Oct. 13, 2020

Episode 2 - The Rick Ross Breakdown

In episode 2 of Nicky and Moose the Podcast, Nicky Saunders and Mostafa Ghonim shine a spotlight on The Boss - Rick Ross! 

While his music career is solid being 10 albums in the game, his eye for good business and the way he brands himself is unmatched. But how did he get there starting from nothing? 

Check out today’s episode as we emphasize the mindset behind the larger than life rapper and see how we, by following the same principles, can create and maintain empires of our own.

What you will discover:
-The importance of remaining a student
-Becoming unstuck by learning to pivot
-How to adapt in a digital world
-Promoting what people actually want
-The significance of being all in
-Learning from those who came before but creating your own lane
-The value of vision
-Why being self-made is a myth
-The consequence of being a selfless, self-aware leader
-The importance of teams and processes
-Making timely decisions
-The difference between confidence in speaking things into existence and faking it ‘til you make it

 

Transcript

Nicky Saunders:

What's poppin'? What's poppin'? What's poppin'? Welcome to Nicky and Moose! I'm Nicky! That's Moose! Sup Moose?

Mostafa Ghonim:

What up y'all?

Nicky Saunders:

Yo. So, today we are going to be talking about one of the biggest bosses in the industry, in the culture. None other than Rick Ross. Moose, real quick, how you feel about Rick?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Ah man! To see someone build himself up from nothing and expand. Yeah, it's gonna be a nice lesson today a lot of good lessons tie with this one.

Nicky Saunders:

Man! Let's just, let's get straight into the intro.

Jaymie Jordan:

Two kids from Queens. Cut from a different cloth. Now joining forces helping you to elevate your personal brand. Yeah, I'm talking about Nicky and Moose, bringing you a never before seen perspective into the mindset, the mentality, the behaviors, the driving force, but more importantly, the stories behind the people and brands that you know and love the most.

Nicky Saunders:

So first off, I'm a huge fan of Rick Ross. I am. Like my man is in 10 albums. Did you know that? 10! Whole 10! That beyond crazy. But before we get into all that, right? Before we get into all that, I actually want to... how does it feel to have the podcast Moose? How does it feel?

Mostafa Ghonim:

This is so cool, man! This is so cool. Again, you guys got to understand, man, when we first started this, this was in the beginning of March, right? Just as COVID was picking up. And we were...and I told the story on the intro. But I think it's important to see like for us it's still a bit surreal. Because it started off as "Yo, let's just share some helpful information with the people while everyone's in quarantine and isolating". Next thing you know, it goes from that to a show to now a podcast that is trending on some of the top charts. Man just super grateful. Super grateful.

Nicky Saunders:

Crazy! Crazy! But look, I wanted to acknowledge like, that was the first episode. Let's just say this one is going to be even better. But I have to acknowledge those people who like left a review, shout out to everybody who left a review. After this episode, I need you to do the same thing. But let's acknowledge, I want to always shout out at least one person who leaves a review. This person said, "If you aren't ready to take yourself, your business, and content to the next level, keep it moving. It's always gems and great conversations with these two. Can't wait to see what you guys do with the podcast. Congratulations!" I'm just saying it's a whole vibe. It's a whole vibe.

Mostafa Ghonim:

For those who were wondering, "Did you guys have a pro just read that?" No, that is Nicky's podcast reading voice. Thank you very much Nicky! We will send you your check in the mail. We will send you your check in the mail.

Nicky Saunders:

Ya mean? Little lightwork. Little lightwork you know? So shout out, shout out to everybody who left a review and everything. But I want to get ... I want to get into this. I do just because, doing the research about Rick Ross, like I think a lot of people are not understanding how smart my man is. Like doing some of this research. I'm like, yo, now I want to read the book. Shout out to Rick Ross, he has a book out there. I want to know more about him because I think some of his his knowledge, some of his thought process isn't given the credit that, you know, like maybe some of the other greats. I think if you really start paying attention to the movement, to his, you know, his interviews and things like that, and we're gonna go into that, my man is strategic! Sheesh!

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, it's not it's not by mistake. Like I think sometimes people just discount some of the people in the music industry, whether they be rappers, musicians... oh, they're not that, you know, they just write some rhymes and whatever. They make up a fake story, but he's really intelligent as it relates to what specifically are some of the things that move the needles for him and his businesses. And he's motivated to continue to build it so or continue to build it. Look at me continue to build. So yeah, you can, you can see that click.

Nicky Saunders:

So let's, let's do what we usually do. Right? And let's talk about the flight assessment real quick, right. So what, what the whole point of this podcast right is to really kind of highlight our living legends, the greats and everything and kind of break down some of their characteristics and patterns and see what we can connect with and what we can't. And we normally go based off the flight assessment, right? So the flight and of course, this is what I always do, because you know the characters we need to show them or leave them alone. But, uh, we go based off the pilot, the flight attendant, the grounds crew and air traffic controller, right? And Moose, within a minute and 30, for all our new and vet people, can you explain what's what?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Absolutely. So yeah, first, let me give you a background story. When you're wondering like "What in God's green earth is the flight assessment?". Nicky, let me take

1:

45 and just give some context here. The flight assessment y'all is based off of the four dominant personality types that we know exist in the world right? Now, this is a tool that we use, that helps you to identify and become more aware of your patterns, your tendencies, so that you can begin to intelligently and strategically position yourself in areas that can help you have a greater chance at success. that's ultimately what it breaks down to. There's so much stuff that we can talk about, because it literally stretches back to 1928. But for the sake of this conversation, we're just going to give you more of the abbreviated version. And we use the airport theme to introduce that. So when you think of the airport theme, the first kind of key player that you see in your team or in your travel experience is the pilot right? Now, what do we know about pilots? They sit at the front of the plane. Their main focus, they don't even have a rear view mirror, their main focus is getting that plane from where it is to its final destination. So those who we see to have pilot tendencies, those are the goal driven, super direct and motivated individuals that love to see bottom line progress, right? Whether that be getting a return on their investment in terms of time, or money, or even a combination of the too, those are some of the tendencies that we see from those pilot characteristics. But next up, you have the flight attendant, right? What do you think of when you see a flight attendant now? Always super friendly, very happy, helpful, they want to make sure you have a great time. They're looking after you to ensure that you have a great experience. So, flight attendant personalities, or anytime we reference a flight attendant, we're talking about those individuals who are just naturally influential, something about their personality is magnetic, you're drawn to them, they have their influence, they kind of set the trend, they like to be on the next new cool and hip new concept. Right? So those are your flight attendant styles. Now, when you get to your seat on the plane, if you're sitting in a window seat, you look out the right or look to your right or your left, right out the window, you're gonna see people in (I like how you look, Nicky), you're gonna see people in orange, blue or green vests. Right? Those are your grounds crew. Now, your grounds crew involved in a lot of different areas, as it relates to your experience, right? They're getting bags on the plane, they're helping the plane or the pilot get the plane from the gate to the runway, or vice versa. They're bringing up beverages and snacks to the flight attendants. So while we don't think that they're involved, they really play a major role. And these are the individuals that are all about loyalty, right? They love to be a part of a team and they'll just they want to do anything to make the team win. Those we refer to as the grounds crew. Last but not least, air traffic controls up in the tower somewhere you don't hear them. But they have a specific vantage point that allows everyone on the ground to move and make sure things go according to plan. These are the people who are strategic, they are more so organized, they like to work with details and, and and find numbers and things of that nature. So there There you have it. All four styles in about two minutes. Flight assessment.

Nicky Saunders:

Aye! So, if you want to, comment. If you're listening to the podcast, kind of give your view your viewpoint on the reviews. But look, let's get into this first clip. And let's break that down.

Rick Ross:

I'm a new student to the streaming as well. The formula and the format that I came in on I mastered that MF. I knew how to yo this the day we gonna release the record, this gonna be the date. This gonna be the date we do this. This the day we're gonna do the in-store. This where we gonna do to in-store because this the type of record that's out. We're gonna get that type of... that's changed. And guess what? I'm sitting back once again, just watching it until I get that MF mastered the way I did again, because it's something that you really really got to spend time with. It's easy to go sit somewhere. Sit down at Tidal, sit down at Spotify and they can break stuff down for you in 10 minutes. But that ain't what I need to really master the game.

Nicky Saunders:

Shout out to Joe Budden with that. Um, there's like so many parts that I want to pick out from that right? So, first off, super strategic, right? He went from totally mastering what we knew as far as physical sales. So when he first came up, he was selling CDs, tapes, all that great, mixtapes, all that great stuff, right? And he knew from the point of when the in stores, when we're going to do the music video, when we're going to drop the new single, then we're going to drop the album, what are we going to do afterwards... that was a art to him. That was something that he studied for a very long time and he mastered. And the fact that he literally said, Yo, I'm still learning this streaming stuff like this is new, this is absolutely new. And so I'm gonna sit back where other people would look at it and be like, yo, I've been successful all these years, I'm gonna do the same thing that worked before. I'm gonna do the same thing that got me to the, you know, platinum, double platinum. Like you barely hear people go double platinum anymore. You barely hear about that. Right? So he said, yo I'ma sit back. I'ma study the game and master... because I can go like he said, I could go to Tidal, I go all these things. But it won't be in his own way. It won't be within his power of how he could master it. And it's great to understand and see that even with somebody of his success, even with somebody have 10 albums in, and I'll get let Moose get into the whole stats and everything like that, but even with so much, he is still like, if there's something new, I'm not gonna rush into it. I'm gonna really learn and master the craft, that others may have taken, you know, taken for granted. They just think it is what it is because you listen to other people in the culture, and they've either complaining about the streaming game, some people have totally embodied the streaming game. And he is like, you know what? Hold up. Let me figure it out. Let me experience it myself. Let me not rely on industry to tell me. Let me learn this myself. Like Moose, what was what was kind of your take on the the clip?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, I love his perspective, in understanding. Especially in today's business world, there's a there's a popular term that I'm afraid to use, but I think it's the only thing that people are going to know what I'm talking about. But it's this concept of pivoting. Right? This is a very popular term, especially in 2020, when you're talking about your business or your brand and, and how you kind of navigate these unique circumstances of everything heavily dependent online. And if you weren't someone who was positioning yourself to know how to continue to diversify your portfolio or have other methods of streams or sales, right, that was a quick adaptation that you had to make. That if you weren't practicing that unique or specific skill set throughout just the length of your business, it was a difficult transition. You know, there are some statistics showing that there is a lot of people, whether you're an entrepreneur, or a business owner, or just someone who's employed, that is in a tough position, almost over 100 million people can face some unique circumstances come 2021 if the market or just the business world doesn't begin to progress again. So what I love about him is that he understands the concept of the pivot, right? He understands that what worked in the past, although it's worked for me, I cannot be traditional in my thinking and hang on to the way in which it was brought out. Maybe the way I conceptualized, the way I created, the way I built my songs or wrote my songs or you know, just that whole concept. But from the marketing from the branding standpoint, and that's what I would say is probably one of the biggest changes and maybe you can speak on it a little bit more Nicks. But I think what's changed over the last 10 years, it's less about marketing, and more about branding nowadays, you notice the difference were marketing, it was just like, one time I gotta go in there and focus on this specific product or album or what it is that we're working on, where the concept of a brand now it's how can we be and build longevity with our people and establish loyalty with them that they can say whenever I need this, or here's someone that needs this and I can get that from Nicky or I can get that from Moose. I'm gonna go and refer back to them. Right? So would you say that we that's one of the things that you've seen terms of shift in the marketplace over the last, you know, few years.

Nicky Saunders:

I think there's there's many, there's many shifts, and like you said, the whole pivot and all that great stuff. Like, there's always going to be something new no matter what industry and culture that you're in, right? And the way that things are happening is that we're getting more digital than ever before, right? And everything from Zooms to, you know, virtual meetups, to streams to virtual concerts, like, it's just we've become more digital than ever. And for those who were probably raised in a more physical live situation, in stores, buying physical copies of stuff, that can be somewhat of a shift. That could be somewhat of a change, right? Like I said earlier, not everybody is going platinum, like it used to be, right? Because and I don't know, if you have these numbers, where it how much is a stream? Like, do you have those kinds of numbers?

Mostafa Ghonim:

I don't. No, I don't. Not right now at least.

Nicky Saunders:

Probably look it up. But it's just a one physical album does not equal up one stream. It doesn't. And so, it comes to the point where artists are now selling air, that's how I always kind of look at it. It's like, it is harder for people now to sell their music, because it is nothing that people can touch. It's not something people can really go about, but it's something for those people who really study, it's something that people can experience. Some people that can really embody it. And if you know how to market, what I like to call air, you could do anything, you can sell anything if you know how to promote music, if you know how to promote anything digital, because you're now selling more of an experience, rather than a physical copy of anything. So when he sat down and was like, Yo, I just got to study it. That's, that says a lot about a person that says a lot, because some of us just jump in. Some of us just jump right into the whole situation of, Okay, this is the pivot, I got to do it. The same kind of way that we did with with COVID. Some people didn't know how to pivot right away. And it took months for people to kind of get their, their, their legs, right. But at the same time, there are others that went straight into it, and failed. There was some people that went straight into it, and kind of just went You know, I don't have a system. I don't have a strategy. I'm gonna just go. Right? So it's more of the I love the studying part. I love being strategic. That's just me. I don't know.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, so so check this out, right? We actually looked this up. So a stream now at least on Spotify is probably one of the more confirmed sources, is that a stream only counts on a song, a single song if the song is played for 30 seconds or more. Now, here's where it gets a little tricky when you're talking album and how do albums get platinum status or gold status in this new digital streaming era? Right? It says that 1500 streams is now the official equivalent of a 10 single tracks sale, or one album sale. So 1500 streams gets you the sale of one album. Remember, you need traditionally you need 25,000 units for gold, or 50,000 units for platinum. So streaming that is 500,000 streams, or a million streams for platinum.

Nicky Saunders:

That's crazy. That's crazy.

Mostafa Ghonim:

It changes the game. It changes the game.

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah, that's, that's crazy. And, you know, maybe one day, we could break down the streaming situation because some people say there's machines and some of these record labels that just all they do is play the records over and over again. And so that's what clocks up the streams. So it's when you live in a digital world, there can be some pluses and minuses of it. But we won't get too too much into it. But I think in any pivot in any strategy, any change You have to study before getting all the way into it, you have to really understand the movement, especially if you were successful before the pivot. Especially if you were well known. As far as one of the top tiers, in your industry, once there is a change, are you embodying the change? Are you kind of just stubborn in your ways and sticking to what you know? So, that's one of the things that I love about Ross.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, and I will say this too, because I never like to give just a one size fits all type answer. But I will say, especially if you're someone who had success in the past, you're able to buy yourself time to study. But if you're just new in the game, and you have nothing to lose, you're able to take, you're able to swing for the fences, as they would say, in baseball, and expose yourself to a greater deal of risk, because you really don't have much to lose. Now, of course, take that with a grain of salt. I'm not saying go out there and absolutely bash your reputation. But you know, I do think that that depending on the context, the way you apply that strategy is going to vary slightly. But for sure, if you're someone who is, you know, seasoned in the game, you have time to buy yourself, because you're not in a rush. It's like, Man, I'm good. I don't necessarily need to release right now right now. And of course, if you have the time to master your move, you're more likely to make the right one.

Nicky Saunders:

Facts. Well, let's get into this next clip, which talks about Ross pretty much, showing all the bottles, anything that he has, it's you will always see it and he kind of gives a reason why he does this.

Rick Ross:

Your hustle determines your salary. And it's one of the things that I still live by today. If you watch my story on my Instagram, before I eat my breakfast in the morning, I promote close to a dozen of my brands. I incorporate them into my lifestyle. I'm a firm believer in that. And that's that's how everybody must prepare when it's coming to get.. when it's time to get your money. If you are a realtor, you have to incorporate selling homes, into your lifestyle. That's just the way it goes. And I apply it in everything I do from the rich haircare beard oil, to you know what we smoking like, to what we drinkin like, the Belaire, a Bumbu you know, the Chief Stix. And like I said, everything I just mentioned to you one thing that they all have in common is they're all billion dollar entities. They all come from billion dollar markets.

Nicky Saunders:

Shout out to The Millionaire Student Show for that clip. Man! So, Moose you go first.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, I like this one, right? I like it. Because you see that there's a method to the madness after all. Now, I definitely want to throw it back to you at some point just in terms of this concept of promoting or doing so much promoting with your brand. Because I think you you do a phenomenal job, of course in managing some of the large platforms that we're on that you have to manage and take care of our clients. But I think it'll be cool for you to talk about that for some of the people who are like, man, am I selling too much? Am I selling enough? Right? That's a good, that's a good conversation for us to explore. But you think about the moves here. So intentional, right? Not only am I going to show you the brand, I also know that strategically, I'm positioning myself in industries that have a huge market cap, huge market cap. So even if I'm not the sole player in that space, I have greater opportunity, because I know that the demand is there. And that's one of the things that I always like to challenge entrepreneurs on it's like, Look, entrepreneurs, the one thing that we don't struggle with is ideas, right? Like the creative genes and entrepreneurs almost come hand in hand, the ability to make something out of nothing, is just a natural gift that many entrepreneurs possess. That's what you would think of as your supply. Now, if the demand is not there for that thing that you're creating, that's where you really have to kind of look in the mirror and say, Man, what's my move here? So what I love about what he's saying is that regardless of what product he's putting out there, it's not just a natural likeness or attachment to that particular product. But there is a huge demand with a billion dollar market cap and some of those industries that he's talking about, so I really like that from a business perspective.

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah, that it's it's all about being intentional, right? It's all about but also it's all this stuff that he rocks with. It's all this stuff that he honestly uses. So you thinking about the beard oil. Well, my man has an amazing beard. Shout out to Ross and his beard. That needs to have its own Instagram. But um you know, he the Belaire bottles, the the cigars, everything that he normally does in regular life, about his lifestyle he pretty much. He loves chicken. He has Wingstop. You know? He has Checkers. He has all these different things that you know what, he probably eats and uses. So the cool thing, and he mentioned in the beginning part was the whole, like, every single time that he is on camera, he is promoting something. Okay, so if people remember the Verzuz battle with 2 Chainz, shout out to 2 Chainz, he had bottles everywhere. He had Belaire bottles everywhere. If you look at any of the IG lives that he's done, he has bottles everywhere. He is promoting something at all times. And it's crazy. And I didn't take the clip, but he did an interview with Fat Joe. And Fat Joe was like, Listen, does that really work? Is that like I see you placing all your products in one spot? And it's always there. Does It really work or is that too pushy? He said, you know, Joe, I've been to richest ever by doing that. You know? I haven't been richer. Like this is honestly working. I believe so because I've never been richer. And I mean it for those who who follow Rick Ross. You already know the estate. Coming to America 2 is being filmed there. It is just he lives a typical boss lifestyle. But how he does it is not only through music, and really isn't the the majority of the percentage of it is music. It really is the products and the businesses that he owns, endorses partnered all that great stuff. And he does a great job of it. Because when people do partner with him, they know you're going to put this everywhere, you're going to do everything that you can to promote this. So let me do something with you. Right? And he always is like, you know what, if this makes sense, if this goes with my lifestyle, absolutely. Wingstop was a just an idea of I wanted to, you know, I wanted to be in the franchise business. You know, he started with one, then he got two so he ended up with three. And now he's at a point where he doesn't even know how many that he owns. And when you go back to the Verzuz battle, which is on YouTube and Apple and all that great stuff, you will see Wingstop and you will see Belaire. You will see everything that he promotes in everything that he does. And I think that entrepreneurs really need to embody that because you cannot promote something just one or two times. You can't just show it up on social media here, maybe do some ads here you have to really live that lifestyle, you really have to show that you are about what you produce. You are about your whole brand. So there's a reason why hip hop artists look a certain kind of way because they have to embody the lifestyle Now granted, you have a few people that you know are kind of just to the side but their skills say it all but if you are trying to embody the rapper, lifestyle, a hip hop artist, you have the chains you have the brace, the watch the cars, the mansions, everything because it's a lifestyle and if you're trying to be number one in that, you have to embody that you have to show that you have to sell yourself and what Rick Ross does amazing is that yo you are a successful not only rapper, but businessman out of like compared to everybody else he is I believe in the top when it comes to business moves and just a complete catalogue of a hip hop entrepreneur of like a Jay Z, a Dre and stuff like that because of what he is doing is more business then music but you can't touch his pen. You can't touch what he's given to the culture. That is solid. No one could question him. And hence why when the Verzuz like you can't even understand who would be a great match for Rick Ross. Right? They even said at a point it was gonna be like T.I. and Rick Ross, because, you know, you have to he belongs in the top tier. So if he belongs in top tier, and your businesses and your brand is crazy, like, you got to give props where props is due. I'm just saying,

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, 100%. Yeah 100%. No, I agree. I agree wholeheartedly, I think it makes a lot of sense. It's like, you think about somebody entrepreneurs who just spend so much money in buying other people's things or other people's brands, which is cool. I'm a big fan of supporting other people, or other entrepreneurs, especially. But when you buy somebody (there you go) when you buy some of the major brands, it's like, Man, that that is an opportunity where you could have sparked conversation with someone at the mall, someone where maybe you went out to eat because you're wearing something that represents your brand and what you do. You know, it's like that concept of embracing the lifestyle, what I call, fully answering the call, right? The call of what? Whichever you said you decided you're going to embark on, when you take full ownership and responsibility of all the things that come with that, you're no longer concerned about, "Man, but what if they see me wearing this hat? Or this shirt? Or this pin or this that? You know? Man, maybe they're gonna judge me?" No, this is what you decided to do. "Dey", shout out to DJ Khaled "dey" are not paying your bills, right? They don't have a say in what you wear and how you go about doing it. If that's what you need to do to survive, and build your movement, you have to go all in. And you'll notice that anytime that you're looking for signs, you really don't see the signs until you go all in. And that's one of the like, and I think people out there need to listen to that is like you're looking for a sign. But if you have not made your full commitment to say, at least wholeheartedly, maybe I may not commit my time, because I have a nine to five, maybe I can't fully dedicate all of my being to it because of other responsibilities, family, children, any of those things, I totally get it. But until in your heart that you and you conversation, where you say, "Okay, I'm answering the call. I'm committing to this. And it's not just because it's trendy or seasonal, I'm going all in," you really don't reap the benefits, you don't see that sign until you make that commitment. So for anybody out there who's kind of like, you know, doing the rainbow, or the little, the hopscotch, alright, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go, I'm telling you, you're not going to get the sign that you want to see. Until you answer the call and make the commitment.

Nicky Saunders:

Bars. Bars. But let's get into this, this next clip, just cuz, um, it kind of goes a little bit as a piggyback off of the first one. Because like I said, he's a student to the game. And when Elliott from Tidal asked him a certain question, he really admitted to still studying. So let's get into that.

Rick Ross:

Make no excuses. You know, if you're gonna get in a game and do anything, you got to compete with the greatest and the best. I always studied, who I was considering the best. So the music I make is most definitely following my vision. You can't expect you know, you to be yourself and do with what you feel the best about it, Chase something else. So I just, you know, studied the greatest listen to, you know, visions, ideas, and what I felt was the best coming from The Boss.

Nicky Saunders:

So,

Mostafa Ghonim:

I love how he refers to himself in third person.

Nicky Saunders:

Oh, amazing! Boss! I need to get that sound clip. I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna do that. But, um, I mean, we have to, we have to think in once again, see patterns with people who are top tier, and how they really study those who were before them, really study the game and really study patterns of what worked before. But what is my vision? And what can I do to mix success and what I wanted to be to create my own lane, right? So when you when you think about that, because there's so many copycats, there's so many people that get into a certain lane a certain industry, and they don't have that vision. They don't they didn't do the research and study so they instantly attached themselves to maybe one or two competitors and tried to milk that. Try to copy that. And in all actuality, it just really takes a clear vision of what you wanted it to be. And what Ross said on that Tidal interview was like, Yo, I had I had something in mind. Right? I had something in mind. And I but what I did is that I'm a true student to the game. I really looked at other people, I really loved what they did. But I had a vision of how to take it to the next level, right. And what I love is because there's even in this generation, and any generation of music industry, they see the trend, and they they just copy it, you know? So there was, I can't sit here and say that there was a whole bunch of Rick Ross's I won't say that. But if you think about it, there's a whole bunch of Lil' Wayne's, there's a whole bunch of Drake's, there's a whole bunch of Young Thugs, there's a whole bunch of who else is out there, Jay Z's and things like that. There's certain people that started trends. And when you think about Rick Ross, I haven't really seen somebody tried to copy that. Because was what they keep saying, and I agree, is that it's more of a luxury rap. Right? And you can't really copy something that you don't have per se, right? Because Ross has this kind of, like, Okay, I'm, I'm from the streets. But I have this thought process of a whole empire. And so I'm going to rap that to acknowledge where I came from, but see where I'm going and see how I'm living. And this is what it is. And he got that off of just his vision. So Moose, how to you, how important is vision going into business? With so much going on? within the world, so much going on? As far as people trying to be in the same industry? Like how important is vision?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, super critical. Man, when you don't have a vision, it becomes easy to compromise, you know? Because you're just kind of now going with the flow. You're ebbing and flowing. Or you don't know what direction you're building in. How do you know what you want, if you don't know what you don't want, or what doesn't match your vision? So I think vision is super critical. And what I like about what he says here, too, is that you know, this concept of studying, there is a myth that I think every entrepreneur, every leader needs to address is this concept of being self made. I because I think that's like that's so important for a lot of alphas or just A- type people who want to be seen like, "Hey, I didn't accept no handouts". And hey, respectfully, so. You should not look for shortcuts or, or want to take on any handouts. But maybe from a financial standpoint, from an information standpoint, nobody's self made, right? So this concept of self made is, is really a myth. Or if we're going to talk about it, let's be more direct in the concept of I didn't get a financial handout, right? Maybe I wasn't left the fortune by family members, or an insurance policy or things of that nature. And again, no problem if you did or if you started there, but I'm just saying, let's be clear on this concept, because it can lead people down the wrong path. When you're going into something with the mentality of I'm self made, or or I don't do that because I got to build it on my own. No, you have to learn from those who came before you, and you have to pay your respects.

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah, I agree with that. I agree. Let's get into this next one. I think we're gonna get into decision making, okay? And if you're not getting the clues for the flight assessment, like we broke down earlier, you may need to rewind this. But let's get into this next clip.

Rick Ross:

One, we dedicated so much time into building the empire. What's best for the empire, not for me personally? Because a lot of times I'm willing to roll the dice and maybe do something that may not be best for the empire. And that means I got to think for us both. Know what I'm saying? I got to think what's best for me and Sashin so you know what I did this morning? I got up and got on my story and said, "Yo, I'm doing an interview with one of my homies from overseas. He's a real hustler. I want y'all to follow his page. Check him out." That's what I did this morning because I'm thinking about the empire. What's best for the moves me and you make? If we gonna do it, let's go all the way out.

Nicky Saunders:

Another clip from The Millionaire Student Show, something like that. But, um, so, you know, I love decision making, that's my vibe, right? Selfless. Like, that's what I got out of that. It's more, when you're super driven and ambitious and all that great stuff, you kind of make decisions very quickly. And if you're not aware of that, like, there's a lot of decisions that you can make wrong, because maybe you just didn't consult your team first. You didn't even send a text like yo I'm about to do this. You just made a decision, without somebody checking you and not checking you in a negative way. But you affect, your decisions affect people as a whole. It's more than just you, even though maybe it is your name, maybe it is your business, maybe it is your brand. But what you say and what you do affects somebody else, whether it's in a small way, or in a big way, right? And the way that Ross just broke that down, was like, though, I may feel a certain kind of way about it, though, I may want one thing I have to think of the empire that has been built. I have to think about what is already in place. Because sometimes I could go left real quick and going left, I could affect people. So let me put others in front of me, let me expose, let me give them some kind of exposure to what I have going on. Right? And so when they win I win. And I think that is a huge, huge, huge key to leadership. I think that's huge to even just acknowledge, not even necessarily the steps just yet to fix that. But to even acknowledge, like, yo, we built this whole thing. And I know that I can go left real quick. And that right there, like, even for myself, I can just go. Like, I don't really consult people, sometimes I'll just go. And even to the point, small things like writing some things, grammar, spelling, can make the brand look crazy, right? And it's just isn't it's majority of the time when we make decisions super quick because either we don't want to wait on people or we don't want to bother people, it be crazy when you do give that task, that situation to somebody else, they actually do it really quick and it's not a bother nine out of 10 times, right? And we don't really, we don't really put that in our minds, because we're so maybe wired to think if I ask somebody they're too busy, or they got other things going on. Or I'm not going to get in the timeframe that I need it, because you're already in execute mode. But sometimes we got to slow it down. That's why we have a team that that has our back, like you never want to have a team that is pretty much gonna stab you in the back. But nine out of 10 times you probably have a team that means well by you that wants to see everybody win, right? And so we have to kind of lean in our team a little bit more and put them up front, rather than keep them in the background and you be only the face of everything and you're the only one executing because that's going to drain you as a leader that's going to drain you as a person. Right? Because some people may not be like I'm not a leader, okay, cool, whatever. You're going to be drained as a person if you take on everything and you take on every decision. So understanding that it's okay to slow it down real quick. It's okay to call somebody it's okay to text somebody it's okay to put other people up front and have that you know, one team one fight kind of vibe, because it's about the big picture. It's about as he would like to say that empire but it's really about the big picture the big vision that you had as far as your brand and your business. But Moose...

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah

Nicky Saunders:

How, so you can from a standpoint of already slowing things down for decisions, like you have certain things in place, or you're not moving really. But lately, you've, you've been like, "Alright Nicky, I'ma update you now. Like I've done some things. I'll update you now that is done." Like talk to people from the opposite end of I don't make things decision super quick.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, so for me understand like the reason for making or taking time to make a decision, is because you want to think through some of the different possibilities, or you want to make sure that you have all your X's and O's in a row, right? Or your ducks in a row, or you have your "i's" dotted "t's" crossed as they would say. So like taking that time really just makes you get the enough confidence to know that, okay, I'm moving in the right direction, everything is going to check out. Because I know I'm not the only one. We don't like to do double work. So if I can slow down a little bit to avoid having to do something twice, or do it over or make so many edits and adjustments and corrections, then to me, that is a valuable move. But here's the other side of it, Nicky. What I started recognizing and appreciating so much more of, and I'm not sure it's just because of 2020 and everything that's happened this year. This has been a year full of lessons. And my biggest lesson was the importance of time. And I started to really value and appreciate time. So while I am going to wait, there's a difference between waiting and taking your time

with something. (Sound effect:

Wait a minute, wait, wait a minute!)

Nicky Saunders:

Break that down. Break that down.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, yeah, when when you're waiting, you're waiting for direction. You're waiting for instruction. You're waiting for someone telling to tell you what to do, how to do it, when to do it. You're letting someone else tell you to or you're allowing someone else to determine the standard of what is acceptable, what is good, right? When you're taking your time with something, you already have set the spirit of excellence for yourself. That the standard for what you're going to stand for and represent around anything that comes across your desk or your work or your area of mastery and gift that that is going to be at a spirit of excellence. It's going to take every ounce of your being to make sure that it is produced at a high level. But you may take your time with it because you want to create that level of masterpiece. So that's what I've noticed is that there's a level of urgency. There's a proactiveness with taking your time with something knowing when to slow down to give it the energy and the attention that it needs. As opposed to you're letting time slip because you're waiting for someone else to come to you and tell you, Hey, can you do this for me? Hey, can you go do that next. So regardless of what level you are, or what position you play in a team, what role you're in, whether you're the leader, whether you're the partner, whether you're just an employee, hoping to be in a role of leadership, at some point, you try being more proactive in what you do, and I can wholeheartedly guarantee that the person that you're working with the position that you're pursuing, is going to come much closer to you that that role, that opportunity is going to present itself much sooner, because now you're embodying the characteristics that the role needs. And that's what you like, you know, as you as you spend time around high performing individuals, entrepreneurs, athletes, and we've been fortunate to be around high levels from both industries, you start to see that the the tightness of their routine, that the scheduling around every minute, and hour of their day Not to say that they're like auto programmed robots, but the understand the value of time And if they can do something now they're going to strike i with a level of intensity an urgency, that it keeps their m mentum hot, but they're very s arp and focused when it's time t work. And once they're done, t en they can kind of like let l t off or let back and chill o t a moment. So that that is w at I would say, has been my r alizations over the last, you k ow, six months or Yeah, six m nths or so of this year. Let m ask you a question. Yeah. And I know you have some too, but I w nt to ask you this because as s meone from your perspective n w, who naturally without e en having to think about it, you can pull the trigger, ight, you're not going to sit ba k and think twice about som thing. What has made you take ppreciation for knowing w en to slow down or why you shoul listen or maybe get the opini n or perspective of someone w o may be not choosing to do it he way you would prefer to do it

Nicky Saunders:

So it goes based off, I've done a lot of work over multiple times, right? Based off based off decisions that was made too quickly. You know? There's a lot of, I think this this year, actually, the past two years, I've appreciated details a little bit more, you know? I appreciate those people who, you know, can point out some of the things that need to be improved in my life, improved in, you know, in business and stuff like that. I could appreciate that more, because when I was at a point of making decisions a little bit too quickly, I didn't have that. So I didn't have really the guidelines or the roadmap of what to do. It was more of a learn as you go. And, you know, to, to get to a certain part, sometimes you have to do that. So I don't regret doing any of the decisions that I've made super quick. But now I'm at a point where it's like, Okay, what does this affect? What is this going to stop? If we do this right now, because if I'm thinking spontaneous, and I make, if I've pulled the trigger, now, that means something has to stop. That means something has to be delayed, and push back from the original deadline that it was supposed to, or that I'm taking away resources from something that was almost about to be done. And being on kind of both ends of a, from a leader standpoint, and from on a team standpoint, I can see when a leader does that, how it affects the team. I'm like, I thought this was going one way, but you're telling me to go this way, and then you'll come up with something else. So now we have three or four projects that are incomplete. And so is fast decision making, always the route to go when at the end of the day, it actually stops some of the big vision things. You know, so at and thinking about that, I have to appreciate slowing it down. Sometimes I have to appreciate talking it out sometimes. Because if I don't, I can make a mistake that is going to cost me more time to fix regardless of how big or small it is. And, and I know at this time of my life, just like how you said earlier, like time is super important. You know? And as you as you grow within a brand, within a business, you start getting momentum. Like you ain't got all the time to fix it before. Before it was like, oh don't worry about it. We go, you know, and we'll fix it along the way. I hate that statement from now on. I hate it. It sucks. It's so much work towards the team and not you. You know, I get the whole you know, the whole perfect is what was that line that they say?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah. Done is better than perfect when perfect isn't done.

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I I don't like that. I hate it. I hate it.

Mostafa Ghonim:

She said, yeah, nah. (Sound Effect: Congratulations, you played yourself.)

Nicky Saunders:

I hate it it. I want to tell you, those people who say that are not doing the work. It's there's a whole cleanup crew that does it. Right? And if you really follow that statement, you're not being considerate of those who have to clean it up. Even if it's yourself. That's going to get old after a while you're going to be like okay, I'm not about being perfect, but I'm really not about this reckless spontaneous life either. So that like and I'm not gonna get super transparent but there was one situation this year that umm...I said I'm not. I'm not. Ok I'm not.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Wait let me say let me say this for the podcast people though cuz because we said this on our other platforms I just gotta make sure. Anytime you hear Nicky say "Alright, let me be honest," okay, now you gotta duck. You better duck. If you hear that phrase coming from Nicky, "Let me be honest, real quick."

Nicky Saunders:

Shout out shout out to the S2S podcast. They call it "the insurance bucket". I say, "Let me be honest." I like it because Okay...

Mostafa Ghonim:

We appreciate the honesty though. We appreciate the honesty.

Nicky Saunders:

The honesty has to be there, because I'm not going to be picture perfect, right? Yeah. But, um, I am going to be cautious just because Moose already put the alarm out, right? Um, but it's, there has been too many times in, and I'm a high pilot, right? I'm a pilot and flight attendant, right? So I'm a spontaneous and I make decisions, I come up with ideas, and I do them. The most craziest thing, shout out to all my flight attendants and pilots that are equal, because this is this is a lifestyle you, you don't really want to live. But, um, I've been through too many times of cleaning up some of the stuff that I have done, that the team has been super spontaneous about. And it's a lesson learned now going into a new quarter is it's a definite lesson learned to go into now, hopefully a new year, you know, of what to do and what not to do, who to be considerate of and who not to be considerate of, you know? I appreciate team way more than ever, especially through through COVID, especially, you know, when so isolated. And if there's no communication, there's no consideration. There's no systems, no processes, and all that great stuff that I normally don't even talk about or care about, and just really bored about but Moose is loving life, if there's none of that, I think COVID would have went completely sideways for some businesses, and it did for some businesses. Praise God for us. We've been Okay. Um, but that's because of the appreciation of the systems and the processes. And I think with Ross, going back to, to the topic with Ross, I think he understands that there are certain things that have to be in place that to make the vision go further, because the more that you just go, the longer it will actually take in the long run of getting to the big picture.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I think it takes a self aware leader to recognize some of the damage that can happen. Or even who you have on your team, that how your decision will affect them. You know, like, like he said, perfectly, like, I may want to take a risk, but because of who's on my team, that may not be the best move. So it takes that concept. So you'll notice that through a lot of our episodes, that's what we're trying to draw reference to. So that even if you haven't, if you haven't taken it again, you'll hear us a lot. And this is not even a push for a sale. But truthfully, it's one of the tools that has helped us just in so many different ways. But if you haven't taken a flight assessment, highly consider making that investment. But the concept for us to get is to give you examples, patterns, resources, that can just allow you for a moment to sit back, listen, and evaluate. Right? You've got to just take that look in the mirror and say, "You know what, I have that tendency. Oh, shoot. This is somebody on my team who acts more like Nicky, who acts more like Moose, and they are the polar opposite of how I would normally choose to do something, but I can see why they are the way they are." And you said it perfectly, perfectly Nicky. The moment you begin to appreciate those differences. Ah, forget it. Forget it.

Nicky Saunders:

Facts, facts. So let's get into this last one that I sent to to Moose that even though it's kind of not necessarily on the brand and business side. I think it goes a lot with the mindset of how to, you know, be a leader. How to make sure you stand out in things. So let's get into this clip.

Rick Ross:

Me being at album number 10 is I don't know if they believed me when I said "Boy, Ima boss. I'm gonna show you all I'm the biggest..." You know, it could have just been rap talk or whatever, but the difference between me is I really believed that. I really meant that. Was I the biggest boss when I said it? Nah, I was speaking from a perspective of letting you know where I was finna, go.

Nicky Saunders:

Hold on, hold on. Okay, um, that that right there, like when I saw that, right, when I saw that, what podcast was that? It's The Real. Shout out to them. Man! There was two thoughts that I had. Okay, so first one is really just speaking things into existence. Right? And having the confidence that gets you to that level. So he didn't go into the rap game on some, "I think I'm going to be an okay rapper, you know, I'm probably be good for maybe two albums, you know, and then I'm out. You know, um, man, Jay Z, I'm going against like, I'm kind of a big guy. So people may go and me and Biggie and Pun and everything like that, you know, I'm just going..." He flat out was like, I'm the biggest boss. And he meant that, regardless of where he was, at the time of saying that, right, that not only speaks things into existence, but that actually brings momentum to your confidence, you know, and if you say something over and over again, people may look at you crazy in the beginning, but then be like, yo, he's the biggest boss, like, you ended up saying it, you ended up going "Boss". Like you ended up doing a lot of what he was saying, right? Because he said it over. And over and over again, if you think about some of the other greats. Shout out to Kanye. He said he is the greatest at many things. And to a certain extent, he is, you know? No one can knock his producer thing. And I reference Kanye a lot, because first off, he's always connected somehow to some way by people who we talk about. And two, it's similar languages, like the people who really are top tier, the people who really are considered the best speak a certain kind of language, feel a certain kind of way, have a confidence have a certain kind of level. And if you don't go into the game, with that confidence, or that shift real quick to gain that confidence, it's hard to know and believe you that you are going to be number one, if you can't believe that you're going to be number one. It has to start with you. And what I loved about that clip, is that it started with him. It started with, you know what I'm going to say I live this lifestyle, I'm going to be this way. But then also at the same time, I was a bit conflicted. The reason why I was a bit conflicted was because some people may hear that and say, okay, he wasn't a boss at the time. And then he became that, so that "fake it till you make it" kind of vibe, you know? And we see that now with with IG. And we see people renting and, and do borrowing a lot of stuff that's not theirs. And they try to play this lifestyle that really isn't. And so I was conflicted, because I was like, that's fire. But you saw the results afterwards, right? And then I was like, yo, if the wrong person hears that and embodies it, then it's a fake it till you make it kind of thing. And I'm never for that. Look, get your money boo boo, however you want to. I'm super for that. But at the same time, it's just, it's corny. It's corny. Like, serious? Look at me, people hold on, hold on. If you're watching this on YouTube, look at me people. Like it's an insecurity if you have to seriously like, show off everything that you don't have.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Talk about it.

Nicky Saunders:

Because you're trying to impress people who do not care for you. It is the weirdest thing. It is something that you have to self check and shout out to the flight assessment because if you don't really know who you are, you're going to do things like that and try to impress people who don't really care for you. ... like these people you don't even talk to. Nine out of ten times they're probably trolls. So the for those people who really take that clip on some "fake it til you make it", like, I promise you look within yourself, because you don't. He honestly had that confidence going within, like, he believed that was what's gonna happen, right? He didn't have to play it in any kind of way. He just had to say it in a certain kind of tone. And people believed him and things came to him, as he believed in himself. He didn't have to live a fake lifestyle, he just believed more within himself and where he was going to go. But let me let me get off, let me get...ya mean?

Mostafa Ghonim:

That's real man. That's real. That's real. I think, I think the context is so important, man. This, this is like one of the topics that I've been teaching and training on so much lately, because I understand the idea behind the information and learning and studying from others. But if you don't have the context, for what it was intended, or how it was intended to be used, you're going to misuse the information and not get the result that you attempted to emulate. So it's so important that you talk about that, because yes, he's talking about speaking about something or speaking something into existence, but not to the point that you're now being a fraud. But I think for some of us who struggle with confidence, and I was one of those people just in with all transparent, in all transparency, I was definitely someone who struggled with confidence, I was never able to see myself in the way that the world may have saw me or I did not evaluate my talents in an accurate way, I always felt like I was less than or it just wasn't good enough, or my expectations were too high or can always be better. And I was thinking so much while I was doing that it took away from the productivity or the efficiency or the quality that I could have brought to the task at hand. So I needed more of that affirmation, that self affirmation. But in the process, I realized that it is actually more admirable for you to have something and not show it off, than it is for you to be out there. Just kind of like...and you know, I'm saying like just traight, trying to demand tha attention. When you're gre t at something I was about to s y, good, but let me be, let me be clear, when you're great at s mething, what's for you will f nd its way for you. Right? So think that is definitely one of those things that we, y u know, we need to add in the e in terms of context for the pe ple listening.

Nicky Saunders:

Listen, I just, I wanted I wanted that to be kind of the last clip, just because I'm, I'm big on confidence, right? I'm super big on that. Because that really determines where you're going to go. It really determines how people look at you, because we sometimes want the best. As far as the best brands as far as the best business, having all the the engagement having all the money. But if we don't believe in ourselves, we can't expect other people to believe us. Right? We can't expect to get forward if we are holding ourselves back. So I just wanted to end there. Because when you think of Rick Ross, you think of this big lifestyle you think of this boss lifestyle you think of, you know... Did we even get into his numbers? I don't even know if we got into those numbers.

Mostafa Ghonim:

No, we didn't. We should.

Nicky Saunders:

Yeah go and get into his numbers. I know we we all over the place. Nah, we're not all over the place but you know.

Mostafa Ghonim:

I get you. I get you. Nah, finish that point. Let me pull them up. Go for it.

Nicky Saunders:

But I think with who Rick Ross is, and what he's done with the culture 10 albums in having multiple businesses, that is creating a net worth of a gwap, which Moose will get into right? Um, it says a lot, just by his presence, just by how he holds himself, just by how he's a student to the game, just how he's strategic with what he does, and how selfless my man is, right? You have to look at these different points and be like, what can I grab and bring to myself? What can I learn, and try to put in my own formula of success? Because if you look at what he did, as far as, okay, I'm going to study and I'm going to create it in my own little pot, you should be having your own little pot or your own little book of how to have the success like you, like your name, whatever that is, and you're learning from the greats. You're learning from people who've done it before them, who you're not copying. There's no person that resembles Rick Ross. Right? And like I said earlier, people would probably would have pin him to a Biggie at first. Right? But his voice didn't sound, now there's other people who were big and their voices sound like Biggie and they're nowhere to be found right now. Right? But Ross had a different voice, had a different style. Was he influenced by Biggie because Biggie had the Coogi sweaters and you know, the jewelry and everything the the Jesus piece? And of course, he was influenced by Biggie but he did not copy Biggie, he created his own different kind of lifestyle. And so I really encourage people to just learn from these different things, learn from these different lessons that we're about to give you on this podcast, and really see what you could connect with and create for your own. Like, I'm going to take this... I already told Moose, like Yo, I got to study Ross more because the way he moves is different. It doesn't get its proper dues, it doesn't get the recognition it should be like even as a as a rapper, sometimes he doesn't get the recognition that he should. But from a branding and business standpoint, he definitely doesn't get as much talk as he should. And if Ross if you hear this, would love to have you on one time and talk about it and break it down with with you personally. But really like we see what he has, and we have to study that we have to acknowledge that and we have to give praise and give him his flowers as he is living. But Moose, break down the stats.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, man I mean involved in so many different industries. First off 10 albums. What I loved about studying, you know, just his career, the man wrote for 15 years before coming out with his first album, right? So it's like man, you talk about the dedication to a craft, 15 years of writing before coming out with his first album, he's 10 albums into the game, 4 Grammys, an entrepreneurship portfolio or a business portfolio that stretches across many different industries: real estate, spirits, hospitality, he owns 25 Wingstops, not sure the number on the Checkers that wasn't listed. He comes in with a net worth of $35 million dollars which that can also be questionable. I feel like he's stretched in so many different brands and areas that it's like come on Forbes, you might need to you might need to upgrade my man he's he's definitely up there.

Nicky Saunders:

Probably worth a little bit more. I'm just saying.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Right. Right. But But here's the move that I loved around also like his estate, because everyone that you know it's you know it's a different level when you're no longer calling it a house or a mansion, but you're saying it's in estate. Hey. Hey, yeah, so 54,000 square feet, 109 rooms, and of course 21 bathrooms, right? The cool thing is and I say strategic in his moves, because he got the home on foreclosure. You know, that was a house. That was Yeah. People people have not talked about that. (Sound effect: Wait a minute. Wait, wait a minute.) Yeah. Yeah, yeah, he bought it on foreclosure. It used to belong to event a Evander Holyfield the boxer.

Nicky Saunders:

Evander what happened? What happened sir? I thought we were good after boxing. What happened?

Mostafa Ghonim:

Right. Right. But he bought it at 5.4 million on foreclosure. So you can only imagine what the property is worth, especially the size of it today. Right? So just you know, a lot, a lot of smart moves all throughout that I was like, yeah, this is, this is good stuff.

Nicky Saunders:

Sheesh! Listen, listen. Um, man, like I said, he got a book. I'm going to do any kind of promoting. Look, I'm about to buy the book and I'm about to go in on it. Maybe, maybe down in the future, we'll do a part two of this after reading the book and stuff like that, just cuz it's a whole memoir of stuff that he doesn't necessarily tell on interviews. And it sometimes breaks down the business stuff too. So I'm excited about that. Man, Moose, final words.

Mostafa Ghonim:

Yeah, man, find your authentic style. You know, like, I think one of the things that we noticed with Ross that's so admirable is that everything that he does is a lifestyle to him because he wants to prioritize being himself. And for us out there who are establishing our businesses, our brands, entrepreneurs, leaders, to be or aspiring leaders or leaders currently. Find out more of those things that make you you and think about how can you make those more so present in your environment, that they depend on your success that they're required for your success, because now you have to be more of who you are, less of who you think you need to be. And that I think will get you closer to your success.