Healthy Simplified
Welcome to the Healthy Simplified podcast, where we put personalized health and wellness in the spotlight. Join us for enlightening education, inspiring stories, and in-depth discussions with industry, medical, and scientific experts. Together, we’ll explore how to craft a unique approach to your well-being.
Healthy Simplified
The Todd Cash Playbook: Insights on Life, Leadership, and Success
Welcome to the Healthy Simplified podcast, everyone. I it's another day. It is another opportunity to talk to a legend in our industry, somebody who Has been a friend for a long time. We've gotten to know each other a lot better over the last five years, but the reality is he's done a lot of things in our industry that a lot of people just dream of trying to accomplish. And a lot of that has to do with just pure work tenacity leadership at the end of the day. That's what this is all about. And today I'm going to have a conversation with him about that. About how everyone always gets to see you and look at you once you've made it. But they don't know what you had to do to actually get there and getting there is a bigger part of the story than actually reaching the pinnacle, if you will. Todd, thank you for being here today. It means the world to me that you would actually take the time out of your day and be here.
Track 1:Appreciate it, Mark. Been looking forward to it.
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:I always like to start these the same way, which is I know you well enough to know that your family means the world to you and probably is the most important thing to you. So why don't you just introduce yourself, give a little bit to a background to the folks that are listening and most importantly, tell them about your beautiful family.
Track 1:It is, Mark. They are important. And I can't believe that Donna and I are coming up on 40 years of marriage, be 40 years in August. My oldest daughter's 34 and middle is 30. And then I have a son that's 26. They are beautiful. And Donna and I met in college. She we went to a little junior college and I played baseball there. She ran a track. And so that's how we how we met and we're married pretty quick, married young. I think we were 20 and 19. So pretty young and have had a chance to raise a great family. And now they're in the same town that we are. So we had a chance to see them, have three grandkids. Right now, one that's five, two, and six months. So that's an incredible blessing and a total life change. A little easier to do with grandkids than it is your own, so we're enjoying that. We're figuring it all out. It's not really an empty nest. It's A lot of kids around. So yes, enjoyed that 40
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:See, I had no idea that we had that much in common. I'm at least in our 30 years this year in June and both met in junior college. She's playing soccer. I'm playing baseball. So it's, that's a very similar story and background, but, I'm waiting for this grandkids thing but my 26 and 24 year old still got some growing up to do. So they're not there yet but we're getting there. We're getting there not fast enough for mom but we are getting there. Finally. Yeah. Todd, as part of understanding how you got to where you are, we need to understand where you came from. When you and Donna first started out, it wasn't, Hey, the world is the greatest thing in the world. You started young, you're 20 and 19. It's so let's talk about where you came from, what you decided to do when baseball didn't work out and what got you into, to coaching and things like that.
Track 1:I grew up a coach's son. My dad was a is a Marine and head football coach. Funny story there is when he went and served in the Marine Corps, he came back and played college football after that. So I can still remember his practices and being a part of that, being around some of the guys that he played with in college. That was probably three. And so I can still remember that. And then he was a coach after that high school football coach. So I grew up on the fields doing everything with him. And, I can, I've told someone, one of the greatest memories I have is they used to spray the helmets, used to paint them at the first of the year, and I can still remember that lacquer and what they wore helmets like Notre Dame. So they had that bright, lacquer on the gold and just. All of that growing up, being around the players and, my mom did all the laundry. So I knew every player's a number, got a chance to fold those. So it's just a lot of memories of being on the field and also the toughness that went with that. My dad was pretty hard. There wasn't much gray area for him. And so being an under, undersized player, like I was, everything had to be earned. And, I learned to work extremely hard. And that's the one thing that. That I felt like I could bring to the table as I may not be, probably I'm not going to be the best athlete in any situation, but I can sure outwork who I'm working against. And so that became the way that, that I approach direct sales and really life in general is just, somebody may be better, but I can outwork them and so that's been my way. From the start,
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:as a Marines kid, I'm sure my, my grandfather basically raised me when I say I have a lion and lamb picture behind me. I always said my grandfather was my lion and my grandmother was my lamb. Thank God I had my grandmother, but it was but, he taught me a lot of things, but as a, he was army, but, it's basically, early on time on times late. It's that type of concept of, Hey, if you want to achieve you got to get there before everyone else. You have to leave after everyone else has gone. You have to work harder than everyone because no one's going to give you anything. But at some point you and Donna, you got into coaching. And Donna was into teaching and you guys were doing this life thing together. Let's talk about those times because, it's like a lot of people right now are going to college. They're coming out of college. They have these life dreams of, Hey, I'm going to be this. And then they get exactly what they went to school for. And they're like, this is what I did this for. And they have that kind of general disappointment. And they're like, what can I do to change my situation? Let's talk about that struggle a little bit. Cause you guys did exactly what you wanted to do. And you were stuck.
Track 1:we were a little bit stuck, but happy, I had a chance to coach with one of the, one of the, a great mentor in my life, Bill Blankenship, he's a hall of fame coach here in Oklahoma, and I was on that staff early, I hadn't coached before at all, and was on that high school staff and had a chance to be around him. And he was a great leader, great mentor. And that's really the first person outside of my dad, a couple of guys in college, but outside of my dad that I really looked up to. just the way he did things, the way he ran practices, the way he coached the staff. And so I learned a lot there and enjoyed that. Really the reason for looking elsewhere is what you said is just living check to check. I enjoyed coaching and had a chance to go on and do that later for a long period of time. But at Donna, a first grade teacher and me, a high school coach we struggled a little bit financially. And that's what led us really. To do things on the side. I did extra things to, to earn extra income, things like that still love coaching but that's what really led us to direct sales and the opportunity to get in that, which is another coaching realm. It's exactly like that. You've just got a different set of players. I loved coach Blankenship again, learned a lot there and just transferred a lot of that to, to what we do
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:so let's talk a little bit about that. Because I know coaching philosophy is a big deal. And we're all influenced by the people that taught us and then we learn things along the way, but there's some what I would call pillars, certain things that, you know, Hey, these are things that have to be present for you to be a good coach. Coach and I'm interchanging the word coach and leader because in my mind, in some respects, they're the same. There's something I want to ask you about that when we get through this. But I want to understand some of the basic pillars when it comes to, your philosophy on this that you need to have in order to be successful.
Track 1:I think a good coach has to create an environment for success. That's your environment. The players that you have, whether it's five on a basketball team or, 22 on a football team or whatever that is, you've got to create an environment for them to succeed. And there's got to be vision there, that's taking young athletes that have never hoisted a championship trophy and talking about what that looks like and what that feels like. That's all part of laying the groundwork for success. Then your system, how you practice, good coaches will tell you how to do it. Great coaches will show you how to do it. And also an understanding of why we're doing it, whatever that technique may be. So a lot of times there's not a connection there unless you can really show and help them understand what it is we're trying to get to a value system. It's not just win at all costs. This is how we do things. This is what we stand for. And so having that value system laid in there. And then also I think, some of the great coaches I've been around, they find a fit for everyone. Everyone is not going to be the star. And so can you find a role for different players? I had a chance to coach a super baseball team. In high school and there were role players that I told at the very beginning, that's what you will probably be on this team. And so instead of pouting, they found a place to succeed and I helped create an environment for them to have success as well. And then lastly, Mark, I would say, you've got to be able to communicate well where people understand the vision, where we're going. And then there has to be accountability. There's a lot of times I see, we have all these things in place, but there's no accountability. And you can't achieve success at a high level without accountability. So all that falls back on a head coach and or somebody that's working and the last thing I would say about that is you've got to do the work. When I got into direct sales I had to learn this on the street. I couldn't tell somebody how to do something that I've never done as an athlete. I knew. I played and learned a lot about the game. And then I had some good coaches that taught me even more direct sales. I had none of that. I had to start on the street and learn how to do this before I could ever transfer it to someone else. So it's really teach, train, and eventually mentor when you have that good
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:One of the things that I like to talk a lot about with leaders because I think it's so uber important for leaders to understand is to me, there's two different types of leadership. One is leadership by title. One is leadership by permission. And unfortunately, it seems like a lot of leaders that we see, we hear you see YouTube videos from. It's a leadership by title situation. In other words, they achieve some title, so people are just supposed to listen to them. But the people that are super successful, at least in my life, have always been the people that are what I'm going to call the permissive leaders. In other words, there are people that want them to lead them. Let's talk about those two differences, because, a lot of times that is directly related to the work ethic of the leader. There's those leaders that, hey, I've gotten to a title, so now I don't have to work anymore. And they don't understand that the team is going to do exactly what the leader's doing. So let's talk about that and your thoughts there.
Track 1:Absolutely. I think about when you say that, Mark, I think about being authentic, versus just having a title and John Maxwell, one of the greatest leaders out there. Always talks about influence. Leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less is what he says. And so can you influence somebody into action? Versus telling somebody what to do based on a title. And it's very different. And when you look at all the things that are out there right now and the communication and whether it be, Instagram or all the different ways that we get, I'm real careful on who I listen to, you want to know who the background is it somebody that's actually done for instance, Garrett Unklebach, he's got a tremendous. foundation and a tremendous life experiences. So when he talks that's authentic leadership, he's been there. And so I tend to listen to that more than someone that maybe hasn't done that. So that to me is authentic. That's people, want to follow that, when you have, and again, I've had some good coaches and been around some good leaders and they're people you want to follow when they tell you something you want to get behind it and follow it. And that's different than being told how to do something by, by title. So authentic is what jumps off the page at me. And there are a lot of authentic leaders in our industry, Mark. I say a lot, probably not very many. But the ones that are extremely powerful in being able to influence and lead people towards success.
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:I can still remember I had a coach in high school Coach Murray who he taught me a very valuable life lesson and I never got the chance to tell him thank you before he unfortunately passed. I think it was a Monday after a Friday night game and I was given a halfway effort in practice and he walked over to me and he goes, Mark, if you want to be successful on Friday night, you have to work harder on Monday than you do on Friday. And it literally, it opened my eyes up and I was like wait, what is hold on, I want to coast through this so that I'm ready to play Friday. He goes, no, Sonny goes, you win in practice. You have a system. And you've got to follow the system. Let's talk about that because a lot of times it is, especially in the network marketing industry, people will make two, Facebook posts, they'll call a couple of friends and they get nose on those four. And it's okay this isn't for me. It doesn't work for me as opposed to following a system and understanding, Hey, Part of the problem may not be the people. It may be the message or the messenger. And I got to develop my own message in my own story. And I got to talk about that. Let's talk about the system on how people don't necessarily have to do the same thing, but they have to do something on a regular basis.
Track 1:You do, you have to have a system in place where what I call it is trying to keep people, giving people that 75, 85 percent chance of success. That's not just handing somebody, a little bit of material and telling them to go get it. There's got to be some steps in place. This is a, this is not an easy industry. It's something you do on your discretionary time. Some people aren't able to do that. There are other people that understand how to employ themselves. So they're able to get a little bit more traction, but without a system and the steps on how we get out and talk to people, just something as simple as how you tell your story how we earn income here, if there's not a system for that, Your rate of success is down in a 20, 10 to 20 percent range with people. Nobody can survive at that level. So I learned early on that doing this is just like coaching a team. If they don't understand what the goal is, if they don't know what the steps are to get there, they're not going to be able to do it. So I come up with a training early on, being out on the street, learning how this work and found out the things that were important. I sat back and said, all right, what are the five things that. are really non negotiable. If you're gonna get results here and I started to build the trainings around that. And so I knew that, everyone's not going to do it doesn't have to do it. But the ones that do want to achieve at a high level, what can you give them to help them stay in the game? Help them be stay accountable and take the steps to be successful. So that's how we come up with the different systems that we have for, talking about products and then also someone that wants to build an income. What does that look like? What are the steps there? What do we pay attention to? What are the gauges that are most important? And so going from just starting something that you've probably never done before to having an organizational CEO mindset, people that are able to do that can accomplish incredible things in this industry.
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:One of the things that we're most proud of at ID life is the fact that, this isn't a get rich quick scheme. This is this is work. You have to work at this. It is sales. Let's be real. You have to sell something to make something. That's the thing. That's the most important thing. And it's difficult because a lot of times people be like, you know what, I just, I'm not a salesperson. I don't know how to sell. You know what, that's fine. You're going to be an amazing customer. But if you like to introduce and share and potentially, get some product, that's fine. Okay, great. But let's talk about, the system a little bit deeper because I know you have a system. Let's be real. You've achieved, you've gotten to the top of two different companies, but let's talk about the system that you still have today, because I know you still follow a system. It's, most people don't think that, they're thinking Todd cash or not thinking, oh, he gets up in the morning and has something he's doing. You're doing work every single day. What's so let's talk about your personal system.
Track 1:You made me think of this, Mark. I remember early on when I got started in the industry, it was easy to talk to the guys that I knew, guys in the coaching room, things like that. But once I started to get outside of that and start to talk to people that I didn't have influence with, didn't have a relationship with, that's when I met my first barrier. And I'll never forget driving down the road. I, it was getting a little bit tough, to get anything going. And I thought, you know what? I don't want to be a sales guy. I don't want to be the guy that everybody runs from and they see, how do I get around that mentally? And I'll never forget in my mind, I flipped the switch. I thought, you know what? If people want to look, feel, sleep and perform better with the products that we have, and that's exactly what they'll do. I'm going to come alongside them and coach them on how to do that. If someone wants to earn income in this industry, I'm going to come alongside them and coach them on how to do that. That immediately took all the pressure off of me. From being a sales guy to having the right words to close the deal. No, if you have interest, I'm going to come alongside you in a coaching position where I'm extremely comfortable and that's what I'm going to do. And so from that point on I've considered this coaching people. You can't drag someone over the finish line. You can't push them over the finish line. You can't bring the effort, the energy, the purpose. You can't bring any of that for them, but if they can bring that, then I'm going to teach you a get started training. That's the system I use. What does a new person do when they get started? And you sit down and cover those four or five in a coaching position. Now I'm in control. I can talk to you about what gets started looks like. And if you want to earn income, I can now you've put me in a coaching position. Again, I can talk to you about what we call here an arms race, which is how to move up in rank, how to build volume, how to build an income. That's not going to happen by chance. And it's not going to happen by people just signing up and trying to figure out what to say. So you take all of that experience in those two systems right there, how to get a new person started, and then also how to get a person paid if that's what they want to do. And now you're starting to get people up in that 85 percent success range if they have a strong reason and they want to work. Because what you said early on is right. This is a work program. It's fun work though because you're making a difference in two areas of life that I always say other than somebody's spiritual life. Health and finances are going to affect you more than anything, and we get to deal with those on a daily basis. But you cannot push somebody that they have to respond out of their own strength, and then you've got to be ready to coach when they do.
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:It's funny. I always say I'm the worst salesman at ideal life. I, because I don't try to sell anybody anything. I just try to, I just try to tell them how things are going to help them and people naturally want them. Because I say, the people that are going to be successful aren't the one that trying to sell it life. They're the ones that are sharing it life. And there's a big difference between those two things because I'm a big believer that if you share something with somebody based upon what it is they're looking for. Okay. Not what you're trying to sell them, then they're a lot more receptive. So I say that because one of my things I get a lot of my life lessons from situations from, my, my grandparents one of them had a third grade education, the other a fourth grade education, but they had a life education. Like you wouldn't believe my grandfather taught me work ethic like none other. But, my grandmother used to tell me something as a kid. She told me a lot of things, but one of the things she told me is God gave me two years and one, one mouth for a reason. And I like to talk, so I needed to learn how to stop and listen because I had never learned anything while I was talking. So it was one of those little eyeopening things of, how did you get so smart? But But at the end of the day I think that is something that I would like to ask you about because it tends in this industry is just sales in general or life in general, people have a thought in their head and then they want to be, they want to speak. And sometimes they get known as the overtalker. In other words, they don't give somebody an opportunity to finish what they're saying. They want to tell them what it is they have in their head. And as a result, they missed the biggest point, which is what we do in health and fitness and wellness is we are trying to help the individual with their biggest issue, their biggest problem in life. And you're not going to know what that is if you're trying to tell them what it is they need as opposed to listen to what it is they want. So let's talk a little bit about that and what you've learned in that respect.
Track 1:Those are learned those are skills that can be taught. And you're right. There are people that wait for you, for your mouth to close, where they can insert what they want to talk about. And that's something that you just have to, it's something they've done for a long time and the people that I've worked with, but once you have the influence with them, you can coach them on that, And there's not really anything that you can't stop and coach somebody and correct somebody on. That's what leadership's about. That's what influence is about. And if I see a person like that and they're not able to get anything going, I've got to have the courage to stop and say, Hey, let me tell you one of the things that we need to work on. And listening more than talking. And you can teach people that. So it's a learned skill, but just talking at the rate that someone else speaks is a big one. If you have someone that likes to talk fast, then I'm going to speed up and talk a little bit. I'm going to match them with that. If you have someone that talks very slow, then you better bring it down to that level, or you're not going to be able to connect with them. So those are learned things. And you're right, Mark. I learned early on, for my parents, for my dad is to listen. It's to not be the guy taught. I wasn't the guy in college. I always, there's always people raising their hand. I would get the answer soon enough if I just kept my mouth shut and listen. So I do the same thing here when I work with people, you're right. You've got to listen to find out what it is that they want. And if you can't do that, you're never going to be able to connect. And so I've had to coach people on that before. And most of the time you'll learn it. At a two on one or maybe a three way call, you've got to listen to how they respond. And then correct them on that to
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:So you mentioned a word earlier that I want to expound on a little bit, because to me, it is probably one of the most important things for folks that are trying to connect with human beings to be, which is authentic, transparent. And in our industry, everyone is on a journey. Because normally people get attracted to ID life because they have finally found a place that has good, clean products that are going to help them in changing their diet and lifestyle. As one of the things I always say when I'm talking to people, I said again, I don't try to sell things. I'm like, hey, we have supplements, not replacements. We want to teach you how to eat and how to live. And if you're not going to do that, then we have supplements to get you there until you do. But let's talk a little bit about that in the development of the personal story. Because to me, when somebody is trying to do this business, one of the most authentic things that they can do is start their own journey and be transparent about how hard it is. Most people want to say, Hey, this is easy. This is simple. There is nothing easy or simple about what we do. It just isn't. When you're talking about changing lifestyle, 50 years doing it one way, if I'm going to change, it's going to take a little bit more than a couple of days for me to change what I'm going to do. So let's talk a little bit about that and what somebody needs to understand when they start their own personal journey in fitness, because it's not an easy thing to do.
Track 1:It's not. And if you have someone that Mark, what you're talking about, too, you made me think of is people that do well in this industry and coaches in general, they have a genuine care and concern for the people that work with that, that can't be faked or manipulated to make money. It's an authentic care and concern. The best coaches love their players. They'll do whatever it takes to teach, train, and mentor a young person to get results that they want. This industry is no different. There's a line that you've got to draw where people have got to come to that and meet you halfway. But people that do well have a genuine care and concern for people. So when you're coaching people in these two areas it is hard. And, it was easy to stay in shape when I was in my 30s and got into this industry. At 60, Way different. You've got to look and say, do I want to continue to do hard things? Or do I want to continue to be a statistic and move toward softer things as we get older? And that's the worst thing you can do. That's, 83 percent of the people in this country are considered unfit. What does that mean? It's probably overweight, probably on a couple of medications, things like that. So there is a definite trend, and you can see what happens to people that don't pay attention to that and stay fit. So You know, ID life represents a community where people can come in and get help. You can get the knowledge that you need. You can get the encouragement that you need, but you've got to be able to set some goals and say, this is what I want to do and then come alongside the products and things start to happen. I've lost 50 pounds, Mark. I was at 235 using products that had sucralose and things that, we're causing inflammation in the body as you get older and ID life five years ago, that was a big change to take products that are clean. Like you mentioned no preservatives, none of those, my body began to let go of the inflammation. Then the DNA results that allowed me to really look at how to train for my body has made a huge difference. And I love our products. I love what we represent here, but losing the 50 was not easy. It took, it, it took a decision and I do things very quietly. I don't post things or talk about what I'm doing, but it's been hard, but I'm that's what I enjoy doing with other people is helping them set a goal. And continue to work for that, but continue to do hard things. That's why we're put on this earth. It's not to sit down and relax. There's times for that, but you can do hard things no matter what your age is, and you can get results.
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:you and I have shared the struggles of getting what I'm going to call back in shape in your fifties, especially when you have a college athlete mindset in your case, a professional athlete mindset. It's you're like, hold on, I should be able to do this. Which is why, when I tried the CrossFit thing, I hurt myself so badly because I was trying to do it with the 20 year old. So I can keep up with these guys. They're not even athletes. No, you can't. You really couldn't. It was just, all I was going to do is hurt myself. One of the things that I decided, the decision that I personally made was I had a choice for my family, for my kids, did I want the dad bought it or did I want the father figure? And in the concept behind that was I wanted to show my children that look, taking care of myself was the most important thing I could do for them. Because at the end of the day, they need me here, more than I need to be here. So it's, I'm going to do what I can to be here as long as I can. But, when somebody is going through their own personal story and their own personal struggles, but at the same time, they're trying to build a business. I want to dive into a little bit. I want to dig a little deeper in the authenticity piece because I know that's important to you and I know it's a key element in some respects. One of the things I find is that when you share the struggle, it's almost easier than when you share the success. And it comes across a little bit big, a little bit better when you're actually trying to explain it to people because, one of the things that I did a podcast with Katie Giese and Katie and I were talking about MTHFR and its effect on women and things like that specifically, and she said, one of the areas that she just happened to start talking to women about was anxiety and depression because it seemed like that was the thing that they were all trying to hide. But they, because they thought they were by themselves and as a result, what she found was every woman that she talked to was struggling with anxiety and depression. Of course, a lot of them also had MTHFR and there's a link there. But let's talk a little bit about that because when somebody's, going through their own story and at the same time trying to share ID life. Let's talk about development of the story and a story. I'm not talking about something that you make up and you're like, Hey, you're trying to sensationalize. I'm talking about your real authentic self and let's talk about the importance of talking about the struggle as much as the result. S
Track 1:Your story is your journey, and it's going to change. My stories evolved from just starting on clean products to what I talked about earlier now. And so I'm able to tell that in 30 seconds and I tell it in a way not to impress people with what I've done is to tell it in a way where people can hear that and say, you know what, I want to do something like that. Or how do I get energy like that, that you're talking about? So I think that's the most important piece and it goes back to being authentic. And it also goes back Mark to that genuine care and concern. If I'm telling you my story right now, I'm not telling you that to impress you. I'm telling it in a way that you can loosen up and say, Hey, could you help me do that? And now we're going to connect and I'm going to fit you to the right products and help you start your journey. So when we're out there building a business and telling a story, that's how you tell your story. You tell it in a way you paint a picture where they can see themselves in that picture. And that's the way we teach people. It's part of the get started training. It's part of how. Your story is the first line of connection when you're out there trying to build a business. So if you're not effective at telling your story, you're not going to get the connection and attraction on what you want. So it's very important. It's always evolving. And this is really the parts to it, where you were before you started ID life. What products did you take? What's happened for you? And where are you going now? That's really the part of it. Where I was 50 pounds overweight. I got started on clean products, implemented some extra exercise based on my genetics. I lost 50 pounds in about eight months. Now I feel great and I'm race training and doing some things. So I just gave you my story. From 50 pounds to now training and wanting to run some races. And that may not be for them, we can change where you're at. It's what I want to tell you in the
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:so let's talk about another concept because we run into this a lot, which is what I'm going to call leading from the middle. There are people out there that are doing exceptionally well in sharing ID life and I'd like products and they have lots of customers that are very interested in what we have to do, but their leader, the person with the title above them. Isn't there anymore or is checked out or has decided to do something else or just isn't active anymore and they feel lost. Let's talk about that a little bit because a lot of times it really is the person that's in the middle that has already developed the leadership concepts, but they don't recognize themselves as a leader. So let's talk about that a little bit, because I know that you see this a lot and you have to coach people through it.
Track 1:Yeah, you do. And what's unique about that is the size we are in the company. We are the stage that we're in right now. We're still brand building. So we're still we're not known out there yet. And so what you're seeing is you're starting to see, all across the country, small meetings, small events. So we're getting bigger. And so what happens is at this stage, though, without that leadership, you do feel alone as the company gets bigger, you can actually plug your team into events that are going on. And you're going to be able to benefit from somebody's leadership, somebody that does a big event. I'm able to get my team there. We all grow, but at this stage, there's not a lot of that yet. So you can really feel alone out there. Yeah. But the great thing about people that we have here is they do have a genuine care and concern. So if you call, you're going to find someone that's going to reach down and help you. So maybe you're here and your sponsor's gone away, continue to look up and find someone, and I'll promise you this, they will give you the time and they'll spend some time to help you get unstuck or whatever it is that you're at, but you've got to look up to that next leader if you feel like you're stuck in the business. But as we grow and get bigger, People can come in and plug in to another event and actually grow. And I've seen that a lot. Not at this size right here, leadership really gets exposed. You find out who the real leaders are when you're a small company, when it's bigger and everybody can plug in it's a lot different. So this is a challenging time, but it's a great time in ID life. And there's also someone that will reach down and help you no matter
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:So let's talk about the development of a leader. There's a lot of people out there that want to develop a leadership mindset. They're they're sitting there, okay, I'm ready to start learning or training or some people call it self development. What would be your best advice for folks that are just getting started? They're wanting to say, I want some leadership principles, some things to guide by, what are some things I should pay attention to people I should listen to books, I should read things like that. What would be your best advice to folks that are, they're looking to want to get better in that area?
Track 1:What you just said, Mark, what you just described was somebody that's making a conscious commitment. That they want to get better. They want to lead. So all of a sudden, when you do that, when you flip that switch, what you read, what you watch on TV or the internet, who you listen to, who you hang around, anything that you put in here is going to make a difference, leadership. If you truly want to lead, you have to flip the switch. Which pulls you away from anything negative people. There may be some relationships you're going to have to get away from to move forward, but you've got to really galvanize yourself mentally that I'm going to put everything in the positive. And that's the first switch that someone has to flip. Then when you look at our business, you've got to spend the time to go out and learn the fundamentals. You've got to make some sales. You've got to do some things on the street. You've got to do some meetings. You've got to do some two on ones. You've got to be able to put your sponsor on a three way call and learn that part of the business. That was the first three years for me. I didn't have a sponsor when I started. And so my sponsor, was a coach. He was a long way off. Never really helped me in the business. Not a bad thing. But what it forced me to do in a small company, I had to go out and learn what worked. I had to figure out the right language. I had to learn the bullet points of the products. Those are things that I had to commit to. If I want to be good at this, every time I get in front of a person, I've got a few minutes to make it count. So these are the things that I've got to do to get better. And that was what I learned in the first couple of years. Then I could turn around and there, I felt like there wasn't anything in this business that I can't teach you. I felt very confident that whatever question you asked me, I'm going to be able to answer for you because I've done it. And so that was a big important piece to me was don't try to tell somebody to do something you've never done. I've cold called in a gym. I've cold called at tanning salons. I've went places and left, things like that, the hard stuff. So when somebody asked me about that, I can tell you what that feels like and maybe some pointers on how to do it. When you talk about doing a booth. Some people like that. Some people that's very tough. I can tell you about that and what it looks like and what it feels like. So I felt that was the most important thing to leadership was to go out there and do the hard things, put the time in and then turn around and help somebody do it. And the system that I built off of that mark was important for me to get everything down where I could compress time and tell somebody here's the things you want to focus on rather than all these other things. But it's a conscious decision mentally. Then I'm going to get better and get positive and get focused on what I'm doing and then learning what it takes to go out there and do it.
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:So I want to ask you about something else that happens in our industry a lot, but just happens in life a lot with people in leadership positions. I have a rule at ideal life. It's called credit down blame up. What I mean by that is I'm going to make sure everyone below me gets the credit for everything. And I'm going to take the blame for everything because when you're the head coach or you're sitting at the top, it's all blame comes to you and you just accept it. Pointing fingers doesn't help. Let's talk about that a little bit, because I know that you get to witness it. You get to see it. You've seen it in coaching. Where, you have the head coach starting to, talk bad about something or the, the administration or something else. They're talking down to their team and what happens to morale and what happens to people. In other words in other words, the ship rises and falls with the leader. And if the leaders in a lull, guess what? The team's going to lull with them if that's what they're saying down. So let's talk about that.
Track 1:It crushes your team. And I think it's one of the greatest, and I've been guilty of it. I've let my, I've said things before that I've looked at and thought, you know what, I shouldn't have said that at that time, maybe out of frustration or whatever it was, but 99 percent of my career here has been positive. Nobody's heard what I really felt like on the inside, maybe a couple of people. But you never talk down to your team or give them a reason to quit. A company's not doing this. How come they haven't fixed this? We understand that. But, most people don't understand what it takes to build a company on the inside. The supply chain, all the things that you guys deal with. We just complain about what we don't have in our hands. Those are the things that you have to stop on your team because it's not a fit. And it will destroy everybody, make everybody paralyzed in the business. So yes, there may be things that we don't have yet, but I always find a positive way to talk about it. And the fact that we do have the tools to succeed right now, if we had another, if we didn't have another product, we've got everything we need. So I give zero attention to complaints, Mark, and I listened to them and I try to turn someone around, but it's only going to be a couple of times before. Maybe this is not the place. that you want to be because if the size we're at right now, we're still pioneering this company. It's still not an easy phase yet. The rewards are huge at this stage, but we're not there yet. We're probably a couple of years away, but we're well on our way. So everything is positive and it is a head coach's job not to talk down. And so we're always encouraging the small successes on our team and always lifting up what the corporate staff is doing. And that's just something I learned. Honestly, I learned from my dad early on, and how to stay positive and how to keep your team going. I just don't spend the time on the negative or what we don't have. I'm not, when I coach a young man, everybody can tell you what they can't do. I'm not interested. I'm not interested in what they can't do. I'm looking at what they can do as a player. You have a group of guys sitting around talking about he doesn't have this or he doesn't have that. I can see all that, but I'm looking for what they can do. And I do the same thing in this business. I'm not looking about what we don't have or what we haven't fixed. I'm looking at what we do have, knowing that there are people focused here on getting this thing right. And I don't worry about that part of it.
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:One of the rules that I've tried to live my life by especially when I'm writing emails, things like that to people is, as I call it, my grandma rule. In other words, if I hit send, would I care if my grandmother read it? And if the answer is yes, I wouldn't want to see it, then I probably delete it and don't send it. I delete a lot of emails. I'll be honest. I just do. I have to because my general response to things can be somewhat negative, but where I'm going with this is word choice really does matter. How we ask questions matter. There's a lot of people out there that don't realize the way they ask a question is loaded in negative. which puts the person on the defense. As I always say, I get questions a lot from people in ID life. They're like, how do we compare to this? And I'm like, I don't really like doing comparisons because I don't know what that company's doing. I don't know how they're making their things. I don't know how they're manufactured. I don't know what the thought process is. I don't know if they're making it to hit a margin or they're making it so that it can be the best product. I just don't. I had one the other day where I had a gym owner saying half my gym is using this product for recovery. Why don't you have a product like this with a product contained whey protein and sugar. Those are the two ingredients, whey protein and sugar. And I said, I'll never have a product like that. That's not doing anything for recovery. period. And their scientific study to support it was, Hey, this is glycogen and glycogen helps the cell open up post workout to re, I was like, Oh my goodness. You're basically saying sugar repairs the body after a workout is literally what the science said. one of the things that we pride ourselves on here, and I think it's really important for people that are developing a leadership mindset, but is we are extremely transparent with why we choose ingredients, why we support everything that we do with science. Talk a little bit about how that makes you feel as a leader. When you're like, you can ask those tough questions. Why are you using this ingredient? Or why are you doing this? Or why is ours different than this one? And then you look at the science that supports it. And you're like, Oh, okay. There's, there really is a reason behind this. Talk about that champion mindset that, that gives you knowing that's there. Yeah,
Track 1:that I wanted to say with when coaching I paid attention to my own team and how we practice and what we did, everyone wants to talk about what someone else is doing. And like you said, I can't affect that. Only thing I can affect is the people I'm in charge of and I'm working with. So I never worried about what another team was doing. I never worried about what another company was doing. In fact, I wish them the best. I pray at night for our industry, for people to do well here. And so it's not about looking at what we don't have or what someone else is doing. And then when you talk about the confidence that you're talking about, I wouldn't have came here, Mark, because I know the industry so well, being in 28 years, having a chance to run it from the inside as well, and a little bit of experience with, the supply chain and things like that. I knew and trusted you guys that you're going to do the right thing with products. If that trust wasn't there, I wouldn't be here because you have no chance of winning. If that's what you, if you're building products for margin and we don't know about it, we have no chance of winning in the field because it won't be a superior product. And there's a whole different motive behind that. I'm here because I know what you guys are doing on the inside, how you're doing and how you're building products. How you pay attention to this every day. So I've got confidence in that. I'm not worried about that. And I don't spend time thinking about that. I know we're going to be the best because the commitment is there from you and everyone in the corporate office. So I focus on us being the most professional, best trained in the field. That's where I'm at right now. So those go hand in hand and that's what makes a great company. And they're just people that they spend so much time worrying about things that can affect and things that aren't going to help them in a business. And the best thing you can do is try to get them back on track again. And talk about what we're doing here with confidence. Those four steps that I talk about, Mark, all the time. And that's number one. You have to have a vision from the corporate team and the founder, which we do, we've had a strong vision that's given us 10 years here, that second platform is the corporate staff and their ability to execute. And again, you've proven you can do that. The third one is where we're at right now. And that's the products for us to have confidence in the field. The field has to realize we have incredible products that work. And we have the ability to build products going forward. If I can think that and feel that in the field, I'm going to be out talking to people every day about what we have. And so we're on that right now, solidifying that third level. And then the next one comes your income, where you start to really prove it's proof of concept. People that come here with our products and our system can make 500 a month, or they can make somewhere well beyond that if they choose to do it. So those are the steps that we're doing and climbing as a company right now. And I'm confident in our products and what we're able to do and have total confidence in the field when I'm talking about our products.
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:thing that I love most about what we do is, the number of customers that are our associates have far exceeds the number of associates they have on their team, because we just have a lot of people that love our products that are getting amazing results from them. there's one other thing that I want to go into with you a little bit before I wrap I get an opportunity in these podcasts to do series. And this series is what I'm talking to in my mind, the leaders, if you will the leaders of leaders, that type of thing. So I've talked to Joe Hadacheck, I've talked to you and later on I get to talk to Laura Brandt. Now, I chose Laura. One, I wanted a good, strong female leader, but two, I can still remember Laura 11 years ago when Laura did not view herself as a leader. I saw it. I saw something in her. And I literally told her when she was first hired, I said, look, if you'll listen to me in three to four years, you'll have my job so that I can go do another job. It only took her 18 months and she literally had the job before she had the title. And I tell everyone that. But what, let's talk a little bit about that, because that is the, probably in my mind, the thing that I love the most is seeing something in someone before they see it in themselves, because a lot of self doubt is always there. And folks, let's talk about what you do with those folks, because there's a lot of people that are becoming pretty successful and just sharing what it is we do at ID life. And they don't know why, and they don't know Literally believe in themselves. How do you coach somebody through that? Or how do you personally coach somebody through that to give them the vision of what they can be before they even believe that they have the ability to do it.
Track 1:You've got to work close with them. You've got to be with them real close and a lot of encouragement. You want to pick out every good thing they do and elevate that. And that really builds confidence in them. And then, understanding that it's just going to, it's going to take us doing this over and over again for you to really get confident in it and be able to take the next step. But when you talk about Laura, what jumps out and what makes Laura so successful. Maybe she didn't think that she was a leader, but I'll tell you what she has and continues to have at the highest level. Is a genuine care and concern about people. She will put her own emotions aside, her own fears aside to help somebody succeed. That's the key to this business. I will do something uncomfortable. If I can help you get started on products and lose the 20 pounds you want to lose. I'll put myself out there and be uncomfortable because I see your need and I want to help you with that. And so Laura she epitomizes that for me. She may not feel like she can do it, but she cares so much that she'll find a way to do it because the people mean more to her than the embarrassment or maybe feeling like she's not equipped for it. And that has caused her to continue to push forward. And being an incredible president the knowledge base that she has now, the fire that she's walked through in a young company really has galvanized her into an incredible leader. She can sit down with confidence with anybody and tell you what it takes to walk through some tough things. And it's no different in the field when you're working with somebody, if you can put them in a position to win over and over again, With your help and with your strength and your guidance, you'll take someone from here to here on the leadership scale. And it really comes from doing the parts to what we do, Mark. For instance, meeting structure is huge in our business. At this stage, meetings have different. They have an opening. They've got a middle part and then they've got to close to the crowd. Those things are learned. So I'll take a young person that's maybe, doesn't feel like they can do it yet or cover the products and I'll have them open. They may be scared to death to get up there and do a two minute opening. But once you put them in that position to win, they've done it. Now they take that next step. So our structure is a big part of growing leaders. If you don't put them in a place to succeed, For instance, maybe they're scared to death to cover products. We're going to sit down and cover the bullet points. And then at the meeting Tuesday night, you're going to cover the products for about three minutes. They're scared to death, but once they do it, they take a step and another step. That's a big part of training and equipping people to go out and duplicate what we do. That's how you teach it. They're not going to do it on their own, but if you put them in a position, they'll be able to do it. And you've done that. And Laura has been thrown into the fire. All of you guys have with what you've done with with a small company. And wearing all the different hats. You're going to know everything about this when we get to that next level. And Laura is a great
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:They say public speaking is a greater fear than death for most people. I can still remember we were probably our first revolution, maybe our second had a very just, she was a super young woman. I just, I was talking to her. She's backstage. She's scared to death. She's about to pute before she goes on stage for a five minute segment. And I looked at her straight in the face. I said, you really want to know what I do before I go on stage when I'm really nervous. She goes, yes, please tell me. I was like, I don't know. I don't get nervous. And all of a sudden you could see all the tension in her head just come out. She just gives me that look like, yeah, I am that guy. And then she goes out there and she does amazing. And she comes back and she goes, it wasn't as bad as I thought. I was like, yeah, all you had to do is take that tension out of your body a little bit. So it's the same thing, just get that tension out, believe in yourself. That's the one thing I can't tell people enough is that we all have special gifts and special abilities. And if you can get out of your mind that this business is about selling people and it's more about sharing with people, you can be really successful even in spite of what you think. But we all have leadership abilities in us. Todd, one of the things I love to do towards the end of every podcast is I love to give my guest the final word. And that final word is Hey, if I had five minutes to tell somebody everything that I wanted them to know. This is the best life advice I could give you from all of the experience that I have to where I am today. Because let's be real. You have literally gone from, from the trailer to the penthouse. Let's be real. That's what you had to work to get there. It was a lot of hard work and I want to make sure people hear that this was not something given, this was something earned and along the way, there's a lot of reward, but. I want you to have that final say of, Hey, this is what people really need to know if they want to grow themselves, become leaders and really achieve what it is they want in this in this business.
Track 1:Well, a lot too. That's a lot, Mark. And a long time, 28, almost 30 years now, the relationships are what mean the most to me. Some of the best friends when you're in this industry, that this is your environment and these are the people you're around. And so the relationships that I've built, Donna and I have built over the years are some people, Joe Hadditchak, Mark and Pam Rushmore on and on. We've, Tanya Parr, we've been together for almost 30 years together. Helping people get results in the industry. So that is the biggest thing. When you look at this industry and you look at what people are searching for in life, people want to be a part of something special. They want to You know, they, they want to be healthy. If you could ask somebody what they would want a healthy body. They would want healthy relationships. They'd probably like to earn a little bit of extra income. That's the environment that we have here. And that's a, that's something that I've always felt good in. It's been something I've seen incredible stories take place and the culture that we have here and that we intentionally create here. Where people can come in and feel comfortable, whether it's, a couple hundred dollars a month or way beyond that money is not the benchmark of success in our industry. And so we really are on a journey to help people do life better. And so when I look back at this, there's nothing better. Has it been hard? It's yes, it's been hard, but it's been a worthy endeavor and the friendships that have been built, the lives that have been changed, both physically, financially, and spiritually. That's a ripple effect that we'll never know. At least while we're here. And so it's been very rewarding. I look at where we are as a company right now and the chance to go from. From small to big and what that's gonna mean for people, for someone to come in all a lot of us did years ago and raise a family in this industry, the time, be able to be debt free. Most people have an opportunity to do that. We have a chance to do that here to coach your own kids or raise your family and spend the time with them. That's all achievable. But it takes a lot of work. It takes really locking in on a strong purpose and and then understanding there's going to be some time and some knowledge gain that I'm going to have to take place that I have to work and learn going forward. But it is a great industry, Mark. And I'm thankful to get a chance to do it twice. That, one time is pretty special, but to come and have a chance to start in a company. small again and do it is pretty special. The culture is what I would leave with that's been most important. You've got people that love and care about you here. They're going to help you no matter what it is, whether it's inside ID life or outside. People here tend to have a genuine care and concern for others. And that's the most important takeaway for this. It'll be something Donna and I look back on when we're done and think, that's been a great run. We've had some great friendships. And we've helped people in some pretty important areas of life. So I appreciate being on here and, thankful for it and excited for, the next the next steps that we're taking
mark-bennett_1_03-20-2024_090342:Todd, I can't thank you enough on behalf of myself, everyone at ID life. You are a key part of everything that we do and an extremely important leader in the field. And as, as I said earlier, a leader amongst leaders and you taking the time to share your thoughts and your feelings and some of the story of what it takes to get to where you are is just I can't say thank you enough. But on behalf of myself and Anodyte Life, thank you for being here. And until next time, this is Mark Bennett. Talk to you again soon.