I belong to an estate planning group (mostly attorneys, CPAs and financial advisors) and just attend some of the monthly meetings. They offer the opportunity to sponsor a meeting, and this allows you to speak for about three minutes at the beginning of the meeting. A few weeks ago, I asked if I sponsored a meeting, can I hand out my book to all attendees. Yesterday, they asked if I would sponsor the June 2027 meeting because they are going to have a three-person panel to discuss retirement planning. They have an attorney, CPA and asked if I would represent the financial advisor for the panel. Stepping out of my comfort zone, I said yes. June 2027 seems like a long time from now. I think it's a great opportunity to talk in front of people and share my knowledge with COIs. I'm asking fearlessly and telling people what I want. I'm not waiting to be discovered.

Clegg shared some excellent prompts for our call today to help us finish the year strong. I put these on a slide deck to facilitate our meeting. Looking forward to discussing this with you.

$1200 to $53k a month in just a few years - and a $50k down payment. A few years ago, I was charging $1,200/month for coaching. And honestly? I thought that was a lot of money. I didn’t even fully believe people would pay it… until a client told me I should be charging that. One year ago, I made a decision: I was no longer going to think of my work as “coaching individuals.” (Some of you remember Ben telling me in Austin in May 2024, to stop doing it) I was going to start helping organizations build better leaders, better cultures, and better systems for growth. That shift changed everything. Because I started asking a different question: What is the monetary value of one or more truly great leaders inside an organization? Not theoretically. Actually. What is it worth when leaders stop avoiding difficult conversations? What is it worth when every employee has a real plan? What is it worth when bad news travels vertically instead of horizontally? What is it worth when people stop trying to be right and start trying to get it right? That became the foundation of my work. I created something I call The Friction Triangle. It teaches leaders the difference between being kind and being nice. Nice is comfortable. Kind is clear. Nice helps both people escape the difficult conversation in the name of comfort. Kind tells the truth and builds trust. That became conflict navigation. Then I started diagnosing cultures through a simple question: “How does bad news travel in your organization?” Does it travel horizontally, through gossip, side conversations, and quiet frustration? Or does it travel vertically, to the people who can actually solve the problem? Organizations that want bad news to travel vertically are organizations that are serious about psychological safety. Then I saw another pattern. A lot of leaders have egos that require them to be right. But great cultures are built by leaders who care more about getting it right. That became ownership and accountability.

@Michelle Wilson had a bday this week! I hope it was a great celebration.

While I didn't make the top 10 and get an all-expenses-paid trip to the mastermind in LA, I do get to attend. I just have to pay for it myself. Overall, I cannot complain. I'm a little bummed because I have a $360,000 proposal I couldn't count on since I didn't have a signature yet. That would have made me in the top three. Had I not joined that group, I would not have had the cojones to price my last few deals the way that I have. And that includes my cohort. I plan to bring all of the things that I've learned in that group to any of you who would like it.