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Using Social Media to Increase Your Impact and Influence with John Schuchman · The Daily Writer

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Daily Rider Podcast, where we bring you tips and inspiration each day to help you build habits for writing success.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: For more resources, including your free Daily Rider Starter Kit, visit DailyWriterLife.com.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: Whenever you hear the term social media, what's your response?
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: Many writers reel back a little bit at the idea of getting more involved on social media because they don't know how to use it effectively or because they feel it's going to take away from their writing time.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: And if you feel that way, I understand, I get it, and I have totally been there.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: I have oftentimes struggled to know the best ways to use social media in my writing business.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: And as an introvert, sometimes it's hard to summon the energy to engage with more people because every time you go on social media, it can feel like a little bit of your emotional energy is being depleted.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: So that's why I've asked my good friend John Shookman to help us with this important topic today.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: John is a very successful real estate agent in Pennsylvania, and he's been very successful in using social media to increase his business and connect with people.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: He's also a social media coach for real estate agents.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: John and I first connected probably two to three years ago in the Total Life Freedom Group, which is run by our good mutual friend Vincent Puglisi.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I've mentioned that group here on the podcast before.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's been very, very helpful to me in getting started in my writing and ghostwriting businesses.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: And John and I connected there, and it's been so much fun the last two or three years to watch John's business take off.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: He actually just he and his wife just paid off their house in the last, I think, six months or so because his real estate business has been just so wildly successful.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: So John is not only a great real estate agent, he's also a guy with a lot of heart, a lot of energy, and a lot of wisdom when it comes to social media.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: So even though John is not primarily a quote unquote writer, he is absolutely a content creator.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and he's very, very good at it.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: He's great with relationships, with the social media aspect, and he just really, really cares about people.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: So that's why I've asked John to come on this show today to help us understand how to use social media better as writers and even more so just as human beings and leaders.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: So in this conversation, John's going to give us some great tips on using social media as a writer and a leader, which platforms to focus on, how to connect and serve on a deeper level, and some things to avoid.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: We also talk about a lot of other stuff in the in the conversation as we always do, because well, John and I are friends and we just enjoy talking with each other.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: So this is a great conversation full of really, really awesome tips.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: So I know that you're going to come away with this with a lot of great stuff that you can use as you try to be more active and successful on social media as a writer.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: So, with that said, here's my conversation with the amazing John Shookman.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: John, it's good to have you on the Daily Writer Podcast.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: We've been planning this for a while, so I'm glad we finally made it happen.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: So welcome.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, Ken.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: A pleasure to be with you.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: And uh thanks for having me on today.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: So we've known each other for I think what, a couple of years now.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Is that right?
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: September, what was it?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: September 2020 changed my life.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Hard conversation with Vincent Paglisi.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where we first met each other.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I remember when we were at a a uh total life freedom retreat in Pittsburgh, correct?
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I think at that time, had you were you still working for Chick-fil-A at that time, or had you recently been working for Chick-fil-A?
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: I was at Chick-fil-A no years prior.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I was in real estate full time, um that would have been my first TLF event in person, and your listeners have heard of Vincent and what he does in the mastermind group that we're in, and but that was my first event.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: I was in real estate full time, yes.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: But I okay, that's right.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: But I'd been previous W 2 life was at Chick-fil-A.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, that's right.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes I get my timelines mixed up ever since like 2020.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: I can't remember how recent things were or when things happened.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's pretty that's a pretty global phenomenon at this point.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like nobody really knows.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: COVID brain, man.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think we all have it.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: One of the most fascinating things over the last couple of years, and this has been really fun to see, is how you have grown your real estate business and how innovative you have become with using social media.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: So one of the things that I love to do on this podcast, as my listeners know, is talk to people who are not necessarily like doing writing as a job, but they're doing something else and writing as a part of it.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: I love cross-pollination and I love learning from people who are in different industries and using writing in different ways.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about how you use social media in your real estate business, which you've done very, very successfully.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Give us kind of a a breakdown, though, of basically how you think about social media.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like when you when you go on to do posts or write content or think about social media, what are some of the basics about how you think of social media to begin with and what it is and what it can do?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think well, and so I I kind of have an advantage because I was, you know, I'm 34 now, so I was the age in 2000.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Spring check.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's right.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: But but all that to say, um, the reason I bring that up is because in 2006, I went to college for the first time at 18 years old, and the Facebook had just really was launching those past couple of years for college students.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: So you had to sign up with your college email address.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was probably one of the early adapters to Facebook.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so I use social media in that I see, well, for one, I've had years of working on social media, right?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: So since I was 18 years old, so more, right?
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: So almost half my life I've had Facebook and then Instagram came along, and now they're owned by the same, you know, by the same company.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Facebook owns them both.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but the way I see social media is really it is um, I'm a storyteller and I see social media as like my imagine if I'm a painter, social media is my canvas.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Social media is where I, you know, show my business, highlight what I'm doing, all those different things.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: But I often talk to people in my community on my podcast, that you I don't you're not selling houses, you're not helping people buy or sell, you are building relationships and telling stories.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think that relates so well to what people are doing, listening to your amazing podcast, in that they are writers, right?
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, but you're not a just a writer.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I just sit in this at this office and I, you know, work on books.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: You are a storyteller, right?
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so social media is one avenue to tell stories.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so whenever I have a post, you know, a home under contract, a home that sold, it's not, hey, this home sold, I'm so amazing, come work with me.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: I share the story of everything this couple went through from the beginning, getting pre-approved.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that you know, COVID happened, oh, the rates, you know, whatever.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: There's always something that happens.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like every deal I've done, there's something that you're like, oh my goodness, is this deal gonna blow up?
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Are we gonna recover?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so I share those stories.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a storyteller.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so I share stories, and then people see stories that they love seeing, you know, the the happily ever after, whatever it is, and they see the pictures of the happy couple, you know, buying the home, and they think, right, there's you know, I don't know how the brain works.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not, but I know that when you see that, you're like, oh, wait, I want to have an experience like that.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: I want to work with John because look at how he makes his clients feel, right?
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: So it's all about telling stories, really caring about relationships.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how I try to use my social media for everything that I do from podcasting, real estate, membership.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Everything is about just telling stories and connecting with people.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: So if you see me looking down, it's because I'm furiously taking notes.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I hope that they're legible after this conversation.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I know we've talked about all this stuff before, but like the way that you approach social media, I think is so helpful because so many times we get on there and we look at it as okay, what do I got to post today?
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: Or we look at it as a have to, but I love how you have taken the thing that you do, which is real estate, and essentially you're using houses as a touchstone for telling the story of somebody else.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: Is that an accurate way of saying that?
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: Because and I think you know, social media in a way it's all self-promotion, right?
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: I I'm promoting my real estate business when I talk about what I'm doing.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: You're promoting a book when you post it.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: But if you post, but it's all about the heart of it, right?
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you just post, hey, look at this awesome book that I wrote, you look like a jerk.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: If you say, Hey, it was such, you know, I think on every single post I write, I usually end it with, it was such a pleasure to be a small part of getting this deal to the settlement table.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes I'm a big part, right?
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I'm saving the deal, but I think it's, you know, if you come at it, it's all about like, I think being humble, right?
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I approach a post with how do I, yes, show that I got the deal done, but do it in a humble way.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so I don't highlight, you know, we're we're in the mastermind in TLF with Vincent Poglisi, right?
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, in his book, The Wealth of Connection, he talks all about it's great to have selfish goals, but they can't, it's okay to have selfish goals, they can't come be for your selfless goals.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so my goal is definitely have people work with me so that I can pay my bills and enjoy my lit rate, have a good living, but that always has to come after promoting the people around me.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: So if you ever see my posts and I sell a house, I tag the lender, I tag the clients, I tag the settlement company, I tag the insurance anybody I can and talk about what a great job I did and how I was just glad to be a small part of getting the deal done.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's let's take a for instance kind of example.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I'm gonna use she doesn't know that I'm gonna do this, but so our mutual friend MJ James, I just thought of this off the off the top of my head.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: I wish she was here on this call with us.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: So she has a book coming out um some sometime before the end of the year, a devotional type of resource for women.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: So what are some ways?
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's this is kind of like a um a self-development, personal personal help, spirituality kind of a book, nonfiction.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: What are some ways that let's say she could promote her book in a way that is not selfish?
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: It is promoting herself and her book, but some ways that involve storytelling or some of the principles that you're talking about.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I think taking this one specific example, we could also apply that to other nonfiction books as well.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: So any thoughts on ways that authors could take these principles you're talking about and apply those to their nonfiction books?
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: First, I will say that, you know, people listening to this, you all are creative, right?
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: What I didn't get to share that, but I have to thank Kent for is Kent's probably one of the main reasons my podcast even exists, because I was stressed and was like, I can't do this.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: And Kent was like, you don't understand.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: Once you start creating, right, you then are using that part of your brain, and the the content just keeps flowing and flowing.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: My podcast now is usually about six to eight weeks batched ahead.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm always thinking of podcast ideas.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Because I do three episodes a week, and that part of my brain is working all the time.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so, in the same way with what people are doing, and we'll get to MJ in a second, you're all creating, right?
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just about taking the stuff that you know you have in your head that you're creating, however you, you know, are putting it on paper or in a voice memo or a podcast, whatever it is, taking that and sharing that with the world.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I I think we often, and especially in a post-COVID world where we're many of us are so lonely, we don't share and we don't share openly enough, right?
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been open about my journey and you've been a part of that and seen that.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: But but my point is just start sharing what you're doing, right?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: MJ's been very open and honest about the things she's gone through, the struggle she's gone through.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so by sharing, let's like let's say a post, hey, you know, I really struggled with depression for a while, or trusting people in relationships, or whatever it is.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: This is what I wrote about it, and this will be part of my upcoming book.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Really, maybe no one buys the book, but maybe someone connects with, oh wow, I feel like that in relationships.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: I feel lonely, I feel like this.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's I just think all of it again, building relationships and helping people.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: You don't know how a post is going to help someone, and maybe they don't buy any books, maybe they buy a hundred, but it's just about how do I help others?
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: How do I um care about people?
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: How do I help people?
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you know this, and but you listeners might not.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like I spent years in the W-2 world and it just was not a fit for me, right?
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I often think about the quote, I think it's Albert Einstein that said, um, everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it'll grow up its whole life thinking it's stupid, right?
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think about that.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, so I have an obligation to share my journey, to share, hey, this is what I went through, the mental stuff, the how I the suicidal thoughts, the depression.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: And this is how I came out of that, right?
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and if somebody buys something from me, great, like, but really it's how do I help people?
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're all storytellers, and so how do we use those stories to help others?
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I think social media can be a big part of that.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: What is the line do you think between being authentic and sharing struggles and failures, but doing too much of that?
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like, is there a point at which so so let's take myself for example?
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that sounded very self-centered, by the way.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like, let's take me for example, John.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about it.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about the amazing Kent for a moment.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: Let's I know I'm interviewing you, John, but let's talk about me for a second.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: But I think a lot of people will relate to this.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm a professional, or at least I try to present myself as a professional.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe that's more accurate.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm a professional ghostwriter, I write books, I do a podcast, run a community, all that stuff.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, is there a point at which I would share too many of my failures or struggles where people would go, oh, you know, that's kind of unsavory, or that's that guy's a loser, or we don't that doesn't really come across as professional or that kind of a thing.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what's the line there?
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think there is a line.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: I I think you have to be honest, like be authentic to yourself, right?
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: So for instance, as I as I do my podcast and my community, um, it would be it would be dishonest to say, hey guys, here's how to create a six-figure business.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: I've done that, right?
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: But to just share that without the struggle to get there is almost like selling them a bill of false goods, right?
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, hey, here's how to create success.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, wait a second.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's why, you know, um, that's why I I share a lot, right?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: And my wife, you know, my Facebook is public, so anyone can look me up and see all my posts, whether you're friends or not.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: Well, why is that?
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's not because I'm so special or amazing, it's just because I want to help people.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so for instance, we recently paid off our house.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: God's really blessed my business.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: We're very thankful we were able to pay off our house.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: And congrats on it.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't thank you.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't, but I don't just share, hey, I paid off my house, I'm amazing.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: I shared, hey, by the way, you know, we paid it off in June.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: And two years prior to that day in June, I had only had one settlement in my real estate business.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: And two years ago from that day, June, right, June 21st or June 22nd, two years prior to that day, we thought we were going to lose our house, and we were asking family, my in-laws, if we could live with them.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's humbling.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: So, so I think it's all, but it's authentic to me to share all of that.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: You see the success now, but you have to also see what it took to get there.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I have a few judgmental friends and family members, right?
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: We all do.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's you know, I had one that said, all you care about is your clients and and your money.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, interesting.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: I said, I don't, and that's why, like I just said, about posting from you know, a place of humility.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: But I think the other part of that too is those people that are now angry at me or saying, you know, you're blah, blah, blah, all you care about is yourself.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: None of those people were there for me when I made$2,000 my first nine months in the real estate business.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: So if you weren't there to support me during the struggle, you cannot now criticize the success.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I also think it's about a humble, right?
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: Dude, I'm in real estate and people are like, oh, the market's gonna crash.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: Spoiler alert, it's not.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: But if 2008 happened again, right?
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm nobody's buying or selling homes, right?
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's devastating, right?
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I also come at all of this.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very open.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm 100% authentic and share it.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also realizing from everything I share, I I realize in a snap of the finger, it could be gone.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: And every day I just trust God to bless my business and what I'm doing.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: So it it's it's it's also about being humble, right?
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: I know someone in the area and they're a very successful realtor, and all they talk about is how great they are on Facebook, right?
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that turns people off.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: You got to come from being authentic, but also remember like where all your blessings come from.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's big.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, that's huge too.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm I'm glad that you mentioned people who support you or don't support you.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I was that just made me realize, you know, I've had a lot of people in my life, and I know you have too, John, where in those moments where you have really doubted or you were really struggling, those people who were there for you, and you wouldn't be where you are now without the help and support of those people.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, for me, I'm sure it's the same for you, primarily my wife.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, my goodness.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um never I've only had one time in our whole marriage.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: So we've been married 26 years.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: There's only one time in my marriage where she expressed some doubt or negativity or frustration about what I was wanting to what I wanted to do with writing.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: And she did that to motivate me.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like she I don't think she actually doubted that I could do it.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: She doubted that I was going to do because I just had been talking about it all these years, but never got off my behind to actually make something happen.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: I know the same thing is true for you for you too.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: Can you talk about the some of the ways that people in your life have been supportive through you know, through the thick and the thin, through the frustration and in the moments where you even didn't believe in yourself, where they were there for you and really helped motivate you?
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's a great question.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, um, my wife's been a huge part of that.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: She's amazing, she's a stay-at-home mom now to our two uh little monkeys and does a great job, doesn't complain about it, and is always like, How can I help you?
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: And and I really I feel like every night I'm like, You kept two kids alive.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so our son's about to turn three, our daughters a year and a half.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: So when I say monkeys, I mean it.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: You got your hands, and we do.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: And and so I say like almost every night, it's like you took care, you like kept two kids alive today, like you're good, like your shift is done.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I think that's been huge.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I just think, man, the power of community, right?
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: I can't say enough about total life freedom, the membership we're in together.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: I ran an office in downtown Lancaster, PA, where I live at Inspire Business Community.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: They've been huge.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: And just um, my favorite part is that no matter what I do, you know, with my wife, with um TLF, with Inspire, the people are always supporting me and saying, okay, like pushing me and challenging me, right?
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: So when I started my podcast for Realtors, I felt like such an imposter.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm not ready for this, I don't deserve this.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: And people in the community, right?
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: Those memberships and my wife really encouraged me, like, no, you should do this, right?
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Vincent, of course, has been huge, and I know you mention him all the time on your show.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I I think it's really cool.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm very thankful to those groups of people and their support.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: Even when I, you know, started a membership here over the summer for realtors.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: I had this imposter syndrome, like, oh, I don't deserve this.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I shouldn't do this.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I and I would really encourage your listeners, we all have that, right?
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: We do we all have this.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I can't put my picture on Facebook.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like the way I look, I can't put uh a video of me.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like the way I sound.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: No one likes the way they look or the way they sound or the anything about themselves, but we're so busy looking at others that we don't even notice.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, or I'm sorry, everybody else is so busy looking at themselves, like, oh, I don't like the way I look that they don't even notice how you look.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um that's true.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's great to get Around a supportive community.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the things you're dreaming of that God's put on your heart, like, go and freaking do them.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like when I started my membership over the summer here, I was like, oh no, my first call is going to have two people.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to have no one on the call.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like, no one's going to want to hear from me.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it was 12 or 13 people showed up.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: And for a first call, that's really good.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: And then the second call, we added a few people.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: The third call, we added a few people.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how those things grow.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: But but what would like, what if I just said no, you're you're inadequate?
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: It never would have started.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I couldn't have helped those 13, 15, 20, 25 people.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think all of us have that dream.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there's a there's a great book, Kent, by Craig Groschell called, I'm gonna say wrong, but it's chazone.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it's basically, I think, a Greek word that talks about like what's the God-given like purpose, what's the God-given like vision that He's given you that you're to accomplish?
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so many of us either don't have the accountability, the relationships, the um, you know, whatever it is around us to go and do it.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's so important to have people around you cheering you on from a spiritual sense, like what's your chazon, but also like just in an entrepreneurial thing, like what's your dream?
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how can I help you accomplish it?
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I think community is huge.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's it's funny, and thank you for all that.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you've spurred like 10 questions, 10 more follow-up questions in my mind.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: But but the first thing that I want to say is I think recognizing that we all have that self-doubt is really, really critical.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: Still, so you just started your community for real estate agents.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: Now, is the proper term real estate agents or realtors?
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_01: Is it agents?
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's realtors if they're licensed with the National Association of Realtors.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: Can you be a real estate agent without being a realtor?
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of long and complicated.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: You could you could do real estate work, I had no idea what I was getting into.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna have a three-hour episode about what a realtor.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: No, um, you can do real estate work without being a licensed realtor.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's okay, but but realtor is like once you're licensed with the state, so you know, when I post things, you might be like, Why is he post the realtor capitalized and with the reserve?
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's how they want me to post it, because as a reserved, like I can only use that as a as a uh part of the association of realtors.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so that that that makes sense.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: I've always kind of wondered why they do that, but it that totally makes sense.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: But but going back to what I was mentioning earlier before I sidetracked myself, I do that all the time.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: I think recognizing that we all have that self-doubt is really important.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: I still doubt my own value in leading the Daily Writer Club, to be honest with you.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: Every time people show up for a call, every time I get notifications that somebody has done their monthly payment.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I always just think I'm kind of surprised people are showing up to this thing.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm doing my first retreat for this group in October, and somebody this morning said, Hey, I'm so excited.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they signed up for it, they they paid the fee to come to it.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: I just booked my hotel and plane tickets to come to your retreat.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Wow, somebody believes in what I'm doing enough to take time out of their schedule to pay for hotel, plane tickets, registration.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: And it kind of blows me away.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: It really, really does sometimes.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: But we all have that self-doubt, I guess, no matter where you are in your business.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and and I think it's good, it's it's right, it's like a healthy fear of like, can I can I do this?
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: Why would people trust me?
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: Well, again, I think people would not trust you.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I guys, I'm on the I'm on a call every Tuesday with Ken, and I feel like every Tuesday I'm like, please, like, you should be so proud.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: I've been on in you know, in your membership club and was on a call talking about social media, and I'm like, these people are amazing.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, Oh yeah.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh my goodness, be confident what you're doing.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that that both of these things really go back to the community and the you know, accountability.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'd much rather people around me be like, wow, you're doing amazing things than me come in and say, Wow, I'm so amazing.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: Look at me, right?
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'd rather have that healthy fear of like, what if I fail?
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: The biggest thing for me in the membership was like everything I've, you know, in a humble way, but like everything I've done recently has been very successful.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm scared to do something that won't work.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: I know Vincent really pushed back on that.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: Vincent pushed back on that and said, Yeah, then start it.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because if the fear is that you're gonna fail, you know, you you need that.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like if it was instant success, like that's not what, and again, it's about helping people.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: So success is just, hey, one more person is being helped.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: Success doesn't have to mean, oh, 50,000 people are in my membership.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: We're not gonna have memberships like that.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: Be and I'd rather not.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'd rather have a close community that cares about each other, loves each other, helps each other, and I can't do that with 50,000 people.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: So um exactly you gotta have that that a little bit of that I'm worried I'm gonna fail, and I think it's good.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a very, very healthy thing to do.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: I was was watching this documentary over the weekend.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's on YouTube, and I it's one of those things where on YouTube it said that it was like I could rent it or buy it, but I just it just let me watch it for free.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know what I did wrong or whatever.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: But anyway, it was I probably should go back and like pay for it, but it just wasn't.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: We'll send you a bill for$700 later, Ken.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's like a thousand dollars.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's called Score, and it's all about um people who score films.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_01: It was interesting because they interviewed, you know, basically all the big people all the big wigs who are scoring movies today.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: One of them is, of course, Hans Zimmer, who is a very famous, very successful guy who does film scores.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: But it was interesting because he and he was very honest.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: He basically said it doesn't matter how successful you get, that anytime you get you get the a cut of the movie and you sit down and you try to figure out what the score is gonna be and what the themes are gonna be, it's terrifying because you're just starting with a blank page.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: And he said it it's the same thing every single time.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: He's done he's done dozens and dozens of movies over the course of his career.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, wow, if somebody at his level can feel that, then I don't feel so bad about feeling intimidated by the blank page or by doing new things.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: So I guess it's just something that we have to get used to as entrepreneurs and as as creative people.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I do think too, right?
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: And this is what I think Vincent's encouraged us with like, so what if you fail?
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: What if I start my membership community and it bombs out and nobody liked it?
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well, okay, that's that's okay too, because I just learned a lesson in like what I shouldn't be doing, right?
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: If it fails because I just yell at everybody and they leave and quit and because and they cry, well, it's probably a lesson that like I'm not good at teaching and coaching and training, and I shouldn't do that, right?
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: That hasn't happened yet.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: But I just think it's a lesson.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, failure is just realizing, okay, well, this path isn't exactly where I go.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: I need to divert a little this way.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's I mean, that was my W-2 life, right?
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: Job after job, couldn't keep a job, then realized I'm not a bad worker, I'm just I was a bad employee.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't, I don't like the micromanaging.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's how I got into this the entrepreneurial world.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, what if I would have, you know, stated a W-2 that I hated and never really took in promotions or other opportunities?
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it never would have led me to hear every I and I think, you know, not to over-spiritualize it, but I think God ordains every single thing that happens in my life for where I'm supposed to be.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so, me being a realtor now and coaching and training realtors through the podcast and the community, well, all of that, those gifts were worked on through my whole career, right?
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: I spent years at Chick-fil-A in management coaching and training.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's probably that's one of the reasons I'm good at coaching and training now.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I, you know, if I wouldn't have taken that opportunity, even though I did lose the job, it it taught me some valuable lessons.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: What were some of the things that, just out of curiosity, that you learned at Chick-fil-A specifically, that maybe you wouldn't have learned at other restaurants or other chains, what are some of the things that you learned specifically there that have really been helpful to you?
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: Because Chick-fil-A is known as a company that puts a lot of emphasis on leadership training and development.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: A thousand percent it does, Ken.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I still have great contacts there, not the ones that fired me, but others.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I I learned that first of all, it's all about relationships, right?
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: The way we treated our guests, like you people are like, guests, what's that?
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's what Chick-fil-A called their customers, right?
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: And when they went Chick-fil-A, the A was for quality, right?
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we um I I think for for one, it's you treat people the right way and you'll do well.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's why, like, you know, Chick-fil-A's are doing five million, six million, seven million dollars a year in volume, and McDonald's open 24-7 is doing two or three million per restaurant, right?
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I also learned that you know you it quite it quality takes time.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: So we would have 16-year-old kids come in for three interviews, right?
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: Normally there's someone below me that was interviewing them, and then a man, so maybe like a team leader and then a manager, which I was at the multiple stores I was at, and then usually the general manager or the operator of the store, right?
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so you imagine the operator, the CEO of now just one location, but imagine them meeting a 16-year-old.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: We wanted our thing was all about character, right?
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: If you had character, if you had integrity, you could work here.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: And we didn't, you know, there's all sorts of things about Chick-fil-A.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: We didn't care about your gender, race, all that stuff.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: We didn't.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: It was, are you a good worker?
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_00: Are you gonna work hard, right?
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: Are you gonna try?
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there were 16-year-old kids, and it's it's funny that you say this now because there was a I remember a 15, 16-year-old kid when I worked in Pittsburgh, he was dating someone, and their dream was they want to operate a Chick-fil-A.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, You're 15, you have no idea what you want.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: He has now gone all the way, worked at a store, became a general manager, like 20 years old of a whole Chick-fil-A, like, did an amazing job.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he has now been um selected to join Chick-fil-A's uh leadership development program, and his next step will be being an operator.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: But he knew from the time he was 15 years old that he wanted to do this.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now he's 23, 24.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_00: He'll own a Chick-fil-A one day.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I think there's so much there, right?
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: When you walk into a Chick-fil-A, how do they treat you?
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you do that in your business, you treat people that way, you'll have success.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's a ton, man, but those are just a few quick ones.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: Isn't there some kind of a deal that Chick-fil-A has with with the people who now?
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not called an owner, it's called an operator.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_01: Is that correct?
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: So basically the way the way, yes, it's an operator.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's the owner slash operator, but you don't own the land, right?
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_01: I I was reading somewhere, I don't even know why I was reading this or where I came across it, about how the requirements to own and run a Chick-fil-A are so are so much of they're so more stringent than to open, let's say, a McDonald's or something.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, not to trash McDonald's, but there's kind of a difference, I guess.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: At the end of the day, there is a difference.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought that was really fascinating because they just don't want to throw out Chick-fil-A's on every corner.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they want to make sure every single one is really, really super high quality.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and they scout this.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you had made a connection about someone from my community, and she lives in Naples, Florida.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: And after we talked this morning, she's like, How do I get a Chick-fil-A here?
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Good luck, because they scout for months.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: So um basically the difference here, and I think this is great for your listeners, is Chick-fil-A is looking for leaders, McDonald's is looking for investors.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: So when I was going to go through the program with Chick-fil-A, you had to go through their you had to do it their way, and then your investment was$10,000.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's it.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to open a McDonald's, all you need is a million bucks.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need anything else.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's what they want to see on your resume, just a$1 million check.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: Interesting.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: So, but it is harder to be a Chick-fil-A operator and get in than it is to get into Harvard.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's very difficult.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's a huge lesson for all of us about right quantity over quality, right?
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Chick-fil-A and the other thing, too, is just like how Chick-fil-A does business.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: So you know, I'm a huge Dave Ramsey fan.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: Some people hate him.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to talk about everything controversial.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_00: Chick-fil-A, Dave Ramsey, maybe we'll get into politics next.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's like but uh Chick-fil-A does everything in cash, right?
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_00: So they only go as fast as the cash.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_00: So they don't open 300 stores a year because they don't have the cash flow for that.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: So they open, I think it was 30 and then 40 and then 50 and 60.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: So they'll go as fast as the cash moves.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have multiple friends and family members that are operators.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's it's an insane and intense program to get into and go through.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but that's what they're looking for.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: They're looking for leaders, they want to see people um that really build relationships, care about the community, and work in the store.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: So the other thing, too, about being a Chick-fil-A operator is you that's like your full-time job, right?
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_00: A McDonald's, you don't ever have to be in the store, just give them a million bucks and they'll let you plop them a McDonald's somewhere.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's just a different, I don't know that either is bad.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: I would say Chick-fil-A's is, I mean, McDonald's is still making billions a year, but I think Chick-fil-A's, you know, per restaurant is more successful.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's a different business model, and they're looking for people that are leaders.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think it has to do because I've I've talked with Chick-fil-A about my family a lot.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like I'm super fascinated by the way they do business.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: So, in fact, I'm really hungry for Chick-fil-A right now.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I had not anticipated having that for dinner, and I'm like really hungry for it.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: So thanks a lot.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_01: But do you think it is?
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the food is good, you know, the food's really, really good.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's pretty limited, you know, there's not a lot of different menu items, but when you're hungry for Chick-fil-A, that's the only thing that's gonna meet that.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_01: So, do you think it's a combination of the quality of the food, the quality of the service, and also the speed of the drive-thru?
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I think over the last two years, the drive-thru has become obviously way, way more important than it ever was.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think it's a combination of those things?
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: I do.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_00: I also so so think with me for a second about the what you see on Chick-fil-A commercials.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_00: Have you seen any of them recently?
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: Not recently, it's been a while.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: So, so Chick-fil-A, and actually, we had someone locally apply to have us on one, and it didn't happen because we had our gender reveal for our first child at Chick-fil-A because we had built a relationship.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_00: This wasn't even one that a family or friend owns.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_00: We had built a relationship with people there, and we're like, how cool would it be to have a gender reveal just with a milkshake?
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, so anyway, but on these, so if so, if any any of your listeners Google like hash or whatever, hashtag uh the little things, that's Chick-fil-A's like ad campaign right now, and you'll see it on ESPN all over the place.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_00: And it's stories, it's people on they fly them to corporate in Atlanta, they put them on these red couches, and you're just sharing stories about like how you know Chick-fil-A made you feel.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, one was on there, oh, my car battery died in the drive-thru.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: The team members came out and were jumping my car.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so Chick-fil-A, I I think we go back to what we started with.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Chick-fil-A is telling stories.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: They're not showing you a chicken sandwich and saying, come buy this, they're showing people on a couch.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, one one that I saw recently is really cool, Kent, is uh um a lady's talking and she's like, I learned some great valuable things working for for my Chick-fil-A operator, my dad.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_00: Then she switches into like her owner shirt, and then it's like, and now I get to do the same thing for my team members, including, including like this one.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: And and then the her son comes in and is like, thanks, mom.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: So it shows you how like the generational like operated, like working at Chick-fil-A.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_00: So, but it's all stories.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_00: When I see a McDonald's commercial, it's like, let's look at this juicy Big Mac that you can come by in our drive-thru.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then I got one today, and it was like, you know, a fourth of the size.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's not, it doesn't look the same way on TV.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't, but I just think it all comes back to telling stories, right?
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_00: Chick-fil-A knows, you know, the uh S.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_00: Truett Kathy, who started Chick-fil-A, um, there was a hotel chain, I forget who it was, uh, one of the better hotel chains um that said um my pleasure when he was there.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so he took that to Chick-fil-A, right?
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so everyone we teach people to say, we taught people to say, My pleasure.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I still say it sometimes because of the, you know, it was the Ritz-Carlton.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_00: So he was out of Ritz-Carleton and they said that.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so again, it's just about creating experience, again, storytelling and creating relationships and creating experiences that people want to recreate over and over, is what kind of sells people to Chick-fil-A.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think when it comes to so bringing this back around?
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_01: I never intended on taking this conversation to Chick-fil-A, but no, you're good.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_01: But it's funny because it comes right back around to what we were talking about at the beginning with social media and storytelling.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_01: Is there any kind of a formula that you think we can use for storytelling on social media?
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_01: Is it basically kind of like this is what it was, and now here's what it is?
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's you're you're showing some kind of a transformation in that process.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_00: I think the biggest thing, Kent, is like just be genuine and authentic, right?
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_00: When I think about like, okay, so if you were to tell me, if I were to say to you, hey, when's the time that like you had a car issue?
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_00: You'd be like, Well, I was driving down the highway, and this is what happened to my car, and this is how it got fixed.
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_00: And okay, now we're happy, happy, happy, happily ever after.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like the same thing when we're storytelling on social media is like, here's what happens, here's how I got connected to this book project, this client, this whatever it is.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_00: And here's the problem that we encountered along the way, right?
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_00: We hit a we hit, you know, the publisher ran out of money, we didn't have money for a cover.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, real estate, I think about inspections and appraisals.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the problem we ran into, here's how we solved it, and here's my happy clients at the end.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so, again, people want to read stories, right?
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, beginning, how did you meet the people?
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: What's the uh story or climax, right?
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like something happens, and then like how did it get solved?
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I and I just think that's that's a good way to tell a story.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_00: I I would encourage people don't be don't put it in a template so much that it's like, this is John.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: He bought a house.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_00: You again, you want to be authentic.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's why, whenever, you know, just like you taught me with my podcast, whenever I do one of those like thank you posts on my social medias, I record a I record a voice memo and I just talk about the experience, and then I descript that and use some of that to create the post because I'd much rather be like, hey, let's just talk for two minutes about Jill and Jane, uh Jill and Bob who bought a house.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, let's just talk about the experience, think about the emotions and say those, and then descript it and use that, you know.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's how I I tell stories better by like just talking and thinking rather.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it also depends on the person, but I wouldn't get so caught up in a format or formula or I most post this many times a day, you'll you'll stress yourself out.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's that's really true because there's so many different avenues and platforms that you can use to to post stuff nowadays.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_01: You can't be everywhere all at once, right?
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's just not possible, right?
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the great thing, you know, I'm sure you've talked about it here, but like the content waterfall.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, this might be a podcast episode, but it also can be a social media post, it also can go out in my newsletter, it also can um there's go out to my emails, whatever it is.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many different ways to use the same content.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so I would just encourage people, you know, however often you're posting now, how can you improve that?
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_00: How can you tell better stories?
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you post never, you know, even once every three months is a huge improvement.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: If you post once a month, you know, twice a month or once a week is an improvement.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: Don't not post at all and then be like, oh, hey, I'm gonna post every week.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I'm gonna post every day for the next month.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna get a week in and burn yourself out and be like, I hate this, I'm never doing this again.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's a good point.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I just saw this morning where uh the writer Stephen Pressfield, he wrote a great book called The War of Art.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_01: He uh he's got a new book coming out, and the way this book came about is he did a series back in the winter.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he just did a series of Instagram posts on a topic, and he just kind of collected those and put them into a book.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and that's what's cool about social media is you can just put little things out there, and if they resonate, you just keep going and you can repurpose that as a book or podcasts or or just whatever.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_01: So there's so many possibilities.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I do think, right, a good majority of your audience is writers, and writers are are often like, oh no, I I just write words, I I have nothing for social media.
• 43:51
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's so much there.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I've encouraged you, and I would encourage maybe you're working on a client book, and maybe you know, in your world in ghostwriting, you can't be like, Oh, I'm working on this book for this person most of the time.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: Can you post a snippet or a picture of just hey, here's a here's a selfie, me at my desk today, working on this ghostwriting project for a world renowned renowned author or world renowned whatever they are.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um right, there's so many things to post and just connect with people.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many different options.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_00: And again, and and I would say, just like I said, for your community, I would jump on if people are like, I'm struggling with social media, I'll go on a 15-minute, 30-minute free call.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and that's not pitching, it's just I want people to feel empowered by social media.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_00: I want people to feel like, hey, social media helps my business.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I don't want people to feel stressed.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like when you think about what you're doing, you know, we were talking about people that doubt you.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_00: When you think about what you're doing, you can't let anyone, you know, when I think about the most important thing to me is like my faith, and then my my wife and my two kids, Caden and Liliana.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna let anyone take food off their plate, right?
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_00: There's 1300 realtors here just in Lancaster County.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_00: So by not posting, by not doing stuff, I'm robbing my family of whatever it is.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I have to be willing to like put myself out there.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and for those listening that are like, well, no, I just want to sit behind this desk.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm worried, no one will comment.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, then use Instagram stories, Facebook stories, and see who's reading those and watching those and engaging with them and have and the nice thing about a story is like I'm gonna do this when I publicly launch my membership.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't even done that yet.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_00: Is he who's interested in this membership?
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, guess what?
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_00: No one will know if 500 people respond or five or zero.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see it, and it's only there for 24 hours.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I would just encourage people get out there and post, get out there and start sharing what you're doing.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_00: Most people have no idea what you do in your business unless you tell them exactly.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, John, this has been phenomenal.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_01: I always appreciate uh chatting with you because you're so inspiring and you're so positive.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, how can people find out more about your business and also your real estate community if that is if that is their jam?
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_01: I've never used the phrase their jam on this podcast before.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_01: Suddenly I regressed 35 years somehow.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure why that just happened, but well, I appreciate it so much.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_00: The best pay the best place to connect with me is the real estate survival guide.com.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_00: There you can find the podcast.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_00: If people are interested and they're like they want to be a realtor, they're thinking about it.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_00: I do, you know, I will uh be doing the community.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to publicly launch in September.
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, it's just kind of invite only.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: But if that's something you're interested in or you think someone you know would be interested in, I'd be happy to connect and just have a conversation and see if that could be a fit.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my podcast, even if you are not, so yeah, the realestatesurvival guide.com, even if you're not a realtor, a lot of it is just good business advice.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so I hope that helps you.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_00: But feel free to connect with me.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm always open for especially friends of friends.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_00: So if friends of yours reach out and would love to connect and get help on social media, I would love to do that.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_00: I want to see people feel empowered and not overwhelmed with it.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I also want to want to put a pitch in for anybody who who wants to hire John for some social media coaching.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_01: So actually, we did a session a few months ago that was great.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I can also put a link in the show notes if people just want to set up a time to do a coaching session, no matter what kind of business you do.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it was really, really good.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_01: So I would definitely encourage people to take advantage of that.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I appreciate that.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, thank you seriously, for and your show is incredibly fun and special.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm not just saying that because you're we're here recording.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_00: You I've said this to you, but what you do, yeah, I think transcends oh being a writer, right?
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think it encourages everybody in every business to hey, how are you again like you shared with me, how are you using those creative, you know, how are you being creative and what are you producing, whether it's written, whether it's text, whether it's you know, podcasts.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I love listening to your show, and it's been very helpful for me, even as a realtor, not a writer at all.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_00: And now I like because of that, through you know, the encouragement on your show and some other great ones, feel like I have I've been empowered to be like, oh yeah, I can speak, I can do a podcast, I could write a book one day, but I don't want to talk about it right now.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_00: And and it helps me feel like, hey, you can do these things.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_00: So you are doing amazing work.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_00: People need to check out your community.
• 48:36
  SPEAKER_00: I've been on a call in there, the group is amazing, and just thanks for what you're doing as well.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thanks.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_01: I really do appreciate that.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_01: I try, uh I'm I just kind of see myself as sort of the lead corraller.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_01: You know, my job is to kind of get the right people in the room and then let the magic happen.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_01: So we've got a lot of great people in our group, which is what makes it so magical.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_01: So, John, thanks again.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_01: This has been an absolute blast.
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate your time and your friendship as well.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, bro.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I don't know about you, but I had an absolute blast with that conversation and I learned a ton, and I always, always really, really enjoy talking with John.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_01: Here's my takeaway from this interview.
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_01: It is simply spending a little bit more time on social media and more than that, understanding that it's all about serving people.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we are more than writers.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_01: I know that if we're being totally honest, a lot of us like to think of ourselves as writers who, if left to our own devices, we would spend all day down in the basement in a dark corner just typing away and creating things, and every once in a while we would pop up and interact with the human race.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_01: I know that many of us are introverts and we sort of feel that way if we're really being honest with ourselves.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_01: But here's the thing is most people don't have a successful writing career like that, particularly today, when there's all these things that we can do on social media and all the ways that we can connect with people.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, my goodness, not just through social media, but through through other kinds of media, through radio, through email newsletters, through websites and blogs and podcasting.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, my goodness, we have so many opportunities to engage with people that we never had before.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_01: And ultimately, remember that what you're doing is about people.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's what we're doing all this for, right?
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_01: We're not just writing because we enjoy it or because it's fun.
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_01: We do it because we want to change people's lives through our stories, through our content, through our teaching or through whatever content that we happen to be producing.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_01: So that's really what I take away most from this conversation is that ultimately this is all about people.
• 50:32
  SPEAKER_01: And if we want to help people the most, we've got to be willing to engage on social media.
• 50:37
  SPEAKER_01: Not just because we have to, but because we get to and because we have the opportunity to.
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I also think if we approach it in in a sense that this is just fun, that we can actually enjoy it, that we can love hearing from people, that that social media doesn't suck our energy, that it actually gives us energy, that it actually replenishes us because we're engaging and we're interacting and and we're learning new things and we're exploring our curiosity.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_01: I think if we approach it that way, we can really kind of flip the script so that social media doesn't become something that we have to do, but instead something that is a privilege to do.
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I'm taking away from this conversation, and I hope that you're taking away something similar as well.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, a big thanks to John for being a guest on this episode, and thanks to you for listening.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I hope that you enjoyed this conversation.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, before I wrap up, I want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by the new book, The Faith of Elvis, a story only a brother can tell.
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_01: I wrote this book with Billy Stanley, who is Elvis Presley's stepbrother, in order to share the untold story of Elvis Presley's deep Christian faith.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_01: And you'll hear never before published stories about Elvis' generosity, how he relied on his faith in tough times, and what it was like for Billy to grow up with Elvis as an older brother.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_01: It was a huge privilege to be involved with this project, and the early reader feedback has been that it's a very quick read that leaves you feeling inspired.
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_01: So if you love Elvis, music, great storytelling, or you just want to deepen your personal faith, I promise that you're going to love this book.
• 52:08
  SPEAKER_01: The Faith of Elvis releases on October the 4th, and you can pre-order the book at all the major retailers and even download a free chapter via the link in the show notes.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I really hope that you check it out.
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_01: Alright, my friend, thanks so much for listening, and I will see you in the next episode.