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Speech Transcript

Unknown Speaker  0:00  

hey this is Michael S.Seaver and if you really want to learn how to level up your life you should be listening to the time to shine today podcast with my great friend Scott Ferguson time

Unknown Speaker  0:11  

to shine today podcast varsity squad it is Scott Ferguson and i got my guy here from the mitten michigan michael seaver started kind of in the hospitality business and just knew he needed to level up and help others and he started to do it on his own so he has this awesome coaching program company you’re gonna love this love this love this interview i have pages of notes talking to michael i couldn’t write fast enough so i was actually kind of stumbling over my words asking him questions because i was still writing while asking so just sit back relax break out your notebooks because here comes my really good friend michael s seaver let’s level up

Unknown Speaker  0:58  

time to shine today podcast varsity squad this is Scott Ferguson and i got my boy from the mitten in life subscribers you know know out there that we’re from the mitten which is a michigan and it’s kind of like we can talk a little smack about michigan but nobody else can so this is why he relocated out to the left coast and he’s enjoying that warm weather year round kind of like i did here in south florida but we will always have roots in the mitten and i’m so blessed to bring on my good friend michael seaver you know he’s learned that he’s valued authenticity growth spiritual reality wellness and power and how important each one is to him you know his areas of expertise include executive leadership personal branding change management management organizational effectiveness employee engagement and emotional intelligence he’s a graduate and former director of career management alumni services at thunderbird school of global management and director of sourcing talent acquisition for banner health managing department budget of more than $1 million and seaver michael thank you for coming on the show please introduce yourself to the time to shine today varsity squad

Unknown Speaker  2:02  

but first what’s your favorite color and why favorite color is blue

Unknown Speaker  2:06  

i

Unknown Speaker  2:08  

love it because the psychology of color is so interesting to me like i like to figure out like what do they all mean blue means trustworthiness it means cars it means integrity yeah it means it means the capacity to be able to like be resilient and persistent through something so blue has been a staple for me for a long time and it’s in your color wheel my handsome friend

Unknown Speaker  2:27  

you know you can you can rack it you know that’s what everyone says but no no i’m the real man so let’s get a little bit into the origins it seemed like you did a lot of soul seeking soul searching for lack of a better term up to and now are you leveled up to where you’re at now if we can start there a little origins brother

Unknown Speaker  2:44  

yeah so you know both you and i being from the from the mitten right there’s something about you know that environment or that place and i was raised there i used to cut grass and shoveled dirt for a living from age 12 until 24 the family’s landscaping and lawn maintenance business that’s what i did so that was my thing so then in 2004 i moved to metro phoenix and started working in the hospitality industry and so if you’ve ever been to a four seasons i can deliver the finest and four seasons experience because i got to work there for a number of years it was awesome but after doing that for about four years i went to the thunderbird school of global management which you just referenced and that was a tremendous experience because i learned to speak mandarin chinese i got to travel across the world probably not as much as you and the stuff that you’ve done scott but that trip you know those trips really really helped me and then went to banner health and did some talent sourcing work there and hr which gave me some good context about what it means to work inside of a corporation but then in late 2011 i just got so fed up with making everybody else a bunch of money that i decided to start my own business and make my own money right so for the last 10 years executive coaching team training doing lots of public presentations writing books it has been a wild ride but i’ve loved every minute of it

Unknown Speaker  3:54  

you know you said four seasons i’ve stayed at a few i’ve been blessed they will say if you i mean it’s like man they they asked me questions even before i stay there like what do you like to drink what is this this and this so every time i got there my mini fridge or whatever it is it was stocked you know everything was said it was so so you took that experience of that you know we’ll just say the hospitality management you rolled it over you can’t have a better background

Unknown Speaker  4:18  

really was doing right oh my gosh so that you are so soft spot on scott in that when you work at a place like the red so the four seasons are one of those higher end brands it’s all about anticipating what the guests needs that’s the game and so whenever we knew that one of our guests would be going to some sort of an event maybe they’re playing a round of golf or they were going to go watch some sort of a theatrical performance we could forecast about what time they would be coming back to their room so we would always have something waiting in the room for them upon their arrival when they were done and so for me today as a coach or as you know working as a consultant i’m always trying to think three four or five steps ahead to be able to forecast what it is that someone might need so i can Get them to the end goal faster

Unknown Speaker  5:02  

that you just parlayed that right into my question, man, I really appreciate that. So when you’re going through a discovery period when you’re bringing clients in it, what is your kind of secret sauce? I think you might just answer would you if you don’t mind sharing some of your secret sauce, and helping them find their blind spots?

Unknown Speaker  5:18  

Yeah. So for me, I try to turn the clock back a little bit. And so there’s a guy named Dr. Bruce Lipton. And so he studies brainwaves. And so maybe if you’ve talked about him before on one of your previous episodes, but when I thought about, how is it that from birth until age six, everything that we’re learning, subconsciously kind of gets baked, right, everything we see in the environment gets baked into our subconscious. And then we think about and we just basically repeat those things day after day after day when we’re in a different brainwave state. So when I really started to think about how could I be a great coach? How could I be a great consultant? How can I be somebody that really unlocks potential, like really meaningfully? I wanted to go back to the basics to when we were kids and think about what is it that we learned at that time in our life, that we unknowingly subconsciously repeat in a way that doesn’t genuinely help us? Right. And so when I started to figure that out, I was able to get the, to the point of change inside my clients or my organizations faster.

Unknown Speaker  6:16  

You know, it’s funny, you say that, because you know, a lot of the things that you’re breaking, I mean, it’s literally lifting, I’ll tell you that it’s literally carved into your brainwaves, like, literally, you might come we might call it subconscious unconscious, but it’s literally carved and kind of like shad helmstetter said, and what to say, when you talk to yourself that parents, you know, say no to their children 135,000 times by the time they’re 13. You know what I’m saying? So that is what you’re kind of talking about how that’s really carved in, right? So what is some of the stuff that you might do to help uncarved that if you will, and then because we know that the conscious brain or the conscious is the gatekeeper the subconscious? So what are you doing really? Do those reps, brother?

Unknown Speaker  6:55  

Yeah, thank you. So subconscious processes, 400 billion bits of information per second. But the conscious mind processes 2000 per second, right, think about the difference of that. And so what I’m doing is there’s a number of things, right. But what we really want to make sure that we’re doing is coming back to the basics of the person recognizing what it was that they learned from their environment, when they were from birth until age six. So they have to have talked to family to talk to friends, they have to do some reflection, like whatever that is, we got to go back and recognize what it is that they were taught via their parents, then, then we can start to figure out a way to identify patterns in their behavior today. And sometimes I would do that through a gratitude journal. Or sometimes I would do that through a pain journal. Right? Having them recognize those moments they feel sad or mad. And then inside those patterns is where we can get to a really distinct place to have being able to change behavior.

Unknown Speaker  7:46  

Hell, yes, man, you’re digging in from a place of service, and you’re making them do the work. You’re kind of like, you know, I hate to use spellcheck. But you know, I mean, he did put some good teams on the field, they didn’t play the game. Like, right, you know what I’m saying? It’s like your guide, you’re a coach more than a consultant, in my opinion, you know what I’m saying? You’re like, they’re letting them play. They’re letting them get on the field. But you’re giving them the playbook in a sense. I say, here’s a pain journal. Here’s a gratitude journal and getting it done. That’s awesome, Michael. So when you’re starting to work with somebody, and then we’re still kind of in the discovery period? Is there any good question that you wish that they would ask you, but never do? Hmm.

Unknown Speaker  8:25  

I think one of the things that we don’t, they are not yet conditioned, right? society conditions us away from this. But what I what I think about a lot, or what I would hope that people would ask me more about is our core values. And you referenced it a minute ago, Scott around me being really tied into authenticity. That’s my number one core value. But very few people that I work with whether organizations are one to one with an entrepreneur or leader, very few people are able to connect their behavior today to their top five or six core values. And so I wish people would ask me more questions about the uncovering of their own core values. Yes,

Unknown Speaker  9:02  

it’d be able to find that blind spot the stuff that they’ve been pulling from their past into the to their now this really not letting them level up. That’s awesome, man. So what do you think makes a great coach that

Unknown Speaker  9:15  

great coaching is all about I think two things, right? There’s a lot of things but it comes down to like two things for me. And number one is that a coach cannot let his or her own biases, like interact with or bring any harm to the actual coachee or the protege, right? So we have to make sure that we show up really objectively number one, and that means our biases, our thought patterns, all of those things can’t show up, right? We’re not meant to be mentors or counselors or consultants, we’re meant to be coaches. So number two is that a coach asks really deep and really insightful questions and they almost always start with how, what or why. And if as a coach, you remove your own bias, but then you ask phenomenal how, what or why questions. Now all of a sudden, you’re putting that person in a place to be able to express themselves safely. Absolutely, man,

Unknown Speaker  10:01  

that’s awesome. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. That’s how I run my coaching side that’s just like me and you’re just cut from the same must be the mitten thing, man. And so if I’m at a networking event, which here in South Florida, we’re able to do a little press some flash and meet some people masked up, of course, at least in my lab. But if I’m talking to somebody, either virtually or in person, Michael, like, what kinds of things? Are they saying? They would, I would say, boom, Michaels a great, it’d be a great person to introduce to Michael as a prospect client or connection.

Unknown Speaker  10:35  

Yeah, so it really for me is, is that if a person is at a point of disengagement, unhappiness, there’s something going wrong at work that they’re just not in tune with, or that they feel that they’re not living their core values each day, or something about the the interaction where they can’t maybe express their own mission, right, they’re not able to be able to express themselves in that way. And so if those things are happening, or if I’m seeing the patterns in that person, but there’s also this desire to genuinely evolve and change, like they’re at that precipice point of wanting to change and level up, that’s where I can really step in, or my book, or my processes or my online courses, any of that stuff can help him jump in and be able to help them in a meaningful way.

Unknown Speaker  11:14  

Awesome, and we will definitely make that warm introduction to you squat. If you want to meet Michael, I can’t wait to send some of you this his way. Because I know a lot of you including myself kind of needed as well. So Michael, are you familiar with the movie Back to the Future?

Unknown Speaker  11:27  

Yes. Okay,

Unknown Speaker  11:28  

so let’s get in that DeLorean with Marty McFly. Let’s go back to the 22 year old Mr. hospitality. You know, guy? Yep, we’ve got a knowledge I guess we call him here. Time to shine today, what kind of knowledge nuggets you drop in on Michael to maybe help them level up last through and shorten that learning curve a little bit.

Unknown Speaker  11:43  

And oh, man, oh, my gosh, Michael at age 2223 was attempting to conquer the world in the way that I think my parents were going about attempting to conquer the world. And so I was constantly taking action. And I was constantly trying to achieve things. And if 40 year old because I’m 40 years old today, if I could turn back the clock that your birthday so well, my birthday is March 18. So it’s coming up pretty close, but 40 today. And when I turned back the clock 18 or 19 years, I think about I was constantly trying to take action. And I was constantly trying to achieve what someone else said was the path in life. And so if I could go back to that version of Michael and say, slow down, take a breath, go to the beach and hang out by the water for a bit and get really in tune with yourself because this constant action and activity is actually only going to bring you pain. And so like my first wife left me, I got fired from

Unknown Speaker  12:38  

hitting everything.

Unknown Speaker  12:40  

So when my wife left me in the jobs I got fired by it was because I was attempting to live out someone else’s versions of my life. And so I want to be able to go back to that younger version of myself and say, slow down and do the right things that are in alignment with your mission, your core values, your strengths, what makes you authentically you. That’s where the game is. That’s awesome. So

Unknown Speaker  12:59  

you just said it, you kind of pulled forward How were you were your lack of a better term raised? You know, and you really would tell them slow down. What do you have listened?

Unknown Speaker  13:08  

At that time? No, well, neither there’s like,

Unknown Speaker  13:11  

at least you’re honest, man. So how do you want Michael’s dash remembered? Then you know that little line between your incarnation date and your expiration date life date? Nothing? Do you want Michaels dash remember?

Unknown Speaker  13:23  

So for me, it really does come down to people are going to remember me for basically authenticity, right? They’re going to know me as the guy that can tell stories or has the right process or has the right resource that can help them get to the point of really understanding what I call their Earth school curriculum. And so I think that all souls are all humans come to earth to learn something specifically. So I want people to remember me through whatever means are available as society goes through its transformations I want people to know me is that if you go to Michael less Seaver, you’ll be able to learn what makes you authentically you, you’ll know your life’s mission, you’ll know your core values, you know, your school curriculum, if you will. And if that happens, I would be incredibly happy.

Unknown Speaker  14:03  

You know, you’re like, you’re planting trees, bro, you’re never gonna sit in the shade of you know what I’m saying? That’s frickin amazing, man. Appreciate you doing that. And so what keeps Michael up at night?

Unknown Speaker  14:14  

The thing that bothers me, I think most nights is that there’s that part of me that still kind of connected back to the 22 year old version, which is, I have to constantly take action in order to be valued or appreciated or successful. And so the thing that keeps me up at night is still wanting to do that not as much as I used to in my early 20s. But I’m still trying to find a way to be happier with less. And that’s hard, right is that society tells us that more money and more success and more influence and all that stuff is appropriate. And in some cases, for some people it is but each of us has a different curriculum in my curriculum is about kind of shedding that old mindset and welcoming in a slower pace of life. So if I could figure that out or do that, that would

Unknown Speaker  14:57  

be huge. You do breath work.

Unknown Speaker  15:00  

Yes,

Unknown Speaker  15:01  

okay, gosh, I was hoping you were gonna say you do because I’m, that’s my stable. I mean, you can live three weeks without food. You can live a week without water, but breath like maybe three minutes. It’s like I do that and I’m really getting into this kind of breathing to where I’m hitting the pelvic floor now. And it’s it’s amazing that’s really did change my life you just I had to ask that because just seems I’m getting that vibe. So what do you think people misunderstand the most about Michael.

Unknown Speaker  15:27  

And so my partner Tiffany who we’ve been together about a year and a half today, she she says that the image that I’m able to project out into the community as being a very astute, very clear, a very pronounced a very strange space kind of like coach or person, that when I’m at home, I’m actually very relaxed, very funny, very easy going. And for some reason, I haven’t been able to bring that necessarily out into the workplace yet. So that’s, uh, that’s work that I’m still trying to do.

Unknown Speaker  15:57  

And I you know, it’s not that hard. I’m not trying to coach you up, man. But I go back to there, I went back to a movie called van Wilder. I don’t know if remember, it was with Ryan Reynolds, who was that’s actually one of the funnier National Lampoon movies. And there’s a line in it that I live by it says, Don’t take life too seriously, you’ll never make it out alive. And it’s like, dude, that’s how I live even though if I’m representing a client on a big real estate deal, or something like that, then I’m on point. But other than that, dude, I’m 61 to 65 I’m the biggest goof that you ever give me. That’s where I really pulled that forward is I take nothing, nothing seriously, you know, unless it’s detrimental, the family or obviously your bank account too. But I’d appreciate you being transparent with that. Thank you. So what do you what is Michael’s definition of life? Well,

Unknown Speaker  16:41  

I think for me, as I go through the next 80 years, I think I got another 80 years on our somehow there you go baby. life well lived for me is going to be okay with going at a slower pace, or accepting life’s challenges as they come without needing to control them, or genuinely doing things every day that gift me energy. Right? Like when you talk to Bob Berg on episode 200. Right? It was very much about this idea that the more that we can give to other people coming from a place of true love and care for ourselves and for them, right then all of a sudden we’re in this environment where there’s an ecosystem of people and so I want to be at a good place for myself that I can uplift others and then this entire ecosystem rises if you will.

Unknown Speaker  17:22  

Yeah, that receptivity if you’re open to it, man you just get might not be monetary. But like I tell the story, man my my goddaughter really never calls me I love her. And but when she does, it’s usually poppy for something you know, but did I help somebody out? And I was expecting nothing back just because that’s the type of person they are. I love them. But But Kelsey called me and it was just like, dude, that’s that open to receptivity. My God daughter called me and it was just like, it was the best ever. That’s fantastic, man. I appreciate that. All right, time to shine today podcast varsity squad. We are back with my good friend Michael Seaver. You can find him at Michael SC calm and all that stuff will be in the show notes for right now. We’re gonna level up Michael into our lightning round. Michael. Listen, you and I could talk an hour, two hours on each one of these because you and I are like kindred, bro. So you got five seconds with no explanation and you’re ready to rock.

Unknown Speaker  18:14  

Let’s do this.

Unknown Speaker  18:14  

Let’s do it. So what’s the best leveling up advice Michaels ever received?

Unknown Speaker  18:20  

Everyone you interact with is a mirror of and for you.

Unknown Speaker  18:25  

Wow. Wow. I’m sorry. I’m taking notes. Awesome. So share one of your personal habits that contributes to your success.

Unknown Speaker  18:36  

I know you like yoga. I like 20 minutes of meditation. As soon as I wake up I love it man.

Unknown Speaker  18:41  

I do I do the breathing. More my meditation I do kind of a Wim Hof or try Casey breathing. I love it. So other than your own website, Michael s Seaver calm and of course time to shine today.com I plug shameless. Is there any website you go to to kind of level up Michael.

Unknown Speaker  18:57  

So I’m a member of the Forbes coaches Council. And so there are many other Forbes councils. And so for anybody looking for great information for people like Scott array, one of the Forbes councils is undoubtedly going to have great insights about

Unknown Speaker  19:11  

it. So I’m not feeling it, man. You notice my energy like Fergie read this book? I mean, my doldrums read this book. What is it?

Unknown Speaker  19:19  

For me the book that really changed how I view my life was loyalty to your soul. by Ron and Mary whole neck.

Unknown Speaker  19:27  

Yep. Yeah, yes. Yes. That’s a fantastic read. It’s a little well known as should be a lot more well known. That’s for sure. So what’s your most commonly used emoji when your tax?

Unknown Speaker  19:39  

will be the hug emoji hug?

Unknown Speaker  19:41  

I love it. So it Don’t lie to me. So you obviously listen to Berg’s interview but like Don’t lie to me on this one. Like what age physically would you stay for the rest of your life if you could still keep the knowledge you’ve gained in Garner more? What age physically and don’t lie Michael? What is it?

Unknown Speaker  19:59  

I mean? 40 and I feel the best I’ve ever felt,

Unknown Speaker  20:02  

you know, I would I say 32 just because it’s a lot easier for me to get out, but I’m gonna be 50. And it’s kind of like, you know, I would just take that 28 to 32 physically but 40 if you look like you do, and that’s, that’s awesome. I’ll, I’ll let you slide on that. So what is your favorite charity and organization like to give your time or money to

Unknown Speaker  20:21  

write on Big Brothers Big Sisters, and where I’ve been like a central Arizona,

Unknown Speaker  20:26  

I love it. And I used to do that in the east side of Michigan there. I love it. I still still write that check every year, and it’s the best thing I can do. Yeah. Last question. If you could elaborate a little bit, what’s the best decade of music 60 7090

Unknown Speaker  20:40  

Listen, I’m a child of the 1980s so you get me an 80s rocker metal band. And I’m

Unknown Speaker  20:47  

broke that whole decade. I was 82. And I was born in 72. So I was able to kind of like, see that that the 80s and it’s like they had everything. I mean, you had the origins of rap. You had you like you said metal and you had the glam rock, you know, Oisin and whatnot, you had all the other hair bands big hair, don’t care kind of stuff. Then you had the you to Irish invasion. You had Duran Duran with the English and or Australian. And it’s like, dude, everything happened in the 80s it was the best decade to be alive, ever, ever. It was amazing. I got my driver’s license. I’m Canadian like it. Yeah. And I graduated 1990. So like that whole 80s was my jam. So like, how can we find your brother?

Unknown Speaker  21:26  

You said it a couple times already. Scott, Michael sc ver.com is the best place you can learn a lot about online courses are a book that I just published called I know, I have a bunch of blogs have my own podcast and so lots of good information there for sure. I love

Unknown Speaker  21:39  

it. And we’re gonna put all of that in the show notes. I’m going to drop this and Michael subconscious I want to come on a show. Anyways. Shameless plug. So like, leave us with one last Knowledge Nugget you want us to take with us internalize.

Unknown Speaker  21:53  

The thing. I think that the theme of your my conversation somewhat unknowingly, but it has been really powerful has been be the person you needed when you were younger. And that, to me is so profound in so many ways, and that each of us in our younger years has some sort of a challenge that we endure around age 2728 29, we overcome the challenge. And then the highest and best use of our life for the next 20 years from like age 30 to 50 is to help other people overcome that same challenge that we had for themselves. person,

Unknown Speaker  22:23  

that person it’s like mentoring, right? And in a sense, I mean, like my mentor used to say, you know, the more you mentor the more immortal you become, you know, so that’s that’s just amazing Michael, I really appreciate you sharing that squad. You’ve just gotten like a legit masterclass with my good friend from the MIT and Michael Seaver from Michael SC comm you know he he is all about kind of stand steps of head but he does it in a way of care and he wants to like anticipate but not give you the answers he wants he’s really asking those powerful question to pull you forward you know, we want you to kind of beginning with recognize what you learn from your birth to age six identify those patterns either through a pain journal or gratitude journal and Michael can really really you know help you that you know, ask your coach if you’re gonna hire one which we hope it’s Michael with his authenticity but as their coach about their core values what really means to them you know any a great coach does not let was it like the business show up you know, they’ll ask powerful deep questions and how what and why, you know, he’s disengaged, unhappy core values into if you’re feeling that way just engage unhappy and your core values are just out of whack. Let us make a warm introduction into Michael they help you evolve and change into what that that better person that you really know is underneath those layers you know, he would tell himself to slow down when he was younger and like we say that we pull from the great coach john wooden Be quick but don’t hurry, you know, really be ready and that means just be mindful. And Michael’s can be remembered for this authenticity, you know, and his life well lived is it’s okay to live at that slower pace and do the things and the gifts that give you energy and this one just rocked my world and it’s gonna go into my quotes of my life is to be the person you need when you’re younger man be that mentor for somebody whether you’re making money or not, you can give a little and Michael is so humble yet he’s hungry. He levels up as healthy levels up as well if he’s so transparent, we appreciate that you’ve earned your time to shine today varsity squad letter and thank you so much brother. so grateful. Thank you Oxley, Michael by now. Hey, thanks so much for listening to this episode of time to shine today podcast. Proudly brought to you by Southern Nugent real estate real estate excellence who can be reached at 561-249-7266 and online at www dot Sutter in nugent.com. If you’re a business owner or professional who would like to be interviewed on time to shine today, please visit time to shine today.com slash guest. If you liked this episode, please subscribe on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, I Heart Radio or wherever you get your podcast. There’s a link in the show notes to our website. Also there you will see our recommended resources. We hope that you will support our show by supporting them. If you like what you have been listening to, it’d be great if you could just give us a five star rating and tell your friends to subscribe while you’re at it. I’m your host, Scott Ferguson. And until next time, let’s level up. It’s our time to shine.

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