The Russell Brunson Show - 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

Air Transat presents two friends traveling in Europe for the first time and feeling some pretty big emotions. This coffee is so good. How do they make it so rich and tasty? Those paintings we saw today weren't prints. They were the actual paintings. I have never seen tomatoes like this. How are they so red? With flight deals starting at just $589, it's time for you to see what Europe has to offer. Don't worry, you can handle it. Visit airtransat.com for details, conditions, and supply. AirTransat. Travel moves us. Hey, everyone. This is Russell Brunson.

I want to welcome you back to the Marketing Secrets Podcast. 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? 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 can make everybody listen to once a week or once a month. And so because of that, what I'm going to do is I'm going to just do a reboot. And when we come back from the theme song, I'm going to 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, uh, that you need to move forward and to feel comfortable and, uh, 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 listen 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, 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, 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 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 the, you know, a lot of times there's ups, then the downs that 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, 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,

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 gonna 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, 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 other stuff. And he was dynamic. He was charismatic. And everything was awesome.

And then he got caught up in this political scandal or whatever, right? And it's funny because I don't follow politics much. I don't care that much. But I was aware all this thing happened and he's no longer in there. And I have someone else. And then fast forward 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. And I was really excited because I was like, oh, I know who this person is. Like, how cool, 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, the scars that he had gotten from this thing were so deep that, like, he was struggling to progress in other parts of his life, in business and, like 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 in all sorts of things. I probably would have done the business deal with him, but because he had these scars and like 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 like that uncertainty kept me from doing the deal with him. 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. Move on in your life and come back. Because that person that I saw on TV, if you would have approached me that way, I would have done this deal.

And the same thing is true in entrepreneurs. 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 I kind of know that back backstory because I know the person, things like that. But even with that, like I look at that person, I'm like, this person's an amazing, like a rock star. Like they, they're awesome. They're, they're amazing. But as I, as I see them and interact with other people, I see that these scars that, that, that this person has are keeping them from, from, 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 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 situation,

he's struggling because of that, because of these scars. And I think it's interesting that these entrepreneurial scars that we have, like first off, they're invisible. Like nobody sees them. 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 and they're so scared. And, and, um, and I kind of asked him why. And, and they didn't say, you know, because I don't want those scars,

but like what they said afterwards, like if I get a bankruptcy, like no one, like what's my wife going to think? And my in-laws and my family and all these, all these things. I was like, you have to understand that like bankruptcy, like you think about this, failure for entrepreneurs, 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. 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. 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 until 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 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. It's like, no, that, that, that shouldn't be a negative thing. That means you try it. It means you, you, you attempted. And even if you attempted to have success and it went away, like you, you've had success. Um, 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 500 grand a day with a minimum of 10 sessions. So it's like half a million bucks to 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 I'm pretty open with things now. Like I've realized that my scars are what actually draws people to me. So at Funnel Hiking Live,

I spend 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've 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 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, uh, 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 and there's luck, and there's all these amazing things that happen that make you possible, that make you as an entrepreneur successful. And as he said that, first off, I was like, that feels better. 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 like they, they go out there and they do their big risk and

they have some success, which gives you like all this pride and confidence and stuff. And then you lose it. And then 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 kinds of things where the reality is like, we don't see those things. Um, 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 because I'm vulnerable, I share those things. And so for you guys, I wanted to kind of talk

about today's 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. Like, that's awesome. Like, you know, black eyes are awesome. Like, when I got, I remember one of my black eyes I got in wrestling. In fact, I don't know if you guys watched the video, like, 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, speaking, you know, worrying about like what I look like. And so, um, 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 going to have them. But don't let those keep you from the next success. My friend who's a politician,

I don't care 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. 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. Um, 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. Um, you know, maybe I should podcast something about my biggest regrets. I have a lot, I have regrets in my business. There are things that I did that, um, I'm embarrassed about. I wish I wouldn't have done like looking back now, it's like I would have consulted myself,. 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 had gone down some of these paths and realized what things weren't right. I've always tried to be fair to my customers and my employees and stuff, but I made mistakes. And I've sold things that I thought were really good and found later they weren't.

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 we 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.

But I don't want you guys to not progress because of that. So hopefully this gives you some comfort in knowing, like, look, if you've gone through bankruptcy, that's okay. If you've messed 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 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. 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, and, and, you know, and if it wasn't for that, like, again, progress would stop if entrepreneurs weren't risking. It's like, it's not a bad thing. And if you, you know, like, 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. 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 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 to close this down.

I look at where our company has come and where we are today. I looked back during my last cycle seven years ago when everything collapsed around me. I thought the world was coming to an end. I was depressed. I was sad. I was scared. All those kind of things happen. Um, looking at now, like if I didn't go through that click funnels and this process never would have happened. I never would have met Todd. I never met who built click funnels. I never met, built this team. I never had this opportunity. We wouldn't, I wouldn't have known

the things we know to be able to execute on this. I wouldn't have, um, a lot of things that we're steering clear from today are because of the mistakes that happened back then. And if I had 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 we'll talk to you guys all soon. Bye, everybody.

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