EPISODE 7 – How to Create a Mission-Driven Company Culture
SoCap Talks with Devon Kerns, Eric Sutfin, and Maurice Washington
The definition of alignment is the arrangement in a straight line, or in correct or appropriate relative positions. When it comes to Maurice Washington, alignment is more along the lines of knowing yourself, and isn’t as straightforward as one may think. Alignment takes handwork; it takes learning from past experiences and really committing to something 100%. According to Maurice, being in alignment means being happy, and for your business, it means great success.
The businesses that will succeed are the ones that have purpose, and that is something Maurice preaches. Mission driven businesses have the power to create communities and engage people further than a product or service could, more so they can better create loyalty around them. Acting with authenticity and intention will ease alignment, and with alignment will come the same great success that Maurice himself has found.
After working in credit card processing for a time, Maurice got to know himself and found a passion for teaching and coaching. He is currently host of Executive Talk, a TV and radio show where he interviews a variety of executives and helps them develop and improve their mission based business. The show runs across 8 states but is continuing to grow and expand online as well as broadcast.
Maurice found alignment within himself and his business, which ultimately lead him to some great success. Join Maurice and the team as they go more in depth as to how to obtain alignment in your life and better your business with intention and authenticity.
Welcome back to SoCap Talks helping innovators build tomorrow, today. Now here’s your hosts: Devon Kerns and Eric Sutfin.
Eric: Today on SoCap Talks, we have a special guest for our spotlight feature. Maurice Washington is with us. He runs Executive Talk, a TV and radio show across currently eight states, but growing and expanding online as well as broadcast. So thank you for joining us today and being a part of SoCap Talks. We’re excited to be able to dive into some of the just breadth of information you’ve learned from interviewing dozens, if not hundreds of other executives and your coaching experience yourself.
Maurice: Sure. Thanks for having me here. And I’m happy to, you know, share whatever information I can.
Eric: Oh I’m sure there’s a little bit more in there than you imagine having you said 15 years right, of coaching?
Maurice: So ultimately, it’s been 10 years of being in business. And yes, all those years have been some form of coaching. It was my third actually my third year that I really got fully engaged into doing full time coaching and then lead into the TV show.
Eric: and that transition, what was it that lead you from running some of these businesses and doing some coaching into what you’re doing now with executive talk?
Maurice: Sure. You know, when I was looking at when I when I first started my business, one thing I do I knew specifically is I love B2B. Um but this is back in the economic downturn. Okay. In 2007, I was doing credit card processing, then I realized that my passion is actually teaching and I knew at that point, instead of just being in business, why not start working towards my passion and my passion, learning about teaching, has lead me to this place of being on this TV show
Eric: I think we all can understand the teaching element here Devon with a few years of coaching under his belt too
Devon: Yeah
Eric: The key teaching element is where you learn the most right, if you internalize it, that’s one part but being able to regurgitate and teach and share that with someone else. It is a learning process in and of itself.
Maurice: Yes, absolutely. Go ahead.
Eric: I was just gonna ask what have you learned in this process, you have through Executive Talk a unique niche in being able to help and coach other business owners, not necessarily coach but extract in a coaching format, their mission driven and mission based businesses
Maurice: Sure
Eric: and work with them in a very intimate way about what they’ve learned, share with me a little bit about this process, and what you’ve gleaned in working and teaching and interviewing these individuals.
Maurice: Yeah, that’s a those that’s a great question. You know, when I jumped into teaching and consulting, you know, I was really exciting about being in finally I’m in my passion, you know, I love to teach I’m doing and and that’s all I can concentrated on it was teaching, teaching, teaching, teaching, but there was still a missing element, I couldn’t teach myself. And so one one thing I started to realize is, can the teacher be taught also. And with that being said, I had to actually redo part of my coaching and consulting model to actually see where in my life am I not following through, you know, is one was one thing to tell a business owner, here’s your plan for the next month, and here’s things you need to execute on. But then when you go to your own books, when you go to your own day to day, are you lazy? You know, are you executing? Are you making your phone calls? Are your are you good with your customer service? So those are some things I had to be challenged with, in which, you know, I think that was the biggest growing experiences can the teacher be taught? And can you follow through on everything that you’re teaching? You know, I found that the Do as I say, don’t do as I do,
Maurice: Yeah
Devon: Model works really well.
*laughter*
Maurice: Absolutely it’s yeah,
Eric: For about 5 seconds
Devon: And then they call you out on your shit
Absolutely, absolutely. Absolutely. And so that’s, that’s the dangerous part about being in consulting, it’s exciting to get into it and really help people grow. But then can you come back in and do the same thing for you for yourself specifically
Devon: right.
Eric: So when you examine that, having spent all this time and working with all these other people, what was the missing piece for you? Did you find a disconnect, and that led you to know what you’re doing and, and that gray area, that gap that you had to focus in and hone on?
Maurice: Absolutely, you know, nothing in life. So the missing gap in life is not is not the mental piece. You know, the one thing that we are we are keen on, I mean, there’s even, there’s now a new prescription out there to actually sharpen your brain, which, okay, fine, be smarter, accelerate, the brain is very, very strong, very creative, okay, you can do some things. But what, why were, why is it in society, we don’t talk about your emotional intelligence?
Devon: Right
Maurice: That’s the missing component in anything that you’re teaching. And that’s where I found the the primary source of everything that life runs on the emotional course. And then mental. So that’s what I learned.
Eric: Like, we’ve, we’ve examine that as well, you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and tons of time in between pre K, even kindergarten all the way through higher education, getting a Bachelor’s a Masters with the ultimate gain of being able to be successful in business with aim of then being happy, right? That that is what leads to happiness. That, you follow this prescription of being able to get the great degree, get the awesome job, get the beautiful wife, get the incredible house, get the dog, and then you’ll be happy,
Maurice: Right
Eric: Instead of in reverse. We spend a ton of time and money trying to buy happiness.
Maurice: That’s exactly it, that’s exactly it and so,
Eric: Instead of emotional intelligence and reverse engineering it
Maurice: Absolutely. So when you look at that pathway, you find depression at the end of that tunnel.
Devon: Yep
Maurice: That’s where you start seeing everybody go full steam ahead and get those things. You’re there. You’re there, you’re there. And all of a sudden, you realize one day, and you never know, until you have a day of rest. You’ll say, I can’t handle this. I didn’t know all this took that much.
Devon: Right
Maurice: You know, yes, I had the wife. But now I didn’t know all the needs that came with that responsibility. I didn’t know, the kids I didn’t know, it’s all these moving parts to life.
Devon: Right
Maurice: And then you’re trapped, you know, in a small sense. So that emotional intelligence to really understand who you are, and what it is you actually need is paramount. And yeah, you’re right, there is a American success success pathway that’s laid out for you. But is it for you? You have to really answer those questions
Eric: Right one size doesn’t fit all.
Devon: That’s right, there’s a TED talk, we just uh watch the other day, you weren’t at the mercy of your emotions, your brain creates them. And it’s actually one of the more interesting TED talks that I’ve seen in a while, because she’s studied for decades now, where emotions actually stem from, why they come where they show up, why they show up. And one of her key points is the fact that your brain um going back to your point around, if you increase the capacity of your brain, it doesn’t necessarily bring you any more emotional intelligence. And in reality, in business, especially,
Maurice: Right
Devon: in life and dating, it doesn’t really matter. Emotional intelligence is actually I’d say, potentially more important than your intellect, or your IQ, your EQ is way higher. And she was talking about the fact that our brain is constantly trying to predict the next thing and when you don’t understand. So as one of the example she used as if you wake up and you’re hungry, and you know, you’re hungry, then that translates in your brain go get food. But sometimes your body might be thirsty, or hungry, and it lead you down a path of anxiety, because you decide to send your brain in the predictive behavior of Oh, well, instead of my body, telling me I’m hungry or thirsty, I’m actually going to associate this to the fact that I have no money in my bank account, or whatever may be, and I’m not logically controlling the thought pattern, which then dictates the emotions and it was really interesting it’s a super great TED Talk.
Maurice: Absolutely, I totally agree with you.
Eric: So in working with CEOs and executives in your career, have you found emotional intelligence is something that they are very conscious and practicing, or that you that it’s something that is a byproduct or those that are inherent leaders, just it’s something that they’re practicing, even without the knowledge of knowing about it.
Maurice: You know, it’s interesting, this is an area where business owners, you know, one thing about business owners, and it’s another it becomes another hiding spot for business owners actually business does um for what we don’t know emotionally, that’s just, just how it is. So the business owners I work with, in my coaching, the reason why sometimes we we would conflict is I would ask them, what’s going on? Why are you fighting this, and that, that sometimes brought tears to the table. And because it was, those tears are all emotional, there was something there. So majority business owners go because again, just like you said, the brain is always constantly telling you, as a business owner, I don’t know what to expect, I need more money, I need to actually have five more sales just in case next month doesn’t work out. So you’re constantly in a worry state of being. And so a business owner is never actually comfortable, relaxed, or anything you see majority of business owners come up underneath that stress. That’s where you see the long hours is because again, business ownership, it’s a long gap of time, the fact that you can probably take a nap this afternoon, have some extra energy and stay up till 10, a business owner will eat that up claiming that it is preparing them for tomorrow.
Eric: Mm hmm.
Maurice: And so in all you’re doing is training your body for a different rhythm. Um so I find a lot of business owners wanting to get to that mission. But at the same time, when you’re caught of in the middle of business ownership. Well, now, you’re committed to your bills, you’re committed to saying to your husband or wife that, hey, I said, This business is going to work for us, I can financially support us or be part of with this business. And so you’re actually working for your word instead of working for your business. So there’s a lot of small details, that I find.
Eric: So this goes back to one of the things that you not only practice, but are preaching and working with other business owners around which is alignment?
Maurice: Yes.
Eric: And something you are finding is a keystone essential element for business owners to be successful. Can you share a little bit more about your perspective and what you’ve gleaned from uh business owners that are in or out of alignment?
Maurice: Yes, yes. You know, I, it it becomes to, it comes to a point of, you see, where people are either happy or unhappy. Um alignment.
Eric: That sounds simple
Maurice: it sounds simple, *laughter* and you can trick yourself into that place, I’m constantly happy, you know, and you can be stressed and be in a place all day long. Anybody can go to that.
But, you know, I find that the business owners that are enlightenment are slower paced, they are thinking a little bit more about every uh conversation meeting, what’s the purpose? And where is it going, whereas business owners that are not in that that emotional, or that alignment are constantly in the Go, go, go, go, go. Just reactive.
Eric: mm hmm
Maurice: So there’s the difference in the body movement of a of a business owner that’s in alignment, and not in alignment. So that’s so those are just some of the small differences in details I’ve come to see
Devon: Share with us what your idea of alignment really is.
Maurice: Sure. So it might show executive talk, it is more of a spiritual thing. It is 100% spiritual thing for me here. So alignment is actually knowing yourself. There’s one thing to say I’m alignment because I’m happy. But do you actually know that’s what you’re what you’re happy at being? And can you stay? Regardless of who’s telling you that hey, you know, it can come from the, your very closest people, which is your parents, husband, wife, your kids, even What are you doing? Can you stay firm in who you are? And that is actually where you can stand firm be aligned in that particular place. And saying, yes, this is truly identify who I am. These are what this is what I do and this is the course I’m going, regardless of who and it’s not coming from an area in place. It’s just, you know, you’re gonna fight for your alignment.
Devon: I found that Ekar Tolly’s book, not A New Earth, but The Power of Now was a really interesting book to help me understand what you’re talking about where really dives deep into the idea that there are two different conversations happening in every human being. There’s the brain and the brain functioning from the archaic caveman evolved.
Maurice: That’s right
Devon: uh safe, Am I safe? Is my family safe? can we survive dynamic and then the which we would define as ego or he defines as ego and the souls conversation and his story where he was talking about um wanting to take his life and gun in hand gun to head, he says, in a room by himself, I want to kill myself. And the question became, who is I? And why do I hate me so much. And that duality of that conversation went off in my head, and I went, Oh, my God, we take for granted since we’re five years old, a little bit before five, we don’t really have the brain functioning, we’re just coming usually from a pure space of spirit
Maurice: right
Devon: But all of a sudden, when we start digesting, and our brain starts absorbing all the things that we’re taught, and yes and no, and mostly a bunch of no’s
Maurice: Yeah
Maurice: we start having dialogue in our brain that we take for granted that there is two different conversations when you are talking to yourself. There are two entities there.
Maurice: Yeah.
Devon: And what really supported me and what you’re saying is knowing how to separate those two things
Maurice: knowing how to listen to those two conversations. And if I’m calm, and coming from that place of peace, I can actually take a step back, excuse me, take a step back, take a deep breath in, understand the difference between safety and security in the actual conversation of what my soul wants me to do
Maurice: Absolutely. I totally agree with that, you know, I feel like your heart’s talking to you on a regular basis. It’s like, No, no, no, we don’t want to do that. But your brains like no, we have to, you know, put you in that place. And all of a sudden, you’re in this you’re in this place is just, it’s like, again, another trap and your heart’s taking a beating on that trap. And half the time as business owners, we and that’s part of the clearing out and and part of being in alignment were partly You know, a lot of us as business owners may have came from a situation growing up even it could have been started in childhood where you didn’t have a lot, you’re moving house to house, not because you’re in the army, but because finances Mom and Dad, you know, whatever situation is financially wasn’t there. And so half the time you’re working, you’re actually working to make sure that you don’t have that same environment, not even working in that business, you know, and that’s what you’re actually working. You’re not actually working the business. That’s what I mean. So it can it’s a tricky situation
Devon: How open would you be to sharing your story? I know you do a lot of the interviewing, but I’d be curious to hear um where all this comes from, particularly in that childhood journey
Maurice: You know, and that childhood journey, um you know, my mom, my mom and dad split up um when I was two years old. And you know, I at that at that particular moment, the only thing I can remember is I had asthma, you know, I just thought, well, it’s dry in Colorado, I’m a Colorado native. So you know, that’s what, that’s what you alluded to, you don’t think that you have pain, your parents don’t say, yeah, you have pain from our divorce. And it was our fault. It doesn’t that conversation doesn’t happen in this conversation is not a punt on my parents, is just the reality of my lifetime. So growing up in that place. Yes, I had a stepfather I had a mother and then I had the separation of my dad being 15 minutes away from me, but still not knowing him. I didn’t realize that was a key component to my heart. But so part of my growing up and part of my lifetime, and part of my even entry into sales and business world was trying to control my environment. But at that time, I thought I was trying to control my environment, but I was actually trying to control abandonment. That’s what my business ownership all meant because that was my place that I was still I was still at that two year old Maurice Washington that was in pain. And so you know, again, the reason why I brought up asthma is that was a instant reaction to my to my abandonment. So part of this journey, part of where I’m at, per what the show really means to me, when it comes to executive talk is clearing up that even that pain and realizing that um I was in everything I did, that pain was always resonating in the middle of it. So turning my life around to the point where life was in the middle, my line was in the middle, and that was the direction I was supposed to go. And just being very cognizant of the difference between abandonment and life. So that’s really my journey and part of the reason why, again, my journey to business ownership, but then the revelation from going merchant services to business consulting, to now taking it to to this TV level, it has been all manifestation of learning what those moments were, and what they really
Eric: I think that’s uh, I think, excuse me, that’s a common trend in not only everyone’s life, but particularly in business owners, is whether it’s the control or the problem solving, to be able to create an environment where you are creating resolution, right
Maurice: Absolutely, that’s right.
Eric: We’re trying to create a solution. So I think this is a topic that clearly isn’t taught in schools, is starting to become more prevalent, and I love that you’re, you know, growing, and we’re even entertaining this conversation now, here, um nationwide and beyond. But even more important, I think, is the question that doesn’t get asked, which is, what’s the process that you found to align, and I know that’s a weird one. But it’s this constant journey, right? And you’re constantly problem solving. But what for you was the journey to alignment? When did you say, there it is, found it like this is I’m on my path. And I’m clear.
Maurice: Sure. And thanks for asking that question. You know, for me, it was it was literally three years back and I got so overblown with pain in my own personal life, then I was like, I was finally just sick of it. I was like, you know, no matter how many books I’ve read on seven habits of highly successful people, and thinking Grow Rich, and all these things, I was like, okay, those are all good. Those are all good books for the moment. But then if you can’t carry them through, they just make you feel worse.
Devon: Yeah
Maurice: That’s one thing I’ve learned this for this for my particular life. So the, the specific book that I finally picked up was the Bible. And once I started to understand what the Bible was actually saying, and how it was actually addressing certain situations, I was, I wasn’t even aware of, I didn’t know I had abandonment issues, you know, it was uh a my mom, when she, when they remarried. I was like, Well, I have a father figure here, but it couldn’t replace what I was missing there. So even that iota was relevant to, to my growth. And so um just developing that alignment, even just getting my my story together. And to actually understand what I was missing became paramount to me. Um because I was functioning, you know, I was having this process this morning, that no, no pun intended to me to any that’s an alcoholic, I understand. But there is a such thing as a functioning alcoholic, you get, your body can get so used to alcohol, that you can still function just normal, well, I was no different, I was just a function in pain-a-holic if you will, I just knew how to operate through it. And so part of that is understanding how to really operate in life, a clean heart and um really be in alignment with self. And so I can actually truly say, yes, this is the way and I’ve actually operated in that same way in the back end. So that that way, none of my teaching became hypocritical, in essence
Eric: I know this is a not a light topic, right? Like some of these are really fun and engaging. But this is important, right? Like, this is something that we all are seeking. Everyone wants to be happy, everyone wants to be successful, what you’re talking about is it’s not an external thing. It wasn’t, you know, when you got the one job or it wasn’t when you secured the contract for this gig. It wasn’t when you it was internal it was an internal process, it was the deep dark dive and work internally to be able to figure out that gap and, and solve that gap um and pay attention to that. And I think our society is yearning for those answers and they’re looking to TV, they’re looking to music, they’re looking to uh things that can put a temporary bandaid on it, perhaps instead of really looking and seeking internally but our millennials, millennials, because of the amount of information and we discussed this be millennials are more prone and quick to do that, because they’re saturated with information and messages. So they have to be able to use their almost bullshit-dar to be able to say, well, that’s out of alignment. That doesn’t resonate with me, this does that doesn’t, she does that music doesn’t. And so they’re even more prone to finding nonprofits and getting involved and doing things where they are in alignment in harmony, because it feels good. They’re, they’re happy at it.
Maurice: Sure. Um, you know, I I believe that’s so I believe absolutely everything that you’re saying. I think, you know, as a as a society access and distractions can keep you further away from the from the mark. You know, when we think about cell phones I was in I was at the gym the other day, we were talking about smart cars and how cars are coming to the point where they can actually start driving themselves. And, you know, because obviously, we can’t do it anymore. *laughter* That’s what they’re training us to do. You know, and so, yes, when it comes to millennials, it’s one of those things they they’re coming into a place where they have access, they’ve learned access immediately. They’re learning no patience, access immediately. So, you know, I don’t know, you know, I have a lot of question marks when it comes to because it was even challenging for us in our age group to actually figure out this bubble called life. And, you know, when we, I feel like when we get more this more access, the less confidence that we have in developing ourselves. So even the cell phone, I love it, probably just as much as you guys do, to get some things quicker. But again, in our time frame, we grew up in the point where we had to go to the library, we had to research it, we had to find. So that’s what we’re used to doing, and go find the solution.
Eric: The phone book.
Maurice: Yeah, that’s right.
Eric: I think, you’ve got a great story yourself, Devon, about your niece, I think is totally pertinent to this. I don’t know if we shared it on the podcast before
Devon: There’s a there’s a concern out there. Um I think generationally, there’s always concerns about the next generation right
Maurice: Yeah, for sure.
Devon: And I don’t think that that part has changed. But what was interesting, and now my my niece is not necessarily defined as a millennial. She’s at the top end of the uh Gen Z. And at 19 years old, now, 20 years old um she went on a trip to Lake Powell. And obviously, you don’t have a lot of access at Lake Powell in the middle of nowhere to your cell phones, or to WiFi, you have access to your cell phone so she could listen to music or whatever. But they decided to put those away and um they weren’t on their Snapchat and Facebook and Insta whoever’s, and she noticed about three days in all of a sudden they’re hugging and crying and connecting in ways that they hadn’t before.
Maurice: Yeah.
Devon: And while that was important, and seems obvious to older generations, um that that would occur when you’re so used to being disconnected. What I found interesting is when she came back, that entire group of people insisted on putting their cell phones away, which the funny part of the conversation with her was, we put our cell phones away, but it just doesn’t feel the same. And I had to share with her, it’s not about putting the cell phones away.
Maurice: Yeah
Devon: By the third day, you only had so much surfacey crap the that you could talk about. And you actually had to go deeper, you had to ask something different than the nonsense of how was your morning because I’m right next to you. I know the morning was. I said, you got to put the cell phones away and learn how to ask deeper questions.
Maurice: Absolutely.
Devon: And she went back and did and now their lives are completely changed. But what I think really resonates here is I don’t really fear for the next generation of whether they can connect or not, for one reason, the soul and the mind and human nature all crave connection.
Maurice: Fair enough, yeah.
Devon: And so while the pendulum swing to a complete space of disconnect, because we have these new gadgets and widgets and things, it’s actually creating a stronger craving to connect on a deeper level than I think has existed before because it’s been absent, and once they get that feeling
Maurice: Yeah.
Devon: It’s almost like they can’t let go of it.
Maurice: Okay.
Devon: and so they want to make it happen. Now, is that happening on a mass scale? Not necessarily. But we do see it more and more often. I actually do notice that five years ago, walking down the street on 16th street here in Denver, Colorado, there was a lot more people almost getting hit by buses, and now people are up and engaging and communicating while walking to the lunch instead of being on the phone. So I do pay attention to that. And I do see that I think it’s becoming more of a tool now, instead of a distraction. Yeah, I hope now the problem is, we’ve got the next evolution of technology, which is virtual reality. So now I get to go anywhere around the world. I could be walking down the street and sea monsters or hot women. I mean, it depends on what I want now, right? So who knows what the next level of distraction is
Maurice: I’m not going to concern myself because I think human nature and the soul will win out always.
Maurice:I gotcha. I agree with you, I like that.
Eric: Yeah
Maurice: Sorry to get off, get us off track.
Devon: No no, I think it’s important
Eric: I think it’s on track I think you had brought up something earlier, and we had discussed it a little more in depth about this concept of patience.
Maurice: Yeah, yeah.
Eric: And working with other business owners, you found this to be one of the things you unanimously that is essential for business owners to have success around with a high tech, fast paced world, being patience in the business realm, when things always take longer to get that contract, always take longer to get that next thing, that’s something that I’d like you to elaborate a little more on, because I think that that is very important for business owners to be able to hear
Maurice: Yeah, you know, I mean, the statement is, patience is a virtue, you know. So the key component with that phrase is virtue is at the end of it. So that means there’s something to that when impatience is involved in business ownership again, when you wake up, and you have because, again, it’s not as it’s the same as life, where every day you wake up you in one of my shows, and actually consistently in my shows and talking about this every day, and like, you wake up, there’s a huge question mark, as to what do you need to fill it with? What do you need to do? What’s the right decision? Is, was yesterday, right? You know, you’re going through this big question mark every single day. And so it causes you purpose, you know, like you’re talking about earlier, when you were talking about the mind, you put concepts into your place, because, again, the mind has to say, Well, this is what it is probably, just to try to fill in that gap that you’re feeling comfortable with. So same as business ownership, there’s not a day that goes by. So yeah, when you’re thinking about, depending on what type of business that you have, let’s say you’re in the service business, sometimes your service business is a two three months cycle that messes with your patience, because you’re trying to fill in those gaps with little conversations, little emails, little touches to see that 30 days come to. And then finally, that 30 days comes from you take a deep breath, whether anybody sees it or not and now you’re like, Ooh, that feels good. It actually happened. But if that thing gets extended, you know, patience is one of those, it becomes, you know, I don’t have time to be patient. Because, again, all this space, 30 days is a long time well you don’t know and you don’t feel comfortable for what to expect. And so, you know, it’s kind of like a throwing up a new, you know, like a builder, throwing up a new, you know, homes in the neighborhood. If that thing gets built fairly quick, then, yeah, okay. Now, you. So you got people filled in in there, there’s a new there’s a new area, well, then that same property starts having issues down the road. Well, again, impatience has you far down the road, you can be 10 years down the road and still have 10 year old problems in your business, those problems actually never go away. That’s why it’s better just to be patient. See the details, because your details, I mean, they say it all the time, the devil’s in the details, those pitfalls are in the details. So if you’re not concentrating on those details, and say, I keep on having this issue, you got to be able to find yourself in your business, why am I not following up? or Why did I not do this? What is, is there a message here, maybe I just don’t want to deal with this guy. Maybe I don’t want to deal with this gal. and deal with this client. There was something about this interaction, I need to actually learn because you can get so impatient, you start bringing bad clients into your company. Now, your company’s another worst enemy of your life, your own company, what are you going to do about that? You know?
Devon: I think that’s huge. We have a kind of a standard around here, mostly, because as a startup over the last year, we’ve been very, very blessed in our journey to have success. But we’ve also had this typical the typical trials and errors.
Maurice: Yeah
Devon: and one of the things that we really focus on here is enjoying that journey, and understanding that, whether you want to define it as patience, or whether you just want to define it as this is a part of what needs to happen. trusting the trusting the journey, trusting the fact that what is unfolding to your point, this person may not be the person for us, this path may not be the right path. And if it’s going to unfold, we’ve done the work that we need to do in order to make it unfold. Yeah, and what when we trust that on our end, and it doesn’t unfold, it’s totally meant to be love the process, get back out there and make some stuff happen. We also, you know, we’re all big on spiritual journeys and getting connected and getting aligned. And we went to a healing circle up in Boulder here. And one of the questions that was presented that has really stuck with me, particularly, I know, it’s stuck with Eric as well, and that we’ve resonated out into the world, can you feel as significant doing nothing as you do when you’re doing something?
Maurice: That’s right. That’s right.
Devon: That is when you know, you’re in alignment, right
Maurice: That’s exactly it
Devon: That was one of the most powerful questions I think I’ve been asked it all a long time.
Maurice: I bet.
Devon: So I’d love to know how emotional intelligence and has patience and patience has paid off in your world, and what have you seen sensor really making those adjustments and calling yourself out to make those adjustments and not being a hypocrite?
Maurice: Yeah, absolutely. And thank you for asking that question. That’s a wonderful statement, that alignment goes along with patience. In order to actually have patience, you have to actually be in alignment, you have to know without a shadow of a doubt that, like you said, If I have nothing, if there’s nothing to do this, this even that, can I just still feel value and not go crazy? So the next year when you throw into your business world, can I say this is not going to work out? Are the the fact that we can’t connect on this conversation is not going to work out? Or do you trick yourself into saying, Okay, let me manipulate this conversation. So we can, you can come in alignment with me. And we’re here. No, no, sometimes it’s just not there. And, you know, that’s what I had to learn myself before when I was impatient. I used to try to work my way into the conversations and clients. And all of a sudden, I was like, can you please go
Devon: The tactics work.
Maurice: They always work.
Devon: The sales tactics can work, right?
Maurice: That’s right. That’s right, you can worm your way in there, because there’s always an open field. But then that thing comes to an end. And it’s a hard end.
Devon: Yeah.
Maurice: So again, without my alignment, I kept on following, and myself and to my alignment of death traps.
Devon: mm hmm
Maurice: And so coming back to the coming back to that place of alignment, I, I’ve learned, I just have a sense now, of we you know, even some interactions with clients and emails, and I’m looking at trails to see no, we’re going way off trail it’s OK, if you go somewhere else. And, you know, part of being patient is also actually being truthful about your process, and what your business model really means. And saying that up front and actually communicating that and people will make a decision actually, right there. They either love you. And like, you know it, that’s good. There was a conversation to be had next, or you know what, yeah, that sounds good. And you never hear from them again, there’s the conversation there, but your conversation who was so truthful, and so patient that regardless of how you show up at the end, and if we do business or not, or at least you know, where I can I come from
Devon: Yeah.
Maurice: And so having that truthful alignment or aligned conversation, communication with people has helped my business be more relaxed, be more stable because I’m bringing in the right folks that actually are truly going on the path that it makes sense, in my opinion.
Devon: I do find, it’s interesting. And I’ve been working with sales people around the nation, and I’d be curious to see if you found the same thing when, it’s interesting, because when I see somebody sitting across the table, and they’re being himself in the first part of the conversation before they get into the sales tactics, and
Maurice: That’s right. Yeah
Devon: and the clothes, this person totally believes and totally is ready to buy. And all of a sudden, because they’re uncomfortable with the clothes or because something’s going on in their life, or because they’re not in alignment, that energy is actually causing that person on the other end of the table to say no, the entire time, and they can’t figure out why. Because I really like this person, but I don’t believe them.
Maurice: that’s right.
Devon: And they could be telling total truth, but when I’m out of whack, it’s really tough to use tactics to sell. Because I see right through that. And I don’t know why. I just know there’s a disconnect here
Maurice: Absolutely.
Devon: I don’t really understand what it is. And my perception of you can now change because maybe I think that you’re lying to me, when in reality, that’s the only way my brain can translate it is I just don’t believe you. And I’m not sure why. So I’m going to call you a liar versus or that this product doesn’t work, or the service doesn’t work, or I shouldn’t buy from you.
Maurice: Yeah
Devon: When in reality, it’s probably a great service, a great product, I just don’t know that you’re totally out of whack.
Maurice: That’s right. You know, that’s I love that point, you know, it’s one of those things that you’re starting to see a lot of business owner or b2b, business owners like to actually discuss or talk to the business owner. And it’s not because the salesperson is not good, or not a good person, but you start to see those little moments and it makes you uncomfortable, because you’re, part of your question is, if you’re talking to a salesperson is how long are you actually going to be there?
Devon: Yeah
Maurice: You say that you’re going to be my contact, you say that you’re going to be here, you’re, you know, all the sales tactics are spot on, you’re a trained warrior. But how long are you going to be here?
Devon: Yeah
Maurice: and so, you know, it’s still you’re even, in that sales conversation, you’re still a consumer, because you’re about to potentially consume what they have to offer. So yeah, I want to talk to the business owner. And I’m looking because you’re looking for stability in that conversation. Am I, are you going to be there?
Devon: Yep. So in observation, I’d be curious to get your opinion, since you’ve talked to so many amazing people, I do see, and I get really excited by watching women move up starting businesses running these big companies moving into positions of power, because I think from an emotional intelligence perspective, they actually are further down the path of alignment, then I see a lot of men, as long as they’re staying true to themselves, right? There’s some that are trying to take over and act like what they were mentored to be in, in from their mentors, who probably were men who were out of alignment. And then I’ve learned to be out of alignment. But women who really are practicing that spiritual path, they’re listening to their intuition, they are killing it. And whether it be in sales or in entrepreneurship, I find it so fascinating. And I get obsessed with it. Because I love observing how they just stay in that space.
Maurice: Yes
Devon: and they have their own stuff, too, as we all do as human beings. But in reality, I think they will be taking over across the board, because they have a tendency to really function from that intuitive space and learn how they’ve learned really well how to have that inter dialogue, or inner dialogue, excuse me, with themselves. So have you found the same thing with the difference between men and women in your interviews?
Maurice: Yeah, you know, my interviews I have. That’s, that’s a phenomenal question. You know, I think when it comes to, so what I see women, yes, they’re absolutely they inherently operate from that place, okay. Depending on because, again, it requires emotional and it requires in order to be in that place, and be comfortable with that place, you have to be, really align with your heart. Now, the women who actually stay in, stay comfortable with their heart and actually move that all the way through, will find the most strength because that’s where that’s where your strength comes from.
Devon: Yeah
Maurice: Now, like you said, firstly, if that woman is trying to operate like the guy and say, well, we can just go into that place. And just, that’s where there’s another burnout. You know, and again, it’s not it’s not a gender thing specifically, it’s so men actually are in need to operate from the heart more as well, because we are actually showing a horrible example of not doing that. It is putting a lot of, and you’re seeing the end result of that. So it is important for both men and women to operate from the heart. Because, again, you’re dealing with human beings
Devon: That’s right.
Maurice: Beyond the sale, there’s two human beings, you just actually engaged in a relationship with somebody else. So it’s one of those places. So yes, it’s, it’s the engaging of a relationship that women are more prone to say, yes. Okay, let’s engage in this relationship. And that’s where the, and we’re seeing women flourish also, because people want that and people navigate towards that because they’re navigating towards that relationship
Devon: Right.
Maurice: And so men were trained, we go out with that barbaric stuff and try to be trained warriors, and we have a lot of casualties on the way you know
Eric: Yeah, we’re trained to put on the shield,
Maurice: That’s right.
Eric: The mask, to put on the brawn and not let anything affect us to not shed a tear, right to just to get over it, right? Be a man, man up.
Maurice: That’s right.
Eric: And that’s not how to deal with these solutions, especially when it comes to relationships of any kind, whether personal, whether their intimate, or whether their business because that is not your authentic in alignment, true self. And I think most successful men that I’ve seen in business, Branson and Elon Musk, many others are coming from that space. And we’ve seen and entertained conversations with our friends that you can truly tell they’re in alignment.
Maurice: Yes.
Eric: They’re, they’re not putting on a show.
Maurice: That’s right.
Eric: And it shows through their relationships, through their conversations to the way they run their business.
Maurice: That’s right
Eric: I mean and that goes back to the mission driven and aligned business that you’re talking about. And I think that is without a doubt the future of tomorrow, the businesses that will succeed are the ones that don’t try to hide behind this fail, but that are authentic and true and mission driven and will create communities will engage people on a deeper level beyond just a product or service. They’ll create loyalty and community around them. And that’s exciting. I think that is a trend that is universal. And I’m even entertaining conversations with baby boomers and Gen Xers that are seeing that and are feeling that they just don’t know how to verbalize it. But they’re buying the brands and they’re engaging, they’re talking about that ad and they’re wanting to go to that event. Because I don’t know it, It just, it just makes me feel good. It just resonates. They can’t verbalize it. But they’re doing it.
Maurice: That’s right. That’s right. I totally agree with that. It’s a it’s you know, we as society we look at each other from a man to woman perspective, which that means we’re looking at perception. We’re looking at appearances, we’re looking at and that’s where we’re, that’s where we stop and go is right there. Everybody is walking around. Because you know again, this is not to go morbid on you. But just to give you an analogy. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, that’s all our skin represents. But what are we really? Really we’re actually two hearts at the table. There’s three hearts here at the table talking and having a conversation to everybody worldwide here. And we’re actually communicating to their heart right now. So that’s the power of actually communication. Are you communicating? Are you, is your business because this, it’s relationship, it is a relationship with your heart right now, your heart. And where are we coming from, with this. And everything that we’re talking about is, is deep, is coming from the heart. And that’s what we all represent. And this those who actually operate from that particular place that will end the race and end the race in the sense of burnout. Business owner you have that place of potentially burning up. Well, why because money will make you feel good as you know, to a certain level, there’s always always so much you can buy. And there’s only so much you’ll indulge with. But you yourself, you’ll see yourself all the time. And you know, it’s one of those things that the longevity comes from the heart. And nope, no other place. So that’s where I see you know, like you’re talking about the women and talk about we’re men and being barbaric and stuff like that. It’s just, it’s just missing a lot of the point. We just need to come to that particular place. And that’s where your mission is, is right here. But your vision is in your head and your vision can get you in trouble.
Devon: Yeah
Maurice: If it’s the wrong vision.
Maurice: Yeah, that was a powerful statement. I literally just visualized the three of us and how that electromagnetic field that actually comes from the heart has connected us as well as speaking through these microphones. We are now connecting to all the other hearts out there.
Maurice: That’s right.
Devon: And it’s a completely different visual, visualization. And if you know and can see that in your mind when you’re sitting across from somebody, or you are broadcasting out to thousands, if not millions of hearts, it changes the conversation, just by seeing that.
Maurice: That’s right.
Devon: Yeah, that’s pretty powerful.
Maurice: So yeah, when we look at changing the world, you look at changing hearts. And that’s that’s just what it boils down to
Devon: That’s great.
Eric: Well I love how you’re changing the conversation, changing people’s hearts, making people more aware, share with the audience here on SoCap Talks, how they can engage with you where they can tap into Executive Talks and get more information with you and all the business owners that you’re working with.
Maurice: Sure. And thank you so much for asking that question. Facebook is always a good platform as far as where a lot of people land you can see the shows live on Mondays
Eric: Monday’s, what time?
Maurice: Monday’s at 430 is when I air live. And it ends at five o’clock
Eric: Mountain Standard Time.
Maurice: Mountain Standard Time. And it’s a obviously facebook.com forward slash Executive Talk. Or you can go to the YouTube channel and catch up on the old episodes on just look, look up Executive Talk, you’ll see me next to the stage in the studio smiling right there. So you can just subscribe to that and actually keep keep pace with everything.
Eric: That’s wonderful. Well, again, we really appreciate your time here on SoCap Talks. It’s been a really in depth and engaging conversation. I know it’s a hard one for a lot of people. But I know internally at some level, it resonates and it makes sense emotionally, if not illogically to them so it’s just really great that we can be able to continue to expand in this conversation and grow jointly here in this business community with this mindset so for more information about SoCap and these concepts these ideas you can read our website SoCap Talks backslash resources and tap into some of the smarticles we have there, our other podcasts and videos and we look forward to engaging with you and having you guys get as smart as we are *laughter*
Maurice: I don’t know about that
*laughter*
Devon: Thanks again.
Eric: Thanks Maurice.
Maurice: Thank you fellas.