Always on the GROW with Manny Vargas Manny Vargas

I was having a great conversation with a former Green Beret in one of my podcasts. In that, he asked me about my story, my journey when I decided to get sober.
Watch FULL YOUTUBE INTERVIEW HERE
His question to me was if I went down the 12 step AA program.

Answer to that was: I went in there for 18 days of a 12-week program.
Now, did I continue in my sobriety without continuing in the program? Or did I fall off the wagon and fall back from being sober to go back to my drinking and gambling?
And, in your journey if you’ve ever decided to go on a different path, do you need to get involved in AA program? Do you have to go through a 12-step plan?
In this episode you will take away many promising lessons as below:
-Do you need a 12-step program to reach your business or life goals?
-Why and what do you have to talk and remind yourself when you do not know the distance you need to travel in business or life

-The idea of the ‘Path’ of your own variables
Inspirational quotes from the episode:
-You're not necessarily going in the wrong direction; you just might not have travelled enough distance yet
-Your variables and your journey and who you're maybe qualifying yourself against might not be the best calculation for you
-Every path can look a lot different but if we determine where we want to go, can end up to that place of gratitude or peace or satisfaction
Follow Manny Vargas:
 https://www.youtube.com/@thisismannyvargas
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/manny-vargas-86ba4449/
 https://www.instagram.com/thisismannyvargas/
 https://www.facebook.com/thisismannyvargas
 https://twitter.com/themannyvargas
 www.tiktok.com/@thisismannyvargas
Manny’s websites:
https://www.alwaysonthegrow.com/
thisismannyvargas.com
 

Phil Kornachuk’s mom did not have any issues letting him know that they really didn’t expect him and that he was not part of the plan. He was the youngest by 7 years among 5 kiddos.
He’s now a father of 8 who believes in leading by example and not by forcing principles and values into people either in business or in a family.
Watch FULL YOUTUBE INTERVIEW HERE
Phil encouraged his wife to get into med school at age 41, because he wanted to support her realize the dream of her life which she had long given up because of the circumstances.
Though not a standout athlete, Phil joined Canadian army on his 17th birthday. He joined the US army because their commercials were pretty sweet.
He served in the military for 22 years and is now helping individuals and teams achieve exceptional performance by fusing purpose, principles and practice into a powerful driving force.
In this episode you will take away many promising insights as below (plus many more)
·       -Structure and the system of the military that can take somebody off the street and make them into great humans
·       -Toughest part for Phil in those early days: was it physical or mental? How did he handle that?
·       -How the muscle of Courage needs to be enacted or utilized in different circumstances
·       -Phil's process of being good father to 8 kids with all his military background
Some Inspirational Quotes from the episode
-It’s really easy to get fixated on everything else around us but remember ‘it all starts with you’
-The only thing you have control over is your intention: your attitude, how you interpret events. You don't even control your own health. 
-You can tap into a purpose that's bigger than yourself
-Where your passion and your talent intersect, that's where you really want to focus your life
 
The Last arrow: Book mentioned by Phil in the episode
 
Phil’s website: Stonewatertraining.com
 
Follow Phil on Social
 https://www.instagram.com/pkaurelius/
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-kornachuk/

A balloon is manufactured out of a simple piece of plastic. It stays deflated and remains useless until someone decides to fill it up with air. But once it’s filled to its capacity, it’s seen in celebrations, birthday parties and festivities. Then it’s serving its purpose.
Similarly, human beings can expand and reach their max.
Watch FULL YOUTUBE EPISODE HERE
And it’s never too late for humans as well.
A customer of mine (old seasoned guy) was willing to adapt and learn from me. He admits he’s not in the exact place he wanted to be nor at the ideal stage of the business he wanted to be. He was willing to expand.
Result? He’s got an approval for a 25k fund proposal.
In this episode you will take away many promising insights as below (plus many more):
-How people are cutting themselves off and choking themselves out
-There’s always some area you can improve by making a deliberate, intentional and proactive pursuit.
-It's never too late and you're never at a point where it's time to think that you've reached your max
3 inspiring quotes from the episode and many more.
·       -You never can be satisfied in the station that you're at currently in life because we always realize that there's a little bit more to expand into
·       -The balloon serves its purpose when inflated, you need to do your thing and serve your purpose as well
·       -The best way to serve your purpose is by expanding and upping into your Capacity
 
Follow Manny on Social
https://www.youtube.com/@thisismannyvargas
https://www.linkedin.com/in/manny-vargas-86ba4449/
https://www.instagram.com/thisismannyvargas/
https://www.facebook.com/thisismannyvargas
https://twitter.com/themannyvargas
 
Manny’s website:
https://www.alwaysonthegrow.com/

Does a company like Airbnb make mistakes on listing their prices?
Even if they made a mistake, can you imagine their in-charge wanting to pass the mistake on to their customer?
Yes, that is the kind of experience Airbnb has given me during one of these days.
Watch FULL YOUTUBE EPISODE HERE
It's my wife’s 40th birthday and we wanted to stay at a pretty nice place.
But the experience with Airbnb deeply provoked my emotions and compelled me to talk.
How would you handle this situation?
 
In this episode you will take away many promising insights as below
o   Should businesses prioritize good principles over profit?
o   Do great products or better offers matter if values and principles are compromised?
 
Quotes from the episode:
 
·       You can have a better offer or great product but a really shitty person or business formula or system or standard that doesn't care about values and principles is no good at all. Great products are elsewhere as well
·       When you're choosing dollar over principle with a first time customer; that just makes his head turn away, may be forever
·       Taking responsibility, owning a mistake: what a blessing it is? What level of freedom and excitement comes along!
 
Follow Manny Vargas:
https://www.youtube.com/@thisismannyvargas
https://www.linkedin.com/in/manny-vargas-86ba4449/
https://www.instagram.com/thisismannyvargas/
https://www.facebook.com/thisismannyvargas
https://twitter.com/themannyvargas
Manny’s website:
https://www.alwaysonthegrow.com/

Bill is a Managing Director and co-founded Cross Keys Capital in 2006.
Bill leads the healthcare practice and is responsible for successfully closing 50 physician practice management transactions since 2010.
He has over 25 years of experience in M&A including divestitures, acquisitions, restructurings, and capital raises for a broad range of clients both domestically and internationally.
Prior to founding the firm, Bill worked at Outsource International, where he raised private capital, took the company public and led over 40 transactions.
He has also worked at Ryder System, where he participated in a leveraged buyout of the truck rental unit, and began his career in the investment banking department at Morgan Stanley.
Bill Britton wanted to be financially independent even as a young 10 year old...
He’s cleaned most toilets than most maids have ever cleaned in their life...
He has done more trashy house work and low-level jobs...
Watch FULL YOUTUBE INTERVIEW HERE
All those jobs did not break Bill but built him.
He did not attend the best school nor was he in the best grades. But when he went to school, he told himself that he was going to be the best.
So, he graduated as first of his class. He was focused. First couple of years in college was not fun but he knew what he wanted to do and where he wanted to be.
He later went to Wall Street and did some good work which allowed him to go to a really good grad school and it just gave the opportunity to do what he wanted to do.
Today, Bill is not interested in doing 2 billion dollar deals of Golden Sachs which are relatively easy but he’s doing 20, 30, 40 or 100 million dollar deals which are changing people’s lives
 
In this episode you will take away many promising insights as below (plus many more): 
o   Formula or recipe for luck
o   Criteria to evaluate people for a mentor mentee relationship
o   How to elevate mindset or financial blueprint to attain big numbers
o   Entrepreneurial stages
o   Advice for people getting into ‘Investment Banking World’

Inspirational Quotes from the episode:
-If you work hard at something and you stick to it, you'll have more opportunities to create your own version of luck
-Unfortunately today, a lot of people think it's just instantaneous: it should happen to me right away, but that's just not how it works
-No matter where you went to school or what you learned, it's on the job training that really works for everything
-One of the most important things that anyone could do especially at a younger age is find a really good mentor or two who can guide them through the various facets of life
-It’s those relationships that make it a lot more challenging: whether it's business relationships or personal and navigating some of those things is really hard 
-You got to hit a lot of singles to get someone around the bases
-If you're going to be a trash man, be the best freaking trash man out there because one day you may figure out a path how to do something different with that
-One of the biggest challenges that we actually see is entrepreneurs are not thinking big enough

John Ply sold his company Insight Beverages at multiple 9 figures.
Because, when he started his company with 1 employee, he had only one goal in mind: ‘Be the best, instead of being the biggest’, which they achieved. Every client of theirs told them that. All leading chains in the country bought from them because they’re the best.
But his beginnings were low.
Watch FULL YOUTUBE INTERVIEW HERE
John’s parents could not afford private school— his three older brothers and sisters went to public school because it’s free. In fact, John saw tears in the eyes of his mother when she did not have 75 cents to pay for the newspaper. His dad was a butcher and worked two jobs to make ends meet. 
Though his parents didn’t have the money, they gave them lots of love.
John graduated in Finance from Indiana University out of scholarship.
He started his career as inventory controller but grew up become the president of the company all within 1 year. And he was just shy of 24 at the time.
When he started his own company, he made sure the employees were paid well and treated well. After the initial struggles, the company grew in leaps and bounds: 1.8 million a year to 4 million a year to 15 million a year to 33 million a year in sales.
John wrote an amazing book ‘You Can Be the Best: Life Lessons from the Butcher and the Businessman.
The book gives the definition of success: it's not dollars, it’s far from it. His book is meant to help others achieve their dreams.
 
In this episode you will take away many promising insights (plus many more):
 
-What true entrepreneurship is
-How to treat employees as an owner
-Why being the best is better than being the biggest
-What good parenting is
-How doing good pays back
-Why and how you should always be growing as a human being
 

Inspirational quotes from the episode
 
-If you can't give up that comfortable job that has a lot of benefits and all the other stuff, you cannot start a company
-Employees will jump through hoops for you when you pay them well and you treat them equally
-You may never be the biggest but you can be the best
-Money doesn't buy happiness, it buys a lot of comfort; in many instances money can buy a lot pain and grief
-All that my dad ever talked about was: how blessed he was, how happy he was, how grateful he was, and how content he was
-To do good is the only reason we are here on earth and you can take those words into so many places of your life
-Do good for others, it'll come back not tenfold; it comes back many many more times than tenfold, I'm a walking proof of that 
-You should always be looking for ways for growing as a human being
 
John Ply’s book on Amazon You Can Be the Best: Life Lessons from the Butcher and the Businessman