Stand Out and Be Heard, Even in a Crisis

This is the Momentum Podcast. Here's one thing we know with absolute certainty about the crisis happening in the world right now. Entrepreneurs are going to rise above the noise, they're going to identify the opportunities that are in the world today, they're going to see a way to move things forward. They're going to grab a hold of the opportunity, move things forward, get into momentum and bring the world behind them. The world needs entrepreneurs now more than it ever has before, and in this episode of the Momentum podcast, Alex is going to tell you exactly why that statement is so true.

I'm Alex Charfen and this is the momentum podcast made for empire builders, game changers, trailblazers, shot takers, record breakers, world makers and creators of all kinds, those among us who can't turn it off and don't know why anyone would want to. We challenge complacency, destroy apathy, and we are obsessed with creating momentum so we can roll over bureaucracy and make our greatest contribution. Sure, we pay attention to their rules, but only so that we can bend them, break them, then rewrite them around our own will. We don't accept our destiny, we define it. We don't understand defeat because you only lose if you stop and we don't know how. While the rest of the world strives for average and clings desperately to the status quo, we are the minority, the few who are willing to hallucinate there could be a better future and instead of just daydreaming of what could be, we endure the vulnerability and exposure it takes to make it real. We are the evolutionary hunters, clearly the most important people in the world because entrepreneurs are the only source of consistent, positive human evolution and we always will be.

Today's topic is a topic I became very familiar with in the foreclosure crisis. It is how do you stand out and be heard even in a crisis? See, as entrepreneurs what our goal is, is to cut through the noise. It's to be heard. It's to get attention it's to be able to contact the right people in the right way so that they will move towards us and we can help them into momentum. And here's the goal in a crisis is you want to be the loudest voice. You want to be the one that's heard. You want to be the one that's paid attention to and that doesn't necessarily mean you're making the most noise.

In fact, often the person who's heard the most in a crisis, often the person who gets the most attention is not the noisiest, but the one who is most present. In fact, let's just talk about the problem, like what does a crisis do? And what has this crisis done to us? And you know what? I can go back to the foreclosure crisis. It was completely disoriented. It changed real estate like crazy. It made everyone feel confused and overwhelmed. Well, let's go to the current crisis. Well, what's going on here today? We have this high level of confusion and overwhelm and disconnection. In the foreclosure crisis, there was some disconnection in this one, there is mandated disconnection. I heard somebody quoted Joe Rogan the other day and Joe Rogan said, "The worst thing that we can do to humans as a punishment is we put them in solitary confinement."

And what we are now doing to huge percentage of our population is we are all in solitary confinement. And so in a crisis, that feeling of isolation, that feeling of quarantine, that feeling of everything's changed, it makes people feel disconnected. It makes people feel unhinged and ungrounded. It makes people feel insecure and anxious or frustrated. And all of those things do not feel progressive to the people that we're talking to. And here's what happens, if you're in a crisis and you buy in, you lean in you get excited, you get overwhelmed, you adopt the feelings of a crisis. If you can't separate yourself from it, here's what happens is that people can't hear you, you miss the people you can help. People won't hear that you can contribute to them, that you can help them move forward, that you are a solution.

And so the crucial part about being in a crisis is being heard. And so how do you modify your messaging so you can stand out and be heard? How do you modify how you show up so you can stand out and be heard? I'm going to give you a radically different approach than most. Now, I would tell you, modify your messaging so you're joining the conversation that there is, make sure you're talking about at least the elephant in the room in some way or it feels like you're disconnected and you're not there. But here's the foundational way to change how people see you in a crisis. And I know this personally, let me just share with you, this crisis, this COVID 19 crisis is totally different for me than the foreclosure crisis.

If I go back to 2007, Katie and I were completely wiped out. We went bankrupt and the noise that was going on in our lives was overwhelming. And the, let's just be honest, every day was overwhelming, going bankrupt, going to attorneys and telling them you're a failure. Having to go through all the meetings, having to go through all the process was debilitating. It was like the biggest punch in the gut of taking away my momentum I've had financially in my life by far. And I was in a place where my world felt overwhelming. I felt unhinged. We were ungrounded. Katie and I were kind of all over the place, but we did exactly what I'm going to suggest you do in that crisis, and we became very present, we became very aware, even though we were going through some of the worst times in our lives, we showed up in a way that was literally magnetic and people came towards us and they were magnetized towards us.

And here's how we did it. The way that we were able to show up consistently during the last crisis in a way that people followed us, even when we were bankrupt. Like I want you to understand something, I was in the middle of declaring bankruptcy and consulting with major multinational organizations because we showed up in such a present and transparent and real way that when we went to organizations like RE/MAX and the FHFA and the Federal Housing Authority and the US Treasury, they listened. Even though we would have that major failure and here's why I believe they did. I was present and I was aware and even though my life situation was incredibly challenging, I followed what we call the contribution equation to create presence and awareness on a daily basis. And let me share it with you. It's a four step process.

And for entrepreneurs, I think it's the meaning of life. And in a crisis like the one that we're in, this four step process will not just save you. Here's what it will do, if you're willing to really lean in here and you follow these four steps, what will happen is it will change how you vibrate the energy you give out in a crisis. And energetics are incredibly important. If you've ever been in a room and somebody walks in and you can feel the energy shift, it's usually because they're accelerators. Something's going on with that person. And if you've ever like walked up to somebody and as you're walking up to them, you can feel discomfort or anxiousness, it's usually because their discomfort, they're uncomfortable or anxious or in a hurry. And we all know what it feels like. You know what it feels like when you're walking towards somebody who's angry.

You immediately identify and feel like energy is so important. The energy you show up with, it's what people feel. The words you say is what they hear. When you combine those two together and they're congruent, you will cut through the noise in a crisis like crazy. Let me just repeat that, the energy you show up with is what people feel. The words you say is what they hear. You can have all the right words, wrong energy, and it's not going to work. You have the right energy and you flubbed some of the words, people are going to feel that you're there for them and it probably will work. So energy is the most important. So here's the four step process. We call this the contribution equation. Number one, especially in a crisis, you must lower pressure and noise for yourself like crazy. Lower the noise around you.

You know, it's interesting. I always tell people, the people, the places and things that are frustrating you, get them out of your life. Well, right now in a crisis like this, what can you do to lower the pressure and noise? Are you eating healthy? Are you hydrating, drinking water on a daily basis all day long? Are you breathing and meditating and doing what it takes to be present and aware? Are you going on walks? Are you getting outside and getting some vitamin D? All of these things are crucial in a situation like most of us are in to lower the pressure and noise for ourselves. And here's what we know happens when we lower pressure and noise, it is the same as creating momentum. For all of us right now that feel the constraint of this quarantine, the challenge that's going on, the ambiguity of what's going to happen next.

If you lower the pressure and noise in your life, like if you offload what is making you frustrated, if you do things that give you momentum, you will increase the momentum you are feeling even in the middle of a situation like this. That's step one is lower the pressure and noise. Step two is to increase the protection and support you're asking people for because as soon as this crisis started, Katie and I doubled down on our morning alignment with our daughters, our alignment with each other, our discussions that we're having together. I'm asking for more help from my team. I'm asking my wife for more help and actually, I'll share a story with you. Today in our daily huddle we actually included a section, so normally we go, we say hello, we share our data and metrics from the day before. Then critical issues, anything that's going to slow people down and then we go straight to caught being awesome.

Like who did great on the team? Who wants to congratulate somebody? Well, we added a new part. Where was I uncomfortable yesterday? It's part of our planning system and for as long as this crisis goes, we're going to let our team share where they were uncomfortable so that they can offload pressure and noise. That actually releases pressure and noise. And if somebody on our team says, "This is where I'm uncomfortable," like as an example, one of our team members is a mom who's breastfeeding and having some challenges with that process. And so I was quickly able to say, "Hey, here's a place you can go for resources and get some information." So by sharing where we're uncomfortable, we're helping people actually get protection and support. And so first lower pressure and noise. Second, ask for protection and support. Let people know what help you need.

Sit down and make a list of the people you need to ask for help. And right now is a time to build community work together, we all go forward faster together. Now if you lower pressure and noise and you increase protection and support, here's what's interesting, your strengths and abilities will just show up. I know this, in 2007 I was not a real estate agent, I wasn't really like anything in the real estate industry. I don't have a degree. I was a consultant before that, but here's what happened. I lowered pressure and noise in my life like crazy. Even though we were going bankrupt, Katie and I had morning routines, we aligned, we spent time together, we went on walks with our daughter. We made sure that we were taking care of the important things we were eating healthy, hydrating, all of those things.

I asked for protection and support. I got help from Katie immediately when we started the business that we had that we started in 2007 in the middle of bankruptcy. I started getting contract help, I started anywhere that I could get help I did. And a lot of my friends at that time said, "Hey, if you ever need help, we'll help you." Well, guess what? Normally people say that and they don't ever expect a response. At that point I asked everybody who offered for help and I lowered pressure and noise, increased protection and support and here's the strengths and abilities that showed up for me. I actually became the leader of the real estate industry, the defacto leader of the real estate industry on Fox News, on CNN at round tables in Washington. I sat two chairs away from the director of the US Treasury, like the guy that goes into meetings with back then with Obama, I sat two seats away from director Lockhart and helped him drive an entire round table meeting.

So, that's how strengths and abilities show. Prior to them to us being bankrupt, I didn't have any contacts in Washington. I didn't have any contacts in the major lenders I was marginally involved with real estate because I was buying and selling it. Not marginally, I was involved in buying and selling real estate, but I was marginally involved with banks and investors and all of the brokerages. But by the end of the crisis, I was the go to person and it was because I lowered noise, increased support and my strengths and abilities showed and check this out. It's a four step process. So the contribution equation, lower pressure and noise, increase protection and support. If you do those two things, your strengths and abilities will show. And here's the fourth step. You can go make your greatest contribution. And if you lower the noise consistently and you ask for more help consistently, get more protection and support, your strengths and abilities will show and you can go and make your greatest contribution.

And here's what I mean by that. I don't mean starting a charity or a foundation, unless that's what you want to do. See, here's how I look at it. Entrepreneurs are driven for contribution. Every business I've ever started has been to change something, to make something happen, to solve a problem, to move things forward. And we love to contribute and create momentum and make the world move forward. And so when I say go make your greatest contribution, build a business, have massive outcomes, go help a bunch of people. That's what I mean. And in a crisis, the contribution equation, it works like 10 times as well because in a crisis, very few people lower pressure and noise. In fact, here's what happens, most people lean into the pressure and noise, they join the conversation, they watch the news, they read obsessively, they get worked up and they check out.

And most people in a crisis stop asking for protection and support. They isolate, they pull back, they get scared, they don't ask the people around them for help, which would help so much. And in a crisis when you don't lower the pressure and noise and it goes up and when you don't ask for protection and support and you need more, your strengths and abilities will be sufficiently challenged. If you've been having trouble making decisions, if you felt blocked or constrained or like you're standing in place, maybe you need to lower the pressure and noise, increase protection and support so you can get those strengths and abilities back. And if you do those three things, you will go out and make a massive contribution. But unfortunately in a crisis, here's what happens. People, like I said, the pressure an noise goes up and they don't lower it.

They don't ask for more help even though they need it. Their strengths and abilities are significantly challenged. And then your ability to make a contribution... Let's get real, your ability to even make a living or just get through the day is significantly challenged and if we are willing to take a step back and go through this process, sit down and identify all the things that are causing you pressure and noise and identify all the things that you could do to lower it. Yoga, exercise, hydration, breathing, movement, eating the right foods talking to people, even if it's only on the phone or Zoom, creating community and connecting with people, all those things will lower the noise for you. Increase protection and support with the people around you, have your strengths and abilities show and go out and make a massive difference because here's what is going to happen in this crisis. I've had a lot of people ask me, "Hey, what's going to happen?"

Here's what's going to happen in this crisis. Entrepreneurs are going to rise above the noise, we're going to identify the opportunities that are there. See a way to move things forward, grab hold of it, take it forward, get into momentum and bring the world with us. The world needs us now more than it ever has. And here's what you should know about lowering pressure and noise and increasing protection and support. It will make you magnetic in a crisis because when everyone else is showing up in the crisis way and you're showing up having lowered the noise, increased protection and support with your strengths and abilities in full view and ready to make your greatest contribution, people will line up behind you. I know. Katie and I were able to do it during the last crisis and we're going to do it again and I want to take you with me.

So, take a minute to lower the noise in your life. Get present, get aware. When you're present and aware, when you show up as the calm one, when you show up as the one who centered, when you show up energetically present, you can lower the noise for the people around you just by being there. You can increase the vulnerability and transparency with which they share what's going on and they will tell you what's really happening for them and you will be the beacon of hope throughout this crisis, which if you're in business like I am, I want to be the beacon of hope for my family, for my team, and for everyone who works with me. And I know I can remain there by lowering the noise, increasing protection and support, showing up as my full self with all my strengths and abilities and making a massive contribution.

Remember, your focus determines your reality and more than ever, your reality is yours to create. If you're ready to grow your business, if your business is actually growing, if you see opportunity right now, even in this crisis, if you see how you're going to grow the business, move things forward, do more, show up in a way that contributes more, then we want to talk to you. Go to predictablebusinesssolutions.com, predictablebusinesssolutions.com answer a few questions for my team. Jump on a call with one of us, let us show you how we are showing people how to grow their business, make a massive impact, improve their revenues, and make more money even in the middle of a crisis. Don't let anyone tell you, you can't do it. This crisis like every other one is going to create massive opportunities and we should not apologize for taking advantage of those opportunities because if we do, we are creating the economy that is going to get us out of this crisis. Don't ever apologize for doing business, selling or moving things forward as long as you're doing it in an ethical way, even in the middle of a crisis. We need you to. So go to predictablebusinesssolutions.com answer a few questions from my team and we look forward to meeting with you.