to win that battle, and not only win that battle, but they went on to defeat the entire Aztec empire. So very inspiring, yeah, and that's what we want to talk about. That's what that theme of the event was, and I think it's a it's a perfect thing for us to chat about, absolutely, because there's so many parallels in life, in business, that there are burn the boat moments or possible potential.
Speaker 1:Burn the boat moments that maybe people need to really stop and think about what theirs was.
Speaker 2:yeah, so for context, we had um, our leader of our coaching division. His name is jim reed. He shared his story about his burn the boat moment. So from his standpoint I'll make it quick.
Speaker 2:But when he was younger, working at a grocery store out of college still in college, doesn't matter but you know, he blew money. He didn't really care and he always had his mom and he would be able to call his mom and his mom would help him and give him money Anytime he needed it. He just knew that he could call his mom and his mom would help him and give him money, friends do, any time he needed it. He just knew that he could call his mom, and so he didn't really ever do much. And so his dad finally found out. Dad never knew. Dad finally finds out and dad finally calls him and said the bank of mom is closed.
Speaker 2:You are done. You will never call her ever again For money For money. And you are done. You will never call her ever again for money for money. And if I ever hear about it. And so this is like one of his burn the boats moments in his life where everything just got real real, yeah, and he no longer had this backup plan. He had to figure it out on his own. Now his dad did say you need help, help, you can call me.
Speaker 1:That's more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was a little bit, but you're not going to the easy route, you're not going to have this backup plan just so you can do whatever it is you want to do. It was a really good story for us to kind of. We heard the story of Burn the Boats. It's kind of all his personal how it. You know it was him and so it just really kind of challenged all of us sitting there to talk about what is our burn the boat moment and I mean I think we could come up with several, you know.
Speaker 1:I love. The bank of mom is closed. Before we jump off of that it's hilarious just to think about your dad calling you up and saying the bank of mom is closed.
Speaker 2:He actually had his boat burned for for him yeah, dad burned his boat yeah, he didn't burn it yeah but that's I mean.
Speaker 1:But you saw, to recognize like this is a life-altering moment yeah, and uh, you know, to have the wherewithal to understand, yeah, like, oh, like I can't just shrink away, like I need to step up, I need to do something, make some changes, yeah uh, and that's when he got out of the grocery business and fully committed to the mortgage industry.
Speaker 2:That's right, because he had been doing both of them. That's right. That's right, and not doing either one.
Speaker 1:Well, well, yeah, committed anything, you're right yeah, yeah, thanks for adding that part.
Speaker 2:You asked me before we started, like what's a recent one for me? And I mean honestly, it was this podcast. You know, I didn't um break that down.
Speaker 1:How was that? How would?
Speaker 2:Well, I didn't have a choice.
Speaker 2:I think maybe my boat was burned for me as well on this, and we've talked about this in a previous podcast but we had to set the date and we had to, like we were doing it.
Speaker 2:So, whether I wanted to, mentally or not and I love the podcast so it's not for me, it's I don't like seeing myself on camera and I don't like hearing my voice, and so, like those are the things that I would, I would tell myself and I would think and so us setting that date is what had to happen for me, just to get over it and move forward and not look back. And I'm glad I did. I mean, we this is there's so many things that have come from us doing this but, yeah, I needed somebody to set my boat on fire too and just set the date and say we have to move forward from it. We can't keep looking back and we can't keep talking about it. I think we talk about so many things in our business, but even in life, that we want to do, and we don't have somebody that burns that boat for us that makes us do it.
Speaker 1:Right, so we thank our amazing assistants over here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they burned our boat.
Speaker 1:They're both here, you know, and watching from the other side here, but they're the ones that pretty much burned our boats. For us, I mean, we said we were going to do it but, having set the date and announced it, and they made us announce it. When we filmed the video to announce that we were doing it, there was no, turning back there's no turning back anymore. We were going to look really, really foolish. Yep, um, and, by the way, I'm proud that we this is no, we did it um over 10 episodes.
Speaker 1:Um going towards 15 episodes, and most podcasts that start out don't even last this long. Um, people film a couple episodes and then they give it up because they're not getting the traction they want or they don't like the way that they sound or look on camera or whatever.
Speaker 2:So I'm proud of us and it's gotten way better right, Like from our first, like if we go back and look at the very first one.
Speaker 1:It could only have gotten better from the first few, but that's okay.
Speaker 2:But we didn't let that stop us. Right, that's right, that's right, uh, but but we didn't let that stop us, right, right, and so many people let it stop us, stop you because you want it to be perfect. Yeah, and just starting something you can make it better, and that's the fun part of it. Right is is making it better and better and better and finding things that we can do. But, man, if we would wait to that, we just never would have done it. So definitely, burn the boat. What about you? Tell me a burn the boat story for you.
Speaker 1:So I've got a few of them. When I look back at my life like personal and I would say one that comes to mind that I mean it takes me back a ways and brings up like in the moment was like a little bit maybe of a dark time in my life. Um, I was actually maybe it was a kind of a not super dark time but anyways, I had just gone through a divorce okay um and I was raised in?
Speaker 1:uh, I was. I was raised not around divorce, like when I, when I like I think it was middle school middle school before I even really knew what divorce was my, my parents are still together. A lot of the families that I grew up around mom and dad were still together.
Speaker 2:How many years have your parents been married now? I love your parents A lot. You know, A lot.
Speaker 1:They have been married, going on 60. Wow 60.
Speaker 2:Sorry, I think that's cool, like that's an achievement. Okay, keep going, sorry, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sorry. I think that's cool, that's an achievement. Okay, keep going. Sorry, yeah, yeah. And so that kind of brings me to this. It was really super scary. I felt like a failure coming out of that divorce because I'd never been around it and I have somebody that will not give up on something, yep. But I didn't really have a choice. But, man, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. But then I was feeling pretty hurt, pretty. I wasn't in a fantastic place to think, oh, I will get married again, yeah. And I ended up meeting my wife, amy, and my wife now, and I was not in a place that I wanted to get remarried. So there was always like a plan B. You know, sure, get too far into it, but you know, I mean, I was kind of playing the field a little bit yeah, and finally just hit a point.
Speaker 1:I was like this she is the one yeah and deleted some numbers from my phone going on, yeah, and went and burn burn the boats and said she's the one, uh, and I would say like the biggest burn the boats moment with that is like getting down on one knee buying the ring yeah you know um probably the smartest thing you've ever done was to get amy yeah, I mean, I would admit that is definitely yeah, I won't, yeah, I will not try to uh argue that yeah, she's pretty awesome.
Speaker 2:Well, I like it.
Speaker 1:Probably the best thing that's ever happened.
Speaker 2:I would agree with that. Well, very, very cool. So it's just, you had to burn the boat. You had to get rid of the past, really. And you know, when we were in the sales rally you know I've been in coaching for a long time we went from a transition of a bunch of me and my really close friends being in one coaching program and moving to another coaching program to ours. And you know you, this was my.
Speaker 2:My aha at the sales rally was I keep and have kept looking back at what was and comparing to what was and everything I loved about what was, but what was had a lot of issues too, like a ton of issues.
Speaker 2:Um, and so my future, so my future burned the boat. I think that's where the sales rally wanted us all to go mentally is what boat do we need to burn right now? What? What do we need to in our life that we're dealing with right now? What do we need to burn right now? And stop looking back. And so for me, at this is that comparison that maybe it's someone's old company that you compare yours to or you know, old, like any of those things, but for me it was an old coaching platform and I need to burn that boat. I need to look at what we have, see how great and how wonderful, like we've got something incredible and there's only more room for growth there, and so that was my big aha is is I want to let that go and only look forward when it comes to our coaching group.
Speaker 1:So you kind of had one foot in. I never felt like you didn't have both feet in, but maybe like just a toe, still not fully in, right yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, for me, more was comparison, you know, and like I wanted everything to be perfect here and great here, and so there just was always like like this kind of looking back of, you know, we did it this way kind of, and I have to stop then. I have to stop that and burn that boat and let go of that. It was a great period of my life. I would never change it. It was I learned so much and a great season. But it was the season, you know, and I'm in a new one and I need to look forward. So it was a good, because I really, when I go to these things, I love to like take this stuff in, you know, and really introspect that's not the word I want, but you know what I mean Look in myself and figure out Is that the right word.
Speaker 2:I did it I always mess up my words. Yes, good day. And where I wanted to change. So what about you? Did you have any at the sales rally that you said this is, from here on out, what I want to burn.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a little bit, and I think that I'm still like defining exactly what it is. But there is a piece of me that has feel like been playing a little too small. Uh, you know, and I've been on kind of coasting coasting a little bit, which I mean it's been fine.
Speaker 1:But I just know, like now, I'm not in my zone if I'm doing anything, so, um, and some of that is maybe at home. You know I'm. I mean, we can all be better, we can always be better, and instead of just having this like well, things are really good. I'm content and burning the boat of contentedness. That's probably not a word Complacent.
Speaker 2:Being complacent, but I'd say it's not complacent.
Speaker 1:I was content yeah, and there's a little bit, complacent is kind of lazy. It has like a lazy connotation to it, whereas content is like I'm happy, I'm like I don't need more. Yeah, and I'm, uh, the kind of person that is not good with being content. Yeah, um, I can only sit there for so long. So, yeah, I'm burning some boats of being content.
Speaker 2:I like it. Well, let's share some tactics on Some ideas for the. Yeah, ideas are what burn the boat could mean for somebody you know to really like kind of sit back and think what does this mean for me? And you and I were kind of chatting about some fun ways. What does it look like for someone to burn the boat? Um, one that you said is buy the non-refundable ticket buy a non-refundable first class ticket well, how does that? What does that mean? Explain that well I mean you're going to take that trip, right.
Speaker 1:Otherwise you've just wasted that money. If you buy a refundable ticket then you always know, I've got a plan B.
Speaker 2:When you said that. I think of it being like a goal, right, so I'm going to set this goal and at the end of this I'm going to go somewhere, first class, and you go ahead and set that, you go ahead and buy that ticket. So now, between here and there, I got to do this because I can't back out of it. It is non-refundable. So I just love that one. The other one we said was register for the race. You know, got a few good friends that have been running marathons and I have no desire to run a marathon, if I'm being clear, but what they had to do to get there, um, and what that looks like. But all of them registered for a race before they started the process, because then it's real, it's legit, it's their bar in the boat moment, like they have to now to do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I love that one too yeah, register for the race, tell people about it. Like, if you just register for the race but don't let anybody know that you register for it, you still kind of have a way out right, yeah, um so let's apply it to business for a second. Um, so as a, as a, as a realtor out there listening, um, you know what can, what's something that they could do, that would be a defining kind of burn the boat moment right now in this period that we're in.
Speaker 2:Well, I think there's a lot of backup plans for realtors. Right now they have a backup plan. I talked to one the other day who said you know, I bartended before this. I can always go back to bartending.
Speaker 1:That's a great one Having another job that they're just not fully committed to this one yeah, um, yeah. Remove that safety net of that little extra cash. Yeah that you're making on the side, so you've got to make this yeah because you can't do this, neither of our industries lending real estate.
Speaker 2:They're not something that you can do half-ass I don't part, I mean not do well, anyways, I know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so get rid of that second job. Yeah, cut that bait right.
Speaker 2:What would be it Well, any other ideas?
Speaker 1:Anything else out there, it would be a good idea for.
Speaker 2:Well, let's talk about even our industry. I think that A lot of people in our industry it's excuses yeah, right, it's well, I can't do a lot right now because rates are high, yeah, or I can't do a lot right now because my referral partners aren't working well or they're not out there. They got a second job. Like it's all about somebody else, yeah, when really it's about me and it's about my choices and my decisions. You know, we get coached by Todd.
Speaker 2:And Todd said to us, he, he told us this very short little story about a guy who, um isn't, isn't doing well in his industry, but he has a passion for dancing and, um, like dancing with the stars kind of thing. And he did really really well. And Todd said well, how much time did you put into that? Like that's incredible, what did you do for that? And he's like, oh my gosh, I work. I mean, I put in probably 60, 70 hours a week preparing for that. And he's like, wow, just think what your business would look like if you put that into your business. Yeah, and it was a kind of a like that makes a lot of sense we, and it was a kind of a like that makes a lot of sense. We have this backup plan. We don't go all in.
Speaker 1:We don't really figure out what it's going to take to make it work, because we haven't burned those boats yeah, I think another uh, that kind of came to me just now is the thought of I hear from people a lot, um, I know that I am overworked, I have too too much going on right, and so I need to hire somebody. I should hire somebody, but I don't know if it's the right time or I'm scared of how much that person's going to cost them. So an assistant or a showing assistant or a buyer specialist or whatever it is and they wait and wait, and wait to make that hire.
Speaker 1:I would say make the hire yeah right, don't hire that person. A little pressure is just fine. It is. It's a good thing, right? Um? So you're not gonna. You're way less likely to fail if now you've got somebody else. You hired them. You're responsible for their paycheck, yeah you gotta go make this thing work you have to yeah, um budget.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about money really quick. You just said that and one came up to me. You know we teach a lot about personal budgets and one one thing in our personal budget that we do is we have a survival number right and then the money covers all of what you have to spend on a monthly basis your bills, your house payment, groceries gas all of that.
Speaker 2:So we add all that up and then they they don't want you to have more than three months of that in your checking and savings account. And people do all the time some people do but the reason they don't want us to have that more than three months in there is because we get very comfortable and and we get very I don't have to do all of this anymore. So in our personal budget I mean, it's kind of a burn the boats, it's. You get it out of there, you act like you don't have it, you move it somewhere else so that you have a driving force. Um, because when it's there, you're not. It was just a small one that I was just thinking about too. I were talking about that's a, that's a a moment too, and it hit me like I've been saving more in there than I shouldn't. I got to get it out, I got to go, I got to get going.
Speaker 1:Okay, one more. I think we can wrap this thing up. But uh, real estate agents right now trying to figure out, okay, how am I going to grow my business, like I've got all these other things, all these little things I'm thinking about doing and I need to do more social media. I need to do this and I think you know, I think Tony Long recently, one of our guests recently said do more open houses right.
Speaker 1:Well, you don't need to have the listing to go. Just go talk to everybody in your office and say I'll take that open house I'll take that open house like you, commit to that thing. Yep, right. Instead of saying I want to do that, go commit to it. Tell somebody you're going to do it. They're relying on you now.
Speaker 1:You've got to show up and if you're going to do it, you might as well do it well, right, so get really good at doing open houses and collecting people's information and getting buyers from those open houses. That's good Go do the door knocking. But first and foremost, go, just commit to somebody that you're going to do open houses.
Speaker 2:I like it. That's a good one too.
Speaker 1:All right, you got any others before we wrap it up.
Speaker 2:No, I think we're good, I think it was good, I'm excited.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree To leave it at that. I'm just going to leave with the quote. I think it's Tony Robbins actually said it, but he's because of this whole story with the Spanish conqueror If you want to take the island, you have to burn the boat. Thanks guys, thanks for joining us. Please share it. Go, chiefs, bye.
.jpg)
