- Honestly, there's five things
that everybody needs in a recession backpack.
(upbeat music)
- [Interviewer] Obviously given the current situation
with corona or COVID-19,
a lot of people are facing unemployment,
businesses going down as well.
(clicking) Do you think there's a risk
of us going into a recession right now?
- I don't think we're at the stage where we're trying
(clicking)
to manage the risk of going into a recession.
I think we're at the stage where we've got to manage
what that recession looks like,
and what's our response to the recession.
You know, what's our pivot to the recession.
What's our innovation to the recession.
It's a foregone conclusion,
the recession's gonna happen,
it's gonna be more than likely global,
deep, far reaching, and wide.
And so now that's where the real work begins.
(clicking)
- [Interviewer] So are you worried about it?
- Look, yes and no.
(clicking) I'm worried for the people that haven't prepared,
yeah definitely.
No, because I have prepared,
and I don't mean that in any kind of prepper away,
but I mean that in terms of I understand cycles,
and it was after the 2008 cycle,
which I came out of unscathed,
but I saw how many people who didn't,
and that wasn't even really a big economic collapse,
so to speak. You know it could've been so much worse,
than the landing that we had.
So for me after that,
I've just been someone that's prepared.
I've been preparing
for some form of financial disaster now
for about seven or eight years,
close on eight years.
And so I've been frugal, misering,
like building, establishing, testing, measuring.
Because for me,
you know preparing isn't just about collecting acorns.
You know it's also about making sure that the tools
that you've got to collect acorns,
can actually operate in winter when there's no acorns.
So basically how do you create acorns?
I think it's gonna go in the direction
that it's gonna go.
And the people who have prepared,
will in most cases thrive,
and the people who haven't,
will essentially be reconstituted into the system
of what the global and national innovation looks like.
Because we are gonna see
incredibly high levels of unemployment.
We're already seeing that right now.
But what I also think we're gonna see at the same time,
which is what we're also seeing right now,
is massive levels of pivot, massive levels of shift,
massive levels of innovation at a digital level,
and at a people level,
in terms of people's capacity to be able to work
from any location around the world.
And so that in itself just opened up a global workforce
for those unemployed people.
And it's now finding the recomposition strategy
to put those people back into the new jobs,
that will be created as a result of the new economy,
that will be born as a result of all of these changes.
Because that's what's gonna to happen,
there will be a new economy that will be born.
We're seeing new governance born on a daily basis.
We'll see new economics that are born.
And it's in many respects,
it's gonna be a lot easier after this for people,
and this might sound strange,
but what I'm gonna see happening,
is it's gonna be a lot easier for people to grow after this,
than it was perhaps before,
because we've reached such incredibly inflated
heights of performance,
of economic performance,
of economic growth,
nationally, internationally, geo-politically,
geo-globalization.
Yeah, it's interesting now,
when we reflect on that conversation with David Suzuki,
where he was saying,
in order for us to survive as a species,
we have to get comfortable with negative growth.
We have to get comfortable with negative economics.
And what I'm seeing right now,
and I've been having this conversation
with David in my head,
the last couple of days,
is we're seeing that event.
We're seeing,
but it's not happening slowly,
there's going to be a massive event,
which is going to obviously crash a number of economies.
But what we're gonna see from that reset,
is the ability for,
you know the potential
for more of a even starting point,
because when we're not playing
in an overly inflated world necessarily.
and this could be economic ideology,
who knows,
but I honestly believe that this reset
will give a lot more people the opportunity,
not just in a way that we recomposition ourselves
in terms of our workforce,
but also in terms of resetting the benchmark
of what's affordable.
You know, making houses more affordable,
or making cars more affordable,
the cost of living more affordable.
And I see there being a shift with people focusing more
on lifestyle and living
versus just being out there in the world
and doing all the time.
(clicking)
- [Interviewer] And what's a way to
make the most out of this situation for an unemployed?
- Look, the way to make the most of this situation,
(clicking)
if you're unemployed and you haven't built a well chest,
and you've been living week to week,
is you need to radically familiarize yourself
with your value proposition in the new world.
And what I mean by that is,
what are your skills?
What are your core skills that you know,
that you can deploy to add value
in the new environment?
Well, I'm now remote
and I'm a massage therapist.
Okay, but do you also have a kinesiology qualification
that you can use for phone consults?
We've got to start thinking a little bit differently,
if not a lot differently.
And that's just the reality for so many people right now,
that if you don't,
then that's the worst case scenario.
If you don't look for ways to recomposition yourself,
that's the worst case scenario.
If you don't look for ways to develop and grow yourself,
that's the worst case scenario.
Because it's only if we can't find a proper solution
to recomposition,
I think we're going to have real big problems.
'Cause what do you do if you've got 2 million people
who are employed,
on a system that can't support them potentially.
That could get ugly.
- [Interviewer] in terms of perspective,
(clicking) is there a way to look at,
as an unemployed person right now,
that this is an opportunity?
- Absolutely,
(clicking)
every situation is opportunity depending on your mindset.
And right now a lot of people's mindset has been challenged.
But I think the biggest challenge is most people,
who have done any form of personal development,
have only done it in a baseline environment,
in a closed environment,
where everything's nice and safe and secure.
And so there's a whole bunch of new news now,
there's new levels of unemployment,
new levels of businesses that are going bust.
But with these news,
we've got this new perspective.
And right now it is going to be very difficult
for a lot of people to look at this and go,
"Well, where is the balance?"
You know it's like going through a breakup,
there's no balance in the midst of a breakup,
there's no a balance in the midst of a divorce,
there's no balance in the ICU if you're in traction,
'cause you've just savagely broken your back or your leg.
The transcendence comes from the experience,
not necessarily in most cases the event itself.
And so I don't necessarily think
that everyone's gonna to be able to
balance this perspective easily.
If anything,
I think it's gonna be
one of the most challenging things about our time,
if not possibly even our history,
our written history.
But yeah I guess time will tell.
(clicking)
- [Interviewer] what's the key
to getting to that balance eventually?
- I think the key to getting to that balance
is just using the tools.
And the tools that are,
what's the benefit of this?
What skills, knowledge, and experience
am I gaining from this?
How will this make me bigger, better, faster,
stronger, more stronger tomorrow than I am today?
And if we're allowing ourself to succumb
to the suggestion of the environment,
in terms of the dominating thoughts of our mind,
then yeah, we're also fucked.
So we've really got to control the narrative.
I think one of the most... It's a really good question.
I think one of the most important things
that we can all do right now is control the narrative.
Because the narrative is creating the fear,
the narrative for some as creating preparation,
the narrative for some is creating anxiety,
the narrative for some is creating innovation and pivots.
And I think what we've got to do right now
is look at who's controlling the narrative,
and I'm not talking about the media,
I'm not talking about the governments,
I'm talking about yours.
Who's controlling your fuckin' narrative?
Who's controlling the story that you're running in your head
and what all of this means?
Are you buying into the global conspiracy
or the health conspiracy,
or whatever's going on?
And the reality is who fuckin' knows.
But what I do know is this,
we are ultimately the architect.
And the more you own that narrative,
the easier life just naturally becomes,
because we're no longer subjecting ourselves
to a narrative that is external from ourselves,
which is just someone else's
external representation of their reality.
And you're consuming someone else's expression of reality,
and you're taking it on as your own.
And what I'm suggesting is don't do that.
What I'm suggesting is create your own narrative,
write your own narrative,
like literally get old school,
write your own narrative,
start writing your own story,
redefining what the situation looks like and means.
Fuck, Helen Keller wasn't born out of
sunshines and blue skies.
Viktor Frankl,
you know Victor Frankel
became one of the greatest psychologists of our time,
as a result of the experience that he had,
you know almost dying multiple times
and seeing enormous amounts of death,
in German concentration camps.
You know, we've got to understand
that although we may not be experiencing
the balance in the narrative at the moment,
but we are in control of the narrative
and where that narrative ultimately goes,
and that will determine your reality.
And this is my challenge,
I' say to everyone watching this video,
what is the number one benefit that you have seen?
And don't tell me there's fuckin' none,
because I'm seeing plenty.
I'm seeing an abundance of love,
abundance of collaboration.
I'm not saying the other stuff isn't there,
but I'm saying there's beauty there.
And so I want to know the number one,
top one to three most beautiful things.
The biggest benefits.
What's the greatest benefit?
How's this made you better, fitter, faster, stronger today,
than you were yesterday,
as a result of this fuckin' virus,
let me know.
(clicking)
- [Interviewer] What have you,
Kerwin Rae done to prepare?
- Look what I've done to prepare for the recession,
is I prepared for a recession.
Like I legit have not just been preparing for something,
I've been preparing for a recession.
So whenever I work with any client,
and I am my greatest client,
I'm always looking at the level of de-risking
that's required to maintain operations,
under any circumstances.
But also having a level of streamlining capabilities
and lean capabilities,
that enable you to run the organization,
in a range of sizes of scale,
but still efficiently and effectively,
depending on what the market conditions are.
I've never been more grateful for my obsessive compulsive,
PTSD, ADHD, dyslexic behaviors,
because I think of every worst case scenario,
I create plans for every worst case scenario,
and I actually really fucking enjoy
thinking about worst case scenario,
because it's just how my brain operates.
And so while I don't want to necessarily say
that I am naturally someone who is prepared,
but I prepared for this by being ready
for a worst case scenario and thinking contingently.
And the reason I think contingently
is because I've had skydiving accidents,
and so I thought, "Okay, well, how do I avoid that?"
You know, I've failed in business three times
and I've asked the question,
"Well, how do I avoid that?"
You know I've skinned my hands,
I've cut my hands.
I've had all sorts of accidents
and I learned my lessons from that.
And the reason I prepare is because I know that preparation,
in most cases isn't required,
but when it is,
it's so amazing to have something there.
And so my saying,
I've said this for fucking decades,
"I'd rather have it and not need it,
"than need it and not have it."
And that is literally how I've lived,
how I leave every house.
Like when I leave the house,
when I'm in the car,
when I'm leaving the car,
what I leave behind, what I pack in my bag.
Will I need this?
What is the potential scenarios that I'm walking into it?
And I get it's not mortal combat,
in most cases it's a fucking,
it's a meeting.
But they're the questions I ask myself on a daily basis,
hundreds of times a day.
Obsessive, yes.
Compulsive, Yes.
A little dramatic, maybe,
I don't judge your narrative,
so didn't judge mine.
You know this is what works for me.
(clicking)
- [Interviewer] So let's say you have
a "recession-proof" backpack,
what are like three things that are in there?
- Honestly, there's five things
that everybody needs in recession backpack.
The first thing is to control the narrative.
They need to understand the importance of the psychology.
If you're not controlling the psychology,
you're not controlling the game.
The person who controls the psychology,
the person who controls the perspective,
is the person who controls the game, okay?
You're the subject to someone else's game,
so your subjective,
or you're the object of your game,
and your objective.
Just choose where to play.
Number two,
you need a plan,
and you need a tight plan that is tactical in nature,
that has almost a military in design,
because it's practical.
You know, we don't just plan so we know what to do.
We plan so we know what to do when nobody does.
You know the plan,
in most cases,
isn't required, because in most cases you know what to do.
A plan is a giant to-do list,
in most cases.
But where a plan really comes into its own,
is so that you know what to do,
when you actually can't think, okay?
What do you do when you can't remember what's on your list?
Okay, what do you do when the shit's hitting the fan?
You need an absolute plan.
The third thing you need in your survival kit.
is you need like a tool, a system, a something,
a product, a service, a cheat sheet, a guide.
You need something that you can give away,
as a form of education, information,
entertainment, inspiration, whatever,
that is compelling and interesting enough,
that either adds value, solves the problem,
makes them laugh enough,
for them to want to give you
some more information back in return.
And what I'm talking about here is the skill to market.
It's not even necessarily about having something,
a piece of paper that you can give away,
that's got value on it.
You know, that if anything is the consequence
of where you get to,
when someone's ready to have a drink with you,
when someone's ready to give you their phone number.
But you've got to understand in most cases
people aren't ready to give you their phone number
until you got to know them a little bit.
They're not ready for a coffee
until you've at least proved
there's a level of compatibility.
And how do we do that?
How do we do that in a socially isolated world?
Well, we're in a socially isolated world,
which is driven by a social media,
that gives us the ability to pump out content at levels,
up until this point,
that would be unprecedented.
Why?
Because up until this point,
we haven't been able to pump out content,
because we've been busy,
too busy running their business.
They're too busy being a parent,
they're too busy picking up the kids
and drop them off at school, and soccer,
and hockey, and everything else.
But now we have an abundance of time.
Okay, which we're probably also gonna see
abundance of fucking excuses as well.
But the reality is,
the only excuse that you've got
is a one that's big enough
to compel you not to do the thing
that could potentially save your family.
So let's weigh it up.
You know who's got a better excuse?
You know, to do or not to do.
We're not a victim of our circumstance,
we're a victim of our story.
And there'll be many stories of inspiration
that will come out of this. That will appeared in times,
like maybe even now,
like total death and destruction and chaos.
The fourth thing we need in our survival kit,
is we need sales.
'Cause what's the point of generating leads,
if we don't actually convert those leads
into sales and revenue in the first place.
Anyone can generate leads,
but generating leads in most cases is gonna cost money.
And sales by virtue of what that is,
is cashflow.
It's a cashflow activity,
by virtue of,
you know marketing is a cashflow activity.
But in most cases you've got cash flowing out,
in advance,
as an investment strategy,
in the hope that that's gonna to plant some seeds,
and it's gonna give you some fruit,
in the form of a cashflow return,
which is in your sales.
And you know, right now the government is talking about
giving out an incredible amount of stimulus.
Banks are talking about giving out,
an incredible range of interest-free loans,
which is great,
and you should get a hold of that if you can
and you need it.
But imagine if you didn't need it,
imagine if you are insulated, vaccinated, immunized
against the environment,
because your systems are so powerful,
you know how to get your head in the game,
you know how to generate,
you know how to put a plan together,
you can generate leads,
and you can go out there and you can make sales,
and produce that cashflow,
based on a new pivot that you've got,
because you're not a massage therapist anymore,
you're now a counselor, or a life coach,
or whatever your thing is.
But you gotta get the cash flowing
and the cash doesn't flow until someone sells something.
Nobody happens until something sells.
And the fifth thing we need is scalability.
And this is where most people don't understand scalability.
So the five things that we have, right?
We have the psychology,
we have the plan,
we have the marketing,
we have the sales,
and we have the scalability.
Now for the most part,
we talk about scalability in the context of leadership
and how do we become the leader,
that's required at that frequency,
that's required to attract the talent,
that's required to help us evolve to that next step.
And that's what we talk about,
but what we don't talk about is scalability
from the concept of,
scaling a business isn't just knowing
how to scale a business up,
it's also about understanding the mechanics
of how do you scale a business down.
And those mechanics are often not considered
in the startup world of raising capital
and having front-end businesses,
that don't earn money,
that are based valuations of being able to raise capital.
Scalability is a two way street.
Can you scale up?
Congratulations,
you've just increased your fixed overheads
by $1 million, $2 million, $3 million.
Can you rip it out,
just as fast if you need to,
and still maintain operations and still run profitably?
Scalability is a two way street.
Learning how to scale up is only by virtue,
by virtue should be preparing you for
what's required to scale up,
to continue to scale,
and it should give you the breadcrumbs
of where you drop that scale up,
to know where you need to go on the way back,
if you need to go back quickly.
And so for me,
you've got to know how to get your head in the game.
You've got to have a solid plan.
That plan needs to be focused on the most important things,
which are, are we actually generating leads?
Are we making sales and delivering value?
And you've got to understand that fifth element,
which is scalability.
Your survival kit,
you're going to need to know,
wow things are looking good,
you might have a couple of months,
where it's scale up again, great.
But then what if there's another round of pandemic?
What if there's another pandemic?
Then you might have to scale back again.
Scalability is like playing a harmonica,
it's not a harmonica,
it's a concertina.
Can you expand and contract with the amount of air
that you have available to,
to generate noise, music?
Recession proof,
chew chew. (clicking)
- [Interviewer] If you're not Kerwin Rae,
what do you do right now, in the current state of economics?
- You get your shit together really fuckin' quick,
and you do it not because you want to be anyone
other than who you are,
and the greatest example
of what that looks like for whoever,
depends on you right now,
because the reality is you don't have to be me,
you don't have to be The Rock,
you don't have to be anyone to succeed
in what's going on right now.
You just have to be the best version of yourself
and not be attached to what success looks like.
But please understand
that if you have failed to prepare at this point,
that's just a warning that there's still time.
As long as there's oxygen in your lungs,
as long as you've got air around you
and there's light shining on trees,
that can produce fruit.
You know, there's gonna be a way,
but we've gotta make it,
and it starts with a plan and you've gotta plan now.
And if you're planning, don't do it for yourself,
do it for those you care about.
(swoosh)
♪ I'm a man on mission ♪
♪ I don't need no permission ♪
♪ I'm a man on mission ♪