It's Time to Step Up As Leaders
Host: Isaac Mashman · April 20, 2020 · Episode 20 · 18 minutes
Transcribed from the episode audio and edited for names and terms. Wording can differ slightly from what was said; the episode itself is the record.
Yo yo yo yo yo yo yo what is going on everyone? Isaac Mashman you are now listening to episode 20 of Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman podcast. Today I am going to be talking about something that is just very very near and dear to my heart and it's something that has been on my mind a lot lately especially after observing a lot of people a lot of people's behaviors and then it also stems from things that I was raised to believe in. It stems from you know ways that I was taught you know for those of you who don't know I and boy scouts for a good portion of my life.
I held some leadership positions for actually the majority of my time while I was in scouts. So what I'm going to be talking about today is leadership.
Now I have to control what I'm going to be talking about today just because I want to go out and keep this PG, PG-13. Just because I did the pivot to Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, I want to be a little bit more open to broader audiences. If you go back to some of my earlier episodes, I went on a couple of different rants because I spoke what was on my heart, but I want to be able to control myself as best I can. But it is something that has been on my mind and bothered me a lot lately. And so without further ado, let's go ahead and hop right into the discussion.
I am on a walk right now as well. Kind of, I guess you could say clear in my head, clear my thoughts and speaking.
So excuse some footsteps here and there and also excuse maybe an occasional car. So, leadership, what defines leadership? What is a leader? Leadership is the act of setting the example for other people to follow. It is the act of being a person who is looking for other people to follow them in a specific area, in a specific direction, in a specific field. There are a lot of different definitions. And on top of that, there are a lot of different things that involve leadership. There are a lot of different things. And so I know that many of you have worked a nine to five job before or know someone who has.
And there is a big difference between a boss and a leader. See, a boss is just someone who is hired to control you. They basically oversee your work.
They see what you have going on. They make sure that you're in line. They make sure the tasks are getting accomplished. Whereas a leader is not the same as a boss. A leader has the same exact roles, but the leader, the difference between the leader in the bosses, the leader sets the example and actually cares about the person who is looking up to them. You see, a leader is a position of authority, it is a position of credibility, and it is a position of respect. In order to be a leader in anything, you have to step out and become one. You have to step into a pair of shoes and to a set of shoes that other people might not be as comfortable stepping into. guys, the one thing that we need more of in 2020 and in life and in general is we need more leaders.
I've begun to kind of observe some of the different actions and some of the different behaviors of people around me, of people who I've known in the past I've interacted with and through social media as well. Social media allows us to see the good pieces and the bad pieces of people. with all of the current circumstances, you know, I don't really want to give too much energy to it. And I don't want any of you to give very much energy to it either. But with COVID-19, we are really getting to see people's true characters. We're really starting to see people who rely on others for all of their life's necessities.
You know, I know that the government is getting, you know, giving out a stimulus check. I am not here to discuss politics, but I have seen so many people say that, Oh, $1,200 is not enough to live off of.
Yeah, okay, I agree, I get that. But at the same exact time, the government that we have is a capitalistic government, is not a socialist government, is not over here, it is not a socialist system. And because of that, you can't expect the government to just give out free money. They're inflating the government, temp rarely, which is going to just harm the economy in the long run, but they're doing something great for the people. And so I'm seeing a lot of these people complain and they're like, they don't even realize that they're getting $1,200 into their bank accounts. They should be grateful. They should be happy that they are even going to be able to get access to that money.
It's not the government's fault that the coronavirus happened. You know, you could argue all the different tactics and all the different strategies for, you know, maintaining the virus, but it's like at the same exact time, you can only do so much.
I'm not pointing fingers, I'm not doing anything. So I'm looking around and I'm seeing all of these different people on social media complain about all their different issues and they always focus on the problems, but not on the solutions. You see guys, if you focus on the solutions, you will find solutions. But if you focus on the problems, guess what? The more problems you will get into your own personal life. I see so many people and they go throughout their entire life in a form of drifting. Now drifting is a concept that was brought into the light by Napoleon Hill, the author of Thing and Grinch.
He says that people who drift are those who go about life with no purpose, with no aim, with no intent, with no reason. They don't know why they're going to work in the morning.
They don't know why they're awake. They don't know why they're living. They don't know what they're striving for. People go and work their entire lives, retire, and they wonder, why am I alive? What was so important the past 40 years that I don't have any account for positive memories, I only was working nonstop. And then they retire, they struggle. And it's been going on for hundreds of years. Hundreds of years, literally. There have been social classes since practically the beginning of time. There's a reason for that. There's a reason for that. You see, those people are followers. They do not ask questions. They see someone else who sets the example and they follow in that individual's footsteps. This might make some of you guys irritated. What I've already said might have fueled your blood a little bit.
I get that. I get that. here to tell you all of the things that you want to hear. I'm here to tell you the things that you need to hear because I'm only going to speak the truth and speak things that I believe in. I'm never going to say anything that I do not believe in. And so these people follow another individual and the ways of life and then they don't think anything of it. There have been multiple cases recently where I've had someone ask me or tell me what to do and I've asked them why. I'm like why? Okay, what's the purpose? Explain to me.
I am trying to understand. I am trying to learn and I am trying to deduct my own conclusion. You see, a leader does not just stand by and listen to just anybody. That's just not what they do. You see, a leader will listen to the advice of another leader. They will listen to the advice of someone who they respect, who they know has more experience than them. They will listen to the advice of of other people, but they will not get told what to do without an understanding of why they are doing something.
The only exception that I ever make to this role is one with parents. A lot of times parents will give the child, you know, a command without an explanation. There are different instances where that is not proper, that shouldn't be the case. That is just my own opinion on parenting. But there are other cases where people like coaches and mentors will tell you what to do. And sometimes you shouldn't even ask questions because you should put your faith in that individual that they are doing and telling you what to do in the best interest. I was on a call earlier today with one of my coaches and he's putting me through a bunch of automation services for my personal brand. I'm looking to get lead generation accomplished. I don't know the first thing about servers.
I don't know the first thing about lead generation and the conversation that, or in this specific area and field that we are talking. And so he's telling me what to do. I'm not asking him a bunch of questions, but if you ask me or if you tell me not to do something simple as a household chore, and I just don't see a reason why, I would ask questions. It's a very minute detail. It's a very minute example, but there's a huge message in that. Be curious, ask questions. And that means that you shouldn't let other people push you around. A leader does not let other people influence their morals, their beliefs, their values.
You see, that is what sheep do, right? You think about it. A sheep is led around by a shepherd. This is a really, you know, controversial example, but it's also biblical.
You think about it, the sheep follows the shepherd. Wherever the shepherd goes, the sheep goes. But the sheep does not have protection. The lion comes, eats the sheep, or the wolf comes, eats the sheep. Guess what? They're screwed, they can't fight back. You see, you have to be the wolf. You have to be the lion who sets the example for your pride and for your pack. for the people around you to follow. There are way too many followers, but not enough leaders. You go to Instagram, guess what? You see followers, you see following. I keep the number of people I follow below a very, like I keep it below 200.
And even then I would love to drop that number down even more because I recognize that the people I'm following and the content that I see is influencing me, influencing me rather, excuse me.
And it's just, it's really gotten to me because I look around and I see people who wonder why their life is not in the place that they want it to be and they don't realize that they are the reason why they are not in the place where they want to be. They are the reason. Nobody else. You can't blame the government. You can't blame God. You can't blame Uncle Johnny. You can't blame your mom or your dad. You can't blame your ex-wife. You can't blame anyone but yourself. That is a hard truth. It doesn't matter how bad your life was. You need to be able to adapt and overcome the circumstances.
That is a very hard truth that I had to personally come by and I've come by very recently. I'm not saying that I'm better than anyone.
I'm just saying that this is what I have done to get past my past and look towards my future. Instead of focusing so much on all of the things that happened to me, I recognize that those things made me who I am and I'm moving forward. That is what a leader does. Set the example, they lock their eyes onto what they want and they do whatever it takes to get that thing that they want. All of these people don't know why they're existing. They don't know why they're alive, right? There's a big difference between existing and thriving. I would much rather be thriving and actually enjoying life, enjoying the one opportunity that I have on earth to make a difference than to leave my mark. That should be common sense. But guys, common sense isn't so common, I guess.
And I'm not saying this in a demeaning way, I'm saying this in a real unfiltered way that I hope would wake some of you guys up because it's like, I'm 19 years old and I am looking around me and I'm like, I'm seeing older people whose lives are falling apart and they don't know why. They are not taking responsibility for the situations that they dislike. You see something you don't like, you change it. If you feel uncomfortable in your clothes, you get new clothes, you change into an outfit, right? You ever put on a pair of shoes, you have socks on and there's a little crinkle in your sock and it feels super uncomfortable?
I know that's happened to every single one of you. So what do you do when you feel uncomfortable? You take your shoe off, you move the crinkle out.
You ever walk along and you get a pebble in your shoe? Do you just keep walking miles and miles and miles with a pebble? No, you stop and you take the pebble out. See, that's what you need to do. You don't like your current situation It might not be easy, it might not happen overnight, it probably won't happen overnight. But you take action steps every single day to change your situation and get what you want. This is a very, very difficult time. This is a very, very, very difficult time when it comes to other people. See, I am grateful that my business has made me money online.
I am grateful that I have a real business that operates online in full functionality without me having to ever be in person and talk to anyone face to face.
I am grateful for that. And at the same time, I recognize that there are millions of Americans and millions of people around the world who rely on a job to make their income. That's a very difficult thing to go. You're relying on a paycheck and next thing you know, you're laid off. Guys, I get it. That's difficult. I'm sure that some of you listening to this right now have been affected by this and a very, very bad degree. But guess what? Sitting here and wallowing and sadness will not get you anywhere. They won't do anything that's positive for you. But you know what will be positive?
You know what will get your results? Taking responsibility of your life, not looking to a government to fund your lifestyle, not looking for friends to pay your bills or doing any of that.
I understand hard times come and go, but you should never become complacent and comfortable in a situation you dislike. And I know deep down, many of you guys say that, Oh no, that's fine. But in reality, are you settling for that car? Or would you much rather have a nicer car? Are you settling for that relationship? Or would you really much rather like not be in that relationship and be with another person, right? Stop settling for everything. Like it's crazy because our society has programmed us to like settle, you know? We don't go to the college we wanna go to, we go to whatever we get accepted to.
We don't drive the car, we want, we settle for it. We don't live in the house that we wanna live in. and we just settle for the house.
I would never buy a house unless it's the house that I really, really wanna live in. I understand that, you know, some people would view this differently. And the beautiful thing about being human is you can have opinions. The beautiful thing about being in the United States is you can have opinions. You can. I'm not some extremely political guy. I try to stay away from politics and religion, but I also view things from a logical standpoint. view things from what makes me the most sense from a logical perspective. And this is what makes sense. And so guys, going through this time of recession, going through this difficult time with this virus, the times of uncertainty, the one thing that every single one of you needs to do is step up as a leader in your household, in your family, in your business, in your company, even if you're working from home, buckle down and go 110%.
Give it your all. This is the time that leaders come up and conquer. This is the time that we step up our game and we prove to ourselves what we are really capable of, guys. We are creatures of unlimited, unlimited, unlimited, unlimited power. We don't know what we are capable of. We've been to the moon. We've flown in the air. We have planes. We can go eat lunch in Toronto and be over in Paris for dinner. Like literally, it's crazy. It is crazy what time we live in, guys. We are literally one quick type of a text away from contacting our best friend over in Japan.
I flew over to France last year for a girl. Over to France, guess what? Guess how I meant her? Instagram, that is the world. So not only is that good for relationships, that is good for, you know, business.
Think outside the box, guys, get creative. If your back is against the wall, you just don't stay there. You get creative and figure out how you can get away from that wall. You figure out how you can climb over it or how you can run through it or break it down or step over it or go in the opposite direction. Stop settling. Start just taking initiative. I don't wanna see a whole lot of people going through a very, very difficult time in the next couple of years. I don't, I honestly don't. And you know, during times like this, there are people who are going to lose a lot of money and go really down in the dirt.
They're going to go into very, very dark places, very difficult places. but then there are also going to be people who come out of this stronger than ever, more successful than ever, more family oriented than ever, right?
That's what's going to happen. There's a consequence to everything that happens, and every single recession, this isn't some pro-rich conversation, this is fact. If you look at what has happened in every single recession, there are people who lose a lot of money, and there are people who make a lot of money. Warren Buffett, during the 2008 crash, the recession, he invested into a sheet-rock company, And the next thing you know, he held onto it for a couple years, made a couple billion dollars. Yes, he had the money to throw around. Yes, he did. But at the same exact time, he has that money because he worked for it.
He came from Omaha, Nebraska, worked his way up, was smart with his investments, and just went to work, made it happen. And so guys, I encourage you all to stop focusing so much on all the problems that are going on.
Start focusing on the solutions and take control of your life. We got one shot at this and every single one of you are capable of doing magnificent, huge things. I believe in all of you and you guys have to believe in yourself. Step it up, let's go out, make 2020 our best year yet. It is possible. So with that being said guys, let me know your thoughts, go ahead and tweet at me at Isaac Mashman. You know, I got a lot of amazing things going on right now with my brand, with what I have going on and I would greatly appreciate it. If you checked out my website, @isaacmashman.com, and gave me a follow on all the social media platforms at @isaacmashman. Keep crushing it, and remember to always live without limitations and chase after your vision and what you want.