From Questions to Confidence: Three Non-Negotiables in Life Insurance Sales

Summary

Podcast Summary

Life Insurance Academy Podcast

Episode: From Questions to Confidence: Three Non-Negotiables in Life Insurance Sales
Date: April 24, 2024
Hosts: Chris Ball, Adam Steffen, with Roger Short

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Episode Overview

This episode is designed for both new and seasoned life insurance agents seeking greater success and profitability. Hosts Chris Ball and Adam Steffen distill years of real-world experience into the three “non-negotiables” every agent must internalize: the belief that top-level success is possible for anyone, the critical mindset shift from “spending” to “investing,” and an understanding that today’s struggles don’t define tomorrow’s outcomes. The conversation is packed with practical advice, personal storytelling, and encouraging wisdom aimed at helping agents break through their roadblocks and reach new heights in their business.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Anyone Can Succeed at a High Level

• Core Message: If someone else can do it at a high level, you can too.

  • Chris Ball reflects on his own self-limiting beliefs coming from a factory town and seeing the dream as getting a job at Kellogg’s. He admits he saw top producers as having something special—until he got close to them.
  • Importance of being in the “right room,” exposed to high performers’ real, often vulnerable stories, to see that their success isn’t some unattainable magic.
  • Success is about duplicating best practices and personal growth, not innate superiority.

  “If someone else can do a thing, you can do a thing.” – Adam Steffen (09:09)

  "Getting into association...being in a relationship with you and seeing your frustrations...being in a room with other people who are performing at a high level and hearing their struggle stories...it took a long time, but if someone else can do this at a high level, I have everything in me to accomplish that." – Chris Ball (07:22)

  Memorable Moment: Humorous riff about “not talking about dunking basketballs” (09:18), highlighting the difference between physical limitations and skills anyone can learn.

  Notable Segment:

  • [05:14–10:58] – Chris’s realization and the breakdown of the “anyone can do it” principle.

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2. Investing Isn't Spending

• Core Message: See your lead purchases and business activities as investments, not mere expenses.

  • Chris describes his early struggle: viewing lead purchases as “spending,” leading to a fearful, limited approach.
  • The mindset should be: “Leads are money,” like feeding a vending machine that produces income. Remove the lid on how much you’re willing to invest in your business.
  • Many new agents balk at the numbers (e.g., $800–$1,000/week on leads) because they see it as money lost, not fuel for growth.
  • Time is an investment, too. Transitioning from being told what to do in a regular job to managing your business and your discipline is a major shift.
  • The hosts emphasize “you, Inc.”—you are your own CEO, responsible for both financial and time investments driving your results.

  “It’s not just the money you put into your business as an investment, it’s the time you put into your business as an investment. Your business depends on you.” – Chris Ball (16:12)

  “If your mindset is, ‘I’m leaving my job and now I have to spend $50,000 before I make any money,’ that’s wrong. Because no, you don’t have to invest… Right. But some agents and some people get stuck on that.” – Adam Steffen (15:08)

  Notable Segment:

  • [10:58–17:46] – The investing versus spending conversation, transitioning from job-mentality to business-owner mentality.

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3. What You Experience Now Isn’t Permanent

• Core Message: Today’s struggles aren’t your long-term fate; business is about ups and downs, learning, and evolution.

  • Using the “fog of war” metaphor from video games, Chris explains that you can only see a limited part of the map when you start, but as you progress, more possibilities and challenges are revealed.
  • Many agents get stuck evaluating their entire future based only on present struggle or success, causing unnecessary quitting or sabotage.
  • The “Player 2” story: personal growth is gradual and cumulative. What seems impossible now will become routine later—don’t measure your future by this week or month alone.

  “What you’re experiencing now is not what you will experience in three years.” – Chris Ball (18:28)

  “If you’re judging the rest of your life on this week, you might as well just go get in the casket.” – Adam Steffen (19:27)

  “You will get better as you go through the challenges…The fog will lift and you’ll figure out how to navigate it. And then at some point in the future, someone will be looking at you saying, ‘Yeah, it’s easy for you.’ And you need to remind them, hey, if someone else can do it, you can do it.” – Adam Steffen (24:14)

  Notable Segment:

  • [18:00–24:14] – “Fog of war” discussion, the “Player 2” story, and the amplification of long-term perspective.

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4. Inflection Points – Growth by Facing Your Edge

• Core Message: The business will reveal gaps—fears, need for help, limiting beliefs. True growth comes at the “edge” where you have to leap.

  • Chris outlines how the business exposes weak spots in people—e.g., fear of rejection, working alone, or limiting beliefs from the past.
  • To level up, every agent must step to “the edge” and push through, becoming a fundamentally different (and more confident) person.
  • If you keep retreating from these challenges, they’ll keep recurring; taking the leap is transformative.

  “If you can take the leap, you become a different person—a completely different person. But if you don’t, you’ll always come back to that edge. Always.” – Chris Ball (26:58)

  “When you see people dive in and change and become completely confident, different people—until they hit that next one—that’s awesome.” – Chris Ball (27:05)

  Notable Segment:

  • [24:14–28:00] – Inflection points, embracing the challenge, and becoming the person who can win.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “If someone else can do a thing, you can do a thing.” – Adam Steffen (09:09)
• “It’s not just the money you put into your business as an investment, it’s the time you put into your business as an investment. And most people ... stumble and fail ... because they didn’t have somebody telling them, you have to show up.” – Chris Ball (16:12)
• “What you’re experiencing now is not what you will experience in three years.” – Chris Ball (18:28)
• “If you can take the leap, you become a different person—a completely different person. But if you don't, you will always come back to that edge. Always.” – Chris Ball (26:58)
• [Humorous pop culture riff:] “Hot Tub Time Machine, the Facts of Life, Matthew Perry... We're on a roll, everybody.” – Adam Steffen (21:15)

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Important Timestamps for Major Segments

• [05:14–10:58] – The “Anyone Can Do It” Principle & Self-Limiting Beliefs
• [10:58–17:46] – Investing vs. Spending: The Business Owner’s Mindset Shift
• [18:00–24:14] – The “Fog of War,” Wells of Persistence, and the “Player 2” Story
• [24:14–28:00] – Inflection Points and the Leap Into Growth

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Takeaways

• Success in life insurance is not for a chosen few—anyone committed can achieve high levels by learning, associating with others, and sticking with it.
• See your expenditures of time and money as investments that fuel your business, not as losses.
• Don’t judge your future only by today’s struggles; agents grow, the business changes, and persistence is rewarded.
• Growth happens at the “edge”—when it feels hardest, that’s where transformation occurs.

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Final Thoughts

The episode wraps with reminders to share the episode with others in need of encouragement or on a similar journey, and to engage with the Life Insurance Academy community for ongoing support. The entire discussion is characterized by candid stories, an easy camaraderie, and a blend of tough love and support, making it both practical and motivating for life insurance agents at any stage.

Transcript

[Chris Ball]

It's not just the money you put into your business as an investment, it's the time you put into your business as an investment. And most people who are coming out of a job, I don't care if you're working five hours a week or 80 hours a week, most people are used to being told what to do and the minute that is gone. I've seen the best 80 hour work weekers, work weekers, 80 hour a week workers. That's what I meant to say, come into this and stumble and fail and their work ethic sinks because they didn't have somebody telling them, you have to show up. Yeah, like invest your time, invest your money, invest your time, invest your money. Because your business depends on you.

[Roger Short]

Hello and welcome to the Life Insurance Academy podcast where we believe that any insurance agent with the right training, tools.

[Adam Steffen]

And community can be successful.

[Roger Short]

I'm your host, Roger Short, and I'll be taking you into the conversations of top producing life insurance agents, agency owners and industry leaders so you can level up in your sales and business, increase your profit and maximize your impact. To be the first to know about new episodes and announcements, check out liapodcast.org updates or subscribe to our YouTube channel or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram if insureacad.

[Adam Steffen]

Welcome back, everybody to another episode of the Life Insurance Academy podcast. And I'm in studio with one of my best buddies, legend in the insurance business, Mr. Chris Ball. Hey, Rogers, it's you and me again, dude.

[Chris Ball]

I love, I love our time together on the podcast.

[Adam Steffen]

It's you and me. Yeah, we're not playing golf today. No, we're in here today.

[Chris Ball]

We're helping people.

[Adam Steffen]

Talking shop.

[Chris Ball]

I like it.

[Adam Steffen]

We're talking shop.

[Chris Ball]

Yes. It's kind of a shop table we have here.

[Adam Steffen]

We do it. Yeah, let's cut some stuff up.

[Chris Ball]

Sounds awesome.

[Adam Steffen]

Yes. Let's go for it. Let's go. We recently went through a series called Things I Wish I Knew. And as we were going through that series, we talked about finding a home, finding a niche, finding a process. And I think those are some questions that we hear a lot from agents through our journey. You know, we get DMED all the time. We're getting reached out to what's the best way, what's the best product, what's the best process, how do you guys do this? But in our own journeys, we've had our own self discovery too.

[Chris Ball]

Yes.

[Adam Steffen]

And as we were going through this, you started hitting me with all of your own discoveries and you said, but some of these Things are. We didn't cover some of the things I wish I knew.

[Chris Ball]

Right.

[Adam Steffen]

And I think it's important for you guys to hear some of the stuff that this guy wished that he knew.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah, that's fun.

[Adam Steffen]

Maybe there's some of the things that you wish you knew.

[Chris Ball]

You may be thinking some of these things.

[Adam Steffen]

Yeah, they might be.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah. I'm new. Let's say it this way. Let's say you're new and you're trying to figure it out. You don't even know what you should know. Right. That's kind of the state of it. Yeah. Yeah. That's how it was for me for sure.

[Adam Steffen]

A wealthy person once said to me this. You don't know what you don't know. That's why you don't have it. I'm like, having is attached to knowing. And when you don't know what you're supposed to know, you don't even know that.

[Chris Ball]

Yes.

[Adam Steffen]

And so you're oblivious to the thing that you're supposed to know. And that's actually the thing keeping you from having the thing that you want.

[Chris Ball]

Very good.

[Adam Steffen]

It's like Twilight Zone stuff. Yes, yes, I was like that. But that's what you're talking about today.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah, yeah. That is what we're talking about.

[Adam Steffen]

You're saying that. You're saying that they don't even know. You didn't know what to ask. You didn't even know what you.

[Chris Ball]

If I could put a pin in some ideas.

[Adam Steffen]

A time machine.

[Chris Ball]

Yes. If I could have a time machine.

[Adam Steffen]

A time machine.

[Chris Ball]

And talk to that cat and help them out or even go back and do it again, like, how would it be different? That's kind of the question for me.

[Adam Steffen]

So what type of time machine would it be?

[Chris Ball]

More than likely it's going to be a hot tub. It'd be a hot tub time machine.

[Adam Steffen]

Not if it was Adam. If it was Adam, what kind of time machine would it be?

[Chris Ball]

Such a. Such an interesting cat. What?

[Adam Steffen]

It would be a Dr. Strange.

[Chris Ball]

Dr. Seuss.

[Adam Steffen]

Dr. Who? Yes, Dr. Strange. Didn't he do.

[Chris Ball]

He does time machine too? Yeah. Not time machines. Was it.

[Adam Steffen]

He had like a warp.

[Chris Ball]

What is it called, Adam? Is it called the.

[Adam Steffen]

Well, we just lost time infinity.

[Chris Ball]

We just lost half our audience.

[Adam Steffen]

Yes, I know. Well, some of the people are going, I watched that. I watched Dr. Strange do that thing.

[Chris Ball]

That's true.

[Adam Steffen]

But you're talking about like good old fashioned hot tub time machine.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah, yeah, we'll talk about that. Actually, you know what this reminds me of it Reminds me of that movie 17 again. Did you ever see that movie?

[Adam Steffen]

No.

[Chris Ball]

What's his name? I can't remember. Who's in it? That's not important.

[Adam Steffen]

Is that a rom com?

[Chris Ball]

It kind of is.

[Adam Steffen]

You're into those rom com.

[Chris Ball]

It's an older 90s, 2000 movie, but he. Back to when he was 17. So it's him with all his knowledge that he has as an adult, as a 17 year old. It's pretty interesting, right?

[Adam Steffen]

So Matthew Perry's making this episode.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah, yeah.

[Adam Steffen]

In honor of Matthew Perry.

[Chris Ball]

Matthew Perry. He's.

[Adam Steffen]

There you go. But he wasn't in Hot Tub Time Machine. Who was in that movie?

[Chris Ball]

John Cusack.

[Adam Steffen]

I don't even know. Throw the parachute on there. Throw the parachute. So, Chris, there's some things you wish you knew. We're rewinding time. Yes. I'm going this way on the clock now. We're rewinding time.

[Chris Ball]

Yes.

[Adam Steffen]

And you had some questions, you said, these are some of the things I wish I knew. Yeah, that's one of those things, man.

[Chris Ball]

The very first one is, if someone else can do it, I can do it too. That's the very first idea. If someone else can do it. Maybe I should even say it differently. If someone else can do it at a high level, I can do it too. At a high level. Yes, at a high level. Because. And this just goes back to some background and I think everybody, you have a story and what you went through and all that stuff, but I grew up a kid in a factory town in Battle Creek, Michigan. Holla at Battle Creek listeners. Holla. Did you say hala? Yeah, yeah. And the dream of all of Battle Creek, the big dream, was to work at Kellogg's. The big dream. And when you grow up in a factory town, sometimes you. You have.

[Adam Steffen]

That's because they made Kellogg's cereal.

[Chris Ball]

That's right.

[Adam Steffen]

In your town, correct?

[Chris Ball]

Yes. I need to clarify that. Kellogg's, that's the home of Kellogg's cereal, Honeycombs. Yes, that's post. I know this because all of cereal is made.

[Roger Short]

I got it wrong.

[Chris Ball]

All of cereal was made about Rice Krispies. Rice Krispies. Correct. Snapback? Cracker Pop. Yes.

[Adam Steffen]

Corn Flakes.

[Chris Ball]

Yep. Yep. You want to keep going?

[Adam Steffen]

Raisin Bran.

[Chris Ball]

Yes. Correct.

[Adam Steffen]

Okay, perfect.

[Chris Ball]

So which one do you like in the factory town? Like that. That's the big dream, possibly to work at Kellogg's. Right?

[Adam Steffen]

Okay.

[Chris Ball]

Or your parents had a dream for you to do something Special K, right?

[Adam Steffen]

Yes, Special K. Wait, Special K. Anyway.

[Chris Ball]

I don't even know it's not bad.

[Adam Steffen]

Why would they make Special K? So it's like modified cornflakes.

[Chris Ball]

It is. It is. It's not interesting. So when I was presented with this idea of everything that you presented to me and then the sales aspect of it, the thing I kept going back to was, can I do it? I think I can. Can I do it? I think I can. But it was at a survival level. And I saw you do it, but I saw you doing it at a high level, and I thought it was different for you. Like, I think people need to hear that. I don't know if they ever heard that.

[Adam Steffen]

What you think was different for me.

[Chris Ball]

I think there are folks who experience certain experiences in their life and they believe that some people have something that they don't in their makeup.

[Adam Steffen]

An ability.

[Chris Ball]

An ability. A skill set or. Yeah, yeah. They have top shelf access to some abilities that you don't have. And until you get around the room, I think that's a big piece of this. Getting into association, like being in a relationship with you and seeing your frustrations in areas that you need to grow in yourself. What I know. Or being in a room with other people who are performing at a high level and hearing their stories that they overcame something, their struggle stories. Yeah. One of the things I talk to about with high producers is, man, you look like Superman. And if you look like Superman, it's hard to help people grow if you aren't vulnerable or real about your struggle, your journey in this. So that's what I can appreciate about our relationship, because it gave me a handhold and access to something. And it took a long time to get there for me. Well, relatively long time. But it felt like it took a long time where I was like, man, if someone else can do this at a high level, I have everything in me to accomplish that. So I really wanted our listeners to hear that. Like, if you're sitting there and you're wondering, man, I do 1500 a week. Boo. Like, I don't feel great about it. Wah, wah. As the kids say today, you know, I do 2500. I don't feel like I'm at a high level. Right. And if you're honest with yourself about your work and you're in community with people who are performing at a high level, you have what it takes to be able to do it.

[Adam Steffen]

If someone can do a thing, someone else can do a thing.

[Chris Ball]

Yes.

[Adam Steffen]

Because you can watch it and duplicate it and maybe even get better. Yeah, yeah.

[Chris Ball]

So that was an important thing.

[Adam Steffen]

Except dunk.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah. You Could. There's a price to it. Could I do it?

[Adam Steffen]

No.

[Chris Ball]

No, I cannot right this minute. No. Can I do it later? Probably not. I'm pushing 50.

[Adam Steffen]

But that's a physical limitation.

[Chris Ball]

It is a physical limitation.

[Adam Steffen]

We're not talking about physical limitations here.

[Chris Ball]

Correct? Yeah.

[Adam Steffen]

We're talking about ability to learn something and to learn to say words and to listen and communicate in a way that helps other people achieve a goal.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah. To connect with people.

[Adam Steffen]

To connect.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah.

[Adam Steffen]

And if someone can do a thing, you can do a thing.

[Chris Ball]

Absolutely.

[Adam Steffen]

So that's the first thing you wish you knew?

[Chris Ball]

That is the very first thing.

[Adam Steffen]

And when you first met me, you thought.

[Chris Ball]

I thought, well, this guy's selling for years. He's got a skill set that's different. I thought it was different. I told Roger when I came to Louisville, I believed, like, are you speaking.

[Adam Steffen]

To them about me while I'm here with you?

[Chris Ball]

Yes, I did.

[Adam Steffen]

That was weird. I didn't know what you were saying there.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah. Was the CEOs that were in my ministry that I was working with, like, oh, they just. They're different. They're different kind of people. They have different DNA. Like, I wouldn't have said it that way, but that's how I felt about it. And then over time, again, when you're in the right room with the right people and you're learning and you have a good attitude and you're fighting like a dog.

[Adam Steffen]

Like a dog.

[Chris Ball]

You realize that's what everybody else is doing.

[Adam Steffen]

He's fighting like a dog.

[Chris Ball]

Everybody else is fighting like a dog. No matter how sharp they look, they've got that dog.

[Adam Steffen]

Some people have been handed a few things.

[Chris Ball]

Sure.

[Adam Steffen]

But they usually don't. They're usually the benefactors of somebody else. Who fought like a dog.

[Chris Ball]

Yes, somebody did.

[Adam Steffen]

Somebody fought like a dog.

[Chris Ball]

Somebody fought like a dog.

[Adam Steffen]

Yeah. Yeah. All right. Cool, man. So if someone can do a thing, someone else can do a thing. And you need to know that.

[Chris Ball]

Yes. Next. Yes. The next thing that was a limitation on the front end of my journey was investing isn't spending.

[Adam Steffen]

You thought.

[Chris Ball]

I thought. When you talked about.

[Adam Steffen]

You thought spending was spending.

[Chris Ball]

Yes, I thought everything was spending.

[Adam Steffen]

You thought everything was spending.

[Chris Ball]

So when you talk to me about leads, I believed that I was spending money on leads, and because of that, it put a limit on the number of leads that I would order each week.

[Adam Steffen]

Yeah.

[Chris Ball]

So if I started over and had this on my bulletin board. Investing is not spending. That. Leads our money. That's probably another piece I'd have on My bulletin board, it would allow me to take the lid off of that, knowing that there's a vending machine that I put money in and money comes out and I just keep doing that. So that's a big one for me too.

[Roger Short]

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[Adam Steffen]

We've literally had agents, when we talk to them about the opportunity and then we Talk about spending 750 to $1,000 a week in leads. Now I didn't even say that correctly, did I?

[Chris Ball]

Probably not.

[Adam Steffen]

It's investing.

[Chris Ball]

Yes, Right.

[Adam Steffen]

But what the agent heard was spending.

[Chris Ball]

Yes, that's what they hear.

[Adam Steffen]

The agent heard instantly spend 800 to 1,000 bucks a week in leads. That's 45, 48 to 50,000 plus a year in an investment. You want me to. I'm leaving my job and I'm trying to make 100 grand and I'm making 60 and you're telling me that I got to invest 50 grand before I make any money. And if that's your mindset, that's wrong because no, you don't have to invest. Right.

[Chris Ball]

No. That's a big learning curve.

[Adam Steffen]

Yes, it's a huge learning curve. Learning curve. But some agents and some people get stuck on that.

[Chris Ball]

Yes.

[Adam Steffen]

They go, yeah, I'm more cut out for a job.

[Chris Ball]

Well, I think that's a really good point, Roger. I feel like the job thinking is different because when you were training me and we had these conversations, you would say, you are in charge of you Inc. You are now the CEO of your business. Your number one employee is yourself. And that speaks to spending versus investing here too. Because it's not just the money you put into your business as an investment, it's the time you put into your business as an investment. And most people who are coming out of a job, I don't care if you're working five hours a week or 80 hours a week. Most people are used to being told what to do. And the minute that is gone, I've seen the best 80 hour work weekers. Work weekers, 80 hour a week workers, that's what I meant to say, come into this and stumble and fail and their work ethic sinks because they didn't.

[Adam Steffen]

Have somebody telling them, you have to show up.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah. Like, invest your time, invest your money, Invest your time, invest your money. Because your business depends on you.

[Adam Steffen]

They're good at following rules.

[Chris Ball]

Yes.

[Adam Steffen]

Following a protocol. Yeah. But then when it comes to managing their own time, they see it differently. Or managing their own money from their business. They see it differently.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah.

[Adam Steffen]

Because they've never thought about their money in terms of a business.

[Chris Ball]

Correct.

[Adam Steffen]

They've only ever thought about it in terms of income versus spending.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah, that was a stretch for me. I think I've always had a pretty good work ethic. So that wasn't that big of a stretch. But there were times, you know, where I'd hit a number early in the day and I'd call you and I'm like, hey, I'm at $2,000. And you'd say, what are you going to do now? And I guess I'm going to go home.

[Adam Steffen]

I guess I'm going to go home. So I'm going to take the day off now.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah, I'm done.

[Adam Steffen]

I'm going to do this every day for the rest of my life.

[Chris Ball]

Now, understanding that the business depends on you as the number one producer, even when you're growing a team, the business depends on you as the number one producer for a period of time because you're modeling how to do the process.

[Adam Steffen]

That's right.

[Chris Ball]

So that was a big one for me. Investing is not spending.

[Adam Steffen]

Investing is not spending.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah.

[Adam Steffen]

There's another great video that you can watch and I think Adam will throw it up. Put in the link somewhere. It's going to be somewhere. And if you don't see it here, look in the, look in the comments. You'll find it there. On investing versus spending. When it comes to leads, if you're getting started in the business.

[Chris Ball]

How we doing, Adam? We doing all right?

[Adam Steffen]

Cool.

[Chris Ball]

The best podcast you've ever heard. That's awesome. I appreciate that. You didn't have to say that. That's right.

[Adam Steffen]

Having full on conversations outside of our podcast.

[Chris Ball]

That's right.

[Adam Steffen]

Chris, you said as you were going through things and as you would learn things, you would say it's hard for new people to understand this until they go through it. What did you mean by that? Because I think there was something else you wish you knew.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah, there's a. If you're a video game lover, you'll understand this. There's a fog of war, like, and you're playing video games. The map isn't revealed until you actually start moving in the game.

[Adam Steffen]

Yeah.

[Chris Ball]

So as you move, the map grows and then you can see all your enemies on the map, where their bases are, all of that. You see the full picture of that. It's kind of like this in this, in this business. And because of the limited scope on that front side, I think it's important if you're going to put it on your bulletin board. What you're experiencing now is not what you will experience in three years. And I see it everywhere. I see it in decisions that are made for people personally because they're in the middle of some type of emotional bubble that they're living in, whether it's their personal experiences or a transition from.

[Adam Steffen]

One life stage to another.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah. They can only see what's directly in front of them. And so they get into this experience and they're like, well, I didn't sell anything this week. I can't live like this. You're right. Nobody can. If that's every week. If that's every week.

[Adam Steffen]

But if you're judging the rest of your life on this week, you might as well just go get in the casket. Right. Because one day you're going to be there, too, so why do anything?

[Chris Ball]

Yeah. Why bother? Or two weeks, three weeks. And their attitude has shifted because they're shortsighted in their experience, and they believe this is going to be the next three years or five years. And who wants that? But if you can commit to a process, a system, if you can commit to investing in your business and getting around the right people, then you will start to win in certain areas. Right.

[Adam Steffen]

It's interesting because it actually comes from the same thought process that you had when you said, I'm already at 2000 and it's only 1030. And I would say, what are you.

[Chris Ball]

Going to do now?

[Adam Steffen]

I think I'm going to go home. The thought process is it's always going to be like this.

[Chris Ball]

Right. Every day is two grand.

[Adam Steffen]

Yeah. When you're flying, you feel like, well, every day is going to be like this. I can do this every day. And you sabotage because you feel like everything's going to be like that. Likewise, when things are not going well, sometimes you think every day is going to be like that, and you sabotage.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah. So here's the truth.

[Adam Steffen]

What you're saying is it's not always going to be like that.

[Chris Ball]

Yes. And here's the beauty of that. The way you just identified that, which I didn't even think of, is, yes, you're right. Every day will be that. It's all happening at the same time, all the time. I say it all the time to you.

[Adam Steffen]

You and I.

[Chris Ball]

It's always happening. It's always.

[Adam Steffen]

Everything's always happening at the same time.

[Chris Ball]

All the time. Yeah. The good stuff, the bad stuff, it all flows in the same motion and we're in it, and that's good.

[Adam Steffen]

Take the best.

[Chris Ball]

There's a song about that and a TV show. There you have the Facts of Life. Boom, boom.

[Adam Steffen]

We're dropping all kinds of stuff. Hot Tub, Time Machine, the Facts of Life. Matthew Perry. Look out. We're on a roll, everybody.

[Chris Ball]

Even if you're three years into this and you're in a struggle, what you're experiencing now isn't what you're going to experience in three years.

[Adam Steffen]

Right? No.

[Chris Ball]

If you can stay in the game, I mean, if we could, we could do a whole podcast on our entire experience in this. And I think a lot of people would say, I would have quit there. I would have quit there. I would have quit there.

[Adam Steffen]

Oh, dude, look at. If we look back for real about some of the stuff we went through together, we had Lots of justification to have bailed out, right?

[Chris Ball]

Yeah.

[Adam Steffen]

Right. Lots.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah.

[Adam Steffen]

And some people would have.

[Chris Ball]

Yes.

[Adam Steffen]

There was a video that I saw one time in preparation for a talk, and it was called Player 2. Do you know what I'm getting ready to talk about?

[Chris Ball]

Yeah, I think so, but go ahead. That's fine.

[Adam Steffen]

Player two, about a kid who lost his dad when he was about 10 years old.

[Chris Ball]

Yes, I remember that.

[Adam Steffen]

Lost his dad. And he and his dad used to play Mario Kart or one of those video games together all the time on the old GameCube. You remember the GameCube? Nintendo. GameCube. For those of you gamers, you might, you know, if you can get a vintage one, that'd be fun. And for old time's sake, he pulled it out, and it might have been Atari. I don't know where it was actually.

[Chris Ball]

It was an Xbox.

[Adam Steffen]

An old Xbox.

[Roger Short]

Yeah.

[Adam Steffen]

He saw the game and he pulled it out and he started playing. And it reminded him of all the times that he played with his dad.

[Chris Ball]

Right.

[Adam Steffen]

And he was about to finish one time. Well, and.

[Chris Ball]

Can I help for a second?

[Adam Steffen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Chris Ball]

He would race and he would play these old races, and his dad had the top score.

[Adam Steffen]

Correct.

[Chris Ball]

And once you have the top score, there's a ghost car.

[Adam Steffen]

You're getting ahead of me.

[Chris Ball]

Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to.

[Adam Steffen]

I'm getting ready. Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. Yeah. So the top scorer would always be the Ghost or the Phantom player. And you could always see how far ahead the Phantom player was from you. And as a kid, he was always trying to catch his dad, always trying to catch his dad. He never could. He never could catch up. And his dad would always win. His dad was always win. But he saw his son getting better and better and better, of course. And then he lost his dad in a tragedy. He pulls out this game, and he's playing, and he said he loved to play because it reminded him of when he played his dad. So he could see his dad racing. And one time he tried so hard to catch his dad, he overtook his dad. And he realized, if I go across that finish line, I'm gonna set the new top score, and my dad's ghost will be gone forever.

[Chris Ball]

Right?

[Adam Steffen]

And so he pumped the brakes and his dad crossed first so he could always be chasing his dad. The point of the story is this gets emotional, right. When you think about people setting the pace for you. He was continuing to develop. And so what he thought was so hard at one point in his life to Ever beat his dad's top score, came to a point where he had to pump the brakes because he actually outperformed his dad.

[Chris Ball]

Right.

[Adam Steffen]

So what you're experiencing now is not what you're going to experience later. You will get better as you go through the challenges. You'll figure out where the fog of war when it clears, where all the enemies are, where the minefields are, where all those things are. And the fog will lift and you'll figure out how to navigate it. And then at some point in the future, someone will be looking at you saying, well, yeah, it's easy for you. Yeah, it's easy for you, right? And you need to remind them, hey, if someone else can do it, you can do it. If I can do it, you can do it. Investing is not spending, and spending is not investing. And get those right. Correct. Investment in your business and you is the thing that brings the most value. And then last one, of course, is what you're experiencing now is not what you'll experience in three years. Chris, let's wrap this up. How powerful has it been to be in a journey where you're seeing people fight to win? And where are some of those inflection points where people give up and other people push through? And what does it do when they do that? I'll leave you with that thought. There's an inflection point. You're come to a point, it's like a challenge point of conflict. So hard. Frustration. Maybe you've hit your. What you thought was your spending limit, not your investing limit, but your spending limit. Or like you've had too many bad weeks in a row. Yeah, right. Like you've coached a lot of people now you've come through it yourself. You're helping teams win, you're helping agents win. What are some of those inflection points and what happens when people push through versus things recede?

[Chris Ball]

The one thing that I say repeatedly about this business that I love the most is it reveals it to every single person who's in it. It reveals their area of growth. You can't hide. It will show up.

[Adam Steffen]

What does that mean?

[Chris Ball]

It would mean if you have fears, those will be revealed, boom, they rise to the surface. And that's the inflection point. It's the fear. If it's. You're the person who does everything on their own and you have all the answers that will be revealed in this because you won't be able to progress and you're going to have to talk to somebody and ask for help and Stop pretending that you're doing all the work. That stuff. If you have ghosts of your past, of your father, like in the game that you can't beat, that will be revealed in this because you're carrying baggage into something that requires you to bet on yourself. Those are three specific ones that I brought up, but there's many, many more. The thing I like is you step to the edge, and if you can take the leap, you become a different person, Completely different person. But if you don't, you will always come back to that edge. Always.

[Adam Steffen]

Repeatedly, or sometimes you walk away from the edge.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah. And you're wondering, did I live up to my potential?

[Adam Steffen]

Yeah.

[Chris Ball]

That's what I love about this business. It's the most exciting part about the business, because when you see people dive in, man, and change and become a completely confident different person until they hit that next one, that's awesome.

[Adam Steffen]

It's really gonna hit another one.

[Chris Ball]

Yeah. Yes. That's.

[Adam Steffen]

That's the crazy thing. Yeah. So exactly. Leveling up. We're on the ground. The video games thing, when you level up, you don't ever have to go back, right? Right?

[Chris Ball]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Adam Steffen]

You don't ever have to go back. And you get the secret hacks and the cheat codes. You start hanging around long enough, you learn how to get to the top level.

[Chris Ball]

You're doing podcasts and telling people how to play the game and all that stuff.

[Adam Steffen]

People coming out of the woodworks saying, you guys, you guys, hey, we love you guys for watching and listening to our content. If you found value in what we shared today and some of Chris's things that he wish he knew, that if someone else can do it, I can do it. That investing isn't spending that what you're experiencing now, you will not experience that in three years. If you found value in that and you know somebody else in the business or looking to get in the business or maybe struggling, please share this video with them and hit like. And hit. Subscribe and comment us. We love it when you engage. We would like to hear more from you so that we can be a bigger help to our community. Thanks, Chris.

[Chris Ball]

Thanks, man. That was fun.

[Adam Steffen]

Yeah, it was good times. And thank you guys. And we'll see you on the next episode of the Life Insurance Academy podcast.

[Roger Short]

Well, that's a wrap for today's episode.

[Adam Steffen]

And as always, thank you so much.

[Roger Short]

For listening to the Life Insurance Academy podcast. If you enjoyed this podcast, make sure to subscribe wherever you're listening. Rate us five stars and follow us on Facebook, Twitter or instagram if insureacad. You can also find us on our YouTube channel, life insurance Academy.

[Adam Steffen]

Be sure to subscribe there and get.

[Roger Short]

All of our new videos videos including the video version of this podcast and new training videos. The Life Insurance Academy podcast is recorded, edited and mixed by Adam Steffen. This episode was produced by Chris Ball, Zach McIlwain and me. Our theme song is By Flashing Lights. We'll catch you in another episode and until then, stay safe and go be a difference maker.