Brian Bogaert is a wealth coach, private investor, and a leader in several communities. Through his “Next Level of Success” public webinars, group courses, and private coaching, Brian helps people navigate their financial matters. In this episode, he talks about the benefits of providing “calming leadership” and uplifting others in times of uncertainty.
Brian Bogaert is on a mission to create more freedom for himself and others. He believes that being a calm, compassionate, and confident leader, especially in times of crisis, is the best tool for creating that freedom.
With years of experience in business and finance, he considers himself to be a coach rather than a financial advisor. His services include “educating and empowering” people to make informed decisions, rather than telling them what to do.
In this episode, we discuss how to focus on opportunities as leaders in times of crisis, especially when most people are looking for somebody who can provide them with certainty. He advises recognizing a crisis as our chance to step up as leaders by figuring out balancing our needs with the needs of others.
Brian emphasizes the importance of being a leader who promotes calmness, positivity, and hope. He also urges everyone to acknowledge and notice leaders who don’t have a title yet and are still going above and beyond. This concept of leadership is explained in the book called “The Leader Who Had No Title” by Robin Sharma and Brian recommends it as a good source of inspiration.
If you want to learn more about how to be a leader in your own way, create value for people and be of service to them, then this episode is for you!
Find out more about Brian on his website: www.NLSCoaching.com
Connect with him through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brian.bogaert
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianbogaert/
- Welcome to "Leading Through Crisis" a conversation series, exploring the idea of leadership in challenging times. Hi, welcome to leading through crisis. I'm Celine Williams and I'm here today with Brian Bogaert, who is a wealth coach, private investor and leader in several communities. Brian's purpose is creating more freedom for himself, and others. And he believes that being a calm, compassionate, and confident leader, especially in a crisis is the best tool for creating that freedom. So Brian, thank you for joining me today.
- Thank you for having me. It's pleasure to be here and I'm honored to be able to speak on this subject with you.
- So I'm really excited about this conversation for a few reasons because you have these sort of layers of lenses on this. You've been in leadership positions for many, many years. So you recognize the importance of leadership in difficult times, and you have the lens of being involved in finances and being an investor in that specific financial view on the economy and the crisis on what's happening. And you have the experience of being a coach and helping people move through this in a very specific way. So this is gonna be a really interesting multilayered conversation. And I think I just wanna start by asking, with the work, your experiences, the work that you're doing, what are you seeing happening? Are there trends, are the conversations coming up? What is your observations now in, when it comes to leadership and crisis?
- So the, I think by far the biggest thing that I'm recognizing, and I'm recognizing this in the world with friends and family, with clients, is that, our bubble of security has been popped. And right now there is so much uncertainty going on. And I mean, the irony of it is, and the Buddhist will tell you that that illusion of safety and security that we had a few months ago was just that an illusion. But it helped us deal with regular life and deal with the things we needed to deal with. And right now that has literally disappeared almost overnight. And so people are operating from a place of fear and uncertainty and panic and anxiety and desperation. There's literally no solid ground, that people feel like they can stand on right now. And so what I'm finding is people, when I'm in conversations with people, what they're desperately looking for, is somebody to provide them with certainty. Now, ironically in the investment world, there is no such thing. I mean, even as an investor, I understand that there is no certainty. There are no guarantees. However, there are things that are in our power, to be able to raise the level of certainty, not to have guarantees, but to be more in control of certain things. And so that's where I've seen an opportunity for myself, for leadership in everybody that I'm speaking to right now is helping people focus in on what is still in your control and stop worrying about the things that aren't in your control, which is, so much of life. Calmness, to me right now, the biggest thing that I'm, the biggest area of leadership that I'm focusing on is just being calm, being the calm in the storm. And that I find so many people I've had conversations with afterwards are just like, "Oh, I feel so much better. "Thank you." Positivity, hope, a sense of calm. And whether that be in the corporate world where you're running a team and everybody's uncertain about their job and their income, and are we gonna make any sales or it's in the financial world with investments, it's the same, it's exactly the same thing and the same principles arise. So that's really where I've been seeing the opportunity and then trying to provide that calming leadership right now and keep people focused on what's really important and what they can do something about.
- Well, and I think that's a really important distinction because we are obsessed with subconsciously not always consciously, with certainty and knowing what's happening and predicting the future. And I would, I always say that that's in every way, that is an illusion. There is no such thing as certainty at all, everything is changing. And so to shift that to be about what is actually in your control is a really interesting shift to be making because we when things are normal, let's say, and I don't mean it, but like when things feel normal, when it feels like standard operations are moving forward, that feels certain. And we forget about all that really is, is we are in control of certain things. And we're not worried about the things that we're not in control of.
- No, there's no killer virus silently moving across the world kinda thing. We're not thinking about that, and right now people can't stop thinking about that. Absolutely. I completely agree.
- And they can't stop thinking about the effects to the economy and they can't stop thinking about, I saw something today that was, a series of episodes about something. I don't remember exactly what it was, but it was like it had where they were already using the term recession, recession. Like this is their recession episode, the recession, like that is that's a lot. And it's not to say that it's not true, but when that is what you're consuming, and that's what you're seeing, that feels very out of your control. Anyone who's lived through any sort of recession that feels big and out of your control. With all of these things that we can't control, what are of the ways that you see people taking control, or you suggest that they focus on, to feel like they're taking control?
- That's a an amazing question Celine. I'll be honest in the first few days of when this, struck in Canada, I felt kind of lost and pretty low and overwhelmed myself. And then, the leaders that I follow and the people in my community that stepped up to be leaders, they started to help me change my perspective and come around to a different paradigm. And it's since that happened, that I then have realized, "Hey, where can I step into leadership? "And what can I offer to people?" And the biggest thing that I've been talking to people about is, and you may have seen this going around on social media or the internet, the Chinese characters for crisis. There's two characters that make up the character for crisis. One is danger, the other is opportunity. And that's exactly what I'm focused on myself and what I'm talking to other people about. Listen, fortunes are made as well as lost in times of crisis. There is an absolute opportunity to thrive. Now in the beginning, that almost sounds a little weird. And it's almost like you wanna feel guilty about it, but it's like, "Well, wait a minute, "if we don't have a group of people "that are looking to the future and thriving, and that, "how are we gonna keep out of a recession? "How are we gonna get back to having jobs for people "and all that, right?" There has to be those leaders. And one of my mentors recently said, he wants to be one of the first dominoes in the other direction. So we've had this domino effect of negativity and fear and uncertainty, and everybody is in that right now. And he wants to be a domino in the other direction for the rebuild and the hope and the positivity. And when I heard that. And it has stuck in my mind. It's a saying that I say to myself everyday, "How can I be one of the first dominoes "in the other direction?" So I'm really trying to help people refocus on, "What are the opportunities?" So you and I were talking before we jumped on this call about what's going on differently in our businesses. What are those things that you know were talking about, "Podcasts, I've kind of been thinking about it, "doing it sporadically." And now, there's this giant need. People are at home with nothing to do. What an awesome time to launch something you were already thinking about and your focus isn't, "How much money can I make on this podcast?" It's, "How many people am I gonna be to be able "to help right now?" "And how can I act as a leader?" And that's exactly where I'm at and what I'm talking to all of my clients, friends and family about. There are opportunities right now. If income is your number one priority, because you've lost your main source of income, then obviously you're gonna be looking for ways to pivot and create that. So figure out what's your need, figure out what is the need of the people in your community. And then how can you serve that and create a win-win transaction. Which is really what I was focused on before all this started, but it just becomes even more obvious and so much more critical, I guess, in these times right now, like we just have a really, really, specific focus on that sort of stuff right now, creating value for people and being of service.
- And I think that the, I've observed a lot of people who are stepping into being to that awareness, that it really, that services the driver right now and figure out how to be of service monetized or not, but what can they be doing to help? And I've seen a number of people who are on the, they're just kind of forging ahead with the same marketing, with the same offer. And for me, that stream of being, is feeling less and less and less aligned than ever before. And it's not appealing. And I'm really curious. One, if you've seen the same thing, but two, how do you feel people are responding differently or similarly to this kind of opportunity to step into service or default into, "Well, I was doing this anyway, "I'm just gonna do the same. "This is safe, this is certain."
- I saw somebody do a post on on social media recently about this. And one of the things that they were talking about was exactly this. And they said, "Now is not the time to have a hurricane sale." They were talking about when the hurricanes went through Florida and it's like, "This is not the time to be marketing like that, "to have your COVID-19 sale." And like, "I'm offering 40% off on the exact same program "that has no relevance whatsoever "to what you're dealing with right now, "but I need to make some income." Now, again, is that right or wrong? Listen, a lot of people do not have access to the same sort of communities and empowering messages that you and I are fortunate enough to be in and connected to. So I get it and I understand, and I'm not judging those people in terms of the decisions they're making, they're in a place of desperation and they're, how does that work when people get in desperation, they just do the same. They beat the same drum, they just start beating it faster, and hoping that this is what's gonna work out. But I completely agree with you. Like, I'm seeing so many messages out there and experiencing myself where there is a shift going on. And a lot of the old ways are gonna go the way of the dodo. This totally reminds me of the, when the internet came on in the 90s. There was so many companies that continue to do things the same old way, "No, no, no, this is a flash in the pan. "We're not gonna do it." And most of them wound up like the dinosaurs and they were gone afterwards. It sounds kind of crazy, but I mean, what is disease? In itself that it's a threat to the body, it's also a chance for the body to purge things that weren't working and strengthened and come out on the other side, stronger and better and different than where it was before this happened. I mean, that is one of the, I don't know if positive is the right word, but it's one of the effects of going through something like that. The immune, I mean, that's the whole thing with vaccines. You get a vaccine for a small example of whatever it is you're fighting, so your body can build resistance and strengthen the immune system. Well, that is what is going on. That's the opportunity right now with us, with our businesses, with our practices, with our lives, with our families. One of the other things I've noticed online is, and especially on social media, is there so much less judgment going on right now. Like there was so many causes and warrior organizations and everybody was up in arms about something and that practice disappeared overnight. And I gotta say, just like you're talking about with the marketing side of it, the fact that people have started to realize that we are going to be able to accomplish more and solve more problems when we work together, rather than focusing on our divisiveness and how we're different and how, if you're not with me, you're against me kind of attitudes. I've also noticed that as a really refreshing change in the way people are interacting with each other. And, I'm not, I'm a pretty practical logical guy, but I'm also fairly aware and conscious, and I do see this as the world's opportunity to purge some of those things that haven't been working and haven't been effective and create a completely new paradigm for how we interact with each other, how we do business, how we utilize things like social media. It's again, it's that focus on opportunity. How do we come out of the other side of this as good or even better than we started? What a concept, if that's what we were to focus on? How can we come out of this? And I'm very clear that there are people that are battling for their lives. And there are people that are in desperation with regards to income and financial situations. And I don't mean to make light of that, or downplay that. If that's the position that people are in, then that's what they are dealing with right now. And there are lots of services out there to be able to help them. I'm speaking more to the people who are in a stable position and are able to, Maslow's hierarchy of needs when the bottom level is taken care of, you can start to move up a additional levels and consider other factors. That's really what I'm speaking to, with the utmost of consideration for the folks that are dealing with the basic needs right now.
- Well, and there's two things that come up for me inside of that is that it's okay to acknowledge that, we are very privileged to be in the positions that in, where we are not fighting for our lives, we're not fighting for basic needs right now. It's okay to acknowledge that privilege as part of that, ignoring it is the problem. When you ignore it and you're like, "Everyone should just be starting from where I'm at." That, that is a problem.
- Absolutely.
- But to say, "We have the privilege "of being in this position and we can serve "or do this thing in this way because of that "and use it to move forward and use it for positivity." And this goes for everyone in similar positions, it's acknowledging that and using that for good, if you like for service, that's very, very powerful.
- Absolutely. I couldn't agree more.
- And the other thing that came up for me is this idea of I'm a related to trauma for a second, but I've had a lot of conversations around this where all trauma is trauma. There is not, when we start saying my trauma is worse than your trauma or this person's trauma. You don't get it. 'Cause I've had it worse with this person's had it worse that comparisonitis that happens. That is what's really toxic, but it is okay to be like, to acknowledge that there are people struggling. There are people who will be traumatized if you like, from what is happening. And the truth is that in some way, many people will be, but it's not always gonna look the same. So that can happen and there can be people that thrive. There can be danger and there can be opportunity. This awful and I can still look to the future. It is not either or black or white. It is all of these things exist at the same time. And when we are comparing them, that is the problem. It is, if you are in that position of privilege to acknowledge that that is happening, great, what can you do to serve or help those people? Not ignoring that it exists, it's what can I do inside of this.
- I completely agree Celine. And that's where the whole leadership part comes in. When I am in a position where I have the opportunity to thrive, and I don't wanna say it's my obligation, it's more like my responsibility. And I think it's the right thing to do, and it's good for karma at the same time. Like, let's be honest. That's where if I can utilize the position I'm in, to act as a leader, to inspire others, to lift others up. I mean, if the leaders and mentors that I have, hadn't talked the way they did it wouldn't have inspired me to then step up my game and see what, I might still be stuck and depressed and not sure what to do like I was the first few days. So then if I can go and do that, and through my leadership inspire other people, and that's the domino effect. Where it starts to spread through the population. And maybe somebody, I know people in the healthcare field, if I can inspire them and give them hope and they're able to go and do their shift and be there for somebody who is battling disease right now, and who was on a respirator, then I'm making a difference in all the different levels at the same time. And that is where, when I saw this, that you were doing around leadership, I was like, "That's something that I wanna talk about. "I love this. "I wanna make sure." And I mean, your client is the same thing. They've got companies, they've got employees, right? That if they can step into a leadership position and provide that calm and that hope and solutions, then they can be helping the dozens, the hundreds, the thousands of people that they're working with at the same time. And that can spread like a virus around the world at the same time. So that's again, not to make light of it, but that's how I'm trying to frame it for myself every day when I get up and look at, "What can I do today "that's gonna make a difference "on a whole bunch of different levels."
- Absolutely. I think I am inspired by the people that are doing this in different ways. So I have a friend who, was reaching out to people in sort of child services and saying, "Are there families who are really struggling right now? "Who don't have enough food who are part in the system? 'Cause no, one's getting home visits. All of these things have shut this down. And how can we set something up to provide meals to those families where people can drop off groceries. She puts something out about that. I'm like, "that is phenomenal. "How do I get them? Like that to me, there is still opportunity, I can ignore, those people are suffering. How can, she's stepped into this leadership? How can I participate? So it's for me, there's that balance of where can I be a leader and how? Because we are all leaders in our own way. It doesn't make a difference if you have a title, leadership does not come with a title. And then where is someone else being leader that I wanna get involved in and support and create that ripple effect. And there's--
- Yeah.
- To me it's really interesting how many opportunities for both are around right now, if you're looking at for them.
- I completely agree. I'm trying to think of a specific example. Well, I mean, I'll talk about what, again, I got stuck for the first few days about what to do because, my normal business practices, talking to people about investments and how to create financial freedom and all this. And again, it was clear to me that that wasn't top of mind for folks, but then I very quickly realized that this health crisis, has turned into a financial crisis at the same time. And in fact, there are lots of people who are not being affected health wise right now, but are being affected financially. And I recently heard a statistic that there's gonna be more bankruptcies than there are deaths across the world due to COVID-19. And that makes a lot of sense. So for me, it was financial stability and talking to people about that. "What are the priorities? "What can you do? "What's available? And then for other people, it was, investment opportunities and all that. That was clear to me where I could provide my leadership in, for what I have to offer. But you're right. There are tons of other opportunities that are out there. Actually, this is kind of a simple one, but one thing I came across was that, there was a bunch of restaurants and that were offering free meals to healthcare workers or discounts. Well, that was something that I shared. And I reached out to my healthcare friends and I was like, "Hey, did you know that, "Swiss Chalet is offering 50% off "and Nando's is doing a 100% off "and Starbucks is doing free coffee." Again it seems simple, but if that can brighten the healthcare workers day, the real superheroes that we've got right now, me sharing that. I've also been trying to share a sense of humor online and in social media, just to keep people, 'cause again, there's so much anxiety around that, that I'm posting some jokes and some funny stuff in that. And I find if I can have a laugh, it picks me up for the rest of the day too. But I like what you shared about that Celine and I'm gonna look around for more of those types of opportunities where, 'cause every leader needs followers. So where can I also be a follower and help support another leader, who's up to some amazing things right now, 'cause there's tons of it, and you're absolutely right.
- Yeah. I think there are. My perception of leadership is that if our ego is in it, and we think we have to be the one leading it and doing it and being in charge. That to me is not the type of leadership now, where you're gonna be really enabling thriving and opportunity seeking. 'Cause it's ultimately about you, but if you are recognizing that I can lead in this way, and I can follow in this way and it's not one or the, it's not, I always go back to, I've talked about this. I always go back to, it's not, it's never black or white. It's never one or the other, but both end. Where can I be a leader and where can I be a follower? How can I serve in both ways? I think that becomes a really interesting opportunity for people to be aware of and not get stuck in the baseness of it's about because a lot of people are very self focused right now. And you have to be, like I wanna be clear.
- You can't blame people right now. It's not just toilet paper that they're hoarding. They're hoarding everything about what do I need right now? Right?
- That's right, and we have self-care, I hate the term, but whatever you want to call it, where you are filling your own cup, and taking care of yourself, so you can breathe. That is super important. And once you have taken care of yourself so you can breathe, I think the danger becomes, do you get stuck in, "This is the only thing that matters."
- Yes.
- And to me this is a really tangible way to not get stuck in that.
- I agree. The metaphor I always look to is the one on the airplane, you've put on your own oxygen mask before you help others. Because if you don't, then you become a liability for the other, for the flight attendants or the people that are helping. But if your mask is secure and you're taken care of, now, you can actually be one of the people that solving the problem and helping. But you're absolutely right. It is so easy to get sucked into the ego part of it. And I'll be honest, early on as a leader, I believe I was more of an instructor. I wanted to be the one at the front of the room directing and, "Listen to me and I know best." And all that sort of stuff. I dealt with that. It wasn't until many years later, thanks again to other leaders and mentors in my life where I realized when you move from being an instructor or the commander to being the leader, you're actually more like a shepherd. And you're at the back of the room and when you're doing it properly, almost nobody should notice. The group itself. You're facilitating them, coming to their own conclusions, making their own choices, empowering themselves. And you're just kind of, maybe at the back of the room, offering a little tip here and shepherding a little suggestion here and getting people on track over here. Just little stuff like that. And I've kept that idea in my mind since somebody introduced that to me of that is to me what true leadership looks like, where at the end, the group is celebrating what they have accomplished, not putting you on a pedestal and giving you awards and all that sort of stuff. And you're right, in a time like now, it's gonna be the unsung heroes and the leaders that are really, carrying the flag forward and making things happen. I only hope that when this is all done, we still remember those people. We don't go back to just celebrating the celebrities and this sports athletes and all that sort of thing. Now some of those people are true leaders, but we tend to put so much focus and so much emphasis there and forget about, the nurse or PSW that was there for your parent in their last few hours. And what is the value proposition of that? And we're paying these people $18 an hour and they're fighting for, it pains me sometimes with that sort of stuff. And I have said some of my closest friends are in the healthcare industry and I'm glad to see them getting some recognition. I hope that continues.
- I agree. I think this is a really interesting, what popped into my mind when you said that, this is a really interesting, whatever I just said. Interesting opportunity to move from celebrity worship, just because someone is a celebrity, whatever that looks like to actually who... And there are definitely leaders in that space. I always think of Kristen Bell as someone who is like, always trying to help being positive, putting information out there that's of service, always, always, always whether it's about animals or humans, or like, she's great. There are people who are celebrities, that are leaders and there are a lot of leaders who nobody knows about, who nobody talks about, because they're not in the spotlight in the same way. And I think that there's a really interesting, I think it's gonna be really interesting to see how much of that last, and I'm hoping a trend that I'm seeing on social media in particular is that we are, there's more and more people celebrating that. So things like, Tank's Good News is when the or Upworthy are getting more and more and more followers because they're showcasing things like doctors applauding as cleaning staff walk out of parts of the hospital. The people in the streets of Paris at 8:00 p.m., we're all clapping for the healthcare workers. The fact that there are platforms dedicated to that, that are growing in popularity, to me is a really, exciting thing to be seeing because it's not just "Let me look at the Fox news. "It's telling me the same crappy thing over and over again."
- "Let's see what the Kardashians are wearing this week," and nobody gives a rat's rear end about that right now. Do we? Yeah. I've made a point for the last few years. Like if I'm in Costco or I'm at Whole Foods or whatever, and I go in the wash room or I go to put my tray away or something, and there's somebody there cleaning. I always make a point of just saying, "Thank you," for that person as I leave. And I hope they get it the way that it's intended, just acknowledging and noticing them, because in most cases, these people are invisible. Until the trays are piled up and then we're in open arms and then they're gonna suddenly getting attention or the washroom isn't clean or whatever. And I think, yeah, the other day I went to Costco and there was the guys out front who were wiping down the shopping carts, so for the next person to use. And I said, "Right now "and everybody is very aware of these guys." I hope they'll still be aware of these folks after this is done and that, all those types of things. And you again, you brought up an amazing example. It's easy to focus on the nurses and the doctors and the PSW and all that. But what about the cleaning people who are, making sure that the rooms are sterile and the equipment is cleaned and that everybody has what they need. It's easy to forget about those folks, isn't it? And those people are leading in their own way as well.
- You, a 100% took the words out of my mouth. That's exactly, that's exactly it. They don't have the title of doctor and they are integral to this working. They are integral to people's health and they are leading and doing it quietly and confidently. And those unsung heroes to use the language that you used earlier. We all have a chance to be leaders unsung or not, and owning that and recognizing that, and coming from place, whatever circumstances I think is the opportunity. And again, obviously taking the oxygen yourself first, you have to be, it has to start with that. And it's okay to acknowledge that too.
- Yep. I was scanning your bookshelf, but I can't see the titles, but I'm curious, are you familiar with "The Leader Who Had No Title" by Robin Sharma?
- I have heard, I know who Robin Sharma is. I don't know that book in particular.
- So it's a very easy little pocket book, but that's the concept in it is that everybody, regardless of what position you have in a company or in the workforce or whatever, everybody has an opportunity for leadership. And really the basic gist of the book is, giving what you are doing 100% of your focus and looking for ways to improve it and to fully take responsibility for doing the best possible job, that's how you are a leader without a title. And I love that book. I love the concept, whenever I think about leadership and that it comes up, and it just seemed like a perfect segue at this particular moment to talk about that one. So yeah, if people are more interested in that concept, it's a great little, you could read it in over a weekend. It's a short little pocket book, but it's very powerful, and shout out to our Canadian authors. Robin Sharma is actually from Toronto.
- That's right. I'll actually link the, I'll actually put that in the show as a specific link, because I think that's a really good place to, and things like that, where there's suggestions. I want people to also just be able to sort of click and see where it goes and check it out. So that's a great suggestion. Thank you. I do wanna be mindful of time. And I always like to wrap by asking, is there anything that has come up that you want to emphasize where you want people to really take away. Or is there something that we didn't get a chance to get to, that you feel very strongly like people to have top of mind at the end of this?
- I mean, in that case, I'll go back to the financial situation for a second, just because I'm having so many conversations where the same thing as popping up, and it looks like this, people who are reaching out to their bank or their financial advisor, and they have money in stocks or mutual funds. And they're asking the question of like, "What should I do now?" And to a person that I have spoken to that they're getting the exact same message back from their bank or their financial advisor. "No, no, now's not the time to panic. "Just keep your money where it is. "And you know, we've probably already seen the bottom "and now the rebuild is gonna start." And so there's two things that I want people to think about in this case. And I'm not telling you what to do or what not to do. My whole thing is educating and empowering so people can make more informed decisions. So the first thing that people need to understand, is the person who is giving you that advice, how are they compensated? So in this particular case, banks and financial institutions make their money, when you have your money inside of the investments that they manage. They're called trailer fees, and the longer that that money sits in there, the more money they make. Whether your money is going up or down, they still make that money. So you need to be cognizant of the fact of, what is the unspoken, involvement that they have, the potential conflict of interest there and their motivation for what they're talking about. It's human nature that they wanna put food on their table as well. And they wanna look after themselves. We talked about that. That's perfectly natural. So people need to understand, what is the motivation behind the person that's speaking to them and offering them this advice. The second thing I wanna ask people, in evaluating what they should do with their finances is, what do you think is going to happen over the next few weeks or months? Do you think things are gonna get better, stayed the same as they are now, or get worse? Now, most people I've spoken to believe that things are, at least in North America in the short term are gonna get worse. But what is that gonna create in terms of the national psyche and emotions, probably more fear and panic. How do markets respond to fear and panic in the general populace? So that's the questions that I'm telling all of my clients, my friends, my family, to consider in what they should be doing and not just take that at face value. The advice that they're getting from somebody who gets paid for them to leave their money in that system.
- Right.
- Okay? I am a Warren Buffett type investor. I don't invest in the stock market, but rule number one is, do not lose money. Rule number two is, see rule number one.
- Right.
- Okay. That is where I operate from protection of capital protection of the funds that you have. So that's where I'm making my decisions and doing some reallocation in my own portfolio, based on what I see going on, what I think is gonna happen. And then historically how markets respond to that. So that would be kinda the financial piece that I would leave with people. And then I'm being a leader in by sharing that information with people and so can you. You can have these conversations with your family, with your friends and just be talking about this sort of thing. So that would be the biggest thing that I would wanna leave with people and again, provides me with another opportunity for leadership.
- And I think it's extreme. I mean, it's obviously very timely, but that is, I think people are getting a lot of biased information right now. And I think that this is an opportunity to get some unbiased information that is really about their best interests and they can make the best decision. And so I appreciate you sharing that and coming back around, because when we are in that panic and fear, which a lot of people are. I see this happen all the time where someone in the best of times is like, "well, this is the way things are." And you're like, "Cool. "I'm just gonna invest in stocks or whatever it is." 'Cause that's what we do. Let alone in the worst of times, quote, unquote, where then people, "Just give me the answer. "There's a right way, you know, the right way. "Just tell me the right way. "Great, that's the thing. "I'm just gonna do that thing."
- Because again, people are, what are they desperately searching for? Certainty. And in good times, they're looking for that certainty. And in crisis times, they're looking forward even more. So this is where, literally I've seen videos on this, the body reacts to stress by putting you into reactionary mode and like the basic, the logic functions start to disappear and it starts to be acting from desperation. And so if somebody says to you, "Oh, well, this is what you should do. "Yeah, you're right." The knee jerk reaction is going to do that. And with regards to unbiased objective information, that's why I decided to become a coach and not a financial advisor, 'cause I believe there's a conflict of interest in the way people get paid by through the investments. Whereas a coach, you pay me to educate and empower you. And if I don't continue to do that, you're not gonna continue to pay me. So that is what attracted me to that model in the first place.
- I love that.
- So, yeah.
- Yeah, so I do wanna thank you. And I'm gonna note that Brian is doing public webinars to help people navigate their finances and markets right now. And their private group courses and coaching and all those things. And I'll put a link to your website and where people can find that information.
- Awesome.
- So that they can find you and look you up because I think this was really valuable. And I thank you for sharing your perspective and your experiences and giving people some very tangible advice, especially at the end, that they can use to empower themselves. I think that's vitally important right now.
- Well again, thank you Celine. My purpose is to create more freedom for myself and others. And so you're helping me fulfill on that purpose. And everybody listening, who takes action around that is doing that as well. So again, I'm honored and blessed to be here, chatting with you today. Thank you for the opportunity.
- It has absolutely been a pleasure.
- And be well, you and your listeners and everybody out there just be well.
- Yes, you too. Thank you. Thanks for listening to us talk around leadership in challenging times. If you would like to learn more about us or any of our guests, you can find us online at www.leadingthroughcrisis.ca. If you like the show, please subscribe and leave us a review, wherever you get your podcasts from.