"Play full out today and have a positive impact on the workers in your community. It takes no special ability to hustle and you don't have to be buddies with the person to be a chief encouragement officer for them."
Brad Dalton
Educator, Keynote Speaker, Positive Team, and Personal Transformation Coach Brad Dalton has more than two decades of serving others, raising leadership lids, helping others climb onto the positive train, and creating the best versions of themselves. In his journey, he has learned the lessons of leaning into struggle, soaking up the positives, shaping culture, and understanding what the success road looks like.
Brad has a soft spot in his heart for all individuals starting from the ground up and even more so for those being unjustly overlooked because they aren’t deemed “typical”. Having a son on the autism spectrum, Brad has truly embraced the success road and aims to roll out of bed a positive warrior every morning when his toes touch the floor. Leading from the front, serving as a chief encouragement officer for those starting in the back, and helping those in the middle not just get even but get ahead are his passions.
Tell us a little bit about your current projects. What exciting milestone would you like to share with our readers? (Don’t hesitate to delve into your achievements, they will inspire the audience)
Brad Dalton: Thank you for asking! Any opportunity to add value to others, I’m all in on that!
Having had the opportunity to converse with so many different types of individuals and varieties of workspace, I felt it was appropriate to share what I’ve learned on my journey. Success isn’t the end of the road, success IS the road and I really want to add value to others. This is my juice. People and adding value to people.
I’ve sat across the table from a young lady hearing of her family being blown up by a car bomb, her life only being spared because she was dragging her feet and had yet to walk out of the alley they were traveling through. I’ve been witness to a family member running away and becoming a part of a meth-dealing gang. I’ve had an individual cry on my chest informing me that her mother had been hit and killed by a driver that was texting. I’ve been a part of all of those conversations.
I’ve also been a witness and a part of many great success stories. I’ve had a hand and have spoken with many championship teams in athletics, I’ve coached up professional athletes, I’ve been a lifelong educator, I’ve given rides to homeless teenagers in blizzard-type weather, I’ve run a podcast heard in 54 countries, and on five continents. I have a son on the autism spectrum which makes the fact that my wife and have been married for 21 years all the more exciting. Roughly fifty percent of all relationships involving kiddos on the spectrum don’t make it. I’ve been married for 21 years, have two incredible sons, and an incredible support staff of family, friends, and community. My best friends in high school included a guy that would have a six-pack of beer at break and a guy that went on his LDS mission just after high school. I was voted “Best Personality” my senior year in high school and I don’t think it was because I had the best personality. I was simply welcoming, friendly and learned how to work with people and meet them where they’re at.
All of these experiences and many more on my success road have led me to the projects that I work on today. Who would’ve thought the scrawny, low self-esteemed guy who was afraid to speak in eighth grade would one day become a best-selling author?
In March, I wrote a bestseller titled, “DNA of A Winner, 8 Steps to Building the Soulprint of A Winner” I’ve never considered myself a writer but for as long as I can remember I’ve been into people potential. Raising leadership lids, shaping culture, building relationships, and bringing positive value to the lives of those I come in contact with is what I’m passionate about. When a great publishing crew that had worked with the likes of Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi approached me on writing a book with them, I couldn’t turn that down so I said YES! I understand that the growth zone and the comfort zone aren’t found in the same place so the idea of trying something new, writing a book, didn’t overwhelm me. Rather than getting hung up on negatives and worrying whether books would fly off the Amazon shelf or not, I got hung up on how great it would feel to impact lives. How great it would feel educate. How great it would feel to help create the blueprint of a winner in a broad target audience. People ask me who my target audience is and unlike most books, there isn’t really one lane for this.
What lane in life can’t create a better version of itself? Success isn’t a destination and there isn’t a person or company on the planet that can’t benefit from improving the previous best version of itself. Opportunities don’t happen yesterday, opportunities happen TODAY! The best self travels, it’s free, has infinite potential, and is ready to rock and roll 24/7, 365. Understanding all of this, I was excited about the opportunity to write the book and have already begun brainstorming for book no. 2.
I opened up my 2021-22 speaking engagements on September 12 in Phoenix, AZ, and will be traveling across the United Stated hoping to touch as many lives as possible. I’m extremely excited to get on stage to help thousands become who they were destined to be. I’m ready to play full out, live BIG and invest in lives globally. My question to the reader is, are you? Are you ready to play full out? Are you ready to quit treating your life like a hobby and generate the revenue, the culture, the relationships, and the lifestyle you were destined to have? You didn’t wake up this morning to be mediocre. Don’t let the gap between where you are and where you want to stop you from just taking one step closer to the best version of you today. The first step to take? It’s the first step!
Also in the spring, I began creating an online course, titled “Soulprint Now”. This will be an exciting opportunity to interact with those ready to invest in themselves. Those ready to inhale fear and exhale excellence. There is no better investment we’ll ever make than the one we make in ourselves. There will be opportunities to have the versatility of watching the content on the recipient’s own schedule, opportunities for group calls, and opportunities to have 1:1 work with me directly. It will be available in late October. We are SO excited to get this out there and help people quit playing small, finally maximizing what they already have in the tank.
In addition to the online course, we’re creating an app titled “Soulprint Now” that will cover the same material in smaller quantities. The app will be an opportunity for those ready to bet on themselves. The world seems to revolve around apps so we thought it would be a good idea to create one and give mission-driven entrepreneurs, founders, coaches, and leaders an opportunity to get regular, relevant, life-impacting, value-adding information monthly for as long as their hearts desire.
Lastly, I invested in a seven billion dollar nutrition line in June that has paid big dividends for my body and the bodies of the people I care about. I lost an entire belt notch in my first seven days. My oldest son gained four pounds of clean weight in an effort to gain weight for athletics in one week. I was told I looked 5-10 years younger last week! Great stuff. In addition to a mental pandemic in the world right now, the physical issues have never been greater with heart disease, diabetes, and other ailments stemming from people simply not investing in themselves. I’m loving this gig as well. The nutrition industry is really about people helping people, being accountability partners with other members of our community to best able them a life of fulfillment.
How’s that for a few projects? I don’t think it’s in my DNA to sit still. There are lives to impact, I want to always be investing. Investing in me, my family, my community, other best self-seekers globally.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up?
Brad Dalton: That’s a great question. I don’t think anybody who has ever achieved anything can say that they didn’t have “hard” times and many moments of struggle. I’ve spoken and worked with many people who were at rock bottom and today, are slaying it. I lived a risk-averse life and never took chance…….said no successful dreamer, entrepreneur, CEO, exec, etc. EVER. We all have the ability to drop a plot twist on life anytime we want and slay the day however we want within reason.
Areas to think about in the process:
Are you down with investing in yourself? I find it ironic that many are willing to go into big-time debt to pay for college tuition but when it comes to investing in their lives, investing in their passions, and investing in their long term health emotionally, physically, socially, and/or spiritually, they don’t want to have any debt. They don’t want to invest. What could happen for you, me, and we if we were to invest just .01% into ourselves over the course of a year? That’s a 37% increase in the best versions of us over the course of 365 by simply investing in .01%/day. Thirty-seven percent better relationships, teammates, workspace, revenue streams, how incredible does that sound? I think this is attainable!
Are you Self Aware? The catch is that we have to be self-aware. Ninety-five percent of the world believes it is self-aware, yet only roughly 10-15% of those individuals actually are. The greater majority of the world has areas in their life where they’re unaware that they’re unaware. We all seek clarity but without having self-awareness, we can’t achieve clarity. It’s taken me years of learning those tough lessons, leaning into struggle, and becoming a student in the game of life for me to achieve the current best version of me. It’s taken learning those tough lessons, leaning into struggle, and being a student of the game in life for me to achieve the current best version of me.
I’ve been passed over, I’ve been embarrassed, I’ve lost in big moments, I’ve fallen short of my own expectations and it is because of those moments, that I’ve become who I am today. It is because of those moments that I’ve created habits that shape success and allow me to win.
We don’t get what we want in life, we get who our habits say we are. Failure is a learned behavior and like so many, I always competed and always wanted better but wasn’t willing to invest in playing big. When push came to shove, I was being held hostage by thoughts from yesterday. When I chose to beat yesterday, seize the opportunities of today, and invested in my best self moving forward, great things started happening for me. Opportunities don’t happen yesterday, they happen today. Learn from your past but ready yourself for the overflow of greatness that is waiting for you in the future. It is going to be incredible!
Despite many setbacks, I never gave serious thought to giving up. Obviously, there are times where you’ve realized that certain tasks aren’t a great fit but:
- if you’re passionate about it
- if it drives your engine
- if it could potentially create the best version of you
……..and you could get paid for that?
That’s worth investing in! Anytime I’ve been able to say yes to those three questions, I’ve fought for it. It takes courage to invest in you and it takes courage to win. I’m winning right now more than I ever have and investing right now more than I ever have, both in myself and in others. It’s a great day to be great.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
Brad Dalton: Wow! ValiantCEO Nation is coming strong with some great questions! I love it. There are a few different mistakes that come to mind for me. In most cases, the entrepreneur doesn’t know that they don’t know.
1.) They don’t know that they don’t know because they haven’t surrounded themselves with credible support staff. Many times, they’ll surround themselves with “Yes” guys who simply agree with them. Not giving feedback should be a crime. To not give feedback is to cheat someone out of the best version of themselves. It cheats you, it cheats your family, it cheats your community, it cheats all those who could benefit from your overflow.
You can’t be the best version of yourself without feedback. Yet many leaders, some of whom are young, get locked into their title or the power that comes with the position and don’t listen. They lose perspective and they lose their dream. I’ve rarely been the smartest man in the room and that has been by design. I want diversity, I want hero’s and shero’s and I want different perspectives. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with all of their input and ideas but you’ll either learn a better way to do the same thing or you’ll learn something new. It’s a great place to be in.
2.) One of the most common mistakes I see entrepreneurs make is they don’t understand the power of relationships. Relationships are the true power grid in life. They are your strongest form of currency and where you find the greatest wealth. My buddy Viliami Tuivai always says, “there’s money in the transaction but there’s wealth in the relationship”.
There isn’t a lane in life where strong relationships won’t provide you massive positive rewards. Great relationships are a prerequisite for greater income.
3.) Greatness is determined by service. Facilitating opportunities for others to become the best version of themselves will create the best version of you. The double win. When you add value to others, you simultaneously add value to your own life. Many don’t understand this concept. Those that do live a more happy, fruitful, positively engaging lifestyle and drive in revenue while doing it.
Awaken your dreams by allowing your overflow of gratitude to spill onto those around you. Your culture will be incredible, the larger majority of your people will be happy and you’ll earn trust-the currency of interactions.
Has the pandemic and transitioning into mostly online shopping affected your company positively or negatively?
Brad Dalton: It’s been all positive for us. I believe we have two choices every day. We can wake up each day feeling blessed or stressed. Studies have shown it’s impossible to feel both at the same time. Happiness is waking up no matter where you’re from, knowing your dreams are real, they ARE valid and they ARE attainable. If our opportunities are found in the present day, I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time dwelling on yesterday. Dwelling on yesterday too long puts you on track for the negative train and once you get on the negative train it’s hard to get off. I’m not interested in any thought that doesn’t have me trending up. Happiness is an inside job and I believe we have the ability to control those happy thoughts.
In every situation, we have a large spectrum. One on the end of the spectrum we have our feelings and on the other end of the spectrum, we have the circumstances. Connecting the two ends are our thoughts. We shift our thinking and we change our lives. When the pandemic originally hit there was clearly uncertainty as this was something new that we couldn’t have possibly prepared for but my immediate instinct was where do we shift? How do we move forward and operate in such a way that we can still have a massive positive impact on lives? I’ve never been in better shape financially, I’ve never been in a better position to positively shape lives globally and I’ve never had better energy than I do right at this moment. None of that happens and none of the opportunities we have moving forward happen if we had visited and then stayed in pity city.
I don’t make light of the fact that many are struggling, many businesses have closed and families have had to make pivots they’ve previously not anticipated. How could we have possibly been totally prepared for something we’d never encountered? My advice to those stuck is to begin searching for your best self. If you’re not determined to find your best self, you’re okay with being mediocre and you deserve better. You have a birthright for excellence waiting inside you. You find your best self and your best life will find you.
What is most important to your organization—mission, vision, or values?
Brad Dalton: This is a no-brainer for us. Our core values are just that, they’re at the core of what we do. We hire around our values, we make decisions around our values, we shape the culture around our values.
“When you are upfront about your core values and plain about what you believe in, everyone’s culture is better. The environment you operate in is more positive. Your family’s better, your circle of friends is better, your roster is better, and rather than having to recruit others to you, people start seeking you out. People want to be a part of what you bring to the table.”
Core values such as accountability, dependability, integrity, trust, and moral compass. Those kinds of character traits loom large in culture and tie directly to commitment. Not only do they tie to commitment but they create a sustainable operation. Commitment is staying true to your world long after the mood in which you originally committed, is gone. The mood is gone and you’re still committed, primarily because you have strong values.
I like to phrase our operations as having core values held loosely. There’s maneuverability in there but we operate freely within our radius of core values. I’m not discounting missions and visions but many times people can be married to those and it holds them back.
What do you consider are your strengths when dealing with staff workers, colleagues, senior management, and customers?
Brad Dalton: I’m a big believer in relationships. They’re the true power grid in life and I treat them as such. In a study of one hundred millionaires, all individuals had one thing in common, they were terminally ill. They were asked the same question. If you could go back and do one thing differently, what would it be? One hundred percent of them said they’d go back and invest more in relationships.
Great relationships lead to a great culture and when your culture is great, people are productive. Reproducing productivity leads to revenue, leads to personal transformation, leads to happiness. Kindness is free, has infinite potential and it travels. Be kind, be positive and be the chief encouragement officer for your tribe. You do this and big-time things are head for you.
I try to make my superpower be that of a great listener. I want to be a great listener and make sure the person who is sitting or standing in front of me knows that they matter to me. That their words matter, thoughts matter, and feelings matter. The largest contributor to terminated relationships in any arena of life is communication and one of the big hang-ups there is poor listening skills. Don’t be the person that’s putting a coma in the conversation when there should be a period.
I don’t believe I’ve ever reached “it” and I operate that way. I’m in the thick of it and my actions match my words. The growth part is the fun part and I want to have fun! I want to get better, I want to improve, I want to find new ways to do the same thing and increase impact. I’m obsessed with learning.
How important do you think it is for a leader to be mindful of his own brand?
Brad Dalton: This is a great question.
We can go three weeks without food, we can go three days without water and we can go three minutes without oxygen but we live in a three-second world where a person could give you three seconds before they slide to the next opportunity. It’s the reality we live in. Seventy percent of the people will quit early on you if they don’t believe in your brand.
One might say that they are who they are and people will just have to deal with it but that’s a really lousy way to lead unless that’s your niche. People’s perception of us is our reality. It doesn’t matter what you think, it’s how you’re perceived. The customer, the buyer, the reader, the potential client-the perception they have of you and/or your operation is what matters if you wish to drive in revenue.
There are a TON of brand specialists that do very well for themselves and there’s a reason for that. They land high ticket clients and land high potential talent for employers frequently and many times that begins with the brand you, me, and we are being perceived to have.
What’s your favorite leadership style and why?
Brad Dalton: BREATHE if you find servant leadership to be THE leadership style!
“Everybody can be great because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
If you wish to harness and engage the incredible benefits of the success road you must choose to invest in not only yourself but in others. People want to follow that type of leadership. The leader that says you work for him/her is a crummy leader to work with whereas the best leaders will say they work with you. Does that make sense? He/She is not your assistant, you work with each other.
When your focus is that of a servant leader, you recognize that your job isn’t about you—it’s about fostering support, coaching up, and lifting up the people around you. You recognize the power of patience because the current issues, the mistakes others make and the conflicts are not about you. You want to create the greatest growth hackers in the world and to do that, you must serve.
“As a servant leader, you’re the eyes to those followers who cannot see, legs to those who cannot walk, and so on. You are what they need you to be when they need it. They are learning to skydive for the first time and you are the instructor who tethers yourself to them, you are the airbag that erupts to prevent them from hitting their heads on the steering wheel of life, you are the handyman, always ready to repair, rebuild, replace and unclog.”
Do you think entrepreneurship is something that you’re born with or something that you can learn along the way?
Brad Dalton: This is a great question and I’m going to ride the fence a bit with it. An argument could be made for both.
You, me, and we all have soul ingredients in the tank already, we were born with them. Purpose isn’t something we have to search for, it’s not a hunt. It’s in us and ready to get rockin, we simply need to say yes to investing in us. If we have a difficult time finding it, we need to understand that it IS there, it’s simply been lying dormant.
If your purpose has grown stagnant and feels lost, the most effective way to reclaim it is to go stir the purpose in another. By stirring and adding value to another person, you create a movement within you. The purpose in others will stir the purpose in you. It is INCREDIBLE! Truly a tough feeling to beat. You add value to others, discover the purpose that is already inside you and begin your trek to excellence.
On the flip side, while ultimately I do believe we’re born with the birthright to excellence and have purpose inside us from the get-go, many won’t discover that early on and they’ll need to build their entrepreneurship skills. Maybe you don’t like speaking in front of people? Perhaps you have limiting beliefs and perhaps you’re like a large number of people falling short of their dreams-not because they can’t accomplish them but because they themselves don’t believe their dreams are valid and attainable. I was that guy. I was always a good guy, a good kid growing up but I learned through experiences at school growing up to not value myself and believe in myself as I should. Once I cleared that hurdle, good things began to happen and snowball in a positive way.
What’s your favorite “life lesson” quote and how has it affected your life?
Brad Dalton: My favorite quote is pretty simple: “I see you working”.
I’ve used this simple quote from my college baseball coach millions of times over the years when working with people. It’s a simple way to acknowledge to the person in front of you that you value their efforts. I use it just as much when they fall short as I do when they succeed. What I’m encouraging isn’t necessarily a skill set, but rather a mindset and behavior. If I get the desired effort and/or desired behavior, I will always tell them I see them working. Abundance thinkers give themselves permission to fail if they believe they’re trending up. A simple “I see ya workin” is a positive reinforcer to the people around you to keep busting their tails. You see them workin!
Play full out today and have a positive impact on the workers in your community. It takes no special ability to hustle and you don’t have to be buddies with the person to be a chief encouragement officer for them.
This interview was originally published on ValiantCEO.
