Marketing Secrets with Russell Brunson - (MS) Stepping Off the Battlefield to Win the War

Episode Date: August 11, 2023

I just got back from one of my favorite trips I've ever been on. From spending 10 days in Kenya with my wife and kids, then seeing a war-torn country, and ending in a life-changing experience in Israel seeing the religious sites and experiencing the history. But I've always struggled with 'vacations', so I brought books and journals and found an answer that gave me (and can hopefully give you) the ability to step out of the battle field, find higher ground, see the chessboard so you can create your gameplan, choose the key battles you need to win and jump back into your business. Hit me up on IG! @russellbrunson Text Me! 208-231-3797 Join my newsletter at marketingsecrets.com ClubHouseWithRussell.com Magnetic Marketing FunnelHackingLIVE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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with your host, Russell Brunson. What's up, everybody? This is Russell. Welcome back to the Marketing Secrets podcast. It's been a little while since I feel like I've hung out with you. I know there's podcast episodes always happening, but I was gone for the last almost three weeks on honestly a life-changing trip and experience. And I'm back now and I'm on fire. I'm excited, a little jet lagged, but I have a 30-minute drive to an appointment I'm going to. And so I was like, I almost want to hang out with my funnel hackers and talk and, and share some stuff that I kind of picked up along the way. So that's kind of the game plan. And yeah, so here's what's happening here. Here let me tell you about the trip. This was crazy. So, and you guys were actually part of this trip,

you know, may not have even known it, but the first part of the trip is we were going to Kenya and this is actually, just letting you guys know, Stu McLaren and his wife Amy started a charity back in the day called World Teacher Aid. And I started helping sponsor them way back in the day. We used to do these, we call them prediction calls. We do a call and Stu would invite all the top marketers on these calls and they would give their predictions for what's going to change over the next year. And so we do those every single year and then we raise money for their charity. And so we did that for a long time. And then eventually, um, Stu wanted me to

come to Kenya and actually experience it. So I remember back pre click funnels, my wife and I went out there and experienced Kenya and we had a chance to see the kids and build schools with them. And then while we were there, we go on a safari and it was like it was a huge it was a big like um one of those like those life-changing experiences you know where like you you see the world one way and then you experience something and you see the world differently later and after going that first time we had this you know my wife and i always talked about like someday we want to bring our kids here so they can experience this they can meet these amazing kids but also like, um, yeah, just to build, give them that life changing experience. You know, obviously they're growing up in America in a family. It's got a lot of money and it's like,

how do we show them? How do we show them what, you know, a lot of, a lot of the world lives like, so they can understand, um, how blessed they really are, you know? So we always wanted to bring him back. And it's interesting though, because you know, that was the first time we went, uh, a couple of years later, maybe a year or interesting, though, because that was the first time we went. A couple years later, maybe a year or two later, no, it was a couple years later, Colette and I went again a second time. And then we started raising money through ClickFunnels. I remember when we launched ClickFunnels, we had an idea.

What if every time someone builds a funnel and it goes live, we donate a dollar towards Village Impact? Because they changed the name from World T-Trade to Village Impact. So we started doing that. So the first funnel hiking live, I remember Stu and Amy came on stage and we gave them the check for, I think it was like $18,000. We're like, this is crazy. Like it was so much money, right? And it was enough to pay for a whole classroom to build a classroom out there.

And then the next year we did it again. It was like 30,000, then 50. And every year we've done that. Now it's like every year it's over six figures. What, what comes in because you guys are building so many funnels. And so, uh, it's been amazing. And we we've gone three times this is actually our fourth trip and it's the first time we're going to bring our kids and this trip was actually supposed to happen before covid and then obviously covid happened and so we got canceled and got delayed delayed

delayed like three or four years and then this was the year we were going to go and what's cool is before covid we're going to go and take our three oldest kids and then not our two youngest but this time we're like, our kids are little like they're all pretty close to where we could take them. And so we decided to take them all. And so we had all five of our kids with us. And so that was the first, the first 10 days of our trip was going to Kenya. And it was so cool because we flew out there and well,

let me tell you the not cool part too, just to document our journey. You know, we had all of our bags packed and my wife, ah, bless her. She's so much smarter than me, but I'm the ornery one. So she like had everyone packing these backpacks. We could carry us carry ons, but they're huge backpacks. And I was like, I don't want to care. I hate carrying carry ons, like checking bags. Right. She's like, no, this way if they get lost, it will be, you know, we'll get it back and all these things. And she even put like those little air tags and all of them. So we could track where they're at, so we wouldn't lose a bag. And the last minute at the airport, I kind of pressured her.

She was just like, let's just check them. No one wants to carry these huge bags all the way. So we ended up checking all of the bags on. And guess what? Yep, you guessed it. We flew from Boise to, I can't remember, to Seattle or something, and from Seattle to Germany, and then Germany to Kenya. So, yes, you're correct. All of our bags got stuck in Frankfurt, Germany, and did not make it to Kenya.

So we showed up in Kenya. We've been traveling for like 40 hours. We're all stinky and nasty, and we have no clothes, no toothbrushes, no nothing. And I was just like, I am dead because I'm the one that forced us to carry out or to check all of our bags on, even though Collette had, in her infinite wisdom wisdom and plan for us to not have to do that, but I blew it. And so, yeah, so we ended up, um, yeah, having no clothes. And so we got to Kenya, no clothes. And, and, uh, then we drive like three hours, these villages, we get there, we have no clothes. We slept overnight, no clothes next day, no clothes took them two days before we got our

clothes there. And my poor kids are not used to that, but it was anyway, I'm proud of them. They like, they went through it. They, they fought hard and we got our clothes. It was amazing. We celebrated. And that was like the first big challenge of the trip. Um, and that first day we were there, we were building school. So like my kids were hauling bricks and everything and like out in the like super hot sun and we're pouring sweat and stinky and disgusting and all these things. Uh, but they did it and they didn't complain. I'm so proud of my kids. And, um, anyway, my kids met a bunch of other teenagers there that were also on the trip, which was really cool. And then they got to be with the kids and play with the kids. And like, it was just, it was cool. I think for, um, it was cool for Colette and I to, again, we, you know,

we've been there three times. We've experienced the first time it was fun because we experienced it for ourselves. And the second time, we went back and we experienced it through the eyes of other people, which was fun. And this time is going back and experiencing it through the eyes of our kids. And so it was so cool for us, for our kids, to meet these kids and fall in love with them and play with them and then go to their homes and see what they live like and just understanding how blessed our kids really are. But then also seeing how these amazing kids, despite the fact they have almost nothing, how happy they are. And how, you know, a lot of times kids here in the States aren't. They're miserable, they're depressed, they're anxiety,

all these things where these kids are just happy. And I think it was good for my kids to see that. So that was the first half of the experience, which was amazing. Then we went back to Nairobi and typically we spend a day in Nairobi. And then we go and we go to the draft park. We get to do all these cool things. But we get to Nairobi and apparently they're in the middle of a civil war. And so there's this whole nationwide lockdown.

You can't leave your hotels and kids don't go to school. And it's like the whole nation shut down while we were in Nairobi. And it's crazy because we're at a hotel. I try to like, you know, burn time and we're sitting there. And also we see these huge army helicopters flying over the hotel. And we're like, this is crazy. We're literally in a war zone right now. Like it was the weirdest, creepiestiest eeriest feeling in the world we've sat in a hotel

for an entire day just hoping that the war or whatever didn't make it to us which was crazy um and it was interesting because it's very similar to like the the fights we're having right now where i guess there's i think there's like 40 something tribes uh of people in kenya there's two like dominant tribes and it's almost like Republican and Democrat. I guess they had the big elections and the person who lost the election there was telling everyone that the election rigged and it wasn't true. And so it's all his followers and the actual government who had won the election all fighting over this thing.

And I'm like, this is crazy. This is like America just divided the same way. And it was anyway, it was just kind of an interesting thing. And I'm like, this is crazy. This is like America just divided the same way. And it was anyway, it was just kind of an interesting thing. And then luckily the next morning we snuck out early and we jumped in a plane and we flew out to the Masimara village to go jump with the Maasai warriors. And that was really fun. I think for our kids to experience that and we got to go, um, go on safari and see all the animals and all that kind of stuff. And it was just fun. One thing that was, um, I think the most hard for me is last time we were

there experiencing all these amazing things um i was there with dave woodward and he was he'd come with us and we had a chance to experience it with him and it was just like a i don't know it was such a special magical time with him and his wife when we were there last time and this time um obviously dave's not there but like we were there in the same spots same areas same people and it's just like there are a lot of, a lot of times I really missed him and just missed the experience with him last time. You know, it's not, I think one of the things that's hard, but also like really cool just to, just to know that like, you know,

the amazing times we had there with him last time. And anyway, so there's that, but it was really cool just cause you look at that whole trip. It was, it was a chance for us to see like the power of giving, you know, um, having a chance to be able to give money through village impact because the click phones community and other money we donate, see the impact was happening. The school's being built. Like we just built an all girls school, which is amazing because during COVID, um, there's a whole bunch of just, you know, when there's no, when there's no work, there's no money, there's a whole bunch of just, you know, when there's no, when there's no work, there's no money, there's no food. People get desperate. And teen pregnancies were up like, I don't know, 10,000% during COVID. And these girls would go to school and it was

just, it was really, it was not a good situation for them. And so we built this all girls school and it was really powerful. It was really, really cool. And so that was awesome. And anyway, just, it was, it was just a really cool thing to be able to experience. And I remember having this really interesting feeling. In fact, I got a chance to speak in front of the whole village during the ceremony where we had the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the school and everything. And it was cool because all the people got up there, the leaders of the villages and the government and everyone. They kept saying, like, God bless you guys. Bless you to continue to be prosperous. We bless you that you'll be. And they kept like asking God to bless us as the donors.

And I remember I got up there. I said, you know, you guys looking at us as like, Oh, were these donors who brought you money? But I'm like, you have no idea the impact. Like the fact that I have an army of people here in Kenya praying for me every night, that my business be prosperous, that I will be prosperous. My family will, that like that's worth more than any amount of money that we've ever donated or given, you know? And the experience my kids have, it's like, man, these, these villages serve my family more than we ever, ever tried to, ever thought about doing, you know? And so it was just really cool. And so I think one of the lessons and the morals for all you guys is just the power of, of giving back and like, you know, in whatever sphere, sphere you want to be in, whatever, whatever mission

that you feel called to do is to, to be able to donate money and time and energy, you know? And it's interesting because while we were in Kenya, it was also during 4th of July, which is when Operation Underground Railroad, which is the other charity that I support, my two charities are Village Impact and our and uh they launched the sound of freedom movie which went crazy viral tons of negative press tons of like but like it broke all these boxer office records i think it's on track to do like 100 million dollars and uh raised so much awareness for um what oh you are and what tim ballard and all these people are doing but it was crazy like the negative side of that too like because they're trying to like

tell the story to help save these kids like just how political and dark and evil it got. And, um, anyway, I had a chance to kind of post and, you know, put my flag back in the ground and let people know, like, no, like I support Tim 1 million percent. Like I'm all in, like, I, I know this man, I know what he's doing. I know he's, um, the vision and the mission and he has called of God and I'm here 100% of my support. And, um, it was interesting that these things were happening at the same time. The two charities I love and care about the most were, you know, we were there in the middle of it and just watching how they're changing people's lives, both through, um, in

fact, some of you guys don't know that the nonprofit we're trying to set up is called liberate and educate, where I feel like that's the mission of ClickFunnels two ways. Number one is we help to liberate entrepreneurs from their day jobs, from the things that are holding them back. And we help educate them through training and courses and events, right? So Liberate and Educate, that's our mission that we do publicly for entrepreneurs, but then also that's also our social mission. So we help liberate children from slavery and we help educate them through the school systems that we're building in Africa. And so those are our, you know, Liberate and Educate is our nonprofit that we're working towards. And like, that's what we do is help liberate and educate entrepreneurs and liberate and educate children.

So anyway, it was just kind of cool that these things were all happening at the same time. And I was experiencing them and I share with my kids like, man, this is what you guys are part of. This is like part of your legacy. So what you're having a chance to experience right now. And, and you can see how, how much, you know, a little bit of money can go to save a child's life. I think it's like on average, like $2,500 to save a child from slavery. Like, like that's amazing. Like, you know, if you had $2,500, you could save a child from slavery. Like what would that be worth to them? Um, I think it's the extra like 7,500 to rehabilitate, rehabilitate, just like 10 grand to save a child. Then you go to Kenya and it's like, you know, uh, a couple hundred bucks is enough to feed a family for a year or two, you know,

like it's just, it's really cool. But for all you guys, wherever you, wherever you, um, you know, whatever charity speaks to your heart, like I, I just recommend like weaving those things into your business practices, like, um, in a way that you can serve those things. So as you grow, they will grow as well. Um, in fact, when we were in Kenya, we did a really cool mastermind meeting with Stu and everyone else. And the topic was like, how do you weave giving into everything you're doing? And so Stu had me share inside of ClickFunnels how, you know, every time a funnel is built, we donate a dollar and then we have other things built in where we're, where we're supporting the charities that we love and we care about. And so anyway, if nothing else, hope you guys get,

get some value from that. Um, because when your business starts growing and you're able to help these other causes while you're doing it, like it just gives you more purpose, both for yourself and for your team. In fact, on Thursday, I have a team meeting with our entire company and I'm going to share the impact of what it did and how like what we're doing doesn't just help entrepreneurs, but it's helping, you know, these, these children, uh, around the world as well. So, um, anyway, I'm excited to share the liberate, educate message again with my teams to keep re-reminding them that what we do matters. Um, okay. And then the other side is after that part of the trip was done, then, you know, we're with, on the other side of the world, my kids, I'm like,

we can go anywhere, you know, like we have with, on the other side of the world, my kids, I'm like, we can go anywhere, you know, like we have them here and this other side of the world, like we should go see one other thing. Like, what should we see? And we decided to go and actually see Jerusalem and see the Holy land. And that was, um, I mean, that should be a podcast in and of itself. In fact, maybe it's more of a spiritual one or historic one. I don't even know. But, um, it was one of the greatest trips I've ever been on is going and seeing, seeing, honestly, where three huge religious groups consider their holy land. Like Christians, it's our holy land. You look at the Muslims, it's their holy land.

If you look at the Jewish people, it's their holy land. All of them all want the same area where the temple block is. Anyway, it was a magical place. And it was cool because you know when you go to Disneyland or you go to these theme parks they make this stuff look cool old stone everything but it's just fake it's just like a facade to try to look cool but this is like when you're there in jerusalem like it's it's like the most authentic real place i've ever been i've ever seen and we had a chance to spend so much time like we got an airbnb downtown in old jerusalem right next to the western wall we had a chance to spend so much time. Like we got an Airbnb downtown in old Jerusalem, right next to the Western wall.

We had a chance to spend so much time like with the Jewish people and like the Hasidic Jews who were on the wailing wall, uh, praying and crying and like, and like we were there on the wall with them praying with them. And like, it was so cool. And we had a chance to go up, um,

on the temple mound to the, to the dome on the rock and spend time with the, um, with, uh, with some of the Muslim people and talk to them and get there. And like, it was just such a cool, amazing thing. And then go see all the Christian sites from where Christ was born to where his ministry was. We had a chance to like

go out at five 30 in the morning on the sea of Galilee, where Christ calmed the waters, where he walked on water and like spend time there. See, we saw where he was crucified. We saw where his tomb was like, just to see all the Holy Christian sites as well. And it's just like, man, it was, it was one of was one of my favorite trips I've ever been on. So anyway, but it's so cool to be able to experience those things with my kids. And the last, I guess, takeaway I want to share from this is this was the longest I've been away from the office, maybe forever, but at least since ClickFunnels launched. It was almost three weeks away from the office.

And because of just where we're at, like we're in Kenyan villages. There's no plugs or internet, right? Then we're in Jerusalem and we're touring the cities 24 hours a day. You know, like I didn't have a chance to work or do anything. It was the first time I had a chance to really, really unplug and just be there with my family, with my thoughts, and with seeing some of the fruits of what we've done and what we've been trying to work towards.

And it was cool because, I don't know, it gave me a chance to reflect. I work so much, I don't get a chance to wait like that. And it kind of forced me to be away in a really unique way. And I had a chance to read books on the flights and the driving, and get my mind sharp again and get me re-excited about the battles that I'm in and like the wars I want to win. And in the, you know, the, I feel like in ClickFunnels, for example, there's times like we've, you know, we've been the dominant factor. Times people have taken some land from us and back and forth. And it's like, I got re-energized just like, okay, here's how we're going to win. And here's how we're going to win big. And here's the, you know, and like those things came from like not being in the business fighting at war. It's like from stepping

out and looking at the battlefield and, um, and having a chance to kind of really strategically think through things as opposed to tactically executing on things all the time. And so if nothing else, like, especially for you entrepreneurs who are like me, who struggle, struggle at vacations, you struggle from getting away. Don't look at it as a vacation. Instead, look at it as a way to step out of the, the, um, the tackle battles that you're fighting every single day and get to higher ground and strategically sit and think, um, just try to figure out like, how do I win this war? How do I, how do I advance my troops? How do I make sure that, that, that we're winning all these situations and all that kind of stuff? I think that that's honestly the thing.

It was really, really cool for me. Like I said, especially since I'm not the kind of person who typically breaks away from it. I think you guys are going to see over the next 60 days specifically and then over the next, throughout the rest of the year, us implementing this game plan. And it's going to be fun and exciting, and I think it's going to change the world.

So anyway, I'm pumped. I'm on fire. I'm back right now. Even jet lag can't get me tired because I'm feeling so good. So, um, anyway, that's all I want to share with you guys today. I'm getting close to my destination, so I'm probably going to end this podcast. But, um, anyway, two big takeaways. Number one is we giving into your business. Um, if you do, you have a chance to bless other people's lives, um, in a way that they could never bless their own, which I think you will really enjoy that feeling that comes with it. And then number two is get a chance to force yourself to get to places where you have to strategically break away from the daily

grind that you're in so you can strategically look at the chessboard and figure out how to actually win. And I hope that those two takeaways will be worth it. Cause for me, um, it was, it was amazing. And on top of that, just the time to, to, to be with my kids and let them like to watch their eyes as they experienced Kenya, as they experienced Jerusalem, as they experienced these, these things that, um, were so powerful. So anyway, I'm grateful for you all. Thanks for listening. I'm in, I'm in your corner rooting for you. Um, I love entrepreneurs. I believe in entrepreneurs. That's why I've dedicated my life to serving and, and, um, trying to change your life. And I hope that you feel that. And, um, with that said, thank you guys so much being, um, podcast listeners with some big plans coming up for the podcast over the

next couple of weeks, months, and years. And, uh, great for free as being part of it. So with that said, thank you guys. And I'll talk to y'all soon. Bye everybody.