Bo Eason on How to Transform Your Lowest Moments Into Power | EP 529

33:08And then you have this idea that pops up that you're going to go to New York and you pictured yourself being on stage. And I want to go back to your book before I ask you this question, because it's really the next part of this chapter on accountability. You give this lesson that you have to build your environment, which is something I think is so important. Because when you build your environment, meaning the people who you're surrounding yourself with, the energy that you surround yourself with, the surroundings you put yourself around with, it can have such a positive or such a negative influence on how you're going to end up living your life.

33:51But as you are going down this path, you start going through some classes. And in one of these classes is if I get the story, you ask your classmates, who do you think the best character actor that there is right now? And they all come back to you and say, it's Al Pacino. And you come up with this idea that you're going to seek down Al Pacino and get advice from him. If I have this story correct, can you build upon it? You do have it correct. I moved to New York City. Every kid in my class was much younger than me because I already had a career. I was playing in the NFL and they were fresh out of college.

34:31All these young theater students, acting students, improv students, writing students, they were all in my class. And I was like, you guys, who's the best stage performer of our time? Well, this was 1990. So everybody said Al Pacino is the best of our time. And I said, cool. Where is he? I got to talk to him. And they're laughing at me. This the boy's crazy. And I said, because I knew that if he held the mantle, if he was indeed the best on the stage, then he would be the only one to tell me or to help me compete with him and eventually take his trophy of being the best stage performer. So lo and behold, about a week later, I'm in Al Pacino's house.

35:19Imagine this. Crazy. I'm at his house. It's just how you would imagine. It looks like a scene out of The Godfather with 15 Italian people in a kitchen stirring gravies and pastas and cooking this crazy big old meal. And no one speaks English. They all speak Italian except for Al. And Al comes out and he greets me. He's, oh, hey, Al Pacino. I'm like, no shit. I've seen all your movies. And he said, Bo, I know why you're here. Come on back. We went to this room that he had a pool table in and we played pool for about three hours. and he broke down my next 15 years. He didn't say it was going to be 15 years until later, but he just started breaking down what my desires were.

36:20Like I said, look, I wanted to be the best safety in the world when I was nine. I got that. It came true. I want to do it again. I want to do it with stage performance. I want to be the best at that. Help me. Who do I work with? Where do I go? what's the first thing I do. And this was in New York. And he told me who to work with, who the teachers were going to be, who the movement coach was going to be, who the voice coach was going to be. I mean, there was so much more to it than I knew. I just thought you got up there and winged it. And it wasn't, it was just, I was happy to learn that it was exactly like playing a professional sport it was exactly the same principles had to be taken care of like you had to train and you had to eat in a specific way and you had to be with the specific coaches that were the top at the top and could teach you and accelerate your training and that's what I did And I saved all my money from football and I used it for 15 years to get me to a place where I thought in 15 years, if I did what Al said to do, then I could be the top guy.

37:38And basically, John, he told me exactly what you would tell me, which is, he said, Bo, basically, your ass, your feet are going to be planted on a stage in a theater more than anyone else in the next 15 years. And you're going to be up there rehearsing, sweating, working through the text, trying to decipher Shakespeare, trying to move authentically, trying to get a better, stronger resident voice. And if you do that for 15 years, then chances are you're probably going to be the top of the heap because no one else will do that. And I said, you know what, I happen to be really good with those kind of timelines.

38:37And I'm just thinking of one lesson for your listeners right now is that, you know what, and I tell my kids this all the time, you know what, I don't know if they believe me. I don't know if anyone believes this, but I always knew since I was a kid that if I didn't stop whatever this declaration was at the time, if I just didn't stop, like I stayed loyal to it and only it, I somehow knew that no one else would. I somehow knew that despite my abilities, despite my shortcomings, if you give me that long, that big of a runway, I'm probably going to be the best at that given the 15 years. And I didn't talk about this earlier when I had the declaration of being the best safety.

39:30All the way up growing up, there were certain things I didn't do growing up. Like I didn't go to the prom, right? Because in my little 15-year-old, 16-year-old mind, I thought that was a conflict of me being the best safety. I thought that ran against being the best safety. So I didn't go to the prom. I didn't drink. There were certain things I didn't do going on dates that I knew all the other safeties were probably who wanted to be the best safety growing up in whatever city they lived in. I thought they were going to the prom and that's where I would get ahead of them. Well, I still, I had a very simple mind in my late twenties and I did the same thing in the entertainment business.

40:18I just said, I'm going to train more than anyone else can train. I'm going to be on a stage more than anyone else can be on a stage and I'm not going to have any conflicting interests. And so I wasn't searching for a acting career. I wasn't trying to get an agent, I was trying to be the best on stage. And I figured if I was, then it like Al Pacino, if you're the best on stage, chances are people are going to come calling and saying, Hey, can you do this? Hey, can I hire you for this? And that is exactly what happened. So 15 years later, after meeting Al Pacino, 15 years later, I'm on stage on Broadway and off Broadway in front of an audience of a play that I wrote that I was the playwright of, and that I'm the only guy in.

41:21So it's a play I wrote, and I'm the only guy in and I'd never written a play in my life. I've never written anything in my life other than English papers, but I wrote a play. It was a one-man play, opened in New York, ran forever, went on a 50-city tour. It got bought as a movie. and that play, because I took the time to be great at that play and hired people around me to make sure to hold me accountable and to make sure I was authentic and great at the performance. 15 years later, I'm in a house in New York City, opening night, critics are in there. I am so nervous. I've never been this nervous and I've gone up against 350 pound dudes they were like cupcakes compared to the critics in New York so I was going out I went out on opening night I did the play and right in the on the aisle in the fifth row was Al Pacino sitting there watching me do a play that I'm the only guy in.

42:34And I remembered like looking at him going, shit, that is Al Pacino. And I'm trying to remember my lines while saying, wow, I can't believe Al Pacino came to my play. It was like these two things going on at once. And all he did, all I remember him doing was he had his arms crossed like this as he sat there and he just was watching the play and he just went like this.

43:04just nodded his head and that was the moment man that was the best review that i ever got it was like as if he was saying kid you did what you said you were going to do and you did and here you are right here where everyone is out to murder you in print because you're a football player thinking you can write a play and bring it to New York City and actually perform it. And that play was a huge success, not only for my development, but it made me a screenwriter. I got bought as a movie, so I got to write screenplay. I got to write several other screenplays for other movie stars because of that.

43:49And I never saw myself as a writer, but it turns out I knew how to tell a story. And that's basically that play saved my ass, John, because I was really nervous. I was scared. I was scared because I was great at one thing. And that one thing did not translate well to the civilian world. So the ability to express myself on a page and the ability for this instrument that my coach has built to be able to express this thing in a storytelling manner. It gave me forever, ever since that day, a voice to share my own self to share the expression of what I feel inside this body. And I was really good at that as a football planner, like athletes, elite athletes are really excellent at expressing their physical body on a field or on a court.

44:51And I wasn't good at expressing myself verbally. I was pretty good physically, but not great verbally. And that's what I learned. And once those two things matched, like the physicality and the verbal, it really set me free. Like it gave me like a sense of health and a sense that, wow, this art form that I have mastered can't be taken away from me. Like a knee surgery cannot take it away from me. I'm going to do this for the rest of my life. And then it turned into me teaching people to do it. People would come to the play, John, and mostly people come to plays and they want to come backstage and meet you as a performer or as a writer.

45:38But no one wanted to meet me in that way. The people who came backstage to meet me, and this was over 17 years, the people who came backstage were business owners were ceos of the biggest companies in new york city and in the world they were coming backstage and they weren't there to say hey can i get a picture with you hey you're a really great performer what they wanted to know was how did you do that? And can you teach my people to do that, what you just did? And that's how I began to train people, business people, salespeople, doctors, financial advisors. I trained them to do what I did on stage, which is basically to tell my own story and have a connection, physically have a connection with other human beings.

46:37Well, these business people wanted it because if you can do what I did, you can make a lot more money for that company. You can build your own company based on the ability to physically and verbally share yourself. And that's what built trust. And that's what they knew. So that's how that whole career started as me training people to do what I did best. So I'll pause. But one of the things that I love about this story with Al Pacino is I understand that, and maybe it was this 15 year point, because you hadn't seen him from the time he gave you advice into that point. But at some point, you're having a conversation with them and you ask him, how many other people have you helped to do?

47:30How many other people have have you helped in the same way you helped me? And his answer was no one. He goes, people always come to me and they want to be famous and they want money and they want this and that. But what you wanted was different. You wanted to be the best that you could possibly be. And he leaned in and told you that. And I think it's an interesting story about how we need to ask for help because you need to ask it in the right way. Had you asked it differently, I doubt he would have given you the same advice. Do you think that's true? I 100 % think that's true. Everybody requests things of people who are successful, like, can you introduce me to the important people?

48:14Can you fund my project? Can you introduce me to your agent? Can you get me a movie part? Well, somehow I knew that a movie part was not going to help me. What was going to help me take care of my whole life was being the best at something. So I always chased the best rather than the money. But what I quickly understood was that when you were the best, the money actually comes because it's pretty rare that somebody is the best at something and is dedicated to that or takes the time to master something. And here's another thing I learned, John, was those famous people, the people who are actually in position to help you.

49:02I swear, they're the most generous people. They are. You just don't know they are. They're so generous because there's no way they could reach the height that they're in without being generous. They can't. If they're a dick, they ain't going to the top. In my experience, it doesn't happen. Al Pacino is a great dude. But if I went to him and said, Hey, Al, can you give me a little small part in your next movie? Now, that would have been fun to do, right? But he would have looked at me just like I was any dude coming down the pipe. And yeah, I could do that. But is that really going to help your life?

49:44A small movie part? It's not going to help you. How about I tell you the miles to run, and then you run them. And then you'll be valuable to every movie maker, to every stage, to everywhere you go, because you have the ability to perform. You have the ability, and you've mastered something. And here's the one thing I've learned about mastery is if you master one thing in your life, you master all things. Master one, master all. And people just don't, I don't think they believe it because they don't want to do it. They don't. And I mastered a position called safety, but that mastering of that position, which is, it's completely unrelated, but I'm a great husband.

50:36I've mastered what it is to be a great husband and a great dad because of the training I had for those years, attempting to be the best safety. It's the same principles. It's the same exact principle. Playwright. People like New York Times called me like one of the most powerful playwrights in the last decade, right? The only reason they said that, you guys, the only reason I became a good playwright was because I mastered what it took to be a great safety. That was it. I knew the principles were exactly the same. And I just repeated these principles over and over in my life. And it turns out it works in every field.

51:26So say today, John, you and me decided, hey, let's start a new declaration together. John, how about we become the best ballet dancers in the world and we give ourselves 20 years. Now, the principles would be exactly the same as playwright, as safety, as podcaster. Once you master a thing, then your timelines get shorter because of the principles, the miles to run. And that's what I'm always training, not only my kids, but my clients, I always want the people that I'm training to be great presenters. And they think it's going to take a long time. And I always ask them, well, what, where are you going in this time?

52:17Are you dying? Are you go, are you, are you going to die? Or are you going to live for the next few years so we can master this thing. And they're like, no, I'm going to be alive. I'm like, okay, cool. We got time then. So relax. Let's learn this thing. Let's master this thing. That way you're completely in control of your own life. Because if I can control the stories that I tell and the ability to move people, then I always get paid for that. There's always somebody wanting to invest, wanting to pay, wanting to be in because no one does it well. They do it. They just don't do it well. Imagine if a politician did this well, they'd be really dangerous, right?

53:08They're just, they're really bad at this, which keeps them powerful, weak, like no one trusts them anymore. If you notice, no one trusts them anymore because they're just no good at being them, at being authentic and being able to tell a story that is tried and true. They really are bad at that. And thank God they are, because we put them in a little cupboard over here and we go, okay, you're a politician. I don't believe anything you say. And not only do I not believe it, no one believes it. And so they have a certain amount of power. And that power just keeps dissipating as our world goes forward and people in our department who could actually express themselves authentically coming directly from their heart well we become the powerful we actually flip the script on our so-called leaders and now we are the leaders because we're better communicators we're just better at being us now i'm not saying we're more polished that's not what i'm saying I'm saying we're more real.

54:19I'm saying we're more trustworthy. And that's my big push now. That's really where I'm headed now in training people. Because I just, I think the whole leadership model is bankrupt. And it's, I feel it. I can feel it in my own life. It's bankrupt. And I keep looking around for another leader to show up because I'm a good player. So I like following leaders. And I realized a few years back that there's just nobody coming. No one's coming. So why don't I take the lead? Why don't you take the lead, John? And why don't my clients and my family, why don't we take the lead? And that's a big responsibility that really nobody wants, but too bad.

55:10That's how it is nowadays. That's how it's going to have to go. So along those lines, Beau, a lot of people are out there and they have powerful stories, but they don't think their story is worth telling. What's your advice for someone on how they could maybe use their lowest moment and use that moment to create their story of victory and turn it into a powerful narrative? You guys, just so everybody knows, including me, including John, no one thinks they have a powerful story. You just don't go around going, wow, I got a really powerful story. No one thinks that of themselves. Do you know why that is?

55:54It's because over your lifetime, so I'm 63, so my stories of playing, being the best safety, well, that took 20 years to come into fruition. So I initially didn't think that was a powerful story. Who's going to care about me at nine years old having a dream and then fulfilling on that dream 20 years later? Does anybody really care? Because I was thinking personally, it's me. It's 20 years. It seems like a boring life. I didn't go to the prom. I missed a lot of parties. I missed a lot of fun stuff because I was doing my safety training. it seems our lives seem mundane to us because it takes a long time for these stories to develop but after 20 years you look back and you go wow i used to think who would give a crap about me and my little plan well you know how what it turned out to be everybody cares about my plan everybody who's ever heard the story cares about my dreams and my 20-year plan.

57:10Everybody cares and is inspired by somebody who sticks with that dedication for that long and brings it into existence. Everybody. Well, I thought no one cared because it seemed boring to me because I just did it. It was my life. Well, same for you. You think that when your mom, you had a dream of being a pop star say. And one day your mom was driving you to choir practice and you're sitting in the backseat and you're singing your lungs out. And your mom turns around and says, you know what, sweetheart, you're the worst singer I've ever heard, which parents sometimes do that, right? It's not the greatest parenting, I wouldn't think, but it's what they do.

57:58Well, that moment to a kid, 13. That is the most painful moment of your life. Now, you've worked through that by now as an adult, but that's where I always start my students. The people that work with me, they always say, well, Beau, that's not an interesting story. My mom just said that to me. And I say, well, what did you say? What did you do right after your mom said, because you're the one with the dream of being a pop star, and then your mom says, you're the worst singer in America, you did something next. You said something to yourself. You decided something for yourself in that moment, in that car.

58:47What was it? And that is their defining moment. It's a moment that defines you for the rest of your life. And you have these defining moments all throughout your life. But the really dark ones, the ones that hurt the most, those are the most powerful. And it's usually at an age between nine and 12, usually, not all the time. But those are usually the powerful ones like mine. Just so you know, every elite athlete on the planet, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, me, we all have the same story. Our story goes like this. I was cut from my high school basketball team. That's Michael Jordan's story. So Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever to play the game, yet he was cut from his high school basketball team not once but twice.

59:38How could that be? That is his defining moment story. It is the story that defined him for the rest of his life. Tom Brady, same story, just in football, right? No one wants him. No one likes him. He is defined by not a very good quarterback. And now we know him as the greatest quarterback of all time, because he decided to change things. Through pain of his defining moment, you suck, you're no good. he defined himself as the greatest quarterback and lived it into existence. I did that. Every elite athlete does that. Well, everyone who's accomplished, like all of you listening right now, say you're a doctor, say you're a doctor of notes, you're a well-known doctor.

1:00:31The only reason you are is because you had a defining moment story. And that defining moment story, it could be you got an F the first day of medical school. It could be that you were told you were stupid and you wouldn't amount to anything as a child. Those, you guys, are the most powerful thing you've got. I don't care what your education is. I don't care what your resume says. Your defining moment story came from pain, a lot of pain. When I got cut from Little League, I never had that much pain in my life, never. And I decided in that moment as a kid that I'm never gonna get cut again. No one's gonna send me home ever again.

1:01:19And guess what? You guys, that made me a pro athlete. That made me get paid a lot of money. Just that decision. Those are called defining moment stories. That's what I train people to learn about themselves. and no one wants to tell it for one because of what John said they don't think it's important they don't think people want to know that story everybody wants to know that story so think about this in your life everybody think about this right now the great what's your favorite movie just think about what it is what's your top three favorite movies I guarantee you every one of them started the first frame of film started at the lowest moment a defining moment everyone if it's rocky guess where rocky starts he's a bum rocky's a bum he's shaking down old men for change right but what is he at the end of the movie he's the heavyweight champion of the world you guys that is a defining moment he is a bum fighter he his desire is to be the heavyweight champion your story is no different than that that is what great storytelling is all about so if this is why i train people to start at their lowest moment and tell me what that was the one where there was no answers for you that moment is the moment that you decided you were going to take matters into your own hands.

1:03:00That is all human beings are interested in. We reward courage. And since time, and this is the only thing that's been rewarded since time is courage. So if you're at the lowest moment, and there's no answers for you, you have to have courage to decide and define yourself as having a dream and then getting after it. Just like Michael Jordan, just like Tom Brady, just like me, just like Rocky, just like you. Once you have this story, then we rehearse it and we physically attach it to your humanity. Because, you know, here's the truth of the matter. people believe about 50 % of what comes out of your mouth.

1:03:53That's the statistics. That's the science. Science tells us that people believe 50 % of what comes out of your mouth, but people believe your body, this physical instrument that we all have. People believe your body 100 % of the time because the body cannot lie the body cannot lie so my workshops are all about finding this most valuable story that you have and then i bring in my movement coach the guy who taught me to be on stage physically with a presence and then we attach this verbal story to your solar plexus to your molecules. So now this instrument, the greatest instrument that God ever created, as far as expression goes, is the human body.

1:04:49Well, we want this body expressing the exact story that you're telling. And I have found that this is how people, all of my clients, including myself, have built their businesses, have built their companies, have built their brands based on a defining moment story of pain. Isn't that wild? You would think it would be the opposite, but it always starts there. Then once people trust you, which they will because physically they not trust your body. Understand that? People have to trust your body because your body cannot lie. that's why it's important for me and for you is to attach this story to a physicality to our body this is why you trust animals no matter what you trust babies little kids no matter what because they're so physical in front of you they're so unapologetic physically that you must keep your eyes on them and you must trust them.

1:06:05Well, that's all we train to do in my workshops so that all my people get the trust. All my people can then raise the funds or build their business, however big or small that they want to, but they're in control. I'm in control of my business. That's the freedom I would like everybody to have because once I was given that freedom and trained to do this, That's what I've experienced is just like this freedom of movement and a voice and of dreams. This is what I want to build. Can somebody help me build this? Here's my story. And they follow the story and then they build the business with you. It's very cool.

1:06:48It's a very cool story, Bowen. I typically, in probably 50 % of my episodes, start with a question that I ask the guest. I always say we all have moments that define us. What is a moment that has defined you? Oh, wow. Yeah. It's interesting. I would say only about 20 % of them can answer the question. The vast majority try to tackle it in a way that doesn't show vulnerability, that doesn't show a low point. It's almost like that interview question you get, what's your biggest weakness? instead of really leaning into it, telling it with emotion, eliciting empathy. So you get people on your side, then talking about your journey through it, then how you come out on the other side and what you learn from it.

1:07:45And that to me is what good storytelling is. It's really what we see in a lot of the movies where you've got this hero story and they're really going through the journey of that person going through that vulnerable moment, learning from it, and then the inner work, the inner journey they do on the other side of it. That's to me what makes some of the best stories out there. That is 100%. And just a quick tip for everybody. Usually your best story is the one you don't want to tell. Isn't that funny to say? like though there's all there's a lot of stories that we want to tell right like about oh i won the championship look at my trophy like i'm sure tom brady loves telling that story look i won seven super bowls i want to know the lowest moment tom brady's ever had because that's the one that has the most connective tissue to it.

1:08:49There's a reason why a guy wins seven Super Bowls. It is pain. It is not from joy. It is not from fun. It is not from any of that. It is from pain that he felt as a kid when they cut him, when they said, you're no good. You're not a good player. You can't play here. Same story we all have. That's the story we're interested in, Tom Brady, because can you really connect to another human being based on a trophy? You cannot. You can only connect through pain. It is the most intimate. It is the most this vulnerability that John's talking about. That pain makes you vulnerable. Well, that is the greatest connective tissue that human beings have.

1:09:41it's embarrassment it is shame it is i'm reluctant to tell that to share that that is the story for you you got to know this do the think everybody do this we're going to do a 10 second exercise the first one's five seconds think of your greatest moment of your life five seconds think of it right now greatest moment of your life proudest moment of your life five seconds Go. Everybody got it? Good. Forget about that one. It's not a good story. It sucks as a story. No one can connect to that. Here's another five-second exercise. Think of your lowest moment, the one where you looked around and there were no answers for you.

1:10:32Five seconds. Go. that's your story that's the one that's the one that connects you to human beings the other one doesn't work it doesn't work we don't that would be like this they start the movie of climbing mount ever say we're making a movie of climbing mount everest do we start on the top of the mountain, does the movie begin with us on top of Mount Everest, planting the flag, waving with our successes? No, it does not start there, does it? No story starts there. The movie starts us looking up at the top of the summit and saying, there's no way in hell we can make it. And there's dead bodies all around us.

1:11:21That's where you start a story. No one's interested in your success. They're only interested in the climb. That's it. That's what connects us to human beings. That's why you've got to start at your lowest moment. And I just want to end on this whole note of us talking about Tom Brady, because you're right. I think the story that is the most amazing one that I've heard him talk about is his story when he was at the University of Michigan. he's in his sophomore year he's number six on the depth chart and he's ready to throw in the towel the coaches are telling him he has all these issues with his mechanics with this with that he's about ready to head back to california and he meets a mentor who tells him he's got to work on the mechanics he's not trying hard enough he's not outworking people he's not doing everything that he can do.

1:12:18And he basically says, how will you feel about yourself if you didn't do everything that you possibly could to become the best? And it started this whole, if I'm telling the story right, this whole new way of him thinking where from that point forward, he was going to out practice everyone. He was going to out technique everyone. He was going to try to learn like a sponge everything that he possibly could, try to break all the illusions that he had to get back to the fundamentals and to train himself to be the best. And I think people can resonate with that story because we've all had those low moments in our life where we wanted to give up.

1:13:00And it's really that perseverance that's the story that people want to hear. Here's why people go to the theater. This is why you go to the theater. I heard a movie star say this once. It was a lady movie star and she said this, people don't come to the theater to see me. They come to the theater to see themselves. That is so accurate, you guys. No one goes to an event. No one goes to a speech. No one comes to a podcast to see me or to see John. You're here to see yourself. And the only way you can find yourself is through my story or John's story. And that's what you relate to. So you see yourselves inside of, well, I'm the guest on this podcast.

1:13:52So you're seeing yourself through my journey. I'm telling you stories of my dad. Well, you're not thinking of my dad. You're thinking of your dad, the more personal your stories are, the more effect you have. Because here's what it does. It puts people inside of their own life. And that's where people want to be. They go to the theater to see themselves, not the actor. But if the actor can put me in my life, he gets rewarded forever. So think about that, you guys, your stories are not selfish. They are personal, and they mean something to you. The more they mean to you, the more they mean to the audience.

1:14:44So you're giving your audience the greatest reward you can give to any audience, which is to put them into their own life, which is where they want to be. And they see themselves through your life. through your story, through your dreams, they see their dreams. You see how this works? There's this term that was invented a couple of decades ago, and I hate it. And people use it all the time when they speak or when they tell a story. They preface their story by saying, well, I'm going to tell you a story. It's not about me. They'll say this term, it's not about me. Well, right then you should run out of the room because that's going to be a crappy story of narcissism.

1:15:35Don't use that term. It's not about me. If you tell a personal story, you are giving your audience the greatest reward you can ever give, which is putting them in their own lives. That's what I want. That's where people go wrong. That's why they sound like they're bragging. They sound like narcissists because they're trying to prove that they're not bragging. Well, you don't have to brag. Just share your life. Share your dad. Share your grandmother. Share your child. And if you do that, you put them in their own life and now you're on the same wavelength. Now you have trust. Now you have intimacy.

1:16:16Something that our leadership model right now cannot have, does not have, which is why trust is so loved. But you and me, we get to have it. We get to rebuild the trust that's been eroded over time by these idiots because they don't know what they're doing. We do. We know how to share ourselves. It's through pain. It's through the pain of that lowest moment story that defined you. That's how we do it. And once you do that, you guys, you can take your people, your audience, whether it's virtual or it's one person at a time, or when you're in a big arena speaking to people, you get to take them wherever you want to take them because they trust you and they don't trust the rest of the world.

1:17:04Remember how you used to trust every doctor that you met? Remember how you used to trust everybody who spoke in front of a podium or behind a podium, you believed them. You trusted them. You did what they said. You don't do that anymore. You don't do it anymore. Think about it. You don't. You go, I don't know. You don't trust them because they're not trustworthy because they don't share themselves. And they certainly don't share their lowest moment, which is the only thing we can connect to. Bo, today was such a fascinating conversation. I feel like I'm going to have you on for a part two because I think there's so much left on the table we didn't get to cover.

1:17:44But thank you so much for joining us today. So much valuable insight through your stories and your wisdom. Thank you so much. Yes, you're welcome. It was a pleasure for me. It's great. Well, I'd love to have you back in the future and for the audience again, I'll put it in the show notes, but please check out Bo's book. And if you're interested in public speaking, I highly encourage you to check out YouTube's of Bo speaking on stage because he's been to so many events like Mindvalley where he's been picked the number one speaker at their conferences. And there's a reason and it gets down to the authentic storytelling that he's been talking about this entire episode.

1:18:28So thank you again, Bo. John, you're welcome. And John, I'd love to put something in the chat for you guys too. Just a number they can text and I'll send them some, a video where I train people how to uncover their signature story, their defining moment story. So everybody listening can watch that video and go, oh, okay, I'll give you some prompts. You can start to write it. You can start to understand what that story is for you and then start using it. Okay. Yep. Absolutely. I'll put that in the show notes for all the viewers and listeners. Thank you for that. Okay, great. Thanks, John. Where's the best place that people can go to learn more about you?

1:19:10I mean, that's actually a really good place. BowEason.com is my website. It's got all the programs that I do. I do some live stuff, three-day events. I'd love to have some of your audience come and work on their story and physically embody their story with my movement coach. It's a very powerful event called Personal Story Power, which we do in La Jolla twice a year for three days. And I'd love to have you guys come and learn this powerful story so you can start using it. Plus you get to go to La Jolla. I used to live in San Diego. It doesn't get much prettier than that. Man, you know what? That's what most of the people that come to La Jolla are like, oh my gosh, there are seals on the beach right next to the theater that we do our event in.

1:19:56It's so beautiful and so cool. Well, thank you again, Bo. You're welcome, John. What an incredible conversation with Bo Eason. His journey from the NFL to the stage and beyond is a masterclass in resilience, storytelling, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. Bo's insights on declaring your identity and crafting a personal story that connects on a deeper level offer a game-changing approach to personal and professional growth. The lessons he shared about pushing past our limitations, embracing vulnerability, and channeling our life experiences into our unique narrative remind us that each of us has a story worth sharing.

1:20:29So as you reflect on today's episode, ask yourself, what parts of your story are you willing to own and share to inspire others and build trust? How can you put in the sweat equity to make your dreams a reality as Bo has done time and time again? Remember, the best legacies are built not from perfection, but from authenticity, dedication, and a commitment to always be improving. All the links to Bo's work, including his book, There's No Plan B for Your A Game, will be in the show notes at passionstruck.com. Please use the links if you're purchasing books from our guests. It helps support the show.

1:20:59You can also find our videos on YouTube and check out all our advertiser deals and discount codes at passionstruck.com slash deals. Please consider supporting those who support the show. And as for me, you can connect with me on Twitter and Instagram at John R. Miles or on LinkedIn. I'd love to hear from you. To dive even deeper, head over to passionstruck.com and take the Passion Struck quiz, where you can explore how you're progressing in living your most intentional life. And if you haven't yet, join our Live Intentionally newsletter to receive our weekly Courage Challenge, a practical way to bring these insights to life with actionable steps you can take each week.

1:21:30You can find it on passionstruck.com. If today's episode resonated with you, please leave a five-star rating and review and share it with someone who could benefit. Sharing these conversations makes a tremendous difference, not just for the show, but for our community as well. And for those of you interested in diving deeper, I also invite you to explore my speaking engagements. If your organization is ready to unlock potential and inspire intentional action, reach out to learn more about booking me for a transformational speaking session. You can do so by going to johnrmiles.com slash speaking.

1:21:59Before we go, here's a sneak peek at what's coming next on PassionStruck. Joining us is Nashin Chen, a dynamic public speaking coach who has mastered the art of helping entrepreneurs and executives speak with power and authenticity. Nashin's incredible journey from top manager at Procter & Gamble to award-winning filmmaker and improv performer culminated in her bold choice to become a public speaking coach. We'll explore her unique out-in-out framework for impactful speaking and uncover the power of embracing your true voice. I absolutely agree. Your role is one way of defining what you do, but it may not always be very clear.

1:22:32So for me, it always comes down to who's asking you the question and what context and who's going to be at the receiving end. But making sure that you're actually talking about what you actually accomplish, what are the outcomes of the work that you do. So for example, I help people become the best speakers they can be. That probably means more to someone versus me saying I'm a public speaking coach. Thank you as always for your time and attention. Remember, the fee for this show is simple. If you found value in today's episode, share it with someone who could benefit. And as always, do your best to apply what you learn here so you can live what you listen.

1:23:08Until next time, live life passion struck.