← Right About Now - Legendary Business Advice
Right About Now - Legendary Business Advice
No BS. All Business. Top 10 Resolutions Ways to Crush 2025
00:49:50
In our final Weekly News of the year, Ryan Alford, along with Brianna and Chris Hansen, reflect on their experiences from 2024 and prepare for 2025. They emphasize the importance of mindset, personal branding, and proactive strategies for business success. Ryan discusses the dangers of complacency, while Chris highlights the value of social media and cryptocurrency investments. Brianna underscores the need for reflection and time auditing. The trio also explores themes of authenticity and service, encouraging listeners to embrace their uniqueness and serve others to achieve personal and professional fulfillment.
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- [00:02]
Ryan Alford
Struggling to grow or start your business or drowning in an ocean of urgency. You're not alone. I'm Matt Reynolds and my brother Chris and I have been in the trenches of entrepreneurship for nearly 40 years combined. We've built successful companies from the ground up. We're sharing our hard earned lessons and practical strategies on the Build you'd Business podcast. And I'm excited to say that the Build you'd Business podcast is the newest addition to the Radcast Network. Learn more at Turnkey Coach Build. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. This is Right about now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast Network production. We are the number one business show on the planet with over 1 million.
- [00:48]
Chris Hansen
Downloads a month, taking the BS out.
- [00:51]
Ryan Alford
Of business for over 6 years in over 400 episodes. You ready to start snapping next and cashing checks? Well, it starts right about now. Special edition alert. What's up, guys? Welcome to right about now, two days after Christmas. It's Friday, December 27th for you. We're recording this a little bit earlier from our studios in Greenville and Miami. Just happy to be here. Got Brianna in studio. What's up, Brianna? Hey, guys, got Chris Hansen down in Miami. What's up, Chris?
- [01:24]
Chris Hansen
What's up, y'all?
- [01:25]
Ryan Alford
You know, it's, we didn't want to just bring you news. We're going to bring you some motivation, I guess, lack of a better word, mindset and motivation here. Hey, we're a business show. Those are two crucial things in business. And we want to get your head right for 2025. So we're going to talk a little bit about some things we've learned ourselves this year. We, Chris and I am Brianna for that matter. We're all involved in a lot of different businesses and a lot of different things. So our perspective sort of is what comes out on this show all the time. But I think we wanted to share some, some tips, tricks, things we've learned ourselves the hard way. Even if I could part on anything, please learn from me so you don't have to go through some of it. I've failed more than I can count. But hey, you keep coming back for more. It's all about the journey and growing through it. So pumped to be here. And I mean, before we get into it, you know, Chris, do you, I mean, does, does anyone celebrate like I'm old, you know, like New Year's, New Year's Day anymore? Is that, is that diminished? The party's still like gigantic, huge. And I'm just old and not in the circle anymore.
- [02:39]
Brianna Hall
I haven't been to a New Year's party in a long time, so ask Chris.
- [02:43]
Chris Hansen
I mean I. There. There's definitely still parties. I'm not. I don't go to big New Year's party events.
- [02:49]
Ryan Alford
Yeah.
- [02:50]
Chris Hansen
I had a friend text me like, what are you doing for New Year's? I'm like, I don't know. I. I think I've been at home the last like four years.
- [02:56]
Ryan Alford
Yeah.
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Brianna Hall
Yeah.
- [02:58]
Ryan Alford
We're headed on our trip like the day. Day after. So we kind of are distracted even more than normal packing and otherwise. So. But even the last few years when.
- [03:08]
Brianna Hall
We lived on the west coast, we would like watch the East Coast New Year's countdown and so we would watch it at 9 o'clock and that was, you know, nice. But now we're here, so, I mean, I'm sure I'll pop a bottle of sparkling wine and just enjoy the cozy fire.
- [03:26]
Ryan Alford
Yeah. See, that sound good? I mean that sounds good. I kind of want to do that right now, you know.
- [03:32]
Chris Hansen
Better than being crowded in a restaurant or a nightclub.
- [03:36]
Ryan Alford
Yeah. And having. Or a shitty like hotel back room that's lobby or whatever the. Wherever they have them now or to be. Oh my God. I lived in New York when all the people crammed and like in Times Square. Oh my God, I can't even imagine. Like I was there and a million miles away from it. At least it felt like it down on the other end of Manhattan and couldn't. You wouldn't see me within a thousand.
- [04:05]
Chris Hansen
Feet of that place and stand there for eight hours like people do.
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Ryan Alford
Oh God, the traffic.
- [04:13]
Chris Hansen
I can't anxiety that.
- [04:16]
Ryan Alford
Yeah, exactly. Just to see that ball drop, you know? Yeah.
- [04:19]
Brianna Hall
No, no. No interest in being that close to that many people.
- [04:23]
Ryan Alford
Yeah. I mean, or. Or Ryan Seacrest for that matter. Anywhere on that block is too close to him. I don't really dislike you, Ryan, just a little since you had my name. Just kidding. So rolling for one. Ryan is right. Seacrest. Anyway, I will leave it there on the parties. Sounds like we're all in the same boat. That's why we're going to bring you the real party. Hey, you party when you make money and you make. Hey, you make progress. Money is the outcome. Hey, we all need money, but like it's more the progress. This is about making progress in 2025. Growing yourself, growing your company and growing your opportunities. So that's what we're here for. How do we want to kick this off? Brianna, we'll. I know you had a couple questions for Chris and I, and then we'll get into our top 10. Not resolutions, but ways to kick 2025 ass.
- [05:15]
Brianna Hall
Yeah, well, that sounds great. I. I'm, I'm fueled today.
- [05:19]
Ryan Alford
Oh, yeah.
- [05:20]
Brianna Hall
My exponent. And so with that, I will kind of jump right in. So I want to, you know, talk about for our listeners what is one thing. And we'll start with Chris. Chris, what is one thing that you learned in 2024 about business or something that went really well that relates to your businesses in 2024?
- [05:41]
Chris Hansen
Yeah, I mean, I've talked about it before. Main thing I say is social media, personal branding. Whether it's a business, it's yourself. I mean, that's something. With the encouragement from Ryan, really, and some other friends, I kind of leaned into the last two years. I think this year, obviously, we have the podcast Vibe Science, you know, our other podcast. And then doing everything I do on Instagram, I. I can see the value it's brought in businesses and my personal life, professional life. So I think that's something. No matter what business you're into, what you're doing, I don't care if you're a lawyer, you're. You're building houses, I think. Start to tip your toes in social media, get comfortable with it, try to really utilize it as a tool instead of a consumer. That would be the biggest thing that I think I've seen in my life. I can see going forward is going to be a big thing, and I think it'll give people a big advantage no matter what industry you're in. Just like Ryan always says, it pays to be known.
- [06:41]
Brianna Hall
If you were going to put like an ROI on social media and your personal brand, what do you think that would be for. For you, for 2024?
- [06:50]
Chris Hansen
I don't know. I can't even put that. The way I look at it is it's just a snowball run down a hill. It's going to continue to grow and evolve.
- [06:57]
Ryan Alford
And NBA tool keyword is brand. And brand is about leverage over time. It's. It pays like, I mean, Tris cash checks this year from personal branding. But what he's done is he's setting up leverage and feeling that leverage be played out and paid off. Because I've done the same thing. I mean, there's stuff here, and I had meeting with our team yesterday, and I said, listen to the old man for a minute here. Like, I'm gonna get on my soapbox. Like, I've been doing this for seven years, focused, you know, between the podcast and the Personal brand. And some of the quote unquote checks that we're cashing now are seven years in the making.
- [07:40]
Brianna Hall
Yeah.
- [07:41]
Ryan Alford
And so you're building brand. And look, you gotta do it the right way. It's not just posting lambos and, you know, like looking like a fool. It's about being purposeful and showing and giving people tips and motivation or whatever your thing is, whatever your specialization is, is sharing that gift or knowledge or insight with the world and building, you know, an audience that cares about that and that, you know, that then can be leveraged in different ways because you've curated someone that's interested in things. And then when you have businesses that might sell things in, around, in and around that specific niche, you have audience built. Because when you have audience built you, you, that's the hardest part. You can leverage it a lot of different ways. And it's not always monetization. It might be because Chris gets DM'd by someone that listened to him or knows him. That and the next thing you know, like five levels down the line, he's cashing checks on a business deal or crypto deal or something. That would have never happened if he wasn't out there.
- [08:56]
Brianna Hall
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think that social media has such a potential for a high return on time investment. I guess kind of, you know, was where the question was coming from. I think that being known and being, you know, a voice in the space that you're in, depending on what industry you're in, is always, you know, critical. And if you have a brand, being the face of your brand is always a great idea.
- [09:21]
Ryan Alford
Yep, it is. So I think that's a big one.
- [09:25]
Brianna Hall
And Ryan, your turn. Something that went really well for you in 2024. Business success or business lessons learned.
- [09:34]
Ryan Alford
I mean, I'm going to start with the lessons learned. I mean, I posted about this today, ironically, the day we're recording it. And it's just, you know, when you get comfortable, that's a dangerous spot. And I got comfortable in business and things and it, no one's going to run your business but you. And you know, learning that you've got to be in it to win it with the company. And no matter who you hire, what you do, you've got to be in the center of it and no matter. And it's just, that's just reality. Well, also, I think I, I don't want people to think that it's like hustle culture. Like you can't be comfortable. Like, oh great. If Ryan's not comfortable Then who the hell is going to be comfortable? Well, I just mean settle. You start to settle for things you wouldn't normally settle for. You allow things that you wouldn't typically allow because you don't want to rock. When you get comfortable, you don't want to get uncomfortable. It's like. And uncomfortable doesn't mean unhappy. There's a difference between comfort and happiness.
- [10:43]
Brianna Hall
Mm.
- [10:44]
Ryan Alford
It's just you have to continue to challenge yourself, to set goals, to move forward. Because if you're not growing, advancing, or learning, you can't stay in neutral. Life doesn't stay in neutral. And that's, that's the thing, because the, the use it or lose it is, is really, like, key here.
- [11:06]
Brianna Hall
Yeah, absolutely. And I think that it's so important to, you know, just remember that, you know, there's all sorts of sayings, like if you, like, familiarity breeds contempt. Right. Or like, being comfortable, like, the couch is comfortable, but you can't stay there forever because you'll never get anything done. And I think it, you know, it is a really good thing to reflect back on, especially end of the year, kind of motivating yourself for kicking off the new year on the right foot. I think that it's really important to, to remember that.
- [11:37]
Ryan Alford
Yeah. And I think it, you know, the gym, to me is always the best comparison. It's. If you go to the gym, you can get on that treadmill and look like you're doing it, but you are, but you aren't doing it because you're just comfortable. You're just on it. You're walking, you're getting your steps in, and hey, it's good to walk every day, but you're not going to get a six pack and bulging biceps on the treadmill. So it takes some discomfort and putting yourself through some trials and tribulations to see the results.
- [12:11]
Brianna Hall
Yeah. And I think in the beginning, or if you're restarting, it is uncomfortable for more ways than one. It's not just like, physically uncomfortable, but it's hard to put yourself out there. It might be hard to put yourself out there on social media. It's not easy. Right. There's. If, if it was easy, everybody would be doing it.
- [12:30]
Ryan Alford
Yeah. And I had to be reminded that the joy is the journey and it's not the process. Making money and, or having things is not happiness. It's the ability to seek out and create new ways with which to have those opportunities. It, it, it is like, fundamentally back to the, you know, people say the journey is everything. I'm saying that, but I'm saying the journey is everything. But no, it's the person that you become during the journey and during the trials, that is everything. There's a difference. And when you don't put yourself in that position or you're just soaking in one spot like you're on the beach, and if you laid out the entire time with never turning, your whole body doesn't get tanned. You know what I mean? And so. But you're comfortable, you're there. Hey, I'm getting some benefits here, but you got to move around. You've got to adapt. And so again, that was the biggest learning lesson. And then, you know, it's end of the day. I'm thankful I had a wife that had cancer this time last year and does it today. So blessed there and got four healthy kids that are great. And I get to coach and I get to wake up every day. So, hey, we got to be thankful for that.
- [14:10]
Brianna Hall
Yep, Exactly. Exactly. And there's so many different, you know, things to be grateful for and reflect on. I think it's really beneficial every year at this time of the year, last two weeks of the year, to kind of audit your life over the last year, how you spent your time. When I was a business owner, every year I did a calendar audit. So I would audit the way that I spent my time. I would keep a log of, you know, everything that I worked on, and I would highlight it in different colors and I would audit how I spent my time. And then that I would set my intention for the upcoming year on how I would maximize my output by spending my time better.
- [14:50]
Ryan Alford
Perfect segue. My. My friend, one of the guys on our network, Matt Reynolds, Barbell Logic CEO, wrote a book just about that exact thing. Undoing urgency. Reclaim your time for the things that matter most. Hey, it's an Amazon bestseller right now. You need to go check it out. He's on our network Build you'd business is his podcast. Barbell Logic is the company. But this is a great book. You'll even see yours truly. I think it's page two. I've got a review in here and I'm going to read you this review because I meant it because actually he sent me a pre copy and it tells you I think I did the best description of hey, I'm a writer. Like, he had his friend as a writer write a review. But I do think it describes what the book's about. I put Matt has written a masterclass in short term versus long term thinking that could become the modern playbook for entrepreneurs, busy fathers, and even marketing executives. The principles he outlines in Undoing Urgency feel familiar but entirely fresh as he weaves a tapestry of gripping personal experience with highly relatable scenarios that kept me page turning. I was ultimately left in total reflection, primarily with the man staring back at me in the mirror. And it was because it makes you realize where you should be spending your time and that we create these senses of urgency around things that really matter, and it gets in the way of the things that do. So can't give this a high enough recommendation unpaid just because. But it's that good.
- [16:19]
Brianna Hall
Yeah. And build your business. That podcast is, you know, it's really motivating and it's on our network, like Ryan said. Definitely worth a listen.
- [16:28]
Ryan Alford
Yes. So we ready for our top 10 ways to kick 2025's ass?
- [16:33]
Brianna Hall
Yeah. No resolutions, just ways to crush 2025.
- [16:37]
Ryan Alford
There you go.
- [16:38]
Brianna Hall
All right, number 10, inspect what you expect.
- [16:42]
Ryan Alford
All right, so this is one of my favorite quotes. So you get it for number 10. They might should be number one, but we're going to call it what it is. So let me tell you what that means. If you don't know what it means. It means if you expect something to happen, you've got to be a part of making it happen and reviewing and setting goals and having accountability to that. We all expect things. We all want goals to happen. We want this to happen, that to happen. And then sometimes we kind of sit back, go, why didn't that happen? You have to inspect what you expect. You have to grade it, set. Hey, what gets measured gets graded. And so this is something I always know, I always preach, but I don't always practice myself. And. But I do. And this list, as much for me as it is anyone listening, is for us all to kind of remember, if you expect something, you got to inspect it. Reflections on that.
- [17:42]
Brianna Hall
So I'm reading the book Deep Work right now. I don't know if you've read it, but it kind of goes back to, you know, Matt Reynolds's book. And I think it's so important I get caught up a lot in business in, like, task switching, task management, a bunch of balls in the air at the same time. And just really fundamentally doing deep work on, like, each project and follow through on them. I think that's really important. So easy for you to get caught up in all the noise, especially with how fast our world moves. But I do think it's. I think that fundamentally you have to be more involved in your expectations.
- [18:23]
Ryan Alford
Yep. Be part of the solution that you seek.
- [18:30]
Brianna Hall
Chris, thoughts?
- [18:32]
Chris Hansen
I mean, I, I just think about some of our businesses and the little, the devils in the details, the little things that sometimes you can overlook. And that's exactly what comes to my mind, is if I expect something to be done a certain way, then, like, you need to be involved in how you want it done. You can't just tell people, hey, do this and expect them to manifest your vision. Right?
- [18:55]
Ryan Alford
Yep.
- [18:56]
Brianna Hall
Well, and I think that that's something that, you know, is well reflected on in certain situations that we've had here. You know, it takes time and patience. A little bit. And communication.
- [19:09]
Chris Hansen
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
- [19:11]
Brianna Hall
All right, number nine is my favorite one on the list. So start a podcast.
- [19:18]
Ryan Alford
Yes, I agree. Look, I mean, Chris already nailed it. And when Chris says it, and he said multiple things, but he's talking about personal branding. You know, podcast. I mean, podcasting is kind of like the ultimate, like, I don't know, channel, I think, for a personal brand. And look, we can. There's people right now that are hearing that word and rolling their eyes and all that. And there's people that I respect a lot that hate that word. I don't love it, but I haven't come up with a better word. It's really just expanding your reputation, sharing your reputation and it with more people, amplifying what you want the world to know you are known for or good at. And so podcasting is an amazing forum for that. And look, this genie's not going back in the bottle. More 18 to 34 year olds listen or watch podcasts than they do watch television. The election was determined by podcasts and the candidates that went on them that didn't. Because of the influence that it has and audio and video and social media. The combination of multi platform and podcasting is tremendous democratization of media that allows anyone to have their voice heard. And you should be leveraging it.
- [20:42]
Brianna Hall
And if you start a podcast, you should join the broadcast network.
- [20:46]
Ryan Alford
Yes, you should. We're doing a growth network. We're helping shows of all sizes grow, monetize, and have business outcomes. Because if it doesn't have a business outcome, it's like my good friend on Friday said, what you do, building a clubhouse, Is that a. Is that a hobby? Yeah. No, it's not a hobby. It's a business. It can be. It can have business outcomes, but join the Radcast Network to get there.
- [21:11]
Brianna Hall
Yes. All right, number eight. This is a Chris one and a Ryan one, But Chris's favorite, invest in crypto.
- [21:20]
Ryan Alford
I'M a little. Chris. Start there, do it.
- [21:23]
Chris Hansen
We talked about it all year. If you invested a year ago, right now you would have been wealthier if you had followed my non financial advice. So yeah, crypto, I mean at this point you should just know it's an asset class you need to be investing in. Right? If the largest banks in the world, the US government is holding Bitcoin, that should give you enough security that this isn't like some fly by night scam. Right. And I always explain this to people. Bitcoin has no value. Yeah, well, neither does the piece of paper that you hold in your pocket called the US dollar. We just all collectively believe it has value. But that piece of paper actually intrinsically has no.
- [22:05]
Ryan Alford
So you speak back gold people. Some people still think it is.
- [22:09]
Chris Hansen
It's not, it's not right. But yeah, I mean there's still room for the market to grow. We talked about this recently. I, I look at crypto, especially the big, the big ones, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, like your blue chip stocks for Pepsi Download, Coinbase or Crypto.com. you can have an auto withdrawal from your bank account however much you want. A week or a month, set it and forget it. That's it. That's all I have to say about that.
- [22:37]
Ryan Alford
I think we're gonna do some crypto challenges in 2025. We'll do some on screen stuff. Maybe we'll do some like we'll do the right about now crypto fund and maybe Chris and I'll throw like a thousand bucks each in it. I don't know, something and like we'll watch what happens as a standalone like its own little account, you know, and whatever comes out of that, like all the profits will give to like Sawyer.
- [23:00]
Brianna Hall
Briana, like, oh, I like this plan.
- [23:04]
Ryan Alford
The spread them with the team, but just to show the love. That's a good idea. I like that.
- [23:11]
Brianna Hall
I like it too. It goes with our next way to crush 2025. Be rad.
- [23:17]
Ryan Alford
Well.
- [23:18]
Brianna Hall
Oh, I skipped one. But be radically different.
- [23:21]
Ryan Alford
Yeah.
- [23:21]
Brianna Hall
And serve others.
- [23:23]
Ryan Alford
All right, which one was first?
- [23:24]
Brianna Hall
Well, radically different was first on the list. But serve others was the one that went with the last thing we talked about.
- [23:29]
Ryan Alford
Yeah, we'll come back to that one. We'll come back to servos. Be radically different. Look, own your different. One of the smartest people I know, Chris Lockhead, he, he's coined that phrase, you know, own your different. I, I'm, I'm the rad guy. So I always add, you know, be radically different. Which Is being different is important, but I think push it further than you think. Lean into it so that it becomes radically different. You stand out. Don't stay, you know, like, got a lot of parroting going on, a lot of like, copycat stuff. Like, be yourself. Own it. You know, you're gonna. You're gonna piss off people no matter what. I know I can. Look, I piss off more people when I'm trying not to piss off people. So let me just tell you. You. You just be you, baby, and, you know, lean into what you're good at. Not follow your passion, but follow what you're good at, you know, but you'll become passionate about what you're good at and you get good at things that differentiate you. Differentiation is the king of success ultimately. And it doesn't. I'm not saying to just make up crazy wacky shit. I'm saying, like, just. But be unapologetically you and see where the tips fall it. Unless you know, you're a serial killer or something.
- [24:45]
Brianna Hall
Don't then, don't then.
- [24:46]
Ryan Alford
Don't be yourself. Get some help, you know, Luigi or whoever. God, geez. But who knows what's going on with that? But like, but seriously, just be yourself, you know, I mean, it's so. It sounds cliche. Oh, be yourself because everybody else is taken. But it's true. It's so true.
- [25:05]
Brianna Hall
I think too, when you aren't yourself, especially in business, it is really easy to lead yourself down this road where you end up getting burned out because you haven't been authentically yourself.
- [25:18]
Ryan Alford
Correct. Anything to add to that one, Chris?
- [25:23]
Chris Hansen
I totally agree with it. Own you. There's no one else like you. The world needs you in your most authentic form. That's when you'll bring the right people to you.
- [25:34]
Ryan Alford
Yep. Yeah. That's the thing. If you want to be happy, you got to be yourself. And it will bring other people. It's like a magnet for the right things and the right people.
- [25:44]
Chris Hansen
Yeah.
- [25:45]
Ryan Alford
Especially when you're doing the stacking the winds and the right things and like, none of us are perfect. None of us are saints. But, you know, assuming we're all trying, you know, at least everybody in this room, like, we're all trying to be good human beings and. And make this world a better place. And so as long as that is at your core, then it's through your own lens and how you can make that impact with your gifts, your skills, your personality, your talents. But just barely works out trying to clone, yeah, you know, someone else so totally serving Others.
- [26:19]
Brianna Hall
So important. So important. This one has been on my heart a ton lately, so I'm glad that you have it on the list.
- [26:26]
Ryan Alford
See, you know, you do. You know, someone told me, I forget we have so many wonderful guests. Now, I'm not going to give the attribution to the right place, but they'll know who they are and is. Whenever you think, like, if you're having bad or you just can't get together, bad week, bad day, bad month, shit's going wrong in your life, go serve others. And it's. You'll be, you'll be amazed at like, how it centers you. I think it does a lot of different things. It tells you, might remind you that people. Others might have it worse than you or it just, it gets you out of serving yourself. And sometimes to serve yourself, you've got to serve others because it feeds you more than you realize. And I've, it's. It took me a long time to learn this one. It's not because I, I've always, I've always been good to friends. I was always generous. It was not like that. But there's a difference. And you know, I have to remind myself of that sometimes because I am a, a provider and a driver. And so I think I serve others best because I do that. But there's a difference sometimes in providing versus serving.
- [27:42]
Brianna Hall
Yeah, definitely. I think that for me, I served a lot in California. I served a lot of families in, in early, early childhood education and in some different capacities. And it was something that I, I've been really missing. And so I'm super excited to start. I'm going to start serving in my church in January.
- [28:01]
Ryan Alford
Oh, good for you.
- [28:02]
Brianna Hall
That's great.
- [28:04]
Ryan Alford
Hey, feeds the soul, baby.
- [28:06]
Brianna Hall
That's so good for you.
- [28:08]
Ryan Alford
What's next?
- [28:10]
Brianna Hall
Well, I want to hear about Chris. Chris, are you serving in any capacity? Thoughts on serving? Even, Even as simple as. Hold on, let me add one more thing. Sorry, before you answer, I always cut Chris off you guys. But I also think it's like so important. Like, like every. Different, different ways that you can serve. You can serve your community. You can serve kids like animal. Volunteer at an animal shelter, volunteer to like pick up trash. Like whatever it is. Like sometimes serving just can fill your heart so much.
- [28:39]
Chris Hansen
Yeah, I've heard there's some quote, like, best way to get out of your head is to get into service to others, something like that. And that's always stuck with me. Like Ryan said, it's all about getting a perspective shift, you know, whether you're dealing with less fortunate people. I do a lot of mentoring with younger guys. That's kind of my thing that I enjoy talking to, you know, guys in their early 20s trying to, you know, find themselves essentially. So that's something I always try to do. Like, I have a couple guys I talk to a couple times a week that just call me to talk, you know, about life and their goals and what they're trying to accomplish and stuff like that. And that, that to me, it always brings me back, you know, say 10 years ago to when, you know, I didn't know much and I was trying to get into the business world and recenters me makes me very grateful for where I'm at now. Even the challenges now it's like, okay, the challenges are our trophies at this point. So.
- [29:38]
Brianna Hall
Well, mentorship is so. It's so impactful. And like you, I mean, think about all the lives that you have changed by sharing your, you know, sobriety story on Vibe Science and, you know, Ryan, with mentoring, you know, people and sharing their stories. So service doesn't have to mean, like, going out and volunteering at, you know, the retirement center. It can just be how you serve others and, and how you share your message.
- [30:03]
Ryan Alford
Yeah, I mentor probably five or six other agency owners, you know, either sometimes in person, sometimes dming, you know, just be freely giving of very little time I have, but making time, you know, like, you can always make time. And I think that's the key is, is I don't know. And like, I, you know, even to this day, I go on every podcast I get asked to go on, no matter how, whether they have 5 listeners or 5000 million, whatever it is, you know, I don't even look at the data. It just. I'll make it happen. And I think, I don't know, you can always. I don't consider myself Mr. Kindness, but like, I try to be kind, you know, and not like, I don't know, even in my own way. And I think that's. But I. I say it out loud because I like to remind myself, like, have I. I need to, you know, we all need to talk about these things because then you remind yourself, like, because what's not talked about is not really ever manifested. I feel like it doesn't. Just because you think something doesn't make it happen. So anyway.
- [31:12]
Brianna Hall
Stop complaining. Number five. The number five. Way to crush 2025. Stop complaining.
- [31:18]
Ryan Alford
Oh, I love this. I mean, I just, I, me personally, I just have. I don't have a lot of empathy for complainers and I. It might be easy to say what's easy for you to be that way. Look, you and I should go walk around Easley, South Carolina, on the track home that I grew up in. I'm gonna go walk you through the neighborhood. And what I. You know. No, I didn't want for every meal. But let me just tell you, I got a book I could have, the Encyclopedia of Complaints if I wanted to. But you don't get to the other side complaining. You get to the other side with action. And so we can all play that. It's kind of the whole victim game, all that stuff. It's just. It gets you nowhere. It's negative energy. It ruins and rots souls. And so this is like. It's not so much from the place of Hutz for male energy, you know, like all that. No, it's from the place of. It's rotting your soul. If you sit there and complain and you're negative all the time, and I feel bad for you.
- [32:35]
Brianna Hall
Chris.
- [32:37]
Chris Hansen
Hey, there's something to complain about every day if you want. I agree. It's not a good look. Your words have power, your mindset. If you're a complainer and you're negative all the time, no one's going to want to be around you. Just take your shit and alchemize it. Go to the gym, convert it into something positive.
- [32:58]
Brianna Hall
There you go. I'm reading a book on mindfulness right now, and one of the interesting. I'll give the female perspective here. In Mindfulness, right, you're manifesting. You're being mindful. You're kind of in visualizing what you want your life to look like. And one of the things that you learn before you get to the stage where you can truly be mindful is that viewing the world in a negative lens or viewing a situation in a negative lens is a biological response in our brains that was programmed into us thousands of years ago to keep us safe. And so you have to remember that you have to consciously shift the way that you think about things. Because it is very, you know, biologically ingrained into you to only see the negative things. It's one of the reasons why we could have 10amazing things happen to us. And. And then we get a flat tire. And the thing that we focus on when we get home and we. We talk about our day is like, oh, man, I was stuck on the side of the road for half an hour with a flat tire. So, just being really mindful and, you know, manifesting positive energy and positive light into your life. I think is important.
- [34:10]
Ryan Alford
Yeah. I mean, I'll say this. There's one place that I have not removed complaining and bitching and negativity. It's in it. I can admit this. Watching Clemson football, I am the most negative person because it's like I'm trying to. I believe that if I'm really nasty to them, they will turn around and be good. Like, I'm coaching them. And even though they cannot hear me, I feel like my energy and how. And. And I am a really negative person. When I watch Clemson football, it's the only thing I think in my life that I'm still even negative about. Like, even after the game, I'm not negative about them. I'm over it. But during the game, I am exactly the human being that I hate. Like, because I'm like, God, oh, we're gonna. We're it up now. I don't know. It's my. I. I need to. That's a. There's my res. My. If I'm gonna have one resolution, it's to be. And look, I love all the guys. It's not to any one player or anything. It's more like, I don't know, the facade that I'm somehow mentally willing them to victory by giving them tough love during the game. This year's been. Has been tough because they've been good. I mean, they're in the playoffs, but there's been enough questionable moments for me to get the negative meter going. I feel bad about it sometimes, but I've willed them to the playoffs anyway. There you go. Don't complain.
- [35:33]
Brianna Hall
Don't complain. And number number four, grow where you are planted.
- [35:41]
Ryan Alford
Yeah, this is a big one. It's like we all think the grass is greener and, you know, it's like it's not always greener. And you're going to have trials, tribulations and struggles to wherever you go. And so I just have a firm believer that you can be. There's always mitigating factors. Not saying that there's never an instance where that's not the case, but I would venture to say that upwards of 75% of the time when people the fight or flight, you know, that if they had bloomed where they were planted, they could have bloomed where they were planted and maybe gone even further. But it's easier to quit or to bail on something and. And it's going to be. And then I think because I've experienced this a lot myself, you know, I bail on whatever that gets where I'm like, well, this is worse than it was. You know, like, it's. It's always life and business and a lot of things are struggle.
- [36:44]
Brianna Hall
Yeah, definitely.
- [36:48]
Ryan Alford
Chris, thoughts there?
- [36:51]
Chris Hansen
Yeah, I look at this, like, and be in the present moment. Like, don't think, oh, when I have this and I can do this or I have this much money, I can start the business or whatever it is, it's like, no, dude, take action now right where you are. That's most important. Don't keep putting it off to. If I lived here, I had this amount of money or this job, no happiness, right?
- [37:18]
Ryan Alford
No, because again, you know, like, it's always life is. Is obstacles and challenges and all these things. That's what makes it great and fun. I mean, it gets. It was a quote this morning on, like, Instagram. The guy wrote that, like, you know, show me a guy that's had no challenges, and I'll show someone who. Who's miserable and heartless. Like, it. It. It makes you, like. And not because he's judging or teaching them. He just thinks that, like, he was talking about, like, you know, maybe like a trust phone kid or something, you know, that they're just completely soulless because they've never had to build the character that comes from those challenges. And, you know, when everything's easy, nothing's meaningful.
- [38:07]
Brianna Hall
Yeah, absolutely. I totally agree. Next action over everything.
- [38:20]
Ryan Alford
Just do it, baby. Chris said it. He kind of blended it in a little bit. Like, it's. There's never a perfect time. And it's like, we can plan and we can talk and we can do this, and it matters. You need to have a plan, you have a strategy. But at the end of the day, action is strategy. Sometimes, a lot of times, because you're moving the needle, you're making progress, especially once you got the broad picture of what you're trying to do, then it's all about the steps to get there, you know, and you'll learn more from taking the steps than you will planning the abstract. That's the thing. My kids, this is. Watch a perfect example. My four boys, they're intelligent. Some one or two of them may be too much for their own good because they're planning the game longer than they play the game. They're going, no, but when this happens, this goes over here and this happens here, and that's like, hey, guys, bedtime. Like, all they did was and talk about how they were going to plan to play that game, and nothing ever happened and never got any joy of what might would have happened in the game if they had just played this is just the other night. But we think that, no, we plan longer. It'll be better. Not always. And again, it doesn't mean you don't need a plan, doesn't mean you don't need a strategy. But action. And every. I'll say this, I follow and have mentors that are really successful and they're very different, but this one they're 100% aligned on is action.
- [40:04]
Brianna Hall
I think in business, it's so important to understand that it's. You have to take action. And then you also have to kind of have like a fast feedback loop where you might have taken action and you might have decided, like, hey, I made this decision and it didn't work out. So I'm going to change, I'm going to shift or I'm going to pivot. In business, you have to be quick to take action, but also to learn from the actions that you took and then to put that into strategy going forward. But you can't just sit there and strategize for months on end.
- [40:37]
Ryan Alford
Yeah, well, nimbleness is key. That's why, like, the big, giant whale companies, like, struggle today a little bit. It's like they're slow with action. They're slow in grading the action, they're slow in changing and pivoting. It's why a lot of the bigger, you know, Goliath get kind of eaten up when someone comes along that's more nimble, more flexible, that can put things to play. Because that's a lot of what I see with, like, some of the bigger companies is like, you know, some of these trends that have been happening with media and, you know, TV going away and. But podcasting growing and audio being more important than what someone watches on a TV that they're not paying attention to. But they're slow to react. And by the time they react, the media costs have already 10x. Like, you know, the brands that were slow to react on Facebook ads.
- [41:25]
Brianna Hall
Yeah.
- [41:25]
Ryan Alford
Fifteen years ago. And then by the time they were doing them, they were already pretty expensive and not as effective. So you gotta be nimble. But the only way you learn is through action. You don't learn in planning. You make a plan, but you're not learning anything.
- [41:47]
Brianna Hall
Yeah, definitely. And then number two, put your money where your mouth is.
- [41:52]
Ryan Alford
And this is figuratively, for me, this is like put up or shut up. I mean, I see a lot of people talk it, but they don't walk it. So I almost did the Migos song walk it. Like, you Talk it, you know, you know, hey, if you know, you know, let. But that's. It's kind of a all encompassing for me. It's not just, whoa, you got to invest in it. Like it's not just literal money it, but it's skin in the game. Like get in or get out. Like literally, if you're going to talk about it, then do it. Which leads really well to number one. But Chris, thoughts on walk it. Like you talk it.
- [42:38]
Chris Hansen
If you're gonna talk, it'd be about it, you know, I mean, I know there's just speaking in business wise. I mean, a lot of guys that have great ideas, but they never want to take the action. Right. Whether it's their energy is their currency and putting action behind what they want to do or even their, their real money, even that too, you know, either one of those things. Bottom line is, unless you're gonna put energy into something, you're not gonna get any output from.
- [43:04]
Brianna Hall
Yeah.
- [43:04]
Ryan Alford
Talk is cheap. And so is false being fake. How to say that? Rephrase that. Like either be in it or be out. Be it and get in or get out in. So figuratively, put your money where your mouth is.
- [43:29]
Brianna Hall
I think it goes back to authenticity, being authentic about what you're doing, who you are, who your personal brand is, you know, Put your money where your mouth is and be authentic.
- [43:42]
Ryan Alford
Yeah.
- [43:44]
Brianna Hall
And drum roll number one, do what you say you'll do.
- [43:52]
Ryan Alford
I mean, it's just the biggest thing like it. Just line it up, man. And. And look, I'm talking to me too, baby. I'm looking right in the mirror. So don't think. But when you say you're gonna do something, do it. Don't say you're gonna do it. If you don't do it. If you don't plan on doing it, I mean, it's as simple as that. There's a lot of people that talk about shit that don't do it. And I'm not saying like, just because you're a coach or something that you absolutely have to. It might not be your season to do everything that you're preaching. So I'm not saying that necessarily. But what I am saying though is just if you say you're going to be a meeting, be in a meeting. If you say, and look, I'm late almost every meeting. I've got it on my list to not be late every time, but I'm there. You don't have to worry about me showing up. It's just probably going to be six minutes late. That's not. That's. That's not happening. I'm doing my best around that and lining up my schedule. So it's not about that. But I'm just saying if you say you're going to do it, do it, like in anything. If you say you're going to be. To me, you say you're going to, you know, get this stuff done. If you. And even when you're telling. Look, the worst lie you can tell is to yourself.
- [45:01]
Brianna Hall
Yep.
- [45:02]
Ryan Alford
So I'm not even talking about, like, well, what, you know, like employees to managers or like, I'm just talking about to. Even to yourself.
- [45:09]
Brianna Hall
Yeah. Goes for the gym, goes for the way that you eat, goes for the discipline that you have in your household with yourself. This is one that was big for me in 2024.
- [45:19]
Ryan Alford
Yeah. And we never always get it right. But again, the point of these lists isn't because everybody's going to get it perfect, but you don't get better if you don't talk about these things, if you don't have influences that push you in these directions. And that's all we're trying to do here. Hey. Give you something to think about. And. But this is a big one because I almost think like, this is. And when we. I say. When I say do what you say. When you tell yourself mentally, you know, when you write it down, that's, you know, that's doing what you say you'll do. And if you aren't getting this one right more than you're wrong, then all the other ones don't really matter.
- [46:07]
Brianna Hall
Yeah.
- [46:08]
Ryan Alford
Chris, thoughts on this?
- [46:11]
Chris Hansen
Standard, man. Right. You and I both know that unfortunately, it's not super common. Yeah. Just. You're not going to do something. Don't even commit to it. Just bow out. But just gonna do it. Word is bond. Stand on your.
- [46:29]
Brianna Hall
I think this one is really hard for people. I would. I would kind of be in the camp of people. I think that it's more challenging for. And this is probably because I sign up for way too many things.
- [46:42]
Ryan Alford
Yeah.
- [46:43]
Brianna Hall
You know, I sign up to be team mom and PTA mom and donate stuff to the. To this and that and sign up for the kids'you, know, school thing. And, you know, I'm supposed to be there. Like, my kids were having a thing today. I didn't sign up for it. That's why I'm here.
- [46:58]
Ryan Alford
See there? Hey, you're self aware about it. Yeah.
- [47:01]
Brianna Hall
But, you know, and. And same thing, like, kind of goes for me, like, with the gym and with Eating and Stu, like, just. I. My goal for 2025, quote me on this, is that I want to be more disciplined. And, like, if I say I'm going to do it even to myself, then I want to, like, really hold myself accountable. And hopefully, if you're listening to this and that resonates with you, you feel the same way.
- [47:22]
Ryan Alford
Yeah. And look, I can't say it enough. We. This is coming from a place of love and trials and tribulations and a group of people that are always working on themselves. So we don't have all the answers, but I do think we are and represent a varied group of people that could relate to different things, that have been through different challenges in life and in business. And at the end of the day, if we do nothing on this show, it's to provide value, to provide things that make your business or your life better, because then that is ultimately taking the box for us, at least for me. So that's the goal. Top 10 things. These aren't resolutions. So you can crush 2025. These are big ones. We hope you enjoyed this. A little different episode from us as we close out here. Any final words?
- [48:20]
Brianna Hall
My closing words are rest for the next week and then crush it the first week of January.
- [48:30]
Ryan Alford
Yes. Hey, recharge. Gotta recharge, baby. Chris.
- [48:34]
Chris Hansen
Yeah. Merry Christmas. Belated, everybody, and happy to have a great new year and hit the ground running.
- [48:41]
Ryan Alford
There you go. Hit it hard. Hey, we're always hitting it hard here, especially exponent. Brianna was. Brianna. Brianna. This whole episode was powered by exponent. Brianna got through it with her exponent drink. Yes, I did. And they're always powering us. Gonna be at that refrigerator in here any. Any day. I hope the exponent fridge is in route. So that. Look, mid episode, I might be grabbing one of those things going, hey, I need a. I need a recharge. I need. I need some plant power. I need it now. This would be like, I'm gonna have a button, and I have a. I'm have. Instead of an easy button. It's gonna be a exponent button. Exponent now. And when we have some, you know, like, saga's gonna, like, throw me one or something, you know, it's gonna be like stone cold Steve Austin. I'm like, chug that thing down just like it is. Yes. Did you get. You got your adaptogens and everything?
- [49:31]
Brianna Hall
I did. Ashwagandha B12, B6. Himalayan salt, vegetable juice. Yes. Adaptogens, neurotropics, electrolytes and amino acids.
- [49:43]
Ryan Alford
X marks the spot. All the stuff you want, none of the stuff you don't. We appreciate them. And hey, if you're out there, we appreciate you for making us number one. Go to ryanisright.com you'll find links to all our sponsors, link to all this content, our social media. We do this for you. We appreciate you for Brianna Hall. Chris Hansen, I'm Ryan Alford and saw your eyes in studio. We'll see you next time. Right about now. This has been Right about now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast network production.
- [50:14]
Chris Hansen
Visit ryanisright.com for full audio and video.
- [50:17]
Ryan Alford
Versions of the show or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities. Thanks for listening.