November 26, 2025 • 33 mins
What if you stopped chasing magnetic north—the shifting pull of trends, approval, and quick wins—and locked onto a true north you can actually describe? That’s the pivot David Ask lays out as we unpack the real difference between grit and resilience, and how creators can build a voice that lasts in a noisy podcasting world.
We start with David’s retail success story and the hard lessons that came with it, then move into a simple, powerful model: grit is the long push toward a worthy outcome; resilience is the speed at which you bounce back to your shape after a hit. The shape matters. Without a defined identity—values, convictions, and the work that gives you goosebumps—every setback feels personal. With it, you rebound faster, choose better, and keep shipping even when guests cancel, interviews fall flat, or formats change.
Along the way, we draw a line between starting with who and starting with why. When you start with who, your why stops being borrowed from giants and becomes grounded in your own strengths. That shift powers a virtuous loop: acting as yourself creates a specific dent in the world, and that feedback reinforces your identity. We talk about resisting the urge to copy big shows, using authenticity to guide content and guest choices, and reframing on-air mistakes as human moments that build trust. We also explore how to raise grit at home and in teams by “mining for gold” in others, revealing their strengths instead of performing for applause.
If you’re a business owner, entrepreneur, or creator trying to build a durable show, this conversation gives you practical cues and a deeper compass. Define your true north, bring grit to the climb, and use resilience to return to form quickly when you fall. If this resonated, follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs a steadier compass today.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carl (00:04):
Welcome to Communication Connection Community, the
Podcaster's Podcast.
This podcast takes a deep diveinto modern-day communication
strategies in the podcastingspace.
We chat with interesting peoplewho make the podcasting and
speaking spaces exciting andvibrant.
We also dive into thepodcasting community with news,
(00:24):
updates, latest trends andtopics from this ever-evolving
space.
Strap in, it's going to be oneamazing ride.
Let's dive into today'sepisode.
David Ask, he's the drivingforce behind StatGuardPlus.com,
(00:45):
a product showcased in over3,000 retail giants like the
Home Depot and Lowe's.
Alongside this success, Davidis passionate about
understanding the differencebetween grit and resilience and
why so many misunderstand trueauthenticity and identity.
Uniqueness of purpose andunderstanding, our True North
identity changes everything.
(01:07):
David is the lead coach for Dr.
Andy Garrett's True NorthBlueprint, which helps people
become the most resilient peopleon earth.
He's working on his new bookfor Fathers called The Guardians
of Grit, How to RaiseUncrushable Young People.
In his spare time, David sings.
Yes, he does sing.
And on stages, uh all over thecountry.
I'm assuming you mean all overthe US of A.
(01:28):
Not come to Canada yet.
David's voice has been comparedto Andrea Bocelli and Josh
Groban.
Very, very cool.
By the way, I should also sayhe is a podcaster and a
sought-after podcast guest, andwe are so glad he's joining us
today.
David Ask, welcome to thepodcast.
Honored to be here.
Thanks for having me.
I'm so thrilled you're joiningus because today this is
(01:50):
something we haven't covered.
We've talked about podcastingand speaking and communication,
how all those things areimportant in business.
But I don't think we've talkedabout in greater detail what the
difference is betweenresiliency and grit.
And we certainly haven't sharedfactors in or how it plays into
the world of podcasting.
So I'm glad you're here toshare about that.
(02:11):
But first, let's talk aboutyour success with
StatGuardPlus.com because to saythat it's in over 3,000 retail
giants is that in itself, I'massuming leads to our discussion
about resiliency and grit.
So tell me about the journeythat led to the success.
David (02:28):
You know, of course, during the process of landing
Home Depot and Lowe's, ofcourse, I wasn't necessarily
thinking about being, you know,real gritty and, you know,
resilient as it were, requiredthat.
But those are some things, youknow, some tools, as it were,
and concepts that I reallylearned, you know, in in many
ways the hard way.
I think a lot of my abilityjust to keep going was
(02:49):
necessarily the right motives.
I was just afraid, you know, bea failure and look like an
idiot, as opposed to, you know,maybe somebody who had really
done some internal work and wasreally, you know, I guess on
mission, right?
And really passionate about,you know, doing what I was doing
and a much younger man, youknow, when I was doing those
things.
And even since then, I've beensurrounded by some people that
(03:10):
have really helped me to kind ofbuild that self-awareness and
inner constitution andunderstand, you know, why I'm
doing the things I'm doing.
But um, a lot of the uh theinternal narrative was forged in
fire back in the day, you know,about 11, 12 years ago when I
started that business.
Yeah, that's a one heck of astory to get to 3,700 stores.
Carl (03:27):
Well, congratulations on that success.
I, you know, I certainly can'tsidestep that at all because you
don't you don't get to thatlevel of success without some
resiliency, but also somefailures, some headaches, some
heartache.
But then also, isn't it truethat when we're in that space as
business owners orentrepreneurs, that there's the
fear of failure.
(03:47):
So, but if we put our head downand go to work, something's
gotta stick eventually.
And I I don't mean let's throwa spaghetti at the wall and see
what sticks, but but keeping thethe head down and working, and
it's like, okay, that didn'twork, but I gotta try something
else.
Otherwise, you're going to geta job like everybody else,
right?
David (04:03):
Yeah, and it's you know what's interesting is about
seven years ago, six years ago,I met a guy named Dr.
Andy Garrett.
He's in my entrepreneurialmastermind group, and you know,
he started kind of breakingthese concepts down, you know,
intrinsic motivation, extrinsicmotivation, you know, identity,
authenticity, resiliency, grit,the difference, that kind of
stuff.
And how do you really establishthose things, you know, from an
(04:26):
internal, you know, set point,an internal compass?
In fact, you know, he names hiscourse that we walk people
through, you know, the truenorth blueprint.
So I kind of like to, you know,start painting the picture, you
know, with regards true northversus magnetic north.
The imagery, right, reallyhelps distill what's happening,
(04:47):
you know, inside of us.
So, you know, if you have acompass, right, you know, you
want to find north, well, whatis it doing?
It's reading the magnetic fieldaround it in order to find
north.
So you'll notice when you'rewalking through the woods with a
compass or even your home forthat matter, it's not arrow, as
it were, is not uh 100% northever.
I mean, well, maybe for just asplit second, right?
(05:08):
But it doesn't stay there.
It's constantly kind of movingback and forth.
Whereas, you know, true northis a fixed point.
It's like GPS coordinates, youknow, that you can describe in
absolute detail to pinpointaccuracy.
And so what's fascinating is,you know, when someone walks you
through, as it were, acurriculum, right?
They ask you the rightquestions in the right sequence,
(05:30):
you can really dial in, youknow, that internal plumb line,
which again is everything fromvalues, convictions, you know,
motivations, right?
Your why.
And I like to say, what is itthat gives you goosebumps?
It's all of that stuff thatmakes you unique so that you can
literally grab onto that andstart using it from an internal
perspective as opposed to, andCarl, this is what I suffered
(05:52):
with when I was starting mybusiness, right?
I was so extrinsicallymotivated.
Meaning I'd wanted, I'm gettingreally vulnerable here.
I just wanted to be somebody,or at least not be a nobody.
Well, you know, what's the realquestion there, right?
Who was I handing the keys to?
I wanted people around me, youknow, to tell me, as it were, or
(06:14):
give me some sort of feedbackthat, David, you've actually
done something with your lifeand you've arrived, or you've
done, you know what I mean?
And it's exhausting because thefeedback we get is never
enough.
And and since then, I've beenable to, you know, position, you
know, my driving force topeople like it's it's Seth
Godin.
People like us do things likethis, and I want to have this
(06:35):
type of an impact, you know, inthis particular arena today.
It might be a little bit of adifferent arena tomorrow,
depending on what I'm workingat.
But those things have acohesiveness to them that have
the David Ask-shaped, you know,dent on them.
So that's that's kind of a deepway to say that you know,
understanding that internalcompass is really, really
important.
I'm glad you shared all that.
Carl (06:57):
And I do want to comment on the you've arrived.
And do we ever really arrive?
Yeah, no.
Or is it when we arrive, guesswhat?
The bar has now shifted yetagain.
So it's like I have a coachthat tells her this all the
time.
Well, you're at this level,guess what?
You'll only be comfortablethere for so long before you'll
be ready or you'll be thinkingthat it's time to get to the
next level, or there's somethingthat'll charge you, and maybe
(07:19):
it's a spouse, maybe I don'tknow, maybe it's circumstantial
of uh economy or a changingindustry.
I work in the podcasting spaceand it's ever evolving.
So if you were to ask me, youknow, five or six years ago, how
did you launch your podcast?
It would be a completelydifferent answer then to what it
is now, because now it's allvideo, video, video and SEO, and
make sure you have this in yourshow notes and all this stuff
(07:41):
that did it matter back then, ofcourse it mattered, but it
didn't matter as much, you know.
So there's that.
The other thing I wanted tomention too, or ask you this
question is how many people arestuck on magnetic north versus
true north?
And is it an easy in yourexperience?
(08:01):
Is it an easy fix to get peopleto shift accordingly their
internal compass?
David (08:07):
It's a really great question.
I mean, I don't know what thepercentage is, but I I would
dare say that in my experiencethat probably 90% of people, you
know, get up in the morning andit's maybe I'll back into it
this way.
They get up in the morning andit's they're looking for you
know approval.
They're hoping their boss ortheir parents or you know
(08:28):
someone gives them some type offeedback, and until they get
that extrinsic, you know, hit,as it were, you know, then not
they have some insecurity.
They're not sure if they'redoing what they quote unquote
should be doing and you know,all that kind of thing.
So what I think is fascinatingis you know, when Dr.
Andy kind of explained it to methis way, when someone is
operating, you know, out of thattrue north plumb line.
(08:51):
Actually, let me let me backinto it.
How do you know you haven'tfound that, right?
How do you know you haven'tlasered in on that?
This sometimes is a better wayof distilling that is, you know,
you're gonna suffer probablysome imposter syndrome, right?
You're gonna be show up in aroom or with other people or
other podcasters, you're gonnastart comparing yourself to
other people and just, you know,think somehow that I'm lacking
(09:12):
or I'm not good enough.
You're probably gonna have adeeper sense of anxiety.
You might and you know avoidcertain people or places because
of that comparison, right?
You're just so desperatelyseeking some external, you know,
force.
You're you might becomeapathetic towards certain
things, right?
Procrastination, feeling likeyou're stuck, maybe depression,
(09:35):
right?
If it gets bad enough.
Well, how do you know thatyou're operating from that plumb
line?
Well, on a basic level, youstart to feel more genuine,
right?
You get up in the morning andyou're like, hey, it feels
really good to be me.
I can describe the guy who justwoke up and the dent that I
want to have in the universe,the type of people that I want
to hang out with, the types ofconversations that I like to
(09:56):
have, the things I'm gonna sayyes and no to.
I've already predeterminedthose things as opposed to, you
know, licking my finger andholding it up in the wind.
You're gonna feel a bit morefree, resilient, compassionate,
you know, have clarity ofpurpose.
You're gonna feel like yourmore best, you know, your best
self is kind of emerging.
You're trusting yourself more.
That sense of clarity is there.
(10:17):
And those two positions, right?
Anxiety, imposter syndrome,apathy, avoidance versus
genuine, courageous,compassionate, resilient, free,
you know, it's Dr.
Andy says, follow the clues.
How do you know you'reoperating?
Well, follow the clues.
So it's not to say, by the way,that on any given day we, you
know, we don't an off day orwhatever, an off week for that
(10:38):
matter, we're human.
But I would say, what does thecourse of you know 90 days look
like?
Or six months or a year?
Is your life defined by apathyavoidance, you know, fatigue,
imposter syndrome, or is itdefined by, you know, clarity,
resilience, joy, mission,purpose, you know, feeling
natural in your own skin, thatkind of thing.
(10:59):
And there's a big shift.
And it's amazing when you haveidentified that stuff, right?
Identity, that's where we getthat word.
You identified all of thethings that make you you, and
you start operating in that way,you remove that question mark,
right?
That question mark is kind ofgone that you feel, but guess
what?
Everybody else feels thatquestion mark as well.
(11:20):
We've all been around peoplewho are just, you know, coming
out of their skin nervous andyou know, they might even
overcompensate for certainthings, or they get, you know,
really irritated really fast, oryou know, and it's again, it's
a clue.
It's okay, we're human, andnobody you know showed them how
to do that.
But I would say to answer yourquestion, I think it's a rather
high percentage of people thatare reading the room and
(11:42):
desperately looking for someoneelse to say that yes, you're
good enough.
Carl (11:46):
Wow.
A long way to the answer, butyou hit on a real list of things
that I think as solopreneurs,entrepreneurs, even successful
businesses, we all deal with it.
Massive companies deal withthat all the time.
And sometimes the person or thethe thing that needs taking
care of the most is you.
It could be a team thing, itcould be a health thing.
(12:06):
Like full disclosure, I mean,I'm going through that right now
with sleep apnea.
How is that affecting me in thebusiness world?
Not in the business world, butin my own business head, you
know, things like that.
So you never know.
Affects everything, but thosethings affect the calibration of
the compass, as it were, withwhere you're going.
So bigger question is why arewe talking about this on this
(12:31):
show?
And how is it related?
How are we relating you knowresiliency?
Firstly, we'll go back to thedifference between resiliency
and grit, and how is it playinginto the podcasting space?
So let's go there becauseyou've been a guest on many
podcasts, you've been a host.
So let's define it.
What is the difference betweengrit and resiliency?
David (12:48):
You know, Angela Duckworth wrote a book called
Grit.
You know, she's kind of, Iwould say she's probably the
world's, you know, authority,you know, in our time on grit.
And I think she distills, youknow, the word grit down into
this idea of, you know, doinghard things over a long period
of time because it's worth it,right?
You've deemed what's on theother side of that hill is worth
(13:09):
fighting for, climbing thathill.
Here's the interesting thingthough, is grit, as far as this
idea of a long period, you knowwhat?
That might be 24 hours,depending on what the situation
is.
unknown (13:21):
Right?
David (13:21):
You might be running a marathon.
That might be two hours.
It might be, you know, 90 dayswhere you're getting your
business going and there's allsorts of uncertainty, and you
got a cold call and you got todo all kinds of stuff.
It might be, you know, you'rehaving a hard time in your
marriage, uh, you know, raisingkids.
And but again, let me put a pinin that.
So resiliency though is is, andthis is the way Dr.
(13:43):
Andy describes it, this idea ofbouncing back quickly, right?
You get knocked down and youget back up.
But here's the difference.
He likens it to a uh like abasketball.
So that basketball, you know,you bounce it on the ground
really hard for just a splitsecond, it loses its form, but
then it bounces back to what?
(14:03):
Uh a describable shape.
You know, it has a uh literallya circumference and everything
that you can measure andpinpoint with accuracy.
And that's where this idea oftrue north comes into play, you
know, when talking about youknow grit and and resiliency.
You actually, in order to buildintrinsic, you know, grit, as
(14:25):
it were, as opposed to peoplepleasing and applause or or
shame and fear, you actuallystart describing, you know, that
plumb line.
So for instance, when you getknocked down and you get back
up, you're not getting back upjust for the sake of getting
back up.
You're getting back up andyou're taking on the form and
hopefully a really quick momentto who you are, right?
(14:47):
You know, who and what, right?
It describes, hey, okay, Iactually let me tell a quick
story.
There a friend of mine, we wereat church here a few weeks ago,
and she's walking, you know,across the sidewalk and it was
raining, and she slipped, right?
So she lands, you know, on herbackside in the water.
Well, so many people would beso embarrassed.
And this person has got such awonderful inner constitution and
(15:11):
is absolutely so solid with whothey are, they thought it was
funny, right?
They were just like, was thatjust awesome or what?
Like they didn't, you couldtell, like they were glad it
happened.
Whereas some people, you know,they would slip and fall and
they would leave.
They would be so filled withshame and, you know, oh, I'm
(15:32):
dirty and all, you know,whatever it is.
But they were like, was thathilarious or what?
And there's a we can kind ofblow by something like that, but
I'll be honest, I think thatthings that happen in a split
second and now we handle them,you know, really start to, you
know, kind of shine a light on,you know, what's going on in
that plumb line.
Have you established that?
(15:52):
And so for me personally, Ilove this idea of establishing a
plumb line with a lot of gracewrapped around it.
Carl (16:00):
My favorite thing about that story you just shared is
that it's probably a line fromseveral movies that people have
played on before where somebodyfalls or something doesn't go
right the way it's supposed to.
And if that were me, and I'veprobably done it before, not
realizing, say something like, Imeant to do that, or and now
for my next trick, or it's notexactly the finish I was hoping
(16:24):
for.
Like something that takessomething that's uh, you know,
say serious.
It's not like she flight ofstairs and is in severe pain and
needs to be rushed to hospital.
You slip on the ground,probably happened to many people
many times.
But the analogy that you gaveof people who are just like, Oh
my god, I'm so embarrassed, Ican't believe that happened,
versus, Wow, what'd you think ofthat move I just did?
David (16:46):
So and it's almost like this idea of isn't it just
fantastic to be human?
And and when you and here's thecool thing, right?
We all know people.
Andy Garrett or Dr.
Garrett calls you know thistype of a person an authentic
exemplar, like authenticity,authentic, right?
And he says that those people,not only when they walk into the
(17:07):
room, and we all know peoplelike this in our lives, right?
The room gets better, wiser,safer, stronger, you know, more
joyful, things like that.
And sadly, there's kind of asmall percentage of people that
we can kind of be like, holycow, that person is just exuding
with just beautifulauthenticity.
It's those people, right, whotend to, you know, laugh at
themselves really quickly and belike, oh my gosh, isn't it just
(17:28):
great to be human?
They're not like so wrapped upin performance-based living.
It's just and and here's thecool thing, right?
It's the way that they justsimply act and be.
It's an invitation to thatworld.
It's an invitation to theirinner world.
And there's something curiousabout that.
I just find that so attractive.
Carl (17:48):
Speaking of performance, though, I will share this too.
I remember seeing RobinWilliams not on stage in person.
That would have been a thrill.
But anyway, seeing him on stagewith one of his shows that he
did, and he's part way throughhis monologue, and I can't, I
don't remember which one it was.
But he says, wait a minute, Iremember this one.
And there's a slight pause, andthe room, he's like, Wait a
minute, okay, okay, yeah, here'sthis.
(18:09):
This is a guy that was so slickand polished, and you know, you
thought he was a and then andthen he but he made a few other
mistakes in that same routine,but he just let it slide.
Whereas some people would belike, Oh my goodness, I made a
mistake, and and they'd crawlunder a rock and die.
And we see that in business, wesee that in podcasts too, where
people make a glaring error andthey think, Oh my god, that's
(18:31):
it, I'm done.
And hopefully, hopefullythey're not.
Hopefully, they're not donejust because of something that
was a human error, not an errorthat's cost a reputation, not
something like that, but theyscrewed something up factually
or they said the wrong word.
Yeah, join the club.
David (18:48):
Exactly.
And it's again, it's so neatwhen somebody, you know, can
just let that stuff roll offbecause it's you're what are you
doing really?
You're giving yourself grace,but you're also giving other
people permission to just enterinto that, you know, that more
authentic space.
Carl (19:02):
Podcasting is a long game, not a short game.
And you definitely need someresiliency.
So, how is this playing in inyour experience?
But then also, you know, whatcan you share with podcasters?
Because most podcasters that wework here at Podcast Solutions
Made Simple, they're businessowners, they're entrepreneurs,
they're successful businessowners for that matter.
(19:23):
So, what are some of the thingsthat you can share with them
that can help them in this area?
David (19:27):
Yeah, so man, a great question.
You know, the first thing thatcame to mind, and and again,
Simon Sinek, you know, he wrotethe book Start with Why.
Again, probably a wiser manthan I am.
It's a and he's you know wildlysuccessful and so on.
One of the things that I liketo say is, how about we never
start with why?
So I'm gonna back into yourquestion, you know, for
podcasters this way.
(19:48):
What if we started with who?
So why is that important?
Well, if you've notestablished, you know, again,
identify, right?
Word identity, if you've notidentified all of the things
that, you know, make you you,guess what?
Your why?
It might be someone else's, itmight be Joe Rogan's, it might
be Carl Richards' why, it mightbe your dad's, your older
(20:10):
brothers, or some mentor.
So what's really fascinating iswhen you've radical clarity on
who you are.
Let me jump into the deep endof the pool here even further.
You know, where do we get theword authenticity?
Comes from the word author,right?
I didn't make me.
I didn't choose my skin color,my eye color, my taste buds.
And here's the fascinatingthing.
(20:30):
We don't choose ourpersonalities.
Those of us who have kids orsiblings know they come out of
the gate really hardwired.
And I'm talking, my two kidsare teenagers now, but you know,
when Parker was born, I mean,within just a matter of weeks,
like you can just sense his hislittle essence, right?
And when Kate was born, I mean,they're they're just so
different.
My nephew's four boys, I mean,they're so vastly different, but
(20:52):
within weeks and months, youcan tell so yeah, such
differences in them.
And here's the cool thing withkids, right?
When they're one, two, three,four, five years old, you know,
unlike us really savvy adults,kids aren't thinking about being
authentic, right?
They're not thinking aboutidentity and they're just doing
their deal.
Until what?
Until you get punched in theface, right?
(21:13):
You get humiliated, picked on,or whatever that is, or abused,
you know, hopefully not.
And then you start questioningeverything.
Am I good enough?
You know, are those things thatI love, those things that I'm
bringing to the world, thosethings that give me goosebumps,
is somebody going to laugh atthose things and shame those
things?
So I'm getting back to yourquestion here.
So I think it's vital that youidentify, write it down, who you
(21:36):
are authentically, right?
And here's what's fascinatingis then your why makes sense.
So if you're a podcaster, andagain, I'm sure you've got
thousands of listeners here,when someone sits down to say,
I'm going to put together apodcast and a platform so that I
can make the world a betterplace, you better have a why
that's really tied to who youare.
(21:58):
Because guess what?
You're going to have people,and Carl, I'm sure you've had
this many times, right?
That just cancel on you.
They don't show up, right?
It kind of takes a little bitof wind out of your sail.
Or you have a guest that comeson and for some reason they're
in a bad mood or whatever it is,and you're like, that didn't go
very well.
How about this?
You have a hero that you wantto interview, and you finally
(22:19):
get that person, and it justdoesn't go well.
It doesn't land right, orthey're in a bad mood.
You know what?
You're gonna have to have thatintrinsic motivation, your why,
to stay with it and to stay thecourse so that you have that
particular dent in the universe,right?
Your impact, yeah, that youwant to have.
And by the way, this is anotherDr.
(22:40):
Andy thing, right?
He calls it the virtuous loop.
When you understand who you areand you see your particular,
you know, dent, well, guesswhat?
It's the feedback you get frombeing yourself and seeing your
dent, it reinforces who you are.
It's that clean fuel that kindof reinforces who you are, your
why, your what, your how.
(23:01):
You get to see the, you know,the Carl Richards, the David
Os-shaped dent, and itreinforces that.
But again, if you if there'ssome vague idea around what that
is, you know, you're gonna runout of steam rather quickly.
Carl (23:14):
I think, David, one of the challenges that business
owners, entrepreneurs, coaches,consultants, we work a lot with
real estate, real estateprofessionals as well.
What they face is in thisspace, and with this particular
medium, we're talking podcastinghere, is they hear examples.
They take the Joe Rogan thatthey listen to, or they're
(23:35):
listening to the Tony Robbinswhatever podcast it is, or the
Oprah Winfrey This, or that, andthey say, I want my show to be
just like that.
Well, the challenge is there'sonly one show just like that,
and it's the Joe Roganexperience, or it's the you know
what I mean?
So a challenge is, and it goesback to knowing your why.
If you want a show that's justlike that, it's never going to
(23:57):
be, it's never going to happenbecause it's it's not yours to
have.
David (24:01):
Exactly.
Yeah, well said.
And and here's the interestingthing, you know, we always hear,
and it sounds so cliche, right?
Just be yourself.
You know, I live in Nashville,and of course, you know, there's
a million people coming here toget famous, right?
And do their thing.
And you will hear people allthe time, you know, there's one
of you.
We don't need another, youknow, whatever the famous
person's name is.
(24:22):
We need you.
And of course, I mean, why isthat hard though?
Why why?
Because what if you step outand you you're acting in your
authenticity, but then you getsome knucklehead that gives you
some poor feedback or mocks you.
That hurts.
That is the reason that we, youknow, we, even as young kids,
right, we start wearing a mask.
(24:42):
We start putting on, you know,kind of playing a role, as it
were, because we're just soafraid that, yeah, what if, you
know, what I have to offer thisworld is not quote unquote good
enough?
When of course it is.
I would encourage anypodcaster, and feel free to call
me, I'll be happy to helpconnect dots, whatever I can.
When you start dialing in onexactly who you are and
(25:04):
identifying those things, you'renot only going to see your
podcast, right?
But you're going to see yourrelationships with your family
and friends and even yourselfget so much better.
Carl (25:14):
I love it.
And it's so true.
And we've talked about the whybefore on this show, but never
to this depth.
And usually the why when we'representing it, we're talking
about why do you want a podcast?
What's the goal?
What's the outcome you want?
Who's your audience?
So we do that deep dive, butwe're not there to do the inner
why stuff.
We're not there to figure outthat part.
Uh, we can a little bit, butthat's again knowing who you are
(25:37):
and knowing what you'rebringing, what you want to leave
behind.
What is that that you'rebringing forward to the space?
And I think that there's againso many podcasters, and I've
seen this also in the broadcastspace.
I mean, again, spent 25 yearsin radio broadcasting.
I've seen and heard a number ofbroadcasters who, especially in
their in their younger years,when they're coming out of
(25:57):
college, I'm going to be thenext Ryan Seacrest, or I'm going
to be the next dating myselfhere.
I'm going to be the nextWolfman Jack.
I'm going to be the nextwhoever it is.
I'm going to be the next.
But again, there's only one ofthose individuals.
So is that your why?
Is it because you want to bejust like somebody else?
Where's the authenticity inthat?
Number one.
And the only person who can getaway with that, well, maybe
(26:19):
there's more than one person,but is if you're an
impressionist like Rich Little.
Yeah, okay, you want to be 76people or 140, 30 voices he's
done over the years becausethat's what you're doing, but
that's part, that's the art.
That's not, he's still as RichLittle, he's still an authentic
individual, and here's whatmakes him authentic.
David (26:42):
Well said.
Again, I just feel like ittakes courage, it takes a little
bit of work, right?
To identify, you know, yourvalues, your virtues, your
convictions.
Those are different things, bythe way.
And a lot of people lump allthat stuff together.
You know, your strengths andhow do you want to apply those
things?
And I always like to say, it's,I think I got it from a Nissan
commercial.
What gives your goosebumpsgoosebumps?
You know, they're just thatstuff that makes the hair on the
(27:02):
back of your neck stand up.
You know, it's like, man,that's awesome.
What is it that puts that lumpin your throat in a good way?
What is it that makes youfurious?
And if you start, you know,doing the hierarchy of all of
those things, you know, mind,body, and spirit, I mean, it's
amazing, you know, how veryunique we are, right?
We've got a fingerprint, youknow, that's different, a retina
scan and a DNA that can neverbe replicated.
(27:25):
And man, when you start to,I'll I'll say it this way, when
you start to honor all of thatbeauty and uniqueness, you know,
that's and by the way, I'llkind of get a little bit uh
touchy-feely here.
Why why am I writing a book fordads, right?
You mentioned, you know, thebook at the outset, Guardians of
Grit.
Well, what would it look likefor dads, right, to look at
(27:47):
their sons and their daughtersfor that matter, too, right?
And say, you know, hey, I seesomething in you so great.
Let's get the shovel out andmine for gold and identify all
of the beauty and riches andcourage and tendencies and all
those things that make you you,because whatever you're into,
I'm into.
We're gonna get behind that andlift that up.
(28:08):
You know, it's like literallyraising, raising someone.
It's causing them to rise.
Not some version that you want.
It's causing them to rise intothe person that, you know, God
made them to be.
That's the kind of stuff thatjust absolutely lights me on
fire.
I'm so grateful.
You know, I've got a thermostatguard with a combination lock,
right?
The Stat Guard Plus that's in3,700 retail stores.
(28:31):
We're the first ones in theworld to have a thermostat guard
with a combination lock.
You know what?
I'm thrilled with that.
Don't get me wrong.
But you know what I'm morethrilled with?
I'm thrilled that I've got apeople that have helped me be a
better human, be a better dad,be a better husband.
I've been married 25 years.
I've got a son who's in collegein his second year, he's 19.
I've got a daughter who's, youknow, 17 and a senior in high
(28:54):
school, and she's concert masterat the Vanderbilt Children's
Orchestra.
More than that, my two kids,you know, can look in the mirror
and smile.
Right?
When something's going wrong,they can come to dad, my wife
for that matter, and raise theirhand and say, hey, I don't feel
like I'm quite tracking today.
Can we talk through something?
I've got a wonderfulrelationship with them.
(29:14):
That's the stuff of life.
The other stuff, again, I'mthankful for that we live in a
space-time and history where wecan do extraordinary things if
as long as you stay with it,right?
Because it's if you want to dothat, it's gonna be really
freaking hard.
But the other stuff, thatinternal life, is where it's at.
And we all know that.
That's not the, you know, Iheard somebody say the other
day, matter stuff, right?
(29:34):
Matter matters.
But what matters?
Now you're talking.
Carl (29:39):
Oh my goodness, David, my goosebumps have goosebumps from
the conversation that we've beenhaving today.
How can people get a hold ofyou for our listeners who are
chiming in and they're listeningto your wisdom?
How can they reach out to you?
David (29:51):
Okay, can I be a little bold here?
I'm just gonna say I justfinished it.
It's kind of a it's not ahundred percent done, but I've
not talked about this yet.
I'm gonna tell everybody.
To go to my music website.
So you mentioned that at thebeginning.
I'm actually, Andrea Bocelliwas in Nashville.
I was asked to sing backup forhim.
So if you go to David Ask,david askmusic.com, my contact
(30:13):
information's on there, and youcan get a hold of me that way.
And I've got, you know, I'mI've got all this other social
sites and so on, but that wouldbe a fun place to start.
Carl (30:22):
That's very, very cool.
And yes, we did mention it offthe top.
And also a very cool storyabout him.
And if I'd known that we mighthave had a journey into the
music thing as well.
Because I spent years as a as ayoung man, teenager and young
man in music, and of course inradio too.
So awesome.
Lived around music, grew upwith music.
So and music is a language untoitself that maybe we should
(30:42):
have you back to have anotherconversation about music and how
it's how it's a language untoitself and how it fits into
communication.
Also make sure your socials andall the other relevant
information is in the show notesas well.
That's great.
David, oh my goodness, what aphenomenal conversation.
Thank you so much.
Before I turn you loose,though, to go and inspire
(31:04):
another audience like you'vedone with ours today, I'll leave
you with a final thought.
David (31:09):
Okay, so I I've often, you know, in the la I'll be
honest, Carl, the last sixmonths I've probably done fifty
actually probably the last fourmonths, fifty podcast
interviews.
And I like to leave people withthis quote.
It's kind of my favorite oneover the last couple of years by
Benjamin Disraeli.
He's the former PM of Englandback in eighteen hundreds.
But he says, the greatest goodyou can do for another is not to
(31:31):
share with him your riches, butto reveal to him his own.
And I just think, man, what away to live.
Can you imagine if everybody ifthat was their modus operandi,
right?
If their MO was to look atother people and shine a
spotlight on their riches asopposed to everybody look at me
and the world would be a muchdifferent place.
Carl (31:50):
For sure it would, and I think that's a great place to
leave it.
Until next time, David Ask,thank you so much for being my
guest today.
Thank you, thank you.
And hey, thank you for being apart of the show today.
So glad you could join us.
Believe it or not, I can't workthis magic by myself.
So, thanks to my amazing team,our audio engineer Dom Carillo,
our sonic branding genius KentonDobrowolski, and the person who
(32:14):
works the arms, all of our armsactually, our project manager
and my trusty assistant JulovellTiongco, known to us here
simply as July.
If you like what you heardtoday, let us know.
You can leave us a comment orreview or even send us a voice
note.
And if you really liked it, wehope you'll share it with your
friends and your colleagues.
If you don't like what youheard today, well, please feel
(32:35):
free to share it with yourenemies.
And if you know of someone whowould make a great guest on the
show, let us know about it.
You can get in touch with us bygoing to our show notes where
all of our connection points arethere, including the links to
our website, LinkedIn, andFacebook as well.
And if you're ready to be aguest on podcasts, or even start
your own show, let's have aconversation.
We'll show you the simplest wayto get into the podcasting
(32:56):
space and rock it.
Because, after all, we'rePodcast Solutions Made Simple.
Catch again next time.
Welcome to Communication Connection Community, the
Podcaster's Podcast.
This podcast takes a deep diveinto modern-day communication
strategies in the podcastingspace.
We chat with interesting peoplewho make the podcasting and
speaking spaces exciting andvibrant.
We also dive into thepodcasting community with news,
(00:24):
updates, latest trends andtopics from this ever-evolving
space.
Strap in, it's going to be oneamazing ride.
Let's dive into today'sepisode.
David Ask, he's the drivingforce behind StatGuardPlus.com,
(00:45):
a product showcased in over3,000 retail giants like the
Home Depot and Lowe's.
Alongside this success, Davidis passionate about
understanding the differencebetween grit and resilience and
why so many misunderstand trueauthenticity and identity.
Uniqueness of purpose andunderstanding, our True North
identity changes everything.
(01:07):
David is the lead coach for Dr.
Andy Garrett's True NorthBlueprint, which helps people
become the most resilient peopleon earth.
He's working on his new bookfor Fathers called The Guardians
of Grit, How to RaiseUncrushable Young People.
In his spare time, David sings.
Yes, he does sing.
And on stages, uh all over thecountry.
I'm assuming you mean all overthe US of A.
(01:28):
Not come to Canada yet.
David's voice has been comparedto Andrea Bocelli and Josh
Groban.
Very, very cool.
By the way, I should also sayhe is a podcaster and a
sought-after podcast guest, andwe are so glad he's joining us
today.
David Ask, welcome to thepodcast.
Honored to be here.
Thanks for having me.
I'm so thrilled you're joiningus because today this is
(01:50):
something we haven't covered.
We've talked about podcastingand speaking and communication,
how all those things areimportant in business.
But I don't think we've talkedabout in greater detail what the
difference is betweenresiliency and grit.
And we certainly haven't sharedfactors in or how it plays into
the world of podcasting.
So I'm glad you're here toshare about that.
(02:11):
But first, let's talk aboutyour success with
StatGuardPlus.com because to saythat it's in over 3,000 retail
giants is that in itself, I'massuming leads to our discussion
about resiliency and grit.
So tell me about the journeythat led to the success.
David (02:28):
You know, of course, during the process of landing
Home Depot and Lowe's, ofcourse, I wasn't necessarily
thinking about being, you know,real gritty and, you know,
resilient as it were, requiredthat.
But those are some things, youknow, some tools, as it were,
and concepts that I reallylearned, you know, in in many
ways the hard way.
I think a lot of my abilityjust to keep going was
(02:49):
necessarily the right motives.
I was just afraid, you know, bea failure and look like an
idiot, as opposed to, you know,maybe somebody who had really
done some internal work and wasreally, you know, I guess on
mission, right?
And really passionate about,you know, doing what I was doing
and a much younger man, youknow, when I was doing those
things.
And even since then, I've beensurrounded by some people that
(03:10):
have really helped me to kind ofbuild that self-awareness and
inner constitution andunderstand, you know, why I'm
doing the things I'm doing.
But um, a lot of the uh theinternal narrative was forged in
fire back in the day, you know,about 11, 12 years ago when I
started that business.
Yeah, that's a one heck of astory to get to 3,700 stores.
Carl (03:27):
Well, congratulations on that success.
I, you know, I certainly can'tsidestep that at all because you
don't you don't get to thatlevel of success without some
resiliency, but also somefailures, some headaches, some
heartache.
But then also, isn't it truethat when we're in that space as
business owners orentrepreneurs, that there's the
fear of failure.
(03:47):
So, but if we put our head downand go to work, something's
gotta stick eventually.
And I I don't mean let's throwa spaghetti at the wall and see
what sticks, but but keeping thethe head down and working, and
it's like, okay, that didn'twork, but I gotta try something
else.
Otherwise, you're going to geta job like everybody else,
right?
David (04:03):
Yeah, and it's you know what's interesting is about
seven years ago, six years ago,I met a guy named Dr.
Andy Garrett.
He's in my entrepreneurialmastermind group, and you know,
he started kind of breakingthese concepts down, you know,
intrinsic motivation, extrinsicmotivation, you know, identity,
authenticity, resiliency, grit,the difference, that kind of
stuff.
And how do you really establishthose things, you know, from an
(04:26):
internal, you know, set point,an internal compass?
In fact, you know, he names hiscourse that we walk people
through, you know, the truenorth blueprint.
So I kind of like to, you know,start painting the picture, you
know, with regards true northversus magnetic north.
The imagery, right, reallyhelps distill what's happening,
(04:47):
you know, inside of us.
So, you know, if you have acompass, right, you know, you
want to find north, well, whatis it doing?
It's reading the magnetic fieldaround it in order to find
north.
So you'll notice when you'rewalking through the woods with a
compass or even your home forthat matter, it's not arrow, as
it were, is not uh 100% northever.
I mean, well, maybe for just asplit second, right?
(05:08):
But it doesn't stay there.
It's constantly kind of movingback and forth.
Whereas, you know, true northis a fixed point.
It's like GPS coordinates, youknow, that you can describe in
absolute detail to pinpointaccuracy.
And so what's fascinating is,you know, when someone walks you
through, as it were, acurriculum, right?
They ask you the rightquestions in the right sequence,
(05:30):
you can really dial in, youknow, that internal plumb line,
which again is everything fromvalues, convictions, you know,
motivations, right?
Your why.
And I like to say, what is itthat gives you goosebumps?
It's all of that stuff thatmakes you unique so that you can
literally grab onto that andstart using it from an internal
perspective as opposed to, andCarl, this is what I suffered
(05:52):
with when I was starting mybusiness, right?
I was so extrinsicallymotivated.
Meaning I'd wanted, I'm gettingreally vulnerable here.
I just wanted to be somebody,or at least not be a nobody.
Well, you know, what's the realquestion there, right?
Who was I handing the keys to?
I wanted people around me, youknow, to tell me, as it were, or
(06:14):
give me some sort of feedbackthat, David, you've actually
done something with your lifeand you've arrived, or you've
done, you know what I mean?
And it's exhausting because thefeedback we get is never
enough.
And and since then, I've beenable to, you know, position, you
know, my driving force topeople like it's it's Seth
Godin.
People like us do things likethis, and I want to have this
(06:35):
type of an impact, you know, inthis particular arena today.
It might be a little bit of adifferent arena tomorrow,
depending on what I'm workingat.
But those things have acohesiveness to them that have
the David Ask-shaped, you know,dent on them.
So that's that's kind of a deepway to say that you know,
understanding that internalcompass is really, really
important.
I'm glad you shared all that.
Carl (06:57):
And I do want to comment on the you've arrived.
And do we ever really arrive?
Yeah, no.
Or is it when we arrive, guesswhat?
The bar has now shifted yetagain.
So it's like I have a coachthat tells her this all the
time.
Well, you're at this level,guess what?
You'll only be comfortablethere for so long before you'll
be ready or you'll be thinkingthat it's time to get to the
next level, or there's somethingthat'll charge you, and maybe
(07:19):
it's a spouse, maybe I don'tknow, maybe it's circumstantial
of uh economy or a changingindustry.
I work in the podcasting spaceand it's ever evolving.
So if you were to ask me, youknow, five or six years ago, how
did you launch your podcast?
It would be a completelydifferent answer then to what it
is now, because now it's allvideo, video, video and SEO, and
make sure you have this in yourshow notes and all this stuff
(07:41):
that did it matter back then, ofcourse it mattered, but it
didn't matter as much, you know.
So there's that.
The other thing I wanted tomention too, or ask you this
question is how many people arestuck on magnetic north versus
true north?
And is it an easy in yourexperience?
(08:01):
Is it an easy fix to get peopleto shift accordingly their
internal compass?
David (08:07):
It's a really great question.
I mean, I don't know what thepercentage is, but I I would
dare say that in my experiencethat probably 90% of people, you
know, get up in the morning andit's maybe I'll back into it
this way.
They get up in the morning andit's they're looking for you
know approval.
They're hoping their boss ortheir parents or you know
(08:28):
someone gives them some type offeedback, and until they get
that extrinsic, you know, hit,as it were, you know, then not
they have some insecurity.
They're not sure if they'redoing what they quote unquote
should be doing and you know,all that kind of thing.
So what I think is fascinatingis you know, when Dr.
Andy kind of explained it to methis way, when someone is
operating, you know, out of thattrue north plumb line.
(08:51):
Actually, let me let me backinto it.
How do you know you haven'tfound that, right?
How do you know you haven'tlasered in on that?
This sometimes is a better wayof distilling that is, you know,
you're gonna suffer probablysome imposter syndrome, right?
You're gonna be show up in aroom or with other people or
other podcasters, you're gonnastart comparing yourself to
other people and just, you know,think somehow that I'm lacking
(09:12):
or I'm not good enough.
You're probably gonna have adeeper sense of anxiety.
You might and you know avoidcertain people or places because
of that comparison, right?
You're just so desperatelyseeking some external, you know,
force.
You're you might becomeapathetic towards certain
things, right?
Procrastination, feeling likeyou're stuck, maybe depression,
(09:35):
right?
If it gets bad enough.
Well, how do you know thatyou're operating from that plumb
line?
Well, on a basic level, youstart to feel more genuine,
right?
You get up in the morning andyou're like, hey, it feels
really good to be me.
I can describe the guy who justwoke up and the dent that I
want to have in the universe,the type of people that I want
to hang out with, the types ofconversations that I like to
(09:56):
have, the things I'm gonna sayyes and no to.
I've already predeterminedthose things as opposed to, you
know, licking my finger andholding it up in the wind.
You're gonna feel a bit morefree, resilient, compassionate,
you know, have clarity ofpurpose.
You're gonna feel like yourmore best, you know, your best
self is kind of emerging.
You're trusting yourself more.
That sense of clarity is there.
(10:17):
And those two positions, right?
Anxiety, imposter syndrome,apathy, avoidance versus
genuine, courageous,compassionate, resilient, free,
you know, it's Dr.
Andy says, follow the clues.
How do you know you'reoperating?
Well, follow the clues.
So it's not to say, by the way,that on any given day we, you
know, we don't an off day orwhatever, an off week for that
(10:38):
matter, we're human.
But I would say, what does thecourse of you know 90 days look
like?
Or six months or a year?
Is your life defined by apathyavoidance, you know, fatigue,
imposter syndrome, or is itdefined by, you know, clarity,
resilience, joy, mission,purpose, you know, feeling
natural in your own skin, thatkind of thing.
(10:59):
And there's a big shift.
And it's amazing when you haveidentified that stuff, right?
Identity, that's where we getthat word.
You identified all of thethings that make you you, and
you start operating in that way,you remove that question mark,
right?
That question mark is kind ofgone that you feel, but guess
what?
Everybody else feels thatquestion mark as well.
(11:20):
We've all been around peoplewho are just, you know, coming
out of their skin nervous andyou know, they might even
overcompensate for certainthings, or they get, you know,
really irritated really fast, oryou know, and it's again, it's
a clue.
It's okay, we're human, andnobody you know showed them how
to do that.
But I would say to answer yourquestion, I think it's a rather
high percentage of people thatare reading the room and
(11:42):
desperately looking for someoneelse to say that yes, you're
good enough.
Carl (11:46):
Wow.
A long way to the answer, butyou hit on a real list of things
that I think as solopreneurs,entrepreneurs, even successful
businesses, we all deal with it.
Massive companies deal withthat all the time.
And sometimes the person or thethe thing that needs taking
care of the most is you.
It could be a team thing, itcould be a health thing.
(12:06):
Like full disclosure, I mean,I'm going through that right now
with sleep apnea.
How is that affecting me in thebusiness world?
Not in the business world, butin my own business head, you
know, things like that.
So you never know.
Affects everything, but thosethings affect the calibration of
the compass, as it were, withwhere you're going.
So bigger question is why arewe talking about this on this
(12:31):
show?
And how is it related?
How are we relating you knowresiliency?
Firstly, we'll go back to thedifference between resiliency
and grit, and how is it playinginto the podcasting space?
So let's go there becauseyou've been a guest on many
podcasts, you've been a host.
So let's define it.
What is the difference betweengrit and resiliency?
David (12:48):
You know, Angela Duckworth wrote a book called
Grit.
You know, she's kind of, Iwould say she's probably the
world's, you know, authority,you know, in our time on grit.
And I think she distills, youknow, the word grit down into
this idea of, you know, doinghard things over a long period
of time because it's worth it,right?
You've deemed what's on theother side of that hill is worth
(13:09):
fighting for, climbing thathill.
Here's the interesting thingthough, is grit, as far as this
idea of a long period, you knowwhat?
That might be 24 hours,depending on what the situation
is.
unknown (13:21):
Right?
David (13:21):
You might be running a marathon.
That might be two hours.
It might be, you know, 90 dayswhere you're getting your
business going and there's allsorts of uncertainty, and you
got a cold call and you got todo all kinds of stuff.
It might be, you know, you'rehaving a hard time in your
marriage, uh, you know, raisingkids.
And but again, let me put a pinin that.
So resiliency though is is, andthis is the way Dr.
(13:43):
Andy describes it, this idea ofbouncing back quickly, right?
You get knocked down and youget back up.
But here's the difference.
He likens it to a uh like abasketball.
So that basketball, you know,you bounce it on the ground
really hard for just a splitsecond, it loses its form, but
then it bounces back to what?
(14:03):
Uh a describable shape.
You know, it has a uh literallya circumference and everything
that you can measure andpinpoint with accuracy.
And that's where this idea oftrue north comes into play, you
know, when talking about youknow grit and and resiliency.
You actually, in order to buildintrinsic, you know, grit, as
(14:25):
it were, as opposed to peoplepleasing and applause or or
shame and fear, you actuallystart describing, you know, that
plumb line.
So for instance, when you getknocked down and you get back
up, you're not getting back upjust for the sake of getting
back up.
You're getting back up andyou're taking on the form and
hopefully a really quick momentto who you are, right?
(14:47):
You know, who and what, right?
It describes, hey, okay, Iactually let me tell a quick
story.
There a friend of mine, we wereat church here a few weeks ago,
and she's walking, you know,across the sidewalk and it was
raining, and she slipped, right?
So she lands, you know, on herbackside in the water.
Well, so many people would beso embarrassed.
And this person has got such awonderful inner constitution and
(15:11):
is absolutely so solid with whothey are, they thought it was
funny, right?
They were just like, was thatjust awesome or what?
Like they didn't, you couldtell, like they were glad it
happened.
Whereas some people, you know,they would slip and fall and
they would leave.
They would be so filled withshame and, you know, oh, I'm
(15:32):
dirty and all, you know,whatever it is.
But they were like, was thathilarious or what?
And there's a we can kind ofblow by something like that, but
I'll be honest, I think thatthings that happen in a split
second and now we handle them,you know, really start to, you
know, kind of shine a light on,you know, what's going on in
that plumb line.
Have you established that?
(15:52):
And so for me personally, Ilove this idea of establishing a
plumb line with a lot of gracewrapped around it.
Carl (16:00):
My favorite thing about that story you just shared is
that it's probably a line fromseveral movies that people have
played on before where somebodyfalls or something doesn't go
right the way it's supposed to.
And if that were me, and I'veprobably done it before, not
realizing, say something like, Imeant to do that, or and now
for my next trick, or it's notexactly the finish I was hoping
(16:24):
for.
Like something that takessomething that's uh, you know,
say serious.
It's not like she flight ofstairs and is in severe pain and
needs to be rushed to hospital.
You slip on the ground,probably happened to many people
many times.
But the analogy that you gaveof people who are just like, Oh
my god, I'm so embarrassed, Ican't believe that happened,
versus, Wow, what'd you think ofthat move I just did?
David (16:46):
So and it's almost like this idea of isn't it just
fantastic to be human?
And and when you and here's thecool thing, right?
We all know people.
Andy Garrett or Dr.
Garrett calls you know thistype of a person an authentic
exemplar, like authenticity,authentic, right?
And he says that those people,not only when they walk into the
(17:07):
room, and we all know peoplelike this in our lives, right?
The room gets better, wiser,safer, stronger, you know, more
joyful, things like that.
And sadly, there's kind of asmall percentage of people that
we can kind of be like, holycow, that person is just exuding
with just beautifulauthenticity.
It's those people, right, whotend to, you know, laugh at
themselves really quickly and belike, oh my gosh, isn't it just
(17:28):
great to be human?
They're not like so wrapped upin performance-based living.
It's just and and here's thecool thing, right?
It's the way that they justsimply act and be.
It's an invitation to thatworld.
It's an invitation to theirinner world.
And there's something curiousabout that.
I just find that so attractive.
Carl (17:48):
Speaking of performance, though, I will share this too.
I remember seeing RobinWilliams not on stage in person.
That would have been a thrill.
But anyway, seeing him on stagewith one of his shows that he
did, and he's part way throughhis monologue, and I can't, I
don't remember which one it was.
But he says, wait a minute, Iremember this one.
And there's a slight pause, andthe room, he's like, Wait a
minute, okay, okay, yeah, here'sthis.
(18:09):
This is a guy that was so slickand polished, and you know, you
thought he was a and then andthen he but he made a few other
mistakes in that same routine,but he just let it slide.
Whereas some people would belike, Oh my goodness, I made a
mistake, and and they'd crawlunder a rock and die.
And we see that in business, wesee that in podcasts too, where
people make a glaring error andthey think, Oh my god, that's
(18:31):
it, I'm done.
And hopefully, hopefullythey're not.
Hopefully, they're not donejust because of something that
was a human error, not an errorthat's cost a reputation, not
something like that, but theyscrewed something up factually
or they said the wrong word.
Yeah, join the club.
David (18:48):
Exactly.
And it's again, it's so neatwhen somebody, you know, can
just let that stuff roll offbecause it's you're what are you
doing really?
You're giving yourself grace,but you're also giving other
people permission to just enterinto that, you know, that more
authentic space.
Carl (19:02):
Podcasting is a long game, not a short game.
And you definitely need someresiliency.
So, how is this playing in inyour experience?
But then also, you know, whatcan you share with podcasters?
Because most podcasters that wework here at Podcast Solutions
Made Simple, they're businessowners, they're entrepreneurs,
they're successful businessowners for that matter.
(19:23):
So, what are some of the thingsthat you can share with them
that can help them in this area?
David (19:27):
Yeah, so man, a great question.
You know, the first thing thatcame to mind, and and again,
Simon Sinek, you know, he wrotethe book Start with Why.
Again, probably a wiser manthan I am.
It's a and he's you know wildlysuccessful and so on.
One of the things that I liketo say is, how about we never
start with why?
So I'm gonna back into yourquestion, you know, for
podcasters this way.
(19:48):
What if we started with who?
So why is that important?
Well, if you've notestablished, you know, again,
identify, right?
Word identity, if you've notidentified all of the things
that, you know, make you you,guess what?
Your why?
It might be someone else's, itmight be Joe Rogan's, it might
be Carl Richards' why, it mightbe your dad's, your older
(20:10):
brothers, or some mentor.
So what's really fascinating iswhen you've radical clarity on
who you are.
Let me jump into the deep endof the pool here even further.
You know, where do we get theword authenticity?
Comes from the word author,right?
I didn't make me.
I didn't choose my skin color,my eye color, my taste buds.
And here's the fascinatingthing.
(20:30):
We don't choose ourpersonalities.
Those of us who have kids orsiblings know they come out of
the gate really hardwired.
And I'm talking, my two kidsare teenagers now, but you know,
when Parker was born, I mean,within just a matter of weeks,
like you can just sense his hislittle essence, right?
And when Kate was born, I mean,they're they're just so
different.
My nephew's four boys, I mean,they're so vastly different, but
(20:52):
within weeks and months, youcan tell so yeah, such
differences in them.
And here's the cool thing withkids, right?
When they're one, two, three,four, five years old, you know,
unlike us really savvy adults,kids aren't thinking about being
authentic, right?
They're not thinking aboutidentity and they're just doing
their deal.
Until what?
Until you get punched in theface, right?
(21:13):
You get humiliated, picked on,or whatever that is, or abused,
you know, hopefully not.
And then you start questioningeverything.
Am I good enough?
You know, are those things thatI love, those things that I'm
bringing to the world, thosethings that give me goosebumps,
is somebody going to laugh atthose things and shame those
things?
So I'm getting back to yourquestion here.
So I think it's vital that youidentify, write it down, who you
(21:36):
are authentically, right?
And here's what's fascinatingis then your why makes sense.
So if you're a podcaster, andagain, I'm sure you've got
thousands of listeners here,when someone sits down to say,
I'm going to put together apodcast and a platform so that I
can make the world a betterplace, you better have a why
that's really tied to who youare.
(21:58):
Because guess what?
You're going to have people,and Carl, I'm sure you've had
this many times, right?
That just cancel on you.
They don't show up, right?
It kind of takes a little bitof wind out of your sail.
Or you have a guest that comeson and for some reason they're
in a bad mood or whatever it is,and you're like, that didn't go
very well.
How about this?
You have a hero that you wantto interview, and you finally
(22:19):
get that person, and it justdoesn't go well.
It doesn't land right, orthey're in a bad mood.
You know what?
You're gonna have to have thatintrinsic motivation, your why,
to stay with it and to stay thecourse so that you have that
particular dent in the universe,right?
Your impact, yeah, that youwant to have.
And by the way, this is anotherDr.
(22:40):
Andy thing, right?
He calls it the virtuous loop.
When you understand who you areand you see your particular,
you know, dent, well, guesswhat?
It's the feedback you get frombeing yourself and seeing your
dent, it reinforces who you are.
It's that clean fuel that kindof reinforces who you are, your
why, your what, your how.
(23:01):
You get to see the, you know,the Carl Richards, the David
Os-shaped dent, and itreinforces that.
But again, if you if there'ssome vague idea around what that
is, you know, you're gonna runout of steam rather quickly.
Carl (23:14):
I think, David, one of the challenges that business
owners, entrepreneurs, coaches,consultants, we work a lot with
real estate, real estateprofessionals as well.
What they face is in thisspace, and with this particular
medium, we're talking podcastinghere, is they hear examples.
They take the Joe Rogan thatthey listen to, or they're
(23:35):
listening to the Tony Robbinswhatever podcast it is, or the
Oprah Winfrey This, or that, andthey say, I want my show to be
just like that.
Well, the challenge is there'sonly one show just like that,
and it's the Joe Roganexperience, or it's the you know
what I mean?
So a challenge is, and it goesback to knowing your why.
If you want a show that's justlike that, it's never going to
(23:57):
be, it's never going to happenbecause it's it's not yours to
have.
David (24:01):
Exactly.
Yeah, well said.
And and here's the interestingthing, you know, we always hear,
and it sounds so cliche, right?
Just be yourself.
You know, I live in Nashville,and of course, you know, there's
a million people coming here toget famous, right?
And do their thing.
And you will hear people allthe time, you know, there's one
of you.
We don't need another, youknow, whatever the famous
person's name is.
(24:22):
We need you.
And of course, I mean, why isthat hard though?
Why why?
Because what if you step outand you you're acting in your
authenticity, but then you getsome knucklehead that gives you
some poor feedback or mocks you.
That hurts.
That is the reason that we, youknow, we, even as young kids,
right, we start wearing a mask.
(24:42):
We start putting on, you know,kind of playing a role, as it
were, because we're just soafraid that, yeah, what if, you
know, what I have to offer thisworld is not quote unquote good
enough?
When of course it is.
I would encourage anypodcaster, and feel free to call
me, I'll be happy to helpconnect dots, whatever I can.
When you start dialing in onexactly who you are and
(25:04):
identifying those things, you'renot only going to see your
podcast, right?
But you're going to see yourrelationships with your family
and friends and even yourselfget so much better.
Carl (25:14):
I love it.
And it's so true.
And we've talked about the whybefore on this show, but never
to this depth.
And usually the why when we'representing it, we're talking
about why do you want a podcast?
What's the goal?
What's the outcome you want?
Who's your audience?
So we do that deep dive, butwe're not there to do the inner
why stuff.
We're not there to figure outthat part.
Uh, we can a little bit, butthat's again knowing who you are
(25:37):
and knowing what you'rebringing, what you want to leave
behind.
What is that that you'rebringing forward to the space?
And I think that there's againso many podcasters, and I've
seen this also in the broadcastspace.
I mean, again, spent 25 yearsin radio broadcasting.
I've seen and heard a number ofbroadcasters who, especially in
their in their younger years,when they're coming out of
(25:57):
college, I'm going to be thenext Ryan Seacrest, or I'm going
to be the next dating myselfhere.
I'm going to be the nextWolfman Jack.
I'm going to be the nextwhoever it is.
I'm going to be the next.
But again, there's only one ofthose individuals.
So is that your why?
Is it because you want to bejust like somebody else?
Where's the authenticity inthat?
Number one.
And the only person who can getaway with that, well, maybe
(26:19):
there's more than one person,but is if you're an
impressionist like Rich Little.
Yeah, okay, you want to be 76people or 140, 30 voices he's
done over the years becausethat's what you're doing, but
that's part, that's the art.
That's not, he's still as RichLittle, he's still an authentic
individual, and here's whatmakes him authentic.
David (26:42):
Well said.
Again, I just feel like ittakes courage, it takes a little
bit of work, right?
To identify, you know, yourvalues, your virtues, your
convictions.
Those are different things, bythe way.
And a lot of people lump allthat stuff together.
You know, your strengths andhow do you want to apply those
things?
And I always like to say, it's,I think I got it from a Nissan
commercial.
What gives your goosebumpsgoosebumps?
You know, they're just thatstuff that makes the hair on the
(27:02):
back of your neck stand up.
You know, it's like, man,that's awesome.
What is it that puts that lumpin your throat in a good way?
What is it that makes youfurious?
And if you start, you know,doing the hierarchy of all of
those things, you know, mind,body, and spirit, I mean, it's
amazing, you know, how veryunique we are, right?
We've got a fingerprint, youknow, that's different, a retina
scan and a DNA that can neverbe replicated.
(27:25):
And man, when you start to,I'll I'll say it this way, when
you start to honor all of thatbeauty and uniqueness, you know,
that's and by the way, I'llkind of get a little bit uh
touchy-feely here.
Why why am I writing a book fordads, right?
You mentioned, you know, thebook at the outset, Guardians of
Grit.
Well, what would it look likefor dads, right, to look at
(27:47):
their sons and their daughtersfor that matter, too, right?
And say, you know, hey, I seesomething in you so great.
Let's get the shovel out andmine for gold and identify all
of the beauty and riches andcourage and tendencies and all
those things that make you you,because whatever you're into,
I'm into.
We're gonna get behind that andlift that up.
(28:08):
You know, it's like literallyraising, raising someone.
It's causing them to rise.
Not some version that you want.
It's causing them to rise intothe person that, you know, God
made them to be.
That's the kind of stuff thatjust absolutely lights me on
fire.
I'm so grateful.
You know, I've got a thermostatguard with a combination lock,
right?
The Stat Guard Plus that's in3,700 retail stores.
(28:31):
We're the first ones in theworld to have a thermostat guard
with a combination lock.
You know what?
I'm thrilled with that.
Don't get me wrong.
But you know what I'm morethrilled with?
I'm thrilled that I've got apeople that have helped me be a
better human, be a better dad,be a better husband.
I've been married 25 years.
I've got a son who's in collegein his second year, he's 19.
I've got a daughter who's, youknow, 17 and a senior in high
(28:54):
school, and she's concert masterat the Vanderbilt Children's
Orchestra.
More than that, my two kids,you know, can look in the mirror
and smile.
Right?
When something's going wrong,they can come to dad, my wife
for that matter, and raise theirhand and say, hey, I don't feel
like I'm quite tracking today.
Can we talk through something?
I've got a wonderfulrelationship with them.
(29:14):
That's the stuff of life.
The other stuff, again, I'mthankful for that we live in a
space-time and history where wecan do extraordinary things if
as long as you stay with it,right?
Because it's if you want to dothat, it's gonna be really
freaking hard.
But the other stuff, thatinternal life, is where it's at.
And we all know that.
That's not the, you know, Iheard somebody say the other
day, matter stuff, right?
(29:34):
Matter matters.
But what matters?
Now you're talking.
Carl (29:39):
Oh my goodness, David, my goosebumps have goosebumps from
the conversation that we've beenhaving today.
How can people get a hold ofyou for our listeners who are
chiming in and they're listeningto your wisdom?
How can they reach out to you?
David (29:51):
Okay, can I be a little bold here?
I'm just gonna say I justfinished it.
It's kind of a it's not ahundred percent done, but I've
not talked about this yet.
I'm gonna tell everybody.
To go to my music website.
So you mentioned that at thebeginning.
I'm actually, Andrea Bocelliwas in Nashville.
I was asked to sing backup forhim.
So if you go to David Ask,david askmusic.com, my contact
(30:13):
information's on there, and youcan get a hold of me that way.
And I've got, you know, I'mI've got all this other social
sites and so on, but that wouldbe a fun place to start.
Carl (30:22):
That's very, very cool.
And yes, we did mention it offthe top.
And also a very cool storyabout him.
And if I'd known that we mighthave had a journey into the
music thing as well.
Because I spent years as a as ayoung man, teenager and young
man in music, and of course inradio too.
So awesome.
Lived around music, grew upwith music.
So and music is a language untoitself that maybe we should
(30:42):
have you back to have anotherconversation about music and how
it's how it's a language untoitself and how it fits into
communication.
Also make sure your socials andall the other relevant
information is in the show notesas well.
That's great.
David, oh my goodness, what aphenomenal conversation.
Thank you so much.
Before I turn you loose,though, to go and inspire
(31:04):
another audience like you'vedone with ours today, I'll leave
you with a final thought.
David (31:09):
Okay, so I I've often, you know, in the la I'll be
honest, Carl, the last sixmonths I've probably done fifty
actually probably the last fourmonths, fifty podcast
interviews.
And I like to leave people withthis quote.
It's kind of my favorite oneover the last couple of years by
Benjamin Disraeli.
He's the former PM of Englandback in eighteen hundreds.
But he says, the greatest goodyou can do for another is not to
(31:31):
share with him your riches, butto reveal to him his own.
And I just think, man, what away to live.
Can you imagine if everybody ifthat was their modus operandi,
right?
If their MO was to look atother people and shine a
spotlight on their riches asopposed to everybody look at me
and the world would be a muchdifferent place.
Carl (31:50):
For sure it would, and I think that's a great place to
leave it.
Until next time, David Ask,thank you so much for being my
guest today.
Thank you, thank you.
And hey, thank you for being apart of the show today.
So glad you could join us.
Believe it or not, I can't workthis magic by myself.
So, thanks to my amazing team,our audio engineer Dom Carillo,
our sonic branding genius KentonDobrowolski, and the person who
(32:14):
works the arms, all of our armsactually, our project manager
and my trusty assistant JulovellTiongco, known to us here
simply as July.
If you like what you heardtoday, let us know.
You can leave us a comment orreview or even send us a voice
note.
And if you really liked it, wehope you'll share it with your
friends and your colleagues.
If you don't like what youheard today, well, please feel
(32:35):
free to share it with yourenemies.
And if you know of someone whowould make a great guest on the
show, let us know about it.
You can get in touch with us bygoing to our show notes where
all of our connection points arethere, including the links to
our website, LinkedIn, andFacebook as well.
And if you're ready to be aguest on podcasts, or even start
your own show, let's have aconversation.
We'll show you the simplest wayto get into the podcasting
(32:56):
space and rock it.
Because, after all, we'rePodcast Solutions Made Simple.
Catch again next time.
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