On today's episode of Gathering The Kings. You know, I don't wanna get into your politics, but you look at trump and trump people think he's a madman. Of the UK. He's a madman. He's a madman. Madman or not, he got results. He made things happen. Okay? And this is the same Gathering. People thought I was Chaz. There's no speaker in the UK that dresses with jeans, trainers, and t shirts, and tattoo. That is just none.
And people like, The, this guy, and I used to come on, and my first line was Hey, guys. Just to put your mind at ease, I am from one of the roughest cities in the UK Manchester. I do have shade their tattoos, but don't worry. I'm not a drug dealer anymore. What's up everybody? Chaz Wolfe, Gathering the Kings podcast, coming back to you. I got Brad Burton here on the Kings stage. A king from the UK, but visiting here in the US as we speak.
Welcome, Brad. Chaz, thank you so much for helping me on Friday. I appreciate you being here. I know that, you made the long trip over to, to Miami. Just to be able to have a spot to speak with us here in. Sounds like you're about to go on a family vacation, and I'm excited for you. I'm thankful that you're here. What kind of business do you have? It depends, you know, I probably best known in the UK for running or founded the UK's largest joined up business network.
At its height, we run 5000 business networking meetings across the UK every single year. And, in total, runs 68,000 business networking meetings, real life ones, and then, of course, the pandemic came along. And Boris Johnson, our prime minister, told us to stay at home at which point gun The, 16 years of work gun overnight. So that's what I'm best known for, but over in the UK, I'm also known as the UK's number 1 motivational business speaker. So, amount of many talents.
Yeah. I appreciate that. Well, I'm sure that, your your value in, gathering people together would, be helpful to us here today Chaz well as just, you know, I'm sure that translated, into what you do now, and we wanna know that story because, man, there's a lot of affected by the pandemic, and they've either pivoted or changed altogether. Sounds like you did the same. We definitely wanna hear that. Before we get there though, I wanna know what beats on the inside of Brad.
So burning hot that after all these years of success, you're still after. Well, you know what? It's about making a positive difference. I you know, that story about me and my business, success is great. But before that, let me be honest, I didn't start my business off 31 50. No. Know, I was delivering Peter at 31 to keep my business afloat. That's the reality of it. I don't have any qualifications. Didn't go to university.
Didn't go to college, but that when I was six months old, I've got addicted to drugs twice. You've got to work really hard to get addicted twice. I got shot at when I was twenty one years old, and I've done 4 years on benefits. So, you know, there's 2 sides of the same coin. I'm a I'm a that guy or I'm a this guy.
And I think from my perspective, it really is about making a positive difference in actually helping people become the best version of themselves because there is 2 sides of the same coin. And if I go back far enough in your live Chaz, I'm sure we'll find something questionable. The difference is. Yeah. I'm deaf enough to talk about it. Yeah. Yeah. I I I hear what you're saying underneath that is that good to decision making is important, and I know that you've got some frameworks around that.
I'm sure we'll get to that here in a second as well. But inside of that is freedom. I'm hearing you say I'm hearing you say that even though I've made bad decisions, I can start making good decisions, which is the other side of the coin that you're talking about. Right? Taught The. And I think also it's about what I think real successes is being yourself. I come across a lot of people in business that have success, but they're not being themselves.
And I question whether that really is success, and I think what successes is being yourself 100%. And if people don't like you for being you, that's okay Chaz long as you like yourself for being you. Yeah. Yeah. What's the difference between because this is a this is an interesting topic. And since we're here, I'm just gonna exploit it. What what are your thoughts around? Everything that you just said, I agree with.
But there's a there's an other side of the coin, and so I wanna present it to you. This this, big, genuinely you, authentically, you, in fact, we just went through this a few minutes ago when we're the pregame. You asked me some questions, and I was like, I just want you to be the most authentic version of you. And you were like, dude, yes. I got you. So we're in alignment The, and I believe that I need to be you know, the authentic version of The. And and if people don't like that, that's okay.
As long as I like me, I'm in agreement with you. What is the tipping point in this from being a leader or being a better leader. So recognizing that the way that I am turns people off in a certain way, and I need to grow as an individual opposed to what you just said, which is I am who I am. You like it or you don't. There's obviously there's a there's they're both of these are happening at the same time. What are your thoughts? Let me ask you one question.
Tell me one person throughout the history of humanity who has been fundamentally liked by everyone. Right? Nobody. Right. And this is the problem is what happens is that people try to to be something they're not in order to fit in. And therefore, we end up with The show effect where everyone is pretending to be something they're not in order to fit in.
So actually, what you need to do, and this is something that I've learned at fifty years old, building all illusions, I go back 15 years ago, I didn't feel this way, but I've realized that what true successes is being yourself, and so many people are trying to change in order to fit into other people's lives other people's versions of what they should be, and you just need to be yourself. So I'm at a point in my life, fifty years old, you know, where I'm not willing to be anything other than me.
And if people really don't like me for being me, as long as I like myself, I'm good with that. I'm genuinely good with that. And if that means on occasion, you know, I'm a motivational speaker, people say, oh, you'll never get booked to be a motivational speaker brand when I first started out. Why not? You know, you've got shaved head. You're from Manchester. You've got tattoos on your forearms. You look like a drug dealer.
And not by the way anymore, but we can all change, and that's what this is about. So I look at my old life and every step of the way people said to me, I couldn't do my way. And at the very point when my life turned around and my fortunes was at the very point when I turned down the volume on those individuals and turned up the volume on my own self talk. So for me, honestly, it's a cornerstone of success Kings you. Yeah. And I agree with you.
I think that, my wife would say you know, that I've been unapologetically me, right, which which means that it just is what it is. Because at the end of the day, I didn't do my hair today because I thought you would look at it. You thought it looked nice. I did my hair today because I like it. You know, I like my beard. I like the shirt that I put on. I like my backdrop. Like, all these things are my preferences, and Chaz makes me feel a certain way. About the way I deliver, content.
So I I'm with you. Where because you you a few minutes ago, you mentioned, you know, helping people become their best version. And so where is the tipping point between I am who I am and people just need to accept it and get over it? Versus I'm on my way to being the best version of myself. And so, therefore, I can't let that be an excuse to stopping here but yet continuing on because I hear you still, like, I'm getting better. I'm doing I I'm going to another level.
But how do you go to another level if I've said, well, I am who I am and you, they're like it or I don't. Because it they're both are happening. So I I'm curious here. Yeah. Yeah. No. Cool. So listen, being yourself, is the easiest thing in the world to do. It's also the most difficult thing in the world to do. But I honestly, honestly, honestly, that the people that I mentor I say, are you being you? And if they say, no, why not?
Well in order to fit in or to win business, and I honestly truly truly after 5th years on this planet. I do not believe that that success. I call it success. I a sick sick. Yeah. S Good. I see a success. Right, is that you're not being yourself. So where's that line? You know, if you're an idiot, then do something about change, right? There's a good version of Brad and there's an a good version of Brad, and it was almost like my Brexit. I was 51% a good guy, 49% dickhead.
And actually, I had life's gone on. I now believe that I'm 95% that good version of The, and I've edged away and knocked off the edges of all these bad, bad things that I who it was or what it was, as life's going on. So I don't know, you know, my version of success is my version of success, and here's the Kings, Chaz, if I go and get a designer suit, it's the most perfect suit ever, and it's 1000 of dollars, and then you can wear that same designer suit, it's not gonna look great on you.
So somewhere along the way, one size doesn't fit all, but what I will say is everyone can be themselves, and that is one size that does fit all. Yeah. No. I love that. And you're and I hope the listener is paying attention to your passion. It's not it's not Chaz, it's it's really a clear message of don't be somebody who you're not. Right? Like, that's that's you being you. So you can't win. You can't win. You cannot win. If you're being something, you know, you cannot win ever, ever.
Yeah. It's impossible. So the first foundations of success is being you And that is the easiest thing to do. It's the hardest thing to do. Once you get that sorted, everything else that follows is great, but when we start being something we know, We start buying cars that are not us. We start associating Wolfe clubs that are not us. You know, when I go to vacation, I love America. By the way, I love America. When I go to vacation, I could afford to stay at the best Disney hotels known to man.
However, I don't. You know, why? Because I wouldn't fit in. I don't have the pink polo shirt. I don't have the shorts. I don't have I have none of those things. I like to be me, so I stayed the third one down the line that I could afford, whereas most, not most people, but some people, Wolfe, because it's more expensive, they think more expensive equals better. I found my level. My level is my level. I'm at the top of my game, the top of the tree.
And actually, it might be I'm comparing my life to Elon Musk, I'm I'm low, but if I compared me to me, I'm good. And that's what I think people need to do. Compare themselves to themselves. Yeah. I love Chaz. And that's who you're that's who you're battling every day. You're looking in the mirror. We can definitely get more into that here in a bit. The last little piece here before we move on because I I really, you know, this is a we could probably have a whole podcast just on this.
We could wrestle this down. For the thirty one year old Brad who's listening right now, obviously, you said you were delivering pizza, you know, addicted to drugs, like, a not current version of yourself. So let's say that guy's listening, that thirty one year old Brad, and he's hearing you say, just be you. Be genuine. And he's like, cool, man. I'm gonna keep doing pizza and doing drugs. That's not your message. What would you tell that guy who's listening? You know, what changed The me, Chaz?
What changed for me at 31 is my boy came along. My boy came along Ben, and I'm delivering Peters back in the day, and I remember saying to Baby Ben, he's no longer a baby's at university, but I remember saying to Baby Ben, I am gonna take you to Disney World. Okay? Now I'm on $9 an hour or whatever it was. If I ever told anyone that they had thought I was mentally ill, okay? But for the first time in my life, it was no longer about me. It was about him.
If it was left to me, I'd be ripping Kings all weekend, but for the first time ever, my boy came along and it changed everything. Now, if my boy hadn't come along, I still think I'd be that guy, but it gave me the impetus to be that better version of me you know, I was always me, right? But there's a better version and all we need to do is step into Chaz, and that sounds like he's like a motivational speaker truism, but I'm telling you, ask yourself a question. Am I being the best version of me?
If the answer is no, why not? If I work this thing out, why aren't you being the best person? Oh, because of what happened when there was a child or what happened? Stop. It's in the past and so often in life what we end up Kings, The end up stuck in the past. If I was to go and give you a a red hot call in your hand. How long would you hold on to it for Chaz? You'd let go of it, but we don't realize what we do. We hold on to what happened. They rips us off. That happened.
The we hold on to it, and it keeps us in pain. Right. You need to let go, and that's what I needed to do. I need to let go of what happened in the past and move on, and that's the only way that you can ever move on is by letting go, and actually what I've seen with people is where the problems form in our life is our unwillingness to let go of the past and keep me sane that past the past Yeah. Absolutely. I appreciate that.
This is a this is a a topic that I think a lot of people consider sensitive. I'm not sure if I'm in that camp per se. I think that it's a an important topic. So let's open that can for half second here. Let's say, okay. I'm listening right now, and I know I have past issues. What I heard you to say is, well, just stop doing that and do something different, which I know that you have a whole formula here. So why don't you share that with us? Oh, greatly known to man.
Okay. Here's what I want you to do. You every single decision that you've ever made, audience, every single decision you've ever made in your life, has brought you to this today where you're tuning to Chaz and you're tuning to me. Every single decision that I've ever made in my life has brought me here today for whatever set of practices brought us here today. So this is a special unique moment. Here's the thing.
I want you to imagine that you're over in the UK in summertime and you're in this field and there's an oak tree, a single oak tree, and it's a beautiful summer's day over in the UK. And it's oak tree. You're walking towards the The tree with a backpack, a red backpack. And this backpack's full of rocks, and you walk underneath the oak tree and you take the backpack off and you have a sip of your water. I want you to do something right now, I want you to make a decision.
I want you to make a decision, a decision to pick up that backpack full of rocks. Bear in mind, when you was born, there was no rocks in it. And over life, you've picked up rocks and some people pick up more rocks The other people. That's the reality of it. You've got a backpack right now or something that you've been carrying It doesn't serve you. It's heavier, it's weighted, but you've been carrying all your life. It's not gonna get any easier.
Pebbles and shoes don't match it The out, and I want you to make a decision. Wanted to make a decision. I want you to stand up right now, metaphorical, and I want you to walk a hundred foot away. And I want to look back at that rope sack I want you to make a decision, and this decision is going to change your entire life because your dying breath will be dictated by this decision.
You either want, go back, and pick up that rucksack, that red rucksack full of rocks, and you carry it for the remainder of your life, or you do what I did. And decide to leave that there. Look at it. Give it a salute and Wolfe on. Chaz, I swear to you. This is what I did to be able to let go in the past. It changed everything for me. The guy that sits before you right now and all the business plorts and all that sort of stuff, forget all that.
The guy that sits before you has changed because of that ability to let go of Chaz what was holding me back, and I urge you to do the same. And if you can't make that decision right now, maybe later on we'll be able to help you make that decision before this podcast ends. Yeah. I love the the construct there of decisions have gotten me here. Good, bad, or indifferent.
I think that that's step 1, which you identified is that I have to be okay with the idea that I stand here today simply based on one Gathering, and that is the decisions that I've made. Good, bad, or indifferent. Where I live, the family that I have, all of it. Go ahead. You know, the reason people don't make decisions in life is they're scared of the wrong ones. Right? If you knew 100% of every single decision that you made was correct one, you'd make more decisions.
And I'm telling you right now, there's no correlation between time spent on a decision and it being correct. No. That's right. And I believe here's the thing. I believe that an expert, more visual speaker, but writer, networker, I believe that an expert is someone that has made all the mistakes in a particular niche field. So when it comes to making a decision, if you make a decision, it's the wrong one, that moves your one step towards being an expert.
If you make the right one, it moves your one step towards success. Now, I'm gonna share something right now, and this is one of my cornerstones. I actually got invited over to Las Vegas to speak as a result of this month about to share. So, there's a company over in the UK, don't you? Do you know, Bentley? Bently the Chaz owner. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay. So I got invited to speak at Ben The. And their management team used this this this technique.
And the reason that the management team use this technique is because I taught The, Brad Burton, the former drug addict, Brad Burton, The guy who's done 4 years and benefits. Brad Burton, the guy got shot at when he was 21. Brad Burton, The guy who didn't pick, sorry, not that Brad Burton, the other one. Brad Burton, the UK's number 1 multi dimensional business speaker, the 4 time best selling it off to the fan. Two sides of the same coin.
So the reason that Bentley Global uses technique is when it comes to making decisions and the easiest person in the world to sell to, I will make a decision in 24 seconds. If I can't make a decision in 24 seconds, I'll revisit in 24 minutes If after 24 minutes, I can't make a decision. I'll revisit in 24 hours. If after 24 hours, I can't make a decision. I've just made a decision. It's not important next. Chaz will change your life.
Make decisions because where you end up, the faster you can make correct decisions, the faster you can make correct decisions, further forward than you're going to be in your life. But where people go wrong, is there an ability to make a decision? Should we have, Snickers or Mars bars? In the, in the boardroom, don't know, and it goes up. And then once you're, you know, pausing on that decision, you're not moving forward. So we need to make decisions. Good ones and bad ones.
Remember, mistake is The only mistake after the event. No one including me went to him and said, you know what? I'm gonna fuck up today, but occasionally I do. So, you've gotta make decisions, and that twenty 42424 will change everything. Try and bring it into your future into your world, into your business, into your life. It'll change everything. I promise you. Yeah. I love that. The the fact that you said that speed or a slowdown effect has no no effect on positive result.
Is huge, and that's huge for certain personalities, but it's also good for the ones that do make things fast, and and go by the gut. It's also recognizing that Hey. If you made a fast decision and it happened to be wrong, like, maybe don't make that one again. There's a there's a two sides to that coin as well. You know, The of my Kings, I call it, I say experience is what you win when you lose. Experience is what you win when you lose.
Things don't go your way it's a down payment on future death decisions because you know in future that, you know, you do that decision. It doesn't work out, which is exactly what you said. So, Don't be afraid of making decisions because where we end up in our life is a direct result of our decisions. Good ones are bad ones. One more success make better decisions, but I'm scared it's the wrong one. The only time you know is after the event. Open to that point is the correct decision. Always.
Yeah. Love that. It's removing fear, which obviously is one of the highest you know, emotions that keep people either moving or stuck, one or the other. And so, super powerful. Okay. So let's let's keep on this vein of making good decisions. What's been a good decision that you've made? Obviously, you've changed your life completely. Give us something like really practical from a business sense that the listeners can take away and apply this week. So yeah.
Cool. So everyone has taught me out of things. Okay? Nobody wanted me to start a business off. People said it was a close shop. You've got BNI. You've got the Chamber of Small Business. Oh, you can't. It's it's a close shop. I would listen to those individuals, they'd have been absolutely right. As it happened, I didn't. That was 16 years ago, I built up this this national organization. Every step of the way, people said, you can't be a motivational speaker. You look like a drug dealer.
I'm not, by the way, anymore. Right? People said, you can't write a book. You won't get it in the the bookstores. Every step of the way, I turn down the volume on these individuals, and you they they're guessing. Anyone giving me advice is just a guess. So what you need to do is recognize the only time you know is after the event. So every step of the way, you're gonna be told by people it can't be done. And for them, they're absolutely right.
But for you, you need to have unwavering misguided self belief, unwavering misguided self belief. Steve Jobs wavering misguided self relief, either must, unwavering misguided self relief, bounce yourself into it and blame you the naiveta or unwavering misguided self belief. So that's what you need to do. I love it. Or we ask yourself a question. Can you live with the downside of any decision? Right? And when you make a decision, you come to The decision. I still have this question.
What's the best case scenario? What's the worst case scenario? What's the most likely scenario? If you can live with The worst case scenario, make a decision. That has served me beautifully. Yeah. I agree. That same that same formula has served me as well. But this this phrase that you've just used, this misguided self confidence, I we gotta dive in here.
Because this is a almost like a recklessness, but at the same time, it's you have to Kings of be a little bit reckless to Kings just Get out there and bump around a little bit. Tell us more. But you but you know, the thing is with this is that I wanna share a few stories. When I was a a child, I went to a fairground. The traveling fair was nine years old. I'd spent all my money. And to get home, it was 4 pence. Right? We're talking 1980. Whatever.
To get home on The for a four four mile journey on a bus. And I had 4 pence left, and I made the decision about nine or ten years old, that I was gonna have. How Chaz I go on the the the the the go karts, buy hot dog, buy a soda, and so forth? I know I've got 4 pens. I'm gonna go on the fruit machine. Goes in the fruit machine, 2 pens, nothing. My final 2 pens, and I'm now walking home, came up 7 77.
I won the jackpot, and I went on the, they got the soda, went on the, they go karts, and what I mean, I got the bus home. I believe that that seemingly insignificant moment shaped who I am, because somewhere along the way, I believe that I'm Kings. So my entire decision making process is I've always found a way I've always found a way no matter how difficult no matter how challenging I've always found a way in the same goes for you.
You'll always find a way, but what happens is we give up before we get to that point. So when it comes to that unwavering misguided self belief, I started business 25,000 UK pounds, $40,000 in debt Chaz was before I bought computer trading 40,000 personal dollars and delivery pizzas. I decided to start a business off a networking business and nobody give me a chance to that networking organization, 68,000 real life networking events. No qualifications. No investment.
Gathering apart from deaf ideas, vision, and belief. It's about belief. It's about belief. It's about belief. And what you've gotta do is you've gotta do what I said. Chaz unwavering misguided self belief because somewhere on The way, if I had listened to my wife, still wife, by the way, 16 years on, if I had listened to my wife, I would never have started. Because she wanted me to go and get a proper job, at least you know where you stand with the proper job. No, you don't.
You don't know where you stand with the proper job. See, Having a proper job is a bit like having a a business. The difference is you've got one client. And if you're a client, you're both as an owner in the wheelchair, I go back down to this thing. I every step of the way, I mean, I I might be the anomaly, right? On this thing, I might well be, but I started business off with no investment And and the way that it's always been done doesn't have to be that way, and I'm living proof of that.
And if I can do it, then so can you 25,000 UK pound in-depth delivering pizzas. I created a multimillion pound organization. I traveled the world as a global speaker, and I had no training, no nothing. So all I've done is this and I always say this to people, any qualification that anyone's got. Cause somebody said to me, oh, who made you the expert, Brad? I did. I made you the expert. Right? Because any qualification that anyone's got has been made up by someone clever.
So why don't you make your own qualification up? You know, what what what rights have you got, Brad, to be a mindset culture, world class mindset coach experience, and if you Chaz do the job, you're qualified, and I can do the job. Yeah. The self belief, I was gonna break down your your unwavering. Hey, Kings and Queens. Chaz Wolf. I wanna talk to you about something that's super important to me. We put a lot of time and effort.
We, meaning myself and my team, into this podcast, into the content that goes out every single day. And if you have been getting any sort of value or insight from this, we want it to be able to reach other business owners too. So we would love if you would like, comment, share, leave a review, post, share again, all of the things on social media, on all the different platforms, or even on the podcast, mediums of Apple and Spotify.
We would love to be able to get our content into more hands, more entrepreneurs so they can grow their business as quick as Together, we are building a community of like minded entrepreneurs who are committed to growing their businesses to new heights. So let's do this. Let's help each other. Let's help each other grow. Missguided. I was gonna break this down, but you gave us the misguided piece, which I love.
And so now I wanna go back to the Gathering, because these I love the counterpart of, like, unwavering and and misguided. It's really too It's very 2 conundrums here. And so talk about unwavering. And what does that mean? Obviously, 2 self belief, which is what we'll get to here in a second, but Chaz unwavering piece is absolutely part of the puzzle. Tell us about it. Okay. So let me tell you something. I've been in business now 19 years in total. K?
19 years of self employment in our bidding business. I had a business prior to the network and one that I'm best known for. When I started my business off, in the 1st 9 years of self employment, 9 years, I wanted to quit a total of eleven times eleven times. 0 odd quiting, 10 quiting, a bit 9.89.9, eleven times. Okay? Every single time, it just took a little butterfly kiss to knock me over to quitting. I didn't quit. 1st 9 years 11 times. On average 1.1 every year for the 1st 9 years.
The next 6 years, I wanted to quit 0 times since the pandemic I want it to quit three times. So it just shows you that somewhere along the way, you know, I've got established business, then the pandemic comes along, and things things kind of changed. So you're gonna have to have times when you tested, and you have to have times. The only way that you learn how not to get punched in the mouth is by getting punched in the mouth. Okay? Business, business, life is a concept sport.
You don't learn about, you know, these with yourself reading books, you have to get a punch in the mouth to say, am I really cut off for this? Do I go back to that whole bit there? And the amount of times I wanted to quit, but I didn't. People around me telling me to quit Chaz I should quit, I didn't. And if I had quit, I wouldn't be sat where I am now. So that's what I'd suggest on that front The that sums up.
Yeah. The that unwavering piece is persistence, thinking grow rich Kings breaks The down. And and so okay. So we have this Gathering desire, right, where I'm I it doesn't yeah. I'm I'm I'm The unwavering piece though is, like, I'm sticking to it no matter what. Even though I I came close, I didn't get pushed over. I didn't quit. To your point, The I'm stuck to this misguided, like a little bit reckless. Like, it's okay to, like, get in there and make a mess.
It's okay to, charge the hill, make a bad decision. It's okay. But what that all filters down to is self belief. You know, I don't wanna get into your politics, but you look at trump and trump people think he's a mad man The the UK. He's a mad man. Is a mad man? Mad man or not, he got results he made things happen. Okay? And this is the same thing. People thought I was crazy. You know, no one, no one tried to be coming into The space.
My my former, I'm not gonna go into it now, but my completely different to any other networking event. Like, we have 3 one to ones in in group time. There's no speaker in the UK that dresses with jeans trainers and t shirt. And that's it. Chaz is just none. And people like, this this guy, I used to come on, and my first line was, hey guys, just to put you it is. I am from The of the roughest cities in the UK Manchester. I do have Right. Right.
So what happens is he he's depreciating so straight away because I would walk on stage of these big corporate events. They've got all people with three piece suits pocket watches and monocalls. And then you've got this guy and The going, who's this dickhead? Because I know that that's what people are thinking. People were underestimating me, and I was bringing me as part of the act. So halfway through and say, look, just stop for a second. We're most friends now. We're our friends.
How many people in this room underestimated me. Be really honest. 70% of the hands go up. Right. Right. Hey, listen. I said, on that basis, if you've got me, if you've got me wrong, how many other situations are you getting wrong? Because you're assuming you wouldn't think I could afford your product or service, you'd have no idea that I have a team of 800 people? No idea whatsoever, right? The only reason you know that is because I've told you, or you've Googled me now.
And this is the thing is that somewhere along the way, what business is, or in the UK, people think it is summer roll suits and going around with Rolls Royce's and Betley's. And actually right now, the Monday business owner is is is is is flitterful. The Monday business owner looks like you. They look like me. And and yeah, the old school way of doing it, they didn't look like me. They didn't look like you. Simple. Yeah. Yeah. And you believing in you, started the beginning.
So, and if somebody wants to wear The three piece suit today, per your instructions, do it. How's your there? But, you know, listen, don't don't whatever whatever the blueprint of my life is that works for me, but let me tell you something. The whole, you know, three piece suit and pocket watch routine wouldn't work for me. So but but society has said, well, that's what business is. So you need to be Chaz in order to be a success. Wolfe, I proven, no, you don't. No, you don't.
But for many 31 years, I thought Chaz, that, that stuff eluded me because I wasn't that guy. I don't mean my own path, and this is the thing we can all follow our own path, but what we've got to do is the first thing it comes down to being yourself. So if you are wearing a three piece suit in a pocket watch in order to win business, guess what? You're always gonna lose. You're always gonna lose out to someone who's Kings themselves. Because there's a level of disingenuousness.
There's a level that you're having to spend time in any jet Kings something you're not you're always going to be beat to the punch by someone like me, I go into business meetings and I go into to business meetings. I've mentored big organizations in the UK. And when I go into big organizations in the UK, you know, they don't they don't underestimate me completely. Yeah, Chast. Yeah. You're good. You're good. You're good. Yeah. Good, mate. Take your time. Take your time, but it'd be good.
Okay. Okay. Good to go. Yeah. We're good. I'm not I have no that's never happened before. So here we are. Nope. If you listen, everything happens first, but once ready to roll. That's right. Yep. We're ready. Go ahead. If you if you wanna pick up or I can I can tee you back? Yeah. I'll pick up. I'll pick up. I'll pick up. I'll pick up. I'll pick up. Yeah. So when I So when I'm meant off of big businesses, I work in The, and they're looking at me.
And straight away, people believe that I'm not gonna level a difference to them. And I true story, whether I know Alan Sugar, you know, big entrepreneur in the UK, Alan Sugar, Elon Musk, or Colin the carpet cleaner, I treat everyone the same with The. Right? And I think that first and foremost, just because someone's got more wealth than you, doesn't mean that they're a better human being than you. So somewhere along the way, there's more to life than money. I've realized this.
I've got everything that I want, everything that I want, genuine, everything that I want. You know what? What more of? Contendment? That's what I'm after right now, which this is unusual for a business person to say this, but I've got everything. I've had The stupid super car. I've done all that stuff, and that's cool. And I'm glad that I've done it because a working class like me Chaz has come from Gathering, so I've achieved all Chaz.
But somewhere along the way, the thing that eludes so many business owners announced is what I worked with them. The have everything, but they have Gathering, or they have everything that they feel they have nothing. And they think that life, you're going to get a 14 television and you think The life's gonna be good, then you get a 6 then, it's now, and an 8 and a 100. Now, you need a home cinema, and it never ends at some point. You've gotta be happy with what you've got.
You've gotta be happy with your achievements, what you've done. And you know what? If I died at this moment, I'd be happy with everything I've achieved. I've done so much with my life. For a guy with limited resource, I've done so much with my life. And if I can do it, then so can you Yeah.
I love the I love the the the press there as far as contentment because there's this wrestle at some point to your point, like, what you were just saying as far as, like, the progression of a business owner's life. What do you feel like is the the tipping point?
Is it just like I finally realized that I've gotten enough, or is it more of a, like, a posture, because I I feel like even though maybe you've got a few more years on me, I feel like I've surrounded myself with people who maybe never even had the super car. Really don't care about the super car because it's more for them about what you're saying, contentment, which may be for them, maybe legacy or family or you know, helping other people. Like, so is there a stage? Is there a process?
Like, what what is it? How do we get there? Charles, let me share something with you. In 2012, I had a nervous breakdown. I'm alright now, flick, right? I had a nervous breakdown. It took me two and a half years to get fixed two and a half years to get back to normal, yet I had a multimillion pound business, and I was so discombobulated I was so apathetic towards all of The I had achieved because I was told that success was at the top of the mountain. Right.
I got to the top of the mountain and guess what? It was empty. It was devoid and I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it Chaz had everything and then yet I was I was empty And this is, that's not to say, don't get me wrong. I'm in a great position. The fact that I'm vacationing over in Miami, you know, building all illusions, I'm not delivering pizza anymore. So I'm absolutely sooner for this guy than that guy.
However, I have friends who bought a yacht, $4,500,000 yacht, We all went to a parter on his yacht that just bought amazing. He then, sailed his yacht to a marbao. Which is a rich place over in Spain. His amazing yacht, as he went into the port, he wilted. It was tiny. Oh, okay. I'm embarrassed for him. Right? So so over in Southampton, he was amazing. Everything's great, and we're all partying game, well done, friend. He then goes over there, and he's I saw him Wolfe.
He's he's he's sunk because it was a fraction of 10th. That's all my fucking mental illness. The comes a point when you've got to ask this question, how much is enough? How much is enough? We can't all be Gary Vanderchuk. We can't all be Elon Musk but what we can do is be a better Brad Burton. We can be a better or we can be a better chance, and that's what you need to ascertain when you get to this point what is the point when you're gonna be happy?
Because it's almost like a donkey with a carrot on a stick. You can never reach this level of containment because you're always always the next thing And this is almost, like I say, if you go back to me delivering pizzas, if you said, Hey, Brad, you're gonna have the opportunity to take your own kit to Disney World for wanting your life. I'd be like, no, it's impossible. I did it thirteen times. If you said Brad, you're gonna have a super car. I've got me. Impossible. I did it.
And then after 3 months around the super car, It was just a normal car. So this is the thing that we've been sold to pop about what success is. I'm telling you, as a 50 look, You catch me at 31. I would say, this guy's talking out of his arse. I am telling you now as a wise and old guy. If you wanna have true success in your life and in your business, get content. Get content with what you've got and then work out. What is Chaz The next step?
And I'm prepared to do it because This is the problem is I go back to my life, and if I compare me to Elon Musk on a scale of 1 to 10, I'm a 2. If I compare me now, to me 19 years ago, I'm a 10. So what happens here is if we are comparing ourselves to who we see on on shark tank, You're always going to be discombined. You're always going to feel sad. You know, if you compare yourself to somebody else's big boat, you're always going to feel that way.
And the problem is with with money, as as a motivator, Someone's always going to have more. So what you've got to do, you've got to have your own high score that you, that you put yourself up against you, that's what we need to compare you to you.
And I'm I'm telling you, as a fifty year old man, and I don't bang in the the The drum on this one, but I just want people to stand this you're gonna get a multi £1,000,000 business or a multi $1,000,000 business and if you ain't happy now, all you're gonna do is have a multi £1,000,000 a business and you're gonna be still, and you're gonna do dumb shit. You're gonna be in a position as I was to do dumb shit because I had money to be able to do that.
So get happy first, then work out where you want to go from there. Yeah. And so the contentment, in your equation here, contentment equals happiness and or just a a a presence, right, a a a piece. And And so, okay, everything that you've mentioned so far is business related, success related, money, objects, material, all the things that we think about when we talk about business success or making it up the hill. So for you, what have you found?
Because, obviously, I know that there's many other things, that bring contentment other than just the super car or the nice house or the whatever. But for you, what what have those Kings of maybe, less talked about Kings? What have those been? Okay. Great question. Great question. Meditation. 2 years ago, I discovered meditation. And if you had gotten me, I'd have been like, come on. Are you serious? A guy from Manchester? That's a rough area, trust me, into meditation.
And I remember what meditation does, it almost gives you a a a defrag. It flushes your brain and gets neutral, gets you in a really centered position. So I had a big meeting or present a presentation 4 or 5 weeks ago. And it's in the morning. I woke up with whatever reason I'm just dark, dark headed. I don't feel chirpy and brad at all. So I listened to some meditation for 10 minutes. Nothing. I listened to meditation for another 20 minutes. So now 30 minutes in.
Nothing. Most people would go Chaz isn't working. I kept going and about 45 minutes in changed instantly. The whole state changes there, and the pitch, and nailed it 10 out of 10. But if I've gone, which most people would have, oh, it's it's not working. This is what I talked about about this Wolfe ability to tenacity to keep Kings. So I would swear, absolutely swear in terms of meditation. I Kings of found some spiritual spirituality as well 2 years ago, which is weird. Right?
Probably The weirdest thing that's ever happened to me. I'm not religious and I've known The. But something changed in me. Instant there. Instant there. Instant there is almost like somebody's through a light and my entire world view changed about what success is, and it just happened. Just happened. It's weird. It's good. And and and so so this, and I don't know if it happens to people in your reach. 50, I don't know if it happens, Deborah. I have no idea.
But something changed in me The I kind of turned into a different version of me. Yeah. Well, I appreciate the vulnerability there. I think that you're right. For me, it wasn't at 50 because I'm not there yet, but but it was it was finding faith. It was finding knowing that there's a greater purpose here. And you can find contentment in knowing that there is a greater story, a greater plan. And I'm just a piece of it. It also brings you to grateful Right?
When you realize maybe how small you are, you're like, oh, man. I can control this little box. But, you know. You know what? It's easy to my ears. Like I said, I'm not a man of faith, but something changed in The. And actually, maybe I'm, and I just not realized that yet. But, look, something changed in me.
Something something changed in me that actually, you know, yeah, I I I understand now that that there's more to life than success is about you started off about making a positive difference, and I've always been that guy. I've never never Kings of branded it, but that's what used to put a USB cable in my head and download my brain, it's about making a positive difference. And I have impacted what would love that I saw in my business a cracker a year, a year ago yesterday.
I saw my business, my networking business. I got over a year ago yesterday. And what was love there? Is I had hundreds of comments from people that said, I changed their life. And it was almost like a Unileger. It was like a Unileger. I got to see people would say about me even dead. Right? It was just beautiful. Oh, man, honestly, like like beautiful. To see The impact that I've had over there was 16 years, And I I I took 34, Chaz, which was I got shot up when I was twenty one years old.
I got shot up, and I moved away from my home 21 years, and I moved to where I lived now placed rural area called Somerset. If it wasn't for the worst day of my life, I would never start in a business. I've never written the books. I've never been a motivational speaker. You mean I wouldn't be talking right now. And hopefully, as a result of this podcast, somebody has let go of the books at Some of these decided Chaz, actually, you know what?
I'm gonna go make that decision in the next 24 seconds, 24 minutes, 24 hours, and get rid of that ruxat, and this might change up with his life forever. Chaz a result, some series amount of events that happened at Wolfe. Absolutely wild. Yeah. It is. It is. It and it for me, You know what? That's that's an invention that I think somewhere along the way. If that's never happened to you before, she has, that's crazy. Wow. Oh, Yeah. Wow. That's crazy. That's crazy, friend. Wolfe, we're almost done.
So, hopefully Jess, you're on LinkedIn and stuff. You're on all socials. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay. Give me a second. Okay. Alright. So we just got cut off here. Hopefully, the recording is still, a plan for the listeners here, but, man, we're back. We were just getting into the good stuff. But I let me let me ask you let me ask you a question around, your younger Wolfe.
I I positioned this a little bit before, but I wanna I wanna end our recording with this question to see Kings of what you would what you would say. I wanna know if you had the opportunity to go back and whisper in maybe 31, maybe 21, you've Kings given us a couple of life scenarios here. The younger brat pay you pick the age. What would you tell him? It's all gonna work out, or you're good enough. You really aren't keeping you, or be you.
You know, The the the the simplicity of that advice, like, literally, if you have 15 seconds to go back, yeah, and also buy Bitcoin, no, but but but seriously though, that that advice that I'd given to myself would be, listen, Brad, it's all gonna work out. Everything happens to the reason I want it to be you. BU 100% and start today. Yeah. I love that. Alright. Well, we were just talking, about social connecting. How can someone find you? Where can they find your speaking schedule?
Where can they connect with you on social? Give us all the details. This is work with brag.biz, biz, work with brag.biz, and do check out my own YouTube and LinkedIn and whatever. I mean, Chaz LinkedIn's my primary platform. I am across all of them, but linkedin's appointment platform now. I would love to connect with your audience like Jenny The. So find me, Brad Burton, good looking, lad. Handsome. I used to have hair just like you.
Are you telling me that that my future is looking in front of me? Yes. Sorry. Well, I don't accept that. Chad, let me tell you something, Fred. You know, we don't appreciate things to leg on. We don't appreciate her. So we like gender, and I'm not being clever here. We don't know, and that applies to everything in our life.
You know, you, us, we, every single individual, no matter what you've got going on in your life and your world right now, we have something that one of the richest men in the world doesn't have Steve Jobs. He would give you every penny of the $200,000,000,000 of Apple reserves for one day of your life. What does that say? It says that your life today is worth $200,000,000,000, but we The today for granted. You take our friends for granted you take our health for granted take a hair for granted.
We take things for granted. And the only time that we realize how invaluable those things were is when we're about to lose and be thankful of what you've got people. Like I say, things could always be better. Things could always be worse. Keep going. Love it. Thank you for being here. You are, an inspiration to already many over the last six 18 years, but I can only imagine all of the thousands that you're gonna touch in this new journey for you. And, thank you for being here.
You've been incredible. Blessings to you and your family and all of your success. Thank you, friend.