Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan - Take The Risk & DARE To Fail! With Andrew Metz Sales Leader & VP Of Sales At Zywave Episode 233

Episode Date: July 12, 2022

In This Episode You Will Learn About:  Making real connections with customers   Tackling imposter syndrome  Scaling your business with TRUST Resources: Website: www.andrewmetz.net & www.zywave.com  LinkedIn: @Andrew Metz Facebook & Twitter: @Zywave  Overcome Your Villains is Available NOW! Order here: https://overcomeyourvillains.com  If you haven't yet, get my first book Confidence Creator Show Notes:  Create intimacy with each sale you make, and start leading with risks! When you’re able to open yourself up and be vulnerable, people will trust you MORE. Release your insecurities! Only then can you truly be yourself and do your best. Sales expert, Andrew Metz is here to help us find ways to keep a personal touch to our businesses while still scaling and growing. STOP being scared to fail! Failure is an opportunity to learn, so remember, it’s not what you’ve been through, but how you react to it! Advocate for yourself because you ARE worth it, and don’t need to second guess it. About The Guest: You asked and I listened! This week we have Andrew Metz on the show, a passionate sales leader who grew his way into the role of Vice President at Zywave, where he oversees all market sales for small and mid-market spaces. He's here to share the ups and downs and ALL the insights he’s learned along the way on his sales journey. Most importantly, we’ll tackle how to get rid of the imposter syndrome and work at our BEST level yet!  If You Liked This Episode You Might Also Like These Episodes: CREATE Strong Connections With Your Cues! With Vanessa Van Edwards The Lead Behavior Investigator At Science Of People Title  How You Can Create Confidence In Your Business Relationships With Heather! How To CULTIVATE Your Community And Watch Them Advocate For YOU with Kacia Fitzgerald  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Snapple. Want to taste the flavoriest flavors to ever flavor? Mmm! Snapple is ridiculously flavorful, and you can uncap a snapple real fat with every bottle, like, cows produce more milk when they listen to music. Come on! Leave the ridiculousness to Snapple,

and grab one of your favorites that pack a punch. Explore all of the delicious flavors at Snapp one of your favorites th explore all of the delicious think LinkedIn has created intimacy with me and my s thing I've found that's b I don't see a lot of leaders taking risks on LinkedIn or insecurities is this shield of, I'm perfect kind of a thing. And I've found as I've talked about alcohol use in corporate America, I've talked about being let go from an organization.

I've talked about things that people maybe would go, I don't know if you should talk about that. And I've gained a lot of traction. I'm kind of doing the opposite of what people have told me in some cases because people feel like I'm a real person and at the end of the day We write more of our own story than we realize, but no one's gonna do it for you. You got to go do it for yourself adversity and set you up for better tomorrow. I'm ready for my close

time. Hi and welcome back. I'm so excited for you to hear what went down this week. As you know, every week we have one guest a week and then we have our solo episode. If you haven't been checking out the solo episodes, check them out.

They are fire. It's just you and me hanging together. But today we have a new guest on the show, but it happened in a way that is so unique and different. And as you know, I am always listening to the signs that are coming or the signals out there. And it was funny, I put a post up on LinkedIn where I always am, if you're not on LinkedIn,

follow me there, but I was on LinkedIn, I put a post up. I don't even remember what exactly it was. It was something about the podcast. And all of a sudden I had people commenting, hey Heather, you need to interview Andrew. Hey Heather, Andrew's got to be a guest on the show. And I've never had a group of different people advocate so strongly

and aggressively for someone to be a guest on the show. They were listeners of the show, so they know the show. So I listened to the signs, I take the signals as direction and we've got Andrew Metz here today. Andrew, thanks for being here. Thank you so much for having me. Good to hear there's fans out there. That's awesome.

That's always great, right? To know that people have your back. And so that's what I want to learn a little bit about today. Why they thought you were such a great fit for the show. And as I did some digging into your background, it looks like you've had a series of highs and lows. And I was hoping you could give everybody a little bit of insight into what that looked like. Yeah, I appreciate that. Some of the folks that maybe were advocating for me where people I've directly worked with over the years and been very fortunate to have a similar kind of climb through corporate America like you have as well

and being promoted several times. And through that time, you build trust with people as you get to work with them. And I served with the team of six and grew into a team of 20. And now I'm overseeing a sales org of 100 people. So it hasn't happened overnight.

It takes a lot of time, but it's been a fun run. And I think that creates the more time that you can exceed expectations of your promises, the more trust you're going to create with people. Yeah, and not only in sales, but just in general, trust is really that missing element in so many relationships that bridges that gap between, you know, just knowing of someone and really doing business or partnering with them. I was just having this conversation yesterday, so I'm glad that you brought that up. One of the topics that I know you've spoken on, which is interesting

because most of my male guests never touch on this. I really wanna go down this road because it is such a popular topic these days is in Poster syndrome. Yeah, what I've found, and maybe this is just me being brutally honest throughout the process, but I think because I've had street credibility of my organization going through the ranks,

I serve as a BDR. For people who don't know what a BDR is, can you explain that? Business development rep, or might be known as a sales development rep, but that's a fancy term for cold callers. As I like to tell people that enter the org, I say my first year I make cold calls and clean the toilets, which is partially true. And I've always had a lot of confidence in what I was good at.

And that was originally cold calling. And then I sold for my organization, then I was a frontline leader and a second line leader, and so on and so forth. But I also was never afraid to admit what I didn't know. The real buzz word out in the LinkedIn world is vulnerability, right? In the last couple of years,

and I think I was doing vulnerability before it was cool. It was just my way of not over-promising and under-delivering. I wasn't gonna tell someone I knew something that I didn't know. And the thought of Impor syndrome is simply the feeling that you're unworthy or you don't exist and everyone has that to some degree. I have that talking to you right now, right?

It's like, what can I bring to Heather Manna-Hands world? So I certainly appreciate the opportunity, but there's also a voice inside of all of us that should encourage us to dampen that because when you get that impostor syndrome feeling, it really means you're out of your comfort zone. There's also a voice inside of all of us that should encourage us to dampen that because when you get that imposter syndrome feeling, it really means you're out of your comfort zone. It means you're doing something you haven't done before. And usually, when we're proud of an accomplishment or an experience we had, it was something that

was uncomfortable initially. And we look back on it going, hey, I wasn't sure if I could do it, but maybe I failed or maybe I succeeded, but maybe I failed or maybe I succeeded, but either way, you got to give yourself credit for taking the shot. Well, just your own journey, right? Starting out as someone jumping into the cold calling world, which PSA, I've been there as well. Yeah.

You know, I'm sure on D1, you weren't the best cold collar with the best closing rates, you know, out of everyone. Of course. And that's part of it is having the thick skin to take the rejection and really being okay with failing. Looking at failure as the opportunity to learn, right? The cliche is it's not what happens to us. It's how we respond, but that's true in a lot of cases. And you know, sales is a good microcosm of life where you're gonna go scrape your knee a little bit and it's how do you react? And are you gonna change your approach next time

based upon what you learned? And from that, you build confidence from there to approach it differently the next time. And you also figure out that failure's not as scary as people think, right? People are embracing for, oh God, how bad is it gonna be or the rejection? And when you find out that the show goes on

the next day, it gives you a little more perspective to have more confidence to take more risks. So true. It's like anything, the more times that you're at bat, the more comfortable you're going to get when you step into the batter's boss. It is no different with failure. Although I definitely had a very different opinion of it, you know, when I was back in quote unquote corporate America. But I want to jump in a little bit more to the imposter syndrome to hear your thoughts

on. My experience with imposter syndrome was I remember I was advocating for myself to be promoted from executive vice president to chief revenue officer. And I remember thinking, am I even qualified for this? I don't have a master's. I'm younger back then. I was younger than the other people at the C-suite level. I didn't have as many years experience in the company as

aided. I second-guess myself, but there's something probably from the competitive nature of who I am that pushes myself into these situations even though I don't know if I'm qualified. There was always that trepidation and fear. What if they actually say yes, then what? And so they ended up saying yes. And I'll tell you, this was a game-changing moment

for me, Andrew, was when I finally was appointed to the C-suite position and my first big executive meeting as a C-suite executive. I realized, wait a minute, this is the biggest scam going. I get paid more. I have more resources. I have more autonomy and control. Wait a minute, it's easier at this level.

It would truly was, it was actually easier and it is the biggest scam going. And so that's one thing I want to part on everybody. I was so wrong, I was overqualified for all the reasons why I thought I wasn't because I was bringing my unique skill set to this table that needed it, desperately needed it. And I was actually already doing the work

just with a more junior level title. So a lot of this stuff is just, it's not real, it's built up in our minds. Have you seen it that same way? Well, yeah, I think you bring up a good point is the real hard work comes from those that are on the front lines. And I've always kind of living through the lens of gratitude because I was on the front lines for so long

I make cold calls from my company for almost two years before it took a meeting and then I carry the bag as we say Which means you're out in the field carrying a quota for three and a half years and so I know how hard it was and to your point Those are the people that are really moving the needle. Once you kind of move up the corporate ladder, you kind of mentioned peaking behind the wizard of Oz, the curtain a little bit where it's like, oh, so what do you do here kind of a thing? And there's a tremendous amount of responsibility, and I don't want to downplay that, but to your point, I think there's other folks that, if you keep them engaged and you show that

you care about them, and you continue that you care about them and you continue to challenge them and invest in them so that they grow in their career, they're going to be really loyal to you and the leadership. And I think when leadership kind of gets that ivory tower out of touch or they don't understand how hard it is and they're kind of making these assumptions, hey make more cool calls, do this, do that without that layer of empathy. I think that's when they lose the trust in the team. And that's something, I mean, I just did a one on one meeting

with one of my 85 reps yesterday that I do monthly. It's hard to scale that, but my biggest fear as I move through the ranks is that I get out of touch with what's going on in the streets. Because I think once you do that, that's a quick way to lose the respect of your team. And, you know, in this market, we're an extremely competitive market. People will, people have a freelance mentality, which I think is good. It keeps leadership honest to go just like a salesperson goes, what's my unique value prop?

I'm asking myself all the time, what's our unique value prop as a leadership team that people want to continue to work here and really comes down to showing that you care and there's incentives and comp and all that stuff. But it's really about an investment quality in I'm going to make you a better seller whether you leave here tomorrow or six years from now you're going to be a better seller because you've been on my team. National Security Exper experts are warning. Our aging power grid is more vulnerable than ever. January marked a third time a power station North Carolina was damaged by gunfire.

Authorities are saying the attack raises a new level of threat. Authorities are now checking our grid for vulnerabilities. They've identified nine key substations. If these substations are attacked, power could be knocked out from coast to coast for up to 18 months. Imagine a black outlasting, not days, but weeks or months, your life would be frozen right in time

right when the power goes out. That's why having your own solar power is more important than ever. With the Patriot Power Generator, you get a solar generator that doesn't install into your house because it's portable. You can take it with you, even use it inside. But it's powerful enough for your phones,

medical devices, or even your fridge. And right now, you can go to forward you. Even use it inside. But it's powerful enough for your phones, medical devices, or even your fridge. And right now, you can go to FordPatreots.com and use code Confidence to get 10% off your first purchase on anything in the store, including the Patriot Power Generator. You'll also get their famous guarantee for an entire year after your order. Plus free shipping on orders over $97.

And a portion of every sale is donated to charities who support our veterans and their families. Just go to 4patriots.com and use code confidence to get 10% off. That's 4patriots.com and use code confidence to get yours today. If your business earns millions or tens of millions of revenue, stop what you're doing and take a listen, because NetSuite by Oracle has just rolled out the best offer we've ever seen. NetSuite gives you the visibility control you need to make better decisions faster. And for the first time in NetSuite's 22 years as the number one cloud financial system, you can defer payments of a full

NetSuite implementation for six months. That's no payment, no interest for six months. And you can take advantage of this special financing offer today. NetSuite is number one because they give your business everything you need in real time, all in one place to reduce manual processes, boost efficiency, build forecast, and increase productivity across every department. Now listen, the importance of having all this information in one place to make better decisions is unprecedented. The offer net suite is giving you is unbelievable and it's making it all possible for you to have it. Now, 33,000 companies have already upgraded to net suite gaining visibility and control

over their financials, inventory, HR, e-commerce, and more. If you've been sizing net suite up to make the switch, then you know this deal is unprecedented. No interest, no payments, take advantage of the special financing offer at NetSuite.com slash monahan. NetSuite.com slash monahan to get the visibility and control you need to weather any storm. NetSuite.com slash monahan. If you're struggling with swelling in your legs,

ankles, or feet, you're gonna wanna listen up. Forget your compression socks and water pills. New research shows that swelling and inflammation can be resolved by upping your intake of omega-3 fatty acids from krill oil. Omega-3's improved circulation while lowering inflammation on the body, all while reducing swelling and pain. And there's no better time to try krill oil for yourself. Just go to fixswornfeed.com slash confidence to get 58% off native path and Arctic curl.

This krill oil is pure, effective and easily absorbed into the body. And it contains a potent antioxidant which helps further reduce inflammation and swelling. For a limited time, you can grab native path and artichrist oil for as low as $23 a bottle. Just go to fixwollenveet.com slash confidence. The biggest most epic fails that I saw at the highest levels

and companies was when they were detached from reality and they would only see things as numbers on a spreadsheet which truly in my opinion is the most epic fail. and you know, you can look at the results as well when leaders like that take over it is a fail. So to that point, how are you able to because you brought up the point it's tough to scale. I was running marketplaces all around the country and like you it was so hard to scale. I was on a plane every single week trying to get that one and one face time with people trying to find out what was happening in the streets of Las Vegas differently than what was happening in Philadelphia. Because there are differences, right? And you have to acknowledge them.

As much as you want to say, it's a numbers game. It truly isn't. And leadership's different in different marketplaces. And competitive situations are different, right? So as much as we want to say, it's one simple strategy. It never truly is. So how do you find ways to keep that personal touch and skill?

That's a challenge. It's been a challenge as I moved through. It was easy. A six people was harder with 20, and it's almost impossible with 100. It'll be at least on a weekly basis. I think about leveraging my time in larger platforms, but intimate settings.

So I did a lunch this Tuesday with our BDR team and there's 12 people that are on the team and they do a Q&A for an hour and you know, they talk about my career and cold call strategies and all that stuff. It's small enough where they feel like they get to know me, but that's hard to do in a one-on-one setting. I actually think LinkedIn has created some level of intimacy with me and my sales team. So one thing I've found that's been really interesting and I certainly don't have the audience you have,

but I don't see a lot of leaders in corporate America taking risks on LinkedIn or being vulnerable. And once again, I think this comes back to insecurities is this shield of, I'm perfect kind of a thing. And I've found as I've talked about, I've three young kids under the age of 10, I've talked about, you know, alcohol use in corporate America, I've talked about, you know, being let go from an organization. I've talked about things that people maybe would go, I don't know, I don't know if you should

talk about that. And I've found the, you know, I think I've gotten a, I've gained a lot of traction with kind of doing the opposite of what people have told me in some cases because people feel like, I'm a real person and then, you know, I go on a podcast or do an interview with someone or I meet with someone for the first time. Like I do a lot of interviewing and the crazy thing about LinkedIn

that I didn't have five years ago is because I put out content, people are interviewing me feel like, you know, just like you. It's like they hear your, you know, your podcast or they see your LinkedIn content or they've read your books and they feel like they know you before they just like you. It's like they hear your podcast or they see your LinkedIn content or they've read your books and they feel like they know you before they've met you, right? So we're kind of scoring points before the game starts. And for me, it's been an invaluable tool

for recruiting and leadership and that sort of thing. So once again, it's how do you scale it but how do you keep it real? And to me, there's still taking the time. It's, I focus on what's a meaningful activity I'm gonna do because just like everyone else, you know, there's 24 hours in the day, I have a busy family, personal life, just like everyone else.

And I'm much rather spend time, one-on-one in conversations or in the field or in the office having meaningful conversations. Even if that just talking life, then sitting behind a spreadsheet or refreshing dashboards and barking at people. I so agree with you. And you're cracking me up.

Okay, a couple of things I want to point out guys that Andrew brought up there. I think are super important. Number one, when you're trying to scale and have more of an intimate real touch point with people to get to know them, to build that trust, it's such a great idea to do what you describe, which is bring a lunch group together or a dinner group

where you have more real conversations. And maybe it's not just one on one, maybe it's one in 15, or you're sitting down 15 or 20 or two people. But that is so smart. I actually just did a recorded a podcast episode about this and about the right strategies, the right questions asked to really engage the room to open it up, make it more emotional and full of gratitude.

And I think you are spot on, right, that is such a smart strategy. If you're listening and you are trying to be more in touch with your teams, definitely try as approach. It works. And I will find out what that other episode is because I never know which week anything is launching. And I will put it in the show notes. Super interesting stuff.

OK, so that's number one. I love that approach. And number two, to your point around vulnerability, I very rarely see anyone show up very vulnerable. When people do on LinkedIn, those posts go viral and it's for a reason, right? My most viral post I've ever had to this day, which got millions of views, was the day I got fired

and I posted, hey, I've just got fired. If I've ever helped you, day, which got millions of views, was the day I got fired and I posted, hey, I've just got fired. If I've ever helped you, I need to hear from you. Now, I will put a side bar footnote on this, right? So for me, the day that I decided to take, you know, that cover off or that bail of corporate BS and lean into just being the real me, that's when my social media exploded. And yes, you create community so much faster. People completely think they know you. It's incredible. Anyone who isn't forward-facing and being a grown-brown social media, you are missing a huge opportunity. You will regret it. If yesterday was the right time, today's the only time,

get on there and do it now. Now, here's my one caveat. So funny that this actually just happened today. A friend of mine was setting me up and connecting me to someone they wanted me to go out on a date with. And little, I never thought about this as much as people know me from a business sense, you know, a transparency sense,

somebody that would be knowing that they were gonna be potentially taking me out could Google me and start seeing all of my content. And it was the funniest thing to hear someone that was asking me on a date to say, Oh, I heard that your feet are smelly, Heather, that's so interesting and one of your talks. And I'm thinking, Oh my gosh, this is the first time ever that this information is being used this way. It's actually pretty funny. So 99% of the time it is amazing to show and show up with vulnerability on LinkedIn. So thank you so much for bringing that up. Are you talking to me about building confidence in your team's confidence in your people, not in yourself, but how do you uplift

and build confidence within others? Yeah, so a lot of who I work with I would say is, you know, professionals earlier on in their career and there might be in their 20s or 30s and it's usually not their first job but maybe their second third sales job and I think they're always trying to find their ground and their footing.

And one of the things that I really focus on is, you know, you can raw, raw people. And yeah, you should go congratulate them when they're having success. And, you know, you should give them the right to challenge them when they're not doing what they need to do. That's all part of coaching and leadership. But one of the things that I found that is gained a lot of traction is once someone's kind of establishes their footing is creating a mentor mentee situation where even if they just know a little teaching someone something they didn't know build your confidence a lot. So we actually have a formal mentor mentee set up in our organization. So if a brand new seller comes on, they go through a bootcamp training, which is eight

weeks, but they're also assigned a sales rep that's a mentor. And that mentor doesn't need to be there for 10 years, they can be there six months, but the idea is once people learn that, I just need to know a little more than the next person to be helpful, that helps establish a level of, oh, I can help someone, right? So there's an opportunity there.

I think the other thing that I've really tried to focus on in my leadership career that I received early on was, you know, catch him in the act to doing something good. I think people are usually waiting for managers to, you know, yell at them for not, you know, for missing the quote and not making enough calls. And I periodically like to go look at stats

or we use technology like Gong where we can record demos and Try to find things that they didn't know I was looking to say hey I thought you did an excellent job here, and I think that gives people the confidence level to go I didn't know someone was looking over my shoulder, but the fact that they're complimenting me gives me a lot of confidence that I'm doing the right thing So I think those are simple strategies, but helping someone with something that they didn't know, especially as you're trying to gain your footing, and then from a leadership perspective is complimenting them, catch them in the act to doing something good. I think they're usually waiting to be maybe a little more gunshive of being corrected, and just a pat on the back

when it's unexpected goes a long way. I love that idea of catching someone doing something good. That is not the norm out there. However, that is why people are advocating for you to be on this show, for sure. All right, share some tips with us around how do you get up and give a strong presentation when you're not feeling your best or you're feeling uncertain? What are some of the strategies that you lean on

to make sure that when you're presenting, when you're actually in there holding a meeting that you show up and do the best and most powerful job you can do. One of the things I like to do that I don't see enough is not just participation with the audience, but I like to reference people in the audience of past things they've done. You know, there's something to do a Q&A or go, what do you guys think and you get people, but I like going, I just saw last week so and so do this and you know so and so does a great job of this. And I think using people's

names, keep them engaged, but it also shows your paying attention, you're listening. And it feels good when a leader has acknowledged you, especially if it's something you weren't aware that they were aware of. So it kind of shows that like you're keeping an eye on things. The other thing I would say is, I mean, I've never been a big overly scripted, no person. I'm kind of big into that improv aspect, but definitely having some bullet points of what I'm talking about.

But I'm big into trying to use humor in a comic release setting. I think corporate America's too stuffy in general. I think people take themselves too seriously. I grew up in a blended family of six. I was the fourth and I was always looking for attention. So to me, the comic relief of this feels too serious is good and I think people want to work in an environment

where you can joke about yourself a little bit and not take yourself too seriously. I think that's refreshing and I don't see it enough. And I think when leaders appear out of touch or arrogant, I think it's a very unattractive quality. Oh my gosh, it's the worst. And those are always the people that are the most insecure. If you're trying to show up and pretend you're perfect or pretend you're better than others, it's because you actually are suffering so much inside. And I remember, I don't know why people didn't tell us this

when we were younger, but I remember, you know, when I was younger working for people like that and thinking, oh gosh, they've got all the answers. They've got it together, you know, cut to a few years later when I pulled that curtain back and I said, oh no, they're actually the ones that are so scared of what everybody else thinks. So for everyone listening right now,

that person that you think is perfect, that you think is so arrogant, know that they are struggling so much more worse than you. Try to have a little empathy or compassion for them because that's gotta be a really painful situation to be in. All right, so I know that you mentioned that you're a parent. So how does leading your children and building confidence in your children differ

from your team that work? That's a good question. Maybe you can help me. I've tried to implement some of the same sales strategies and leadership strategies on the home front. It's different. I have a 10-year-old and eight-year-old boys. Actually, I have a son named Dylan. I think you do too. And I have a three-year-old Luna, my little girl, and I've tried to allow them to, they have to be good people, they have chores, they have responsibilities, they got to hold the door for people. There's things that are deal-breakers for me, but when it comes to sports activities, musical instruments, hobbies, I really want them to just find what they're passionate about, and

I've tried really hard not to push. And I think, to some degree, I've set some pressure expectations of what I do in my own personal life, but I don't want them to feel like they have to live up to something, not to say I'm so great. But they've seen me, you know, I've kind of gone through my own transformation the last five years and, you know, out of shape and kind of stagnant my life to you know become an Amerathon runner and quitting alcohol and doing a bunch of things that they see me go through that journey. And I think one of the things that I really want them to do is find out what they're passionate about at an early age and that could be

my 10 year old just said I don't want to play the violin anymore and I don't want them to quit on things if they committed to it. But we went into this going let's see if this is the instrument for you. And if it's not, then let's, we can find something out. So I'm trying to allow them to find their own way. My sales approach was always, I'm not going to hard, close people. I'm definitely aggressive.

And I'll definitely challenge people. But I want people to buy. I don't want them to feel sold. And in my space, I sell to salespeople. And I always think about buy I don't want them to feel sold and in my space I sell to sales people and I always think about how I buy myself. I go, yeah, I don't want to be sold I'm the sales guy. I'm gonna I'm gonna sell you kind of a thing So there's a little reverse psychology. There's a little bit of you want which can't have this degree But in parenting to me it's it's about leading by example myself

So my actions speak louder than my words. And they see how I treat my wife. They see how we were at Mount Rushmore. And there was someone with a Vietnam War hat. And I just said, thank you for our service. And this guy was very complimentary. Oh, enough people on set. And then my eight year old at the time

was asking me why I did what I did. So I'm not preaching to him. He's seen me do things. And I'm explaining to him why I carry on. But I didn't say you have to do this, right? I just, if he thinks it's a, that's a good way to live your life, then they're going to follow. And I think I've had that same mentality in corporate America too. I just think your actions are always going to speak louder than your words. It's very cliche, but it's powerful in real life. And when people say to do things and then they don't back it up with their actions,

that's a way to demotivate people. Say you have a business idea, but you're not sure what to do next. Don't go into debt spending four plus years on a degree, listen to the Millionaire University podcast, learn how to run a successful business and graduate rich, not broke. Trust me, you need to check out this podcast.

The Millionaire University podcast is hosted by Justin and Tara Williams, who started their business from Square One and now have years of valuable experience. They hit lows and dug themselves out of debt and want to share the lessons they've learned with aspiring entrepreneurs. You don't need a degree to succeed.

Millionaire University will teach you everything you need to know. From specifics like how to start a software business without creating your own software, to more broad topics like eight businesses you can start tomorrow to make 10K a month. In each episode you'll get insights from entrepreneurs and mentors who know what it takes to be successful. So don't wait! Now is the time to turn your business idea into a reality by listening to the Millionaire University podcast. New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Find the Millionaire University on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. What a name for a chocolate bar. Tells you what you're signing up for.

Crunch, that glorious combination of crispy rice and 100% milk chocolate makes crunch the chocolate bar that's just more fun. It's the mic drop of chocolate. It's chocolate with game. It's chocolate with, what's the word in after? Oh yeah, crunch. So you brought up something interesting

that you had this big personal transformation made some very significant changes to your life over the last five years. What was the catalyst for that? And how have you learned from that situation and how can you apply it to when you see other people in challenging situations? Yeah, to me, the catalyst was stagnant feeling of life, career, health.

I thought of myself as a good athlete. I was voted best athlete in my high school class of 360, which you would laugh at you and meet me because I don't look like anything special. And then I had, you know, I had this moment at the corporate 5K where I'm walking the 5K. And I just kind of slipped into the Midwestern softball, beer drinking, dad, overweight. And there's just these moments.

And on a rock bottom's a dramatic statement, but there's these moments where you kind of look in the mirror and you're like, is this what we've become? Is this where we're at? And I think the really cool thing is, there's a victim mentality out there in the world and there's a whoever's president dictates my life for taxes or policy or whatever.

And I just think a lot of that is bullshit. I think a lot of it is based upon your own decision-making and what you want to make of your life. And it started with running. So I had ran in years and about 18 months after that, 5K, I ran a full marathon and that was really empowering. And Elkall was part of the story as well. And to me, it was just more of a habitual, you come home,

you drink three or four beers. That's what we do in the Midwest. I live in Milwaukee. So that's kind of the prototypical, you know, changing that cycle of my life and that habit is just opened up a lot in terms of not only productivity, but emotions of life. You know, I found that you got to embrace life, the good and the bad, and if we're numbing it every day, we're actually kind of cheating ourselves a little bit. And then in addition to that professionally speaking, I had this climb through the corporate ranks and at a great story, but I was kind of plateauing. I was on my same regional vice president role for three and a half years. And I loved what I did. And I loved the

people, but I was kind of asleep at the wheel in the sense that it was so easy in some ways. And I left the organization last year about this time, and I went and ran a 100% sales org somewhere else. And about six months after that, I got an opportunity to come back into my dream role with the organization that grew up in. And I think there's some market validation that happened that, oh shit, maybe Andrew Mets is good enough to run our 100 person sales organization this other company thinks,

but you learn a lot about yourself when you go and do hard things. And really the fun is just in that journey and that next checkpoint that you receive. And I remember the day I ran six miles, while I ran six miles, I remember my first half marathon. And you know, all those things,

it also creates an abundance mindset to go what else can I do and I'm 38 years old I still say I'm on the first half of my career I think I'm just getting started and you know I look at someone like you Heather to be honest I found your story so inspirational and the first time I heard of you was when you talked to Gary Vee and I can sense in your conversation that it was one of those moments where it was a milestone, right? You probably look back on that finally to go, here we are, you know, talking to someone

that maybe I didn't think I was gonna talk to. And I maybe heard that interview with you and Gary Vee three years ago and here I am talking to you, right? So it just feels so good to dream and not accept just where you're at today as the final destination, but continue to push yourself. And look, it's going to be hard.

People are going to doubt you. You're going to doubt yourself. People are going to roll their eyes and think it's dumb. I mean, I mean, people roll their eyes and think it was dumb that I was doing LinkedIn content two years ago, three years ago with 1500 connections. It was like nothing. And you could still say, my audience is nothing, but I don't really give a shit.

It's therapeutic for me. It means something to the audience I have. And at the end of the day, we write more of our own story than we realize. But no one's going to do it for you. You've got to go do it for yourself. Well, one of the big takeaways that I just got from what you shared is it all starts with one thing for

with saying, okay, I w corporate 5k, that's em I'm going to try to run starting with the run. So right now, just figure out one thing, maybe it's one corporate in your life that and somehow along the way you dropped it. I remember

the end of last year, I had just let so many things pile up around my house. I had a new book coming out. I had boxes of books everywhere, papers everywhere. I had let go of staying disciplined around organization. And at the beginning of the year, I cleared this entire house out. And mentally, I felt so much better. Was it easy?

No. Was it exhausting? Yes. Yes. Frustrating. I was all the feelings, all the not great feelings. But I knew that I would feel better if I could if and when I can get it back to the way I felt proud about it, right? So it's about picking up that first box or picking up those first papers or putting those sneakers on and going out for the run. Challenge yourself to do one thing today to get started so you can start on

on a way to a better path. And quickly on the Gary B. No, yes, that was huge. I'll never forget when I got the calendar invite, but I will say this that man talked over me so much during that interview. It drove me cuckoo and I need to go back on that show, but I appreciate you saying that Andrew, where can people find you clearly? You know a lot about leadership leading yourself, leading your family, leading your team. Where can people get your content? Where can they get more from you? The main place I live is LinkedIn, Andrew Metz, METZ. Good to find me on there. I love interacting with people when possible, scalabilities are a problem, but at the end of the day, I'd love to see people there and

interact with them there. Andrew, thank you so much for showing up as such a genuine leader. Thanks for leading for your team, and now I see why they advocate for you. Guys follow Andrew on LinkedIn and until next week keep creating your confidence. At a time when change is constant and we are pulled in far too many directions. We need a way to stay present to life and to increase our ability to remain calm, think clearly, and maintain our well-being. Many studies indicate mindfulness improves our mental, emotional, and physical health. On a mindful moment with Teresa McKee,

you can learn how to practice mindfulness and enjoy its many benefits. Tune in for guided meditations and to hear tips and advice from some of the most respected experts in the fields of mental health and mindfulness. The world truly can be a better place. It all starts with a mindful moment. Big Hakeridge Bargons are on sale now with the ranches at Buck Ridge. Get 25 to 100 plus acres of beautiful recreation land from under $5,500 in acre.

Plus add a newly constructed two-bed, two-path barn-domening-em-shell for only $60,000 more. Buck Ridge is located in the heart of Texas, just minutes from charming Brady, and features a gated entrance, high-speed fiber internet, electric and low-agg-exem Texas. Plus, Buck Ridge is loaded with trophy wildlife, ideal for hunters and nature enthusiasts. Don't mess out! Get 25 to 100 plus acres from only $5,500 an acre. Plus, add a new, two-bed, two-bath barn-dose Shell for only $60,000 more. Excellent land financing is available. Call 877-333-7393 or visit ranchisitbuckridgetx.com. $60,000 price is for a thousand square foot Too Bad Room Too Bad Boundo Shell to be

built on purchase-slod at Buck Ridge, an equal-housing opportunity. you