Bob Burg shares how a subtle shift in focus is not only a more uplifting and fulfilling way of conducting business but the most financially profitable way, as well. For 30 years he’s helped companies, sales leaders, and their teams to communicate their value, sells at higher prices with less resistance, and grow their businesses based on Endless Referrals.
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Brett Gilliland
Welcome to The Circuit of Success. I am your host, Brett Gilliland and I’m fired up today because I’ve got Bob Burg with me. Bob, how you doing?
Bob Burg
Great. I’m fired up to be with you. Thank you for having me.
Brett Gilliland
Awesome. Hey, we got great taste already. I can tell. We got the same microphones.
Bob Burg
That’s right, . There’s nothing but the best here, right?
Brett Gilliland
I mean, these are great mics. Great mics, but, uh, well, you have, you’ve probably seen this book before. For those of you watching, you can see it. For those of you not watching, you’re listening. I’m, I’m holding up the book, the Go Giver, A little story about a powerful business idea, uh, that Bob wrote and was co-author of, and it’s a phenomenal book. I read this, I’m not just saying that because you’re on the show. That’s why I reached out to you to have you on the show, because I read the book . Loved it. And, uh, highly recommend it to those, uh, to those avid readers like you obviously are. So, uh, Bob, before we dive into all that stuff, you’re obviously a thought leader, a speaker, an author, uh, but if you can just give us a little lay of the land, what’s made you the man you are today and, and what’s cutting you under this, uh, under this, uh, the, the level of your success.
Bob Burg
Well, I was very fortunate to be brought up by fantastic parents, so I think that’s always a, uh, an, an amazing advantage when you have that. And, uh, you know, I got into sales at a, a pretty young age, mid twenties, and, uh, began to grow from there. I learned and studied sales, which led to studying personal development because that’s such an important part of it. You know, we, we know that. Uh, you know, success is built from the inside out, right? We build ourselves and then it, and it sort of manifests itself outwardly. So I, I really love that. And after, you know, after some time of working my way up, eventually to sales manager of a company, I began teaching others, or I was asked to, to, to come in and speak to some other sales groups. I thought, wow, this is pretty cool. You know, maybe I could kind of do a business, uh, like that. And, and, uh, learned how to do that. Joined National Speakers Association and learned how to, to have a professional speaking practice. And from there I’ve just, you know, I’ve been very, very fortunate to do this for quite a while now.
Brett Gilliland
That’s great. So what, what made you write the book? Like were you, what, what stage of your career were you in, uh, when you wrote this ? Well, I know you’ve written multiple books, but specifically, you know, the Go Giver.
Bob Burg
Yeah, so, so it, it kind of starts back in the, the mid nineties when I had a book out called Endless Referrals and the subtitle was, Network Your Everyday Contacts Into Sales. And it was a, it was a how to book, um, on really showing entrepeneurs and sales people who knew they had a great product or service, they believed in what they did. They know they brought phenomenal value to those they serve, but they maybe didn’t feel confident or comfortable going out into their, their local areas and developing the kinds of relationships with people where people would want to do business with them directly and or refer them to others. So endless referrals was a system. Um, what is a system? Well, it’s, it’s basically the process of predictably achieving a goal based on a logical and specific set of how to principles, right? Uh, if it’s been proven that by doing a you’ll get the desired result of B, then you know that all you need to do is A, and continue to do A, and you’ll get the desired result of B. That’s what endless referrals was. It’s basic premise was that all things being equal people will do business with and refer business to those people they know, like, and trust. And so that was sort of my first big book.
Now, Through the years though, I’d always read business parables and whether it was a long form one such as OG Mandino’s Greatest Salesman in the World, or Class’s Richest Man in Babylon, or you know, all the, the Great Par Blanchard and Johnson’s one Minute series and throughout the years, and they were always so many fantastic ones and I always loved reading them because stories I think we all know connect on a, an even deeper level, right. And I thought, wouldn’t it be great if we could take that basic premise to know, like, and trust and turn that into a story? And, uh, so I was lucky enough that I, that my editor in chief at a magazine I used to write for, uh, John David Mann was, had already had a reputation within his niche as a brilliant, brilliant writer, author, storyteller. And, uh, and I asked him if he would get together with me on this idea that I had. And I, it was a roughly sketched out idea for the Go Giver. It certainly had not been developed, but he’s a great writer. I’m, you know, I’m, I’m a how to guy. I’m step step three. John’s a magnificent storyteller. So, you know, we collaborated on, and that’s really how the Go Giver started that.
Brett Gilliland
That’s great.
Bob Burg
You know, at the end of the very end of 2007, so effectively 2000. From there. Love it.
Brett Gilliland
So let, let’s talk about the, kinda the concept of the Go Giver. You know, I think most of the times, especially on, you know, in the world we live in today, it’s all about the go-getter. And, uh, but in your, in your book, in this book, um, you, you paint a better picture of being the Go Giver as your first priority. So instead of the go-getter, let’s be the Go Giver, hence the name of the book. Um, so let’s kind of set the, the stage for that. What’s that mean?
Bob Burg
So let’s, let’s take it even a little deeper if we can.
Brett Gilliland
Okay.
Bob Burg
You know, it always comes back to how we define terms of course, right?
Brett Gilliland
Absolutely.
Bob Burg
If you look at a go-getter as someone who’s just focused on the getting, yeah, the go-getter wouldn’t be, but what if we look at a go-getter as just someone who takes action right now? We love that. We love people who take action, right? Because, you know, you are, you’ve built a, a huge financial services investment practice. And, and yeah, you know that you can have the greatest ideas, the best thoughts, the greatest of intent. But unless action’s put into the mix, nothing’s gonna happen. So we, we want people to be go getters, people of action and go givers. Now a go giver is simply someone who understands that shifting their focus. And this is where this is the key. Shifting their focus from getting to giving is, uh, and in this case, when we say giving, we simply mean constantly and consistently providing immense value to others. Understanding that doing so is not only a more pleasant way of conducting.
It’s actually the most financially profitable way as well. Not for some kind of way out there, woo, woo, magical, mystical reasons. Not at all. It’s actually very logical, very rational. When you are that person, Brett, who can take your focus off yourself and instead place it on serving others, discovering what they need, what they want, what they desire when you can move off of yourself and focus on helping people solve their challenges, helping to bring them closer to happiness. People feel good about it, they feel great about you. They wanna get to know you. They like you, they trust you. They want to be in relationship with with you. So, so it just is very natural now. So we would say this, be a go-getter and a go-giver, but don’t be a go taker
Brett Gilliland
. That’s strong.
Bob Burg
The go taker, that’s the person whose focus is just on the take. Right? And it’s, it’s, you know, take, take, take without having to add val- without thinking. They have to add value to the person, to the process, to the the situation. And. They, they go takers tend to be very frustrated because they rarely achieve the kind of real massive success that they believe they deserve. But even when they do, and they do sometimes, uh, it tends to not be very sustainable.
Brett Gilliland
Mm-hmm.
Bob Burg
Built on a foundation that that is very, you know, practical. Not that they can’t keep doing it, but boy, isn’t it a tough way to make a living
Brett Gilliland
. Yeah.
Bob Burg
Competing that Brett. Right. And so, uh, so yeah, so we would say, you know, when you combine go getter and go giver, stay away from go taker. Now you’ve got, now you’ve really got a situation where you’re, where you are in a, where you’re in a position to bring some immense value to others. And remember, and I think this is so key, I I often say this when I’m, I’m speaking at a sales conference, it’s the first thing I’ll say, and that is, nobody’s gonna buy it from you because you have a quota to me.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah. No kidding. Right.
Bob Burg
Right. They’re not gonna buy from you cause you need the money or even because you’re really a nice person.
Brett Gilliland
Nor are they really gonna give a rep.
Bob Burg
Right, exactly. They’re gonna buy from you only because they believe that they will be better off by doing so than by not doing so. And that’s great.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
Because. It means if you have a heart for serving others, you very naturally wanna bring the best you can to another human being. And, and that, you know, creates that environment for that know, like, and trust to occur and the business to take place.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah, I love that. And I love the fact that you mentioned the action part. That’s one of the circuits of the Circuit of Success is action, right? People are like, you know, you can sit around. You know, think about it, pray for it, it’s gonna happen. But you know, you still take action. You still gotta go do it. And I love the fact that you don’t skip out on that point of just saying, oh, give, give, give, give, give. Um, because you do even to give, right? Whether it’s your, your time, your talent, your treasures, you still have to take action, right? I still gotta show up to that event.
Bob Burg
Right.
Brett Gilliland
I still gotta have it in my heart to write that check. So my question for you on this go-giver part, cause I, I gave a speech, uh, maybe two or three weeks ago, and there was a group of young professionals there and this, this guy in his low twenties asked me, you know, what advice would you have now looking back after two decades for somebody in a, in a position like his?
And I said, take the meeting. Take the meeting. I think so many times now in our world, people are like, well, what am I gonna get paid for this? Or what am I gonna get paid for that? And well, my time is worth X, I’ve spent a whole career, I’ve gone and done a million things for free, right? It doesn’t mean you don’t wanna get paid for your time, but I also believe go trust, have faith that good things can happen when you get out there. And my belief is that’s probably what you mean by those endless referrals. And that’s what’s happened for me over two decades is to get referrals and build a business like that because you just go and you give and you have no concept of what’s coming back for you.
Bob Burg
Uh, a lot of times you don’t, I say giving without attachment to the results, and because I expect good things all the time, you know?
Brett Gilliland
Yeah, yeah.
Bob Burg
But, but, but you have to do it without attachment. And, and it doesn’t mean we’re not strategic. It doesn’t mean we certainly don’t have a, you know, maybe a niche market that we’re, uh, pursuing and that we’re creating those relationships and so forth. It just means you leave yourself open. And, um, now I, I do wanna say one thing cause this, this brings up a question with a lot of people. Only I think because of the name Go Giver or, or title. And that is, well, can you be taken advantage of if you do that? And, and it’s a good question and, and it’s a human question to ask. And the answer is yes, anyone can be taken advantage of.
Brett Gilliland
Sure.
Bob Burg
Cause that happens in life sometimes. But if you do, if you find yourself. Not you, but I mean, if a person finds out,
Brett Gilliland
Yeah, collectively.
Bob Burg
In a pattern of being taken advantage of by others, and I don’t mean once or twice or every so often, it’s gonna happen if you’re human, right? Unless you stay in the home and never leave. But I’m talking about a pattern of being taken advantage of. It’s not because you’re nice or because you’re a giving person. It’s because you’re doing things in a certain way that creates the environment for you to be taken advantage of.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
And, and, you know, and, and if that’s, if that’s you, my, my response is, congratulations for realizing it and acknowledging it. Okay. Because you can go a whole life having things happen. And if you never give it the conscious thought and ask why, well, you keep repeating the same patterns.
Brett Gilliland
Yep.
Bob Burg
So if someone understands that this happens, then it’s a matter of asking. Okay. What is it that I’m doing or how do I feel about myself or you know, what is this reason that this thing keeps happening? Whereas other people do all these great things and go out there and put themselves out, and not only do they not get taken advantage of, great things seem to come back to them all the time.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
So we always have to go deeper and check our premises and, and understand why these things are happening and, and it’s always unconscious. It’s always something we’re setting ourselves up for, whether it’s worthiness issues, whether it’s not having the tools to know how to say no when it’s appropriate to do so, and how to do it tactfully and kindly. Whether it’s, uh, uh, getting a payoff of, of being the victim and having people feel sorry for, you know, different people have different reasons for doing different things. You know, if you ever read the 1960s book, uh, was published in 1960, written by Maxwell Malts called Psycho Cybernetics. Beautiful book, and he talked about how our belief system, which is unconscious by, by its very nature, our unconscious belief system absolutely drives our thoughts, our words, our actions, and we’re not even aware of it until we make the con, the unconscious conscious.
Brett Gilliland
Conscious. Yeah. And it’s so true. I mean, it’s where I was actually gonna go next, so you lead me right into it is, is so there’s attitude, your belief system, your actions ultimately get you the results. That’s, that’s the circuits of success I’ve talked about for so long.
Bob Burg
Sure.
Brett Gilliland
Um, but I think the, to the, your point is the beliefs conscious or unconscious, they do lead you in that direction. So my question would be, For that man or woman listening this now that may be younger in their career and they say, yeah, it’s easy to say go give now Brett, or go give now Bob because you guys have become successful and you’ve done it. But what? What did you do early in your career or for the person that may still not be young, young in age, but they’re young in their new business, they’ve started and they’re like, gosh, I need this sale, right? I need to sell that widget so I can pay my mortgage next month. What advice do you have for them?
Bob Burg
Wonderful question and. Basically the, the, the question comes down to, yeah, this go giver stuff sounds really nice and, you know, once I have the money and don’t really need the business that much, then I’ll focus on others and do all that.
Brett Gilliland
Right?
Bob Burg
You know, that great stuff. So there’s a false premise at work here, and that false premise is that you’re actually going to, to sell more, that you’re gonna sell better, that you’re gonna have more people wanting to do business with you because you’re thinking about yourself and.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
And it’s just not right. It’s just not true. Okay. So I, you know, so I would take a person through this exercise. Let’s say you are the prospect and I’m the salesperson, and I need the money, or I’m just starting out.
Brett Gilliland
Gotta have it. Yep.
Bob Burg
Gotta have that money. I need that money. I get, okay, so I’m gonna go in there and, and, and, and that’s my goal is to, to, to transfer your, the money from your pocket to mine is basically what it comes down to.
Brett Gilliland
Yep.
Bob Burg
Which I think comes across on a, on some level to that person is doing it. And that when I was younger, we used to call that commission breath.
Brett Gilliland
That’s literally what I was getting ready to say. We called it that same thing. We probably got it from you.
Bob Burg
And so, but, uh, so I’m gonna go in there, I’m gonna ask some questions, which I’ve been trained to ask because that’s how, how you, you do it. But I’m not really listening to understand what Brett needs, wants and desires. I’m listening so that I can have enough information to sharp angle you into a close. And get your money. Okay. Um, I’m going to, I, I’m, when you have an objection, um, I’m gonna be a little defensive about it probably because that your objection standing in the way of this money that I need. So yeah, I’m gonna go through the standard answers of the objections and again, try to sharp angle you and, and overcome the objection. Right. But you know, that’s, there’s sort of that attitude to it. I’m gonna be closing early and I’m gonna be closing often because I need money.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
And, and, and so at the end of this sales conversation, I would ask the question, are you gonna be more likely, all things being equal, more likely or less likely to buy from me right now? And I would say probably less likely. So now let’s take another situation. I’m the same person. I need the money. Okay. But, but here’s what I’m gonna do now. First, I’m not gonna deny self-interest because successful people live in truths. They don’t deny what’s true.
Brett Gilliland
Yep.
Bob Burg
Uh, they don’t get stuck on it. They utilize it in order to propel forward, but they acknowledge truths. And by the way, we’re all self-interested because that’s how our cave person ancestors created more generations to, you know, to
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
Right. So, so we’re self interest, but what I’m gonna do, Brett, is rather than act on this self-interest, I am going to to temporarily suspend my self-interest so that I can put my focus totally on you. All right, so now I’m gonna ask questions, but I’m not just asking questions. I’m now really listening. I’m listening with my entire posture, my body. I’m, uh, and when you answer, I’m not assuming I know what you mean, cause I realize we come from different belief systems. I realize I’m not my customer and what I find to be of value may not be what they find to be of value. So I gently and tactfully ask clarifying questions to make sure that I understand exactly what you need, what you want, what you desire. That I can provide insights. It’s gonna help you strengthen areas. Where you’re weak that you might not even know about, and and, and be able to leverage strong areas that you may not even know about. Once, only once I totally know that I know your desires. Am I gonna connect the benefits of my product or service with? What you are looking to accomplish. When you have an objection, I’m gonna welcome that objection and rather than give some standard answer, we’re going to together work within the, the context of the objection in order to understand the root of it and where it’s really coming from, and we’re gonna work through it together to advance the sale.
Brett Gilliland
Yep.
Bob Burg
And Brett, by the time I ask you to take action, You’re, you’re simply choosing to take action on something you’ve already told me that you want to do.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
Mainly you know that I have your wellbeing at heart. Now the question again, all things being equal, are you more likely or less likely to buy from me than you were from the other?
Brett Gilliland
Yeah, a hundred percent more likely. And I think the key there is I would say ADT ask don’t tell. It’s you asking great questions versus tell, well, if you tell me I need this thing, you need this ink pen, Bob, you need this ink pen. Versus asking me why I would need an ink pen and what that would do. I think that’s a key concept right there.
Bob Burg
And when you’re desperate, you tell.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah, you’re right.
Bob Burg
And so that’s, that’s what I would say to that person that understand that by focusing on the money, you are much less likely for that sale to take to take place. John David Mann, and I say this, okay, money is simply an echo of value. Money is an echo of value. It’s the funder, if you will, to the value of lightning. John said that he’s much more poetic than I am. Right? And what it really means, what it comes down to, Brett, is this. That the, the, your focus must be on the value you’re providing that person, the money you receive is simply a natural result of the value you provided.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah. Yeah. Couldn’t agree more. Couldn’t agree more. Bob. So let’s, let’s talk about, um, Your craft, right? I mean, you, you’ve done this for a long time and, and whether it’s writing books, speaking, coaching, whatever you’re doing, how much time are you spending working on your craft, so working on you versus necessarily being in the weeds, working on a, a certain project for maybe a client. How much work are you doing on yourself?
Bob Burg
Much more on myself because there’s so much I have to still work. I, you know, I’m 64. I’ll be 65 pretty soon, Brent.
Brett Gilliland
Okay.
Bob Burg
I’ll tell you, the older I get, the more I know how much I still need to, to work on.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
You know, and I, and I, I just think it, it, it’s so important.
Brett Gilliland
Um, but isn’t that amazing? Cause most would think you’ve got it figured out, right? I’m 64 years old, I’m successful, I’m this and that. This guy’s got it figured out, but we’re all still working on it together.
Bob Burg
Yeah, exactly. And, and I, I think it’s, you know, I think, and this was the best thing that happened to me when I got in sales. It wasn’t just the sales teaching. I started studied, you know, I got books by, and this is again, back in. Mid eighties I think, and I, I got books by Tom Hopkins and Zig Ziglar and I started out Brian Trade, you know, all these icons. I mean just wonderful, fantastic teachers and amazing. And that was great and it helped me a lot. But the best things they told me also was that I had to read other books. And I had to read the How to Win Friends and Influence People. I had to read The Magic of Thinking Big. I had to read Thinking Grow Rich. I had to re, you know, um,
Brett Gilliland
Let me interrupt for those listing right there. Go rewind this 15 seconds and, and write down every book you just mentioned. They’re all phenomenal.
Bob Burg
Thank you. I’ll tell you another one too, please. I just, for those watching on the screen, I just moved my microphone and reach for another book, uh, one of the greatest books too. And another one that I just think is a must read. I didn’t learn about this one until maybe 2003 or something. Um, but the, uh, the Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles, uh, it was written in 1910. Um, they just did a, a retro version, they call it, and this is actually his original writing. So a a lot of people have, because the copyright ran out, a lot of people redid the book and put their own things, which is okay. Okay. But I always like the original. And so this retro version that you can see on at Amazon, uh, is, is the best one to get written in 1910. And yeah, while his focus, when he, where he does talk about getting rich in terms of financial, it’s, it’s all areas of life.
You, you can’t really excel in one without it carrying over in a, in a sense, when they’re principle based universal laws. So when we talk about success, we’re talking about sure financial, but also physical, spiritual, mentally, emotional, relational, social, you know, what have you. And this is a, I probably read this book 35, 40 times. It’s very, it’s very short, And it just has such magnificent information, you know, but, but you have, uh, um, you know, books like, um, gosh, uh, one of the best of all is a book written in, in, uh, I think this is written in 1906. It’s called Peace, Power, and Plenty by Morrison Sweat Martin, he was actually the founder of Success Magazine. And, and many people, uh, consider him the father of the modern day personal development movement. Uh, not, you know, I couldn’t even, this is a original edition. I couldn’t even write it. I, I had to just do the, you know, write on the, uh, uh, little yellow sticky notes. But, you know, you, you think about it, the title piece, and he’s talking about inner peace, power, which is the power over oneself, not over others. Okay, but power over one’s self, the ability to master one’s emotions. Yeah. And, and it is just so, and then plenty, which is what prosperity you’ve got
Brett Gilliland
That’s solid.
Bob Burg
On every page is a gem. And it has. So, you know, I, I think when we, when we look at, at, at continuing to develop ourselves, uh, you know, we can never go wrong. Right.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
Because there’s so much fantastic information out there.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah. That’s incredible. So let’s talk about that. I, I, you hear that all the time, the chicken or the egg, right? Which is it the chicken or the egg? And, and which comes first, but you know, in your book you talk about the, typically the more successful people, and I’m reading this from the book, I can’t remember what page it’s on, but it says, typically the more successful people are, the more they’re willing to share their secrets with others. Right. And I used quotes over secrets. Cause really there is no secret. There’s no secret. Right.
Bob Burg
That was, that was for, uh, what do you call it when you take writers? Uh, you know, when you’re being more, uh, I can’t even think of the, the where, but we, there’s no secret.
Brett Gilliland
It’s no, absolutely. But, but again, my chicken, the egg concept is, is because it is, is the person that’s willing to share.
Bob Burg
Yeah.
Brett Gilliland
Are they successful because they’re willing to share or are they successful, therefore they’re willing to share? I, I have my philosophy, so I’d love to know yours.
Bob Burg
Yeah. My mine is, and I’m not sure which is the chicken or which is the egg part, but
Brett Gilliland
exactly
Bob Burg
how a person is that that dictates what they do. So, you know, when we talk about somebody who, uh, let’s say somebody gives a lot to charity, okay. Typically, they were giving to charity when they were making almost nothing.
Brett Gilliland
Yep. Okay.
Bob Burg
Very rarely is there somebody who, who’s not charitable, uh, all of a sudden has a successful business and they’re making millions and millions, and then all of a sudden they become very charitable. You know, and very rarely, unless they’re doing this show offer for some ulterior,
Brett Gilliland
right.
Bob Burg
No. Typically, you know, money just makes us more of what we already are. And so, um, yeah, so someone who has a giving spirit and a giving name, that’s how they built their business. And, and, and so it’s that person who, and this goes back to that young person you’re talking about, who’s or that person even who’s young in their, their new career who says, well, I’ve gotta get something going. I’ve gotta get something started. Okay, good. Find a way to bring value to others. Yeah. Both your direct marketplace, but also everyone else. Okay. And because everything connects in some way. Yeah. And so find ways, discover and also understand that what you believe to be of value isn’t necessarily what they believe to be. Value is value, you know, which is different than price, right? Price is a dollar amount. So, but value is the relative work or desirability of a thing, of something to the end user or beholden. Yeah. Uh, what is it about this thing, this product, this service, this concept, this idea. That brings so much work to someone that they will willingly exchange their, whether it’s money, time, energy, friendship, what you know, what have you for this, right?
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
Both people come out way ahead.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
But it’s always, the value’s always in the eyes of the behold. So it’s not what we think is the value or what we think they should think of about, and that’s why it’s so important, as you talked about earlier, to ask questions and listen.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
We can’t know cause we’re not them.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah. And I think there’s just something about giving back. I mean, I’ve been around tons of people that are like, eh, I’m not gonna tell this part of my process or this part, you know, the, the scarcity mentality of I know this one thing on how I sell this widget. Right? But then they don’t share it. And I just, I don’t think that’s the, the abundance mentalitywe’re looking for. Just a few more things here, um, for you. Uh, you know, I think we all, we all know this, right? What we focus on, we get what we focus on, expands all those things, no matter how you say it. What, when I, if I were to follow you around every day, what am I, what am I watching Bob focus on daily without miss?
Bob Burg
Um, I think that generally, Brett, what I try to do is make people feel encouraged, make people feel genuinely good about themselves. I, I picked that up from my dad. I, I consider myself carrying on my dad’s legacy. That’s what he did so well. Right? And, um, and so I, I think that’s kind of where, you know, where, where I am. Um, you know, but again, when I do something like that, I’m doing it for selfish reasons and that reason is I feel good about myself.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
Right? So, you know, I have a this, this saying, you know, when I define happiness, right? And you know, happiness by dictionary definition is the mental feeling of wellbeing. And I think that works. It’s a good definition, but I go a little deep. I say that happiness is a genuine and ongoing feeling of joy and peace of mind. The result of living congruently with one’s values. So if you value a certain thing, so you know, you, you helped a lot of people invest and, and, and you’ve done very well by helping people do that. But when you help someone and you know that you have really helped them to take care of their financial future, to be able to leave a legacy for their kids or for charities or to, to have a life where they don’t have to be in worry all the time and you do those Yeah, you feel good, you’re, that’s selfish. Not the money you’re making.
Brett Gilliland
Right.
Bob Burg
Okay. That’s a great thing, but that’s not why you do it. You do it cause it’s congruent with your values.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
You feel good about yourself when you do that.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah.
Bob Burg
That’s what it’s all about.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah, you’re right. I mean, we talk about that here at our firm, Visionary Wealth Advisors, that that vision aligned and values aligned. If, if those two things aren’t congruent, even if it was, if I was trying to hire you. Right? As a, as an advisor at Visionary, if our vision and values are not aligned, it’s never gonna work. Right? It’s gonna be oil and water. I, I always say our vision and our values are like a magnet. I, I remember my kids trains when they were little, right? The magnet either connects, or it repels, right? You try to connect it and it just won’t do it. And if our vision and values are connected and aligned, they’re gonna connect and they’re gonna do very well. We’re gonna have an interdependent relationship. That’s what works in life, in anything. Right. Um, what, what would you tell yourself if you, what you know now to be true, but maybe you didn’t know it on the climb, right? That journey, whether you were in your thirties, your forties, whatever. What do you know now to be true that you didn’t know at the time?
Bob Burg
I’d probably go back to my early twenties and I, I and older, more mature Burg would tell young Burg first, shut up. Stop talking because you don’t know anything near what you think, you know. And then to paraphrase that, great saying that it’s, it’s credited to Mark Twain. I don’t know that Mark Twain actually said it, but it’s brilliant. So it sounds pointy and you know, we credit things to Mark Twain. But the, the apparently he said it ain’t, it ain’t what you, what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you’re absolutely sure you do know that just ain’t so. That was me. I absolutely thought I had it figured out. I absolutely thought I understand human, I understand how things work. I get this world. I know it. I, there was so much I, I did.
Brett Gilliland
Yeah. What, what are you doing to be a student of the game? Like for me, I, I jokingly call this, but I’m really serious too, is this is my weekly therapy. I get to learn from, you know, experts all over the world, uh, like yourself. But what do you do to be a student of the game, uh, to keep working on your craft?
Bob Burg
Uh, I constantly read, constantly discuss, uh, you know, it’s funny, we have a a, a, um, a online, uh, Go Giver community, and part of that is a Master Mind group called the Go Giver Success Alliance and we’ve got these really successful people that, that, you know, take part in this every, every Wednesday at Rachel’s famous coffee cafe with Rachel’s from the book, right?
Brett Gilliland
Yeah. Right.
Bob Burg
There’s so many great people on there, and people think I’m, you know, no, it’s not, it’s not me teaching, it’s everybody learning from one another. And I mean, it just charges my batteries. I come away from that thing and it’s like, holy cow. That was great because I learned this from Jeff West who was like one of the leading Aflac leaders in the, you know, in the world. And I learned this from, you know, this person who was a great realtor at this that, and I learned this from so and so, you know, and so that, that to me, uh, I get to just learn from all these, these other people.
Brett Gilliland
That’s awesome. Great. So who you surround yourself with matters. Right? Um, so Bob where can our listeners find more of you? I know you’ve got a website, uh, you wanna share that?
Bob Burg
Yeah. You know, I’m, I’m a pretty simple guy and my, my name is spelled b u r g and that’s actually my website, burg.com
Brett Gilliland
burg.com. B u r g.com. Are you on social media at all?
Bob Burg
Oh, yeah. I’m, you know, I’m, I was gonna say everywhere, but that’s not true because there’s now it’s like all these different things.
Brett Gilliland
Right.
Bob Burg
It’s probably, you know, LinkedIn, Twitter, but LinkedIn is probably the best place to.
Brett Gilliland
Awesome. We’ll put all the stuff in the show notes for our listeners. Uh, tons of takeaways for me. We didn’t even get to the five Laws of Stratospheric Success, but the law of value. The law of compensation, the law of influence, authenticity, and receptivity. Right. Those are five amazing things. If you’re watching, go pick up this little red book right here called The Go Giver. It’s phenomenal. You’ll love it. And Bob, it’s been great having you on the Circuit of Success.
Bob Burg
Ah, it’s been a pleasure. Thanks so much for having me.
