Welcome back to The Daily Mastermind, George Wright III with your daily dose of inspiration, motivation, and education. And we're joined by an incredible guest today, Phil R. Taylor. How are you? I'm grateful. I am grateful, George. Life is good. God is good. Every day is a gift. I love it. I love it. And I love your attitude. And I tell you, most of our listeners will be, You know, sorry, they weren't part of our pre-conversation, but we'll get into some really great topics. And I want to give our listeners a little intro here first, because there's so much about Phil that I could give you background on. And part of it will have to come through the episode, but he's the founder and CEO of Goal Achievers Summit. And what he does is he leads a platform focused on bringing entrepreneurs and leaders together through high-impact events. And it's designed to help you support, you know, clarity and growth and meaningful connection. but he's got an incredible background that dates into some of the founders of personal development and business and strategy. He's been all over the world. And so I'm anxious to get into it. And our goal today is to really talk a little bit about what kind of resources and impact he's bringing. So Phil, I really appreciate you being here. I want you to kind of tell our listeners a little bit about your background. This is not to say, you know, how did you get into this industry yet, but yet what built the foundation for you in these areas that now you're culminating into the Goal Achievers Summit? This is exciting. And George, thank you for the great privilege and honor of being on your program. And congratulations. It's now a thousand plus episodes. Yeah. 1300. Yeah. 1300. Get out of town. This is amazing. I don't even know. The time goes by so quick, right? It really does. And we're in the top 100 in Apple. So it's pretty exciting to have that kind of influence and impact. Unbelievable. I'm a subscriber and I just love the content that you deliver. And I have to say, if there was a poster boy for Goal Achiever, it would be you. You'd be on the cover. I think we need to come out with a magazine called The Goal Achiever and have you as the future person because you're all about what we do, you know, in terms of serving the entrepreneurial community and you do it so well and with such credibility and dignity. Thank you. Thank you for what you're doing. So back to your question, how it all started is really, I discovered this wonderful professional sales selling at the age of 18. You know, I thought way back then work was heavy lifting, grind and something that was really, you know, something you didn't look forward to. And at the age of 18, during after my first year of college, I was introduced to the profession of selling and I just caught fire. I could not believe how companies would reward you so generously for just communicating a product or a service of value to others that would benefit. And so I just, you know, got into the professional selling and I picked up this wonderful book. You know, three pivotal books for me was How to Win Friends and Influence People, Bill Carnegie, and then Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich. But the third book I really appreciate is Tom Hopkins, How to Master the Art of Selling. Oh my gosh, I love that program. I love Tom Hopkins. Yeah. I took that too. Yeah, keep going. So I picked up that book and it transformed my life. Today, Tom is a personal friend of mine. We've had many hours of discussions and I could have never imagined that. But what a great book, what it's written. Of course, since then, he's written 17 plus books and so forth. But that really kicked off my career in sales. And from that, just to fast forward, you know, nothing happens without a sale. It all begins with the sales. That's really the backbone of any business. But then, you know, that whole entrepreneurial, you know, spirit, you know, kicked in, dreaming. And, you know, so I began to start some companies and that's a different animal, so to speak. But it's been an entrepreneurial journey. And then as a default, that whole theme of leadership is always ever so present, you know, whether you like it or not when you're an entrepreneur. And Fast Track, I'm mentioning those three things because they really capsulate what the Goal Achievers Summit is all about. Three really, three tracks, sales and marketing, entrepreneurship really at the core of it, and then leadership. So that's kind of a synopsis with, you know, going in. Yeah. And you see your background and I'm sure some of these things will come up, tracks a lot of entrepreneurs that got early started in sales and then they got that entrepreneurial spirit. And as they start to build a business, they realize that leadership is the key to growing and scaling anything. And so you go through these phases. And by the way, probably one of the first books my dad ever gave me growing up was Think and Grow Rich. But I remember because he was a salesperson, I remember, you know, he, you know, did some things with Tom Hopkins and he had a program once when I was young and I, he had me go through it with him. And so his how to master the art of selling anything program is sort of like one of my first entries into sales. And I think you're right at the core, people want to make money. It's a key leadership thing. Sales itself is a communication skill. But you found over time that as you went through all of these challenges and learning, you met a lot of people. And this is part of why I'm laying this foundation. You really were able to create relationships in an industry that brought a lot of different aspects. So I noticed with Goal Achiever Summit, and I want to ask you if this is strategic, it wasn't about you going out and communicating all these things about leadership and sales and entrepreneurship. You are bringing people together that are experts in all those fields. Was there a reason you did that? Is there a reason that you're bringing that together in an event setting? Because nowadays with technology, you could just, you know, train all that stuff out there. But I think you have a real strategy around what you're doing. And I wanted you to share that with us. That's a great question. And an interesting one as well. You know, first and foremost, I think the consumer for the Goal Achiever Summit is me. the consumer of this whole product, you know, and really I have a need for it. And so it really comes from a heartfelt place. And even to this day, you know, we're on that journey of constant, never ending improvement. You know, how can I be more efficient, effective, impactful, you know, as I go along and, but, you know, someone said, you know, they were saying, so the goal achievers summit, what is that really at the core of it? It's really another name for mastermind group as coined by Napoleon Hill and as coined by you as well. And that when people come together in small groups and harmony of purpose and are focused on one goal, they can achieve things far more effectively and quickly than if they were to try to do it themselves So the Goal Achievers Summit really is about bringing like individuals together in harmony of spirit so that we can lift one another encourage one another educate like you do so well, and then also providing post-summit experience where people can be clear on their own goals, but the goals of others, and then pour into one another through these mastermind groups that exist, you know, from summit to summit people person asked, you know, you have these three tracks, you know, sales, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Why? And, you know, I didn't even realize why until that person asked me. And all I had to do is kind of look back in my career. And those were the three defining tracks of my professional career. Something that I can identify with, empathize with. And I have to say that I'm 61. I just turned 61 years young, you know, just last week actually. And if you look at life sort of like a football game, you know, the average male apparently from what I've seen from studies is about 80 years old. So if you look at life, you know, as a football game in quarters, the first quarter is, you know, the 20 year mark and then the 40 year mark and then the 60, this feels like it's the beginning of the fourth quarter, you know? And you kind of, I look at life differently now in the fourth quarter than I did in the first and second. And now it's more about impact than anything else. Significance and impact. Yeah. I think a lot of people share that perspective, age or unrelated. I think that people are starting nowadays to want to create more of that. So I love that you said that. And And I actually want to unpack, before I do that, I want to do something else, but I do want to unpack a little bit these three core areas because I think it's not just you. I think most entrepreneurs, you know, sales skills, entrepreneurship, leadership, you know, strategies and insights, those are cool structure. But I love that you said, and I want to really highlight that events are good. They're good to build relationships, but the power of a mastermind, and you said this, and I'm a big believer in it, you know, two or more people coming together in the spirit of harmony for a common. cause and direction, you get this, you know, Napoleon Hill says this intangible third, you know, you know, intelligence, right? Tell me, I don't want to over, I don't want to pass that over too soon. Talk to me about the power of the mastermind. Cause if you, for those of you listening, Phil was pretty instrumental in creating some Napoleon Hill products and 17 success principles and different things. So this is one of the things I wanted to ask you, Talk to me just a minute about the power of the mastermind outside just the normal Goal Achievers Summit. Why is that so critical for individuals? I think it's critical because I believe it's God's design for us to work collectively together. And I think the most basic and the most beautiful mastermind is a husband and a wife. You know, separately, they could do only so much. But when they come together, power, that love and that energy creates a force that's far greater than one and one equals two. You know, and in the same way, when we come together, whether it be two or more. In fact, it's interesting that you said the third conscience that Napoleon Hill was talking about. You know, when you come together, if you're two or more, there's a third power. That goes back to the Bible. You know, the Bible says when two or three are gathered in my name, there I am. wow wow you know and then if you look at really the greatest book that's ever been written in my experience and viewpoint the bible it has all the answers to life you know and if we go back to the bible and i happen to have a program back there called the 17 biblical principles of success with 51 people that were impacted by this great book it really talks about being a body and then not everybody can be an eye or an ear or an arm or a leg, but we're really designed to work together as a unit. And when we come together in harmony of purpose, so much more can be accomplished than trying to do it yourself. I don't think we were designed to go through this journey of life alone, but together. Yeah. I agree with that a hundred percent. And I think interestingly, events in life like COVID and others have started to split people apart. And I'm sure you have, But for the listeners that maybe haven't maybe heard of a book called Awitting the Devil, which was a Napoleon Hill book that was brought up. One of the things I really liked about that book, and I'll tell you why I mentioned this. I think so many entrepreneurs right now are trying to do things on their own. They're trying to be a lone wolf. And I remember because I had a time where I had gotten divorced and I had some struggles and things. I remember listening to this book where Napoleon Hill talked about he got to a point in his life where he during the Depression where he had the lowest of the lows. He lost his 600-acre ranch. He was, you know, here's the father of modern day personal development struggling and he couldn't figure out why. And then he realized, and I'm paraphrasing here, but he realized that he wasn't, he was going about it as a lone wolf and he was not applying the principles of the mastermind. and he needed to change his perspective to find opportunity in problems. But I thought it was interesting. That was one of the pivotal points that led to Think and Grow Rich and all these other things, which ironically, Think and Grow Rich is one of the top selling books outside of the Bible. So these principles are timeless, right? And I think too many people are trying to do it on their own, which is why I want them to realize that events are not just, well, events can be just events, but your purpose behind this is bigger than just even your company. The Goal Achiever Summit is all about masterminding, right? So you can connect together. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And it's about accomplishing your goals through the collective power. But you mentioned that winning the devil, you just brought back a memory. When that book came out from the archives of the Napoleon Hill Foundation, Sharon Lecter was given the privilege of putting that together. And if I might share, this is a program we did way back with the Napoleon Hill Foundation and Sharon Lecter's on this program. He's talking about the 17 principles of success, if you're listening to this on audio. Yes, this is the Napoleon Hill 17 principles of success, an official Napoleon Hill Foundation product. And it was produced by Nightingale Conant. And we had 51 of the who's who on that program. Everyone from Ken Lanchard to Harvey McKay to Brian Tracy to Sharon Lecter, Jim Stovall, and Larry Winget that were talking about time and money on this program. So you just brought back a memory that I totally, I said, oh, Sharon Lecter. Wow. It's a blast from the past. It shows the people. Look, this is another principle. If you're listening to this, you are who you surround yourself with. You know, Phil, you've had the opportunity to be around for decades, some of the greatest thought leaders of modern and historical time And this is sort of I imagine this is what also led you to put together what you doing But what are some of the biggest maybe you could give me one of your biggest or most impressive memories from being able to be around these types of people in your life. Who has made the most defining effect? Or maybe there's something that comes to mind. Okay. First of all, yeah, choose your friends carefully, the people you surround yourself with. And I think one of the joys that I think you can speak to is that as you're interviewing day in, day out, these incredible individuals, not only are you serving them, but you are getting energized by it. You know? Yes. And that's the paradox of life is that the secret is in pouring into others. And the more you pour it into others, the more it comes back to you. So the secret is not trying to grasp and grab and take, but seek where you can serve. And as you serve others, water others, you yourself will get watered. And I think that's one of the great joys. That's such a loaded question. My mind was just dancing with excitement. But one of the people that I go to every day, every single day for wisdom and guidance, is probably one of the most, the wisest person in his time, who probably next to Jesus ever lived, and that's King Solomon. And so I go to the book of Proverbs. There's 31 chapters every single day. Every single day, there's 31 chapters. So I read a chapter that's congruent with that day. Today I read, today is the 17th of May, 17th of April, should I say. And so I read chapter 17. Yesterday I read chapter 16. Tomorrow, God willing, if I'm alive, I'll read chapter 18. And it never gets old. So you have daily rituals that, there again, that's a principle that individuals, when you have consistent daily rituals lead to your growth, right? Always be growing. Always be growing. And it never gets old. And to go, you know, this book was written 4,000 years ago. 4,000 years ago. And yet the principles of leadership and communication, you know, and are right there and they're alive and they're crisp and they're applicable for today. So not only do I encourage people to read, that's another organization that started called Proverbs Journeyman, and I only encourage people to read the book of Proverbs, but then to reflect at the end of the day and say, what happened today in reflection to what I read and how can I learn from it? Yeah, application, right? Most people think learning is just learning and learning is not learning. Learning is application. Let's do this. Let's break down three kind of core things I wanted you to bring some perspective to our audience. One is around leadership. So you talk about strengthening clarity and decision making and long term vision. What do most leaders misunderstand about execution versus their ambition? You know, when it comes to being a leader, not just knowing leadership principles, but taking action, what is it that you try to tell people when it comes to leadership to take action? there's one, one way to lead in my viewpoint and my viewpoint. And that's through example, you know, through example. And then, and in terms of application, I know you love Dale Carnegie's work. And he wrote in one of his books, a quote from Herbert Spencer, who said, the great aim of education is not knowledge, but action. You know, I mean, we're no better than someone who doesn't read, who doesn't apply, you know, what we read. So where the rubber hits the road is with. Especially with leadership, right? It's you can't say you're a leader. You've got to be a leader. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's, you know. So if you're a leader and you're an entrepreneur, what are strategies that you talk to entrepreneurs about that help them, you know, move from clarity to action and to grow their business? What do you think is most critical for entrepreneurs today to be able to help grow and sustain their business? You know, entrepreneurs are visionaries. Yeah, that's what makes their dreamers and their visionaries. You know, cherish your visions and your dreams because they are the children of your souls and the blueprint of your ultimate achievements, as Napoleon Hill quoted. You know, it's beautiful to dream. And I think when we stop dreaming, we start dying. You know, dreams keep us green. they keep us alive as Ray Kroc said either you're green and growing or ripe and rotting you know so I think it's fun to dream and the possibilities particularly in this day and age that we live in yes the opportunities are limitless yeah and I would say play to your strengths you know find out what really energizes you and excites that and that is your gift to the world and to others you know, and then find ways to delegate and to work with others in a way that optimizes your, the achievement of your vision and your goal. Yeah. I love it. No, it is. And it leads me to a follow-up question because I'm curious what you've seen. Cause you've been around thousands of entrepreneurs. A lot of entrepreneurs, like you said, are dreamers and they don't bridge that over to execution. But I think there's a lot of entrepreneurs that are in the execution mode that don't take enough time to dream. Here's a two-part question. What do you see more of? Dreamers that don't take action or people that got their head down that don't dream enough? And what do you say to those two different groups? Because do you see that same kind of happening a lot? Nowadays, especially with AI, people are executing and they don't. Yeah, exactly. Getting caught up in the busyness and not really being centered on your purpose. No one's ever really put it that way and it's an interesting question yeah i mean it starts with thought you know napoleon hill said thoughts are things you know thoughts are things and so it starts with the seed of thought but it's a seed it's a seed that needs to be nurtured you know and i think for entrepreneurs they're great at dreaming and so forth but then it's how do i organize this how do i nurture this how do i press on in spite of the adversities and the critics and the adversities that try to choke that dream and that vision. And that's why I believe so strongly in community and in mastermind groups, because together we're so much stronger. It's a tough go to try to make it alone. And many, I think, you know, fail because they try to make it alone. And so Goal Achiever Summit is a place where like-minded entrepreneurs and individuals can come together, forge that alliance together, pour into one another, inspire, encourage, educate and share that journey together along principles that are very virtuous. You do structure though right Because I think that the point I really want to hammer home to people Don do it alone like you said but events are not just about community and relationship They can be very strategic and specific How do you help people that come to this they connect, that's good, and that's very important as a mastermind. How do you make sure they go home with strategies and tactics to execute? Oh, yeah. This is not just the event. Goal Achievers Summit is not just events. It's not like we're coming to your city and this is event that will inspire and motivate educate and so forth this is a movement this is a new awakening this is a tidal wave you know that is now sweeping across this nation and we trust really the world to give a sense of hope encouragement and renewal this is what the goal achievers summit is all about our first stop is in denver on may 8th and then we go to dallas for june 19th and month after that and then we go up to chicago and then phoenix seattle atlanta and we end up in orlando on the 29th and 30th which is really the at the crest of the new year where you look back on the year with reflection you look forward with anticipation and that overhanging question is what's going to be different this year going into the new year from last year and more importantly how can i make that happen? How can I, you know, how could that, that vision come into a reality? And it's about alliances. It's about mastermind alliances is I think what makes the goal achievers summit different from other events is that so many events you go to, you get fired up, you get encouraged, you go, wow, that was great. I made new friendships. I learned so much, but then three weeks go in and then you kind of go, I hardly can remember. Yeah. You go back to reality and you don't apply a lot of the principles as the key. right? Yeah, exactly. But relationships will carry in between and you have structures and formats for people to stay plugged in, right? That's right. Mastermind groups that everybody that will. And so here there's two things, goals and mastermind. Goals and mastermind. So everybody that goes to the Goal Achievers Summit, if they haven't already, by the time that they walk out, they will be crystal clear on what their goals are. That clarity is key. That's the key. Yeah. And then the second component is everybody will be clear about one another's goal. And they're all matched up in a small group of seven to 11 individuals that meet week in, week out. And they progressively, through the power of the mastermind group, through Zoom calls, pour into one another, encourage one another, keep each other positively accountable, share their network, their resources, their intelligence, All for the benefit of one another. And that is where acceleration is. That's where power is in the power of the mastermind. And that's what differentiates ourselves from others. And there's certain values, I think, that differentiate ourselves. It's not really in an interesting way. It's, yes, you have your goals. But really the key secret is into serving other people. the more you serve, the more you, you get poured into as well. And the more authentic and the more genuine and the more sincere that is the more powerful. Yeah, I know it totally makes sense. And I want to, you know, my job is to kind of make sure that if you're listening to this, that you are reading between the lines as well, because success does leave clues guys, listen up, you know, successful people think differently. And if you've noticed, if you've actually, rather than just hearing what Phil says, you've heard him say he's really about the purpose, passion, and legacy he's trying to create. That's where it starts. Then he's putting a structure and framework in using powerful principles like mastermind and goal setting and connection and relationships. And then there's these strategic business objectives. If you follow that, it's almost a roadmap for success in your business and everyone's business and things. So I love that you, even when I ask specific questions, you answer those, but you tie it back to what's most important. And I think that is sort of what separates you guys from what you're doing. So let me ask you this because we're kind of there on time. We could be talking for hours. I know. You and I both know that could happen. And I'll make sure I put a lot of show note links in here as well. But, Phil, if you had to leave our listeners, and most of our listeners are founders, entrepreneurs, business owners at all kinds of different levels. but they're all trying to grow and lean into their unique abilities and passion and create results and create the life that they were meant to live. If you had to give a piece of advice for no matter where you're at, how to go to the next level, what would you say is the most important thing they need to do? I'm pausing because that's a profound and very important question. I think King Solomon said it so well. He said, and he's a big hero of mine, you know, I mean, we all can find mentors in books, you see. They don't have to be alive. But he said, above all else, watch your heart. Because everything you do, everything you say and do flows from it. And I think to really have a self-examination of yourself, who you are, what your motives, what drives you, is really the foundation of it. And then to protect and to do it within tech. I love that advice. I love that advice because I think people are moving at such a fast pace nowadays. Sometimes it takes stepping back to say, am I really doing what I want to do, what I should be doing, and what I'm excellent about doing? and so listening to your heart is a great way. Even though it sounds a little ambiguous, it's not. If you truly step back and feel, are you aligned with what you should be, could be and ought to be doing, that's a great piece of advice. So thank you for doing that. And I appreciate you being here with us today. I'm sure we're gonna have a lot of follow-up as well too. George, what you do is so incredibly inspiring and valuable and you bring joy to my heart and to untold thousands of people from what you're doing. So thank you for being on mission with what you're doing and doing it so well and being such a great steward of the gift that you've been given to serve others. God bless you. Thank you. Yeah, no, thank you for those kind words. I appreciate it. Listen, guys, if you are listening to this, you've gotten any value out of it, I want you to share the show. Put the message out there. Let others sort of join into our mastermind of what we're trying to do. Because remember, I told you, I tell you every time we talk, it's never too late to start creating the life that you were meant to live. but you've got to take action and you've got to connect and you've got to listen to the success principles between the lines. So do me a favor and share the show. I'm going to put some links in the show notes. I appreciate you being with me and with Phil and we look forward to talking with you more tomorrow. Once again, this has been the Daily Mastermind. Have a great day.
