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So you want to learn more

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about living an uncompromising life

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and following your why,

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make sure you tune in

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for the Disruption Now.

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We're going to talk more about it

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with our special guest, Steve White

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listen on the other side

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All right, welcome back, everybody.

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Disruption Now

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we always, as always,

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love you to have to click on that

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like button

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if you're watching us here on YouTube.

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If you're listening to us on

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any other podcast, be it iTunes,

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be it Google, please

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give us a like give us a review.

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That's how more people can learn about

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the platform that we're doing here,

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disruption now, what

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we're doing to empower people.

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But without any further ado,

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Steve White is

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one of our is our guest here

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that we're going to talk more

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about his book Uncompromising.

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We're also going to talk

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about his experience

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from being from the projects

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literally to the C-suite.

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And we're going to talk

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about his experience

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and everything in between.

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Steve, how are you doing, man?

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Good Rob

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Thanks for having me.

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I'm so glad to be here with you today.

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Look, we are very glad to

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have you on,

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so we definitely want

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to dive into your book

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and many other things

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and about your lessons

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and really talk about your upcoming book

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and things.

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You want people to know about that.

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But before we get into that

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and the specifics of that,

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I'd like to learn

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a little more about you.

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So

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as it's talked about on your website, you

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you literally grew up in the projects

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and then

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you now reach the

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highest levels of success

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when it comes to

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the American Pie,

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the American Dream,

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you have achieved that .

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But I want I want to take your I want.

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I want to take you back to.

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Your youth when you're there,

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you're in the projects and. And

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you're going through whatever

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is whatever is going through your mind

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at that time, I want you to think,

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think about that young man.

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What advice

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would you give your younger self

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knowing everything you know now?

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And what advice

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would you ignore that was given to you?

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Well, Rob, first of all, great question.

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Unfortunately, like a lot of young kids,

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single mother raised

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four boys by herself.

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She was 29 years old

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when she decided to leave

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my father, who was. We lived in Florida.

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Certainly that was not a popular decision

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with me or my three brothers.

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But guess what?

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She did not run a democratic household,

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there was one sheriff in town,

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and we did what we were told.

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But the advice that I learned

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because we started supporting her,

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she was a hotel maid.

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I'm sorry.

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Motel maid

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and then she became a high school janitor

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for 35 years,

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and this is a motel with the M,

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not a hotel with an H, a motel.

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There's no spa. There's no elevator.

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You pull your car right up to the door.

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So we're talking about the absolute

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bottom of the food chain.

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But what I learned in those motels,

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some of the advice that I got is

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there are only two things

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you can control Rob your effort and attitude.

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I'm going to outwork you.

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And then from an attitude standpoint,

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I'm not going to be a victim.

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Although the circumstances around me

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might say, Steve, you're a victim.

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You could give in to that.

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Everybody would understand

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that you're a victim.

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But when you can talk to yourself

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and convince yourself

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that there are opportunities out there

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while difficult opportunities are there.

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So that is the advice that I got.

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You can control two things your effort

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and your attitude.

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If you stay in control

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of those two things,

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then great things will happen.

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And then the advice

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that we received

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that I don't listen to anymore is

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you can't do it

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because when my mother made

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that difficult decision.

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Family members said

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they're not going to amount to anything

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these kids need a father,

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and I agree

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every child needs two parents,

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but guess what?

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That was not the situation.

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And when people tell you

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that you can't accomplish something,

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you ignored them.

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But here's the piece, Rob

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I want to highlight for that.

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I started competing

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against what people were saying,

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so I was saying, I'm

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going to prove to you

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that I'm better than that.

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And that is the wrong thing.

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I quickly learned

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that I'm competing against myself.

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God gave us all a level of talent.

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Now my job is to reach the highest levels

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of my potential.

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And that's where I turn that bad advice

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into something that fueled me

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in a very positive way.

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Yeah.

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And so how did you that's

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how do you

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when you're in this environment?

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That's great advice,

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but it's very difficult.

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I found to navigate outside

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of the environment

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that you're in, especially.

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I mean, there's been studies

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shown over and over again.

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I've said this many times on my show

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that it's been shown

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that the environments

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that you earn literally affect

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how you think and how you view things,

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even when you try to fight it.

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So how did you

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how did you

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how were you able to see

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the perspective

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that you could achieve more

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despite your current circumstances?

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Like what things did you do

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to keep yourself?

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Optimistic about the future,

00:05:01:10 - 00:05:02:22
despite your current situation.

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Despite the current situation

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that wasn't so optimistic.

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What a great question,

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and I didn't know

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this was happening at the time,

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but my mother was working

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hard to surround us with people

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that were doing positive things,

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even people

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that were living in the projects.

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They're not all bad people know now.

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That's the stereotype, right,

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that if you live in the projects,

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you don't have anything going on.

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There are a lot of positive people.

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And so she would always surround us

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with people

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that were doing things in a positive way.

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She got us enrolled in Big Brother.

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So there there was an IBM executive,

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Don Jones, who took an interest in me.

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And so now the more you start

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surrounding yourself

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with people that are doing things

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in a positive way,

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see, because Rob,

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we all have a little light inside of us.

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Sometimes people turn that light down.

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When you can surround yourself

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with people that make that light

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brighter and brighter.

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That's how you make it happen.

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So that's what happened to me.

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The more and more

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I got exposed to people

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that were making it happen.

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These weren't corporate executives.

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They weren't CEOs.

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These were just

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men and women

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that were making a difference.

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And that started to rub off on me

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that started to give me confidence.

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And then when I started,

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achieving a little success.

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It just starts to feed on itself.

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When you have a little success.

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Yeah.

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one of the sayings that

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one of my earliest mentors told me

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is that if you show me your friends,

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I'll show you your future, right?

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So who you surround yourself with

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has the most direct effect

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on what you're going to be like.

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It is a lot of things

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that affect it,

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but essentially

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who you decide to spend your time with,

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who you just about,

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who you decide to hang out

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with like those are.

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Those are really important decisions.

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And I say to my son all the time, like,

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you need to be careful

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who you hang around with, hell

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who you date.

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All these things matter

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because they're going to affect

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what type of person you become

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because you eventually like,

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we are tribal animals.

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Like,

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despite everything that people think

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like,

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you hang around a tribe,

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you're going to absorb

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the essence of that tribe, right?

00:07:07:18 - 00:07:08:18
So if you're hanging around

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people that are out there

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trying to do something,

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it doesn't mean that

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they all are rich or wealthy.

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But people that are just trying

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to do something with their lives

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improve themselves.

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You're going to find yourself that,

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oh, in order

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to keep with these folks,

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I have to keep doing

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what they're doing to

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be a part of the tribe.

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On the other end of that, right,

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if you got people

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that are doing the opposite,

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if you're trying to do well,

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you're not going to

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you're not going

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to stand out in that crowd

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and they're going to make you literally

00:07:30:08 - 00:07:31:23
feel bad about achieving

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like and that's something that

00:07:33:08 - 00:07:34:22
I had to leave friends

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that would tell me all that B.S.

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that you're talking

00:07:37:09 - 00:07:38:04
white, all that stuff,

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which I'm sure you heard before.

00:07:39:09 - 00:07:40:16
Yeah, all those things,

00:07:40:16 - 00:07:43:11
those toxic things that we internalize

00:07:43:18 - 00:07:44:19
due to our oppression.

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We got oppression

00:07:45:18 - 00:07:47:01
and other bad things we've learned.

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We got to learn to reject.

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That's exactly right, Rob and

00:07:49:21 - 00:07:51:10
one of the things I want to share with

00:07:51:10 - 00:07:53:23
our listeners is in my life,

00:07:54:14 - 00:07:56:16
there are only twelve decisions

00:07:56:16 - 00:07:58:17
that I've made that have really mattered

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because we all make decisions.

00:08:00:16 - 00:08:01:20
We all make mistakes.

00:08:01:20 - 00:08:03:16
I certainly have made my share.

00:08:03:16 - 00:08:05:01
But the key thing is to

00:08:05:01 - 00:08:06:14
get the big decisions

00:08:06:14 - 00:08:06:22
right,

00:08:06:22 - 00:08:07:23
and one of those twelve

00:08:07:23 - 00:08:10:01
decisions are my friends.

00:08:10:11 - 00:08:11:19
You show me somebody

00:08:11:19 - 00:08:13:11
that does not have friends,

00:08:13:11 - 00:08:14:16
that they've been friends

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with a long time. I worry

00:08:18:14 - 00:08:19:17
who I marry.

00:08:19:17 - 00:08:20:08
So who

00:08:20:08 - 00:08:21:20
you surround yourself with

00:08:21:20 - 00:08:24:24
is probably one of the most important ten

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or twelve decisions

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you're going to make in your entire life.

00:08:28:03 - 00:08:29:16
You get that right.

00:08:29:16 - 00:08:31:14
Your chances of having impact

00:08:31:14 - 00:08:33:15
and having a legacy and having success

00:08:33:19 - 00:08:35:21
goes up dramatically.

00:08:35:21 - 00:08:36:08
All right.

00:08:36:08 - 00:08:37:11
So this is a good transition

00:08:37:11 - 00:08:38:18
to tell us a little bit about the book

00:08:38:18 - 00:08:39:24
because it sounds like that's

00:08:39:24 - 00:08:41:02
some advice that might have come for

00:08:41:02 - 00:08:42:03
the book. Is that correct?

00:08:42:03 - 00:08:43:10
So tell us a little more

00:08:43:10 - 00:08:46:08
about the book Uncompromising

00:08:46:12 - 00:08:47:08
why you wrote it

00:08:47:08 - 00:08:48:18
and what do you want

00:08:48:18 - 00:08:50:22
people to gain from this book?

00:08:50:22 - 00:08:51:11
Yeah.

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Well, the book is called Uncompromising.

00:08:53:13 - 00:08:55:05
If you want to learn more, please

00:08:55:05 - 00:08:57:04
go to SteveWhitespeaks.com.

00:08:57:04 - 00:08:58:04
That's my website.

00:08:58:04 - 00:08:59:16
It's got all the book information.

00:08:59:16 - 00:09:01:09
You can follow me on social media,

00:09:02:10 - 00:09:03:05
but Rob I was

00:09:03:05 - 00:09:05:11
inspired by this quote,

00:09:05:11 - 00:09:07:12
and it's attributed to Mark Twain.

00:09:07:12 - 00:09:09:08
The two most important days

00:09:09:08 - 00:09:11:13
in your life is the day you're born.

00:09:11:15 - 00:09:14:00
And the second is when you find out why.

00:09:14:21 - 00:09:16:04
And for all of us,

00:09:16:04 - 00:09:17:19
we've been placed on this Earth

00:09:17:19 - 00:09:18:22
for a purpose

00:09:18:22 - 00:09:19:20
and a reason

00:09:19:20 - 00:09:22:18
our destiny has been set for us now.

00:09:22:18 - 00:09:25:20
It's our responsibility to identify

00:09:25:20 - 00:09:28:20
that and live it and make it happen.

00:09:29:07 - 00:09:32:13
And so the title Uncompromising focuses

00:09:32:13 - 00:09:33:17
on that second question

00:09:33:17 - 00:09:34:17
when you find out

00:09:34:17 - 00:09:36:21
why you've been placed on this Earth,

00:09:36:21 - 00:09:37:20
when you find out

00:09:37:20 - 00:09:39:21
this is your purpose in life,

00:09:40:03 - 00:09:41:02
that is what you're

00:09:41:02 - 00:09:43:06
uncompromising in your pursuit.

00:09:43:11 - 00:09:44:15
You don't let anything

00:09:44:15 - 00:09:45:06
get in your way now.

00:09:45:06 - 00:09:46:17
You'll get bumped off the road.

00:09:46:17 - 00:09:47:19
No question,

00:09:47:19 - 00:09:49:23
but you got to get back on that.

00:09:49:23 - 00:09:52:07
And that is the focus of the title.

00:09:52:12 - 00:09:54:05
And the reason I wrote the book

00:09:54:05 - 00:09:57:06
Rob is to go from the housing project

00:09:57:06 - 00:09:59:00
to the C-suite where I was.

00:09:59:00 - 00:10:01:05
President of our Comcast West Group.

00:10:01:05 - 00:10:03:10
18 billion dollar business.

00:10:03:10 - 00:10:05:11
30,000 employees.

00:10:05:11 - 00:10:06:05
one of the top

00:10:06:05 - 00:10:08:07
five executives in one of the top

00:10:08:07 - 00:10:10:02
20 companies in America.

00:10:10:02 - 00:10:12:03
You don't get there by yourself.

00:10:12:14 - 00:10:13:24
And there were so many men

00:10:13:24 - 00:10:15:24
and women that gave me a hand up.

00:10:16:00 - 00:10:17:03
I didn't say handout.

00:10:17:03 - 00:10:19:00
Now, a hand up

00:10:19:00 - 00:10:21:06
a hand up is an opportunity.

00:10:21:14 - 00:10:22:19
And I was smart enough

00:10:22:19 - 00:10:24:15
to seize those opportunities

00:10:24:15 - 00:10:26:02
and pursue them.

00:10:26:02 - 00:10:27:16
And so this is my love

00:10:27:16 - 00:10:30:00
letter to all those men and women

00:10:30:05 - 00:10:32:11
who gave me a hand up.

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What better way to recognize them

00:10:35:09 - 00:10:37:07
than to share with others?

00:10:37:07 - 00:10:38:20
My life lessons.

00:10:38:20 - 00:10:40:02
And so in the book,

00:10:40:02 - 00:10:41:12
I talk about successes

00:10:41:12 - 00:10:43:21
I certainly talked about failures

00:10:43:21 - 00:10:44:13
in the book

00:10:44:13 - 00:10:47:06
is built around these seven pathways

00:10:47:14 - 00:10:49:00
seven pathways

00:10:49:00 - 00:10:51:09
that I believe if you adhere to,

00:10:51:09 - 00:10:52:12
you can lead a life

00:10:52:12 - 00:10:55:08
or impact legacy and success.

00:10:55:19 - 00:10:57:24
And so that's why I wrote the book.

00:10:57:24 - 00:10:59:18
That's where the title came from,

00:10:59:18 - 00:11:01:03
because we're taught.

00:11:01:03 - 00:11:04:22
Often compromise is the way to make it,

00:11:05:03 - 00:11:06:19
particularly in America.

00:11:06:19 - 00:11:08:23
Yeah, and I'm saying that's true.

00:11:08:23 - 00:11:11:07
But when it comes to your purpose in why

00:11:12:04 - 00:11:13:21
there's no compromise in there,

00:11:13:21 - 00:11:16:05
you're ruthless in your pursuit

00:11:17:02 - 00:11:19:13
of pursuing your purpose in why?

00:11:20:12 - 00:11:20:19
No.

00:11:20:19 - 00:11:21:09
I mean,

00:11:21:22 - 00:11:22:17
it brings me back to what

00:11:22:17 - 00:11:24:18
I think about my time in a former life.

00:11:24:18 - 00:11:26:10
When I ran for public office

00:11:26:10 - 00:11:28:18
and one of my favorite books was a book

00:11:29:00 - 00:11:31:12
was by the author who wrote

00:11:31:22 - 00:11:33:07
who wrote about the life of Lyndon

00:11:33:07 - 00:11:34:18
Johnson and Lyndon Johnson

00:11:34:18 - 00:11:35:15
has this statement

00:11:35:15 - 00:11:36:14
about what convinced

00:11:36:14 - 00:11:38:21
what convinces is conviction .

00:11:38:21 - 00:11:39:14
People have to believe

00:11:39:14 - 00:11:41:02
that you believe in what.

00:11:41:02 - 00:11:42:00
in whatever you're selling

00:11:42:00 - 00:11:43:21
and whatever you're putting forward.

00:11:43:21 - 00:11:44:14
And I thought

00:11:44:14 - 00:11:46:23
about how I evaluate specifically

00:11:47:15 - 00:11:48:08
public leaders,

00:11:48:08 - 00:11:49:17
but also leaders in general.

00:11:49:17 - 00:11:50:03
Like,

00:11:50:05 - 00:11:51:13
yes, you have to compromise

00:11:51:13 - 00:11:53:20
a lot of a lot of a part of life

00:11:53:20 - 00:11:55:03
and moving forward.

00:11:55:03 - 00:11:56:16
But then there has to be some things

00:11:56:16 - 00:11:58:01
that you will be willing to

00:11:58:01 - 00:11:59:17
walk over fire for.

00:11:59:17 - 00:12:02:07
And if I don't know what that is for you,

00:12:02:07 - 00:12:03:18
I have trouble trusting people

00:12:03:18 - 00:12:05:15
that don't have something

00:12:05:15 - 00:12:07:09
at least one or two things to say.

00:12:07:09 - 00:12:09:24
These are things that I will not move on.

00:12:10:20 - 00:12:12:13
Like a lot of things, like 90% things,

00:12:12:13 - 00:12:14:05
you can figure out ways to compromise.

00:12:14:05 - 00:12:15:11
But there should be some things

00:12:15:11 - 00:12:16:10
that are just

00:12:16:10 - 00:12:19:02
part of the core system of your beliefs

00:12:19:02 - 00:12:20:03
and who you are.

00:12:20:03 - 00:12:21:11
I think to be effective,

00:12:21:11 - 00:12:23:05
to be an effective leader because people,

00:12:23:05 - 00:12:24:08
even if they don't agree with you,

00:12:24:08 - 00:12:25:06
on those core convictions,

00:12:25:06 - 00:12:27:10
I found that they respect you

00:12:27:10 - 00:12:28:08
because this is a person

00:12:28:08 - 00:12:29:18
that actually has some integrity

00:12:29:18 - 00:12:30:13
for their beliefs.

00:12:30:13 - 00:12:31:19
They're not just going to

00:12:31:19 - 00:12:32:10
say whatever

00:12:32:10 - 00:12:33:16
I want to hear in order

00:12:33:16 - 00:12:35:12
to get a sale in order to get a vote.

00:12:35:12 - 00:12:37:22
So I am definitely with you on that.

00:12:37:22 - 00:12:39:12
I'd like to ask you a question, though

00:12:39:12 - 00:12:41:03
a couple of questions.

00:12:41:03 - 00:12:42:04
As I looked

00:12:42:05 - 00:12:43:05
into researching your book,

00:12:43:05 - 00:12:44:05
it seems like a lot of your book

00:12:44:05 - 00:12:45:06
with Uncompromising.

00:12:45:06 - 00:12:46:10
You've indicated

00:12:46:10 - 00:12:48:07
this is really about finding that

00:12:48:07 - 00:12:49:11
why and you're compelling mission

00:12:49:11 - 00:12:51:21
and not moving from that first question.

00:12:52:13 - 00:12:53:15
How do you find that?

00:12:53:15 - 00:12:54:13
I have no problem with that,

00:12:54:13 - 00:12:56:18
but I found when I tell that to people.

00:12:57:12 - 00:12:59:13
I can't tell you how many people

00:12:59:13 - 00:13:00:07
have told me

00:13:00:07 - 00:13:02:14
they don't know what their why is

00:13:02:14 - 00:13:04:08
and they're trying to figure it out.

00:13:04:08 - 00:13:05:18
What would you tell those people?

00:13:05:18 - 00:13:06:13
Yeah.

00:13:06:13 - 00:13:09:02
Well, here's how I think about it.

00:13:10:00 - 00:13:12:19
If find out what you're good at

00:13:13:09 - 00:13:15:21
and would you do it for free,

00:13:15:21 - 00:13:18:06
because then that's what that's passion.

00:13:18:18 - 00:13:20:11
And so for me, Rob,

00:13:20:11 - 00:13:21:22
I found mine through

00:13:21:22 - 00:13:23:13
adversity and heartache.

00:13:24:16 - 00:13:25:20
When I left Indiana

00:13:25:20 - 00:13:26:17
University,

00:13:26:17 - 00:13:28:03
I started working for a company

00:13:28:03 - 00:13:30:07
called American Hospital Supply.

00:13:30:07 - 00:13:31:16
I started in sales.

00:13:31:16 - 00:13:33:00
I was the rookie of the Year.

00:13:33:00 - 00:13:34:12
I was the top quota breaker.

00:13:34:12 - 00:13:35:21
I got promoted.

00:13:35:21 - 00:13:37:06
I moved from New Jersey back

00:13:37:06 - 00:13:39:06
to Chicago, worked in our home office

00:13:39:06 - 00:13:40:12
and then I went to Michigan

00:13:40:12 - 00:13:41:23
as the youngest sales manager

00:13:41:23 - 00:13:43:01
in the company's history,

00:13:43:01 - 00:13:45:05
23 years old at the time,

00:13:45:05 - 00:13:48:21
and I was leading ten to twelve employees

00:13:49:01 - 00:13:51:15
and I got fired a year in the job

00:13:51:16 - 00:13:53:16
and the reason I got fired, Rob,

00:13:53:16 - 00:13:54:13
and it was

00:13:54:13 - 00:13:55:22
it was just

00:13:55:22 - 00:13:57:02
I didn't think it was just at

00:13:57:02 - 00:14:00:15
the time is everything was focused on me.

00:14:01:02 - 00:14:02:22
I was looking at everything.

00:14:02:22 - 00:14:05:02
What was I getting out of this job?

00:14:05:03 - 00:14:06:03
What could I do

00:14:06:03 - 00:14:07:21
to promote myself,

00:14:07:21 - 00:14:10:00
to make myself look better?

00:14:10:00 - 00:14:12:13
And I was not serving my team

00:14:12:13 - 00:14:13:23
and they were not growing.

00:14:13:23 - 00:14:16:08
They were not realizing their journey.

00:14:16:08 - 00:14:18:04
And so I got fired.

00:14:18:04 - 00:14:20:02
And so it became clear to me

00:14:20:02 - 00:14:22:11
that leadership is a privilege.

00:14:22:24 - 00:14:25:06
And the reason leadership is a privilege

00:14:25:06 - 00:14:26:20
is that you're making the difference

00:14:26:20 - 00:14:28:10
in the lives of others.

00:14:28:10 - 00:14:30:00
So there's a book called Leaders

00:14:30:00 - 00:14:31:03
Eat Last.

00:14:31:03 - 00:14:33:02
So I started embracing

00:14:33:02 - 00:14:34:09
That's exactly right.

00:14:34:09 - 00:14:37:07
So when you start serving men and women,

00:14:38:00 - 00:14:39:07
what happens, Rob?

00:14:39:07 - 00:14:41:11
They start serving you

00:14:41:11 - 00:14:42:18
and they push you up

00:14:42:18 - 00:14:44:09
the corporate ladder, not you.

00:14:44:09 - 00:14:46:04
They start to push you up.

00:14:46:04 - 00:14:48:09
Where I got confused was,

00:14:48:09 - 00:14:50:17
I believed that the next step to success

00:14:50:17 - 00:14:53:15
was all about what I did and what I did.

00:14:53:16 - 00:14:54:24
Got me to that position.

00:14:54:24 - 00:14:56:03
But once you're in a position

00:14:56:03 - 00:14:56:22
of leadership, it's

00:14:56:22 - 00:14:58:22
not about you anymore.

00:14:58:22 - 00:15:01:08
So this idea of serving others

00:15:01:08 - 00:15:02:23
the way others had served me

00:15:02:23 - 00:15:04:24
and helping me get to where I was going,

00:15:05:02 - 00:15:07:00
the way my mother worked in a motel

00:15:07:00 - 00:15:08:11
and then as a high school janitor

00:15:08:11 - 00:15:09:10
for 35 years,

00:15:09:10 - 00:15:11:15
so I could have a better life.

00:15:11:15 - 00:15:13:24
That's what started getting me jazzed

00:15:13:24 - 00:15:16:15
when I started investing in other people

00:15:16:15 - 00:15:18:18
and they were enjoying success.

00:15:19:17 - 00:15:21:04
I started to get really

00:15:21:04 - 00:15:22:09
excited

00:15:22:09 - 00:15:24:05
and I said I would do that for free

00:15:24:05 - 00:15:25:03
and what I did.

00:15:25:03 - 00:15:27:16
The book is not about making money,

00:15:27:16 - 00:15:30:00
the website. It's not about making money.

00:15:30:00 - 00:15:30:23
The social media

00:15:30:23 - 00:15:32:02
is not about making money,

00:15:32:02 - 00:15:34:03
it's about pouring into other people.

00:15:34:21 - 00:15:37:06
And so that crystallized for me.

00:15:37:06 - 00:15:38:22
So most people

00:15:38:22 - 00:15:40:24
find their why through adversity.

00:15:40:24 - 00:15:42:15
But if you're struggling to find your,

00:15:42:15 - 00:15:44:19
why carve out some time,

00:15:44:20 - 00:15:45:21
every day,

00:15:45:21 - 00:15:48:02
every week, even if it's for ten minutes?

00:15:48:15 - 00:15:50:17
Think about what makes you happy.

00:15:50:24 - 00:15:52:17
Think about what your passion is.

00:15:52:17 - 00:15:54:10
Think about what you're good at.

00:15:54:10 - 00:15:56:09
And if you're good at something

00:15:56:09 - 00:15:58:03
and you're passionate about it

00:15:58:03 - 00:16:01:04
and you would do it for free, I promise

00:16:01:04 - 00:16:02:23
you you're starting to narrow in

00:16:02:23 - 00:16:04:09
on your why

00:16:04:09 - 00:16:07:02
and most whys, involves

00:16:07:02 - 00:16:08:10
serving someone else.

00:16:08:10 - 00:16:11:07
It's very rarely about you

00:16:11:17 - 00:16:13:03
or serving yourself right.

00:16:13:03 - 00:16:15:06
It is always about serving

00:16:15:06 - 00:16:17:04
and impacting other people.

00:16:17:04 - 00:16:18:00
It's only about you

00:16:18:00 - 00:16:18:24
in terms of your journey

00:16:18:24 - 00:16:20:16
to find it right.

00:16:20:16 - 00:16:21:12
Exactly right.

00:16:21:12 - 00:16:22:05
It's about you

00:16:22:05 - 00:16:23:12
in terms of understanding

00:16:23:12 - 00:16:24:14
your personal connection

00:16:24:14 - 00:16:26:11
to how you got to that why.

00:16:26:11 - 00:16:27:17
But that why is only a

00:16:27:17 - 00:16:29:17
why if it has an impact on others?

00:16:29:17 - 00:16:31:05
Because that's. Exactly right.

00:16:31:05 - 00:16:32:04
Because there's a song

00:16:32:04 - 00:16:33:16
that says you die twice,

00:16:33:16 - 00:16:34:11
you die the day

00:16:34:11 - 00:16:36:04
they put you in the ground.

00:16:36:04 - 00:16:38:16
The second day you die is

00:16:38:18 - 00:16:41:01
when the last person mentions your name.

00:16:41:08 - 00:16:43:20
We should all be striving for legacy

00:16:43:20 - 00:16:45:15
long after we're gone.

00:16:45:15 - 00:16:47:14
There are people talking about us

00:16:47:14 - 00:16:49:02
in a positive way in

00:16:49:02 - 00:16:50:24
how we impacted their life.

00:16:50:24 - 00:16:54:02
That is legacy that is living your why.

00:16:54:08 - 00:16:55:20
Yeah, I'm

00:16:55:20 - 00:16:56:14
it's so interesting

00:16:56:14 - 00:16:58:06
how you looked at your situation

00:16:58:06 - 00:17:00:15
and you saw the most

00:17:01:07 - 00:17:03:05
you took the most positive aspect

00:17:03:05 - 00:17:04:00
and you also did

00:17:04:00 - 00:17:07:08
what I believe is the most mature

00:17:08:01 - 00:17:10:05
level of self-awareness.

00:17:10:05 - 00:17:12:04
You know, self-awareness is not

00:17:12:04 - 00:17:13:17
how we hope others to see us,

00:17:13:17 - 00:17:15:18
but how others actually do see us.

00:17:16:03 - 00:17:16:22
And then being able

00:17:16:22 - 00:17:18:16
to see it through that

00:17:18:16 - 00:17:20:06
very challenging lens, right?

00:17:20:06 - 00:17:21:10
Because if we're honest,

00:17:21:10 - 00:17:23:01
there's some things that

00:17:23:01 - 00:17:25:09
we can be better at that we don't like.

00:17:25:14 - 00:17:26:13
And so anytime

00:17:26:13 - 00:17:28:03
you have these conflicts, it's easy.

00:17:28:03 - 00:17:30:05
And I'm sure there also was some merits

00:17:30:05 - 00:17:31:02
to when you talked about

00:17:31:02 - 00:17:32:09
you were 23 you said that

00:17:32:09 - 00:17:33:15
Yeah, like

00:17:33:15 - 00:17:35:11
I think about the culture climate,

00:17:35:11 - 00:17:37:00
most salespeople,

00:17:37:00 - 00:17:39:01
I think or how you describe yourself.

00:17:39:01 - 00:17:39:18
So I think there

00:17:39:18 - 00:17:41:04
is also some other things

00:17:41:04 - 00:17:41:22
that you were held

00:17:41:22 - 00:17:43:02
to a higher standard on

00:17:43:02 - 00:17:44:00
than other people.

00:17:44:00 - 00:17:45:17
If I can be very direct

00:17:45:17 - 00:17:46:20
because I know a lot of salespeople

00:17:46:20 - 00:17:48:23
that the only thing that ever matters

00:17:49:03 - 00:17:50:09
is how much money you bring in

00:17:50:09 - 00:17:52:04
I don't think that should be the case.

00:17:52:04 - 00:17:52:08
Yeah,

00:17:52:08 - 00:17:52:18
I guess

00:17:52:18 - 00:17:53:22
there's a lot of corporations

00:17:53:22 - 00:17:55:23
still view it that way sometimes.

00:17:55:23 - 00:17:56:24
Give us the additional burden

00:17:56:24 - 00:17:58:04
of mean things.

00:17:58:04 - 00:17:59:21
But what good does it

00:17:59:21 - 00:18:02:05
Do you to view it that way? Right?

00:18:02:20 - 00:18:04:13
How could you grow from that experience

00:18:04:13 - 00:18:05:10
if you just said,

00:18:05:10 - 00:18:06:09
if you just looked at it

00:18:06:09 - 00:18:07:17
in terms of I was done wrong,

00:18:07:17 - 00:18:08:20
even if you were?

00:18:08:20 - 00:18:09:13
The question is.

00:18:09:13 - 00:18:11:22
What can you learn from this situation?

00:18:11:22 - 00:18:14:09
That's exactly right, and it's all about

00:18:14:09 - 00:18:16:10
finding your purpose and living it

00:18:16:10 - 00:18:18:13
because it's hard enough to live one life

00:18:18:13 - 00:18:20:07
trying to live somebody else's life.

00:18:20:07 - 00:18:21:12
It makes it even harder.

00:18:21:12 - 00:18:23:17
So just focus on you being you.

00:18:24:16 - 00:18:26:05
Yep, no, I totally agree.

00:18:26:05 - 00:18:27:08
So, all right,

00:18:27:08 - 00:18:28:17
I want to do a couple lightning

00:18:28:17 - 00:18:29:07
round questions,

00:18:29:07 - 00:18:30:03
I always ask people,

00:18:30:03 - 00:18:33:01
So what is an important conviction

00:18:33:01 - 00:18:34:21
you have or truth

00:18:34:21 - 00:18:37:07
that very few people agree with you on?

00:18:37:07 - 00:18:39:05
No matter what my circumstances,

00:18:39:05 - 00:18:41:03
I'm not going to be a victim.

00:18:41:03 - 00:18:43:11
Unfortunately, Rob, there's a lot about

00:18:43:11 - 00:18:45:20
what are you going to do for me?

00:18:45:20 - 00:18:48:15
It's all about radical responsibility,

00:18:48:15 - 00:18:50:11
and I see what's in front of me.

00:18:50:11 - 00:18:51:14
I'm a realist.

00:18:51:14 - 00:18:53:04
I've got a nine year old son.

00:18:53:04 - 00:18:53:15
I'm

00:18:53:17 - 00:18:55:23
I got to teach how to live in this world,

00:18:56:05 - 00:18:57:08
but I have to do it

00:18:57:08 - 00:18:59:16
with the lens that it's about you

00:18:59:16 - 00:19:01:16
and what you can accomplish.

00:19:01:16 - 00:19:03:14
And let's not worry about somebody else.

00:19:03:14 - 00:19:04:11
Condoleezza Rice.

00:19:04:11 - 00:19:06:01
I was at one of her presentations

00:19:06:01 - 00:19:08:07
that she said her family taught her.

00:19:08:07 - 00:19:09:20
Look, if somebody don't want to sit by,

00:19:09:20 - 00:19:11:21
you let them move. Don't you move?

00:19:12:09 - 00:19:13:02
I like that.

00:19:14:04 - 00:19:14:16
That's good.

00:19:14:16 - 00:19:15:17
Actually, that's good in my life.

00:19:15:17 - 00:19:16:14
Yeah, it was like,

00:19:16:14 - 00:19:18:07
You don't move who you are.

00:19:18:07 - 00:19:18:21
You don't move

00:19:18:21 - 00:19:20:11
where so it's like metaphorically

00:19:20:11 - 00:19:21:17
and actually literally

00:19:21:17 - 00:19:23:07
like if they don't want to sit by you. Fine.

00:19:23:07 - 00:19:23:17
But also,

00:19:23:17 - 00:19:25:13
that means they don't like who you are.

00:19:25:13 - 00:19:27:23
You don't have to change who you are.

00:19:27:23 - 00:19:28:22
Because it doesn't matter,

00:19:28:22 - 00:19:29:21
because they probably ain't going to like you

00:19:29:21 - 00:19:30:10
anyway way

00:19:30:10 - 00:19:31:08
even if you try to change

00:19:31:08 - 00:19:33:18
for what they want you to be.

00:19:33:18 - 00:19:34:19
That's exactly right,

00:19:34:19 - 00:19:36:11
so best advice is sometimes

00:19:36:11 - 00:19:38:15
people don't always agree with,

00:19:38:15 - 00:19:40:01
I'm going to own me,

00:19:40:01 - 00:19:42:01
I'm going to take radical responsibility

00:19:42:01 - 00:19:43:09
and I'm not going to be a victim

00:19:43:09 - 00:19:45:09
no matter what my circumstances are.

00:19:45:20 - 00:19:48:10
Yeah, that's powerful.

00:19:48:10 - 00:19:49:21
You have a committee of three

00:19:49:21 - 00:19:51:13
living or dead to advise you

00:19:51:13 - 00:19:53:23
on life, business, personal, whatever.

00:19:53:24 - 00:19:55:14
Tell me who these three people are and why.

00:19:55:14 - 00:19:57:08
Wow, that's a hard question.

00:19:57:08 - 00:19:58:14
But the two most important

00:19:58:14 - 00:20:00:16
women in my life is my Mom

00:20:00:16 - 00:20:01:24
and my wife, Barbita.

00:20:01:24 - 00:20:04:11
So I got two women. Good answer.

00:20:04:11 - 00:20:05:19
So I mean.

00:20:05:19 - 00:20:06:04
You better.

00:20:06:04 - 00:20:08:13
You better make it both of them

00:20:08:13 - 00:20:09:14
And my

00:20:10:19 - 00:20:12:04
my nine year old son.

00:20:12:04 - 00:20:14:07
But but if I don't have those three,

00:20:14:07 - 00:20:18:04
I've got three friends Ron, Teddy

00:20:18:04 - 00:20:19:21
and Stanford.

00:20:19:21 - 00:20:20:18
Collectively,

00:20:20:18 - 00:20:23:01
we've been friends for over 150 years

00:20:23:01 - 00:20:24:24
when you take it all together.

00:20:24:24 - 00:20:27:11
Those are three what I call road dogs.

00:20:27:11 - 00:20:28:21
I talk about in the book Commit

00:20:28:21 - 00:20:30:13
to road dog relationships.

00:20:30:13 - 00:20:32:01
Those are three of my road dogs

00:20:32:01 - 00:20:33:16
that I would definitely have them

00:20:33:16 - 00:20:35:13
as the backup to my wife

00:20:35:13 - 00:20:37:14
and my mother and my son.

00:20:37:14 - 00:20:38:06
Yep.

00:20:39:10 - 00:20:42:20
So final question here you have a.

00:20:44:01 - 00:20:45:22
Billboard or

00:20:45:22 - 00:20:47:20
or Google ad or saying

00:20:47:20 - 00:20:50:04
whatever you want to say that symbolizes

00:20:50:04 - 00:20:51:13
what you stand for,

00:20:51:13 - 00:20:53:16
what does that say and why?

00:20:54:23 - 00:20:56:19
He lived his purpose.

00:20:56:19 - 00:20:58:16
He lived his why

00:20:58:16 - 00:21:00:15
he achieved the American dream.

00:21:00:15 - 00:21:02:13
Why can't I?

00:21:02:14 - 00:21:03:17
All right.

00:21:03:17 - 00:21:04:22
Stephen White,

00:21:04:22 - 00:21:05:23
pleasure having you on the show.

00:21:05:23 - 00:21:07:13
Make sure you check out his new book,

00:21:07:13 - 00:21:08:17
Uncompromising Coming out

00:21:08:17 - 00:21:10:16
February 22nd, is that correct?

00:21:10:16 - 00:21:11:16
That's exactly right

00:21:11:16 - 00:21:12:24
and go to the website.

00:21:12:24 - 00:21:14:14
SteveWhitespeaks.com

00:21:14:14 - 00:21:16:06
If you want to learn more.

00:21:16:06 - 00:21:18:13
I appreciate having you on Steve. Thank you.