FIND INCREDIBLE FRIENDS WHO LIFT YOU UP AND PUSH YOU TO BE BETTER, AND HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PERSON THAT YOU WANT TO BE AND THE PERSON YOU’RE CALLED TO BE.
I’ve found that in my good friend, and today’s guest, Anthony Trucks. Anthony is a former NFL football player, a competitor on American Ninja Warrior, an author, a life coach and an entrepreneur. He is also a former foster child, and today you will hear how that has shaped his life and how he, although not responsible for the cards he was dealt, had to choose how he wanted to play them.
So, how did someone like Anthony, someone who went through literal hell in foster care, went from feeling like he was getting passed around and not feeling the natural love from a family to having a family of his own that he loves madly, that he is raising in leadership and doing incredible things, both with his kids and the people that he’s making an impact on through his business? How did he go from one to the other? And how does it come so naturally to him, or at least seemingly?
Anthony is all about taking ownership, taking back control of your life and to quote him: “making shift happen!”
Trust me, you will want to take some notes on today’s episode and possibly listen to it more than once.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:
[3:32] Anthony’s Background Story
We have a lot of conversations on the show around raising luminaries and bringing up that next generation of leaders. But, not all kids are brought up with parents who are focused on that. Actually, there are plenty of kids who might not even see a positive example or a leadership model for them in their lives. Anthony was one of those kids. He was given into foster care when he was 4 years old.
People in his life, who were supposed to be parental figures, did bad things to him, abusive and torturous things. This led to him feeling like he didn’t matter. He didn’t have any hope, any aspiration. When he was 6 years old, he was placed into a loving family, which is his family now, but he was still without aspirations, growing up in a family that was just getting by.
[7:28] How It Could Be
Growing up in an environment where being poor was considered normal, Anthony didn’t think that he had much control over that. That was, until one day he saw a boy on a paper route. When he was around 12 years old, he saw a kid who was just like him, delivering papers and getting paid for it. So, Anthony got a paper route on his own. This was the first time, in his childhood, that he saw how it could be – that he had a choice, despite the cards that he was dealt.
[10:17] Victim Mindset (Not)
One good thing about growing up in an environment like Anthony’s was that he never felt like he didn’t fit in. Everybody was poor, and that was okay. But one thing that he did feel was shame. He felt shame for growing up in foster care, and he didn’t like talking about it or explaining it to people. So, not only did he not have much but he also felt confined. But he never wanted to use that as an excuse. So, when he was 15 years old, he made a choice that changed his life forever.
He made a decision to be GREAT.
[13:55] Step Into Your Next Level
Anthony’s biggest fear is leaving this planet without having done the thing he’s supposed to do. He realized that in all aspects of his life, there is always the next level. This doesn’t mean what he accomplished isn’t good enough, but he feels that there is always a new level, a new joy he can achieve and the more he goes into it, the more he carves out that legacy of living a life that he’s supposed to live.
And I couldn’t agree more.
There’s a piece of me that believes there’s a predetermined purpose that God has for us and we spend our lives seeking that. When I let go of my fears and I just sit, and I listen to where I’m being guided, the ripple effect that comes from that is such a reminder that I’m on track towards my purpose. The beauty and the transformations that come from are my validity that this is where I’m called to go.
[20:25] The Luminary Leadership Incubator
Behind so much of what we talked about on this show, is with you in mind. Trying to think about what specifically bridges that gap from building a business into really being known for what you do, being respected as a leader and crafting that legacy. Because that’s how you truly scale and grow: shifting from just making money to building wealth; from managing a team to leading a movement; from being reactionary to having a long-term plan.
So, we as a company are doing something that hasn’t been done before – we’re hosting a high-level business incubator that is breaking the mold on masterminds. It’s invite-only but for our listeners, we’re opening up a limited time opportunity to book a call to find out if this could be the thing you’ve been looking for that’s going to move the dial in all areas of your world, in a way that’s in alignment with your purpose, helps you tap into your potential, your next level of profitability, but also brings you peace. The Luminary Leadership Incubator is an unprecedented business opportunity for founders to amplify their leadership, to be known as a leader in their space for what they do, to build wealth and to massively create impact. So, if any of this speaks to you, make sure you go to https://luminaryleadershipco.com/incubator and book a time to chat.
[23:32] Set Your Own Scale
A common misconception is that for entrepreneurs or business owners the next level means the next seven figures they’re going to bring in or the next x amount of followers to their name, or the next media appearance or the next best-selling book. And although those things are wonderful and worth pursuing, the next level is going to be different for every person. Maybe it’s showing up as a better spouse or slowing the business down to be present with the kids, or taking care of your health or whatever it might be.
Anthony believes that in life we have two types of scales: scales that we have in our head and scales that we adopt from the world. The world scale sucks, because it’s not set, it’s always moving, there is always more. And so the moment you do accomplish anything, because there’s always more, you feel dissatisfaction when you should be feeling joy. So, set your own scale, because sometimes your next level isn’t the level the world tells you it is.
[32:00] What Is Wrong with the World Today
It is time to ruffle some feathers. Anthony believes that one of the main problems with the world today is that people are trying to find ways to make it okay to be weak. People are looking for an excuse to lean into that weakness. And actually changing the culture to fit lower, beneath the bar of average to make everybody else feel included and comfortable instead of challenging the people who are struggling and lending them a hand.
The trend of society right now is, let’s all drop to the lowest common denominator and level the playing field. But, the reality is we are humans, there is no such thing as leveling the playing field in that way. We should always support the underdog in any way we can, that’s how humanity should operate, but at the same time, we can’t control what people do with that support. We can’t control what choices other people make. All we can do is serve as examples and never forget about the people who have served us along the way, so that we remember to pay that back and put out our hand and help as many people as we can. But guess what? We can’t force them to reach back out and grab it.
[48:20] Core Values
Anthony has 5 company values that are actually born from life values. The first one is loving on people; not just with your words, but with your actions. Second is integrity; always do the right thing, even if you don’t want to do it. The third one is doing the hard things; no shortcuts. Fourth is always seeking growth; continuously learning and growing as humans. And the fifth one is being adaptable; being able to adapt to the changes in the world.
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
- Check out the Luminary Leadership Incubator for more information and to book a call!
- Connect with me on Instagram and let me know what you think of this episode with Anthony!
- Connect with Anthony on Instagram!
- Check out Anthony’s new book Identity Shift!
