Russell’s REAL Reason “WHY”

Summary

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The Russell Brunson Show

Episode: Russell’s REAL Reason “WHY”
Date: July 6, 2017
Host: Russell Brunson with guest Jim Edwards

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Episode Overview

This episode takes a reflective and revealing approach, as Russell Brunson sits down with his longtime collaborator Jim Edwards for a candid Q&A session right after the exhausting launch of Russell’s book, Expert Secrets. Diverging from standard marketing “how-to,” the conversation is centered on Russell’s motivations, philosophies on entrepreneurship, maintaining energy and momentum, and what truly drives him to keep producing at a high level even after “making it.” The episode is rich with insights, self-reflection, and practical personal development strategies relevant for entrepreneurs at all stages.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Aftermath of the Expert Secrets Launch

Timestamps: 03:41–07:30

• Russell recounts the intensity of the launch process, including multiple events, virtual book tours, and ongoing promotional strategies—emphasizing both the exhaustion and fulfillment.

  • “It's been very tiring and exhausting... but it's been super rewarding and fulfilling.” – Russell (05:22)

• The importance of maintaining momentum after a big push is a recurring theme; Russell shares his desire not to let the energy die.

  • “There’s something about momentum... I kind of want to keep riding because I’ve got a message I’m trying to get out to the world and I don’t want it to stop.” – Russell (06:04)

2. Why the Message Matters More Than the Vanity

Timestamps: 07:30–10:53

• Russell reveals that sales for Expert Secrets far surpassed his first book, crossing over 50,000 copies—well past New York Times bestseller benchmarks.
• Rather than chasing vanity metrics like bestseller lists, Russell emphasizes the priority of serving the audience and distributing the message.
  • “The only real purpose [for NYT list] was vanity... So I started focusing on just selling a bunch of books and getting it into people’s hands, which is more important.” – Russell (08:55)

3. Motivation & Energy: How Russell Stays Productive

Timestamps: 15:24–20:47

• Jim probes into how Russell balances fatherhood, marriage, business, and creative work, noting Russell’s massive productivity.
• Russell attributes his sustained energy to mental state management—specifically, Tony Robbins’ “state control” framework:
  • Physiology: “how you’re moving”
  • Focus: “what you’re thinking about”
  • Meaning: “the meaning you attach to what you’re doing”
    • “It’s funny, like, energy... part of it’s mental. It’s like your excitement. It’s like how to get into state... Tony Robbins talked about this at our event. He calls it ‘state control.’” – Russell (16:30)
  • Russell gives tips on “getting into state”—using movement, music, and focus to power through tasks, even when tired.
    • “We all have the same amount of hours in the day. I just, during those hours… I’m trying to go crazy.” – Russell (20:47)
• Caffeine gets a brief, honest, and humorous mention as a productivity aid.
  • “So I feel bad because my whole life I was very anti-caffeine... I may have a mild caffeine addiction, which helps every once in a while.” – Russell (20:55)

4. Humility and Staying Grounded

Timestamps: 22:30–25:48

• Jim asks why Russell hasn't let growing fame and success make him arrogant.
• Russell credits his “cycling”—repeated failures and near-bankruptcies—for grounding him and providing perspective.
  • “A lot of times, entrepreneurs, especially the first time you do it... think they're God’s gift to the world... but the first time you cycle, you realize there are so many conditions that make things possible... Anything amazing that happens is not because you are amazing.” – Russell (23:01)
• The role of timing, luck, and the wider team is highlighted in the success of ClickFunnels.
  • “There’s timing that’s involved ... I’m fully clear that tomorrow Stripe could shut down my account and... I could be in a whole world of hurt.” – Russell (25:16)

5. Preparation, Opportunity, and Execution

Timestamps: 26:36–27:54

• Russell shares a favorite Winston Churchill quote to emphasize the importance of being prepared for when opportunity arises:
  • “To each there comes in a lifetime that special moment... offered the chance to do a very special thing... What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared and unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.” – Russell (paraphrasing Churchill @26:36)
• He describes trying and failing to build versions of ClickFunnels before finally succeeding, underscoring persistence.

6. The Real Mission Behind Russell's Work

Timestamps: 31:02–34:45

• Russell clarifies that his deeper mission goes beyond helping people make money or grow businesses.
  • “I don’t really care about your businesses that much. I care about the impact that you can have on other people. And that’s honestly why I do what I do.” – Russell (32:41)
• Providing financial stability through entrepreneurship is a means to empower people to serve larger causes—family, charity, global impact.
• He shares stories of using his business platform to contribute to causes like freeing children from sex trafficking and supporting Kenyan youth.
  • “These talents, these tools, these things that we’re doing... They’re a means to an end. It’s a means to get you all above ground, head above water so you can go and serve people. And that’s honestly all I really care about.” – Russell (33:00)

7. Reflections on Legacy, Influence, and Growth

Timestamps: 34:10–34:51

• Russell explains it took him ten years to be prepared for his breakthroughs and book writing, emphasizing long-term commitment and personal evolution.
  • “I could… I feel like anyone who writes a book, it took me ten years to be prepared to write the DotCom Secrets book. Took me an additional two to be able to understand, to be able to do the Expert Secrets book.” – Russell (34:15)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On momentum:
  “I see a lot of people who, like, do a launch, they get a bunch of momentum and then it dies. It’s like, I kind of want to keep riding because I’ve got a message I’m trying to get out to the world and I don’t want it to stop.”
  — Russell Brunson (06:04)

• On chasing bestseller lists:
  “I started realizing that what was my purpose in wanting that [New York Times spot]? And, like, the only real purpose was vanity. So I just tried to focus on getting the book in people’s hands, which is more important.”
  — Russell Brunson (08:55)

• On creating energy:
  “Energy’s not just food, it’s mental... You create it. If I move, if I smile, if I get excited—now you’re in a state where you can actually do it.”
  — Russell Brunson (17:10)

• On humility after multiple failures:
  “Anything amazing that happens is not because you are amazing... There’s so many things that aren’t in your control, and those things can be taken away so fast.”
  — Russell Brunson (23:01)

• On service as the real “Why”:
  “These tools... are a means to an end. It’s a means to get you guys all above ground, head above water so you can go and serve people... That’s honestly all I really care about.”
  — Russell Brunson (33:00)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|------------------------------------------------| | 03:41 | Book launch recap and living in momentum | | 07:39 | Book sales milestones and virtual book tour | | 08:55 | Shifting focus from bestseller lists to service| | 15:24 | How Russell structures his productivity | | 16:30 | Russell’s secrets for sustaining high energy | | 22:30 | Humility and “cycling” in entrepreneurship | | 26:36 | Churchill quote & preparation meets opportunity| | 31:02 | Russell’s true mission—impact beyond business | | 34:15 | Reflections on book writing, growth, legacy |

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Episode Tone & Style

The tone is energetic, friendly, and authentic, with a playful back-and-forth between Russell and Jim. Russell is candid about struggles, self-doubt, and the non-glamorous aspects of entrepreneurship, while emphasizing personal responsibility and mission-driven work. The episode is sprinkled with humor and self-deprecation, balanced by actionable wisdom and inspiration for entrepreneurs at all levels.

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Summary Takeaway

While marketing tactics, product launches, and sales numbers are important, Russell’s real “why” is much deeper: empowering others to serve and impact the world once their own needs are met. He stresses that state management, humility, and preparation are the foundational strategies behind remarkable output and fulfillment. This episode is both a behind-the-scenes look at an intense book launch and a masterclass in the mindset of sustainable entrepreneurial success.

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Recommended for:
Entrepreneurs, marketers, personal growth seekers, and anyone curious about the “why” behind high-impact business leaders.

Transcript

[Russell Brunson]

What's up, everybody? This is Russell again. So we're doing some fun stuff, and.

There'S a lot of cool places.

We're producing interviews and just other cool stuff that some of you guys who are our hardcore podcast listeners probably never have a chance to hear. And so, because, you know, this summer I have a lot of vacations and things, I'm leaving, too, and time's gonna be gone. I might have a chance to record podcast interviews, and I want to try to get at least three episodes a week to you guys. I'm gonna start finding some really cool things that have been published in different spots and. And bring them to you here on the interview. And it should be kind of fun and should keep you guys engaged, especially when I'm away on my long trips. In fact, I'm thinking about later this summer. I'm gonna be gone for two weeks, is actually giving you guys access to a product that we've been selling for years. It's six interviews I did with a guy who made $100 million in 23 months selling supplements through direct mail. And it's one of the most fascinating.

Interviews in my life.

I'm thinking about putting that as an episode and a bunch of other things. So that's kind of the game plan for those who are hardcore listeners. I'm gonna keep giving you guys good stuff in between all the regular podcast episodes. Now, these things found through the podcast, it won't be on YouTube or any other places. So that's why it's essential for you guys to be listening to the actual podcast. So that said, the episode today I wanted to share with you guys, this is actually the end of my book launch. And those of you who have ever launched a book, especially the way we did it, no, it's a lot of work. It was months of prep work. On top of that, we had four event. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Five events that happened during the book launch. Then we had the actual book launch, then we did the virtual book tour, and it was a lot of stuff. And the very end of it all, it was kind of ending. And Jim Edwards, who does Funnel Fridays with me every Friday, asked if we want to do Funnel Fridays. And I was like, no, man, I'm too tired. And he's like, well, can I just get on and just. I have some questions I want to ask you.

And he's like, instead of doing a.

Typical Funnel Friday, can I just jump on and we just do Q and A and I just ask you some questions I think would be valuable for everyone. And I was so tired, but I was like, yeah, let's do it. It'll be kind of fun. And it was one of my favorite interviews I've ever done. It was about 30 minutes long. And he talked about a lot of things. Like, one of them, one of the main questions was like, is getting my message out so important? Why, Russell, are you killing yourself? You have enough money, you have enough things, like, why are you doing this? He also talked about how I'm able. He asked me questions about how I'm able to get so much done in a single day, how do I keep my energy up, and just a bunch of other really cool things. So I thought this was really valuable. And for those who didn't have a chance to watch it on Funnel Fridays.

I thought it'd be a really cool.

Episode for you guys to hear some of those questions that were asked to me by a close friend in kind of a unique situation and circumstance. And so I'm gonna share after. After the Marketing Secrets intro here, I'm going to let you guys listen in on this 30 minute interview with Jim Edwards and I talking about some of the cool stuff that I think will have a big impact on you. So with that said, hope you enjoyed this episode.

So the big question is this. How are entrepreneurs like us, who didn't.

Cheat and take on venture capital, who are spending money from our own pockets? How do we market in a way that lets us get our products and our services and the things that we.

Believe in out to the world and yet still remain profitable? That is the question, and this podcast.

Will give you the answer.

My name is Russell Brunson, and welcome to Marketing Secrets.

[Jim Edwards]

Because we're live.

[Russell Brunson]

We're totally live.

[Jim Edwards]

What's up, man? Hey. I'm getting ready for the new Despicable Me 3 movie.

[Russell Brunson]

They casted you as Gru this time.

[Jim Edwards]

They did. They did. I wanted to be his brother, but they just said I could be gruff.

[Russell Brunson]

That is awesome.

[Jim Edwards]

Enough of that.

[Russell Brunson]

Welcome to Funnel Friday, man.

[Jim Edwards]

How you doing? I'm doing great. This is our. For those of you keeping track at home, this is the 30th. That's 3,0 or. Yeah, whatever. I don't know whether I'm forward or backwards. This is our 30th episode of Funnel Friday. So we decided to do something a little different. And so we decided to do a Facebook live. And come on in, kids. We're going to talk a little bit about just kind of what's going on in life. And then I've Been totally amazed by Russell's launch of Expert Secrets, which I'm working very hard and turning into scripts to go into funnel scripts. And so I thought. And we thought. Sorry, not just me, but we thought that it'd be cool to get an update on how things are going because Russell's been going nuts with doing all of his live. I was gonna say preaching his live. Teaching about everything that's going on. That's right. Here you go. Here's how it works. Okay. And turn to page. I keep telling everybody that, though. It's funny, though. We get on here. And now I've taken to start giving people page numbers when we're talking about funnel scripts and stuff. You know, on page 73, this is actually the fifth of the hooks that you need to know. So, I mean, even on funnel scripts, I'm starting to put the. I'm starting to put page numbers where they can read all the background to go with the script, and people are digging it. So how's it. How's it going with the book launch? I know that the, you know, the affiliate things ended on Sunday, and so you've been going nuts. You look like you could use about three weeks worth of sleep. So what's happening?

[Russell Brunson]

It's been crazy. First of all, thank you, everyone for, like, hanging out, participating, and being part of it. And it's been insanely fun, and it's been very tiring and exhausting as we just talked about, but it's been super rewarding and feeling it's fulfilling. I mean, it's been interesting. Like, just off camera, before he started, Jim asking, like, why are you guys going so hard recently? And it's been interesting because, like, I was looking at the calendar, like, since January, it's been insane. We had January at the end of January certification event for certified partners. Then we had the next week on our first ever Funnel Hackathon event for Inner circle members. Two weeks later, we had Funnel Hacking Live. Then we had a couple weeks that Inner Circle and then another Inner Circle, and then the Expert Secrets launch. And then last week we did the whole. This week we've done the whole, like, Expert Secrets masterclass. Next week we have another fad event. And it's just like, it's been a lot and I'm tired. But, like, it's been. It's been. There's something about momentum and. And I don't know. Like, I see a lot of people who, like, do launch, they get much momentum and then it dies. It's like, I kind of want to keep writing because. Because I've got a message. I'm trying to get out to the world and I don't want it to stop. And I know that.

[Jim Edwards]

What is that message?

[Russell Brunson]

My message for entrepreneurs? That we can and you can like literally change the world through what you do. And I feel like the momentum, I don't want it to stop. And I'm very. I remember hearing Tim Ferriss one time talking about how he's. How he's 14 minutes into his 15 minutes of fame and how much he's enjoying it. I kind of feel the same way. Like I get that and I'm going to. But while the iron's hot, I want to affect as many people as we can because I believe in what I'm doing and what we're all doing. And so it's been fun and I hope you guys are all enjoying it. I'm definitely. Today I have a lot less meetings than I'm going to pass out on the floor at home or somewhere here in a little bit and just kind of, kind of catch up. But I wanted to hang out and do our 30th episode of Funnel Fridays and hang out a little bit, just catch them. This episode will be a little different. We're not gonna be in clickfunnels or funnel scripts just because we're on belive with some issues with Google hangouts this morning so we can't show anything. But Jim had a cool idea for a fun show today. We got a lot of you guys watching in so we should have. Anyway, I'm excited man. So that's kind of what's happening.

[Jim Edwards]

So what's the status of the books of the. Where are you as far as sales and all that good stuff? Just curious.

[Russell Brunson]

I just try to refresh the page and the stats keep crashing because you're selling something cool. Like three days ago we passed 50,000. I think we're around 52,000 books I think is kind of where I believe we're at which is crazy. Like it took us over a year to sell that many of the dot com secrets book with like consistently pushing for a year. And if you guys watch the livestream.

[Jim Edwards]

I do.

[Russell Brunson]

All last week the coolest thing for me was like the virtual book tour we did. We like three and a half million people have watched a video of us talking about the book throughout this virtual book tour which is like it's nuts.

[Jim Edwards]

Like and the thing is that is so far beyond what you know like a best selling author. Like you think about like a new York Times best selling author. They sell depending on the time of year, between what, five and 10,000 books. That's, that's how you become a New York Times bestseller. So you have done like 10 times that. What it takes to be a New York Times best selling author. And all the things that you just blown it out of, just totally blown it out of the water. Yet just like Rodney Dangerfield, you get no respect from the New York Times list. How do you feel about that?

[Russell Brunson]

It's funny because last, the first book we launched Dotcom Secrets, I tried to get a New York Times list. I tried to play the game. There's a whole algorithm and stuff. And we sold doubled as many books as we needed to sell. And we did get it. And I was like, you know what? I started realizing that what was my purpose in wanting that? And like, the only real purpose was vanity. So I could be like, I'm a New York Times best selling author. Which is pretty cool. Like everybody says that. I'm like, oh, that's so cool. Yeah, I don't think it helps serve more people. So this time around I was like, we could go and try to do it again, or we could just try to sell a bunch of books and get in people's hands, which is more important and like the real purpose behind it. And so I kind of took advantage. I'm not gonna lie. Like, I really wanted that title. I'm just gonna put on the shelf. We're focused on this and that's the goal. So that's gonna be.

[Jim Edwards]

Think about this though. The whole reason why anybody wants to be a New York Times best selling author is so that then they can go speak, they can build up coaching and consulting clients and they can use it to promote their business. You've already speaking everywhere. You've already got like a waiting list of people that want to pay you 25 grand a year to have you coach and consult with them. And you've got a huge business. So, man, I think you're really past that. If you really want to know, think.

[Russell Brunson]

About it that way. But yeah, yeah, we should just go to New York Times or to go to New York and sell a bunch like, I'm a New York best selling author. Then like, people will think, just stand.

[Jim Edwards]

Out time outside the New York New York Times building, get your picture taken, you know, like this. Like when everybody, everybody who goes to Pisa in Italy thinks that they're the only person, when they're on their way, they're like, when I see the leaning tower of Pizza. Take a picture of me like this. And then you walk up like, oh, watch me, I'm gonna drop it. And there's like 300 people with 25 different languages going, ah, to take my pizza right now.

[Russell Brunson]

You know, it's just like.

[Jim Edwards]

And then you're like, okay, do it anyway. Just don't get any of them in my picture.

[Russell Brunson]

I still get this as a selfie.

[Jim Edwards]

Exactly. So, no, I think, I think it's amazing what you guys have done with this book. And I want to talk to you about how you're able to do this kind of stuff. That was the second part of what I wanted to talk to us about on Funnel Fridays. Because we can talk about Pimp My Funnel or Help My Funnel Sucks or we can build a funnel in 30 minutes. But I thought after 30 episodes would be cool for people to kind of understand more about what motivates you and get you going. And somebody just made a really good comment. What's your local newspaper in Boise?

[Russell Brunson]

I don't even know what it is here.

[Jim Edwards]

What? We destroyed it. You know, whatever the newspaper is in Boise, I want you to go down there and have them give you an award. You know, the Boise Beacon Bestseller. Boise Beacon bestseller. And you know what you could do is just take out a one page ad if you. You don't know the paper. I mean, just pay him a thousand bucks to run a full page ad that you're the Boise Pink and Bestseller. There you go.

[Russell Brunson]

I'm going to do that. That'd be awesome.

[Jim Edwards]

I totally lost. Oh, I know what I wanted to say. Okay, so what I want to let everybody know, as far as from Funnel Scripts, we've got three cool things in the works with Funnel Scripts. Aside from turning expert secrets into Funnel Scripts, which they should be available by the end of June, we have added two new features with a third feature on the way. This is super cool and I'm geeking out of it. If I'm the only one that's excited, well, then I'm excited. But to make it easier for people to use Funnel Scripts on their tablets or even on their phones, like if you're sitting somewhere and you're using Funnel scripts on your tablet, this will work on your computer too. But it was kind of hard to save the output. So what we've done now is we have the ability for you to email yourself the output of any one of the Funnel scripts. And you can email yourself the project file for each Funnel script now so that if you're using on your tablet, you can email yourself the project file. And it's in there now. You can go play with it. I'll make a video on it soon to show you what to do. But you can email yourself the project file. That way you could load. You could play with it on your tablet or your phone. Then when you get home to your computer, you could load the project file in and do whatever you want on your PC or whatever. It's just two really neat little usability things. And then the third thing that we're going to be adding, and this is what's going to be super cool, because everybody says in Funnel Scripts, one of the things that helps them is effective examples. This was brought home to me in the recent survey that we did. And then the last training, we're going to add a feature where at the top of each one of the funnels there's going to be. Excuse me, each one of the funnel scripts, we're going to have example funnels in various different categories and you'll be able to click them and it will auto load into the funnel script so that you can not only see the example, but whack the button. You can adapt the example if you've got something similar, but you can actually see it in action, see the output, see the questions actually filled out. So it'll make it easier for you to model the copy and get the best out of that. So it's not just looking at an example, it's actually being able to load an example into the script and play with it and adapt it, which I think is going to be massively cool and useful for people. So.

[Russell Brunson]

It'S funny, when we first started this project, you told me you're like, I'm going to keep making this better and better. And like, I thought you meant by you were going to add five or six new scripts, then you add like 500. But then like, just all the technology side of it keeps getting better and better as well, which is super cool.

[Jim Edwards]

We're committed to making this thing awesome and we're using it and having fun. It's really cool. So y' all get in there and play with it. And if you're not a member of Funnel Scripts yet available@funnel scripts.com, it's only because you hate money or you've never heard of funnel scripts before. Now you've heard of Funnel Scripts, so you need to go over to funnel scripts.com and join. And if you're a member of Funnel Scripts, you need to log in and use the tool because otherwise you What? Russell, you hate money. You hate money. That's right. Okay, so that's our little update for funnel scripts. It's really cool. I mean, we're obviously working for you, but now I want to, I want to take like, I don't know, 10 minutes. And I want to ask you, Russell, because you are, you are doing this. How do you juggle being a father of five, right? You got five kids, right?

[Russell Brunson]

Cool kids ever.

[Jim Edwards]

Your wife seems to still like you. Your employees are always smiling when I see you. You're doing. If you look at that board back there, guys, right behind Russell's head, that dude does more in a week than most people do all year. This year he is going to do more than most people do in their entire careers. Think about that. Launching a book, launching a new business, doing all these events. The things that you're doing in a week are the things that people lead up to for an entire year. Okay. What? How? Just mentally. Okay, first question. How do you actually have energy to do that? How can you get up in the morning and just keep trucking all day without the use of illegal substances?

[Russell Brunson]

Maybe we are using illegal substances.

[Jim Edwards]

Wow.

[Russell Brunson]

So from the energy side, it's kind.

[Jim Edwards]

Of a couple things.

[Russell Brunson]

Because even it's funny, like, energy is like, Tony Robbins talked about this, our event. Like, some people think it's like food is energy and it's part of that, but like, part of it's just like it's mental. It's like your excitement. It's like how to get into state. And if you haven't been to Tony Robbins, one of the biggest things to teach you is like how to get into state. It's just like most of us, including me, like, I woke up this morning and at 5:45 my alarm went off and I was just like, I'm so tired. Like, the last thing the world wanted to do is like, get out of bed and actually do something. But then like, I got amazingly like Dave Woodward. I looked at my phone and he already messaged me like, I'm on the.

[Jim Edwards]

Way, man, I'm so excited to work out this morning.

[Russell Brunson]

I was like, crap, I gotta wake up. So I was like, okay, I gotta get up. So I get up and then I come out there.

He's excited.

So, like, I get excited. So it's like I don't have energy at 6 in the morning. Like we shouldn't. It's not normal, but like, you create it. So it's like learning how to get in state. So it's like we got There. Crank music up, like, try to get excited. And it's like, okay, now you're in a state where you can actually do it. And I think that one of the biggest things I learned from Tony Robbins was just state control. So it's like, when I do something, I try to get into a state because half the time you do stuff that sucks. We don't always get do the fun things, but it's like, you have to control. You have to learn how to master that. And it's not that hard when you, like, if you're a Tony Robbins, eventually. He calls it the triad. There's three things. It's your physiologic, your body, like, how you're moving. Like, if I was like this, like, hey, Jim. Hey, what's up, man? This is how I feel. Like, I feel like this right now. Just so everyone knows, like, I feel like this. If I came like this, we'd all be like, blah, blah, blah. So, like, first step is physiology. If I have my shoulders back and I smile, I look up and I, like, just, like. If I move like, you can't help but, like, feel better. I might just, like. That's number one's physiology. Number two is, like, what you're focusing on. So if you're focusing on, like, I'm so tired.

[Jim Edwards]

This sucks.

[Russell Brunson]

Versus, like, we've got 193 people listening.

[Jim Edwards]

To us right now.

[Russell Brunson]

Jim, what would people give to have 193 people listen? Like, I look at that number, I see the comments, and, like, I'm focused on.

[Jim Edwards]

They give 500 bucks for a course on how to do it. I'm just playing.

[Russell Brunson]

I get so excited this morning. I was, like, sitting in bed still.

[Jim Edwards]

I'm scrolling through.

[Russell Brunson]

I see this thing from Marlon Sanders, who's, like, someone I look up to like, crazy. And he posted, like, have you seen the last nine hours? And he's, like, going off get excited. I was like, he's excited.

[Jim Edwards]

I'm excited.

[Russell Brunson]

So I'm focusing on exciting things, which makes me more excited. And then the last thing is meaning. Like, and that's the third step in the Triton is the meaning you attach to the thing that you're trying to do. It's like, what's the meaning? Why am I doing this? And if there's no meaning, then you're like, it's hard to. Like, if there's not a purpose, it's hard to have it. So Tony taught me that six, seven years ago. It was his first event. It was like those three things and he's like, and if you go to Tony event, like they're long, you start in the morning, you go to like 4 o' clock in the morning, like all day, all night, no bathroom breaks, no drink breaks, no nothing. And it's like it's four in the morning, three days in, you lost your voice, you have shin splints and he's got you jumping around. And yet I haven't eaten in three days. How do I still feel good? It's like, because you understand that it has nothing to do with that. It has to do with those three things. And so I try like when I'm attacking something to like remember that, okay, here's this task that sucks. I can be like. Or I can be like, okay, get my body in state, get my mind. What am I focusing on? What am I? You get those three things. And then like when you attack that thing, it's, it's more, it makes it fun and it's easier and like it just goes faster. When I get home at night, like I don't, I don't work more hours than most people. I don't think like I'm working 9 to 5, like that's kind of a normal thing. And when I go home, I try to like, okay, like last night my, it was my daughter's last soccer practice and so we were all gonna go play soccer. So like the last soccer practice, like the parents versus the kids. And I was like, I'm so tired. Like I don't want to play soccer, but I get home and I was like, I see her in her little cleats and she's super excited. I was like, alright. So I was like, how do I get staged for this experience? Because if I not I'm gonna, I'm gonna miss it and it's gonna be depressing and I'm gonna be a bad dad and then I'm gonna be more depressed and like this whole cycle. So I'm like, okay, I've got an hour to go play soccer with my kids. I gotta like be at state. And so like I just got in the state of excitement and then went and we played and it was amazing. We had so much fun. And it was like the coolest thing. I like that night I went to bed, like with that cool memory as opposed to like that depression of like, I didn't do it right, you know? So that's a big part is just like I think like learning how to control the state of the thing right before you attack it. And then that's part of it. And the next piece is like I said, like, we all have the same amount of hours in the day. I just, during those hours I'd hear like, I'm trying to go crazy.

[Jim Edwards]

So you're making a conscious choice as to how you're going to use the Resource of Time. And you've got something in that bottle. What's in the bottle?

[Russell Brunson]

This is blue. So I feel bad because my whole life I was very anti caffeine. And then we launched Clickfunnels. We pulled these all nighters every night for two weeks at a time with Todd and Dylan. And they were drinking caffeine and they weren't tired and I always was. So one day I had. It was like a pre workout because I don't drink coffee or any of that. So I had a pre workout. I was like, I'm not tired. This is really nice.

[Jim Edwards]

I'm not gonna lie.

[Russell Brunson]

I may have a mild caffeine addiction, which helps every once in a while. So this is. One of my friends, has a company called Rhino Rush. This is these little things he has that taste like candy and make you wake up. So this helps too.

[Jim Edwards]

That's cool. So how do you, how do you stay balanced? As far as I'm going to ask this, the. This may not come out right, so. Because we're just kind of talking. But I've seen in the past a lot of guys and gals who haven't been nearly as successful as you know, that turn into complete jackasses once they get really success. No, we've seen these people. It's like you see them, you know, when you first meet them and they're on their way up, they're everybody's friend. And they'll talk to you at seminars and stuff. And then five years later you say, hey, what's up? And they look at you like, you know, get away. But you're nicer now than you were back then. So I'm just playing. But I mean, how do you, how do you stay grounded with being Russell Brunson?

[Russell Brunson]

So funny to hear that from Jim Edwards. I look at you, I'm like, you're Jim Edwards, man.

[Jim Edwards]

Anyway, I gotta go clean a chicken coop later today. Dude, I don't know who you're talking to.

[Russell Brunson]

No, I think, I think the reason why is that I am fully, fully, fully aware that this is not Russell Brunson. Like, like this. This is not me. I was a piece of it. I just happened to be the one that's like the faces in Front, So I get a lot of the credit, which I don't think credits always do there. Like, there's so many people that make this happen.

It's interesting.

I was. I remember because I built and crashed my company, I think three. Three big times, a lot of little times, but three that were, like, I had, like, consult with a bankruptcy lawyer. Luckily, I never went bankrupt, but it was, like, close twice anyway. But I remember I met this guy who's built all these big companies a little while later, and the first thing he asked was like, tell me your story about, like, your journey. So I kind of told him the ups and the downs, and he was like, oh, good, you cycled. And I'm like, what does that mean? He's like, you failed. You built a business and you crashed. I call it cycling. And he told me, he's like, I won't work an entrepreneur unless they've cycled at least once. And first I was like, that sounds way better than failure. I like that. So I cycled twice. But he made a good point. He's like, a lot of times, entrepreneurs, especially, the first time you do it, this whole thing's happening, and you think that you are God's gift to the world and you're the greatest thing in the world. And then the first time you cycle, you realize that there are so many conditions that make things possible. And anything amazing that happens is not because you are amazing. It has to hard work and hustle and all that kind of stuff. But it's like there's so many things that aren't in your control, and it's like those things can be taken away so fast. And I look at just what's happened in the last two and a half years. For us, it was like 10 years of me trying a whole bunch of stuff, meeting some amazing people along the way, and then became this perfect storm of Todd Dickerson having the ability to be able to build click funnels, Dylan Jones having the ability to build the editor, me having the ability to build a market. And then even with that said, like, it was the timing. We are so blessed on the timing. We started building click funnels when the word funnels wasn't sexy. And I look at just the history of, like, everything. Like that January in the middle of building click funnels, Ryan Dice and Perry Belcher did this traffic conversion. Some of 2500 people, they talked about funnels, the entire thing. And funnels became the sexy byword. And everyone became funnel gurus, funnel consultants. And for the next, like, six months, funnels became the sexiest thing in the world. While we're building click funnels, and Todd and Dylan and I are like, like, this is becoming, like, a cool thing. And then all of a sudden, like, timing was, like, so perfect. All of a sudden, like, it came out and like, holy crap, this thing was perfect. And, you know, I mean, so there's timing that's involved. There's all sorts of things.

[Jim Edwards]

There's.

[Russell Brunson]

But I know every single day I've been through business cycles where everything's going good and, like, I'm fully clear that tomorrow Stripe could shut down my account and this, like, I could be in a whole world of hurt, you know, last. Earlier this week, everything's going good. Instagram shut me down. Like, then, luckily they brought it back, you know, and then, like. But, like, we're so much at the mercy of so many different things. And so I try to have diversity. Everything's like that, you know, nothing else. But it's like, say that, like, you can be gone tomorrow. And, like, it has nothing. How smart I am. Like, it has nothing to do with me. It's not me.

[Jim Edwards]

Well, I think you're a good. I think that you are an excellent example, though, because it's the hue. It's a combination of the humility and the experience, too, because you wouldn't have recognized that opportunity if you couldn't get out of your own way. And then you've. You've had enough experience to be able to see how Todd and everybody else could come together to create something that would. That would fill that market need. But when you start believing you're the only one with the ideas and you're the one that has to make it happen, then that's when nothing happens and you have the quick, fast crash and burn. So that's really to be commended. So last question. One quote.

[Russell Brunson]

This is my favorite. Like, probably. And it kind of. Because I agree. I mean, I put in my dues for 10 years before, like, this opportunity was ready. And I'm not the first person that tried to build the click funnels. I tried to build it three times and failed. Like, everything I don't have people try. Like, it's not like I was like, I've had some. Some guy was telling bunch of people that he was the one that gave me the idea for click funnels. And I'm like, dude, like, I tried to build ClickFunnels three times. One first time it's called click.com.com, second time it's called clickfusion.com, third time. It's called clickfunnels.com like, this was my third try. I've been trying this for like seven or eight years, right? And I went like, no one gave me the idea for click. It wasn't like my idea. It was everybody's idea. Just we happened to be the ones that executed on it correctly. But so Winston Churchill, he said to each there comes in a lifetime that special moment. They're figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy. At that moment finds them unprepared and unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour. And I honestly feel like, you know, it was 10 years of me preparing and trying and learning and failing stuff. And then, like, it was because I had prepared that also. It was like, hey, here's this really cool opportunity. You're ready for it. And I'm so grateful for it. Like, I wake up every morning, like, I can't believe that this is like, this is the thing I get to do. Like, anyway, it's just. It's the coolest thing in the world.

[Jim Edwards]

That's awesome. And, you know, you think about how you and I kind of came to create Funnel scripts was just a series of little teeny events that seem totally unrelated. That. That it just blossomed into this tool that thousands of people are using now to go along with click Funnels. I mean, we met 10 years ago, had lunch, kind of sort of talked. We were both not real. But it's hard to believe, guys. But we're also. We're. We're each not really like hyper social.

[Russell Brunson]

We're super introverted. We're in this event, we're both like, awkward.

[Jim Edwards]

What's up? Hey, what's up?

[Russell Brunson]

You think he's too cool for me? And he probably saying the same thing about. And I thought the same thing each other.

[Jim Edwards]

And then so we saw each other on the marketers cruise and didn't even talk. You know, it's kind of like. And then. And then I got his book and I read his book and I got it. I said, I got it somewhere. It's like right here. I keep holding it up whenever we do. Oh, here it is. So, I mean, it's all marked up and stuff. And I. And I said, russell, this thing's awesome, man. I mean, I'd send him a message on Facebook. And so that just kind of happened. And he had had the idea and I'd had the idea at the same time, but I knew how to put it together and he didn't have time. So that's where Click funnels or funnel scripts came from. I'm trying to take credit for Click Funnels, but I'm going to tell you that this book is better. And the reason it's better is because it's almost like this book should have come before this book. Because once you go through this book, then this book makes more sense, if that makes sense. And it's not a cut, it just is. But I'm telling you, if you want to become an expert and you want to have. I mean, I was. I spent a good friend of mine, whom, you know, who. I will not say his name on here just because I don't want to embarrass him. But I spent 20 minutes this morning explaining to him why he needed to read this book. And this is somebody who's been in business online for 15 years because he's all scattered. And it's. What is going to bring you success going forward online and offline is not being a jack of all trades. It's being the best person you can be who is known for what you are known for. And you carve out your own blue ocean. And maybe I'm answering the question I'm leading up to asking you, but why? For somebody who's got the book and then they haven't read it or they're hesitant or they're feeling, who am I to be an expert? Who am I to hold myself out there? Because you lay out the whole blueprint on how to become the expert in your own world and carve it out. But why should people do this now, Russell? Why can't they? I'll just go be an affiliate marketer. I'll go, you know, just throw up funnels to sell, you know, oil for. For mechanical chickens that I buy in giant lots from China. You know, why is this so important for everybody to execute? What's in this book?

[Russell Brunson]

Yeah, I think the basics. I've been in a lot of businesses a lot, and I've tried a lot of stuff. And it's like I mentioned yesterday during live streams, I was like, after you make like the first million bucks, like, for me, I was like, if I make a million bucks and, like, you make it.

[Jim Edwards]

And you're like, wow, still gotta go to work tomorrow.

[Russell Brunson]

Yeah. You're like, your wife's the one to take the garbage out. Like, your friends don't care. Your parents are still like, oh, nice. So you find out really Quick that it doesn't matter. But the one nice thing the money does is it gives you the ability where you don't have to act out of fear because it's like, you have these base needs met. And I honestly believe people ask me, russell, what's your mission?

[Jim Edwards]

And.

[Russell Brunson]

And it's funny because, like, I'm teaching entrepreneurship and business and things like that, but, like, that's not my real mission. My mission is that if I get you guys, everybody to a spot where they're stable and, like, they're doing that, my real mission is the expert, secret stuff. Because then when you're, like, fearful, it's kind of like the whole Maslov hierarchy of needs, right? Like. Like, he's. You know, like, first you have to have food, and then you have food, you have to have water, and then you have to have shelter. And then when those needs are met, then it's like, oh, cool, now we can, like, do cool stuff. And it's like, when you're. As financial needs are met, you're not stressed out on the next paycheck and things like that, then, like, you can shift your focus to, like, other people. And, like, the faster you can get to that point, the better. So, like, I. The tool, the vehicle that I use. And here's complete transparency, the vehicle I'm using to influence you guys is business, because I think it's the fastest way to get a stable ground. I don't really care about your businesses that much. I care about the impact that you can have on other people. And that's, like, honestly why I do what I do. Because when you're on stable ground and you're not stressed out about finances, now you're looking around and thinking, like, how.

Can I help people?

Some of you guys, it's like this Kenya thing that we do, right? Like, there's a reason why we go to Kenya and help these little kids. Like, some of you guys financially can help there. Some of you guys maybe that financially not gonna make sense, but it's like you can create a course helping whatever. Like, I got a call from someone that's yesterday that I had insane amounts of respect for that. They came to me and asked if.

I'd be helping, if I would be.

Willing to help with this project that's helping free children that are caught in sex slavery. And I was up all night last night, like, looking at, studying, like, how can I help this organization, help free these kids? It's just, like, you can do so many. These talents, these tools, these things that we're doing. They're cool, but they're a means to an end. It's a means to get you guys all above ground, head above water so you can go and serve people. And that's honestly not all I really care about. That's why this book is so cool, because it's gonna get you, like, here's the platform. Here's everything you need to get your needs met. But then it's like, now, like, your message is what really matters. Like, that's. That's gonna have the impact on the world that I care about and that you guys really care about. And this business, entrepreneurship is a vehicle to get you guys to be able to do that. So that's. That's really why I do what I do.

[Jim Edwards]

That's awesome. And that's why you need to have the book, because the book is what's gonna show you how you can help other people and support yourself in the process. Process. I mean, that's a cool thing. You can live your purpose if you get Russell's book, and I'm assuming that you all have it already, but if they don't have it yet, Russell, where can they get it? Did you like that transition? Right?

[Russell Brunson]

There you go. Experts secrets.com.

[Jim Edwards]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Russell Brunson]

I hope you get a book. Like, it's. It's. You mentioned, like, expert secrets should have come first, and it didn't because, like, I wasn't ready for it. I could. I feel like anyone who writes a book, it took me 10 years to be prepared to write the dot com secrets book. Took me an additional two to be able to understand, to be able to do the expert secrets book. And it's like, I put my heart and my soul and my life into it, and the goal was to be a tool for you guys. So I hope that you guys look at it that way. Take it.

[Jim Edwards]

And.

[Russell Brunson]

That'S my real goal for everybody. So use it. It'll give you a bit of influence other people, and it's. It's exciting.

[Jim Edwards]

So I would say that this was a very successful 30th episode of Funnel Fridays. And I'm glad that we did it this way, because this, you know, we can always pimp somebody's funnel or do something like that. But I think this is really cool, people getting to know more about. About you and this whole wonderful machine that you're setting up to make difference in people's lives. So that's incredible. Good for you.

[Russell Brunson]

Thanks, man. Thanks for Jim's ideas.

[Jim Edwards]

Thanks for thinking. That was fun.

[Russell Brunson]

I appreciate that. That made my weekend so I'm gonna go take a nap and that was really cool. So I appreciate that Jim. Thanks for letting me do that.

[Jim Edwards]

Awesome everybody have a great, have a great day. Have a great weekend. Enjoy the spring weather. Hopefully you're having spring weather where you are.

[Russell Brunson]

We are snacks here today.

[Jim Edwards]

Yeah, we're good.

[Russell Brunson]

Cool.

[Jim Edwards]

Great job Russell.

[Russell Brunson]

Thanks everyone for hanging out today. Appreciate you all. See you guys all again next week probably on funnel Fridays.

[Jim Edwards]

Bye. Bye. Bye.

[Russell Brunson]

Want more marketing secrets?

If so then go get your copies of my two best selling books. Book number one is called expert secrets and you can get a free [e-mail] and book number two is called Dotcom secrets and you can get your free.

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