00:00:00 Sana: Some seasons. Don't feel like a chapter. They feel like a collapse. If you are in one right now. If life has put you in a valley, you didn't choose. This episode is for you. Because we talk. We talk a lot about comebacks, listeners, but we don't talk about or talk enough about the part where you're still on the ground, trying to breathe, trying to function, trying to remember who you were before everything got heavy. Today's conversation is about build to break, build to rebuild. Not in a dramatic way, but in a real, in a human way.

00:00:49 Sana: welcome back listeners to this podcast where we talk about business, leadership and life as it really happens without the polished, super duper motivating captions. I am Sana, and today I'm joined by someone whose story doesn't come from theory listeners. It comes from experience. My guest describes his life as built to break. After nearly half a century on this planet, he has faced more challenges than most and still found ways to heal, recover, and even excel through them. He calls it a never quit attitude. Not the loud kind. The kind that keeps showing up even when it hurts. And he has seen what many people would call miracles. Not because life got easy for him, but because he kept moving through pain and perseverance. So today we are going to talk about valleys, what they take, what they reveal, and how a comeback story actually gets written. So listeners, let's welcome our incredible guest, Ryan Reichert. So Ryan, welcome to the show. And it's really always an honor to have you here.

00:02:06 Ryan Reichert: Well, thank you so very much. I just greatly appreciate the opportunity to, you know, be on your platform today and share my story and know that probably many out there listening have gone or are going through this. And there is a way, you know, out of the valley it's and we'll get to it.

00:02:25 Sana: Definitely, definitely. Ryan. And, I mean, you have said, I mean, in our previous podcast also, we kind of talked about that, um, you have faced more challenges than most, um, without kind of being it, you know, a highlight reel. Um, if you, if you can, you know, maybe think about it or look back. What's one value that genuinely broke something in you? You know, because we, we all, I mean, irrespective of whether we are in business or we are a nine to five or we are a freelancer or we are just, you know, a human, we all will be having some kind of difficulties, some kind of challenges in our lives. But then there are very few moments where, you know, everything kind of within us, around us. It it snaps, you know, like it, it completely kind of destroys. And then that reality hits hard. So for you, what was it specifically like? Was it trust, identity, confidence, relationship, or maybe your sense of safety?

00:03:35 Ryan Reichert: Yeah, I think you hit it on the head, uh, with sense of safety. When I really reflect on those massive valleys in my life, those significant valleys. It was hours where I didn't feel safe. And the greatest one for me, as I reflect back to time period was probably twenty twenty, twenty twenty one. And I know for, you know, all of us, we were going through Covid. For me, I was on my final deployment in the military. And for those who don't know, I spent twenty three years in the US Army and I had it all figured out for what retirement was going to look like. It was going to look like being a financial advisor. The family had, you know, been relocated. And all of these things were, you know, like someone who was a strategic planner, their majority of their military career, other than being an operator, you have this ducks in a row alignment. Everything is perfect per se. I mean, I guess that that aligns maybe in a picture that you can Envision. But what I didn't realize is that was me trying to control everything in what was to come and be the transition of retiring from the military and moving on into a civilian career, one that you focused on for many, many years. And I think for those listening, knowing that we're talking really about that safety, that safety net, to me, it's now with my faith and not to go into other valleys or other parts of my story. Let's just continue to focus specifically on transition and understanding that, you know, I was in risk management in my corporate job for a number of years. And it's one where you chart to analyze every little thing and try to minimize the risk. Well, if in a transition, that's where the greatest risk lies. You have to be okay with not having a clear picture, and know that as you move through it each day, you'll gain more clarity. And really, you know, we're talking about hope, right? Hope for a future. But moving each single day, it creates the faith necessary for you to see the love that you have for, you know, obviously the work that you always wished for, that purposeful, you know, environment that creates purpose and you know, your family, you're doing it for them to provide for them. And you just continue to have this fill up. I saw a really great illustration just the other day talking about, you know, a four burner stove. And if you were to place each piece of your life, the major important ones on a burner and you only had a certain amount of gas. For an X amount of time. How would you proportion who gets the most gas or fuel? You know, you have your family. You have your work and finances. You have the dynamic of self and then you have everything else in life per se. And that can be a lot of different things for people because some people think, well, that everything else in life is the house, the cars, the boats, the events, the trips, the it's the highlight reel, right? Like for I, I speaking about myself here, but I believe when I talk to other people, you know, it is this highlight reel is another burner as opposed to getting a little more specific. And I will garner that here and reel me back in if I get too far out there. But you only have enough fuel To focus on one of those burners for an extended period of time. You could put the same amount into each one and it'll only last five years. You can put all of it in one, and it could last for the rest of your life, but you would have to choose wisely. I think that dynamic of what Indiana Jones movie is that we're. I think it's the Last Crusade. And, you know, it's like the chalice of Christ and the dynamic of choose wisely because it'll cost you your life. And what I'm getting at here is you need to put ninety percent towards yourself, right? And sustaining what you can do for those other three areas, because that's what we're talking. We're talking about you and we're talking about some type of transition in your life. A value that you're currently being put in. It could look like the loss of this job that you just went through. It could look like you're building your first business, or maybe you're building your fifth business and you thought it would get easier by now, and it's still showing you areas that are hard to climb out of. It could be you're going through a relationship challenge and possibly a divorce. You could look like losing a family member, and that could be in the divorce. It could be in death. It could be just your estrangement, right? So all these things that really the focus here that we're talking about is how do you feel safe? And for me today, I know it's in my spirituality. And so having the ability to believe in something greater than yourself and really understanding that no matter what transition you go through in your life, you have to build your mind to the point where you understand that you will not break through this challenge. It is literally building you to not break. And you'll start to see that then in every single day as you move forward and never stop, never give up and don't look back. You know you've already been there. That's why the rear view mirror is smaller than the windshield. It's the dynamic of, you know, you only need to look back every once in a while and make sure everything's okay behind you from the sense of the people that you want in your life to keep coming with you. And I think to me, that's the big one is when you focus on that transition, understand that there are going to be unknown unknowns that you do not have control or the ability to see coming.

00:10:17 Sana: Exactly. And I love that love the metaphorical explanation here, Ryan, because. And, you know, I don't know, I mean, it's kind of a glorified excuse me, especially when you talk about, um, safety. Uh, anything, anything around any kind of conversation, especially in the, when it comes to the world of business or entrepreneurship, um, people would kind of, you know, push back here saying that I don't want in that safe zone because I love to be in the, in. I love to be out of my comfort zone. I want to, uh, face risks. I want to understand. And, you know, it's kind of glorified to some, to a huge extent where that line between safety and if I call it bluntly, mindless kill careless risks, which are, you know, not worth taking sometimes, you know, you're risking everything, maybe your life, maybe your family members, maybe your own sense of self, everything you're putting at risk, that line kind of sometimes it gets blurred in there. So how can someone and here I'm not just specifying only an entrepreneur or a founder, but how can we make that distinction that, you know, whether this is my safe zone or I'm just too, too much getting comfortable just to feel that safety?

00:11:53 Ryan Reichert: Yeah. I think of kind of looking at it from the standpoint of a risk versus a gamble. And basically what I mean by that, I'm trying to find it in one of my books. I literally have it written out and I can't, I'm paging through it and it's not popping up to me, so we'll just keep rolling with it. I know the context and you know, it gets into, you know, a risk. You're, you're analyzing the current facts that you have and you know, you have ability. You know, I call it the eighty over twenty rule where you have eighty percent of what you need to make, you know, the one hundred percent most accurate decision. And the other side would be it's a gamble if it was less than that. And it's a, it's a gamble waiting to have more than that. So it's one where you have to be confident enough knowing that you have the necessary information at the time. And that's what makes most leaders extremely successful is, you know, they take calculated risks. They don't gamble. Obviously, for me, you know, I was in the business for almost a quarter of a century of, you know, what was the collateral damage? It was life. It wasn't money. It wasn't title. It wasn't, you know, it was someone's life. And so to me, as I made the transition into the corporate environment and the civilian sector, you start to understand that yes, you still need to make calculated decisions, but it certainly doesn't have the impact. And you can rebuild anything, you know, through failures, mistakes, miscalculated decisions. And that's half the point, right? The whole dynamic is the lesson that you learn through those decisions. And not to stop just because you took, you know, five, six, seven losses in a row. You have to continue to analyze things, self-reflect and work with the team on, you know, the areas of improvement, like what's the standard and are we committing every single day to that standard? It's something that I practice, and it's certainly something that I teach is, is my focus framework and focus. The acronym within it is faith, Opportunity, consistency, unconditional kindness in the standard. So when you focus on things, you start with the standard. You start from the end and you work your your way back. And in that you establish every single action and then the metric that you quantify it with within your standard. You know, we used to have a saying in the military, do you change train to time or do you train to standard? And it's one of those things where we say, hey, we're going to do physical fitness from zero six in the morning to seven thirty. So ninety minutes. Now if the standard is do one hundred push ups, how fast can you do one hundred push ups? Probably faster than ninety minutes. And there's that dynamic then of of then what. Well then utilize the other well or I could do one hundred push ups in three minutes. So it's this this side of you have now eighty seven more minutes in that block of time to do what a lot of people would be like, well, hey, we're done. Like it's physical fitness time. Well, there's additional training that always needs to be conducted. And does your team have basically that contingency of additional training that you're always like, we never have time to do this. We never have time to do this. We never have time to do this. And you're like, well, we got eighty seven minutes. Which one are we picking? Okay, next number one priority. Additional training is and someone's always, always teed up ready to train on that because they're the subject matter expert. One person, you know has all of that and then they can facilitate it for the rest of the group. When you have those moments, that lull in the battle, basically, right? That transition to, okay, at seven thirty, we normally clean up and then go to breakfast. Well, sounds good. But before we get to that point, this is what we're doing. And that's the standard. Now when you talk about unconditional kindness, the amazing thing about that is I have a six step method that literally transforms, like you and me, as we interact together or come across each other's path. And this is what it looks like. You know, we smile at each other, you know, or I smile at you, make eye contact or say good morning, whatever that looks like. You smile back like, okay, it's a good day. Ryan's having a good day. I'm now feeling better. Or vice versa. And then, you know, there's the please and thank you exchange. There's the excuse me. I'm sorry, exchange. And then you just repeat that continuously throughout the day. That's how you literally start this ripple effect, this butterfly effect of transforming the energy across your team and who you literally, you know, meet in every encounter. This isn't just in business. This is like going to the grocery store. And when you walk in, you know, through the parking lot and people are exiting, you know, and you're like, hey, good morning, good afternoon, eye contact, smile like, yes, you two have a great day. You're like, well, why would I do that for a stranger? That's the whole point is to create this energy. Because when two people create this positive energy together, it multiplies. It literally builds upon itself. And so if you bring that into every interaction that you have personally and professionally, it is amazing to see that compounding effect. And then we get into consistency. Well, if you continue to do that every single day while still achieving your standards that you've set, you'll start to see opportunities grow in every area, in every facet of your life, not just personally, not just professionally, but every single thing. And what's so cool about this is when I talk about it, you know, what does F stand for? If I, before I started explaining all this, everyone would be like, well, most important thing for me is finance. Most important thing for me is my family. Most important thing is my fitness and what we created by starting at the end and working your way back is faith. And because we outlined a program and a process that encompasses both personal and professional growth across starting with our self. Kind of like we said, through that transition, the focus on our self and creating that standard initially with ourself allows it to grow to our family, to grow to our friends, to grow with everything else around us. And that's how you truly focus in your life.

00:18:52 Sana: And you gave that example and of the grocery store thing, and, and this is not something and, you know, I don't know many, many people, they would say, yeah, it's a good thing. It's a great thing to do. But then I think the entire significance of it dies down when it's kind of, you know, marketed or, um. Um, like share about, I mean, just for the sake of getting that validation or that appreciation from others that he has, you know, this person is so humble or so good. Um, this person has great energy. People are talking about you. Is that that is why you're doing it, or you are actually doing it authentically because you believe that's the most, uh, human thing to do, you know, at least. And that is something, you know, whenever we talk about charity or we talk about, um, greeting someone, uh, maybe. And this is something that I also find kind of a dilemma, you know, always that if I'm greeting someone, let's say a person who is a guard at the mall, I mean, it's, it's their job. They're doing it. They're standing in there for a fixed number of hours. There they are. They're pulling it throughout the day. They are. They are working hard. They're earning. They're trying to manage it all and they're greeting everyone. But how many people are greeting back to them? Are they even? Are they even caring about it or not? And if I'm smiling at that guard and he, they are also smiling back at me. It kind of feels good. But then I feel that it shouldn't be like about that. Oh my goodness, I did this and you should also do it. And then, you know, you go out and you get into that, um, rabbit hole of, uh, putting yourself as this humble, uh, good Samaritan human out there just for the sake of, uh, validation and popularity.

00:20:57 Ryan Reichert: I love that. I mean, my initial, before you gave such a great rundown, there was the intentional. It's a habit that needs to be intentional is more so though this dynamic is the anonymous piece of it. You should be able to have the ability to, you know, like when you think of charity, right? Like if you have to put your name on it, like it's not charity. You're doing it for marketing for advertisement. And everyone's like, no, I'm not like, I'm like, okay, then. Well then do it anonymously. Well, then no one's going to know that I did it. Exactly. That's the point of it, you know? It's to know that you're doing it, not for yourself. You're doing it for the rest of the world. And so then it doesn't need to be named. And that once you can do that, like it's very easy then to be intentional and genuine in all your interactions because you're not out for yourself. It's the ability to literally transform our world through the genuine care for others. And that's really what we're talking about, being kind. And in that kindness creates the love and the light in the world that those with a pure, good, loving heart are trying to establish. And it's not from manipulation, it's not from bottom line. It's really seeing the beauty of kind of going back to being a kid and you're just like, wow, the world is so big and vibrant and amazing until some traumatic event, some transition, whatever it looks like happens. And, and then the light starts to dim and if the light ever goes out, that's when darkness prevails. Because if there's light, there cannot be darkness. The smallest pin prick of light that shines through means there is no, you know, it could be dark, but it's not. You know the darkness that we believe. When there is no light. And so it's, it's really interesting when we reflect. I love your genuine. Just knowing someone that has to be there, like said guard. And they're doing it all day long and not really, you know. Hey, if anybody makes eye contact, smiles, says thank you or good morning or hope you're having a good day. You know, why wouldn't you? Just because they have to be there and that's their job. Does that mean you're not kind? You know, if anything, they're they're providing a service for you to have safe passage, you know, in and out and through and around and above and all things given when you're trying to have some leisurely time. Um, shopping or whatever that looks like.

00:23:57 Speaker 4: Absolutely, absolutely.

00:24:00 Sana: And before we wrap up, Ryan, This word come back. And then when we connect identity, um, it's kind of a bit tough one. Um, in fact, for me also, if, if I had a comeback story, then it would have been difficult for me to also answer. But let's see how it goes. I mean, do you think you returned to who you were or did you become someone else? And if you became someone else, what did that version of you? Stop tolerating?

00:24:36 Ryan Reichert: Yeah, I think it's both because I wouldn't want to say that I became something completely different, because I know there was a part of me that I see today that in a very, very much younger version. I mean, we're going way back to childhood. And, you know, the things I did throughout my first. Eighteen years. Uh. Just giving back and sharing and trying to be, you know, who those around me, I believe were those you would want to follow and emulate. And now today, I'd also say, though, that I'm, I'm so much more. I'm someone who is literally reborn in this dynamic of all the failures, all the mistakes. They didn't define me. They refined me. And so it's one where, you know, we've heard this saying, obviously iron sharpens iron and you know, you have to be forged in your fire. And that's what we're talking about here, is the strengthening of those valleys and that ability to literally Grow as opposed to shrink. And maybe, you know, in that moment, whoever's out there listening, you know, you feel really small. And I know exactly what that feels like because, you know, each day comes in and overnight, it's amazing. We can, you know, finally when we get to sleep, start to shrink or I guess when we awake. We, we feel like we shrunk overnight, kind of, you know, some of that confidence that grew and we had a great day. And all of a sudden, you know, we're not grateful for what we currently have because we start to go like, man, I really want this. And it's like, well, yeah, you're gonna get that, but it's going to be a year from now, so don't worry about it. Like you're thinking too big. What is the next step look like in building your business and trying to achieve the next level that, you know, you're like, oh man, when I'm a director as opposed to a manager, then my life will get better. And it's like, no, no, no, no, no, don't you know? Like, how do you personally grow? How do you professionally grow today? Taking the next step towards that. Because once you get there in a year, which you will, you'll get promoted to director or your business will be at X revenue with X ROI. It's going to look completely different, and you're going to have a whole new set of challenges because you've grown so much and you've made it through these hard transitions, and you'll be so much stronger, and your confidence will be built at such a level that you'll continue to make the risks because you were forged in the fires and those trials and tribulations as you continue to take one step towards it. So I love it because I mean, I certainly, you know, my dreams of where our protector development goes and grows. And I've already seen it over the last year, plus building many different lanes in the business with all our different, you know, things. It took a long time. A lot of, you know, baby steps, little inch by inch moments and fearfully, painfully refining you. And today I can go, yeah, you know what? I am about to break because I know that I won't break. Because in the process, it has made me stronger than I've ever been. And so I think that's where you take the two, where you take the good versions of old, and then you take the failures, the mistakes and those lessons, and it can create something completely new. And what you get now today is someone that is certainly better than they were yesterday. And so excited to see where tomorrow brings us when tomorrow comes. But I'm not going to sit and focus on tomorrow, because I got plenty of things to focus on today that are more important.

00:28:54 Sana: I love that, and I think we have got the title of this episode, listeners refined, not defined. I think that's a brilliant title to it. And I'm so grateful, Ryan, that, um, this was such a refreshing conversation, especially on a podcast like this blend, you know, where, um, technically listeners would still expect, you know, discussing about numbers, profits, money. I mean, that is important. Yes. It is. I'm not dismissing or discounting the importance of that, but then it's not a one sided discussion or a conversation. I mean, there are humans involved, not just machines or AI or tools, but there are humans involved who are creating, who are exploring, who are building, who are innovating, who are scaling. We're expanding. So I really appreciate that you, um, brought depth to this conversation. And, um, of course, if, if, if our listeners, um, they would like to connect further with you. What will be the easiest way?

00:30:01 Ryan Reichert: Yeah, absolutely. Um, heading to the hub, our protector development.com and then get you lined up with anything if you're a social media person, like to follow that kind of stuff. Uh, Ryan T Reichardt or ami r t nineteen seventy eight on any of the social media platforms out there and, uh, yeah, just I love meaningful conversations with people because I'm genuinely curious today because I don't know what I don't know. And, uh, it's just fun to just like you and I have, you know, kind of formed a relationship over a number of different interviews where you actually get to know each other. And that's really, to me, all I care about because I know in business, it's those relationships that really grow the business. And if you're only focused on the bottom line, you're going to miss the amazing life that you're supposed to have and your professional life and your personal life. Because at some point in these transitions, we were kind of talking about over the last thirty minutes is they'll go away to rebuild you, you know, to make sure that you're truly built to break. And it's just a lot of fun. So looking forward to anybody that ever wants to have a meaningful conversation.

00:31:21 Sana: That's amazing. No doubt in there. And, and, uh, listeners. Um, yeah, of course, I'll have all the links mentioned in the show notes. So hover over to them, find them attached along with this episode on whichever platform you are tuning into your podcast right now. And if you are, if you are in a valley right now, something that I would like to say and please share this gently. You're not behind. You're not broken for struggling. You are just in the part of the story that doesn't photograph well. And if today's conversation gave you even one honest breath of relief, not motivation, but relief, then I believe it did its job. So thank you to everyone for tuning in. And if you want more conversations like this, follow this blend. Now because we are we are trying to build a fan base here, but because life and business have values and we shouldn't have to navigate them alone. So that's why we bring on real people with real stories. So you can borrow language, clarity, and courage when your own feels tired. And if this episode made you feel seen, share it with one or maybe many person, many people out there. And, uh, thank you once again to everyone. And this is your host, Sana. And I'll catch you in the next episode. Thank you.