John Ruhlin Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Podcast
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Introduction John Ruhlin
John Ruhlin is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business coaching podcast interview.
He is a man who is simply brilliant at knowing how to build relationships in business.
Instead of doing what every other person does when they try to build connections, and valued connections, our guest knew that he had to step away from the crowd and do things a little differently.
He started his entrepreneurial life whilst attending Malone University, when he started selling world famous Cutco Cutlery.
And for him it was a job that he was good at, but it took a chance request by a father of a girl he was dating that exploded his success.
Her Dad asked if he could engrave his name on a knife, which took a standard knife and turned it into something more personable, different and valued by the recipient.
This one action showed him the power of giving value to building relationships.
In five short years, John Ruhlin then went on to break nearly every sales record for Cutco distributors and landed himself in a different hall of fame – the Cutco Hall of Fame.
He did it all before graduating and is now Cutco’s No. 1 distributor of all time, out of over 1,000,000 distributors in the company’s 60 year history.
How The Dots Joined Up For John
And with success breeds success and with the confidence achieved of doing things his own way, he then created as co-owner of Ruhlin Partners, a small private equity firm with interests in various companies (including Ruhlin Promotion Group).
He is the co-author of the best-selling book “Cutting Edge Sales”, a husband, a father and is a sought after speaker on the topic of relationship development and strategic gift giving.
So had he planned to go this route when he started out, or did he have different dreams of what he wanted to achieve?
Did he have people around him that supported his efforts, or was it all down to himself?
Well let’s bring onto the show to start joining up dots, as we discuss the words of Steve Jobs in todays Free podcast, with the one and only John Ruhlin.
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty topics such as:
How in the words of Tom Hill he believes that I life “You cant dream big enough”!
Why he earned a lot from his Grandpa and his entrepreneurial stores, but honestly feels that the hustle muscle was always in him!
How he gave his life to Christ and when he did things changed in his life for the better”!
Why if your income is within 5% of the 5 people closest to you in your life…..so find successful people in your life who earn more than you!
And lastly……
How we accept boredom in life when we are at school, so when we go to work and get paid to be bored we readily accept it!
How To Connect With John Ruhlin
Return To The Top Of John Ruhlin
If you enjoyed this episode with John Ruhlin why not check out other inspirational chat with Ariana Ayu, Pia Silva, Rob Town and the amazing Jack Canfield
You can also check our extensive podcast archive by clicking here – enjoy
Audio Transcription Of John Ruhlin Interview
Intro [0:00]
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 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 [0:26]
Good morning to weld how are we I’m feeling old, full of energy. And we have got a guest who I’ve been chatting to today who’s also full of energy. So when you get to sort of middle aged man, I don’t know if he’s middle aged, but I hope he is. So I don’t feel bad about myself full of energy, you’re going to have a great show. And he is a man who is simply brilliant and knowing how to build relationships in business instead of doing what every other person does. When I tried to build connections and the valued connections. Our guest knew that he had to step away from the crowd and do things a little differently. He started these honorable Can you your life whilst attending a Malone University when he started selling world famous Cutco cutlery. And for him it was a job that he was good at. But it took a chance request by a father of a girl he was dating but exploded his success. Her dad asked if he could engrave his name on a knife which took a standard knife and turned into something more personable, different and verbal valued by the recipient. And this one action showed him the power of giving value to building relationships. In five short years. He then went on to break nearly every sales record for Cutco distributors and landed himself in the Hall of Fame that Cutco Hall of Fame go him. He did it all before graduating and is now Caicos number one distributor of all time, out of over 1 million distributors in the company’s 60 year history. And with success breeds success and with the competence achieved doing things his own way, he been created as co owner of routing partners, a small private equity firm with interest in various companies, including ruling promotion group is a co authored the best selling book cutting edge sales a husband, a father, and he’s a sought after speaker on the topic of relationship development and strategic gift giving. So how do you plan to go this route when he started out? Or did he have different dreams of what he wanted to achieve? And did you have people around him that supported his efforts? Or was it all down to himself? Well, we’re going to find out as we bring on to the show to start join up dots the one and only Mr. JOHN ruling. How are you, john?
John Ruhlin [2:27]
I am fantastic, David, I feel like I should be floating onto the show in Wow, thank you for for having me.
David Ralph [2:36]
It’s lovely to have you on because I’m looking at picture view now. And you’re waving a knife in my direction. And so I’m kind of mad jack nicholson, you look like on this one. But any of the sort of 80s guys who would have grown up with Mr. Nicholson. And so I’m always going to be nice to you, whatever you say on this show. I’m going to be polite to you, john.
John Ruhlin [2:57]
I can imagine it’s, it’s it’s a little freaky, a little fun, but very memorable, which is the purpose of it
David Ralph [3:04]
is it’s a wonderful picture, isn’t it? I was looking for pictures of us afternoon for the show notes. And I always like to see a picture but I’m talking to because generally on Skype that we do the recordings on, you get a kind of little white square, well, you don’t generally go get a picture is just a blank canvas. And I think yeah, this is the first time that I’ve seen somebody that’s got such kind of in the nicest way, you’ve got the kind of evil eyes in this picture, which knows that you’ve got some kind of power going on with this knife. You look like you’re loving brandishing his knife. Do you remember taking this photo?
John Ruhlin [3:39]
Oh, absolutely. It was it was one of those candid photos for the cover of a local magazine. And they used it inside the magazine and I when I saw it, and showed it to a couple people that like you have to use that photo like, you know, your smile, you know, it is a little bit you know, freaky but people know me for my big huge smile like I’m you know, typically quick to, to laugh and quick to smile. And the knife is even though that’s not the only thing that we represent anymore. It’s what kind of what we’re known for. And so it’s kind of that signature pic that kind of encapsulates a little bit everything.
David Ralph [4:13]
I’m gonna get a photo like that. I don’t know what I’m going to have in my hand. But I feel like I need a picture that really demonstrates who I am. Well, what should I have in my hand? Or is that a bad? Bad thought to be to be having on the mic?
John Ruhlin [4:27]
I mean, what so what do you like to do when when you’re not? You know, on the mic? what’s what’s the passion? Or what’s the outsides Lima gore?
David Ralph [4:38]
I like?
John Ruhlin [4:40]
So big old pillow in hand? I mean, I guess you could Yeah, what?
Whatever it calculates who you are. I mean, that’s that that could work.
David Ralph [4:49]
Because your father, your father of two, and you’ve got Young was it daughters? You were telling me before we started recording? Yeah,
John Ruhlin [4:55]
yeah, one and a half and three and a half. So sleep actually sounds very enticing. And I get it. I can be very passionate about that. Because I’m very deprived right now.
David Ralph [5:04]
So So how do you balance your success, because you’ve got the kind of success that when I was reading about you, I thought this man must travel, he must be traveling around America, doing what he does getting up and doing his strategic gift giving, speaking? And how do you do that and sort of separate yourself from your family? Or are you up that kind of level now that they basically come to you? know,
John Ruhlin [5:27]
I mean it, I would say that if I’m candidate, it’s a constant balancing act and struggle, I’ve gotten way better at the first couple years of marriage, before we had kids, I was probably traveling 1520 days out of the month, I got it now down to about nine or 10 days out of the month. So no reasonable. But it’s, it’s amazing how when you when you have a young family and the demands, you get way more focused, and way more creative than you did when you were single, because you could just work more hours and that that’s not an option anymore. And so you there’s times where I fall on my face, and my wife is like you gotta you know, like, no more trips. But in general, she’s pretty supportive of, you know, and knowing that, you know, work in, you don’t take things for granted, and you go out and make hay while the sun shines. So we’re, we’re taking advantage of it right now.
David Ralph [6:16]
And having a young family has that made you more ambitious, I tell you for my situation, if I could do what I’m doing now and do it over two days, and then take the rest of my life off? I would do? Absolutely. But there was a time in my life that I was career driven to the point that I was never at home. So having a family is totally flipped on its head for me. And are you the same? Or are you somebody that is still frightening, ambitious, really wants to have the success but also wants to have the balance in their life?
John Ruhlin [6:48]
Yeah, I think it’s it’s made me question. Maybe some of the dreams or the passions or why I’m doing things and making sure I’m not getting to the top of the ladder and saying, Man, I, I made it to the top. But if I’m wrong building kind of a concept. So I would say that having two daughters and thinking about weddings and thinking about maybe university or college and all the different expenses. It’s amazing how how cheap I could live when I was single, and how even living, you know, moderately relative to some of my peers, how fast the money can go with a family. So I would say in some ways, it’s made me take a step back and maybe slow down in certain areas. But it’s also made me dream a little bigger, because what I thought I could raise a family on is it’s taking more like double or triple that. And and that’s not even going crazy. So I would say I would say both if I’m if I’m honest.
David Ralph [7:45]
But I’ll be honest with you, john, there’s only one and two and you’re thinking about weddings already. You know, my my daughter, my youngest one is nine. And I was saying to her today, When are you leaving home when you’re moving out and she was saying, I’m never leaving home. And I’ve said the same to my 23 year old I was going to be 24 in a couple of days time and she said the same thing. So I don’t think weddings is going to be your problem. The problem is going to be getting them out of your life.
John Ruhlin [8:13]
That’s very well possible, I can see that, you know, they will hopefully want to stay close to home. My wife is definitely a homebody, we moved to St. Louis to be near her family. And there’s 3500 acre farm and we so family is definitely important to us. But I I think because I hang out with people that are you know, you know, quite a bit older than myself. And I see the and I hear their gripes and and things that they’re challenged with. And I just I don’t want to be in a position where I’m not prepared for some of those, you know, those big moments in life and, and so it just starts you start doing the math on things what they cost an hour and 20 years from now. It’s like oh my gosh, it’s it’s um, yeah, it’s, I have a ways to go. But I’m I don’t want to be I don’t want to be blindsided. So,
David Ralph [9:03]
it’s another way of boosting contraception, I suppose, isn’t it if you give all the kids out there a calculator and tell them what their life is going to be like? You know, we used to go out every single night we used to go to the pictures or the movies as you called it over in America and all that kind of stuff. And now we sort of go Netflix, Netflix is all right for us and a bag of Doritos and that sort of would have no way but if I’d known beforehand what I know now God I might have said no john on those special cuddles.
John Ruhlin [9:36]
Well, I
my mom is one of 13 kids. So I grew up around big families. And so we have to we’re talking about number three and we’re hoping to get to four. But it’s it’s a Are you know, to me, you know when I’m sitting on the rocking chair someday on a back porch with a you know, glass of lemonade or whatever else I you know, your kids or your legacy. So I as much as I, I think can’t imagine how my mom did it with my parents. That was six kids. I think. I think we’re not going to stop it too. Although, yeah, the calculator definitely makes you stop at a number that I know a little less than what I thought originally when I was single and hadn’t hadn’t started raising any little ones, that’s for sure.
David Ralph [10:20]
You You will be the worst dad, won’t you ever when they start bringing boyfriend’s home if you’re sitting there on that porch with your big knife, and that grin. Best died? I don’t know.
John Ruhlin [10:35]
It’s Yeah, I guess it depends upon the kid. And I mean, we grew up I grew up on a farm instead of my wife. So hunting and like, you know, hunting was like a rite of passage into the family like so guns and knives and all of those sorts of things. I you know, even though I live near the city, I’m out in the country. So I guess it depends upon if it’s a city kid or a country boy or what whatever comes to the door, but a city kid could have a rude awakening come into our house, that is for sure. Absolutely. That’s
David Ralph [11:06]
what it’s all about. Right. And I’m as soon as they come up the driveway.
John Ruhlin [11:11]
I sure hope so. I sure hope so when we’re on
David Ralph [11:14]
the same sheet on that one. So So let’s start taking you back into your life. And you’ve always been entrepreneurial. It just seems now looking at what you’ve achieved. But there was just a salesman in you that understood value. And I say it flippantly It seems as simple as bad. But you’ve done so well with those those two things.
John Ruhlin [11:38]
Yeah, it was funny as I mean, you talk about connecting the dots I, I grew up being on a farm like I you know, when you grow up more poor, like, you’re just always kind of hustling or thinking about how you can, you know, like, make a few dollars. And so working on the farm was one way but I started out selling candy in school. And so and I think my grandpa being entrepreneur, even though he was very successful, he was also super humble, but I learned a lot from him and his stories. And so yeah, I think it was in my It was kind of hidden in my DNA. Because I I if you would have asked me when I was 10, or 15, if I was entrepreneurial, I’d never have heard of the word, let alone like thought that I was an entrepreneur or, or even a salesperson for that matter. But But looking back now I can see that it was definitely you know, a dormant gene or whatever you want to call it, it was definitely there.
David Ralph [12:28]
I’ve only just started developing what I call the hustle muscle. And what I say to everyone now, even if you think you haven’t got that ability to hustle, when you start doing it, and you start doing it on a daily basis, it kind of it’s like you are building up biceps, it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger until it becomes natural to you. And now I look at myself from now from the last six months. I’m a totally different person. And I never thought I would be entrepreneurial. I never thought I would have the drive to succeed in a way but I’m trying at the moment, I was a kind of go with the flow kind of guy. So are you like me, but although you had it in you, do you think people can actually develop the hustle muscle and start training themselves to be good at it?
John Ruhlin [13:15]
I think absolutely. I know it. I think whether it’s the hustle muscle or the giving or being generous or appreciation muscle like I think there’s a lot of things that people will say that’s not me. And I would say I was the I was a yes person I was the get straight A’s in school, the pleaser which I think I’ve leveraged those things in my business and in my entrepreneurial career. But but in general Yeah, I was the I could have a great one on one conversation with somebody but the idea of getting up and speaking publicly to executives, or, or any of those sorts of things was the farthest thing from my mind, I would I would have laughed because I did even to this day to go up and speak publicly. I’m myself stomach is in knots now. Nobody, nobody in the audience realizes that. But But, but it’s definitely something I’ve had to just through, you know, just kind of, through sheer sheer determination just kind of pushed my way through it, because I realized it was a platform that that allowed me to reach a lot more people. And I think I think hustle is that same way, it’s, you know, the more people you’re around there, that way, they just kind of have work that muscle on a regular basis. And you don’t even realize that it’s happening.
David Ralph [14:30]
I’m going to tell you a story which will frighten you. Because if you’re like me, I’m very used to doing public speaking and I kind of grew the audience little by little by little. So I’m going to ask a question. First of all, can you remember the first sort of size of the crowd, but you ever did any kind of public speaking in front of
John Ruhlin [14:50]
I can remember the smaller like in an office setting type. First one, and I can remember the more public in an auditorium. type one? Yes, I can remember both of them for sure.
David Ralph [15:02]
And so what sort of size are we talking about, say the office, first of all,
John Ruhlin [15:06]
the office was probably 30 to 40 people
David Ralph [15:09]
and the auditorium.
John Ruhlin [15:12]
closer to 1000.
David Ralph [15:13]
I was talking to Tom Ziegler the other night, who is the son of Ziegler the motivational guy. And the very first time that he had to public speak, he was the I think he’s the president of the training department for Zika. And they said, Tom, we need you to get up and do a presentation. And he said, Well, it’s not really my thing. You know, I don’t really want to do this, you know, and I said, Well, we think it’s about time that you did this. So he couldn’t get out of it. And he had to prepare first time he stepped on stage in front of 15,000 people. Now that’s scary. And that,
John Ruhlin [15:45]
that would I think most people, including myself would hyperventilate, or I think you know the throwing up before you go on stage kind of thing is is least for me, what would probably have taken place if if that was the case, you
David Ralph [15:59]
did you look back on your life now because I sort of said in the introduction that you’re middle aged, but you’re not middle aged. How old are you? If you don’t mind me asking.
John Ruhlin [16:07]
I’m 34.
David Ralph [16:09]
Okay, you’re 34? I’m 44. So about 10 years on you. I could be a dad. No, I couldn’t. That would just be that would. That would be terrible. Although I heard this thing today, and somebody told me in this, I don’t know why I’m even saying this on this show. But what is the world record for the youngest grandma ever? What you recognize a 4022. The daughter was the youngest. And she was 11.
John Ruhlin [16:39]
Like I can’t imagine being a parent at 22, let alone a grandparent. That’s a wow. That’s a that’s an interesting, I’ll use that factoid in some conversations in the next week or two.
David Ralph [16:51]
Yeah. And the next time you’re speed dating or doing anything, you use that fact.
John Ruhlin [16:59]
My wife will appreciate that when she listens to the interview. But But yes, it’s some way shape or form that will get used. Yeah, absolutely.
David Ralph [17:05]
That’s what I’m going to use. So yeah, so so getting, getting back to your sort of nuts and bolts, does it does it sort of surprise you that you are now 34 years old? How much you have achieved in your sort of years from basically graduating from university? Because you really sort of you put me to shame really, john, I look at you and I think what the hell was I doing now? You just seem to pack so much in, you’ve got like two or three different companies running you. You’re in the CO Hall of Fame? Who would want better than that? You’re a published author. And all those kind of things does does it sort of surprise you when you’re laying in bed and you use or put your hands behind your head? And you think, yes, I’ve done well.
John Ruhlin [17:46]
And so to think about traveling around the world and working with professional sports teams, and, you know, startup companies and big companies, and I do pinch myself and say this is pretty crazy, because it was not, it wasn’t a part of the master plan going into college by you know, even a figment of my imagination.
David Ralph [18:04]
And that that thing about the dead asking for his name to be on the knife. Did you look back and as we close it on this show, say that was my big dog. That was the point where my life changed. So unexpectedly would that be right? Or would there be other ones that you might go? No, actually, that situation was more important to my development?
John Ruhlin [18:25]
Yeah, well, I think for for me, that was definitely one of the moments but I think the first moment occurred when I was about 17, or 18, it kind of a major direction change as far as you know, you call it spirituality called faith, but I, you know, I gave my, my life to Christ. And that was like the turning point where all of a sudden my decision making and what I was doing kind of went in a completely different direction, it changed the college I was going to go to, and then because of that small, you know, change of direction, you know, go into to the small Christian school, I ended up meeting Paul, my my girlfriend at the time her dad. And I think that was a major shift in overall mindset, because I saw this very successful attorney, but I saw him act way differently towards people and view success. And I think that was so as it was, you know, kind of that 17 year old time period. And then when I was 21, and I started interning with Cutco to put myself through college, when I really started having some serious conversations with Paul. And when he shared about the knife he shared about taking care of, you know, spouses of his clients versus just taking care of the client. When I saw him give away, I mean radical things like he would buy a year supply of noodles and give everybody at church the next Sunday, literally a year supply of noodles, or he would buy a third of the raffle tickets for the local school in for a charity auction when they’re Harley Davidson and then donate the the part of the back to the school, I saw him just give without strings attached. That was major shift. So I think the nice thing was, it was as much as the I dia it was that he believed in me, that was a major shift because my parents thought I was crazy trying to put myself through school selling knives, like they thought that was insane. And they own Cutco for, like 30 years at that point. So you can imagine like going and having your conversation with mom and dad and saying, Hey, this is what I want to do. And they’re like, we nobody that we know, could afford those. Are you crazy? So I think for me, it was it was, you know, it’s definitely been a and it My life is unfolded differently than I expected. And there’s been multiple times and even since then were just the slightest, you know, direction change based upon a conversation I had, it’s taken me in a completely, you know, strategy, a different stratosphere.
David Ralph [20:50]
But But you seem very focused in your inner needs and your inner ones, just a fact that a young man over here, really, religion isn’t valuable popular. To be honest, in the United Kingdom. I don’t know anyone personally of my age, who sort of goes to church. It’s kind of an old person’s. I know, it’s very different in America, and certainly in the sort of deep south and all those kind of areas. But what was it a sort of religious area at that time? Were you were? Or were you sort of slightly away from your peer group on what you actually personally believed? I think
John Ruhlin [21:23]
there was, I think there was definitely, it’s definitely more commonplace in the US. But I think I grew up, you know, kind of going to church, but it was just kind of a tradition type thing where you just kind of went because your parents went and there was no, there is no strong core belief, or, you know, it wasn’t a decision I was making growing up. So I think that I had some, you know, some peers that I respected that started to invite me to, you know, to some different Bible studies and some different things that that, that really started to stir inside my soul, your heart, your conscience, whatever you want to call it. And in so when I went to the college that I went to that definitely I surrounded myself on purpose with people that were, you know, more that, you know, cut from that same cloth. But, but I think that I’m not from the deep south and from the Midwest. And I think, you know, there are, there’s definitely a lot more people that are leaving the church, in churches, you know, in many ways, in certain areas dying, even in the US more than then it’s growing. And so I think it’s a it’s something that Yeah, probably a lot different than maybe then the UK, but, but definitely something that was my own doing, as far as choosing to to put myself around those sorts of folks. But the I guess the spark was not my doing, it wasn’t something I was seeking out when I was 17. That’s for sure.
David Ralph [22:47]
So it’s almost not the classic blueprint You’re giving me here. But you have had a mentor, you had this gentleman poll, who really sort of gave you focus on what can be achieved. You’ve been serving yourself with other like minded individuals, you found ways to provide increased value to your customers. That’s the kind of way that you’ve got to do it, isn’t it? Literally every conversation that I have with the movers and shakers? pretty much get the same story?
John Ruhlin [23:18]
Yeah, I think the, you know, the books you read and the people you surround yourselves with, I don’t know if that’s a Ziegler quote, or, or who, whose quote that is, but I think those are the two most important influences in your life. So if you’re filling your head full of good things, whether it’s through podcasts, or through books, or audio books, or whatever, and then being careful about, you know, who’s speaking life into you, and who’s encouraging you and who’s exposing you. I mean, I think, what is it, your income will be within 5% of the 10 people you hang out with the most? It’s just natural success breeds success. And so I think, yeah, I think it’s, I didn’t realize that when I was doing it, but fortunately, I had some of the right things, mentors, and people that were that kind of selected me to take, you know, take me under their wing, or they saw potential or it was a God thing, I don’t know. But it was definitely something that kind of happened, I think, a little bit on accident. But once I got a taste of it, I definitely was tried to put myself in the driver’s seat and surround myself with those sorts of influences on a regular basis on purpose, not on accident.
David Ralph [24:24]
What was weird, though, is that so many people buy these books, so many people buy these training courses. So many people listen to these podcasts. But then don’t do anything with that motivation may be listening to it. I was speaking to a chap the other day, and he’s a lovely bloke called Leo, one of my listeners. And he came through to me and he said, Would you mind having a word of me and I went yet no problem at all. And he told me on this conversation, but just because he was going to speak to me, and he had been listening to the content, he started assessing how he could change his life for the better. And if you listening, Leo, we’re going to contact each other again and again, and again. And again, I’m not gonna let you go because I want great things for you. And he said, just because he was building up to having a chat with me, he looked back in his drawer, and he found like this CD, where he’d been to a life coach two years beforehand. And he said, I listened to it. And I thought I haven’t done one thing that that blows told me, even though that he paid for the the chaps help to get him started on his dream life. He just paid for the money took the course, and didn’t do anything with it. Fascinating. While people do that.
John Ruhlin [25:35]
Yeah, it’s a it’s unfortunate, because I think it’s, um, yeah, it’s probably what one to 5% of the people that are listening are actually going to take the ideas and, and actually incorporate them and actually go through the, you know, to have the discipline and the perseverance, because it’s a Yeah, it’s not easy to change habits, that’s for sure.
David Ralph [25:55]
Would that frighten you if you’ve come and gone on this earth, and you haven’t been one of those 1%? Oh, I
John Ruhlin [26:01]
think that’s, honestly, I think if I look back, one of my biggest driving forces is, at the end of my life, whether that’s today, or 50 years from now is I, I feel like I’ve been blessed with so much that to have not leveraged, you know, the blessings and the talents, and the things I’ve been given is, is what gets me up in the morning, when I don’t want to, or it’s what, you know, gets me to push that extra mile is a, a, probably a fear, in some ways of, of squandering what I’ve been given. And so I think, even before faith was important to me, I didn’t want to, you know, call it the pearly gates, or whoever else, I didn’t want to be there and be like, the I looked upon as being somebody that was, you know, just wasted everything I’d been,
David Ralph [26:50]
I’ve got this terrible fear. And I’ve always had it that I was going to come and go and not leave my mark on the world. And for many years, I kind of had this fear. But the I was young, I didn’t really express a desire to sort of changing, I always thought I was going to do something amazing. And I thought I was going to be, you know, in the new Duran Duran or I was going to be an author, or I was gonna, I was going to leave my mark somehow. But I just went on year after year, after year, just realizing, but I was an employee, and I was doing the work. And when I left companies, two minutes later, they didn’t even know that I’d been there, even though I’d been there for like five years previously. And it all came to a head when I was up in northern England. And there’s a place in northern England called Hadrian’s Wall. And it was built by the Romans many, many, many years ago to stop this, the Scots from Scotland coming into England, and it was like a protective barrier. And so you can imagine how old it was because it’s Roman time. And you can still see parts of it. And parts of it are pretty intact, other bits of kind of really broken up. And I was looking at these wall ones. And I was just thinking intimacy, my God, some Roman soldier was told to put that brick down there. And he’s left more of a mark on this world when I have, and it terrified me. And I just thought, What am I gonna leave? What am I going to leave? You know, because people say you die twice, don’t you? You die once in your body. And then when the last person that knows you dies, that’s it, you’ve gone. And I just realized now, but I can’t allow that to happen. And I would hate to think about other people sitting there listening to this show, are going to let that happen as well, because we’ve all got that chance in our lives to do something and leave our mark, and make a difference to people. Simple as that make a difference?
John Ruhlin [28:42]
Yep. Now that’s it. That’s I was going to ask you, what your what was the, you know, was it a? Was it the death of somebody? Or was it Yeah, what was the spark that that opened your eyes and said, Hey, today’s the day that all that’s going to change, that’s a, that’s amazing. That’s, that’s awesome.
David Ralph [29:00]
My leap of faith was purely down to a miserable woman, but I had to start working with. And quite simply, I just knew that every day that I was going to work with her was going to be a miserable day. And I just decided at that moment, and it was pretty cut and dry. It was within maybe two to three days, I mentally said, I can’t allow one person to dictate my happiness anymore. I can be unhappy on my own. I can be poor on my own. But I can’t just be taking a salary on a daily basis, allowing somebody to make me unhappy. And it was as simple as that.
John Ruhlin [29:38]
How long ago was that?
David Ralph [29:39]
That was June last year, June last year, and I’ve been working for the company for 10 years. And I was going through the motions. I’ll be honest, you know, it was a job. I was a financial trainer be doing training courses, and I could do it with me, I shot and I could go in there. And I would say would you build this course. And I’d go Yep, no problem. And within a couple of days, I was doing the cold, it was all very sort of go with the flow canopy. And she just made my life unhappy. And I would like to say it was deeper than that. I would like to say that I was driven. But I just knew that I had to do something. And when I took that leap of faith, I really didn’t know what I was going to do. Certainly not vis. But once I cut ties, and I knew that I had to do something for myself, then I had to do something worthwhile. And I couldn’t have just gone into something that didn’t fill me up with passion and desire every single minute of the day. And I yeah, I see that with you.
John Ruhlin [30:35]
Yeah, well, my first thought is have you gone and gone back and thanked her as weird as that sounds. She’s she was hurt, you know her making you miserable. Sounds like it was the best thing that’s ever happened to you.
David Ralph [30:50]
I think if she’s listened to these shows, the last thing that I’m going to be able to do is thank her Well David
John Ruhlin [30:58]
that will be my challenge to you is to get to a point in your spirit where you can you can view her with an with a, a grant a grateful heart to say thank you for being placed in my path. Because otherwise I wouldn’t be making the mark and having 10s or hundreds of thousands or millions of people being inspired. I mean, that’s as weird as it sounds. I don’t know that maybe I’m weird. That’s the first thing that came to my head was she actually was a blessing is miserable. She might have been that was you know, Scott serendipitous or whatever else but sounded like that was um,
David Ralph [31:36]
yeah, it’s it paid some nice dividends for you. Hey, did and the funny thing is if you listen to the one of the very first shows, I was very, very tactful. And then once I got into the sort of middle, I was going, she was a cow. And I kind of you know, I had to sort of get out of my system. And now I’ve kind of gone the other way again, and I’m a little bit more tactful and I’ve kind of got got it out of me. Really. It’s Yeah, I’ve been in therapy for 150 episodes, or whatever it is and and now I’m more calm by it. But
John Ruhlin [32:06]
now it’s good for the soul to get it out. It’s good. It’s good for the soul to to share and to talk into Yeah, yeah, this is your therapy you’re getting you get a well paid to, to go through a therapy session and probably to counsel you know, everybody that’s that’s listening. I’m laying
David Ralph [32:23]
on a couch at the moment and you’re you’re laying laying a wet flannel on my head and and maybe drop a few grapes in my mouth when I’m doing David
John Ruhlin [32:36]
I hope we get to meet and hang out in person at some point in time in the near future be perfect.
David Ralph [32:41]
Well, what I want to do is what what we’re really talking about at this moment is doing something you love, I knew quite obviously you’re doing something you love. And hopefully it comes across I’m doing something I love. And I want to play a very quick speech by a chat but we all know called Jim Carrey and he said this recently. And I just love it and wasn’t part of my original concept for the show. But now I play all the time. So listen to this this Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey [33:06]
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 [33:33]
Now, that is hugely powerful. But it makes me think about your granddad when you were talking about your granddad on the farm. Was he the kind of guy that gave you that kind of advice?
John Ruhlin [33:45]
I think he he he actually was he he, though he was a farmer, he took a risk in the 40s. And when nobody I don’t know if you guys have any gifts have auction houses for art and different things in the UK, but but he is the first guy to ever start auctioning off land like chunks of land with no set value. So you could bet $1 build a bit a million dollars, but it was going to get sold. And so he was the first absolute auction in and people thought he was crazy, they never thought it would fail, it would never work. And it’s now one of the largest auction houses in the in and certainly in Ohio, but one of the largest in the country. So yeah, he was he was a risk taker, very calculated as he got older, you know, more conservative, but I got to hear some of the crazy stories from him when I was, you know, 1516 before he passed away, so yeah, he would, he would have said go, you know, if you’re going to fail it, this is a famous quote of his was, was bite off more than you can chew and button by God you better chew. And so he was all about going out going big or going home would have been his motto.
David Ralph [34:58]
For sure. What we’ve been touching on I am many of the guests have been coming up with this concept. And now I totally buy into it. But at the beginning, I would have gone hang on hang on, don’t quite get this. And my mindset was in employee mode, and now it’s in hustle muscle mode. And one of the things is is go big, and then go bigger, basically dream big and been dream bigger. Because most people won’t dream that big. And so you end up with less competition. Does that kind of make sense to you?
John Ruhlin [35:30]
Absolutely. I think I think what you know, I’ve a men about, you know, you dreaming big can and when you get to the peak of that mountain, you see that there’s a whole other mountain range that was out of the view. And so one in particular Tom Hill, who’s, you know, written books and all kinds of different things will tell you that you can’t Dream big enough. You know, when you get to that, you know, three year or five year mark of goals, and he calls it an 18 month growth curve. You just you shocked yourself what’s possible? There’s not no question.
David Ralph [36:06]
So well, why is a stupid question is but I’m I’m known for stupid questions, john. Why do so many people not believe that, because when you actually sit with somebody, and they explain that to you, even my mind couldn’t comprehend, but that was logical to begin with. But now it’s like, I’m, I’ve got new lenses in my eyes, and I just see the opportunities around me. But so many people don’t. And I was talking to a chap the other day, and he said, pretty much he would say between seven and 10 people are the walking dead, he says, These are the people that are not even going into jobs, but they like they’re going into jobs they don’t like on a daily basis. So that concept of dreaming big and dreaming even bigger, would be so radical for them, they’re not going to buy into it. And it’s such a shame because I could say every single day to them, and I would have it in their ears or listening to it. And you’re saying it, and the next guest would say it, but still was that kind of mental switch, but I won’t buy into it because they’re in that kind of situation, but they just won’t allow themselves to explode their chances of success?
John Ruhlin [37:16]
Yeah, well, I think, I think most at least in the US, you know, most public education or education in traditional education is geared towards teaching you how to go work for somebody else, and how to play things safe and how to, you know, save, you know, save 10% and put it in, in a mutual fund and our most of our society is geared towards the masses and not towards people, you know, thinking big and thinking radical and, you know, thinking outside the box, Twitter cliche you want to use, we’re we’re wired, and it’s almost kind of beat into us from an early age. And so I think, you know, as much as I think education is important, I think a lot of what we focus on, at least in the so maybe the UK is very similar is, you know, get a safe job, go be a cog somewhere and make your, you know, 50,000 or 80,000 or hundred thousand or, you know, in, you know, just kind of settle for the typical American dream. And so it’s it’s a, it’s after you hear it for 20 years, it’s hard to rewire your brain, you have to be really intentional to, to surround yourself and you know that I think that’s why the books and the people are so important to to kind of rewire most people’s thoughts around success and what’s possible, and all those sorts of things.
David Ralph [38:35]
Because I’ve created this new word, and I’ve been struggling with it for a while. And it’s a new word that you won’t have heard because I’ve invented it. And if it takes over the world, every time somebody mentions this word, I want a cup from it. And it’s in inspiration. Now, what inspiration is, is a cross between education and inspiration. And I think in the educational system, it’s all about giving education, but they lack the inspiration. And every now and again, you get a teacher that you love, and generally you love them because they are inspirational. And they have got just a different way of teaching you and you look back on it and you go, that was a great teacher. But literally all the other teachers I’m you know, sweeping statements, I’m sure there’s thousands and millions of great teachers out there. But certainly from my childhood when I look back, I just kind of remember lunatics, and you know, the inspirational ones. So there must be a lot of kind of vanilla ones that just didn’t resonate with me in any shape or form. And I can’t even remember what I taught me or whatever, there was no inspiration to it. So I think we should have inspiration. What’s up? I
John Ruhlin [39:43]
I like the the the word mashup i i think it’s true. I think it’s, I think the inspiration and just some of the basic tools of how to think and, you know, I but but I think you’re spot on that that most most, you know, most teachers are, you know, they’re overworked, the classrooms are too big, there’s there’s a lot of things that are stacked up against them. And then on top of that, they’re not inspiring. So it’s it’s a Yeah, it’s it’s not a good situation. It’s it, it’s got me thinking about with my own kids homeschooling or doing something different. Because I want my kids, you know, I have a buddy who, Cameron Harold who talks about teaching your kids and inspiring kids to become entrepreneurs. And he’s got one of the few TED talks that a Canadian ever has on his head on the TED website. And I think that I want to, I want my inspiration, I want my kids to be inspired. And I want them to be inspired to learn the right kinds of things. Education, so I, I like it. I like waiter. I like the direction
David Ralph [40:47]
did you realize, john, now you’ve said that word. You’re the first person that owes me money.
John Ruhlin [40:52]
The checks is in the mail. My friend, I was
David Ralph [40:55]
waiting for you to say it. And I thought I’ve almost got him. I’ve almost got him. Yeah, inspiration. Yeah, um, it’s a driving force for me. And it’s, it’s interesting from the United Kingdom, that so many American families do homeschool, because we wouldn’t do that at all over here. I don’t know anyone. Basically, if you keep the kids off from school, as parents, you’re going to prison is our responsibility to push them into school? Very different, isn’t it in America, where you can actually choose to actually have your kids school? At home?
John Ruhlin [41:24]
Yeah, it’s in some of the, the people that I respect the most are, I have one, one friend who, you know, he’s got six kids and homeschooled and, you know, like, I think a lot of people have a stigma attached to it. Because, you know, there’s, I’ve met some homeschoolers that are really weird, but I’ve also met some of the most brilliant, some of the most brilliant people, you know, they’re 14, I mean, I’ve seen some TED Talks from kids that are 12 and 14 years old, that are better than most of the best TED talks of people that are in there, you know, 2030 or 40. So, I think, I think the stigma is, is slowly going went away, because people are starting to see the results of, you know, parents taking ownership of, you know, their kids and, and understanding that, what the education of them and you know, that that’s one of the most precious things that you have. And if your kids and your family or your legacy, why would you trust that to somebody else that is making 40 or $50,000 or less a year? And is they don’t have inspiration on their side? So I, I had the homeschooling thing is is I would say is is catching on more and more in the US by far.
David Ralph [42:36]
But my kids wouldn’t listen to me. Well, we have homework, and it takes us all weekend to do the homework. Well, I’m saying to him, let him do the homework. And you’ll be done in an hour, you know, and it drags on drags on drags on the thought of actually having my kids and every day, I’ve got to get up and actually teach them. Oh, I would drive me my john.
John Ruhlin [42:57]
Well, I think depending upon when you start with your kids, I think if you start early, and it’s all that they know, it’s like anything else, like my kids, I mean, I my kids, the avocado and salmon and blue cheese, but they’ve been doing it since they, you know, they’re two or one. And so if you take some kid that it’s, you know, let’s say they’re 15, and they’re not used to their parents, you know, talking to them about about education, or whatever else, I think it’s I think there’s, it’s like any other person, like there’s a rewiring process. And there’s a painful process of rewiring, whether it’s our kids or ourselves, or any of those sorts of things I’m hoping, you know, and this I, I may be proven completely wrong on this, but I’m hoping that if they, if I’m really active in their education, when they’re young, it won’t be it’ll just be a normal part of Mom and Dad, what you know, like we traveled together, we go to third world countries and serve together and, and in that whole education process is just a part of being a family, that it won’t be foreign to them. So I maybe I’m maybe I’m wishful thinking, and I’m off my rocker. And you’re welcome to challenge me on that. Because I my kids aren’t old enough to be really engaged in that way. So
David Ralph [44:09]
john, I’m not going to challenge you because you are the guest on the show, I will just say no kids will grow up to hate you, they will they will see you as the person that stops all their fun.
John Ruhlin [44:25]
I come on, I mean, that may well very well be but I mean, traveling the world and instead of you know reading about the the Roman wall like I want them to come visit you know David Ralph and talk to them and come see the wall firsthand. And I want them to, to be engaged and you know, take ownership in their of their education, but I’m going to help, I’m gonna help expose them to some pretty fun things, whether they hate me or not, that’s still that’s still very well possibility. They may be like, no more trips to send us to the frickin public education to be done with a dad, no more, no more teaching. So if that’s the case, I, I will I will eat humble pie, and I’ll be you’ll be the first one that I’ll reach out to
David Ralph [45:06]
you just just put an apology letter in with the chest, but you’ll save time and put them both in the same envelope. And that will be fine, we would have, we would have mended our burn bridges jump
John Ruhlin [45:21]
date at 10 years from now and say I’m so sorry, David, I was so wrong. I don’t know what I was thinking or smoking like a
David Ralph [45:28]
time capsule, I’ll be waiting.
Unknown Speaker [45:34]
I love it.
David Ralph [45:35]
I love it talking about going back in time and time capsule was I’m going to play the words of Steve Jobs now. Because it would be wrong not to play it on the show. Because Hey, this show is called join up dots and I am fascinated whether you believe in these words, because I know we were touching beforehand on a very interesting concept that you’ve got based around these words. So it does not lead towards the fact that you do believe them. So this is Steve Jobs and we’re gonna have a quick chat afterwards.
Steve Jobs [45:58]
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 leaves you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [46:34]
Because you seem to me a big heart, you seem like a big heart with a big knife. Would I be right?
Unknown Speaker [46:41]
I would Yes, I
David Ralph [46:42]
would say so. And so do you buy into the words that Steve says Do you follow your heart? Do you go off the beaten path and have faith in yourself that is going to end up? All right.
John Ruhlin [46:53]
Well, I think I believe in my heart and I believe in you know, the soul spirit, you know, that’s inside to me, I also believe in a higher power. So he talked about karma or, you know, believe in something bigger than yourself. You know, I believe in a creator that, you know, I don’t think that we’re all just here randomly and with chaos. So I think that there, whether you call that the Creator, or God or Jesus or I think that there’s something that’s connecting the dots. And I do believe that to try to look ahead and connect the dots he’s spot on in only in hindsight only looking backwards. Can you say that’s why that happened? And that’s why that happened? Oh, that’s Yes. I’m so glad that that I my heart was broken there. And I’m so glad that that, you know, tragedy occurred because that here’s the other 10 things that came out of that. So I think Steve Jobs is spot on, on the connecting of the dots in hindsight for sure.
David Ralph [47:49]
Somebody once said to me, then why can’t we actually take those dots and turn them into goals? Is it was a different sort of point of view that they had, I said, Yeah, I can look back on my life, and I can connect the dots. But I believe I can actually project those dots into the future and just follow them on. And I wasn’t 100% sure about that. What What do you think?
John Ruhlin [48:12]
Well, I think that, I do think that we have the ability to kind of, you know, what we focus on and what we, you know, you look at you know, the power of positive thinking, and there’s, you know, been all kinds of books thinking Grow Rich, and what you think about on a day to day basis does come into existence. Now, it may not always come exactly as you thought it was or in the manner in which what you thought it should are always in the timing. But in general, what you focus on, I think was as human beings, we have that ability to kind of project into the future and kind of create before it happens. So, but I think that if you look at most people’s lives, they nobody orchestrates their life perfectly, and connects the dots the way that they should. So I think, you know, I think there’s, maybe it’s a half truth to say that you can connect the dots ahead of time, and, and know exactly where you’re going to be in what you’re going to do. I think, I think life has a tendency to throw curveballs at you, and takes you in directions that you couldn’t have planned otherwise. Because we live in a crazy broken world. And, you know, there’s other people that are involved in our success, not just ourselves. So in controlling other people is, I haven’t figured out how to do that. I don’t know about you, but other other folks tend to go a different direction than what I always think that they will,
David Ralph [49:32]
if I could throw people I wouldn’t have got married. That’s the way I think I learned a lesson on that one, john,
John Ruhlin [49:41]
I can imagine that marriage has a way of, of changing our views and, and, and putting a spotlight on, you know, our own flaws. And I’ve only been married for five years. But it’s definitely rocked my world and the directions that that I never thought I’d be going shirt. Have you aged
Unknown Speaker [50:04]
I would say
John Ruhlin [50:06]
Actually, I’m probably healthier, definitely happier. But I’m more challenged, I’m more aware of, I think I was living in kind of maybe ignorant bliss before and and now I’m more self aware in you know, the spotlight is on my my character flaws and how much I have to grow. Whereas before I thought I had arrived. And I realized now that that is not the case.
David Ralph [50:36]
So and that that is a key point of being being an entrepreneur, isn’t it because we are on a journey. And we are going to send you back in time in a moment to have a one on one with your younger self. But at the point of when you are getting a family together and you get married, and when the kids come along, then you realize, but your time is not your own. And there’s certain restraints, and there’s certain kind of you want to be at the school play, you want to see kids as spokes day and all those kinds of stuff. How are you going to balance that because having a one and a two year old is very different, they just kind of get taken around. But as they get into fives and sixes and 10s and 11th, when you will have sort of needs and requirements to balance your work, do you think you’re gonna be able to do that?
John Ruhlin [51:17]
I like to think so. I mean, I think, you know, kind of coming back to I’m surrounding myself with people that maybe have made some of the mistakes or that that can mentor me through some of those, those obstacles and challenges. I’ve met people that, you know, I started having kids when I was, you know, 29 I got married was 29 sure having kids when I was 30. And so I think that I’ve met some of them that have four or five kids, and they start having kids when they are 2223. And they’ve accomplished an enormous amount that lived amazing lives. But I think that you start to realize you can’t, you know, there are limits. And with those limits, you have to focus on what you’re going to accomplish and pursue and, and then how what your family is going to look like, you know, 10 1520 years from now. And if that’s really important to you, you better put in the time and an effort and you have to say no to a lot more things than you’re going to say yes to. And I think that’s where I’ve been challenged the most is I’m a yes, I wouldn’t Yes, guy I love to travel, you know, I love to try new things. And I’ve had to figure out more what’s really important and I can say yes to one things, whereas before, I would have said yes to 10 things. And, and so that ratio is has been a little bit challenging, and a tough pill to swallow at times. Because I yeah, I love to go out and and and challenge myself and experience new things.
David Ralph [52:40]
You realize, if you are homeschooling you will never go out.
Unknown Speaker [52:47]
That’s a I, I will say that
John Ruhlin [52:50]
I’ve been told once again, this is not from personal experience that until the kids are like four, or maybe in like fifth or sixth grade, you can get in an entire day’s worth of education in for like five, you know, 678 year old in like two and a half hours because a lot of school I don’t know about you. But I was bored mostly in school and between, you know, recess and cafeteria and half the things that they did, like, you know, I was they focus on the kids that don’t understand multiplication, not the kids that have it aced. So I think that I’m hoping that I can, I can get things done between, let’s say, seven and 10. And then go about my day, you know, and so say three or four, and then and still have a full evening, maybe that’s once again, a pipe dream. But that’s that. That’s my goal,
David Ralph [53:40]
we’ll see what happens is a key thing, actually, you say that. And our My mind was sort of whizzing in different directions. But it’s strange. You go through school, and yes, it’s boring. I’ve been through school, you’ve been through school, and a lot of the time, it’s just boring. You just kind of think, Oh, I wish I could be somewhere else. And I wonder if that’s why when we go into jobs and it’s boring, but we get paid to be there. We kind of accept it. We’ve been trained to deal with boredom when no one’s paying paying us. And so suddenly we get a salary on it, we kind of are more accepting of it.
John Ruhlin [54:11]
I think I had never thought of it that way. But I think you’re spot on. We’ve been it’s been beaten to us for for 18 years to be bored. And so yeah, we should probably, you know, most people probably do accept it. And because I know like I didn’t read that much. When I was going through school, I just was able to get good grades on the test whatever else. But I started reading because I wanted to and took ownership of my education and, and and choosing to pay and go to events and conferences and retreats and seminars like it those times flew by, you know, I mean, you go to an Anthony Robbins thing or something like that. It’s like, you know, 16 hours long and you can’t get enough of it. So I do think that. Yeah, we’re we’re very used to being bored and just kind of going just kind of zoning out. Which is that was pretty sad.
David Ralph [55:01]
With change in the wilderness episode. JOHN, I think I think you you aim for the White House. I’m going to aim for 10 Downing Street and we’re meet in the middle somewhere, we’re going to change things.
John Ruhlin [55:13]
I sure was that coke. So it sure seems that way I’m getting I’ve gotten goose bumps a couple of times on this call. Hopefully the the people that are listening, you know, are getting at least one or two goose bumps.
David Ralph [55:25]
Yeah. And if my rock is listening, he’s coming for you. He’s coming. He’s got a big knife already. And he’s he’s outside. Right? Just JUST BEFORE WE ARE WE terrorize Barack Obama into doing something terrible. I sent you back in time. And this is part of the show where we send you back in time like a young Marty McFly, to have a one on one with your younger self. And if you could go back in time and speak to the young john, what advice would you give him? And what age would you choose? I’m going to play the tune. And when it fades out, you’re up. This is the Sermon on the mic.
Unknown Speaker [56:04]
Here we go. With the best bit of the show.
John Ruhlin [56:22]
Little john, this is Big Sean speaking. You’re 21 years old and you just interned with just started interning with Cutco. And, and I just want to share a couple of different things. That that I think, I wish I you know, I hope you know, and I wish I wished I would have known at that, that that key point, you have nothing to be embarrassed of sales is a is a wonderful, wonderful career. It’s a being an entrepreneur, and the risks that are going to come You know, don’t listen to the naysayers, whether its family, whether it’s friends, and and don’t take those insecure that you have and try to become something that you’re not, don’t try to build a company that has a ton of employees or that has big buildings to prove how successful you become be okay with with running the small, powerful lean business that you have, and in representing a great product, I think that, you know, being embarrassed, were you thinking that, that you’re not as good as the people that you surround started to surround yourself with? Because you’re you’re selling you know, fine cutlery? I I’d highly encourage you to, to do two other things. One is look for partnerships. Immediately, don’t wait, yeah, it’s one of the best decisions that you’re going to make is to, to bring on a partner and to sell half of the company, your Don’t let your ego get in the way. Having a partner is is going to be one of the best things that you can do. And so start looking for partnership opportunities early, you may feel insecure as a result of of some of the things that that are coming down the pike. And the second thing is, even though you can delegate and hire other people to do things, understand the financials of your business. Yeah, you can cover a lot of sins with sales. But you can’t cover all sins with sales, you need to understand the inner workings of the business. And even though you’re growing super fast, take the time to slow down and understand some of those components. And the last thing is, is you’re going to have some bumps and bruises related to some of the people that you’re going to hire and maybe some people that steal from you and in those sorts of things but but don’t lose heart in in humanity and and and let the few bad apples get you down. That’s
that’s that Yeah. And you’re right David
it takes me back memory lightning gets me a little emotional to think about some of those things.
David Ralph [59:03]
That’s what it’s all about. JOHN, just the last question before I send you a question before last, I suppose. Do you think everyone that’s listening can have a kick ass life?
John Ruhlin [59:14]
Absolutely. I think it’s going to look differently for different people. But I no question that, that we’re we were created to thrive as a as a human being and I think that that that that is is available, at least in my experience it’s available to to every person that I’ve met
David Ralph [59:36]
so how can our audience connect with you Joe?
John Ruhlin [59:41]
Yeah, the easy easy way you know email john at Roland group or go to ruling group.com or Twitter you know, my Twitter handle is just ruling Are you h Li n our you know, Facebook or that, you know, the common social media things that that are that are available is all the the above?
David Ralph [1:00:01]
JOHN, it’s been an absolute delight having you on the show. 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 the dots and connecting our past is the best way to build our futures. JOHN grueling. Thank you so much.
John Ruhlin [1:00:17]
David, thank you
Outro [1:00:19]
David doesn’t want you to become a faded version of the brilliant self you are 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.
