Your Transformation Station - 66. Conclusion Does "My Story" Scare You? Seth Erickson w/ Favazza

Episode Date: November 10, 2021

Learn how to use the ancient and organic art of storytelling to tap into the human brain and connect with others more efficiently with (Seth Erickson).  How to Hack Humans is the business book you didn’t know you needed, a unicorn in a world of publishing that is too often dry and emotionless. Support the showPODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://ytspod.comApple Podcasts: https://ytspod.com/appleSpotify: https://ytspod.com/spotifyRSS: https://ytspod.com/rssYouTube: https://ytspod.com/youtubeSUPPORT & CONNECT:- Check out the sponsors below, it's the best way to support this podcast- Outgrow: https://www.ytspod.com/outgrow- Quillbot Flow: https://ytspod.com/quilbot - LearnWorlds: https://ytspod.com/learnworlds- Facebook: https://ytspod.com/facebook- Instagram: https://ytspod.com/instagram- TikTok: https://ytspod.com/tiktok- Twitter: https://ytspod.com/x Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you answer sometimes, you're like talking to the mic, you're like, it's like you're on trial. It's like, yes, I was there when, you know. I am innocent. I did not kill that man. No. His blood got on me when I was just walking by. Guilty, Your Honor. How can you create a transformation in others if there's no transformation in in yourself?

Join your host, Greg Favaza, as your voice on the hard truths of leadership, your transformation station connecting clarity to the cutting edge of leadership. As millennials, we can establish change, not only ourselves, but through organizational change, bringing transparency that goes beyond the organization and reflects back into ourselves. Extracting, actionable advice, and alternative. perspectives that will take you outside of yourself. For you understanding me for the previous recording, what would you illustrate?

If you can give me an example of your idea on what would be my story, what would you say? Okay. Give me a second here because I got to go back in the memory banks. So I know that you, I know that you, I know that you have gone through a lot of different hardships, right? And you've had to kind of overcome these different things at different steps in your life. So I think part of it would be to, because you were talking about writing a book, right?

Or, but what we're talking about right now is more about like your brand. Yes. Okay. So, so in that. that case, the hero is actually going to be your customer, right? The people that you want to listen to the podcast. And from what I'm understanding, if I'm understanding everything correctly, and you can obviously correct me if I'm wrong, I think, you know, the idea of Transformation Station is

that, you know, you're talking to these guests and you're learning from other people who have gone through different experiences. And those, and then through those conversations, you're either learning something or you're having an exchange of ideas and everybody else who's sitting in and listening can hopefully glean some wisdom from that or some a change in behavior or mindset or attitude or patterns in their life. So how well do you know your audience, right? Like do you have demographic data?

Do you have psychographic data? Do you do, you know, through your different podcasting things? can you look at stuff and go, well, people in this age range, they tend to be male or female or the mix of both. They're this old, this young, or there's a range, right? Like, I'm getting people from 25 to 60, you know. Are you asking for that data or you just, I'm asking you, right?

That's the first step. Like, because, you know, we talked about this. Like, you can tell a great story, but if you're telling it to the wrong people, it doesn't matter. So a good first step is to be able to define this. So there's two ways you can do this, right? One is here's the data we have right now. And based on that data, we'll create, you know, an avatar user profile.

Sure. You know, this is target audience. Yes, right. Or you say, this is the audience I want to go after, right? And then you're defining who that avatar is. and then we can base the story off that. Right. So there's kind of like data, factual stuff we have.

We'll base it off that. Or here's who I want to reach. We'll base it off that. Right. So like, for instance, you, you're ex-military, right? Maybe you, transformation station is actually about, you know, ex-military and helping those people reintegrate back into life after being in the military. or whatever, and here's the challenges I faced in doing that,

and I want to help you do that, right? Like, that could be a story. That could be part of your story. I'm riffing, right? Like, I'm not saying that's what it should be because at the end of the day, I'm just a facilitator for the story. I'm not the actual person. I'm not the story.

You are. So that's what I mean by we have to kind of define who are we telling the story to. So just so I understand it, I don't, one, I don't think it, to me, I feel like it doesn't matter who the person is on the receiving end, like on a certain level, because it's my story. If they don't like it, then then fuck them. I mean, they can go find another story. But my story is my story. So how do I hone that and turn it into a brand?

If you need like, I would, sure. So I would sell the story of overcoming adversity. I think that in a nutshell would be, that would be something that other people can look at and go, wow, like, this guy has really been through the fire. But like, he's still standing, right? Like, he is still, you know, he's still growing. He's still learning. And if he can do it, I can do it too. That's why we love stories, right?

We love seeing other people overcome things. And then we go, shit, if that person can do that, then I can. Right. And so I think based on what you've told me so far, the core of your story is about overcoming adversity. Right. And that's also where you connect the piece in of and here's what I learned through overcoming this adversity. It wasn't just like you woke up one day and everything was better, right? Yeah.

Or you had this problem, but it wasn't a big deal. you know like um and so it's it's um i think a lot of that is going to be so so overcoming adversity is sort of your theme so if we if i say that and i go that route then how do i how do i get mine to stand out over everybody else's because that's a that's a heavy uh heavily tracked avenue of different people trying to sell the exact same thing and i know minds is better than how do i get that out. Yeah. So, well, again, it's how you tell the story. Like, everybody tells stories, right? And some people suck at it. Right. Like, like, because again, the idea, uh, and we talked about this before, the idea is that to pull people in, even though you're telling a story about yourself, you're, you're telling it about them. You're talking to them. Okay. In the story. So tell me a story. So tell me a story about YTS. So, um, you know, so this is, Greg Gregory Favaza, right? Like,

um, and, you know, I don't, I don't know where your starting point is. Do you, where would, where would you like to start your story?

Defining, defining leadership and what that means and how perceptions are, are bias. So what, like, I want to give somebody a fucking straight answer on what the true definition is and how that can relate to what the world sees it. Okay.

So then you need to start your story there. Like when did you first start to see that, you know, people had bias or that they were not seeing the world as, as they should? Through job interviews, through social interaction, through media posts, through engagement, social media engagement on the wrong topics. Okay. So. So you want to keep your story. focused. So you don't want to necessarily bring all those pieces in, right? Like, because like I always use this example, like, uh, was it Batman and Robin or whatever that terrible movie was where they had like

Mr. Freeze and poison ivy and the riddler or whatever. It's like if you have too many things going on in your story, it gets really murky. Like, and the message isn't clear. So, um, so I would just start with the job interviews. Okay. So, you know, you first started noticing. saying this disconnect, right, in what you were seeing. Why did you, why were you seeing this disconnect? What was what was triggering these thoughts, right? And then you can explain, well, I was going to these job interviews and this happened and this happened and this happened. Right. And in telling that, other people can look at that and go, oh, I've been in a job interview and I've totally had that happened, right? Like you see what I'm saying? We're like they can connect, connect the dots.

Let me share that and see if it resonates with you. When I was at a job interview, I would be, as soon as I walk in there, I already would get a look of surprise. From them talking, talking me on the phone to seeing me face to face, they would look at me like maybe I'm too young for the position or a lying about my age. It was just like a surprised look like, huh. So you're picking up on the body language. Yes, I'm picking up on their body language. And when I come in there, I'm asking questions. But what they think I should be asking isn't what I'm asking is the questions that I want for myself.

And now I feel like, one, that's a tick against me because they're expecting me to ask questions about that. And what if I already researched it? And then it's no longer like, it's no longer even the account of that. because I think people that are hiring, they're searching for something that's particular with, of course, the vision, whether I meet it. But I feel like they want empathy, you know, and I may not illustrate that because of my presence from the military. And they feel like that might be an issue because if they want somebody who's a leader, they want to see somebody who's empathetic. But then I'm very empathetic. But I just give off the impression that I'm an asshole.

so how did that make you feel in that situation when you walked in they were surprised how did you feel seeing their reaction i mean it it's a typical thing like like oh here we go again i mean because i've been through a shit ton of interviews and not one job even though i'm highly qualified i mean from my just my military experience alone, but then also my schooling. I mean, I have a fucking bachelor's next year. So it's like at this point, what the fuck do I have to do to get the thing that I want? And it comes down. Yes. So it comes down to the story, presentation. So that's why I'm talking with you right now. Right. Right. And I'm, I'm asking you the points to kind of like get the ingredients as we're going along, right? Like, Because emotion is a big one, right?

Like, you know, you read the book, you know that emotion causes people to move into action. It also causes things to move from short term to long term memory. So there has to be some emotion in the story, right? And you as the person telling the story, you could say, so just with what you've told me so far, have you ever been to a job interview? You know, you're excited about the job. You feel like you're totally qualified. and then you walk in and it's just like, there's just this like thing where the other person is either surprised that, you know, just looking at you like you're kind of reading this like body language and, you know, you're feeling like maybe right out the gate like this interview is going bad. And you're frustrated because you're like, I'm totally qualified.

I can do this job. But you feel like the other person is sort of maybe. stereotyping you into the position or what they think the position needs. And they're not even really willing to give you a chance or try to understand you. Right. So you see how I'm kind of setting up this. Well, now when you say it like that, now it opens up another perspective as far as what if that's a low self-esteem issue.

By thinking maybe you're not enough, which it gets portrayed and illustrated, and then that's what they think. well that could be it could be an issue but I'm you know the way that I'm kind of putting this together for you is like that shouldn't necessarily be an issue because you're the person in their mind is thinking I'm qualified for this job so that's not a low confidence issue right we kind of navigate through that by saying no I'm qualified I can totally do this job give me a chance and it just it's obvious that this person isn't even willing to give you a chance because you know, they've already pigeonholed you or typecast you or whatever based on a first

impression, you know, and then you can say that, you know, that is such a frustrating feeling. It's like, you know, you feel like you are trapped in this first impression and you can't break out of it because this person's already made up their mind about you, right? So. Yeah. Then I feel like a fucking tool because I'll be telling them like, hey, I did this, this and this. Like what the fuck? like what am I doing wrong?

It aggravates me because they'll choose somebody else. And then I get, because I'll check up on this shit. And then I'll see that they have to rehire somebody because they, they chose to hire the wrong fucking individual. And that just aggravates me to death. Yeah. I, I've like,

I've had projects where I was brought in, bit on a project. And I was like, we are going to be a perfect fit. And then they pick somebody else because they were cheaper or whatever. And then what happens? Six months down the road, they come back.

we should have gone with you. You were more expensive, but, you know, these guys were cheaper and we just wanted to save some money. And they fucked up our project. Like, they got it half done and then they disappeared or everything's broken. And it's like, so now I got to clean up your fucking mess is what you're telling me. So then now I'm going to charge more for that case one. So then I should sell it because it shouldn't be about price. It's about what the results are and what you want.

Well, I'm just telling you a story from my perspective that relates to your story, but you, like, however you want to. I'm relying on you. You're the expert. Like, I don't have to tell them. Well, so, yeah, I'm kind of tying in a my story into your story. That should not be what happens at the end of the day for your brand. We don't want to, you know, make an amalgamation. What I can do is, is feed you ideas of, well, we could take it this way. We could take it. that way. And then you go, that resonates with me. That makes sense. Or no, that doesn't seem right. Right. Because at the end of the day, it's your story. You should be able to go, yeah, you help me put it together, but this is definitely me or this is my brand or this is what I am trying to do. Right. And so I'm just kind of feeding you words and asking you questions to kind of help build that story. So going back to where we were, like talking about this idea of like feeling like you're,

you're, um, they've already made a judgment about you and you're trapped in a box and you can't get out of this, right? That is a frustrating feeling, feeling trapped, right?

Like, so we're bringing in some emotion, but we're also creating imagery inside of the story to, to describe, uh, what that feeling looks like, right? And so we're,

we're kind of tying these ideas together. So from there, we need to have, um, a, this is how I get out of the box moment or thing, right? Because like I said, you as a storyteller or as the person who's going to this journey has to have a moment of transformation, a change that is like, you know what?

I wanted to give up maybe. Maybe you don't. But you could say something like, I wanted to give up. I felt trapped. You know, they had already made this judgment call about me and I wasn't sure what to do. what is the next step, right, in that story? Here's what I did. Here's the change that I made.

Here's the way that I navigated out of this situation. Because that is the learning part that for somebody to listen to your story and go, he figured it out, right? Like, I've been in that situation. I identify with like going to these interviews and being stuck and not knowing what to say and trapped. And yeah, I'm right there with you, man. How did you fix that? Right?

Like, you know what I mean? You take them into that story and then they're going and. Right. So, so what is that next step? I'm asking you. Like, because I don't know, right? Like, you've, you've been in the situation. You've overcome these things and you have the answer.

Well, at that point, I decided to take action. I decided to take another approach. I mean, as far as, I mean, just doing what I think I should do. And it's not sitting around and waiting for someone to call me back. So I decided to start a brand while I waited and still applied. And at that point, a year goes by. I mean, it's amazing like how that much time will go by.

And you only get maybe two or three interviews. And at that point, you don't get anything because I've, It's, I'm like in limbo of where I should be applying at because I have so much experience and so much understanding on a lot of different things. I worked with highly classified equipment. I mean, I used to build virtual battlefields. And I would be held in charge to ensure that was carried out of over 4,500 different individuals that were executing that. And how do you integrate that into society? That's the hardest thing to say that, hey, I was in charge of that.

But then people look at me like, do you look at a young kid? Like, what can you do? Like, I honestly, you put me in the situation. I rise above it and I adapt and I make it better. And I will own it. And it becomes mine now. But for this situation, I wasn't getting calls back. I couldn't illustrate my expertise to meet what they wanted because I wasn't taught

that. nobody taught me that i mean from what they tried to do when they help transition uh veterans they only teach you so much before you're out the door and then hope like hell you made it but uh at that point i decided to just do the podcast and figure out a way how to monetize one because i couldn't speak i i had trouble opening up to people and connecting people it's very direct and just asshole like and fuck yeah i'm still proud of it i love who i am but that's fine but now i learn how to be empathetic and how to connect, but I still am missing. The very thing is to market myself to the public's eye where they will find me appealing because I know if I had five minutes

of their time, they would love me. It'd be like weekends with Greg. Fuck yeah. Like, what are you doing? So that's my biggest issue is marketing myself and getting them just to give me five minutes. So, okay, so it sounds like there's actually multiple things going on here. Yeah. So are you still, so you're still in the job search phase? Not anymore. At this point, I'm going at this thing full speed, but I feel like it's the same way. It's like you have to create a cover letter that meets what the company is looking for.

You have to tailor your resume that meets what the company needs. I feel like that's the same thing with a brand. Only I'm marketing myself to the world population. Okay. The only reason I was asking is because there wasn't really an answer in when I said, how did you overcome this thing? It sounds like you. I haven't.

The way I overcomeed it is I looked at what my challenge is. and decided that maybe this isn't what I want to do is do this life. Because I kept going towards law enforcement. Like I would fall back on that because I could get hired instantly. But I just didn't want to do it. I honestly didn't want to do it. And at this point, I decided to do this because I feel like I'm, one, it makes me grow into even a better individual. And another thing, I mean, that's a lot of trauma that I just don't need.

tacked on to my plate. Right. Yeah. That makes sense. Okay. So we got to change the story. Yes. So your answer was to,

metaphorically speaking, you know, kick over the table and stop playing by other people's games. Yes. Okay. Okay. So, um, um,

um, um, um, So the job thing could be the starting point of the story of like, well, actually, it might, it might make more sense to start the story and saying, you know, I was in the military for X amount of years. I don't know how many years. Five and a half. Five and a half. I was, you know, I was in the military for five and a half years.

And when I got out, you know, I'm reintegrating back into society. Like, I don't know if that's the right wording, but I'm just. You know, all this can change. Words are cheap, free. We can tweak them. So you're reintegrating back into society and you have this immense skill set that you learned inside the military. But when you, you know, went to these job interviews, people started kind of just making assumptions about you, even though, you know, maybe they had read your resume and they were interested in talking to you. But like, there were some challenges in these interviews. And like you said, part of that may be that how you communicate it wasn't the best way. One, I know for a fact, my MOS was 11 Bravo, which was infantry.

So all they could see is this guy knows how to shoot and kill someone, how to carry a team across an objective. One, I mean, I did that and mastered that job. Literally, I got a medal where I competed with over 1,500 people. And at the very end, it was 89. I was the last one out of this three-week thing where I've mastered my job according to the military standard of a manual. That's like over a thousand pages. I mastered it to that level. So, I mean, the fact is I am an expert at that.

But what they see is just me being able to shoot, communicate, and kill. But what I did was not just that. I also operated vehicles that were worth over a million dollars. I mean, huge ass machines like fucking badass. I mean, I created the virtual battlefields. I was in charge and delegating orders of 4,500 different troops. I executed presence for a powerful individual. I could oversee things and make sure shit happened.

A fucking degree will not give you that. It will give you the confidence. the military to execute and do anything you desire and learn how to adapt. For example, I applied my abilities to learn how to podcast. I make fantastic graphic design. I never even learned anything about it. I didn't give a fuck about social media or graphic design prior to doing podcasting. Now, my shit sticks out and it's better than a lot of people's.

I learned how to make videos like professionals where I'm communicating with videographers and saying, how can I make this better? and make that shit with Adobe suit. I learned how to do that. That should be a standard for everybody working in a fucking agency or organization is to use that. And I honed it. So my abilities is malleability to do anything I desire because I'm self-taught. I'm self-driven for success.

So how do I sell that? Yeah. Well. It's exhausting, right? No, no, no. I'm, I'm kind of, uh, so I'll give you, no, I'll give you an analogy. Uh, when I'm thinking about story, it's like a Rubik's cube. You're spinning stuff around, moving things, moving colors around and going, okay, does it make, can we get, you know, a solid wall here if we move these pieces, right?

And so I'm listening to you and I'm running that Rubik's cube in my head. And I'm going, pulling out, you know, self-made man, right? like that's an aspect of of your character but also what makes characters any character great is that they have flaws right and you talks a little bit about that like you're you know you had to learn how to to have empathy or or improve that aspect of yourself like that's what people can connect with because they go shit he's a human you know like he's not just overcoming every everything and it's all easy you know that might be why I'm struggling because what I think character, what makes character great is that there's principles that can't be broken.

Well, that is part of a character. But so let me give you an analogy or an example. You've seen the new Star Wars, right? Yes. Okay. Ray is one of the most boring characters ever. Yes, he is. Like she by the end of the first movie, picks up a lightsaber, never used it before, and defeats.

I can't even remember. the bad guy because he was kind of boring too. He was a whiny bitch. But how does somebody who hasn't learned shit fly the Millennium Falcon out of the blue and pick up a lightsaber and defeat the villain

with with no learning, no, there was no Obi-1 to say this is how you use the force. I mean, at the end of Star Wars looks like, I'm going to fight Darth Vader. And Obi-1 canobes like, shut the fuck up, kid. Go sit down.

I got this, you know? And he sacrifices himself to save the rest of them. But like, yeah, he's not the, like, he's not a superhero by the end of the movie. He's, he's still a whining nose, snot-nosed kid. And that makes him relatable. Like, yeah, he has the desire to go fight Darth Vader, but he doesn't have the ability to do that thing. Right. And so in your case, you, like, part of the aspect of making good character showing the human side,

Like, that's the stuff we, we as the audience, the readers, the listeners can connect with is, crap. I forgot to put Do Not Disturb on. Hold on. Do not disturb one hour. All right. That'll stop people from calling me. So there has to be, you know, it's like their character flaws, right?

And you've talked about that a little bit. Like, so you gained all these skills, right? Like you're ready to go into the workforce and you're showing up and like you said, maybe how you're communicating wasn't good or your empathy wasn't very good or Siri, stop trying to record everything I'm saying. Jeez, I hit the wrong button when I was trying to turn the do not disturb on. So I'm just sitting here watching words come up on the screen while I'm trying to talk to you. So the character needs some flaws.

They need and it's not just what's happening. happening to them externally. It's also what's happening internally. That's why I was asking about the emotional component, right? So, so you're going to these interviews and these people are pigeonholing you or they're making assumptions about you that are not accurate and you feel frustrated by that. But you've also said that, you know, maybe the way that you were communicating was it was very direct. And that made sense in the military, right? Like you had to get shit done. You had to lead people. You had to like this was this isn't like, oh, we're all going to pretend to play war. Like we are constantly. preparing for battle to do the next thing that we're asked to do. And so, um, so you can explain why you were that way and, and why you thought that was, you know, uh, well, I mean, they shouldn't know. I mean, if they're an HR professional, I mean, they should, I shouldn't have to be the first individual that was from the military that they've encountered. I mean, they should know. I mean, it's, like the military just didn't come out. I mean, it's been out since like fucking the 1700s. Like, what the fuck? Yeah. Uh, well,

it's it's uh so i i think there's an interesting story of of your struggle not only in in the jobs but also in like i said that reintegration back into society where like people don't talk to each other this way yeah let me pause you for a minute so like i've been out for fuck since 2018 april 20th 2018. And I also did the National Guard. So that was technically I got out April 20th, 2019. But I did get, I think, one or two jobs in security. And at that point, at those two jobs, I kind of gave up on trying to work with a company

because I got in trouble for doing above my standard of what they wanted me to do. because I would, again, see what I'm doing and master it and make it better and do more because that's what the Army wanted. So that's what I would do. And then I would get, I've gotten yelled at for doing things that I wasn't so supposed to be doing. As far as like just observing, like one was guarding, what the fuck was it? I worked for G4S security and I guarded Colorado Springs. I think it's CSR, Clairsping Ranch is a nuclear power plant. And I was in charge of ensuring a tight security perimeter.

And I would just, I'll be looking around to see, oh, there's issues with this fence. People could crawl through there. Oh, there's issues over here. And they didn't want that. They're like, why are you doing? You're supposed to keep individuals out. That's it. And just maintain a present.

Well, if the fence was fixed, that would be a lot easier. That's what I was saying. But what they saw it as that I was making them do their job. And that's what they didn't fucking want. And then they would write me up for that. And it's just like, I'm like, like, like, what does that fucking mean? Like, I'm making, I'm doing my job plus taking action on problems that are going to be here one way or another. And I got, I get yelled at for that.

And then my other job, they're showing me how I should be doing things, but they wouldn't even be doing the things. that they're telling me to do. So at that point, I won't work for a company like that that says, you need to be doing this, but they're not doing it. And at that point, they don't think they need to do that because they've mastered their job, which is not really hard to do. And there is no potential room for growth. And at that point, it's just like, I look back because I've worked 17 different jobs previous to the military, and they were all like that, which it's like it's a flaw in today's system that we have in trying to hire somebody and and what organizational leadership is and how it should be well yeah I mean the leadership

creates the culture right and so if if you have people you know who are above you who are just being like don't worry about it then that probably means somebody above him is or her is saying don't worry about it that's the right mentality yeah well it's it's it's poor leadership and poor leadership like I said can make a poor culture where everybody's fighting or lazy or um disengaged from their job because uh you know it's like the what is that movie um it's about the guys who like office space oh right it's a good movie yeah where you know they're all yeah they're all disillusioned because they're You know, management sucks, right?

It's like, hey, you're going to give me that TPS report? Hey, buddy, you know, like, is, uh, Gary Cole is awesome in that role, but he's just such awful person. Um, and so, you know, it's like the ship rolls downhill, right? Like, and I'm sure in the military, you saw that there were some people who were great leaders and then there were some who were playing leader, you know? Right. I've I've talked to some other military guys and you know, they have complaints about like how yeah, like you get stuck in a certain group and this leader is like just terrible.

I mean, they even kind of point that out even in a was a band of brothers, right, where David Schwimmer is like this idiot who doesn't know how to lead his men at all. And so you get that even in the military with all the structure in place, right? Like, you still get leadership rejects. So, sorry, I'm kind of going down a different rabbit hole here. But, but yeah, so you learned all these skills. And then you started, you know, reintegrating, you know, back into, you know, the average world, if you will. And you're starting to kind of try to find your place. Where do you fit in?

Right. Like, I have all these skills. Where can I apply them? And so you, you know, you try this thing. You try that thing. It doesn't work out. You go for job interviews. You feel like you're being pigeonholed. I don't know if pigeonhol is the right word, which maybe you prefer to use a different word. But that's, I think, you know, typecasting. You know, it's just like, oh, you kill people, right? Like that's what you said to me. Right. Like, that's all you're good at. That's the goal is to. Yeah. Yes. I'm very good at my. job. But now you're in in normal society where that's not asked of you, right? Like, it's a skill set that you, you still possess, but like in your in in a normal job, like, hopefully you're not ever going to be asked to do that unless you're in security or law enforcement or something where, you know, that, you know, that may come up. But so, so, you know, you're a little in, in that aspect of the. story you're a little bit like lost right you're trying to find your way in the world and um and so you finally realize like you know that maybe maybe i don't fit in and maybe that's okay

you know maybe i'm maybe uh maybe everybody else thinks i'm strange or weird or whatever but i'm i'm okay with who i am yeah no i think everybody's fucking weird i mean i pivot off where opportunities are. And that's really what I just, I want to highlight that. So, so because of that, um, you realize that like nobody was going to give you anything, right? Like you, you had to start to take it for yourself. And so you created the show so that, you know, maybe other, uh, other weirdos could connect and find each other other.

and have these conversations and and learn from each other and how how we overcome, you know, these struggles of, I don't know, I don't know if not fitting in is the right word, but you know what I mean? Like, does that resonate with you? I mean, that's a good approach to the brand. But I mean, I looked at it as highlighting organizational culture with understanding that and like the leadership mentality. what it means with organizational connectivity and how can we build a healthy organization that's

to modern standard. So that piece connects at the end, right? Order of operations, right? We tell the story. This is what I went through. Here's the struggle. Here's all the stuff that happened. I came to this realization.

I had this moment of transformation because that's one of the main things that a hero does is they transform. Luke stops being a whiny, sniveling. nobody water moisture farmer and becomes a fucking Jedi right so that is the point of transformation right and then um and then we see that in return of the Jedi right that he's he's continuing on that path and then had they handled Luke Wright in the other films he would have actually been a good mentor and not a shitty mentor you know trying to kill his nephew and whining and bitching and it's just like jeez Way to fuck up a franchise, guys.

Anyway, so, so, so all that, right? All that lead up leads to, and here's what I've learned about, you know, culture. Here's what I've learned about leadership. And now we're starting the conversation into culture and leadership. You essentially tell that story. You go through that transformation.

Guess what? You become the mentor. tour, you become the guide. That's whatever hero should do. They go through the experience, the trial, the tribulation. They're human. They're flawed, but they overcome these things. They have that moment of transformation.

And then the hero doesn't just continue to be the hero. Hopefully the hero goes. And now we start back at the beginning. And I'm teaching other heroes, what I learned, what I gained through experience, right? It's cyclical the hero's journey. Okay. that's why Obi-1 Canobi is a mentor to Luke because when you see the prequels, you understand that he was teaching Anakin how to be a Jedi.

And he wasn't able to convince him to give up his hate and his anger. And he eventually becomes Darth Vader. But when we see him in 4-5 and 6, he's now the mentor. He's gone through that journey. He's gone through his own hero's journey. and the journey starts over again, but he's the mentor, not the hero. So you see how this, like, you tell your story,

you talk about the trials and tribulations, the, you know, you show that you're human, right? You don't come across as a fucking robot. And, and, you know, you, you, you say, you know what, I didn't necessarily fit in, but I have these skills. And I realized that I, that these skills are still important.

important. And I want to use these skills to teach others how to build good culture, how to be good leaders in the, in the organization. And I draw on that for my experience in the military. I draw on that for my own personal life stories and bring it all together. So if I were to give, if I had to use or to do an elevator pitch, what would that look like from everything we've talked about? Okay. I love that you ask me this stuff in real time because usually I'm like when like we get the story set and then I'm like, are you happy with the story? And if they come back and say yes, then other stuff happens like how do we create a tagline? How do we get an elevator pitch from the story? Right. And usually I'm like, well, I'll get back to you at a couple days.

So I'll sit on it and think on it. But you're asking me in real time. So I think you're a little bitter. This is rough. Beginning, middle and end is that. the best format for a story or problem solution. Those are the shortest stories that you can tell. So you could say, I was in the military. I learned all this amazing shit about leadership. And I'm now taking what I learned in the military and teaching the average citizen how to do XYZ, be a better leader, built good culture in their organization.

That's problem solution. Beginning middle end might be like, I was in the military. I learned all this. this amazing stuff about leadership and culture. But when I came into the civilian market, I found that a lot of this, the same structure and the same way of doing things was very different in the corporate world. And I think what I learned in the military is beneficial to them, just like it was to me in the military. So now what I do is I teach people how to do X, Y, Z, right?

That's your elevator. pitch. Each one kind of is a problem solution or a problem solution, but beginning, middle end. So I added a few extra pieces of your story into that second one to kind of flush it out. But again, I said that to you in 30 seconds. Now, if you're somebody who's interested in building a better culture, doing leadership, or becoming a better leader, they're going to go, okay, tell me more. That's all the elevator pitch does is tell me more. That's what I am interested in, I think. Yeah.

So wouldn't I start my elevator pitch with that as far as what drives me? I'm driven off building a better culture in all organizations, establishing organizational connectivity with management and the workforce. Right, but that's about you. Right. Remember when I was telling you, you got to tell a story that is about other people, even though you're telling it about your. Okay.

You see what I'm saying? You're like, this is what I want, right? That's like, you know, I give this analogy in the book, but it's like, wait, wait, wait,

hold on. Is it though? Because I'm, like, I'm saying I'm driven for this passion. And the passion is to establish organizational connectivity, which means, well,

what does organizational connectivity mean? Fluid behavior, a fluid rhythm within an organization. both internal and external factors. Like, I mean, it could be anything from their, shit, what are they called? They're investors to the procurement process, to internally, the culture, to reports, to all of that shit. Like, what's what HR would deal with? So, but you're using, you're using jargon in your description.

that makes it less clear, right? So don't use the jargon, right? Because not everybody's going to get it. Like, you get it, you understand it. And maybe that was like how they talked to the military or whatever. But like if you're talking to somebody else, like the person on the street, right, that you're trying to interest them in your thing.

Cut, cut those things out. Right. So how do I decide what's jargon and what's not jargon? Well, uh, keep it. Simple stupid kind of thing. Yes. Yes.

The old kiss, kiss principle. Yes. Yeah. Like, you know, whatever the cultural connectivity, I'm like,

I have no idea what that means. And I've, like, damn it. You should learn it then and know it. Well, well, but that,

that, that, um, like, that's like, um, that's like me going. Um,

yeah, dude, I totally put this, pink elephant, the story was amazing. Fuck yeah. Where's it out? Well, it's not a literal thing. It's a jargon. It's a jargon term for story in storytelling to say that I, um, oh, like nest eggs.

Like, it, no, it, it, it, just let me tell you. It is, is where I take a story and you think the story is going to go one way and it goes in a completely different direction, right? The pink elephant is a distraction, right? It's a red herring, maybe. Okay. Right. Hell yeah.

Like, like, like, you're not like if I just say that to you and continue talking, you're going to either think of a pink elephant, right? Maybe or you're going to be like, what the hell is this guy talking about? Or is there really a pink elephant in this? You know what I mean? Symbology.

Yeah. Yeah. But you as the listener can interpret it a bunch of different ways if you don't know what the definition is. So if you say culture connectivity to me, I'm like, I don't know what that means. Right.

Like, and sometimes people won't even boss. to try to figure out what the fuck you're talking about because that just burns more calories. That's true. So, so, so simplifying it down. And, you know, making it in like fourth grader language. Like, so that, so that the brain doesn't have to process all that energy to figure out what the fuck you're talking about. Like, so like you said, keep it simple, stupid. So that's what I did when you were like, well, how would I do my elevator pitch?

I'm like, you know, we give a little backstory. You're in the military. Here's the problem I see. I gained all these skills. I wasn't able to use them in the real world the way that I thought they should be used. And I realized others were not applying the same wisdom and knowledge. And I want to help them do that because I think that will help them create a stronger culture in their company, which will help people be better connected together.

Right. I used your two words, but I described it in a way that wasn't, you know, let me try to figure out what those fucking words mean together. Sure. And also to help, you know, leaders create that type of culture. So they know what the steps are, what the process is to connect these people together so that they can create a stronger company. Does that sound like what you want to do? Yes. Yes.

I already have a tagline for that. called connecting clarity. It's vague. Well, clarity, I mean, damn it, don't tell me it's fucking jargon. I'm going to get pissed. But no, I, I, it's like, so, you know, in the book, I think I talked about like glittering generalities. Yes, you have. Yes.

Yeah. So it's kind of, it falls into that category. It's like, damn it. All right. So connecting what? Like clarity is, is, is, is, is, uh, is, uh, closing. the gap. So closing the gap on information that is kind of abstract and what's actually happening. So connecting the clarity into things that we're unsure about. I mean,

it's to build a solid foundation and our reasoning and understanding, oh, I get it. Now I can make better decisions with my life. well but you want to focus on the the leadership and the culture right so um connecting clarity in that so that wouldn't work then i need i need help with the tagline now um yeah i mean clarity is a great word it just it needs something else to modify it so that you understand what the clarity is about okay that's all that's all we're missing so um so i'm like again i'm having to process this in real time. You're fine.

Take your time. So I'm just trying to kind of thinking. I'm like, I'm going up left to go into the creative side of my brain to kind of process the, um, thoughts. So we have connecting clarity. We have culture leadership.

Um, organizational behavior. We have, my bad. I'm sorry. Genius is at work. Look at the. Connecting culture through clear leadership.

you can string that together and that would make a sentence that would make sense. Again, we could like, you can write this shit down and then be like, okay, that's a good starting point, but that's not exactly what I'm trying to go for. Right. So connecting culture and leadership with clarity. We're just moving the words around again. And I'm trying to just keep it tight and pull together. And like I said, just giving you a starting. point. Like I don't think we're going to, your tagline is just going to magically appear right today.

Like, you know, I always tell everybody I work with, think on this shit. Give it a day or two. And then come back and go, is that what I'm trying to say? Or is that not what I'm trying to say? And maybe this word needs to move or that word needs to change, right? So if I were to tell that to you, hey, my tagline is this. YTS's tagline is connecting culture into leadership. What is acceptable right now. What is acceptable right now? Yes.

Because you better define that for me. What do you mean? What is acceptable right now? Right now, I mean, we're facing a huge fucking issue with digital transformation establishing a new, avenue of how communication should be issued out through digital means. I mean, because people, words get misinterpreted through emails. So if I'm trying to empathetically, but directly tell somebody.

Because, yeah, words, yeah, words get misconstrued through email because there's no tone, right? Like, like, like, you know, body language. Well, tone is, you know, kind of in that same. field of like, yes. If I say, dude, you're such an asshole.

Yeah. Like that's, that's, yeah. Agreed. So that, that is devoid in an email communication. So you actually have to work harder in an email communication to,

um, to, uh, communicate, communicate in a way that is, um, clear, right?

Like you have to put like more words into what you're saying to make the emotion clear. Whereas, if you say, you know, go do this thing, right? Like, it's direct and it's to the point, but like there's, there's no emotion in it. Whereas if I said, hey, man, can you help me do this thing? Sure. Then I understand you're asking for help, right?

Because you've kind of, it's been written there. But if you just say, go do this thing, then I'm assuming that you're being blunt with me. You know what I mean? Like, depending on who's reading it. And that's being in, uh, uh, reflecting. and perceived as me being a dick. Yeah. They could.

It depends on the reader, right? Like, and if the reader knows you or not, that's the other component, right? Like, if the reader knows you and you write a direction to the point message, and they're just like, oh,

that's just how Greg talks, right? Or the fact that they have soft skin and they can't take a fucking direction. Yeah. Then I need to address, is this job for you? Yeah. So we're going off into the weeds. Let's go back to your tag.

line. So, so is it, is it that we're, is it that you want to bring clarity to leadership and to culture? Yes. Both. Both. Okay. So you could say something like YTS is about bringing clarity to leadership and culture within organizations. It's very simple. Straightforward. I think it captures everything you're looking for. It's not a fancy tagline. I don't like fancy taglines. I think being cute and clever is for marketing people who, you know, like to fluff their own nuts. Yes.

That is very clear. Oh, I get what you do. I mean, if you can make that clearer, then then do that. But like, does that capture what you're trying to do?

Yes, it does. In a simple statement. Okay. Okay. I like, when you answer sometimes, you like talking to the mic,

you're like, it's like you're on trial. It's like, yes, I was there when, I am innocent. I did not kill that man. No.

His blood got on me when I was just walking by. Guilty, Your Honor. So, yeah. So your transformation station is about bringing clarity to culture and leadership in organizations. Yes. Again, sit on it, think on it. And then go. Is that what I'm trying to say?

But keep it, that's keeping it simple. It's direct, right? And my assumption would be that, like, hopefully somebody would go, oh, that's cool. We could use some clarity in our culture. We could use some clarity in our leadership, you know? So, all right. Now we have that. I'm looking at that.

I'm a person who owns a fucking million dollar corporation. I see that. I'm like, God, he's just like every other fuck stick out there. Like, how do I stand out? Or that tagline, it illustrates my identity. Because I want my identity to be fucking bold with curiosity, but also with an abnormal, a sense of humor that takes different avenues than anybody else. Okay. Yeah.

So you want to inject some personality into it. That's fucking right. Yeah. And I agree with you 100%. I don't think we talked about this, but the next book that I'm going to do is going to be about branding. and my opinion is that if you don't have any personality in your brand, you don't have a brand, you have a company and a logo.

And so, hell yeah. Hell well, I'm just, just, you know, you keep doing your thing. You can even put my shit in the book.

That's fine. Well, I'm just, again, I'm running that Ruby's Cube. Yeah. The, Master magician here.

The, like, for some reason, the thing I've caught on to is that you've said fuck stick a couple of times. And I'm like, is that a military term? Like, do they say that in the military?

That's what I was thinking because I, I've read quite a few books by guys who are former military. And I was like, I feel like I've heard that term more than once. And it's probably in those books. So, So, so yeah, we, fuckstick would probably be a little, a little too aggressive, right? Like you can be aggressive without being Preserker rage level aggressive.

Yeah. But I think, too, like, it needs to be said with confidence, right? And what about if I were to say like, I feel like this could resonate with a lot of people. If I were to say, think about your last mentor or the mentor that you really, really respected. Now, if you were to compare him to you, it would be almost impossible. But as you continue to rise and continue to grow, at that point, You're going to pass him. Now that comparison is just, it's not a comparison anymore, but people still have that thought in themselves.

When they look back and it's a modest but a real strong presence, that is somehow I want to illustrate that in that tagline somehow. Outgrow your leadership. Yeah. That's really good. Yeah. Yeah. So that could be a part of it. That's fucking really good.

That's what I do, baby. That's what I do. No, but I know what you're saying. So in my experience, a good leader wants you to actually outgrow them because they're giving you all the shit that they learned and you're getting it sooner, not having to go through the same trials and tribulations to get that wisdom and that knowledge. Yes. Right.

Yes. That's what I want to illustrate. I want to give that shit because I was the youngest. I never got shit from my parents, from my, from my siblings on life things. So I had to learn it through trial and error and tribulations and all those regressions and bullshit. And that is what I want the world to get. I want them to come right to me to the source. I want to feed them everything I got.

Yeah. You want to help them go further faster. Yes. Like, so yeah, and that's why you have to set yourself up in that mentor position, right? Like I did this shit and now you can learn it in, you know, X amount of time instead of, you know, my 15 years, 20 years, you know, of learning this shit, right? Yeah, 500 bucks. You want to grow a pair of balls? You fucking call me.

636-253-9150. well yeah i mean you could offer you could offer uh coaching yeah not right now now right one step at a time sell merchandise i'm doing podcast interviews and all that shit i just as to learn yeah just as a thought uh there's a website called clarity fm where people can schedule a call with you and you can define how much per minute they pay so oh so take a note just for when you want to do that in the future. Yeah, they got all those, got a bunch of experts and, and it's everything from like life coaching to entrepreneurship to how to run a business. And, you know, you can meet with people. And some people charge like crazy, crazy amounts of money, you know, like $100 a minute.

You know, like, oh yeah. Or $75 a minute or $25 a minute. Like, you know, anyway, just as a side note when you go go down that route. So yeah. So we have, so we have this point about like outgrowing your leadership. But is it is it the person working in the job that needs needs this information or is it that leaders need to learn how to pass that information down so that people can go further faster? Both. Both. Okay.

I feel like it starts with identity. identifying a leader and who that leader is will take the ownership to ensure that gets delegated down to the workforce and to replicate himself and to everybody else because everything we learn isn't ours. It's for everyone. Okay. Oh, man. Yeah, I'm pushing your boundaries. Go ahead. No, I just think I just keep thinking that the conversation is very dynamic. Usually it's it's when we're talking about telling a story.

It's like we're stuck on one point. You know, this is the problem. Here's the solution we're defining for it. And it's easier to pull those things together. But when I'm talking to you, the goalposts keep moving. Ah, okay. As we are. And that's fine because I think we're getting closer to the heart of what you're looking

for. Is it this thing? No, it's not this thing. Is it this thing? No, it's not this thing. What is it this? No, it's not this. What about this?

Yes, it's that. Oh, well, shit. Now everything has to change because we've gotten closer to the target, I guess. Damn right. I'm a man that knows what he wants. That's what makes me attractive individual. So, okay. So you want to help.

So it sounds like you want to help. help, you know, people understand what makes a good leader. Yeah. Right. So that they can qualify. Right. And qualify. Oh, this is a good leader.

I should hitch my wagon to the. To the. I'm right. You're damn fucking right. And you're also saying, but also, you know, we need to build up leaders so that they can be the kind of people who help these people who are trying to. Yes. I'm making the new.

standard of what it means to be a fucking leader. Okay. I think that's a great tagline. I'm making a new standard of what it means to be a leader, a great leader. Yeah. Your transformation station is about defining the new standard of leadership. Bingo. Yes.

What would you be that hashtag? New standard of leadership? I don't really do hashtags. I usually make fun of people in hashtags. Yes. That's how you get found today in social media. So we need to use that. Yeah.

So I'm always looking for ways to distill, condense. Because I think the less words you use, you know, the easier it is for people to understand you. So. Yes. Well, I mean, I'm, what I'm using now, I'm using, it was connecting clarity, of course. That's my, one of my hashtags. Also, YTS, the podcast and my full name, which I feel like that should be good. know because I want people to recognize my brand and be able to hunt me down.

But, yeah. So wait, we have the story. We have that. We have the fucking tagline. I have a tagline or a fucking hashtag started if we can think of something that's fantastic. If not. But what about, so there's the personal story and then there's the brand story. Now, what story do I, what story do I have right now?

Well, we started defining your personal. personal story, right? Yes. And I mean, there's two ways you can go about it, right? Like, um, they, so most people, when they think of Apple, they think of Steve Jobs, right? Because I know that term so many, you so many. I know. It's a, it's become a trope, right? Like, but, um, but it's a good illustration to say, well, here's a company where the person and the company were kind of tied together, right? Whereas, a lot of companies, people don't know who the leadership is. They're just like, you know, who runs fucking Ajax soap? No clue, right?

Because because the leadership is not a personality that is connected to the brand. But I would say that the, quite often the brand takes on the personality of the leadership. So, you know, they came out with that think different campaign for Apple. And I think the reason that that worked for Apple was because that embodied Steve Jobs as a person. He did think very differently. Like he read his autobiography. The dude was like crazy. I mean, not crazy, crazy.

But like he lived a very interesting life. You know, like becoming a fruititarian and, you know, going to India. So then a good campaign would be like, Greg is not an alien? So defining the new standard of leadership for millennials. So that that kind of also starts to define your audience, right? Like if you're not a millennial, this maybe isn't for you. But if you're a millennial and you're trying to either learn how to become a leader or you're trying to find a good leader, this is the place to do it.

We're going to teach you the skills. Generation Zs is still want to look up to their elders and learn from them. So I feel like one way or another, they'll get integrated. I know they both listen to me. Right. But I think defining your audience in that way helps you kind of focus your story. Okay. Like you're like, now I know who I'm talking to.

It's hard to market to the faceless. masses, right? But if you're like, okay, these are, you know, I want to market to the millennials because I understand them and I've been in their shoes and, you know, whatever other analogy you want to throw in there. I am one of them. Yeah. Like, it's like, I understand you guys because I am, I am you.

And, and you are me. Yeah. So, so defining the new standard for, for leadership. or defining a new standard in leadership for millennials. I think that's clean. Again, you can play with it. Hashtag, I'm still kind of working on the hashtag thing. I keep thinking there's, there's got to be an easier way to say that in like two words instead of four or five.

But it's not coming to me. So, but I think we, yeah, I mean, new standard is, that could be anything. thing new standard of food preparation. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's going to be real hard to pull off something like that if you don't have that brand presence. You know, if you do in the future, you can be like new standard.

Everybody's going to know what that means, right? Like Coke just goes Coke, right? Because everybody knows what Coke is. It's tasty sugar water. Yeah. Or Flazah, we just. to say Favaza. It's a unique last name. Yeah. And that would be. Um, but so, so yeah, but like, so we kind of started defining your story. You know, like I said, you know, you, you, you were here. Um,

you went from the ordinary world. That's one of the things that a hero does. They go from the ordinary world. So in your case, the ordinary world is the military. This is the standard. This is what I know. then you go to the extraordinary or supernatural world. That's Luke going, wait, there's like space Jedi ninjas, wizards. You know what I mean? What was interesting is I came from the hero world, but then I wanted to go into the dark world. Because I told you last time that I wanted to kill pedophiles because I created like this whole little terrain model. I used my military expertise and I was going to hunt down this individual.

but then I decided not to do it at the last minute. And like, I wasn't going to go fucking Dexter on this individual. But I changed my life and said, you know what? It's time to leave. It's time to leave Durango and go and start something new. And I just jumped within 24 hours left and decided this is not for me. This is not the life I'm supposed to do. And that's where I discover what it really feels like to have nothing and absolutely no one.

and from there life I hate this fucking static I'm hearing some shit all of a sudden it's weird but yeah they're cool okay um so so so so that's your story right like and I think I think the way that we can connect I haven't done a lot of personal branding so yeah I'll be a great experience for you yeah I I mean, I've read about it a lot. I have developed my own ideas around it. And I can tie it to a lot of what I do in storytelling. But I haven't had a lot of people come to me and go, I need a personal brand.

Yes. Like, I'm more the, I'll brand your startup guy. Yes. So that's also why it's, I'm taking time to kind of like try to be thoughtful about what I'm saying or how I'm giving you answers because it's important. Right. But so I think the connecting point is, well, let's use a triangle. Why not? So you can create one big story.

Half the story is your personal brand. The other half is the company brand. And together that creates, you know, this overarching story about leadership and how to define what a good leader is and how to become a better leader and how to teach people to surpass you. Right. And bringing those all together. But I think so I think the transformation station story is about, is more about like helping millennials kind of grow and go through that that transformation of becoming a better leader or at least finding a better leader that they can learn from

so that they can get that transformation in their life. Whereas your story is about. here's the struggle. Here's what I, you know, here's what I was used to. Everything changed. And I was,

you know, lost for a period of time. And then I decided that I should take these skills and start using it in the civilian marketplace, if you will. And then you connect, you connect them all together. And so,

so transformation station, like the website should probably have an about section. You tell your, your story there. You set yourself up as the mentor or the guide. And then, and then transformation station is like, your transformation station. Sorry, your transformation station is about how do you, what is the new standard of leadership?

How is that defined? What does that look like? How do you start applying that in your life? You've been listening to your transformation station, your voice on the hard truths of leadership. We hope you've enjoyed the show. We hope you've gotten some useful and practical information. Make sure to like, rate, and review the show. Remember, your transformation station is on all major platforms,

including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and YouTube at YTS, The Podcast. And visit the website at YTSThepodcast.com. Till next time. Lifelock, how can I help? The IRS said I filed my return, but I haven't. One in four taxpaying Americans has paid the price of identity fraud. What do I do? My refund, though.

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