Understand who you’re competing against in this game, or else you’re going to lose.
On today’s episode Russell talks about looking at competing in business the same way he would compete during his wrestling days. He views business as a sport and he has figured out how he’s going to beat the competition.
Here are some of the fun things in this episode:
So listen below to find out why Russell is in it to win it when it comes to business.
---Transcript---
Hey everyone, this is Russell Brunson, I hope you guys are doing good. I’m actually taking the trash out right now. That’s what that wheeling sound, that’s the trashcan being wheeled. But this is going to be a crazy week. I thought I’d hang out with you guys before I get started on it.
Tomorrow is Monday morning, and Monday is basically the week before Funnel Hacking Live starts. Technically it starts on Tuesday, but Pre-registration starts a week from tomorrow. So Tomorrow is when I get to start doing all my presentations. Yes, I wait til the last week to do my presentations. You want to know why? Because the stuff we were doing six months ago, even a month ago has changed. So I want to make sure I have the most up to date content of all time at any given moment. That’s the reason why. That’s one of the reasons. The other reason is I just haven’t had time.
But that’s plenty of time to get everything done and make it amazing. I know what I’m going to talk about, I just gotta get all the slides and examples and case studies and all that kind of stuff and put it together in a really cool way. Hopefully you guys can hear me. It’s kind of loud, the trashcan. But I am….hold on a second I’m going to…
Alright, this might be the only episode of Marketing while you’re taking the trashcan out. I’m out here and it’s cool, it’s super dark, we just got new neighbors that built a house across the street. We’re on a really dark street where there’s not lights at all. Their house is lit up really cool and the moon is….I wish you could see it. It’s pitch black, it’s way off in the distance, right above the mountains there’s this glowing thing that looks misty and foggy over it. It’s pretty amazing.
Anyway, I’m excited because all the snow has been melting that we’ve had. We’ve had so much snow this winter. Then it rained three days last week and it all melted. And we’re back to where I can see the grass everywhere and it’s so exciting.
Anyway, tonight was really fun, we went to church and then had meetings after church and then went out with the kids, went and played in the wrestling room, jumped on the tramp which is freezing cold, then jumped in the hot tub which is super warm and now we put them to bed. My wife’s actually in there putting them to bed. I snuck out to put out the trash because they wear me out those little buggars. I love them, but they wear me out.
Anyway, Funnel Hacking Live is a week away, which is crazy. It’s interesting, last week we had our FHAT event, here in Boise in our new office, which is super fun and I just have this bad habit of booking way too many things all at the same time. But it’s been fun. There’s something with finishing the book and creating everything for the FHAT event, and everything for the Funnel Hacking Live event, where all these concepts and things we’re talking about right now are becoming so clear.
I don’t know if you guys have done that where you’ve had the chance to go through a really deep immersion. It’s weird all these connections get made that don’t when you’re dabbling and goofing around. That’s why I think people should go really deep when they’re becoming a master at what they’re trying to do. You know, become unbalanced for a while, spending insane amounts of time.
But it’s been interesting, one of the fun things I’ve been thinking about. My dad came to town last weekend as well, which is awesome. I was thinking about business as a whole, it’s such a weird I don’t know, playground is the word that pops in my head, I don’t know if that’s the right word. It’s this weird playground where you go to school, and there’s all these different types of kids. There’s the athletes over here, then there’s the people that are in band, and then there’s the drama kids, and then there’s the skaters, and then there’s…..there’s all these different groups at the playground.
When you typically go out there, you go and play with the people that fit in your mold. So I go play with the athletes. We play basketball, football. Competing against each other, trying to win. That’s what drove us at recess, but I’m guessing the other groups probably didn’t do that. They were, I don’t know what the other groups were doing. But I’m assuming, because we would play games with all the kids, but as I got older, I focused on wrestling and that became my thing and it was a deep passion of how do I become the best.
At first I wanted to be the best in the state. After I was State Champ I was like, I want to be best in the country. And my senior year of high school I took second place in the country. Then I was like, I want to be the best in college, in the country. And I never hit that goal. I guess technically I didn’t hit the best in the country in high school either, I almost, I was two points away from that. College I was like, I want to be an all American, I want to be a national champ, and I didn’t get those goals, but I always knew that’s the person I have to beat. I was aware of them, I looked at them and I watched their matches and I studied them and looked what they were doing and I understood them. I understood their moves and what drove them so that I could beat them.
And I was always aware of the people I had to beat. And that was just like, as an athlete, how I viewed the world and business, not business but things. I mean, for almost two decades of my life, that’s what it was. Here’s where I’m at, who’s above me, I gotta find those people, figure them out, and beat them. And that’s what I understood. And I always assume that that’s how everybody thought. But I guess, back at the playground, I’m guessing the band kids didn’t do that. They hung out and played music together, they had a good time.
The drama kids, they made plays together and had a good time. And then the skaters, they skated. You know, I don’t know all the different cliques and stuff, but everybody did their thing. I always assumed that everyone thought the way that I did. Because that was the only world I knew. And it’s been interesting as I’ve come into business, because for me business was the next sport. I got into business, I mean I was learning about it in college when I was wrestling. My senior year, I didn’t hit my goals. I fell short, and in fact I didn’t even qualify for the national tournament, which destroyed me. And it would have destroyed me if I didn’t have the next thing. For me, business I was dabbling in and that became my next sport.
It was like, here’s the sport, I got to figure out. And it’s interesting, the concepts of funnel hacking and the stuff that I share with people, you know how I always talk about I look at people successful and I model them, and I did, but it was different from that. For me it was a sport, I came in and this is the….I’m on a new playground looking around. Who are the kids that are winning? And the people I saw at the time were Armand Morin, Alex Mandossian, Mark Joyner, David Frey, these are all the guys I saw who were successful. So for me it was like, okay what are those guys doing? It was just like wrestling. I would look at them, scout them, watch them, study and learn and figure out what makes them tick. And then when I understand that, then I go and compete against them.
In wrestling I have a match, and someday I’m going to come face to face, we’re going to walk out on the mat under the lights. I’m going to put my shoes on and it’s going to be me and them and that’s it. And if I haven’t done my homework, I’m going to look like an idiot. But in business it was weird because I would study these guys and try to figure out how to compete with them and be successful like they were and that was my whole thing, and I was racing towards that. But what’s weird in business, we never got that moment where we step on the mat and shake hands and go and find out who prepared more.
It was weird, I became friends with people and our businesses were together and I learned this cooperation stuff that I’m guessing they probably taught at the playground with the kids in the band, and the kids, the other groups that all played together. For business it was fun because I collaborated and I had that, but in my mind, I don’t know about you, but I always had from day one….I remember actually, I don’t know if I’ve ever publicly said this out loud, but for me, I’ve always been very aware of where I visualize myself in the totem pole in my market, where are people at? Where up and down, that’s just how my brain works.
And when I pass somebody, I’m aware of that. And when I know who’s ahead of me, I’m aware of that. When I know that, I study those people, I figure them out and I try to beat them. That’s just how I’m wired. It’s been interesting, as I’ve gotten into, as our business has been growing, I would say in our market, I don’t think there’s any businesses that are really bigger than us right now. Outside of a couple of companies that have taken on venture capitalists. They’ve got millions of dollars dumped into them, which is the equivalent of steroids. Honestly, in sports that cheating, but business it’s like, “Aww yes, someone gave us 14 million dollars, now we can cheat.” It’s just ridiculous.
For me, I’m looking out and we’ve got these dudes that got steroids, they’re cheating, but I got to compete against the, but I’m very aware. In my mind it’s very clear, the companies I’m going after. And it shouldn’t be too hard for you guys that follow me to know, because we make fun of them a lot. But I’m aware of it, I study and figure out what they’re doing right and wrong, what the weaknesses are and then we’re attacking them.
It’s been interesting because as I’ve been doing that, the kids at the playground who grew up in band class, and that grew up in drama and as skaters and all these other things, they’re not used to it. And those are the guys I’m competing against. And it’s interesting because they don’t handle the heat well. We got in a……
For me this is a sport. Business is nothing but a sport for me. It’s like, who do I need to beat? We’re going and attacking and we’re going to beat them. Otherwise, what’s the point of this whole thing? Yes, we’re helping people and that part is amazing on this journey. But there’s not, that’s who I need to beat, what’s the point of it? It’s hard for me otherwise.
Anyway, someone that I kind of ruffled their feathers, I actually thought through this podcast, interestingly enough. But they messaged me and kind of told me off, because they didn’t like what I’m doing. Because I’m aggressive and I’m not playing like they’re used to playing. What they told me, they said my dad taught me never to burn bridges. And I didn’t send this back, but I wanted to. I thought, that’s interesting because my dad taught me how to win and that’s all that matters to me, is winning.
Anyway, I told that story at the FHAT event, and people thought I was pretty, everyone was laughing. But that’s how I feel. I’m very aware of who I am going after. And I don’t publicly. In fact, Dan Usher is here making some videos for us and I was showing the offer we’re creating, there’s one other person who’s had more success in this, I’m not going to say their name. But there’s one person who’s had more success than me in this field where this book is. And I was showing Dan those videos and I was like, “That’s who I’m going against. That’s who I’m competing against. That’s who we have to beat.” He’s like, “I thought you guys were friends.” And I’m like, “We are friends, but it doesn’t matter.” I was friends with people on the wrestling mat, but when it comes to sports I have to win. I’m going after them. I’m not sitting around and trying to be nice. My goal is to win. Flat out. And I want to make sure that everybody understands that.
What’s cool, is during this process I’m making friends and all these kinds of things, but it’s a sport for me. Very clear cut. This is a sport. And I have people I’m competing against and I’m going to win. And it’s interesting, because these other people aren’t used to that, and they are used to that, they’ve never been under the lights, with your shoes tied up and it’s you and them and no one else going head to head. And I am, I’m used to it. I love it, I thrive off it. I need it, I desire it. I crave for that.
So it makes this game interesting because the way that people are beating us right now is through the most part, venture capitalists, steroids. So it just drives me more. Yes, okay. You’re going to cheat with steroids, that’s fine. I’m still going to win, I’m going to take you down and we’re going to choke you out and we’re going to turn you to your back and you’re going to get pinned. And that’s how I view business.
I just want, I don’t know, I want to instill that into you guys. A lot of you guys out there were athletes, you were the kids on the playground who went through that and experienced it, and that’s your drive. For some of you guys it’s not. You have to understand when you step in the business world, that’s who you’re playing against. You’re playing against athletes. People who that’s their goal.
So when I come, when you come into your business and look at your market, you need to be fully aware. Where do you sit on the totem pole? Are you JV or Varsity? First team or second team? Where in the state or country? Because if you’re not aware of that, how do you win if you don’t know who you’re playing against? Somebody told me the other day, after the FHAT event, “One thing I discovered after being around you for the last three days is how aware you are of all the competitors in your market.” And I thought it was interesting, because I am very, very aware. I know what they’re all doing. I’m watching them.
And the things that I like, we use. And the things we don’t, we counter attack against them. You’ll see more and more of that throughout this year as we are aggressively going after our competitors and we’re going to surpass them through raw talent and skill instead of venture capitalists cash, which is amazing.
You know, I wrestled kids that were on steroids before and it’s interesting, they come out and have big muscles. They huff and puff and usually the first 30 seconds to a minute they are really strong, but what I’ve found with the big dudes on steroids, when you choke them, you snap their head down and block the blood, there’s a carotid artery in their neck, if you squeeze that and block the blood to their carotid artery, instantly in the second they go down. Their muscles become weak and they become soft like jelly. And the stronger they were, the weaker they become. That’s what I’ve found.
Not that you guys care, but when I wrestled big people. I count out muscles first, and if I can’t take them down, I have to get their head below me and do a front headlock; we’re going for a choke, cut the blood off from the brain, not long term but just for a second or two. But as soon as you do that, all your muscles lose energy, they stop, you fall and then we attack and we win. It’s similar.
Anyway, that’s just….there’s some…what’s the book, The Art of War? This is the Art of War by Russell Brunson. That’s the strategy, how it works. We’ve talked before in a podcast, how you know when your opponents break. When you’re out there wrestling someone, you push them and you feel, physically feel them break. Their energy stops, their posture, their whole body stops. That’s when you attack harder and faster and bigger, that’s how you beat people that are bigger and stronger than you.
That’s what happening and I hope you guys are enjoying watching it. I’m having so much fun competing. I don’t know about you but I love seeing the underdogs win. I love seeing the dude who’s got better technique beat out the guy on steroids, every single time. I’m calling my shot, that’s the plan, that’s what’s happening. I hope you guys do the same thing. Become aware of who your competitors are. You don’t have to be jerks about it, I’m probably too jerky sometimes, I apologize for that in advance. But be aware of it and understand that, and run this like a sport. If you do that, that’s how you’re going to win.
Because this playground, nobody cares. Nobody cares, I grew up in band, I grew up in drama, I grew up in whatever. Okay, well you’re still competing against the athletes. And if the athletes want to win, they’re going to win. So be very aware of that, going into it. When you’re inside of it, start shifting your mindset to understand that and it’ll become fun. It becomes a game, becomes a sport.
I always tell people, this is one of the greatest sports ever. It’s exciting. That’s all I got for tonight. With that said, I’m done. It’s freezing cold out here, I’m going to go inside and get warm. And for those of you guys going to Funnel Hacking Live in a week, I will see you soon. I cannot wait. Appreciate you all, and I will talk to you soon.