399 New Year Special - Magic Moments For Massive Success

Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:00:00] Deep Wealth Nation, welcome to another episode of the Deep Wealth Podcast, and this is a very special episode. I have my co founder of Deep Wealth, Steve Wells, and my business partner from Embanet, and here today we're gonna be talking about something very near and dear to the two of us, especially with the holiday season, with the New Year's coming on up.

We're gonna be talking about Magic Moments, but first and foremost, hey partner, Good to see you. What's going on?

Steve Wells: It's good to see you. It's been a while since I've been able to join your podcast and talk to all the folks out there. So, in this holiday season hello everyone.

Jeffrey Feldberg: So how's the post exit life treating you?

Steve Wells: Well, it's busy not so much in business as much it is in family. Maybe we get a chance to talk a little bit about that.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Absolutely. So Deep Wealth Nation, what we thought we would do, we're going to go down memory lane and we're going to be using two words a lot, Magic Moments. And Steve, for you, when I say Magic Moments, what does that mean to you today? And we'll talk about what it meant to us back in the day. We refined that over time, but a Magic Moment.

What is that for [00:01:00] you?

Steve Wells: Magic Moments it's a time that is unique and special, and it's one that maybe we could have lost. It's a kairos. In Greek, there's two words for time. Kronos, which is chronological, and kairos.

Kairos is when something comes into your life and it's a time that's unique. The Greeks had this image that, I don't know if he was a god, he was somebody, and he had, all the hair in his front and none in his back.

That's it, and he'd come up beside you, and as he's running past you, you had to grab him, or you'd miss that opportunity. So, Magic Moments to me, as I think about it, are those opportunities in life to grab hold of something unique, beautiful, relational, whatever it is, and not let it pass you by.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Love that. And I know a listener may be saying, hey guys, this is great, but I'm a busy entrepreneur. I'm scaling my business. It's growing. Time is not my own. Magic Moment sounds nice, but what does it have to do with me? 

We're gonna tune into [00:02:00] WII.FM, the world's favorite radio station, the What's In It For Me.

So Steve, as busy entrepreneurs, let's go back to the day, we're going to set this up. So we were starting a new division in Embanet, what we call Embanet 2, when you've been on this podcast, you've heard me talk about that, it was a whole new idea. Now quick spoiler alert, Embanet 2 went on to create a market disruption, but we had no idea that was going to happen, and actually, if you would have asked us in the early days, we were asking the question, are we even going to make it?

Because we are flying all across the country. We're talking about this new idea that we had of Embanet was really wonderful at keeping the seats filled, but how do you fill the seats? That was the problem that we stumbled into. And we came up with a very unique solution to address that, but like anything new, we met a lot of resistance and Steve, do you remember all that flying and the rejection and how down we were feeling at that time?

Steve Wells: Yeah, we were disrupting a whole industry and we actually didn't even realize how [00:03:00] much of a disruption it was, but we were getting rejected by universities and deans and provosts and they were saying, no, you'll never have this internet educating people. That's crazy.

Of course we know now that wasn't crazy. But back then It seemed impossible. So, yeah we could have gotten very discouraged, we could have just given up, but we continued on and, we know the end of the story now.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And so what we would do, Steve, if you remember when we started getting all these rejections, we'd be oftentimes perhaps back at the hotel or we're maybe on the way to the airport, or we had some time and we would do a bit of a recap. Okay. What worked? What didn't work? But we added something special, which much to my surprise, I actually began to really enjoy and it made all the difference for us.

Why don't you share with everyone what that something special was that really started to make the difference for us?

Steve Wells: Well, if we were someplace where we could do it, we would enjoy a cigar together. The cigar would be a [00:04:00] time of reflection, most cigars take about 45 minutes, some can take longer, some a little less, but it would slow us down. You can imagine we're running at 100 miles an hour, so we would slow down, we would recap the day, or we would lick our wounds, or we would celebrate a victory, it was a time for us to, together, to sit and discuss it, to enjoy it, to be thankful, to be grateful or to go on and say we got to get back in the ring tomorrow and become re energized.

And for us, that cigar became what we now call, we didn't then, a Magic Moment.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Absolutely. And for me, a Magic Moment, it would take a really tough, difficult, even miserable, if I can use that word, situation, and it would make it more tolerable, more smoother, it gave me hope. Or if we had a win. It would take a really good moment and it would transform it into a great moment and it was through that process, at least for [00:05:00] myself, Steve, would love to hear your thoughts on this that I began to realize it's not the destination. It's the journey. If you think about it, yesterday's already gone. Tomorrow hasn't happened yet. It's the journey right here, right now, the present moment. That's all anyone has. Forget what tomorrow's going to bring. No one knows what the rest of the day is going to bring.

The time that we have is precious. And so for me, those Magic Moments were transformational. And okay, Jeffrey, yeah, sure. You wouldn't have chosen to get that rejection. Enjoy the journey. Find some meaning in it. Do some reflection. You're here with Steve and he's your business partner, your best friend.

How can it get any better? The two of you are doing something very special. Sure. Could be going a lot better. But you're doing something special and take it all in. How about for yourself?

Steve Wells: Yeah, exactly. You know, Wish I could have enjoyed the moment more, but I think that's always the case. I mean, I still [00:06:00] don't enjoy the moments probably to the complete fullness that I should to live in the present. And when you're type A driven people, I think you're always a little bit more future oriented and it's hard to really just sit down and slow down and think.

you know, I think that It's not even just good for your psyche and for your relationships. I think it might even be a good thing to do for your whole business strategy. Because I think if you plan too much, if you're too future oriented, you may miss those present opportunities because you're running too fast.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And while we're talking about this, I can just imagine the listener saying, okay, guys, yeah, again, I hear you, but so what? 

Why are you taking up my time? 

Why are you telling me this? 

And so here's what I want to share with everyone, Deep Wealth Nation, everyone who's listening. What if I were to tell you, and it's going to sound crazy, work with me on this, that a future nine figure exit came from cigars, not just any [00:07:00] cigar, though. 

And here's where the story gets interesting, because Steve, I remember once we valued the Magic Moments, what a cigar did, it forced us to slow down. It forced us to take stock of our life, give us hope, give us new insights. Some of our best strategies, our latest innovations, came from those discussions that we would have, and we made a crazy decision.

I mean, people around us knew we were crazy, when we decided we were going to create our own private blend, which would later become known as the Corban Cigar.

So what's going on with that? 

Because if you and I generally, we don't talk about this publicly, but we're now going to share a little bit of our secret sauce of what went into this massive success through this market disruption that we're able to create.

Steve Wells: Right. We said why can't we just make the best cigar in the world?

That's really the question we asked ourselves, or can we make the best cigar in the world? 

It might sound egotistical, but for us it wasn't that. We've enjoyed this, how can we do this? How can we go create this? 

So, We hop on planes, and multiple times, we [00:08:00] go down to South America, we're searching out the best cigar makers, and we're trying to figure out how does this happen? We're thousands of miles from home, we're away from our families, and we're in crazy, sometimes, scary places, learning about how cigars are grown what goes into it?

How is this made and we start an education for ourselves. I mean, a very deep education about the whole cigar industry.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And Steve I I think you're being polite for the benefit of everyone listening. I want you to picture these two gringos, not speaking a word of Spanish, we're in these tobacco fields, we're in the blender's room, they're all looking at us like we're crazy, and we really are, because to your point, we left the family, we left the business, we're off doing this, but we're so passionate about this Magic Moment that our direction was, we don't care what it costs.

This is never going to see the light of day outside the two of us. We want the best tobacco, all the tobacco that's aged that the other cigar companies probably can't put into their [00:09:00] blend because it's limited or it's too expensive. 

Why don't we start there? 

And that's really where we began with this, because we realized at that point the right cigar, not just any cigar, but an absolutely amazingly crafted, handcrafted cigar can make all the difference.

We saw what it did for our personal lives, what it flowed into in our relations with our significant others, with our family, how it just made us better people. As crazy as it sounds, the ability to de stress, to slow down, to get some clarity, get some peace of mind that we went on this journey. to create the world's best cigar just for the two of us.

Now, we're not going to take the time and go into the whole journey. Suffice to say, it took, I want to say, five to seven years for us to finally, not only get the right blend, but to find the right way to produce it with the right blender to get this beautiful cigar. Again, from our heart, this incredible cigar.

Steve Wells: Our vision was not for a business or to even sell the cigar ever. [00:10:00] I guess it would have been like an artist. We're trying to create a. piece of art. The purpose was just to make it happen. We didn't care about ever selling it. It was just how do we make the best piece of art, the cigar for us, just to do it.

 It takes a while because you've got to let tobacco age and then you got to try it again. It's like making wine say you bottle the wine, you come back 10 years and see if it tastes good. That's kind of what we had to do with the cigar.

I mean, it was a very long process we almost failed in reaching that goal.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Absolutely. It's the old story, three feet from gold. We had been, for years, trying to find the right place to blend it, to handcraft it. And there were times where we thought we were close, and then we would get some samples a number of months later, and we would look at each other saying, what is this?

This is not what we had originally crafted. And just when we were about to literally give up and give in to all the naysayers, we received a phone call from the world's best [00:11:00] cigar blender producer. Hey guys, I heard from a friend of a friend about your story. Why don't you come to my facilities, . Whatever it takes, I'm there with you. And to his credit, we did all that, and we really, early on, we said we want to create this cigar for one reason and one reason only: To celebrate life's Magic Moments. Because life, in and of itself, it can be challenging at the best of times. Why don't we create a cigar that brings us back to the way that we're supposed to feel and be and enjoy. And that's why we did that.

And so I remember the very day when, after years, we nailed down the blend. We had it aged in a very special cigar vault for a year. Everyone thought we were crazy doing that, but we did that. And then the cigars were finally ready. We get them back and we're saying, hey, if there ever was a Magic Moment, why don't we celebrate with some close friends?

Remember that night?

Steve Wells: Yeah. We just wanted to share some of our closest friends and try the cigar out. And as you said, we had [00:12:00] failed to replicate the original idea that we had. It was done. They were aged to perfection. They actually improved. And everyone smoked the cigar and, they fell in love with it.

 They probably didn't believe we could make something. But they tasted it and said, this is an amazing cigar. How'd you do this? And then something surprising happened. They wanted more and we go, well, we don't have any more. I mean, this is kind of it.

We're just giving these away. We didn't think about selling them.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Absolutely. And they had the chance to experience the Magic Moment. They loved the cigar. I mean, most cigars, not all of them, but a lot of cigars were only three leafs. Ours was seven leafs and we have them from four different countries and we can go into that in the taste profile, but they had tasted something that they never had before.

They saw what it really did for their lives. They wanted more of that. And lo and behold, we found ourselves. reluctantly, not wanting to say no to friends and close people in our lives, we said, okay, how do we [00:13:00] do this? And we said, okay, this will never be in a cigar store. It's by VIP invitation only. It's literally from our personal humidors to whoever's going to be receiving that.

And the Corban community started in a very unintended way, small community of people who want magic Moments, they enjoy the finer things in life, and they began to do this. So that's really the backdrop for Corbon Cigars, and to this day, you'll never find the cigar in a cigar store, it's by invitation only, you either have to know us, or someone who knows us, and you get into that community.

But let's talk about now, again, the holiday season, the New Year is upon us, someone who's listening for the first time, okay, a Magic Moment. Got that. 

How do I really apply that to my life? 

How does that make me a better person?

How can I have a more successful business? It doesn't sound like it computes.

How can a cigar make me a better person, have a more successful business? 

What would you say to that, Steve?

Steve Wells: We've replicated the Magic Moment hundreds and hundreds of times with our Corban community. We would get some guys together anywhere, [00:14:00] it was almost anywhere in the world, 10, 15, 20 guys, and we would sit around and males are a little different. They don't always want to share and they don't want to open up but the cigar became a bonding. We even affectionately called each other Brothers of the Leaf. And now and then we had some events, we had Sisters of the Leaf involved.

We would share those things that are important to us. And those were a group type of Magic Moment and then we heard back from people, a guy bringing his son to a game and he'd bring the cigar out and his son was, 16 they would bond over the cigar.

 It's a special cigar, so people use it for special occasions, and it's an intentional cigar. So people would think about who they're going to share the cigar with. And we heard story after story of people having Magic Moments with the people they love, with their wife, with their best friend, with family members.

And it was wonderful to make the cigar and make a great cigar, but it was even better [00:15:00] to see that it could impact people's lives.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And Steve, as you're talking about that, I'm thinking back to some of the events that we had and when we would keep in touch with the members. These tear jerking moments that would come up. We'd have a member say, I had a cigar with my father. And during that time, it was just the two of us.

We just started to talk like we never spoke before. And I heard my father say that he loved me or that he was proud of me. Sadly, he passed away, but I will always cherish that moment. And you see these grown men start to cry because of that moment. Or if I can make it a little personal, Steve, with yourself, with your future son in law, John.

Steve Wells: Exactly, he hadn't married my daughter Stephanie yet and, now it's been many years and there's grandkids and all that and there's a lot to say about that, but John and I got to share a time and a cigar and we have such an incredible relationship and, it was a moment like that kicked it all off, that got us communicating, We talk to each other all the time when I'm not in town with them. The [00:16:00] cigar was one of the catalysts that, that brought that about.

Jeffrey Feldberg: So it's these incredible Magic Moments, and the Magic Moments, it can be with other people, it can be with colleagues, loved ones, family members, but it's also in solitude. I'll have a Corban cigar, I will be journaling, I'll be thinking, I'll be taking time out.

Now, my logical side is saying, Jeffrey, you can't take time out. You don't have the time to be doing this. You're too busy. You should be doing this. You should be doing that. And that's exactly the point of when we need that time out to reflect, because oftentimes we get so caught up in the busyness, we're confusing activity with progress.

And even you and I having those times, sometimes even over the phone, not even in person. And we're dreaming and we're talking and we're having our visions out there and we're creating new goals and we're coming out. Wow. Let's try this new trajectory. What's been your experience with Magic Moments, the Corban Cigar, the ability to really introspect, reflect, and head out of that session in a [00:17:00] whole new direction.

Steve Wells: Again, just like you said, there are many times I've been sitting out on my dock and have a cigar and it's a time of reflection, it's a spiritual time, it's a time for me to talk to God, it's a time to me to listen, to pray, to reflect, and to slow my mind down, to be more aware of my surroundings, to listen spiritually.

So yes, it can be a fun time with other people, but it can also be a very, I'll call it even Holy Smokes time, 

Jeffrey Feldberg: I love that. And so we've been talking about the intersection of life and Magic Moments. Let's dial it in now on the business side, the entrepreneurial journey of how a Magic Moment and by the way. As you're listening, you may be saying, hey, a cigar just isn't for me. I hear you on that. And a cigar is not for everyone.

I want you though, stay with us because you'll hear the system, the process, the strategies that come out of it. And maybe it's not a cigar for you. It'll be something else that you'll find of [00:18:00] whatever that makes, It worked for you, maybe it's a walk in nature, maybe it's doing something else, some other kind of activity.

But for us with the cigar, we're taking some time back, we're reflecting, we're going deep within, we're sharing. So on the business side, again, there's probably some people are saying, no way guys, there's no way that a cigar, these Magic Moments are going to make me a better leader. What would you say to that, Steve?

Steve Wells: Well, like you said, okay, if it's not a cigar for you, if, can you get to the same place and what that is getting your subconscious, to open up and relax. Not everyone does this, I know many times I wake up, I go to bed with a problem or a question, and I wake up and in the middle of the night, my brain has been working on it, and then it occurs to me or some creative idea comes about.

So , I think that's just allowing yourself to be open and to allow your brain to work on these things and not get it so jumbled up with the tyranny of the urgent or the [00:19:00] chaos that might be surrounding you, but get it to slow down and embrace, those little data points or those feelings or whatever it is that are being blocked by this cacophony of distractions.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And it's so interesting because as we're recording this podcast and the New Year is not too far away and the holiday season is everything else, I'm reflecting back now to the very early days. Where we still hadn't really gotten that success. We hadn't figured out the formula just yet. We didn't even have the rhythm, didn't even have these contracts in place.

That said though, it would be either the two of us or on my own and with the cigar, taking the time out, really getting into the zone, if you will, and thinking, strategizing, having those visions. Okay. What can I be doing better? What aren't I doing so well? And it was really an excuse to take that time out, okay, like you said, some cigars could be 45 minutes, some could be an [00:20:00] hour and 45 minutes, and everything else in between, but really taking that time out to plan, to think, to reflect, and Steve, you can tell me, hey Jeffrey, on base or off base, if it was like this for you, for me, what I began to see was taking that time out.

Success is not a straight line. There's lots of zigs and zags, and sometimes a so called setback is a setup for future success. But you have to know how to read the situation, what to take away from it, what to change, what to do. And these Magic Moments, the process of really sitting down and doing that reflection of actually slowing down.

I would slow down as crazy as it sounds so I can speed up. And as I think about Embanet now, some of our strategies that really turned us from zero to hero came from a Magic Moment, came from the time to reflect. And I don't know if it would have gotten to where we got to as crazy as it sounds. If it [00:21:00] wasn't for these Magic Moments, what do you say to that?

Steve Wells: Yeah, and I think every entrepreneur can probably testify to this. It is the difficulties. It's those setbacks. It's those times that seem at the moment to be disasters that can turn on a dime and open up an opportunity that you never saw. And it's those times that changed what we were doing.

And in fact, I, we would never have gotten together, you and I, to begin this business had I not had a, what seemed as a very difficult and dire situation in my business life that threw us together. I was going to California, you went there, we just met by chance, whatever chance means to you, and I, it was not a good time for me, but had that time not been bad?

I would not have been there. And [00:22:00] so, you never know. And, I wish, still I'm better, I'm a lot better, but I wish I would take those times that seem really difficult and stop, and I do this better than I did when I was younger, and say, is this here for a purpose? All things are created for a purpose.

Is this a good purpose? How can I see what's happening around me? How can I better? How can I see better? 

How can I enjoy it better? 

Enjoy that moment, and that's what happens in those Magic Moments. They may not be magic at the moment, but they will be in the future.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Absolutely. And I remember as clear as day to set the stage here. So we were going out looking to do something that no one had really done before. We're getting lots of rejections. We didn't know where was the way to go. And we were both sitting back. Now we were reflecting quite openly. Had it not been for those Magic Moments, I'm not so sure if we would have moved forward.

And maybe it could have been, okay, look, we tried this. Clearly the marketplace is speaking. [00:23:00] We've heard loud and clear. This is not the way to go. We tried. Let's just call it a day. We didn't do that. But I remember the moment, the Magic Moment. We're saying, okay. We tried certificate programs. We tried four year degree programs.

We tried community colleges. We tried certificates from business side of things. None of this is working. And then we said, wait a minute. Why don't we try the master's area or the PhD area? And I remember we both said, that's crazy. How are we going to do this with a master's or a doctorate program? Not going to happen.

And through many sessions over a cigar and some of those Magic Moments, over time, we began to craft not just a strategy, but a narrative. Having that cigar for, at least for me, and you can chime in if it was the same for you, It was okay, let's take that rejection, but let's really look at it now, let's imagine things differently.

How can we take what we heard and just change it in a different way [00:24:00] to address what those fears that were really coming out, what those concerns were. And slowly over time, we crafted a narrative that made all the difference. You remember that?

Steve Wells: Oh yeah, of course. Yeah. And, it's, again, it's, you read other people in business books about this. There are these opportunities, they're hidden gems, they're Rembrandts in the closet they're diamonds underneath the ground, three feet from gold, they're right there, but you don't see them.

And it's all together, But you don't realize it and you're just about ready to walk away when you could be uncovering this huge treasure trove of solutions and opportunity. And that's where we were, all those little failures. Had helped us create the right system we had it all in place, but we just didn't have that final last piece together. When that fell in, we're off to the races.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And we didn't need it to be perfect, we [00:25:00] needed that proof of concept, we needed that social proof, we needed to get one program to come on board and make the difference. And eventually, we did get that one program on board, and then we could take that and show the world what we can do, and that really became the foundation for us.

To get there though, it was these many Magic Moments, these many sessions that we're having, both together, also on our own, where we were saying, okay, how are we going to create these new strategies, this new vision? And if you take a step back for a second, let's think about what we did. We created an entirely new service that had not been done before.

At the same time, we changed our business model. Not only did we change the business model, we replaced a traditional business model. It was just a per enrollment charge, so every time a student took a course, we'd get paid for that to put them through our system. But we got the holy grail of business models.

We figured out how to do revenue sharing. And when you look in the marketplace, there are very few instances where a business has the privilege and the [00:26:00] opportunity to do revenue sharing with a client. But we figured out how to do that from, believe it or not, the Corbon Cigar. And Magic Moments that came along with that of, okay, let's re envision how we're going to do this.

Let's re envision this problem and the solution in a way that's never been done before. And that was really a game changer.

Steve Wells: Exactly. When I think about it it was scary times for us. We didn't know, as you said, are we going to fail? 

Are we going to have to just pack up our bags and go home? 

Looking back we can see with clarity how close we were and how the solution made so much sense.

But in the middle of it, you never have that complete assurance. I'm thankful, of course, that we were able to have that outcome and I'm thankful that we're able to do it together and that sometimes you would support me and I didn't feel like we could do it and maybe there are times I would give you some encouragement but you know it's that teamwork too it's great to have that relationship and that team to help each other.

Get through those tough times.[00:27:00]

Jeffrey Feldberg: Absolutely. And it was really, as I look at it, to me, the narrative would be that the Coban cigar, the Magic Moments. It helped us, number one, take the pressure and the stress off, get back to center, find that equilibrium within us, that creative spark, that creative genius that everyone has within them, but oftentimes it gets so clouded or it gets pushed out from stress, it helped us get there.

And so this was pre exit. We weren't even in the marketplace yet and we were positioning and getting things right. And then from there, and again, for the listener, to put it in perspective, Steve, to what you just said, if this didn't work, there were dire consequences. 

Financially, and our time, and our focus, it would not have been a great ending if this didn't work, so we had that pressure on us, but we're able to decouple that and put that off to the side. And then what I remember very clearly this one time, we're now in the marketplace and we're meeting with the different advisors [00:28:00] and the challenges we were just a client, they're just an advisor.

But I remember they were in our offices one time and we went to, the office at the time, it was a renovated warehouse, but we still had this extra space in the warehouse. It wasn't being used. It was way off to the side. No one was around. And we took the advisors and you and me, we had cigars with them. 

It really was a Magic Moment. We came in as clients. We walked out as friends and there was now something that can't be put on paper. It's hard to even put into words as I'm recalling this. There's this camaraderie. There was, hey, I can relate to these guys.

I had a cigar with them. We laughed, we joked, we were sharing different stories, and for me, that really gelled the team together. You know the saying, when the team works, the dream works. 

Steve Wells: Oh yeah, I remember that. And you know when you're describing that, and I was remembering it , I remember this little book that both of you and I have about Winston Churchill and it describes his [00:29:00] life in cigars and how they were so important. And he used cigars. In the very same way he used it for diplomacy.

He would get his enemies around or other countries around and they would have a cigar and it forced them to sit down and discuss and come to some terms and maybe in some cases become friends. So, these advisors you're talking about were financial advisors that we're going to go to market and sell the business in case that wasn't clear and so we're trying to find the right team to help us go to market and prepare us for that.

And so, it was important to us that we had some trust and we liked them and we knew them and the cigar, I mean, you can go to dinner, you could do a lot of things, but for us, the cigar was really the catalyst. And it was that that one event that I think triggered the relationship that became a very good relationship for everybody.

Jeffrey Feldberg: What was interesting, as you mentioned. Sure, we could have gone to dinner, and we did go to dinner. There's something [00:30:00] so unique about what the cigar does that you just cannot get, at least for me, over a dinner or your more traditional ways of sitting down and talking with people, even just talking with people without a cigar, something's missing from that particular situation that a cigar brings.

And so that was before we went to market. And then we don't really talk a lot about that. Every now and again, we've shared. That when you're in a liquidity event, when you're selling your business or raising capital, the potential deal, it dies a thousand deaths. And there was one point in time, our deal was off the table.

Everything just came to a complete stop. And from the outside looking in, it was, okay, guys, you know what you tried it. Take Embanet off the market and come back, who knows when, and for us, that would have been not such a good thing because little did we know, our deal closed and two weeks later we had the Great Recession that came up.

It would have been another seven years before we could have done that. This was before that [00:31:00] though, so when everything came to a stop, we were having a cigar, we were looking at the situation. And we could have given up, but because of that moment of reflection, and for me having that cigar, take that bitterness, that pain away, getting me back to center, back to equilibrium, we came up with a new strategy.

We preyed on that, did the strategy, and then as they say, the rest is history. The deal came back on track, better than ever, and next thing you know, we're heading towards closing. 

Steve Wells: Yeah like you said, there are a thousand deaths in this process, it's just nail biting all the way along. We probably don't have time to share the final phone call, but I'll just briefly say it was the final event and I was on the phone with you and advisors and bankers coast to coast, and trying to hammer out the final deal and at some time in the afternoon, I don't remember exactly what time, and then Kristy, my wife, comes into my office, because I'm at [00:32:00] home, I'm actually in Orlando, Florida, you're in Toronto, and then everyone else is around the country, and she comes in, it's dinner time, shake my head, and then she brought me some food and it's seven o'clock, eight o'clock, nine o'clock, 11, midnight.

And then she's going to bed and then she wakes up and comes downstairs at seven in the morning. And I'm still on the phone with you And I am, I think we're not going to make it all night long and we are hammering out and actually, I've got to give you the most credit. I think I would have caved, a hundred times, you fought through like a bulldog and didn't let the issues and the points go.

And I thought many times you should have, but you didn't and good for you. We got the deal done, but that was a long night and very scary in the moment.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Going back to that time, it was as most buyers or investors do. They're trying to shake us. They knew they had us for a deal, but they also knew, well, okay, now that we have the deal, no one else is around before we put final pen to paper let's see if we can do a little bit of a shakedown.

Not all [00:33:00] buyers do this, a lot of them do. Let's shake them down. Maybe we can shave some dollars off in our pocket as a buyer, and it'll be better for us, but we were resolute. And I got to share with you, Steve, I was sweating bullets as well. You couldn't see me at the time. This was well before things like Zoom and what we have today with the technology is all on the phone.

What kept me grounded, though, on that call, I was going back to the Magic Moments that we shared. And what I knew was, okay, if it's not going to be this deal, and by the way, I'm not prepared to change anything that we agreed to, because we were in market for some time, and it took a lot of time to get there, but I said to myself, I've enjoyed the journey.

And this is where it's so important. It doesn't show up on a balance sheet. In the back of my mind, I said, we have a terrific business. I really enjoy with yourself and with Waleuska, the team. If this doesn't go through, I love the journey. I can keep on doing this journey.

I'm enjoying it. We have these Magic Moments. I'm going to use the F word. It's a lot of fun along the way. And okay, if not these [00:34:00] guys, it'll be somebody else at some other point in time, but that gave me the confidence to say, Hey guys, take it or leave it because we're not changing a thing.

And if you want to change it, that's fine, but the deal's off. And by the way, that's on you, not on us. And ultimately they backed off. We went through as it was intended to go through. The paper was signed and then we're just waiting for closing. But the other thing that I saw it and then I forgot it post closing.

But what I saw was success because when we went to market, we were incredibly successful. We became the golden child in the industry. People respected us. We had a terrific reputation. We were changing lives. It was incredible what we're doing. And I realized that success, the accolades, all the zeros in the bank, it doesn't matter if you're not fulfilled. And for me, there is success but there is also fulfillment. 

Now I forgot that strategy, post exit, that's a whole other episode, and we've talked about that, but for me, the Magic Moments helped with that fulfillment, because here we were a few [00:35:00] years ago. We're enjoying the journey. It wasn't just the destination anymore.

It was the journey of how we got there and tackling these so called problems, which were really opportunities and figuring out how to go through with them. But it was our Corbon Cigar. It was the Magic Moment. It was the fulfillment that came from that moment that the success followed later. And it's kind of crazy when you think about it, but that feeling of fulfillment, that peace of mind I've got the terrific team, these incredible business partners, this amazing company and solution, It wasn't easy, I would say though, once that was in place, the success followed the fulfillment. 

Steve Wells: Yeah and like you said, if you're not happy, if something is making you miserable, you're not going to achieve the goals that you want. So, happiness really maybe is not the right word. You've got to believe that you're on the right path, you've got to enjoy even the bad things. I feel sorry and I know people, I have friends who just cannot wait to retire and, they really hate every day at [00:36:00] work.

We loved our work. We knew it was time to leave. We wanted to do that because we had a great exit opportunity that, only comes around, so often. And like you said, we didn't know it at the time, but the timing was perfect.. Two weeks later, it wouldn't have happened.

And we're going to maybe have to wait almost a decade to make that happen again. We didn't know that, but we enjoyed what we did. We were fulfilled. We were challenged in a good way. What more can you ask for in work life to have those opportunities.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Absolutely. And so, as we begin to go into wrap up mode, so for anyone who's listening, and see if, there may be nobody listening, we may have lost them at Magic Moment, I don't know, it might just be the two of us enjoying ourselves having this conversation and no one is there. We've set the foundation for Magic Moments, and it's about fulfillment, it's about life, and how for us, we created this cigar that never should have been, but we created the Corban cigar for the two of us that later found its way into a very small [00:37:00] handful of VIPs out there, invitation only.

But it's more than that. It's now about, how do I redesign my life that I find a way to enjoy the journey and part of enjoying the journey may be stopping some things that you're doing on the journey because it simply isn't bringing you that joy, that fulfillment, that happiness, So, as we enjoy the holiday season, as we look to a New Year, a fresh start, a clean chapter, what would be some takeaways, some life strategies coming out of our discussion today that someone can begin to implement to welcome Magic Moments into their life and to find that fulfillment in addition to the success?

Steve Wells: I'm thinking of a verse. It's , in the Bible. It's Mark 8 36. And it says, for: 

"What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?" 

So these Magic Moments are our soul. I mean, so we want to find ways To keep our soul and not forfeit [00:38:00] it for what we think are things that the world might give.

Practically, what are those distractions? 

What are those things that we put too much emphasis on?

 We all have them. People use the word, , idol. We don't have idols anymore. We're not, worshipping these things. But in some ways, , like me, am I spending too much time on, my golf game, or my boating or things that maybe are taking time away from my family?

 I don't want to give that up. My family is more important to that. 

Am I doing something physically that's harming myself? 

Am I'm not really looking after my body enough? 

Do I want to think about that in the New Year? 

Was it diet?

Is it exercise? 

Is it whatever I'm consuming? 

Is there some knowledge I should gain that would help me in my life or in my work?

And it requires a little discipline to gain that knowledge. 

Do I want to do that and give myself, nurture my mind in other ways? 

 Those things require introspection and it requires us [00:39:00] to think about where we might want to make some correction or where we see things in our life that are really going well and do we want to emphasize those things more?

Jeffrey Feldberg: Well, absolutely. And as we begin to close this out, sadly, I can just keep on talking about Magic Moments and our incredible cigar experiences and our journey that goes along with that. For you, the listener, for Deep Wealth Nation, as you look ahead, why not take a moment, begin to pause and reflect. 

It was through these Magic Moments, sitting down, having the world's best cigar you've never heard of, otherwise known as the Corban cigar. We didn't 2X our business. We didn't 3X our business. We found a way to 10X our business from the Magic moment from that introspection, from that reflection, doing what others said would have been impossible to do.

We made, as we so often hear, the impossible into I'm possible, and it was from prayers. And from Magic Moments and from having that favor [00:40:00] put upon us to see those insights and that wisdom and to be able to act upon that and what's really exciting with the holiday season, with the New Year in front of us, why not start a new ritual, find those Magic Moments.

And sometimes they're organic. Sometimes we deliberately go out of our way to take an ordinary moment and make it into an extraordinary moment. 

Let me ask you, Steve, with the holidays, with the New Year's coming up, How are you going to have some Magic Moments? 

Anything that you're going to really go out of your way to look for and find and celebrate a Magic Moment?

Steve Wells: Well, my family has always been very important to me and I will say, not to pat myself on the back, but when we're going through the business I dragged them around the country with me. My daughter and Kristi, my wife. They were with me and they were really good sports about it, but I'd rather have them and they'd rather be with me, and waiting for me in meetings and things. 

Fast forward and I've got three grandkids and they always used to hear people talk about their grandkids. So I'm here right now up in my home, right around the corner from them. This time of [00:41:00] the year it's fun. It's festive and it's a great time to watch their little faces in awe and wonder of the lights and the gift giving. There's nothing more special than to be around family and young children, I think, in the holidays.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Absolutely love that, yes, it's the family and it's the enjoyment of it. It goes back to the journey of what's really important and that also reminds me as we begin to close things out, so often you hear people who are in their final days, as they're looking back, they never say, wow, I wish I would have had more business phone calls.

Remember that meeting 20 years ago? 

You never hear about that. It's time with loved ones is what really counts, what's really important. And that's what I love about the ability to find those Magic Moments or be able to recognize them as they're happening organically. Hey, this isn't just any moment. This is a Magic Moment.

Let's take some time out. Let's really enjoy it. And years from now, decades from now, God willing, we'll look back and we'll remember [00:42:00] that with a smile. So that's really what it's all about. 

And any closing thoughts or strategies as someone is now thinking about what we're saying and they're saying, okay, yes, Steve, Jeffrey, I want to welcome Magic Moments.

Maybe even through a cigar, I want to really take my life, my success, my enjoyment, my fulfillment to the next level. Closing words on that, of what someone can think about doing.

Steve Wells: It's gratitude, look at those things around you that you have and take them in, enjoy them, it's people, it's all kinds of things, it's family, it's maybe even things, and and just take them in as a gift and realize what you've been given, and from that point it'll inspire you to do other things. Enjoy the moment and make them magical.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Absolutely love that. And Steve, just as we're closing out, one of the things I just want to mention with the Corbon cigar, at least for us, as we alluded to earlier, these are anything but the least expensive cigars that you're going to find.

They are really out there. And a lot of times when [00:43:00] people look at that, hey guys, this is too out there for me. I hear about these Magic Moments, but I don't know. I don't know how Corban's going to fit into the picture is just much more than I would normally do with a cigar. And for me, you and I have talked about this often, if I'm going to have a 12 course or 15 course meal, as an example, not that I really ever have, but just to use this as an example, or if I'm going to a three star Michelin restaurant, it doesn't get any better, they are world ranked. 

So if we did that every night, eventually, it wouldn't take long, it would become the same old.

But if we're doing it every now and again, and I know with Corban, with our members, they're receiving three Corban cigars a month, and when we hear back from them, guys, I'm so excited. There are at least a Three Magic Moments. Or maybe I'm going to have some colleagues or some friends. I'm looking forward to these Magic Moments.

It gives them something to look forward to because it's different than what you're doing on a day in, day out basis. And if we're honest about it, we don't have epiphanies every day. We don't come up with these game changing strategies every day. They are there though, and that's what I love about this being so special, [00:44:00] it's really precious, very limited with that, and it really gives me an appreciation of, hey, this isn't just any cigar, this is THE Corban cigar, and I can't wait to find out what the Magic Moments are.

So I'm really looking forward to the New Year and with the holiday season, and I'm excited now for the listeners who have some of our strategies. And by the way, before we close this out, if you have some questions about Magic Moments or even the Corban Cigars, email us. It'll come directly to us, success [at] deepwealth [dot] com, and we'll answer your questions. You'll learn more about the Corban Cigar, you'll learn more about Magic Moments, so just email us, success, S U C E S, at deepwealth [dot] com. It'll get to myself and Steve, and we'll be happy to answer any questions that you have. 

And so with that said, Steve, as we now officially close this out, I know I keep on saying that, but as we officially close this out, any closing thoughts or words for Deep Wealth Nation and our listeners?

Steve Wells: No, thank you for the time. I've enjoyed discussing and going back memory lane and wish everyone a great New Year and holiday.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And as we love to [00:45:00] say together, you and I here at Deep Wealth, firstly, congratulations, this is a wrap. And as always, may everyone continue to thrive and prosper and remain healthy and safe, and here's to a terrific holiday season, to a terrific New Year. May all of your dreams come true. Thank you so much and God bless.

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.

Are you ready for it? 

The dramatic pause. I'll just wait a moment. Drumroll, please. Subscribe. Please subscribe to the Deep Wealth podcast on your favorite podcast channel. When you subscribe to the Deep Wealth Podcast, you're saving yourself time. Every episode automatically comes to you, and I want you to know that we meticulously craft Every one of our episodes to have [00:46:00] impactful strategies, stories, expert insights that are designed to help you grow your profits, increase the value of your business, and yes, even optimize your post exit life and your life right now, whatever you want that to look like.

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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.