Rick Martinez Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Podcast
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Introducing Rick Martinez
Rick Martinez is today’s guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast.
He is one of those guys that you could find yourself next to in a bar one day, and have the urge to buy him drink after drink.
The reason why?
Well this is a guy who has achieved what most people yearn for in life, and is willing to let us in on the secret.
He has made a career out of doing something that he loves, and in the process started a business with nothing and made it into a multi million dollar company.
As a veteran, registered nurse, writer, and successful entrepreneur, he brings a wealth of experience that he has gained through the years, welding it all into a tremendous passion for impacting lives.
How The Dots Joined Up For Rick
He is an author of BINK, where he helps us create miracles by recognizing and honouring those life changing moments that open the door to what’s next…which he calls Bink moments
And also it seems, he has an almost unnatural connection to sheep…….the last guy who got him drunk in a bar told me this.
So what is it like to live a life that is a WOW more often than not?
And is this something that anyone can learn, or do you need a talent or skill that is inbuilt to gain the keys to the kingdom?
Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr Rick Martinez
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Rick Martinez such as:
Why he likes being weird and going on a different path to others, and celebrates the fact that different thinking brings different opportunities.
How he had a terrible accident in his life that gave him the realisation that his life was going in a direction that wasn’t him, and it was time to change.
Why we all have the most powerful tool in the world at our fingertips to change our future – Google and should start with typing “HOW TO” as soon as possible
And lastly….
How entrepreneurs more often than not fail to celebrate their successes, but should actually turn off the pc and go out and shout “Yes!” to the world.
How To Connect With Rick Martinez
Return To The Top of Rick Martinez
If you enjoyed this episode with Rick Martinez, why not check out other inspirational chat with Robert Mallon, Jessica Cox, One Year No Beer and the amazing Jack Canfield
You can also check our extensive podcast archive by clicking here – enjoy
Full Transcription Of Rick Martinez Interview
David Ralph [0:00]
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Intro [0:23]
When we’re young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling and Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here’s your host live from the back of his garden in the UK. David Ralph.
David Ralph [0:48]
Yes, hello, everybody, and welcome to another Yes, another episode of Join Up Dots. It’s summertime. It’s over. I think it’s over. We’ve had a mission. blowout day, it’s half past eight in the evening and it’s pitch black outside. So I think really we broken the back of it. And we are moving on towards winter. But today’s guest is in San Antonio, Texas, where as he was telling me just before we started recording, it’s literally summer all year round. Yeah, don’t throw things in his direction. He doesn’t mean it. He doesn’t mean it. Well, let me bring him on to the show because he is one of those guys that you could find yourself next to in a bar one day, and have the urge to buy him a drink after drink and the reason why? Well, he’s achieved what most people yearn for in life, and he’s willing to let us in on the secret. He’s made a career out of doing something that he loves, and in the process, started a business with nothing and made it into a multimillion dollar company. As a veteran, registered nurse, writer and successful entrepreneur, he brings a wealth of experience that he’s gained through the years welding it all into a tremendous passion for impacting lives. He’s an author of pink where he helps us create miracles by recognising an order During those life changing moments that opened the door to what’s next, which he calls, pink moments, and it also It seems he has an almost unnatural connection to sheep. Yeah, the last guy got him drunk in a bar. Tell me that. So we have to find out about that sheep business. So what’s it like to live a life? That is a wow, more often than not? And is it something that anyone can learn? Or do you need a talent or skill that is in built to gain the keys to the kingdom? Well, let’s find out as we bring them to the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr. Rick Martinez. How are you, Rick?
Rick Martinez [2:32]
David, I am doing fantastic. And that was one heck of an intro complete with beer, sheep and bink moments. I am just on fire right now. That is so cool.
David Ralph [2:42]
Well, an evening of beer and sheep is probably not the best way to go. But I’m going to cut right to the chase there. What’s the sheep business because all this all of them investigations into us seem to turn to that direction. Sheep, sheep sheep.
Rick Martinez [2:58]
You know, it’s it was a It was a time in my life, the sheep business. It literally was a sheep business business built around sheep and lambs. It’s I had just gotten out of the military. And I was in my early early 20s. And I needed a job. I needed a job because I had a young family and I went and worked on a ranch. And if I know you don’t know me really well, especially since I’m across the pond, but I’m not a ranch guy. I was born in Los Angeles, and I live in a big city now. And I the reason why that story was so important is because you do what you got to do. But the the essence of it is I worked on a sheep ranch for several months. And it was one of the greatest experiences of my life learning something that you know, you put yourself in a new situation. So I started to learn about sheep and lamb farming.
David Ralph [3:47]
And so, in case it comes up in a pop quiz, what is some fascinating fact about sheep that we can go up? Rick Martinez told us
Rick Martinez [3:57]
you know, fascinating fact about sheep. So first of all, I just want to clarify that there is a distinct difference between lamb and sheep. And I always thought when I went to a restaurant and ordered like lamb, it would be there was no difference but the truth is, lamb meat is much different from sheep otherwise called mutton and I know I’m not necessarily giving like a lightning bolts revelation, but for me. Since then I’ve become a lamb snob, I mean, a lamb meat snob, and I just am very particular about my lamb because after having had fresh lamb meats, there is no doubt a very distinct difference between the taste of a lamb and sheep.
David Ralph [4:36]
Because in my head, I kind of thought lamb was one and sheep was many. So sheep is an older version of a lamb. And so if you get two sheep you just get sheeps. Do you
Rick Martinez [4:47]
That’s it, you just get sheeps. And yeah, there you go. It’s sheeps. Sheep is sheep bulls are sheep. I never thought of that.
David Ralph [4:54]
And I’ll tell you what, I bet you didn’t expect to get asked that question on a show like this. That’s how we rock on here, but is a fundamental point to successor isn’t it? And I can find these fundamental points to anything. But if you’re willing to do something, but you don’t naturally want to do if it means that you’re going to take a step forward to where you want to go, that is a great way of doing it, isn’t it more often than not people kind of want that straight position that a to b but that shape wasn’t your dream, but he was still willing to do it.
Rick Martinez [5:26]
There’s no there’s no doubt David, you know, it’s when it’s when we step out of our comfort zones that we truly grow. And for me, the comfort zone was going from, from student to the US military to a sheep ranch. And again, I’m not a sheep guy, but I made the decision took the dive and boy that I learned a tremendous I learned and grew. And, as you can probably surmise, I learned more than just about the sheep business. I learned a lot about myself.
David Ralph [5:55]
So what taught you most then Rick was in the military or was it So everything after that, because I have spoken to so many entrepreneurs that have gone into the military because they didn’t know any better, or they wanted to travel with a young man or the sort of romantic image that you have. And they say, I hated it. But it taught me so much about how to operate in civilian life. It was untrue. Do you see the same kind of thread?
Rick Martinez [6:24]
You know, there’s no doubt there’s that common thread and I had a decent childhood, you know, I didn’t have the best and I didn’t have the worst. I had a good childhood. I was a happy kid. And the fact is, it’s I actually started college when I graduated from high school and I promptly flunked out I, I spent too much time partying, and for better for worse, the military was a viable option. And my biggest thing I learned was was disciplined. I realised that you know, in order to accomplish some of the things that I had dreamt of, and I still wanted them and I still want now it requires a decision. tenacity and just good old fashioned boots on the ground, you know, no pun intended, but discipline. So it was a great experience. I would never trade it for the world’s discipline was my that’s the word that glows from me from those few years in the military.
David Ralph [7:17]
And was it just something to do where you kind of like the last generation that you thought, okay, I’ll go into the military until something better comes along.
Rick Martinez [7:26]
You know, if I reflect back, I would say that’s a very accurate, some summarization, summarization. It’s, I didn’t know what was gonna come next. And it was a regular job. I didn’t have to worry about my clothes every day, I had the same clothes. So I, you know, in a sense, I think I was waiting to see what was going to happen next. And it was, it was it wasn’t a bad gig while I was waiting to see what was going to happen next.
David Ralph [7:52]
It was it was it wasn’t a big moment in the sort of wider sense. Was it something that was a door to what’s next
Rick Martinez [7:59]
that you No, there’s no doubt. I think if if we think about it in terms of those moments that changed us and honouring them, it’s I could even say that maybe looking back that entirety of my service that that time when I served was was a really long big moment because I was learning almost every single day and growing not only about serving others but about how to really serve myself so it there’s no doubt there was it was like doors were opening all the time and and that time in my life was was no doubt it was a moment, a big moment. There you go.
David Ralph [8:35]
And know what is pink stands for because I was trying to work it out. And I went over to your website and looked around and it wasn’t clear what pink actually stands for.
Rick Martinez [8:44]
You know, it’s I think you’re the first person I’ve ever said that. I feel like I’m so close to it that I know what to pink stands for but pink actually it’s just a word. I made up just the word itself. And here’s what happened. It’s fast forward. A
David Ralph [8:59]
question now but Rick, but no one’s there. I could understand you being brilliant, but think that that just seemed confusing to me.
Rick Martinez [9:06]
You know, and here’s where it came from. If I was sharing a story of transformation, something I had an accident A few years ago, and I was telling a friend about my accident. And she challenged me to really tell her how it transformed me. So I was telling her I said, I had this accident. And now we’re drinking. We’re at a at a little soiree. And we were drinking wine. It was a gathering of entrepreneurs. And, and I said, and I had this accident and 225 pounds dropped on my leg. And at that moment, I realised that there was more there was a bigger picture. And as I was telling her, I flicked my wineglass with my finger, and it made this big sound. It was a sound that came from the glass, and it resonated and almost floated in the air. And she stopped and I stopped, it froze us, and she said, that’s your word. And I said, What do you mean? She says pink? She said, it wasn’t an epiphany. It wasn’t an aha, you had a big moment and it opened the door to what’s next. And here you are today and that’s that’s where it came from.
David Ralph [10:04]
That’s a good story but a slightly weird as well isn’t it?
Rick Martinez [10:07]
It is you know what and weird is kind of it’s it’s one of my own personal mantras I don’t like normal and I I believe David you’re a cut of the same cloth
David Ralph [10:19]
yes I think I am I think if if you see people going in a certain direction I will automatically go in a different direction just to be slightly away from from the herd getting back into the sheep mentality the flock. I find that the comfortable position to be more than with everyone so yeah, I think I am weird in many different ways.
Rick Martinez [10:41]
Yeah, I embrace the word I actually love it when I love it because it says to me that I’m doing something that is being recognised and not in a not in a self aggrandizing way but really in the end that I’m living my I’m living my true north
David Ralph [10:58]
and if you do live you True, no. And you go away from the herd, the way I always think about it is you’ve got more opportunities because there’s not as many people trampling along your path. In many ways, it seems obvious to me, but the world generally will go with the masses, they will see everybody queuing up in a certain position and get to the back of that queue, won’t
Rick Martinez [11:19]
they? You know, they do they do and there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just it’s just not who I am. And it’s not who you are. And I don’t believe it’s who the listeners are. And, and it’s okay to Zig when everybody Zags, you know, in fact, that’s what makes everything so much brighter and more special and, you know, just more glorious, if you will.
David Ralph [11:42]
So, so get an understanding of what you do on a daily basis. So, I like to ask this question, because I think it’s a good question. So I’m gonna ask it again. But if you was in a bar, and a beautiful lady comes up to you and says, What do you do for a living? How do you add your answer?
Rick Martinez [12:00]
That’s a fantastic question. I had a friend asked me that just yesterday, I kid you not. And they said, so what do you do? Like, what is it? You do? And I said, here’s, here’s how I explain it. So David, here’s what I say. I say, Look, I’m a 48 year old, entrepreneur, registered nurse. I have three kids, a wonderful wife. And a few years ago, I had an accident, this accident, changed my life. It changed my life. But what happened was it opened my eyes to opportunity, opportunity that doorways that weren’t previously there that are suddenly there. And I wrote about it, I wrote a book. And I believe that if you picked up this book and read it, if you just shared it, then you could have the potential to also change your life. So I write and usually people say so you write and I say, Well, yes, today, what I do is I write and I wrote a book. So currently, I’m an author. And I say currently because I don’t know where where the path leads next, but I just published a book, David A few months ago and write my blog, we’re out there promoting the book. And we’re building a movement to find meaning and four simple steps, which is the essence of the blink process.
David Ralph [13:13]
And there’s two questions, one that we’re going to come back to in a minute about the accident and what type of accident and how it led you to that realisation. But what are the four steps vein for the listeners out there wanting to start their own bank movement? What would be the four steps?
Rick Martinez [13:30]
Okay, so here you go. And they are wrapped into the B, the I the N and the K. So the first part B is to just become aware. So these these moments in life, David, they’re going to happen to us whether we want them to or not, there’s no getting around it. They’re going to be good moments. Some of them are going to be bad moments. Mine was, it was a bad moment. It was a catastrophic accident for me. And I had the choice then to either to be angry to be upset and to ask why me or to decide that I can ask what does this means The first thing is just to be aware, take a second pause and be aware. The second part I, it’s that it means something. And here’s the beauty is human beings are meaning making machines, and we get to make it to mean whatever we choose. So I gave this accident and empowering meaning. The next part is more external or action. So the end, it’s new action, taking action, not just any action, a new and massive action. In other words, don’t do what you’ve always done, or you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. And then K, of course, it’s knowledge share. It’s what we’re doing on this podcast. It’s what I chose to do with the book. It’s, here’s what I found. Here’s what I’ve learned. And I want to share it with the world. And so the K is kind of full circle. Now share it with the world, because here’s what happens next, David is another bank will happen. They always do, they always will. So wrap the process around it, move through it, and at the end, share it It’s so awesome to share these things.
David Ralph [14:58]
So what was so assigned inverters summarise it for the listeners. And if I’ve got it right as well, is to change your life. First of all, you’ve got to be aware, you’ve got to start looking around, you got to see different ways of operating to what you’re actually in your day to day life, it all matters. So you have already been building up the skills that you will need to take on your next date. Even if you don’t think at that stage, it matters when you take the action. And then you you upskill yourself and you become more knowledgeable in that new area you want to go into would that be about right?
Rick Martinez [15:33]
Yeah, that’s that’s that’s the essence of it in four easy steps in to tack on to the final to the end of that is, is Be sure to share it share it unabashedly just get your story out into the world. Because what
David Ralph [15:44]
I find is most people will accept think and accept those four steps because they are very simple steps and you can understand it, but there seems to be a stumbling block along there. Of how do I then take that effort into money. And how do we monetize that for our brand new future? I find that a big stumbling block with the people I talk to, and for many of the entrepreneurs that have been on the show, that stumbling block, oh, yes, this is what I want to do. I think I’m gonna be really good at it. But can I make money on it? How did you overcome that?
Rick Martinez [16:19]
You know, that’s, that’s a great question. And that’s a great thought for anybody. Because, you know, I feel like I’ve been blessed with with prior businesses. So, to me, sometimes I think about how do you make money and it’s because I’ve done it for 10,000 hours, and you know, in in Malcolm Gladwell speak, I feel very comfortable, but it’s a great question. So I’ve had this moment. Now, how do I take this and maybe start a business? You know, and I think for me, and if I was talking to somebody if we were sitting down in a pub, David, and it was closed, and we were having a beer and and you asked, so how do I do that? I would say you know, if the question is how the answers now are so easy, there at our fingertips The first step is Google. And I kid you not. Because if I had this moment, and I need to figure out what I do with my story, and I google, what do I do with my story? Again, I’m not being facetious. I’m being absolutely serious that how is nowadays so easy to figure out? Because when we Google something like that, or have that conversation, a real conversation at the end of the day at a bar as it’s closing, it’s like, you know, it’ll come up, I bet there’ll be some books or some podcasts, or somebody who’s willing to share a story. I don’t want to sound like it’s too nebulous, but the fact is, when I thought about what do I do with this, I talked to friends, you know, because I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I didn’t I didn’t want it to be just a story. I wanted to know what do I do with the story? So how do I write a book? Well, I googled how to write a book and names came up people in my sphere. And I learned how to write I taught myself if I spent an hour a day crafting a perfect During the craft, I put that in air quotes. And that’s really that was the beginning just taking those new steps. If I didn’t know how I asked, I would Google and I kid you not. It was just the beginning and it steamrolled. It took me a year and a half. Don’t get me wrong. This takes concerted discipline, an effort to turn our thoughts or dream or passion into monetization. But it starts with that first step. And for me, the first step was, was an hour a day focused and a year and a half later, David, it was, it became a book on Amazon. So that’s, I hope that’s not too nebulous of an answer.
David Ralph [18:36]
No, I think I think that’s spot on. And the question that was coming up into my head is, obviously you’re 48 years old. I’m 45. So a large part of your adult career was pre Google. Yeah. So nowadays, people have got that opportunity to actually just type in and away they go. When you started your first business. Obviously, you couldn’t go on to Google and how to because we just didn’t have it. So how did you operate back then?
Rick Martinez [19:03]
Wow, that’s another fantastic question. So, I started. So I’m a registered nurse and I started our company, which I’ve sold. So I’m no longer a part of it back in 2000. And you’re right. You know, when you asked it, I thought to myself, wow, you know, I didn’t have the power of Google. What did I do? So I started just for just for clarity sake, I started a staffing company. And what we did is we put doctors and nurses onto military bases here in the US. And we grew it from one employee, which was me to over 600 over the course of over a decade. But when I started, you’re right. I didn’t know I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know about Google. I didn’t. Okay, here’s what I did. Okay, let me just put this let me actually roleplay this as I think about it, so I was a nurse doing my shift work 12 hour shifts, and I started working for an agency in other words, agency that would place me and the things that caught my attention that I started to tune into were when I was being placed by the agency or this placement specialist, I tuned into who they would call at the hospital, how they spoke to them, on some levels, how they negotiated the rates that they were going to pay me, because obviously, as them being the middleman, they took a piece of the action, but they placed me in the job, I paid attention to the details of what they were doing. And David, I didn’t know why it mattered then it just was for some reason. It’s just something I felt it was it was drawing me to learn more about the business of nursing as opposed to just nursing. And once I learned a little bit, here’s the moment that happened, and this is the honest to goodness truth. I was wrapping up a contract. In other words, I was finishing a 13 week assignment at a hospital here in Texas, began in the year 2000. And I’ve had now had been paid attention to the business part of staffing or of nursing. So I’m walking off my shift. It’s a night shift. And down the hallway comes the director of nursing and she knew knew me, I knew her. And she said, Hey, Rick, we’re getting ready to renew your contracts. You know, can you make sure we get a contract so we can renew it. And that’s when the light bulb went off. I thought to myself, Rick, there’s an opportunity right here right now, what are you going to do? And I said, no problem. I said, I’ll get you the contract. And she said, okay, and my wheels were turning. I had just finished a 12 hour shift. I went home. I had I searched and found a company that would do startup companies, and that was called Legal Zoom,
Unknown Speaker [21:42]
which is and I was gonna say something was it.
Unknown Speaker [21:45]
I’m sorry. And that was
David Ralph [21:46]
yellow pages or something. He found him.
Rick Martinez [21:49]
Yeah, it was. I just looked for them. I found a company that would for my Corporation, it was Legal Zoom way back then they’re still around. I had a I found friends who could help me write up a contract. I That contract back to the hospital the next day. And they said, Great, now send us the rep. And drumroll. I said, I’m the rep. And they said no problem. And so I signed my first contract or went into business, just like that. I would say, intentionally accidental. With an I was the first employee. And that’s how it started. There was no magic. You know, there was no you’re right. There was no Google. It was just discipline and taking the opportunity and running with it when everybody zig zag.
David Ralph [22:32]
Well, I think that there was magic in that. And I think the magic was the fact but it sounded like you didn’t really give yourself time to think you didn’t give yourself time to let those fears and those doubts creep in. It was literally, this needs to be done. This is an opportunity bang and deal with it. Because more often than not, we do have time, don’t we? We do have time to reflect on we have time to think about the possibilities of failure and that’s what stops us so well. You always somebody I would go for that see an opportunity and go for it and then do the thinking afterwards.
Rick Martinez [23:05]
You know, I believe I am and I don’t. But here’s the thing is I don’t think I’m any different from anybody else. You see, because even though I would say, Sure I’m a little bit more optimistic than the average guy, or the average person, the the the equaliser the great equaliser, David is that at the end of that optimism is choice. And that’s where we get to decide to make the tough choices, or stay where we’re at. So even though I’m more optimistic, the opportunity is still out there for anybody and it really just hinges on what are you going to do? What are you going to choose? And these are my words, and I would say this is be great. Or go home, and I just I choose I choose to stand up and to beat my drum and to be great and, and and you know, and I’m I want to make sure and I really want to say this David is that I really am a nice guy. I don’t want people to think oh, this guy is just an arrogant Son of a biscuit. But the fact is, you know, nobody’s going to beat your drum if you don’t start it. So make the choice.
David Ralph [24:08]
I think that’s absolutely true. And I don’t think any one of our listeners will think of you as an arrogant person, I really don’t think so. What you have done, you have got yourself to a position where the world has started to notice you. And that can only be done and fulfilled by doing things the right way. I don’t see being arrogant as the first part of winning post anymore. It just doesn’t operate.
Rick Martinez [24:32]
Well, thank you. I appreciate that. And you know, I gotta give you kudos to you. Because I’ve read about you and I’ve read about your podcast, and I know that we’re doing this podcast that you can transmit my message, but I really resonate with what you’re doing because you’re one of those fellows as well, who’s making the choice to be great. And, you know, this is this is where it starts because here we are, to just absolutely disconnected guys from two separate countries because we’ve chosen to make made the choice to be great, David, we’re on a Skype call together. You know, if we had chosen to not be great, I would never have met you through through this podcast.
David Ralph [25:10]
I appreciate that. I totally appreciate that. And I know what you’re saying because it’s the magic of just putting yourself out there isn’t it? Is the the magic of actually going help a lever on something even though you don’t have all the answers, and I’m going to play a sound clip now that will sort of evidence what we’re talking about beautifully. This is Jim Carrey.
Jim Carrey [25:31]
My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him. And so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant. And when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job. And our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want. So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.
David Ralph [25:57]
That’s about right, isn’t it right? That is
Rick Martinez [26:01]
right that gave me goosebumps I kid you not. I’m writing that down right now because I’m gonna use that Jim Carrey quote that is so cool.
David Ralph [26:08]
The thing that’s cool about it is I think most of us have been in that situation where the generation before us didn’t have the opportunities or the competence to actually say, go for it, just go for it and just see what happens. Because now at our fingertips as we were talking earlier, we’ve got the most powerful tool in the world Google and literally, you can create an empire from a laptop now, your three children, it was free children, wasn’t it?
Unknown Speaker [26:38]
It sure is. I have three
David Ralph [26:39]
Okay, your three children do you inspire them to be more creative with their time and their energies or have a corporate guys like corporate ladies that are gonna be on that path? What What do you think?
Rick Martinez [26:52]
You know, that’s a great question. My oldest one, she’s out of college, she’s, she’s in the workforce and she’s beginning need to pull in that entrepreneurial thread. And I wasn’t sure if it was there, you know, I wasn’t sure if I rubbed off on her. And just for whatever reason, it just started. And now she’s, for instance, just a few hours ago, she sent me a text, she lives about an hour north and talking to me about a new job she wants to get, because it’s going to segue potentially into her own gig. And it’s exciting. My middle one is in college, and she wants to be a chef now. So I don’t know where that’s gonna go. You know, I kind of I have a vision of her graduating and becoming a chef and starting some pop ups here in San Antonio or around the state, maybe becoming a next network, TV chef star. And then my third one, he’s the one I think that’s going to surprise the world. He’s 18. He just like most 18 year old boys, he doesn’t know what he’s gonna do. But he knows whatever he does, he’s going to be great at it and he’s just you He’s on fire to change the world. And I think to answer your question, David, is that they all have a little bit of that inner fire. And I want to believe that it’s because of it’s because of their background, their upbringing, and yeah, because of their dad.
David Ralph [28:16]
And how do you nurture that? Because I know that if I look back over my life, I had a fire. It was burning in me, but then for some reason or other, it kind of just went flat. He just so distinguished itself over a period of time or extinguished itself not distinguished. And when it came back big time, and it was almost like it was embers that somebody’s been kicked around and the fire came back. So how do you nurture that young age so that I can go on and blaze bigger and bigger?
Rick Martinez [28:47]
You know, that’s a that’s a great question. And, and I remember as as they were learning how to walk, and even now as as we see young parents teaching their kids how to walk is Eventually, when they first stand up, they’re going to stumble, and they’re going to be all wobbly. And they’re going to fall. And yeah, we want to protect them. And we want to make sure they don’t bump their heads on the tables. And we want to even run over there and pick them back up. But here’s where it comes to my decisions. And as far as nurturing, even as they got older, it’s let them fall, you know, don’t let them get hurt, but let them fall, because then they realise that I’m going to fall and I’m gonna be able to stand back up. And I think that that simple lesson of learning to walk and falling, it translates as they grow older into bigger things. So the way I nurture it is I’ll stand back and I’m going to protect them. I’m going to be a dad, and I’m going to make sure that no harm comes to them. But I’m also going to let them take their licks because the truth is in life, you get you know, I think Mike Tyson said it, everybody has a plan until until you get punched in the face. And the fact is, you’re going to get punched in the face and I won’t always be there to take those punches for them. So part of my nurturing it’s, I’m not a hard line guy, but I want them to understand that you’re gonna fall. So prepare yourself, prepare yourself to not fall. But if you do you know what, just get back up and get after it. Whatever you
David Ralph [30:12]
decide to do. Did you have a different way of operating to your wife because my mike my kids know, but when my wife is around, she basically has a slave written over a forehead and she will run around after them when it’s dead in control when she’s gone off. I literally say, look, if you want to make a sandwich, I’ll show you how to make a sandwich but I’m not doing it so that the next time I know that they can do it because I have a feeling of it’s my duty for when they move out, but they can look after themselves and that’s what I need to do. So do you operate in a totally different way to your wife? Is she more protective and you’re more sort of standoff but still protective as well?
Rick Martinez [30:50]
You know, you’re it’s almost like you’re it’s almost like you’re in our living room. My wife is literally sitting about five feet from me right now while we’re doing this show and I’m looking at her as I’m answering because she is I think she’s a, again, my word, she is one of those prototypical mothers and she will be there she wants to run to them and, and bandage them and hold them and say, Oh, my little one and that’s just how moms are. And, you know, I’m glad she is I don’t want her to be like me. I want I want our kids to know that, you know, sometimes life is gonna be full of knocks. But the fact is, when you turn back around, when you’re blazing that trail, you know that you’re going to have two fantastic people behind you. One of us may be pushing you forward, me, but one of us is always gonna be there to catch you and be there. And you know, that’s one of the beauties of my wife and I, I think I would say a lot of moms and wives is that inherent nurturing ability that, that maybe the dads I don’t blame her. I dig it. I think it’s a fine balance. And I think that’s part and parcel to what our kids are today.
David Ralph [32:04]
I agree with you totally. And it’s very much how my house operates. Yeah, that that loves them to bits and they love me, but they know they’re gonna have to do stuff when I’m around. And yeah, I think it’s the way and I think he’s generally the way of getting people to do stuff, isn’t it? I remember when I was a trainer in the City of London, the people that I just stood back on and just leaned over their shoulder every now and again, to point them in the right direction. By got it more than somebody that I had to sit next to literally showing them away. I was the comfort blanket for them. So they didn’t ultimately have to think for themselves. It was like parrot fashion, they would learn what to do, but only because of almost muscle memory. You know what I mean?
Rick Martinez [32:44]
Oh, yeah, there’s, there’s no doubt you know, and there’s there’s the whole carrot and the stick mentality. And I don’t want to say that my wife and I are like that or that couples in general are but you know, there’s also a fine balance as the dad of sometimes on the stick and sometimes I’m the mechanic You know, but either way, there’s there’s a source of motivation, there’s a push behind both of those, both of those motivational types carrots or sticks, you know.
David Ralph [33:10]
So if we jump back in time, like I like to do, obviously you was in a life changing accident. How did you happen and how long were you sort of injured for before you’ve got yourself up and going?
Rick Martinez [33:23]
Yeah, so thanks for asking David. So I, I had sold my company and the staffing company sold it. And the beauty of entrepreneurship is that’s that’s the pinnacle, but the fact is at that Pinnacle, I was very alone. And I it was this loneliness that it’s it’s kind of indescribable, but I just felt very alone. It was a very joyous occasion for all the friends and family people who knew me but the fact is inside I was alone. So I started this search. It was just it was this true search to find meaning and purpose like what does my life mean? You know, it’s more than a nurse. It’s more Gotta be more than a guy who sold the company. So I was actively on a quest to find deeper meaning, you know, call it Man’s Search for Meaning. That’s what I was doing. And one of the things I did is I’ve always been a fit type of person. So I was in a weightlifting competition and I’m a competent weightlifter and it was up in Austin, Texas about an hour from me for my daughter lives actually now and I had 225 pound weightlifting bar, and I had just a freak accident It was a slip and I’ve never slipped never. And the bar landed on my on my leg and crushed it. And as a trained trauma nurse, I knew something was really really wrong. My leg just leg does not look the way mine did at that moment and a note to the listeners 225 pounds versus your leg, the bar will win every time. So I had this I was laying there. I was laying there and that was my big moment. That was the moment where I decided okay, Rick, this is not good for you. It is Not good and you know it. So you have a fantastic opportunity. And I’m playing this in my head you have a fantastic opportunity to not ask why but to ask what this means and use it as fuel to move forward. David in
David Ralph [35:14]
your thought because what are you not laying their gun? screaming? That seems almost like you were a Buddhist monk or something, but obviously he was in terrible pain. How did you get your mind into that sort of shape?
Rick Martinez [35:26]
No. And here’s the thing you see because I’m telling you this like in podcast time, but as I’m laying there, that thought went through my head, like in a split second. And as that thought finished, the pain just washed over me. No, no, no, don’t get me wrong. I am no I am. I, me and Kate are not friends and it was extremely painful. But the thoughts just passed through me just like that. And, and right behind it was a wash of pain.
David Ralph [35:51]
And so what was it about that moment that you reflected? How did you see that opportunity and not just oh my god. is a bad thing. It doesn’t come from your, as you said at the beginning of the interview your positive outlook.
Rick Martinez [36:07]
You know, the choice I made was because of the positive outlook. The reason why I was seeking why I was on a quest why I was having to make a choice. David was this was because I sold my company and I had become an arrogant sob. I had become the guy that I hoped I would never become. And that moment was, it was almost like a fall from grace. It was almost like my, it was it was more than just an accident. It was more than just, you know, what does this mean? Because I was becoming somebody that I knew wasn’t me. And it was, it was, it was. I’m trying to find the words to describe what it was. It was like being smacked down and saying, Look, you’re not in charge, buddy. You’re not you’re not in charge. So rethink what your future looks like.
David Ralph [36:58]
Basically, so have a no morels came up and smacked you in the face and said, you know, get yourself together. Rick, this isn’t your plan.
Rick Martinez [37:07]
That’s it that you know, that’s it. Get yourself together get your your poop in a group brick, this is not your plan.
David Ralph [37:15]
And did you save a difference with yourself at that time? I know you say that you was at sob but was it not just, I suppose a relief from running a company turning into a success, which obviously is stressful until it gets to a certain point when it has its different stresses. And everybody out there I think none of us would go, you know, if I if I was running, Join Up Dots and somebody came in and said, I’ll give you 100 million for this. I’d go thank you very much and you wouldn’t see me the dust. But then I might come back again later and start something else. But it’s that that moment of realisation but my future is taken care of. Aren’t you allowed to sort of go a little bit mad at that time?
Rick Martinez [37:56]
You know, there’s no doubt we Are and we should allow ourselves, you know, to reap some of the rewards. But I think the difference and I use but because of my train of thought I was chasing the wrong things, I was rewarding myself in the wrong way. And that equaliser that moment was again, there was a huge It was like a moral baseball bat to use some of you use the word morality. It was like a moral baseball bat said, you are doing this for the wrong reasons. And so you’re right that we should reward ourselves we should say yes, and you know, pound our chest and, and go on a trip or do whatever it is, but I wasn’t doing it. I wasn’t doing it right, David,
David Ralph [38:42]
because I say these things and to be honest, we caught them back come upon the world’s worst celebrator. I’ve had some amazing successes over the last few years. And I work towards and work towards and work towards them. I achieved them and like in a blink moment, I’m like, Okay, that’s good. Let’s move on to the next One I don’t celebrate at all, is that a common trait of entrepreneurs? Is it that we’re always forward thinking and we don’t reflect on our present situation and our successes.
Rick Martinez [39:12]
You know, I think you hit the nail on the head. And you know, my wife and I were sitting down last night, we work out of the house together and, and we do a lot of internet based stuff. And we had a win yesterday, we we put something out into the world via the World Wide Web, and we had a win. And when we logged into our website to check some numbers, my wife’s she, she jumped up and she said, Oh, my God, we got you know, then look at these numbers. And she jumped up and she was ecstatic. And I was sitting there literally two feet from her because we have the same desk. And she’s like, aren’t you happy? And I’m like, to your point, David is I was ecstatic. But I was already thinking about what’s next. And what are we going to do after that? And she had to pull me out. Unplug me and hi Five me. And then we turned our stuff off and went and had dinner last night. But you’re right. I think it’s how we’re wired.
David Ralph [40:07]
And how do you go to the next step phone when you’ve had that success and you go off for a nice meal? And then you come back the next morning? How do you reassess to the next stage? Do you have a master plan? Or do you make it up as you go along?
Rick Martinez [40:23]
You know, we do have a master plan. And by that, I mean, as a business as an entrepreneur, we have our long term goals. And those are measurable and you know, they are, we have statistics we want to reach so yes, we have a master plan. But I also know that each and every day, things won’t go according to plan. You know, as long as we have this general map, if you will, of where we want to go and we are headed in that general direction. I’m okay with it. I’m okay. It’s because how I’m wired I’m okay with a little bit more risk. I’m okay with a little Zig when we should be zagging. And I think That’s where the balance comes in between my wife and I are between people who are in business together. It’s one is Walt Disney, you dream of Mickey. And one is Roy, where you actually build the kingdom? Yeah, I’m, I’m Walt.
David Ralph [41:12]
Well, I’m a bit Goofy, I think most of the time you go? Well, I’m gonna find some words that really sort of emphasise again, what we’re talking about your professional Rick, you’re sort of bringing us seamlessly into a segue. These are words Oprah Winfrey said recently about finding the next right step. This is Oprah
Unknown Speaker [41:34]
the way through the challenge is to get still and ask yourself, what is the next right move? not think about, Oh, I got all of this. What is the next right move? And then from that space, make the next right move and the next right move and not to be overwhelmed by it because, you know, your life is bigger than that one moment. You know, you’re not defined by what somebody says. says is a failure for you. Because failure is just there to point you in a different direction.
David Ralph [42:06]
Do you think you can have failure knowing your back catalogue in your history? Do you look at it now? And thing is, as she says, it’s just pointing you in a different direction.
Rick Martinez [42:18]
No doubt again, that was an incredible quote i have i’ve never heard that especially to hear Oprah actually speak it. We’re gonna fall, you know, call it falling down as a child to failing at whatever it is we want to accomplish. And I’m not saying we should accept it and expect it. I’m just saying we should accept it and learn from it and it doesn’t define us It doesn’t mean that’s who you are, for me my failures of which I’ve had a lot and I know there’ll be more they prepare me for what’s next I look at I look to those moments as as lessons and preparing me preparing me for what’s next. You know, we we bleed and training. So We don’t bleed in battle and sometimes that’s what those failures signify is I’m going to take some bumps but I’m going to learn and I’m going to grow and I’m going to keep charging
David Ralph [43:08]
because Oprah’s obviously she’s well known across the world. I don’t think we in the United Kingdom holder in such kind of cheese cheese like your little Indian lady account. Um,
Rick Martinez [43:20]
Oh, you mean, Mother Teresa? Yeah,
David Ralph [43:23]
she’s not your mother teresa. Isn’t she over there? Yeah, she can’t do anything wrong. But those words I find myself quoting them probably more than any other. when something doesn’t go right. In my life. When I have a product launch that doesn’t go big. I look at everything right. Okay. It’s not a failure. It’s just showing me that that wasn’t quite right. And we we move into a different direction.
Rick Martinez [43:48]
That’s There you go. I mean, I, I, you, you said it so well. I mean, we’ll do things in our business. I’ll do things with my kids. And I’m going to hope that it’s the right thing. I’m going to pray that it’s the right thing. And again, with my business, you know, we mapped it out, we planned it out, we just know it. And you know what the fact is that market forces sometimes are stronger than our thoughts. Sometimes things happen outside of our control. And that’s David, that’s honestly the essence of what project blank is about. It’s about understanding and knowing those things are going to happen. It’s how we respond to them, you know, Oprah’s quote, you just said, they prepare us for what’s next. They make us better, and we come out of the end as our own life’s hero.
David Ralph [44:33]
And when you listen to those words, do you buy into that sort of knowledge that people talk about, but the big failure is just holding the door for the next success? It’s literally those big ones that you’ve got to look out for that a true learning curve. I you
Rick Martinez [44:50]
know, I just, I don’t just buy into it. I believe it. I believe it to the depths of my soul, and I believe I know that that has been the key to my success, how I define success, happy life, happy wife, great business. I have a very rich life. And I believe what you just said, lock stock and barrel to be true.
David Ralph [45:14]
You have to work Rick I’ll use a lot of comfortable now obviously, I won’t talk about your financial affairs but being able to sell a company that was obviously doing very well. Are you driven to work? Could you get up every morning and play around a golf and then sit there watching Netflix in the afternoon?
Rick Martinez [45:31]
You know, so work I think you would agree has a much different flavour. Now. I probably work at building our business of project bank more than ever, but the beauty is I get to do it on my terms when I want. And I probably actually put in more hours than ever before, but I do get to go do things. I can go to the movies in the middle of the day. And to answer the earlier question, it’s you know, the sale was fantastic and it did things from it allowed me Some freedoms which I may not have had, and it’s given me time, it’s given me time to work on creating some of the things that I believe will have an even bigger impact. So I just can’t complain but I, I love to work I love what I do and I can’t ever see myself not doing what I’m doing.
David Ralph [46:20]
And what might you sell your baby? Was it a hard decision? Because you build up something you you know it is your baby, isn’t it when somebody comes along and wants to take it away from you? Did you have doubts that you were going to do about or was it Yeah, go on. I never liked this kid anyway, take it from me.
Rick Martinez [46:36]
No, it’s it’s never it’s it is your baby. And sure all the books will say don’t ever get too close to your business. It’s a business but the fact is, it is you created it from zero to nothing, you know, from nothing to something and then from something to you know, potential greatness and it wasn’t easy. It took a lot of soul searching and conversations and really trying to figure out If this was the best thing, and there was it was beyond just a financial picture. It was, what does this mean for me on a very deep level, you know, and looking back, there were probably some things I do different. But what this has done is it’s, I think Oprah said it is it’s created the space for me to now do more. And it wasn’t easy. There’s no doubt David, it was not an easy thing. And I’m still connected to a lot of people at that company. And I don’t regret it. I don’t regret a second of it, though.
David Ralph [47:35]
Because I’m a member building a team, very different sort of ballgame. But I built a team in London. And I had selected every single person, they were my team and I built them up and I built them up. And we used to call ourselves the Dirty Dozen and we used to, you know that they were the kind of guys that other people didn’t want but I saw something in them and they wanted to prove themselves to me and we become the team in the office without a doubt, I can still say that, and I still meet them after 20 years. And if I meet up with them they go, I’ve never been in a team like that. So when I got a huge opportunity to then move on and progress myself, I found it really difficult to actually step away from them because it was our team, I built it. So I can imagine it must have been very, very difficult to sort of say, Well, I gave you your opportunities, this is your employment, but actually adyar so I’m on my way.
Rick Martinez [48:31]
You know, I feel like the things you’re touching on are that human connection and and you’re right, you know, there’s there’s the business side of selling a business and then there’s the soft parts of these are people who you’ve spent a significant amount of time with of your life with and, you know, that part is that’s I think that’s what really makes it the hardest decision is because you’ve been with the team, you know, you’ve had your dirty dozen or your Bad News Bears or what Whatever it is, and at the end of the day, those are those are human beings that you’ve you’ve had blood sweat and tears with. And it’s a it’s an extremely difficult thing I it’s, that’s, there’s no doubt there’s no way to work around that there’s it’s about people,
David Ralph [49:17]
just before we play the flavour of the whole show with the words of Steve Jobs Do you find being an entrepreneur lonely? Did you find working in an environment where you’ve got people coming and go and you got them standing at the photocopier and all that kind of stuff? Because I found it quite difficult going from that environment, which I got to a point of thinking, I’ve had enough of it to actually being pretty much on my own most of the time.
Rick Martinez [49:42]
You know, do I find it lonely? It’s an extremely lonely path. It’s it is lonely because not many folks understand the plight of the entrepreneur are the battles that we have to go through to create the things we want, but where the loneliness ends is when we find ourselves affinity groups where we meet up with other entrepreneurs. And I’m sure there’s plenty in Europe but you know, entrepreneurs organisation, so I get to hang out with other entrepreneurs. And, you know, it’s not all the time, but it is lonely. And there are other lonely entrepreneurs out there who I get to hang out with. And that’s,
David Ralph [50:20]
it’s a good thing. In the movies in the middle of the afternoon, you all meet up and you watch When Harry Met Sally or a chick flick together.
Rick Martinez [50:28]
That’s it. Over a beer.
David Ralph [50:30]
Yeah, that’d be sounds perfect. Well, let’s bring on the man himself. He created the show back in 2000. And I never knew he was going to do it, but he’s left his legacy in so many different ways.
Steve Jobs [50:40]
This is Steve Jobs. Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college, but it was very, very clear looking backwards. 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path, and that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [51:17]
So what was your big dot? I asked it to literally every single guest but what was your big dot when it all come together for you?
Rick Martinez [51:26]
What was my big dot when it all came together for me? You know, I? This is gonna sound weird. But I thought about I thought about if I could go back in time, at what point? At what point did things begin to make sense that I have an awareness that things were going to happen not just to me, but because of me and inspired me and no doubt of me. And this is the no BS answer. I was eight years old. Eight years old was the time I would I believed where I’d be. Came aware that there were things happening. There were life moments that were going to go on. And that’s what it is. It wasn’t when I got married or when my kid was born or these and that it was when I was eight years old and I realised things are going to start things are going to happen in life and I became more observant. I, I just started, I had an awareness of things. That’s when I became, you know what, David, that’s when I became aware of things in a much different fashion.
David Ralph [52:29]
But that was a baby pink moment.
Rick Martinez [52:31]
It was eight years old. I tell people, I’ve celebrated the 40th anniversary of my eighth birthday when I turned 48.
David Ralph [52:38]
But isn’t that true? But of all people that are finding their thing, it’s so closely linked to their really young selves.
Rick Martinez [52:48]
I think it is I think there’s there’s a moment where we became aware of something bigger, something where our intuition started to sprout. No doubt.
David Ralph [52:59]
Well, I’m gotta bring the show to an end. Now, I could take this show in many different directions, but we always come back to the Sermon on the mic. And this is when I send you back in time to have a one on one with your younger self. And if you could go back in time and speak to the young Rick, what age would you choose? And what advice would you give? Well, we’re gonna find out, because I’m going to play the theme tune, and when it fades you up. This is the Sermon on the mic.
Unknown Speaker [53:29]
We go with the best bit of the show.
Unknown Speaker [53:38]
Man.
Rick Martinez [53:46]
I was actually in deep thought of, of the moments where I went back in time. And this is a moment where I believed that this is a moment that I know to be my pivotal moment. It’s I was about 12 years old, and I keep going back to A child that I know I was 12 years old. And I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital and I was about to have surgery. And I’m not trying to be more, but I’m just trying to tell the audience, this is the moment if I could go back, I would look at my 12 year old self, because at 12 years old, I was scared. I was about to have surgery on my chest. And it was very scary. I remember asking myself, as at 12 Is this it? And that’s not something a 12 year old is supposed to be asking. I would go back and look down at my 12 year old self and say, Rick, this is not it. In fact, this is the beginning of something fantastic. Use this moment to use this moment as fuel for what’s going to happen next.
David Ralph [54:41]
And do you look back on that that conversation that you could have had would that be something that you would say to your own kids now?
Rick Martinez [54:49]
I would it was David is because of that moment I became a nurse. It’s because of that moment, I I threw myself into a compassionate endeavour of being a nurse and then have another entrepreneur of, of, I believe my ultimate calling of serving others and it was that was the moment it was in the hospital when I was 12 years old. That was the spark for me.
David Ralph [55:10]
Well, Mr. Martinez unfortunately we’ve come to the end of the show so what is the number one best way that our audience can connect with us uh
Rick Martinez [55:19]
you know, I’ll make it simple. So if you go to the website Project bank.com forward slash Join Up Dots you can get a copy of the book for free and that’s it free book no strings attached Of course there’s always twitter facebook but project bank comm forward slash Join Up Dots and best way for us to stay in touch is let’s share the message
David Ralph [55:41]
that is very generous and I hope loads of people thousands of people go down and let’s try to crash his server. Let’s see if we can do it all go over them and download like maniacs. Well wait, thank you so much for spending time with us today. joining up those dots and please come back again when you have more dots to join up because I do believe that by joining up the dots anchor connecting our paths is the best way to build our futures. Mr. Rick Martinez, thank you so much. Thank you, David, I appreciate it. Thanks for listening to today’s episode of Join Up Dots brought to you exclusively by podcasters mastery.com. The only resource that shows you how to create a show, build an income and still have time for the life that you love. Check out podcasters mastery.com.
Outro [56:26]
Now, David doesn’t want you to become a faded version of the brilliant self you or wants to become. So he’s put together an amazing guide for you called the eight pieces of advice that every successful entrepreneur practices, including the two that changed his life. Head over to Join Up dots.com to download this amazing guide for free and we’ll see you tomorrow on Join Up Dots.
Unknown Speaker [56:55]
listening to my dad chart, please make him happy by leaving the writing on our view. on iTunes. Thanks so much, Ashley.
