Rock Thomas on Becoming a “Whole Life Millionaire”

As seen on Goalcast, Rock Thomas has impacted over 100 million lives. He is the host of the top-rated #IAmMovement Podcast, a bestselling author, and motivational speaker.

From humble beginnings on a small Canadian farm near Montréal, Rock Thomas become a self-made millionaire, running several successful businesses and six award-winning RE/MAX franchises.

After achieving financial success, Rock embarked on a quest for personal growth, traveling the world and studying with acclaimed teachers like Tony Robbins, T. Harv Eker, Deepak Chopra, John Gray, David Deida, David Wolfe, Jack Canfield, Dr. Wayne Dyer, and Stephen Covey.

He absorbed success systems, life and business strategies, and countless life-changing experiences. After assimilating all he’d learned and talking with people from all walks of life who were seeking more too, he founded Rock Thomas International to help others realize the power of their identity.

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Sean:  We have our good buddy here, Rock Thomas. And Rock, this is the first time you’ve met Mindie. Mindie is somebody that’s created this podcast and I’m working with her on this and it’s just this awesome combination of power here. And…

Mindie:  You mean me and Rock?

Sean:  Right. Exactly. Yeah. [All laughing]

Rock Thomas:  Ooh, she’s got some humor, some spice.

Sean:  Yeah. I’m along for the ride for sure. So what we talk about is we want to look in your definitions and your maps of the world. So can you tell us a little bit about your wealth and career evolution? So like starting from like where you started making money when you were younger to where you are today and a little bit of the journey.

Rock Thomas:  Yeah, sure. So my entrepreneurial spirit was born around 13. After I got beaten up by my brother, felt like repeatedly. And I thought money’s the way out. I lived on a farm and we had the rich people that came out with their kids for riding lessons. And someday I woke up and I thought I’m going to serve them hot dogs and coffee. So I borrowed my mom’s little grill and the coffee machine. I put it out on the patio and I started selling at the age of 13 or 14 to these parents, which I called them the rich parents from the suburbs cause we were out in the country. And I started to realize I could make a little bit of money off of something that was what other people didn’t see. So I started to look for what other people didn’t see.

And to 20 years of working hard, gyprock, two by fours, goats, painting, driving taxis, doing whatever it took 12, 14, 16 hours a day. I came across real estate, got into real estate. I had a mentor that taught me that you can work with not just your hands, but with your head. I went on to sell a hundred homes a year, then bought the company, sold it for 4 million, wrote my book. And today I have 37 streams of income and multiple sources that came out of the entrepreneurial spirit, which by the way, most of it was learned, not something I was born with.

Mindie:  Rock, that is awesome. Did you say goats?

Rock Thomas:  Yeah, I mean, I grew up milking goats. What can I tell you? It was “udder” joy and we sprayed each other, you know, from a distance while we were milking the goats. I mean, it’s just the way it was for me.

Sean:  Greatest of all time. GOAT.

Mindie:  Yeah, fair enough. I just wanted to make sure I was hearing that clearly. That’s awesome. And I’m really excited to dive into some of these different streams of income with you, but before we get to that, one of the questions that we ask all of our guests on this show is how do you personally define wealth?

Rock Thomas:  You know, I guess cliche is your health is your wealth. So the first thing is self-care and most people stumble there. So I, when I coach people, I ask them, what’s your meal plan? What’s your health plan like, your exercise plan, and what boundaries do you have set up so you get the proper sleep and respect your own integrity? So I focus on those three areas. So I’d say that’s the basis for me because if you can’t function, you can’t show up a lot of energy, you’re going to be handicapped. But as far as financial is concerned, I would say that I define it by the amount of money coming in. As long as it passively exceeds my monthly expenses, then I have the greatest freedom, which is the freedom of choice, choice to do what I want, when I want, how I want.

So when I learned about leveraging time and money, I actively went about creating streams of revenue through real estate, through becoming a better leader and starting companies and mastering it, and then leaving other people to run it, while I collected a portion of it. I got really good at doing that. I got better at hiring, but it’s all learned. And the thing that I would stress for anybody listening to this, and they may know it already is I was a little farm boy that grew up introverted, dyslexic. They called me pizza face cause I had so much acne, bone dog cause I was so skinny. I got bullied, told I was stupid. Never amount to anything. The cliches, right? But you make a choice every time you’re faced with adversity. And somehow I had the gift of wanting more.

So I became what I call passionately curious. And I started to learn and men especially, maybe women as well, like to go somewhere where they can win. And I wasn’t winning in a lot of places. I wasn’t winning academically. I wasn’t winning with the girls. I wasn’t winning by being funny. I wasn’t winning by popularity contest. But because my brother beat me up so much, I learned how to run fast. Literally, I ran away from him and one day somebody asked me to play football and they threw me the ball and nobody could catch me. And I started to win playing sports and that built my confidence. So I would say for most people, find a place where you can win and build off of that. Build your confidence from that. And for me, I just became an avid student, so I either went into an arena and won like I did with football or I became the humble student and I ask questions. And a great example is when Sean and I get to hang out, both of us, I would say, are asking almost more questions of each other. We’re smart enough to know we don’t have all the answers yet. So we start asking lots of questions and that’s usually a sign for me of a wise person.

Mindie:  Definitely. So your story reminds me a lot of a concept that I’m very interested in which is post-traumatic growth. So the opposite of post-traumatic stress and you seem to be a picture of that and you’ve taken these negative things in your life and utilize that rocket fuel to fire yourself toward great success.

Rock Thomas:  So yes, and I think that it’s been an evolution. I used to ask what’s great about this when things went badly. I lost all my hair to alopecia when I was 40 years old and I thought I was dying of cancer. And most people that have alopecia are still stuck with trying to wear wigs and they’re upset that that’s happened to them. And I’m actually quite happy it’s happened for me cause I never have a bad hair day. I saved money on shampoo and haircuts. I get a massage once a month and I walk out of Massage Envy and I go, Yes, alopecia. Right? So I turned the meaning of it around. But I would add that as I’ve done this for decades, I’ve gotten to a new nuance and for those that want to have the advanced course on this is, and Sean, of course, is an Olympic champion at this is how do I want to respond to this event?

Just ask yourself, somebody snubs you, somebody steals your business, somebody quits on you, you get into a fender bender, you don’t have your wallet at the restaurant. You get to ask yourself, how do I want to respond to this? And it’s really an extension of what Victor Frankl talked about in his book, Man’s Search For Meaning. Is no matter how dire the… Like I laugh at myself sometimes when I get off the plane and I’m upset that the car that’s supposed to pick me up is 10 minutes late. And I’m like, that’s your problem? Think of Viktor Frankl, what he went through and how he was able to still hold a place for a better definition of his events. So I try to aspire to that level that whenever something’s happening, I get to choose my response. My voice is my choice and if I want to be the victim, I need to own that I’m being that way. And if I want to be the guy who responds in a magical, playful, cheerful, beautiful, elegant, classy way, then that’s me too.

Sean:  Yeah, absolutely. So Rock, you mentioned something, you said you were passionately curious and I love those two words, but I want to focus on the second word, which is curiosity. Because I’ve been really looking into, and Mindie and I had been talking about this with our guests, what are you curious about? If you could just make a quick list, just rattle off your curiosities. What are you curious about?

Rock Thomas:  I’m curious about what you’re thinking about, how your brain works, what you’ve learned, who you are, why you are where you are, what got you there, what were the obstacles you overcame? Why you and Mindie work together? Why you decided to create this podcast. Where are you going to go with it? Who are you going to contact? Who are you going to impact? I’m curious about why you chose the flooring behind you. I mean I’m curious as a human being, right? I’m just curious about how Mark Zuckerberg got to where he did and how Steve Jobs died at 56 a genius, but really not happy. So I try to be curious as a person, as a persona and I got it from my mother. My mother is 83 years old. She Airbnbs a room in her house and bought herself a new Honda cause she got $62 and 50 cents, like 22 days of the month.

And she enjoys interacting with these Chinese students that come in and stay in a room in her house. I mean, I’m fascinated by her brain that manages to make that happen. So I think that curiosity is a synonym for youth. And I want to stay as young as possible. So I try to be curious about everything and I’m not, sometimes I’m like, Oh my God, here we go through this traffic again. Or you know, Oh my God, so many commercials before the movie. Why do they do that? I catch myself doing that, but then I try to shift, okay, what can I learn? So I’m curious about everything, man.

Mindie:  I love that. I totally resonate with that. My list, like yours, could go on and on and on. It’s so fun. So one, I think we should interview Rock’s mom.

Rock Thomas:  [Laughing] Yes.

Mindie:  Cause she sounds awesome. My next question for you Rock is, you know the point of this podcast, we want to look at that intersection between wealth or being lucrative and happiness. Sean and I have talked about this a whole lot where some people we know are really happy, but they haven’t yet figured out that financial aspect.

Rock Thomas:  They’re broke.

Mindie:  Exactly or they’re really successful. We have a lot of people in our community that are very, very successful, but they’re miserable and so we want to be proponents and I believe you do too, of like, Hey, you can do both. You can have both. Just talk to me a little bit about that intersection point or that bit between happiness and wealth.

Rock Thomas:  Well, I think it’s a fantastic question and I like to believe I coined a phrase called the “whole life millionaire.” And it came about by me bathing in this conversation for a while. And it’s not about a sacrifice, it’s about a mentality of abundance. So when I talk to people, I go, what’s more important? You know, your leg or your arm? They’re both important. What’s more important? Love or health? They’re both important. What should happen, in my opinion, is that you should have a strategy for each character trait of your life. Now you’re a character in how you steward your money. So let’s create an identity around somebody who stewards money really well, and let’s language it. Let’s embody it. Let’s put it up in a document that the guardrails of that success is language. So somebody who is a good steward of their money, knows their money, does a budget, respects it, has a plan around the impulses, around their addictions around money, and they’re going to cast awareness on it and create some changes over time and be held accountable, be vulnerable, ask for help. Somebody who’s going to be a good student of their health is going to have a meal plan. And when they have their little desire for popcorn and licorice, maybe me, they’re going to be moderate with their plan or they’re going to surround themselves with somebody who’s going to say, Hey, you said you wanted to make a shift here. So I believe you can have it all, to answer the question, and I believe the three majors are your relationships and your communication, your health and vitality or your energy, and your money blueprint. The thing that people don’t mostly understand, and you guys get this, is that beliefs drive behavior and beliefs were transcended down by un-professionally hired programmers. So your mother and father volunteered for a job called, I will download my shitty programming on you without your request.

And then you will try to make it better. You’ll try to turn the cassette into the CD, the CD into the download without any instructions. A free for all. And hopefully, your broke uncle will come in and make it even harder for you, right? So you got to get educated and you got to decide, I want to win the money game when I’m in that arena. I want to win the health and vitality game when I’m in that arena. I want to win the relationship game when I’m in that arena. And don’t say, I can’t have it all, but tell yourself I’m a fricking champion and I deserve to have it all.

Sean:  Absolutely. I know, Rock, that last time, no, two times ago when we hung out, you said something and I was like, wait, what did he just say? So I want to clarify if you really said this, did you say you work out between two to four hours a day?

Rock Thomas:  So I move my body between two to four hours a day. And you can edit this part out if you want to, but part of it may include the horizontal mambo.

Sean:  Okay. We’ll take it.

Rock Thomas:  All right. So it’s just a matter of… I personally know what makes me feel good and whether it’s biking, swimming, or playing golf or tennis or working out with my trainer. I function better when I’m moving. So today as an example, I was at my real estate office and I walked by one of the realtors and I said, did you get your hundred pushups in today? Cause I have a challenge with them for 30 days to do a hundred pushups a day because he’s not self-caring the way I think he could. He’s like, no. I said all right, drop, and give me 10. So we both dropped and did 10 so that could count as three minutes of exercise. But my mindset is I will find a way to move my body. When I go to the dentist, I will take the six flights of stairs to get there instead of the elevator. I’m looking for opportunities to stimulate the cells in my body. You know, sometimes I park the car far from the mall or from wherever I’m going and then I jog for, you know, 35/85 seconds. It doesn’t matter. So it’s about, get the outcome, find a way to win, and have no bullshit story around “I can’t exercise, I can’t consume inspirational information cause I’m too busy.” Everybody’s in a car, everybody’s folding laundry at some point in time, vacuuming their house, walking through an airport. You could absorb an amazing podcast like this if you are committed. And as I say to people, if you’re creative. When you’re committed and creative, you can achieve anything you want.

Mindie:  Totally. I love that. Now I want to get back to these 37 different streams of income that you mentioned because I feel like some of our listeners might think, what? I don’t even have one…

Rock Thomas:  [Laughing] Well, hopefully they have one.

Mindie:  Or two, beyond a regular job. So I don’t, unfortunately, think we have time for 37 but could you give maybe a couple and talk about how they interact with each other too. How do you have time for 37 different things?

Rock Thomas:  Okay. I’ll chunk them together for you. So I have about probably 15 or so that are in real estate and that would include buy and flip and buy and hold and student housing and commercial real estate. So different portfolios. So that’d be about 15, maybe 18. And I have different teams that lead the different departments and I use a theory called Me, We, They. So if I’m going to flip properties, I go in, I get myself dirty. I see what it’s like to paint, to clean. I see the crap and I get in there at least once or twice and do it until I can bring somebody else in that can do it the way I want. And then I leave once they’ve got the standards and the protocol. And so it’s me, we, they, and then they do it and I oversee it.

So I do that with most of my businesses. Another third approximately would be promoting other people that I see and believe in. So let’s say I come across a guy who teaches how to do Airbnb. I love his product. I think it’s amazing. I think it will change lives and add value. I will then promote it to my community and receive an affiliate fee. I have about 12 or 15 relationships like that. So it brings me close to 30. I have three books that I’ve written, audio programs, mastermind groups. I speak professionally, I coach professionally, one-on-one, and in groups. I have hard money loans. I invest in the stock market. I have my retirement, or like you guys 401ks in Canada are RRSPs. I have a tax free account. So when you add all of those, you come approximately up there. Somewhere around that.

Plus I’ve probably started four or five different businesses with other people that I have a minority share and they usually operate. So what I look for is I look for operators. When you find somebody who’s passionate as an operator, let’s say you find somebody could run a dry cleaning really, really, really, really well and they love and they talk to you nonstop because I’m passionately curious at a cocktail party about how they iron the shirt better than anybody else. And it’s ready within, you know, 22 hours, not 24. I look at that and then go, okay, tell me more. What do you want? What’s your vision? And if their vision is to scale, I might invest in that. So I probably have four or five random businesses like that. Some of it in technology, some of it is software that I’ll invest in. And candidly, some of them have face planted and I’ve lost money. But I’m an entrepreneur so I don’t mind failing. One out of five makes it, covers for the other four, and I get to play in that arena.

Sean:  Absolutely. So Rock, we have this question that we ask all our guests. It’s four parts and it really helps to create a blueprint for success and overall wellbeing. And so we call it HERB, and H stands for habits. Can you talk to us about your personal and professional habits that you feel make you into the man you are?

Rock Thomas:  So everybody talks about morning habits. So I’m going to skip that part. You guys can figure that out. I’m going to go to the evening habit, which I think people neglect. And for me, I journal at the end of the day and I talk about what did I do well? What am I grateful for? What did I win at? What did I learn? It’s like what I call my daily audit. And then I write down what did I do that I could have done better? Where did I drop the ball? Where did I snap react? Where was I unaware? Where did I not do what I am capable of doing? And then I go, how could I improve? And my goal is to improve 1% better every day. And the reason I choose that is it’s attainable and 1% in 30 days is 30%. It’s an incredibly compounding effect, but it’s manageable.

So I think that the daily habit comes around that. And the second bonus daily habit by Rock Thomas will be this. When you have a habit you want to break, put an obstacle in front of the temptation. So let’s say that you’re like, you know what? Every morning at 10:30 I go get a coffee with the gang at the office and then I grab that donut that I know I shouldn’t grab. Do something like in order to earn the right to get that donut, I have to do 10 pushups in front of my colleagues. So now you’re going to create an obstacle that serves you, somewhat maybe embarrasses you, but makes you a little bit playful. And if you still choose to get the donut, you’ve actually created a rewiring of your brain that you’re going to do something good before you do something bad and you give yourself a chance to create a shift. So those are some of the things that I’ve done.

Sean:  Excellent. So from the habit, we’re moving to the E in HERB and that’s your environment. What are some of the things that you allow in and that you do not allow into your personal and professional environments?

Rock Thomas:  My god, there’s almost nothing more important than an environment. So I’m so glad you brought that up. This is a phenomenal point. One of the reasons you and I got to spend three hours together the other day, Sean, is because I value your environment, what you create, your energy, your curiosity, your thinking, your stinging questions. I think most people don’t put enough benefit on that with people, places, or things. So if you come home and you’re hungry or hangry and there’s nothing there, you may choose to grab something like a bag of Doritos. But if you came home and there was hummus and cucumber and carrots, you’d be better off. So I think physically putting things in your environment that serve you energetically is a step. Choosing the people in your life that are going to level you up is most difficult for most people because we like to connect with people that are like us, which is usually people that aren’t at a level above us. And sometimes we have a small voice saying, “Am I worthy of being around Sean Stephenson?” Geez, you know, is he going to be bored with me or whatever. And if you allow that dialogue, then you fade back. So I think you need to be decided about that. But by the way, if you take the time to describe who you want to be in the area of environment, it’s like I want to be a badass. I want to hang out with winners. I’m going to be an interested person, not an interesting person. I’m going to ask passionately curious questions when I’m around Sean. I’m gonna ask him, how did he get to where he is?

I’m going to ask Mindie, how did they create that podcast that’s number one on iTunes around the world? You know, that’s the type of thing that will open doors for you. So I think, be interested versus interesting. And then the last thing I would say is that be conscious of the things that you want. Put vision boards. Yeah, it’s cliche, but you know, put the things up that you want to see so your RAS can kick in and can serve you. I mean, we could talk about this one all day long, but I’m gonna stop there.

Sean:  Yeah. Well, If you think you could talk a lot about this last one, wait till you hear this one. The R stands for resources. What are the books, courses, programs, trainings that you have gone through that you recommend as resources to others?

Mindie:  This is everybody’s favorite question.

Rock Thomas:  Oh my God. Yeah, this is Epic. You know I’m a big Tony Robbins fan, so people say, I say 50% of my training came from him. I’ve done 74 events. I’m a trainer for him. So obviously I’m drinking the Kool-Aid. Right? Landmark is a great resource. Meditation is a great place to go. Choosing to listen to audible on a regular basis while you’re doing something that is a secondary thing is fantastic. Two of my favorite books right now are Never Split the Difference because you recommended it to me, Sean. Thank you very much. And I’ve recommended it to like a hundred people since you did that. And this is what environment’s about. I’ve listened to it three times on Audible and I still feel like I’m a student. The second one is Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins.

Amazing. We should both get him on our podcast. He’s just a badass. So I think that resources are really up to you, but I think deciding that you’re going to seek them out is most important. I have a category called asker as a characteristic I develop. In asking for what you want in life for most people is difficult. So asking for other people to help you with the resources you need requires that you reflect on who you are and what you feel worthy of. And I would say that that will be a precursor to getting the resources you need. Resources are everywhere. But if you don’t ask, you’ll probably get very little.

Sean:  So before we jump to the last part with the B, I have a question based on what you just said. I’ve never struggled with asking for what I want. I get in trouble because I ask for everything…

Mindie:  About 10 times.

Sean:  About 10 times. I ask until I get what I want or kicked out, one of the two. So why do you think people have trouble asking? Cause I don’t understand that.

Rock Thomas:  Okay, And I’m going to put this back on you. What’s your belief around asking all the time?

Sean:  That I’m not guaranteed of getting it, but if I don’t ask, I’m guaranteed of not getting it.

Rock Thomas:  And what fuels you to ask? Where do you have the courage? What will not happen if you don’t ask?

Sean:  What will not happen is I won’t have the joy of having what I want.

Rock Thomas:  So on some level, people have to have the same wiring you have cause you and I have the same wiring. I’m like, for me asking is about, I never know what will happen, how exciting, right? I get to meet a new person. I get to embarrass myself and see what that feels like. I remember once I was walking by this girl working at a tennis club, and I saw her and from a distance I thought, Oh my God, she’s so beautiful. I was like 19/20 years old. I thought if I went up to her and asked her on a date, wouldn’t it be great if she said yes, I’d be like such a rock star. And then my little brain inside of me went, no, you loser pizza face, ugly bone dog. She’s going to humiliate you, embarrass you.

And I said, yeah, but do what you fear and it’ll disappear. And I started walking towards her and I had this struggle. I would take two steps and stop. She must have looked at me and go, he must be like retarded, what’s going on? But I kept on walking and as I walked, a couple came toward the table and they were going to ask to reserve something. I’m thinking, now I’m going to ask her right in front of these people and be embarrassed and humiliated, but keep on going. And I got to her, and I didn’t know what to say, but I know that when you’re committed and creative, something will come out of your mouth. And I went “Bond, James Bond.” And she laughed hysterically like, you complete idiot. But you know what happened? Part of her recognized the courage it took to go across and say that to her. She was flattered that she knew I was interested in her and she kind of giggled. We talked, I don’t remember what we said, but we ended up going on a date. And what I learned from that is you don’t need to know what to say. You need to know that you’re driven to grow, to learn to be willing to be vulnerable and something wonderful will happen, you will either win or you’ll learn. So for me, that’s the key is just take the next step.

Sean:  Yeah. So that finishes beautifully because the B stands for beliefs. And I want to know, Mindie wants to know, what are your core beliefs that make you into the badass that you are?

Rock Thomas:  So number one is why not me? Why not me? I was born by sperm like anybody else and conceived and put here for a reason. So why should I not play big? And that’s taken a while to learn, quite frankly, because I didn’t have somebody telling me that at a young age. So I had to learn that over time. So surround yourself by somebody who’s going to look you in the eye and say, why not you? And hang around that person because that person is going to be the wind beneath your wings. Like Wayne was for me in real estate and changed my life. So that’s one of the core ones. The other one. There are three questions I know I must answer in order to take action. Number one is Can I do it? So anytime I look at something… Can I become the next Tiger Woods?

And my brain goes, no, dude, you’re too old and you have four fused discs in your spine. No, you cannot. So then if I feel I can’t do it, but could I be, you know, a great speaker and command an audience of 10,000 people, my brain goes, yeah, you could. You could. Have I done it yet? Not yet, but could I? Yes. So you’ve got to have the feeling you can at least lean into it. The second thing is, will it work? Will it work? Could I go out there and could I impact people? And my brain goes, yes, I have strategies that I know have changed my life, other people’s lives. Yes, I can. And the last thing is, will it be worth it? Will it be worth the effort, the grind, the sacrifice, the commitment? Doing things I don’t like to do. I’m a little bit introverted. I’ve got to go out and meet people, whatever. So you’ve got to be able to answer those three questions, which are founded by a belief is, you know, when I’m committed and creative, I can do it. As long as I’m willing to win and learn, I can always find a way. And as well, I’m willing to put in the work ethic, I will grow my soul and therefore it’s always worth it.

Sean:  I love it.

Mindie:  Rock, when you and Sean first hung out, he actually took a video of you. You were at our house. You were standing at the whiteboard mapping things out for him and he came home and he was so excited. He’s like, Mindie, I can’t wait for you to meet this guy. He’s so fantastic. Talk to me about friendship.

Rock Thomas:  You know, candidly, it’s an area that I could do better at. I grew up not knowing how to create friends and I was the youngest of seven people, so I was basically ridiculed and I think I was… I threatened my brother. I was taller than him and you know, better looking. But candidly I was, I was bullied. And what it created was, I remember once cutting my ankle down to the bone and my father said, you know, wrap toilet paper around it and don’t bother me. I was in an environment where there was emotional neglect. So I grew up feeling very unworthy. And when you do that, when you go to create relationships and you move, you know, seven different schools in seven years, what happens is you end up feeling like you don’t belong.

And when you don’t belong, you create an inner narrative, I’ve learned, of repelling people. So even when I get into a group, my inner narrative was for decades and still in some situations is, is whether it’s you’re unworthy, you don’t belong, you’re an oddball, whatever. Sometimes it’s you’re better looking, in better shape, and they probably feel uncomfortable around you, whatever. But it’s a program of isolation based on familiarity of being isolated, if that makes sense. So friendships have been one of the hardest things for me to do and I’ve had to consciously invest in following up and connecting and finding a common ground. So it’s probably not the answer that you want, but it is an honest answer. It’s probably one of my weakest areas.

Mindie:  An honest answer is always the answer that I want. And the reason that I asked specifically is because I resonate with the introvert. I’m a huge introvert and I just saw the friendship that you had created with Sean and I thought that is awesome and I wanted to hear your perspective on that because as an introvert, I’m less likely to do that than Sean is. Sean’s a people person first and foremost. So thank you for that honesty.

Rock Thomas:  Well, Sean is the type of guy, like I told you at the beginning, who is incredibly curious and I like deep conversations. I’m not interested in small talk, I want to go straight into the heart. I want to talk to people about things that truly matter. Maybe even reveal something you never told anybody. I want to be a safe place for that to land. And Sean, I’ve listened to him speak several times, and every time he speaks he talks, he peels back a layer somehow in me. It’s like, okay, yeah, I resonate with that. He’s allowed me to feel a little bit vulnerable there. So he’s in, you know, he’s one of the individuals on planet Earth that has the ability to make you feel safe to be vulnerable. And that’s what friendship’s about.

Sean:  Well, I have some good news for you, Rock. The reason why you can see that in me is it’s a reflection of you. It’s just in your blind spot. And I’m here to tell you that you are a phenomenal friend and I think you’re further along in the friendship category than you realize. So take that in like that drink of water. Just let it absorb into your unconscious mind. And I’m curious for those that want more of Rock and they want to be a part of your life, where can our listeners go to find out more about you and what you’re bringing to this world?

Rock Thomas:  Yeah, simply RockThomas.com, my website. You’ll basically find everything there. Social media, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and all that kind of good stuff. Which is kind of like the necessary evil that we all live. If they go to my website, they’ll actually get a free copy of my book, The Power of Your Identity. The words that follow “I am” follow you and I’m a big believer that you live through the definition of yourself. And if you don’t concertedly put an effort into that, you’ll probably live somebody else’s programming. So that’s the best way.

Mindie:  Perfect. And we’ll link to that in the show notes as well. Rock, as a final question for you. If you could just for a moment, close your eyes and speak directly from your heart to the heart of the listener out there that might be thinking, you know what, this guy has it all together. He’s got 37 different streams of income and I’ve got none. This guy has learned how to do all these things and I haven’t yet. What might you say to the listener that could use a little pick me up at this point?

Rock Thomas:  Wow. I think that the most important thing for me was to find somebody that believed in me. You’ve got to look for your mentor. And I have gone up to people at events that spoke on stage, bravely access courage, and ask them if they would mentor me. And when I was completely refused, I said, “Well, how much will it cost to hang out with you?” I wrote them a check. So there’s a way as long as you’re committed and creative. Every time I mark a spike of improvement in my life, whether it be mentally or physically or emotionally or financially, is because I added some mentor in my life and it seemed to be, as I go back every seven years, it was a major one. So I don’t know if that’s a cycle or if I just hit a plateau.

But what I would say to them is have the courage. Courage is to feel the fear and do it anyway It is to go, you know what, I’m freaked out. Don’t know what I’m going to say, but “Bond, James Bond.” And something great will happen. You know, go up to people and say, Hey, you know what? You’re a badass and I’d like to hang out with you and I have nothing to offer you, but I’ll pick up your dry cleaning and I’ll iron your clothes and get you a coffee, but I just want to be around you. And somebody is going to look at you, and you guys know this, they’re going to look you in the eyeballs and they’re going to go, okay, go wash my car and you’re going to go, okay. And you’re going to be excited because you took a chance. You did what uncommon people do is you leaned in outside of your comfort zone.

Sean:  Rock, in some ways, you’ve transformed so much, in some ways, you’re still the amazing young man you were figuring out how to bring hotdogs and coffee to people. Nothing has changed in that divine self. You’re still getting coffee as a servant. And that’s what I admire about you. Thank you so much for being a part of this podcast and being a part of our lives.

Rock Thomas:  Of course, an honor, a privilege, and my life has been richer since I met, now, both of you,

Mindie:  I’m looking forward to when it’s in real life.

Rock Thomas:  Me too.

Rock’s Recommended Resources: