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13: Control Your Narrative w/ Ryan Alford · Harder Than Life

• 0:00
  I'm Kelly Siegel and this is Harder Than Life, a podcast about self-love, self-awareness, business and health. We tell outrageous stories and boil everything down to simple, practical advice you can start using today. Let's get living.
• 0:15
  Welcome back to the Harder Life Podcast. Ryan Alford eventually will need no introduction. His meteoric rise to stardom is proven from starting his company Radical just five years ago and growing it to a multimillion dollars of revenue. This southern gentleman is not only handsome, but he is charismatic yet humble and a brilliant mind at marketing.
• 0:37
  I suggest you do a deep dive into his social media to get to know him. Ladies and gentlemen, the well-traveled, chisel, bold and brilliant, Ryan Alford. Kelly, might be the best introduction I've ever gotten. You win. Like I want to date you. Thank you. I'm just kidding.
• 0:56
  Ryan, my man, I'm so excited to have you on the show and share your success crusade with everyone. What's your story and why does your story matter? And specifically talk about this losing of a million bucks. I think it was in the car business or something. I got to hear this. Yeah, man. Oh, yeah. So, I mean, I'll start wherever you want. Humble beginnings. Humble beginnings in Easley, South Carolina. Yeah.
• 1:22
  I, you know, some people like to say, yeah, I grew up in the middle class. Well, you know, we say it wasn't old money. It wasn't new money. We called it no money. No money. No money.
• 1:34
  uh, you know, my parents worked two jobs each, you know, everybody has that story, but mine's true. Um, and, uh, you know, grew up home of beginnings in easily South Carolina, born and raised in Greenville, which is now sort of one of the hottest cities on the planet. Ironically, uh, both figuratively and literally, uh, and, uh,
• 1:57
  Grew up with two parents that were entrepreneurs, and they gave us everything we needed, but not a lot of what we wanted. Learned that if I wanted to get what I want, I had to go earn it and make it. I grew up watching them.
• 2:18
  you know, struggle. And, you know, eventually in my teenage years, my dad had a pretty good sales job. We definitely kind of have that story of the middle class, you know, growth and those things. So I don't want to make it out too dramatic, but definitely if you could walk the old streets where I grew up, you wouldn't be too impressed, I don't think. But yeah,
• 2:39
  I played sports, taught me a lot, taught me a lot with discipline. I had an entrepreneurial spirit, would always turn two bucks into ten bucks, and went to Clemson University after school. Yeah, I had some scholarship offers in basketball, but I blew my ankle up in the playoffs my senior year.
• 3:02
  And so that dream kind of went away, but ended up going to Clemson. So graduated from Clemson with a marketing degree. Was blessed to be one of those people that always knew what he wanted to do. Wanted to get into marketing and advertising and went straight into the ad agency business right out of school and spent 13 years at one ad agency. And it was really good. I ended up at the right place. Sometimes you're in the right place, right time, definitely in the right career.
• 3:32
  I was not the world's greatest ad agency account executive, but what I was was creative, and I understood how the agency made money, and I built relationships really well. So that turned into seven promotions over a 13-year period and ended up working on some of the largest pieces of business in the world through directly or indirectly on the wireless side with Verizon Wireless.
• 3:59
  Uh, kind of got in that inner circle. We got within their agency profile. We blew the account from when I started, it was a $3 million piece of business. When I left, it was 45 million annually in retainer. Uh, those kind of retainers don't grow on trees in the agency business. There's about four in the world. Uh, yeah.
• 4:17
  But what it allowed was I ended up working with the NFL, Apple, Verizon, Motorola, Samsung, the who's who in wireless and technology, both directly and indirectly, over that 13-year period and kind of got in the inner circle with the executives at Verizon and earned their trust and then thus got in front of a lot of these other brands and really helped usher in what I'd call the smartphone era. I worked on the first Apple company.
• 4:46
  iPhone launch, developed the Droid campaign for Motorola, the first phone that kicked Apple's ass in 2008. We sold like 50 million smartphones in a week until they bailed on the campaign. They pussed out. But, you know, it...
• 5:02
  I really got to cut my teeth at the right agency. And I was always more of a, I was a hybrid, you know, like, uh, account guy, relationship guy, but also creative. And, you know, got to the right agency, worked a lot of the right, you know, large brands. And, you know, Kelly, you and I are old enough to, you know, remember when TV was the biggest thing and the only thing before social media.
• 5:32
  You know, either directly, creatively or strategically, especially as it related to technology, wireless and smartphones. And then, you know, left the agency in 2013 and proceeded to follow my passion.
• 5:48
  Yes, that's what we do, right? We got to do the teaser. We got to do the teaser. Here comes the million dollar loss. I'm laughing with you, brother, not at you. Go ahead. Go ahead. I know. So, you know, I'm a brilliant marketer, at least in my own head. Some clients thought so. And I'm a great marketer, but you know what? Always been a car guy.
• 6:10
  You know, I made some money, moved back. I lived in Manhattan for six years. Madison Avenue did all that stuff. Moved back to South Carolina where I'm from. I bet you cleaned up in Manhattan. You used to do that Southern charm. It was okay. Yeah.
• 6:27
  life was good uh on the 52nd floor with a 3 000 square foot flat and glass ceilings 12 feet high you know you know it was okay um but moved back to south carolina car guy you know got a little money in the bank like okay no i'm not gonna start my own ad agency that'd make too much sense i'm gonna go into car business so uh
• 6:52
  Three years later, halfway divorced, drunk every night, and a million dollars out of the bank account, I proceeded to crash and burn that business over a three-year period. And I learned a lot of things, a lot of humility. And look...
• 7:17
  Marketing can transcend and do a lot of things, but it can't make you overnight an operator in a field that you know nothing about in a very dirty business now that I know. Was it car dealerships or what specifically in the car business? I had the right idea. I was doing Carvana before Carvana. So we were doing on-demand purchasing direct from auction delivered to your door.
• 7:44
  So, and it was kind of that same notion of Carvana because we had a trading component where, you know, pretty much you get to pick your car and you're not kind of limited to the local dealerships lot, you know. And so we do custom orders and ship them. The business itself, the idea was right. The execution operation and structure, you know, everything else was wrong. We gotta dig into it. I got, I can pickin' up the party vibes.
• 8:11
  What were you doing? Because this is the Heart of Life podcast. It's overcoming poverty, addiction, and violence. I'm sensing some fun addictions here. Talk about it just because. Well, I mean, I was addicted to the high of definitely like the business of cars. You know, it's sexy. You know, it was all luxury, high-end stuff. And so.
• 8:35
  The ups and downs in that, definitely, I mean, the partying, I mean, you know, I mean, it was more drinking with clients and going out and country clubbing and all that stuff. I mean, so that was part of it, and it certainly didn't help. But at the end of the day, the issue was, I wasn't sticking to what I know. You know, I wasn't sticking to what I was good at. I was trying to pivot too hard into something, you know, following the gurus of passion.
• 9:05
  I guess I get on a soapbox about that because it hits my feed like everybody else's on social media and I'm just like, no, you don't follow your passion, you follow your talent. And I'm about 180 degrees from my talent. I graduated from college with a criminal justice degree and I went straight into sales and now I own an IT company. So it makes no rhyme or reason, but it turns out I'm one hell of a leader. I'm an end user, I don't know anything about IT other than I've taught myself.
• 9:33
  But if you have the right structure in place and put brilliant people around you, you can do anything. Is it my passion? No, this this podcasting and we're going to I'm going to learn all about branding with you here shortly. And we're going to we're going to have some fun together, man. You are a trip, man. We went. Are you still divorced or will we get in trouble? Remarried, very happily remarried because I want to live. Yeah.
• 10:00
  Yeah. Yeah. I come down to Greenville. I, you know, we're going to blow the lid off the place. We're going to have him from. So that leads me to my next question. That leads me to my next question. So you started an ad agency, Radical, in 2018. And you've soared five years over four or five million dollars. That's a great freaking start. And I can guarantee. Yeah, we're over eight figures now in total revenue.
• 10:27
  Nice. Nice. So that won't, uh, that doesn't suck. And that's actually, uh, a great story. Five years and eight figures, bam. So, uh, why does everyone need to be aware of their personal brand, even if they're not trying to be an influencer or have any interest in making money digitally? So I'd look at your brand and it's just fantastic. So I want to know, talk about that. You know, what's interesting about personal branding is, um,
• 10:55
  It's the word alone. I mean, we all like everybody that's kind of in and out of the industry cringes a little bit when they hear it, you know, personal branding. It's, you know, like everybody rolls their eyes a little bit, but the irony is, is it's not about you when you're personal branding. It's actually about everyone else. And what do I, here's what I mean. You're building a legacy. Do you want to look back? We have this rare opportunity now with social media and smartphones and all these devices and things to document, uh,
• 11:23
  what you know, what you believe, and what you're good at. And I firmly believe that whether you want to make a dollar from it or not, I think most people want to leave a legacy. They want to know that they touched people, they had an impact on people, or that their kids, their wives, their family down the road have a record of their beliefs and what they did. And so –
• 11:49
  It's really about building authority and trust and leaving a legacy and a documentation of that. That I think if we put 10 people in a room and we can advance, we have a time machine, we can advance forward. And the people that didn't and the people that don't, I think you would regret it if you don't. If you don't document, if you don't leave that legacy. And it's not about flexing in front of a Lambo.
• 12:18
  really showing the side of yourself that may seem private, but could impact so many people.
• 12:28
  I love that. I saw your post on that very recently, and I was like, this man is brilliant. I never thought of it like that. And it's funny, I have a buddy that works in a big ad agency in Chicago, fraternity brother of mine, years ago before I quit the naughty water, he said, buddy, I love you, you gotta look at your brand. He's like, your brand is, you're drunk.
• 12:51
  And I was a successful drunk. And it was just that I was doing what you did. I'd be partying with customers, man. I was good at it. People loved me. And, you know, the party would, happy hour, closing a deal would turn into all night, which would turn into all weekend. And then I got to...
• 13:06
  So I was like, ah, you know, that's crazy talk. You know, this is 10 years ago. I'm like, ah, whatever. And then four years ago, I made the change. And I was like, ooh, okay, I see what you're saying. You know, my daughter's 13 or 14 now. And, you know, it says a lot about who you are and what your character is. And we did, I told you that we just shot 50 videos and there was some on my boat in Florida. And it's like.
• 13:28
  I feel weird, but it's who I am. And really, literally, I suggest if you... I said this in the intro. If you haven't seen Ryan's material, his content is beautiful and brilliant. And you get a real good... So far, what I'm seeing is that's who he is, man. He's...
• 13:46
  He's just genuine, authentic, down to earth guy. Go check out his socials. They'll be in the show notes. And he really is that person. And I tell you, you influenced me to to include more. No, I mean, that means a lot coming from you. And so like I but I want to say this, like.
• 14:08
  You get to set the table before you even have dinner. So here's what I mean. So you get to know, people get to know you. They get to like you. They get to see. And you don't have to look. I am the most unsocial social person you know. I show about 20% of my life.
• 14:27
  Not because I'm hiding the other 80%. It's because I found the balance in a system for showing and showing my real self and giving everyone a taste of who I am and what I do. But I don't show every moment. But what I do is people know me before they even meet me. And that opens so many doors of opportunity, whether that's a dollar today or a person I get to meet tomorrow. It's just setting the table because, look. Yeah.
• 14:56
  Someone's going to Google you or look you up or research you, no matter who you are, what you do, when you meet someone, when you come into contact with someone. And do you want someone else to control the narrative or do you want to control it? And so I like to control the narrative and I like to coach others to control it.
• 15:17
  I launched a book because if you Googled me back in the day, you'd pick up frickin. I got arrested for selling drugs at college. So I wrote the book and just told it all out there. It turns out I was really good at sales. I started very early. But no, you know, what overcoming adversity is what I'm all about. I mean, I think we all went off deep, you know, like.
• 15:41
  It's like my whether good or bad, like as they say, everything in moderation, including moderation. I think Abe Lincoln said that. And I'm I'm really good at moderating my moderation.
• 15:55
  I am not. I go literally, it is zero to 100, and I go at 150 miles an hour all the time. I love it. But my life is fantastic, and you'll see it in the videos. I go that way too, but I can, like, I don't know. I might be fooling myself, but I think if I'm...
• 16:12
  I get too far on the other end. I seem to be able to pull myself back. We'll see. You are so humble. I love it. I love it. You just said this, so I'm going to tee up this next question because you just teed it up. Tell me about your non-negotiables and how they influence your brand.
• 16:29
  Yeah, I mean, look, I'm a father and a husband first. You know, I've had a lot of fun in life. Took me a long time to meet the right person. But my wife, Nicole, is everyone and everything that I ever wanted in a partner. And we have four amazing boys. And, you know, my and even my company now, you know, I'm running or managing in some way four companies.
• 16:59
  They know my schedule better than me. Thursday, Ryan picks up kids. Friday, Ryan picks up kids. Monday night's basketball practice. Tuesday night. It doesn't matter when it is. They know when it is. They know it's a non-negotiable, and they don't even have to ask me when they need to do something for their family.
• 17:15
  So it's not only for me, but it's the culture within our company that family comes first. And it will always, and I said that people, it always amazes me. And I think the world changed a bit the last couple of years, you know, COVID and all that shit. But like, it's, if you set the expectation with your clients and anyone you work with that look,
• 17:39
  you know, you may be my client and I'm going to take care of you, but I'm at my son's baseball game right now. This can wait. And if you set that understanding, they'll have respect for you versus angst for you. And I think too many people just overworked themselves and overdo it. Like, oh, I got to be here. I got to do all this. Like, yeah, of course, I got to get shit done. But you got to have some boundaries. And I'm really good at setting boundaries within, you know, the things that matter to me.
• 18:10
  So I always say you teach people how to treat you, and it's absolutely true with customers. I used to be that way. When I started my company years and years ago, I worked 24-7, 365. It probably cost me my first marriage. It just, I never took vacations. I was always working. You know, now it afforded some freedom, but it was hard. If I took one of those personality tests, I haven't taken one in a while. It's been a while. Yeah.
• 18:37
  whatever all those things are. But one of my buddies took one, and we're very similar. And I think we'd probably come out the same. And his came out. So I'm using his score to proximate mine. So that's real scientific gear. That's what you get from a Clemson graduate.
• 18:52
  let me read this book osmosis yeah okay I got it I read the back of it so the but in all seriousness I do know this back to non-negotiables like freedom for me is a non-negotiable and what does that mean for me like
• 19:10
  My time, time is our most valuable resources. And for me, I do not like my time being controlled. Like I like to have my own schedule. I worked for other people for 17 years. So it's not that I could and made them a lot of fucking money. But so it's not that I can't work for others, but I worked at a very entrepreneurial company who let me kind of took the rails off to run, son, you know, good for them. Good for me. But I made my own schedule then kind of, I mean,
• 19:40
  But that schedule and freedom of time, and don't get wrong, it's not that I can't have things put on my schedule, but I got to kind of control my time. That's when I'm happy. And I think too many people don't learn what truly makes them operate best and be happy. Because success and happiness, I think, are interchangeable. And you want to get the most out of me, then you need to not try to box me in.
• 20:08
  So I get those two. There's going to be two questions that are those same things, but I'm going to go kind of in order because we're flying all over the place. Just I got a separate question. So Nicole is who you have your four boys with or? We're a blended family. OK, two and two. We had a two year old and a four year old son that I had joint custody with. She had a two year old son when we met. We were both divorced.
• 20:30
  So we brought two two-year-olds and a four-year-old together, three sons. And then we had Nash together. So we have the his, hers, and ours. We're the modern Brady bunch. But we have all four 50% of the time. And then it's probably like a 50-50 split with the other two. I mean, Nash, we don't ever send Nash anywhere. He has nowhere to go, but stay with us.
• 20:50
  I call those times when the kids go to the other parents, the parenting recharge, man. It's like, whoa. My daughter is, I mean, she's my whole world, but 14-year-old and the drama that goes on in the world. You'd be lucky. I can't imagine girls. I don't even know. My wife. How beautiful my daughter is. It's unbelievable. I want to get back to this because you're so...
• 21:14
  successful and we're going to get to the definition of that but you're doing well and i want to really understand radical and what you're putting out in the world because it's the content's phenomenal so you can't build a brand without positive daily habits and rituals and so far i've heard this just total down-to-earth guy tell me what's the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do before you go to bed yeah i um
• 21:38
  I, the first thing I do in the morning, I mean, you know, we live in an amazing world. Like we've got my phone turned off, but like, I mean, you can do so much here, right? We can like, so I get up, eat like a protein shake or something like that. Knock out what I have to on my phone, but I'm at the gym.
• 21:55
  six out of seven days, uh, and working out, you know, first thing in the morning, I'm, I, I am working out in the morning now it's not 5.00 AM. Uh, you know, but I'm big on me or something. I just, I, I'm not like a late sleeper, but like, I might be in the gym between seven 30 and eight 30, you know, eight, so, you know, I just don't, I'm going to get up.
• 22:18
  had my protein shake, do an hour's worth of work. And, uh, you know, my wife doesn't think it's work because my wife's a principal in a middle school. Yeah.
• 22:27
  Oh, that's such a crazy dichotomy. Yeah. So, uh, long story there, but, uh, no, no, no, no. It's a short story because she's got to be patient and understanding with you. Look how crazy you are. I love it. I love your energy. We are like the polar, like bare opposites. Like it's like, you know, like in a way, but we're like the perfect match and fit. You know, she, she doesn't think me in my underwear, uh, drink my protein shake, doing work on my smartphone is real work. You know, like.
• 22:56
  Does she believe the car and the gas in the car is real gas in the car? She does. She does. But when she has to, you know, talk about the polar opposites of rigidity and non-rigidity. When you have to work at a school, your schedule is so rigid because you can't go anywhere. You know, she runs the school. She makes good money, but she can't go anywhere because she's, you know, she's got to run the asylum.
• 23:22
  But no, I go to the gym, man. And then the end of the day, I'm tucking kids in at bed and sometimes tucking my wife in because I do a lot of my best work at night. First thing in the morning and end of the night, I'm usually writing. And when I say writing, content, ideas, you know, my flashes of brilliance seems to come at 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. Wow, 11 p.m. I'm sawing logs.
• 23:51
  Uh, we're getting a little mushy with the next questions. Uh, what makes you, what makes you get out of bed in the morning? Uh, you know, I've always been self-driven. Uh, I, it's one thing if I could teach it.
• 24:12
  Yeah, we'd be rich, Kelly. I mean, I guess we kind of are, but like, you're really rich. Like, you know, like Elon Musk rich, not that kind of rich, but I'm just self-driven, man. My clock's going like I want to tackle the next challenge the next day.
• 24:31
  It's always, I hate to sound cliche when you get this kind of question, but like the journey is everything. I mean, but like it is like, I'm like on to the next thing. I have a very unique ability to,
• 24:44
  to know that the only thing that I get looking back is a sore neck. And I am just forward. I love that. Hold on a second. I love that. I've never heard the only thing I... Say it one more time. The only thing I get looking backwards is a sore neck. So I'm always, you know, getting out of bed is a motion forward, right? Everything in my life is forward. I'd be the world's worst reverse walker ever. Like...
• 25:12
  I just, I can't, I, it's, it's, it's a good quality, but like people say, well, you got to reflect on your losses and all that. Well, fuck that. I don't reflect on my losses. I'm fucking looking forward to like, what do we got to do? You know, I'm like the quickest rebounder on earth. Like I, you know, no one has better pity parties than me when I have them. I have streamers, balloons, I have fucking clowns there, but you know what? It lasts for about 10 minutes. And then I'm like forward.
• 25:42
  Dude, you're talking to a freaking locomotive, dude. Like, my feet hit the ground. It's scorching earth, man. I'm coming, and hell is coming with me. Yeah. And I mean, how old are you?
• 25:57
  45. Oh, so you aren't that much younger than me. I love it. You look good, brother, man. I, whatever you're doing, keep doing it, which is absolutely the, the, the two I got teed up this next question define happiness for me. What's what's happiness look for you, brother. Um, I think it's back to what I said. Like, it's this freedom that allows me to be the dad that I want to do it. Be, be the husband I want to be, um,
• 26:24
  you know, like controlling my time and like that's happiness for me because I'm in control. You know, there's irony of like some people need like, I feel like I have a pretty damn good moral compass, like with, you know, like especially as I've gotten older. I mean, it comes with time and maturity. What's the compass?
• 26:45
  You know, like 20 years ago, probably not. But I feel like I've settled in a place where I like me. I like what I'm trying to do, and I'm trying to do the right thing. I'm trying to be, but it starts with being in control and being able to make it happen. And I think happiness is baked somewhere in the ability to continue to, I don't know, write my own narrative.
• 27:12
  I like that. That's simple. And you live and learn, man. And if you're smart, you live and learn. I mean, what do they say? Smart people learn from their mistakes. Wise people learn from other people's mistakes. So I think you and I just learn from our own mistakes over and over and over again. Oh, yeah. I mean, I am stubborn and I'll I'll make the same. I've missed some of the same mistakes twice. And but it's.
• 27:40
  It's usually more my stubbornness of I don't make it the same way twice. I'm like, no, I'm fitting this damn round peg in this square hole. I don't care what anybody tells me. What's going on in there? You know what I mean? Give me a tube of lube. We're getting this round thing in this square hole. I don't care what. You said that you've made this same mistake twice. I've made the same mistake a thousand times if it's blonde and beautiful.
• 28:05
  You know, I had those moments, but I'm always I've been more of a brunette guy. I've married two brunettes. You know, I don't know. Maybe that was my only wise thing is to stay away from the blondes. Generally speaking, blondes have more fun, man. I don't know. I don't know about that. I think that's a that's a misnomer. So we talked a little bit about it. Talk to define success for me then.
• 28:29
  I think it's different for me or for anyone for you. We're just all about you. We're trying to get my audience to know who you are because boy, I think they could just look in the mirror and we could, we could flip the screen right now. It's very similar, you know, like, except you're definitely more handsome than me. Oh, I don't know. I don't know. The, you know, I,
• 28:56
  I think I can do two things simultaneously and then both be what I view as success. And what do I mean by that? Like, I think I can make all the money I need to have all the freedom I need to do all that I want to do.
• 29:11
  And I can also impact people positively and not be fake and not be, uh, you know, unattainable. And success for me is impact on others and impact for myself and my own family. And I am trying to do both. And I think it can be done. Sometimes those things fight with one another because you're trying to be something to the world. You're in that like, isn't real. Yeah.
• 29:38
  But I'm carving a path of authenticity that I think will allow me to get and have and be everything I want while also enabling others to do the same thing.
• 29:52
  Well, I'll be the first to tell you that I picked it up, and it's probably why I gravitated. It's probably why you gravitated back to me. You'll never find, besides yourself, a more genuine and authentic person. I try not to say anything to hurt anybody's feelings. Sometimes just saying what I do hurts people's feelings, and I'm sorry, you're probably not my person, and sorry, not sorry. Yeah, well, I'd like to say, a saying that I say is real recognizes real.
• 30:24
  Well, game recognizes game, but I tell you, I live a structured life that there's just, it would kill most people. I just go, go, go, go, go, go. And, but I love my life. I love the journey. I love the process. You said like, I love it.
• 30:40
  I have freedom. I have peace and I have clarity. And a lot of that comes from releasing and releasing expectations and just letting things happen, which we're alpha males and it's hard. So if you haven't done a lot of that, I would, my only advice to you is everything I'm hearing is I would get an assistant and let her run your schedule. Even though you like to run your own, I'm telling you, since I got one, I got one about a year ago and,
• 31:08
  I don't run my schedule. She's fantastic. She tries to kill me certain days, but she knows that I figure out I got to be in two places at once, but it's usually something I'm passionate about. So it's, if you haven't given it, ironically, I have fought that. I have never, I mean, I, there are people making us,
• 31:27
  a hundredth of what I make that have a personal assistant. And I've never had one, but I am literally hiring. I, the position is open. I'm telling you right now, it's, you'll love the freedom. Cause I was sitting, I was sitting,
• 31:40
  down at the end of the year thinking what do i hate doing i hate i literally i hate to use the word hate but i i dislike very immensely sitting answering emails i i just it's i want to pick up the phone i want to talk i want to have this this kind of conversation i i run an it company i love to do this i love mind sharing with you so i i don't want to be setting schedules and going through and and now that we're doing this it's like it's hard to get a hold of people
• 32:07
  You know, so I let her do it. And she, I have an amazing, so she makes the world go around and she literally, I trust her with my life and it makes my life so much easier and allows me to do the things that I want to do. And it allows me to be more present for my daughter. So it's, which, uh, you have to be really present with four. That's, that's a lot.
• 32:24
  Yeah, I mean, it's great, man. I mean, they're fun ages. And, you know, like we play pig or horse. I'm still at the point where I kick their ass, you know, like so it's still fun. But they're coming for me hard. I got them training with like a pro. They're all basketball players. I am training with like an NBA player's father. And who's awesome, Bobby McAllens. His son plays for the Charlotte Hornets.
• 32:52
  um and uh Bryce McGowan's he was their second round draft pick and uh the uh they're they're coming they're coming fast for me how to say that besides uh working out what else do you do to keep yourself um looking young and beautiful
• 33:14
  I don't know, man. If you watch me during the week, there's two things. I mean, let me answer it in a different way than I'm going to answer it directly. I like change. I really embrace change better than most people. I take no house, a car, whatever. Yes, I like them, but they have no sentimental value to me.
• 33:43
  a meal plan or this or that, I'll switch it like that. You know, like, but generally speaking, I don't eat French fries, tacos that have, you know, bad shit in it. Like, I eat generally okay, good, you know, and healthy. It doesn't mean I had pizza last night, you know, like, but I don't worry about that shit. Like, I'm just going to, but I...
• 34:11
  I have a good, I kind of have a good, like internal, like I know, like, you know, I'm six, five to 65. So that may not show up on social media. Are you? Yeah. I'm so glad you told me that. Cause I'm fricking five foot nine and 220 pounds. I'm going to be like half your size. I'm like a tree truck.
• 34:35
  Yeah, man. So I'm a big dude. Like, I'm not a tall, skinny dude. I mean, I'm not fat, but I'm a big athlete dude. I'm like Ben Roethlisberger. He's the only guy, like literally, and I did a lot of work in the NFL, worked by NFL players, and I have and look, kind of have that size. I should have played. I have one kidney. Long story. Anyway. Didn't play football. Yeah.
• 35:00
  Ben Roethlisberger is the only guy I've ever walked by. I've been like, damn, that's a big old country boy right there. He's like 6'5". He says 270. I think he's like 290. He's a big old country boy. And then my wife's like, you know you look like him. I'm like, fuck. I'm just a big dude. But I just know and have a good barometer around like, okay, I've eaten too many shitty meals the last three days, and I need to tighten it up.
• 35:30
  You know, like I and I would say that's kind of like my life encapsulated is I'll get off the and look, don't get me wrong. I've gone way down the rails, you know, needed help, needed done things. I mean, like, you know, like in the had those moments. But generally speaking, my life is.
• 35:48
  self-guided to a way of, I know when, okay, Ron, it's time to tighten that up or let's go further here. This is working. And it's both with diet and fitness and business and other things. I've got a regulation system, I feel like, inside me that kind of rings.
• 36:09
  Yeah, it's called a conscious man. You have self-awareness and self-discipline that's like no other, and you don't even have to think about it. So I like that. We're going to be friends for a while because I'm the same way. I know when I'm being incongruent. I know when I just made a stupid decision that doesn't align with me. I do it too much, and at least I give myself grace because at least I don't lie to myself and say, oh, no.
• 36:38
  That was a good decision. You know, staying up all night or out all night. And I don't drink. And I still go out and party and I'm out all night. It's like, what did I gain? That was stupid. I know. I have those moments too. You have this Vacay Vibes shirt on. If people are watching us on YouTube, it'll be on YouTube as well. They'll see, besides how handsome you are, the Vacay Vibes. And it's one of your products, one of your companies. Tell me about it.
• 37:05
  Yeah, so it's just VK. This is, you know, we're just vibing a little bit with the extra word, but VK, health and wellness, lifestyle brand, you know. I'd call it alternative wellness because –
• 37:19
  We do have CBD, Delta 8 products, but ours are all like the highest grade ingredients, third party tested. And really, we're a lifestyle brand that also happens to sell wellness products that are the best. So we're going to have we have merchandise, high end handbags, you know, like T-shirts, limited edition things, hoodies, all that. But then we have wellness products.
• 37:49
  the notion that we live in a world that's way overstressed, way overworked, and we want to be synonymous with getting away. That's physically, mentally, everything. Not getting high, not trying to go to the gas station and buy, you know, a fake product that you don't know what's in it, that, you know, is trying to act like it's marijuana when it's not.
• 38:09
  Our products happen to have chamotenoid ingredients in them, some of them, not all of them, because they have tremendous effect on people in a positive way. You want to take six glasses of wine to the head or do you want to take half a gummy and relax and feel great the next day?
• 38:26
  And so, you know, we're trying to really separate and above the fold in building a brand that separates from this ingredient category and really owns and helps people get away in a positive and natural way.
• 38:44
  So I have trouble sleeping. I don't know if you're like that at 45. I fall asleep, no problem. And I'm asleep for four hours, and I wake up and I have to go to the bathroom. And then I have trouble going back to sleep. Would you recommend some CBD? I don't take any cannabis. I don't use alcohol, not because I have a problem. I just choose not to. I want to deal with whatever the hell it is. But it doesn't mean I won't try every freaking natural, over-the-counter, anything,
• 39:13
  Well, we vacay. We have a sleep gummy. There you go. Does it have CBD or does it have cannabis in it? It does have CBD in it. CBD, I'll tell you. But it's low dose. It's not, I know you own your company. We're not worried about a drug test or anything, but like. No, no, no, no. We failed that a long ago. But where can you order it? It's got a lot of other ingredients. It's got about 12 natural ingredients, and I'll send you some. You can try it. Where do you order it from? I take it.
• 39:43
  Say it again. What's the website? How can the audience? Take a vacay.com. One more time. Take a vacay. No bad trips. Make sure that's on the show notes as well. Yeah. Take a vacay. And that's V-A-Y-C-A-Y. We will be having a press release announcing that vacay is officially spelled V-A-Y-C-A-Y and not missing the Y in the middle.
• 40:11
  What the hell is the branding there? What happened? Misspelled. Yeah, no, we're owning it. That's how people say it. They K. So we spell it like you say it. So is this more of a passion? I mean, I know it's helping people, but is that more of your alignment with your pet? Because we just started the thing I'm saying, I have to stay in what I know. What you know is branding and marketing. And then now here you are in the wellness. Walk me through that one.
• 40:37
  Well, I have three other partners in this that have a background. So we brought together the dream team. We've got a guy, the specialist in laboratory testing and ingredients. A guy that was a product specialist in this field. An operations guy that knows all the ins and outs.
• 41:01
  and the best marketer on the planet. There you go. That sounds like a privilege. You're right. Okay, I understand now. I wouldn't doubt you anymore. Yeah, so we're going hard at this, and we got the right team. Awesome. Awesome. We'll help you promote that. That sounds like a really good product. I definitely want that sleep stuff. I want to try anything. Yeah, man. I really believe that if I can get seven hours of sleep, oh, God help the world. Yeah.
• 41:28
  I got, I'll be honest. And look, I don't know how it'll affect. I mean, like our products have the right dosages, not over medicated. It's not like everything else. Like in this industry, they try to jam stuff in it because they, they're worried that people have to feel it hard. You know, like, like there's this perception of that. And many of these ingredients just need the right dosages to work, to do what they're supposed to. And so for me, I get about an hour more sleep at night taking this product.
• 41:55
  That's all I need. I get about six hours. I need seven. Yeah, you need seven. I get to operate on six. I operate great on six. But back to that self-regulation, and you sound like you're the same way. And I feel in the morning, too, like I know I'm awake. I'm like, if I could get one more hour, this day would fucking kick ass.
• 42:18
  I don't know how you can go at 11 o'clock at night. If you try to ask me something after about 3.30, I might jumble. I have just enough energy for my daughter for a couple of hours, and I dedicate everything to her. I usually go into the gym with her and let her work out and talk with her and ask about the day, but if you...
• 42:38
  if I had to do a meeting and like, I just, somebody just wants me to invest in a pro and a company and they're like, Hey, can we talk this afternoon? I'm like, okay, I guess. And there'll probably be a lot of yeses or whatever. Yeah. Well, I'm more like, I can just get in my, I get in a zone and like, everything's turned off. No one's bothering me or no one's needing me and say bothering me. Uh, but kids are in bed. Nicole's asleep. And, and,
• 43:07
  I get about an hour and a half of greatness, at least in my own mind, you know, of writing and like thinking about certain things. I don't know how great I would be on a conference call having to like really respond to 12 people or something, but like at least in my creative mindset,
• 43:25
  focus zone of like ideas, you know, reflecting on, you know, like, or think about it's rarely like looking back. It's more like going, okay, next week. Okay. Like, you know, thinking like, what do I got to get ahead of or writing things? I'm still, you know, I'm a practitioner, man. Like I have a team. I'm gonna have a great content team. I mean, I couldn't, you know, with all the content I put out, like I, you know, like amazing team, but I'm still a practitioner, man. I'm still the best creative I know.
• 43:54
  Like, I, you know, my brain works that way. And so I write and come up with...
• 44:01
  client taglines or, you know, notions or create, you know, I just, that's just how my mind works. So I have one for you. I got a challenge for you. I'm meeting with a TEDx coach after this. This is going to air really quickly because we want to, we want to make sure to pump up your event on May 10th and 11th, but I want you to, I challenge you because TEDx, they want something to be regarding technology. That's what they like. It's technology education. And I think it's design. Yeah.
• 44:31
  So I said, hey, I want to do something about my book, Harder Than Life. I want to tell you about how I overcame it. He's like, yeah, you and everybody else. Come up with something more original. I was like, okay. Like, way to dismiss my whole entire life, my book, my podcast, everything. But okay. I said, well, I own an IT company, and everything I do for the podcast is going to charity. And he goes, now you're on to something. So come up with what you think, based on my branding, what I should do a TEDx talk on.
• 44:58
  Not now, but we'll take it offline. I'm just challenging. Remind me the name of your book. Harder Than Life. Harder Than Life. Overcoming Poverty, Addiction, and Violence. Dude, I got to send you one. I'll send you one. It's wild. So if you ever watched the movie 8 Mile, that's literally, I grew up off of 8 Mile. And I went to high school with Marshall. Detroit God? Yeah.
• 45:20
  Yeah, I'm a Detroit guy. I'm in Detroit. But I have a house in Florida. That's where you see me shooting all the videos. So you're like, Kelly, come. I don't remember Detroit in your pictures. It's not as bad as it seems. Trust me, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my daughter. But, man, I've done well here. I love Michigan. Not a big fan of the roads. Not a big fan of the traffic and some of the negativity. We drink a lot here, man. It was opening day yesterday for the Tigers. Yeah.
• 45:50
  Ooh, you come here and you're going to, you're going to leave with a, with some, with a hangover. So, um, I quit drinking four years ago. My life changed just everything about it. And there's no good story. It's in the book. I don't, I just one day just said something's got to change. And, uh,
• 46:06
  I just got sick and tired of being sick and tired. There's no, I didn't beat my girlfriend. I didn't, I didn't get a DUI. Just fricking cheers to a drag queen in Key West, Florida and said, all right, I'm done with this. Put it down and never look back. And life changed dramatically. So if you had all the money already, so giving what I got, how Kelly Siegel was.
• 46:33
  I got to think about that subland. It's like there's this interplay of you, you know, the giving that you're doing with your podcast and all that. But there's the double entendre of giving what you got because you're giving knowledge.
• 46:45
  But you're also giving money. And there's a subhead that goes there. Yeah. I was trying to think about, you know, since chat GBT and artificial intelligence is such a big component of life, I was thinking about trying to do a double and ton about that. Like, if you don't do something with your life, these computers are going to take over. Right. Who's the audience?
• 47:08
  downtown Detroit. Okay. But you know, the TEDx talks, it's, it'll be downtown Detroit, but the TEDx talks go viral and they put them on the site. And if you do them right, they, it's just something I've wanted to do for years. And really truthfully, again, everything's going to charity from the heart of the life stuff. So I, I just want to create awareness. So people realize I know what I'm talking about. I've, I, this isn't something I'm on a whim. I read incessantly. I, I do all kinds of therapy. I am, I am,
• 47:37
  addicted to the advancement of my mind. I want to be a learn-it-all. I am definitely not a know-it-all, and I am just as stubborn as you, and I want to put that round peg in that square hole, and I'm going to jam it in there come hell or high water. So that's why we're going to be – we're going to hang out a lot. I'll write your –
• 47:56
  I like your intro. What I might do is I got to shoot a two-minute video, and that's how you need to do an application. So maybe I'll have you guys do that for me. And it'll mean the world to me. This is scary. I don't mind giving presentations. I don't mind getting in front. But just this, I don't know, knowing that this is going to be shared all over the world is a little bit scary. So that means I got to do it. Are you like that too? I bet you are. If you get scared, you got to do it.
• 48:24
  Well, yeah, if I get scary, I do it. But like, I'm also like. Things that probably you would think scare me, don't scare me. And then things that, you know, it's like, it's usually like the opposite, you know, like some shit that should scare people that scare most people don't scare me. You know, I think it's spiders or something. I don't know. Like I could jump out of a plane or I can I can write a check for a million dollars and like.
• 48:48
  you know that doesn't really scare me but like I don't know maybe smaller things that probably are less more trivial hold on tell me one you gotta tell us what I don't know I'm trying to think of like um I think I mean at the end of the day like I'm scared to not live up to what I know I could be like and like it
• 49:18
  I know every person has so much potential. So it's not just this, but like this, you're interviewing Ryan Offord. I'm talking about myself. I don't always like to talk about myself, believe it or not. But like, it's like, but I know the, the potential I have inside of me. And the only thing that scares me is that I will go and think you didn't do everything you could have done. Like you didn't like you left something on the table.
• 49:49
  That's Yeah You're my brother from another mother Because I feel the same way That's why Give me those sleeping things And then watch me take off Because honestly That's the only thing I have no fear I am
• 50:02
  I like to think I'm smart, but at least the no fear will take over from my lack of brains. You get me an extra hours of sleep and I'm going to take I'm going to do some remarkable things. And let's wrap it. We're going to rip through a couple of questions. There's quick and easy ones. If you had all the money you needed in life but had to work, what would you be doing?
• 50:22
  Oh, I'm doing it, man. It's my greatest blessing is that I found exactly what I'm great at. And I'm marketing, advertising, and consumer behavior and understanding all that. Like, I'm blessed that I found it early, and it's what I love and what I do well. No more selling the cars? Fuck no. Tell us something you believe in that almost nobody agrees with you on.
• 50:57
  The world is flat. I'm going to hang up on you. Oh, you know, yeah, let's skip that one. OK, what reaction do you have when what reaction do people have when you walk in a room? I think I'm perceived as confident, potentially arrogant, and then they get to know me.
• 51:27
  I'm so glad you told me you're so good. I'm a big dude, man. It took me a long time in life. I think it might have just been what my wife told me 10 years ago. She's like, my name is 10 years ago. I was like, you're a big dude. You know that? I'm like, I guess I do know that. But I don't.
• 51:42
  I've lived this way all my life. I don't know. I was just going to ask you, do you feel like you're the normal one and everybody else is small? Because that's how I feel. People are like, you're a big guy. And I'm not. You're way bigger than me. But I'm 220 pounds, chiseled freaking rock. And everyone's like, you're a big dude. I feel normal. Everyone else is small. This is my body. This is what I've had. I've been like this for 20 years plus. Do you get that feeling?
• 52:09
  Uh, yeah, but now I think I'm more self-aware of it because, you know, I, I guess I am a head taller than almost every person in the grocery store line. Like you're a head taller at about 40 pounds wider than me. I can't wait to meet you, brother. But like, it's, it's funny though. Like you have to have self-awareness and I think I felt like I had it, but then I was like, you know, I don't know that I attributed that.
• 52:34
  what impact that has. Like when you walk in a room like that, he would just assume things about you, you know? And I'm kind of like, I never most, you know, like I'm a introverted extrovert. You're extroverted introvert. I don't know what your reverse of those things. Like I, I've never met a stranger, but I'm also, unless I get, you know, get introduced to you. I'm not like, I'm just go blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah to anyone. I'm just gonna, you know, take it as it comes. But when someone talks to me,
• 53:00
  You don't have people. I have strangers that walk up to me and introduce themselves. There's something told me I had to meet you. I was just at the opening day. People were walking up to me. Hey, I've seen your post. I've seen that. That's got to happen. Oh, yeah, I have. That happens. It it happened like the grocery store. I love it. The GM general manager walked by and he was a tall guy.
• 53:22
  black guy that I, he looked familiar to me. So I was like, I think I played ball with that guy. I was like, and he walked up and he goes, Ryan. I'm like, I knew I did. He's like, dude, I fucking love your podcast. And I'm like, and he's like, yeah, and I watch all your stuff. And like, I just thought he was one of my old friends I'd play ball with that I hadn't seen in 30 years. And I didn't know him from Adam. He just, but he watched my show. So my kids were with me. They're like, you know, dad's getting recognized. I get recognized at the airport.
• 53:50
  My daughter says that to me. She's like, we've never gone anywhere in this country or other countries where you haven't known somebody or they haven't known you. It's like, I'm sorry. When you're a nice person, people remember you. I treat people well. When you were down, what can you think of to make you smile again? My worst day is someone's best day. Okay.
• 54:18
  And I'm fully aware of that, that my worst day on this planet is a lot of people's best day. It's perspective. I call it contrast. That's microphone drop material right there. Tell the listeners about the, we haven't even talked about your podcast. I apologize. We're going to hit it up next. I can only imagine. I haven't listened and I will. And I apologize. I will. Tell the listeners about the Radical Accelerator program.
• 54:49
  Yeah, man. There's two things. We have an event on May 10th and 11th. And we're also, we figured out that we don't have to have an event to do this. So we're doing VIP personal brand accelerator where people, look, I have a 6,000 square foot studio here. I have the podcast studio. We have the mecca for
• 55:12
  photography, interviews, everything you need to kind of jumpstart your authority building and personal branding. And so we're going to have the event where we bring a lot of people in. We're going to get them six months of content in two days. I'm going to teach them my playbook for building a personal brand, an eight-figure business, leveraging my podcast, my personal brand, and my agency. And then...
• 55:36
  We're also going to do it where we don't have to set a date. Like we're going to literally open the calendar up and people can come in, whether it's June 2nd or May 19th, we're going to have three days a week opened up. People can come in and in one day, we're going to give them six months of content. We're going to have them as a guest on the Radcast.
• 55:57
  We're going to film it, shoot it. We're going to interview them. We're going to do photography, other situational things for talking about whatever their industry is, their business. And literally in a one-day period, they're going to leave.
• 56:12
  with six months worth of content. And so our team will have it all edited within like a week after they leave. So all back to them. So the biggest issue with a lot of executives, a lot of people in doing this is I don't have enough time and I don't know what to do.
• 56:29
  this knocks down both of those, you know, one day come in, we'll kickstart it and then we'll give you the path to manage it going forward. Now this just isn't for influencers. This is for anybody that wants to build a personal brand for any, any really. I mean, you know, I think it probably skews towards, you know,
• 56:48
  Hey, I am really good at X. I'm a, I'm a, whether you're an entrepreneur and you own your own business or you work for someone else, you have a defined skillset and ability and you're ready. You've either tried to kind of start to get out there with dabbling and sharing that knowledge, but haven't gone far, or you just haven't done it at all. And we're going to jumpstart your authority building and your personal branding, which, you know, is, you know, legacy building.
• 57:17
  You're so humble. I want to tell you, I just came... I just did all this. So I tried it on my own. It was a flop. I hired somebody, and there was just a disconnect from the videographer to the search engine or to the social media person to do it. It just...
• 57:33
  I ended up finding someone that did it all. And I met you right after. I wish I would have met you first. I would be the first person down there going, Hey, what does something like that cost? Ryan, do you want it? Do you want to share that one day? 10 grand, boom. All in. And, you know, for the, and that's for the VIP or the event. Here's the kicker. If you come in and do the VIP alone, like one day,
• 57:59
  You come on the Radcast, which is a number nine business and marketing podcast in the United States. We have over 200,000 downloads a month. You should be paying $10,000 just to be in that chair that's out of the screen right now to come on our show. There goes the arrogant guy. No, I'm just kidding. Yeah.
• 58:16
  So, yeah, I mean, I've got the wall of fame over here from Bruce Buffer to Marty Smith to Tariq El Moussa, Brad Leap, Grant Cardone, the who's who on my wall of fame here in the studio. So we'll put your put your custom image right up next to it. So it's the Radcast. How do we where do we find it?
• 58:37
  Yeah, the Radcast.com, baby. We got the patent and the trademark now. There's about at least some cease and desist. There's a few stragglers out there, and they're about to get it. But, yeah. Let's go pay. I'll come there. I'm from Detroit. You're a big boy. I'm a little high. We'll deliver them in person. I have an envelope, but there's no stamp on here because we flew in on our private jet.
• 59:07
  Just to hand you this. Hi, we're here. Is Jeff here? Yeah. How about you follow your notion right here while we're standing here? Besides those two things, how can I personally support you, Ryan?
• 59:24
  I mean, RyanAlford.com has all my content. I'm at Ryan Alford. I'm verified on TikTok, Instagram, anywhere you... I guess you can buy it on Instagram now. I've had it before you can buy it on all the platforms. So you can find me at that handle. And then it's pronounced Alford, but it's 1L, Ryan, A-L-F-O-R-D. So you look that up. Or you Google me. I think I own the first four pages of Google. Yeah.
• 59:55
  There is a kick-ass new golfer named Ryan Offord. I saw that. Yeah. That's funny. Is there anything I didn't ask that you feel compelled to share?
• 1:00:08
  I don't think so, man. I'm very reachable, attainable. I answer almost all my DMs, either personally or my team points out stuff to me. You can get to me. I'm open book. I give away all my best advice for free. I would be happy to talk with any of your listeners or be a resource in any way I can.
• 1:00:31
  I can personally vouch for that because I reached out to you and you immediately came right back and you've got a friend in me. Stay on because we're going to wrap it up here, but I want to stay on. I want to get your number and we're going to do some business together and I appreciate you very much.
• 1:00:49
  So I'm going to wrap up the episode. Each and every episode is sponsored by National Technology Management, the easiest and best IT company to do business with. Delivering peace of mind with technology every day. Visit TrustNTM.com for more info. And until next week, be harder than life. Thank you for listening. Please rate and subscribe to Harder Than Life. And let's take this to the next level. Get connected at the links below.