So you can use them in your life, your business, your training, and your own leadership. Before we get rolling, I need to lead with a little massive, not little, actually a massive gratitude in a big way. A massive thank you to our sponsor, my good friend Steve Austin, and the dynamic [00:01:00] team at Rise Mortgage.

Their belief in the show, their commitment to service and the way they show up for this. Community is next level. If you’ve been listening to this program, you already know. They don’t just talk about trust, clarity, and execution. They live it. This show does not happen at the level it does without them.

Huge thank you as well to Susan Strasser for the opportunity and belief in the show. Also to the legend, Brian Mud, my producer who makes things run like a machine every single week. To Aubrey Christie, my videographer, for capturing. The energy and the moments behind the scenes and while the interview’s going on, and to the entire WJ and o team behind the scenes.

Thank you for the support and professionalism. This episode is about leveling up with intention. No noise, no excuses, just lessons that work. So let’s get after a team, and I’m so blessed. To come through to you every single weekend and provide you with just fantastic knowledge nuggets and also the knowledge nuggets from my guests to you to pick up and see their level of success and the clues and cues that we leave behind.[00:02:00]

So let’s do this. Let’s level up.

Speaker 21: So we’re gonna launch every one of our shows really with a kind of a coaching knowledge nugget that I worked with possibly a client during the week or something I just came up with or actually learned, and I’m gonna regurgitate right out to you squad out there. But cus the Greek ancient Greek poet that said, we don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.

It’s time to get real squad. I’m talking about goals and more importantly, standards. Goals. Yeah, they sound sexy. Big dreams, big visions. I’m all for it. Living a life of options and not obligations cannot be attained without setting big scary goals. But here’s the truth, peeps, you don’t rise to your goals.

You drop to the level of your daily standards, the way you wake up, how you handle the tough days, how you show up when no one’s watching. That’s what builds the life you want. So what I’m saying is if you’re not where you wanna be, it’s not a goal problem. It’s a standard problem. So don’t just set bigger goals, set stronger standards, and then stick to them like your future and life depends on it.

’cause frankly [00:03:00] speaking, it does. And a real quick example is someone wants to drop some pounds, drop some weight, get healthy, doctor gave ’em a little death sentence or something like, you can set the goal to drop the weight, but if you’re not reading the labels and watching what you put in your mouth, doing the exercise, hiring the right people around you, having the right squad, those are your standards.

If the standards aren’t on point, you’re not gonna reach the goals.

Speaker 2: Our coaching knowledge that I’ll get of the week squad is sometimes my clients, they need to be coached, but we’re not set up for a session. So I’d send them a little text that says, start, stop, continue. And what it does is it reframes their mind into what they should be doing and what they shouldn’t be doing.

Especially my athletes that are out there big game. The guy that played the Super Bowl this year, it was a text before and I just said, start, stop, continue. He got it. He knew what he needed to start. He knew what he needed to stop. Nobody needed to continue. So if you’re out there and you don’t have a coach, which everybody should, but if you don’t ask yourself that, what am I doing right now that I am not doing?

And to start that, what am I doing right [00:04:00] now? Maybe putting that hand in the bag of chips or reading the screen late at night. Stop doing that. And what are you doing to continue? You’re getting up early, you’re doing the coal plunge, you’re getting after it. Continue that and get it and just get after it.

Speaker 3: And this week’s Knowledge Nugget Squad is about the difference between, I get asked a lot a difference between coaching, consulting, and therapy. And what I like to do with my clients is show ’em that I’m a coach. I believe that everyone knows what they want, they just don’t know how to talk themselves into it.

So I’m not gonna tell you how to do it. I’m gonna guide you. So with my clients. I like to put ’em in their car. They sit in the driver’s seat and I say, see that rear view mirror right there? It’s small for a reason. That’s your past. Great place to visit, great place to learn from. But if you live there, then you need therapy.

Okay? If you have this big windshield, it’s big. Oh my gosh. Scary. Where the hell am I going? Wow I’m lost. Since 2011, they’ve been putting these things on the dashboard called the GPS, or actually you can. Have it and you hold it in your hand, in your phone. Now that’s what I am as a coach. I’m a GPS. You plug in the coordinates and you go there.

Now, I can’t buckle your [00:05:00] seatbelt. I cannot start the car for you, but if you get lost, you’re going somewhere, we can help reroute you and hold you accountable. So that’s what a coach does. I really coach from a neutrality position, coach from neutral, and moving forward from where you are at, hold a mirror in front of you and let you see where you’re going, and then keep you on track.

Speaker 6: My really quick coaching knowledge nugget this week was I was talking with an influencer. If I was to say his name, you’d absolutely know who he is, but he told me I was having some issues with that I was going through, and he said, Fergie, like he said, many times when you think you’re going through a crisis, it’s actually a transition in your life, and life is built on transformations and transitions.

Every single one of us hits that moment when the path we’re on no longer serves the person we’re becoming. And here’s the kicker. It’s not the wins or losses that define us. It’s how we transition between them. Transformation doesn’t come in the comfort zone. It comes when you’re willing to step out of the familiar, shut the identity and no longer fits and move towards something bigger and something truer.

That’s the difference between existing and actually leveling [00:06:00] up. Transitions are tests. They ask, will you clinging to what you know, or will you step into who you’re meant to be? The people who thrive, the leaders, the high performers, the warriors of life. They embrace the transition. They don’t fight it, they fuel it.

So this week I challenge you squad, look at your own life. What chapter do you need to close and what new identity do you need to step into? ’cause your greatest transformation is waiting on the other side of that decision. And listen, if you’re having any issues with that transformation, gimme a call 5 6 1 4 4 0 3 8 3 0.

That’s 5 6 1 4 4 0 3 8 3 0. I’d be happy to go through one of my complimentary hour powers with you

Speaker 4: we’re gonna talk about pressure. You often hear me say discipline equals freedom. Also dropping reminders that life isn’t happening to us, it’s happening for us. And also to implement neutral thinking when things get tough. So don’t get caught in the story. Focus on the next play or task. If you’re on point, then you’ll encounter pressure.

Remember, pressure is a privilege. It means you’re in the game. It means the ball is in your hands when the clock is winding down. Most people run from pressure because it [00:07:00] feels heavy, but here’s the truth, squad, that weight isn’t meant to crush you. It’s meant to build you, to forge you to take all the training, all the lessons.

All the legacy handed down to you and force you to step into your own power. When you stop seeing pressure as a problem and start seeing it as a platform, that’s when you level up. That’s when you turn expectations into execution. That’s when you go from playing small to playing on the varsity squad. So today, as you listen in, remember pressure doesn’t define you.

It’s how your spawn to it. That does use it, own it. Turn it into power.

Speaker 5: This week. My really quick two minute knowledge nugget is talking about tension and that you carry in your body and tension is actually information. Think about it. When your body tightens up, when your shoulders lock or your chest feels heavy, that’s not random. That’s feedback. It’s your system telling you something is off.

Most people ignore it. They push through, they numb it out. But champions, they lean into it. They ask, what is this tension trying to teach me? See, tension shows up when you’re out of alignment, physically, mentally, spiritually. It’s a signal, not a [00:08:00] sentence. You can either treat it like a problem or use it as a compass.

When you choose awareness over avoidance, you find the weak spots before they break. If you turn pressure into precision, you release what’s holding you back so you can move with clarity and flow. So here’s the challenge today. Stop running from your attention. Pay attention to it, decode it, because there’s, that’s where the next level of growth, performance, and freedom is.

Speaker 7: Every day we are faced with a choice. Do we live for convenience or do we live for legacy? Convenience is that little voice that says, take the shortcut. It’s easier. Skip the practice. No one will notice. But what’s cheap, it doesn’t matter. But here’s the truth. Convenience only feels good in the moment.

Legacy’s built when you choose the harder right over the easier wrong. Legacy says Show up even when you don’t feel like it. Make the call even when you’re tired. Fuel your body. Your relationships, your business with what will last, not what’s quick. Convenience fades. Legacy compounds. Legacy is what your kids inherit, what your team remembers, what [00:09:00] your community feels long after you’re gone.

So today’s squad, check yourself. Are you your actions feeding convenience or are they planting seeds for legacy? ’cause in the end, convenience disappears. The second it’s used, legacy is undefeated.

Speaker 10: I was thinking about this the other day, how every, whether we realize it or not, we’re hanging something new on the wall of our life’s gallery. Every action, every word, every choice. It’s a brush stroke. Some are bold and confident. Others may be a little messier, unfinished, but it’s all part of the piece we’re creating.

Most people spend their lives walking through someone else’s gallery, admiring what others have built, comparing, criticizing, scrolling through their highlight reels, but champions, the people who level up. If they’re too busy creating their own, here’s the thing, you can’t hang excuses and expect applause.

You can’t paint halfhearted effort and expect masterpiece results. The world doesn’t celebrate. Almost finished. It celebrates those who show up with discipline, presence, and purpose every single day and keep adding to the canvas even when no one’s watching. Your life is the gallery. The [00:10:00] question is, when people walk through it, what do they feel?

Do they see courage, consistency, and growth, or chaos and convenience? Every sunrise is a blank wall. What you hang there today, that’s your legacy. So stop standing in the museum of your past. Pick up the brush, get intentional, and start painting something worth remembering.

Speaker 8: I want you to kinda really lean in for a second. ’cause we live in a world where everybody’s chasing perfect. Perfect pose, perfect pitch, perfect moment. But here’s the deal. Perfect does not connect. Perfection is safe, it’s sterile, and nobody grows in sterile connection. That’s raw. That’s real. That’s where trust lives.

You don’t inspire people by showing them how flawless you are. You inspire them by letting them see the scar and the strength that came from it. The best conversations, the best leadership, the best relationships. They all come from being locked in, not really polished up. So this week, don’t wait to be ready.

Don’t wait to have it perfect. Hit record. Make the call step into messy if you have to, because when you lead with connection, perfection becomes irrelevant.

Speaker 11: I was working with one [00:11:00] of my executive coaching clients recently, a brilliant leader with a title, the team, and the talent. But she was stuck, not because she lacked skill, but because she was waiting for someone else to give her the green light. She had the plan mapped out, but wouldn’t move until the board or her boss said, go.

I remind her, I’ll tell what I’ll remind you. What I told her is that leaders don’t wait for permission. Leaders move. Permission is comfort disguises patients. It’s fear hiding behind strategy. But real leaders act with clarity, not certainty. They take the first step before it’s perfect. They adapt in motion, they own the outcome.

A few weeks later, that same client started leading with boldness, making calls, empowering her people and setting the tone. And guess what? The organization started following our energy instead of waiting for direction. You don’t build momentum by waiting. You build it by moving. Every great movement in history started with one person saying, why not Now, whether it’s launching a mission, starting a business, or reshaping an entire community

progress belongs to the ones who act. You want [00:12:00] confidence? Earn it through action. You want respect? Build it through service. You want change, lead it. So today, stop waiting for the perfect timing, the perfect plan or the perfect applause, the permission slip you’ve been waiting for.

Speaker 9: I tell people all the time, don’t take life too seriously. ’cause none of us are getting outta this thing alive. I’m not talking about slacking or living reckless. It’s about perspective. We grind so hard, chase so many check boxes and measure ourselves against highlight reels that we forget the simple truth.

This whole ride is temporary. When you really get that, you start to loosen your grip. You stop chasing approval and start chasing presence. You laugh a little more. You connect a little deeper. You stop needing to win every argument because you realize most of it doesn’t even matter in the long run. That doesn’t mean you don’t push hard.

It means you push from gratitude, not fear, you train, build, love, and lead. Every day is a bonus round because it is. So today, squad, let’s lighten up. Smile in the struggle. I always say go into the pain cave, hop on the struggle bus. Call someone you just, you haven’t talked to in a while, and just tell ’em how much you [00:13:00] appreciate them.

You don’t need to wait for the perfect moment to live like you mean it. We’re not making it out alive anyway, so might as well make it matter.

Speaker 12: This week I had a coaching session with a, we’ll just call him a three comma guy. He is my, one of my billionaire coaching clients, and he was stuck in this transition in his life, not in the business, but in his life. You know that space where life isn’t what it is, it’s not yet what it’s supposed to be.

That in between zone where your identity, your confidence, and your patients all get tested at the same time. He told me for. I feel like everything is shifting under me. And I said, good. That means you’re being forged because transition is where the world stops giving you clarity and starts demanding character.

See, most people try to muscle their way through change. Pure grit, white knuckle it, but every transition has two sides, grit and grace. Grit is your discipline. Grace is your self-control. Grit is pushing. Grace is pausing long enough to respond, not react. The high performers I’ve worked with. Learn to hold both.

They don’t run from discomfort. They don’t let their emotions hijack a mission. They stay neutral. They stay [00:14:00] present. They stay in the next action. With my client, we slowed the moment down instead of trying to out. Fight the chaos. He learned to own the space between who he was and who he’s becoming. And once he stopped trying to overpower the transition, he started navigating it.

That’s the move right there. Grace keeps you steady. Grit keeps you moving. Remember, grit is a monotonous activity, so you always have to keep moving and together with grace and grit. That’s how you come out the other side, built not broken,

Speaker 13: every week I watch people ride waves, emotional waves, market waves, motivational waves, and that’s why they stay stuck, because surges come and go. Surges are loud, dramatic, exciting, and temporary standards. Standards are silent killers. They’re the foundation of. That never cracks. Remember I say time and time again that goals are nothing but byproducts of your standards.

When you live by surges, you’re reacting. You’re waiting to feel good, waiting for the market to heat up, waiting for things outside your control, to give you permission to be your best. That’s not winning, that’s drifting. But when you anchor your life to standards, everything shifts, [00:15:00] standards. Eliminate the excuses standards, remove the drama standards, keep you steady when everybody else is blowing in the wind.

I’ve seen this firsthand. One of my clients out there. In Los Angeles. Awesome. Real estate client. Real estate agent. When we started working together, she was doing about 8 million a year in close volume, solid, respectable, but she was living by surges. When the buzz was high, she crushed. When the market cooled, she hesitated.

So we built a standard system, daily reps, non-negotiables. How she communicated, how she prepared, how she protected her energy, how she attacked the day before it attacked her. No hype, no hero moments, just consistent standards. Fast forward to 2025. She’s sitting at 147 million year to date. That’s not a surge, that’s a standard driven life.

That’s what happens when you stop reacting and start leading. Before you dive in today’s show, ask yourself, are you choosing surge or are you choosing standards? One feels good for a moment. The other changes your whole level up trajectory.

Speaker 15: Know, a lot of people talk about getting tougher, pushing harder and grinding longer, but very few ever learn the difference between pain and [00:16:00] signal. And that difference determines whether you evolve or you break. Pain is the discomfort that comes with growth, the stretch, the burn, the fatigue. Pressure that shows up right before you level up.

But signal is different. Signal is the body or mind delivering information. It might mean your technique is off, your preparation wasn’t aligned, your recovery wasn’t respected, or your emotions aren’t steering the wheel. Instead of your standards. Pain asks, are you willing? Signal asks, are you aware? I recently worked with , a high performance athlete client of mine who kept shutting himself down mid progress.

Every time the pressure rose, he labeled it as pain and backed off thinking something was wrong with him. We slowed it down and reframed it together. We learned to ask, is this the pain of growth or the signal of adjustment? Once he understood that distinction, his confidence didn’t just increase. It became earned and repeatable.

He stopped treating every challenge like danger and started treating it like data. And when that clicked, his performance and sub-lease spike. Champions don’t ignore pain squad. They interpret it. They don’t fear signals. They study them. They know when to push, when to pause, and when to adjust. They stay committed [00:17:00] without being reckless.

So here’s the challenge this week for anyone listening right now. Before quitting, complaining or tapping out, ask yourself, am I experience the pain required to grow or a signal designed to guide? If you master that distinction, you don’t just get stronger, you become smarter, more durable and more

Speaker 17: And I’m gonna sav my little coaching knowledge that I get this week with. I had a client that I have, and all my clients are required by 9:00 AM their time. Whether I have a client in Singapore, Canada, wherever they must get me three things they’re grateful for every day by 9:00 AM their time. And the reason why I do that is to activate the reticular activating system.

So reticular activating system is say, let’s say Brian has a brand new car. Let’s say a Tesla or something. Throw that out there. And I’ve never seen one before. He is like, Fergie, I have a Tesla. Go over there. See the emotion that Brian has to this Tesla, and I’m like, wow, this is cool. How many Teslas do you think that I’ll see on my way home?

Probably quite a few, but the Teslas have always been there. And that’s the thing with gratitude. If you’re starting your day with gratitude consistently, the reticular [00:18:00] activating system works to bring your attention to opportunities and resources that are gonna help you level up. And that’s something I really buy into is gratitude.

I do it every day and I’m so grateful for.

Speaker 18: So our real quick coaching nugget of the week’s gonna run really parallel with my guest as well. But let me hit you something that could flip your entire approach to performance, whether you’re an athlete, an entrepreneur, or just someone chasing greatness. You don’t rise to the moment. You rise to your identity.

And sometimes the best way to win isn’t by being more of yourself. It’s by becoming who you need to be in that moment. That’s where the alter ego comes in. Top performers like A lot of times with my clients, I’ll say. Or even just friends if we’re out having a beverage or something and be like, Hey, how many plays do you think Deion Sanders played total in football his whole life?

They’ll be like, 10,000, 20,000. I’ll say absolutely zero plays primetime played when he is on the field. He was primetime. When Beyonce performs, it’s not Beyonce, it’s Sasha Fierce. When Kobe was on the court late, great Kobe [00:19:00] Bryant was on the course. He wasn’t Kobe, he was the black mamba. So when the lights are on and the pressure’s real, they don’t perform in themselves.

They tap into a version of them that’s built to dominate, not fake, it’s focused, not pretend. It’s powerful. You wanna perform better. Close the gap between who you are and then who the mission requires you to be. So one, you create the identity. Two, you name it. Three, build its traits and four step into it on command.

And if you’d like to, if you’re struggling maybe getting in your own way, gimme a call 5 6 1 4 4 0 3 8 3 0. That’s 5 6 1 4 4 0 3 8 3 0, and we will build your alt alter ego

Speaker 16: this really quick knowledge nugget is, . Servant leadership. It isn’t soft, it’s savage in a way. Real servant leadership isn’t about being liked, it’s about being locked in. It’s showing up with purpose, putting your people first and demanding excellence ’cause you care that much.

Like good friends of mine, ed Mylet says Max out. Nick Saban. Legendary Coach says, build dynasties. Brian Kane installed systems. Trevor [00:20:00] Moad stays neutral in the chaos. Jesus washed his people’s feet before he even wore a crown. And myself, I do what I love in the service of people that love what I do. The common thread.

We serve their people, team clients by raising standards, not lowering the bar. Remember what I have said about goals? Goals are nothing more than a byproduct of your standards. So your standards are good, you’ll reach your goals. So serve hard, love, strong, demand better, and that’s how legacies are built.

Speaker 19: This week we’re gonna dive into some luxury, but I’m gonna give it a little quick coaching knowledge nugget, and let’s get real. Luxury isn’t just about shiny things. It’s about intention. Every space, every habit, every choice you make, you’re designing your life. Here’s the truth. Success doesn’t happen by accident.

Nobody stumbles into a world class home and nobody stumbles into a world class life. Just like the best renovations in Palm Beach, start with blueprint. Your success starts with a clear vision and the courage to follow through. My clients know I lean into standards. Hard goals are just byproducts of your standards.

With that, the standards must be locked in to do. You must always live in alignment with [00:21:00] yourself. Luxury, real luxury is when outside world matches the inside discipline. It’s when your environment reflects the standard you set for yourself.

So as we dive into today’s conversation, I want you to ask yourself. Am I building myself like a cheap flip, or am I investing the time, the care, and the discipline to make it timeless?

Speaker 20: Real quick knowledge that I get. This week. I was working with a client here locally in, in Palm Beach. Owns a solid company, smart guy, big Heart. Built everything from the ground up and every time he talks strategy, he comes out of the gate blazing. Day one, he’s unstoppable. Day seven, he’s distracted. Day 30, he’s wondering why nothing is moving and it hit me.

He wasn’t struggling with capability, he was struggling with confusion. He was confusing activity with progress. So anybody can show up hyped on day one. Anyone can scribble goals, build plans, make noise. Post motivational messages pound their chest, but progress, real progress is quieter. It’s unsexy, it’s repetition.

It’s choosing the next right action when nobody’s watching. It’s saying no to the distractions that feel productive but aren’t moving the ball an inch. We sat [00:22:00] down, talked about that. I told him, man. Your job isn’t to do more. Your job is to finish what matters. ’cause a storm of activity without direction is just chaos in motion.

Progress only shows up when intention becomes execution, and execution becomes completion. And that’s the trap. So many people in business, especially this time of the year, falling into, they stay busy, they stay moving, they stay loud, but they’re not advancing. They’re on the treadmill, not the trail activity.

Burns energy, progress builds futures. So if you’re listening right now heading into back stretch of 2025 into 2026, ask yourself, am I actually moving forward or am I just moving? When you stop performing for the appearance of effort and start committing to finishing what you start, everything changes.

My client is already seeing that, which is pretty awesome by the way. You came through there, Rick. His team feels it. His customers feel it, and most importantly, he feels it. So don’t confuse activity with progress. One drains you, the other builds you. Choose the one that moves your life forward.

Speaker 22: Coaching knowledge Nugget of the Week Squad is it’s about protection. [00:23:00] And one of the most valuable things you can ever protect is your time. See, everyone wants a piece of it. Your clients, your family, your coworkers, your phone, your inbox, even your excuses. If you don’t guard it like it’s life or death, you look back and realize you gave it all away to things that didn’t move the needle.

My own coaching philosophy involves a lot of neutral thinking, which means focusing only on what moves you forward. As my friend, the legendary. Navy Seal, Jocko willing preaches. Discipline equals freedom. Time is the battlefield where both of those play out. Protect your time and your protect your freedom, waste your time and you hand the keys of your life to somebody else.

And here’s what I always say to one of my guests today. Goals are just the byproduct of your standards. If you raise your standards, the goals take care of themselves. Your standards won’t hold if you don’t protect the time that supports them. So here’s the challenge. Audit your day. Where are you leaking time?

Where are you saying yes when you should be saying no. Protect your minutes and your hours will protect you. That’s how you level up, not by doing more, but by defending what matters most your time.

Speaker 23: I always start out with a little coaching knowledge [00:24:00] nugget, and a lot of people talk about leadership. It is like it’s some flashy title or in a corner office. Let’s get real. Leadership is not about what you can add. It’s about what you can multiply. Think about it. Addition is limited. You work harder, you grind more hours, you push heavier weight.

There’s only so much one person can do. Multiplication is different. Multiplication says, I’m not just carrying this load myself. I’m creating other people who can carry it too. That’s the difference between a manager and a leader. A manager adds a leader multiplies. So here’s your coaching knowledge nugget.

If your impact stops with you, you’re not leading, you’re babysitting. But if your impact outlives you, you’re raising up leaders who will raise up leaders, then you’re multiplying, and that’s legacy. So today, ask yourself, am I. Adding or am I multiplying? Because leaders who multiply don’t just change a team.

They change generations

Speaker 24: So there you have at squad. Thank you so much for tuning into the knowledge nuggets that I came up with that I work with my clients. And [00:25:00] remember, I don’t come up with any of these. I live a life of curiosity. That’s my superpower and I picked it up through people that have regurgitate. I’m just regurgitating what they’ve given me through the years, and thank you so much to them.

Thank you for the shoulders of the giants and I’m able to stand upon and I am again, just so blessed to be. On your station, on the radio, in your podcast weekly, giving you awesome sauce, knowledge nuggets to help you level up your life. So let’s absolutely go out there, crush this next lap around the sun here in 2026.

Absolutely love your guts level up. I.