The Foureva Podcast
Welcome to The Foureva Podcast, where we break barriers and redefine success!
Join host Jamar Jones, a dynamic entrepreneur, national speaker, and author of "Change Your Circle, Change Your Life," as he takes you on an extraordinary journey of inspiration and motivation.
In each episode, we bring you an impressive lineup of star-studded guests, each with a unique voice and a wealth of insights to share. From industry leaders to renowned experts, we uncover their secrets to success in personal, business, and marketing domains. Prepare to be captivated by their stories, strategies, and experiences that will empower you to reach new heights.
Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a marketing professional, or simply seeking fresh perspectives on life and business, The Foureva Podcast is your ultimate destination. Discover the transformative power of changing your circle and unlocking your full potential. With each episode, we delve into the minds of the most influential voices in the industry, providing you with the tools and inspiration you need to overcome obstacles and achieve greatness.
Don't miss out on this dynamic podcast that will fuel your ambition, challenge your limits, and propel you toward success. Tune in to The Foureva Podcast and join a community of driven individuals who are ready to make an impact. Get ready to be inspired, motivated, and 'foureva' transformed!
The Foureva Podcast
How to Sell Yourself and Build a Brand People Can't Ignore w/ Colby B. Jubenville, PHD
Want to build a powerful brand, master your craft, and grow a business that stands out? In this episode, Colby B—author, speaker, trusted advisor, and talent development expert—shares the proven frameworks and mindset shifts that have helped leaders, entrepreneurs, and high performers create meaningful success.
Discover how to reinvent yourself, communicate with conviction, and master "Version 1" of your business or idea so you can finally move forward and win. Colby breaks down how to connect with your audience, build a brand that people feel, and develop the habits that lead to real growth.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
✅ The secret to building "Version 1" — and why it's the key to scaling anything
✅ How to master storytelling and make your brand unforgettable
✅ Why conviction is essential for personal branding and sales
✅ The power of simplicity in communication, leadership, and growth
✅ How to create emotionally compelling messages that move people to action
✅ The importance of building meaningful relationships that open doors
🚀 If you're an entrepreneur, leader, coach, or business owner ready to grow your brand, influence, and impact, this episode is packed with actionable strategies you can implement right now!
🔔 Like, Subscribe, and Turn on Notifications for more expert conversations on branding, leadership, business growth, and mindset!
PhD at 29,. Full professor at 37, million dollars gift to launch a center for student coaching and success to build meaningful relationships. Two books, one published by Wiley and I'm still asking my mother who I'm. By the way, I'm her 40 year overnight success. I'm still asking her if I'm good enough baby.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's great. You like the iPhone. You just keep leveling up. You just keep leveling up. Kobe man. What's going on, bro?
Speaker 1:Just trying to live in your world, my friend. I mean you know you're the big timer in New York City or planning to be from man be in Wisconsin, right?
Speaker 2:oh my god, yeah, far away from home, right? Oh my goodness, hey, it's a beautiful day in Nashville, tennessee.
Speaker 1:I tell people all the time you can sell used chewing gum. In Nashville. We don't develop buildings, we develop entire city blocks and so we call it the it City for a reason it's the epicenter of the world sports, music, entertainment. We got it all right here in beautiful Nashville, tennessee. So when you kick it off, here's what I'm going to say, man, to start off. When I think about Nashville, dude, I think about one word and that's energy. And energy cannot be created, it can only be transferred. And you got an energy in the downtown scene and the music scene and the sports scene and I hope I can project that energy to you today through this platform and your audience and let's have a great conversation.
Speaker 2:Oh man, it's going to be good. Man, you're a storyteller naturally. Yeah, you're naturally a storyteller. When we first had our first conversation, I was like this dude is naturally a storyteller, which I love to have conversations with. With storytellers um, really really good with framing and just understanding what's going on. So, uh, first thing I want you to do, man, is just I want you to let everybody know just who you are and what you do.
Speaker 1:Man, yeah, well, I'm from mobile, alabama. I call mobile the womb of greatness. I went to st paul's's in Mobile. Aj McCarron and Jake Coker, mark Sparron, went to my high school. Those are national champions from the University of Alabama and we set the foundation for greatness. I went two and eight, my junior year, and seven and three my senior year. So we set the foundation for the greatness that would come later in state championships.
Speaker 1:But Mobile was a special place and if I look back on my life and I look at St Paul's, both my parents were teachers there, coaches and teachers there, and so I was born to two educators. That taught me the way you take on the world is to become an educator and merit educator and educate other people, and that works until you want things like lifestyle and freedom and you got to reinvent yourself, and so every probably five to ten years I have reinvented myself from a coach and a teacher to a consultant, to a trusted advisor, to an author, a speaker, and now I create content, and so I think part of the conversation that we should have today is at my core. I'm a coach and I was one of those coaches and teachers, and if I look at St Paul's, and I think about the coaches. Great coaches did three things for me. They made me have conversations I didn't want to have and made me do things I didn't think I could do to become something I didn't think I could become. So at the core I'm a coach, but today I sit in the business world as a trusted advisor, and a trusted advisor is different than a consultant. A trusted advisor builds a deep, personal, meaningful relationship with the business leader and sits at the table in the inner circle to solve some of the biggest problems that the business is facing. And so I do that. But I also teach on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. I love the interaction with my students. I love, I love they're. They're in that stage of life.
Speaker 1:In our twenties they teach us to get in the game. They don't say what game to get into, they just say go get in the game. In our thirties we try to move up in the game. In our forties we try to stay in the game because those 30 year olds are so damn good. In our fifties, what the research says, we finally say what do you, what do I really want? And so what I try to get people to do, starting in their twenties, is to say this is what I really want. And I used to stop at the 50s. And this guy that was obviously over 50 said, well, colby, if the 50s we say this is what I really want, what do you do in your 60s? And I said, well, I'm not 60 yet, so I don't know. And he said, well, I think you get it and do it. So what I hope happens when I have energy and connection with people is they say this is what I really want. And here is what I'm going to do to take the steps to get it and do it.
Speaker 2:And what's? What's the what's the hardest part about doing it, though, because you know, execution. Execution is the one thing that oftentimes separates people from achieving their goals and achieving anything that they really want to do, but so few people actually execute. They can think about it, they can plan all day long, they can strategize, but what's the secret?
Speaker 1:to just doing it. Two things Number one Shula says it best Don't let the start stop you. Most people let the start stop them. And number two is and Brian Sh Schulman, a huge mentor to me that exited out of LTS education, sold it to K-12 maybe five years ago and I helped him build that business. But he said, colby, before you can build version two, you got to build version one, and so I call it V1 philosophy Before you can build version two, you got to build version one.
Speaker 1:And most people won't spend the time, they won't spend the effort, they won't wade out into the deep end and build version one. And so the reason that you can sit here and have this conversation with me is because at some point you built version one of this and then you built version two and then you built version three. Right, that's what I'm saying with reinvention dude. I'm on version seven of Colby Jubyville. Three right, that's what I'm saying with reinvention dude. I'm on version seven of colby juby and I'm just kind of like him. You know, I'm a little child dude, so I get it honestly. You know I go every year to the middle child conference. It's called thanksgiving and, uh, I still ask my parents if I'm good enough.
Speaker 1:Man, 52 years old, phd at 29, old, professor at 37, million dollar gift to launch a center for student coaching and success, to build meaningful relationships. Two books, one published by Wiley and I'm still asking my mother who I'm. By the way, I'm her 40 year overnight success. I'm still asking her if I'm good enough, dave.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's great. You like the iPhone. You just keep leveling up, you just keep going. That's good, it's like dude, new versions.
Speaker 1:And every time I get one of those iPhones you know what I say?
Speaker 2:I might get another one. I'm telling you, they keep. They got the hook, man.
Speaker 1:They got the hook, brother.
Speaker 2:Oh man, but you said something so, so impactful is the versioning because a lot of people want to. Honestly, you said version two. A lot of people are already thinking version five. You know, like they're there Sometimes people's dreams and what they want to do is so big sometimes. So with me being in the media branding, marketing space, I have, so I get pitched ideas all the time, yeah, and, and ideas sometimes are these massive, massive things and I'm like, okay, what does like to your point I? I talk about doing iterations. That's the same thing that you say is doing it in versions. So it's like. It's like what does v1 look like?
Speaker 2:because you're you telling me, you're telling me, you know version five, I'm like, and then it's about building that foundation. And what has that done for you personally? By now you're version seven, but what has that done for your career?
Speaker 1:Well, that's how you master something.
Speaker 1:So Susan Harder is studying kids playing soccer and it's called Harder's Competence Motivation Theory and she's watching how kids master different pieces and parts of playing soccer, and the conclusion that she comes to is before you can master two things, you got to master one thing.
Speaker 1:So let's get clear about what's the one thing that you want to master before you build on that second thing. What if we built organizations? What if we build a training and development program? That said, these are the 10 things that we think you should master, these are the five things that we think you should master, and we're going to put them in the order so that they build upon each other, and then you're going to master them, and before you can master the second thing, you got to master the first thing. And so that's exactly what the talent development framework that I created is it's steps. It starts first with narrative, the story we tell ourselves. Here's something I fundamentally believe at my core we all have a story that's either written for us or by us, and if you don't know your story, you can't change, and if I don't know your story, jamar, I can't help you change right, we're missing in education.
Speaker 1:As we line them up in rows, we give them 80 powerpoint slides, we study, we make them study it and take tests that don't matter and we don't build a deep, meaningful connection with them, which is the very first step in uncovering and developing their talent. So that's what different versions the opportunity to master the steps is such a critical piece. I got really close to Darius Rucker about a year ago and whatever VH1 calls storytellers I'm sure the outlet has changed in terms of what they call it today, but back in the day it was called storytellers and it's where the musician comes in, the entertainer comes in and speaks to what the songs really mean to him or her and to be two feet from someone that has mastered their craft. I walked out of there and I said that's how good I want to be, because you could just feel the energy.
Speaker 1:Well, if you listen to him if you listen to Darius and, by the way, who didn't blow fish in my mind is the greatest band of all time, and I mean I'm talking about Beastie Boys, kiss, I mean, you know, led Zeppelin, the who we can put them off there. Hootie does it for me more than anybody else. But he said, he said how did you? He was interviewed and they said how did you do this? And he said man, let me tell you something.
Speaker 1:If it wasn't for Dave Letterman and a radio disc jockey in New York City that happened to be playing a song at 1030, 11 o'clock at night, when Dave was coming back from doing the show the late night and him hearing that in that moment Hootie and the Blowfish would have never happened. And so he goes from that. Now think about what the world would be like without Darius Rucker and all that music. Because that music, when I hear it, it takes me to a place that nothing else can, that very few things can. There's something about his voice, there's something about the melody, there's something about the rhythm, there's something about the way that he unpacks it. Version one was just getting heard on the radio because a DJ liked what he heard and gave it to the world, version 10, for Darius is the country star that he is today. And oh, by the way, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go tour around around with a hoodie for a little while as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you also said something, too I want to let people in on is you also just gave a perfect analogy for how somebody should be able to stand out for their brand and who they are if they're for their business or for their personal brand. And that's this that you mentioned that that song, that music, those lyrics take you back to a time that, like nothing else can do, and it just takes you back to a moment. That's what every business owner, that's what every entrepreneur, anybody that has a personal brand, that's what you're striving to create. Yeah, if somebody interacts with you or interacts with your content, interacts with your brand, hears you speak, you should take them back to a moment. They're like, oh my God, I need more of that, I need more of that. They're like, oh my God, like I need more of that, I need more of that. It's a special place where I can get taken to, and it's a moment that's captured and that's what you want. So that unique positioning for your business, your brand and really you as an individual, so you also not only really help people understand, like the story part of it, but it's also that brand building piece.
Speaker 2:I think was also is almost like a double entendre. You just, you just gave us Well, you just, you just hit it. That's a bar, that's what we call a bar.
Speaker 1:It's not a single or double, it's maybe a triple. Here's, I think, brand is this. Here's the definition of brand, and I keep things simple. Everything that I teach is in frameworks, and here's what brand is. Brand is promise that's delivered in experience. Brand is promise that's delivered in experience. So the first question you should ask yourself as a business owner is what is our promise and how do we deliver it? What I think personal branding is.
Speaker 1:Personal branding is about brand image and brand identity. Brand image is the feeling that other people have when they spend time with you, and brand identity is made up of your unique perspective how you see what you do. Unique education how you know what you do. And unique experience how you deliver what you do, and if you can get clear on those two things.
Speaker 1:For example, the feeling that I want people to have when they spend time with me is conviction. I want them to feel that I am so convicted about what I'm teaching and what I believe that they want to be a part of that, and so I got that idea from a book called backable the surprising truth about why people take a chance on you, and in that book, the author defines conviction as convincing yourself first. It's a powerful idea. But brand image is the feeling that other people have when they spend time with you. So you see I was double fisting caffeine here, but this says that that first sip feeling, that feeling right there. And I've got my Coke Zero too, by the way you sponsored, you sponsored by Coke and Starbucks.
Speaker 2:Man talk about some sponsorships. Uh, yeah, I, you're, you're, you're spot on. Um, how how can people? Um so you, I definitely can feel your conviction, um, when I speak to you, I even the first time we talked, I mean, we talked for for a minute too yeah, and so I could feel it through, you know, talking to you how, how does somebody develop that conviction?
Speaker 2:like what? What are the? Do you know some of the the like, the indicators that we need to either hone in deeper on to actually really unleash that conviction, because I think, I think this, this is an important piece, because not only this is, uh, not only this is about branding, but this is also about selling yourself, yeah, and I think the more you can really show that conviction without looking desperate also, I think there's a, there's a difference, right, you don't? You don't want to be desperate and be like, oh man, this guy really needs this.
Speaker 1:Uh, I don't want to do business with it well, people, people make buying decisions based on what uh decisions based on emotion, I think emotion.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was gonna say feeling emotion and so if we know that people make not buying decisions based on feeling, based on emotion, then why would we not teach people to communicate in emotional ways? And we don't, but yet that is the case. And so if you look at the classics, if you look at the greatest author of all time that wrote with such feeling, with such emotion, it's hemingway. The shortest story in the history of mankind is is six words for sale baby shoes never worn. Once I read that, I said to myself what if we taught other people how to communicate in short, powerful, emotionally compelling ways? And so everything that you've heard me say today is for sale baby shoes never worn. That's, that's the filter for everything that I say. How can?
Speaker 1:A good friend of mine said Colby, I think, already said this, but he said you're a lot like Waffle House, dude. You serve it up in a way that people can get it. You know what's crazy about Waffle House too is you go in there, you order the same thing at 10 different Waffle House and the bill is always different. Man, I love that yeah.
Speaker 1:I love that. It's $9.33. It's $8.17. You don't know where you are, man, but he said that. He said you're a lot like Waffle House dude you serve it up in a way. People can get it. And that's what we have to teach people how to do so.
Speaker 1:Once I came to this conclusion that people make buying decisions based on emotion and then once I came across four cell baby she has never worn hemingway then I said what if we could teach people to communicate in short, powerful, emotionally compelling sentences, thoughts, my ted talk is because of you, my life is better.
Speaker 1:And that comes from a documentary that I, whenever I write for forbes, I write for Forbes, coaches, council, I'm a contributor and, um, I keep HBO or one of the movie channels on the background because these people that have written these movies, they've written it so many times in such an emotional way that you can't write it any better.
Speaker 1:And so there there's this documentary of this politician from Texas and they're asking her why does she continue to stay in public service? And she says I've made a lot of money and I've helped other people make a lot of money. While the frustrations are great and the disappointments are many, there is no greater feeling in the world than when somebody looks at you and says because of you, my life is better, dude. I walked right over to my whiteboard and I said that's my Ted talk right there, because every one of those dudes that coached me I'm looking man to man Now that I'm 52 years old and been what I've been through and no one prepares men for what they're going to go through in life and what they're what they're called to do and what we have to do and uh, and say to them because of you, my life is better, man.
Speaker 2:And I actually called every one of my coaches and said that to them and they appreciated it such a powerful like yeah, I, I totally, I totally agree that that's and that's why people mentor people. That's why people go out of their way, but they don't necessarily do it for something in return, but they. But when you get it back, when you say like, oh man, this was I mean it's it just makes you want to do it 10 times more, again and again. And then also you talked about something about sharing something and having it be short and concise and powerful.
Speaker 1:Short, powerful, emotionally compelling.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's the power of copywriting as well. Absolutely, you know, like just being able to really articulate your message, and that's probably 90% of business owners' problems, of entrepreneurs' problems, is copy. It's the difference between you selling a little and selling a lot.
Speaker 2:It's the difference between getting the right hire and getting a great hire. It's literally the difference, because if you can articulate your message in a short and concise form, you're able to move faster. You're able also to filter what you exactly need and who you're trying to speak to. So that's super powerful. At what age did you learn about this? About? About that? Because, because, like, I'm like when it. When did that hit you? When did that hit you? Maybe the womb?
Speaker 1:I don't know. No, man, I mean st paul's was a special place, man, I mean those teachers place, man, I mean those teachers there's I watch 60 minutes every Sunday, wayne.
Speaker 1:Williams, who is my stepdad, took my life over at one and I call what. He put me through the Wayne Williams School for Better Living and Better People, and he expected greatness, nothing short. You will do your part here's. If I could boil, if I could boil Wayne Williams down his dad was a tank commander for Patton and if I could boil it down into one idea that Wayne Williams taught me. It's such a powerful idea. It's to learn how to contribute in a subordinate way. Before you can be a great number one, you got to be a great number two. Before you can be a great number one, you got to be a great number two. Before you can be a great number two, you got to be a great number three. And so to learn that one of the things that he would make us do is watch 60 minutes every sunday, and and recently they um, I still watch 60 minutes today, and he would say I don't care if you sit there with your eyes closed, you're going to listen to what 60 minutes has to say. So you're asking me when did this stuff start to pour into me? I would say it started with watching 60 Minutes every Sunday, because study after study says what about 60 Minutes?
Speaker 1:People remember the stories, people fall in love with the narrator because it's one person walking them on a journey through a story about some kind of change in the world. Well, they did this video, this last episode that I watched a couple episodes back. They did it on St Mary's and these two girls solved a math problem that was over 2000 years old and they did the story on St Mary's and they asked the principal what makes St Mary's so different? She goes it's like a heaven. And she said what do you mean by that? She goes.
Speaker 1:Most of the people that we encounter somewhere around fifth or sixth grade convince themselves that there's nothing for them in this life, that they cannot contribute in a meaningful, powerful way in this life. What we do is get really clear about what the expectations are and then we provide them the resources to achieve it. If you look at Gallup over the last 40 years, what are the two things that keep people engaged at work? Clear expectations, resources to achieve it. Today, what's changed and what's now moved into the top three spots is how you develop your people. People want to be developed.
Speaker 2:That's true, 100% true, yeah.
Speaker 1:Clear expectations, resources to achieve it, because people want to know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, people want to know what the path is to get where they're trying to go, and when an organization doesn't have a clear path, it's really tough. It's really.
Speaker 1:The name of the book is called I Quit, but I Forgot to Tell Anybody it's from the 1970s. It's a real book. By the way, it's on Amazon. Sounds like a great read. It's 30-40-30 rule, man. 30% of your people are rock stars. Doesn't matter how much you give them, they're going to be great. You can't break them. 30% sit at the bottom and 40% sit in the middle and make decisions every day about do I want to be great or do I want to wait for Bill to die and go, take his job and do nothing?
Speaker 2:Show me the organization.
Speaker 1:Every organization 30, 40, 30 rules. Show me that 40% in the middle. That's where you start to work to build culture.
Speaker 2:And you think that most organizations are not starting there.
Speaker 1:I think most organizations probably try to go fix the bottom 30 and you can't fix the bottom 30. Every organization. Part of that organization is that you've got bad people that are no matter what you do, are going to the detractors. Don't tell you they're detractors, jamar, they just wait for you to do what. Screw up yeah, I told you right. Screw that up when Colby's out there bringing it every day and taking risks that nobody else will take and being vulnerable. Brene Brown says it best that the birthplace of joy and creativity and innovation is vulnerability. This podcast me getting on it saying these things, releasing it to the world.
Speaker 1:You doing it is an act of vulnerability.
Speaker 2:Jubinville man he thinks he knows more than everything else.
Speaker 1:I just sat down and started to master it and see the patterns and then stack the patterns, which is another piece of the talent development framework yeah, and, and once again, becoming a master is like master of a craft is your number one thing be one man.
Speaker 1:First you got to create version one Hootie and the Blowfish Dave. Yeah, now I'm in Dave Letterman listening. I'm down the road. Got to have that man tomorrow on the show. They were mentioned for the next four months on the Dave Letterman show during that year. That set the foundation for their greatness.
Speaker 2:Crazy, crazy.
Speaker 1:Now look at that dude. Today, any song that he touches turns to what gold man, yeah, his voice, man can sit around. Let's do it all day what uh?
Speaker 2:so for your, you've spoken. You did tedx. You've done a lot of amazing speaking gigs all over the place. Yeah, how do you get speaking engagements as a speaker? Well, the audience wants to know. Yeah, no different formulas of how people are doing it.
Speaker 1:I've got a great talent agency that I work with and and they're constantly out building relationships. But but also I think if you deliver the mail and you deliver it, one of the things I will always go to go to someone that's booking me and I will say, let me come in the night before, let me walk around they usually have a cocktail hour Let me walk around and let me talk to the people that are there and find out why they're there, what they hope to happen for them while they're there, what they see is the reality, what's really going on, what's really, what is the future really look like, build personal relationships with them. And then I can go back that night and I can reorganize my thoughts in such a way that that it's almost built upon um the conversations that I had in that room the night before for sure for impact yeah, you know impact when you yeah, yeah, I.
Speaker 2:I think that's a great uh tip as far as when you get the gig, um, because the more you can connect, um. I love your analogy about how you deliver the mail, because it's true and also there's a lot of spinoff business that happens. When you deliver the mail, they're going to be like oh my God, well, we have also X, y and Z or, if they're a big enough company, be like, hey, we also have a company retreat that we host.
Speaker 2:We would love to have you a part of that? We would love to. Or I have an association I'm a part of. I would love to have you introduce you to some folks, and that's the power of that spinoff. How did you get the talent? Did you work your way kind of in the talent management company to go on board, or how did that come to be?
Speaker 1:Golly, that's a really good question Because a lot people.
Speaker 2:You know they, so I know. I know a lot of speakers and a lot of them yeah their next step is always like how do you know?
Speaker 1:I need a manager. I remember now it took me a second, but I remember, so this is kind of a difficult story. I'll shorten it. Joanna Finney, 1126 talent got connected to her through a good friend and we just had this really cool relationship and she said Colby, you're special. There is something about your message that I know that my audiences will want. I specialize in connecting with more intimate type settings and people that want that kind of speaker. Well, we were rolling and she had me go on to some incredible, incredible events, much like what we talked about with yours.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And she passed away. Man, her husband called me and said we talk about once a month and she say here's, here's where I have you booked. And I'd say, joanna, I'll go wherever you send me. And it always just was that simple. It was just the right relationship at the right time and she had an aneurysm die oh my gosh yeah, and so, uh, her husband called me and she's, and it brought me to tears.
Speaker 1:But he said I want to read to you what she had written in her notes about you and your speaking and, um, um, powerful, I mean. Just I sat there in my office that day and and stared at the screen probably for the rest of the day and didn't do anything. Uh, then covet hits. And so you talk about a one-two punch to the gut of just building and momentum.
Speaker 1:And covet hits and, to be honest, man, I was paralyzed for a little while and then somebody said to me we want you now you want to talk about putting fear in me back five years ago we want you to be our quote unquote virtual keynote speaker. And I'm like, how in the world am I going to do that? And you know what I got on there and I crushed it, they loved it, and so I interviewed several different agencies and didn't like any of them and I saw a post from Jeff Roberts here in Nashville and the things that they said in their post about the types of speakers they look for. I wrote my contact and I said, hey, man, I don't know if this is God tapping me on the shoulder, if this is the stars and the moon lining up, if this is serendipity, destiny, whatever it may be, but I would love to meet you and I would love for you to come and watch me. They came and watched me and they said you're one of our guys, come on.
Speaker 2:So it went through. So really, it was just you doing your craft and what you do, but it was also, once again, you're a relationships guy.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Like it's all about relationships. I wrote a whole book on change a circle, change your life. I love that. It's the essence of why a lot of things happen, but you also waited for the right opportunity, yeah.
Speaker 2:A lot of people listening to this. Don't rush and kind of go into certain situations because, like you say, oh, I need a talent manager, I need an agent, I need somebody to go shop me out. You also need the right situation, too, you know, that really believes in your message, your vision, where you wanna go, and also that makes sure that you're not just a number too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, that's what most of them wanna do. They wanna sign in, put you in a stable and you're not gonna to get out right. You got to ask more questions. You got to know the value that you really bring. You got to know who your audience is and what your audience wants from you, and then you got to build relationships with people that align with with those things, and so I was fortunate enough to meet jra along the way, and they've been good to me what?
Speaker 2:what has been, uh one challenge that you faced throughout your career? Uh, with coaching, speaking, training, uh, helping develop programs, advisory, just. Can you give us one major challenge that you had in your career and how did you overcome it? How did? How did you get to the other side? Because there's a lot of people that are having challenges, especially right now um, in business, in all different areas, uh, because of the, the, how fast trends are changing. Um, uh, leadership within, within their organizations for people, um, inflation there's. There's just a lot of different elements to this game right now. What has been one challenge you've had to overcome?
Speaker 1:Well, if I look back on my career and I look at the people that I've engaged with and you're one of them I would call them all what Gladwell calls outliers, and they're just freaks, they're weird. I would call them all what Gladwell calls outliers, and they're just. They're just freaks, they're weird. And what he says about outliers is it takes 10 years, 10,000 hours, to have a significant breakthrough in your life 10 years. So you don't need to read the book now, because I just gave you the whole book in one sentence 10 years, 10,000 hours, significant breakthrough in your life. And so what? What if I'm looking back and I'm saying to myself where's the biggest challenge been for me? I can remember when brian shulman hired me as a consultant to build a suite of of um education platform products uh, for his company lts education, and I never forget how freeing this conversation was. He said Colby, we're going to pay you what you want to get paid. I'm going to be really clear about what I want you to do. The only time you should ever come to me is if there are problems, and you better hit the timeline. No one's ever talked to me that way before. Tell me what you want to get paid. I'm going to be super clear about what I want you to do. You come to me if there's a problem, and you better hit the timeline. So I said great, here's what I think we can do. He goes Colby, I don't mind you telling my baby's ugly, but you're going to tell me how to make it better. And he goes. You're a weirdo man. You're different than the rest of these phds that we've hired. We're going to give you a shot. And so month one goes by. I stare out my window. He calls me. I haven't heard from you. Are there any problems? Oh, no, man, you're going to love this. There's nothing. I haven't created anything. Month two man, when do you think I'm going to see this first straw man? I'm close. I have nothing, zero. Staring out the wall, staring out the window.
Speaker 1:Month three I call my mom, because that's the only person you can call. At that point I go, mom. You know how, like my whole life, I've just waited off into the deep end and then figured it out. Oh yeah, kobe, you're so old. Stop, mom, I stop. I've done it to the point now that I can't figure out what I'm going to do.
Speaker 1:And she goes well. So here. This is my best advice to you. I said I'm thinking my mom's. She's pretty smart man. I'm like, all right. She said close your computer and go walk around your neighborhood. She said close your computer and go walk around your neighborhood. That's it, that's your, that's my best advice to you. So I come back, walk around the neighborhood. No change. All right, I'm sitting there at the table and I have my head in my hands at the table.
Speaker 1:Katie, my wife, comes in, she teaches fourth graders, slams all her books down and says I just don't know how much more I can do of this.
Speaker 1:And across the table slides a flip chart to teach fourth graders and it's it's Bloom's taxonomy, which all that is is how we teach other people the stages of learning. So the lowest level is remembering, the highest level is synthesis. And so I start flipping through this and I'm like what is this? And she goes well, it's how I teach fourth graders. And I'm on fourth graders uh, people I'm supposed to be teaching not not much different here. And I went through and I take that flip chart and that's when the light bulb went off about frameworks and I wrote up the entire straw man in two hours and I sent it to him and he wrote me back and he goes this is why we pay you. This is exactly what I want. You have the green light to take this all the way to the end. The takeaway for that story, for your people, is the hardest part about all of this is waiting off in the deep end and keep going.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that reminds me of steve harvey's story about uh. He was uh asking for help, um, and I I think it was his mom at the time but he kept uh. She kept telling him, like read your bible, or something like that yeah he. He was in a financial like he he was. He was hurting. Yeah, he was hurting, he was hurting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he was hurting. Oh and, by the way, I have lived in my car too. What was that? I did live in my car. When I started the college football team, I spent the night in my car. Multiple weeks I've been there. I wasn't going to stop, dude. Then I lived in a condemned dorm. So I went from my car to a condemned dorm and I moved up in life.
Speaker 2:You got an upgrade man. Hey, at least it's got four walls, that's right. It may be condemned.
Speaker 1:It could fall down tomorrow, but I got a roof over my head. What does Darius Rocky say? A woman lying in my bed? It's all right, man, Roof over my head.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's powerful. It just goes to show you that sometime the answer for things is um, it's often closest to you and you also don't know when it's going to come, because that's just, it's just kind of divine timing the answer is always.
Speaker 1:The answer is always keep moving forward, man just keep moving forward, no matter what One step every day Can you do? Three things a day, five times a week, 60 times a month towards a dominant focus in your life. Three things a day, five days a week, 60 times a month dominant focus there's no way you can't have the success that you want.
Speaker 2:It's impossible.
Speaker 1:It's impossible not to. It's impossible, it's impossible not to. My day is staying consistent. My day, my day, starts at 4 30. I'm at f45. At 5 15, it's like me, and and and 10 middle-aged women dude I'm the only dude in there knocking it out. Brother, every day at 45, man, get my adb'm done.
Speaker 2:It's five o'clock I want to pay to see this.
Speaker 1:You go to the channel in Murfreesboro F45, you can see it, you don't have to pay, and before that I drink apple cider vinegar. Man, I'm out the door. I do it every day. Now, I mean, you get me to two o'clock and I won't be on fumes here, and I got to do a three-hour teaching session after this.
Speaker 2:That's why I have this dude.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, a boost right, but yeah, consistency as well, man, we don't. We don't rise to our goals, we fall to our habits.
Speaker 2:James Clear yeah, you're just, you're just a student student.
Speaker 1:Hey, they Millsaps College. I'm going back to speak and Millsaps changed my life and they asked me to come back and the guy interviewed me today. He said what did you learn at Millsaps? And I said how to become a student of the process. Steve, an idiot like me, I fell in love with learning and I think, if you ask me what I do better, there's this joke about people in high and education, higher education, they say about college professors those who can do and those who can't teach. Those who can't teach, teach PE. That's the old Woody Allen joke. That's not my joke.
Speaker 1:I used to listen to all that. But here's what I know to be true, dude but if you can do and teach, you get paid for your value, not your time. Study, practice, teach. That's what we're called to do.
Speaker 2:It's that simple. It's that simple.
Speaker 1:Market specific knowledge. Innovation means you go first. You go first to what you want to become. Once you know what you want to become, then you build market specific knowledge every day. And the most beautiful thing about the world we live in today is it is there, at your fingertips, now more than ever.
Speaker 2:Than ever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So let's come full circle. It's not, I don't want you to master everything, I want you to master one thing, because once you master one thing, you can do what master two yeah, yeah, and then, then you start to branch out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, even even back to the iphone thing.
Speaker 1:Apple didn't start with a phone yeah they mastered computers yeah, man they mastered it, and then they then they, they mastered the feeling of being intuitive yeah man, when you, when you take that iphone box and you open up the old school iphone boxes, there's a little pull right there about halfway through. That's anticipation. The first box didn't do it and jobs sent him. There's a million of them. He sent him back. He said I want there to be as much anticipation of turning that phone on as there is an opening the box detail, yes, detail, man, and that experience like man.
Speaker 2:There's just so many analogies to everything that we're talking about. People can literally apply it to areas of their business and look at what what areas are of your business. Can you actually have a better experience?
Speaker 1:Do you remember that made in California campaign, that that Apple had? Remember that here? Here's you talk about. It's the greatest example of emotionally compelled speaking. In emotionally compelling ways it says let me think it's gonna take me a second. Does it deserve to exist? Does it make life better? Those are the kinds of statements that it made in this commercial Does it deserve to exist? Does it make life better? And then it says something to the effect of we don't build a lot of things, but the ones we do do these things.
Speaker 2:Once again, simplicity, yeah, simplicity.
Speaker 1:It's the experience of the product. Does it deserve to exist? Does it make life better? I mean, it's just boom for sale. Baby shoes never worn.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness, and it sounds like you've really mastered the art of also articulation and communication. Articulation and um communication like how to communicate with another individual in the most direct way. So that way you're getting a direct result, yeah, from from the conversation, and it sounds like so.
Speaker 2:If somebody was building a personal brand today yeah uh, how would you, how would you advise them to, kind of I mean, because you've done some amazing stuff. We didn't even talk about the programs that you've you've launched and grew at, uh, universities. I mean this you've done a lot of stuff where people could look at and say like holy crap, like how, how could this all start from just an idea? Yeah, um, how does somebody, how does somebody grow up a brand today, in 2024?
Speaker 1:before you before. It's so simple, man. I call it the four steps of talent development. Here's number one if you want to get better, get around people better than you. Then decide how you're going to become better than them. Then make the pie bigger and make the pie so big you start a bakery. I got around norman joseph in 1998. I called him and I said, norman, you don't know me, but I'm going to call you every day until you call me back. Now I want to. I want to paint the picture. I swear it's the true story.
Speaker 1:You can, you can, you can, you can that's talking today, man that's talking today, it was professional stalking. And so today, man that's talking today, it was professional stalking. And so, uh, I had all these rejection letters in my, in my apartment it was the wallpaper of my apartment you're not good enough, you're not good enough, you're not good enough. And he says, finally, he calls me and Norman's kind of, uh, you know he's from Mississippi. And he says, well, I don't know who you are, but meet me at the Waffle House in Hattiesburg, mississippi, mississippi. So I go down there, man, and I order a water because I'm so scared, dude, and he orders like a double chunk, you know, diced, whatever hamburger, and just eats the whole thing. And asking me all these questions, and when we get done?
Speaker 1:Now, mind you, I coached at Petal Middle School or Petal High School, like the freshman team the year before. Now I'm interviewing for this job. And he goes Colby, it's clear to me that you know nothing about coaching offensive line. And I said I got a lot to learn. And he said but it's also clear to me that if I hired you, you could go out and recruit the right kids and we could win championships. I said, coach, I would recruit kids that stay for four years and are all conference. So he gives me $3,000 of his money he said of his own money.
Speaker 1:He sends me to Larry Zierlein, who was the godfather of the stretch play. He created the modern stretch play that we have today in football and he sent me to JB Grimes. Jb Grimes is was considered to be the greatest of teaching the Texas A&M short game and me, being the student of the process that I am, I took all that. I went from being the worst offensive line coach to being one of the best in the country. It's one of the reasons we had the success that we had.
Speaker 1:It's not all the reasons, but it's one of the reasons I share all that with you to say this we're in there recruiting and Norman says, hey, we got to do a better job in closing up these people. So I want everybody to think about what it is that we need to say and we need to get clear about that, and we all need to be saying the same thing. Well, we landed on this Bellhaven College. Football is about a letter jacket on your back, a ring on your finger, a diploma in your your hand, and it was a spiritual school, the spiritual mission. So we said a walk with Jesus Christ Once we crystallize that it spoke to the mom, it spoke to the dad, it spoke to the son and we started getting the right players and I think that is a great example of what you're talking, oh wow, of crystallizing language, of getting around people better than you, of getting really clear about how you articulate.
Speaker 2:For still, baby shoes never worn so it was that close it was. It was literally that close, like just just really lasering in on what, the why, the mission, because that, close to me, even not knowing that space, like it, summar, summarizes everything. Why you, yeah, why you do what you do, what the outcomes are going to be, what's your, you know what the goal is. Like it, it it. And the principles, the values, like it, it, it, it sums up everything.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:In that close, so thinking about so people listening, watching. Think about your clothes. How can you, how can you have such a compelling clothes that they can't say no?
Speaker 1:Well and hey, I'll speak to that for a second. I think the clothes is important, but the open is just as important, and so if I was going to challenge the audience about what to say in the open, it's I call this specialize in belief. I specialize in X because I believe in Y. I specialize in talent development because I believe that the 20s are the developmental sweet spot of our life. It sets a trajectory for the rest of your life. The relationships you have, the opportunities that you create, the professional success that you have is all created in the trajectory that you set in your 20s created in the trajectory that you set in your 20s Framework.
Speaker 2:Once again, that's framework. So, people, he just gave you the play.
Speaker 1:So I mean, you know I'll throw another example out my name is Colby Jubinville, an entrepreneur that specializes in helping people become better known, better understood and better understand the unique value that they deliver. Because when people become better known, better understood and better understand the unique value that they deliver Because when you become better known, you get more customers, and who doesn't want that? When you become the better understood, you get the right customers, and we've all worked with the wrong ones and we don't want that.
Speaker 2:And when you better understand, the unique value you deliver, you get the right customers for life Specialize. Believe that's powerful man, that is, it's, it's so. It's, like you said, so simplistic, but it's direct ways like the having a good, strong opening and close, yeah uh, could change people's lives, their business, their careers it's all people remember.
Speaker 1:They say all the time in the experiences it's not a movie, it's snapshots.
Speaker 2:Right, you only can remember so much, yeah.
Speaker 1:I just went to the bank to send a wire. It took 45 minutes. I'm like is this how this works all the time? I'm not coming back here. Then he says to me this is the close. He says can you check and make sure those numbers are right? I'm like man, do you know?
Speaker 1:I don't work at a bank and I'm dyslexic and I'm not going to look at these numbers, but if you want me to, I will. I think that is your job, dude. Right, dr Juvenville? I have confirmed that. These are the numbers. This will go exactly the way it's supposed to. If it's not, we'll make it, and then they charge me for it.
Speaker 2:Unbelievable, unbelievable. What a terrible experience. I know You're like I ain't coming back here, I'm going to find a different way to get the money sent.
Speaker 1:How many banks are there on the planet? A million, I mean.
Speaker 2:Come on oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and they always talk about competition and all this other stuff.
Speaker 1:Relationships yeah.
Speaker 2:Unbelievable. Yeah, Like, where is it? That's, that's great. So what out of your books like it is the one is the one to get the how to sell who you are.
Speaker 1:You are what you do yep I mean yeah I tell people all the time I think my books are great, but I wrote them, but their, their covers are really cool. So judge the book by its cover and just set it on your coffee table. Um, one one is lime green and, uh, it's called zebras and cheetahs and it has a morph of a zebra and a cheetah. It was published by Wally and I think that's about how you scale, it's about growth, that's about value that you create, value creation.
Speaker 1:And then the other one, me, who I wrote with my good friend, don Roy, how to sell who you are, what you do, why you matter to the world. Is we self-publish that? Because I learned so many lessons along the way? But the cover is a hat showprint, which is what back in the day, man, back in the 50s and the 60s, that's how Nashville performers got the word out. You know that old roll on. Yeah, yeah, the way that feel like I said, man, I want, I want this cover to look like a hat show print and my designer, brandon, nailed it that's cool, that's cool well, game man.
Speaker 1:You know, that's the game, brother no, that's cool.
Speaker 2:Everybody go ahead and grab the book. Um, I'm definitely gonna grab it. Um, I think I'm think I'm a student as well. Man, like, I'm always trying to learn, I'm always trying. I mean the moment that you think that you know it all, like, you're yeah you're, you're decaying fast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, because if you're not letting anything in, man, you're, you're. A plant needs water to grow, and so if you're not letting anything in man you're, you're, a plant needs water to grow, and so if you're not watering at all times, there it is. There's the book. Go ahead and grab it's on amazon oh yeah, I didn't get it.
Speaker 1:I had a. I got a box of them right here.
Speaker 2:Yep, okay, okay okay, okay so I'll bring some to your event, oh for sure, for sure, for sure, oh yeah, yeah. So Kobe. So I'm not sure I got to talk to the team when exactly this is going to be aired, but for the people on the live stream, right now Kobe's going to be in the building in New York Times Square at our retreat and we cannot wait to have him there. Really, it's just going to be a magical moment it's going to be well.
Speaker 1:I mean, I'm kind of worried now. I'm kind of worried now because now I have nothing to talk about, because I just gave you everything.
Speaker 2:I know I'm gonna have to come up with something, come up with something else. It's all right. Your, your wife, may uh slide another book across the table and uh yeah, I'll crank it up.
Speaker 1:You may come up with another idea. I tell you what we'll do. We'll unpack the whole talent development framework with anybody that comes in attendance. And the framework is dude. Here's what my friend Joe Calloway Calloway wrote. Books like be the best at what matters most. And I would call Calloway and I would say, dude, you know what the best part of your book is. And he said what I said the title is so good you don't need to read the book and he was like I know man isn't that cool.
Speaker 1:I'm like, yeah, man, that is so cool and chapter two is titled of that book. Be the Best at what most. The only strategy you'll ever need chapter two is it's not that complicated and it's two pages. The guy's a genius. So I share all that with you. I share all that with you to say if you win at the basics, you win. And so what is callaway taught me that? And? And so what is? What is the talent development framework? It's the basics of how to win in uncovering and develop your talent man, you're a simple guy, so that's it like I.
Speaker 1:I'm my mom's 40-year overnight success dude.
Speaker 2:That's all I am well, we can't wait to have you, man um, here in october and um, for everybody listening watching. Please follow kobe um. He's inspirational, motivational, but also very practical. Very um. As you can see, the simplicity of what he teaches and what he coaches on and what he advises on is is is is so easy to grasp where you can actually put it into action. That's what I'm a big believer in is putting this stuff into action. What do you have coming up next, man? Is there anything that you want to share real quick about what's next for COVID?
Speaker 1:I'm speaking down in Mississippi, the great state of Mississippi. I spent 10 glorious years in Jackson and Hattiesburg, so I'm going down there multiple times. I'm sure I've got other events and I just I've been going since, you know, 4 30 this morning, but I'm right yeah, on the calendar.
Speaker 1:But you know my son's playing division one basketball, so I'm getting geared up to watch him play. I've got some great stories about little Jack and and what he's become. And then my my name's Colby Burke, and so my daughter is Mary Burke, we call her MB and so she dances. And if you had asked me 10 years ago if I thought both my kids would go to middle Tennessee, where I'm in school, where I work and and we have a family affair there, I'd tell you it's not possible. But but it all worked and Jack has had an incredible experience and and is playing with a high level division one athletes and holding his own and mb's out there dancing and and dancing through life man.
Speaker 2:So yeah life's good that's cool, man. That's cool. We can't wait to see what you do next man. Uh, thank you for blessing uh, the mic here on the podcast and um it, just so many motivational things but also practical, actionable steps that people can apply. And I think what we'll do too is in some of the copy for this one, when it releases, we're going to break this apart and kind of match up with a lot of the analogies and the perspectives that you gave and kind of also match them up to how people can actually apply that right to their business. I mean, there's sales strategies here, marketing strategies, there was operational team leadership. I mean you have the full gamut of how to actually apply this stuff and really help people grow their brand, their business or their career.
Speaker 2:So, thank you so much for being on here and we're going to have all the links, all the stuff for people to follow. You get engaged. Make sure you guys get the book, get the book everybody. And if you're listening, watching, please like, comment, subscribe to the podcast. We're everywhere where you can get podcasts, comment, share and also share this with somebody that needs it today. You know, share it, share this message with somebody that actually needs to hear this. Don't be selfish, um. Share the wisdom, share the knowledge um of somebody that you know that really needs to hear, uh, what Kobe and I talked about today. And don't forget, you can change your circle to change your life, um and uh, we're going.
Speaker 1:We don't keep doing it, man, so thank you so much for being on, and we'll catch you guys on, thank you for letting me be in your circle, and I'd like to thank the LinkedIn gods for connecting us, and now our circles have converged, so I appreciate it, oh man.
Speaker 2:And we're just getting started. So we're going to keep it moving New York and then who knows what's next. So it's going to be cool, man, but thank you everybody for listening, watching, tuning in, and we'll catch you on the next episode, peace. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe, and don't forget to hit that notification bell for more amazing content that we're going to be putting out. And don't forget you can change your circle to change your life.
