From Farm To Fortune: Motivation, Mindset, Purpose Driven Business | Jackie Listen

In this compelling episode of Small Business Pivots, we sit down with Jackie Listen, a seasoned entrepreneur, certified Ziglar Legacy and Master Coach, and author of A Place Called Through. Jackie's journey from his early days on a hog and dairy farm in Jones, Oklahoma, to becoming a successful real estate professional and banker, exemplifies resilience and determination. He shares how foundational experiences, like managing livestock as a child and navigating the 1980s oil bust, shaped his business acumen and personal growth.​

Jackie delves into the five essential components of motivation: setting clear goals, understanding your emotional 'why', practicing positive self-talk, maintaining consistent daily actions, and fostering accountability relationships. He emphasizes the importance of identifying one's core essence—the "bullseye of the bullseye"—to build a business model that aligns with one's authentic self, fueling passion and perseverance.​

Drawing from his extensive experience in real estate and banking, Jackie offers practical advice on cultivating strong banking relationships and managing financial challenges with integrity. His character-driven approach underscores the value of direct communication and honesty in business dealings.​

For entrepreneurs seeking guidance and inspiration, Jackie provides valuable insights into transforming mindset and achieving business success. Explore more about his coaching services, real estate expertise, and his book, A Place Called Through, by visiting JDListen.com.

Jackie Listen:  JD Listen, Founder & CEO

Website: https://www.jdlisten.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-listen-80b7824b/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackie.listen.5

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdlistenllc/

Email: jackie@jdlisten.com

 #JackieListen #JDListen #SmallBusinessPivots #MichaelDMorrison #Oklahoma #ZiglarCoach #BusinessMotivation #BusinessCoach #MindsetMatters #EntrepreneurMindset #RealEstateSuccess #BusinessResilience #MotivationalSpeaker #SmallBusinessGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #PersonalGrowthJourney #AuthenticEntrepreneurship #BusinessCoaching #EncouragementMatters #OvercomingObstacles #BuildYourBusiness #SuccessMindset #PurposeDrivenBusiness #ZigZiglarLegacy #EncouragerInChief #CoreEssence #SmallBusinessPodcast #BusinessTransformation #JDListenCoach #APurposeDrivenLife #BusinessWisdom #EntrepreneurInspiration #FaithInBusiness #FarmToFinance 

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Jackie Liston
• 3:32 Jackie's Farm-to-Business Journey
• 12:07 Five Keys to Motivation
• 24:23 Discovering Your Core Word Focus
• 31:13 Overcoming Challenges Through Mindset
• 36:15 Life as a Marathon, Not Sprint

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

All right, welcome to another Small Business Pivots For our listeners. We have some very special guests these next couple of months. I'm from the great state of Oklahoma, so this month or two we're focused on Oklahoma businesses and business people, North Oklahoma City. But I know that business owners are the only ones that can pronounce their name and their business like they want it pronounced. So I'm going to let you introduce yourself, as I always do with our guest.

Speaker 2: 0:34

Well, it's an honor to be on your program today, michael. My name is Jackie Liston. It's spelled L-I-S-T-E-N. Looks like listen pronounce Liston.

Speaker 1: 0:46

So we already have coffee table talk.

Speaker 2: 0:48

Oh yes, A lot of people say, boy, you've got a cool name, Jackie Liston. I said, well, it's actually Liston. And I said I'll tease a little bit. I said, well, if you don't think I listen very good, just ask my wife, She'll tell you. Okay, my business is called JD Liston LLC and under that umbrella are many things. I've got a real estate business where I buy and sell real estate, I do farm auctions, I'm a speaker, I'm a motivator, an author, and I'm a certified Zig Ziglar coach. I'm a master coach with the Ziglar corporation and, uh, just do a variety of things. Um, like you said, I I'm from Oklahoma, born and raised out around a little town called Jones. I'm sure we'll get into that here in just a little bit and uh, but my main thing is I like to do is I'm an encourager and I build my business around that one word to encourage others.

Speaker 1: 1:44

Well, you're on the right platform for that, because we have a lot of small business owners that could use a little pat on the back of encouragement. But first we're going to introduce the show and we'll be right back. Welcome to Small Business Pivots, a podcast produced for small business owners. I'm your host, michael Morrison, founder and CEO of BOSS, where we make business ownership simplified for success. Our business is helping yours grow. Boss offers business loans with business coaching support. Apply in minutes and get approved and funded in as little as 24 to 48 hours at businessownershipsimplifiedcom. All right, welcome back to Small Business Pivots. My friend, you've got a story, you've got the book. If you're watching on YouTube videos, you can see he's got a picture of his book cover. You're from Jones, oklahoma, because we're limited on a little bit of time, anything that you can share from your upbringing. Before we get into the meat and potatoes of our conversation, Absolutely, michael.

Speaker 2: 2:58

I grew up around Jones. I tell people that my life's gone from the pig pen to the ink pen. I tell people that my life's gone from the pig pen to the ink pen. Yeah, I don't know what that means. I grew up on a small hog and dairy farm here in central Oklahoma which is a little town called Jones, which a lot of your listeners around your office area there in Quail Creek know. Where Jones is. All my great-grandparents came as farmers and teachers right after land run. Matter of fact, just north of you there at 15th and Bryant, the Liston family and my great-grandfather, otto Liston and Minnie his wife, had a 320-acre sheep farm there in like 1890. So my roots run deep in Oklahoma and I cut my teeth in a dairy barn out there around Jones.

Speaker 2: 3:41

You know my dad. He was literally a John Wayne kind of guy, wore a big old Stetson, always self-employed. He never worked for anybody. He farmed, he raised livestock. We had some of the best in the nation. I called my dad a pig rock star. You go, what's a pig rock star, jackie? Well, he raised Poland, china, some of the best in the nation. And dad would go to a national show, michael, he might have spent $8,000 to $10,000 for a pig, and that's back in the 60s and 70s. That's a little bit of money. You know what would happen? He'd bring that boar back and the FFA teachers from all over the country would bring those sows in there to get a chance to get a champion out of that boar. And they did. They'd win.

Speaker 2: 4:22

So that's how I grew up. I started doing chores when I was seven. I was milking cows when I was 13. You can read all this in the book. But what was happening? That was preparing me for what I was getting ready to go through in my entrepreneur days and the land business here and the rise and fall of the oil bus of the 1980s and that got me an education. But that was preparing me. So my dad was resilient. And 80s, and I got me an education, but that was preparing me. So my dad was resilient and I'm serious. For about the first 10 years I thought my dad was John Wayne. He was just about two inches shorter than John Wayne, six two, but two of my hands made one of his and he was a force and he was a great entrepreneur and taught me a lot about entrepreneurship.

Speaker 1: 4:58

Wow, wow. So so you're saying your upbringing you didn't work very hard. Is that what you're trying to say?

Speaker 2: 5:04

What people's definition of work is. Dad just thought that was a whole deal. You know, here's the deal I had to do chores before I could do anything else. So if I wanted to go, matter of fact, I'll tell a story where I sold grip newspaper when I was 11 years old, out in the middle of nowhere. He said, jackie, as long as you get your chores done, you'll get anything you want to do. And he did. And I sold a newspaper, had me a pile of nickels. After a couple of years of knocking on doors and driving miles and miles. I've always been an entrepreneur man. I just love entrepreneurship.

Speaker 1: 5:33

Yeah, absolutely. It's a very unique industry of itself. So well, let's get into. You're a chief encouragement officer and I know a lot of our business owners could use some encouragement. Where's a place you'd like to start, because I know being a Zig Ziglar coach and all that good stuff there's so many facets of encouragement. Where's a good place that you see that business owners are challenged most?

Speaker 2: 6:04

Well, it's the challenges, right, that we go through, and I talk a lot about that in my book. You know, I got taken to cliff after cliff and Mr Zegers said it's not what happens to you in life, it's how you handle what happens to you in life, right? So I think you start with motivation and your mindset. I think it starts right there. You know, the me I see is the me I'll be when I look at myself in the mirror every day. I've got to get the right pair of glasses on, and so that's why I enjoy encouraging people, because I help them get clarity.

Speaker 2: 6:33

So let's talk a little bit about motivation, if you want to, if you want to start there, absolutely absolutely.

Speaker 2: 6:38

That sound good, yes, sir. So here's the deal. Motivation is the fuel that drives action, but it isn't something you get once and keep forever right. You have to continually replenish it. Matter of fact, mr Ziegler used to say people often say that motivation fuels the engine of accomplishment and maintains momentum. That's true. He also said people often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing. That's why we recommend it daily. So it's something we've got to do every day. I mean, think about it.

Speaker 2: 7:15

I just happened to start mine early in the morning. I got up early this morning, 4, 6 o'clock, and I get in there and get my mental mindset right early and I start plugging the good stuff in right off the bat, got me a nice cup of coffee, it's quiet and I'm thinking about today, thinking about being with you today and how I can be used to help others that are listening to us, that need to hear maybe something you and I have to say today. So I think there's five key points that have to do with motivation, and you can jump in at any time. If you've got a question that sparks you think your listeners want to hear, just say hey, jackie, let's start right there and let's dig deeper, because I like to dig deep Sounds great. That's where you really get down the golden nuggets, right. So five key points. I think you have to have clear, compelling goals, don't you Michael?

Speaker 1: 8:05

Absolutely. Clarity is key.

Speaker 2: 8:07

You got to have clarity. Where are you going, right? Mr Ziegler said, if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time, absolutely. And so without a clear purpose, you know, motivation has nothing to attach itself to, right? If we don't have a clear purpose, how are you going to get motivated if you don't have a clear purpose of where you're going and whether your listeners are, you know, trying to find out and learn?

Speaker 2: 8:33

You know I'm a coach, right? So if I'm coaching, an executive, an entrepreneur, an athlete, setting specific and meaningful goals gives them direction and energy, right. So I'd ask your listeners, I would tell them this define what success looks like in vivid detail. You got to start right there. What's that look like to you? Because we're all different, right. You got different listeners here. You got different companies. Some of them, michael, in the next 10 years will create so many witty inventions it'll make your head spin. We're in these days of opportunity and I always tell people change starts with you, but it don't start until you do, yeah, and if nothing changes, nothing changes, right. So you know you got to start right there. And then I think the second key is you've got to start with a strong why. What's the strong, why? Behind the goal. You know what's our purpose here. Right, here's the deal, michael.

Speaker 2: 9:35

People don't stay motivated by what they want. They stay motivated by why they want it. Would you agree? Absolutely yes, sir. They stay motivated by why they want it. Would you agree? Absolutely. Yes, sir. A strong emotional connection to a goal fuels persistence. See, that's how I got through being persistent, and there's places in my book. If you read it, you know I didn't have a choice. Forward was the only way to go. So I would encourage your listener today with a couple of questions. I love great questions because the right questions get the right answers. Right. What will achieving this do for you? They've got to write that down by achieving this. What will that do for you and how would it improve your life, your business or your relationships? Here's the key the deeper the meaning, the stronger the motivation. Michael, I believe that with all my heart. Would you agree? Yes, sir.

Speaker 2: 10:33

Number three positive self-talking mindset. Mr Ziegler often said your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude. Right, yeah, I agree with him 100%. Here's the thing Motivation thrives on belief. If someone doesn't believe they are capable, they won't take action. I've come to find that in my life. So we've got to teach our clients, our listeners, mr Listener, whoever your client is, our clients, our listeners. Mr Listener, whoever your client is, you got to feed your mind with affirmations and gratitude. We'll find out later. That's another one of my words, man, I'm grateful, right, how about you? And empowering thoughts daily, because here's the deal A powerful self-image leads to powerful action. That's the number. Third key positive self-talking mindset.

Speaker 1: 11:28

Let's jump right in real quick, a little deeper on that one. Come on, because I work with a lot of business owners, and I'm sure I've been in that place myself, where we read a lot of positive belief, but those bad things keep happening, those things that we go. I can never get here because this happens every time and it's hard to get over that, because history repeats itself often and so trying to keep that positive attitude can be challenging from time to time. So have you got any thoughts on that?

Speaker 2: 12:04

Yeah, I thought Mr Zeger had a great thing he said expect the best, prepare for the worst and maximize what comes. There's some things we cannot control in life, right, but one thing you can control is your mindset. I had a great quote that got birthed the other day, jackie Lister originally. You want to hear it Absolutely Choose your mindset. Positivity and negativity cannot coexist. That would be a battle. Choose it, choose it. Every morning when I got up in that book I needed to sell X amount of acreages. That day I was in the land business. We developed 4,000 or 5,000 acres of land around Jones. We totaled the note and you can read in there all the things outside of my control that happened. There was days when I would have to go to work and think you know who? My number one competitor was Michael during that time.

Speaker 2: 13:05

I cannot imagine the RTC, the Resolation Trust Corporation. The government was my competitor. I had a five-acre track that they cashed me out the savings loan did and they went broke. And they read all the story and there's a lot of history in my book. That actually happened, it's all true. I had to get $3,000 an acre out of my five acre track and they had theirs right next door, $1,500 an acre.

Speaker 2: 13:29

Now imagine what kind of mindset you got to have getting up in the morning to go face that. My friend. Say what I'm saying. It's not what happens to us in life, it's how we handle what happens to this life, and you'll find out in that book. When I was 13, I was milking cows. Now picture your listeners are 13 years old and they get up at 3 30 in the morning. I grew up. Our hog farm was at Heppner and Post Road, just east of Frontier City. That's where I grew up, five miles east. My grandma's farm was at Britton Road and Post Road and at 13, at 3 30 in the morning, I drove from the pig farm to the dairy barn. Pitch dark, okay, one february night, about like it was when it was cold here a few weeks ago, just nasty. Well, just picture that. And you're in a dairy barn and that's the coldest place on planet earth, because you got to use water. Dad had a little old propane heater on the wall michael, I swear it's for looks. I never felt any heat coming out. Well, a heifer is a young cow that's not getting ready to start being milked. Right, the pros are in the front and the rookies are in the back. I'm halfway done. It's dark, it's in the evening, the heifer kicks the gate down, all the cows get out and I think this is real easy. I quit. I was going to say what? So I drive back? And dad looks at his watch and he knows I'm way too early. He said you're a little early, aren't you to be done? I said well, I'm done as I'm going to be. He said what do you mean? I said I quit. He said, oh, really, but he was nice. He didn't want to lose his milker 's. What he told me, michael, on that mile back over there. He said, son, that's not an option. We're hit calvary's not coming. Sunday's has to be done. I said yes, sir, I understand. We got them all back in there. He figured out the ones I've milked and the ones I hadn't. And guess what, michael? At 3 30 next morning I was back out there milking cows. I learned at 13 that quitting is not an option. You'll read a story in my book. Where that story came back to me, I had bankruptcy papers in my hands. I'll let them read it to see what happened. But you know, I survived because I'm still here. Yes, yep, but there were times. I don't know if that helps you answer the question you had, but things are always going to be coming at us out of our control. You've got to focus the right mindset. You've got to give it your best. You've got to get creative. Sometimes you've got to get as creative as you've ever been. Don't get locked in that. This is the way it's always been. Think outside the box.

Speaker 1: 16:00

That's great, great. So let's go to number four.

Speaker 2: 16:05

Number four is anticipating.

Speaker 2: 16:07

You have to have consistent daily action. In the Zigger world we call it PC persistent consistency. Mr Zigger, the best we can tell, touched 250 million people in his lifetime. He's still touching people today through his content and and tom zigger I work very close with his son, tom. He said the reason my dad was so successful jackie was real easy pc, he was persistent, he was consistent and he had character and integrity. That's it. If you'll go out and be persistent and consistent in your business, work in your business, you know and we'll get into some more things later that might help there. So, consistent daily action.

Speaker 2: 16:53

Motivation grows when you take action, not the other way around. Yeah, many people wait until they feel motivated before they start. No, get out there. You don't have to be great to start, but you've got to start to be great. Just get started. I see so many people that are frozen right now. Don't be frozen. It takes risk. Every generation needs great entrepreneurs and you've got some great ones listening to you out here. Just stay with it. Yeah, well, it changed. You know what gets most people, michael, in this thing, in small business, you want the most thing that gets them.

Speaker 2: 17:31

Yes, sir, the blind side. I knew a man back in the 80s who was worth $60 million, went bankrupt, left the state. Years later I was talking to him, he was in another state and between that time he made it back. Years later I was talking to him, he was in another state and between that time he made it back. His wife had a big inheritance and he went up into Pine Arizona, started building $650,000, $700,000 homes In 2006, 2008,. He got blindsided. He said I didn't see it coming and that's where I got the blind side. Well, how do you prepare for the blind side? Well, that's what I I coach people on because, see, I was in banking many years. I was the most creative banker you've ever seen in your life and I I'm kind of a weird banker because I'm an entrepreneur. The guy's got a sense of humor. He stuck me in a bank. We can talk about that later. But anyway, consistency. That's key.

Speaker 2: 18:25

Number four daily action. You gotta work on it daily. Number five growth, environment and accountability. You all heard this, all your listeners. You're that. You're the average of five people you spend time with if they list this podcast right here and they grow and others. You're around the right folks. You're around the right folks. You're in the right place, because we're all growth-minded. Fill your environment with positive influencers, mentors, coaches, accountability partners and who help you stay on track, because, see, a great support system turns motivation into momentum.

Speaker 2: 19:07

None of us are smart as all of us and I go around the country. When I speak, michael, I get everybody to link arms because together we can accomplish a lot and be willing to share, see, that's why you have this podcast. That's why I wanted to be on here. You share knowledge. That's what the great ones do. Yeah, if I keep all this knowledge to myself and I don't write a book about it because, see, I don't want anybody to have to go through quite the headache that I went through I didn't have to know what I was doing. Still work on it every day. Yeah Right, yep, because we're growth-minded. That's the five keys, I think, to motivation, and I just believe with all my heart.

Speaker 1: 19:48

Well, as I often say, every day is an exciting adventure, with problems to be solved and memories to be made.

Speaker 1: 19:56

Come on, that's a mindset that I have to start with every day, and if someone's looking for the quoter of that, that was me, because I got stuck. I got stuck and so I kind of took a little bit of my Bible instruction and a little bit of life instruction and I said I'm going to create my own mantra and I'm going to live by that every single day. And as long as I put that in the forefront of my day, that's what I start with between my devotion and my mantra of hey, this is just an adventure. There's going to be problems, just as we were promised in the Bible, but we can get through it and there's nothing like what you said taking momentum or taking action to create the momentum. We often encourage business owners once they kind of have a plan and we'll I'm going to revert back to that in a second but once they have a plan, what is one thing you can do before in the morning?

Speaker 1: 21:00

Because, when they take action, things start moving right, it gets exciting.

Speaker 2: 21:05

Yes, you know I'm I'm big on vision boards. I have a ziggler planter.

Speaker 1: 21:10

You're listening to Small Business Pivots. This podcast is produced by my company, Boss. Our business is helping yours grow. Boss offers business loans with business coaching support. Apply in minutes and get approved and funded in as little as 24 to 48 hours at businessownershipsimplifiedcom. If you're enjoying this podcast, don't forget to hit the subscribe button and share it as well. Now let's get back to our special guest.

Speaker 2: 21:40

You know I'm big on vision boards. I have a Ziegler planter that we work. You can only work on about four goals at one time, and big goals, you know. And it challenges me when I have that vision board right in front of that planter. Do you know, last year, everything I had on there I checked off, done Done. I like to.

Speaker 2: 21:59

When I was about 25 years old and that land officer in Jones, I had a guy named Mr Cockbrenner, that's pouring some concrete. We were setting up some double wads trying to get cashed out Because, you know, we did acreages but we didn't finance the mobile homes and so we towed the note. For 20 years we were having some cash. If I could get like a land package deal back then it was real hard to get. You know, now things are much easier. But he was in there one day and I had three to five cards all over my desk. I'm 25 years old, I'm learning. We owe all this money. I'm just trying to fight the good fight of faith.

Speaker 2: 22:29

He said, jackie, I'm going to bring you something tomorrow that's going to change your world. I said, brother, bring it on. The next day he brought me this things to do little notebook. He said here's the deal Tonight, before you go home, write down you already know I've got to do this. And this he said if you're going to have to eat the bullfrog, you know, have to call charlie. Because you don't have to call charlie, because it's not going to be a good phone call. He said go ahead and eat the bullfrog, he ain't gonna be no prettier looking at him. So call charlie. Don't put charlie off the next day and then done. And then what if he by chance you get busy, it carries over. Go to the next day but start back on it. But that goes to the top of the list. You know when that ran out, michael.

Speaker 2: 23:10

I still today use yellow tablets. I'm 63. I was 25. When I was at the bank, I'd keep 10 of them. Here's the thing about I love new school technology, Love it, but don't forget about old school simplicity. And mesh those two. They simplicity and missiles too. They go together.

Speaker 1: 23:26

I want to kind of revert back to the, the first of a plan, a purpose, goals. I know for a lot of our listeners they're stuck yeah, they're stuck in a rut, and so for a lot of them they can't even think about getting past this week. Now how can one actually think of a goal that they can actually achieve? Because going from zero to a billion in one week is not going to happen. I mean, it could happen, but what are some realistic tips or techniques that people can use to discover those goals, things that they may not know they have?

Speaker 2: 24:08

Yeah, start small, like you said. The thing is we live in a world where you can get overwhelmed real easy. We're overthinking a lot of things. There's four words that I use. It's gratitude, togetherness and simplicity is the third one. Hope is the fourth one. Keep it simple. This is funny.

Speaker 2: 24:30

We have another Ziggler coach, johnny Wan, and I was on his podcast a year while back and he's a lot of fun. I call him Mr Joy, he calls me Mr Grateful and I was talking about the KISS method. You know we've all heard of keep it simple, stupid. He's Jackie. I don't do that. I call it. Keep it simple, superstar. He said God didn't make no junk. I said I'm going to use that. Johnny, I want to give you a trick. Keep it simple, superstar.

Speaker 2: 24:53

Listener out there, don't overthink it. Just start small. You can do little small goals. I called them one minute goals. When I was at the bank leading people, I said what's one goal this morning that you want to accomplish? It could be just the most simple thing in the world. I need to take care of that title. Work on that one investment property I bought that. I've been putting off, whatever it is. You know one I'm going to start walking 10 minutes a day, just start. But remember I've told you about PC, persistent consistency.

Speaker 2: 25:29

Another thing on your purpose and your why I think it's so important and you might want to write this down and listener, I'll go real slow. This is a very important question. What single, solitary word is the bullseye of the bullseye, the focus of the focus, the center of the center, the very essence of who you are? Your single word focus is question mark, and I want your listener to really think about that and put some time into that. Do you want to know what mine is? Michael, yeah, I'd love to hear it. Michael, yeah, I'd love to hear it. Encourage her.

Speaker 2: 26:11

Everything I do, I build it around that word. See, we all have a purpose in life and I don't know why. Sometimes that's the hardest thing for people to try to find. I had a young man I was coaching today, 21 years old. His word. I challenged him. That word was creative. He lit up like a Christmas tree and I said Colton, you're creative, aren't you? He said, yes, sir, he just grinned.

Speaker 2: 26:33

So that word, when you find it, it'll spark joy in you. And if you can find that, then the rest is really pretty easy, because all you got to do is build around that. That's who you are. That's what gives you passion. To do is build around that. That's who you are. That's what gives you passion to get up every day, because everything else is you know, with great people like you and others to help us out here remember, arms are linked. Yeah, we can figure the rest of it out, but what we can't do is to know inside of your heart the very essence of who you are. You got to start there. I think that's a powerful question, don't you?

Speaker 1: 27:10

Yes, yes, I do, yes, I do. What are some good affirmations, beliefs, positive thoughts. Where's a good place to find that? Because we see in some of the workplaces and we just see it over and over and so sometimes it just kind of gets muddied and loses its value. Have you got any suggestions for us to find those places?

Speaker 2: 27:32

Oh yeah. So in one of the coaching programs I take everybody through, I take everybody through. This first called Choose to Win. It's a book written by Tom Ziegler. In the back of that book are affirmations. His daddy taught this. Mr Ziegler taught this. He said the eyes are the window of the soul and when you look yourself in the mirror and you're trying to change, okay, you can't act differently in the manner that you tell yourself that you are. You got to make those affirmations. So whatever you're struggling with maybe it's being on time, maybe you're just somebody that's constantly late to meetings and you got, golly, people tell me a time way off, just so I halfway show up on time that can be a real problem, right. So when you look yourself in the mirror and go I'm prompt Morning and night, I'm an encourager, I have a positive mindset. Now some of those might be your weakest link and some of them you might be very strong in. If you'll do that morning and night for 30 days, just watch and see. If you don't change, then continue it every day for the next 30 days and watch it change. See when you get focused. That's my word for this year's focus. They say the NASCAR driver 180, 200 miles an hour. If he looks at the wall, he hits the wall. If he looks at the curve, he hits the wall. If he looks at the curve no-transcript. And if I say you know what I'm this?

Speaker 2: 28:58

I ran my first half marathon when I was 49 years old. How did I do that? Well, I'd started a few years before that. I got where I could run three miles in one day. My daughter was asking, here at the ranch, I'd run with her little blue-heeler dog, riley. That little dog had the same pace as me. Dad, you're thinking about doing the half marathon in Oklahoma City. I thought, yeah, right, in this lifetime. Think about mindset, how powerful this is. I'm in a accountability group at the end of that year, december 2010, with two of my great friends and we're working on our 2011 goals. And we got down to the physical part and I said gentlemen, I'm going to run the half marathon in Oklahoma City. It came out at me, michael. They said well, if you do, we're going to hold you accountable. I said that's right. And I got them to agree to do the 5K with me. I walked out of Panera Bread there in Norman, oklahoma. What did?

Speaker 1: 29:49

I just do. Oh, I've had one of those moments.

Speaker 2: 29:54

But I said and I Googled, there was a half marathon rookie and that guy had a plan and I went in there and I started four day a week running. Saturdays were my biggest day and I worked out at that time at the health club there in Norman and I remember it was my 12 mile Saturday. It was in the evening and it was four miles from the health club, you know, down to 48th on Robinson, over to Maine and back to the health club and my wife was just. I know she was nervous. My son's a personal trainer and I think he's a little bit nervous. You know here's a 49-year-old man who's never done this before I did it. I got the 12 miles. I knew right then I was going to be able to cross that finish line. My goal was two hours or less and then, in May of 2011, I crossed the finish line in an hour 51 minutes and 39 seconds.

Speaker 2: 30:40

And, michael, I still remember my goodness, if I put my mind to something else, what else could I do? Now I've got a bunch of medals behind me here. I'm working on my 14th and I'm 63. That's amazing. So, mindset, you got to see yourself changing. You got to. You know what comes out of your mouth. Listen to what you're telling yourself.

Speaker 2: 31:03

You know, back in the 80s I would, by noon I'd read the Daily Oklahoma and I couldn't hardly pull my head off the desk. There were just pages of foreclosure. You remember, yeah, you went through it too, all of us here in Oklahoma, texas, louisiana. It was the equivalent of the Great Depression in the oil states. A lot of people don't realize that we went through about what our forefathers did in the 30s, nationwide Right. But I just happened to be one of those faith guys and I tell a story in there where we had a $30,000 farmer's payment due, didn't have any money, and this guy come by, mr Falkenberry, I talk about it in the book. Long story short I sold him $30,000 cash. That was the amount of the payment due to the farmer. We're closing the day of closing in my office.

Speaker 2: 31:55

Two days forward, my 1987 stock market crashed. He had just retired from 3m. He lost half his retirement overnight. He's not wanting to close on the land. He said, jackie, what do you think I keep in mind? I'm what? 27 years old, this man's retired. I said, mr falkenberry, I don't want to tell you. I said I get up every day and I said you know, I was reading the daily oklahoma, but about noon I couldn't pull my head up off the desk so I just had to quit reading it. I've always had a Bible and I held the Bible up, I started reading that. I just got quiet. It seemed like an eternity. He was thinking. He said you know what? You're right, jackie, I'm buying the land. He closed. I walked across. First State Bank of Jones was across the street from my land office. Kenneth Hayes was the president. Kenneth, there's Mrs Peck's $30,000 payment. He said where did you get this? I said well, all I can tell you, it's a miracle. I turned around and went back to work.

Speaker 1: 32:46

Michael, that's a true story. It happens often. Well, let's talk about the old phrase of life or business, either one, whichever you want to insert. There is a marathon, not a sprint, right? You taught you brought up half marathons. I'm working on my first marathon. You asked me the other day are you going to do the half first? And I said Nope, nope, I'm all in kind of guy. I mean, how else do you go? You know, tell yourself, go big or go home as they say. So how does that translate into the real world of life? Is a marathon, because sometimes we just day to day. It's hard to get up and keep going.

Speaker 2: 33:31

Well, that's why that clear vision you know where you're going. You want to take care of yourself, you want to challenge. I think as entrepreneurs we thrive on challenge man. We have to be because we're risk takers, right. But you know too, we got to be smart, right, you've got to eat properly. You've got to build yourself up for endurance. So, yeah, let's just use the half marathon or the full marathon. It's an endurance race.

Speaker 2: 33:56

So I'm starting on my second book. It's going to be called breakfast with wilson. That was my wife's grandfather and for the last 12 years of his life I had breakfast every morning with him at five o'clock. I didn't miss a morning. He was an old sharecropper down in bonham, texas, and I I've got the greatest stories. Can't wait to your listeners.

Speaker 2: 34:14

Get to know wilson like I knew him and he was telling me one day he, the body goes where the mind goes. The mind says we're going, the body's got to go. You know that helped me in running that race, because you're probably already dealing with this a little bit. But your mind will start saying, well, you're too old to be doing this, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I would just literally have to tell it to be quiet. That's wrong. We're going, so your body just might as well go.

Speaker 2: 34:39

Yeah, and about 60% of it, once you get there in you is mindset, it's mentally, it's overcoming when in business that way, when you get challenged and interest rates go up that you weren't expecting to double. I mean I was dealing with 14% to 21% interest. These look pretty cheap today at 8 and 9 on investment properties. Try it. Pay some 21% at the bank. See how that works for you. That's the environment I was in. The dollars might seem smaller, but they're about four times today. So whatever you're dealing with today is the same dollars I dealt with. It's just inflation. So life and business it's uphill all the way. It just you know inflation and you know so life and business it's uphill all the way. Just get used to it. There's no easy button out there.

Speaker 2: 35:27

If you got one of them easy buttons on your desk throw it away. Yeah, it ain't that. It don't exist. I asked grandpa one day. I said, wilson, is that uphill all the way? He said all the way. And then old-timers tell you it's uphill both ways in what?

Speaker 2: 35:42

12 feet of snow or something like that, oh yeah, barefooted, you know, and yeah, I got all the stories now. My dad did literally go go barefooted, uh, in the in the summertime he said he could get his foot was so thick he walked on them. Sand birds out there in jones. Because grandma, my grandfather, died in 1934, 35 years old, ruptured appendix and left my grandmother with five kids as a home executive, with a little bit of debt on the farm, build a depression. So she went back to teaching school. Well, school teachers didn't make a lot of money back then either, but you know what they made it. They survived. They're pioneers.

Speaker 2: 36:16

It's what's inside of you. Sometimes you don't know what you're made of until you're challenged. See, there is a place called through and it's a real place, right? And here's the deal about a place called through. I always ask people have you ever been in a place in your life that you didn't think you could make it through? We've all been there at one time or another, right? But it's not really if we get in those situations, just a matter of when. How we respond to the situations that we find ourselves in is essential, and just for me, I found out that trusting God to bring us through is the key. That's just what happened for me. That's why it's in the book. There's no other explanation. I wasn't smart enough. I knew people were 60 million and went bankrupt. Why did a pig farmer from Jones survive?

Speaker 1: 37:04

Very powerful. Well, I know you've just tickled everybody's ear a little bit. And we're out of time.

Speaker 2: 37:12

So how is the?

Speaker 1: 37:13

best way that people can continue getting some more encouragement from the chief encouragement officer.

Speaker 2: 37:20

Great question. Go to JDListoncom. That's J-D-L-I-S-T-O-Ncom. You can get my books on there. I've got these I Am Grateful bracelets going all over the place. You can also get on Jackie's Quote of the Week. There's no charge If you would like a free one-hour strategy session to see if we're a fit for whatever's going on. I've got a lot of background to pull from. We didn't even get into the banking, so maybe next time you'll have me come on and maybe we can just do all the banking questions you might have. And I got the craziest story you guys have ever seen. My life has been one change after the other. Jdlistoncomcom, this way to reach out to me. I'll help you in a way I can. And, Michael, it's been an honor to be on your program today. Thank you very much.

Speaker 1: 38:03

Well, jackie, you've been a blessing to many, you continue to be a blessing to many and you're a wealth of information, and I always ask, usually kind of like what's some applicable advice that's applicable to every business owner, no matter what season of business they're in or what industry they're in? But since we didn't touch on banking yet, what is some sound advice you can give to business owners about banking? You fill in the blank.

Speaker 2: 38:32

Yeah. So you know there's not many community banks left. But build a relationship with your banker. You'll read my book where Kenneth Hayes, the president of First State Bank Jones, loan me money and they were foreclosing on the shopping center. In the middle of foreclosure, that man loaned me money. Well, why did he do it? Because I had character and integrity. He knew me since I was a little boy. Build those relationships and if you owe somebody money, go look him in the eye. If you're struggling, don't dodge him. Go look at, tell them what you can do. Come back the next week.

Speaker 2: 39:01

Could we all get in those patches that we didn't expect? You know, maybe you bought a property and that thing's full of mold. You didn't know it. Oh my gosh, now I've got. I'm losing my tail. You know that happens right and we hit that blind side again.

Speaker 2: 39:16

But I will tell you one last thing here, and I've got a question for your listeners what would happen if the whole world became grateful? Michael See, gratitude isn't just about saying thank you. It's a mindset that rewires the way we see challenges, opportunities and one another. So I want to encourage you be grateful. Be grateful that you have a business, be grateful that you know, one time I was complaining to my friend on the porch and he said he listened to me and he finally said this, jackie, at least you got doors to knock on. I don't have any. I said, oops, rick, I got a whole better, new pair of glasses today. So, see, don't dwell on see. Gratitude helps you. Be grateful for what you have, not what you don't have. And the chances are, if you're grateful, you'll have more to be grateful for. And that's the best way I can explain it.

Speaker 1: 40:06

Amen, jackie. Thanks again. I encourage our listeners to go sign up for your email. I get those and they're very encouraging, especially at the end of the week, kind of set the framework for your mind for the weekend, so that you don't just get too loose and have too much fun. We don't want that. We want you to stay focused. That's one of the. That's the key word is focus. Yeah, yeah, all right. Thanks again, jackie. We'll see you soon. Thank you, it's an honor. Thank you, michael, my pleasure. Thank you for listening to small business pivots. This podcast is created and produced by my company, boss. Our business is growing yours, boss offers flexible business loans with business coaching support, Apply in minutes and get approved and funded in as little as 24 to 48 hours at businessownershipsimplifiedcom. If you're enjoying this podcast, don't forget to hit the subscribe button and share it as well. If you need help growing your business, email me at michael at michaeldmorrisoncom. We'll see you next time on Small Business Pivots.