Hello and welcome to the Much Love Podcast.

Today I'm absolutely thrilled to have our guest, Blake Hudson.

Blake is a sales leader, but more than that, he's just a genuine cool down to earth guy.

I I reached out to him just to check in a few weeks ago and I said hey, our last chat was so good we should do it on the Internet.

0:28

So everybody give a warm welcome to Blake.

It's nice to see you.

Good to have you, man.

Good to, Good to be here, Good to have you as a friend, Good to have you as a a Co host today, right?

We're going to.

We're going to get into it.

That's right.

I want to dive right into something that I think is really interesting and that is navigating the job market today and the the space of marketing yourself as a as a potential talent.

0:54

The reason I say that is I think you're one of the few people who stands out as doing it really effectively as well as authentically.

So for those people who don't even know who you are or why I'd bring this up, give us a little background of where where you're at in your professional journey and and most recently you know where you found yourself and in terms of job seeking.

1:14

Yeah, so the place I'm at, my professional journey, I I was actually just thinking about this the other day.

So I started my tech sales journey technically September 18th, 2018.

1:31

And here I am almost to the day, like 4 1/2 years later.

And I've gone from, you know, SDR just trying to, you know, find my way, find my footing in this tech sales community to just a couple days ago, signed an offer letter to be a director of sales development.

1:49

And everything in between there is like just as important as that start date, you know, 4 1/2 years ago as it is this next role when it starts.

And so I've just been really grateful to have gone through that experience, discovered a lot of who I was, what was important to me, and now have the opportunity to to kind of go back and help pull some people up to where I am.

2:10

Because I remember how isolating it felt at times and how confused I felt at times.

And so to know that I can help some other people avoid that is the most rewarding thing for me.

Yeah, and I I love a few things.

I heard the biggest thing being that I can pull a few people up with me.

2:28

I love when people are very intentional and conscious about not just paving a path for themselves, but helping other people find that path much easier and maybe even walking with them along the path.

You also mentioned the energy and excitement you have around each stage of the journey, which I think is beautiful.

2:47

It's kind of cut off in my view right now.

But for people who watch the show before, they know that I have a big portrait of Biggie above me.

And then on that wall that you can't see, I have Jay-Z.

And there's the lyrics to my first song, which is the last song on The Black Album, which was supposed to be Jay ZS last album.

3:07

And I I got this Commission because to me it reinforced this idea of treat everything like it's the first time and give it the energy and the respect it deserves and that's what you're doing.

I'll transition a little bit into something before I go somewhere else based on what you said.

3:24

But I saw you on LinkedIn post about getting let go at your last position.

I saw a bunch of people say like, Blake's the reason I got hired at this company.

He's helped me with so much, like all the love that poured into your your post.

And I know you as an intentional dude, so I can imagine you were very intentional about finding the next role.

3:45

Talk to me about what that process has been like for you and ultimately culminated in you signing an offer sheet.

Well first of all like obviously income and salary pays the bills but, but, but those comments, those individuals that have that to say, the relationships I've built with them is easily the most rewarding part about all of this particularly this last couple years of like leadership journey.

4:11

I remember how fragile my and other peers SDR and sales career was at that early stage where it's like the type of boss you get, the type of work or mindset that you're exposed to as a young seller can dictate the course of your career for better, for worse.

4:33

You got some folks that are really talented sellers, but they get a bad boss and it's like they think it's not for them.

And so for me, you know, stepping into leadership, it was like it's bigger than you, Blake.

Like you like you as an individual contributor.

You screw up.

Like it's not you.

Like you're the one that has to go and figure things out.

4:49

But like managing 15 people, like if you mess up that's 15 like lives, careers, families that like are impacted because of what you're doing.

And so for me, that was just the most important thing and just speaking to that part of the post.

And then, you know, it's the second part of your question in terms of like the job search and the way I went about it, the first thing for me was to just take a second and breathe.

5:15

And I don't know if you saw, I shared this kind of like quick and easy, you know, e-book of sorts.

It wasn't, it was like a LinkedIn carousel really.

It was called SDR Fire Drill.

Yeah, I saw that.

What do you do when that happens, When you get laid off, when you get let go and you miss quota or you're on a plan?

5:35

Like, all of these things are real things that when people are going through them, they think they're the only ones.

There's a lot of shame.

There's a lot of embarrassment, guilt, And the last thing they want to do is go into this public forum and be like, help me, Like, that's not the natural inclination for people.

5:57

And so my help is that a post like that shows folks that, like, there's power in your vulnerability, There's power in your story.

And when you're able to articulate it in a way that's clear and compelling, other people want to join in.

They want to help.

6:13

They want to support.

And so for me, like, a big part of my career journey and then really my my personal brand in terms of how I talk about things on LinkedIn, has been about service.

How can I help people?

How can I meet them where they are, empathize with them and their situation, and both show them the ways in which we're similar or going through things similarly or maybe I'm a step or two ahead and here's how you can get to that spot.

6:38

So for me, it was just kind of like full circle because I've been talking to people about interviewing and talking to people about the job search process.

As I hired a bunch of people last year and interviewed tons more, I just thought it was very fitting to continue to talk about that.

6:54

And then I ended up being in that situation, which of course that was going to happen at some point.

We're all, you know, changing roles at the various rates currently.

So yeah, now I get like a very relevant, familiar, nuanced view of some of the things that I was talking about as a as a job seeker myself.

7:14

Yeah, it's experience you hate to have first hand, but it makes you infinitely more qualified to be giving the feedback.

It's one thing to tell somebody like, hey, when things go not to plan or wrong as we see them, have the faith that maybe it's not as wrong as you think and that it's going to work out.

7:34

I I think, you know, for me personally, my faith is on a spectrum of sorts.

And so I don't know where your listeners might be, but I have this mindset when you know a a window gets closed and you're kind of sad and you're lamenting what was, there might be a door opening.

7:52

And I I think just for me personally, like God is kind of given me like an ability to to think through those things with a different perspective, those losses, those hurts, those setbacks.

And that's from as early as like when I was a kid just dealing with various, you know, things that I went through in my upbringing.

8:11

And so being able to see the potential of good in the reality of your bad is one of the things that can really serve a person well, especially as they navigate something as unique and acute as a as a job search.

What's one of those formative experiences from when you were younger that you feel like really shaped some of that faith or gave you that this viewpoint?

8:31

Because not everybody responds the same way that you do.

True.

Well, the ones that come to mind, I just I grew up as a single mom for big part of my upbringing.

And then we're in a low income community.

8:48

It's on welfare for a time.

And I think for me the biggest moment that kind of shaped things was we we had our home broken into.

It was a home invasion.

And I, you know, saw my mom getting attacked and like here I am like 7 and eight years old or something.

9:04

And seeing how she responded really informed for me, like how to bounce back from difficult situations And just like, I don't know, going through the rest of life understanding like it's not going to be worse than that.

9:19

Like it dangerous environment, slow income, like I know how to get from there to here.

And so for me, it's like there's this baseline of I know I can handle at a certain level.

Now, not everybody goes through those sorts of experiences, particularly in their formative years.

9:37

So it's like what do they do?

How do they, you know, navigate things if their baseline is very different and ultimately it just it comes back to like being able to have perspective and to kind of stand back and look at the situation from a broader lens.

So what that looked like for me as a young person was I was in this environment where I didn't always feel comfortable, safe, but I always felt loved and I always had this sense of service about me.

10:02

So, like, my grandparents were educators on the school board.

My mom, you know, went through a variety of careers, including being a, you know, police officer and and so it was just like being able to serve was like an escape almost from the the sort of pain or loss of identity that I might have felt at that age.

10:24

And so I'm seeing it today.

You know, a couple people posted about it.

Kyle Coleman had a post about basically like serving and giving when you need.

And so for me, that's kind of just been the thing of like when I'm struggling with something or going through something, how can I serve or make purpose out of that pain?

10:44

And that has been such a guiding force for me, particularly of late.

And I'm just, I'm really grateful for that perspective and that it's been there from such a young age and still served me today.

Sure, I'd love to hear that.

And first of all, hats off to your mom for creating such an incredible environment and being a wonderful example to you.

11:04

But also you touched on something like how does somebody who doesn't actually go through trauma learn to cope and learn to deal with when things go wrong?

One thing I've heard is like your denominator for what you can tolerate, or like the worst thing that's ever happened to you is like the bottom of the equation.

11:23

So then when you have things happen that it's not such a big deal, it's like, Oh, well, I've experienced worse.

So I know for me, when I dropped out of college, was dealing with my drug addiction, alcoholism, it was like, hey, get your shit together, live under your family's house, follow their rules, and you're going to be OK.

11:43

Otherwise you're going to be homeless.

And for me, it was like, Oh no, a threat of homelessness is enough to motivate me.

And all the pain I felt and all the emotional work I was doing was like, all right, let's get it together.

Somebody who's never been through anything extremely significant often times will struggle to sympathize or empathize with somebody who's done something really significant.

12:05

So I think that what might seem like a disadvantage in the moment can actually turn out to be something that's one of your greatest assets long term.

I want to go back a pace just to wrap that story up with my upbringing.

So I in a way, I feel like I had a tale of two upbringing.

12:20

So what I described was kind of like zero to 10.

As I got into like that 10 and beyond my my step dad came into our lives and able to get a little bit more stability.

My siblings and my mom ultimately went back to school and and graduated and got her degree and has since, you know gone into really great things with her career.

12:38

And so that was I think a testament to and I can kind of pivot into the question you just asked testament to identity.

So no matter how bad or difficult things had gotten, my mom still saw herself and then imbued me with this sense of, like, better than your circumstances.

12:59

So the things around you, the things happening around you, do not have to dictate who you are, right?

They're dictating where you are, right, But not necessarily who you are.

And so that's where I started to learn the power of, like, identity and just being really clear about who you are and who you want to be.

And then, you know, to the next part.

13:15

So how do folks basically succeed when they haven't experienced that sort of trauma?

Well, first of all, not all traumas felt the same.

So what I went through pales in comparison to someone who, quote, UN quote, went through worse.

But at the same time, someone who had a better situation than me, Maybe their hurt was felt even more.

13:36

So I I'm not out to compare trauma.

I think that's a really unhealthy thing to do for all parties involved, but we all experience our own forms of it.

For me, the biggest thing I would suggest in that situation though is perspective.

Like how do you take a step back and see beyond yourself?

13:52

And so you talked about harder to empathize.

True, it harder to empathize if you haven't gone through it, but it's not impossible.

And so when we get outside of ourselves and we meet people from different backgrounds and understand their story like it can actually help inform ours because we get context of where other people have been or how things could be.

14:12

And it helps us to have gratitude appreciate what we have.

It helps us to have motivation.

It helps us to have a lot of different positive emotions just from simply asking people about who they are and where they've been and really taking that in.

I love that.

I like that you clarify that, too, because I didn't.

14:29

I didn't want to set the tone of, like, trauma comparison by any means.

But more of thinking about, like, the worst thing that's happened to you is only the worst thing that's happened to you.

So sometimes your capacity for knowing how to overcome what looks like an obstacle can be predicated on your past.

14:45

But I I love that you clarified.

Yeah, we should not get in the habit of staying.

Oh, what I've experienced isn't as bad as you or isn't as meaningful because it's it's just a significant within the context of your own life.

So I think that was really important clarification.

Yeah, and I didn't think you were going down that path.

15:01

I just as someone who's very much getting more and more into therapy sessions and trying my best to become a more mentally healthy person, that that's one of the things that you know, I'm definitely learning and and starting to appreciate more and more so.

Sure.

Well, I like that you just brought up therapy.

15:17

What?

What motivated you to seek out therapy and what are you finding that you're enjoying from the process?

Well, it's not new.

I I think I've been as early as like 20-12 this 2013 about the first time I experienced that and obviously it changes when I'm obviously sorry the things you talk about, the things you work on in therapy change over time and you might not work with the same therapist forever.

15:44

The best thing I would say in terms of my experience has been being able to externally process with someone who is professionally informed to help me see the bigger picture.

So I am experiencing something I don't quite know how to make sense of it or worst case scenario I don't fully understand what's happening.

16:06

Then I take that situation and as I'm able to create dialogue and the share this experience, I've been talked to someone in therapy who understands like what's actually going on.

There may be a root cause that I haven't considered or potential outcome that I haven't really thought about.

16:24

And so here recently it's been very work focused like trying to avoid burnout, trying to stay mentally well and not overburden myself with things well.

Therapy is about like where is that coming from?

Why are you doing those things?

16:40

What's fulfilling about that for you?

Are you driven by self motivation or are you driven by external motivation like just as a potential example of like what that can look like.

And so I'm grateful for it, by no means perfect at it, but I just, I believe that when we get those sorts of challenges and problems in our lives like a little bit better handle on them.

17:04

We're then freer to start to run and really do the things that we were meant to, the things that were, you know, really uniquely equipped to do.

And that's where I'm at.

Like, I just, I want to avoid the distractions and the things that are taking my attention away from doing the thing that I feel like I'm great at and what I'm really passionate about.

17:25

You said something that tugged on my heart and actually brought a little bit of tears to my eyes is when you said that you might not understand what's happening or you might not understand And and having that person who's professionally trained and qualified to walk you through that or help you see that.

17:42

That was the number one thing that I got out of a couples therapy.

So my wife and I have each seen therapists independently and I've seen somebody on and off for about the last decade.

And the things I work on with him are only the things that come up in my own mind or come out in our conversations.

18:01

But then when I got to have the gift of couples therapy, a, what I loved about it was it was my wife, Teasia and I on the same team, getting support from somebody who could see us and help us understand and what we're experiencing together.

18:16

So it wasn't like her and I trying to negotiate things amongst ourselves.

It was rather we had the gift of somebody else.

But so many things came up that I didn't even understand how I was affected.

That then led to things I needed to work on an individual therapy.

18:33

And it's just so powerful cause a lot of really deep, meaningful, impactful things that I didn't even understand the impact they had on me.

I love that you went there with it.

And then on the other side of your comment, you mentioned becoming who you're meant to be and doing the things you're uniquely suited for.

18:53

What What have you learned about yourself in this therapy process that you think you're uniquely suited for, whether they're your unique gifts or talents or passions?

Well, for me of late therapy has been more about removing like barriers, removing layers and really getting to the core of the why in that it hasn't necessarily informed what that is.

19:16

I think the what it is is maybe answered in a different way, you know years ago.

And also it's something that changes what you want to do.

What you feel like you're great at changes over time because you learn.

The things I wanted to do was great at 21 are very different from where I am now because of new experiences, new network, that kind of thing, new skills.

19:37

But is the heart of your question like what that is?

Yeah, I mean what if anything what that's informed like if it's if it's LED you to any answers or if even better it's got you asking new questions.

Yeah, well, I'm by no means a therapist myself, certainly not trained in that way.

19:53

But I do get great value and and great pleasure from helping under helping individuals better understand like who they are, what they want to do and uncovering the why's behind them.

I call it identity, practice and purpose.

And so as people get clarity about those things, they're able to make decisions more confidently.

20:14

They're able to, I think, more freely grow and.

They, they don't fear failure as much because they understand like what the outcome is that they're trying to pursue.

And the simplest way I can put it is just helping people navigate or transitions between whether that be jobs, careers, that sort of thing really well.

20:36

And so having the answers to those questions, I think, really inform someone's pivot, someone's transition.

And having gone through that myself various times in my career, I just know how important and impactful it can be to have that sort of clarity and to have support as you go along with it.

20:51

It doesn't have to be an isolated experience.

Sure.

Well, it's beautiful because you're right within that is the the very service you were talking about that especially when you feel like you need to receive something to to be able to give.

I love, I love that you're putting that out into the world.

21:08

I wanted to to dive back into something that you you had mentioned, you started your sales journey, tech sales specifically I believe you said 2018 and from 2018 to now 2023 you've really worked your way up pretty pretty quickly.

21:27

What would you say other than the obvious, like I sold very well?

You know, what would you say was actually what had you be so successful?

And whether that's the support of community or the people who helped pull you up?

But for somebody else who's just starting now, what What do you look back on your own experience and say, yes, these were the things that were the most valuable or contributed to success?

21:50

Yeah.

Well, the first thing I think is just honoring the craft.

So when I went into sales, I had come from a boot camp and was really just in this mindset of I want to do this work and see for myself, am I good at it or not?

22:06

Because the thing I liked about sales was that it was something that was going to reward me based on my performance.

And as an athlete like that, really, you know, that meant a lot to me.

And so it was like, well, am I good at this or not?

And I'm going to find out pretty quickly.

And so I was really committed to being the best seller I could be.

22:24

And deep down, I always had this desire to lead and to kind of manage and help bring a team to where they are.

Like as fulfilling as it is to to close a deal and to see your name on a board like, I find more fulfillment and seeing other people become better versions of themselves.

22:41

And so I went on this transition of like me being an individual contributor role, being in like this kind of team lead quasi role.

Then I went back to the boot camps, a couple of them and was in this like coaching, enablement, training position.

And then here recently I've been in management and and direct leadership, you know, with a specific team at a specific company.

23:03

And the first thing is, yeah, honoring the craft, trying to be the best seller I can be.

The other thing is being willing to put yourself out there.

I've already talked about vulnerability as it pertains to the job search, but as it pertains to your career as well, you know, personal brand gets thrown out a lot.

23:20

It's kind of a a buzzword at this point or buzzwords and people don't fully understand what it is or what its purpose is.

For me personally, I look at it as like people get to meet me before they greet me.

The the roles that I've been looking at, the roles that I got into the final stages for.

23:40

I kind of say it to brag, but I also say it to give people like a reality that they might not know exists.

It's like I never applied or anything.

Like I I think I shared a resume just so like they had the PDF on file.

But like, it really was a matter of confirming, like, is this person the persona that I've met?

24:01

And that can take place over one conversation or three or a panel interview, whatever.

But like because I was willing to be me in public, it invites certain opportunities that you wouldn't otherwise get you.

Basically you create your own luck in a way.

24:19

So that's those are the two things that stand out in terms of my rise is like being the best I could be at what I was doing, not the best but the best I could be.

So I'm sure there's better sellers, I'm sure there's better leaders, but like I'm, I'm trying to be the best Blake I can be.

And then being able to kind of build this online reputation intentionally, that's the keyword because we all have a personal brand like you have one.

24:45

Even if you don't think you do, it just might not be very well known, not be widely seen, but you have one.

And so I really try and encourage people to take ownership of that experience, to be very intentional about your online reputation.

25:01

I've heard it said like your personal brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room.

It's kind of an extreme example, but like that is kind of what's happening.

And so, yeah, I want to belabor the point, but being good at your craft, being willing to kind of build this reputation intentionally.

And then the last part kind of goes along with the second point, which is just network.

25:20

Like that word can make some people uncomfortable with.

Really what it comes down to is just understanding where people are in their story and being able to share where you are in yours.

And you'll start to find these stories collide and they, they intertwine with one another and people are ahead of you.

25:36

People are at where you're at, they're behind where you're at.

Sometimes it could be the same person.

So if you're willing to onto the craft and be good at what you do, put yourself out there and be intentional about building your brand.

And then lastly, be willing to engage with people in their story, where they are and also where you are.

25:53

I think you're going to grow pretty quickly.

That's that's been my experience and I've seen other people that work for them as well.

Well, what I love about that mindset, it's different than a sales mindset.

So a lot of times people in sales role struggle the network because they're thinking about how do I meet somebody in position, this is what I'm looking to get out of it.

26:14

Can I solve your problem?

Let's make it more transactional.

And what you're talking about is showing up authentically, where am I at my story and where are you?

And then figuring out from understanding the stories where do we go from there, which is kind of what I enjoy about my role today.

26:31

I've gone from well, I'm Nate, I run a digital marketing company to I'm Nate, I can help you with your personal and business financial planning to I'm Nate, I host the podcast and I help other businesses with a variety of things as a consultant.

26:49

And I introduce people who are looking to grow their businesses and I can still do all those other things I mentioned.

I just want to get to know you what's most helpful for you today.

It's a totally different conversation than hey, I'm Nathan.

This is what I'd like to offer you.

And it's not always as effective as a way of showing up in the world to sell, but I find it's a much more authentic way of building relationships.

27:13

Yeah, it it speaks again to that point of identity.

It's like you're not only one of those things, you are both one of and all of at the same time, and being able to understand, acknowledge and appreciate those different parts of yourself is 1 huge step towards being as impactful as you can be.

27:31

And I'm none of those things too.

Like at the end of the day, the way I see the world from a spiritual angle is that human beings are God's consciousness manifest on earth.

And occasionally we meet another person who is at that point of able to drop the pretense of all of this.

27:51

And it's no longer Nate and Blake.

It's just, hey, I'm God, you're God.

We're God.

Isn't life great?

And some people, their faith brings them there, some people it doesn't.

But I look at all the roles I listed before is like, what do I do in the ego form of Nate as Nate the man on earth?

28:09

How do I fulfill Nate's mission?

But it's not always the same as how do I view myself little S as it relates to the big S self and that could be a trip in itself.

So yeah, but I love it.

28:25

A theme on this show lately has been people talking about God, talking about their faith.

It is the Much loved podcast and I'm a big believer that all God really wants for us is to experience, love and give it to others.

Where do you find your greatest gifts in the world?

28:41

I know we talked about professionally, but but personally what do you feel most fulfilled and and how did you you get to identify that and really to choose to lean into those activities?

I I kind of said it before, but at risk of repeating myself, it's just simply like helping people be the best versions of themselves.

29:02

And so sometimes I'll sit back and even still, you know, my stage in my life and career, I'm kind of wonder like man, what am I doing?

What's my my purpose?

And then I kind of chuckle myself because it's helping other people find theirs.

So like when I'm not helping other people find theirs, I feel very painless and and drifting and whatnot.

29:22

And so being in a management leadership position, having this, you know, online reputation and this audience that's been cultivated, like I get to do that at scale and it is extremely rewarding for me.

It's something that I've been doing since I was a kid.

29:40

For example, when I was in the second grade, they had this thing called the peer mediators.

I I guess I here I was like a 767 year old trying to mediate conflict and resolve conflict between my seven and eight-year old peers.

29:55

And like in hindsight that's wild that like that we were doing that, that someone was training me how to do that and it was such a bigger deal now in my mind than it was then.

And then I was just doing something that, you know, extracurricular stuff.

But even in that stage of my life like I was helping people understand like self and understand how you're interacting with other people and how to self regulate.

30:21

And so it's just kind of been a continuation of that whether that be in the sort of one-on-one interaction like that or I did public speaking, my first speech was like 5 years old.

And so being able to speak to many, being able to speak to one, but through it all, like helping people change their perspectives, see things differently and then act differently as a result of that.

30:43

So yeah, just talking about right now, it kind of gets me jazzed up because it's it is the thing.

Like, it's the thing that I get the most excited about.

I could see it on you.

I could hear it in your voice.

This has been a very mellow podcast in terms of like our energy, but I think it's been so grounded and locked in that I really appreciate the visual to just see it on your face.

31:06

For anyone who is just listening, the excitement just oozes and I love it.

One of the things that I think is most unique about people who gain a sense of service helping others and it brings to their own fulfilment is that we can't all just be out doing for ourselves.

31:25

I think it leads to a very fragmented, closed off world.

I think of like what I'm told about what the 1980s were about this the era of ego and self and just only the individual.

At the flip side, I don't think we could have an entire world where everybody's a coach and everyone's just supporting each other because nobody would actually be achieving at a high level.

31:48

So there is this delicate balance of of where where do I fit in the doing versus motivating.

And I love it when I see somebody who can actually do and then realizes that they are more motivated by helping others to do as well.

32:06

Within your your journey, I know you're also very creative and have come up with a few unique things that are your own.

What are you working on outside of your professional role and and where do you see your yourself going just with through your own creative endeavors?

Yeah, it's interesting.

32:22

Going back to the point you were just making, the simplest way I can put it is not everybody can play quarterback and certainly not everybody can play quarterback at the same time.

And so there's various roles that we have and when you try and do everything all at once, try and be a lineman and a wide receiver and a quarterback and a coach, like you're not going to do any of those things well.

32:44

And so as I get you know, deeper into my career, I'm, I'm really trying to remind myself of that.

Like today I'm this thing doesn't have to be that way forever, but be the best you can be at that thing and don't let anybody shame you or anything like that for what it is or what it isn't.

33:02

And so that's kind of like a just general philosophy in terms of what I'm working on now as I mentioned before, like, how can you help people where you needed it before, right?

Like, how can I be who I needed when I was younger in a way.

And so, you know, a couple years ago, I was thinking to myself, like, what?

33:22

What could I help people with?

I was getting this, this audience, but like, it was just me saying cool stuff, like helpful things, but there wasn't really a structure to it.

And perhaps that's part of my appeal is that it, it hasn't been extremely niched and only one thing.

33:39

But over this last couple years helping hundreds of people get SGR roles and last year having hundreds of interviews and I, I started to realize like people don't know how to sell themselves.

And I'm not talking in like the sleazy, like manipulating type of thing.

33:57

I'm just mean, like owning your story and presenting it for a purpose.

So for example, job interviews, whether you like it or not, however you feel about it, you're selling yourself.

You are positioning yourself as a potential team mate for whoever is interviewing you.

34:14

And if you aren't intentional about that, you haven't really thought about or developed the skills to do that, You're putting yourself at a disservice.

The future employer you could have been at is that a disservice?

And so it's just, it's not a win for anybody involved, right?

34:30

But when you are clear about who you are and you do have clarity about what you bring to the table and what you don't, you can put yourself in very successful positions.

Other people can succeed because of you and sort of draft off that success.

And I think it makes for a more fulfilling experience.

34:46

So all that being said, I'm in the final stages of building an interview course, and mine is particularly focused on the introspective aspects of an interview in interview prep.

If you go and you search right now for interview prep, advice, tips, tactics, you're going to see that the vast majority, if not all of it, depending on what you know site you go to, is focused externally.

35:11

Research the company, research the culture, research the product, research the the interviewer.

Very little advice or structure or guidance on how to research yourself.

And so I I went through an interview a couple years ago and I beforehand, I just was really important to me.

35:29

They knew who I was.

I was going back to work at a boot camp I went through as a student and that was like a trip for me because OK, they know who I am, but have I presented myself in the best light?

And so I went and I just kind of scratched out, like, what are the most important parts that I want to share?

35:50

Strengths, OK, why sales?

Why this company?

What's a question I'm really afraid of answering.

And like, by the time I finished, I had this kind of grid, a little interview CHEAT SHEET of sorts.

And so I eventually converted that into like a nice, you know, pretty PDF document.

36:07

Shout out to Canva.

And I've been shocked at the the response to that.

For example, I made a post a couple months ago and shared my CHEAT SHEET and like the comment section.

And I got like 1000 e-mail subscribers from like a week and I haven't even sent them any emails yet.

36:27

It was really just like, do you want this thing?

And people were like, yes, please.

And so it showed me that, like, people are really wanting to think about that differently.

And for me it's in a way it's kind of like a Trojan horse because I'm, I'm coming through the door with like this interview course, like interview prep.

36:47

But really what I'm trying to help people with is like self-awareness, emotional intelligence, like introspection, these things that help them find identity, practice and purpose in their lives.

And so yes, it's going to help you interview well and get the job, but it's also going to be a foundational you know tool in terms of who am I really what am I about, how do I get there.

37:10

And that is ultimately why don't want to serve people with.

I don't know if you asked this part about what it leads to.

But ultimately I'd like to really lean into the sort of thought thought leadership and and just sharing best practices from my experience and whether that be speeches or books or conferences, whatever the case may be.

37:32

I just, I really appreciate being able to articulate some of those points and one to one small and large group settings.

I just I know how impactful it can be.

It has been for people and if I were able to do it at scale with an ever increasing amount of experience, you know building in my day job, I think it could be really helpful for folks.

37:54

So that's kind of where I'm headed.

I'm grateful you took the time to break that down for the audience because it's where I I see you growing and and moving into.

I remember we had a conversation last year towards the end of summer and we were talking about where each of us was at.

38:10

And I I had this vision for where I see you going and creating this, whether it turns into a business venture or just turns into a a path to monetization of just simply the way you show up in the world.

That's a lot of how I've been intentionally thinking about the next stage of my career in my next chapter.

38:32

And you're very uniquely suited to do it for all of the reasons you said of what went into the process.

I just looked in words.

I took the time to ask myself these questions.

I asked other people if they were interested in this, and a bunch of them said yes.

38:48

There's this huge demand for it.

And I think most people are so busy for for the right reasons or wrong reasons in survival mode, trying to make sure their needs are being met.

They don't slow down to ask the question.

They're so externally focused.

39:05

This internal focus is huge.

One of the things I've been working on since we last spoke is taking a a tool that I've used for myself and my own business in making it accessible for others.

And it's this time inventory tool where I'm a big believer that if you want to maximize the effectiveness of your day-to-day activities, it's important to look at your calendar over a weekly basis and design your life based on what gives you purpose spiritually.

39:34

What allows you to feel your best physically showing up for your commitments with your family.

And then once we've gone through all of the things we want to do for our way of living, we figure out what's left for work and how do we either do delegate or delete.

39:50

So I I love the way you're you're thinking about for the individual.

You broke it down with three words as well.

It was like, was the introspection.

Identity, practice and purpose.

Identity practice and purpose.

40:05

I saw IPP, I'm, I'm like I remember things in threes.

So with my consulting business I talk about intentionality with our time, talent and treasure with businesses I help them think about people, platform and process.

40:22

It's all and it's all designed towards creating this relationship intelligence system that first we get clear about our relationship with ourselves so we can then go out and be more effective in relationship with others.

And you're you're talking about just that.

So I I know the market needs what you're doing but more importantly the world needs just the energy of what you've done.

40:42

So thank you.

I got a question for you and and just a little bit of context.

First, remember I said a few moments ago, like we can't all play quarterback?

Well, one thing that's really funny to me, it's both funny and also really sad on LinkedIn, even more so on like TikTok or something like that.

41:00

Whatever it is you want to do in this world, there's someone doing it poorly.

That causes people to have a stereotypical view of it, and then you start to feel bad because it's like you think they're laughing at the work itself.

41:19

In reality, they just have never seen it done well.

And so I'm curious to know from you like what that has looked like in your past.

I'm happy to share for me as well, but like moments where people had a view of what you do without fully understanding who you are and how you've navigated that and how you sort of overcome this, you know, criticism.

41:41

Last thing I'll say is the best example I can give is like when you're high school or college football player getting ready to get drafted.

It doesn't matter how much you win or how well you play, how well your teammates or your coaches think about you.

You're going to go through this draft process and it is amazing to me how they will find an event, invent flaws about these, these athletes.

42:07

So much so that they start to miss the whole point and they'll pass up on people who are clearly great and it was obvious that they were great.

Then you had all these people poking and prod in and now all of a sudden this person's stock stock has dipped and that that messes with some guy's psyche.

42:25

And so it's like, what of the, what's your scouting report like?

Like, how do you face those sorts of moments where people are criticizing the work without understanding the person?

I love this question because it it touches on one of the things I've struggled with personally.

I when you talked about what a personal brand is, I was raised.

42:47

That's your name and your reputation, and that's the the one thing that you you better treat more dearly than than money than possessions, as how do people feel when they hear your name?

What's the the feeling that they get when they associate you?

43:05

I've been able to do that effectively in real life.

But as much as some people will say I do well at promoting myself online, I still feel like I'm just scratching the surface at really showing the world who I am.

So that being said, when I made the transition from running my digital marketing company to working with Northwestern Mutual as a financial advisor, I learned that there were a lot of people who saw me as Nate the web guy.

43:32

And when they saw what they thought was Nate wanting to become the money guy, there are a lot of people who started to treat me differently that I knew And like I had a relationship with in real life.

And I'm like, I haven't changed.

Like, why are you treating me differently?

And I noticed a lot of judgment around what people think that means.

43:52

Like, there's people I'll call on and I'll say, like, hey, I'd love to talk to you about what I'm doing in my new role.

And they respond with such disgust, like I asked them to go behind the dumpster at Walgreens and do something nefarious, like, like act like I'm, I'm trying to take advantage of them.

I had this one lady I had a good relationship with yell at me and say I can't believe you'd work there.

44:12

And you know these people make you call your friends and family and like, no one's making me do anything.

I'm I'm a client of this firm and I joined here because I believe in the mission and I just wanted to talk to you about the work I'm doing.

So a lot of times that will stem from a bad experience with another advisor or a preconceived idea of what financial planning even looks like, and then transitioning from that now into consulting with businesses, helping them grow.

44:41

While I'm developing this scalable product that I want to bring to market, I found that there's people who treat me different again.

And now it's almost like the pressure's off because they don't feel like I'm trying to sell them or or get anything from them.

And now more people want to meet with me, but I I have less time for that because I'm very focused on what I'm doing.

44:59

So hopefully that that kind of answers a little bit. 100 percent, 100% answers it.

I'm I'm thinking back for myself what that's look like.

I I was in politics.

That's what I went to school for.

It was my first career and very quickly I realized that some people are going to dislike me just because of their preconceived notions of who I am.

45:20

And so, like, I personally, I'm a big advocate that, like, people shouldn't feel compelled to like, pick a party or like, have their views aligned 100% with the party because parties aren't necessarily about policy.

They're two separate entities, politics and government.

45:35

They are.

And so I knew that, like, we'll have to pick to be a part of this process.

And now I've alienated like half of the voting population.

And so it was like understanding that perception is not going to match reality for a lot of people.

And I have to be OK with that as greatly informed how I've gone about the rest of my career because people have frequency notions what ASDR should be, what they can say or do.

46:02

Our manager versus a director versus AVP and whatever the case may be like, for example, there are things that I want to do in my life and my career, and the best way I could sum it up is to maybe just say I want to be a life coach.

46:18

I want to help people get clear about things that they're struggling with.

Be the best versions of themselves, take them from good to great.

Some people might call it a life coach if I do it from a stage.

Some people might call that a motivational speak.

I have intentionally and unintentionally, consciously and subconsciously avoided those labels for the basically the whole of my career solely because of the preconceived notions people had in them.

46:44

Like, I want to do that thing, but because people on TikTok make fun of life coaches.

Because people on, you know, TikTok make fun of linked influencers like it.

It causes me to to shrink.

And what I'm realized is like that doesn't help anybody.

And those people are going to hate no matter what, doesn't matter what you do or how good.

47:04

LeBron has haters, like there's people who think that he's not good at basketball and it's like if that, if that alone doesn't tell you, like people are going to hate no matter what you do.

So I I just try and remind myself of that and be like do it for the one, do it for the one person that needs you to do it.

47:23

And don't worry about the folks that are laughing or mocking because they're not usually doing anything anyway.

They're not doing anything.

That's exactly it.

It's you're who you're for, who you're for.

And one of the things that getting married taught me was I called a lot of people my friends, that aren't actually my friends.

47:41

I'm just a friendly guy.

If you picture like a dog at a park who's just excited to see somebody, he sniffed before, like that's how I get my wife will be like, is this a two year friend, A2 month friend, A2 week friend, A2 day friend?

47:58

Yeah, like she needs to qualify.

Like, how much of A friend is this person actually a friend to you?

And I've started to pay attention to, you know, how do people respond when I'm reaching out to them versus they're reaching out to me?

You know, what's it like when there's a perceived, like, I need this or you need that versus who are the people who just want to be along for the ride because they enjoy sharing the journey together?

48:21

And I'm really getting a lot more intentional about who I'll allow into my life and who needs to know what.

So that that's also been a thing that's kept me back from being as open and vulnerable as I could to, you know, grow my brand online.

48:37

Because quite frankly, I want to get to a space where I impact and help others at the greatest love I can while doing so with as much relative obscurity as possible.

Because I don't want all the things that come along with becoming a caricature of yourself or becoming so famous where so many people think they know you based on the way they've experienced your content and not actually what's going on inside the contents of your your heart, if that makes sense.

49:07

And that's OK that it's so funny because, like I I think I've forgotten some of the stuff from politics in a way.

Because ultimately I had to settle on the fact that I knew why I was doing what I was doing.

And if other people can't see it or don't believe in it, aren't buying it, that's not on me.

49:26

I can only do so much and so it is just was like this mindset of I'm going to do the good.

I believe in it regardless of who the haters are or what they're saying, because if I don't do what I'm believing in, nobody wins.

49:43

I like to look at it as that your gift.

When you're doing what you love and you believe in.

It's like this beautiful mural.

And every now and then you'll have somebody who just comes along and puts a graffiti on it and it's like that doesn't diminish, like the the painting is still the paint, the mural is still the mural.

50:00

So just because some people want to come along and graffiti on your dream like that doesn't mean that you have to blow the whole wall up and you have to start over.

You're not allowed to paint murals anywhere.

Like that's one person with a spray can.

That's one person with a TikTok account.

50:17

Like, that's one person.

You might not even be a person at all these days.

Yeah, most of the time it's a bot.

And it's crazy to see how how much time and energy people give to to feeding those trolls.

Absolutely nuts.

I love your metaphor though.

50:32

Beautiful, this idea of the the mural and not let that one person ruin it.

When I was young, something clicked.

This idea of like it takes nine months for a child to form between 9 to 10 months and a life can end in a split second because of a bad decision or or poor luck.

50:56

And one day it just hit me just how fragile life is in the importance of making healthy, constructive decisions because destruction can happen swiftly and it takes a long time to repair.

I think that a lot of times our our reputation can be like that where people might see us in a certain light and then they have one interaction and and it changes everything and sometimes we develop scar tissue from that.

51:25

Like I know I have one.

One of the things that was like the nail in the coffin for me about leaving my my agency was I had a client that I worked with really well for like 4 years.

All their emails would be like, oh you're the best.

Thanks for solving this problem.

51:41

Like I really, I really got so much benefit from you.

And then we had one project that didn't, it didn't go well and I'll own what was mine to own.

It took longer than it should have because I was busy starting a new business and there was a little bit of unexpected expense that came up.

But I ate a ton of the expense and when we launched their project, it didn't go how they liked and then they didn't like my feedback for what it was going to take to fix it and finish it.

52:07

They ended up going behind my back and and fractionally pause for a second.

I'm missing a step here.

I decided you know what, you're not happy with the work.

I'm going to turn it all over to you.

I'm going to refund what you paid for your other work here and I'm going to let you go find somebody else to finish this and I won't bill you for your last payment.

52:27

So I basically took a massive financial loss on it and try to preserve the relationship and just said here you go.

Well, they went behind my back to American Express, basically got them to refund $6000 for prepaid service time that I couldn't really win in the fight because we didn't have a clear contract on that one deal even though we had all these other contracts.

52:47

And it just led me to to see that these people have seen me as a person to get their things done.

And as soon as the things they wanted done didn't go the way they wanted, I was disposable.

And they could throw me away and they could take whatever they they could from me.

53:04

And I didn't want to be exposed in that way anymore.

And and it took a lot to overcome that and to realize it wasn't about me, but it was about them.

And it's painful to eat that $6000 loss.

But at the same time, the way I've built my new business, I now have better protections in place.

53:22

And they actually gave me a really important lesson.

Have you ever experienced anything like that where you had like a situation happened that you at the time?

It was so demoralizing, but it actually helped you reload to be better?

Yeah, I mean, I was let go from a job, you know, the last couple years where it was very abrupt.

53:42

I was not anticipating it.

It was in the midst of a lot of changes in my life.

And I had to kind of like it was like getting punched in like a boxing match.

Like you get hit, you kind of stumble a bit, you lose your, you lose your balance, right?

54:02

You lose your vision for a moment.

And it's like, how do you reel from that?

How do you come back from it?

What do you lean on?

And this is going to sound odd but in every instance like that and you know stuff similar has happened in other ways other places of my life.

It's like, who am I?

54:19

What am I about?

Like what do, what more do I want for myself?

And it's crazy.

I know it's going to sound cheesy, but like The Audacity of Hope.

I mean, Obama was on to something, like when when setbacks have happened in my life, I have had the audacity of ambition.

54:42

Like, how dare you want more.

You just screwed up.

You just took a step back.

You should be, you should be lucky to get to where you were.

And it's like, Nah, maybe I met for more and this is like the way it's supposed to happen.

And so in those instances, it's like, yeah, I'll, I'll eat the $6000 loss.

55:00

It sucks.

It's probably because I got like a $12,000 deal right around the corner, and that's just part of my personality.

It's part informed by who I was in politics.

Like, this is an example.

I had to do fundraising, obviously, for my campaign.

And I remember telling myself like, like, you're going to hear 19 Nos before you get a yes.

55:20

So like, every no I had was like, I knew I was getting one step closer to that.

Yes.

And what was funny is I never got 19 yos in a row.

But it's just like that, that perspective, you know, expectation of, like what success or failure is going to look like, being able to define it for yourself ahead of time.

55:39

That's keep.

I'm writing that down.

Yeah, not not allowing A circumstance, and going back to the very beginning, not allowing A circumstance to dictate who you are.

You are who you are and not where you are.

Yeah, that's trying to think of what song that's from.

55:57

That sounds like an outcast line, where it's like it's not where you're from but where you stay at.

And it's like a lot of times we have this story about ourselves that needs to be updated and sometimes needs to be updated a moment at a time or a day at a time.

56:14

There's this sense that I get when I talk to you that you live in in life in a way that's so much more than what's on the surface.

As you've navigated sharing these things to the world, what?

56:29

What do you really think?

I know what's guiding you?

Obviously your your desire to serve and and to bring others along.

But what do you think is it that's even within you that sparked that, hey, I'm going to do this online and reach, reach a large group.

I don't want to be looked at as like a life coach or a motivational speaker, even though I want to do those things.

56:49

What is it?

What's that spark that still charges you up and and says, you know what, I'm going to push forward and do this anyway.

The initial spark was I had a very positive transition in tech sales because of the boot camp that I went through and I started posting because I wanted to help other people experience that feeling as well because I knew how tricky it could be and would be to go through it alone.

57:25

So that's what kind of drove me to take to to be who I am and talk about what I talk about on LinkedIn in particular.

But stepping back like it's the same thing, just a little bit broader, which is like how do I help people navigate uncertainty?

57:42

How do I help people build their self-awareness?

How do I help people to kind of put, you know what what I put the end of my post is choose confidence today.

And sometimes it's helping myself do that.

Like one of the funny things about podcast episodes and stuff like this, it's like I can get on and say all these things and it's like that's not all of who I am.

58:03

Like, I I messed it up too.

Like go ask Annie.

Like, she'll tell you, like things are not always sweet out here and it's like I'm growing as a person.

So with with my brand, like I try and present that as well.

Like I never want to be this.

Oh my God, it's Blake.

58:20

Like Blake is both where I am and where I'm trying to get to all at once, right?

And maybe where I was at the same time.

And I just think like that going about it that way has paid such dividends for me because it allows me to appeal to a broader audience.

58:36

It it really helps me overcome imposter syndrome because it's like in some some ways sometimes I am an imposter.

Like like sometimes you just don't know something and the best way to deal with that is to just acknowledge it and then you can actually get better.

I had a post a couple months ago where I said not knowing is the first step to growing.

58:56

Like it's really hard to improve things that you don't even know are there.

And so whether that be vulnerability, encouragement, inspiration, ultimately the thing that helps me stay committed to this like grand building audience, but like whatever you want to call it, thought leadership is being able to help one person get a little bit better than what they were.

59:21

Being able to help one person feel a little bit more confident today than they did yesterday.

When you do it from a place of humility, like genuine humility, and a lot of times I thought humility was like playing small.

But what I learned is it's actually a clear recognition of who and what you are, followed by an attempt at what you can become.

59:41

And you talked about it's where I am and where I'm going and it it rings true in the authenticity of what you do.

I I, I really, I don't say hate, but it really saddens me when people think that's what humility is like, just plain small.

59:57

Because nobody benefits from that.

Like it's often times it's false modesty or it's just you deflecting praise.

But to your point, humility is really mostly just about having an accurate estimation of one's own ability.

And yeah, what's crazy about that humility or vulnerability and things like that is when you do that, you createspace for other people to step into it as well.

1:00:23

But when you project this perfect image and like I'm trying to uphold this version of myself is like, I don't mess up, I don't make mistake, you're setting yourself up for a fall and you put yourself out of arm's reach of the people you're trying to serve.

1:00:38

So you just become this like figure, this representation of a thing rather than just like a person.

And it's so funny.

People have these personal brands that are highly impersonal.

And yeah, it does.

It gets back to humility.

It gets back to vulnerability.

1:00:54

It gets back to all those things that we've talked about.

But you have to be you, you know, if you really want that personal brand to thrive.

You've said so much that I know I'm going to take with me.

One of the things I like to ask all of my guests is if they had the opportunity to meet one person or get connected to one person through the the strength of our network, online or in person.

1:01:19

Who's somebody that you really want to meet and and why?

People feel a lot of types of ways about this person, but I, Simon Sinek, someone that I find to be a interesting individual because people are everyone on the spectrum From guy's a charlatan.

1:01:46

He doesn't know what he's talking about.

He just makes stuff up to he's he's created art or books or speeches that have really changed my life or helped me view things from a different perspective.

And so say what you want about like his authenticity or the even the things he's saying.

1:02:03

Like for me, he represents a lot of what I'm trying to get to, which is helping people take a step back, look at things differently.

Sometimes they're very obvious things like start with Y, not a complex thing at all, but it's powerful And sometimes it's power in the simplicity.

1:02:21

And sometimes you need someone to articulate that simplicity in a way that's profound to give it gravitas.

Because if I just walk in the room and I'm say, hey, you ever just consider like, hey, like, why are you doing this podcast that's going to have a certain type of impact.

But then when you watch his 20 minute Ted talk, completely different impact.

1:02:41

And so I would love to talk to him particularly about like how he's gone about building the infrastructure to share his message at scale.

Because for me, I feel like I'm doing that to the very niche group of people I'm talking to you right now.

1:02:58

But ultimately I'd like to compile these things we're talking about today.

I'd like to make them more precise and more focused and be able to provide that to a larger audience.

And I think that's someone who's done a good job of that.

Again, say what you want about him and his message, but like, he's done a good job of that over this last decade or so.

1:03:16

Tony Robbins is someone else to, you know, problematic in his ways, but also very powerful and others.

So yeah, it goes back to that whole life coach thing.

It's like, those are folks that, like, I admire what they do.

I admire how they help people and some people hate them.

1:03:34

Because what you said that if you're out there doing, if you're out there in the arena, like that's what's going to happen.

People are going to have whatever invalid, invalid.

It's all about like we're on the spectrum of their filter.

They're going to view you through.

I think both of those, those men you've mentioned have had great things to offer.

1:03:53

Now you're going to help me get to meet them, right like that's you asked.

That question.

Yeah, yeah, Hatikva, that's the hope, baby.

I'll, I'll make sure that when we put it out, anybody who knows Simon Sinek should absolutely get you connected.

And somebody, do you know William Thomas, AKA Classic reinvention.

1:04:11

Classic book, Classic reinvention.

He's on LinkedIn.

I interviewed him as my last guest.

He is.

He's the king of 1 to one marketing at scale where he'll make videos on these people he's incredibly interested in and I I'm excited for if he ever makes one on Simon Sinek.

1:04:30

This is a collab idea.

I just thought he should highlight Simon Sinek and we need to tag this clip of you in that and maybe you and Simon can connect.

Maybe I again because I spoke to some of the the negative views that people have about him.

But like I think he would admit as much as I do for the level that I'm at.

1:04:50

It's like I I'm just not worried about like I kind of welcome it like if someone wants to disagree with the post I have on LinkedIn like bring it on bring it on.

But like you're the you're the minority in this room like you're the your view of hate or descent is usually like the outlier.

1:05:09

Often times there's a lot of people who are very grateful, very appreciative, very moved by the things that we create.

So yeah, again going back to Simon, like got haters, who doesn't what successful person in the public eye doesn't have haters?

So yeah, I again like, like when he puts out there, like the way he puts it out there and hope to kind of be a next generation version of that.

1:05:34

Well, he helped me mentally go from feature advantage benefit style selling to really starting with why?

Why does your problem exist?

Why does this problem 'cause you pain?

What's the And then getting into more of the spin selling of like the situation problem?

1:05:53

Impact needs satisfaction like all of that, then shifting into why do I do what I do?

For a long time I didn't know what I wanted to do in life, but I wanted to help other people who had very clear visions achieve their goals successfully.

1:06:09

So getting that, that why is the root of so many things.

I think it was just so basic and so obvious like you said, but a lot of people needed to hear it.

And now it's almost cheesy where someone's like, well what's your why?

And it's like well in what context And like some people just, you know throw around Oh my why is and it almost becomes a cheesy way to like try to market or push what it is they're trying to push.

1:06:34

But I love that you you chose somebody you think has these these potential, you know, oh, I don't like this about them.

And one of the people I take the the most leadership from, and not even leadership in terms of them telling me what to do.

But watching how they've moved is Joe Rogan.

1:06:51

And a lot of people can think of a lot of negative things to say about him.

And there's somebody took the time to grab 2 minutes and 30 seconds of him saying the N word on camera at different points in life.

Depending on who you are, that might really piss you off.

But what I've looked at that's been super helpful to me is watching a person create a way of being just off of their own interests and what they're passionate about and just talking to interesting people and getting conflicting viewpoints to where I've heard somebody like he interviewed Bernie Sanders and endorsed him for president, yet there is this whole world of people who think he's like an alt right guy and it couldn't be further from the truth.

1:07:31

So it's just like anyone when we talked about politics, If you take a stance, a lot of times you you alienate a whole half of the room when you choose a political party.

But anytime you experience success at great scale publicly and have done anything authentic, there's going to be people who are going to come for you and and find some sort of frustration.

1:07:53

And you should be worried if there aren't, like if everybody likes you, nobody's really hating on you.

What were you doing it for?

Like, why are you doing it?

And yeah, I I think that was something I learned early too, which is like people are going to dislike you.

1:08:11

Make sure it's for the right reasons.

Yes, what a great place to end.

Well Blake, as always, it's a treat to chat with you.

Grateful to call you a friend.

Would love to have you on again sometime and I'm excited for your your new offering to the world Through this course in any way I can support you.

1:08:30

I'm grateful and blessed to do so.

Appreciate you man.

I'm glad to be a friend as well.

Our conversations, I feel like I don't know about you.

I always leave with notes, leave like things to act on.

And as far as this course, man, I I'll admit, you know, it's just kind of signing off.

Like I talk about choosing confidence today and there have been moments throughout this process where I have lacked that confidence.

1:08:51

And I've over thought the roll out and over thought pretty much everything from start to finish.

But I'm at a point where I'm like my half done, incomplete, imperfect version of this is 100% of what a person needs.

1:09:10

They don't know more than like what I'm giving.

So it's like don't get so caught up and so wrong.

This is to myself.

I'm saying this, don't get so caught up and overwhelmed and like it being perfect that you miss out on the opportunity to help people improve because you can improve the project just like they can improve their their lives.

1:09:27

But if you don't ever start, no one gets better.

Yeah, start with where you're at.

Take the ego out and how you think it's going to be received and just give it to the world.

You'll be amazed at your impact.

Blake, it's been a treat.

How much love, everybody.

Take care.