Gary Henderson: 0:00

My name is Gary Henderson. And I built the creator studio to show you what's possible. Today's guest is Ray Higdon and Ray is the definition of what's possible. I've known Ray for about 10 years. He's a network marketing professional. He's been in real estate and he's a new Christian. We're going to spend some time today talking about Ray's journey. Talking about his consistency and his focus. Talking about how he made multiple seven figures in revenue last month. And talking about his new journey into Christianity and how he's playing that out inside of his brand as a creator. So go ahead and hit follow on the show. Get your notepad out and let's jump straight into the studio with Ray Higdon All right, creators. Welcome back into the studio. Every time we have one of these sessions, it's a different guest. Today we have Ray Higdon and Ray and I go back about eight years. I remember I met Ray for the first time. We were at a marketing conference together. We were in San Diego and we were meeting up for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, and Ray brought his notebook and his pen to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch to take notes for whatever we happened to talk about. So he's a, a regular student learning and growing. Um, ray's, I mean, just absolutely remarkable at one point in time over like 20,000 customers inside of his company. I've spoken at multiple events for Ray, and I'm really excited to have Ray here today, but we're gonna have a different conversation. So a lot of our conversations, we go through the journey. I wanna talk to Ray about a slightly different journey today. I've been watching Ray's content a lot, and I've watched a shift. I've watched a shift to Christianity. I've watched a shift in Ray. And as creators here, you and I, we are gonna take a journey in life. We're, we're gonna build our brands and be ourselves for the rest of our lives, but we're gonna take these moments where we may take a shift, we may take a step, a different direction that our audience isn't used to. So I really wanna spend some time talking to Ray today about what that looks like, how it's impacted his business, where he's headed in the future, and why he took this piece of the journey. So Ray, welcome to the studio

Ray Higdon: 2:20

Yeah. Excited to be here, man.

Gary Henderson: 2:24

and thanks for stepping into Discord. I know, um, I wasn't, look, I've been in Discord for like two years and every person I brought in like Jessie Lee, she's like, I've never been in here before. Pedro Ao never been in here before. Nobody has ever been in Discord. Um, we spend so much time in here. It's, it's like a little bit of a, a hybrid of Clubhouse and, and Slack and Zoom all mixed into one.

Ray Higdon: 2:46

Nice. Nice.

Gary Henderson: 2:48

So, Ray, Not too long ago you took a bit of a of a, of a journey into Christianity. What took you there?

Ray Higdon: 2:58

Yeah, good question. Um, so, you know, 20, it, it really goes all the way back to 2019. And, you know, first of all, I didn't grow up in the church. I didn't. You know, I mean, seven, I mean, I came, I came to Christ six and a half months ago, seven months ago. I didn't know one verse. I had heard about John three 16, but I actually didn't know what it was. And, uh, and so just wanna kind of lay that groundwork. So 2019 was, you know, just an awesome year. And, you know, I spoke on Grant Cardone stage, I spoke on Russell Brunson stage, and, you know, we had our biggest event we'd ever had and just, you know, just, just crushed it. And something happened and something happened of, I kind of looked around and I'm like, there's gotta be something else. You know, I, I hit all my monetary goals. I, you know, hit my exposure goals, my impact goals. Like, like all these, you know, good things were happening, but there was still something missing. And, and then of course, you know, covid happened, right? And in 2020, and. You know, it's interesting and, uh, you know, one of my, one of my buddies said this and I, I thought it was pretty cool. He said, you know, back in the beginning of that, everyone was saying, Hey, go inside. Go inside, go inside. And, you know, and I kind of took that at a soul level. Go inside and, and I started a very different journey. I went from, you know, that guy that, you know, you described of, you know, not that I wouldn't still do that, but, you know, I went from the guy just, what are the business tips? What are the make money tips? What are the social media strategies? What are this, what are the, I went from that to, Hey, what's deeper? Like what, what, what is actually gonna alter me? Because, you know, all those years I was, you know, chasing, you know, significant status, identity, wealth, my, you know, all, all these different things. And I'd, I'd gotten them, but I still didn't feel any different. I still felt just as. Missing and misplaced as I did, you know, so many, so many years ago, and so many millions of dollars ago. And, and so, um, I started a very different journey. I wanted to find out, you know, why do I have social anxiety? Why can I speak in front of a group of 20,000 people, get a standing ovation? And then, you know, back then I just had this irresistible, you know, urge to run back to my hotel room and kind of hide. I remember before I went on stage at Russell Brunson's Funnel Hacking Live, I, I actually had a panic attack. I had to go back to my hotel room and, and call one of my coaches who kind of, you know, walked me through it. And why is that? Why is this kind of stuff happening? So I went through a very deep internal kind of journey. Lots of different therapy, uh, hypnosis, and, you know, tapping and just all kinds of different things. And I even did two years every day of one to three hours a day of meditation. And all of those things really helped me. You know, I learned a lot from Dr. Joe Dispenza. He spoke at our last two events and, um, raised a lot of money for his charity and, and it was very, very helpful. But there was still something missing. And six and a half months ago, my wife attends this event. Uh, she's actually, she spoke, I should say, she spoke at this event in Nashville and she came back and she said, Hey, I met someone I think you should meet and talk to. And I'm like, you know, okay. You know, I don't, I don't know that she's ever said that before. Uh, but she is, I just really, I respect her wisdom. She's just so, so brilliant in every way. And so I'm like, you know? Sure. Okay. And so I meet with this guy and in the first 60 seconds he says, I see a big vision for you and God. And I'm like, uh, okay. Right. Like, what are you selling here? A preacher, right? And uh, so I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, like, okay buddy. You know, cuz again, that was so foreign to me to even really, you know, think that, um, because I'd been, you know, pretty, you know, hardcore, I guess, I guess I would now say new age and, um, and doing that sort of thing. And then the very, so we, we have this like 90 minute talk and nothing he said makes sense, but it all made sense. It all seemed true and, but I didn't know what, what the heck do I do with this? Right? The next day we go to a networking meeting. And, uh, it was, uh, Jess and I, and we walk into this networking meeting and I see a guy that I've met before, but I, I didn't, I didn't remember his name. I didn't remember what he did or anything. And he sees me and verbatim, he says, I see a big vision for you and God. And in the middle of the networking meeting, he puts it, he's a big old dude, puts his hands on me and starts praying. And I, I don't know why I start uncontrollably crying and this is in the middle of this networking meeting. People are walking by on the left, the right, the, you know, front the back. Nobody notices this scene of this big old dude praying over me in the middle of this thing. And, um, you know, and ever since then, it's been a very interesting journey. I got baptized. I, I woke up the next morning and you know, when you do that much meditation, um, and I'll roll it back to you cause I've been going for a while here. But when you do that much meditation, you really get to know your body. And, and after I got baptized, I remember waking up in the morning and. I'm looking at my hands, I'm looking at the sunrise, I'm looking at the flowers outside, and I'm like, I'm different. Like there's something's different. Like everything about me was different. And I just got the overwhelming feeling that I needed to put trust in God. And so I, I got down on my knees, I started praying and I said, God, I turned my life over to you. Guide me, lead me, direct me. And ever since then, it's just been an incredible journey. There's been pieces of my character that I'd been trying to fix my whole life that all of a sudden we're no longer there. There have been absolute miracles show up in my life, and it's just been, it's just been absolutely incredible. And so I'm just very, very grateful for this journey. And, you know, I'm, I don't try to shove this on, you know, anybody else, but I just know that, um, you know, I found what I was looking for. I had no idea that this is what it would be. And, uh, and I'm just excited to, you know, to be here, man.

Gary Henderson: 9:35

What an amazing story. I, I think it takes a lot of courage to. Realize, like, like spend the time with yourself. And I'd imagine the, the work you did with Dr. Judge Penza and, and your meditations and stuff helped you get to spend some time with yourself to figure out there was actually something deeper that you weren't just because you were successful. I mean, like you and I started working together like years ago, and then you just like, just kept crushing it and crushing it. Like, I think by all regards, everybody on the outside would've said, man, he's got everything. He's got amazing wife, he's got a great family, he's buying epic houses. He's taken awesome trips. But you knew there was something deeper there. Um, like how did it shift once you, once you figured that out,

Ray Higdon: 10:21

Yeah. So, you know that, that day, um, you know, after, after being baptized that day, you know, when I got down and prayed, um, I. You know, I, I started getting instruction and I, I got the instruction you need to go live and share. And, uh, I'm like, oh man, I did not want to do that. And, and so I go live and it was a mess. I was a, an emotional wreck. I probably didn't make a whole lot of sense, but I do it. And in the first day it had over 50,000 views and I had, I had to have at least a thousand messages from people that either it was, it was kind of one of like, you know, three things of either one, I've been praying for you for years, and, you know, they had never told me that. Or two, uh, oh my God, that really impacted me. And I'm, I'm gonna, I'm you renew, you've renewed my faith. Or, or three, just how powerful that, you know, that message was. And, uh, And for a while, I, you know, I, and I said, you know, I prayed, I told God, I'm like, God, if I'm, you know, hey, if I'm supposed to, you know, stop my business. If I'm supposed to, you know, go on the road with a robe, then hey, I'm, I'm in. Let's do this. You know? And, and you know, back then I was very naive. I was very ignorant as to how this all works. God had been planting these lessons in me since birth, you know, from, from child abuse, from learning different lessons, from being dead broke, from being a million dollars in dead, from having deep depression, being suicidal, um, you know, all, all these different things he had, he had been planting in me the entire time to build me exactly the way you know that I am. And so it would be silly for me to say, Hey, I know you gave me all those lessons. Now let's go in a totally different direction. Um, cuz he'd been preparing me this entire time and I now know that for sure. And so in the beginning, um, you know, I, I don't fully know what I'm talking about, but I'm talking and, and people are thanking me. It's helping them. Um, you know, I, um, I now have, you know, two different bible mentors. I have a Bible study. Uh, I'm actually gonna start something local here in Naples, Florida, um, to do a Bible study. But God has told me twice now, he had to tell me twice that, uh, I'm the lead with business and, and I actually now I. I actually prefer leading with scripture cause I just have fallen in love with the word of God. But, uh, that is not my calling. My calling is to lead with business and back it up with scripture. And, and so I've been going live, uh, six days a week every week for six months now, talking, you know, mixing in scripture. Sometimes I'm hardcore on the scripture. Um, but mixing in business as well. And, um, you know, this Sunday actually, I was asked to give the service at this, um, uh, at this event I'm speaking at in Dallas. And this will be the second live, you know, kind of humans in the room service that, that I'll have done. And, uh, and I'm really looking forward to it. And so, uh, yeah, man, you know, and, and one, one thing that I found for me is once I taught using biblical principles and using Proverbs and using, you know, scripture. I couldn't go back to not using it. So it's, it's hard for me to, like, when I'm speaking to someone and I see that they're stuck, I know ex I just, I just know exactly what scripture they need to hear and what they, what will help them. Very difficult to, to go back to just give business wisdom, right? That's, that's not based on scripture. Um, I still know all that stuff, but it's just, I, I know that that doesn't serve them at, at the level that, um, that the scripture could.

Gary Henderson: 14:15

It makes absolute total sense. And, and I could see where it would impact a lot of people. I've been watching your content, I've been watching your journey. Um, have you had pushback from any of your supporters that don't like this new shift that you made? Um,

Ray Higdon: 14:30

Oh, yeah. Um, yeah, I've had plenty of pushback and, you know, and the, you know, the first one, Was scary, right? I mean, the first one I was terrified because think about this. I mean, you know, I mean I had, you know, whatever I, you know, built an Inc 5,000 company, three time bestselling author, generated over 30 million online, um, you know, spoken in front of large audiences. And not once had I ever mentioned God, ever, not once. And cuz I, you know, I just didn't grow up that way. I didn't, I just, it just wasn't my deal. I didn't wanna alienate people. I didn't wanna, you know, whatever. And, and then all of a sudden, boom, I'm here I am, you know, given my, my testimony, right? And so my harshest critics were other believers. And the very first live that I, that I did, and I called it my Apology to God, it's actually on, on YouTube, uh, higdon group.com/apology. And, um, in that apology to God, right, that's where I, you know, I'm just like Sharon and saying that I didn't trust God. And what I learned is that for most of us, and I, you could argue all of us, but I, I'll just say most of us, for most of us, we see our Heavenly Father in the same relationship as we had with our biological father. They're one and the same. So with my biological father, I saw him as mean uncaring. I saw him as, I wasn't important. I saw him as, as I wasn't good enough because, you know, he allowed me to, to be abused. He wasn't necessarily the abuser. Um, but he allowed me to, you know, to be abused, didn't do anything about it. And, and so like, I saw, that's how I saw God. And, and I didn't realize that. I didn't realize that. I thought God was this, you know, mean dude, that, you know, we need to, we're, that we're just not important to that he loves us, you know, but instead he loves us so much that, you know, he sent, you know, his son to die for us. And, and so, um, and the very first time I do that live, immediately afterwards I have someone call me who I, who I really, you know, respect and, you know, and, and you know, they're a leader in, in our industry. And, uh, and he says, uh, you know, Hey man, I saw your video and I appreciate your effort, but then you're doing it wrong. I'm like, oh, okay. And he says, how do you know you're getting to heaven? And I'm like, uh hmm. Uh, bro, I'm one day into this man. Like, uh, I, I don't know. Cause I didn't know. I didn't, I didn't know the gospel. I hadn't read any of the Bible, like, and he, and he is like, well, you know, and he just tore me down. And, and so, um, that was, you know, I had several times like that where it was not helpful. It was not uplifting, it was not kind, it was not respectful. It was not gentle. It was really against everything that the New Testament, you know, teaches. Um, you know, like Ephesians 4 29, do not let unwholesome talk come outta your mouth, but, you know, basically meet people where they are. Right. And, and I was, you know, I got a lot of. Nastiness from, from believers, and then ongoing. I still get that from time to time, but ongoing. I do have a few of our, uh, you know, atheist friends that, uh, like to comment on, you know, my stuff saying that I'm taking advantage of and that I'm, you know, you know, whatever, that I'm using this as a marketing ploy or, you know, or something like that. And, you know, I, I, I know that, you know, hurt people, hurt people and, you know, I, I get it. I used to be skeptical of everybody. I used to think everyone was, you know, not who they said they were and, you know, and I get it, and, you know, the Bible, you know, teaches us not to, uh, you know, not to spend a lot of time on, on that type of person, but just to pray for him. So that's what I do.

Gary Henderson: 18:22

I really, really like that. Um, you know, while you were talking it, Jeff Walker taught me a lesson, and he said that at times in our lives, we have to go back to beginner mode. And he shared, like he learned to play the guitar kinda late in life because it, it taught him how to be a beginner again, because that's who we're helping. You know, you're helping beginner network marketers. I'm helping beginner creators. Do you think this journey into Christianity and, and learning about the Bible has helped you become a beginner again and helped you see like, like, just differently? I know it has from a Christian standpoint, but just as an educator and a teacher and a, as a, as like an influencer.

Ray Higdon: 19:01

Yeah, for sure. Um, and, you know, God blessed me with that ability to always think of the beginner. So, um, I've just, I, I've always had that knack for I can. You know, I can put myself in the shoes of the beginner. And that's very, that's usually pretty difficult for most influencers and creators of, they kind of teach from where they're at, not where they used to be. And, you know, before I came to Christ, I had these three mantras that really drove me. And they, and they, I still use 'em. They, they, they still work. Number one, help the person you used to be when you help the person you used to be you, first of all, it's, uh, and I can, I can hear you, Gary. I don't, I don't know if anyone else can. Yeah. Um, but um, when you help the person you used to be, it makes you immediately valuable to anyone that's going through challenges that you overcame. And so, and it also means that, you know, you need to be vulnerable. You know, the first time I, I shared about my abuse, it was some of the most transformational feedback I ever I ever received is me being vulnerable. And that is bravery. Uh, number two, my second mantra is we have to be as brave as the people who need us. And that indicates that it's gonna get tough, right? It's not easy. It's not easy. And, and you know what, what is easy is, you know, which some people may not think, but what's easy is sales and marketing. That's easy. Um, what's not easy is digging into your soul, man is, is digging into, you know, what's the muck and meyer and the, and the swamp and the, the, you know, just ooze the black, you know, gushing stuff inside of you that has been buried down so long that, that you believed as a kid, that you observed as a kid. That's, that's the hard work. So we have to be brave to push past those areas of resistance and, and safety controls. And then the third mantra is, let me never be too busy saving strangers to neglect my own. And, you know, back then saving didn't have the ring of, you know, salvation or something. It had the ring of really helping. Um, but it's, it was something that I needed, I needed as a mantra because I didn't have any good role models, uh, that were authorities in my life my entire life. I mean, teachers betrayed me, a guidance counselor betrayed me. Um, parents obviously betrayed me. Um, literally anyone I put trust in as a kid betrayed me. And, and so I had to learn that because I, I just didn't know how to be a good mentor to my kids. And, um, and so those, those three mantras, You know, have, have driven me. And so, you know, you're absolutely right is, is we do have to always think about, you know, it may or may not be the quote unquote beginner, but the person that we used to be, who, what did you need to hear? For those of you who came out of a narcissistic relationship, what did you need to hear? For those of you who went through abuse, went through trauma, went through ridicule, went through, went through loss or foreclosure or, or whatever, right? What did you need to hear? And if you think about what you needed to hear, then you're, you're gonna be able to help that person that's going through what, what you went through or Yeah. What you're, they're going through right now. What you already, uh, overcame.

Gary Henderson: 22:34

I love those three and I really like the, the help the person I used to be

Ray Higdon: 22:38

Yeah.

Gary Henderson: 22:39

because that's the person we're most qualified to help. It's the person relate to, it's the person that like, We, I think we look at like, we'll, we'll look at another entrepreneur, and we're like, Ooh, I could do what they do, or, we'll, we'll see someone else's funnel. Ooh, I could do that. Or We'll watch like some of your funny videos you used to do. And it's like, oh, I could put on a costume and be like, Ray, but like, that's not us.

Ray Higdon: 23:06

Yeah. You know, and, and it's, it, it is just so powerful. Like, I'll, I'll give you an example. I was, um, I was at a lunch a couple months ago and there were a couple pastors there and there were a couple other people there. And, and for whatever reason, I, I don't even know how it came up, but I, I shared about, you know, some of my abuse as a kid. And the one guy, you know, very humanly said, oh my God, I'm so sorry to hear that man. Like, so sorry. You went through that and you know, my response was, oh, no, no, no. That was one of the greatest gifts I was ever given months earlier. I went and I, um, I went to this lunch. And it was all troubled teenagers. And, and I asked the coordinator, I said, uh, hey, do you mind if I talk to him? And she said, well, if you wanna talk to him, you can, but just don't go to that table. Those are the really hardcore ones. And of course, that's where I went. And so as I'm walking up, they're sizing me up and they're like, yeah, what does this white boy know? Right? And they're looking at me, looking at me up and down. And, but when I shared my story, all of a sudden they all realized that I could relate with them, that I could connect with them. And if I didn't go through that, I can't stand in that room. I can't share that story and connect with them. And I even, you know, there's a, um, someone that I, I work closely with, I help her with fundraisers. She's the head psychologist that helps, uh, five different counties here in Florida with kids in foster care. And she told me she'd been doing this for 20 years, and she told me one day, and it, and it, you know, it blew me later I cried about this. I didn't wanna do it in front of her, but she, she said to me, she goes, Ray, I gotta tell you something. I've been doing this for 20 years and for 20 years, all my focus has been just to try to make their life better. These kids are in rough shape and she has the most horrible stories you've, you can ever possibly imagine. And, you know, and I, I just, I won't repeat 'em, but you know, she's got, she's seen the worst of the worst of humanity, right? And she said before you and hearing your story, I was just here to try to help 'em out and help 'em help their life not suck so much. But since hearing your story, I now believe that they can change their life. I now see hope in them. There have been studies done that, you know, even, even, you know, if a teacher is told that there are, you know, people in her, kids in their class that are, are more gifted than others, all of a sudden they start doing well, whether it's true or not. So the hope of the facilitator is actually a major, uh, uh, function. It's a major factor in people changing their life. And just because I was vulnerable and I went through those times, I was able to help impact her, which will help. I mean, she works with thousands of kids every single year in the worst, you know, you know, kind of, you know, conditions and, and so you don't know. You on here right now. You overcame things, you survived things. And maybe you think that it makes you look bad if you share, or maybe you're worried of people judging you. But if you really want to impact more people, it's you having the bravery to share what you went through and, and, and help people relate with you and connect with you and really understand that there's hope.

Gary Henderson: 26:29

Yeah, it's, I mean, you're gonna get judged anyway. There's gonna be people that are gonna like you and they're not gonna like you, and there's gonna be people that are going to, um, say stuff about you no matter what.

Ray Higdon: 26:38

Yeah.

Gary Henderson: 26:40

Like, just, just be you. So how has this shift impacted your business, Ray?

Ray Higdon: 26:46

Yeah, it's, you know, it's been, it's been interesting and I, I, I realize, cuz cuz I've, you know, I've always been someone that, um, you know, I, I wasn't, I will say I just, I wasn't a great steward of money and, you know, like I, I would, you know, log in from time to time. I really didn't pay a lot of attention to how much money was being made, what were the profits, whatever. And despite that attitude, right, money would just come in and it would just work. And, um, you know, after C O V I D, you know, we went through a couple years where it was the bus like, You know, God was very amazing and, and had money come in from very weird angles, like very different angles than normal. And, but the business went through some challenges for sure. Like absolutely, you know, some serious challenges. And, um, and so what's, what's interesting is now, you know, where I used to look at my, you know, significant status, identity, uh, self-worth and all of that as how much money am I making? And you know, what, you know, what are, what are we able to buy and, you know, and, and what, whatever else I've taken all, all of that is now reliant on God I, my acceptance by God. That's, that's what drives me. And so what's been interesting is I. I have like one example, one area of our business is I do, um, you know, speaking, so I speak at different events and you know, I'm usually like, usually like twice a month I'm in somewhere in the world, you know, speaking, someone's hired me to speak. And so some of these events have hired me a year ago, you know, seven months ago, eight months ago, right? Prior to me coming to Christ. And so the most recent one, uh, and I go to Dallas, uh, this week, but the most recent one is I was in Vegas and this company hired me literally over a year ago. And now that I'm sharing scripture and I'm sharing verses and I find it so helpful for people, like, I'm like, ah, am I gonna be able to share? Right? So I was in this place of. You know, man, they, you know, like they hired me before I came to Christ and can I share it, can I not? And what's interesting is I sent them, they wanted me to do a three hour talk, um, on, uh, basically sales and marketing and leadership. And so I sent, I, I, I took some of my existing PowerPoints, kind of, you know, mushed 'em together and sent them over what, you know, what slides I'd be going through. And I don't know, and I don't include any kind of scripture or anything like that cause I just don't know if I'm able, you know, to share. So, One of the exec, but I prayed on it. I'm like, God, if I'm able, you know, to go all out like I like to, is I, I give a business lesson and then I tie it, you know, to scripture or at least, you know, throughout the presentation. And so one of the executives reaches out to me and he says, Hey man, there's a lot of hidden slides in your PowerPoint. And I'm like, oh, okay. You know, like, you know, okay, what's your point? Right? And he said, and some of them have scriptures that are really powerful. Would you wanna share these? And I said, well, am I okay too? And he's like, absolutely, we'd love it. I'm like, awesome. And so, like, sometimes that's the answer is I'll have, you know, some kind of external, you know, proof or whatever of, Hey, we want you to, you know, play full out and, and every single speaking stage that I've been on in these last six months, Have all amazingly, and this is just how God works, have all been totally cool with me sharing my journey, every one of them. I mean, and think about it in the prior 15 years, 14 years, I had never said God once from any stage, even my own stage. And so it's, it's just been really awesome how, how God has been moving and God has been working. And you know, the thing with, you know, God is he's timeless, right? So he knew when I would come, right? He knew, he knew who'd be hiring me. He knew where I would be. He knew what interviews I'd be on and, and all, you know, and he saw all that. And so it's just been, you know, really cool as far as, you know, um, like literally every speaking event that I've been hired for. Um, totally cool with me talking about, you know, my journey. Uh, even the past ones totally cool with me speaking about my journey. Um, we, this month, I'm gonna have to think about this for a second. This month, I believe overall, now, not necessarily in the business, but overall this has been our most profitable month of my entire career. And not just from the business, you know, my wife does real estate. Um, but as far as profits go, this has actually been, uh, multiple seven figure month and, uh, profitable. Now, I've, I've, I've had a month where I generated more revenue than, than what we did this, this month. But, uh, this is the highest profit month I've had in my career.

Gary Henderson: 32:01

Wow, that's absolutely insane. And you said multiple seven figures.

Ray Higdon: 32:06

Correct?

Gary Henderson: 32:08

Wow. You, you, you just embraced who you are. You became more you.

Ray Higdon: 32:14

I, you know, listen, for most of my life I was, you know, the hard charging, personal development, I. Freak of nature. I mean, I did a video a day, every day for 12 years without missing a day. Like I'm, I'm a discipline. He built me to be a disciplined hard worker. And, you know, there's, there's a verse, um, that it, it can be, it can be perplexing to people, but it's in, um, Matthew 11 and it says, um, take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I am gentle and lowly in heart. And you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And most people, when they think about Christianity, I don't think they think that. They think that, oh man, it's hard. I'm gonna have to, you know, repent from sinning and I'm gonna have to not drink, you know, whatever. And I'm gonna have to not do the, not do that. But the, the truth is, self-development is hard. I'm no longer in self-development. I'm in a partner relationship with God. My money is God's. I'm the manager. I'm the steward. He tells me what to do with it. I pray on it. If he wants me to give to this person, I give to that person. And, and so the, the yoke, if you can understand that, that when you stop making yourself the savior and you stop making yourself the, the glory story, and you start saying, you know what? I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Then all of a sudden the yoke is easy. It actually is. Like, I, I, I don't worry about acceptance, approval, agreement. I don't, I don't, I have to worry about what's my identity with these people or what's my significance with these people? Or you know, how will this stage receive me cuz I know I'm going with God and, and he's gonna divinely appoint me to wherever. And sometimes just so you know, just a full disclosure, sometimes it's a lesson I need. Sometimes, sometimes I needed to learn a lesson on kindness and I need to rebuke sometimes, you know, it's not gonna go exactly as I plan. So this doesn't mean that everything is in life becomes easy. But when you recognize that it's not about you, it's about, you know, whatever God is, is wanting you to learn or whatever he's wanting you to experience, then you, you gain a level of accepting that that isn't so tough on yourself. I'm not so beating myself up all the time and, and that I used to be an absolute master at beating myself up all the time. Thanks

Gary Henderson: 34:45

Ray, this has been absolutely beautiful. Um,

Ray Higdon: 34:48

man.

Gary Henderson: 34:48

what do you, what are you working on next? If our community wants to connect with you and our listeners wanna connect with you, where's the best places, what's coming up in, in your world that they can get engaged with? Um, why don't you go through that?

Ray Higdon: 35:01

Yeah. So, um, you know, two things. One, you know, kind of ongoing and then, um, you know, we have our, our event, we've changed the name. Um, our event is now called the Faith Over Fear Business Summit, and that's in September in Orlando. Um, we're expecting around 5,000 people. It's gonna be our biggest event ever. Um, we have, you know, and it, and it is a business summit, but it is teaching, you know, uh, some scripture as well. And, and you know why faith is so important cuz faith is how you show up. It's not a mindset, it's how you show up, right? So, you know, you have faith when you are taking fearful leaps. That's, that's what faith is. Faith is not like you just saying, I'm, I got faith. Right? Faith is how you show up. It's you taking leaps before you know what the consequence is. Fear is you stand in a situation that isn't where you wanna be because you think that's the best you can do. That's fear. Faith is, is the complete opposite. And so our, our event is in September in Orlando, faith Over Fear Business Summit. And then, um, six days a week I actually go live talking about my walk-in, in faith. Uh, and it's, I would say 90% mixes in business. I won't say a hundred percent, but at 90% mixes in business. So topics like how to mix your faith and finances, how your business may be pushing you away from God, how to change your thoughts to get rich. And I actually mix scripture in and say, here's the scripture that backs this up. And, um, you know, I've just, um, very, very passionate about that and, you know, wanting to help some people. Cause there's a lot of people that think there's virtue in poverty or that, you know, them even wanting to make a bunch of money is bad. It's not the having of money that's bad. It's, it's how you define and view money. If money is your, you know, identity, self-worth, uh, significant status, everything, then you, you're an idol. That's an idol to you. You've made money, you're idol, you're, you're, you're practicing idolatry, right? And I know cuz I used, I used to be that. Um, but you know, instead you see it as the resource, not the source. Right. And so it's a resource to be used to be able to bless others. And, and I'll be bold to say that, you know, you wanting to just be able to provide for yourself and your family is actually selfish. You should actually want to be able to bless others. You should have that desire to be able to, to, you know, whether it's your favorite charity or community or church or, you know, mother, father, whatever. Right? And, uh, and so you can catch that I, I go live on, on Instagram six days a week, uh, around that topic. Faith and finances, God and money, uh, and on, uh, and our Facebook, you know, stuff. So at Ray Higdon, we'll, you'll usually find me on any of those platforms.

Gary Henderson: 37:53

Thank you, Ray. I got one last question for you. How has. The journey with you and Jess, like, like you guys got together and she was in the business for a while and now she's doing real estate. How has that worked out? I'm just personally curious because I don't think there's a lot of couples that, that do life and business together like you and Jess. So I don't know if you have any wisdom to share there. I.

Ray Higdon: 38:16

Yeah, for sure. So, um, so for man, uh, 12, 13 years, her and I worked side by side. You know, um, you know, first we were building a, a network marketing organization. Then we were, you know, tag team in the coaching and training business. And, you know, one day she came to me and she goes, you know, hey, I gotta be honest, like, okay. And she said, no, I don't really dig the coaching and training. And I'm like, well, why do you do it? And she said, well, I don't wanna let you down. And, and I feel like if I don't work it then. You know, that I'm not being grateful to the business that has provided us this, this great lifestyle. And I said, babe, the number one thing, I want you to be happy. I want you to be happy. Like, what, what is it you wanna do? And I kind of already knew the answer because it's really funny. Like, I would catch her at night looking at real estate, right? Like, she'd have her laptop open, she's, and I'm like, what are you looking at? She'd like close her laptop like it was porn or something like that. But it's always real estate. Like she loves, loves real estate. And you know, over the years, uh, I mean man, she has, uh, I mean, you know, but you know, her and I have made some different real estate transactions. I mean, made a lot of really nice money in real estate. And so I'm like, babe, do real estate. That's what you love. Like do real estate. That's what I did. Um, you know, before, you know, many years ago, and so last year she gets her, uh, real estate license and in less than a year, her very first year, I mean, I think she's close to turning 20 million in real estate. And you know, that doesn't mean she's made 20 million. It means she's, you know, moved, you know, 20 million of, of real estate. Um, she just two days ago got another three and a half million dollar listing. And, you know, she's just, she's just crushing it. I mean, she's just killing it and she's doing what she loves. She has a knack, she's really good at it. And so she's happier. I'm happier cuz she's happy and, and it's really worked out perfectly. And so I think my advice here would be around communication, right? And so unexpressed resentment never diminishes. She would eventually resented the business, possibly even me if she didn't bring up the conversation. And there's also been scenarios where I was resenting her for some things. And, and so, um, you have to, and that, and that's faith, right? Unexpressed resentment is fear. Fear that it can't be changed, fear that it can't get any better. And, and so it's having the tough conversations if you wanna have a great, amazing relationship, which our relationship is better than, you know, than it's ever been. I mean, we are, I'm just, um, we're just so, we've grown together so well. Even though we, we don't work so closely together, uh, we, we do, you know, things a little differently now. She's super happy. I'm super happy. It's amazing. And all of it is due to having those tough conversations that you don't wanna have.

Gary Henderson: 41:30

I love it. Thank you so much, Ray. Thanks for coming in to the studio today. Um, I'm not sure if this is the conversation you expected, but I think it was an absolutely wonderful conversation.

Ray Higdon: 41:38

It was my pleasure and I, I'm always trusting wherever, wherever God takes us. So I'm, I'm grateful for you. Thanks for letting me, you know, talk about my faith. I'm always grateful when, when, you know I can do that.

Gary Henderson: 41:50

Let me never be too busy, serving strangers. And neglect my own. Look, so many gyms taken away from Ray today. What an amazing journey. Into embracing your faith and Christianity and stepping into a full force. Dealing with the hate and the. The FID as we will call it the fear and uncertainty and doubt. Right. Embracing it in the brand and owning it. I respect anyone. Who stands in their own power, whatever that is. And that's what Ray says. He says, I need to help the person I used to be. So now as he's evolving and he's growing, all he's doing is keeping one hand out behind him. To help the person that he used to be. Like I relate to that. So very much. Thank you for checking out today's episode. If you want to come and join us, live in the studio. You want to be there whenever we record with Ray, you want to ask questions? You want to engage. You want to meet our guests. If you do. Go to gary.club/discord. Gary dot club's slash discord. That's our community. You'll join our community. You'll see the full schedule of all of our guests that are coming in. So you can be there when they arrive. We'll even give you your first Gary coin for free. So when you join, here's what I want you to do. Don't tell anyone else though. This is a secret just for the podcast. Okay. You can't tell anyone you promise. All right. When you join gary.club/discord. I want you to open a support ticket. When you open a support ticket, I want you to say I just was on the podcast episode with Ray Higdon listening. And Gary told me to come here and here's what I'm going to do for you. Right. If you're new. So normally we give away one Garry coin, which gives you the supporter role, but not for you today. Not for you today. What I'm going to do. If you take action in the next week. Right. I'm going to give you a whole week to do this. If you take action in the next week. I'm going to give you five Gary coin, five times the normal amount. All you have to do is say I was on the podcast episode, listening to Ray Higdon. And I want my five free Gary coin. Now, if you're already in our community. You're already part of our community. You got to promise me something. Don't tell anyone else, but I'm going to give it to you too. Let's keep this secret for just the people who listened to the podcast. Let's figure out who listens and takes action on this. I'm watching the support tickets. I can't wait to send you your coin. So Gary dot club's slash discord. Tell open up a support ticket and say I was listening. To the podcast with Ray Higdon. And we'll make sure for the next week. That we get five $GARY coin into your wallet. My treat. Have an absolutely amazing day, everyone.