Transcript

Molly: What up though! It’s me. Your favorite Wednesday morning. Hang.

So today’s episode is just kind of one big book report. Not really, but kind of. You know, I’ve been reading The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, which is by far my favorite book. And John C Maxwell just put out a 25th-anniversary edition of it. And so it is a little updated and it’s an audiobook, so you could hear them talking. And I just think that’s super cool. I’m a huge fan of John C Maxwell. That book changed my life and reading it again reminded me that I should probably read it again because there’s a lot of things that I could be better at as a leader. And being a leader is like being a good person, right? It doesn’t matter. Like leadership. You might think leadership and I don’t have employees or whatever know you can be a leader in your family and your life and your relationships like all of that. Right. And so. Is a lot to take in leadership and so in the book the 21 irrefutable laws he loves books with numbers but he really loves leadership. And you know for an old white guy, you know, I got to hand it to him. He’s pretty solid. He talks a lot about God, which is usually a turn-off for me, but I’m here for it. I appreciate the perspective and I’m open to it. Right.

Like this is a guy who’s, like, really family oriented. He’s like, walk the walk. He’s empowered a lot of people. He’s like literally created millions of leaders around the world, and impacted families, governments, and communities. You know what? Maybe he’s on to something, so I’m not mad at it. Open arms. Open heart. Open mind. You know, give me the information. And my life is definitely improved, like really taking in the information he shares and expressing that in the things that I do. And so I should probably read that book every six months so I could do a better job being a leader. But I’m. The very last chapter is the one where, I mean, we’re probably gonna talk about all the chapters over the course of the next couple of months because it’s all super relevant. But the last one really got me, and it was the law of legacy. I just, like, kind of shut off because I’m like, well, it doesn’t relate to me. And I’m not sure that I, I don’t know. A legacy like what is legacy means and like what does his legacy actually mean? It’s like, you know, handing something down. And so for a guy like John Maxwell who spent his whole life training and creating leaders around the world, I definitely can appreciate that legacy is huge for him. He’s also a guy who has a family, who has children. So legacy is important to him. But what about the old Spencer brothers like me who ain’t got no children? Right. I don’t have kids. And I don’t. I don’t have a legacy to pass on and I’m not here to pass on a legacy. And when you really look at people who have just been handed a bunch of money through nepotism and, you know, trust funds and all that, like they’re not the best. You know, I’m saying like, it’s like people win the lottery or like ruin their lives. Like, it’s not all butterflies and rainbows and, like, uh, you know, I’m not sure that that’s the way to go. Right? Like, you know, getting money, not having to work for things. It doesn’t make the victories sweeter. And I think it doesn’t make you a better person. And so there’s a lot of people, you know, I know somebody who makes a ton of money and he has absolutely no intention of leaving any of it to his children.

Now, mind you, he’s already set his kids up for life. They all have, you know, they are good. They’re not struggling. But he’s going to die with a whole bunch of money that he has no intention of leaving to his kids because he knows that it’s not going to be good for them. And that money could do so many other things. And I respect that. Right. And so what does legacy really mean, especially, you know, times have changed. You know, I’m a 46-year-old woman. I’m not married. I didn’t have kids now. Was that the plan? No. The Ouija board told me that I was going to marry somebody with the initials FS when I was 26. And that’s it. Lied. Okay. Ouija board. I want my money back, but. I didn’t know that was going to happen. But here I am. I don’t have a legacy. Right. And his legacy, what’s motivating me to be a good leader or be a good business owner to pass it down to somebody now. But. You know, what does legacy mean to me? I don’t know. I think that’s maybe the question. Right. Like, I don’t want to leave a legacy, but if I could empower people in my life, like my engineer, Matt, and Anthony, you know, you know, if I could empower them by giving them large shares of this company and leaving it to them, that would be fantastic to me because at some point I’d be old and trying to be drunk on a beach, like every day. I mean, my goals are a smidge higher than that. Not much smidge. But I want to leave them with something that they can make, like, for sure. But like. Like, is that a legacy? Oh, I don’t know. I feel a little too highfalutin for me, man. I’m not, I don’t know.

I want God! a legacy or a memory, a remembrance of me. You know, I don’t know. I don’t really know what I’m trying to say. But I think that when we’re striving for excellence in the things that we do, I don’t know. It’s to be remembered later, right? Like I did a lot of things in DC and I have relationships with people all over that city, relationships with people that nobody even knows about. That’s why sometimes people see me pop up and they’re like, How did you get in this room? And then the people who know me are like, Not surprised anywhere. You don’t think Molly is going to be boop. There she is, right? That’s kind of my jam. And so that to me is like the connection, like the however impacted other people’s lives. You know what I mean? Like, what was it a hug? What was it? Was it a meal? Was it a conversation? Was it just the intention of listening to somebody wholeheartedly? And, you know, that’s the legacy I want to leave. That’s the mark. The mark I want to leave is just a little bit of kindness and giving people a platform. Right. Like people say, you know, giving people a voice. I mean, that’s some privilege to shit they know. You ain’t giving somebody a voice. Where were you? God, no.

You’re not giving people voices. You’re giving people platforms. Right. And that’s what I’m passionate about because I think. Right. I think we do what we want. Right. Well, I think there’s no question as to why there’s the word love and heart in both the biggest companies I’ve ever owned because that’s what I’ve always been looking for. No. The relationship I have with my staff is different. I would like to think I could improve it with my, you know, my workers who are far away. And we’re changing that actually this week to be more connected with them. But. What are what is the impact that I want to have? I just want to do good things and I want to create a stage for people to have a voice. And I want them to express themselves and for their voice to be amplified and heard. And I want, you know, to change the world’s better content. And I want listening to be the revolution. If we could just listen to each other, you know? Yeah. Maybe it’s the Heartcast Media tagline, but maybe it’s how I really feel. Yo, listening is a revolution. Straight up. You know, when I came up with that pre-pandemic, one man is more relevant than ever because that one thing we don’t know how to do is listen to one another. So. So that’s, you know, legacy. What does legacy mean to you? Right. And what if you don’t build some great company that you can leave to your kids or this thing like what his legacy means to you? Does it mean being a kind good person for your kids? The model? Does it mean loving the shit out of your children unconditionally so that they model that in their own lives? Like what his legacy means to you? Right. And I think I don’t know. I think sometimes it swings into this like grant card on like ten X, like unreasonable amounts of money and this and that and go go go and Tony Robbins and uhh, John C Maxwell He got a legacy Don’t fuck with John C Maxwell’s legacy I will mess you up because that man has worked hard. Okay. But they’re not saying that the other guys didn’t work hard, but like, I don’t know, man, and I know you, Tony Robbins can be like, oh, man, my man, Tony, I don’t care, man, I don’t care. Legacy.

What does it mean to you? What does it mean to you? To me? It means showing up in impeccable ways, in very small rooms, and in very small conversations. And they build this foundation of wholeness, you know, not greatness. Wholeness. You know, because. For every hug I’ve given, I’ve gotten one. You know, I got a friend, Jason, and when I met him, he was going through some stuff. And we’re bonded for life because I saw that, and I gave him a hug that fixed both of us. And in that same year, I was riding my bike in the city of D.C. Love your toes. I was riding my bike in the city in D.C. and this woman was fucking killing me. She almost killed me. She tried to throw a full soda at me and it was dead in the way. It was like November is cold as shit. I was struggling, trying to get to work. I’m like, I’m at the Intersect. I’m on North Capitol and New York Avenue in D.C. Those are like the biggest intersectional city. There’s cars everywhere and sketchy shit. This woman threw a whole fucking Wendy’s Soda. I mean, dead as a winter, right? Try to run me off the road, which happens all the time. Have you ever wondered why I’m so angry? It’s PTSD from riding a bike in D.C., but I got to the next intersection, and it’s the biggest intersection in the whole city. Right. And I’m on my bike and I just get up. I’m shaking because my nervous system is like, you know, freaking out because this woman just tried to kill me and threw shit at me. I’m not doing anything wrong, you know? I’m just trying to get to work to deal with my stressful life. And I just stopped and I like, you know, I was shaking and I started crying. And this woman on the corner, a black lady, says to me, Girl, what are you crying about? I said, You know, I just looked at her and she said, Oh, no, no, no. And she came over to me and she gave me the biggest, best bear hug ever, you know, I imagine this is a busy intersection.

It’s rush hour, you know, here comes this white girl on a bike, right? I start crying as she comes over and hugs me. She says, come on, come on. We’re not going to do that. She gave me a real hug. She said You’re going to be okay. You’re going to get to work, you’re going to be safe. And you remember I love you. And I said I love you, too. And you know, the light changed and I got back on my bike and I kept going. And to me, that’s legacy, right? To me, that’s legacy. Because I paid it forward in so many ways, just like that. And I got it back and I’ll never forget that. To me, that’s legacy. I don’t think it’s about making millions of dollars. I think it’s about making a million moments where people feel whole and seen. That’s what I think it is. So, yeah. I think I’ve cried on this podcast two weeks in a row, so I got to go. Y’all freaking me out. Stay tuned for the big report. I’ll catch you next week. We’re back. It’s time for the Book report people. It’s time for the book report. All right, well, you already know what it is because I already talked about it. And it is the 25-year anniversary of the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership, saying again the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership. I love that book. I love that book so much. I think I’ve read it five or six times, but I need to read it every six months because, girl, I need a tune-up. Okay, this leader right here gets a little lost in the sauce sometimes. I fell off the track, but I listened to it again, and it just reminded me that I need to listen to it again and really dial in. And I feel like a lot of that book speaks to me.

I definitely know, I’ve been talking about my mom a little bit, but my mom used to always call me the queen in the Justice League and she would tell me I was bossy and loud. And it turns out those are great. But, you know the best ingredients for a great leader. I give a shit about people and I fight for the rights of other people incessantly and things that aren’t fair upset me. I’m a very emotional and logic-based person, so when things don’t make sense, it really upsets me like pain, and people being treated unfairly. I don’t like that, you know. And yes, I’m bossy, goddammit, I’m a leader. Okay, I can work on being bossy in my relationships outside of business, but those things make me a great leader. And reading that book from my friend John C Maxwell, I learned that about myself, that I don’t need to hide those things in myself. I just need to know when to use them, when to hold them, when for them, like, oh, Willie Nelson said, right. And so who man? That book is so good. And so if you’re just, you know if you just want to if you just want a little tune up for how to be in life and how to be a better person. This is an excellent, excellent book. And I love his voice and I love everything he’s done. And I’ve never really wanted to join a coaching kind of program or whatever. But man, I would love to join that one because I feel like I could do some really good stuff with that. I feel like I could maybe harness whatever all this stuff is, right? See, I was supposed to die by the time I was 20. Actually, that’s not even true.

When the doctors diagnosed me at 15 months old, they said I wouldn’t live more than 20 years. But the only other documented case like me died by the time she was 12. Right. And so I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here, but I know I ain’t done it yet, or I’d have been gone. Right. And so. Yeah. John C Maxwell. I’m saving up my pennies, man. I’m coming for you. Please don’t leave this planet just yet. Please. I just want to shake your hand one more time. He doesn’t want to hear that he’s 75, but I’m just saying that he’s sharp as a tack. He’s going to be around forever. But I digress. John C Maxwell, You are my hero man. I really appreciate your content and if you are listening to this man, go get that book. It doesn’t matter if you think you’re a leader. Now go get that book, man. Go get the book. Go get the book. Listen on Audible. He’s got a great voice, too. He’s really nice to listen to. And one of my favorite things is how he signs off. So this has been long enough and I’m going to do the same thing. And just like John, he says, as he says, Well, I’m going to say it, my name is Molly and I am your friend until next time. Well, no, I’m your friend forever. But until next time, be excellent.

Thank you for tuning in to the next 100 sponsored by Heartcast Media. We are a digital media creative agency focusing on branding, marketing, strategy, and amplification for personal branding to podcasting. We’ve got you covered and to continue this conversation, join me on Instagram. My personal account is @mollydruland. And of course, you can also find us at Heartcast Media. That’s where the really good stuff is going down. So join me there. Let’s continue the conversation. And until next week. Have a good one.