What Ultra-High Achievers Actually Do (Part 2 of 3)

Summary

The Advanced Selling Podcast: What Ultra-High Achievers Actually Do (Part 2 of 3) Release Date: December 2, 2024

In the second installment of their three-part series on ultra-high achievers, hosts Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale delve deeper into the distinctive behaviors and mindsets that set the top 1-3% of performers apart in the business world. This episode, rich with insights and practical advice, offers listeners a comprehensive look at the actionable strategies employed by those who consistently reach the pinnacle of success.

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1. Reflecting on Podcast Longevity and Listener Engagement (00:06 - 05:12)

Bill and Bryan begin the episode by celebrating the milestone of running the Advanced Selling Podcast for over 18 years, highlighting their enduring partnership and the loyal listenership they’ve cultivated over nearly two decades.

Bryan Neale (00:15):
"Brian Neal here."

Bill Caskey (00:06):
"Welcome back to the Advanced Selling Podcast. The longest running sales, training podcast, podcast history."

They express interest in connecting with long-time listeners, encouraging veterans to share their journey and experiences with the podcast via their website. This segment underscores the hosts' commitment to building a community around their content.

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2. Upcoming Events and AI Integration (01:07 - 02:23)

The hosts announce their upcoming Personal Business Planning Workshop scheduled for December 6th, focusing on leveraging AI to create effective business strategies. They emphasize the value of early registration for insiders, who will receive significant discounts and exclusive access to the session.

Bill Caskey (01:07):
"We're going to go through where are you, where are you going, and how can we use AI to help you build a game plan to that destination."

This section highlights their proactive approach to integrating cutting-edge technology into sales strategies, preparing their audience for future-forward business planning.

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3. The Value of Art and Perceived Worth (02:23 - 05:12)

A light-hearted yet thought-provoking conversation unfolds around the exorbitant sale of Mark Rothko's "Untitled Yellow and Blue," which fetched $253 million in Asia. Bryan humorously critiques the disproportionate value placed on certain artworks compared to their perceived effort in creation.

Bryan Neale (03:20):
"Mark Rothko's Untitled Yellow and Blue became the third most valuable western artwork ever sold in Asia, achieving 253 million."

Bryan Neale (04:45):
"People gripe about, you know, we don't have money for this program or that program and this thing. Like how about we take just 200 million of the 253 here and put it into, you know, lunch program for kids or something."

This discussion serves as an analogy for evaluating value and investment, prompting listeners to consider where they allocate their resources and efforts.

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4. Unpacking Ultra-High Achiever Attributes (05:54 - 18:27)

The core of the episode focuses on dissecting the specific attributes that ultra-high achievers embody, contrasting them with average or moderately successful individuals.

a. Overcoming Self-Imposed Limitations (05:54 - 07:42)

Bill and Bryan explore why even when average achievers recognize the strategies of ultra-high achievers, they often fail to implement them. They suggest that the root causes are both a lack of knowledge and a deliberate choice not to adopt these high-performance behaviors.

Bill Caskey (07:42):
"Listen to the yourself. Just ask the wonder why question. I wonder why I haven't done that yet."

Encouraging introspection, they prompt listeners to identify and overcome internal resistances such as imposter syndrome and self-doubt.

b. Bias for Action (10:04 - 13:31)

One of the standout attributes discussed is the bias for action. Using the example of Andy Bacone, who swiftly transitioned careers into the music business by proactively taking steps despite having no prior experience, Bill illustrates the power of decisive action.

Bill Caskey (11:04):
"Because he knew that if he let this thing simmer for a year, he would never do it."

Bryan reinforces this by highlighting how ultra-high achievers like Tom Bilyeu build billion-dollar companies through relentless action rather than prolonged planning.

c. Long-Term Planning (13:31 - 15:36)

The hosts emphasize that ultra-high achievers plan far beyond the immediate future. While average achievers may plan their days or weeks, ultra-high achievers strategize for years ahead, maintaining a clear and comprehensive vision.

Bryan Neale (14:44):
"They have a crystal clear plan which includes action and how-to's that goes way further into time than everyone else's."

Bill adds that dedicating significant time to long-term planning enables these individuals to execute their visions effectively.

d. Seeking Expertise and Efficient Learning (16:45 - 17:04)

Ultra-high achievers recognize the value of their time and are willing to invest in expertise to accelerate their learning curves. Bill shares a client example where hiring a specialist to learn AI was more efficient than self-directed learning through platforms like YouTube.

Bill Caskey (16:45):
"At a million dollars a year, your time's worth thousands of dollars an hour. Hire somebody whose time is not worth that. But they have expertise."

e. Avoidance of Work-From-Home Stagnation (17:05 - 18:27)

Contrary to the current trend of remote work, ultra-high achievers prefer active engagement in the marketplace. They avoid being tethered to a desk or virtual meetings, opting instead for physical presence to foster networking, spontaneous interactions, and serendipitous opportunities.

Bryan Neale (17:10):
"They don't work from home. They control their lives. They are out moving around, out and about."

This active lifestyle supports their dynamic approach to business and relationship-building.

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5. Practical Takeaways and Listener Engagement (18:27 - 19:33)

As the episode wraps up, Bill and Bryan summarize the Do’s and Don’t’s for aspiring ultra-high achievers:

Do’s:

• Bias for Action: Act promptly on ideas to prevent stagnation.
• Long-Term Planning: Develop comprehensive plans that span years, not just months or weeks.
• Seek Expertise: Invest in learning from experts to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.

Don’t:

• Work from Home: Avoid being isolated and disengaged from the physical marketplace.

They also invite listeners to engage with them on LinkedIn and their website, reinforcing the community-centric ethos of the podcast.

Bill Caskey (19:04):
"If you are interested in a business planning session, I remind you, December 6th at noon, you can go to advancelingpodcast.com/insider."

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6. Teaser for Next Episode (19:26 - 19:33)

The hosts conclude by teasing the next episode in the series, which will focus on the verbal behaviors and communication styles of ultra-high achievers.

Bryan Neale (19:26):
"Next time we'll do Ultra high Achiever say things. What do they say?"

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Notable Quotes:

• Bill Caskey (11:04):
  "Bias for action is just an example of how it can happen, but not if you don't have a bias for action."

• Bryan Neale (14:44):
  "They plan their year at the same time. And when you're planning your quarter, they're planning their three-year vision."

• Bryan Neale (17:10):
  "They don't work from home. They control their lives. They are out moving around, out and about."

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Conclusion

In this episode, Bill and Bryan provide a compelling examination of the traits that distinguish ultra-high achievers. By emphasizing a bias for action, long-term strategic planning, investment in expertise, and active marketplace engagement, they offer actionable insights for listeners aspiring to elevate their performance. The blend of personal anecdotes, client examples, and practical advice ensures that the content is both relatable and implementable, making it an invaluable resource for sales professionals and business strategists seeking to emulate the success of the elite performers.

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Listeners are encouraged to stay tuned for the final part of the series, which will further unravel the communication nuances of ultra-high achievers, equipping them with comprehensive strategies to transform their sales approaches and business practices.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome back to the Advanced Selling Podcast. The longest running sales, training podcast, podcast history. I'm one of your hosts, Bill caskey, host number two.

[B]

Brian Neal here.

[A]

We've been together for just over 18 years.

[B]

Fun ride.

[A]

Still like each other for the most part.

[B]

I love it. It's great. We had a great listenership, good brand.

[A]

I would say we probably have some people who have been with us since the beginning.

[B]

Be interesting to hear from those people, wouldn't it? Listener to advance selling podcast dot com. Yeah, let us know, you know, lifelong listener or episode one or something. Just note that in the listener. Advancelingpodcast.com if you have been with us for, you know, 18 years, from the beginning, that'd be really cool to see the OGs that would be the original.

[A]

If you can text us a picture of yourself listening to the first episode, prove it.

[B]

You gotta prove it, right? We know what we sounded like 18 years ago. We need to see what you sounded like 18 years years ago.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

Let's see, you've got a special. Will this be in time for the Insider special? Will this episode be up?

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely. We've got an insider program. It's called the Personal Business Planning workshop. It's on December 6th. If you're thinking about joining the Insider for next year, I would recommend you do it before the sixth. So you get access to that session. It's a public session. It'll be. There'll be a fee for it, but with the Insider deal, you'll be able to get it about half what it is for everybody else. And what we're going to do is we're going to go through. Where are you, where are you going? And how can we use AI to help you build a game plan to that destination? And we've been working on prompts. We've hired a guy to help us with prompts. And we've got something really special for you. So even if you just want an introduction to AI, it'll be a great session. Two hours long, December 6, 12 to 2 Eastern. I think it's 47 to join.

[B]

And where do, where do they go? They go to vansillingpodcast.com insider. That is correct. Join up there. Be worth it. Be worth the AI stuff. I'm just telling you. Okay, we've got our second of a series here, but we're gonna be. We're talking about ultra high achievers. We did thinking last episode. Today we're going to be doing. I'm going to text Bill something. We'll post this up so you all can see this, too. But I'm going to post some. I'm going to send something to Bill. It's a picture on text. Now, you're not going to be able to see this on the. On the YouTube screen here, I don't think. Listen, maybe turn my phone around and bum is. I just sent this text to you. Tell me when you get it. You should see a picture there.

[A]

Okay. It looks like two colors. Two or three colors.

[B]

Two or three colors. Yes. That's a picture. So. Yeah. So you've got kids. I've got kids. So I said, this is a picture that my. My daughter made when she was in elementary school. Okay, fair enough. Okay. And I'm going to text you another picture. All right, now. Now that second picture is coming over, and I want you to. Now, when you get this one, read what it says. The first picture actually is because it's not what I told you it was, but I want you to read what it says.

[A]

You told me it was your daughter's step art project.

[B]

Yeah. And you believed me.

[A]

And we'll have Travis. I think he can put this into the. Into the food here, Mark. The second one says, Mark Rothko's Untitled Yellow and Blue became the third most valuable western artwork ever sold in Asia, achieving 253 million.

[B]

I'm telling you people, when you see this, when I saw this, there it is. Bill can show it. What am I. I respect artists. I respect art collectors. What am I missing? What am I missing, Bill? I'm the worst artist ever. I could draw eight minutes in my basement. I don't understand this. And I know art. People get all like, oh, look at the depth and watch the contrast. This guy. Is this guy still alive, Mark Rothko? I don't even know. But if he is, he wins, man. I mean, he wins. He won life. This picture couldn't have taken him more than 10 minutes to do. Now everyone's going to get super offensive, offended by that, but I'm like, what are we doing?

[A]

My caramel greyhounds. You have pretty much put the caramel greyhound colors. So somebody from Carmel should have thought of this. I would have funded all their buildings and everything.

[B]

200. And then I'm like, okay, is that in a museum that spent $253 million? And if they do, what size of endowment do they have? If it's an individual, this has to be a billionaire. There's no other math that works if you're not a billionaire, Right? A painting for $253 million that literally looks like someone took yellow at the top and blue at the bottom and even got outside the lines on the left hand side intentionally. I don't know. And there's so much more art that looks like so much more complex and more difficult that sells for a thousand bucks, you know, at a consignment shop. So.

[A]

And somebody would say, well, it's the story behind it too.

[B]

Is it though?

[A]

Okay, then I don't know, what is.

[B]

This for $253 million story.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

People gripe about, you know, we don't have money for this program or that program and this thing. Like how about we take just 200 million of the 253 here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And put it into, you know, lunch program for kids or something. I don't know. I don't know.

[A]

That's funny.

[B]

So if you're a big art person, I'm sorry, but this just makes this one just. I'm like, they got us.

[A]

That's huge. I love that. Okay, today we're going to move into series part of our series on ultra high achiever attributes. Last week we talked about how do ultra high achievers think? And again, if you didn't join us last time, ultra high achievers, those people who are at the tippy top of the Spear, they're the 1 to 3 percenters who just seem to operate at a different level. You may or may not be one. I'd say 99% of us are not that. And but Brian and I over the years have worked with those people and have, you know, both some of them as clients now. And we just want to share some of the things. So we talked about how they think today, how they do what they do, what they do what they do and how they do it.

[B]

Yeah, Yep. So to bring something up at the the end of last episode, I want to start with just to get your take on and we talked about that this group is a very special group. These are outliers, way outliers away ahead of their like they're make their own rules. And we said, well, some of the average or even above average people assume that they're doing the same thing, just different once they're exposed. Once these average or just above average achiever people learn what those ultra high achiever people are doing and they still don't do it. What's the cause? Is it that they don't want to or they don't know how or both.

[A]

Okay, so the person who hears this and knows they have the possibility they could be an Ultra high achiever. But they don't take, they don't think what we've told them to think and they're not doing what we're going to tell them today.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What's. What's behind that resistance? Yeah, I think the how figures in. It's probably a percent how. And what was the other. Other one?

[B]

Do they just choose not to.

[A]

Choose not to.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I think it's a good question for people listening to. Ponder a little bit. Even if you've listened to Bill and me. That's right. Correct English. Right. To Bill and me. Yes. For a year or two years or 10 years. Are you one of the OGs that we mentioned last time? Just send us a note listener to advance selling podcast dot com. Tell us you're an og. We want to know from, hear from you even. You've heard us give advice on things, Start a podcast, buy a video camera, do a video series. And you haven't done it. You should ask yourself, why haven't I done that yet? These guys have. I've been listening these guys for 15 years. They've said this over and over and I still haven't done it. Why haven't I done it? Just look in the mirror. Listen to yourself. Just ask the wonder why question. I wonder why I haven't done that yet.

[A]

That's where I would begin. That's exactly where I tell people to begin to begin to understand where. Where is the flow of resistance. What external or internal, probably more internal forces are at work when you know you should do something and you don't do it.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And part of the time, I think it is a. It's an imposter syndrome. It's a. Well, you know, who am I to shoot a video? Who am I to start a channel? Who am I to take matters into my own hands and have extreme ownership and sometimes just makeup. We're just not made up that way.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's just not.

[B]

So there's another part to this that I just want to. Before we go into the actual exact news that I just want to address, it is okay to tap out of ultra high achievement. It's. It's a, It's a thin group for a reason. And it doesn't matter the reason. If it's your. If you're. It's a conscious choice and you know it and you're comfortable with that, then I'm like, go for it. You're like, you know, I just have no desire for any reason. I'm like, there's space for That I think sometimes, especially in America, we get so addicted to Everybody should be that everybody should win. I'm like, that's. I don't really think so. It's okay. But. But if you. What you can't do, this is what we're solving for in the podcast. You can't look at those people and yearn to be them or have envy or jealousy or think that they're different than you. And that's why that. That doesn't sit well. So that's the last thing I'll say about that.

[A]

Yeah, I think we talked about this the first episode last week. We talked about our beliefs and the belief of I could never be. That I could never be like Brian. And that's one thing we don't want you to be like Brian or Bill or whomever you identify, because it's easy to say, well, I could never do that because that's him. And he was born privileged and he had a million dollars from his dad or what? You can't look at that. You have to look at that and say, do I have it within me to be better at what I do, to take some risks, to think differently? Is it within me? And of course, it's within all of us. We just decide. We may not choose to do it, but let's get to the do's because. Okay, I think it'd be good. So here, I'll start. You started last time, and you did 102. I think that to do this is kind of a thinking, but it's also a. To do is. There is a. There is a dramatic bias for action. There is a fast action. And Andy Bacone is one of our insiders, and he's in one of my other programs. And Andy changed positions, changed careers, and he is in the music business now, working with punk and heavy metal bands in England. And he was sitting in one of our meetings here a few weeks ago, and he said, you know, I've been thinking about doing a rock concert in north of England sometime early next year. And we're all like, really? Well, have you ever done one? No, never done one. Do you know somebody doesn't. Nope. Don't know. The next time we met, two weeks later, he had the. He had it all scoped out. He had talked to three people, he had a date. He had several bands, he had some sponsors. And in two weeks, he created something he had never done before because of his bias for action.

[B]

Awesome.

[A]

Because he knew that if he let this thing simmer for a year, he would Never do it.

[B]

Interesting.

[A]

So my recommendation is, and I try to do this, although I'm not great at it, is when I have an idea, go take action. Even if it's hiring somebody on Fiverr to create a thumbnail for it or a brand look for it. And sometimes you look at it and say, nah. Now that I think about it, I don't want to do it. But sometimes you get it back and like, oh, this excites me. This is inspiring. So bias for action, I think is, is the big tent of to do's.

[B]

Gosh, it's so good been, you know, I think I mentioned Tom Baileyu on here who's request nutrition sold it and I've just been in the past was like, ah, I'm not sure, you know, if he gives me good energy now that. But recently on LinkedIn especially this stuff has been really useful. He just talks about, he said, I built a billion dollar company, had no idea what to do or how to do it and I just did it. And he said I'm not that smart. And he's truly, I mean, I'm not saying he's not not smart, but you know, but that's one of his things. He's like, you just got to do stuff, just take, just go.

[A]

Yeah. So here's a recommendation to our listeners. Let's say that in 2025, you're all, I suspect that if you're listening to this, you're interested in lead generation of some kind, you're interested in developing new relationships, etc, what if, what if you made a commitment that by July 1st of next year not one of your leads comes from outbound activities. They all come from inbound. They all call you, book appointments, fill out an assessment, they invite you in, they roll out the red. Whatever, whatever this is for you. What if all of your leads came inbound, Your first response would be, well, none of them come inbound now, so that ain't going to happen.

[B]

That's impossible.

[A]

The question is how, how could you make it? What would have to happen for all those. Well, I don't know but one thing we'd have to do is we'd have to have better, better email addresses. Check. What's another thing? And I think sometimes we stop with, well, that ain't going to happen because it's never happened. We don't go into the how. Elon Musk is great for that. It's like, well, how do we get this rocket to be caught by the structure? Well, that can't happen. Okay, well how are we going to do it? Well if you did that, you'd have to have okay. And you just start listing off the things. So bias for action. That's just an example of oh, it can happen, but not if you don't have a bias for action.

[B]

Yes. And you're just not going to hurt anything either by just by acting huge. Okay. I'll say something that ultra high people do and it's funny, they, they do. And I bet you listening do this too. If you're not one of these people, you do it in a different way. They plan everything. They plan everything. Here's what's different. You plan your day, they plan their year at the same time. And when you're planning your quarter, they're planning their three year vision. And when you're planning your year, they're planning their five and ten year vision. And that's the difference. They have a crystal clear plan which includes action and how to's that goes way further into time than everyone else's. That's the main thing too. So they're already thinking about 2026 and Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are thinking about 2040 right now, 2050. And that's a huge difference that I see in average to moderately above average achievers plan their days.

[A]

Totally agree.

[B]

They plan their weeks a little bit.

[A]

And the to do there is they make time to do it. So they schedule time and I'm, I'm okay at this, but not great. I need to get better is I need to spend eight hours planning next month.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

I need to spend 16 hours planning next quarter. I might need to spend a week planning next year. And everybody will say well that's absurd. How are you going to take a week out? But you know when you, you know, it's like when you get ready to go on vacation the two days before you get stuff done than you have for the last six months because you have an end, you have an end game. You got a checklist, you got a plan. Oh, I got to go call this guy and see if he wants to do you want to do business or not? You do. Okay, I'll call you when I get back.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And we get, we get stuff done that way. But I think the plan allows us to put together the to do list much easier.

[B]

Yes, it's bravo.

[A]

Yeah, it's good. I've got one more here and then we'll. Because we may need to do the say next time.

[B]

Yeah, no problems.

[A]

Okay, here's, here's a to do is they Take stock. And we talked about self awareness last time, but they take stock of their, the learning they need to do when it comes to digital technology. AI, you mentioned there is no, there is no bridge too far for them to at least explore things. And I've got a client who, he's a, he's easily a million dollar guy. He's VP of sales, but he owns some stock in the company and he says if I want to learn AI, I'll go hire a guy for $200 a day or an hour or whatever and just have him come in and teach me. My time's too valuable to sit at YouTube, watch. I just go hire somebody. They can come in, they can teach me how to do it, and I can give them applications and that quickens the learning cycle. And it's cheap.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Because at a million dollars a year, your time's worth thousands of dollars an hour. Hire somebody whose time is not worth that. But they have expertise. But we don't think about that. We think, well, I'll just, I guess I'll just go on YouTube and watch some videos. That's fine.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

At some point you got to hire somebody to teach you because that's going to save money and time.

[B]

Can I get one more?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

One more is what they don't do. This is going to get me in trouble.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

You know what they don't do, Bill, these ultra high achiever people? They don't work from home. They don't work from home. And here's what I mean by that. You've got to be out in a marketplace to do all sorts of things, to run into people, to have accidental conversations, to get lucky, to be seen, to hear and listen, to bump into things. I've not found too many ultra high achiever people who have embraced work from home and sat and took the dog for a walk. Logged in at nine, chilled out, had a little lunch, hung out, went on another walk at 3:30, stayed on Zoom all day. With zoom controlling your life, they don't do that. They control their lives. And they are out. They are untethered from their desk and their zoom and their computer and their present. Physically present in a marketplace, I assume.

[A]

Even if it means going to workshops or going to networking events.

[B]

All the above. All the. Even better. All the above. You're just not going to find them hunkered down in and behind a computer all day and then complain. Well, I have Zooms all day. I do feel super busy. It zooms all day. But I need a break from the zooms. I need break from teams. You know they don't do that. They're out. They're out moving around, out and about.

[A]

I love that.

[B]

So love that.

[A]

That's good. Okay, so today we did to do's. These are some things that we and one not to do. Well, it was a to do get out or not. Don't stay at home. So hopefully you've enjoyed that. Let us know. Sync up with us on LinkedIn. Go to advance selling podcast.com LinkedIn. Tell us if you enjoy the show. If we, if you, if we put you off in some way. If you've been listening for 18 years and still don't like it, let us know.

[B]

Keep listening. Just keep fast forwarding through the.

[A]

You'll start to like us.

[B]

After 19 years, we might, we might start charging here soon. So get all the free listening if you can. After 18 years, we're thinking about it.

[A]

If you are interested in a business planning session, I remind you, December 6th at noon, noon to 2, you can go to advancelingpodcast.cominsider. you can get that at a discount. Join the Insider. Even if you join for a month. Get into it and join us on December 6th. Gonna be an awesome session.

[B]

Love it.

[A]

It's always good. It's always good to see you.

[B]

Next time we'll do Ultra high Achiever say things. What do they say? Okay. Okay.

[A]

All right, bye.