196: Discover The Power Of Building A Givers Community With E.A. Csolokovits
E.A. Csolkovits is Dr. Brad Miller’s guest on Episode 196 of “The Beyond Adversity Podcast.”
He is the founder of Givers University.
Givers University aims to help and teach people about self-development. It is also his way to fulfill the wishes of his mentor.
E.A. was mentored by Sam Robbins. Over the years, he has been inspired by how Sam overcame his own adversity. He was able to learn a lot through him.
E.A. got betrayed by his partner and was planning on kicking him out from the company. Fortunately, due to the recording on his phone, he was able to learn about the plan. Until now, he hasn’t told that ‘partner’ that he actually discovered what his evil plans are.
In this episode, E.A. will be sharing with us his story of how he overcame the challenges in his life. He will also be sharing with us all about Givers University.
Episode 196 of The Beyond Adversity Podcast is recommended for those who got betrayed by someone in their lives and are trying to overcome that situation.
Sam once told to EA that he should let his intellect control his emotions rather than the emotions controlling his intellect. It always better to be responsive than being reactive.
“The Beyond Adversity Podcast with Dr. Brad Miller is published weekly with the mission of helping people “Grow Through What They Go Through” as they navigate adversity and discover their promised life of peace, prosperity, and purpose.
http://giversuniversity.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giversuniversity/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GiversUniversity/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/giversu
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWb0m3mHBSgbJNSDkknEaIQ
Transcript
We have EA Csolkovits with us. He is from giversuniversity.com.
Dr. Brad Miller::He has an incredible background as an entrepreneur and in the
Dr. Brad Miller::business world. But in recent times, he's really focused on personal
Dr. Brad Miller::self-development and helping other people do that too, particularly
Dr. Brad Miller::with the tension and the dichotomy he sees between people
Dr. Brad Miller::who are givers and takers. So we're going to get into that here today.
Dr. Brad Miller::So EA Csolkovits Welcome to Beyond Adversity.
EA Csolkovits::Dr. Brad Miller, thank you so much for having me on your great show,
EA Csolkovits::and looking forward to be able to share some great golden nuggets
EA Csolkovits::with your listeners. Thank you for having me.
Dr. Brad Miller::I know that you will, I know that you have a great story to tell.
Dr. Brad Miller::And you've had some great success in your life. It's a great highs, but
Dr. Brad Miller::also some lows and some challenges, and some things to offer to people.
Dr. Brad Miller::But we always like to hear a little bit of an origin story, about maybe
Dr. Brad Miller::some challenge or adversity or some situation that happened in your
Dr. Brad Miller::life that particularly became kind of a pivot point for what you're doing
Dr. Brad Miller::now. Do you have a story that you could tell us about this?
EA Csolkovits::For sure, for sure. My background actually, a son of a milkman.
EA Csolkovits::I lived in the Chicagoland area and my father had a one horse
EA Csolkovits::operation, if you will. Just after that horses. They actually had
EA Csolkovits::trucks then but you know, and it was a milkman so we delivered
EA Csolkovits::milk and I was five years old. I used to help them on the route.
EA Csolkovits::And then at the ripe old age of 16, I set out to become prosperous,
EA Csolkovits::and I became a janitor. And you think you know, what's that
EA Csolkovits::got to do with being prosperous, but I had two extraordinary
EA Csolkovits::events that happened to me while I was janitor. The one was,
EA Csolkovits::I was able to be bondable at 16 years old, which means insured.
EA Csolkovits::And because of being insured, I was able to be in a really expensive
EA Csolkovits::house. And that house I cleaned every Wednesday was of a lady and
EA Csolkovits::when I say the name won't mean anything to your listeners until I make
EA Csolkovits::the movie reference. There was a movie out a couple of years ago.
EA Csolkovits::It was called The Founder. Michael Keaton plays Ray Kroc, and it's
EA Csolkovits::about McDonald's basically. Right? And it's certainly all Hollywood
EA Csolkovits::spin. I mean, I lived the whole phenomenon. I lived my whole lifetime.
EA Csolkovits::I lived in Oak Brook where the McDonald's World Headquarters was so
EA Csolkovits::I can tell you the movie is Hollywood spin. And it says in the beginning
EA Csolkovits::based on a true story. Yes, it is based on true story, but it's not the true story.
EA Csolkovits::So in any event, there's a lady in the movie that Michael Keaton, who plays
EA Csolkovits::rickrack is talking to outside the office all time, and her name is Jun Martino.
EA Csolkovits::Jun Martino had the third most controlling stock in McDonald's. First woman to
EA Csolkovits::ever trade publicly on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. And I cleaned
EA Csolkovits::her house every Wednesday, the same lady that you see in the movie that Michael
EA Csolkovits::Keaton is talking outside of her office every day. That's Jun Martino right. And she
EA Csolkovits::told me one day, we had a whole day about the importance of having a mentor.
EA Csolkovits::And that Ray had this huge impact and influence on her life. And I remember
EA Csolkovits::thinking, if I could just get a mentor, if I could get - I don't know. You know, I don't
EA Csolkovits::even know what I don't know. Son of a milkman, janitor. And so anyway, I wasn't
EA Csolkovits::a couple of months later, we got a phone call janitorial service. I met this
EA Csolkovits::gentleman later on, who then subsequently after offered me a job. And he
EA Csolkovits::probably has one of the most amazing adversity story. So if I can share
EA Csolkovits::with you his story, and mine dovetails right into it, if that's okay for your
EA Csolkovits::listeners, because his is extraordinary. He was born during the age, he was
EA Csolkovits::raised during the Depression era. And he told me all about it. This is the
EA Csolkovits::man that became my mentor. His name is Sam Robbins. He passed
EA Csolkovits::away a few decades by now. But he told me about coming up in the
EA Csolkovits::Depression era, the Great Depression. And he said for some of his meals,
EA Csolkovits::because people were jumping off buildings committing suicide. They had
EA Csolkovits::people in multi-mile long soup kitchen lines. He said for some of his meals,
EA Csolkovits::they actually ate cardboard. So you want to talk about adversity. And every
EA Csolkovits::day as he walked by a store, just you know, I mean, and he saw that this one
EA Csolkovits::store and there was only the same man was in the store all the time. So one
EA Csolkovits::day, he just stopped it. And talking with the guy, it turns out, he was the
EA Csolkovits::owner. And he says, Man never see anyone. And he goes, Yeah, no one's
EA Csolkovits::got money. They're trying to put food on their table. They don't have
EA Csolkovits::money for sewing machines. There was a sewing machine star guy.
EA Csolkovits::And he says he's obviously just in your collecting dust. Then my
EA Csolkovits::business mentor said, That's really something they need. And he said,
EA Csolkovits::I don't even have any employees. I can't afford employees. It's just me.
EA Csolkovits::So my business mentor had this flash in his mind. And he said, What if
EA Csolkovits::I could help you sell some of the sewing machines? Would you be open
EA Csolkovits::to that? And the guy says, Yeah, you better believe it. They're all just
EA Csolkovits::they're paid for and you're collecting dust, you know, whatever.
EA Csolkovits::Might as well. I'd like to suggest that I sell them and I make them
EA Csolkovits::available to people on payments instead of paying them whole
EA Csolkovits::thing will split the payments. And he said, and I'll back the machine
EA Csolkovits::in case someone walks with it to make sure you're covered and you're
EA Csolkovits::never at risk. And the guy says Go for it, they're just collecting dust right
EA Csolkovits::now. So then my mentor made a flyer and posted it everywhere in the
EA Csolkovits::neighborhood for women to work from home.
EA Csolkovits::He said he was so inundated, he couldn't respond to all of the calls.
EA Csolkovits::kitchen mines, he earned over $1 million.
Dr. Brad Miller::And how partner to today's world where we have great
EA Csolkovits::adversity in the world. And people are able to take the,
EA Csolkovits::for instance, the challenges of COVID. And some folks are
EA Csolkovits::crushed by it. But other people are really taking adversity
EA Csolkovits::and using it to their advantage. So
EA Csolkovits::He took this instance where people are jumping off of
EA Csolkovits::buildings. And by the way, that was a million dollars
EA Csolkovits::during the Depression. 10 million plus today usually in
EA Csolkovits::one year's time. And this man, this is the man that became
EA Csolkovits::my mentors, extraordinary gentleman, and he began to
EA Csolkovits::teach me and then I learned and learned and of course
EA Csolkovits::made many mistakes. I have three huge, I call it my three
EA Csolkovits::biggest temporary defeats. Each one caused me to write
EA Csolkovits::a book so that my butt wasn't in that position again. And
EA Csolkovits::one of them actually caused me to look back to the things
EA Csolkovits::he trained on me to help me get through that adversity.
EA Csolkovits::I had bet years ago, Brad I'm sure you remember they
EA Csolkovits::have. They used to have these things on the on your
EA Csolkovits::desk is called a voice answering machine.
Dr. Brad Miller::You and I from era when people actually use those things, right. So
EA Csolkovits::Yeah, and they hit and I went and it was to tape scenario
EA Csolkovits::one, the left side was the outgoing message. That was maybe
EA Csolkovits::15 seconds. And on the right side, was this like a 60 minute
EA Csolkovits::these are cassette tapes. Right? Right.
Dr. Brad Miller::Right, right.
EA Csolkovits::Yes, way back way, way back when. So I had a 60 minute
EA Csolkovits::tape and my incoming messages and it was voice actuated.
EA Csolkovits::And I was being mentored by my mentor and separately,
EA Csolkovits::totally separate had started a training company with another
EA Csolkovits::gentleman doing very well in the Chicagoland area training
EA Csolkovits::companies and great ways to grow their business, etc.
EA Csolkovits::And what he did is he put together a plan for women to make clothing
EA Csolkovits::and he would sell them a sewing machine on payments.
EA Csolkovits::He would provide them with the patterns, all the material, and
EA Csolkovits::he guaranteed he would buy the clothing from them, actually
EA Csolkovits::guaranteeing their income. Then he turned around and from the
EA Csolkovits::clothing he bought from all of these women, he then sold them
EA Csolkovits::to stores as handmade, high quality discounted clothing that
EA Csolkovits::store then made available to customers at a big discount, but
EA Csolkovits::high quality handmade clothing. So literally, in the time period bread.
EA Csolkovits::When people are jumping off of buildings, multi-mile long soup
EA Csolkovits::We were doing very, very well open multiple offices. And I
EA Csolkovits::left home for about an hour and a half, Brad. I came back.
EA Csolkovits::And my whole 60 minute message was filled up. I thought boy,
EA Csolkovits::well, my machine was voice actuated, that means a lot of someone
EA Csolkovits::talk, they would keep recording, I thought awesome. Kids got to
EA Csolkovits::hold this and they're playing with it, you know, totally didn't happen.
EA Csolkovits::I could hear when I played the message back. My partner, not my
EA Csolkovits::mentor, my partner, and the training company was leaving me a
EA Csolkovits::message to call him back. And back then they had this tone. If
EA Csolkovits::someone was calling you, you could hear this tone in the background
EA Csolkovits::letting you know someone's trying to call you. While they were talking.
EA Csolkovits::It was like beep beep in the background. I can hear that on the recording
EA Csolkovits::that someone else was calling him. He hit the receiver so fast, Brad that
EA Csolkovits::he put my machine on call conferencing with him and someone else when
EA Csolkovits::I wasn't home, and it recorded their whole conversation.
Dr. Brad Miller::And what was it?
EA Csolkovits::The conversation? Was the detailed plan on how they were going
EA Csolkovits::to take over the company and kick me out of it.
Dr. Brad Miller::Oh, sweet. Now let's talk about crushing moment. My goodness.
EA Csolkovits::And let me tell you, Brad. It's different dimension when you hear it
EA Csolkovits::in their own words, and it's not third party, you know, when you hear
EA Csolkovits::those, so I thought what are the odds of this? First of all, you know, what
EA Csolkovits::are the odds of him calling when I was gone? He could have called me
EA Csolkovits::when I was home. I just pick up and we talk right? What are the odds of
EA Csolkovits::that guy calling at the exact same time? And then what were the odds
EA Csolkovits::of him having that conversation it could talk about golf or anything else.
EA Csolkovits::But no, it was the plan the plan
Dr. Brad Miller::For your demise. Wow.
EA Csolkovits::For my demise. Oh my god, you want to talk about being blindsided?
EA Csolkovits::You're talking about being betrayed. You want to talk about going
EA Csolkovits::you know, just I mean, and I thought oh my god, I just I was it was so
EA Csolkovits::unexpected in every possible way. You know, and I thought
EA Csolkovits::what am I gonna do?
Dr. Brad Miller::What was next? What do you do about it then? How did you
Dr. Brad Miller::react to that at the moment? And then what steps did you
Dr. Brad Miller::take to break out of that to what's next?
EA Csolkovits::Well, I have to say that, you know, my first thought was,
EA Csolkovits::you know, certainly emotionalized
Dr. Brad Miller::Sure, I can imagine.
EA Csolkovits::Yeah I mean, I'm getting being blindsided here and I thought
EA Csolkovits::back to my training. My mentor had given me an over and
EA Csolkovits::over again and said, and a few things he had said to me
EA Csolkovits::was one of the following things. One of the few things or
EA Csolkovits::one of many I should say, he said, in the medical community,
EA Csolkovits::if you're getting a treatment, and it's working well with you,
EA Csolkovits::they say you're responding. If you're getting a treatment, the
EA Csolkovits::medical community and it's not working well on you, they
EA Csolkovits::call that you're reacting to it, it's you're getting a reaction.
EA Csolkovits::He said, in life, you want to be responsive, not reaction. And
EA Csolkovits::he said, here's the way to do it. Always have your intellect
EA Csolkovits::control your emotions, and you'll be react, responding. When
EA Csolkovits::your emotions control your intellect, you'll be reacting, and very
EA Csolkovits::good, very few good things ever come out of that. He said, so
EA Csolkovits::have your intellect control your emotion. So, Brad, I had this
EA Csolkovits::sleepless night. And I'm thinking, Man, I gotta like, how am I
EA Csolkovits::going to do this? And I'm deep. And believe me, I'm reaching
EA Csolkovits::down deep inside, you know, trying to find out, you know, what
EA Csolkovits::am I going to do here? So I came to a conclusion by the next
EA Csolkovits::morning, and I said, Okay, Jim, that was the guy on the training
EA Csolkovits::copy with, I said, you have to buy me out. And of course, first of
EA Csolkovits::all, that ruined all of his plans. I knew what the plans were. Yeah.
Dr. Brad Miller::I'm sure that you were savvy enough to not let him in that you
Dr. Brad Miller::knew, you know, all the details there.
EA Csolkovits::Do you know I never, ever told him the tape that the recording
EA Csolkovits::took place. He never knew. I never ever told him.
Dr. Brad Miller::Well, you don't need to.
EA Csolkovits::Nothing was going to come out of that. So I said, Jim, you got
EA Csolkovits::seven days to buy me out. I'm gonna do something my mentor,
EA Csolkovits::which I did, and did was planning on doing anyway. So we
EA Csolkovits::reached an agreement, I gotta tell you that Brad, and I got
EA Csolkovits::down payment, and I got some payments within each payment,
EA Csolkovits::I figured was a gift because I already knew what kind of person
EA Csolkovits::he was. And here's what's interesting. One year later, I saw him
EA Csolkovits::at an amusement park. And I knew it was him. I mean, he was
EA Csolkovits::my business partner, but I was at an angle so I could see him clearly.
EA Csolkovits::And he hadn't seen me because of the angle I was looking at him at.
EA Csolkovits::And in that one year, Brad, he had gotten file for personal bankruptcy,
EA Csolkovits::filed for business bankruptcy, gotten divorced, and look like he had
EA Csolkovits::aged 20 years. And in that same year, I earned more money and was
EA Csolkovits::more prosperous than at any rear up to that point in my life. Because
EA Csolkovits::I listened to my mentor and someone who knew what to do in that kind
EA Csolkovits::of thing. I listened to my training. So first of all,
Dr. Brad Miller::So that's the key there, I want us to just pause there
Dr. Brad Miller::just sure I can't hear EA,
EA Csolkovits::Sure
Dr. Brad Miller::You had this moment, this pivotal moment where at on its face value,
Dr. Brad Miller::you could have been crushed and gone into a spiral. And you could
Dr. Brad Miller::have been the one who had reacted emotionally and badly. And
Dr. Brad Miller::ended up in a ditch yourself of you know, or whatever. But you
Dr. Brad Miller::didn't, you chose to listen to your mentor, and to take some
Dr. Brad Miller::actions that led to a different result for you. And his selfish
Dr. Brad Miller::attitude led to different results for him. So let's go a little
Dr. Brad Miller::deeper some of the actions that you took that have led
Dr. Brad Miller::you down this pathway to what you're doing doing now, for instance.
EA Csolkovits::Okay, thank you very much. And one of the things that
EA Csolkovits::would have to take us back in history for a moment, this
EA Csolkovits::same gentleman that my business mentor when I was
EA Csolkovits::19 years old, I asked him, I said, Sam, will you teach me
EA Csolkovits::everything? I want to learn everything? I mean, all of it. And
EA Csolkovits::he said, Okay, I will teach you but I want one thing from you.
EA Csolkovits::And I said, Okay, what's that? And he said, when the time is
EA Csolkovits::right and you will know that time, I want you to teach as many
EA Csolkovits::people as possible. Everything I taught you. So at 19 years old,
EA Csolkovits::Brad, I made a vow, I made an oath, that today has manifest
EA Csolkovits::into what we call Givers University. And it's the fulfillment
EA Csolkovits::of that oath. And I keep doing it on a daily basis and loving
EA Csolkovits::it more than ever. What we teach, which is so vital for I think
EA Csolkovits::your listeners, especially overcoming adversity, is you know,
EA Csolkovits::we live in a world today, Brad, and we and your listeners know
EA Csolkovits::this two products are coming and going faster than ever before.
EA Csolkovits::They're being antiquated overnight by brand new products.
EA Csolkovits::We have businesses opening and closing. Where before they
EA Csolkovits::were multigenerational. Now, five - six years, they open and close,
EA Csolkovits::right? I mean, faster than ever before. So what do we really have left?
EA Csolkovits::When we look at all of that? The answer is our relationships.
EA Csolkovits::The answer is our relationships. And no one's teaching us how to
EA Csolkovits::does discern his relationships. I've done close to 150 interviews
EA Csolkovits::since last April and different podcasts, not one instance have I
EA Csolkovits::seen or heard from anyone else where someone is actually
EA Csolkovits::teaching this following instance, certainly as a course if you will.
EA Csolkovits::Here's how we teach, which is so critical for people overcoming
EA Csolkovits::adversity. First of all, I say to your listeners, we love everybody.
EA Csolkovits::I say it again emphatically, we love everybody. And we teach
EA Csolkovits::people how to separate the person who we love from their
EA Csolkovits::deeds, which we may not love. And we even do this by teaching
EA Csolkovits::a skill set by virtue of using checklists. These are the things you
EA Csolkovits::look for. So when we say giver bread, we're not we don't label
EA Csolkovits::people as gifts. So
Dr. Brad Miller::Part of what you're doing here just to help me understand.
Dr. Brad Miller::You're kind of discerning toxic relationships and things that
Dr. Brad Miller::are not necessarily helpful for you to fulfill your manifest destiny.
EA Csolkovits::Exactly right. And so when we use the term giver, we're
EA Csolkovits::not labeling a person, we're labeling their deeds givers.
EA Csolkovits::And when we say taker, we're not labeling a person or labeling
EA Csolkovits::their deeds. But no one knows how to do this is like, you know,
EA Csolkovits::a few interviews ago, a guy says, Man, this is great. I've just read
EA Csolkovits::a book, it says, I got to surround myself with five good people. I
EA Csolkovits::said, You're right, you do. Let me ask your question. Which five?
EA Csolkovits::And I'll suddenly stared back. And with this blank, look, I said, you
EA Csolkovits::see my point? No one's teaching which five? You know, everyone
EA Csolkovits::says self improve, improve, improve. That's all great. But Brad, what
EA Csolkovits::about the other guy? What if he's not doing it? Right? What should
EA Csolkovits::we do about that? And how would they make us collateral damage,
EA Csolkovits::if we don't know how to discern who we should bring in who we
EA Csolkovits::shouldn't. So we actually teach and we provide checklists, these
EA Csolkovits::are and one of them I just love is called the 25 dues. These are
EA Csolkovits::the 25 actual deeds, actual deeds that you can observe. And we
EA Csolkovits::teach people a skill set. Observe what they're doing, don't listen
EA Csolkovits::to what they're saying.
Dr. Brad Miller::So you're doing just it take example, let's take a couple of those
Dr. Brad Miller::deeds. Give me an example of a couple of for instance, where you
Dr. Brad Miller::try to observe a deed, or just make up one, you know, how someone
Dr. Brad Miller::walks their dog yelling, or screaming the dog or treating the dog
Dr. Brad Miller::nice or whatever, whatever you try to observe and give it kind of
Dr. Brad Miller::a upside and a downside to it? Or great or how do you do this,
Dr. Brad Miller::your 25 deeds?
EA Csolkovits::Excellent, we actually have a free checklist that we
EA Csolkovits::give people, we want them to download it.
Dr. Brad Miller::Okay, great.
EA Csolkovits::And it's literally is 25 dues that are also, basically we call
EA Csolkovits::them 25 dues, they're basically the deeds, and I'll give you
EA Csolkovits::a couple of them as an example. And these are things that
EA Csolkovits::are observable things. And when you observe these things,
EA Csolkovits::that they do these 25 different things, then you can begin
EA Csolkovits::to discern and say, okay, based on what they're doing,
EA Csolkovits::should I bring them in closer into my life, or based on what
EA Csolkovits::I see them doing, should I begin respectfully, not rude or
EA Csolkovits::insensitive or nasty, but respectfully distance myself from
EA Csolkovits::them. Because if I bring them closer, I'm going to be snapping
EA Csolkovits::out fires, not of my making. They're going to bring with them
EA Csolkovits::adversity that I will be pulled into as collateral damage.
EA Csolkovits::So we teach people discern upfront, look up front, these
EA Csolkovits::are the things you should be watching, don't listen to what
EA Csolkovits::they say, watch what they do. A couple of them, just to share
EA Csolkovits::with couple of your listeners, one of them like do number three
EA Csolkovits::is give first to receive later. In other words, you'll see a giver will
EA Csolkovits::always be the first to step forward. They're always the one who
EA Csolkovits::is willing to say, Okay, I'll put in the effort first and get a benefit
EA Csolkovits::later on. And they're more what we call back end loaded,
EA Csolkovits::they're more they're generous ones, the first ones who
EA Csolkovits::stepped forward, you'll see them volunteer first before
EA Csolkovits::everyone else. By contrast, the taker deed number three
EA Csolkovits::would be first, they need to have it all. You need to pay
EA Csolkovits::them first, before they talk, they tend to be very selfish,
EA Csolkovits::you'll see selfless actions on ongoing basis. And they will
EA Csolkovits::take or say I need to get first, then I will give but first you
EA Csolkovits::gotta give to me. So these things that's just this is one of them.
EA Csolkovits::And we teach people how to observe these things. Look at these
EA Csolkovits::deeds. And here's a list of 25 Put it up, put it in your pocket, start
EA Csolkovits::to discern in your relationships, because the same relationships
EA Csolkovits::will have a huge impact on the adversities that come into our life.
EA Csolkovits::Yeah, they will have a huge impact on how we respond to those
EA Csolkovits::adversities by having the right people around us when you agree that
Dr. Brad Miller::Oh, yeah. Well, I think the issue we're talking about here is good
Dr. Brad Miller::discernment, you know, for wisdom, and I like to teach from a biblical
Dr. Brad Miller::perspective of wisdom, you know, claiming wisdom that will be the
Dr. Brad Miller::greatest gift that you can have. And the piece of that is discerning
Dr. Brad Miller::healthy relationships and I call unhealthy relationships or they can
Dr. Brad Miller::lead us to what I call the malaise of mediocrity where we just get
Dr. Brad Miller::stuck and or some people could take us to their place of misery
Dr. Brad Miller::with them if we allow it to. We choose then to break out of that
Dr. Brad Miller::we choose to be in a better place, and generally, generosity and
Dr. Brad Miller::have an attitude of gratitude. Whatever you To say, as one that
Dr. Brad Miller::is a more of affirming place to be, and leads us to better places
Dr. Brad Miller::at least that's my take on things and, and you talk about this here,
Dr. Brad Miller::EA, not only in these actions, you know, the giver and the taker,
Dr. Brad Miller::but you talk about building community, which to me goes to
Dr. Brad Miller::relationship, a giver, community and a taker community. And
Dr. Brad Miller::I'd like you to go there a little bit with us for just a moment.
Dr. Brad Miller::What do you mean by you know, kind of adding that on
Dr. Brad Miller::there, you know, the giver, community taker community
Dr. Brad Miller::go with that for a few minutes.
EA Csolkovits::For sure. Thank you. It's interesting, because the word
EA Csolkovits::community, Brad has changed definition over the last few
EA Csolkovits::years for my observations. And then I use the example of the
EA Csolkovits::word diet, you know, years ago, if you went to a meeting, it was
EA Csolkovits::called a diet. You went to a diet, and then later on spelled the
EA Csolkovits::same way, the word then meant a stipend. If you got a stipend
EA Csolkovits::that was a diet, you got an allowance, then later on the word
EA Csolkovits::meant in my lifetime eating habits, then later on the word now
EA Csolkovits::means weight loss, if you say diet means weight loss, spelled
EA Csolkovits::the same way the whole time.
Dr. Brad Miller::Right?
EA Csolkovits::Four totally different meanings. Community has done the same
EA Csolkovits::thing. And I'll ask your listeners think about this, have you been
EA Csolkovits::cajoled, asked, invited into a community only to have them within
EA Csolkovits::hours or a few days, start selling you things? Right. That's not a
EA Csolkovits::community. That's a customer. That's a customer hitlist. Right.
EA Csolkovits::And why do the bait and switch I mean, call it a community, a
EA Csolkovits::taker community is designed to take from you or make money
EA Csolkovits::off of you, that's a taker community, right,
Dr. Brad Miller::It's generally often leads to resentment and animosity and bad stuff, so
EA Csolkovits::Even bait and switched just that simple. It's not a community.
EA Csolkovits::Call it what it is, it's a customer list, right? And then give me the
EA Csolkovits::chance, a choice of do I want to be on your customer list because
EA Csolkovits::I mentioned your products or not, but don't do the bait and switch.
EA Csolkovits::And so many of those exists today. And so we teach people one,
EA Csolkovits::how to form their own community, we actually have a step, seven
EA Csolkovits::in time and that is, there's seven steps. I'm just going to hit the
EA Csolkovits::steps. And what's beautiful about this Brad, I was looking at
EA Csolkovits::your four step action plan of action, connect, discipline. The
EA Csolkovits::T was the think discipline, and then S being served your A C T S
EA Csolkovits::plan and which I love. I think it's awesome.
Dr. Brad Miller::Yes.
EA Csolkovits::That's all part and parcel of how you build a giver community.
EA Csolkovits::You do all those things. So the first thing we do is we teach
EA Csolkovits::people. I'm just gonna hit this real quick because our interest
EA Csolkovits::seven steps real quick. And they spell out the word discern.
EA Csolkovits::Okay, each one of the seven steps spells out the word discern
EA Csolkovits::the first one, the first letter is decide. You have to decide who
EA Csolkovits::do you want to have in your giver community we call them
EA Csolkovits::juntos. There were juntos, Spanish word, 1600s, picked up by
EA Csolkovits::Benjamin Franklin, 1727. When he formed the Leather Apron Club
EA Csolkovits::later on, called the junto. Later on called the actually Leather Apron
EA Csolkovits::Club was the final name. Interestingly enough with his 12 friends that
EA Csolkovits::he met with every Friday in what he called his junto. Arguably,
EA Csolkovits::the very Declaration of Independence, can be traced back to
EA Csolkovits::those conversations that he had. So certainly a junto, or a
EA Csolkovits::community can have a huge impact. So the first thing we do is
EA Csolkovits::we teach people how do you decide, right? The two to 12 people
EA Csolkovits::I want to have around me, how do I decide which two to 12? So
EA Csolkovits::what we do is we provide them with a free checklist of the 25 dues
EA Csolkovits::and say, look through this, these other ones if they're doing these
EA Csolkovits::25 things, okay, they're exactly where you want them to be. If they're not,
Dr. Brad Miller::So we got to decide, and we're going to discern so we got to
EA Csolkovits::Invite. Invite is the next one. You got to invite all 12 of them.
EA Csolkovits::We teach people how to do that. The third is seed you want to it,
EA Csolkovits::basically and this is critical. Get an agreement upfront expectations
EA Csolkovits::early of what's involved and what is expected of everyone.
EA Csolkovits::You know, I've seen Napoleon Hill does an excellent masterful
EA Csolkovits::job talking about what's called the mastermind principle,
EA Csolkovits::absolutely go rich. And I've seen so many of those. They
EA Csolkovits::come together and they fall apart a couple months later.
EA Csolkovits::And the reason why is there's not an expectation and
EA Csolkovits::agreement upfront of this is what's expected of all of us
EA Csolkovits::upfront and to have everyone agree on it and make a
EA Csolkovits::commitment on it, which becomes part of the glue. We
EA Csolkovits::teach people how to do it step by step. So that's the s for
EA Csolkovits::seed. C is convened. Got to convene on a regular basis
EA Csolkovits::whether it be weekly, monthly, quarterly, E is establish it,
EA Csolkovits::give it a name. Henry Ford called his junto, The Four
EA Csolkovits::Vagabonds and certainly, Ben Franklin, I use the example
EA Csolkovits::of a Leather Apron Club. Give it a name so that helps with
EA Csolkovits::the continuity of the group. R - rotate, we actually provide
EA Csolkovits::an agenda. Somebody wants the form of givers junto. We
EA Csolkovits::teach them how to do it. And then R is for rotate, have a
EA Csolkovits::different chairperson every week. So these person knows
EA Csolkovits::what to do. And they're guided through that. And then
EA Csolkovits::N is for numbers, seed other juntos. Get other people
EA Csolkovits::involved with having communities of having the right people
EA Csolkovits::around them. So we actually have a set. And then we build
EA Csolkovits::it every week on our YouTube channel. It's Givers University
EA Csolkovits::on YouTube, one word gives University. And they go to where
EA Csolkovits::it says how to build your own givers community. And there's
EA Csolkovits::two minute clips, step by step by step in two minute increments
EA Csolkovits::of everything I just went through in a more elongated version.
Dr. Brad Miller::Wow, that sounds like a powerful resource. And we want to
Dr. Brad Miller::get to your resources in just a minute. But we're talking about
Dr. Brad Miller::relationships here. We're talking about the power of
Dr. Brad Miller::transformative relationships, especially helped people to
Dr. Brad Miller::get unstuck and overcome adversity. So tell us a story. A
Dr. Brad Miller::testimonial, if you will about a person, or perhaps a group,
Dr. Brad Miller::that the Givers University has been helpful to.
EA Csolkovits::Well, we've been a number of them as a matter of fact,
EA Csolkovits::but off the top of my head, I can certainly share with you
EA Csolkovits::some people who have, you know, we have online courses,
EA Csolkovits::and we did all of this. And even what is taught in the givers
EA Csolkovits::junto is, you know, we teach the givers mindset, the givers
EA Csolkovits::lifestyle, and the givers lifelong learning. Those are three courses.
EA Csolkovits::And with that, there's, there's a book that's actually with all of them.
EA Csolkovits::It's about 1200 pages total between all three courses. And what we do
EA Csolkovits::is we teach people and businesses and we have now right now, many,
EA Csolkovits::many companies, not just one or two. Where one gentleman who's an
EA Csolkovits::HR executive, who now has a whole different feeling about the HR
EA Csolkovits::industry, if you will, and then some of the fear mongering and what's
EA Csolkovits::going on with them. And the eye opening that he's been able to
EA Csolkovits::experience because of what we teach Givers University, and beginning
EA Csolkovits::to realize, you know, what, these people are pushing fear. They're selling
EA Csolkovits::fear, like there's no tomorrow. And and so, he's an HR business. So what
EA Csolkovits::do you do with HR, obviously, you're talking with relationships all day long.
EA Csolkovits::And so what he does is he keeps sort of a separate personal file that he
EA Csolkovits::doesn't share with anyone else of his 25 dues. When he hires people,
EA Csolkovits::when he fires, people things, he looks for things he observes that he
EA Csolkovits::didn't know he could observe before, to help have the right people
EA Csolkovits::in his company. And when it comes to those that he works for.
Dr. Brad Miller::So your training has enhanced his job performance.
EA Csolkovits::For sure
Dr. Brad Miller::Therefore enhance the productivity and supposedly the
Dr. Brad Miller::profitability of his company. And I bet he feels better
Dr. Brad Miller::about it, too. I would get off
EA Csolkovits::For sure.
Dr. Brad Miller::Yeah.
EA Csolkovits::For sure. For sure. And just loves it and says
EA Csolkovits::he, you know, he's a college graduate with many
EA Csolkovits::initials. And he says, no course he's ever taken in
EA Csolkovits::college has helped him and impacted him to the
EA Csolkovits::extent of how to discern in relationships.
EA Csolkovits::Where's the discernment 101 Course?
Dr. Brad Miller::Yeah. Well, I think part of what we're talking
Dr. Brad Miller::about here, EA is really about having fulfillment in
Dr. Brad Miller::life personally, and in our relationships. Because
Dr. Brad Miller::ultimately, if you're a taker, you're in the area of
Dr. Brad Miller::consuming and causing destructive patterns to happen.
Dr. Brad Miller::And a giver is and is in the business of being productive
Dr. Brad Miller::and helpful, and helping others to succeed as well. And
Dr. Brad Miller::when we that happens, we succeed as well. And you've
Dr. Brad Miller::got some good stuff here. And I love the whole concept
Dr. Brad Miller::here of gratitude, you know, of giving, and how we can
Dr. Brad Miller::do that there's a lot of biblical parallels, which I'm
Dr. Brad Miller::interested in and some things we're talking about here
Dr. Brad Miller::and in appreciate your good work. So I got a feeling of
Dr. Brad Miller::some folks out there who are listeners to Beyond Adversity,
Dr. Brad Miller::we're gonna want to learn more about you and about to
Dr. Brad Miller::Givers University and some of the courses and YouTube
Dr. Brad Miller::videos and you got lots and lots of resources. So tell us, tell
Dr. Brad Miller::folks how they can get connected to you and Givers University.
EA Csolkovits::Thank you. But first, let's go to our website. It's plural
EA Csolkovits::giversuniversity.com and sign up for our newsletters.
EA Csolkovits::Newsletters, absolutely free. We don't spam people.
EA Csolkovits::So they're going to get an immediate communication
EA Csolkovits::that says, Do you want to talk with his people? They
EA Csolkovits::have to answer that and say yes. And then once a
EA Csolkovits::week, on Thursdays, we send out a newsletter that
EA Csolkovits::we we call it the givers toolbox. And every single
EA Csolkovits::week, Brad, we give them a brand new relationship
EA Csolkovits::tool that helps them in their discernment that they
EA Csolkovits::can add into the relationship toolbox. And it's a
EA Csolkovits::short read, there's usually a little two minute clip
EA Csolkovits::that's in there as well. And then through the course
EA Csolkovits::of that they're going to receive by the way, one of the
EA Csolkovits::things they get right away is the 25 dues. That checklist
EA Csolkovits::I mentioned. We want them to print it off. We want them
EA Csolkovits::to use it in their discern and start using in everyday life.
EA Csolkovits::Because everyone you know, we're being pushed out so
EA Csolkovits::much that we should Accept even all the people doing
EA Csolkovits::everything that's wrong. And I don't agree with that. I
EA Csolkovits::think we should love everyone. And we and Jesus was
EA Csolkovits::the best example of all time. Right? But he didn't like
EA Csolkovits::their deeds, and he called them out on their deeds.
EA Csolkovits::And we've taken that same tack. We agree with that
EA Csolkovits::and parallel our teachings with that, that, you know,
EA Csolkovits::you want to surround yourself with people doing the
EA Csolkovits::right things, but no one's teaching anyone how do you
EA Csolkovits::discern that everything's a gray area? And it's not great?
EA Csolkovits::It's not? Yeah, it is clear. So when they go to our website,
EA Csolkovits::sign up for the newsletter every week, once a week
EA Csolkovits::they get a nice little newsletter from us, they'll learn
EA Csolkovits::about our courses knowledge through all that relationship.
EA Csolkovits::They want to learn more about forming their own givers
EA Csolkovits::junto they can go to the the hamburger in the upper right
EA Csolkovits::hand corner, click on that, and they'll see a tab that says
EA Csolkovits::givers junto. They can request information to form their
EA Csolkovits::own givers junto will help them do it absolutely free. Or
EA Csolkovits::they can be a member of another junto, We'll connect them to one.
Dr. Brad Miller::Lots of resources there.
EA Csolkovits::For sure. For sure.
Dr. Brad Miller::So hey, if you if you folks are interested at all and
Dr. Brad Miller::Dave redesigning your life, you're much more about
Dr. Brad Miller::being a giver than a taker. Lots of resources here are
Dr. Brad Miller::and with giversuniversity.com. His name is EA Csolkovits.
Dr. Brad Miller::He has been our guest today the Creator Givers University.
Dr. Brad Miller::Lots of great information here and you could find that all
Dr. Brad Miller::the details at our website as well. drbradmiller.com.
Dr. Brad Miller::So we thank EA Csolkovits for being our guest today
Dr. Brad Miller::on the Beyond Adversity podcast.