Ep7 When You Hit Rock Bottom, You Still Have 60% Left in the Tank

00;00;00;01 - 00;00;15;15
Joe Blackburn
I have all kinds of little programing tidbits that I say to myself. I'm like, dig deep. Just dig deep right now. Like it hurts you even even at this stage of the game when you're trying to now take a another big leap. You still have gas in the tank.

00;00;15;17 - 00;00;39;27
Jason Croft
Welcome to Sales Assassins, the podcast that unveils the lost art of word of mouth marketing for professionals just like you. We cover everything from building relationships, gifts, and nurturing connections to overcoming the challenges of modern marketing. You'll learn how to stand out in a crowded market, charge confidently for your services, and create an army of people recommending you without hesitation.

00;00;39;29 - 00;00;47;22
Jason Croft
Now let's dive in and make you deadly effective at sales.

00;00;47;24 - 00;00;53;28
Jason Croft
Welcome. Are you current and would be sales assassins out there? Joe. How are you, sir?

00;00;54;01 - 00;00;55;16
Joe Blackburn
I'm wonderful. Good to see.

00;00;55;16 - 00;01;21;22
Jason Croft
You. Awesome, awesome. Yeah. It's time, I think, for little, little tough love. You were telling me that, So it's my face, not to you. This isn't an intervention or anything. But, you know, you were telling me about kind of a meeting of, you know, shake people, slap them around a little bit, and sales assassins of a, you know, this idea that you've got more than you think you've got.

00;01;21;26 - 00;01;46;28
Jason Croft
And honestly, this, you know, really builds on the last episode of, you know, thinking bigger and stepping into that. You're capable of way more and and this is the same idea, only applied to your obstacles. You can get through more, you can handle more, you can handle more adversity. And like you say, you've got more gas in the tank than you think.

00;01;47;00 - 00;01;49;26
Jason Croft
And that's what you're sharing with the with the folks at assassins.

00;01;49;29 - 00;01;50;23
Joe Blackburn
Yeah.

00;01;50;25 - 00;02;05;13
Jason Croft
And you've lived it. That's why you've shared it. And I think this is critical that we all need at times to. Oh yeah, we're we're in the middle of something. It doesn't mean it's not hard and it's not difficult, but you can do more than, than you think you can.

00;02;05;15 - 00;02;24;16
Joe Blackburn
Yeah. Well, I, I know I want to make sure I'm not preaching here too much. I think whatever's in front of us is the hardest thing we're dealing with. I mean, you know, if you sometimes I don't know if those of you have kids out there, sometimes I tell you they're struggling something, and you're like, what? You know, but to them, it's the biggest thing they're dealing with to your spouse.

00;02;24;16 - 00;02;42;08
Joe Blackburn
It's the biggest thing they're dealing with. You know, you're dealing with your own battles, you're dealing with your own obstacles and everything, and they're dealing with their. So I try not to tell someone that their problem isn't a big deal. It's not really what I'm saying. What I'm saying is you have more inside of you than you're giving yourself credit for you.

00;02;42;11 - 00;03;05;19
Joe Blackburn
And when I say more gas in the tank, a lot of times we get in this mode of I'm exhausted or I can't take it anymore or whatever it is. We feel like we've gotten to our limit, and I've lived and have seen and that that's just not the case. We rarely use what capacity we have. You know, I think there's a small percentage of your brain that you actually even use.

00;03;05;22 - 00;03;25;11
Joe Blackburn
So, what what that came from was and it was in our assassin's call, we were talking about obstacles and overcoming obstacles and kind of what it takes. And, you know, our our demographic is somewhat younger. So it's a lot of people with that have younger kids or newer families and things like that. And if that's all you know, that's all, you know.

00;03;25;11 - 00;03;57;14
Joe Blackburn
And and so you have all these things happening while you're trying to build your business and the topic came up of, well, can can you because I, they think I'm old, I guess, can you give us some, you know, examples of obstacles and, and you know, I, I've got a I think it's a unique story. I don't know that it's, you know, anything special, but when I was a financial advisor and started doing leadership and was asked to step into a leadership role where I was at before, I mean, that process wasn't stop everything you're doing and just focus on this.

00;03;57;14 - 00;04;17;13
Joe Blackburn
It was do your day job, plus your leadership responsibilities and all the things we're going to assess you on. And I chose that. It's not like I, you know, I could have quit at any time, could have tapped out at any time. And during that time period, you know, my wife got pregnant with our fourth pregnancy and it was twins.

00;04;17;15 - 00;04;40;03
Joe Blackburn
So I, you know, I'm running three businesses and doing the bidding of, you know, the people above me to see if I can take and perform and everything. And that's normal. They should do that. By the way, I'm not complaining about that. That should be done. And, you know, that was a lot. And then Susan went on bedrest in May and the kids were born in October.

00;04;40;05 - 00;05;02;27
Joe Blackburn
And then when they were born. Yes, they were in the NICU because they were preemies. So I'm at home with three kids. She's at the hospital with them. And then they came home on heart rate monitors. So and there's two of them. So they have to be fed both all night, plus heart rate monitors. And I don't know if you've ever heard of heart rate monitor.

00;05;02;27 - 00;05;21;11
Joe Blackburn
If you haven't, just go up to a police car and ask them to turn the siren on. Put your ear on the siren. It's it's loud for a reason because apnea is a stop of heart or stop a breath. And and so we were up every 30 or 40 minutes in complete chaos. Kids screaming, dogs barking, babies need to be fed.

00;05;21;12 - 00;05;43;07
Joe Blackburn
Heart rate monitors are going off. I felt like I was in a war zone all while trying to maintain the business. I had the responsibilities for the office. I wasn't, you know, leading and being in a program where they're basically watching everything you say and do and giving you responsibilities and things you have to complete and being assessed.

00;05;43;07 - 00;06;04;25
Joe Blackburn
And it's like Hunger Games where every quarter they cut. So no sleep, no rest, I mean complete chaos and you know, I know today and this is going to go over like a lead balloon in today's environment. Like paternity leave was not a and it wasn't looked on like super favorable. It's not like they told me I couldn't do it.

00;06;04;27 - 00;06;25;28
Joe Blackburn
It was just like not you know, I took two days off, I believe, when the babies were born. And, you know, I'm not whining about it. I mean, I've got big capacity now because of it. I mean, I what I'm saying about it is if you get through something like that and you fight through it, your capacity to do things goes through the roof.

00;06;26;00 - 00;06;49;12
Joe Blackburn
And, you know, I stole this from Brian Tracy, one of my mentors. You know, life's a parade of problems, and it's usually followed up with a, you know, a big event called a crisis. So it's, you know, as soon as we got out of that, when they actually went off the our monitors kind of normalized. We were getting sleep and life came back and I got through the program and it was, you know, something I was really proud of and got placed or whatever.

00;06;49;14 - 00;07;16;01
Joe Blackburn
Then Susan got diagnosed with breast cancer. So, you know, it doesn't it's not like it ever stops. And yeah, that and that was you know, that was hard on her. I mean I guess I don't really think it was physically hard on me, but mentally it just you're trying to maintain you're in a new role and you know, the person you care about most in the world is, you know, uncertain for sure.

00;07;16;04 - 00;07;35;12
Joe Blackburn
So yeah, it just but it allows you and I know I am preaching here, but when you find yourself in a situation where you feel like you can't go any further or you don't have the gas that we talked about you, you actually do. It's just how important is what you're trying to do to you and what you know.

00;07;35;12 - 00;07;55;15
Joe Blackburn
You don't have to sacrifice all of your time with your family. I also think society has kind of conditioned us to think that it's the amount of hours we spend, and it's not. It's the impact of the actions, how we carry ourselves, how we react. And I'm not great at that. I'm I've been accused of having a short fuze.

00;07;55;18 - 00;08;18;12
Joe Blackburn
So I mean, but that's what if you're thinking, what am I, kids, you know, am I neglecting them. You're not. They actually they actually feel events and things like that more than time. They can't measure time. So I'm not saying to just, you know, tell your loved ones I'll see you later, but don't convince yourself that you're somehow neglecting them or that you don't have enough energy.

00;08;18;12 - 00;08;46;18
Joe Blackburn
Whatever it is you do. And guess what? As soon as you get through the big obstacle, I promise you another one is down the road. If you're growing, you won't be complacent. Maybe not, but sometimes you get them there too. They usually don't stop. So that that was our conversation. And I, you know, I, I just think that as a group for especially for our assassins, I want them to know they've got a lot that they're capable of.

00;08;46;20 - 00;08;59;07
Jason Croft
Yeah, I think I think it's a huge reminder and it's not. Oh, this isn't a problem. Of course not. No, you're not you're not sitting there saying this is nothing. Stop whining about it.

00;08;59;13 - 00;09;00;02
Joe Blackburn
It's right.

00;09;00;09 - 00;09;23;13
Jason Croft
No, you can get through it. It is hard. It does suck. It's horrible. And you can take it. You can get through it. And I know with with kids too, if you can accept battle, that hurts. Like, all I want to do is be with my boys, like that's it. And so, you know, but I've got to do this and I've got to do that.

00;09;23;15 - 00;09;54;16
Jason Croft
The biggest takeaway that I hope people can get in that category, just like you mentioned, it's not our four hour and I was eight hours here. I need to be eight hours there. But it's that focus and and attention that you can give when you are with them is everything. When you can maintain eye contact, when they're trying to tell you a story, you know, and be fully present with them, that's everything.

00;09;54;23 - 00;10;19;23
Jason Croft
And of course, make that a goal to be with them as much as possible and be that interaction. But step one when you're there, really, truly be there. And we all know like we know when we have a difficult. And so that's that's huge. And I think I think the importance of this not only oh thanks for the shake or the slap.

00;10;19;28 - 00;10;37;25
Jason Croft
Oh I can get through this. I think it's also to have a little voice in the back of your head as you're going through this. It's not easy to do in the moment, but when you can go, well, wow, I'm going to be so much stronger on the other side of this. This. Yeah. No, that, that's that's helpful as well.

00;10;37;28 - 00;11;00;03
Joe Blackburn
Well, I always say I have, I have all kinds of little programing tidbits. And I say to myself, I'm like, dig deep. Just dig deep right now. Like it hurts. You're tired. I mean, in the last. So July 16th, I, I know what today is. Let's call it the last two and a half months I have moved twice.

00;11;00;05 - 00;11;21;17
Joe Blackburn
I've been starting a new office, launched YouTube ads, this podcast, meta ads. We have an in-person mastermind, which is my baby and the thing I care most about outside of my family in the 1st of November, with all the people that, you know, our inner circle and all the things that come with that and like 60 days and I'm not young anymore.

00;11;21;20 - 00;11;49;03
Joe Blackburn
So I'm not saying I'm great, but I am saying this like I have so much gas in the tank, like I drive a this is a funny story and no one will probably appreciate it. Maybe you will. So because we have five kids, I drive a what's called an explorer van. It's one of those vans where I cut the top off, put a moonroof on it, put a 27 inch flat screen in it, because when we travel, there's seven of us and the dog and I drive it from where we are up to the office now.

00;11;49;03 - 00;12;07;25
Joe Blackburn
And I've gotten to know the guy who runs his office, is great friend and been really good to us. And, he's he said he goes, I at first I thought there was a homeless person living in a van. It's not because it's. But it's here all the time. Early in the morning, late at night, Saturday and Sunday.

00;12;07;27 - 00;12;27;02
Joe Blackburn
And he's like, I thought there was someone squatting. And he's like, then I saw you in it. It's me. And I still go to the golf and go to church and go to my kids activities and all the things. It's, you know, sometime we should talk about time management and things like that. But, you know, it takes energy, it takes gas.

00;12;27;05 - 00;12;50;00
Joe Blackburn
However, I've got huge dreams, man. Like, I want to do big things. And I came here for a reason and it wasn't to lay on the beach, although I do that on Sunday afternoons, mostly float in the water. But you know what I'm saying. So like you, even even at this stage of the game, when you're trying to now take a another big leap, you still have gas in the tank like there's it's still there.

00;12;50;00 - 00;13;02;03
Joe Blackburn
You just gotta dig deep for it. And I'll, you know, last night I was there like, and 754 pops into my head because I wanted to get home by eight. And I had one more thing to do and I'm like, just dig deep. And I didn't want to do it well.

00;13;02;07 - 00;13;28;24
Jason Croft
And that's the thing that. To help you dig deep is that pull what's on the other side of this. Right. It is defining that dream, defining that goal, the the immediate, the long term. Like we talked about in the last episode, that ten years. What's that vision? Who's that person I'm looking at? I want to be keeping that in front of you so that in those moments.

00;13;28;26 - 00;13;52;12
Jason Croft
Okay. How would that how would that person, you know, handle this situation? How would they get through it? It's stepping into that. And like you talked about you know, hopefully, you know, laughing about this moment ten years from now like oh as a tiny problem, you know. Right. It can't even happen. Yeah. You you may not but you know there's a good chance you will it.

00;13;52;12 - 00;14;10;25
Jason Croft
It's it's important to keep that in mind in the middle, sometimes in the middle of a horrible situation. And you're sitting in it right when you can go, all right, let me take inventory and just take a step forward and, and get to the other side of this.

00;14;10;28 - 00;14;15;22
Joe Blackburn
Yeah, exactly. There is an end in sight to everything. And then a new beginning.

00;14;15;28 - 00;14;34;11
Jason Croft
Good, good spot to wrap up. I think we've hammered it. Hammered at home. I think it's I think it's really important though, too. So I'm glad we did. I'm glad we we we jumped in with this because, we're all, you know, hitting something. Yeah. Like you said, it's a parade, a problem. There's things that happen. And when you can.

00;14;34;13 - 00;14;45;12
Jason Croft
I don't know when you can let that it and be okay with it. And it doesn't mean life's horrible. It just means no, life's fantastic. There's going to be some things I got to do with it's all go, move forward.

00;14;45;14 - 00;14;49;12
Joe Blackburn
The alternative is you have no problems. And that's called not being alive.

00;14;49;15 - 00;15;16;06
Jason Croft
Right? Exactly. All right, Joe, thank you so much. All right. Good to see you there. We'll see you all next time. In a sea of endless digital noise, your ability to connect and generate authentic word of mouth is your deadliest weapon. Whether you're just starting out or you're looking to break through to the next level. The principles we discuss here are your blueprint for success.

00;15;16;09 - 00;15;18;10
Jason Croft
It's all about being the most trusted and.

00;15;18;10 - 00;15;18;27
Joe Blackburn
Valued.

00;15;19;01 - 00;15;43;12
Jason Croft
In your network to maximize what you've learned today. Visit Join Sales assassins.com to see how you can become a true sales assassin in your industry. Until next time, keep sharpening your skills, expanding your network. And remember, in the world of sales, the true assassins strike silently but effectively by doing what nobody sees coming. Building genuine connections and powerful relationships.

00;15;43;16 - 00;15;57;01
Jason Croft
Stay deadly. Stay authentic and we'll see you on the next episode of Sales Assassins.

00;15;57;03 - 00;16;04;09
Joe Blackburn
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