Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Brian: Hello, hello and welcome to CatalystMLM. I'm Brian Swichkow and today on the show we
have Peter Voogd. Peter was with Cutco Cutlery and Vector Marketing for five years and grew
a sales leadership team to over six million dollar in sales. He is now a speaker, mentor,
coach and founder and CEO of Real VIP Success. Thanks so much for being on.
Peter: Oh, no problem man, I'm excited to be here and excited to get going.
Brian: Yeah, you have some awesome stuff. I mean, I found, I think your first podcast
from a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend, and had it playing in my car. And
it was just like, it was on loop for probably a week. And I was like, wow, this is awesome,
I need to meet this guy. And then we ended up connecting. So, I mean, your mindset is
stellar, and you definitely have the drive to help other people. But, I want to rewind
back, you know, to Cutco, or even before that. You know, where did that all begin?
Peter: Growing up, I always knew I was a little different. I didn't' do the typical things
that a young teen does. I think when I was 14 or 15, I got onto ebay. And that was when
the internet was kind of booming.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: And I started selling things on ebay. I collected Air Jordan shoes, no one really
knows this story except my friends and family. I collected Air Jordan shoes and I saw that
you can sell them for more, because their rare. So, I started selling them online. And
I got into selling, buying things in bulk and selling them for individually making more
money. And I remember there was a day where I made two-three hundred dollars. I think
I was 15. And what surprised me was, I had friends doing construction. Even helping my
dad do construction. And they were making $8.00-$9.00 an hour. They worked all day,and
they'd make 60-70 bucks, I would do a couple things online and make 100. I'm like, woah,
somethings going on here. So, I got that entrepreneurial bug.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: And, it wasn't till I was 19 till I read the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, that my
mind really switched. But what was interesting, Brian, was ages 16 to 18, my mom and teachers
and friends parents, were always like, hey, you gotta get a normal job. You have to get
a normal job to start out. You can't just do things on ebay. Or get into sales right
away. You have to get a normal job. And I'm like, what do you mean? Why would I have to
get a normal job?
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: But I heard it so much, I'm like, okay, I'll try it. I went into construction, with
my dad. And, I realized after like, two days, I didn't want to do hard labor anymore. It
just wasn't my thing and I'm like, I couldn't be around people. I couldn't communicate.
And the money was, it was, really, the same pay, regardless, right.
Brian: Right.
Peter: So I stopped doing that. And I only had two other jobs which was working in a
clothing in Hollister and working at a Casino Valley in Cars. And I always had this hunger
and it's like, no matter how hard I work, I will get the same pay.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: And that frustrated me, but I thought that was how it was. Because everyone else
was doing it. So I'm like, I guess this is what I have to do. Just, work for minimum
wage and just keep working till I get promoted.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: But that book, totally flipped my mindset and once I read that book. And I got into
sales. And, I realized that the potential was unlimited, if, you invest in yourself
and you actually have jobs that reward you for your potential. Not for just the time
you put in.
Brian: Right.
Peter: And it was just game changing. I remember one experience before we move on, with ebay.
My mom, had an SUV and my dad bought her some rims she wanted for Christmas, and the old
rims, were sitting in the garage for like months. And I'm like, you think I can get
away with selling these without them knowing. So, I put em on ebay. And they went for like
$800. And, I'm like, this is amazing. So, I made 800 bucks in seven days selling these.
Now technically I didn't ask, so I shouldn't have sold them.
Brian: Right.
Peter: But, they were sitting there, and just from that moment on, and my mom, my parents
still laugh about that. My mom didn't know for another year later. My dad was kind of
on my side and he took em. I rolled these huge tires into the post office, it was like
50 bucks to ship each one.
Brian: Wow.
Peter: But, having money like that and seeing the potential of doing something different
and you get rewarded differently.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: was the sparkplug for me to understand I was never gonna be average, never take the
average route most people do. So, that's kind of the bug I had was, just from sales, ebay,
and just from reading that book. That's kind of how it started.
Brian: I love it. Yeah, and I, its funny that you mention ebay and that age, I had a similar
story selling actually, my grandmother's beanie babies.
Peter: They we go.
Brian: I remember going to, you know, back when parents thought that is was weird, you
know, meeting people in parking lots from Craigslist. But it was even, it was before
that, and you know, mowing the lawn. And I was like, I made 50 bucks and I realized that
I spent two hours make to bucks, at 25 bucks an hour. Well, friends, or eight bucks an
hour. So it doesn't have to be hundreds of thousands right away for people to understand.
And, even if they hear it, they're not gonna really feel it. But if they have it happen,
you know . . .
Peter: Yeah.
Brian: if you make a dollar, while you sleep, you're like, wow, I just made money while
I slept. I, that, I can do that again. I can sleep again.
Peter: Oh yeah.
Brian: And, it's powerful, you know, kind of pointing out the time versus the potential.
So a lot of people, they see, well, okay, you know, I can go to work. It's really relaxing,
you know, my boss doesn't pay attention. I can *** around on facebook. You know, and
I still get paid. So, for, you know, I guess, transitioning that mindset. How do you explain
to people that, look if you work hard then you can build a much bigger future for yourself.
Peter: Yeah, I think that's a very good question. And a tough question to ask. I've had, thousands
of reps I've worked with and trained and I get this question all the time. Peter, how
do I inspire my girlfriend, or my boyfriend, or how do I inspire my mom and dad to go after
their dreams when they've given up on them. How do I inspire people to get into sales,
or achieve their potential. And I figured out really the answer, is you have to live
your best life. So, if you really wanna inspire people, you have to show them through your
lifestyle. Through the impact you're making. Through the happiness and peace of mind that
you have. Then they're gonna go, hey, Brian, what are you doing?
Brian: Yep.
Peter: You travel all the time, you love what you do, you're never stressed out. You don't
have money problems. You don't hate your boss. What do you do? And then you can say, hey,
well, let me tell ya, here's what I did, or here's what I'm doing now. And here's why
it benefit's you. But, if someone's not ready to hear it . . .
Brian: Yep.
Peter: and then you tell them. They block it out. Does that make sense?
Brian: Absolutely.
Peter: So I think it's just showing them, a better way to live. And a way to achieve
your potential versus, help build somebody else's dream . . .
Brian: Right.
Peter: that tells you what to do all the time. So, that's my, I think what helped me was
just showing people the way verses telling them how to do it.
Brian: Yep. So, you talk about, you know, inspiring other people, and kind of sharing
that mindset. And a lot of times, people have difficulty with that doing it with the people
on their teams. Or, you know, anyone, any reps that they've brought in. But at the same
time, and you're right, it also extends to other relationships like, friends and family.
A lot of people who've started businesses and most people in Multi-level Marketing have
a story of, about a family member that just didn't' get it. Not only for themselves but
also in the context of, you know, not supporting them. So, I guess, you know, part of the question
is, as you're going through that if people can't see it, you know, how do you react to
that when you have to be engaged with that person.
Peter: Yeah, good question. A couple things, one, you have to understand, you only wanna
take opinions and really respect the value of what people say, if you would trade places
with them.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: If they love their lives, if their living their dreams. And, sometimes I tell
my representatives, if someone's negative, it doesn't mean they don't like you, or they
don't love you. It's just they don't wanna see you fail or struggle sometimes.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: So, they say that out of love, but they don't realize the only way to get success
is to go through challenges, pain, and struggle. But, they've never experienced that. So, what
I say, is you have to stay with your roots and stay true to who you are. And, continue
to do what you need to do, but just explain to them why you're doing it. And, just say,
hey, I know it's might not what you agree with right now, but I really need your support
because I value your opinion. And, you're one of the closest people to me. So, if you
could just give a couple weeks or a couple months, I wanna show you this is what I wanna
do.
Brian: Right.
Peter: And, I think explaining it to them in a mature way. I think that will get them
on board. And if they don't, you just got to limit your time with them. And when you
are around them, just don't talk about it.
Brian: Yeah,and that's . . .
Peter: I've got this story about Steve Jobs real quick.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: When he was building Apple, a couple of his good friends, kind of a fierce story
about how savage Steve Jobs was. I don't know if it's savage or, just crazy. But, when he
was building Apple, he had a wife and he was doing all these things. And he told a couple
of his good friends that weren't fully behind his vision. He just said hey, I'm just gonna
have to cut you out right now because you're not agreed, you're not aligned with my vision.
I need to be there for my wife, my family, and the vision. So, he literally cut out some
of his friends because they weren't fully agreeing with what he wanted to do. And he
had to do that he said, he had to say no to them and their time. Because he was serious
about his family and Apple. And I think you have to be that relentless sometimes. Not
disrespectful but you have to be so, driven by the lifestyle you want. The impact you
can make, that you have to lower your time with people that don't fully agree with what
you're doing. And respectfully.
Brian: Yeah, and I think a lot of people have experienced that. Because, friends, family,
or acquaintances, whatever, you know, they encounter negativity. And if it's you know,
prospect that say, you know, no, that's never gonna work, or whatever it may be. It's very
easy to say, okay, next. You know, thanks so much for your feedback on what I'm doing,
next. And, that's one of my favorites, by the way. Is, thank you for your feedback on
what I'm doing. And, when it's a friend of family, obviously you're not going to boot
them out your life because they don't immediately understand it. But at the same time you do
have to kind of filter that. Or say, and what you said earlier, tell them why you're doing
it, don't, you know, stop telling them what you're doing and tell why that you're doing
it. Because a lot of times, people, even the biggest skeptic, if they truly care about
you and you say, I'm doing this to help my family. Then, you know, I'm doing this to
help my family, I'm doing it with our without you and if it' without you, and if it's without
you, you know, I appreciate your support, thank you. And then they'll be like, alright,
I don't agree with it, but, you know. I wish you the best of luck. And sometimes thats
all it takes. I think, one of my favorite quotes is if you buy someone's opinion, you
buy their lifestyle.
Peter: Yeah.
Brian: And, people often forget that. So, you talk about, you know, not, bringing that
in. And you talk about filtering out the negativity. When you got started in Cutco, you know, what
was the process of that? I mean, first of all, how did you find Cutco? And then, how
did you merge past the training and start growing?
Peter: Yeah, good question. Super good question. I'm gonna try and make it a shorter story.
But I started July . . .
Brian: Make it a sharp story.
Peter: Yeah, July, exactly. I don't think people caught that. But, July, when I was
20, and 20-21. And, I got into it, and it was really in training I was super pumped
up but a little bit skeptical. Because it was something new. But, what I saw a lot of
was, third person stories. And other people succeeding. So I finally, after seeing so
much proven success, I'm like, I can do this. And I decided to go all in, my first ten days.
I had never really done that, in my life, going all in on something. And, this is when
girlfriend at the time, some friends, oh you're doing the knife thing, I don't know if you're
gonna do that. Why don't you just get a job at Foot Locker, or get a job at the mall.
And sadly, those friends, are still working hourly jobs.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: And they always ask me now, how do you travel. And I'm like, remember that time
that I got that job, yeah, that's why. But anyways, so I got into it, and I did well
my first ten days. I broke a fast start record doing almost $12,000.
Brian: Wow.
Peter: And, it showed me, and not, I mean $2,300. So, I was like wow, this is the route
I want to take. Not necessarily sales, but, entrepreneurship.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: And then what happened, was, I got comfortable. So, I didn't do much after that
for a couple months. Because I could work when I wanted, I still was selling things
on ebay. So, I was at a point which was, looking back, it didn't help me. But, I always had
money. Because I earned it from that job and from ebay. So, I'm like, I don't need to work
I've got money. I realized that it's not about the money, it's about progress and it's about
helping others. But, so, couple months go by, and I started selling a little bit more.
And my manager says, hey, do you wanna help me, help other reps and you do you wanna become
a manager. And I'm like, that sounds fun, I'd rather teach it than just do it. So, I
started helping in the office, and I got more joy, Brian, helping other people succeed and
helping other people achieve their potential and telling somebody they can do it when they
don't think they can. And being the one person in someone's life that believes in them when
everyone else doesn't. It was exciting to me. So, I work with the office, I helped other
people, and it open and opening up to become a district manager and run my own business.
Now, it usually takes people, in Vector, two to three years some four or five, to become
a district manager from when they start.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: And, I was supposed to go out as a district in nine months. That's never been
done before.
Brian: Wow.
Peter: And I was pushing it and they were, I was a little bit like, pushed to go out.
And I'm like, oh, I'll try it out. I wasn't prepared, I was the lowest in sales out of
anybody in my divisions history to go out to run an office. So, I had no sales experience,
my district manager quit five months before I went out. So I had no guidance. So it almost
was like all negatives happen. But, then I committed so I went out. So, I went out , left
town, went six hours away to start my own business. Super nervous and didn't have much
guidance, I was scared. But what happened was, I failed miserably. And, I kept blaming
my circumstances. I kept blaming that I didn't get trained well. I was in the wrong area,
I don't have any experience. I didn't have the manager. And I started making excuses
and I failed. I didn't make money, I almost quit. But, a turning point happened that fall,
when I just got disgusted. I didn't have money to pay for food and I was, you know, a one
bedroom apartment. I'll never forget this, with a mattress, no bed, no furniture in the
living room. In the worst area of my town. And I'm sittin there like, is this really
my potential.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: I'm sitting here making excuses, I have no money, I have no respect. What the
hell am I doing? And I seriously got disgusted. And I got frustrated. But that frustration
turned into motivation.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: So, what I did was I got really clear that I didn't want to live this way anymore.
And what I saw was, I saw other people, my age and a little bit older, succeeding at
a high level. So, I reached out to them, and that next year, I took my business. I did
a hundred and, just to give number . . .
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: because people like t see numbers. I did one hundred and fifty thousand my first
eight months. And the next year, I did six hundred and ninety thousand. But that year,
what I did was I hired a mentor. And I also started reaching out to people that played
the game at a higher level and I only connected with people, that already had the results
I want. Doing the million dollar a year offices, doing million dollar summers. So I shifted
my circle of influence.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: And that next year, a year and a half later, I did a million dollars in a year.
And that was the quickest a manager has ever done a million dollars in one year in the
history of our 60 year company. So, from when I started Cutco, to when I did a million was
two years. And it takes a lot of people five-six years. But that's only the 1% of the company
that does it.
Brian: Right.
Peter: People always ask me, how I did it so fast. How I made six figure so fast. And
it was because I got clear on what I wanted, I shifted my circle of influence, right. And
then I consistently was growing, staying inspired, and building systems, failing, kept on pushing,
kept on pushing. And I result rituals, that caused me to keep growing in my business.
And even step away from my business and do even more. So, that's really the story. And,
I was working 50-60-70 hours a week . . .
Brian: Right.
Peter: doing a million a year. A year later, I was working 15-20 hours a week, doig 1.4
million. So, you might say, how'd that happen? I learned the power of leverage and the power
of developing other people and creating systems and processes. I probably read, 30 r 40 books,
on CEOs, on business, Goodly Great, Jim Collins books, John Maxwell books, Brian Tracy books,
all business books. And I learned how to be an executive and a real leader versus just
a manager or a sales manager. And that's really where it started for me. Was that personal
growth and having a mentor, that helped me, and he guided me to do things I never thought
were possible. But, because everyone else that I was reaching out to already did it,
it gave me hope and inspiration. So, that's kind of my, quick story. And, that's really
what it was man. It's just getting sick of being average. Getting sick of not having
money. And getting sick of having everyone else tell you what to do. I just wanted to
create my future verses take what's given.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: And that's what I did.
Brian: Yeah, and there's a lot of nuggets within that that are really powerful. And,
you know, often times people kind of, they focus externally. They say, you know, oh man
it's my bosse fault that I didn't get that raise and now I can't, you know, afford to
do this. Or, you know, it's because of the economy. Or, and they focus externally when
in reality, you know, everything is controllable from, within. We both, a mutual friend, Hal
Elrod, and he talks about this a lot. But, you know, putting aside the fact that people
do that. Let's say, you know, they have the ability to focus in and look at your story.
You look from A to Z. Which is a huge jump of where you started, and, you know, where
you are now. And, you know, other people, let's say, are working a nine to five job,
and they have no experience with Network Marketing, or direct sales, or entrepreneurship at all.
They may think like, oh, I can't do that, you know, that's Peter, Peter's cool, I love
his story, but I could never do that. And it's the same thing with your friends that
are still working an hourly job. How do you, I guess quantify failure. You know how do
you quantify to someone, okay it's not this, it's not overnight. It's not that I'm special,
it's that I steadily moved forward and had these failures. And then, how do you explain
to someone that failure is not permanent. It's not bad, it's, you know, it's a learning
experience. How do you show people not to be afraid of that.
Peter: Yeah, what I do is, that's a good question. It's just, alls you do is you have to shift
their perspective. Your perspective on life determines everything about your future. Wrong
perspective equals wrong results, wrong future, and stress.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: So, I have to help their perspective by saying, you can't learn and you can't grow.
You can't really understand your strength or your true potential, unless you get challenged.
If everything's easy you'll ever grow. So, for example, if you set a goal, Brian, to
do 30 interviews in 30 days, the second you set that goal, you will go through challenges.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: And doubt. The second you set it because, it's a goal worth while, right. But, through
those failures and challenges you learn and you gain more perspective. That's the highest
paid thing in the world is someone's perspective. So, what happens is, after you get through
failures, you start shifting your perspective, you gain more mental toughness and you gain
the edge on people that haven't failed. If you take the top 50 successful people in the
world . . .
Brian: Yep.
Peter: and you line them up, from fifty to number one, it's always whoever failed the
most is number one.
Brian:Yep.
Peter: However failed the second most is number two. Failed the third most is number three,
and it's always like that. Who failed the most as an NBA player, Michael Jordan.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: And it just, once they understand that failure is a good thing, and failure gives
you strength if it's in the right perspective. People start taking more chances and taking
more risks. I wouldn't have succeeded if I wouldn't have failed. I went through a lot
of challenges a lot of failures, but every single failure looking back, added a little
mental toughness to me. Added a little more perspective and I think once you gain a higher
perspective, then, the little things that used to bug you, don't bug you anymore because
you've went through so many challenges. And right when you set a goal, failures come up,
but, you need to goal to pull you through the failures.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: So, in order to get through failures, Brian, you need the goal that means something.
And you need to understand the perspective of what a failure actually means. And that's
really what I explain to them and a lot of people understand, that once you explain that.
And after reading so many books on success, half the book is always failures, take chances,
take risks, fail, fail, fail, fail.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: But you just gotta fail forward like John Maxwell says. So good question.
Brian: And when you got started, I mean, you didn't have that, too much to risk I suppose,
is the best way to say it. You know, you were trying it out and you know, your worst case
scenario is that you had to go get a job like everybody else.
Peter: That wasn't happening.
Brian: I know the feeling. And so, you know, you didn't really have too much and a lot
of people who, let's say they have no experience in direct sales . No experience in Multi-level
Marketing, you know, they're in their 40s or 50s. They have kids, you know, they've
been working at a job for several years. They have a steady paycheck. You know, they think
like, oh, I have to go,I have to quit and I could loose my job. And, you know, I have
this, steady income and I'm trying to pay for my kids college and whatever. They think
that it's risky. And, the reality of it is, is that if you manage your time for effectively.
Or, if you just do it. That, you know, setting aside an hour or two hours a night, to read,
to find a business, whatever it may be. Whatever the first step is that's right for that individual.
If they do it, you know, off of that, you know, Jim Rohn has a great one. He said I
realized that I was working full time on my career and part time on my fortune. And then
eventually I was working full time on my fortune and part time on my, well, nothing. And he
basically, you know, was able to retire in that sense. You, I promised myself I would
never say this. So I'm gonna say it anyway. You recently tweeted, sound like MSNBC. You
recently tweeted that if you wake up before your competition they will soon disappear.
And I love that because I was like reading through it and I was like, yeah. And on Hal's
note of like, you know, the miracle morning, and I know that, you know, you know him and
are connected to him. So, besides waking up early, what other routines that have lead
you to that success?
Peter: Good question. And that's my favorite quote, our team used that in the Vectren during
my Vectren career. In the year I did a million, was, I never woke up past five or five thirty.
I was up before everyone else. And I would text my competition and I would, not even
competition, just friends. And they would text me back at like 7:15-7:30, hey, I just
woke up. And I realized that if I was waking up before everybody I was getting a head start
on the world.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: So that was really powerful learning that at a younger age. But my routines now
have changed, a little bit. But, wake, I always decide the night before when to wake up.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: Always. And, I make sure I don't hit my alarm clock, because thinking about hitting
my alarm clock, is like you're resisting life. You're resisting living, you're resisting
getting up. And I've seen so much that I realize that only the average people do that. Or the
people that don't necessarily really care about, they may say they care about their
future. But, they'd rather sleep in and be unconscious then actually wake up and go chase
their dreams.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: Sorry, I don't have any pity for that, they're just gonna stay average. So, I make
the decision and right when I get up, I have a glass of water. It's kind of like Hal's
probably. But I have a glass of water, and I get . . .
Brian: I'm on number two.
Peter: Exactly. And get active right away. Because if you lay there and you think about
your tired. You're gonna stay tired. So I get active right away. And then what I do
is I work out 15-20 minutes, and I look at my goals. And that really energizes me. I
look at my goals, look at my priorities, and I always am grateful and I express gratitude.
I think about what I'm grateful for. I think about what I'm excited about because that
focuses my attention on possibility and optimism and excitement and clarity. Versus negativity
that most people focus on. Or watching the news or something. And once I plan my day,
I focus on what I want, not what I have to do. That's a big thing right there, I focus
on what I want, not what I have to do. Because if you focus on all the things you have to
do, you'll always be stressed out, right. And, when you say routines, there's a couple
things I do every single day. Is, I spark my mind daily, and I spark my body with some
type of energy. I workout, I run, I do some pushups, situps, whatever. Because when you
spark your endorphins that's the happy drug and it makes you more energetic to take on
the day. And I also reach out to people Brian, playing the game at a higher level than me.
So, there hasn't been a week that's gone by the last couple years, where I haven't reached
out to a mentor, or somebody playing the game at a higher level than me. That can guide
me and help me raise my standard as well. And I plan my weeks every Sunday for an hour-hour
and a half. So throughout the weeks I know what I'm doing already. I keep my priorities
straight, I keep my values straight.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: And I make sure that I'm discipline in the activities that I have. So, my routines
are, I always plan my next six months, and then I reverse engineer back to the month
what I have to do this month, what I have to do this week. To hit my ultimate goals
of blank blank and blank. So, I'm very careful with how I use my time. And I'm very intentional.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: So, the tip I'd give is, make sure you're basing everything off your standards
and off your vision and off your lifestyle. Verses off your current feelings. Because
if you just do what you feel like doing, you're gonna be stressed out and probably be broke
right. So, the routines have changed, obviously with my Vector business to now.
Brian: Right.
Peter: But I'm always very intentional with what I do and I think everything through,
very carefully. Not just the next week, but within the next six months, to a year. Does
that make sense?
Brian: Yeah, and so often. I mean, you know, there's kind of two sides to that. And you're
a little bit in the middle. Is that, you know, one side of it is, a large multi-million dollar,
multi-billion dollar companies. You know, that's what they do. They okay, you know,
in quarter three, quarter four, we wanna do this. You know they're very focused. And,
on the other side, you know, the people who are working day jobs and you know, the friends
that are working hourly that you talked about. You know, for all intents and purposes they're
a slave to their schedule. And they wake up and they say, oh, I have to go to work today.
I have to do this thing at work, I have. And what their focusing on is like what you said,
building someone else's dream. And, you know, if someone can kind of grasp the mindset of
focus. And say, okay, well, you know, you hear the stories of the mom who lifted a car
to, you know, save her son or daughter, and you know you think of that and that's kind
of to the extreme. But if you think about, you know, ultimate focus, everybody kind of
has a story in their life of you know, the house was on fire. Or, you know, there's a
fire in the kitchen and you had to put it out. Or, you know, your son or daughter, was,
you know, hurt and you just like snapped into action. That's laser focus. And all you're
saying is that you need to create that laser focus, and maintain it. On what you truly
want. Now, I have a thing against the word success. Just, in terms of how people see
it. Because so many people see it with a monetary value attached. And the reality of it is is
that it's different for anyone. You can have a successful relationship, you can have a
successful business. You can have a successful grilled cheese. It doesn't matter, you know,
like, it's success in anything. So, how do you help people, you know, both, I mean Cutco
is one thing. But now with Real VIP Success, how have you been able to help people to focus
and find their, well find their focus.
Peter: Yeah, it's all about helping them see who they really are. And what they're called
to do. So, helping them understand their values. Understand what's important to them. Understand
what their strengths are. And then how to reach out to people in that industry or in
that field. That can guide them. They don't have to figure everything out, the answers
are already out there. So, couple steps. One, they need to have clarity, period, before
anything. They need to have clarity on who they are, what they stand for,and what they
wanna do. And then they need to have coaching from someone that's above them, period. They,
if you just try and do everything your own, you're gonna be so stressed out, and not know
what to do. You're gonna quit. So, coaching is big. And then they need to have confidence
in what their doing, and that's just built consistently taking on more. And not giving
up. So, it's really hard to say, what their made to do. But if they write down, what their
really good at, what they're passionate about, what they love doing. What other people respect
them for. When their at their best, when they lose track of time. When they're in the zone.
And they figure, it's called the unique ability. When they figure out their unique ability,
and they learn how to delegate their weaknesses, they learn how to have people around them
that compliment them.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: That's when they start to understand the power of leverage. Understand the power
of becoming the best of the world. Warren Buffet says it best, if you really wanna be
successful, you have to become obsessed. It's an obsession. Success isn't a destination
course, it's a journey. And when you become obsessed with your craft, when you become
obsessed with what you do. That's when you, not only have more fun, but you get really
good at it as well. So, just figuring out your values and who you are and what your
made to do that you're gonna feel the highest contribution and the highest reward and fulfillment.
Brian: Yep. And a lot of people, you know, especially when they haven't really pushed
in any specific direction for too long. They have trouble finding what it is that they
truly connect with, you know. A lot of time the normal thing is, I wanna travel the world,
or you know, I wanna start a charity and help a lot of people or whatever it may be. But,
sometimes people just don't know. And . . .
Peter: Yeah.
Brian: if you kind of look at, you know, what, where you started and what you do now. So,
you know, you started with, you worked inside yourself. You needed to perfect that mindset,
you had that turning point and you started fighting and you, you know, changed your circle
and so on and so forth. And you got to where you are now, and you know, that, I'm, I know
that I've read about it before is that you, you carried your love of helping other people
into creating Real VIP Success.
Peter: Yeah.
Brian: And, you now help other, I mean your mission with the company is to inspire a million
people. And, I'm gonna ask you about that in a sec. But, so, at the same time, in order
to accomplish that goal, you're working with people who are far above you. You know, and
you talk about Gary Vaynerchuk, and how, you know, you reached out to him. And I know a
lot of people, myself included, have had similar experiences. Where, if you just take the initiative
to contact them and then if they give you something to do, you do it. And then, if you
do that, then they go, wow, this person has hunger, this person has drive. And they look
at you as someone who they once were. And they want to help you while you are helping
people who are like you once were. So, how has, you know, building yourself up, and then
helping other people do the same. How has that impacted your life and your business?
Peter: Yeah, great question. Well, I realized at a younger age, you can only help others
if you've helped yourself first. I think the worst leader of all time, well, you can't
call it a leader. Is someone trying to help others when they haven't helped themselves
yet. And I started seeing, Brian, it's a slow process, but I started seeing the more I invested
in myself, the better my team was. The better results we got. The more focus I had, the
more people wanted to be around me. So I just got addicted to growing and addicted to personal
growth. And addicted to reading and listening to audiobooks and learning because. The, think
about this, the more you learn, the more valuable you can be to other people. If someone never
learns, how can they teach other people anything, right. So, the people who are the most successful,
don't just know the most. They've developed the best perspectives through what they've
learned, through what they've put in their head. Who they've connected with. And what
they've read about. And things they've done. So, I realized that the more I invested in
myself, the more of service I could be to others. And once someone says, you've changed
my life, or you've helped me so much. You're the first person who's believe in me because
of you this happened. Because of you this happened, because of you this is what I did.
There's not a better feeling in the world than helping somebody else achieve success.
But you must invest in yourself first. And you gotta get selfish a little bit first.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: You gotta protect your time, you gotta say no a lot. You gotta not, you gotta say
no to the party and yes to reading a book or no to drinking and yes to writing down
your goals. Which is really hard for the majority. Because the majority love instant gratification.
And their the ones 35-40 complaining about everything and they can't wait to be retired.
Brian: Right.
Peter: So . . .
Brian: And realize, they want to be retired so that they can do nothing. You know . . ..
Peter: Yeah.
Brian: they wanna sit back. And so, you know, remembering that, you know, entrepreneurship,
in most things that people talk about today in terms of you know, direct sales, Multi-level
Marketing, affiliate marketing and you can name a whole list of other models. You work
for a few years, you build up residual income or, you know, some other kind of income. And
you can do whatever you want. You know, most people get addicted to helping other people
and they continue doing that, but it's not work really hard for the rest of your life.
Its not say no for the rest of your life. It's short term sacrifice for long term success.
Peter: You gotta really think about, is what you're doing connected to your dreams and
goals.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: And if not, now, what I tell people that have a job they hate. Or a job that they
tell you what to do, when you can go to the bathroom, when you can leave. How much you're
worth. If you have that job but you have this hunger that you wanna do better. And do bigger
things. And you can't quit because you need money, then you have to spend all your outside
time,not watching T.V., and watching freaking family guy or whatever the heck is on T.V.
days. Reality T.V. shows. Go spend that time figuring out what you wanna do. Set a date
in your calendar for six months from now, you're quitting your job in six months. So,
you need to do everything you can in those six months to get yourself prepared for your
next venture. And make that venture connects very heavily to your ultimate vision or dreams
and goals. As far as working and then building residual, or working and helping others and
creating a legacy, or a business you can sell, or a business you can scale. Because that's
the ultimate, ultimate, sign of success . . .
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: is a life lived by design, right.
Brian: Right.
Peter: Like a lifestyle. So, that's what I would tell people that have a job they don't
like. Or a job that they don't feel like they're growing in. Put a date of when you're gonna
quit that job. Don't be like most people and settle. And then say, well, it's not that
bad. And then you watch the news and then you think.
Brian: Aww crap.
Peter: you're in fear right.
Brian: There we go, there we go.
Peter: So. Does that make sense?
Brian: Yeah, you dropped out for a second there. They watch the news and then.
Peter: Oh, so, it's just, people get so caught up in the fear of losing their job or they
need to have that job security. Because they watch the news and the news portrays that
the world ending and they should stick onto their jobs and the government wants them to
feel like they need the minimum wage jobs. Because, they're in control and the reality
is, if you really study personal growth versus the news and government, you'll realize that
the possibilities are endless if you really focus on opportunities verses failures.
Brian: Well, and there's a reason why this saying is called paralyzed with fear is that
people, you know, they don't move. And they're, you know, afraid of this and they stay in
their job. And . . .
Peter: Yeah.
Brian: you know, news and government. We'll just go with new, it' kind of, it's an interesting
problem. Because, the news reports about how, you know, the growth of the economy isn't
doing this and it's not as good as it could be and people are laying off and this and
that, and it just negative, right. But, that paralyzes people into staying in these jobs
that they hate because it's a secure income. When, you know, forget the whole you can work
in your spare time. And actually you reminded me of a really great book. And even if people
don't read it it's an amazing concept, called, The Other Eight Hours. There's 24 hours in
a day, you spend eight hours sleeping, and eight hours working at your job, what are
you doing in the other eight. Because it's the other eight that will truly change your
life.
Peter: Yep.
Brian: And, you know, watching, last night I made the mistake of getting on twitter,
and it was all about the Bachelorette and you know, it, people spend their time, in
ways that they, you know, that's how that shapes their life. So, back to news. You know,
it scares people and makes them think that they should stay because they have security.
But the reality of it is, is that because they are staying, theres less entrepreneurs
building success. And that means that there's less jobs. And so, if there one of the few
people that spends that other eight hours to, you know, set their vision, set their
mindset, find their allies. And then very slowly fail forward. You know, I mean, oh
crap, I talked to that person and I said the wrong thing, next. You know, like I'm gonna
learn not to do that again. It's definitely powerful, and you know, I mean, I know that,
you know, you understand that and you share that with people. And actually one of your
goals, I saw it on your website, I'll quote it, is, I strongly believe that the more people
you help succeed, the more successful you become. So, for someone that really truly
wants to do good in the world. I had, a good friend of mine, owns both a non-profit, which
is very successful, and a for profit, which is very successful. And he spoke at a church
and people were kind of criticizing him, saying, that you can't make money to help people.
You know, we want to help people. And he goes, well, how can you, you know, he, it was, in
West Africa. And he had everyone raise their hand. He said how many of you have a bank
account? And like a third of the room raised their hand. And he said, well how can you
help other people, not live in poverty, when you yourself live in poverty? So, you know,
can you, I'm sure you've got an objections over the years. But can you speak a little
bit to that, as to, you know, someone who doesn't understand the connection between
success in terms of money and helping other people.
Peter: Yeah, good question. One, I had some comments too, about when you say eight hours.
You don't need to sleep eight hours, okay. You tell people that, you don't even sleep
eight hours, Tony Robbins, Oprah, Michael Jordan, they all got five or six hours and
they're doing pretty amazing. Also, when people think security, there's no more security except
the confidence you have in yourself. And, the only security in a job is if you can do
what you want. So, if you have a job that you can't do what you want. That's no security
at all. So people need to understand that. And I'm passionate about that because, they
say it's secure. No, a lot of the secure jobs, are gone now, right. So, people need to realize
that. But as far as money goes, I just think of the story that I learned at an event I
was at, last year, with Hal. And, a speaker, she actually got mentored by the Dalai Lama,
she's exceptional. Her name's Mary Morrissey. You can look her up. But anyway, she said,
one of the first seminars she went to, a super successful coach, mentor, speaker, author,
was on stage. And he brought out like $500 plus cash. And it was hundreds, no it was
five thousand sorry, cash, just a bunch of cash, that's a lot right.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: And he was like, I love money, money's amazing. And he was showing it, he was like
counting it, and he took it out of his pocket and he was like showing everybody. Oh, I love
money, money is so amazing. I love money. And then he put it away.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: And then he goes, if any of you guys just got disgusted, or got mad at me for doing
that, I guarantee, you're broke. So, you have a bad relationship with money. And Mary said
she actually did get mad. This was when she was starting out. She's like, I hated him
for it. But I was broke and I realized, wow, I had a, I related money to bad. And that's
why I didn't attract any into my life.
Brian: Right.
Peter: And he says, money is good. Money has no evil, bad, money is money, and it comes
to people that add value. So that help, and I already knew money was good. But I had the,
that changed my perspective, like, wow, most of society, has a bad relationship with money
because they feel like it's evil because they don't have any. And they're not attracting
any. And theres other people that say, oh, I hap, I could be happy with no money. And
the reality is, sadly, you need money in this society to live a great life. So I would say,
money is a byproduct of adding value and helping people. But you don't need it to be successful,
but in order to have peace of mind, and inspire people and have a great lifestyle, you need
a certain amount, to be content. Does that make sense?
Brian: Right, and . . .
Peter: And if you don't, say that again, what were you gonna say?
Brian: It's that, and there's different levels, you know, if someone truly does really just
want to make enough money to live, you know. They could go out and help three people, you
know, in Multi-level Marketing, as an example, they could go out and help three people go
out and make a little bit of money and then they would have a residual income that you
know. Let's say, I mean, I know a lot of people that could very, very comfortably live on
$2,000 a month. And you know, they go, a lot of them live in, you know, in the country.
But, that's how, that's what they want to do. Whereas the opposite end of it, which
is where I think, you and I are both on the level, is that, you know. I wanna make millions
so we can help millions. And that is the, either are fine. But, you know, people have
to repair that relationship and one of our previous interviewees actually wrote a book
called, Money Love. And, it's entirely about that. It's entirely about the relationship
that people have with money. Is that so many of them think that it's evil. When, in all
actuality, it's, you know, a method for, you know, doing. I was ,one of my favorite quotes
is, Money only amplifies your personality. Both if you have it and if you don't.
Peter: That's huge. Yeah, and my mom always told me too, such a great role model. One
of the best I've ever had. She said when I was younger, Peter, when you find something
you love and you're passionate about it, that money will come. And I'm like, no, it won't,
I just want money. I'm like 18 and I'm like, if I had all the money, if I had like 20 grand
I would go shopping, I'd buy everything. And then was a point in my career, when I had
more money than I ever have. But I didn't even care about it, nor was I searching for
it. I was just, in the zone helping so many people building a business, creating an empire
and a legacy. And, growing and building leaders and developing people, and the money came.
So, money is a byproduct, of how many people you help.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: And how much you're growing. The more people you help, the more value you're adding
to society. And, you're paid based on the value you bring. And people need to understand
that. If you want more money, become more valuable. There's an article on my website,
it's called Becoming More Valuable, it's in the blogs. It gives everyone these . . .
Brian: I'll link it below.
Peter: Yeah. It gives everyone exactly how to become more successful, add more value.
And there's 10-15, 20 big ways, to how you can become more valuable.
Brian: Right.
Peter: And get more money. Why in the world, does someone pay Gary Vaynerchuk, a hundred
thousand dollars, in a check. To go speak for one hour. How is that possible?
Brian: Yep.
Peter: Because he adds that much value to the people that are watching.
Brian: Right.
Peter: Right, so that's, people understand, it's the value you bring. If you don't make
much money, you're not very valuable to the market place. The most valuable leaders that
help a lot of people, make the most money. And you see all these personal growth people,
there' like, oh they want the money. No, a lot of them have a million or two, but there
still helping people.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: They don't need to help people. They don't' need to run these seminars and workshops.
They don't need to do these podcasts and free interview for themselves. But they want to
do it because that's what drives them is the impact and the legacy, not the money.
Brian: Right.
Peter: So I think people need to understand that, especially the majority. Money is not
bad, stop not liking people that have money. They just add more value and their probably
helping more people than they are, right. So, it's just you kinda gotta be harsh with
them. But that's the reality.
Brian: Yeah, and so many really successful people that I know, you know, they really
only truly want money so that they can help more people. And, I mean, you know, buying
a fancy car is like, fourth or fifth on the list in terms of their focus. But . . .
Peter: Yeah.
Brian: you know it truly is. And you talk about giving value and the feeling that you
get when you help someone. So, I'm gonna ask you the completely unanswerable question,
and see what you do with it. How does it feel? How does it feel when you know that you've
made an impact. On someone's life and they come back to you and they tell you that their
entire life was changed because of something that you directly or indirectly did.
Peter: Well, I'm blessed man, it feels amazing. It's the juice that makes me keep waking up
early and keep putting out content and keep helping people. Because I know, that society
is not in a great place, and there's not much guidance out there. People are giving up too
easy, and I just know it's what I'm made to do. So, weather I have. Let me, mute. Ring,
mute. So, I think it's just once you experience it, it's a feeling that you can't describe.
Because you know, it's not about you anymore. You step outside yourself, and it's about
other people. And it's an amazing, yeah, it is an unanswerable question. It's an amazing
feeling, and it's something that people did for me.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: So, I'm just paying it forward and giving it back to other people. Because if
people didn't invest in me, one of the people that's made the biggest impact in my life
is Isaac Tolpin, one of my mentors. If he never invested in me.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: And, first off, let me backtrack. If he never invested in himself . . .
Brian: Yep.
Peter: he couldn't have invested in me. So, I owe it to other people go give back to them
because that's what people did for me. So, yeah, I don't think there's anything else
out there, that's more rewarding, than helping other people.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: So, yeah, it's amazing man.
Brian: That's awesome, and so, with Real VIP Success, you put on there. And I just love
the quote, society lowers your standards and we guarantee to raise them. So, kind of an
actionable item for anyone listening. You know, people often struggle with taking the
small steps. You know, finding the motivation to wake up early, to stop watching their favorite
T.V. show, to read that book for ten minutes a day. I mean, very very small steps. And
every leader talks about taking small steps. Not big ones, just,you need to have small
successes every single day. So, with someone who's struggling with the motivation to do
that. How can they change that?
Peter: Motivation and discipline, I don't know really like those words too much. It's
habits, it's about habits. So, if they want to change, they need to understand, every
single bad decision they've ever made, every single bad piece of food they ever ate, every
single bad choice. Their one choice or decision away from a good choice, or a good decision
or good habit. So they need to write down, what their vision is. And what it means for
them to be successful. And then the activity I always teach, simply. They need to write
down what their gonna start doing differently from this day forward, to become the person
they need to be to successful. Or to be, to hit their goals. They need to write down what
they need to stop doing. What are you gonna stop doing, that's not serving you, not helping
you, not helping other people, keeping you broke, whatever. And then the third thing
is, what are they gonna continue doing, that's helping them be successful that they're already
doing. So, it's good to recognize, that you're doing a good job and to focus on progress.
It's also good to understand, that you need to invest your past mistakes . . .
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: into future intelligence and your future success.
Brian: That's an awesome, way of . . .
Peter: Yeah, just start now. Just, the number one reason, Brian, people aren't' successful
when their older. Number one I think, is they never told themselves that now mattered. Never.
They said
Brian: It's always tomorrow.
Peter: someday,when I'm older. People spend the first half of their life saying they're
too young. And the second half saying they're too old. It's just society. So, oh, I'll start
later, but the reality is, now matters more than never.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: The person you become now is amplified ten times in two years, three years. So, if
you're not growing now. If you're broke now, and you don't have habits that that are, can
grow with your vision, you're gonna be in a tougher financial situation five years from
now.
Brian: Yeah.
Peter: Ten years from now it'll be worse. Unless you change your habits, change your
circle of influence, and create better habits and better routines and better rituals. I
would just say, start now, and write a list of what you're gonna work on from this moment
forward. Because there's stories everywhere, from rags to riches. I mean, I love Eminem's
story about how he was in a trailer park, broke, on drugs, no parents, no guidance,
no encouragement, no nothing.
Brian: Yep.
Peter: And now he's worth $400 million. And he didn't do it for the money because he could
have stopped after his first album. He did it because he wanted to get his message out
and he wanted be an inspiration to people that didn't have hope from where they came
from. So, I think just looking around and using evidence of everybody else, that have
succeeded, and not focusing on societies average standards. And not focusing on the news or
focusing on negativity, but only focusing on things that are congruent with your vision
and your goals.
Brian: Absolutely.
Peter: If that answers your question.
Brian: Yeah, absolutely. And I had kind of heard it before. I think it was Tony Robbins,
but the to don't list. Which is a very simple, and very powerful tool. So, that's definitely
great advice and the other thing is. A recent blog of your's. And you started off and I
started smiling because I knew what you were gonna say. Was, you talked about, I forget
how you phrase it but I know, investment of sixty-four thousand eight hundred, am I getting
that number right?
Peter: 86,400.
Brian: 86,400, but as soon as you said it, I was like I know what he's referencing.
Peter: Yeah.
Brain: 86,400, so, I'm not even gonna explain that, I'm gonna link it below because I think
it's an awesome video. And, thank you so much for being on. I know it definitely provides
value to people listening and I will def, I'm gonna distill it into the takeaways so
that people can read through it constantly. Thank you so much again for the time.
Peter: No problem, I appreciate it and thanks for what you're doing. I really love that
you're giving back and you're helping others. It's gonna make a big impact,so appreciate
it man.