← Business, Bourbon & Cigars
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Most leaders aren't stuck because they lack ideas. They're stuck because they're in the wrong room. Rooms where everyone claps but no one challenges. Rooms where networking is just a stack of business cards and 0 follow through. Rooms where mediocrity feels comfortable because no one dares to call it out. The wrong room doesn't just waste your time. It lowers your standards. And here's the bottom line. The wrong room feeds your ego. The right room feeds your evolution. So ask yourself, when was the last time someone in your circle challenged you so hard it made you uncomfortable, but changed everything? In this episode, you're going to learn how to recognize when you're in the wrong room, how to upgrade the rooms you enter, and how to turn the right room into a system that multiplies your growth, your network, and your results. I'm Scott Joseph, host of business Bourbon and Cigars and founder of Me plus Ultra. Over the years, I have sat in a lot of rooms. Some that made me feel smart and others that made me rethink everything. And I can tell you right now, the second kind. Those are the rooms that change your life. Inside Me plus Ultra, I've seen what happens when elite leaders surround themselves with people who demand more from them more than they've been demanding from themselves. That's where breakthroughs happen. So here's what we're going to cover today. First, I'll share a story about my own wrong room moment that changed the way I think about growth. Then I'm going to give you a clear framework, how to identify the wrong rooms, what the right ones look like, and how to get the most out of them once you're there. Finally, I'm going to show you exactly how to experience this firsthand inside a live Me plus Ultra hot seat where growth gets real fast. You know, years ago, I was sitting in a business event that looked great on paper. Big names, luxury setting, good people. But have you ever been somewhere that just, I don't know, felt off, but you couldn't quite put your finger on it? And that's what this kind of felt like. You know, everyone was polite, they were supportive, but no one was honest. Every time someone shared a challenge, the group just responded with praise and safe ideas, regurgitating all the same shit and common best practices that they've shared a million times over. There weren't real solutions. No one was willing to say, that's not good enough. And I can remember thinking, this feels productive, but nothing's actually changing. The truth hit me later that the room didn't sharpen me, it sedated me. And when you're surrounded by people who make you feel comfortable but never challenged, you kind of start confusing motion with momentum. You know, you start mistaking applause for accountability. And that's when I realized something that's become a core truth inside me. Plus ultra. If the room doesn't make you uncomfortable, it's not pushing you, it's pacifying you. So I left. Not me. Well, it's ultra, the first one I was talking about. That's where I found a group where standards were higher than my own, where people weren't impressed with what I've already done. They wanted to know what I was going to do next. And that's where the real growth started. So the first thing you got to do is you got to spot the wrong room and get out fast. And here's how you fix the wrong room problem, right? You identify it before it waste another quarter of your life. Start by auditing every room you're in right now, the events that you go to, business groups, masterminds, advisory boards, even internal leadership meetings. And ask yourself three hard questions. Does this room challenge me or just cheer for me? You know the second one, does this room create action or just conversation? And then finally, do I walk away with clarity or confusion and noise? If the answer's wrong on any of those, it's time to pivot. Let's say you're in a group where everyone's pitching their services, right? Not serving each other. You don't fix that by being patient. You fix it by redirecting your time into a room where the value is what you give, not what you sell. And here's how I want you to block 30 minutes this week to write down the top three rooms you invest your energy in. And under each one, I want you to write, what do I consistently get from this room? You know, what do I consistently give to it? And has that trade off made me sharper in the last six months? If not, make a move. Because staying loyal to the wrong room isn't loyalty, it's self sabotage. If you want to grow, you can't sit where applause is louder than accountability. Step two, find the right room and qualify it like it's a deal, you know? So to me, this is the real fix. You don't just join better rooms, you qualify them like you would a business partnership. Think of every mastermind, networking group or board like a potential acquisition. You'd never buy a company without, you know, due diligence, right? Same rules should Go with the groups and where you spend your time. So here's your due diligence checklist. It has to be the right values fit. The group's culture should mirror your non negotiables. Integrity, accountability, growth. You know, if people hide behind titles instead of truth, walk away. The best rooms, they talk straight and they move fast. Then you gotta look at outcome alignment. Ask yourself, what are the measurable outcomes this room produces for its members? If the answer is connections or inspiration, it's not enough. The right room produces tangible results. You know, whether that's new systems, new partnerships, new playbooks that you can execute tomorrow. Look at the structure. Great rooms have a cadence to them. You know, there's prep before, execution during and follow up after. Who facilitates it? If no one's cutting, fluff and enforcing follow through, that's a signal. They confuse talk with traction and then try to do a tile run. You know, before committing, ask to observe one session. Watch how they use their time. If people ramble for 20 minutes without a single measurable action, that's not the room for you. Once you find the right fit, invest fully. Don't dabble in it. Engage and contribute and commit. Because rooms only work at the speed of your participation. Are you overwhelmed trying to solve your toughest business challenges alone? Scaling team alignment or opportunity gaps that can feel impossible to navigate without the right guidance. With a ME plus Ultra Mastermind hot seat session, you can see firsthand how top entrepreneurs tackle real problems in real time. This isn't just observation. You're actively engaging, seeing the power of the hot seat process in action, learning step by step problem solving methods, and experiencing accountability and collaboration at the highest level. On top of that, you're interacting with active ME plus Ultra members, giving you insight into the community, the relationships, and potentially opening doors for referral or nomination into the group. This is a chance to accelerate your growth in a single session. We can only allow three people into each mastermind session, so visit me+Ultra.com hot seat. Do it now and reserve your free access. As I said, spots are limited free per session. So claim your seat today and see firsthand how powerful this process is at solving the toughest business challenges. And step three, you know, maximize the room, turn it into a growth system. Most leaders think being in the right room is the goal. It's not. The goal is to turn that room into compounding leverage. And this is what I mean by that. You want to prepare with purpose. Before every session, write down one key decision that you're facing, maybe one metric that defines success. One constraint or blocker that's in your way. Walk into these rooms with real data, not opinions. The right room can't sharpen vague ideas. You want to engage like a partner, not a passenger. The best way to gain from a room is to give value first, right? If someone shares a problem, start asking clarifying questions. Again, a good example that was, you know, what's the one thing that would make the biggest difference if you fixed it this week? Then they're going to say that, and I dig down. Keep peeling that onion, right? This earns respect and it raises the quality of the conversation for everyone. I can tell you from experience, when you're in the right room, you're going to learn as much from the clarifying questions that people are asking as the solutions or advice they offer. Operationalize every insight after every meeting. Translate takeaways into next steps. You know, who owns it, what's the deadline, what's the first visible proof of progress? Then you want to send a follow up message to your partner, whoever's holding you accountable, right? That summarizes what you implemented. So when you do this repeatedly, the room stops being inspiration and becomes execution. In Me plus Ultra, we created the Ultra hub. It's basically a private site and this is where this type of accountability takes place. Every member has access to it and can hold you accountable. You want to build relationship equity. Reach out between sessions, congratulate a member on a win, send a resource. Maybe you're making intros. That's how real rooms compound. Not from the meeting itself, but from the network that forms between them. And then you want to create that Feedback loop every 90 days. Audit your growth. Ask what decisions did this room help me make? What measurable outcomes change because of them? If you can't point out to at least one clear win, you're not using the right room. And I'll give you an example of what I'm talking about. Inside Me plus Ultra, you know, we have members who join a hot seat with a single question. You know, something like, how do I scale without losing? I don't know my top performers. By the end of that hour, they walk away with a blueprint. Accountability, partners and clear ownership on next steps. And here's a real difference. Three months later, those steps are executed. Because in the right room, follow up's not an option. Average rooms give you ideas. The right room gives you results because it doesn't let you leave without action. So if you've been wondering why growth feels slower, you know, than it should, if your circle feels more comfortable than challenging, then maybe it's not your strategy that's stuck. Maybe it's your room. So here's your move. Step into a room that forces your next breakthrough. Breakthroughs make people wealthy. Experience it firsthand. Join us inside a Me plus Ultra hot seat. It's not in theory. It's transformation. You're going to see how one leader's challenge turns into a masterclass in problem solving. You're going to learn from real entrepreneurs who hold each other to a higher standard. And you're going to walk away with insights and relationships and accountability that you simply can't get anywhere else. The first three who register, we're going to get access to watch a live hot seat session with us. You're going to see exactly how elite leaders uncover blind spots and create strategies that stick and they level up fast. I want you to visit me+Ultra.com Hotseat and reserve your spot, because the wrong room doesn't just waste your time. It caps your growth. And the right one can change your life. Cheers, everyone.