Game Changer 6 [19:39]
Alright, let’s do this. We’re going live in 5, 4, 3. There’s the status quo and then there are the game changers. They write books and make films about game changers, people who put a dent in the universe. Are you one of them? This series explains everything you need to know to be a game changer and how to win at the game of business and life. Today’s episode is made possible by Think Next, Act Now, a movement that trains and mentors tomorrow’s entrepreneur today. And now, here are your hosts, Bill Wooditch and Todd Schnick.
Todd: Alright, welcome back to this final episode in this show about how to become a game changer. Understanding that business and life is a game and you have to play it well and play to win. In fact, here on episode 6 that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about in closing this series is understanding that this is in fact a game. And hopefully as you listened to episodes 1 thru 5, you’re beginning to understand how to be a game changer, how to play it well and play to win. So I’m joined today by my friend and colleague, Bill Wooditch. Good morning my friend, great to be with you as always. I cannot believe we’re at episode 6, the end of this series.
Bill: Time flies when you’re having a blast and it’s been a blast, Todd. Thank you.
Todd: It has been a real thrill and a pleasure to work with you on this. I suspect this is not the last time that we’re going to hear from you on this. This has been frankly, excuse the pun, this has been game changing for me and I hope those listening are learning some things that help you get control in doing some amazing stuff in your life. So in our final episode here, before we dive in to our main topic here, what is a game changer? What does it mean to be that and why have we done this whole series on this?
Bill: A game changer is a person that thrives under pressure, that wants the pressure, that understands that the responsibility in life, if it’s to be, it’s up to them. So they want to be that person that influences their life, a person that is involved and engaged in the present; that understands the conditions of the past won’t define where they’re going in the future because they’re making the future right now in the present. They’re becoming that person that changes the nature of the game.
Todd: Yup. Well, I think it’s important to talk about that, that this is a game. We’ve touched down on this throughout the series and we actually had a conversation about why is it so wrong that people think it’s bad to view life is playing and things like we’re talking about here as a game. Why is it important to look at how we live our life and how we conduct our business as a game?
Bill: Because we were taught that some things in life like business have to be a serious enterprise, have to be a serious engagement. So we stopped having that playground’s fun, our ideas evaporated with it, we became more fearful, we became more cognizant of what we represented instead of who we really were. So I think that was one of the big things for me is when did I have the most fun in life? When was I the most vital? And I think vitality is the key. You know what? It’s when I’m having fun when I’m playing a game. So I took business and I thought this is just a game. I can make it as serious as I want but I’m going make this a game. So life and business to me is a game worth playing; and by game I mean, let’s get out there and let’s get involved with people and let’s just try and let’s just make it fun. It was fun for me so I find the humor in almost every circumstance that I’m in. I’m able to laugh at myself first and if something’s just funny then just you know, that’s part of the game.
Todd: You spend most of your life at your work. Why is it bad for it to be fun? I mean, I can’t stand the fact that our business culture says this has to be serious.
Bill: Yeah, you know for a game changer the work and life thing mold is one because they just melt together. So business is a subset of life, it is all about life. So you’re away from the desk, you’re still thinking about the game, you’re thinking about what’s next, just thinking about how I’m going to play this thing forward. So playing it forward and using sports analogies for me was very liberating. I knew that to move like a football team, the ball down the field in a process was – I didn’t want to go and close for the juggler on the very first call, I want to move down the field like first downs, it was a game. So I just turned everything into a game. The key in life is to get to next, everything is about the next thing you’re going to get to. You have to think next but you have to act now.
Todd: The beauty of looking at life and business as a game is that you could make up your own rules, right?
Bill: That’s how you innovate, that’s how you truly innovate. Boy, you become very dangerous when you throw out the rule book. Let me give you an example. The company I worked for, the first company, was a large, large concern and they sent me to a big formalized training course for nine months. On and off, intermittent training; I couldn’t get it. Open probe, close, when to ask, what to do, what to refute; I was tripping over myself. So I failed, failed at my first 13 attempts with this formula. It was abject failure. The 14th time I thought, you know what I’m going to leave all these stuff in the car, I’m going to meet these people as people and I’m just going to talk with them. I’m not bringing a brochure, I’m not bringing anything besides my sterling personality and my good hair. So I’m just going to walk up and press flash and see what happens and you know what, I started making it happen, I started winning. So I won my next 13 by being authentic, by making it a game, by not reading off a script, by making up my own rules of engagement, by doing everything so backwards and so different that it just made a difference because it was different, unique and was above the radar and it was different than what everybody was doing.
Todd: Well if you go through business and you’re very strict in following the organizational manual, let me tell you what you’re not, a game changer.
Bill: Well I always looked at the revolutionary war and I looked at, and I don’t want to offend my British colleagues and I have some that work with me, but who’ve marched in a straight line and took orders and they were very easy to pick off from rebels like us because we were hiding in rocks and doing things that were probably against some of the Queen’s rules. So that’s what we did and that’s how we became that’s what who we are today. So I think that’s very – for me, when someone said, this is part of my DNA, if someone says don’t do something, I’m always going to find a way to do it; I was a rebel without a clue at first, and now I think I’m a rebel with a cause. So that’s what maturity can do for you. But I’ve always looked for that way and I think that part of the composition and part of the DNA in a game changer is that you’re kind of going to resist what the status quo is doing because you just want to have the fun of doing it your own way.
Todd: But Bill, I can’t break the company’s rules. How do you respond to that?
Bill: Well, there’s limits on everything and I think a good person has, a good man, is what Clint Eastwood said, always knows his limitations. And I think you’re going to be limited by your thoughts, you’re going to be limited because your actions are going to follow and if you’re going to always going to follow strict instructions that is fear and is also compliance and I think we need people who comply. I think we need those people because they make it a better world for people like us who are game changers.
Todd: Well, yeah, that’s a great way to think about it. And we’re not going to be all game changers, that’s a very obvious point. We’ve touched on this idea a lot through this series. We talked about the law of abundance and when you and I talk enthusiastically about business and life being a game, some may hear that and say ‘alright, well that means there’s going to be losers of the game’ and I think the point we’re making is ‘no, there doesn’t have to be losers’.
Bill: It’s not a zero sum game and when I started in business, I had a lot of people it was during the 80’s when it was zero sum game, neither one of you lose. And I think, you got to be careful how you define a win because I’ve seen people who say they won a sale then the next time they lose, well their moves go up or down based on externally what happened with a certain situation that they may or may not have influenced or controlled. So I think that was very important. And I think that as you go forward, you got to be careful to say, for me, it’s always been a way of life to be one of abundance that I think I want to help others in any way I can. To grow by doing that, I grow and I’ve just really believed that to my core and I’ve seen things happen for me because of that.
And when I’m out there with all this anger toward an opponent, instead of embracing the game and focusing on the game, I’m always missing the most important thing in an equation, and you know what, that’s the client. So I’m always focused on my adversary as the other guy. I’m making moves and reacting based on what he’s doing and I’m missing the heart of the client. So I just made it the better person’s going to win that endeavour or the better equipped person or maybe its luck or maybe you’re making your own luck. But I think the abundance way is the way as opposed to scarcity; there’s enough for all of us.
Todd: Yeah, there absolutely is. And you have to understand that and embrace that and realize it’s real. It’s when that frees you to sit there and really live that way. So when I think about living life and running a business or working in a business, it’s hard, it’s complicated there’s a lot of pressure. And I think the difference between a game changer and most of us is a game changer thrives on that pressure. You’ve said that’s where legends are made. Talk about that.
Bill: We’re going to embrace pressure because we want that ball at the crucial moments, we want to make it happen, we want to be that person at the point of sale, we want to be that person in life that others look to because we’re the ones that can make a difference and we’re the ones that are forging that path. You know, people would tell you that the cutting edge is often the bleeding edge but we want that blood on is because that means that we’ve done something.
You know, I’d rather feel the pain of a loss rather than sitting on the side line like an observer enjoying in some way a vicarious win. I’d rather get in the game, get punched, feel that sinewed pressure and take the pressure and make things happen. You’ve got to take ownership, you got to be prepared and you got to get out there engaged. I think that’s just the fun of life.
Todd: Well, as I said before one of the most enlightening realizations from this series is learning all these different signs of when things are about to happen good or bad. And when you’re feeling pressure, I think that’s a sign that something amazing is about to happen or can happen. If you embrace it and take advantage of it. Most of us are afraid of it and succumb to it. But the game changers they embrace it and they use it to throw them and leverage them forward.
Bill: We’re elevated actually by the pressure. I think the pressure gives us a heightened sense of focus and I think that focus is what really helps us stay in that state of flow.
Todd: When things are just happening around us and everything just slows down. Those are the ones that can actually eat that pressure and make things happen for themselves. It’s not for everybody, it’s called a game changer because it’s different, because you’re actually changing the game. If everybody changes the game, there won’t be any change at all it would just be the same. So to be out there on that cutting edge to want to do things, I think that’s part of the DNA. And there are some thing you can’t learn, but you have to have the fortitude and resilience to actually learn it.
Bill: Oh I think about pressure, I think about out last conversation of owning the present when you’re not owning the present and you’re mired in the past and you’re fearing the future or next one pressure kills you. When you’re owning the present and your embracing it and you’re aware of what’s going on and you’re on top of it, that’s when you could say oh, I can use this.
Todd: You know, we talked about this before and the big thing for me, the big fear I have in life is I didn’t want to feel regret. I didn’t want to regret of not taking a shot, I didn’t want to regret of not being the person at the point of contact, exceeding my responsibility to someone else in fighting or living my life through proxy. I think you live your life through proxy when you depend on other people to change the game for you. I’d rather be the one doing it. So I sit on that bench at the end of time when I can’t do anything about any outcome I can think back and think, ‘you know what, I’ve done everything I possible could to affect and make a better life for myself. It wasn’t someone else changing the game for me, it was me changing the game. Did I need people to work with me? Absolutely. Absolutely, that’s part of abundance. We need people to cooperate, to collaborate and we all flourish together. But I can say I left it all in the field, I can actually say that.
Bill: Well that’s what we want [11:14]
Todd: Alright, Bill and I will return after this short break. We’ll be right back.
[11:18-12:15 Advertisement]Todd: Alright, so Todd Schnitt back with Bill Wooditch. So Bill, I’ve been thinking about our conversation top half of the show. And thinking about business and life is a game. It’s clear to me now that most people are on the side lines, they’re not playing right?
Bill: Most people are observers in the game of life, they watch things go by; they’re the passenger in the car, they’re not the driver. And I think that’s just a lot of people in life who have, for whatever reasons, fear maybe apathy maybe they really don’t care; it’s hard for me to imagine that. But I want to be a participant in the game of life. We’re only here for a short time, no matter how long we’re here, we could live to be 105, 110, it’s a short time.
Todd: When do you realize… maybe you think, like we said in an earlier episode, ‘well, I think all the time’ ‘no, you’re really just conscious’. This idea of people saying ‘well, I go to work every day, I’m in the game, am I not?’ When do you realize that you’re not in the game? And say ‘I need to get on the field’
Bill: That might be harsh, but I think you can be a pawn in the game, you can be a piece on the board; but that’s someone else moving you. I don’t want to be harsh, I don’t want to be [13:20 overlaps] And the danger in those people who actually believe they are part of the game is that they’re kidding themselves and deluding themselves in giving up any kind of responsibility. They’re looking for that merit raise, the annual raise of 3.5% or maybe 10% every year and they’re thinking that’s winning in the game. It’s not. Get out there and change the game life. It has nothing to do with wit-bit, not so much to do with business success as it does success in life. If you’re meeting, as we talked about before, if you’re meeting your expectation of what you can be, based on your talents, based on your skills, based on your resilience and based on your will, then you’re doing the very best you can do; you’re changing the game.
Todd: Well I look at it this way. I love thinking about business and life as a game because it really makes it easy to understand some very common things. But if I’m winning the games too easily, well I’m not playing a hard enough game, right? That’s one way to look at it.
Bill: Got to kick up that level on the game board [14:12 overlaps] that’s right, you need to get another room. You know it’s like videogames, you got to keep notching up the racket, you’re still playing the novice level, get up there on all pro and see what happens.
Todd: The game’s a lot faster.
Bill: It absolutely does and it’s more exciting, right? But again thinking further about the game idea here, you might realize you are playing the wrong game. And the beauty of it is if you have control, you’re the CEO of your own life, you can change the game, right?
Todd: Yes. Look at it this way, most of the analogies I use are football analogies. But if I had to play soccer, the original form of football, man, I would suck at that. I get up I couldn’t even kick the ball so I have to do something different. So you have to know when you’re in the wrong field. I mean, a lot of people have talent, a lot of talent to do something exceptional and change the game in another industry. But they’re so determined to put on a tie, put on a suit every day and become that person they think that their parents or that their family wants them to be. And it might not really be them and playing someone else’s game and we’re in someone else’s uniform; they don’t belong in the game. I imagine there are a lot of people out there who know they’re playing in the wrong game but they don’t have the courage or they’ll think it’s possible that they can change the rules, they can change the game. Any advice on how they can begin to do that?
Bill: Well, think about this as an add-on. The longer you’re in that game waiting and not doing and taking action to get out of it, the more investment you have and the more investment you have in terms of time and emotional investment, the harder it is to get off the field. Then you get to a certain point where you just go, shrug your heads and say ‘why not’, the gig is almost up, the game is almost over, the clock is running out; it’s too late. You never want to get to the point where it’s too late. Where you’re at a certain age and career where it is probably too difficult to get out of the shifts. And don’t believe everybody that tells you it’s never too late, you can be X, you can be this old. And there’s a stage were midnight is appearing, you want to see it coming on the clock.
Todd: I agree with you on that but I do think that if you’re 65 years old and you’re unhappy with your life, I think you can change. You should and you shouldn’t say it’s too late for me. I’ve dug this grave and I’m going to finish it. No, you can change it and I think that it’s an exciting opportunity. I think so many people are hopeless thinking they can’t.
Bill: Yeah, I think that’s life and I think we talk about the context of business, if you push a bad proposition to a business for too long, you get a certain stage, age and shelf life where you got to get out and do something different.
Todd: But in life, you can reinvigorate and change yourself up to, I would keep doing it until I’m 90, if I’m fortunate enough to make it that long, man, I want to keep changing things up every day.
Bill: Well if my hero Ben Scully can still sound good on the radio at 89 years old, then hopefully I have a long career ahead of me.
Todd: I think the most, is we’re kind of wrapping up and coming to the end of this thing, I think the most exciting thing we can talk about is that you can keep playing this game. The game should never end. You should always be moving forward. But that’s the beauty of it, you can keep playing.
Bill: Start with a curious mind. The mind that’s curious and a body that can follow the curiosity through the expression because we’re taking care of ourselves. Taking care of ourselves spiritually, taking care of ourselves emotionally, taking care of ourselves in that physical realm and feeding our minds with good stuff for learning. And curious can always change the game. Always.
Todd: Yeah, yeah. Well, Bill, we’re coming to the end of this series. As I look back on our conversations and this idea of the always-forward philosophy and mind set and defining winning and knowing your destination and that vision, the think and do effect, being the CEO of your life, owning the present, and then again wrapping up this is a game and you need to play it well. Any final thoughts on those six components to making a game changer?
Bill: I think that the fun and the attempt, you know the expression, the willingness, the courage, will make you better at everything in every attempt in life. I think you try one thing that’s very difficult, just keep trying and trying and do something until you achieve it. You’re going to feel better in all walks of life, you’re going to feel better about yourself. And isn’t the purpose of the exercise to really be happy? Isn’t that what the Greeks said, we’re here to be happy, we should strive for happiness? To be happy, let’s take the steps toward happiness. Let’s deserve happiness and deserve happiness by being CEO of your life and accepting and becoming that game changer.
Todd: Alright, well, that’s all the time we have for today. Bill, before I let you go on this final episode of this series, how can people contact you should they have any questions on any of these and how to become a game changer.
Bill: They can direct those questions to billwooditch.com. W-O-O-D-I-T-C-H. Billwooditch.com
Todd: Alright, Bill, it has been a pleasure. So grateful for you being a part of this with me and your support for the show. I’m certainly inspired and I think we’ve uncovered some things that will force people to think and if we can get people to think, always forward and thinking and doing, boy, we’ve done our job.
Bill: We have won then. I’m all fired up for this. Thank you very much.
Todd: Pleasure was mine. Alright, so in behalf of my colleague Bill Wooditch, I am Todd Schnick. I suspect you’ll see Bill and I back soon talking about some other stuff related to moving always forward. It’s been a pleasure so until that time, remember, always forward.