Walter Bond’s Speech Will Leave You Speechless

0:00And I believe collectively as a group, we're gonna kick the competition, but because we understand how important it is to think, execute and dominate. Suck it up! Get tough! Suck it up! Get tough! People wanna have success. People wanna make a lot of money, but they wanted to be easy without any challenges. Do you think it was easy for me to become one of the top 450 basketball players in the world that you never heard of? The only way I made it to the NBA, that was fundamentally sound, I was immensely tough, and I never quit. And even when I wanted to quit, I had people in my life that would make sure I didn't quit. I hired and set out the top 10 motivational speakers, watched all their videos, and I watched it one by one. Because I understand that if I pay attention to what the best of doing, I could be the best too. I watched Game Film on Michael Jordan, no matter how much I watch, I couldn't do what Michael Jordan could do.

1:02I would watch Magic Johnson, I couldn't do what Magic Johnson would do, but I sat in handy videos. I watched Les Brown's Xigla, Tony Robbins, my hard-wifer skin, I was scared, I called him to my office, and I said what the husband said. I said, babe, we gonna be okay. Every month of checking of COS drink. I said, babe, we gonna be okay. Let's start a motivational speaking business. I go to Jerry Sloan, and I say, Jerry, I'm trying to make you team, but since we don't scrimmage, I feel like I can't show you what I can do. Go to Carouse, hear me clearly, listen to his answer, and it will unlock some mysteries as to how you become the best in the world and what you do over a long period of time. Jerry, I'm trying to make you team, but I feel like I can show you what I can do. He says Walter, I already know what you can do, but if you wanna make my team, I suggest you listen, follow directions, and execute.

2:06Listen, follow directions, and execute. When I didn't realize, even though we didn't scrimmage in practice, through our practice, we did drills, and he created what I call habits and rituals. Every single day practice was the same. Every single day, we drilled on fundamentals. Every single day, we worked on habits and rituals. So even though my mind was floating, even though I was selfish and self-centered, he was conditioning me into the culture through practice of habits and rituals. The reason why I tripped with my NBA income in three years is because of habits and rituals. Next year, if your name didn't get called to come across the stage, I'm here to tell you they will call your name next year if you go back home and execute habits and rituals. I wanted to scrimmage for me, but Jerry Sloan was getting me ready to play for the Utah Jazz. So every day, it was about habits and rituals.

3:07Having hot food is about habits and rituals. Great customer service is about habits and rituals. Being the best in the world and what you do, being a pro is all about habits and rituals. Let me tell you something. I learned a very valuable lesson I played for the Utah Jazz. I had a point guard on my team who's arguably the best point guard in the history of the NBA. His name is John Stockton. John Stockton would go to a chiropractor four times a day on a game day. You know what I said to myself? I'm not doing that. It doesn't take all that. John Stockton, take 19 years in the NBA. I played three. You would have thought I'd have been smart enough to watch a hall of fame and just shut my mouth, hop in the car and go with them. No! My mind's still here to take all that. I would tease him. Man, John Stockton, you OCD or something.

4:07Why are you going to a chiropractor four times a day? He swore by his chiropractor. That man played point guard in the NBA until he was 40 years old. And he didn't retire because he got slow. He retired because he refused to wear baggy shorts. He loved his days. He doves. Every day on a game day, then being able to go to a chiropractor four times. A day! And in my immature basketball mind, I would say, I didn't take all that. I don't need to do all that. I'm an award-winning motivational speaker. Because now, I pay attention to details. Another peak performance truth. Peak performance. A detail oriented. The reality is this. There are 450 ball players in the NBA every single year. They give out 450 jerseys and there's only 10 superstars.

5:08So why the general public focuses on the superstars? Professional sports is really made up for guys like me. Every single day, I drilled the fundamentals. So now that sports are gotten to business, I didn't focus on making money. I focused on fundamentals. Because I understood I made it to the NBA because I was fundamentally sound. So when I get into business, if I become fundamentally sound in business, and if I become the best in the world in business, I bet you I can make a whole lot of money. I can recruit a coach to coach. And that's how I learned how to sail. The doorbell ring, he's coming into my living room. They always travel to the pack of three. They always wore university-issue golf shirts. They always had a brochure and they put the brochure on the coffee table. There were always four students on the brochure. Two white, one Asian and one African American every single time. And sometimes they would substitute the Asian for Latino. And as I collected more brochures, I began to recognize some of the same kids on different schools brochures.

6:13And then I realized, you know what? Oh my God, these aren't students, these are models. And this is big business. Your industry is big business. And whenever you have big business, it's very competitive. But in basketball, if you win by one, you still win. If you win by one, you still win. So when you want to compete at a high level in the very competitive business, you better pay attention to every little detail. Sometimes in franchise systems, when the leader talks about what we need to do, some of you sit there and say, we don't need to do that. I'm not doing that. I'm not doing that. It doesn't take all that. It don't need to do that. I don't take all that. Some of you guys right now in the open keynote had their thought going to your mind, oh, I'm not doing that. I don't need new plates. I'm not doing that. I'm not doing this. I'm not doing that. You already made up your mind not to do it. Great people. Pay attention to detail. So at this conference, don't you dare let your mind say, I'm not doing that. Don't take all that. I'm not doing that.

7:13I didn't take all that. You'll be average the rest of your life. Great people pay attention to every single little detail. I used to think that way. It didn't take all that. But you know what, in my basketball career, I played three years and I should have had a longer career because I did not pay attention to detail. I am kicking my competitions, but mainly because I caught off the news and I understand my successes based on my daily habits. The first day of high school, I walked in full of confidence. I believe confidence is arrogance under control. I walked in my first day of high school full of confidence until I passed a principal's office. And he was 6'6", 240 pounds. Everybody else called him Mr. Bond, but I called him dad. At first, their school was the longest day of my life. I attended high school at Chicago's inner city where my father was a principal of my high school. I got to the lunchroom and I ate lunch all by myself.

8:13I could hear my classmates whisper, that's the principal son, that's the principal son. Wait, I'm right there. I couldn't wait to get home. I made up my mind when I get home, I'm going to throw a pity party. Go ahead and cry, I feel sorry for yourself. Be angry, be frustrated, but I only give you three days. I went home in that first day of school and I threw me a three day pity party. You guys don't know me, but I know how to party. Peak performers always think positively. So go ahead and throw your pity party for three days and that's it. Every ever thought after that third day, make sure it's positive. If you see you or feel yourself thinking negatively, stop it right there. And reprogram your mind and think positively. I'll give you three days. Go ahead and do it. I'll do it myself all the time. But I threw that three day pity party that came up with a plan. I'm going back to high school. I'll be starting a baseball team, basketball team, football team. After that, all my journalism club, my classmates are going to vote me most likely to succeed.

9:14Four years later, after my pity party, I got focused. When I was an Emma Toe basketball player, I didn't get that concept. I had another teammate named Carmelo, who arguably had the best body in the history of the NBA. I would go to restaurants with him and he annoyed me. I couldn't even imagine what the waitress felt like. He annoyed me. Now, he had the best body of all time in the NBA. But he annoyed me at restaurants. He would order grilled chicken Caesar salads and he would ask to waitress. When you grill my chicken Caesar salad, can you make sure there's no char marks on my chicken breast? You want her to levitate the chicken over the grill? I mean, when you put her... Very picky, very meticulous. We'll walk the char marks, have carcinogens. Carcinogens create cancer. I want the chicken breast, but I don't want the cancer. Another time, he ordered a chicken salad. This man was six nine, 256 pounds.

10:14He always ate salads and I rarely saw him clear. His plate had the best body of all time in the NBA. He ordered chicken salad one time. He came with hard-boiled eggs. The salad came out. He says, I don't want a hard-boiled eggs. They're high in Clareastra, Ralph. And we're in Salt Lake City. They all know who we are. We're the only brothers in town. Well, Mr. Malone, the salads are pre-made and the egg is crumbled over the salad. Well, would you mind picking it out for me? He annoyed me. I would go behind his back. I would apologize to the waitress and give her an extra tip. Me? I ate whatever they brought me. Friend Fries? Cool! Gravy? Cool! Mr. Wrong Order, I'll keep this and I'll eat the other food you bring out, too. He annoyed me when he ordered food because I thought he was difficult. Carmelone, plate 20 years in the NBA.

11:15I played three. I actually have motivational speakers calling me, saying, Walter Wiener, recession, I'm thinking about quitting and getting a real job. Now, eating at an oxymoron, a motivational speaker, quitting. You know what I do when I get those phone calls? I motivate them to quit. Because in my mind, if it's going to be a doggy dog world, I'm going to be the big dog. And I always ask them a question because they say, you know Walter, they're economy, they're recession, they're economy, they're recession. I don't trust the media. I was a high school basketball star. I was like, even if they were to share with the media when I was 16, 17, 18, years old, I don't understand how to media operates. I understand how they make money. So I always challenge these motivational speakers. Wiener, recession, how do you know, prove it to me. It's always the same. Heard it on? The news. Let me show you how it plays out. I just had a financial service from Book Me For 30 Events.

12:18If you multiply my Feet Tumps 30, that's the NBA contract. They wanted these events dealt and delivered in 90 days. My fellow motivational speaker friends stopped marketing to financial service firms because they were convinced that financial service firms weren't spending money based on the AIG pushback as everybody with it. In 90 days, I made NBA money merely because I don't trust the thing the media said. What are you allowing the media to do to your mind? Your approach, your outlook. Are you kidding me? I could always hit my daddy's voice. I don't care where I was. I could be on the school bus. I could be in the lunchroom. I could be on the playground. I could be somewhere I shouldn't be. I could always hit my daddy's voice. My daddy could protect me on the streets of Chicago when he was not even there.

13:19You have children. You have grandchildren. Make sure they can always hear your voice. But most importantly in business, whose voice are you listening to? When it comes to franchising, whose voice are you listening to? When it comes to same day sales, whose voice are you listening to? When it comes down to hiring a right-cassy whose voice are you listening to? My wife and I are former franchisees. That's why I'm a no-brainer to speak at franchise conferences because every franchise system has typically two groups at the conference. You have the one group that buys in. And then in the corner talking about how can we execute? How can we improve same day sales? Wow, you're doing good, I'm doing good. Let's keep working together. What can we do to improve the brand? We have to conference. Let's buy in. We have to work together. We have to do to improve the brand. We have to conference. Let's buy in. There's always another group over another corner.

14:19Now, yeah, man, corporate. Yeah, corporate. Corporate's always trying to sell us something. I'm not. They just trying to make money. I'm not. Now all that stuff they're talking about, you're going to do it? No, you, me either. So every system trust me. Has two different groups at the conference. The group that buys in. And the group that's rebels and don't. So here's another rhetorical question for you. Where a group are you with? Birds of a feather. Flog together. They didn't say old birds and new birds. It says birds of a feather. Flog. Tracy puts it this way. Another very great motivational speaker. He says your salary will be the average of your five closest friends. I never made the Kobe Bryant Michael Jordan money. I was terrified of becoming an athlete who went broke.

15:19And for months, I saw my check in the ground, Dwendo, every single month. College educated, college degree. But every month, my check in account was dwindling. I had no other skill sets. I sold out to this sport and what you have to do. To play pro basketball, you got to sell out. So here I am 31 years old. Wife and three kids. Morgan's clicking every single month and I was scared. And I believe my main happy ain't nobody happy. So the next day, we joined the country club. And I walked in from a typical Chicago strap. All the other guys walked like this. I looked at my wife and I said, baby, I can't even walk like that. That does not look comfortable. That doesn't even look natural. Brothers don't walk like that. But Bryant Tracy is right. And I walk into that country club. I was scared to death about my future. But your salary will become the average of your five closest friends. Now we've been at the country club for 14 years.

16:20Now I can walk like they walk. Now I can talk like they talk. Now I think like they think. And now I make what they make.