Speaker 1 00:00:05 Hey there, thoughtful listener. Are you looking for introductions to partners, investors, influencers and clients? Well, I've had private conversations with over 2000 leaders asking them where their best business comes from. I've got a free video you can watch with no opt in required, where I'll share the exact steps necessary to be 100% inbound in your industry over the next 6 to 8 months, with no spam, no ads, and no sales. What I teach has worked for me for over 15 years and has helped me create eight figures in revenue for my own companies. Just head to up my influence comm and watch my free class on how to create endless high ticket sales appointments. Also, don't forget the thoughtful entrepreneur is always looking for great guests. Go to up my influence. Com and click on podcast. I'd love to have you. With us right now. It's Will Steele. Will, you are a transformational leadership and business leader. Coach. You are found on the web at Will steel.com. Will, it's great to have you.

Speaker 2 00:01:18 Thank you. Josh thanks. Great to be here.

Speaker 1 00:01:20 Yeah. Well, give us an overview of your work and who you serve.

Speaker 2 00:01:24 Yeah. My work is transformational. I led programs for 15 years all around the world, and now I run my own coaching business and work with business leaders, mainly business owners. And I'm working on the person. If you transform the business owner, the business transforms. So, you know, business owners often can get burned out. They can get stressed out. It can be working too many hours. And they come to me and said, okay, well, let's double your business. It's like, wow, I'm just keeping this one going. What do you mean, double the business? Right? Well, lots of people say things like that, but we actually do do that. And, it's coming from all the stuff that's blocking you, stopping you. The doubts, the fears, the. I've done this so many times and it's still not producing the results, all that stuff.

Speaker 2 00:02:14 You know, I got to work on what's going on in the background with you as a human being, because that's my speciality, really being the being of human being. And what's having you be a smaller version of yourself in the world? Not the fullest expression of who you really are.

Speaker 1 00:02:32 Yeah. So what do you where do you think these limiting beliefs. I mean, I guess they can come from a variety of places and maybe it's just not innate in us, or maybe it is innate in us, but culturally, you know, maybe we're, you know, feel like it's improper to, you know, think bigger or communicate bigger. You know, I just was talking with somebody. I mean, even, you know, my position. I was talking with someone, and they're like, Josh, I don't think you're playing big enough, my friend. Or, you know kind of owning, you know exactly kind of who you are or what you do. And and I was like, well, I think we all need a and especially I mean, you're British, right? Brits typically have a great sense of humility in my experience.

Speaker 2 00:03:13 Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, so what's the question?

Speaker 1 00:03:19 Well, no, just, you know, again, where, you know, where does that not stepping into greatness come from? And what is the antidote for that specifically?

Speaker 2 00:03:30 Right. Well, I just led a program in Cairo. Right. And when you get to it with human beings, almost, I haven't met anybody who hasn't made some decisions. The growing up things happen and you think, oh, oh, maybe I'm not as good as I thought I was, or you think, I'm not enough. I'm not good enough. My mum loves my brother more than me. Simple stuff that the small you was thinking in the brain around that time. You know, as a small person, everything revolves around you. So when things happen. It's personal, very personal, and you internalize it. And then as you go through life, you like, now you've got a filter for finding evidence for what you've already decided. And when you decide something and believe it's true, that for you becomes the truth and it's in the background, it's not necessarily in the foreground, it's just the way it is for you.

Speaker 2 00:04:22 You know, I'm a shy person or I'm a introverted person or whatever, and you produce results compensating for this thing about you. So some of the most successful people in the world, the richest people in the world, I've worked with some of those people. And when you really get under the surface that it's never it never really gives you what you want. You can produce all the money in the world, have all the accolades, all the, trappings. But inside there's still this emptiness. This is still something that's not fulfilling you. So what do you do? You earn more money, or you get better things, or you change your partner for a more pretty partner or you know, this is what people really do, but it's all trying to fix something about themselves and don't realize it, you know? you know, even the confident people, they produce results, and then they're kind of inside going, well, yeah. Not really. I just worked hard, you know, I'm not really smart.

Speaker 2 00:05:21 I just worked hard, you know? Yeah. So unwittingly, when you do produce results from these strategies that you've, nurtured, if you like, you know, I'll be hard working and then you're really hard working. That's your thing. And you produce results every time you produce a result. It reminds you of, it's not really it. So it's never going to fulfill you. So we want to get you back to the real you. Back to the you. Before you started to limit yourself, before you started to doubt yourself, before you started to question, you know, before you had language. None of that was going on. You were just a free human being, little baby. But then things happen for everybody, and it can be traumatic. Or for everyone else, not so traumatic, but for you it's something. So, you know, it's not psychology. It's not therapy. It's not counselling. I don't want to do any of that. I want to work with people who are up to something, and this can get in the way.

Speaker 2 00:06:20 You know, this gets in the way of stepping out to the next level, taking your business to the next level. Oh, and if I take it all to this next level, kind of can I really handle it? You know, I can keep what I'm doing and you will self-sabotage your potential success for fear of failing because you'd rather not make it at that thing. Because you can contain yourself within what you already know. So the brain is trying to have you survive. And whether you like it or not, whatever you've gone through, whether it's upset after upset after upset, your brain will keep doing that because you survived. So it's, unlocking those, You know those. Those locks that are holding you back, especially around. You mentioned money, right. And success. Yeah. You know, you got so much money and it still doesn't really do it. What's the point of earning more, you know, kind of just sell my business and live on a beach? Well, do that.

Speaker 2 00:07:17 And within a couple of weeks you'd be bored out your brains, right? That's true.

Speaker 3 00:07:21 I've heard that. Yeah. If you create.

Speaker 2 00:07:24 What you're doing inside an empowering, context, you know, you're up to something. You have a vision. This is what I'm about in the world that will empower you now, in doing all the doing that you need to do right now.

Speaker 1 00:07:39 Yeah. so burnout may be very well be kind of in the same vein here. when you're working with leaders, where do you typically find or. Let me ask it this way. What do you find the path through or out of burnout to be?

Speaker 2 00:07:56 Yes. So you know, I immediately one of my clients comes to mind. he owned for, car body shops. You know, where they repair cars that have been in automobile accidents. And he was running between four shops. He was working 67 hours a week, 60 to 70 hours a week. Sorry. And, you know, he came to me.

Speaker 2 00:08:19 It was in the pandemic, and he said, you know, I just want to be able to keep the lights on. Can you support me making two and a half, 3 million? If I can do that, I can keep the thing going until the pandemic has passed because there are no cars on the road, therefore no wrecks for three months. Well, it didn't do, 2.5 million did 7 million. And the first thing I got him to do was have a manager responsible for each of the four shops and all reporting to him all the numbers. So you can just open his laptop, you can be on the. And was one time on the beach in Costa Rica having his meeting with all his guys, and he could see what the numbers were. So he reduced his hours from 60 to 70 down to 12 hours a week, which is incredible. However, if you're the business owner, you don't need to be involved in all the. He's got the details with the numbers, but you don't need to be having all the conversations and being at that place.

Speaker 2 00:09:12 So, you know, I'm not a I'm not saying do a four hour work week. I'm not. I do what you need to do for your business. But part of what he wanted to do was reduce the number of hours. We've got it down to 12 hours. So four hours on a Monday met everybody all all the team and then two hours Tuesday to Friday with each one of the managers. And that took his business well way beyond. He's been offered 23 million for the business. This is like two and a half years later. So he would have burned out trying to keep that business going the way it was going, because what he knew was to be there make sure everything's happening, you know, control it. You know, it's like letting go of that and being able to trust his guys to do their job and not just do their job actually flourish, which is what happened when they were allowed to have autonomy over their shop, you know? Your people can't flourish when you're cramping them or you're micromanaging them, or you're, you know, in fear of the business going under you.

Speaker 2 00:10:16 You know, there's no one thing fits all. So also, at the same time, I'm saying this, it depends on you individually. That's why I mostly work one on one with people because it's individual. I can't say do this, this and this and may not fit for where you're at. You know, most of my coaching, Josh is listening and really listening for what's going on, what's going on with this person, what's going on in the background, what's limiting them. You know, I was working with a guy yesterday and he was he says, this is so slow. I'm not going to get to 4 million here. It's just the increments we're making are so slow. I said, oh, okay. And he was he they sell to pharmacies. I said, okay, well what if you sold to these pharmacy chains? All of a sudden you're selling 100 times many products than what you're currently doing. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I used to sell to pharmacy chains. Oh, all of a sudden it unlocked this thinking.

Speaker 2 00:11:12 And it could be pharmacy chains. There's all sorts of ways to to completely multiply his efforts. And he said, wow, I don't know why I didn't think of that. I said, well, that's why you got a coach. I'm outside your bubble. I'm outside your bubble. I'm going to ask you, you know, simple questions that occur to me while I'm listening to you. Have you thought about this? Have you thought about that? And, I like that because, you know, I'm part of the creativity. They're they're not they don't have to take my suggestions, you know? But if I ask a question, it usually provokes something. Yeah, that's the magic. You know, something's going to show up.

Speaker 1 00:11:50 Yeah. to our friend that's listening. Like, if we were to give them, I don't know if you could think of maybe a simple exercise that they might be able to take as homework from This episode. But if you said, you know, here's something I want you to do.

Speaker 1 00:12:07 You know, grab a pen and paper or whatever it is, right? Or, you know, go for a walk. And here's what I want you to work through. Like anything come to mind? Maybe that, you know, might be something that might be a helpful, you know, practice maybe just for, being a little bit more introspective or, you know, if we're unsettled about something getting clarity around that.

Speaker 2 00:12:30 Yeah, that's a little hard to do on your own, because you're going to look at it with the same thinking. I think it was Einstein said, you can't solve today's problems with the thinking that got you here. You know, you need to be outside of that. That's where a coach really comes in. So if you're up against it and you can't see a way through, you know, pick up the phone and call a coach or call a colleague collar, you know, someone you can talk to. Because, again, another of my clients, I asked him after 12 months work with him.

Speaker 2 00:13:01 He's very successful, doubled his business. I said what was. What was it that I provided for you? Says, well, it wasn't really so much what you said. It's just I could get all my stuff out. I could get all my heart out. because I can't say that to my family. They're all already worried about me and said, why don't you just sell the business and get a regular job, you know? And he said, no, they don't want to hear it, and I don't want to burden them. And I can't go to people who work for me and say, I don't know what to do about this, he said. But I could come to you and it's just, you know, non-judgmental. I could say it all, he said. And then I could see my thinking. I could see the path forward like broke through. So in answer to your question, what could they do right now? Well, if you're on your own, I don't know how you doing? Well, it.

Speaker 1 00:13:52 Sounds like.

Speaker 2 00:13:53 You could journal. That's a possible way you can. You need to be able to get outside of your thinking, which is not easy to grow. I mean, I have a I have two coaches. Yeah. So in different aspects of what I do because I'm looking for what am I not seeing? What am I not seeing about this situation that's keeping it the way it is for me?

Speaker 1 00:14:14 You know how exciting that is when you have like an moment or one of those discovery moments? and again, I find that that interaction with either a pretty wise colleague who's not part of your company, not part of your family, you know, someone that's a little bit distant or separated from that. but it's exciting, right? When we when we do have those moments of, you know, you know, like a just a big, profound insight about ourselves, you know, why do I do this? And we get that insight. It's really exciting. and I agree with you. I think, you know, having a coach certainly can help facilitate those moments more often.

Speaker 1 00:15:00 you know, I, I just think, you know gosh, you know, in a perfect world. You know, I would be able to use a coach, but and also, you know, for myself, kind of create those moments organically more often. So I guess that's what I'm aspiring for asking about right now is just, you know, again, I don't know, again, if it's obviously reading and listening to podcasts like this certainly helped with that.

Speaker 2 00:15:23 Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, I don't think anybody wants coaching like, oh, I want a coach. I don't want a coach. I want someone who can help me produce the results I want to produce. Right. And help me see what is it that I'm. You know, what is it about me that's, you know, not having me move forward. What's going on with me? You know, and, you know, I've just written a book Free to lead. And before that, the book I was going to write was called Go Back to Move Forward.

Speaker 2 00:15:53 So if you're not moving forward. So what does this remind me of? What's this remind me of in my past? And you know, I've done enough of the work. I can think back. Oh that's what's going on. Here we are. It's my thing about this, you know, you know, another example. You know, when I was when I started coaching on my own, you know, I worked for a salary for 21 years, and then now I'm charging coaching, I'm getting coached on what to charge, and it's like, wow, I don't know if I could charge that, but then I got this. I, I discovered this myself, right? I mentioned there I am talking and I got myself out of the picture. I said, okay, it's not Will Steele, it's this person who's super qualified, super trained. I've watched this guy work with someone and in 20 minutes completely turn them inside out, transform them who they are, sorted them out completely and I could get to speak to that guy for an hour a week.

Speaker 2 00:16:49 Holy shit, I want that. I'll pay for that. And it suddenly just took, you know, my own personal thoughts and feelings about it out of the picture. And and my business doubled. My business. My own business doubled overnight. You know, within five weeks, I doubled my revenue for the year. It just this, you know, you've got to trick your mind sometimes, you know, because your mind is full of doubts and questioning and, you know, and when you identify with those thoughts, you get limited. You've got to be able to, what the philosophers, philosophers call bracket. You got to be able to have it there. It's not useless information. Everything you've learned, right? But have it like just shine a light on what you're dealing with and be able to look at it in the present moment for what it is, you know? Yeah.

Speaker 1 00:17:41 well, so to our friend that's listening. what, you know, if they were to look for a coach, and you may be a fit for them, I you certainly work with very high level executives and leaders.

Speaker 1 00:17:57 but what might be a really good question that someone would ask a potential coach to try to see if it's a good match.

Speaker 2 00:18:08 Oh, I have to look for myself. Right. So if it was me, I want to know. Are they on my level? Right. They might know not know the intricacies of what precisely I do, but they really get me, you know. So I would interview some coaches. And do you experience them really, really getting you before they, you know, come at you with advice? There's a lot of advice out there, you know, and it's not bad advice. But you know, we've all got advice and we can read books and we can do all that stuff. No. Does this person actually get me see, until if they don't get me, I'm not going to get beyond my own thinking. I'm not going to hear anything they say because they're not really listening to me. So, you know, somebody pitched me to coach me, right? He said, I'll take your business to the next level because I can really hear.

Speaker 2 00:19:06 And I listened to him and he wasn't quite getting me where I was at, and I was just like, no, this is just not a fit. I'm not I'm not going to invest in spending time with this person because they don't really get me. I think it's critical. You've got to trust that the coach actually gets you. I don't want to say understand, and I don't want to say, you know, has the answers I want to say gets you. I don't know if that communicates, but, you know, when you feel like, oh, they're really getting this person really gets it, you know, and I and I will say, if I don't get it, I said, look, I just just got to get me to get this. What's that like for you? You know, we'll get right into so I can get the experience so that they get that I got what's it like for them, you know, and then then you can start to see things.

Speaker 1 00:19:59 Yeah.

Speaker 1 00:19:59 Will, your website and tell me about free to lead Yeah.

Speaker 2 00:20:04 Free to lead. That's the book. I've just its draft version at the moment.

Speaker 1 00:20:10 You know, not available yet. Any idea when it would be available?

Speaker 2 00:20:14 I'm probably thinking about three months time. Sure. Because I want to. I want to promote it. Well, I originally wrote it because of the work we're doing in the Middle East. I'm not an Arab. Right. And I'm I'm. I got invited in from my one of my clients who's who's Arabic, and, that's why they're giving me the permission to listen to me. Even right now, we've done three programs. It's going really well. But I thought, well, they need to get what this is because there's so many programs out there, you know, on leadership, there's so many courses and do this and do that and this method and that method, I'm not doing any of that. I'm disappearing your barriers such that you can be the fullest version of yourself as a leader.

Speaker 2 00:21:03 so that I need to write a book. I need to write a book so they can get it translated into Arabic. So originally it's just for it was originally for the Arabs. But then as I was writing and thinking, no, this is actually for anyone, but if you pitch it to anyone, you know, nobody's interested. So I'm pitching it to leaders. But what it really is, is getting who you are as a human being and what's limiting you as a human being and therefore in your leadership, you know, if you if you can really trust you being you, then you can relate to the people you lead, they can relate to you. And the communication is open, transparent, and you're free to be transparent. So, Yeah, I'm, I'm, I, I don't just want to write a book. People write books and hey, is my book like a business card? I'm not interested in that. I want this book to be, easy to read, but it gets you to What's going on with you? Like I said when you asked me before, what could they do? Well, if they could go to this book and they read that bit, they are right.

Speaker 2 00:22:13 Jesus. That's what's going on with me. And the answers in them, not in the book, but the book will give you examples and have you do exercises that you can get to. What's going on with you, you know, so, I'm not going to put the book out until for me, it's doing that job. I'm not, you know, I'm not interested, particularly in book sales. I'm not interested in just having, you know, oh, he's written a book, you know, so he's got some credibility. You know, I actually want it to impact people. So, Yeah, it's got to have integrity for me before I actually let it go.

Speaker 1 00:22:53 Yeah, I will your website will steel.com to a friend that's listening. And they want to grab a call with you. What did they do?

Speaker 2 00:23:01 They can go on the website and they can, you know, click on the Being communication little button there or simply will at will steal comm will email me directly.

Speaker 1 00:23:12 Will steal again.

Speaker 1 00:23:14 You're transformational leadership and business leader. Coach will. It's been great having you. Thank you.

Speaker 2 00:23:19 Thank you thank you for the questions.

Speaker 1 00:23:26 Thanks for listening to the Thoughtful Entrepreneur Show. If you are a thoughtful business owner or professional who would like to be on this daily program, please visit up my influence. Com and click on podcast. We believe that every person has a message that can positively impact the world. We love our community who listens and shares our program every day. Together we are empowering one another as thoughtful leaders. And as I mentioned at the beginning of this program, if you're looking for introductions to partners, investors, influencers, and clients, I have had private conversations with over 2000 leaders asking them where their best business comes from. I've got a free video that you can watch right now with no opt in or email required, where I'm going to share the exact steps necessary to be 100% inbound in your industry over the next 6 to 8 months, with no spam, no ads, and no sales.

Speaker 1 00:24:25 What I teach has worked for me for more than 15 years and has helped me create eight figures in revenue for my own companies. Just head to up my influence comm and watch my free class on how to create endless high ticket sales appointments. Make sure to hit subscribe so that tomorrow morning. That's right, seven days a week you are going to be inspired and motivated to succeed. I promise to bring positivity and inspiration to you for around 15 minutes every single day. Thanks for listening and thank you for being a part of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur movement.