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Episode 19: The Transforming Power of FUNdamism – with Paul Long
763 Plays7 years ago
Everyone wants a fun life and an optimistic outlook. These are the building blocks of the uncommonly good life. What are the roadblocks to this kind of life, and how do we move beyond them? Our podcast guest has some answers.
In Episode 19 of The Uncommon Life Podcast, Phillip and Bryan talk with Paul Long about how to keep fun and optimism front and center in our lives and in our businesses.
Paul is a motivational speaker and consultant who has challenged the corporate landscape for over a decade while engaging with audiences around the globe through his concept of FUNdamism.
With an infectious spirit and unique take on fun in the workplace, Paul has provided memorable experiences through countless engagements including workshops, trade shows, keynotes, and more. He was selected as the Kansas City Royals 2016 Fan of the Year. His shenanigans have been featured in media outlets like ESPN, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal.
Paul’s FUNdamism philosophy is a deliberate approach to fulfillment both in the workplace and at home. His principles are proven to bring a higher level of consciousness, enlightenment, and F.U.N. to your day. While F.U.N. can be defined differently for all individuals, Paul’s core beliefs are based entirely on the following: a Foundation in guiding principles, Understanding others, developing Next steps.
What You Will Learn in this Episode:
- The principles of FUNdamism: Foundation, Understanding, Next steps
- What to do when your work environment is shaping you in a negative way
- Staying centered and positive after challenging life experiences
- Overcoming the challenge of loneliness as an entrepreneur
- The power of experience as a motivator for all of us
- Using purpose, praise, and progress to develop positive workplace experiences
- The positive power of paintball
- Creating great experiences for ourselves, our employees and our customers
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Transcript
Introduction to the Uncommon Life Project
00:00:02
Speaker
Everyone dreams about living an uncommon life, but how we define that dream is very different for each of us. And for most, it's a lifelong pursuit. Welcome to the Uncommon Life Project podcast. We're going to introduce you to people who are living that life or enjoying the journey to get there. We're going to also give you some tools, tricks, and tips for starting or accelerating your own efforts to live an uncommon life.
00:00:27
Speaker
A life worth celebrating and savoring. Please welcome your hosts, Brian Dewhurst and Philip Ramsey. Hello everybody, and welcome back to episode of Uncommon Life Project. I'm your host, Philip Ramsey. And I am Brian Dewhurst. Man, I'm excited to get back on the air. This is the first time we've ever had a show in our new office. New office. Welcome to the jungle. We have got a great show
Meet Paul Long and the Concept of Fundimism
00:00:50
Speaker
for you. We always say that. Paul Wong, tell us about him.
00:00:54
Speaker
Well, Paul Long is a motivational speaker and consultant that has challenged the corporate landscape for over a decade while engaging in audiences around the globe. Through his concept of fundimism, infectious spirit and unique take on finding the workplace, Paul has provided memorable experiences for countless engagements, including, but not limited to,
00:01:13
Speaker
workshops, trade shows, keynotes, and more. As the Kansas City Royals 2016 Fan of the Year, as selected by Major League Baseball, his shenanigans have been featured in media outlets like ESPN, The Washington Post, and even The Wall Street Journal.
00:01:29
Speaker
Welcome, Paul Long. Thank you, gentlemen. It's a pleasure to be here. Do you like that shenanigans thrown into there? I did appreciate the insertion of this shenanigans. Always have to have that. Shenan skis, you could also refer to them as Shenan skis. Oh, wow. That's a whole other level. I want to go to the name. How did you get the name? Fundamentism? Yes.
00:01:48
Speaker
So, Funnism can be easily defined as the fundamentals of a fun and optimistic lifestyle. So, basically, I made up the word just by throwing all those words together. Fundamental of a fun and optimistic lifestyle. Did you do that yourself or did somebody come up help you with that? I think I did it by myself. Dude, that's creative. Did you use a random word generator? No, I didn't know how that works. I have done that, I'm just, I'm asking out of experience.
00:02:15
Speaker
Yeah, it's great questions. Okay, so we need to tell you two things. One, thank you, Melissa, for that amazing intro. We always got a shout out to our voice in the sky voice. Second, Paul is here in studio. And so this is probably our favorite kind of interviews that we do. Okay, but Paul, you weren't always so
Paul's Journey: Reflection and Career Shift
00:02:35
Speaker
fun. And you probably had a job that you hated. Tell us about that experience. Well, I'd like to correct you, Philip. So I've always been fun, but I
00:02:46
Speaker
Appreciate it. Well played. So, no, first job out of college, I worked at a call center, and call centers, if anybody listening in has ever worked in that environment, it can be very mundane, monotonous, and boring. Challenging, to say the least, because a lot of folks are calling, not to say, hey, you're doing a great job, brother. They're calling because there's a problem. And I was the one picking up the mess.
00:03:09
Speaker
So, ultimately, I rose up through the corporate ladder ranks and I didn't enjoy working for the man. And there was a time, I remember a very definitive moment where a manager came up to me and she said, are you always this upbeat and optimistic? And I said, yeah. And as I walked away, I recall that manager talking to a coworker of mine. She said, give it time, this place will get to him.
00:03:36
Speaker
and I just wanna say that again. Give me time and this place will get to him. That's right. How frustrating is that? My whole life, my mom said I could do whatever. We could change the world, right? You guys are doing it, uncommonly, might I add. But here I am in my first job out of college and I'm being told that I'm not going to shape this environment. This environment's going to shape me. Only because that environment shaped that person. That's exactly right. That's exactly right.
00:04:04
Speaker
And so foreshadowing, I didn't know at the time that was the start of a career that I truly love, but it took me some time to get there. All right, so right now, you know that we got a great show, because this is going to be epic. OK, so you get to this point, you're walking away, and you have this like, aha, light bulb moment of like, was it frustrating to you? Were you like, I'm mad about it. I'm going to try to change the culture? Or were you like, I got to get out of here?
00:04:34
Speaker
So I actually had two stints with that same organization. And so at that time, I don't think I was present enough to know what was going on. I knew my whole life I had always been a little bit out there. I'm from a small town called Osawatomie, Kansas, home of the state hospital. So it kind of justifies a lot of why I am the way that I am.
00:04:54
Speaker
but I've always been classified as somewhat immature by folks that didn't get to know me, right? So I'm guessing that you've heard this in your life a little bit. Well, for sure. Every day, yeah. I think the question I get the most about Philip is he really liked it all the time.
00:05:09
Speaker
Yes, I get that all the time as well. When you ask were you frustrated, I think that was always the biggest challenge because I didn't see myself as immature. I saw myself as a light that I was trying to instill in other folks. I don't even think that at the time it was deliberate in that regard. I didn't know that I was trying to pass my energy on to other people. It happened through osmosis and all that jazz.
00:05:36
Speaker
I walked away and I was like, oh, this is fine. It's just another thing. Well, it took me multiple years to realize that this organization was not for me. So I left and I started consulting and teaching leadership and sales and customer service to other organizations. And it wasn't until I came back to that organization, because now they were ready to embrace that culture that you spoke of, they hired me to be a director of call center operations. And they said, we don't want you to change.
00:06:04
Speaker
We might not have been ready for who you were before, but we are now. And so we are starting a new call center and we want you to help us. So I was amped, man. I was jazzed. I was like, yes, this is it. This is what I was meant to do. And I got there.
00:06:22
Speaker
They weren't ready. The inertia of incumbency. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. I worked there for two years. And I recall the first day on the job, I walked in and I'm sporting my vans and maybe a bow tie at the time. I don't know. And I look at dude directly in the eyes. And he doesn't know who I am. I look here to be a younger gentleman. He doesn't know if I'm a new employee. I go, hey, what's good, brother? How's it going? And he looks me directly in my eyes.
00:06:49
Speaker
looks back down at the ground and keeps walking. And I said, this is what I mean. It's gonna be an uphill battle. It's gonna be an uphill battle. But we all face that, right? Totally. And so that was the first of a two-year stint, first day of a two-year stint. I can say that we made some strides, but I wouldn't change a thing. We gotta go back because there's a lot there. He said, okay, so you walk away from that moment. How long was it until you got out of the call center?
00:07:15
Speaker
So for good or for? No for the first. Okay so let's see first job was okay it was probably about three years. Okay wow that's longer than I thought it was gonna be. Yeah yeah the cubicle of doom as we call it in some podcasts. Now to some right yeah to me I was the knucklehead that I'm answering every single phone call and I'm standing up
00:07:37
Speaker
And I would be the guy, it's a magnificent Monday here at, how can I make your day magnificent too, right? And some folks would say, well, I'm glad that your day's going great, because mine certainly isn't. That was the best, because I knew I had. Because then I would just say, man, I'm terribly sad that your day's going so terribly. It's my goal.
00:07:59
Speaker
And I take great pride in lifting you guys up to my level. So how can I make sure? Funny thing, because once they start hearing that, they understand it's their control that is making them suck at life and frustration. How much? Because you're a dynamic person now. Thank you.
00:08:19
Speaker
how much of this process was like you being you, going through this call center? Because I kind of, you know, Star Wars is better than that, dynamic forces, the system, right? We've been doing this this way for 10 years, why don't you slow down there? And then you like, that's who I am, take it away.
00:08:41
Speaker
How much of it was you being you, and then what part of it was you having to work on yourself to maintain that level or to grow that mindset to know that there was something more for you?
Personal Growth and Family Influence
00:08:55
Speaker
I could be honest in saying that I didn't know that I had to grow until I left the organization. Okay. So 100% of it was me being me. So you took the week before maybe the mindset shifted. That's exactly right. And I could say that I, again, because I was young and I, you know,
00:09:14
Speaker
I never had a strong father figure in my life, so I always gravitated towards very successful men, and I would ask for mentors in my life and whatnot. I didn't know what the business world held. I didn't know what my expectations should be. So I didn't know if I was a swear bag, round hole, and all that stuff. But ultimately, it took me leaving the organization to realize that there is a part of me that needs to grow, too. I can't just look at an organization and say,
00:09:41
Speaker
They're not moving at the speed that I would. They're not fun. There's a part of me in my energy that's creating this environment where they're not ready.
00:09:52
Speaker
Okay. Um, I want to go back to like before you went to college. Yes. Okay. Let's go before that. But looking back now, do you see the spots of like entrepreneurialism and like, were you doing creative things during money or like, just walk us through that a little bit. So always had a job working for the man until, uh,
00:10:16
Speaker
freshly out of high school, going to college, best friend in the whole entire world, a gentleman by the name of John Stoner. Again, his name is John Stoner. Welcome back, John. Yes. Shout out to John. Hey, buddy. So John and I had been best friends and have been best friends since the fifth grade. And so we were always connected, always doing it. We had similar family upbringings and whatnot. We'd stay the night at each other's house every single night.
00:10:41
Speaker
I wanted to be him. I looked up to him a great deal, and he looked up to me a great deal. He was a college basketball player, all that jazz won college. We wanted to make an income, but we didn't want to work for somebody else. So we started the Bushwhackers, Bush and Tree Trimming Company. So John bought a truck up in Holt, Missouri. We drove all the way up to Holt to pick up this truck. We made sides for it. We welded all this stuff up, and we had this extended chainsaw on a pole.
00:11:09
Speaker
Mind you, we weren't bonded. We weren't licensed. We had no insurance. Two dudes with a truck. Two dudes with a truck. That's exactly right. We call ourselves the Bushwhackers. The Bushwhackers. The Bushwhackers. You know, the famous WWE. I even made a song up for it. It was a... I took you for a guy that would make a shout-out. I mean that in a weird way because I... Josh and Paul. Yeah. But nevertheless, that lasted for about a year, year and a half. It was good. We did a big old apartment complex.
00:11:39
Speaker
Just John and I, two guys, one chainsaw, and it took forever. That's amazing. That was the end of the Bushwackers after that one. Okay, I want to go back to some, because it seems like you're just energetic, love life to the fullest.
00:11:58
Speaker
I want to talk, we had lunch before this, so we need to preface this question with we got into some stuff. I want you to walk our listeners through the anxiety that's written in your family. Sure. Because I feel like there's a lot of people that are listening or dealing with today that you could be the biggest spokesman for them. Oh, thanks, man. Yeah.
00:12:18
Speaker
So my grandfather's name on my mother's side is Paul Joseph Strawler. My name is Paul Joseph Long. So I was supposed to be a girl. My mom was super excited to have a girl. She was all set to call me Michaela when I came out. And when I was born, she was surprised that I was a male. She didn't have a male backup name. So grandpa and grandpa, Paul Joseph.
00:12:44
Speaker
So, Paul Joseph Strawler was the man. My grandfather was a guy that I love. He's just near and dear to my heart, and I owe a lot of my life to him. So, this gentleman, I didn't see it at the time. I learned about it after his passing. He struggled from anxiety, like debilitating anxiety. Like, there was one point in time where I think my mom said that they had to take the guns from the house.
00:13:14
Speaker
because they didn't know how significant it was. He would lay in bed for 24, 48 hours, and he would just dwell on things that aren't working, right? And so that's kind of the first insight that I had into the anxiety in our family. My father, very similar, he suffered from depression. Amazing guy, Gregarious, very similar to you, gentlemen. Love life, love connecting with people was an addict. I mean, he really struggled with opioids, and the last 10 years of his life, I swear to you, he lived
00:13:44
Speaker
laying in a recliner. I mean, he slept in a recliner every single night. He suffered from debilitating back disorder or something like that. It's basically arthritis. So for me, for myself, for you gentlemen, I bet you guys would go and you would be diagnosed with something like that and you would go and do something about it. You would go and you would say, you know what? I'm going to go to physical therapy or I'm going to go work out or whatever. I'm going to make myself feel better because I can't continue to be in my mind.
00:14:11
Speaker
and think about how terrible this is, my dad looked at it as an opportunity to give up. And so my brother looked at my father and his example in life and said, you know what? That's me. Like, that's my DNA. I don't really have much of a choice, right? And so he believed that his father helped kind of shape this legacy, our father, shape his legacy. And I agree with that.
00:14:37
Speaker
How we differ in opinion is just how it shaped because I'm the same same mother same father and I see my father's amazing traits and I embody them and I embrace them and I see the traits that I didn't want to be a part of and didn't want to showcase and I ran away from those.
00:14:56
Speaker
And so my brother has made it so, it leaps and bounds from the last couple of years and understanding his role in creating this environment. But anxiety still runs deep in him, myself, and my family in general, and hence the concept of feminism and where it came from because
00:15:16
Speaker
That the mind could be a terrible prison and so I believe that if you gravitate towards more things that give you strength As opposed to focusing on the things that tear you down then you'll be in a lot better place as a result Yeah, well, so you're going through we got to come back because there's a lot there I'm just gonna just move on so you coming back you go back into the call center area And now you're going to be managing to change the whole
00:15:39
Speaker
I'd say environment that you once were in, got out of it, came back. And then how long did that stint go? Two years. Okay. So five year total of the whole thing. Yeah. Okay. So once you got out, when did you start realizing this could be a brand and people need to hear my message? Sure. Well, I think before we get there, it's important to touch on this because this was something that was important to you and not to ask questions about it earlier.
00:16:08
Speaker
So I remember having a moment when I was working as the director of call center operations for this business or this organization where I was miserable.
Embracing Fundimism: Keynote Success
00:16:18
Speaker
And I was tasked with the performance management strategy, coupled with other people, of 2,500 individuals. We went from a, yes, I mean, multiple. So I was tasked with, yes, correct, the performance management strategy of many different org units and whatnot, again, with my business partners as well.
00:16:37
Speaker
So 2,500 people, I thought I was changing the culture. I weigh all of this heavily on myself constantly, nonstop. And so I was miserable. I drank every single night. I smoked pot every single night, which ended up themself. I don't think that either one of those things are a bad thing just to let you guys know. But if you do anything in excess as an escape, I think it's always terrible, right?
00:17:01
Speaker
And so I was doing it as an escape and I remember we had a brand new baby and I was miserable and I wasn't present with this battling race, our daughter. And so I remember going to my wife and I said, babe, I'm not happy. I want to move back home. I want to move to Kansas City. I want to start fundamentalism. I want to throw my energy back into something that can grow wealth. And I'm not talking about monetarily.
00:17:24
Speaker
And I was bawling my eyes out, and she gave me a big hug, and she said, let's do it. Wow. And I was gone within a month, and we moved back. And then I realized that fundamental could potentially be a thing. Now, I didn't know what it could be. Yeah. But I knew it could be a thing. Wow. So really, your only, I guess, support system was your wife. That's exactly right. And that's all you needed. Yep. Ah, come on.
00:17:52
Speaker
This goes to my whole theory. If the whole world is against me, but my wife is with me, let's go. Let's tackle it. If my wife, if the whole world's with me and my wife is against me, my whole world's upside down. So I love it. Okay. So you moved to Kansas City. You have any questions? I feel like I'm totally kyber. Well, then insert now, insert the first
00:18:16
Speaker
Speaking engagement. Okay, so when I left the organization, I left to be a consultant and in fairness, I had a warm transition. I already had a connection, we already had a huge clients in AT&T, so it was just like it was getting where you fit and I immediately came over and I didn't have to worry about where the next paycheck was coming from, which was comfortable.
00:18:40
Speaker
But again, it wasn't my stuff. It wasn't fundamental. I'm teaching everybody else's stuff. Dale Carnegie. So you went from leading the call center to kind of corporate consulting. You got it. That's absolutely right. So fast forward a couple of years later, a gentleman reaches out to me and he says, hey, I got a gig that I can't do. It's a keynote for the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. I can't do it. Would you like to do it? Well, I had never done a keynote before, but that's basically what I do in training. It's best done to do your first one.
00:19:10
Speaker
So, I went down to Lawrence, Kansas and I did it, and I gotta say, I knocked that thing out of the park. In my mind, I didn't know how well I did, but I remember getting a call about a week later, two weeks later, from a local Des Moines Speaker's Bureau. She said, hey, some company saw you out there and they want to book you.
00:19:32
Speaker
They said, book me for what? They're doing their sales conference, and they want to book you as their keynote speaker. I said, well, help me with what that looks like, because I've never done this before. And that was the beginning of where I realized what fundivism could be. Sure. That's so neat on so many levels. And so then walk us through. That was what, 12? That was 2017? Yep. That was just over a year ago. A year ago, OK.
00:19:58
Speaker
And then walk us through just the last twelve months because then you parted ways with consulting after that speech? No, that was the start. Or actually that was the transition. So I had just severed ties with the consultant firm.
00:20:17
Speaker
that fell into your lap, you know, energy and all that stuff, exactly. So ultimately what happened was I got connected with this bureau. She gave me guidance on how to do a speakers reel and how to market myself and all this stuff. And then I just did what you guys do. Like, I care about people and I don't sell anything. I go out and I shake hands and I grip and I grin and I care and I'm not driven by money. And I just always subscribe to the fact that you throw out good and good comes back.
00:20:45
Speaker
And for the last year, man, that's exactly what has happened. I mean, I've worked with organizations that I didn't even know existed. And then all the way up to, like, McKesson, pharmaceutical. I was the closing keynote for the National Seals Conference this year. So in the last 12 years, I've had booking after booking after booking. I've met amazing people like you, gentlemen. 12 months. Yeah. 12 months. Yeah. I'd say 12 years. Oh, geez. That was the 40th slipper. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
00:21:13
Speaker
So yeah, sorry. So ultimately that's where it is. The last 12 years or 12 months have been amazing. So in terms of the seven sources, we kind of talked about that a little bit. You've now kind of, you own fundamentalism, not only like I would say structurally, but like your body. Sure. Thank you. Um, so that's like your traditional business. That's kind of what we would say is like the fourth stream of residual income. So, you know, if you're an S corp LLC, I'm an LLC. Okay. Good. Nice. Okay.
00:21:43
Speaker
So then you also mentioned you're working on a book. Yes, sir. Tell our listeners kind of about what the book's going to be about. So the book is Fundimism, Connecting the Workplace in Life through Fun. And so it starts off with the concept of Fundimism. It introduces that, it lays forth the groundwork for fun.
00:22:01
Speaker
And fun to many is, especially in corporate America, it could be looked at as a deterrent, as something that's not necessarily welcome, right? Immature, right? So for me, it's an acronym. The F stands for foundation. The U is understanding other's perspectives and the N is next step. So the F, foundation, that's everything that you are as an individual. How you communicate, how you carry yourself, your moral compass, all of that good stuff, your personality style.
00:22:26
Speaker
The U is understanding other's perspectives. That's how do you generate questions that matter. Instead of talking about the same thing that everybody else is talking about, weather, work, and family, how do you create memorable experiences by asking questions that matter? Like, what do you do for fun? Or tell me something you're super proud of that not many people know about you.
00:22:43
Speaker
And then, of course, the same with foundation, understanding others' perspectives, realizing why we're different, personality styles, communication, all that stuff. And then the end is next steps. So now that you have a better understanding of yourself and your foundation and what your strengths and areas of opportunity lie in,
00:22:58
Speaker
And you've taken the time to understand that we're all different, and you've embraced the fact that understanding others' perspectives is important. Well, next steps, how do you showcase your strengths while mitigating those areas of opportunity? What fundamism should you gravitate towards? What questions can you ask to drive more memorable conversations? So the name of the book is Fundamism Connecting the Workplace in Life Through Fun. Those are some of the core principles that we're leveraging, and I'm in the editing phases now, so it should be released relatively soon.
00:23:25
Speaker
Has that process been tough for you just to keep focused on that or tell us about so I like to tell people that I've been writing a book for seven years. Okay. And what that really means is about seven years ago I picked up into paper and I got really hot and heavy for about two weeks and I got a ton of content down and then I didn't touch it ever again. And then
00:23:46
Speaker
I got that gig that we, that we talked about and then I'm like, Oh, there's something, there's teeth in this. And I saw every time that I talked about fundamental. People would, would gravitate more towards it and they would ask about it. And, uh, I'll never forget. I talked about writing this book several years ago in a call center in AT&T. It was a lady that had half of her face marked by burns. So it was a significant moment in her life that obviously something went awry. And I met her years ago when I was consulting and I went back.
00:24:16
Speaker
And she said, hey, I remember you. You were gonna email me when your book came out and you never did. And I said, it's because it hasn't come out since. And it was in that moment that I was actually disappointed with myself. And so I picked it up and I started working on it and it's closed, man. But yes, it's been extremely trying for me. So we hear a lot, I wanna take a little pivot. We hear a lot about this whole, you talked about lunch, so I'm gonna dive in a little deeper real quick.
00:24:46
Speaker
There's a big shift in our country with millennials. They're calling it the brain drain, the 50 and 60 year olds that are looking to retire. You're in and involved with large companies and you have been now your entire career. What are you seeing on the ground level? What are you hearing?
The Challenges of Branding a Purpose
00:25:03
Speaker
What are you excited about? What do you think the biggest opportunities are for companies big and small right now, which is the demographics?
00:25:12
Speaker
Well, I think first of all, everybody's looking for solutions, right? And if everybody's looking for solutions, then everybody believes that there's a problem. And so we're quick to identify problems. We're even quick to make problems where problems don't lie. And so specifically, one of the things that I'm sure you guys have heard and you just referenced it is this millennial deal, right? All these millennials, they're not motivated by anything. I just did a gig with the Iowa Grocers Association. And it was the whole title of the speech was, what's my motivation?
00:25:42
Speaker
and finding great talent. And so instead of looking to find and keep great talent, like we look at these folks and we say, well, what is it about this generation that doesn't want to work hard? Well, it's my belief that everybody's motivated by the same thing. We think they're motivated by something different, i.e. money, leadership potential, you know, whatever, praise, whatever it may be, intrinsic, extrinsic, whatever your motivators are,
00:26:09
Speaker
Just to break it down simply, everybody's looking for experience. That's what they're motivated by. If they say they're motivated by money, well, what is money buying you? It buys you experience. If you want leadership and you want to be in a role of leadership, then why? You want that experience. You want to be able to have that power. You want to be able to have that creative control and things like that that you set. If you want praise, it's because you feel good, man. It generates this sense of euphoria where you're like, I feel respected and I feel valued.
00:26:37
Speaker
So everybody's looking for the same thing. It's experience. So to answer your question, what are organizations? What's been my experience? I'm making a living on going into organizations and showcasing the fact that if you could generate the right experience, if you could stand for something in your foundation and show a genuine interest in others and understanding other people's perspectives, and then identify next steps in growing your brand and leading through purpose, praise, and progress, then ultimately, you're going to create experience. And the right people are going to come,
00:27:06
Speaker
They're going to stay and performance is going to be great as a result. That's awesome. Thanks, man. It's like you speak on this stuff or something. What has been some of the challenges that you faced in the last 12 months, owning your own brand? The biggest challenge is lonely.
00:27:26
Speaker
I feed off of other people's energy. People fancy me as a creative person, but I'm more creative when I have a collective. And so sometimes I'll be doing the dang thing. I'll be writing or I'll be working on my own podcast that I'm trying to start up. Whatever it is, new content, and I'll look out from the corner of my office and I'll wonder, is this right? Am I on the right path?
00:27:55
Speaker
Like, I don't need a lot of people to pat me on the back, but 10, that's nice. And I mean, and it's tough. I mean, the last thing I'll say on that is Tom Brady was recently asked, they said, do you feel as though you've received enough praise? Do you feel like your organization respects you enough for what you bring to the table? And his response was no comment.
00:28:16
Speaker
This guy's been to eight Super Bowls in one five. He's been the MVP of the league. Many fancy him now and it's getting harder to say this over the year or argue with him. He's the best quarterback ever, right? And he will tell you that he doesn't get enough praise.
00:28:35
Speaker
Now, he walked that back a little bit. He said, listen, I don't believe that there's anybody that works for somebody else that says that they get enough appreciation. So my biggest struggle is, am I on the right path? It's a lonely business. I love creativity and bouncing ideas off of one another. And I struggle with not having that. I also struggle in the areas in which I'm not strong, i.e. attention to detail and financial planning and things of that nature.
00:29:02
Speaker
if you could leave our listeners like one thing you know like that next step to have fun what would it be like you know in an organization i guess what can one person if they haven't hired you they're going to work every day what's like that one thing they could take in and just
00:29:22
Speaker
bring that light into their environment. I think it goes back to the experience part. So just on stage, I mean, this is fresh out of my mind because we're three hours removed. Stop asking the question about why are my people showing up late? Why am I not hiring the right people or how do I get these folks to stay or how do I get my customer service to a respectable level?
00:29:48
Speaker
whatever that may be and start asking the question, how do I create an experience for all those that interact with my business? And when I'm saying experience for all those that interact, I'm talking about your customers. I'm talking about your, your employees. I'm talking about you because as a leader, if you're miserable, if you're not leading with fundamentals, you're not living your own. Everyone else's. Yes, exactly. Exactly. Are you looking at me for a question?
00:30:18
Speaker
You don't have to edit that out, actually. That's kind of funny. Anyway, okay, so I want to go through passion prospecting because that's really where it boils down, is when someone, you're seeing them have fun. You're attracted to it. And I think the culture now is you're attracted to it because a lot of people just aren't, one, excited about where they're at, or two, they're not having fun what they're doing, right? And so we do this thing, it's called passion prospecting, where we just do things with our clients that we actually love.
00:30:47
Speaker
For example, we took some of our clients as a client appreciation paintball, and we had some of our best clients, and I'll never forget it being hunkered down behind this little statue and getting paintballs just whizzing at us. We're going down here, but what an experience. I think the best gauge in what you just said is, are you excited about tomorrow?
00:31:10
Speaker
Are you, like you're the best gauge out of anything. And if you're not having fun, guess what? Other people aren't either. And so how can you use your own internal temperature to figure out are you excited to wake up or not? Because if you're not, chances are a lot of other people aren't either. And so passion prospecting is something that we've seen so excited. And we get to do this every day as we get to sit people down and figure out what gets them going and how are you going to align your cash flow in order to do it.
00:31:39
Speaker
And so to be able to interview you, like I would say you're one of the wealthiest people I know. Thanks, man. Because it's not about money. Wait till you see my bank account, though. If you couple those things together. You know, there is a component of financial, but you're paying your bills. Yes. You have a supportive wife and a healthy family. Absolutely. And you get to wake up tomorrow more excited than you were today, and you get to impact others to do the same.
00:32:02
Speaker
well and i will say it's an investment i've only been doing this a year right and when i talk to other speakers and i hear them say things like wait a second how how far have you come in a year and you were on this main stage that doesn't equate and so while i'm not where i aspire to be now who is yeah and so ultimately the more light that i that i throw out into the world
00:32:26
Speaker
I'm not worried about money money will come because to your point if you're wealthy if you feel good if you have a great support system you do what you love the man money just starts to show up it does yeah.
00:32:38
Speaker
so true i i'm just like you've motivated me today you know and it's just like i want to talk about one reminder to me i just have more fun i want to remember i want to go back to one more thing your mother yeah tell us about how influential she's been in your life oh man um that's an interesting question because she is so i am the eternal optimist right and the opposite of the spectrum is the eternal pessimist which i would
00:33:06
Speaker
I would categorize my mom as a pessimist. And when I called her out on that, she says, I'm not a pessimist. I'm a realist, right? And I'm like, what's the difference? If everything that I see as being an opportunity, you bring something real into the situation that basically shoots it down, then isn't that a pessimist? I mean, aren't you stifling my growth?
00:33:32
Speaker
Um, I love my mother and I'm actually blessed to have two. So my father, uh, remarried at a very young age. I was two when he remarried. And so my stepmother, I call my mother as well. She is the kindest, hardened person in the whole entire planet.
00:33:47
Speaker
So my biological mother is one of the most intelligent people that I know. Her fundamism is reading. She goes to the library every single Saturday and she gets three books. Big, novel books. And every Saturday she returns them and picks up another picture. That is amazing.
00:34:05
Speaker
So I'd like to think that I got her intellect and her ability to problem solve and see things rationally and logically because she does that well. And I also got my other mother's strength in that she showers everybody with kindness and she's always thinking about how you're feeling. And I feel like I got a little of that in myself as well. That's amazing. Okay, where are you going? Where's the future for you?
00:34:30
Speaker
Okay, so got the book that's gonna drop. I'm thinking about the next logical step is branding a more passive stream of income that would be available for sale. So I'm throwing around some ideas in my head that would showcase fundamental and give people a constant reminder to your point that I need to have a little bit more fun. And sometimes just seeing something or seeing a trinket or whatever, maybe they're gonna be classy.
00:35:02
Speaker
But I've got some things in the works. So that would be like a subscription model, it sounds like. Yeah, potentially. So I got all kinds of ideas. I got the podcast that's going to drop. Again, that would be connecting the workplace and life through fun, merchandise, additional keynotes. I don't want to get too far away from... Yeah, you want to enjoy the... Yeah.
00:35:24
Speaker
You know, it's just, it's different. It's more about the connection with people. It's exactly right. Yeah. Yeah. So Brian and I are advisors at the uncommon wealth partners. And if you want to hear more about the seven sources of residual income, you can go to our website, www.uncommonwealth.com and you can download the seven sources of residual income that we've been talking about. So guys, this has been so enlightening. I'm so sorry, John, I've got a new best friend. It's Paul Long.
00:35:52
Speaker
And I'm not sure if he would say I'm his best friend yet, but he will. And I think... Move over, John Stoner. Come on, John Stoner. We know you're in second place. And I feel like everybody that interacts with you feels like their best friend.
00:36:09
Speaker
find you if they want to know more. Sure, so Fundimism.com, you could find videos, keynote videos, you could find examples of Fundimism. We offer a free Fundimism every single month, so if you don't know what gives you strength and you struggle identifying what you do for fun, we have a featured Fundimism every single month. Listen to music with a purpose, meditation. I might do some Ultimate Frisbee here soon. Oh, come on!
00:36:34
Speaker
So whatever you do for strength, somebody once told me nobody could do you better than you. So my goal is not to have everybody do my fundamisms, it's to share the wealth, to learn what everybody does for fun and leverage fundamism.com is a space where people could share. Very cool.
00:36:50
Speaker
Well, thanks for listening, everybody. It's been an amazing episode with Mr. Paul Long. And we didn't even get a touch on our royals. I know, that's tough. Maybe next time. Animism? Yeah. He's got puns. That's a condomism. He does something else. Yeah. You never know. So thanks for listening. And you can find us on the Apple iTunes Store. We'll play. And please like this and review it. And rate it. We're listening. And number five. And Melissa, take us out. Thanks.
00:37:19
Speaker
That's all for this episode of the Uncommon Life Project, brought to you by Uncommon Wealth Partners. Be sure to visit uncommonwealth.com to learn more about our services. Don't miss an episode as we introduce you to inspiring people who are actively pursuing an uncommon life.