356 Katie Richardson

Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:00:00] As an executive business coach, Katie Richardson is on a mission to create a league of powerful leaders. With a background in building a multi million dollar international company with distribution in 2, 000 stores in the U. S. and 26 countries, Katie teaches the mindsets, skill sets, and tool sets you need to operate powerfully inside your business and align with God's purpose for you. 

And before we start the episode, a quick word from our sponsor, Deep Wealth and the Deep Wealth Mastery Program. Here's Sanjay, a graduate of Deep Wealth Mastery, and he says, the investment I made in the Deep Wealth Mastery Program, it's a rounding error compared to the value created today and the future value I'll receive.

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Now speaking of growth and adding value, check out what Leon says. He says that the Deep Wealth Mastery Program changed how and who we hire. We've now begun to hire talent [00:01:00] today that we never would have hired if it weren't for the program. The talent we're hiring today is helping both increase our growth and profits and our future enterprise value. 

Man, I love that kind of feedback because it's that kind of feedback that's what gets me out of bed every day.

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Welcome Deep Wealth Nation to another episode of the Deep Wealth Podcast. And you heard it in the official introduction. We have a rockstar in the house, a fellow entrepreneur, podcast host, thought leader, executive coach, a mover and shaker. I'll put a pause on it right there. Katie, welcome to the Deep Wealth Podcast.

An absolute pleasure to have you with us. And Katie, I'm curious because there's always a story behind the story. So what's your story, Katie? What got you from where you were to where you are today?

Katie Richardson: Jeffery, so great to be here. Thank you. I am [00:03:00] not what I would describe as a typical entrepreneur. From a really young age was just super curious about the world, how things worked and really specifically how things go together. I remember watching Mr. Rogers as a kid and my favorite moment was when he would go into the picture frame and go to factories.

And, I remember specifically him in a sheet metal factory and at 13, I started to think, I want to work with metal. And I actually ended up going on to learning some of these different trades at university, surprisingly. So I went to university and developed skills in industrial design and it took me a bit to find this place.

And as I was kind of meandering through university and. Actually just following people, my siblings who had gone before me I just started to notice that it was a part of me that was just not feeling seen and heard in kind of the traditional college majors. And so I started actually taking shop classes in college.

And I was like, I do not want to be a shop teacher, but I need a lathe and I need to learn how to weld. And I was learning all of these [00:04:00] different things, but I didn't really know how to apply it. And when I found industrial design, I was like, Oh, I'm home, like somebody values the fact that I can solve problems in a way where I'm creating solutions and I'm innovating.

And so I ended up really thriving inside that program. I got a scholarship from General Motors. I won national furniture design awards, but it's interesting because I'd kind of unconsciously put a limit on my own growth and potential. And growing up, I always knew long term I wanted to be a mother. And so when I got married and started having kids, I thought, well, that's the end of that for Katie.

And like from here on out, it's just stuff that I make in the garage with the kids and at the kitchen table. But you know, as we were having kids, there was a part of me that just really felt hungry to solve problems in a really big and profound way. And long story short, I was kind of thrust into.

Business really [00:05:00] unexpectedly. And it started from an experience where I was at a boutique and the store owner, I was there with my young kids. I had a infant in a baby carrier that I had, and then a toddler in a stroller. And she just said, where'd you get all of this stuff? And I said, what do you mean?

And she starts pointing to shoes, a hat, a carrier. And surprisingly, Jeffrey, I had made all of those on a 1962 Bernina sewing machine that I'd kind of. Confiscated from my mom. And it was just my way to keep myself engaged and occupied as kids were taking a nap. And like, it was my creative outlet.

And, you know, in that moment, all my walls came up and I just said, no, you don't understand. Well, she asked me, she said, I go to all of the trade shows and this is hot. I want you to make it for me. And that's when my walls came up because my reality as a parent and being a business owner, in my mind, those two were extremely incompatible.

And. She could see my fear [00:06:00] and my reservation and hesitation, and she looked me square in the eyes, Jeffrey. And she said, look, I understand that you're really busy right now, but someday these kids are going to grow up and you're going to look back and you will wish that you had done something with these gifts and talents that you have.

And that really hit me hard. Because, she transported me into the future and had me look back. Something that, you know, when you have two young kids, you're not looking into the future. You're just trying to make it through the day. And she transported me to the future. And I did feel that regret, but the beautiful news was that time had not passed and there was still something I could do about it.

And so I didn't know necessarily how or what or how to start, but I started where I was, which was her. And she wanted to place an order for these products. And I said, okay, how many do you want? And I took an order. I had no idea how it was going to fulfill that order. Like if there were other stores, but I just started with [00:07:00] where I was at.

And what eventually happened is that company ended up becoming a multimillion dollar international company with 2000 stores in the US. Carrying our products and distribution in 26 different countries. We have global and domestic patents and trademarks. It's been featured on The Ellen Show, The Rachel Ray Show, The Today Show, and on the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine.

And I wasn't necessarily Trying to I don't know, build a big business that, that actually was never my driver. I just am really passionate about solving problems for people. And I started to realize that business was a really powerful vehicle for me to do that. So that's my story.

Jeffrey Feldberg: That's amazing. As I'm thinking about this, so industrial design, being a mom, it could be on the one hand, the furthest thing from business owner, creating a market disruption, doing all these amazing things, changing people's lives, but you did it. And I know some people from the outside looking at you and say, oh yeah, she [00:08:00] was just lucky she was at the right place at the right time.

And look, any successful business person that I've ever met said, Hey, Jeffrey, I'd rather be lucky than smart and sign me up. I'm there as well. But it was more than luck. Sure. An opportunity presented 

Katie Richardson: more than luck.

Jeffrey Feldberg: but you stepped forward. I mean, how many people would say, Oh yeah, yeah, I hear you. I'm just too busy.

I got my hands full with the kids. I can't do anything else. But you didn't, you had no idea what you're walking into, but you said, yeah, okay let's go. So I'm wondering, Katie. Looking back when you were growing up, when you were a child, was there a seminal moment or something that shaped you that maybe you didn't call it being an entrepreneur, but you said, yeah, if I can help people or if I can rise up to the occasion, maybe it feels scary, but I'm going to do it anyways.

Where does that 

Katie Richardson: yeah, totally. I am the fourth of six kids. When I was three, my mom had twins 

Jeffrey Feldberg: Wow. 

Katie Richardson: I think she was fairly overwhelmed. She's an amazing woman who's super talented and taught me a lot of my creative skills and [00:09:00] abilities. But I think she was fairly overwhelmed and for kind of the birth order placement and the fact that.

Twins were born when I was three, kind of became the invisible child. And so from a really young age, I was trying to figure out how can I be seen? And I started to realize that when I help or serve somebody or do something that benefits them, you know, when I was young, it was cooking. I was really good in the kitchen.

And so I was really great at making meals or treats. And that was a way that I would get noticed. And I think we all crave to be seen and valued. And so. For me that a lot of the time has been a driver and, in the early stages of my business as it was taking off, that was definitely my driver. I wanted the world to see me and very rapidly it started to happen.

And yes, there was some luck involved, but man, there was so much hard work alongside that. And I know you understand that. And as the company was really starting to take off and it was very cash intensive and we didn't [00:10:00] have investors We did bring on some early stage investors, but like the nature of the business is it needs a lot of cash to grow.

And as we were in that place I almost lost the company a year into it. We'd done over a million dollars. That was just domestically, wholesale. And in our first year, we'd been nobodies. And then we're all of a sudden getting this press and attention. And, every store wanted to carry my products.

And so we're trying to figure out how to scale up so rapidly to go from zero to hero, and then start meeting international demand, which was starting to happen. And. We had three young boys at the time and we were, you know, it was me and my husband and he was primarily leading things at the factories and I was creating a lot of new products and content.

I was kind of the face of the company. And so we each kind of had our areas of responsibility and expertise, and we're just, we're new at all of this. We've never built a business before. And so we're trying to figure it all out and we're doing a pretty dang good job of it. [00:11:00] And we had this moment where we needed more cash and those early stage investors had said, we're going to raise more money and there'll be a million dollars in the business bank account any day now.

And Yeah. We thought we were days away from that. And they came back to us and said, we're not raising the money. And in fact, we want to see the company burn. And at that time, Jeffrey, we were actually all in Taiwan in this tiny little apartment in the financial district of Taipei, Taiwan, and I was attempting to homeschool our three boys that were three, five, and seven.

And they just wanted to wrestle and someone was going to split their head open on the window. And, you know, my husband's. Figuring out the next production run of some new products. So he's not necessarily around and we're both getting this news at the same time. And that was the moment in my life where I really had this huge existential crisis because I had started building the business on so much encouragement and prodding by my creator, God, whatever you want to call it, [00:12:00] and.

And so, like, so much of what I had done was on the faith that God has me, and this is gonna work out, and you'll figure it out. And even though it was extremely hard, we were figuring a lot of things out. And in that moment, it was like this. Crisis moment that it just was like, this is either a make it or break it moment.

And, they told us that news that they weren't going to raise the money, which meant we couldn't grow, right? That could potentially be the death of the company to not raise the money. And then to say that like personal statement of we want to see this company burn. I hadn't realized it until that moment, but I had.

That young girl. Oh, this makes me emotional. That young girl that was craving to be seen was finally being seen and acknowledged by the world. Like I, Target wasn't even carrying my product yet. And I walked down the Target aisle and they had this massive poster. Whoever was in charge of photography and product placement was using my product to be the ideal bathing and [00:13:00] bathtub for babies.

I think it was, they were trying to show the soaps, but like my product was on this. Giant poster in Target. And I was like, what is happening? And so like for the first time in my life, I was really feeling seen and valued and validated around the world. And I was like, why is this being taken from me? obviously really terrifying. And I learned a beautiful lesson and it became a moment that empowered me from that point forward. And as I knelt on my knees and I prayed and I was. Asking all these questions what the heck, why is this happening? I got this kind of inspiration and message and it was, Katie, you thought that I was encouraging you to build this business because you needed to become famous and seen, and you thought it was about the brand and the products, but it's not about the business.

It's about you and all of the gifts and talents and potential that I've put inside of you. And this [00:14:00] business is a powerful vehicle for you to become the leader that I know that you're capable of being. And so I went from being so needy and desperate of my business to prove my worth and value to realizing that it's a vehicle that if I need to step out of that vehicle, I'm okay.

And I still exist and I can step out of that vehicle and I can start a new vehicle and that there's So much other potential and that the value is in me, not in the company. And when I made that shift, Jeffrey, what I didn't realize, I mean, I now I'm a high performance coach and I recognize the positioning than that meant when I then went to talk to my, Investors.

And I was like, you want to burn the company. That's okay. I don't need it. And they were like, wait, what? And then they were like, can we just talk? Don't be so irrational. I was like, I don't know if I want to talk to you. And I didn't realize what was happening, but like. shifted from being in this desperate, needy place where I was fully [00:15:00] disempowered by my investors to being in a position of strength, and not because I was strong arming them.

It was a real position that God had helped me create within me. And this is the foundation of what I help entrepreneurs do today. When we are needy and desperate of our business to prove our worth and value to ourself, to the people that we love, to the world, we are actually in a disempowered stance.

And when you can understand how to use this business as a powerful vehicle to serve people, to create real value into the world, when you have that interstance within you, you are in a position and nobody can touch you. at that point on, like our competition couldn't touch us. there was something special that we had that they just could not replicate. And that's what it was. Mm.

Jeffrey Feldberg: A lot there and thank you for being so open and vulnerable from that. Let me just turn for a moment. It may have some listeners feel uncomfortable, but I'm going to ask the Deep Wealth Nation, be open with my next question that I'm [00:16:00] about to ask Katie. And I want to talk about God and we can talk about God.

Some people, maybe it's spirituality or the universe, or for those of you that say, Hey, none of that for me, just be open. Let's have you eavesdrop on my fireside chat here with Katie, because you said something interesting because Really the path of being an entrepreneur, from the outside looking in it, it can be lonely.

It can be scary. It can be really challenging us to the core, but you had this faith. And perhaps looking back now, you can see that you went off track, but your faith, that conversation that you had, or that inspiration that you received. Put you back on and so far this was out there who maybe have been on the fence or maybe to them It's just a religion and it's a boring service and I just can't relate to it.

We're not talking about that We're talking about a personal relationship in this case you with God and having that as your foundation your rock So for the Deep Wealth Nation, all the listeners out there that are maybe on the fence of this, and for the ones that [00:17:00] are there, they know they're there, they can relate to this because they've been there and they've had their own experiences like this, but for those that are there that may be on the fence, not even there at all, but they're feeling scared and vulnerable and alone. 

Katie Richardson: hmm.

Jeffrey Feldberg: What would you say to them? Because what we're talking about does not show up in a balance sheet, in a spreadsheet, and it doesn't show up in, most of the quote unquote, business books or in business schools or the business programs that are out there. What would you tell them?

Katie Richardson: I want to make, I thank you again. It's funny. I was not planning on crying or having a very spiritual conversation, but I'm super grateful that we're here. What I have learned along my journey is that there is what I would call an old operating system that we navigate business and life from.

And I had been navigating my life from this old operating system. And it has very specific set of rules and it's things that you do and that you don't do. And there's a very specific way that you need to be in your life that makes, you know, you look [00:18:00] good and it's acceptable to maybe your spouse or your family of origin.

And I was trying to fit into some sort of mold, which I started to realize was totally undefined. And. As I was attempting to be the business woman that I thought my partners, my distributors my store buyers wanted me to be. As I attempted to be that woman, I was in a sense, betraying myself. And it took me a while to start to really see and notice this.

And I thought that was going to be the secret. To my success was like, through hard work and discipline. those are the tools of the old operating system is hard work and discipline. And I had proven those things on many levels, right? In school, in sports, in college and getting the scholarship that I talked about, like I'd proven that I could work my way ahead of everybody else.

And that I could be ultra disciplined, but at some point, those tools, Not only do they run out, they start to become [00:19:00] destructive. And I had maximized the number of hours that I could put in, into my business, and I still couldn't keep up with it. And there was this moment where the business was taking off like a rocket. I was trying to figure out how to The pathway forward that I wouldn't regret, right? That's where I started was, don't regret that you don't build a business. So I started building a business. Well, now was starting to feel like I was going to regret the fact that I wasn't being a present mother, that there was so much tension in my marriage.

And so I was, trapped between these two extremes. And I remember reaching this point where it just was like, something has to change. And it's kind of this low level irritation. And I think every entrepreneur who's done seven, eight, nine figures, they know what I'm talking about. And it's unspoken.

It's undefined. We feel it as we're trying to fall asleep at night. It feels heavy on our chest when we wake up in the morning and we don't know what that is. It's just change needs to happen and needs to happen now, but what, when I was [00:20:00] caught in that trap, if I set this business down, I will regret that for the rest of my life.

But if I, don't figure out how to be present with my kids, I'm going to regret that because someday I'll wake up and they don't want to talk to me anymore. And I can't live with that. That's not what I actually want. And so I'm trapped between these extremes and, As we've mentioned, I'm a woman of God, so I'm in conversation with God as I'm sweeping my kitchen floor, as one does after they put the kids down to bed and, cleaned up dinner.

And I'm just at this point where it just feels like continuing on this path of you know, riding this rocket ship of a business and trying to pretend that I'm being present with my, it's like, it's just not sustainable. And I know that one of these things, something has to go, but I don't want to let go of anything.

And so as I'm in that wrestle and that battle, and I'm kind of going to God. Not kind of, I'm talking to God, but I'm upset at him. I'm like, you told me to do this thing. I'm doing it. And my life feels like it's going to fall apart. something has to give. And that was a moment where I saw a [00:21:00] new possibility.

And the voice that I heard in that moment or the understanding that I had was, you're looking for the business model that makes all of these things possible. Doesn't exist. And you don't even need that because creation. So while you might not see the person who's capable of navigating this very complex, multi dimensional life, you don't need her because you can go create her.

And Jeffrey, the design processes and the design thinking and the systems that I use to create this perpetually upward spiraling business that was now becoming like such a almost a monster in my life because I couldn't keep up with it. Those design processes. That had created that upward spiral in my business.

I needed to turn those onto myself. And I had was living in this box of the old operating system. And it was time for me to create a new operating system that could perpetually grow as my business would grow as I was growing. And it was like this continual [00:22:00] expansion operating system. And so from that point on, I started looking at my programming and kind of the results of that, like a scientist.

And I was like, well, what, sort of results is this programming creating for you? Okay. Well, if you were to recreate your programming and to program your mind, your thinking, your actions, your beliefs, if you were to program those things to get this outcome of this multidimensional person who has a deep loving relationship with her spouse, who knows her kids on a very profound level and is present in their life and is the.

Owner, founder, creator of an international business and just a total rockstar into the world and has a rock solid relationship with herself and with God who is that person? And I was like, well, I don't know who she is, but I want to be her. And so I started to literally create that person into my life.

And that's, at the core. This is what I do for people [00:23:00] today. And I think I kind of mentioned it. I coach entrepreneurs. I've been doing this for the last eight years now, because as I was doing this behind the scenes, by the way, I was embarrassed by it because it broke all of the rules of the hustle grind culture that I was seeing and reading and books.

And I was like, yikes, that's not working for me. I need to do it a different way. But yeah. It's not, quote, okay by society's standards. And so I need to hide it from people. So I was kind of living by my own operating system behind the scenes. but people would notice as they would meet me in person, I would be at trade shows and I would meet another founder of another international company.

And they would be like, They would pull me aside and be like, what are you doing? Because you seem happy. You seem grounded. What's happening. I see you and your husband together. And I was like, well, I can show you. And so without even knowing what I was doing in the beginning, I started taking clients on and I was showing them this powerful operating system.

Jeffrey Feldberg: What's interesting, I mean, my goodness, there's so much to unpack, not enough time to unpack everything,

but for our listeners out there, [00:24:00] what Katie is saying, I know for some of you it's out there, you may even say it's woo woo, but for those listeners, let me share this. Science is now not only showing, it's proving That our inner thoughts, how we feel, not so much what we think, but how we feel, that's what manifests in our outer world.

And so Katie, in your words, operating systems, different operating systems out there, just like there's different operating systems for computers. So one operating system in business, and I was following this operating system once upon a time, think of Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich. That's one operating system, and that's work hard and pedal to the metal, and you're just working, working, working, working, and does that get results?

Yes, it can, and for many, it has. Is it the optimal level of results? Well, every journey is personal, but there's another operating system and Katie, I'd put you into this one. And that's where it's, what I like to say is ease and flow on all subjects in your life. And you're not [00:25:00] trying, you're not working, you're being, you're not doing, you're being.

And so for listeners out there, that's where it's at. The science is all behind that. Katie, I'm going to share one very quick story, and then I want to get to your secret sauce of what you're doing behind the scenes. And for listeners out there, you probably haven't heard me talk about this before. It's something very intimate and personal on the business side.

Our deal, so the nine figure deal that everyone talks about, knows about what we've built our Deep Wealth Mastery program on, most deals, they go off the rails so many times. Our deal was DOA. It was just DOA, it wasn't going anywhere, it was done, and I remember sitting down with my business partner, Steve Wells, and Waleska, and I say, okay guys, it looks like it's just not going to happen.

We've been trying so hard, and we've been pushing, and this and that, I said, let's just try something different. I don't know where I got this from, but I have some prayers. Let's just throw everything up, forget about that, let's just say some prayers, [00:26:00] and let's just walk away. In God's hands. And what's going to be is going to be, because we didn't really talk about this to the outside world, but we were on a mission from God with the company and

Things to talk about than we have time itself, but what was amazing was that was the turning point.

And when we left with no expectation that we would just continue to run a fabulous business, that it

wasn't the time or it wasn't the reason, you could not have planned. Truth is stranger than fiction. What began to happen next? It was from the prayer and just from Giving ourselves over and saying, okay, it's not for us to control.

It never was. And it's not our wish. It's not our demands. That's not for us. We're here just to be servant leaders and the best that we can of a representation. I've got, and what's out there. And right after that meeting, things began to go. And now everyone knows the end of the story and the deal to get back on track.

And it did happen, but I don't give myself certainly any of that credit. It wasn't [00:27:00] me. And so I completely relate where you were and what was going on with that. And for the listeners, again, I know for some of this, it's making you feel uncomfortable, but Be open because it's happening out there. Maybe you're not seeing it or you don't want to hear it, but it's there.

Just be open to it. Be curious about that. So Katie, from there, you started to help other business owners, entrepreneurs, and one of my favorite questions. In this kind of scenario is let's go to Pareto's law, the 80 20 rule. Are you seeing 20 percent of the same, we'll call them challenges. You and I would call them opportunities that are affecting most people.

It's creating 80 percent of the so called issues that people are having. Is there some common themes that you're seeing with the entrepreneurs that you're working with them? What are they?

Katie Richardson: When someone first starts working with me, They see the issue, the problem, the obstacle as external. It's outside of me. I need, I need a better marketing manager. My business partner and I can't seem to align. I [00:28:00] don't have the right team. I've built the wrong team. We don't have the funding.

They think that the obstacle is external. And what I have learned is we don't control the external. And so the more that you look externally to sort of solve the problem, the more frustrated you're going to continue to be. And where you have influence is internally, but it seems so counter, but this is the process of creation because there's two phases to creation.

You first create it spiritually and that just means like it doesn't exist in reality, right? It's a thought, it's an idea in your head, but you know, I can't. Get into that vehicle, right? It's not something anybody else can touch and experience. And so to actually create that into reality, you have to go through a process of then bringing that to reality.

Spiritual idea into reality. And if you want to see something in your external reality that doesn't currently exist, you have to first create it spiritually within you. And if we try and do it the opposite [00:29:00] way, it's elusive and we'll continually be chasing after something that we just can't seem to grasp.

And it's because we don't have the capacity within us to sustain that Maybe life or that business or that reality. And so I'll see people who get kind of spikes of success, but then they can't sustain it and it's because they have not personally grown to that level. 

So yeah. to answer your question often, we look externally and the answer is actually internally, but nobody wants to look there.

Jeffrey Feldberg: So as an executive coach, as an entrepreneur who as a saying, goes, been there and done that, and for the VIP coaching that you're working with your clients on. So if I were to come to you today and say, okay, Katie, I give up. I can't do this. I can't figure it out. You have, you've done this before. Please help me, help myself, help my team, help my company.

What does it look like in terms of what you're doing? How long does it take? What can I expect? What am I gonna be doing throughout the process?[00:30:00]

Katie Richardson: Yeah. I have a couple of people who immediately come to mind who are kind of extreme examples of individuals who were men of integrity, actually adding real value into the world, but they just continually were getting in their own way. One is he's. He's transforming hard money lending. And when he came to me, he was working 120 hours a week, which I didn't even know it was possible.

I'm like, do you sleep at all? He was actively losing his best employees, including a former employee that was trying to sue him for a million dollars. He, there was major tension in his business partnership and he felt trapped in this business partnership because. Oh, by the way, the business partner was his uncle who had funded the business.

And so while he's working 120 hours a week. The business partner's working zero, but you know, literally taking millions a year from the business and not working in it. And then at the end of the day, his wife wanted to know, why aren't you being mentally [00:31:00] present with our two and three year old at the dinner table?

So it was just like, it was just like, it just felt like full constraint. And he was running out of runway and. He was using that old operating system of hard work. He was trying to outwork his situation and it just, he literally took it to the max and it was just impossible, and he needed a totally different way of operating to move out of that.

Reality. And so I said here's what I do with clients. I say, tell me the three targets that you want to hit in the next 90 days. And specifically, what are some goals that you've been trying to hit on your own for the last 12 to 18 months, and you can't seem to make progress on? Those are the ones that I want, because I know they're important.

But they haven't been able to do it on their own. So he brings me these three really big, impossible targets. And I know that I need to create within him the operating system that is capable of accomplishing those things. So that's my objective and goal. And so together we start shifting his operating system.

And [00:32:00] at first there's a lot of resistance to it because they think that old operating system is part of the. Essential ingredients to the success that they have achieved. And in a lot of ways, they're not wrong, but if they continue operating in that way, as he was experiencing, there's this backsliding and it just, it no longer is going to get you to that next.

level. And so over those three months, we shifted his operating system and he went from people leaving saying he was the worst man they'd ever worked for to people saying, I thought I was going to retire this next year. I'm so happy. Will you please keep me on? It was just like a full shift. We removed the business partner willingly.

and again, it was like he had to create internal shifts and stances within himself to then have business partner come to the conclusion in the agreement that you're right. The best thing for both of us is if I leave. And so it was an amicable. Separation and, oh, I didn't even mention the fear about the separation [00:33:00] from the business partner was that it's the uncle and that would send his mother into a mental health break, which had happened in his childhood.

And so there was like just so much constraint and by using him as the main lever that we were pulling and creating these results within him internally through this operating system within. Three months, Jeffrey, he was down to working 60 hours a week, but his team had the highest sales month ever that month December, which was three months into us working together.

And his wife was just in amazement as he was rolling in the snow with his kids for two and a half weeks over Christmas break. And he didn't even open his laptop and she was like, who is this man? I haven't seen him. And just like elated that he was spending so much time with his kids. And so that's one extreme example.

The other. Client who is a world renowned surgeon. And when he came to me, he just kept insisting that. He's got a horrible team, they're [00:34:00] entitled, they're ungrateful, they're not performing. And I said, this is going to be hard for you to hear, but they're learning that from somewhere and you're contributing to it.

And he's I'm coachable. I'm open. Tell me how, there's no way I'm doing this. And I've shown him how he's contributing to this toxic dynamic on his team and that's where he has control, Jeffrey. And it's so exciting to watch him transform and change. And as he makes these changes within himself, team members that he kept insisting were so toxic, he needed to get rid of them.

I said, maybe, but just be patient with me. And one by one, those toxic team members, as he was transforming himself, they were voluntarily coming to him saying, I think it's time for me to go. Because he was finally aligning with his mission and with his purpose. And they could see that's not the direction they wanted to go.

And so they self selected, they left and he didn't have to fire anybody. Like, [00:35:00] And that was the thing he was terrified of. Like, Well, I know he's horrible, but I also need him. And so I can't let him go. And I was like, is that true? And so anyways, same thing. It was realizing that You're both the problem and the solution. And so if we, kind of do the, the surgery, he's a surgeon, but like, if we, transform your operating system and you know how to hold the line to that operating system with your team, by the way, not as a way to be tyrannical force, but as a way to empower people and invite them into this incredible vision that you have, if you know how to.

To roll that out with your team. And it just wasn't intuitive to him, but now that I've been showing it to him, he's creative, obviously as a surgeon, it's starting to become natural for him. And he's seeing amazing things happen with his team that he had been dreaming of, that he'd been wanting.

And he was trying to make it happen through external force. And now it's kind of unfolding before him because of these. Changes that we've made to his operating [00:36:00] system. So those are some more like tangible real life examples of what it looks like to make this change. Yeah.

Jeffrey Feldberg: I'm wondering, I'm putting myself in the shoes of a listener, and I'm sure all of us we've heard stories of people who have gone to some kind of therapy, oh, I've had some issues, and it takes years with these therapists, and maybe nothing even happens at all. And this listener now is having our conversation there, eavesdropping in on us and saying, wait a

minute, Katie, this operating system that you're installing in people, you're doing it in 90 days or less, whereas some people for a lifetime, they can't do it, or it takes years and years.

What's 

Katie Richardson: Yeah. Yeah.

Jeffrey Feldberg: What's going on here, Katie, what are you doing that is so effective to really unleash the potential that's always been there, but it's been locked away for any number of reasons? What's going on here that others perhaps have tried and have failed at, even with, quote unquote, and I use the quotations very loosely, professional, Advice or help.

Katie Richardson: Yeah. [00:37:00] It's interesting because I, I very much am not a therapist, but I've had clients tell me I've been in therapy for 13 plus years, made almost no progress. And literally in three months we have overcome that and then like created this life that I always wanted. And it just kind of baffles them because in the beginning, Jeffrey, I just thought I got lucky.

I think I thought, well, I got lucky with myself. And then as I started helping other people, I got lucky again and again. But then it starts to happen so much that you're like, no, there's a pattern here. And there is actually a formula. And I do have a formula. I call it the Vital Framework.

And it includes my vision system, my inspiration system, my team system, my alignment system, and my lead system. And when you can understand these. Systems and understand how to implement them through the new operating system. You used a word in the beginning, and I can't remember if we were recording when you said this, but you said the F word, which is fun.

Let's have fun and,

Jeffrey Feldberg: Yeah.

Katie Richardson: so often when I first meet a stressed out, [00:38:00] overwhelmed, burned out entrepreneur. They're not having fun and fun seems like this luxury that happens after you exit or after I get to X amount of revenue. And what I have learned is fun is actually a really incredible tool.

And if you can set up your business in a way that you start having fun now. That's really magnetic and it's attractive. it's part of a way to attract A players on your team. It's part of a way to attract your ideal customers and clients. It's a way to like bring levity to the seriousness.

Business isn't always fun and there are uncomfortable things within business. And we do have to have very. Tenuous, difficult conversations. And sometimes things don't go the way that we want, and that's not fun. But we need the balance of doing really significant, impactful things and doing it in a way that it lights you up.

And that's what I often see with individuals. Their vision used to light them up and it was so [00:39:00] exciting. And it was this fuel with and then it just starts to become so serious and the fun has left the room and so has the fuel and the passion and the drive. And so if we can, understand how to build our business in a way that it lights you up.

It allows you to put your gifts and talents into the world in a really significant and profound way and you can have fun doing it. That is fulfilling. There's the other F word.

It's like extremely rewarding and extremely fulfilling. So if somebody is listening to us right now and it's good for you, Katie, or good for you, Jeffrey, and don't experience https: otter.

ai You know, if you continue with that belief, then yeah, you won't ever experience these things in your life. But what I have witnessed over and over again is there is a process that can pull you out of that pit and pull you out of the hollowness and emptiness that is a business that doesn't have meaning.

And you can [00:40:00] actually like, I pivoted out of physical products into coaching, but I've helped people make a pivot. Within their business, and to create meaning and fulfillment within the existing structure that they have built. And so I guess my invitation to you would be when you're really honest with yourself. What do you actually want? And is your business slash life currently providing that? And if it's not, there's not something wrong with you, right? You're not broken. It's just about actually rearranging, redesigning the variables in your life in a way that they align. And they do create space for fun.

They do create space for freedom. They do create space for fulfillment. All the F words.

Jeffrey Feldberg: I love that. And Katie, as we're talking about this, let me give you an analogy and you can say, Jeffrey, you're way off base, or yeah, there's something in what you're saying. And to me, it's really all about mindset. And I know you're really big on that in what you're doing with your system. And we've all seen people who are incredibly [00:41:00] smart and talented, yet they're coming up short on Achieving their goals, whatever that means for them.

And yet there's other people who have a fraction of that talent or even a fraction of the brainpower, if you will. And they're incredibly successful. And so where I'm going with this, if our mindset is unleashed by having fun, we're in a natural flow state, we're just enjoying, it's like we would be, let's say a race car.

And we can have the best race car in the world, but if the, I don't think they have emergency brakes on the race cars, but for this thought experiment, there is one. If there's an emergency brake on that race car, are we going to be winning races? No, we're probably going to be dropping out of the races with all kinds of problems and engines burning out and everything else.

But if there isn't that emergency break, which would be the equivalent of fun, so the opposite of fun would be, I don't know, tyranny or boredom or same blank, different day. You can feel in all those things. If we get rid of that emergency break, that's holding us back. We [00:42:00] unleash the fun. We get the passion back in the mindsets in the right place.

And that's where I love to say the resilience. Always trumps resources. We can be creative and do all kinds of things. That's, what's going to unlock the success. Thoughts about that on base, off 

Katie Richardson: Oh, a hundred percent. A hundred percent. And it's interesting because, each week my VIP clients, they meet with me every week and every week it's less about, you teaching them some new skill and it's really about removing those e brakes every week. And the more that we continue to remove those e brakes and the drag and the resistance, the more they are in that flow.

In that flow state. And it's less about this kind of linear chasing after something. And it's always continually elusive and more, you said in the beginning, it's more about being. And when you're in that place of being and you're radiating this light and this passion and this [00:43:00] contribution, then what you have been desiring comes to you.

And it's really magnetic. It's super attractive. A lot of times people would say, how'd you get all of this press and attention in my physical products company? And the answer is, it all came to us. And it was through this kind of attraction and alignment of values. That's ultimately what was happening is, we had values within a brand and as a company, and we were very intentional about how we actually live those values in the company at all of the touch points, whether it's interacting with my factory owners or my global distributors, it was, how are we living these values with that customer?

And as you do that you essentially are who you say you are, right? And when you can stand in that place, you're in a place of integrity. And integrity is extremely powerful, extremely influential. So in a sense, Jeffrey, when I'm talking with a client, that obstacle is [00:44:00] also preventing them from their integrity.

And if we can remove that obstacle, then they are aligned with their integrity. And that's a person that nobody can touch, like you become unstoppable. It is a power and a strength that is, Unstoppable, and it's really exciting to help somebody get into that place. Maybe you can tell I'm super passionate about it.

I just, it lights me up and it's such an expected journey from, a 19, 20 year old girl who said, I like welding things to all of a sudden I'm here talking with people who are building billion dollar businesses and it's What happened? How did that happen? And it was, it was about, following that light, following that energy and trusting it and being willing to take a leap and follow the adventure of life.

And it's led me to Puerto Rico of all places. My four kids are homeschooling here in Puerto Rico. And I've got the most incredible entrepreneurial neighbors who, share a very similar perspective on the world. And similarly, we are passionate about time [00:45:00] freedom and financial freedom, and we're building a life.

Not the life of everybody else. Not the normal life. We're building the life that we feel called to create. And it's just super exciting.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Yeah, I hear you on that. I feel you on that. It's a wonderful place to be. And actually it's full circle as we begin to go into wrap up mode, because you said something really interesting at the start of our conversation and we'll call it the old Katie versus the new Katie. And you said, once upon a time, you were the business and the business was you that you had as your identity.

The business and you had all these from the outside world, they'd be terrific goals, but they're really superficial goals. They're not who you are. And one of the things in the Deep Mastery program, we deprogram, if I can use that word, the entrepreneurs, that you are not the business. You're more than the business.

And the business has to have a life of its own independent of you through your very talented and capable team. And I like what you said about, hey, [00:46:00] if we can have some fun. We're really unleashing our integrity. We're showing up as ourselves and deliberately use this term as our God given gifts And so for our listeners, I hear you, Jeffrey, you've lost it on this episode where, where are you way out there?

My goodness, Jeffrey, what's going on? What did you drink this morning? I assure you, nothing's changed. And this is perhaps serendipitously for the listeners, an opportunity to go within and to reflect because Katie, one of the things before we go into rapid mode that you said, and we wholeheartedly agree.

Here at Deep Wealth, we say in a little bit of a different way, but it's the same thing that as an entrepreneur, a business owner, a founder, you know your business better than anyone else. There is no magic potion or pill that you can take that someone can just zip into your business and take it to the next level.

You have the answers. You're not asking the right questions. You're not allowing yourself to have that fun and to get into the right mindset. To do that. And once you do that, then that's where the magic happens. And I just love [00:47:00] how you've put together a proven system first for yourself. And now for others that you're literally making all the difference out there.

So that said, Katie, we're now in wrap up mode. And I say this every podcast, but it's true. It's my privilege because it's an honor and a tradition here on the Deep Wealth Podcast, every guest, I have the privilege of asking the same question. It's a fun one. Let me set this up for you as you wrap it up.

When you think of the movie Back to the Future, you have that magical DeLorean car that will take you to any point in time. So, Katie, imagine now it's tomorrow morning, and here's the fun part. You look outside your window, not only is the DeLorean car there, it's curbside, the door is open, waiting for you to hop on in, which you do, and you're now going to go to any point in your life.

Katie, as a young child, a teenager, whatever point in time it would be, Katie, what are you telling your younger self in terms of life lessons or life wisdom? Or, hey, Katie, do this, but don't do that. What would that sound like?

Katie Richardson: I mean, there's part of me that's in a battle with this because I love the life that I have. So I wouldn't want to change something. But. I would go to young [00:48:00] Katie maybe six year old Katie. She didn't know how talented she was. her gifts and talents looked really different than was usually acknowledged in school. I did fine in school, but it just did not light me up for the most part. And so I got high test scores, but it was just, I just was dying to get out of class. And so I downplayed my skills and abilities because they weren't being valued by traditional education system.

And it wasn't really until I got into college and even started building my business and I would meet, you know, You know, exceptional entrepreneurs people who had accomplished a whole lot and they were really curious about me and wanted to learn. And they saw me as super talented. It wasn't really until I'd seen it in their eyes that I started to acknowledge my gifts and talents.

And, I think a lot of us have things that are so natural to us. And maybe you, who's listening, you have some gift and talent that's really [00:49:00] Effortless for you. And so we, and so you downplay. And I have found that when I really own my gifts and talents. And when you really own your gifts and talents, not as a way to posture, not as a way to position yourself above others, not as a way to say that you're more worthy than somebody else, but to just really own who you are, who your creator created you to be.

And then be curious about how you can share that with the world. That's what I would say to six year old Katie, super talented and maybe other people don't see it right now, but that's okay. It's like a little secret between us.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Feel your emotion on that, your vulnerability, and I honor you and thank you for that. Own and honor your gifts and talents and share it with the world. I mean, wow. That's really where it's at. Katie, again, thank you for putting everything out there and not holding back. And. Before we go and officially wrap this up for a listener who has a question or [00:50:00] they want to work with you and change their life and change lives around them, where would be the best place online that someone could find you?

Katie Richardson: Yeah, so I have a podcast called What's Working Now, and I would recommend you go listen to some of those episodes. The first eight episodes are my story. I just interviewed Greg McKeown. I think it's like episode 138 and it's so good. Go listen to that one too. He wrote the book, Essentialism and Effortless.

I don't know if you're familiar with those, Jeffrey. And then I'm also active on Instagram, katie. live and send me a DM. I really love hearing from people and I have found my best clients come from conversations like this. And it's somebody who felt really, maybe unexpectedly touched by what we discussed today.

And there's potentially a calling that you haven't heard from. I've totally figured out how to answer that call. And maybe like me at that point in my life where I was saying something needs to change exactly how and what, again, it's just, it happens to be one of the gifts that I have. I'm exceptionally good at helping [00:51:00] somebody make that transformation and change.

And I feel like that's my calling. And so reach out to me, send me a DM and we can start talking.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Terrific. And for the Deep Wealth Nation, everything is in the show notes. It's point and click. It doesn't get any easier. Well, Katie, it's official, congratulations, it's a wrap, and as we love to say here at Deep Wealth, may you continue to thrive and prosper while you remain healthy and safe. Thank you so much.

Katie Richardson: Thank you. This was awesome, Jeffrey. Appreciate it. 

Jeffrey Feldberg: So there you have it, Deep Wealth Nation. What did you think? So with all that said and as we wrap it up, I have another question for you.

Actually, it's more of a personal favor. Did you find this episode helpful? Have you found other episodes of the Deep Wealth Podcast empowering and a game changer for your journey? And if you said yes, and I really hope you did, I have a small but really meaningful way that you can actually help us out and keep these episodes coming to you.

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So all that said. Thank you so much for listening. And remember your wealth isn't just about the money in the bank. It's about the depth of your journey and the impact that you're creating. So let's continue this journey together. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for listening to this episode.

And as we love to say here at Deep Wealth, may you continue to thrive and prosper while you remain healthy and safe. Thank you so much. God bless.