Marketing Secrets with Russell Brunson - Entrepreneurial Scars - Have You Heard This One Yet?

Episode Date: October 9, 2019

Why these things can and should move you forward as opposed to pulling you backwards. On this special replay episode of Marketing Secrets podcast, Russell talks about the inner battle entrepreneurs face with past regrets. Russell shares his own experiences and observations, including: Why the founding fathers gave us the gift of bankruptcy Why Russell spent an hour and a half on stage talking about his failures How Russell's "failures" qualified him to work with one of the world's top business consultants If you've ever gone through bankruptcy or messed up and done something stupid in your business, today's episode is for you. Transcript - https://marketingsecrets.com/blog/248-entrepreneurial-scars-have-you-heard-this-one-yet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, hey everyone, this is Russell Brunson. I want to welcome you back to the Marketing Secrets Podcast. And today's episode is actually going to be a little different because it's going to be a reboot. I'm actually not going to record a new podcast episode because I've been here with my Inner Circle members for the last couple of days. I've been celebrating a lot of their successes.

And it's been interesting though. It feels like there's been a theme over recently with a couple of entrepreneurs who I work close with who have been struggling and things like that. And for all of them, I was like, have you listened to the Entrepreneurial Scars podcast? And they're like, no, what's that? And I'm like, how have you not heard this? And I think it's been almost two years or so since I published that episode. But I wanted to bring it to the top because I know it's something that so many people are struggling with and there's so much fear and anxiety, which is something I could make everybody listen to once a week or once a month.

And so because of that, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna just do a reboot and when we come back from the theme song, I'm gonna replay that episode of the podcast to hopefully help any of you guys who are in a season of struggling right now with your business, with your life, and hopefully give you guys permission and that you need to move forward

and to feel comfortable and to be able to go back and get back to changing the world. So with that said, I'm cute theme song. We come back. Um, we listened to a podcast called entrepreneurial scars. So the big question is this, how are entrepreneurs like us who didn't cheat and take on venture capital? We're spending money from our own pockets. How do we market in a way that lets us get our products and our services and the things that we believe in out to the world and yet still remain profitable? That is the question and this podcast will give you the answers.

My name is Russell Brunson and welcome to Marketing Secrets. Hey everyone. Uh, so I wanted to, um, I honestly, this podcast, I just want to hang out with you guys and talk because, um, it's been interesting is, uh, I've been working with so many entrepreneurs and,

and recently just as I've been working with some people and watching people who had insane amounts of success at one time and then who had something happen, a failure, a bankruptcy uh whatever like just fill in the blank um that the second time around a long time a lot of times they really really struggle and i start looking i'm like why are they struggling because like they had this huge success and it's almost like they're they have fear and embarrassment of like oh i failed in the past and they and um as i kept talking about this with some of the guys on our team, I was like, it's almost like they have entrepreneurial scars and like, and it's interesting is that us as the person who went through the process and the

failure and the, you know, a lot of times there's ups, then the downs, they hit hard. Like we have these scars, like these emotional scars. But I think sometimes we feel like those scars are like on our faces and other people can see them. Um um but what's interesting is that people don't like those are just things that are that are inside of your yourself that are um but because they're there because you feel like they're there and you feel like other people can see it um it keeps you from having success the next time because there's so much fear around these scars, these things. And as I was talking about this this morning, I shared a story and this will hopefully kind of tie these things together a little better for you. I'm not going to name names or anything, but there's a guy I know and he was a successful

politician, top of his game, like doing everything amazing and just people loved him. And when you saw him in that spot, and this is not like national politics, I don't know anybody in national politics, I don't follow politics at all, but from like, it was a local person, right? And you saw him on the news and all this other stuff and he was like, he was dynamic, he was charismatic, and like everything was awesome.

And then he got caught up in this like political scandal, whatever, right? And it's funny, because I don't, again, I don't follow politics much, I don't care that much, but I was aware like, oh, this thing happened and he's no longer in there and i have someone else and then fast forward like three or four years later i met him and what's interesting is i met him it was in a different situation wanted to talk about business stuff i was really excited because i was like oh i know who this person is like how cool like i want to i want to meet him

and talk to him and um as i talked to him like it was funny not funny i shouldn't say that it was interesting to see like um the scars that he'd gotten from this, from this thing, um, were so deep that like it was, he was struggling to progress in other parts of his life and business and like all these other things because of the scars he got from this, this, this thing that didn't work out right. Right. And yeah, you look at the thing, it was, it didn't, it wasn't good, but like, you know, three years later, I, I'm almost surprised that I knew about it, but I did. But, um, he was carrying those scars in this conversation with me with you to came in like the way that I'd seen him before, like confident and all sorts of things.

Um, I probably would have done the business deal with him, but because he had these, these scars and like just the way he approached, he didn't have the certainty and didn't have all these things. They were gone and I could feel it. And like that uncertainty kept me from doing the deal with him. And, and I remember thinking after I finished that, I was like, God, like I can tell he's still carrying around the fear and the embarrassment and the shame of this thing. But I'm like, I don't care about that thing. I couldn't care less. Like move on in your life

and come back because like that person that I saw on TV, like if you were to approach me that way, I would have done this deal. And the same thing is true in entrepreneurs. Like there's someone I know who's super successful, who had a funnel, blew up, made a ton of money, and then it went away. And now they're kind of struggling. And what's interesting is like, I kind of know that backstory because I know the person, things like that. But even with that, I look at that person, I'm like, this person is an amazing, like a rock star. Like they're awesome. They're amazing. But as I see them and interact with other people, I see that these scars that this person has are keeping them from taking over the next thing. And it's funny because I don't think 99.9% of every single person in the world has any idea

that those scars are there for this person. But because he knows that they're there, because he knows he failed, he knows that they're there because he know he failed, he knows that things disappeared and didn't work out the way he wanted. He has this fear. And as he's approaching the next situations, he's struggling because of that, because of these scars. And I think it's interesting, um, that these entrepreneurial scars that we have, like, first off, they're invisible. Like nobody sees them. Like, like, you know, some people may be aware of them, but nobody sees them except for you. And so because you are so aware of these things, it keeps you from having the confidence and the success you need to move forward.

And it was funny. I was talking to an entrepreneur who was about to go through bankruptcy and they're freaking out. They're so scared. And I kind of asked him why. And they didn't say, you know, because I don't want those scars. But like what they said afterwards was like, if I get a bankruptcy, like what's my wife going to think? And my in-laws and my family and all these things. And I was like, you have to understand that like bankruptcy, like if you think about this, like failure for entrepreneurs.

Like the founding fathers of this country gave us bankruptcy as a gift. So that entrepreneurs like us would risk and try and move forward and roll the dice and hope for something. Like if it wasn't for that gift, you may think it's a gift from the founding fathers, I believe it's a gift from God. Like if it wasn't for that thing, America wouldn't have succeeded as a nation. Everything that's been amazing wouldn't have happened

if entrepreneurs didn't have that risk. If it was like, if you go bankrupt, you go to jail till you pay off all your debts, not many people would have taken the risk. I don't know if I would have taken the risk. But because like worst case scenario is bankruptcy where you clear off your balance if I would have taken the risk. But because worst case scenario is bankruptcy where you clear off your balance sheets and you start over, that's the worst case scenario.

That's the greatest gift we have. And so if we hit that and we go through it and all of a sudden we have these scars, like I went through bankruptcy and you have all this fear, then you go to the next thing and it's like, no, that shouldn't be a negative thing. That means you tried. It means you attempted.

And even if you attempted to have success and it went away, you've had success. I remember I remember I was, uh, doing a deal with, uh, this guy who super successful. In fact, he does these consulting things where it's like 500 grand a day with a minimum of, of, uh, of 10 sessions. So it's like half a million bucks to like get this guy to work with you. Right. And I had a chance to hang out with him and I was talking to him and talking strategy and he was asking my story and I'm telling my story and, and, um, you know, and I'm pretty open with things now. Like I've realized that my scars are what actually draws people to me.

So I funnel hiking live. I spent an hour and a half on stage talking about all my failures because it draws people towards me. And so, um, which is kind of maybe the point at the end of this podcast. But, um, I shared my, my ups and then my downs. And as I told him the whole thing, he was like, oh, good. I'm like, what do you mean good? He's like, well, you've cycled. I'm like, what do you mean I've cycled? He's like, oh, he's like, well, you know, entrepreneurs who

haven't cycled at least once, I refuse to work with them. I'm like, what does that mean? He's like, well, cycle means you build something up and then you crash. He's like, if you haven't cycled yet, then guess what? You're still like, you're still reading, you're still drinking your own Kool-Aid. Like you still believe that you are the most amazing human being on earth. You don't realize until after you've cycled that it's not just you. Like you aren't the greatest thing to walk this planet. Like there's market conditions and there's people and there's opportunity and there's luck. And there's all these amazing things that happen that makes, that make you possible, right? That make, that make you as an entrepreneur successful. And as he said that first off, I was like,

well, that feels better. Like cycling sounds way better than failing or going through bankruptcy. But I thought it was interesting that he wouldn't work with an entrepreneur unless they'd cycled once. And I was like, man, how many people, they go out there and they do their big risk and they have some success,

which gives you all this pride and confidence and stuff and then you lose it. And then because of that failure, you never try again. Or you try but you're halfway because of that failure you never try again or you you try but you're halfway because you feel like you have these scars and you feel like other people are judging you or you're judging yourself or all these kind of things where the reality is like we don't see those things um nobody knows about the failures until you tell about and if they do know

about it it doesn't really matter in fact as i found as i share my scars it draws people closer to me like i mentioned earlier um i think the reason why people do business with me a lot of times is because I'm vulnerable. I share those things. And so for you guys, what I wanted to kind of talk about today is just, first off, it's okay to have those scars. But don't hide them. Like, share those things. When my kids get injured, they're super cute and they do all the time, I tell, like, my boys, I'm like, chicks dig scars. Like, that's a good thing.

That's awesome. Black eyes are awesome. I remember one of my black eyes I got in wrestling. In fact, I don't know if you guys are watching the video. You can still see the scars on both my eyes. I had this one where I hit my buddy's knee and my eye completely swole shut. I had like 15 stitches

and I couldn't stand on my eye for like four or five days. And as I was at school, I was all embarrassed because of the scar. And as I was walking around, people were like, dude, your eye looks awesome. Oh, you're a wrestler. And like people connected with that more than like me looking good in my hair or speaking,

you know, worrying about like what I look like. And so I think the moral of this podcast and I want you guys to understand is that we all have entrepreneurial scars. If you don't have them yet, you're gonna have them. But don't let those keep you from the next success. My friend who's a politician, I don't care that what happened.

He could go and be successful, but because he's carrying these scars, he's not. And you have to be willing to get rid of those or not get rid of them, embrace them and share those things. Like, look, I screwed up. This is what happened, but this is what I'm doing now.

And this is what I learned from it, how I'm changing. If I look back on my career, there's a lot of things that I'm embarrassed about, things that I messed up on big time. Maybe I should do a podcast someday about my biggest regrets. I have regrets in my business. There are things that I did that I'm embarrassed about. I wish I wouldn't have done.

Looking back now, I would have consulted myself, like, do not do that. But I wouldn't have known the path unless I'd gone down some of these paths and realized what things weren't right., what things weren't right. Um, you know, I've always tried to be fair to my customers and my employees and stuff, but I made mistakes and, um, I sold things that I thought were really good and found later. They weren't, I've done like there's things I'm not proud of, but if I let those scars keep me, like how many people would, how many people's lives were you touching and affecting now that wouldn't have been touched had I not embraced those scars and like, and told people like, look, I messed up in the past. And I have, we all do. And it's okay. Um, but I don't want you guys to not progress because of that. So hopefully this gives you some comfort and knowing like, look, if you've gone through bankruptcy, that's okay. If you've, if you've messed up,

if you did something stupid, like that's okay. Um, you know, that's what this life is about. Without making those mistakes and owning it. Um, and if you do, it's what this life is about, is about making those mistakes and owning it. And if you do, it's almost like plastic surgery that makes these scars just disappear. But they don't need to disappear. Like I said, embrace it, because that's what's going to draw people to you. And so I hope that helps. It was on my mind today.

I thought I wanted to share it. So hope that that was good for you guys. Again, as an entrepreneur, we're risking stuff every day, risking our personnel. I mean, we're risking our names, we're risking money, we're risking other people.

I wake up in the morning scared. We have 119 employees as of today. If I screw up, how many people's lives have I let down because of that? Those things are real to me and I understand that, but I've got to risk those things because how many people's lives can we affect because of that, right? And if you've gone through bankruptcy, don't let that stress you out. Um, it's a gift from the founding fathers. It's a gift from God has given us the ability so that we can risk and

not lose everything. Um, we can risk and, uh, and, and, you know, and if it wasn't for that, like again, progress would stop if entrepreneurs weren't risking. It's not a bad thing. Anyway, so I just want to give you guys that as a gift and if you guys are struggling right now, some of you guys probably are. Some of you guys are going through bankruptcy. You've gone through bankruptcy.

Maybe it's not bankruptcy, but you failed. You launched something that didn't work. You built a team of people and the product didn't work. You had to fire people or let them go or all the ups and the downs and disappointment. As entrepreneurs, you have so many things on your shoulders and I get that.

And I hope that this message just helps release some of that pressure for some of you guys because if you don't keep risking, if you don't keep trying, if you don't keep getting those scars, where's the world gonna be? Where are you gonna be? Where's your family gonna be?

Where are the people you're serving gonna be? They need you and it's worth the risk. It's worth the sacrifice. It's worth those fears. Because if you can affect those people, like when you, when you deliver on what you know you have and you change their lives, like it, it makes it all worth it. It's interesting just kind of to close this down. I look at where our company has come and where we are today, right? And I looked back during my last cycle, seven years ago when everything collapsed around me and I thought the world was coming to an end

and I was depressed and I was sad and I was scared, all those kind of things happened. Looking at it now, like if I didn't go through that, ClickFunnels and this process never would've happened. I never would've met Todd. I never would've met who built ClickFunnels. I never would've built this team. I never would've had this opportunity.

I wouldn't have known the things we know to be able to execute on this. I wouldn't have. A lot of things that we're steering clear from today are because of the mistakes that happened back then. And if I would have made those mistakes today, some of them could have been catastrophic. Way more people's lives could have been affected. Whereas I had a chance to suffer those things and get those scars at a smaller scale. And so I don't have to have those things again now, hopefully, if I learn from my lessons that I'm trying to do.

So look at those things as gifts, embrace them, share them and don't hide from them because those scars will draw people to you. And we all have them. And don't let that keep you from your mission. So hope that helps. Thanks again for everything, guys. And I will talk to you guys all soon.

Bye, everybody. Would you like to see behind the scenes of what we're actually doing each day to grow our company? If so, then go subscribe to our free behind-the-scenes reality TV show at www.funnelhacker.tv.