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Welcome to It's a Good Life with Brian Buffini, founder of America's largest business coaching company. Here's a short classic cut from one of our all time favorite episodes.

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This podcast is all about what's possible for young people today. You know, we live in a world that has become increasingly negative. You know, the world was always a negative place. It just when people were negative, when I was growing up as a kid, they scratched something on the wall of a bathroom in high school. Today they can scratch something out on YouTube or on Twitter or on TikTok. And in all the different social media platforms we have, they can comment on something that's really positive and they can throw a real negative comment in on it. It's just that the dynamic of the world we live in today means that the information that is almost oppressive and it's almost oppressively negative, that you really actually have to be conscious to check out of it, to turn it off and to tune into the positive. And I hope you're tuning into this today because this is a word of hope and encouragement for our younger citizens. And I hope this will encourage them. In fact, as I start off today, just I personally believe that the future is very bright. I believe there will be new innovations and technologies and creativity that the world's never seen coming out in the next five to 10 years. I see so much hope in the future. You know, as we talk about the millennial group and 80, 85 million people in the US alone, so much maligned by an older generation because they're so different and focused, so different. Whether it be the millennials, whether it be Gen Z or the next group to come down the pike, I believe there's great hope for them. I believe there's a great life out there to be had. I think they can make a great difference with their lives. And I believe they're going to be living in a world and a country and in a culture where many great things can happen. And the truth of the matter is, for generations, young people have been able to do extraordinary things. And that's why we're going to cover the five C's for young achievers. But when I came to America, I had just turned 19 and got into a serious motorcycle accident where my life was turned upside down. I was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. And I chose at that time to get into the real estate business. And at the time, people told me, brian, you're too young. Who's going to buy a house from you? Brian, you don't know anybody you have to have a house before you can sell a house. And you need money to sell real estate and all those kinds of things. And that's where I started my career. I was a millionaire by the time I was 25. And by the time I was 28, I'd started Buffinian Company, which has become the largest business and coaching training company in North America. So I'm going to say this for myself. I didn't buy into what other people said I could and couldn't do, and I didn't buy into it myself. What I did do is tapped into what many of these young achievers did was I tapped into the five Cs for young achievers. So here they are. The first is conformity. The second is curiosity. The third is courtesy. The fourth is courage. And the fifth C is character. And that's what we're gonna talk about today. So here we go. The first dynamic here of the five Cs is conformity. Conformity by definition is behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. Kind of do what you're told, okay? And so the dynamic of that shows up as this. Here's the three points for you. Don't be average. Lean into your story and don't conform to this world, okay? Rita Mae Brown said, the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you but yourself. Young people, you've been born with gifts and abilities, blessed by God. Your job is to find out what those abilities are. The second thing is to develop a sense of curiosity. It's a strong desire to know or learn something. They said curiosity kills the cat. Let me tell you, curiosity makes the kid. And it's just great to be curious. There's this wonder, and the world is so big and it's so rich and it's so amazing. There's just so much and so unleash your curiosity. It's just a fantastic thing. What I'm going to say to you is unleash your curiosity. When you embrace consciously to be curious, it makes every day a wonder. It makes every day a learning opportunity. And you never grow old. You never grow old when you stay curious. The next C is courtesy. And let me say, if you really want to stand out from your competition, if you want to show out in the modern world we live in today, be a courteous person. Be a respectful person. Oh, man, you just stand out because common courtesy is no longer common. I've been telling young people this for years. We had an intern who came to work at Buffini and Company. We typically have 10 to 20 interns work at our company during the summer every year. So we had this young lady, and she went on seven different job interviews and wrote seven personal notes afterwards to thank the interviewer. She got seven job offers, and yet many of her buddies saying, man, I can't get a call back. I can't get this. Let me say this. I believe it's easier to be successful today than at any time I've seen in the last 50 years. And one of the ways it's easier to be successful if you will be consciously courteous. Please and thank you. The most basic thing in the world. You know what the opposite of courtesy is? Entitlement. There's a neat quote that says, people usually don't see the true value of courtesy until they receive it. So here's a little tip. Why don't you try this? But when you give it out in slices, man, does it come back in Lowe's, I would say this. This is the secret ingredient. I would take somebody right now with less talent and higher courtesy than someone with high talent, less low courtesy all day. William Arthur Ward said, feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. Many of you feel the gratitude, but then don't express it. It's the golden rule, right? Treat people the way you want to be treated. I'm going to say this. There was a book years ago called the Platinum Rule, which is treat people even better than you want to be treated. You watch what happens. The next C is courage. And this is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, and pain. And I will say this, young folks, you're capable of so much more than you think. You can dig a lot deeper than you think. But the truth of the matter is, the adversity we face in our lives is the making of us. And so when you face adversity, you need to understand it's the making of you. It's not something to be avoided. It doesn't mean you've made a wrong turn. It doesn't even mean you're doing the wrong thing when you're facing adversity. It's a test. It's a test, and you can dig in and dig in hard. Courage is nothing more than taking one step more than you think you can take. Okay? You have to do that. Because when you take action in the midst of fear, the greatest thing you can possibly have as a young person is confidence. Confidence is the most attractive quality. True confidence, true self assurance, not false bravado. Not arrogance and egos, not boasting, not that I'm talking about a true quiet confidence that comes from. I felt this fear, I felt these emotions. I didn't give in to these emotions. And I took action in the midst of it. And if you'll do that, and you might be facing some difficult choices right now, you might be facing some difficult emotions right now. Take action. Do the things you know you need to do to improve your life, to become the best version of yourself. And what comes out of it is confidence. The fifth and last C here is character. Character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. It's a beautiful thing, developing your character, growing your character, it's very powerful. And being a character, being a character like me, being yourself, there's just nothing more attractive than someone who's just themselves comfortable in their own skin. I have a wonderful affirmation for you, which is just being myself is good enough to be great. And it's so true. The truth of the matter is we're all a little different. And that's what makes it work. Remember, you're wonderfully made. You're designed this way, and you're designed to be you. And you can be the best you you can be. And so you want to work on your character, both in your integrity, in your work ethic, all of those character qualities, but you also want to work on being the character that you made and becoming very comfortable in your own skin. I believe God made you with the gifts and the abilities and the thought life, everything that's in you. And if you will develop your character in regards to those things that will hold up during tough times and then also learn to be your own character, that's very, very powerful. And so my encouragement to all of you is, as a young person, you can achieve much. As a young person, you have to understand, you know, life is not a bowl of cherries. And those difficult things and those setbacks that you experience, they are and can be the making of you. So what do we want to do? We make sure we don't conform. We make sure we kind of unleash our curiosity. Travel, explore, meet new people, have new experiences, learn, grow, just engage in the wonder of life. Courtesy, Courtesy will set you apart from your peers. Like none other. Like none other. Please and thank you. Little notes of appreciation, seeking people out to thank. Give good energy to. Oh, my goodness. You will be a rock star. Courage, courage. Dig down, dig down. You'll find you have a lot more in the tank than you thought. And that courage leads to confidence. And then lastly, continue to develop your character and be the character that you are.