David Horsager: Welcome to the trusted leader show it’s David Horsager and we have a special guest today, please, welcome to the show the one and only curtis J morley curtis thanks for being on.

Curtis Morley: David i’m so honored Thank you so much.

David Horsager: Well curtis if people don’t know about curtis he is the author of the entrepreneurs paradox he’s director of the collard initiative on technology at the University of utah.

David Horsager: he’s started five companies multi million dollar companies his last one had clients 96 of the fortune 100.

David Horsager: He has been the entrepreneur of the year he’s a patent holder he’s training for boston’s after a big back surgery and climbing kilimanjaro last year.

David Horsager: you’re just an interesting guy but you love your family you’ve got five kiddos you have built these companies that have really added value to the world, you just had an exit not too long ago again and.

David Horsager: I think you know you’re an example of a trusted leader, both in business and at home and a generous giver in many other ways, you know I sit on the board of a university you’re doing a lot of service in in.

David Horsager: University and other initiatives and i’m just so grateful to have you here so thanks again for being on curtis.

Curtis Morley: it’s such a pleasure so fun to to be in contact again.

David Horsager: Yes.

David Horsager: And I had the honor of endorsing your book we’re going to jump in on that book again anything else you would just say hey something most people don’t know about curtis J Morley.

Curtis Morley: a really interesting one is i’m actually allergic to chocolates.

Curtis Morley: Oh, believe it or not, yeah.

David Horsager: i’m very sorry about that.

David Horsager: So you’re not allergic to all ice cream that’s that’s where we get a problem.

Curtis Morley: Now we can we can do the other ice cream pistachio, and the reason wrong and all those.

David Horsager: Go and we’re but we’re both we got other similarities, but we’re both from small towns and and a whole lot of other things let’s jump in I mean I think there’s so much to unpack.

David Horsager: In in your new book entrepreneurs paradox and and just your experience in not just you know many people start companies and they fail, but I mean.

David Horsager: you’ve actually been successful at this and I i’m proud of the way you’ve done so much of it, so I want to jump in on this book and just maybe you could give an overview for everybody, you know why this book entrepreneurs paradox and what’s the core of it.

Curtis Morley: yeah i’m so glad you brought that up specifically the you know how how businesses fail and, if you look at the Bureau of Labor statistics, they say that 30% of businesses will go defunct within the first year.

Curtis Morley: And in five years 50% will be out of business and I don’t believe it at all I know the data is accurate, but I believe they they’ve got a faulty assumption, I believe the assumption is that businesses fail I don’t believe businesses fail, I believe, entrepreneurs quit.

Curtis Morley: And that is a big reason a big reason why I wrote the book.

David Horsager: So why did they quit I mean, by the way we I think I have some of my new writing is on it’s not you know.

David Horsager: That i’ve been working on is kind of looking at like true contradictions so like you know the early bird gets the worm but be patient right both.

David Horsager: can be true.

David Horsager: Right it’s like and and I would say, by the way, to the point you’re making there is a another true contradiction or tension, and that is persevere versus pivot.

David Horsager: You and I have, I think, have both seen people persevere and they’ve just made it because they persevered I mean I can talk about myself 21 years ago, starting in the basement with $1 40 to my name black mold on the walls and whatever.

David Horsager: And yet we also see people persevere right off the cliff.

David Horsager: Other people.

David Horsager: We see you know pivot too early and they don’t make it others are seen as brilliant because they pivoted just in time or they would have gone off right so So what is it that makes them, maybe quit or quit at the wrong time.

Curtis Morley: yeah and I love this especially this is so timely in our in our current environment.

Curtis Morley: or current environment with the pandemic going on, but I get asked all the time is is it a good idea to start a business in the middle of a pandemic and and, believe it or not, and my answer is an emphatic yes, not just a yes, but an emphatic yes.

David Horsager: So why.

Curtis Morley: it’s because right now we’re experiencing unprecedented change globally we’re seeing changed that’s never been to this extent and the whole world and the entire planet is doing things differently and the the offer the opportunity is there and another name for change is opportunity.

David Horsager: So I don’t check the right opportunities.

David Horsager: Because obviously change is kind of it is you can have good change or a bad change right but change creates opportunity So how do I.

David Horsager: How do I notice it, and then we got it we got to come back around to that question of of you know what we say, you know what makes us quit what makes people quit at the wrong time.

Curtis Morley: mm hmm yeah yeah if I can share an example to.

Curtis Morley: illustrate the please one of my favorites entrepreneurs young entrepreneurs her name is kylie chin.

Curtis Morley: And she runs a global expedition company called acapella expeditions she’s actually the one that took me to the top of kilimanjaro and she’s amazing.

Curtis Morley: And as you can imagine, if you think of all the industries, all the businesses that were impacted by the pandemic, you know what was impacted most.

Curtis Morley: Arguably traveler and kylie went from a multimillion dollar business to zero in one month like zero not not one customer not to customer zero bookings and.

Curtis Morley: And she could have just quick she could have income, one of the statistics that would have been marked the Bureau of Labor statistics and said okay i’m done, I went off the cliff whoops Oh well.

Curtis Morley: What she didn’t and and there’s a key here is what she did is she said i’m I don’t believe the need or the demand disappeared.

Curtis Morley: I think it just moved it moved locations and and with the pandemic your travel and you’ve got here it got shut off there was literally only a couple countries that were even letting people in.

Curtis Morley: out out of United States, and so it got cut off so she said, where did the need go where did the knee or or did it transition to and she said.

Curtis Morley: Well, people still wanted adventure, they still want that you know that excitement of exploring something new and going to places they’ve never seen and and seeing the world in different ways and opening their eyes and so she said well.

Curtis Morley: Why not provide that domestically so she created a completely different new and different company called wonder camp.

Curtis Morley: And it’s basically doing expedition travel within the United States around the national parks and the amazing thing David is that she is now doing as much business domestically, as she was internationally, and as soon as the pandemics over now she’s gonna have to multimillion dollar.

David Horsager: interesting when you said something interesting way back and I guess that that’s the single biggest indicator of entrepreneurial success something specific you said in your book what’s the what is the single biggest indicator of entrepreneurial success.

Curtis Morley: it’s an indefatigable drive to to never give up.

Curtis Morley: And I know you know that.

David Horsager: yeah so.

David Horsager: The we have this drive, but so you know back to something we started with, would you agree that there are some people, though, that persevere right off the cliff.

Curtis Morley: Oh absolutely.

David Horsager: Absolutely So how do we decide.

David Horsager: yeah when to pivot when to persevere, how do we stay with the right thing at the right time, I miss a big challenge for entrepreneurs.

Curtis Morley: yeah I, I believe that any business can succeed with the right business principles applied, and one of those right business principles is making sure you have market fit and market demand.

Curtis Morley: And then kylie’s case you look at the demand and the demand didn’t disappear, the demand was there, but it wasn’t there international and so.

Curtis Morley: So she said okay it’s time to pivot and understanding those business principles, looking at every single quarter saying, where we at where is the demand, how can we prove that demand.

Curtis Morley: Those are the questions to ask to make sure that you are pivoting to the right place the, the only constant is change.

Curtis Morley: And so, with that in mind, we need to change with it and just plan on changing like there’s big pivots and then there’s business and business involves small pivots every week every month every quarter of the year, it we’re we’re constantly pivoting we can’t be in business without.

David Horsager: How do we, how do we decide like how much to pivot when to pivot, how do we have that be a almost a part of our innovative cycle of thinking, how do I need to pivot now should I pivot like without it, you know becoming us and we don’t persevere when we ought to.

Curtis Morley: mm hmm yeah yeah the actually talked about this in one of the chapters in the entrepreneurs paradox about the example of Thomas Edison.

Curtis Morley: And and there’s the common held belief that Thomas Edison created light bulb well, the truth is six other people, created the light bulb before Thomas Edison.

Curtis Morley: And you look at at his drive and his singular focus, he was so focused on creating a commercially viable light bulb, and that was the big difference if you look at the other.

Curtis Morley: People the other inventors the other business leaders that created other versions of the light bulb before Thomas Edison.

Curtis Morley: They were all well funded, just like him, they were all well connected, they were all well educated, they had everything except they didn’t push through the hard times they created something said hey everybody Look how cool, this is, and then they said, but making it commercially viable.

Curtis Morley: it’s gonna be tough and so they gave up.

David Horsager: That brings us to another, you know really good question because you’ve done this before.

David Horsager: You you’ve sold companies for millions you’ve you’ve you’ve actually had the experience of really growing companies from startup to growth phase.

David Horsager: How do you take it so many people stay in startup let’s say all these other six not not Edison, but these others they stay in the startup phase, but how do they get to and through this rapid growth phase, how do they have to think differently, how do they have to act differently to.

David Horsager: overcome that barrier you talk about that a little bit in the book.

Curtis Morley: I love this question, I absolutely love this question because most entrepreneurs, they do hit this invisible ceiling.

Curtis Morley: They hit this glass ceiling and and there’s some inflection points along the way, and each one of those inflection point has its own ceiling.

Curtis Morley: And one of the key differentiators from a small business that is hitting that ceiling over and over again, and a business that’s experiencing rapid growth.

Curtis Morley: there’s a couple of them, but i’ll just hit on a few here the one of the key differentiators is getting out of the entrepreneurs paradox getting out of their own way.

Curtis Morley: And and realizing that the thing that got them into business is actually what will actively prevent them from succeeding in business.

David Horsager: How do we do it, how do we give it up like Oh, but but with our fingerprints on it, you know it’s the quality is there and the.

David Horsager: The touches there and that, how do we give up, especially when it’s not that it’s a personal brand, but when it’s a you know.

David Horsager: it’s it’s it’s we created this no one else has done it better, in a certain way or given that experience how do we, how do we.

David Horsager: multiply that I mean, I see this challenge with so many people in our work in our business in in businesses like ours that they they just can’t grow to scale when they actually they have something that ought to be scalable.

Curtis Morley: yeah yeah exactly and and one question that I asked every entrepreneur that I work with is if you’re building the product who’s building the business.

Curtis Morley: Think about that if you’re building the product who’s building the business.

Curtis Morley: And that’s The paradox is typically people get into business because they’re really good at something there and they may be the best in the world at what they do, typically they are, and I mean they may have written this incredible dissertation on trust.

Curtis Morley: and realize, you know i’ve really got something here and people love it and, in my case yeah I was.

Curtis Morley: Creating interactive media and my first company and people were like i’ve never seen things like this, this is so cool.

Curtis Morley: We you know, will you do it for me and you need to start a company and i’m thinking well, of course, I do if I know how to create really cool websites, then of course I know how to start a business.

Curtis Morley: Oh no.

David Horsager: So, what was the first did you hire the right.

David Horsager: Number two did you hire the right President, what did you do to if you are the expert in building the product, what did you do to build the company that was sellable or scalable.

Curtis Morley: Well, the first few times I failed I made all the mistakes possible.

Curtis Morley: You really did.

David Horsager: And what would I do differently.

Curtis Morley: that’s really why that’s why I wrote the book, yes, because is because I didn’t make all the mistakes, I made every one of the 16 pitfalls I just fell face first and.

Curtis Morley: And, and then I realized that there’s a better way there’s a better way to do this there’s a faster way to do this there’s a way that you can actually get sleep at night.

Curtis Morley: And you don’t have to work three hours or three days straight, so there is a better way and it took truly the school of hard knocks to teach me these lessons.

David Horsager: So let’s jump in but people need to get this book the entrepreneurs paradox, but let’s jump into what are a few ways we can think of like right now let’s take an entrepreneur.

David Horsager: or leader and say oh they’ve got this great thing but they’ve kind of hit a ceiling, you know they haven’t been able to scale it grow beyond themselves, they haven’t you know.

David Horsager: What, what are the things they need to think about doing what are a few of the things from the book that like you hit this mistake, what did they do, what did you do.

Curtis Morley: yeah the The first one is you got to drain the swamp and I use an analogy of wrestling alligators so if.

Curtis Morley: You know we all start businesses and it’s usually we’re in the real world, we have a day job we fly over to entrepreneur islands.

Curtis Morley: And we’re sitting on the beach sipping our coconuts and you know, fishing and pulling in the big fish and building sandcastles and it’s amazing that we get real there’s just this energy about it, like wow I did something really cool and people actually loved it.

Curtis Morley: And let me get Let me give the quote here that I pulled out from the book it’s hard to remember to drain the swamp when your eye to eye with the alligator.

Curtis Morley: Yes, so.

David Horsager: Tell us about this.

Curtis Morley: So when we’re sitting there on the island, you know we think is this glorious waste and beach with the the beautiful smell the flowers and the ocean breeze.

Curtis Morley: And we’re sitting there, and all of a sudden, an alligator crawls out of.

Curtis Morley: The forest behind us, or the jungle and and we’re like wait a minute wait a minute, this is not what I signed up for I signed up for the beach and the ocean.

Curtis Morley: And the alligator comes in the form of HR issues comes in the form of of legal accounting comes in the form of all of these things that we didn’t expect we’re really good at our trade whether it’s.

Curtis Morley: teaching people about trust or cool websites or cupcakes or guitar building or international travel whatever it is that’s what we have a passion and love for and that’s why we started the company in the first place.

Curtis Morley: What we didn’t realize, is that there were all these alligators so we wake up every morning when we jump on that alligator we wrestle it all day long and we go to bed, and the next morning there’s another alligator climbing out of the swamp.

Curtis Morley: And the way to to break free from that cycle and break out of that first glass ceiling is to drain the swamp.

Curtis Morley: And the draining the swamp means creating systems hiring the right people taking off all the hats, because as entrepreneurs, we love to wear all the hats, we want to pretend I may not be a lawyer, but I play one on TV.

Curtis Morley: All of those things, and when we when we relinquish that including being the best in the world at our craft.

Curtis Morley: And that’s the hard one that’s the that’s the entrepreneurial reboot of the operating system within you know that’s the hardest one is being able to give up.

Curtis Morley: i’m the best in this world at this but I actually need other people to be the best in the world at what I started the company that’s when the entrepreneur breaks out of that glass ceiling.

David Horsager: love it.

David Horsager: that the next one one thing you say is decisions done in desperation dictate disaster.

David Horsager: And I think of this because I think that’s where many are there wrestling they’ll have a alligator.

David Horsager: And they’re in desperation and they’re like we have this great thing it’s amazing it’s awesome and but all of a sudden, they can’t do it all well and they can’t.

David Horsager: handle the growth, they can’t keep up with the growth can you give us some some tips for making those decisions and also for for.

David Horsager: really still like like scaling early on, like getting are not scaling early on, but but but but prepping for rapid growth like what are the systems, you need, who are the first hire you hires you’d make yeah.

Curtis Morley: Absolutely, and the first hires are going to be a lawyer and an accountant.

Curtis Morley: And, and when I say hire doesn’t mean that you bring them on full time you can you know get a fractional CFO.

Curtis Morley: Or you can have a lawyer, that you know you pay for five hours a month or 10 hours a month, whatever it is, but those are going to be some really key ones, especially the accountant and then one that I really think is critical is is hiring an assistant.

Curtis Morley: And, especially if you are doing everything all day you need somebody you know, one of the alligators that is just chronic for entrepreneurs, they love to book their own travel.

Curtis Morley: And you think about that you know they’ll spend an hour to three hours figure it out just the right flight with just the right hotel.

Curtis Morley: that’s three hours you could be working on a multimillion dollar strategy that’s you know, three hours you could be getting back in your life, and you can pay somebody a fairly modest wage to be doing that for you.

David Horsager: I remember when someone said to me early on and I hired probably before I could afford it, but my first hire was the assistant executive assistant, I remember somebody said to me.

David Horsager: Two things one hire it done if possible hair done if it’s not your expertise hire it done and the other thing they said you’ve got to hire done $10 an hour work, so you can do thousand dollar an hour work.

David Horsager: And it’s not like that that’s the money, the amount it’s just that the value like what you can do is bring this, but if you’re doing $10 an hour work you can’t do the thousand dollar an hour work and that’s only.

David Horsager: Really, a number of how much value, you can give to people when you’re using the best of you right, so I agree with that, I actually started yeah.

David Horsager: We have subcontracted you know early on lawyers accountants those kind of things helped a lot, but I think it’s another school of thought is Michael hyatt story he wrote a book called.

David Horsager: world class I think world class executive assistants and basically when I read it, he basically built his company to millions and millions of dollars on assistance like hiring the right assistance now at some point, you need a CEO or I would think.

David Horsager: You know something there right but.

David Horsager: it’s it’s kind of along those lines of try to get out of all these things, and only do the thing that you can do right first and then what you’re saying is then that thing that you think only you can do train someone else to do that thing.

Curtis Morley: Exactly exactly and and truly if you’re the entrepreneur, you can either be the entrepreneur or the solo printer and most most people when they hit that glass ceiling, they are the solo printer.

Curtis Morley: And it’s not until they start doing the things that like taking off the hats and it’s funny because people say well it’s hard to take off the hats.

Curtis Morley: And I say why, why is it hard to take off the hats and you hit on something really important, you said, well, nobody does it as good as I do it right.

Curtis Morley: And it really comes down to trust, but it comes down to trust in two ways the first is that I need to trust someone else that they will own this the way I own.

Curtis Morley: But the second trust that’s important when taking off all the hats, is that I need to trust myself.

Curtis Morley: I need to trust myself that I can train someone to do it, the way that I want it done that I needed done company produces and so it’s trusting others but it’s also trusting myself, and when I work with entrepreneurs and help them see this, the second one is actually harder.

Curtis Morley: Because oftentimes they don’t trust themselves to be able to distill that knowledge.

Curtis Morley: And that expertise to someone else.

David Horsager: that’s so true wow.

David Horsager: Well there’s a lot there’s so much here people got to get the book, but this is something that stood out also we’re only born with two and eight fears, everything else is learned and can be unlearned.

David Horsager: what’s that mean.

Curtis Morley: So in 1969 they did a study and they said, what are the fears that were born, so they took infants and toddlers and and it’s not snakes it’s not the dark it’s not any of the things you know public speech.

Curtis Morley: it’s not any of those things the to make fears and the only fears, they were able to identify in children was the fear of falling.

Curtis Morley: And the fear of loud noises that’s it or no other fears that were inmate when we come down from heaven and join this earth, you know that’s it those are the only two and they’re they’re actually survival techniques with you think about it.

David Horsager: So howdy i’m learning how to learn for years once you’ve had look at, you can have a.

David Horsager: We we deal with people you know they’ve had a traumatic experience to put our feet in their shoes, I mean I can think of the time you know I used to even you know have my lifeguarding certificate to lifeguard and then I got caught underneath of.

David Horsager: Something and almost drown myself and It made me.

David Horsager: Somewhat claustrophobic In fact I still feel at certain times when I get in a certain environment can’t get out because I was stuck under this water with our way out for quite a long time until I found a.

David Horsager: Basically, a you know way across this pool that was covered.

David Horsager: A way out and just by seeing a shining light opening my eyes and that chlorinated water and and seeing the light come in this one area in a pitch black pool and It made me somewhat claustrophobic I wouldn’t mind unlearning that claustrophobia.

Curtis Morley: it’s funny I can totally relate, I thought I was strong enough swimmer to catch my brother off the diving board when I was just a little kid and or boy was I wrong, so I understand that fear of of the water and the fear of that claustrophobia and I.

David Horsager: don’t know if you’re a water I swim I do triathlons now and whatever, but if.

Curtis Morley: know.

David Horsager: It really what it made is it made a fear of animal can swim across certain lakes now not not huge ones, but you know I mean, I can but, but the thing for me now is under anything or tuck tight anything tight like I can’t you know.

Curtis Morley: yeah no I totally get it and yeah having doing triathlons to it’s it was a learning skills swim is still my hardest have.

Curtis Morley: A but.

Curtis Morley: But those fears are valid and there they come from experience and they’re valid, to the point where.

Curtis Morley: The they’re showing us they’re actually a gift that shows us hey This is something that you get overcome this is a way for you to build who you are.

Curtis Morley: And, and I talked about in the book the entrepreneurs paradox about the an exercise called fear smashing.

Curtis Morley: And we actually go through it’s a five step process to look your fear in the face and say what is it really and.

Curtis Morley: And it goes through this process of identifying fear looking in the face and seeing it for what it really is and and I love I love to say that that fear falters, when faced fear fear is actually a coward.

Curtis Morley: Fear was a serious coward and when you look at down when you look at in the eyes and say hey fair i’m actually going to see you for what you are.

Curtis Morley: It turns tail and runs, it is a calor and one real quick, this is, this is also in the book, but one real quick way of getting out of that feeling of anxiety quick in a very short amount of time is there’s there’s one letter that changes fear into power and that letter.

Curtis Morley: Well i’ll illustrate the the phrase that we often hear ourselves in our own brains say is what if.

Curtis Morley: What if my business fails, what if I work too much and my kids hate me what if I can’t make payroll What if I ruin these people’s lives, what if people think i’m a failure, what if what if what if.

Curtis Morley: And I don’t know if you can fill it but, as I say those things I can actually feel my chest constrict right, I can feel that oh that’s just a horrible feeling and if we take off the F.

Curtis Morley: And we replace it with an s.

Curtis Morley: So instead of what if now it’s what is.

Curtis Morley: and pay attention to how you feel, as I say, these statements, what is Michael.

Curtis Morley: What is in my power to change what is my next step.

Curtis Morley: What is.

Curtis Morley: My mission here on earth.

Curtis Morley: What is.

Curtis Morley: The purpose that God wants me to accomplish what is, can you feel the difference.

David Horsager: Absolutely, this goes along really well with what I when I was talking to a CEO in the middle of the pandemic and I said what’s working well for you, because I think he’s doing well, he is a client but he’s got a significant MED tech company and he said, you know when he was in the.

David Horsager: In the war college in the 1980s, he learned something, and that was when you have times of uncertainty, you ask.

David Horsager: What can I control, most people, many people that I saw do poorly as far as leaders in the pandemic or thing Oh, what about the election this, what about that what what up to the weather going to do.

David Horsager: And it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be aware of what’s happening in the environments, because we have to deal with those as leaders, we have to force Satan, and all this, but our forecast but.

David Horsager: Most many people spend all the time, all the brain calories and what they couldn’t control and those that paused and thought and spend most of their brain calories and what they could control they actually found there’s a whole lot more than you can control than you think right.

David Horsager: This goes along with that what they.

David Horsager: All these things I can control and then of those what should I do first very similar to the thought you’re talking about around fear here what what is the way out what is, in my power what what is my bigger person purpose or whatever I love it.

Curtis Morley: yeah and a dear friend of mine, Richard bass he coined the phrase that flexing on the past produces pain threading on the future fuels, fear and only the present produces how’re and peace.

Curtis Morley: And and it’s true the what is brings us to the present, but what it says today, right now, this minute.

Curtis Morley: What is what is surrounding me with blessings what you know there’s so much in the present that brings that power and that piece, that if we let go into the future, we let go of the past and we say right now, what is my next step, what is, in my power to control.

David Horsager: We can get there, we have a chance right.

what’s next.

David Horsager: So i’m going to jump to some personal things but before I do.

David Horsager: What what one more little takeaway from the book there’s so much in there for an entrepreneur, but one other thought that you’d like maybe share with us from the book that to help us.

David Horsager: Those of us that are entrepreneurs grow.

Curtis Morley: yeah, this is a hard question because there’s so much there’s business acumen there’s leadership there’s there’s trust there’s all these things.

Curtis Morley: One of the things once the actor gets out of the paradox, one of the very first things you know if you if you think about wrestling alligators and you think about the swamp your head is always down.

Curtis Morley: you’re always looking for the next alligator once you’re able to drain the swamp all of a sudden Now you can look up.

Curtis Morley: Now you can look up and you can see that on entrepreneur island there’s actually mountain ranges and it’s time to start climbing.

Curtis Morley: And so, one of the very first exercises that I worked through with entrepreneurs is picking which mountain range you’re going to climb.

Curtis Morley: And, and I have what’s called the success formula it’s a very different unique way to create a goal, specifically for entrepreneurship.

Curtis Morley: And, and with that goal is having people say all right i’m going to pick my mountain range and this was one of those Aha moments for that when I realized this i’m like whoa.

Curtis Morley: I never even considered this before is there’s only three mountain ranges and entrepreneur compliant.

Curtis Morley: there’s only three that’s it there, you know I always that well there’s all these possibilities know there’s only three the first is a lifestyle business.

Curtis Morley: The second is a buyer be bought business or you know acquisition merger.

Curtis Morley: And the third is an ipo that’s it those are the only mountain ranges that an entrepreneur can climb.

Curtis Morley: And once that realization is there, then there’s a starting point, then there’s a way to say you know what.

Curtis Morley: This is where I want to go yeah I just I really do just want a lifestyle business or you know I want to build an amazing rapid growth company that i’m buying other companies and, one day, I have an acquisition.

Curtis Morley: Or you know I want to get on Wall Street and and once that’s the case, and once we start seeing the goal and working through the success formula then that’s where I see personally that’s where I see the entrepreneurs, you know turn their needle from this to this.

David Horsager: little bit well the lot more in the entrepreneurs paradox what, what do you learn in these days, what do you what’s what what’s new.

David Horsager: How do you keep innovating and learning these days.

Curtis Morley: You know it’s.

Curtis Morley: wow.

Curtis Morley: There you just sold you just sold your fifth.

David Horsager: Company you wrote this book you’re definitely consulting and helping people a lot, but what are you learning today a lot of people say what did what did someone learn, I want to know what you learned today.

Curtis Morley: it’s it’s a daily habit, it is a daily habit on my phone, I have an APP that counts, things and and I have daily routines that I go through, and one of those is.

Curtis Morley: is learning One of those is is is getting out and understanding things like your podcasts like love your podcasts are so many amazing guests and so many great insights and.

Curtis Morley: and actually the last several years have on a personal basis, but actually been really a struggle and very painful and I sat down with a friend for lunch and he said something so amazing he said curtis life doesn’t happen to you life happens for you.

Curtis Morley: And, and that changed my thinking entirely that life is a blessing, the good things, and the trials are all blessings and that’s where I stopped, but then last month.

Curtis Morley: David Meltzer put a post up that said life doesn’t happen to you.

Curtis Morley: Life happens through you.

Curtis Morley: pencil.

Curtis Morley: It took my thinking to a whole new level but life actually does happen for me doesn’t happen to me it’s not there’s no victim it happens, for me, but it also can, if I let it, it can happen through me I can become I can go from victim to Victor to vessel.

David Horsager: I love it.

Curtis Morley: I can become a vessel.

David Horsager: We have a huge opportunity as leaders, because we can influence so many others, and those of us to get to give others jobs, what a gift to you know and a whole nother way of of influencing families people hopefully the world.

David Horsager: But so life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you, but it can happen through you.

David Horsager: say that last part vessel.

Curtis Morley: yeah instead of like if my attitude is that life happens to me i’m a victim, if my attitude is that life happens for me also may turn into a victor.

Curtis Morley: What if I say life happens through me now i’m a vessel for something greater than myself.

David Horsager: boom drop.

David Horsager: I like it let’s.

David Horsager: Be vessels let’s be trusted vessels that’s what i’ll say about that, because we can be all kinds of vessels so let’s be trusted leaders trusted vessels so.

David Horsager: let’s Let me touch on just a couple of things here what what what’s motivating you these days you’ve been through a lot you’ve had you know I know you’ve got the training for Boston and some you know fun side things but what’s what’s motivating you toward what’s next.

Curtis Morley: um It really is tapping into my purpose on this planet and and i’ve got this.

Curtis Morley: Huge audacious goal, I want to help a million entrepreneurs reach the next level success, I want to help them find the success, not only in their business.

Curtis Morley: But in their personal lives and in their mission find success and so that’s my goal is that is helping million entrepreneurs and.

Curtis Morley: It happens with the book with the coaching mentoring, it happens with my students it’s it’s so rewarding to be able to say wait wait wait, I know where you’re going to make this mistake and don’t make it.

Curtis Morley: I can save you all of this pain years of pain, I can save you let me just help you with this one thing and that’s that’s what I love is is just truly helping people to to find themselves and then find their purpose in their business.

David Horsager: I love it.

David Horsager: Well, for everybody out there there’s a whole lot in here I love this I was going to ask a few more questions but we’ve got a whole lot in here but let’s not be victims let’s not be victor’s and sit there let’s be vessels as trusted leaders.

David Horsager: i’ve got one more question for you, before I get to that, though.

David Horsager: This has been the trusted leader show everybody can go and see the show notes you’re going to find out a whole lot more on curtis J morally you’ll find out.

David Horsager: You can get his book anywhere but you’ll find out a little bit more about the entrepreneurs paradox and make sure go pick up the book.

David Horsager: And last question curtis, who is a leader you trust and why.

Curtis Morley: wow.

Curtis Morley: that’s a phenomenal question.

Curtis Morley: first thing that came to mind was the number one leader of all.

Curtis Morley: In the Bible Christ, the second was, I have a dear friend and he’s someone that I actually want to be like no because they shot him and he’s the CEO of zero rez formerly one of the Presidents of Franklin covey and.

Curtis Morley: He is he he exemplifies trust in so many ways, and actually you know, this is not platitudes you’re one of those David.

Curtis Morley: You truly are there you impacted my life, the very first time I met you you impacted my life deeply you shared the story about your dad.

Curtis Morley: And the magazine in the truck and that impacted my life severely that was so so meaningful to me and I appreciate how you you live, the principles you teach and.

Curtis Morley: yeah i’m truly grateful for that.

David Horsager: Well, thank you, thank you for that I just had team meeting this morning and and vulnerable talked about how I wish I would live out what I say, even more so i’m still working on it every day to live out exactly what I believe and.

David Horsager: continue on this journey to high trust leadership, but.

David Horsager: Well, thank you for from all the listeners, thank you for me and our friendship for being on the show curtis and like we said, you can find everything in the show notes, this has been the trusted leader show until next time stay trusted.