Jeffrey and Steve Discuss The Post Exit Life - Celebrating The 100th Podcast Episode (#100)

[00:00] Introduction Welcome to the Sell My Business Podcast. I'm your host Jeffrey Feldberg. 

This podcast is brought to you by Deep Wealth and the 90-day Deep Wealth Experience. 

Your liquidity event is the largest and most important financial transaction of your life. 

But unfortunately, up to 90% of liquidity events fail. Think about all that time, money and effort wasted. Of the "successful" liquidity events, most business owners leave anywhere from 50% to over 100% of their deal value in the buyer's pocket and don't even know it.

I should know. I said no to a seven-figure offer and yes, to mastering the art and science of a liquidity event. Two years later, I said yes to a different buyer with a nine-figure offer. 

Are you thinking about an exit or liquidity event? 

If you believe that you either don't have the time or you'll prepare closer to your liquidity event, think again. 

Don't become a statistic and make the fatal mistake of believing that the skills that built your business are the same ones for your liquidity event. 

After all, how can you master something you've never done before? 

Let the 90-day Deep Wealth Experience and our nine-step roadmap of preparation help you capture the maximum value for your liquidity event. 

At the end of this episode, take a moment to hear from business owners, just like you, who went through the Deep Wealth Experience.

[00:01:44] Jeffrey Feldberg: Welcome to the 100th episode of The Sell My Business Podcast. And this is a special moment for The Sell My Business Podcast. I have with me my co-founder, best friend, business partner, Steve Wells. Steve is great to have you with us. How you doing stranger? It's been a little while.

[00:02:00] Steve Wells: I am doing great. I know we talk a lot about how we haven't been in person together, mainly because of some of this pandemic stuff or not mainly because of it. It's good to see your face virtually. And it's amazing how far this podcast has gone that, you know, really, you've driven.

So, this is the hundredth episode. That's hard a lot believe. I mean, that's a lot.

[00:02:25] Jeffrey Feldberg: I know, 100 episodes. Let me ask you something Steve, when we first got into the whole podcast, which came a little bit after the development of Deep Wealth, it was relatively late in the process for us. Did you ever think we'd be at a hundred? What are your thoughts as we sit here today?

[00:02:38] Steve Wells: No, I didn't think we'd have 10. I don't know what I thought.

[00:02:42] Jeffrey Feldberg: Thanks for the confidence.

[00:02:43] Steve Wells: And, what interesting people we've run across through those hundred, really some really interesting people, interesting stories, a lot of knowledge, a lot of information. Yeah. It's much richer and much deeper and again, more episodes and I thought we'd ever have.

[00:03:00] Jeffrey Feldberg: And when you think about it from the guests that we've had, it just really, it's like a day in the life of a business owner. We've had scientists and you're thinking what the heck would a scientist have to do with running a business, but we're talking about mindset. We've had bestselling authors, buyers, sellers, investment bankers, M&A lawyers.

You name it coaches, fitness people, all the above in any of the above, we've all had. And it's just been quite a journey, quite a ride to get to the hundred episodes. And beyond that. And let me ask you something else Steve for our listeners let's go back to the beginning for just a moment.

And this is when we were in the early days of our e-learning company Embanet and had no idea about a liquidity event, but as you sit here today, Steve, I'm going to put you on the spot. I'm going to throw a quick interview question your way. As we sit here today, and we're looking back all these years later, and you've gone through the 9-figure exit, then you've gone through saying no to the 7-figure offer, but you look back to the early days.

Has your thinking changed or are you seeing anything different today that you didn't see back then?

[00:04:03] Steve Wells: Well, Sure. I think there's a lot mainly because 2020 hindsight vision is so perfect and so much clear. There's a lot of great things that we did. Of course, we didn't have a system that we now have in the Deep Wealth system. Had we had that things would have gone much easier and we would have been more structured.

So, sure. We go back and we see things that we did that were right. And we didn't really know they were right. So, that's always interesting. And then we can talk a little bit about it. Actually, after the exit was not anything I thought about. And that's been a unique and interesting experience for me and you and what we can prepare for that. Yeah, in some ways it's, I would never have dreamed we would have had the exit and then when we're in the middle of It I could see it. And then I never would have dreamed we would have had as large an exit.

And then after the exit, building the Deep Wealth experience and helping other people that wasn't anything that was even on our radar at all. And just see how many people we've been able to impact and help with their exit. I mean, that's been really fulfilling.

[00:05:14] Jeffrey Feldberg: It has been, I know after our exit, we made the commitment to each other. Let's pay this forward because it could have been us becoming a statistic. If we would have said yes to the 7-figure offer and as I like to say, there's nothing wrong with a 7-figure offer, but it's completely wrong when you have a better offer around the corner, over the hill, around the bend, you can't see it.

You've created it. You've earned it. It is there, but you don't know how to extract pun intended that deep wealth. And so the opportunity of really taking the system that we created to other business owners and big picture wise, our vision of changing the social fabric of society one liquidity event at a time that has just been a game changer for us.

And I know we were mentoring and coaching and helping business owners really one-off after the liquidity event, but through the Deep Wealth experience, we've had that chance to really begin the process of taking that out and having some more scale and doing this in really a meaningful way.

How do you feel about this now that we've had our most recent group just graduated less than a month ago?

[00:06:20] Steve Wells: Yeah. I mean, It's fabulous. And again, the podcast has been joined along with the development of the Deep Wealth Experience and our experience with these other business owners and entrepreneurs. And it's been interesting to see the diversity not only in just age, but the type of business and where they're going.

So, like you said, this has been very fulfilling, very interesting. And I think it's like the teacher always learns more than the students sometimes. I have learned a lot going through the process, teaching other people or involved in just repackaging the information. I've learned again, just reapplying with some of the basic principles that we know. I don't know if you've felt the same way.

[00:07:01] Jeffrey Feldberg: Yes. I have. One, I felt blessed to be in the presence of such incredibly talented business owners who have this vision and this passion. And they're taking the business out there. And making that difference. When you're working with them, getting new insights and taking the thinking to the whole next level.

And speaking of thinking to the next level, I know when we start the Deep Wealth Experience, one of the very first things that we talk about, we talk about the post-exit life and for the business owners going through the Deep Wealth Experience, they're saying, hey, wait a minute. I haven't even had my exit, my liquidity event.

Why are you talking about the post-exit life? Don't I need to have the liquidity event first and I'll speak for myself. I know some of the biggest mistakes in my life, some of the biggest kerfuffles if I can call it that came after the liquidity event because I had done no preparation. And as I look back on paper, Embanet really, it was like the bumblebee.

On paper it never should have been able to fly. It should not have been a success. There wasn't the money. There was no experience. There's no team yet it worked. After the liquidity event in the post-exit life, my ego became huge and I thought I could just do anything and I didn't have that passion. And on paper, the ventures look terrific. You had the capital, you had the experience, you had the team, but it was a complete failure. And I made just the wrong choices at the wrong time, across the board in many areas. And those ventures that eventually just failed and went away. And so, looking back for me, it was just that lack of preparation of not thinking about what that post-exit life was going to be like.

And I know for you it was an interesting journey. Maybe I'm crossing the line here for our listeners, but this past year in particular has been huge for you in the post-exit life. And do you care to share with our listeners what you've been up to? What's been going on.

[00:08:57] Steve Wells: Sure. And, we exited a while back. So, it's interesting. It took so long for me to uncover some of my thinking about the post-exit. That said, there were things that we knew when we exited and that, if you're thinking about exiting that are more financial.

And we're not really talking about that. Setting up your own after exit foundation, like I did, or thinking about the tax implications. And so those are some of the technical nuances of after the exit, but what I did not do and did not even think I needed to do was really think about my life.

And what's important to me after the exit. And I think probably what happened to most people. It happened to us too, is we run so fast. I mean, think about it. I mean, Jeffrey, we're building this company running a hundred miles an hour and then in our case, it's a little different. We sold the company and then we had nothing.

We basically, because then after almost like less than a month we had no responsibilities. Now, I know some people may stay in the business, but for us, that was like it should have been a sign that we should have taken that opportunity to stop. But instead, you and I built some other companies, we had some failures in other companies and I went on and continued to build a lot and fail a lot.

And some things were okay. Some are, you know, nothing to the level that we had built with Embanet. So, this last year through some really deep reflection, some spiritual thought it's almost like I told myself, don't just do something, stand there. You know, you always feel like you have to go do something.

And I felt like I always had to go do something or I wasn't fulfilling my own calling like I wasn't doing something useful or worthwhile. So, while I probably felt like I had a pretty good handle on my self-worth and ego in not identifying it with a business, think I surprised myself how much of doing things were very important to me.

So, I'll pause there for a second. I can go in more of that, but I don't want to ramble too far, Jeffrey, if you have any comment on that.

[00:11:08] Jeffrey Feldberg: Yeah, I think it'd be interesting for our listeners. I mean, I've been fortunate that I've been there with you, Steve, as your thinking has changed and you've really change your entire life and your outlook, but for our listeners, maybe you can explain to them what you're referencing when you're saying that you want to just always be doing, but maybe just stopping and doing nothing.

It sounds so simple and it's easy to confuse, simple with simplicity, it really isn't. And it's probably been one of the most challenging things for you that you've had to do in quite some time. So, what's been with that? What are you thinking?

[00:11:41] Steve Wells: Yeah, like even specifically, like I had started three businesses. They're kind of startups, I knew they could stop because we were testing. But in that process, some were doing okay. They weren't failing. They're having a modest amount of success.

And then I've got people who committed to it. And so, when I looked at my life and said, why am I involved spending so much of my time in these endeavors, I need to unravel them. That was really very hard. I felt obligated to the people. And I felt, I didn't want to pull things out from clients.

And so while it was over a year ago that I knew I had to stop. It took me really until like weeks ago, it took me a year over a year to get people prepared and unravel something, which isn't even that big and that complicated, but just emotionally for myself and the people surrounding it. So, I guess my takeaway is, for entrepreneurs, I'm sure Jeffrey and I, if you're like us, you love to start things.

You love to get things moving, that's easy, it's hard to stop something and maybe you're not as bad as I am, it's hard for me to say no, it's hard to me to unravel. So, that was a lesson that I took away that, be very careful about what you jump into. That's why I was saying, just stop and don't do anything.

And I wish after we had sold the business, I wish we had not done anything for at least a year. Maybe two years and really taken time to sit and give ourselves what one person referred to as white space, but time to really reflect on that. Is that kind what you're thinking about on that topic?

[00:13:24] Jeffrey Feldberg: Yes, it is. And for our listeners, just to give you some perspective, it was just over a year ago this time I still remember the conversation you and I were having. You said, hey Jeffrey, I had a great holiday season and was just a lot of downtime, a lot of white space for me, and I've been doing a lot of thinking.

And when it comes to Deep Wealth and really all my ventures, I am really thinking of stepping back. And I'm thinking for Deep Wealth of becoming really like a co-founder emeritus or a CEO emeritus, can we talk about that then you were very supportive with that. And I picked myself up off the floor, when hearing that and everything's worked out terrific, but it was a big deal for you to really begin that process of unwinding.

And so, to your last point, and for listeners, and this is something I could learn from it as well, because I tend to just jump in, ready, fire, aim, and jump in and just go. And then it's like, now what have I done? So, if you could wave that magic wand Steve, and now we can go back, we always ask at the end of the interview, you go into that DeLorean car and you go back and give yourself some advice.

So, let's go back to the Steve it's before we even began the liquidity event. We're still building out Embanet and it's the Steve of today who's speaking to his younger self. What are you telling yourself in terms of, okay, you're going to have a liquidity event and here's what I want you to do before and particularly after?

[00:14:50] Steve Wells: Right, going into the liquidity event, I had read a survey by Bob Buford. You don't know him. He's not necessarily that well known, but he'd surveyed 50 or so businessmen who had high, moral character. They're involved in their churches, outstanding men. And I think almost all of 50 or except for one had major problems after their liquidity event, they had either relationship problems, substance abuse problems, money problems. And I knew that going in. So, I was aware of that. And that is not an area that I had difficulty with because I was preparing that. What I didn't know and what I would tell myself now, you don't really understand Steve yourself.

You've been a real creative person. You've been a builder. You've got to understand that maybe you have a new season and maybe, these things you're doing there might be good and useful, but they may not be what you need to do next. You got a new chapter. So, take time and don't from myself think that I have to be creating new things. I think in the back of my mind, I probably wouldn't aware of it. It's I don't want to be a one hit wonder; I know we were very successful and I know we did some great things but I wanted to do another round.

I wanted to do something else and If I'm honest with myself, that's probably a little bit of ego and pride and I don't think those are the best motivators and the best drivers for making something so to answer your question, I would have really checked myself. And probably realized if I didn't realize that I'd tell myself you don't know yourself as well as you do, as you need to take time, stop and just assess what's really your driver. What do you need to do going forward?

I wish I'd spent more time doing that.

[00:16:45] Jeffrey Feldberg: Such sage advice. And for our listeners, I hope you're taking notes. I was taking notes because right there with you Steve with the ego, with the pride, I'm going to speak for myself now. Not you, but for myself, I'm going to add the word greed. I mean, it’s crazy, but I remember we had such a wonderful exit now I'm thinking to myself.

Okay. I also don't want to be a one hit wonder. But wow, maybe the next one will be even bigger. Wouldn't that be terrific? And so it was all the wrong motivations that were going in there, and you're very astute in what you're saying in that as a business owner, we're focused so much on the business and growing and the team and everything else that we tend to lose sight of who we are and that after a liquidity event, that's the perfect time to really take some time out.

And it was A.J. Wasserstein who came onto the podcast and with the word white space. And he did this wonderful case study of the post-exit life. We'll put that in the show notes for you and just really take stock of yourself. Who am I today? Because I guarantee you after liquidity event, you're different.

And I also guarantee you that you're different a year or more even after the deal has closed. You think you know yourself after the deal is closed, give it a year and just do nothing. I mean, take your funds, take your liquidity and put it into a very boring term deposit for at least a year. Maybe more, maybe two years, Steve like you're saying and take a wonderful adventure of, hey, Who am I? Who am I not? And what am I all about? And so, Steve going through that reflection period, that journey. Who is Steve Wells? What came out of that for you?

[00:18:19] Steve Wells: Well, you know, I've spent the last year and it sounds crazy if I tell you, and not everyone has the same journey, but for a year and continuing now into this year as well. I would spend probably at least two hours a day asking that question and reading. I have a lot of spiritual information that is very important to me.

Letting that speak to me and maybe I'm slow, that's why it takes so long, but it took me and it still is taking me a little bit to release a lot of that first to be aware of myself. It's I know it sounds like Yoda'ish and I know it sounds like a little bit I'm underneath a bridge and I'm a monk, but there is some little bit of truth in that.

And particularly for us who are in business and we're running, very hard and fast and we're looking for things and challenging ourselves all the time. That kind of monkish year that I've had of looking for real value and spiritual value and questioning myself gave me insights to things about myself.

Like I said, I think there are things and this is probably anti philosophical for a lot of business people. I didn't like some of the pride areas in my life. Why I think, I am good or are not. And I know we have to have confidence and believe me, I think all of us have a lot of confidence, but there's some areas that I had to deal with myself.

I don't believe in the self-made man. I think I have been given a lot from God and I think I need to give that back in understanding to Him. Now people might have different beliefs about that, understand that. But I think that for me personally, was really getting a good handle on that, that takes a while, because to be honest with yourself is sometimes not real pleasant. And when you look parts of your character that you really want to change. So, that was a big part of last year for me. And like I said, part of that was unraveling a lot of things to clear my plate of obligations so that I am now freer to do other things.

[00:20:24] Jeffrey Feldberg: Wow. A lot there to unpack. And I wholeheartedly agree that it really no person is self-made. We all get to where we get to because of the help and the support and the generosity of others. And I couldn't agree with you more that it takes really a whole community of people to lift us up on their shoulders, to stand on the shoulders of giants.

If I can use that expression. To really do some wonderful things and make that difference. So, I'm wondering for our listeners, Steve, can you share with them, how was it like for you to go to these various ventures, different people and say, hey, I'm just going to be winding things down on my part.

What did that feel like for you and what was the reactions that you got from the other people and how did that all work out?

[00:21:09] Steve Wells: Well, you know, I think I worry more about what's going to happen. Then when I actually get to the event. Everybody was very supportive and I was honest with people and I was telling them why I'm thinking this way. And I just had a conversation last week with a doctor, a medical thing that I'm involved in and they're very appreciative and I make sure, obviously that no one gets financially hurt.

Everyone has preparation, but when I tell them, I'm want to move on this is not what I want to do. And here's how. So, I was surprised. I don't know if that's always going to be the case for everybody. They're tough and you might have some repercussions, but in my case, I didn't. I think I worried about it more, and I think I delayed, which I think is my problem.

I think I've always delay making some of these tough decisions a little longer than is necessary, but be that as it may, I eventually make them, that was that.

[00:22:00] Jeffrey Feldberg: So, I'm wondering as you really carved out of your life the different ventures, the business activities. And even we're talking earlier offline on the personal side, you've made some really big decisions to stop doing some things that have just become really a ritual for you. And you're adding to the white space in your life.

So, what's that feel like now as you sit here today and I'm sure this is going to change tomorrow and a week from now and even a month from now. But as you sit here today and you have this white space, you've begun to take yourself out of all the busy-ness and the activities and everything else. How do you feel and how do you view the world?

[00:22:37] Steve Wells: Well, I mean, as you can imagine it's a very lighter feeling. It's a very more freer feeling. It's a feeling that I'm not tied down. I'm not encumbered that said I don't want to get tied down to anything else again, unless I'm really certain that's what I need to do.

But think, for me and maybe everyone you know, it's so important that I work on myself before I actually go work and do things in other areas or with other people. I guess it's like, listen, okay. You got to go to school before you actually go out in the workforce.

As many of us are entrepreneurs, we just really want to jump in there. I needed this kind of preparation time to work on myself and we'll see, hopefully I will then be a better person and more aware and freer to then maybe do something in the future that is hopefully fulfilling for me. And also life-giving to those around me and helpful to the community, but we'll see.

[00:23:39] Jeffrey Feldberg: It sounds like Steve and I don't want to put words in your mouth. It just sounds like really what you've been doing over the past year is you've been distilling the essence of you. Who you really are, what moves the dial for you? And you may not know today what moves the dial, but when it happens or when you see it, you will, and then you'll know because you've had this white space that, yes, this is where I should be and maybe that will happen. Maybe that won't happen.

You have really a peace in your life. A self-assuredness that yes, I'm on the right path. I'm doing the right thing and let's be open and honest. We're very fortunate that we're in that position, that we can do that in the first place because of the liquidity event.

And for the listeners really what you're hearing is we're deconstructing for us a time in our life that a lot of mistakes happen for your benefit. We've done the heavy lifting, we've made the mistakes. And hopefully, as we talk through this, your takeaway is, hey, before my liquidity event. Yes. I know I'm busy with my business.

I know I don't have enough time for all the things that I have to do, but one of the things that every business owner needs to start to think about this conversation that Steve and I are having today is okay after the business, when my non-compete kicks in and I can't go to the business. My friends were in the business.

I can't see them. The rituals that I had on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly kind of basis. That's all gone now and everyone is doing their thing. You're bored. You're home. And no one's feeling sorry for a person with a lot of zeros in the bank account who is bored because no one can come out in the playground and play with you because they're busy living their lives.

What are you going to do that's fulfilling, that's leaving you energized? Because of Steve and I like to say success without fulfillment is a failure. All the accolades, all the zeros in the bank mean nothing if you're not fulfilled. And Steve, I love what you just said now, and it reminded me as you were talking of a phrase that you often hear on the personal relationship side, which goes something along the lines of I'll take care of myself, because I love you. And you'll take care of you because you love me.

And so to take that into the business context, what I'm hearing you say is that you're really working on yourself, distilling the essence of Steve, so that whatever you do, whatever that looks like, you're showing up as your best self. When I be on base with that, or what are your thoughts?

[00:26:00] Steve Wells: Yeah, and you know, if we're honest, you talk, we all talk to younger business people and one of the first questions they always have, whether they're entrepreneurs or not, is this life work balance. And you know what I was telling that does not exist. It's like for me, anyway, it's a continuum.

I tried to bring my family into that continuum, but it doesn't exist. So, what I'm saying is when we come out of this experience of working there, they're going to be deficits. There may not be the same deficits or the same areas that need work that I do. There might be relationships. There may be physical things you need to do.

There may be, I don't know, financial things. So, there are all kinds of things that, we have not had the luxury of having a really clear flat amount of space so we can work in. We've been going back and forth on this work pendulum probably use that and don't fill it up right away.

Look at those areas of your life and be honest and take all the time you need with all the people or with yourself or get the experts around you. If you need help, you need coaches, whatever it is. And do yourself a favor because. If you do that, like you're saying Jeffrey, you're going to be a better partner, a better husband or wife, a better father, a better new business person, a better philanthropy person, whatever it is you're going to be doing, it's going to make yourself better. So, you're going to help those people around you.

[00:27:32] Jeffrey Feldberg: Yeah. Steve, you bring up a whole other conversation and w we're certainly not on the relationship side here, but it's an important part because family is really such an important part in a successful business. I'd like to say, if your inner world is filled with turmoil on the home front, and you're just have tension and argument and disagreement, it's going to show up in your outer world in terms of what the business is.

And to your point, you and I both come from the same thought, save it for the movies. Save it for that fiction book that you're going to read. It doesn't exist at least in our experience. And Steve over the years I saw you do very well. You would do that blended experience.

So, as an example, when you were traveling to Embanet, which you would do every month on some occasions you brought the family with you, or what you would do is you made sure that your family knew exactly what you were doing. As they say in business, you told them what dragons that you were slaying, so that they were with you all the way through and they could relate, and they felt part of the journey.

And they had an emotional buy-in to help you through both the challenging times, as well the successful times that I think he did that really well. Anything you care to share with our listeners of tips or strategies on that side of things, of how to include your significant other and your loved ones or your family or your children in your business journey?

[00:28:51] Steve Wells: Yeah. You know, I think it's much easier now, pre pandemic, people weren't working at home. Now you probably might even have the opposite problem. You're home too much, and you need to get out and get separated from the family, but to your point, you know, If the family can be part and it requires a give and take on your part and also on your family's part. I remember my family would be in the car and we're going to go drive and we're going to go on a business trip and we were driving and I had to be on the phone a lot.

They'd be quiet. I had to go to a meeting. I dropped them off and they would do some shopping. I'd come pick them up. And it sounds like they're very flexible for me, but the benefit was when we're finished with the day. Then we could all be together and we would have fun. Now, I know it just requires everyone's different and all the situations are different.

And I had that flexibility, but that really worked well for my family. And they never felt, even though I worked. 80 hours a week. They never felt I wasn't there for them. They say that to the day. They always, of course you were just because we were all involved in that together.

And however, you can do that I think you'll benefit in that you will have more time with your family and particularly your kids. They'll see what you're doing they can see another part of you outside of the home life. I know nowadays a lot of people see that more readily just cause you're at home when Zoom calls and that type of thing.

[00:30:18] Jeffrey Feldberg: I think even more so though today, look the technology that we have today, Steve, you and I did not have the benefit of that, but I think today the technology is just too accessible and you see it all the time. And I even noticed it in myself. I've had to make a very conscious effort with the family time.

Hey phones away, not looking at emails, not looking at whatever social media is coming up, that it's really making a very concerted effort. Family time is family time and the business time is the business time. And just finding a way to make all that work, I think is probably more addictive and tougher today than what we had when we were building the business.

[00:30:57] Steve Wells: Yeah, absolutely. And I'm now living this through my grandchildren and watching my daughter, raising her family. That's a whole other podcast with some experts on that topic and you know how to raise a family in today's technology world. But yeah, absolutely, right.

[00:31:11] Jeffrey Feldberg: And Steve, you may give me the virtual kick under the table here where this next question, but look, I'll ask it anyways and see where it goes, because I know the past month or two has been very intense for you. And those in the Deep Wealth community were aware that you had become really ill and were hospitalized and all these crazy things that were going on.

And it just had everyone on edge and thankfully it all worked out or was working out and you're here with us today and back on the road to becoming just you and it's great to have that. How did that change anything for you in terms of your thinking or your journey of getting to this essence of who you're all about?

[00:31:52] Steve Wells: Well, you know, it’s funny, it happened at the very end of this whole year journey. So, it's was the capstone, which was fitting that, you know, I'm working on trying to be basically a little more humble person. And then I get smacked with a lot of humility when I get some crazy and I won't go into details, except it was out of the blue, my body is attacked and they never figured out what it was and I've come out of it.

It's almost like, you know, I get this little injection to go listen to. I want to make sure you understand. You're not in control. You may think you are, but anything can happen to you in a minute and so just keep that in mind. I know you've been thinking about this for the year, so yeah, I mean, it was very humbling and I am fine and they don't know if it was some bug that bit me or something.

I've had doctors from every specialization, the bottom line is whenever anyone becomes very vulnerable and when you physically don't have it and you can't walk, you do think, wow. We do this all the time. We have gratitude, but it really makes you even more grateful for what you have.

And so, I felt very grateful when I can walk again, when I'm out of bed and you see all the blessings that we have and not only looking at the humility part, but being grateful for what we have. We have these companies, we have these great opportunities to exit and we have opportunities to do other great things in our communities in the world. Keeping that gratitude, I think is very important.

[00:33:23] Jeffrey Feldberg: Well, I mean, gratitude that is a whole other episode in and of itself. And we've had all kinds of gratitude experts on The Sell My Business Podcast over the past 99 episodes where they're talking about how gratitude really opens up doors. And maybe, let me ask you this Steve, I'm going to go back to a point in time.

I don't know if you remember this, but let me talk about gratitude and why it's so important. And we're on the art side of a liquidity event, no two ways about it, but the art side to me is everything in liquidity event of getting some deal certainty and just getting some enterprise value on the upside there.

And so, I'm thinking back to the time where every deal dies a thousand deaths and you think it's done, it's finished and then magically all of a sudden boom, out of nowhere, it gets back on track. And I want to take you back to the time where our deal, it just blows up and we thought it was done. At least for myself, I was at the lowest of lows.

And I remember having this phone call with yourself and Waleuska and the three of us just did something really unconventional. And we just started to talk about gratitude and started to feel grateful. And even on the spiritual side do you remember that whole experience, and then what happened afterwards?

[00:34:38] Steve Wells: You know, I think the emotional side of the journey is crazy. We had ups and downs and I think even when we had a situation that felt like it was over. I don't think everyone's going to have the same feeling, but I always felt that we were going to pull it through.

If this wasn't it. It was going to be something else and it's going to work out, it's going to be for the better, even as terrible as it seems at this moment. And I don't think it always does that for everybody, but I think it's good to have that perspective and to think about that.

And to see how far you've gone and not give up hope and, it's like when many times, I mean, everyone says this and you've lived in. Those worst things you've gone through end up being the best thing. You learn something, you've put you on a path you'd never would have been on.

And so it's only through those painful things that we learned and that we grow.

[00:35:31] Jeffrey Feldberg: And this ties back into your comment of humidity a little earlier, and about the gratitude and all you type A listeners out there. Listen up. This is for you because it was during the liquidity event when the deal blew up and we all had to take a step back. And the one thing that we did, which was counter-intuitive and where the gratitude came into place.

And we actually took this lesson, this strategy, and we built it in to step number three of the nine step roadmap and the Deep Wealth Experience, the Future Buyer, when you're coming up with your deal points and your no-fly zones, part of your mindset, which is also step five, the winning mindset in the Deep Wealth Experience is really saying, you know what?

If it happens or if it doesn't happen. Yes. Obviously, I would like it to happen in the right conditions and the right kind of deal. But if it doesn't happen, I'm okay with that. I can't control things. I'll do the best that I can. And it's going to go wherever it's going to go. I have the confidence that if it doesn't happen today, It's not my time.

My time will come when the conditions are right and the right buyer is there and it's all going to come into play at that time. And maybe it's today, but maybe it's not. And so when, at least for myself, when I stopped trying to control things and I began the process of just being grateful for where I am, we had this incredible company that I knew we could keep on running for years.

Or, you know, maybe there'll be another opportunity that comes along or maybe something else will happen, who knew, but we threw all that out and just, let's just be grateful for where we are today. And just the sense of relief that came from that humility and that gratitude and really helps contribute to our mindset. At least for me was a huge game changer. How about for you, Steve?

[00:37:07] Steve Wells: Yeah, absolutely. If you're desperate to make something happen, you're going to make decisions that are desperate and they're probably not the best. You have to be able in your mind to step away and just have the faith if you want to use that word, that it's going to work out, that there's something else better, or this was not the best thing for you. So, definitely.

[00:37:26] Jeffrey Feldberg: And so, Steve, as we begin to wrap up this episode for our listeners, based on this incredible journey that you've been on, and particularly this past year, if a listener were to have maybe one takeaway or even a few takeaways what would that be for our listeners?

[00:37:44] Steve Wells: Part of it is to take the time and it's more time than you probably think you need. For me, that's the case and I'm still not completely through the other side of it. I think I'm mostly through, so take the time, be very generous in the time to understand yourself and think about those areas in whatever way that you need to do that. So, that you are better prepared to move on to the next step. And, you never know what that next step is. So, you know that's another thing. It can be anything and that's the beauty of it.

If you give yourself some freedom of time and space, something could come up that you would never have thought of. It could be just out of the blue and you can look back and go, wow. If I wasn't ready for that, I would have missed it.

There's a concept is called Kairos. There are two types of words in Greek for time there's Kronos, which means time that is like the clock. And then there's Kairos time. And that's where the circumstances come into your life and they're presented before you and there could be God-given. And they're there for a purpose. The Greeks had a little God kind a character that they called Kairos and he had all this hair on the front of his head and none on his back, because as he ran up next to you, if you didn't grab and seize that opportunity right then, then it passed you by.

And I believe there's some things in our life that if we miss them, we may not have another chance to grab them. And if we're not prepared in the ability to see that we're going to miss it. And sometimes we don't see things because we just haven't given ourselves the time and the eyes to see those opportunities around.

So, that would be my parting word. Give yourself the ability to see those new opportunities by giving yourself the time and find that Kairos moment.

[00:39:48] Jeffrey Feldberg: Wow. I love the story. Love the wisdom and the insights and what a great takeaway for our listeners. It's about that time, Steve, we're going to wrap up the hundredth episode of The Sell My Business Podcast. It's been an absolute treat, going down memory lane and talking really very openly and honestly about the good, the bad, and the ugly. And what we have in terms of lessons learned and do this don't do that and sharing that with our listeners. And thank you yourself for just being so open and vulnerable with all of us. Any parting words for the hundredth episode of The Sell My Business Podcast? No, no pressure, Steve.

[00:40:24] Steve Wells: I know it has been fun. Jeffrey, you're always very gracious. And too gracious in your compliments to me. And I really have been impressed by the great things you've done for the Deep Wealth people who've gone through the program. And I'm really going to be excited to see what the future holds for that. So, again, thanks for including me in this 100 episode.

[00:40:44] Jeffrey Feldberg: It's been my pleasure and good thing this is audio. Otherwise, everyone would be seeing me blushing. Steve from your kind words. So, listen for all our listeners out there as always thank you for your support and for listening and your time. Thank you for your time. Because time as Steve was pointing out, time is everything.

You can always make money, but you can't get back the time. And so, thank you for taking time out of your day to listen to The Sell My Business Podcast. And on that note, in a note of gratitude and humbleness, we thank you for your time. And as always, please stay healthy and safe.

[00:40:59] Sharon S.: The Deep Wealth Experience was definitely a game-changer for me.

Lyn M.: This course is one of the best investments you will ever make because you will get an ROI of a hundred times that. Anybody who doesn't go through it will lose millions.

Kam H.: If you don't have time for this program, you'll never have time for a successful liquidity

Sharon S.: It was the best value of any business course I've ever taken. The money was very well spent.

Lyn M.: Compared to when we first began, today I feel better prepared, but in some respects, may be less prepared, not because of the course, but because the course brought to light so many things that I thought we were on top of that we need to fix.

Kam H.: I 100% believe there's never a great time for a business owner to allocate extra hours into his or her week or day. So it's an investment that will yield results today. I thought I will reap the benefit of this program in three to five years down the road. But as soon as I stepped forward into the program, my mind changed immediately.

Sharon S.: There was so much value in the experience that the time I invested paid back so much for the energy that was expended.

Lyn M.: The Deep Wealth Experience compared to other programs is the top. What we learned is very practical. Sometimes you learn stuff that it's great to learn, but you never use it. The stuff we learned from Deep Wealth Experience, I believe it's going to benefit us a boatload.

Kam H.: I've done an executive MBA. I've worked for billion-dollar companies before. I've worked for smaller companies before I started my business. I've been running my business successfully now for getting close to a decade. We're on a growth trajectory. Reflecting back on the Deep Wealth, I knew less than 10% what I know now, maybe close to 1% even.

Sharon S.: Hands down the best program in which I've ever participated. And we've done a lot of different things over the years. We've been in other mastermind groups, gone to many seminars, workshops, conferences, retreats, read books. This was so different. I haven't had an experience that's anything close to this in all the years that we've been at this.

It's five-star, A-plus.

Kam H.: I would highly recommend it to any super busy business owner out there.

Deep Wealth is an accurate name for it. This program leads to deeper wealth and happier wealth, not just deeper wealth. I don't think there's a dollar value that could be associated with such an experience and knowledge that could be applied today and forever.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Are you leaving millions on the table?

Please visit www.deepwealth.com/success to learn more.

If you're not on my email list, you'll want to be. Sign up at www.deepwealth.com/podcast. And if you enjoyed this episode of the Sell My Business podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Reviews help me reach new listeners, grow the show and continue to create content that you'll enjoy.

As we close out this episode, a heartfelt thank you for your time. And as always, please stay healthy and safe. 

This podcast is brought to you by Deep Wealth. 

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Your liquidity event is the most important financial transaction of your life. You have one chance to get it right, and you better make it count. 

But unfortunately, up to 90% of liquidity events fail. Think about all that time, money and effort wasted. Of the "successful" liquidity events, most business owners leave 50% to over 100% of their deal value in the buyer's pocket and don't even know it.

Our founders said "no" to a 7-figure offer and "yes" to a 9-figure offer less than two years later. 

Don't become a statistic and make the fatal mistake of believing that the skills that built your business are the same ones for your liquidity event. 

After all, how can you master something you've never done before? 

Are you leaving millions on the table? 

Learn how the 90-day Deep Wealth Experience and our 9-step roadmap helps you capture the maximum value for your liquidity event.  

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