The Russell Brunson Show - Entrepreneurial Scars

Episode Date: June 8, 2017

Why these things can and should move you forward as opposed to pulling you backwards. On this episode Russell talks about having entrepreneurial scars and why you should embrace them rather than be embarrassed of them. Here are some of the insightful things to listen for in today's episode: Why it's okay for entrepreneurs to fail and how to embrace your failures. Why taking risks and failing can be important for the future success of your business. And why Russell thinks bankruptcy was not only a gift from our founding fathers, but also a gift from God. So listen below to find out why it's okay to fail, as long as you are able to learn from your mistakes. Transcript - https://marketingsecrets.com/blog/entrepreneurial-scars Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With TD Direct Investing, new and existing clients could get 1% cash back. Great! That's 1% closer to being part of the 1%. Maybe, but definitely 100% closer to getting 1% cash back with TD Direct Investing. Conditions apply. Offer ends January 31, 2025. Visit td.com slash dioffer to learn more. Hey everyone, this is Russell Brunson. Welcome to Marketing Secrets. Today's episode is 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, so I wanted to, honestly this podcast, I just want to hang out with you guys and talk because it's been interesting as I've been working with so many entrepreneurs

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, whatever, like just fill in the blank. The second time around, a lot of times they really, really struggle. And I start looking and I'm like, why are they struggling? Because like they had this huge success and it's almost like they have fear and embarrassment of like, oh, I failed in the past. And 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 it's interesting is that us as the person who went through the process and the failure and a lot of times there's ups, then the downs, they hit hard. We have these scars, these emotional scars, but I think sometimes we feel like those scars are like on our faces

and other people can see them. 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. And 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, doing everything everything amazing and just people loved him.

And when you saw him in that spot, like, 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 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 did, I was aware like all 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. We 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 meet him and talk to him. And 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 wasn't good, but three years later, I'm almost surprised that I knew about it, but I did. But he was carrying those scars in this conversation with me. With you, it came in the way that I'd seen him before, like confident in all sorts of things. I probably would have done the business deal with him, but because he had these scars and just the way he approached it, he didn't have the certainty, he didn't have all these things, I probably would have done the business deal with him, but because he had these scars

and just the way he approached it, he didn't have the certainty and didn't have all these things, they were gone and I could feel it and that uncertainty kept me from doing the deal with him. And I remember thinking after I finished that, I was like, God, 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. Move on in your life and come back because that 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 who I know who's super successful, who, um, 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 and things like that.

But even with that, like I look at that person, I'm like, this person is a rock star. 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 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 that these entrepreneurial scars that we have, first off, they're invisible. Nobody sees them. 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. It was funny, I was talking to an entrepreneur

who was about to go through bankruptcy, and they were freaking out, they were so scared, and I kind of asked them 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 out of bankruptcy, like no one, like what's my wife gonna think?

And my in-laws and my family, all these things. I was like, you have to understand that like bankruptcy, like 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, and roll the dice and hope for

something. Like if it wasn't for that gift, not, 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. Um, everything that's been amazing wouldn't have happened if entrepreneurs didn't have that risk. If it was like, do you go bankrupt? You go to jail until you pay off all your debts. Um, 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. We clear off your balance sheets and you start over like that's the worst case scenario. That's the greatest gift we have. And so like 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. It's like, no, that, that, 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, like you've had success. I remember I was doing a deal with this guy who's super successful. In fact, he does these consulting things where it's like 500 grand a day

with a minimum 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'd tell him 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 hacking 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 share 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 cycled. I'm like, what do you mean? I've cycled. He's like, Oh, he's like, well, um, 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 you as an entrepreneur successful. And as he said that, first off I was like, 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 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 we don't see those things. Nobody knows about the failures until you tell about it. 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. 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 my boys, I'm like, chicks dig scars. 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 watched 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. Like people connected with that more than like me looking good in my hair, you know, worrying about like what I look like. And so I think the moral of this podcast and I want you to understand is that we all have entrepreneurial scars. If you don't have them yet, you're going to have them. But don't let those keep you from the next success. My friend who's a politician, like I don't care that what happened, like he could go and do and be successful, but like, because he's carrying these scars, he's not. And you have to be willing to get rid of those or, or not get rid of them, like 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. You know, 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. You know, 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. Like looking back now, it's like, 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 the, you know, what, 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 the scars keep me, like how many people would, how many people's lives were we touching and affecting now that wouldn't have been touched but if I let those scars keep me, how many people's lives are we touching and affecting now that wouldn't have been touched had I not embraced those scars and told people, look, I messed up in the past, and I have. We all do, and it's okay. But I don't want you guys to not progress because of that. So hopefully this gives you some comfort

and knowing, look, if you've gone through bankruptcy, that's okay. If you've messed up, if you did something stupid, that's okay. That's what this up, if you did something stupid, like, that's okay. You know, that'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 It's 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,

risking money, 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. It's a gift from the founding fathers.

It's a gift from God. It's given us the ability so that we can risk and not lose everything. We can risk and if it wasn't for that, 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 world going to be? Where are you going to be? Where's your family going to be? Where are the people you're serving going to 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 deliver on what you know you have and you change their lives, like, 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 kinds of things happen. Looking at now, like if I didn't go through that, ClickFunnels and this process never would have happened.

I never would have met Todd. I never would have met who built ClickFunnels. I never would have built this team. I never would have had this opportunity. I wouldn't have known the things we know to be able to execute on this. 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. And appreciate you guys. And we'll see you guys all on the next episode of Funnel Hacker. No, that's the wrong episode.

What is this episode? Marketingsecrets.com. So sorry, I was recording Funnel Hacker TV earlier today. So between the two. So marketingsecrets.com podcast. That's what this is. And by the way, if you wanna go see our TV show, go to funnelhacker.tv.

We have a whole bunch of behind the scenes episodes, couple new episodes as well, of just different stories. In fact, by the time this is live, this is the same day we have our next show going live. So go to funnelhacker.tv as well, go check out the shows. If you like this podcast, please share it, please go to iTunes, Leave me a review. I don't care if you give me one stars, two stars.

But if you give me five, that would be way cooler. So please do that. Thanks again for everything, guys. And we'll 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.