Marketing Secrets with Russell Brunson - The #1 Destructive Behavior That You Have That's Killing Your Success

Episode Date: June 18, 2018

If there is anything virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. On today's episode Russell talks about the teachability index, and why most adults no longer have it after completing school. Here are some of the other awesome things in this episode: Why adults are so unteachable as compared to children. How Russell was able to open his mind and become teachable at a Tony Robbins event. And why having a high teachability index will improve our chances for success in business. So listen here to find out how Russell regained his teachability and has been so successful. Transcript - https://marketingsecrets.com/blog/the-1-destructive-behavior-that-you-have-that-s-killing-your-success Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's up everybody, this is Russell Brunson. Today is a day that we're gonna have a Marketing Secrets rant. So the big question is this, how are entrepreneurs like us, who didn't cheat and take on venture capital, who are 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.

All right, everybody. I'm not going to lie. I don't rant very often, but when I do, you guys seem to like it. And today I'm feeling a little ranty. So we're going to talk about this for a little bit. And what I want to talk about, I don't know, I've talked about this in the past. We've called it different things, but it recently was just re-brought to my attention and it drives me absolutely bonkers.

So what I want to talk about is a concept I learned a long time ago from a dude who is a total scam artist and con artist. But he's a really smart guy. Most of the scam artists and con artists are. He talked about this concept he called teachability index, which is your ability to learn. And teachability goes up and down throughout our lives and depending on a lot of things, depending on a lot of like how open we are. And so, for example, when you're a lot of like how open we are. And so, um, uh, for example, when you're a kid, you're very teachable. So your teachability index is very high. Cause you're like

listening to everything someone says and you soak it up and you go to school and your teachability index is high. You listen to everything that's coming through to you. Even if the teachers have no idea what they're actually talking about, but you believe it because you're in school. Therefore it's gotta be true. They can't lie to you in schools. They can't teach you false doctrine at school, can they? But we believe it. And then the second you get your degree, for some reason in our heads, our brains shut off, say, I now know everything. And all of a sudden our teachability shrinks to almost nothing. And this is where most human beings you bump into the world are at, where they think they know everything. Therefore, uh, they're not open to anything. Therefore they are stagnant and they

stop growing. Now. Um, I struggled with this as most humans do for a while. In fact, I still remember, um, uh, the first time I went to Tony Robbins event and I remember he invited me there and I was just marketing and sales guy who thought I was a genius and, you know, drank my own Kool-Aid and I believe my own bio and I thought I was the stuff. Right. And, uh, and I'm at this event trying to, you know, get Tony Robbins as a client and I'm going to close him and all sorts of stuff. And Tony's got this thing where he makes, if you want to work with him, you've got to come to his events first. Because he doesn't want to work with people who haven't experienced him.

Because you want to understand him and his culture and what he's doing. So I went to this event. I'm sitting there. And I walk in with my backpack and my laptop thinking that it was going to be a marketing style event. And anyone who's been to Tony Robbins' event knows that you're jumping. You're screaming. There's no desk. There's no table. you're walking on fire. It's insane. You're dancing, you're giving your neighbors massages and hugs, all things that I do not like to do. Right. And I was just like, Nope, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And Tony's up there

teaching these things. I was like, no, nope, nope. That doesn't, that's not true. Nope. Don't believe you. Nope. Nope. And I remember for about five or six hours, I kept doing that. Nope. Nope. And I'm looking around. Everyone's having a good time. Everyone's having fun. They're all jumping around. And I'm like, no, Tony does not know what he's talking about.

This is not true. This is not true. And like, and my mind was closed to everything. And, uh, as I sitting there listening to all this, I started noticing that like every new idea or concept that came my way, I instantly, I instantly shut it down as no, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. And like, it was just an instant shutdown. And I remember sitting there realizing, I was like, man, my teachability index is really, really low. Why am I saying no to all these things? I'm like, he's challenging my thoughts and my beliefs and things that, um, you know,

that, that I thought were true things that I had been raised my whole life, believing and thinking. Right. Um, and, uh, and kept saying, no, no, no. And I remember that I made this audible switch about five or six hours into it. I said, I keep saying no to everything Tony's saying, and I'm not enjoying my time. I'm not experiencing this. I feel like I'm missing out on something. And I remember consciously thinking, you know what? From now on, the rest of the next three and a half days of this event, instead of saying

no to everything, I'm going to say, what if, and I'm just going to experience it and just see what happens. And the next thing Tony explained at first, like my instincts were like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And I was like, ah, but what if, what if what he's saying is actually true? And what was interesting is all of a sudden I was like, huh, if this is true, then like, this is pretty powerful. And the next thing came like, what if that's true? I'm like, that is true. That's pretty cool. And then what if this is true? What if this is true? And I started shifting from no, no, no, no, no to what if like, what if, and when I shifted my, that thought in my head, um, I can attribute the last decade of my success to me changing my, um, my immediate impulse from no to what if.

And it's been interesting because, um, you know, in, in my world and I, and those who know my story, I'm, I'm a conservative Mormon man who likes to sell things online. Like that's, and I wrestle, like that's my, there's Russell Brunson in a nutshell. And someone's like, who is Russell? Like, that's it. Right. And even like within my, my religion, there's, there's a lot of things that happen where, where, you know, there's, and I think, I don't believe that they're doctrinal. I believe they're cultural, but there's things that happen that are, people are like, no, no, no, no. Right. Um, and, uh, and what's cool is that because of that, that experience 10 years ago, um, I don't say no to everything anymore. I say, what if, and because of that, my life has been richer. Um, and I don't mean money. I mean, people,

people that I would have said no to and would have rejected earlier in my life because, uh, cultural upbringings and blue and things like that. Instead of saying no, I've said, what if, what if this person actually is a good person? What if they're struggling just like I am? What if, and I shifted from nose to what ifs and it's opened up, um, amazing, deep relationships all over the place. Um, ideas that have come to me, I went from no, no, no to what if, and it's opened up this whole world of, of that's, that's been amazing and life changing for me and for the people around me. And so I want to share it because, um, I don't like to share the exact story because, um, the person may or may not be listening. It doesn't really matter.

It's just the concept of someone who is great in their field, who is an amazing person, amazing at what they do. And they were at Flaking Live and they just heard somebody talking about something that they should have, especially in their field of expertise, they should have said, what if? And they would have said, what if they would have learned and grown and been able to help their clients so much more, but instead of saying, what if they said no. And because of that, I stopped progressing. And I think that for some reason, and, um, you know, it's, it's funny, there's a word and it's, it's not a word I say often because most of the time I look at it as like a curse word, which is funny. I know some of you guys are gonna laugh at me that this is like the worst curse word for me, but it's the word damn, right? Damn is stop. And you're stopping yourself

and you're literally damning yourself when you're, when you're, um, when you're saying no to things. And then there are things you should say no to, but I think that things should come and you should look at them and you should like try to figure things out in your mind, you know, pray about whatever it is, but, but don't just throw out everything is no all the time. I open it up and say, what if, what if this was true? What if this was something that could help me? What if, what if this crazy person on stage who has helped 300 people naturally cure cancer? What if they know something? I don't know. What if something I can take from this? What if there's a piece, what if there's a nugget I can take back and use in my, in what I do? Um, I look at marketing. I look at the last 15 years of me doing this business. I can count the number of friends who started 10 years ago and are still doing this business now

on one hand. And the reason why, because most of them, they learned it all. Their teachability index shrunk and they're like, I know how this works. And they were certain, absolutely certain what they were doing. And because of that, when things shifted or when things changed, they fell apart. I'd say the reason why I've been around, the reason why I have such longevity in this business, why I'm one of the few of the dinosaurs that have been doing this now for 15 years, is because 10 years ago, I had this lesson that was, instead of saying no, I said, what if? And now when new marketing ideas, new concepts, new social networks, all this stuff that's always shifting and evolving and changing and saying no,

I say, what if? And it opens my mind, it opens up the possibilities. And, um, I think for all of us, no matter what sphere of influence you were in, um, the worst thing you could do is, is to lose your teachability to think that what you learned in school, to think that what you've learned up to this point is, is absolute truth because it's not, um, it's, it's the absolute truth of what you have right now, but there's more out there and you may not agree with everything someone says. Like I love Tony Robbins, but I don't agree with everything he says. Um, but I don't, I don't, because I don't say no to everything. Right. Um, there's a, uh, for the Mormons, uh, one of our articles of faith that says if there's anything virtuous, lovely of good reporter, praiseworthy, we seek after these

things. And so for me, it's like, I'm, I'm looking for those things. Like I meet Tony Robbins and I don't agree with a hundred percent everything he agrees or he believes or he says, but if there's anything virtuous, lovely, of good report or praiseworthy, I seek after these things. So I'm with Tony. I'm like experiencing, I'm like, Hey, what if this is true? What if this is true? And like, does this fit in like, in my view of the world? And if not, do I need to shift my view of the world? Or is it something that, you know, I, I can disagree with this piece and push it aside and, but I, but I can still get all this amazing stuff. I don't throw the, the, the baby out with the bathwater or whatever that expression is. Right. Like I'm able to look through those

things and say, okay, what if, what is, what is good? What is virtuous, lovely, a good reporter, praiseworthy. Cause I'm seeking after those things. I want them. I need them in my life. And they're all, all sorts of spots. Like all truth for me is not in the Mormon church. Like it's there, but I find truth from, I find so much truth from my friends that are, that are Baptists, that are Muslims, that are Buddhists, that are, um, that are atheists. Um, I have friends that are, that are gays and lesbians. I learned so much amazing things from like, uh, I don't, I don't just shut all those things down. I don't think anybody should. Um, it doesn't mean I have to embrace beliefs or doctrines or things that I don't feel comfortable with.

It doesn't, it doesn't mean that I need to, um, you know, believe everything someone's teaching about health or about fitness or about finances. Like, um, but because I disagree with one little piece, I'm not going to shut down everything. I'm going to say, what if, and I'm going to take the good and I'm going to push out the bad. And I'm going to, from that, get a more whole picture, a more truthful picture of life in the world and the reality that we live in. So I hope that helps somebody. I hope it helps a lot of you guys. I just hope that, um, and I know I'm preaching to the choir. Those who listen to this podcast aren't the kind of people who shut

down their teachability index, right? You guys are still have it open. You're listening. You're, you're trying to learn, but maybe you're, you're super teachable in the marketing sphere, but maybe you're not as teachable in, in the thing that you actually do in the, in the business and the fulfillment of the thing. Maybe there's other truth out there and maybe you don't believe all of it, but maybe there's some that you can bring back that, that, uh, you can add to what you're doing. That'll make you more special. It'll make you more different. It'll make you more unique. Um, and those are the things that make you more money. Uh, those are the things that help you have the bigger impact. And so look for those things.

If there's anything virtuous, lovely, good, reported, praiseworthy, we seek after these things. All right, with that said, I'm going to bounce you guys. We're doing a swag drop today, and we're launching the OUR funnel, so a lot of fun stuff happening in the next hour and 14 minutes that I'm looking forward to. So I'm going to head out. Appreciate you guys. If you're enjoying this, um, if you're enjoying this podcast, please go to iTunes rate, review it. Uh, let me know. And with that said, I will talk to you as often soon. Bye everybody. Want more marketing secrets? If so, then go get your copies of my two bestselling books.

Book number one is called expert secrets and you can get a free copy at expert secrets.com. And book number two is called.com secrets and you can get a free copy at expertsecrets.com. And book number two is called Dot Com Secrets, and you can get your free copy at dotcomsecrets.com. Inside these two books, you'll find my top 35 secrets that we've used to become the fastest growing non-VC backed SaaS startup company in the world.