Overcoming Adversity and Finding Purpose: A Conversation with Keith Sampson

In this episode of the Restaurant Technology Guys podcast, co-host Jeremy interviews serial entrepreneur Keith Sampson, who shares his journey through the payments and fintech industry influenced by personal challenges such as his father's battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. Keith discusses his 'grow through it' mindset and passion for helping others achieve their potential, highlighting five key characteristics for growth: continuous learning, gratitude, resilience, humility, and confidence. The conversation delves into overcoming imposter syndrome, the importance of finding one’s ‘why,’ and the power of positive influences and consistency. With a special focus on embracing vulnerability and finding meaning beyond financial success, Keith reflects on impactful moments, including hosting a virtual sales conference during the COVID-19 pandemic. The episode concludes with insights on maintaining low expectations and Arthur Brooks' pillars of happiness: family, friends, faith, and meaningful work. Keith encourages listeners to contribute positively, find their medium of expression, and connect with him on LinkedIn, Instagram, and his website.

00:00 Introduction and Guest Background
00:39 Keith's Professional Journey
02:19 Personal Growth and Resilience
13:17 The Power of Influence and Legacy
17:42 Weekly Video Journey and Future Goals
18:14 The Origin of Consistent Content Creation
19:05 Overcoming the Fear of Sharing
22:02 The Journey to Public Speaking
27:45 Virtual Events and Their Impact
29:19 Encouragement to Share Your Unique Gifts
34:13 Connecting with Keith Sampson

Transcript

0:02

This is the Restaurant Technology Guys podcast, helping you run your restaurant better.

Jeremy: 0:12

Welcome back to the Restaurant Technology Guys podcast. I thank everyone out there for joining us today is a very cool day for me because Keith and I are friends outside of the podcast world and even in the business world, we've, we've gotten a chance to get to know each other over the last number of years. And so I'm gonna let Keith go into a little bit about who he is and what he gets to do professionally for a second. Then we can talk to the story about how we met and how we jive so much. And for anybody that knows me I'm Keith. They know why Keith and I get along so well. And I have a feeling we're going to, we're going to get pretty serious into that. But Keith, for those that don't know your face, don't know your name, some of our audiences, I promise you're going to know who you are, but those that don't, why don't you introduce yourself a little bit to them and, let them know what you get the privilege to do.

Keith Sampson: 0:51

Awesome. Thank you, Jeremy. First of all, for having me on here. Hello everybody. My name is Keith Sampson. I describe myself as a serial entrepreneur. I currently own and operate three different businesses, a growth enthusiast and somebody who just absolutely loves pouring into other people and seeing people like maximize their potential. even my businesses all run through that filter and I know we'll probably touch on some of those things. But yeah, I get the opportunity to touch real quick. I've been in the payments and fintech space for 12 years, been in business for well over 20 at a variety of levels that have really nurtured my ability to make quick and proper decisions and help other businesses from a consulting and training perspective. I also do professional speaking. I just got done being able to speak at Bartek and do a keynote there, which was awesome this earlier this week when we're recording this. And then I have a retail store, go from payments and fintech to a retail store. And that was just an opportunity presented itself and fed into some of my passions and abilities to help others. And then I also, my third company is a wholesale fintech payments company that I just started last year. So if I wasn't busy enough, the opportunity presented itself and I, I couldn't turn down the chance to really push myself, into some more discomfort and push the boundaries and provide more value to a lot of people.

Jeremy: 2:02

Yeah. And I know we'll get into your why in a little bit, Keith, because, you're super passionate about that for those that don't know, Keith and I ran into each other through the RSPA. Fantastic organization. If you're in the financial technology, point of sale, technology, retail, grocery, restaurants, great organization. I get the privilege to be on the board for a number of years. That's where Keith and I met and got to talking and realize that we're very aligned as it relates to, helping people find their purpose and continuing to be in that kind of growth mindset. And can you talk to me a little bit about why you're so passionate about helping people? Maximize who they are, because it blows me away how much how excited you get, quite frankly, about helping others achieve their goals. And then we can talk about how you go about that. Yeah,

Keith Sampson: 2:48

I am today on that whole perspective obviously didn't happen overnight, right? I'll dive into my, one of my first and primary watershed moments in life happened when I was 19, and my dad was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, right? And here I am at a young age, my dad has a terminal illness, and I go home for the first time from college a couple months after his diagnosis, and my cousin Ray pulls me off to the side, and we're chatting and stuff, and he goes, You know what, Keith? You have two choices, neither one of them is the wrong answer, but what you choose will determine everything. And he asked me, are you going to choose to go through this or are you going to choose to grow through it? And I can guarantee you that if I had chosen to go through it as opposed to grow through it, we're probably not on this podcast. I'm not doing the things that I'm doing both personally and professionally. I definitely probably wouldn't have the passion that I have in life for impacting the lives of others in positive ways. That choice changed my life, right? It changed my life personally and professionally, and it started really a 20 plus year journey. It will continue on until I die of continuous development into what I call now. I grow through it mindset, right? and it starts, look, you start looking at things in life. In a different perspective, even the negative and worse things are opportunities to help others are opportunities to grow or opportunities to make memories and impact the lives of others. So if you fast forward over the course of the last 20 plus years, as I've been on that journey, my dad's death was not the worst thing that's happened to me in my life, right? especially there was roughly like six years ago and another event happened that was incredibly more painful and the difference of being where I was in that mindset versus where other peoples are that go through the exact same thing and how I handled it versus watching other people directly close to me handle the exact same situation, I'm like, okay, there's something to this and if I can help others Be more proactively prepared to handle life's worst moments and life's best moments. Like I want people to feel the way that I feel. I want people to see both these great opportunities and these negative opportunities as chances for growth, as chances that they're just, it's a blip on this huge timeline and how I handle it. can determine, what happens the rest of my life. And so being able to, help people process that, and really step into being the best versions of themselves to handle the ups and downs in life, it, it really ignited a fire inside of me.

Jeremy: 5:09

and again, as a lifelong learner, I know that you and I have shared lots of different books, lots of different, things that have impacted us some funny. And I think for those that know me well, There was a pivotal time in my life back when my mom and dad split when I was in my teen years, and ultimately my life changed forever. And I had a choice to your point, that same, what was me, it was my fault, why did this all happen? And ultimately we had to move and life got really painful. And I know you and I've talked about even some of your own personal experiences. Journey on that and how it impacted me. And at the same time I made a choice and it was right about that time that I started some of my growth, started looking at, Hey, what, who do I want to be when I grow up and what do I want my impact to be? and oftentimes looking at that. longer picture in light of the circumstances that you're dealing with is critical. Talk to me about how in the midst of circumstances, Keith, you would look at your why, I know it's tattooed on your arm. I know in general, for those

Keith Sampson: 6:03

Changed the world.

Jeremy: 6:04

for those that are on video, they can see the change the world tattoo, cause he just showed it. But. I know that you and I have even had side conversations about that, that longer term thinking of, Hey, yes, in the middle of whatever you're going through, it sucks and it's painful, but back to that lesson that you learned very early of, I can either grow through it or, I can go through it. I can grow through it. Why have you chosen to grow through it? And how do you, what tools do you use to help you look at that bigger picture? rather than getting stuck in the muck in the mire because a lot of people do that and don't ever get out of it or continue to learn the same lesson over and over. They may not have 40 years of experience. They may have one year of experience 40 times, doing the same thing over and over again. So I'd love to have you talk to our audience about how you've been able to do that because it's not always been easy.

Keith Sampson: 6:47

Yeah, no, it definitely hasn't, and like I said, it's really, Been a journey and a framework that's developed over the last 20 years. And, so I have these five key characteristics that I've developed. I'm just gonna touch on each one because it answers the question, right? the first of which is being a continuous learner. You just mentioned it, right? we are always going to be learning until the day I die. I have something to learn, whether it's industry specific, personal development, whatever it is. And I think the moment that people stop having that, ear of a learner as well as a mouth of a teacher like you're now no longer reaching your potential. I just heard a great quote, that sharing is like the tie end of the knowledge. So if you have knowledge and you don't share it, like you're not actually really embedding it in yourself either. So being a continuous learner, the second rooted in gratitude. Like when you really live a life of gratitude for the little things and it changes how you view the big things, right? So rooted in gratitude. The third one I call ridiculous resiliency and not just resiliency because ridiculous resiliency, you take like the natural, grit and survival mentality of, of resiliency, but then tag on top of it. Passion, perseverance, perspective, and some other aspects that allow it more to move into a more proactive place where a lot of resiliency tends to be, responsive, ridiculous resiliency is no, it's part of my foundation. Like I am anchored, right? So when stuff hits, I'm good. I got this. the fourth one is, playing the long game and understanding that you lay your life out. It is a long timeline and all these things that happen are blips, right? And you can look at it professionally and personally or, professionally and personally, and now all of a sudden you're getting perspective in there and you eliminate expectations and you move into a greater point of happiness where Unhappiness and growth can't coexist. And then the fifth one is understanding the power of influence. And it's not just understanding how people can influence you, but it's also really understanding how you can influence them. And that's the one really that the four lead into when it comes to my wife changing the world through business. So off that one and another watershed moment to have my life like it, I truly believe that business is the greatest untapped vertical for personal purpose and fulfillment. We spend more time working and with the people that we work with or for than we do. Any other single thing in life other than maybe sleeping. I know I work more than I sleep because I love all the different things that I do. but literally you stack up your calendar on a regular basis. We spend more time working than we do with family, friends, working out. Like I said, sleeping might be the only other big block that takes up the same amount of time as working. So how can businesses drive in purpose and meaning to why people come to work beyond a pay for beyond a paycheck? And that's like really my big thing.

Jeremy: 9:33

and, for those that I got a chance, you sent me a video of a speech you did recently for those that you've said watershed twice, if you could just give a 30 second on what a watershed is. Cause I do think it's, I do think it's, if you don't understand it, you might get a little bit confused and miss the point of what you're looking for. So if you wouldn't mind just giving that to our audience real quick.

Keith Sampson: 9:49

Yeah, so for those of you who don't know what a watershed is, like in, in geography, right? So a watershed is a geographical point where if water hits, it either goes this way and ends up in one body of water, or it goes this way and ends up in another body of water, right? And so the magical thing about a watershed is if the water goes this direction, There's no way for it to travel and ever end up over in this body of waters if it'd gone this direction. And so a watershed moment, like the idea is, life gives us a handful of those moments. And they're not like, oh, the day I married my spouse, or no. You gotta drill way back to what led you to the place to be there. you gotta, there is only a handful that happen in life. For example, that choice that I was given, and in a watershed moment in life, it usually includes three things. An event, a person, and a choice. Okay, so that one that happened with my dad, the event was my dad's illness. The person was my cousin Ray and the choice was, are you going to go through to grow through it? And so this other watershed moment that happened, was when I was working at Wildman and we had just doubled the size of the company for the first time. We had a five year strategic goal in three and a half years. And, we had a big celebration meeting on it. And I don't remember any of the numbers stuff, but Karen Wildman stands up and they were very private about the good they did. I knew it because I knew the family and I knew not details, but I knew they did good stuff with the money they made from the company, but she got up and she talked about the well drained trucks in Africa, the youth for Christ ski trips in Colorado and orphanage Romania. And then went on to share a story about how, in Romania, this is back in like 2003 or 2004, it was, I mean it's still not great, child abandonment's still an issue, but back then the government was way more corrupt, the resources were more limited, so women could walk into hospitals and give birth to a baby and just basically leave, and just leave the baby at the hospital. And so what this hospital was doing, because it didn't have the resources to care for these abandoned babies, on Fridays they would wheel these abandoned babies into this abandoned wing of a hospital and shut the doors. Monday, they would open the doors up, and the babies that were still alive, they'd bring back into the hospital and care for, and the ones that had passed away, they would dispose of. and what I share is, that's not something you probably, your listeners are hearing going Okay, that kind of is messed up. You can't do nothing after you hear a story like that. And so the Wyoming goes, you know what, we're capable of doing something. And so the business, Started paying the staff and supplies to take care of those babies. And that was the moment that this why to change the world specifically through business was really birthed, right? There's some tricklings back to that choice of growing through it. But this is when I remember looking down at the carpet and going, Oh my gosh, I'm not selling linens and uniforms and mats. Like I'm changing, I'm saving lives. I'm changing the world through work and I like the next day I never went to work the same way again. Like I went to work knowing that I was part of something bigger, that I was serving something bigger, more than just my own, professional development or a paycheck. And that also ignited, I want every single person that gets up and goes to work every day to feel what I feel. I don't care if you're a janitor or the CEO of a publicly traded company. Why? Are you going to work? And then how are you trickling and creating the opportunities within your business for your employees to feel the why they are coming to work. So back, that's all the watershed moment things, right? there's these events that they send you in a different direction, And you would never end up in that same point in life if you didn't choose one way.

Jeremy: 13:15

love that. And again, I've gotten the privilege to hear that story a couple of times, both on video and in person. And if you ever get a chance to meet Keith, he's a dynamic speaker, dynamic guy, lots and lots of energy, which I love and takes care of himself so that he can give. yeah. Talk to me a little, you said something about influence. And I think all of us can point back to two, three, four people in our life that believed in us, that taught us something, that gave us something. Talk to me about why you feel like one, you get that privilege to do that. And two, who are some of those people besides your cousin and others in your life, Karen Wildman that have given you that you might want to give a shout out to real quick, just to say, Hey, these are some people that changed my life for the better, because I know there are people in your life that you have changed their lives for the better. Yep.

Keith Sampson: 14:02

I'll answer the way you said it first. So it goes to like legacy first, right? at the end of the day, and I just said this at a payments conference. I was on a marketing panel, right? And here's two, three hundred people in the room. And I said, okay, when I die, there's going to be two things that I can guarantee are not on my tombstone. How much money was in my bank account, and that I was an expert in payments. Who cares? So it's really about what are you leaving behind? who do you want to be known as? And what do you want to be known for? And it's the same thing in business. So that's really like the impact that I can leave on people's lives to do more good to do like that. that's the trickle effect, right? The people that have influenced my life, the most in that arena, definitely my dad, like my dad. was just an amazing human being. If he was still alive today, we would definitely have our differences, right? I parent different than he did. We don't like, we wouldn't fall in line on all this, the same stuff, but you don't have to be, right? But the man like instilled the work ethic, the love for people, the love for knowledge. the, I call it extreme ownership and there's a book called that, he beat it into my head. Keith, you either are right. No, you're right. And you don't need an excuse or you're wrong and you know you're wrong. You don't have an excuse. that's the core of extreme ownership, right? cause I was a king of excuses growing up. So my

Jeremy: 15:20

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Keith Sampson: 16:24

Oh, I was a hard learner, right? Cause save myself a lot of grief going, okay, I get it. and then, Steve Bryant. He was my CEO when I was at Wildman from, I was there at Wildman from 2000 2012, and so he was my CEO from 2000 2010. And that man, second to my dad, had the greatest impact and influence in my life. For sure. And then there's other people that have sprinkled through there, Brent Wildman, who I mentioned, his wife Karen at the meeting. Brent, he was the one that really, I think, I remember sitting in a restaurant with him, and he's the one that shared the whole idea of a watershed moment. You know what I mean? So there's these people that have been placed in my life at different periods of time. Dave Illingworth, another one. That, that, when I go back to those moments in life, like that person. You know what I mean? Who are the people in my life when I'm making these, life altering decisions? And those are the ones that generally have a lot of impact. And, I encourage people to find people that you can surround yourself with. That can do that for you. there's a study by, a Harvard professor and literally the study shows that the people you surround yourself with have 95 percent impact on either your success or failure in life. And what blew my mind on that was the people that I surround myself with do more for that trajectory than anything that I can do on my own.

Jeremy: 17:43

trying to remind my kids that every day,

Keith Sampson: 17:44

It's

Jeremy: 17:45

it's a Jim, old Jim Rohn quote. And if you're not familiar with him, great leadership guy, he has that quote, you are the combination of the five people you spend the most time with choose wisely. so I'm going to pivot for just a second. every week. like clockwork, you post a video, which, up in, a couple of years ago, you weren't necessarily posting a video every week and it takes time. It takes planning. It takes energy. Talk to me a little bit about where that journey came from, because I know really leading up to your next, goal in life of where you want to be on large stages influencing people and we'll talk through a little bit about it. the leadership conference and all of how, what's led up to that. But talk to me a little bit about even putting yourself out there. I have a friend, Sean wall chef that talks about, don't be the commercial, be the show. You are the show. You are the guy that, that continues to put things out there. And I've seen it from the beaches. I've seen it from conferences. I've seen it from hotel rooms. I've seen it from your recording studio at the house, lots of different places. But where did that come from? And tell our audience that might not be familiar with it. What is it?

Keith Sampson: 18:41

Yeah. So it started with when I was previously corporate employed, I started this idea of Hey, here's our group of sales partners and I want to give them some kind of either motivation, inspiration, encouragement, or a sales tip. And the idea with anything is you have to do it consistently. So in the closed Facebook group years ago, I started doing these, what I called my Monday minute or fives, right? So the, even just the title of it is. One minute to five minutes. So I'm not sitting here trying to take a bunch of time. I average somewhere between two to three minutes most of the times, right? so it's quick hits. It's something that can go with it. And to your point, it's scary to put yourself out there. But at least I learned in a closed group that I also fed through corporate trainings and all this other stuff. So it was a little bit less scary. Then there were a couple times on Facebook where I did these and they and I started moving beyond just sales tips, right? It was something like hey, I learned this and I want to share it with you and there were a couple times I accidentally Didn't just post it into the closed group. It went to like my actual Facebook page, you know a few hours later I finally pick up my phone. I look at notifications like oh no this went to At least there was nothing that was too like it wasn't like businessy and people like this is great. This is great I'm like, you know what if I can bring value to a closed group, can I bring value to everybody? And so I started doing two. I started doing the one for the clothes group, and then I started doing one for everyone. And I put it on LinkedIn and Instagram, which also flows to my professional Facebook profile. And literally the thought process and idea behind it, because again, to get past the fear of it, is I don't do it for the likes. I very rarely ever check view count. Okay, it because whenever you put content out there, you have to do it because you love it because it's feeding your soul, right? And so the goal is I want to bring value to one person. My hope is I put that piece out there and if one person, whether they click like or not. Okay? they get a smile on their face, or that's exactly what they needed to hear at that point in time. Even if it's something I put out six months ago, and they just happen to see it. Goal accomplished. having that very low threshold for what I hope to get out of it. Makes it incredibly easy to just do it, right? and I, and 98 percent of the time I'm doing them in one take because it's authentically me, unless I literally, stumble bad. I'm very rarely ever stopping and hitting start again. And, it's a thought from a podcast, a book, a conversation, something, and just, it's just sharing that insight for the week that I hope to bring some encouragement to people.

Jeremy: 21:15

Yeah. And again, if you're not connected to Keith, I'm on LinkedIn, Facebook, whatever. I'm sure he's got ways to connect. And we'll talk about that towards the end of the show. How did you get over the cringeworthiness? Because I think everybody or the imposter syndrome, I call it the cringeworthiness. Because when I watch my own podcast back when I watch my own videos back, I struggled in the beginning. Cause it's who am I to say these things? And who am I to put these things out there? How did you get over it? Was it just because you made the mistake and then you realized that people were getting value out of it? Was it back to your five, your five step journey that, finding out your, why talk to our audience, because we all have something to offer the world. And I love that you got over the fear and the anxiety of it, because at the end of the day, we all have something to offer. And if we're willing to put ourselves out there. Oftentimes we'll be really surprised at the results, but I'd love to have you walk our audience through that because I think there's people out there listening that have wanted to do something like this, whether it be for their staff, for their children, for their church group, for their whatever. And they, they can't get past go. So talk to our audience a little bit for just a second. If you wouldn't mind.

Keith Sampson: 22:14

yeah, so I mean if people that happen to watch this or see the stuff I'm doing now they if they knew me and like especially middle school and high school I had a really low self esteem like God made me with a pretty outgoing and positive personality But I had a really low self esteem so that a lot of these shifts took place as I went to college Became more comfortable in my own skin and literally I had to reach a point Where I had to stop worrying so much about what people thought Right and really stepped in this place and it can be off putting for some right some people can view the confidence as Arrogance, but there's when you have humility with confidence That's what keeps it in balance and check But I had to reach a place of where you know what if I'm doing something to help others and people don't like it or People meet me and I didn't do anything wrong. They just he laughs too much or he's too blah whatever right and they don't like me I can't control that. Like I'm not going to lose a second of sleep because you don't like me because you just don't like who I am naturally if I did nothing to you. So there was a journey along that way to get me to that point. But yes, definitely the accidents helped trigger like the thing. But, here's the deal with, cringeworthiness or imposter syndrome. Like it's real and it's still real today. Okay. Like it's one of those things, John Acuff has a book soundtracks.

Jeremy: 23:33

Yep. Oh, that book is amazing.

Keith Sampson: 23:34

Amazing. But what we're talking about right now is replacing a negative soundtrack that I don't have anything valuable to give to people with a different soundtrack that says I have worth. I have things to share with people. ooh, cringeworthy. Who's measuring cringeworthy? the lighting's not right. Who cares, right? It's about the message or whatever else. if they want to judge the goal of helping others with the minute details of what they might do different, you just got to dismiss that, right? so try not to go there. it's definitely difficult. And I will tell you that oftentimes I am still my own worst critic. if I get on stage and talk like I'm immediately, there's times where I walk off going. That hit. I feel great. There's other times going, Oh man, I missed this. That didn't feel well. I think I went too long. I'm already in my head. There's an applause happening. The people that booked me are like, smiling. Everybody loved it. And I'm already in my own head going, Dang it. I could have done better. In reality, that's what drives us to be better anyway. So there's a good balance to having that, that desire to want to continue to push and self criticize. You just can't let that keep you from moving to inaction. That's probably the biggest thing is keep that in balance. Don't let that self criticism become a negativity to where you then don't take action.

Jeremy: 24:58

Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree. and, Mike Hyatt talks about, Michael Hyatt talks about the fact that, that anxiety is because you do want to do such a good job. that fear is because you It's not, it's less of even about it's your body and your mind preparing you to deliver a fantastic performance more than it is even the other side of it. And I alluded to Sean Walsh earlier, but, I just recorded and just released the show with him. the only cringeworthy part that I will say is my teenage kids like to play the podcast from time to time around the house or on road trips or. But, they've got their friends over and they're in the pool and they'll put it on the Sonos out in the backyard. And I'm like, please stop this. but at the end of the day, you don't realize the impact that you have in, and there's people that listen to you, that listen to your Monday minute or five every week that you will never meet. There are people that you are going to impact in ways that you never. And I know you and I have been impacted by people that we've never had a chance to meet. We've been impacted by books that we've read, by people that we've listened to podcasts and those kinds of things. And so that really leads me down the path, Keith, because I know you and I have talked about. Your desire to, to be on stage. And it's less about being on stage for you, but being on stage to impact others and to how to draw a greater audience. Can you talk us through where you're at on that journey? and where do you really want to be? Because I know you and I have, you and I have talked through it and I know your goals and I'd love for you to share those a little bit with our audience.

Keith Sampson: 26:20

Yeah. really, you got to start with the beginning of the journey. and I've always been for the last 20 years. I've been good at like teaching, right? Training and training salespeople and doing some of that stuff. And then back in 2018, 19, I really started doing some corporate training on a higher level. And then in 2019, when I was working, for my previous employer, I was in charge of the sales conference and I brought in one of our keynote speakers. His name's Ryan Estes. Phenomenal guy, right? And before that, I always viewed keynote speakers as, celebrities, they have a book, like all of this stuff. Cause Chris Gardner, the author of pursuit of happiness, who will Smith played, he was our other keynote speaker. oh my gosh. And, so that was my purview of keynote speakers. here I found Ryan Estes through a YouTube clip and I'm like, our. Like our sales partners need to hear from him. They need to hear his message. So then going through the whole discovery call, being on the end of booking him and then getting to know him a little bit. And then as he's doing his keynote and sharing authenticity, these principles and his heart, I'm going, why can't I do this? I have these messages, the watershed moment that I already shared of, the business through, the, my, my why was already there, I'm like, what's keeping me from doing what he's doing, other than the experience of getting to a stage like that, right? But the idea, when you take the stage, the ability to impact masses at one time versus one on one conversations. Is absolutely enthralling. Some people be terrified of it. For me. I'm sitting there going. Yes I get the opportunity to change the world through the words and everything, right? So that started me down the journey of that and I stayed in touch with Ryan And as I continue to do more, through my corporate job and then when COVID hit I went from doing in person events to doing virtual And I had an idea as I was flying back from Atlanta after an in person training, going, Okay, if things start shutting down, like I've got another one of these in person events in Miami in April, in Miami and Vegas next month, what if stuff shuts down? And I had this idea, I have to be present in the room to bring value to people? obviously with things like this, a podcast, no you don't. And so I started on the plane going, what would it look like to take this virtual? Get back, and I'm buying stuff on Amazon before stuff shut down. Little did I know, everything would shut down. And I went from, I had to convince my boss to let me do it, but to my knowledge, and please, anybody listening to this and I'm wrong, I wanna know, okay? But to my knowledge, I led the first virtual, at least in the payments industry, if not wherever, virtual sales conference that I can find. So on April 7th and 8th of 2020 from the base of my house with a set that I built with scrap wood and a backdrop and everything from our garage, I had a two day event that had 400 attendees, 19 sessions, two keynote speakers, running with a Logitech camera and a computer, right? And we had an enthralled audience because everybody's stuck at home. And I'm sitting there going, who am I? Going back to the imposter like, I'm just me. And I got done with those two days going, wow. We just brought value to 400 people and I am a nobody. Okay.

Jeremy: 29:31

and so thank you for sharing that, Keith, because I do think that, your medium is through words and through whether it be being on camera or being on stage, but I think we all have something to offer and I would encourage everybody. It sometimes it's through art, sometimes through writing, sometimes it's through speaking, sometimes it's through writing a book, sometimes it's through writing a blog, but Unfortunately, the world, when you ask a kindergartner to draw you a picture and then you ask a 40 year old to draw you a picture, the 40 year old, I can't draw. And they've got these negative soundtracks in your head, like you talked about from John's book versus a kindergartner hasn't been, the world hasn't beaten it out of them. And I think all too often, I would encourage our audience to consider that says there's so much more in you, but you are going to get out. And it does remind me, of that book that, that, that was written. I don't remember the exact name and you may be able to call me on it. That where the hospice nurse wrote down the five things that people said on their deathbed. And the big thing that, if you haven't read this book, it was an Australian. And she wrote down the five things. And the one that always sticks out to me is that I'm going to die with a song still left in me. And it gives me chills saying that now, but it was one of the things that I lived the life that other people's wanted me to live rather than the life that I lived. I worked too much that I'm going to die with a song still left in me. And I would encourage all of our audience. And part of why I wanted Keith to come on was not to talk about payments, not to talk about even his, fitness store, but really to encourage our audience that says, You've got a song in you and you need to figure out how to sing it through art, through writing, through speaking, through encouraging, through one on one, through mentoring, because you can change the world one person at a time. So I guess I'd love for you to riff on that. If, if you wouldn't mind real quick for just a second, Keith.

Keith Sampson: 31:11

Yeah, 100. I'm glad you touched on like art, music, anything, right? So there's so many different, methods and medians to put your stuff out there. one, you got to not be afraid to put your stuff out there and be vulnerable. but number two, again, if you put your stuff out there with an expectation, and I'm gonna, I'm gonna go back to the idea of goals, right? And expectations. So a goal is I'm gonna accomplish X. An expectation is I'm going to accomplish X by adding a time frame to it. Or a certain number or an amount and so what happens is when expectations don't get met Disappointment happens disappointment breeds unhappiness and growth can't coexist So going back to the whole monday minute or five or even my expectation like where i'm at in my speaking career i've got that's a goal to get to a certain point And i've had to put some measurable things in there to drive me towards that goal, but i've kept expectations incredibly low for a reason because if I'll use this again if my expectations go i'm gonna get 20 paid keynotes next year and instead I get 10 right and but that 10 allows me to bring positive impact to 10, 000 people like isn't that amazing isn't that an amazing accomplishment and a feat to positively impact the lives of 10, 000 people but if I go I didn't hit this expectation. I'm limiting my own potential. and so like the idea of eliminating that expectation and just looking at and going, I have something to give and I have a method that brings me joy to give it in push down that path, whether it's food, like a lot of the people that listen to your podcasts are in that hospitality space, right? Some people get a pure, adulterated joy and preparing a dish. And having somebody enjoy it. Other people, like Will Gudera, who I know you've read the book on reasonable hospitality. the joy in the hospitality experience that can be given is a median to express and to give to others. don't shortchange that. Don't find that not meaningful. I'm sorry, my head's spinning here on the whole riffing piece. Arthur Brooks, August 9th, I had no idea who this dude was, right? And he was a speaker at the Global Leadership Summit this year, and he's a hard

Jeremy: 33:34

leader.

Keith Sampson: 33:35

Yeah, I used a Harvard professor on happiness. I'm going that's got to be the greatest teaching job in the world, right? And so he has four things that he calls his pillars of the happiest people, friends, or sorry, family, friends, faith, and meaningful work. And so if your work can provide meaning and you find a way to fulfill your soul through the work you do, that, that just elevates your overall happiness in life.

Jeremy: 34:03

Oh, Keith. again, I knew you wouldn't disappoint and I'm so grateful. Selfishly, this is encouraging to me. I love sitting, hanging out. part of why I do this, even though the cringeworthiness is because I do want a greater impact and it's amazing that you're, you've been able to impact our audience. I know, in amazing ways, just by sharing part of your story. I know there's so much more to, to peel back as you continue to dig in. how do people follow? How do people connect? How do people, if they wanted to, go check out the retail store, if they want to, book you to speak at an event or see what that might look like, or even on the payment side, how can they engage? What would be the best way to connect with you? What would be the best way to, to stay connected, to start to, to, receive all of the gold that you're putting out into the world.

Keith Sampson: 34:44

So I would say because I have so many different websites and so many different things going on with the different businesses, LinkedIn, I've got one LinkedIn profile. That is a great method, right? And DM me there, on Instagram. All my businesses have different Instagram profiles. And then I have a personal one, which is you got to request a friend, right? That's where my kids are. You know what I mean? I got to keep that stuff private, but the I am Keith Sampson profile is another great way. So that one in LinkedIn is where I just put all the stuff out there. I've got the I am keithsampson. com website. It's okay. That's got, it's got some work there to do like over the next six months, right?

Jeremy: 35:14

had nothing else going on. So I don't even know why it what's taking you so long to get that going.

Keith Sampson: 35:19

But I would say those are the three easiest ways. LinkedIn, Instagram, iankysamson. com to find me. And then if you want to learn about cloud nine, multi sport or server, any of the other stuff I'm doing, DMS emails through those contact forms, and then we can roll from there.

Jeremy: 35:34

Awesome, Keith. I know that, you've got a lot going on, so I feel like it's a privilege that, that you got to hang out with me in our audience today, to our audience guys, I don't take your guys for time for granted. So thank you guys for hanging out. If you haven't already subscribed to the newsletter, haven't already subscribed to all of the places that you can connect, you guys all know how to get ahold of me, Keith, have a fantastic day and to our audience. Thank you guys again.

35:56

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