From plumber to $1M+ earner at age 32 | Episode 2

I closed the deal and I and I remember just like the feeling again. You know, the feeling of lack of contentment of like, is that it?

He's one of the members of our seven-figure club, which is incredible, meaning you've you've cracked the seven-figure marks in sales, which very few people can say. He closed a nine-figure deal, one of the largest at his company SAP's history, and now he's been promoted to sales leader.

And I and I remember I was like, man, when I get older, I'm going to have a place that has stairs. These stairs are going to be grand, and I can't wait to have stairs.

That birthday was the best and worst day in my life. Getting laid off on your birthday isn't fun, realizing you're no longer employed, but it it it created the inflection point to have a pivot, and I and in two paychecks I made I made $4,000, and I was like I was hooked. I couldn't believe it. Like I'm getting goosebumps talking about it now.

That guy started getting super emotional, and I was like, I think that's it. I think it's freedom.

Welcome to the Untap Your Sales Potential Podcast. I'm so glad you're listening cuz I'm going to bring you real stories from sellers who have gone from average performance to elite by mastering their mindset, habits, and selling skills.

These are all sellers that I've coached and I've watched them transform their lives, and they're going to share exactly what they changed to become elite. So if you're not getting the results you want, if you know you can do better, if you're frustrated and you're not sure what to do, listen up cuz these sellers are going to share the exact playbook that they learned and used to become top performers. Can't wait to dive in.

All right, welcome to the Untap Your Sales Potential Podcast. I'm super excited to have my one-on-one private client Robbie Jones with us today, and Robbie has a really really inspiring story, and I'm so glad he could be one of our elite guests. He spoke at our mastermind last year. He shared his upbringing, and so many people were moved by his resilience, his strength.

From a you know, from a sales acumen standpoint, Robbie is is a top performer. He's one of the members of our seven-figure club, which is incredible, meaning you've you've cracked the seven-figure marks in sales, which very few people can say. He closed a nine-figure deal, one of the largest at his company SAP's history, and now he's been promoted to sales leader. But what really stands out most about Robbie is just his you know, his resilience and his his personal story. So I want to let him share that, and welcome so much, Robbie, and yeah, if you can tell people a little bit about yourself and your background, that would be be an awesome place to start.

Yeah, of course. Yeah, thank you, and appreciate the opportunity. Uh so living in Southern California, recently moved to California about 2 years ago. I'm originally from Vancouver, British Columbia. Uh been in SAP, this is going on my ninth year. Can't believe how fast it's been. It's Amazing. It's been an incredible journey. Been offered so many opportunities and just growth growth opportunities and progressions and different roles throughout it all. So it's it's been it's been truly amazing. Um maybe I'll start with sharing a little bit about my role currently, and then I think you probably want to get into maybe how it all started. How did I even get into sales? That's right.

So my role right now is I'm the VP of sales for one of our enterprise West teams. There's a there's six of them in the West market unit is what we call it. I have six reps. They're industry account executives or core reps as some other companies call them. It's an interesting role in that they call it a VP role and not a director role because there are so many lines of business. Uh we have I think we now have eight or nine lines of business that intersect into my team. They don't roll up to me. They have their own reporting structures, but uh my core reps orchestrate all of those solution areas and all of those resources. So it's expansive. It's extensive. We only have 24 customers, some very very high profile brands, some massive companies. It's a mix of industries. We have some consumer products. We have some high tech. We have some retail.

And how many reps are on his team? There's six. Six reps. So 24 So each rep has about four accounts. And for anybody who doesn't understand what he means with the lines of business, if you work at a large company like SAP or a Salesforce, you know, there's a lot of different product lines. So I'm assuming you're referring to the Concur team or the SuccessFactors team or all of the different acquisitions that SAP has made over over time that your team is ultimately compensated and tasked with driving. Did I get that right?

Yeah, you nailed it. Yeah, that's exactly right. And four four of them have about six accounts, and then two of them only have one. Uh they have one each, and those are our strategic customer program type accounts.

And to give people an idea of like the size and scale of the business you're running, what's the collective you know, spend or revenue across these accounts? Don't name them, of course, but how big is the organization that you're running right now?

Yeah, it's it's it's about about 200 million plus in ARR. Yeah. So he's running a 200 million dollar business. That's a that's a big job. For sure. And the quota is the quota is quite large. Quota this year is about is 60 million ACV. So it's we we got about 200 million plus in ARR, and we got to grow it by another 60 million in ACV.

Same 10 million per rep. That is a lot of pressure. We'll get into some of that, but maybe I'd love to yeah, to dive in. You haven't been doing sales leadership that long. It's I think you finished your first year around Is it close to your first year?

It's February. So I'm about, you know, 2 months into my second year. Yeah. Yeah. So most of your your time was spent selling, and we'll we'll dive into that. So maybe you can give people context on your background, how you even got into sales in the first place cuz I think it's pretty interesting.

Yeah. Yeah. So I think first and foremost, you typically you follow your parents' footsteps, right? So my my dad or my stepdad is or he works in trades. He's a uh bricklayer. So that was my model. So I first started in trades. I quickly realized I am horrible with my hands. To this day, I I don't build the IKEA furniture. My wife is a lot better at that than I am. So I started off with, you know, general labor. I went into plumbing. I got into plumbing apprenticeship. And um I ended up getting laid off on my birthday, which was quite the experience. I just wasn't performing. I wasn't good. I knew I wasn't. You know when you have that job and you do it and you're looking at yourself where you're like, I'm not good at this. This is not working.

it was like my We just watched the Mario Brothers movie, and the plumbers that basically cause floods and break things and leave it worse, that was you? Yes. Yes. Was not good. Was redoing stuff all the time. They're saying, that's not right. You got to do that again, and it just wasn't working. And I I vividly remember a conversation with one of the plumbers. I was like, so how much do you make? And he was red seal. He had all certifications. He was like, yeah, you know, make $32 an hour. And I was like, $32 an hour? I was like, yeah, I mean, like where's the ceiling? He was like, well, that's kind of it. And I was like, oh. I was like, okay, well, I'm not good at this, and it doesn't have the ceiling that I want. And so the the uh it was the the that birthday was the best and worst day in my life. Getting laid off on your birthday isn't fun, realizing you're no longer employed, but it it it created the inflection point to have a pivot. So I I I then went further down the family tree. So I went to my grandfather. Um he's super successful. Like my grandparents, uh they got into the real estate market early. They had their own business, and I I then went to him, and I started you know, you don't really ask your family like what they do. And I really I I met with him for over coffee, and I was like, so like what did you do? Like he was retired at the time or or working less. He was like, well, I sold life insurance. I was like, you sold life insurance? Like what what is that? So he kind of walked me through that, explained that. I was like, sales? I was like, huh, interesting. Okay.

So I remember um applying to 50 sales jobs. I went on Craigslist and just applied applied applied. Um and the worst thing about getting into a new gig is you need experience to get the job, and to get experience you need to have the job. So I was in this middle riff raff where I didn't have the experience. Um and I remember getting a call. I was I was grocery shopping. I got a call, and and uh he was like, hey, you you applied for this job? And I was like, yeah, I applied for 50 jobs. What job is this? He was like, well, uh uh we sell TV, phone, and internet services, and it was it was for a sub it was for a contractor of Telus, which is one of the big telcos in Canada. And um he was like, yeah, you should come in for an interview. So I go in, and we end up um I I go to the interview, and he's he's got a ton of energy, and he was like, yeah, so let's let's go out and come shadow. I was like, all right now? He was like, yeah, right now. So I I walk into the sales meeting. We then go into the van, and I'm like, so like what kiosk are we going to? I'm sure you've seen here like you go to a Verizon kiosk in the mall, and I'm thinking we're going there. He's like, no, no, we're we're going to go knock doors. And I was like, what? I was like, people do that? Like I I thought that was for like, you know, uh selling religion. He was like, no, we're like convert uh people who are on Shaw. to Telus. And I was like, okay. So I watched him do it and like he knocks 10 doors, 10 doors gets a deal. I was like, you just converted them? He's like, yeah. I was like, how much did you make? He's like, I made 120 bucks. I was like, what? I was like, okay, that's interesting. So um I end up calling my mom at lunch and I was like she's like, so how's the interview? How's the shadowing? I was like, we're knocking doors and she was like, you're doing what? She's like, just all this, you know, like you know, motherly instincts, be safe, you know, make sure you don't walk into people's houses, you know, the whole stranger thing.

was this was this were residential customers? Residential. Yeah, residential. And that one day turned to a a two-year journey. I end up knocking doors for for two years, which was way longer than I thought I would do that, but I I learned how to sell, I mean, you know, to get someone's attention and it like you have to be impactful in the first 5 seconds. Um and it was yeah, there there was so many more that and that kind of that started the journey.

What do you say in the first 5 seconds to get their attention? It was usually I remember first introducing myself and stating quickly why I'm here. Uh cuz of you know, you've stranger knocking your door, I mean, your guard's up. You're like, who are they? What do they want? Why are they here? And I tried to and I worked a lot on tonality and presence and really helping relinquish that guard. And as soon as you're saying, you know, if I could if I could do XYZ, would would you want to talk to me? And that I was like it was a core learning experience.

Very similar, very similar to how I started, but I wasn't doing door-to-door residential. I was doing door-to-door business. Like going up and down office buildings, which is easier in some respect because I'm not interrupting them at their house with their families. Yeah, the hours are awful. I mean, you're not working, you know, B2B hours. You're working B2C hours. We would start at 12 and I wouldn't had gone until 8. So you did that for 2 years. What what drove you to continue that type of grind? That's a hard that's a hard gig.

Well, the money. I remember so my my my parents, they were like, well, for the first 3 months I made no money. It was uh eat what you kill, right? And I first 3 months I wasn't killing anything. I was speaking. I remember $60, $180 every paycheck and we get paid every week. And I remember talking to my parents, they're like, you're wasting your time. What are you doing? Get a real job. And and they said it out of a place of love. I mean, it was like, you know, like you're you're worth more. And I I remember saying to my stepdad, I was like, I I bet you in three week in in the next 3 months, I'm going to make more money than you in 2 weeks. And that was and I'm A type like super super high achiever. You know, we did the enneagram. I think that was apparent. Yeah. And then 3 months I I I remember I mean I got my paycheck and I and in two paychecks I made I made $4,000. And I was like I was hooked. I couldn't believe it. Like I'm getting goosebumps even talking about it now. Like I I couldn't believe it. I was like, wow, like I could I could do this thing. So that that really had it.

I think it's interesting just the the people who start in copiers or door-to-door sales or any of these more transactional type of selling, they they tend to be significantly more resilient because they know what that's like to you know, to get slammed on, to get thrown out, to get a gun pulled on some cases the door-to-door folks. I mean, if you're in the certain areas, right? There is a a legitimate um uh mindset that you have to just keep going and you have to just know your numbers. And and I did that for many years and I got the salesforce and it's like I kept calling and calling and emailing and calling and I took that and and and it worked, you know, it was like I wouldn't stop until I got a no or or a yes, let's meet. So did you have that experience too? Did that serve you in terms of like the way that you prospect when you got into software, when you got into tech?

Oh, it created so much resilience. So much grit. There were so many days I wanted to quit. You know, I sat on the rock. I didn't work. I was just kind of, you know, in my head like maybe I'm not right for this. Maybe I can't do it. The thing that that job really did was it also like created a a su like that that job um brainwashed me in the best way possible. It was so funny. Every day after the sales meeting, so firstly, at every sales meeting they made you write out your goals. So every morning you'd write out your goals. And on the way to the territory, they would play Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy. Like when you had Brian Tracy on the fireside chat, I was like, holy cow, like you know, this guy was Yeah, like he was he was big he was bigger than belief back then and he still is, I mean. So that that experience like listening to those people, like I had never heard those things before. I'd never been exposed to that world. So that was also an incredible The power of you know, Wayne you know, they both have you know, played Wayne Dyer of like you know, it's it's you know, your your your reality is just your thoughts. I mean, whatever you think, you know, whatever you believe you can achieve. And all those things really contributed to what I still go back to today. You know, I still listen to some of those things when I'm in a funk or not feeling great. I uh I put on, you know, YouTube and I listen to some of those. I don't do it as much now, but there was a time where I would listen to it religiously.

Well, it does work. And if you think about it, the story that you're playing determines what you do and how you feel and what you think. And if you're playing a story that is based in fear or in um you know, anger or in anxiety, you know, you're going to operate that way and you're going to essentially create your own reality. If you're playing a story that's in opportunity, possibility, future, vision, you know, and and what's possible and belief, you know, Napoleon Hill is is a great example. He says, you know, what the mind can believe the the human can achieve. And it's so true. If you don't believe it, if you don't think it's possible, you're not going to show up fully with the the right energy and you're not going to do the thing that you're you need to do every day cuz it's [ __ ] hard. Sales is super hard and especially door-to-door. So I I can relate to that.

I think it'd be helpful just to go back even further before you started sales because there is a reason you are the way you are. There's a reason you were so hungry, so driven, so um motivated to achieve that you would be willing to go door-to-door, you know, and and do a job like this. And I had a similar background where I I was willing to do whatever it takes to to make money to be successful when I got out of um you know, when I was a teacher in Venezuela. But having that deep why, having that, you know, childhood that that forces you to need to be successful and to want it at that level, I think not a lot of people talk about, but I'd love you to share a little bit more context as to why you are the way you are and you're so driven because I think that's the real yeah, that's the real story.

Yeah, you know, I mean, your parents do your best, right? I mean, and you know, like I we always had love in the home. My my parents divorced, you know, when I was a baby. And that that led to a to an interesting experience in visiting my you know, there were stints where I didn't visit my dad. There were stints when I didn't see him and then there were, you know, stints when he was, you know, super present. And I would go and visit him um you know, frequently. And he lived in the US. My mom raised me in Canada and my stepfather came into my life when I was seven. So he you know, he treated me like his son and he still does. And and I think my my parents did their best, but you know, they they struggled with addiction, which was you know, it made for a a challenging environment. And and that was for a large part of of my life. It was for, you know, I don't know when it started. Call it, you know, adolescence to you know, that that that period ending um in my early 20s. So it was a long part of my life where I I didn't feel like the priority. I probably wasn't the priority um cuz other things conflicted. And that then created scarcity in in a lot of ways. Scarcity of attention, scarcity of love and of what I've later realized of what we spoke about and we'll probably get to at some point. But also just, you know, scarcity of of you know, food, resources, um you know, not having the money for basketball shoes or having the money for uniform. I I remember as a kid there were certain things that I said when I get those things, I'm going to be super happy and things that I really wanted. Like we lived in a in an in a ground level suite. My parents, you know, rented a ground level suite. It was a two uh two bedroom, one bathroom. And it didn't have stairs. And and I remember I was like, man, when I get older, I'm going to have a place that has stairs. These stairs are going to be grand. And I can't wait to have stairs. And it was so so such a such a little thing. And there were all of those little things that added up where, you know, when I get older, I'm never going to worry about money. I can't wait till I could go on these vacations and do that and you know, we never we never really we never went on vacations. That just wasn't you know, in in the cards or that wasn't available. Um and and that created this fire which drove me. It's just you know, all of those have nots created this desire to turn them into halves and I just I vowed that things would be different. And that didn't show up until later in life. I would say it actually didn't show up until that door-to-door sales job cuz first a lot of that emotion showed itself in destructive ways. You know, when I became a teenager, it showed itself in rage. Showed itself in resentment. It showed itself in anger and then it later showed itself in my own addiction and then it showed itself in finding cheap thrills and things that were external and and then when I finally found door-to-door sales, it showed itself in if

in it in a in a new addiction. You asked me, how do you do that for 2 years? I was addicted to the rush, man. Like man, every deal was like a was a hit. It was instant. And every paycheck, especially getting paid every week, I didn't save a single penny. And it showed itself in in that paycheck. And then every Friday, I would go out and I'd spend it all. And then back at it on Monday and I just I I needed it again and again and again.

So you would work hard and play hard. It was a you know, bets and I I don't necessarily have the discipline or the wherewithal to save it. I just I'm so grateful to have it that I'm going to go and you know, it is that scarcity. It's like I don't want to lose it. So I'm going to spend it almost. It's the opposite.

And that's and that's what I saw. I mean, my you know, I it's funny. I I thought money was this fleeting resource. I thought it was scarce. Like I thought you can never have enough. Like I I still struggle with that. Like I thought that you know, I never saw my my parents always had too much month at the end of the money. So I always thought like you can never have enough. So I and it was always fleeting. So I would buy the clothes to make me feel better. I would buy the shoes to make me feel better. I would buy the the you know, the the the devices to make me feel better. And then on Monday, it would just be this roller coaster of emotion which to a a crashing which would which would come to to to reality again and it's Monday and I'm like, oh, back at zero. All right, let's do it again.

It so reminds me of my of my um my 20s. It's like you're not used to it and then you get it and it's like you don't know what to do with it and so you you waste it. Um It's a cycle. So let's let's keep going. So for for a lot of people you know, growing up in in poverty or with addiction, it becomes a excuse for not being successful or it becomes a a reason why they can't because they haven't had the resources or the support or the modeling. For you, it sounds like it was the total opposite. It was like, I don't want this. So I'm going to do everything in my power to to live a different life and be able to um you know, to create financial success. Which didn't happen until the positive brainwashing. Like

you know, it it it didn't happen. Like that didn't manifest itself until I found and it's so funny cuz um my wife thought it was super woo at first, right? Like when I did I'm fast forwarding a little bit, but just to kind of add some color to that comment. When I first met her, she she I I invited her over and I had this vision board. She's like, what's that? And like it had all these things, you know, I want this body. I want this money. I want these vacations. And and at first, I didn't know all those things. I didn't know about the power of the mind. I didn't know the power about intention and affirmation and manifestation. So you know, that that situation of my childhood manifested in all the opposite things that you just said. Because I that that's what I knew. That was my model. I was like, okay. So I'm going to do what I see. And then I realized through getting around that environment, that experience of that door-to-door sales which that experience changed my life. If I didn't have that, I I don't know what would have happened because that opened my mind to a totally different reality. I was like, wow, like you mean I can change out here if I change in here? I'm getting goosebumps talking about it. It was like it was the most amazing feeling in the world. I was like, wow, like it's actually in me.

Can you can you elaborate on that? Our our world is a reflection of our inner world. If you change yourself, then your reality outside changes.

Yeah, I mean, I and I still struggle with it, right? I still very much struggle with it.

coaching together.

That's why you just went to the mastermind. It's it's why I mean, I I'm going to just call it out before I before you answer. I'm I'm 10 years. It's my 10th year of being part of mastermind and paying for coaching. Over $300,000 invested later and I'm still and the reason why is cuz the natural state by which we're raised in in the story that we're programmed early on is something that replays constantly. We have to literally rewire our brains. And my story is I'm not enough. I need money to be safe. I need to keep achieving and running nonstop or else I could lose everything cuz I saw my dad go bankrupt. I saw him die at pretty young age and I saw my mom having to work multiple jobs and not be around to be able to support us. Um it it you you literally are are constantly working at you know, reprogramming and rewiring, hey, you're fine. Be of service. Detach from the outcome. I know I am. Kudos to you for continuing to acknowledge and and continue to put in the work. But go ahead with with this

Well, it actually I mean, it it actually brought up so Yes. Um it's it's pretty amazing that it took me I'm I'm I'm 30 I'm 32. I turn you know, 33 in October. Um it took me 32 years to actually figure out what the rewiring was. And it was a result of our coaching. I remember when we had that when I had that realization, I just you know, I wept and I got so emotional. Um And I realized that you know, the only time I believed that I was capable of being loved is when I'm achieving. And what a what a like man, that that wiring is jet fuel. Like if you believe that, you will do whatever it takes to achieve. And I did whatever it takes. I worked so hard and it never felt like work. I put in hours and hours and I was I was always the best. Because it felt like life or death.

Where did that come from? Where did that story originate that you're only lovable if you're achieving? And that's why my realization coming out of the recent mastermind was I got to go back to therapy. I think when I was in therapy before I I didn't know what it was. Like I couldn't articulate it like I just did now. And now that I can, I think I can explore it and that's actually had my my first therapy session last weekend and I'm now get back into it with this new realization. My hypothesis is that because I grew up in an environment of addiction, by default, you aren't a priority. But if you can lend your parents money and if you can do well at basketball and if you can then and if you can then be a great I was I was top sales student of the year BCIT, the Technology. Like I I was nominated as top student of the year. Like when you could do these things, your parents focus shifts. You become priority. Mhm. So then you become priority. You're like, wow, like okay, I'm noticed. So then that then creates this loop where it's like, okay, I got to do that again. And then you do it again and you do it again and you do it again.

I I just I just had a download for you. I don't even know if it's I'm worthy of love. It might even go deeper. Talk to your therapist about this cuz if you were getting them to watch basketball, to pay attention to you, to take you places, to you know, to focus on you. It's it's almost like if I'm achieving, my parents aren't in their addiction cuz they're with me taking care of me. It's almost like the responsibility of achievement brought them to cuz if they're caring for you and if they're giving you attention and priority, they're not using. So it might even be not just the love, but it's on me to achieve in order to keep my parents healthy and safe. Interesting. Yeah. That's interesting. I don't know if there was a correlation between your success and their using, but you know, that that you know, I would imagine as they have to be sober and in alert to pay attention to what you're achieving and and to be present to see that. Yeah. And that's interesting. Like I I haven't even thought about that. A lot of pressure. It's a lot of pressure. It's one thing to get love and attention. It's another thing that to say, you know, as I achieve, they're healthy. They're with me. I'm keeping them safe. It's almost like you were parent. It's interesting you say that. Like um yeah. Like we feel super blessed cuz 2 years ago, Julia and me took our moms to Italy for 2 weeks and like maybe that is true. That was the most happy the most present, the most sober I've ever seen my mom and it was I mean, it's super happy, so um I'm trying not to to get emotional about it, but um yeah, that's yeah, that's interesting. Beautiful.

I don't know where it came from, but I just had that I just imagine a kid who you know, is dealing and seeing with all that and as he achieves, he gets them with him and in focus. So it's it's there's so much subconscious work and so many deep-rooted um sources of our beliefs that you know, when you start to go to therapy and peel back the onion, you uncover and and realize like hey, I I I I think for everyone like a lot of times um our program is about releasing shame. At its core, it's it's not about selling a million dollars, making millions of dollars like you know, like you have. It's it's about becoming a person that you're proud of and becoming a person that doesn't feel ashamed of your actions and and and that's a that's a tall order. It takes a long time, but ultimately the reason you know, if you're always working, right? Cuz then you can achieve and then if you feel bad because you're achieving, because you're not present with Julia or you're using cuz you're exhausted, so you fall into addiction, that creates its own shame cycle, too. So maybe talk a little bit about that on the downside of like being so hungry and driven. Yeah, it's great for a success, but but what is it actually what's the toll of having that kind of pressure to always perform and and and how do you get relief from that that pressure in a in a unhealthy way and maybe in a in a healthy way that you're working on that we've worked on together because that's been a big part of our work is for you to know your worth outside of just achieving. To know that you're worthy.

Yeah, like I mean like I said it it is incredible jet fuel. Like it it will keep you working, it'll keep you doing whatever it takes and unfortunately it had manifested in a lot of negative ways. And maybe I'll just add a little bit to like it also, you know like there's there's there were tons of positives to it. Like I I got into great shape. I like you know, everything I do it's like 100%

You're a rockstar. You look good, you sound good, you talk well, you're killing it, you're making great money. So there's of course it's serving you in a lot of ways. Yeah, but unfortunately where it started to to show up and um Julia and I met when I was 25, we got married when we were 27. We're both the same age. That doesn't work well in marriage.

It does not work well. Uh it turned into a lot of projection, right? Hey, I'm doing all this, what are you doing? Yeah, that's a recipe that's a recipe for a bitter disempowered partner. Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure she I'm sure she loved that one. Right. Right. Um it also showed itself in lack of presence, right? It reminds me of um I forgot who said it. Maybe it was um Brian Tracy maybe it was John Jim Rohn. I listened to him the most. He's like you don't want to be at the office thinking about the beach, you don't want to be at the beach thinking about the office. That's what it turned into. I'm on vacation and I can't stop thinking about work and then I'm at work and I can't stop thinking about the vacation I planned 2 months from now. So it manifested in a lot of I can't wait to get out of here. And then I get to there, I can't wait to get out of here. And it was just this inability to be content. And that was actually a conversation I had last week with my therapist. It's like man I can't like I just want to be free. I want to find that content I want to find that I'm at the destination. Oh, I I I don't have the staircase anymore. That's not as important to me. Did you get a house with stairs? Did you do you got a one

I did eventually. I did eventually and it was incredible. But you know, I you know, we live we live a block from the beach, you know, we drive a nice car like all of those things had manifested and become real and it's like man, it that same rocket fuel had turned into an inability to be content. And that was the ultimate projection and that's something that we're working on. Now that I can articulate it now that we can talk about how it might have manifested and why it might have manifested, it's like in order to solve the problem, you got to be able to define the problem. And I think I struggled for a really long time and that's what that's what opened up when you and I got hooked up and we started talking was you helped me define the problem. And now it's like okay, now I can define it, now I can articulate it and you let me share it at the mastermind last year, which was I never thought I would share something like that, let alone I never thought I'd be able to articulate that. And here we are a year later and you're telling and sharing a on our second episode of the podcast what what this is and and I want to want to just commend you for a minute. Cuz the reason I wanted you to come on so early in this in this production is is because you are proof, Robbie that anybody can become a million-dollar earner in sales. You did not have the you know, support or the money or the resources. You had to go starting from plumbing in the trades into door-to-door sales for 2 years into I'm assuming software into working your way up to where you are now and you're only 32. To be 32 years old running a $200 business as a VP coming off a seven-figure year last year. I mean, let that sink in. Like this is this rocket fuel has provided a great life for you and Julia and and you can't enjoy that if you've reached the mountain and you're not content and you can't even enjoy a vacation that's a problem, but it's a good problem to have cuz you can hire therapists and join coach and and work on it. It's a lot better than not being able to buy shoes.

it's it's incredible. It's like um it's funny we talk about these things and the same positive brainwashing I I referenced the door-to-door selling. Those stories still percolate up. Like hearing you say that, I'm reminded of that other Jim Rohn story where he's like he sees two brothers and one's like you know, I'm a scoundrel. I'm poor and angry cuz my father. And that's why I'm poor and angry. And the other one says I'm super successful cuz my father was the way he was. Yeah, it's like you know, you either use it to fuel you or you use it to feel bad. That's right.

And I'm so I'm so thankful that it turned into that fuel, but now it's like but now I'm finally you know, saying now I'm finally I'm at the realization I'm at the at the resolution of that that can't be what fuels me anymore. I need to find something else.

it it gets you this far, but it won't get you to that next level. The next level will be a family man. It will be a devoted husband. It will be a present leader, right? There's another level where if you're operating from scarcity and fear and neediness, you're just not going to reach. So that's the work we're doing now together to help you not be so attached to your to your achievement and more attached to the process and and being of service and and what you do every day.

If you're listening to this podcast, it's because you want to be the very best in tech sales. You want to grow, earn more money and perform at your full potential. You hear the guest speaking and you say hey, if they can do it, I know I can do it, too. But here's the thing, every guest that you hear made a critical decision before they got the results. They decided to invest in themselves and hire me as their sales coach. If you're not getting the results that you want and you know you're capable of more, I'm offering a free strategy call to all my listeners. Visit untapyoursalespotential.com/podcast to book your free strategy call today. I'll see you on the inside.

And it couldn't be at a better time. I you know, God willing we have a healthy baby, but you know, Julia's you know, in her second trimester. We're now accept we're now um you know, preparing to welcome our first child into the world and they're due in October and um yeah, it it couldn't have come at a perfect time. Like it's it's so funny. We you know, looking back at when we got married, we were we were so young and I'm so glad we had that time to build that foundation and do this work and um it couldn't have come at a better time.

There's an old an old saying it ran in my family until it ran into me. Right. And the work you're doing will break the generational curse of addiction which you inherited and your parents probably inherited um you know, and and and you're doing the work so that you can break the cycle. And it's it's it's genuinely work that um your your baby when he comes into the world or do you know what do you know the sex gender is that No, we're waiting we're waiting till the end. Okay, good. Well, your your your your baby's going to get the version of you that did the work so that the baby won't have to. So commend you for that.

It just it reminds me your story reminds me of when I was stuck on a roller coaster. I shared this many times, but I was hanging 180 ft in the air, 18 stories up and the ride got stuck and I was next to my brother. And we were up there for about 30 minutes. And I was traumatized. I thought we were going to die. I thought we were going to fall. It was one of those flying coasters where the track is above you. So, you're just hanging off your you know, little um you know, little uh lap bar basically. And it it it was uh the best damn day of my life because at that at that uh time, that's when I saw my life flash before my eyes. And I said, "If I if I died today, I will not have served in a capacity that I want to. I've been selfish. I've been greedy. I was the number one AE at Salesforce." And I said, "I I need to give. All I've done is use my gifts to to be self-serving." I said, "God, I will start serving other people." And And the ride took off. And that was the year I started my personal brand. I started making videos. I started helping other people. And And here we are, you know, 7 years later. And my brother was next to me. And that was the worst day of his life. And he said, "I will never do that again. That was horrible. God forbid." So, the same exact experience, right, put him into a state where he's, you know, fearful and, you know, this was awful. And And mine was like, "You better freaking get to work now cuz you could die at any moment, right?" So, it it it it's it's so interesting to see that. You see that with two brothers. Our our parents My my dad, like I said, died young and that propelled me to a journey of health cuz I didn't want to He was only 53. So, it it's it's fascinating. Anything that happens that's traumatic or difficult could be um fuel for for change and and motivation for um growth or it could be an excuse for stagnation and why you can't succeed. So, I I just love your story and what you've done with this.

And um I'd love to kind of pivot a little bit and just talk about, you know, what what what it takes um to get to the top of the the sales game cuz you you didn't have, again, all of the luxuries that some people have. You weren't just brought in. So, you're at door-to-door sales. How How did you get to SAP and where you are now? Maybe just walk through cuz a lot of people want to get into tech and software and, you know, they have no idea how to get in. And I I'd love to hear that. I get that question every day. I'm not a tech. I want to get into tech. I can't find a job. What did you do to Was it right from the the cell company to to SAP or did you have a transition in between?

No. Yeah, yeah. So, I most of my friends went to college immediately after high school. Um I didn't. Like I said, I did the I did the construction. I did the trades. I did um then the door-to-door sales. And then I realized there was this glass ceiling. I didn't have any education. Uh so, I then looked. I Googled. I I went back to my grandfather. I said, like, "I don't know what school I should go to." And you know, he said, "Well, why not a sales school?" I said, "That I was like, "Oh, that makes That makes sense." Um so, I found the only sales school in British Columbia, which was a polytechnic university or or college. And um I took the marketing management professional sales program at the British Columbia

Institute of Technology. Um, it's a 2-year program. And at the end of it, they guaranteed a job. I was like, "Oh, that sounds perfect. I would love to do that."

It was the hardest experience of my life. You take eight to nine courses per semester. That's per semester. You're in school from like 8:00 to 5:00 p.m. It was, it was insane. I was never studious. So, I had to create a new identity around someone that could do well at school. And, and I, I ended up graduating. I didn't get the top sales student in the year, but I was nominated. There was, there was two of us that got nominated. A gal ended up getting the award. But it's so funny. If you go on the website, I'm actually one of the references on the website for the program.

>> [laughter] >> Which, which was like, that is, is so funny. Like, just I, I look at it sometimes. They're like, "That, that is awesome."

>> So, you really did go to the school of hard knocks. I didn't know there was a sales school. I thought that was an expression. But you went to sales.

>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it was incredible. And so, I, I, I graduated and I got a job selling ERP to parks and recreation departments. So, you know, you, you do a swim lesson, you book a picnic table in the park for your kids' birthday. And that's all managed through software. So, I started there. I did that for a year and a half. So, I started six months. And then that next year, my solution advisor and me ended up contributing 75% of the company's revenue in that year. And I was like, "Wow, I'm pretty good at this stuff."

>> What did you make? What did you make at that? What were you making at the door-to-door stuff? And then what did you do in, in that, that parks and rec ERP job?

The, the door-to-door was, was hard to quantify 'cause it was so up and down 'cause you got paid every week. But I ended up doing really well. Um, I was, I was a top, I was a top producer. They ended up letting me manage a team. So, I ended up managing a team for like 3 months and I hated it. Um, and that's when I quit. And that's when I went to school. And then, um, the parks and rec job, I ended up making, um, it was about 90, 95,000. I almost cracked 100k. And [snorts] uh.

>> Year in sales, you're right around 100k. That's right. Yep.

And then my colleague ended up going back to SAP. They had recruited him from SAP. They wanted to groom him to a VP of sales. He ended up getting a VP role in the mid-market team at a Vancouver. And he was like, "Man, I got a job for you." He said, "You're coming over here." And I was like, "And they're, they're the, from a real estate perspective, they are the biggest company in British Columbia. Like, you go to BC, they have the biggest office. They're parked downtown on the water. It's massive. So, you always would go downtown and you'd see the massive, you'd see the big logo. And I remember saying, you know, one day I'm going to work there." So, he ended up recruiting me. I took a, I took a pay cut and it was the worst, it was the most difficult 2 years professionally. I ended up doing like 20% of my number in year one. Ended up doing 28% of my number in year two. And you're trying to sell a Lamborghini on like a Honda Corolla budget. Like, you're targeting mom-and-pop shops. The infrastructure wasn't set up. The product wasn't ready. So, you sold like SAP to SMB. I had 2,000 accounts. It was so difficult.

>> Yeah, 2,000. Yeah, 2,000 net new accounts. I'm a core rep. I'm selling ERP to mom-and-pop shops.

>> That's got to be so difficult. Your, uh, vision board and your mindset of being a top performer, I mean, that, that.

>> It was awful. Yeah. I was like, "I'm a failure. I can't do this. This isn't for me." So, I ended up thinking I was like, "How do I get out of this situation?" So, I ended up networking my way into the early talent program. They call it the academy. So, I ended up getting into the academy and that's when the rocket ship took off. I ended up, I ended up having so much success. The program is a 9-month program. I ended up being top of the top of the class because I already had 2 years of experience in the role. Whereas a lot of those people are new to SAP. They're new to sales. I had already had 2 years of door-to-door experience, a year and a half at this enterprise company selling ERP to parks and rec and 2 years at SAP. So, I was like, "Oh, I can do this in my sleep. This is easy." So, I ended up taking on an open territory while I'm doing the program. I ended up building all these relationships. And I get out of the program and I get hired as a line of business AE. I would, I go to club my first year, um, making like, you know, [snorts] 400, I'm making like 400, 500 grand in my first year. Um, I remember my boss or, um, my, my now boss back then, he was as well. And he's like, "You need to be a core." He's like, "You need to come to the west." He's like, "You need to leave Canada. Come to the west." And I was like, "Yeah, yeah. You know, I'll come to the west." He's like, "No, but you need to be a core, a core AE." And I was like, "I don't know if I want to do all that." But good thing he pushed me. I mean, I ended up taking on a, ended up working in our strategic customer program. I had one account for 3 years. Built so many good relationships, what led me to just year after year after year of just extremely good high-earning years. And I learned so much. I completely changed. And, and one, and then I ended up getting this job. Yeah. And I, and I will say, I mean, Robbie, we did our, our first ever 500k awards, you know, which are for people in the program over 500k. And, and you were the top earner in the program. Well, well over seven. So, congratulations for that. Was that your biggest year? Were you? Was that year 2019?

2019 was biggest. But you had even 3 years really of of consistent earnings.

Four. Yeah, I had, I had 4 years, four, four years of over five of over, you know, $500,000 of earnings. Um, and that. So, it wasn't a flash in the pan. I mean, it was, it was like, it was a build-up. It was like, you know, it just kind of kept building and building and building and building. And, um, yeah, it was, it was an awesome experience.

>> And for people that, I always like to do this math. I mean, realistically, let's say you're making $150,000, right?

>> [snorts] >> In the sales, which like people think is pretty good. Mid-market, maybe 200,000, versus 750, which is averaging between 500 million, which is absolutely possible in, in tech sales. We're talking about having to work 5 years to get to a 1-year income at that next level. In other words, you can make 3 million dollars in 4 years at 750, where it was, it would take that same $3 million, it would take 20 years to make.

You ever thought about it that way?

Never, but that sounds about right. Five to one. Five to one. That's why you do tech sales. That's why you go in. And yes, of course, you got to serve your clients. You got to, you know, love, love the, the, the hustle and, and, and the, you know, the, the challenge, but ultimately you do it. I don't know anyone that is, is absolutely trying to be in sales till they're 60, right? Because it's such, um, intense work and there's so many highs and lows. And I, I just want you to talk a little bit about 'cause you've been doing this now for years. I'll be the first to say Robbie may have had his biggest year when he was in the program, but he was killing it before he joined. That's the truth. And we minimally worked on deals. We worked on a couple deals. The nine-figure deal when you first started and then it closed and then it's been all personal. Like we've talked about, how do I actually be present and be proud of myself and show up in a, in a peaceful manner? So, I take no credit for your, for your success. It would have happened no matter what. I want you to give a real, real, um, definition for people who have never cracked that level or, or maybe stuck at that 150 to 300k range grinding it out. What is the difference between a 750k earner, right? Or someone at that elite? How are they operating and how are they thinking and how are they managing their time for these accounts differently than when you were dealing with 2,000 accounts or maybe in, in the earlier parts of your career? 'Cause it really is a different, it takes a different motion, a different mindset, a different, um, skill set entirely. So, what does it take to reach that level of earnings that, that you've been able to, to crack into?

I wish it was something like super innovative or something that no one has ever said. When I was in mid-market, it was very inward-focused. It was, "What can I get? How much can I make? What will they do for me?" And when I got the industry account executive role working with that one customer over that 3 years, it was, "What can I give? How can I help them? Uh, can I even help them? How do I, how do I have their best interests at heart?" And I think I built a lot of really good relationships based off of that, which then in turn, the compensation followed. I got, there were, there were numerous times when I said when I advised them to do something that negatively impacted my compensation. Tons of times. Where I'm like, either we're not the right fit. You can do it this way or this way. I actually recommend you do it this way. This way's better for you even though it impacted my earnings. I mean, I, you know, I was, I was a part of the company. Like, I walked the halls. I had a badge. I was on Microsoft Teams. What? You know, we would, I, I would create content for them. Like, I would create the decks. I would, yeah, I would like, I was a part of the team. Like, they, they saw my desire to want to help them get to the goals that they wanted to get to. And it was just all about them. It was all about them. And that was, that was the main difference. Like, I didn't, the only time I was counting the dollars on where my commission would be would be when everything, when the dust had settled. I think you asked me in the first meeting. I think you said like, "Do you know the impact that this deal will have?" I was like, "I don't know. I'm not checking." Like, I didn't want to cloud any judgment. Like, it wasn't like, and, and I'm not saying you wanted to take me there, but I didn't want it even be clouded by any of that. Like, this was about what I thought was best for them. And that was, uh, I know they felt that because I still see them to this day. They're still in the ecosystem. I see them at the conferences. It's all hugs. It's all love. It's like, you know, we miss you. How are you doing? Like, you know, you build like real friendships. Like, your customers become your friends. Like, um, it was, it was an awesome experience. Like, that was really it. Outward focus.

>> For people who've never heard that term, describe what that means.

It doesn't matter about you. It's not about you. Like, you're, you're a tool to help them achieve their objectives, whether they're professionally, personally 'cause a lot of these people like they have personal ambitions. They want to go from director to senior vice president. They want to go from senior vice president to CXO. Or, or it's, it's company objectives, you know, they want to get to X EBITDA. They want to get to X return on investment. Like, I was just showing them different ways to help them get to that end objective. And then showing how I might be able to help. And some instances, they're like, like I said, some instances, we get to the end of it and I'm like, "I actually don't think we can do anything here. I, I don't think we can help you."

I think when you talk about outward focus, it's, it's looking and what the customer's vision is, what the customer's goal is and putting together a plan and a team to be able to help them hit their most ambitious goals or desired outcomes.

That's right. Yep. That's exactly it. It's not about you. It's not about the products. It's not about pitching. It's literally about a partnership, a collaboration where you are focused on their success, not your own. And then people want to share, right? Then they start to believe, "Oh, the more I share with that person, the more they might be able to find different ways to help me."

That's right. The trust thing. When people know you're out to serve them, they will open up. They will continue to work with you. It's very counterintuitive to the achiever that needed to make money to feel loved and worthy. It's almost like you had to put that old identity to the side to be able to show up in service of your clients. And ironically, when you did that, you got the money that you always desired.

Yeah. Yeah, it's, it's super, it, it's extremely difficult 'cause when you're climbing the mountain, you want it so bad. But it's, I've heard you talk about this, right? The more you pull, the more you pull something, the more it pushes away, right? Like, I don't know if I got, you know, we had a family, we had a family cat. The more I wanted to pet it, the more it wanted nothing to do with me. And the more I was just chilling, watching TV, the more it came. Like, that's a great metaphor for life. Like, the more you try and pull something in, the more it's like, "No, no, I want nothing to do with you."

That's right. And, and, and the more interested you are in others, the more interesting you become to others. You don't have to know anything. You don't have to say anything. You don't have to show anything. You just have to be interested from a genuine curiosity and caring perspective. That's why the best sellers, they're not pitching. They're having conversations.

Was that your experience? A lot of conversations without pitch decks or without whiteboards, just trying to get to know what are, what are people tasked with and what are they focused on?

It's, it's still what I do now. I mean, in this capacity, it, I feel it's even more important. Like, you know, if I want my team to be super motivated, if I want my team to go the extra mile. I mean, again, I'm, I'm reminded of another, of another metaphor. It's, right? They, they don't, they don't care how much you know. They care how much you, you know, I, I forget what it is, but it's something along the lines of, they, they don't care how much you. I think you know it. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

There we go. It's exactly what it is. It's true. It's the same with the client. And another one, another one, metaphor is, is the more you try to impress people, the worse impression you leave. Yeah. It's, it, it is so simple, it's scary. If you're a good person that cares about others, puts them first and is not thinking about you and your own goals and your own needs, you are going to show up in service and people are going to want to work with you, want to open up with you and want to buy from you and partner with you. It's as simple as that. Very [ __ ] hard to do that when you have needs and you're fearful and you're trying to get love from achievement. It's so, it's so funny. Like, and maybe at some point this will change, but like, I was actually talking at lunch today with a colleague. I was like, um, someone asked you like, "Oh, so did you buy your place in in California?" And I was like, "No, I, I don't believe in home ownership."

>> [laughter] >> I'm like, "What do you mean?" And I was like, "I don't want all these commitments to where I need all of this. Like, I, I go to work every day. I, I don't need it. I don't need anything. I don't, I have everything that I need." Like, I, I, I literally do not.

So, what do you do with your money? If you're not buying a house or, what?

I get the sentiment, but are you just, are you just investing it?

Yeah. S&P? Yeah. And, and I watch it, I watch it grow year after year after year. You know, it grew over a quarter million last year and it's just like, I, I just watch it grow and grow and grow. I think I know what you're talking about about why you were not trying to to buy a house or you don't want the.

Well, like, I just, I, at this point, I'm not super fixated with all of these. I find there's a, there's, there's a time in my life where I will have a ton of commitments that will require me to play safe. Will require me to not be in a place to take as many risks. And I'm trying to delay that as much as possible. And as a result, it allows me to actually show up and not need anything.

Mhm. Like, I, I don't come to work feeling like I need anything. I come to work with a desire to want to be my best self and play at my best and grow as much as possible. And if the money comes, the money comes, it's awesome. But, um, if I needed it, I think I'd be a very different person. I think I'd be a very different frontline sales manager. I think I'd be very different with my team. Yeah.

I need to take some of your medicine. I own, I own 5 million in real estate and there's a lot of mortgage and, and property tax and, uh, homeowner's insurance and all kinds of things that come with it. And, and it does, it's real. I mean, the, the golden handcuffs with the company or the golden handcuffs with, with a debt. It does create an internal pressure. I, I think I made a video on this about a month ago. Like, the more stuff you have and the more ownership you have, the more expenses you have. And, and that for me, I've always seen as a really good thing. So, it's interesting, but I, I said, I want to be the guy who has all this responsibility. So, I show up motivated. So, it's like, I asked for that, but, but then you, you get used to this lifestyle and then you want to hold on to it and it prevents you from showing up in full service. And I, that's the work that I have to do is realize I'm fine. If I don't have a house, a lake house and we have to sell it, I'm fine. If we don't have all this stuff, we're still okay 'cause you get totally warped in, in what you think you need. And we don't need any of this [ __ ]. That's the truth. I lived in Venezuela for a year and I was with 10 people in one house and it was one of the happiest years of my life. And when you strip us to its core, what we need is love, belonging, connection, growth, and service, contribution, feeling like our lives matter and we're helping other people. And that's it. And it's nice to have a nice car and, you know, have some security, too. Basic, but beyond the basic needs, right? Food, shelter, love, belonging, right? It has to do with more self-actualization. Like doing what we want to do and, and, and being in a, having an impact on, on lives of other people. And that's where you're at right now. That's a mindset.

>> And I don't want to get too philosophical, but like, you know, there's, there's things I still want to do in my life where, you know, I'd, I'd like to take a career break. I'd like to, you know, be more present. I don't want to have to wait until I'm 65 to quote-unquote retire. I love what I do right now. I want to keep doing it. But, you know, like I said, we're welcoming our first child in October. I'd like at some point to be super present. Um, and it's hard to do that. It's hard to, it's hard to be able to create that, um, experience if I have all these commitments. So, again, I mean, and we're, we're at two different places of our life. I mean, I'm 32 years old. There's going to be a time when I'm 42, 45 where I'm going to have the mortgage, I'm going to have this, I'm going to have that. But, I'm just, I'm just trying to defer it as long as possible.

>> I think the point that I'm making, I'm 47, I have two kids, I'm the sole breadwinner in our family and, you know, I have a special needs son. And there is a lot of responsibility that, that falls on. But, the real question is not, do I need it? 'Cause I don't. That's not the question. The real question is, am I serving as if I don't need it, right? That's the. You want to show up as if you don't need the money. As if you can't fail. 'Cause when you show up that way, you have a different energy than that of neediness. So, I have to go through exercises and say, "I'm going to be fine. If, if our business shut down tomorrow, I'd be fine." Right?

>> Yeah. That's the mindset. It's like, we, we pollute and we, we, we warp ourselves into thinking we need it and, and we don't. Even if you have an expensive lifestyle, it's like that, you created that 'cause you wanted it, not 'cause you needed it. So, once you know how to separate need versus want and desire, then you can enjoy it and not feel shame about it. I want this stuff. So, I'm going to work my ass off and I'm going to serve and, and do my best 'cause I want this, but I don't need it. 'Cause neediness is very different than, even desire is not the best energy. The best energy is what you're going after, which is presence and peace and courage and, and, and love and joy. That is vibrating at a much higher frequency even than than desire or neediness or fear. Right? Those are all negative 'cause they're about me. But, when you're truly content, when you're truly okay with yourself, that's the energy of service. And that's the energy of love. And that's what leads to these huge deals, frankly.

No, you're exactly right. And the challenge that I think for me was getting there. 'Cause, you know, it's, it's, I used to be, I used to get so pissed. I'd, I'd watch, you know, my parents or my, my wife, she'd have the, you know, the Grammys on and I'm like, "Why do they give all these movie stars all this free shit?" Like, what? You waited till you become a millionaire and you're super successful and now all the free stuff comes? It's like, the hardest part is getting there and then it all comes. So, you got to, I found I had to trick myself. Hence, all that audio I was listening to, all those tapes, all that like, I'd listen to for hours and hours and hours 'cause the hard part's getting there. And then once you get there, it kind of, it's, it's a bit of a flywheel. 'Cause if you keep the externals minimal, you keep the commitments minimal, you can kind of, I, I found I've been able to, like, even now, I didn't have a great year last year. It was an extremely difficult year. It's building my team for the better part of last year, I was, I was, I had two vacant seats. So, you're trying to hit a $46 million number with two, with, with four sellers, it's impossible. The results were dismal. Um, and it was a huge shot to the ego, but I also didn't need it, which was super helpful 'cause then I was able to try and just focus on, okay, well, what do I need to do? I need to do these things. I need to get good people in seats. I need to create a good culture. I need to create a, a caring environment. They can't know that I'm, you know, I can't put pressure on them. Like, I, I've hired them, so I know that they already have their own internal pressures. That's like, it doesn't help to now cascade more pressure. I've, and, and my leadership style, I, I forgot who I got this from unless I, or otherwise I'd credit them, but, you know, I try and be a filter, right? I heard the whole adage, as a leader, you could be a filter or a funnel. You can funnel all the [ __ ] or you could filter it out. And my boss did that for me really well. He always filtered stuff out. So, I try and just filter it out. Filter out the noise. Filter it. Filter it.

>> I, I always say you can be a filter or a shock absorber. Yeah, exactly. Or, or a funnel. I like that where it's just going through, but I think, you know, yeah, filter is like you give them the minimal, it's the same thing. But, really shock absorber is like, boom, all that, you absorb it so that they don't have to. Otherwise, you're going to have a team that can't.

>> Filter is you're filtering it out. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

>> And so, I, where I see other leaders, they're funneling. Yeah, exactly.

More sense the way you said it. I had always said filter as in like it's going right through you to them. Like it's filtering down versus shocking absorbing the shock. You know, that's that's kind of how I. But, it's same, same idea, right? You're. Exactly. You're, you're absorbing the stuff that they don't need to hear and see so that they're not stressed.

>> I know we're, we're coming up on time a little bit. I did want to ask you just for, for people that are successful, right? You were already having results, but you said, "I need coaching. I want to work with Ian." What made you decide to, you know, join the program even after, you know, several years of kind of reaching that, that high level? Why'd you, why'd you coach?

So, first of all, huge shoutout to Davidson. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. We love you, Davidson. Yeah. Yeah, seriously. Um, we actually spoke about this at the mastermind. Like, you know, I'd been following you for a while. I never thought about doing coaching. I was looked at the money and I was like, "Wha- What? I'm not going to spend that much to someone to tell me things that I already know." Um, and I remember he called me. And he had already tried to, tried to get in touch with me. And I finally picked up and I was like, "Yeah, what do you want?" And he's like, "Well, you know, you've been following the content for a while." He's like, I was like, "Davidson, I don't have time for this. I'm about to make the most money I've ever made in my life. I'm about to close the biggest deal I've ever, I've ever done." I was like, "I don't need coaching." And, and I, I think he said something to the effect of, "Yeah, but are you happy?" And I was like, and I was like, "Shit." And I was like, "Okay, I'll take the meeting." And that was, and I found out that was one of a very small stint where you were still doing the discovery calls. And you were, you were next, you were the next call. And I remember we got on the phone. Yeah. So, I sold you on the program. I did that for like three weeks and we had sales drop. You know, I got to see what's going on. You did?

>> And we got on the phone and you like somehow maneuvered in and diagnosed exactly what it was. And I remember leaving the call and I was like, "What did they say about discovery?" It's like, you know, your, your, your discovery has to be in a way that once you, once your prospect hears something, they can't unhear it. And you gave me something where like I couldn't unhear it. Like,

>> What did, what did I say? I don't even remember what it was. I don't even remember, but it was so impactful that I, I going to Julia and I was like, "Julia, like, like I think I have to do this." And she was like, "You should do it." And I was like, "Ah, but I don't want to spend all that money. I, you know, I come from nothing. Like, you know, spending that amount of money was like, that was like a gut punch." And she was like, "Well, just think of it like going, like doing a certificate program at college." And I was like, "Okay, that's good framing." So, I remember doing it and like that, that was it. Like, it was like, "How do I?" I know. And it was, it was so funny 'cause we, we did our first sessions on the deal like you said. And then I think our third session, I had the party parade. I closed the deal. And I, and I remember just like the feeling again. You know, the feeling of lack of contentment of like, "Is that it?" Like, I, I did what I, this is what I always wanted to do. Is that it? Is this all? Is this all it is?" And then we started really going deep on the personal stuff and a lot of what we covered of what we talked about here. And it's just like, I finally now gotten to a place where I'm able to articulate what the impact of my life experiences had on me so far. Doesn't mean anything if you can't enjoy it. Right. And you're talking about the commission hangover. Yeah. You reach the top of the mountain and you're like, "I still feel empty. There's still a void." So, what is that work for you and what is next? And I know you just renewed your second year in the program and we're continuing to work together. So, congratulations. But what is your North Star in, in terms of the work with your therapist, with coaching? Like, where do you want to go and what's your ideal vision for your future?

Yeah. So, this came up last week and, you know, I shared my story with him. And he was like, "You know, he's like, "So, what does an end goal look like for you out of therapy?" And he's like, "Is it fulfillment?" And I was like, "Nah. That doesn't really resonate." And then he was like, "How about freedom?" And I was like, like I started getting super emotional. And I was like, "I think that's it. I think it's freedom." And, um, and, and what I see us working on next now that we've articulated the problem statement is, how do I live a life of freedom?

Amen. How do I stay in a state of freedom? How do I prime my life so that I'm constantly free? And I think that's it. I, uh, I'd highly recommend if you haven't read the book Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. This was written by a, a man in concentration camp.

Holocaust. He was a Holocaust survivor and then started, I think, logotherapy psychologist. But freedom is the prison we create in our own minds. And even if you're locked up in the most horrific circumstances, you can still be free if you can't let people get to you and you can't let people determine how you feel about yourself. And, and I think that is a great place. It's a great book for anybody listening who is in a situation where they feel trapped or they feel like, you know, life is really difficult to have that perspective. But I love that for you. I love that, how do we live free like we really don't need it. And I like that for myself. So, your work is my work. We will, we will do it together and I will be actively working with you because, you know, I'm exactly in the same boat regardless of responsibilities or mortgages. I don't need. None of us need to work as if we're imprisoned and that if we, you know, we don't do it, we're going to not be worthy of love or we're going to lose everything or we won't be able to provide. And so, if you can work from a place of, "I don't need the money. I'm here to serve and whatever happens is part of God's bigger plan. It's meant to be." That place of trust, that place of faith, that place of focusing on what you can control is the place where you are guaranteed to have the best results. So, to operate from that place as if you don't need the money is the, the fastest and the more successful path to, to getting the money. So,

>> [laughter] >> I, I'm excited to and design a life that you're not, you know, working 24/7 and you're not thinking about work when you're on vacation. So, I'm, I'm honored that you want to work with me on that. And, and I, I will happily support you in that not ambition because what else is more important is, is freedom is not in 10 years or 20 years. Freedom is available to all of us right now if we, um, shift our beliefs and if [music] we shift our mindset about what we need to do every day. So, um, thank you Robbie for, for coming on the show and I could talk to you all day. I can't believe it's, it's already an hour and 17 minutes. Um, I know we got to, we got to wrap. So, if people want to get in touch with you or get a hold of you or work for you or get, you know, anything like that, what's, what's the best [music] way to reach you?

Yeah, reach me on LinkedIn. I'm, I'm, I'm active on there. I'm not active posting, but people [music] reach out to me all the time and I'm happy to connect and get on a conversation. And yeah, feel free to reach out to me there and, and connect and begin to see [music] where it goes.

Awesome. Thank you, brother. You are a huge inspiration and I just love seeing you and having you in the program. And I look forward to [music] seeing you on our next session. Take care, man. Thank you for everything. See you.