Former NFL player Marques Ogden is a keynote speaker, business coach, and corporate consultant, passionate about elevating his clients' success. From an early age, Marques learned how to define his values and set goals for himself. He attended Howard University from 1998-2002 on a football scholarship and received his bachelor’s in finance — being drafted by the NFL in 2003. Marques is a best-selling author and host of the Get Authentic With Marques Ogden podcast.

 

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

• Marques Ogden shares his background in the insurance and financial services industry 
• Marques talks about his experience at Howard University — and being drafted into the NFL 
• The value of writing your goals down
• Actionable tips to help you thrive in the insurance and financial service industry
• What you can expect from the Get Authentic With Marques Ogden podcast 
• How structuring your team helps your company grow — and allows you to rely on multiple sources of income
• How Marques navigated the challenges he faced as a diverse professional
• Marques’ advice for young professionals
• Marques shares his thoughts on DEI and his involvement with NAIFA

In this episode…

Are you a young professional struggling to stand out in the insurance or financial service industry? You are not alone. What do you need to know to thrive in your profession? 

According to Marques Ogden, it's very challenging to succeed in the insurance or financial service industry — and even more difficult for those in minority groups. As an African American making a name for himself as a young professional coming out of the NFL, Marques had to work hard to overcome obstacles. He’s now a keynote speaker who shares his experience to help young professionals turn their goals into accomplishments.

In this episode of Advisor Today, Chris Gandy and Suzanne Carawan sit down with Marques Ogden, former NFL player and keynote speaker, to discuss how to succeed in the insurance and financial services industry. Marques shares his experience in the NFL and the insurance and financial services industry, actionable tips to help you thrive in your profession, what to expect from the Get Authentic With Marques Ogden podcast, and his advice for young professionals.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Chris Gandy on LinkedIn  
• Suzanne Carawan on LinkedIn  
• Marques Ogden  
• Marques Ogden on LinkedIn
• Get Authentic With Marques Ogden  

Sponsor for this episode...

This episode is brought to you by NAIFA's 8th Annual Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Symposium. 

Episode Transcript

Intro 0:02 

Welcome to NAIFA's Advisor Today podcast series, where we focus on how financial advisors work, live and give to their local communities and our greater financial services industry. Now, let's get started with the show.

Chris Gandy 0:20

Hi, I'm Chris Gandy, one of your co-hosts for advisors, a podcast, where we feature some of the top speakers and some of the top professionals in the insurance and financial services industry. I'm here with my wonderful co-host Suzanne Carawan. Hi, Suzanne. Hey Chris. And our guests Mr. Marques Ogden, Marques, want to say hello, real quick?

Marques Ogden 0:40 

Hi, best place to have me Chris. I appreciate it.

Chris Gandy 0:43 

All right. So really quickly, Suzanne, who is our sponsor for today's podcast.

Suzanne Carawan 0:49 

So today's a really special podcast is brought to you by NAIFA's Talent Development Center, which is where our DEI initiative is housed. And today we got a sneak preview of our upcoming eighth annual DEI symposium that will happen in the morning of Monday, May 22, from eight to 12 noon, at the JW Marriott in DC, where today, Marques Ogden is actually one of our keynotes, we get a little taste test here before we actually get to see Marques in full kind of full mainstage performance. So if you haven't registered is a free event, we're actually it's a give back the NAIFA does to the industry, please consider joining us so again, May 22, morning of completely free, you go to belong.naifa.org, you'll see it on our events tab. And we would love to join you. NAIFA's really serious about being able to move the needle forward on creating a diverse workforce and ensuring that we have advisors who reflect a changing Main Street USA. So we're going to hear a little bit about Marques's incredible story today. As we get to know.

Chris Gandy 1:51 

Marques, welcome, welcome. So, I typically jump out in front just simply because, I tend to ask what I would call interesting questions. So we'll jump right in. So tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into the insurance and financial services industry.

Marques Ogden 2:12 

Yeah, so my name is Marques Ogden. I'm from Washington, DC. I went to Howard University, I actually studied finance at Howard when I graduated. I play in the National Football League for almost six years. But I also work in financial industry. I worked for Merrill Lynch for a short time, I interned at Merrill Lynch, when I was in college playing for the bison. And my dad was one of the first African American bank managers for the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York in their DC office. He was the bank manager, I think it was either 1978 or 1979, that he got that position. So I've been around finance, economics, financial information, my entire life. So I loved finance, in high school and college. And of course, after the NFL, I tried to go into industry again, when I left the National Football League.

Chris Gandy 3:04 

And so you hit a bunch of points there. So let's kind of dive into that. So your journey? I mean, is this what you went to school for? Did you go to school to say, hey, I'm going to be either in the financial management world or the insurance world? And how did you determine kind of which space that you focused on?

Marques Ogden 3:26 

Yeah, I definitely was working in the financial industry. I wanted to work on Wall Street. That was always my first love. And I went to college because my dad worked in downtown DC in the finance industry, and financial industry. So I always had that as my goal as my desire. And when I got to Howard on a full scholarship said, wow, I mean, Howard University. I'm here for free, I have an opportunity to play football. I'm gonna do the best I can. If I become a star for a year, maybe two. That's okay. Let's go to school to really study finance and I interned at Merrill Lynch, my redshirt sophomore year, and I loved it. And so I was prepping to finish up college and try to go to Wall Street through Merrill Lynch and get a job. But the National Football League and the Jacksonville Jaguars had other plans for me when I was drafted by them in 2003 in the NFL draft, and it was awesome because that chance to be around great athletes and things of that nature. But I learned a lot financial management and budgeting and how to be more of a planner and a thinker. So when I got the NFL when I made my money, right, Chris and Suzanne, I kept my money and I was able to understand how to budget and allocate and not have my expenses. I mean, my income while I was going to do here, got to do there. So what I learned from my father, and from Howard and working at Merrill Lynch really taught me a lot in my life of how to be financially savvy in the National Football league.

Chris Gandy 5:03 

Oh, so the NFL, huh? So no, most people don't get a chance to actually even go to NFL football game, let alone being able being able to play. I noticed you didn't mention what position did you play? What position were you playing? Were you drafting?

Marques Ogden 5:21 

Yeah, I was drafted as offensive lineman. So I played tackle at Howard. And then when I got the NFL, I was drafted as a tackle. And of course, as a rookie alignment, you play guard tackle center, you kind of get moved around and kind of get to know your toughness and keep competing against guys who are fast guys that are big. So it was great. And I played with some great guys on the go live. I get some great guys on the D line. I like Marcus Stroud, John Henderson, just some juggernaut. So I was oh, Lyman and Howard and I was drafted to that position by the Jaguars.

Chris Gandy 5:55 

So Howard, a HBCU, which is a traditional minority in diverse program, right? Black college university. So, so but they're not necessarily known for football, right? I mean, they're known, but they're no more academically than they are for their sports program. So how did you stand out people will say you have to go to a big school to stand up. So how did you stand out at Howard?

Marques Ogden 6:26 

What I did, Chris was I utilized the skill sets, I was taught by my brother, who was the offensive lineman in the NFL for the Ravens at the time. But I also had a great coach and Fred Dean, who played for the Washington Redskins as an O lineman, who taught me a lot. And then what I did was I just performed every time on the football field, every game, I gave it my best. I did my best I trained hard, I worked out, I was in the weight room, I was always in the classroom, I was always in the film room. Like my college career, the five years I was at Howard, I could probably count on both hands coming from actually went out like club a party. I mean, I didn't really want saw with my teammates. But that wasn't it for me, I focused on my schooling, the game and especially going into my last year, Chris and Howard, when I was in draft books, if he has a great last year and great numbers and goes to a bone if he could actually be drafted, I just kind of got laser in and as a insurance salesman, a financial analyst working in these fields, you have to lock in and attack focus like a laser that is going to cut through a diamond when you focus and you know what you want and what you want to get achieved, you can achieve it and push forward towards that achievement that goal that desire and I did that and as a result of that Christmas in Jan 12 Plus later I was dragged the National Football League from there.

Suzanne Carawan 6:38 

So are you a write the goals down kind of guy? Are you the visualization person like what are your tools that you use to get clear on that and have that tenacity to stay on track.

Marques Ogden 8:22 

I am a big write your goals down and go after what you want kind of guy all day, every day. Because that's truly how I feel. You're going to turn a dream into reality because it's just in your mind. It's a thought and or wish. But once you see it out on paper, once it's like it goes from here to front of you and you can actually see it and you can target and you can go after it. I feel Suzanne makes it that much more tangible, that much more real, which makes you what want to go after and pursue it relentlessly and endlessly.

Chris Gandy 9:06 

When you look at the journey, financial services once you were in the NFL and you transitioned, how hard has it been for you to establish footing in the insurance or financial services industry and make a name for yourself like you did in football.

Marques Ogden 9:28 

It's always difficult because for me when I left, I think got into construction and I wasn't prepped to go to financial industry and I didn't really know how to make that move. So when I did when I got into construction I got into all those type of things as a result of that. It was really still hard for me right Chris to make that move because I didn't have any type of understanding or anything hype of real knowledge of how to actually make the move. So for people that are listening, if you're trying to establish yourself in this industry, just like any other industry, you have to stand out. And you don't want to blend in and you stand out by getting out in front of people, knowing your unique selling proposition or your unique value proposition. And just being very consistent. And capitalizing on opportunities and opportunities a chance to do or create something great. You should lean on your trusted network, do what you do best and leverage your strength and take calculated risk in what you're doing. Because again, in order to succeed in financial and insurance industries, you have got to stand out you can't blend in. You're blending in right Chris, it's hard to find you to move into the right direction.

Suzanne Carawan 9:31 

I mean, it's safe. But if your career is built on prospecting, you know, you're probably not going to do so well, right, you got to set yourself up for success.

Marques Ogden 11:08 

Great quote by Jonah Hill, the actor, the comfort zone is where dreams go to die. And I think about our podcast, the Get Authentic With Marques Ogden show. We're in the top 1% in the world most popular. We're nine months old, and I was scared to death to start that podcast. Who's gonna like it? Who's gonna listen, you did another podcast and he got burned? Is this gonna work? Who's gonna sponsor I'm not gonna go down the list. You know, what the heck with it. If I'm gonna coach people on how to buy their cups, I got to do the same thing. launched it. And boom, here we are. So again, you can't stay in the comfort zone, anything in life, because you're never gonna reach your full potential.

Chris Gandy 11:55 

So share with us your day-to-day now. I mean, you mentioned kind of this journey and this path that you've taken from Howard, to the NFL, to the financial to a to an industry and in to the financial industry. I mean, you share with us a little bit of what you're doing now. And you mentioned a podcast tell us if we tuned into the podcast, what can we expect?

Marques Ogden 12:28 

So if you tune in to the podcast, right, Chris, you can expect one thing, amazing people sharing amazing stories. That's it. We've had athletes, actors, actresses, comedians, business owners, financial industry experts, you know, we've had to learn insurance, you have people that are in manufacturing, the food service industry hospitality, we have no bounds we have no limits, Chris, to who we offer an invite to our show. As long as you want to share your story, and give our audience tips and or tricks to help them in their life. You fit well. So we can't take a Joe Rogan approach to our guests. But we focus more on positivity, inspiration and building up people. There's no negativity, there's no controversy, because people can get that a lot of their podcasts and that's not what we're about. So my day-to-day, I'm up every morning. If I have my daughter because I'm going through separation. If I had my daughter, I'm up by 5:30 Taking her to school, going to the gym. And then from there, I get my day started with work, you know, prospecting, calling people meetings, all that if I don't have my daughter, I'm up by 5am at the gym, doing all my early bird errands. Then I'm prospecting sales calls. Or on Tuesdays, I shoot my podcast with my guests. Or I'm looking to book people on podcast doing great podcasts like this one Chris and Suzanne is full of getting our brand out there. There's four key areas accessible business, marketing, sales, operations, finance. It all starts with marketing though Chris and Suzanne because if people don't know you exist, how in the world can they buy your product again, stand out. Don't blend in but I'm very hardworking and I also Chris, I'm sure he doesn't over athlete live by my schedule. Like I have a lot of brotherhood that struggle with white and they're struggling now because they don't have a schedule like in my phone in my calendar. Boom, I'm checking stuff, go doing what I have to do and what happened. When I finish it off and item I deleted it's on my phone. At the end of the day. I want to see a completely empty schedule, which means I accomplished my day at optimal level.

Chris Gandy 15:07 

That's interesting. When you talk about your day is it you? Or do you have a team? Do you have a highly structured yourself so you can expand and grow?

Marques Ogden 15:21 

Great question, I have a remarkable team. I have a website designer, and Internal Manager, an external manager, a social media team, I have a trademark and patent person, I have a videographer on my team, I have a bookkeeper a great CPA, right? I cannot do everything by myself. And if you're listening to this, if you're starting your business, and you don't have a lot of capital, I understand, figure out what you do well go after it. What you don't do well, you don't have like capital, try to barter or find someone to help you and exchange something. Because again, if you try to take everything all by yourself, you will burn out. It's the human mind is designed do a lot of things. But it's not designed to do everything. So what I used to do, Chris and Suzanne, I would barter with people on my team that would trade like, well, I'll help you get a client here and do this. They're all that right now. No doubt, no. What's one of our team members has been? Oh, what's that seven, it's been six years, I'm on my team, it's been five years, it's been three or four right? Now I'm in a position to pay people for their time. And on a monthly retainer basis. I feel good about that. Because all those people, right, Chris and Suzanne, they stuck with me when I had nothing when I was in building mode. And because of that now, I spend my time marketing, prospecting, or doing things to increase our visibility shooting our podcasts or publishing episodes or going on podcasts or trying to get into print magazines, whatever. Right? So I focus more on the business and less in the business.

Suzanne Carawan 17:18 

Yeah, so is it safe to say that now you've completely gone to being a full-time speaker, kind of a full-time influencer and speaker and, and all of that that's really what you're doing full time.

Marques Ogden 17:30 

Correct. And I in consulting, coaching, podcasting, and I'm a brand ambassador, and I also own businesses that all lie with me and my value system of who I am as an individual, which allows me to really be passionate about what I do. And I'm excited for NAIFA's because everything is going to tie back to finance everything. If you're in business, you have to make money, right? But you have to also understand to build something special. You have to have the right special people around you. It takes time to find the right team. But as you grow, understand, if you don't add great people, you'll never reach your full potential. It's just not possible.

Suzanne Carawan 18:18 

So you've diversified those cash flows.

Marques Ogden 18:21 

Oh, let's talk about that. I make money, keynote speaking, coaching, consulting, podcast, people sponsor our podcast, I have a PR side of our business, why I help people want to get onto podcasts or other forms of media do that. Book sales. I make money through being a business owner, right? I make money through appearances. I have eight to 10 ways of making income. This is be real right now. I got an email in my mailbox is NAIFA's deposit check for my speaking. And I'm like, wow, it's kind of funny to deposit here. I'm podcasting. That's pretty awesome. But again, never ever rely on just one source. You always want to have multiple streams of income because if one dries up, you don't want to come across your client base, desperate to close a sale. And that's where I struggle as the speaker in the beginning and even financial services when I was working for Merrill Lynch for short time. I was desperate. You could see it in my face. You can hear it in my voice. When I came to a meeting if I didn't close it. I was like, how am I gonna eat? So like it just came across as desperate, as not confident and it came across worst of all, as transactional and not relationship driven.

Chris Gandy 19:52 

So, I'm gonna dissect some of this right. So let's get granular, shall we. So I'm going to try to draw some parallels. If you wouldn't mind me doing that. My former background life, I'm a recovering athlete myself, so don't judge me. So with that being said, notice I said recovering athlete, because we're all messed up while we're doing what we're doing. Because we are so focused on being great at that, that the rest of the world is kind of this nebulous place, but we believe everything revolves around us, until we realize that it doesn't. And then the idea of being able to transcend and be as successful, even more successful and another opportunity a lot of athletes struggle with. So I'm gonna go there with you, since you seem like you're capable. Okay, so, I mean, from Howard, talk about being a diverse professional in an industry that's predominantly not as embracing or not as opportunistic or opportunities. How did you navigate that?

Marques Ogden 21:08 

Ah, great question, Chris. I have a cheat sheet answer, because it's just the way it is. I had my father, who went to Howard University himself, got his Master's from the University of Maryland economics. And my dad worked in that industry for many years before I was born. And while I was born, and as I got older, I could lean on him. And I could ask him, what really mattered. And what I did, I learned how to speak people's language, to make them feel comfortable that I could do a job. And as a result of that, again, communication creates connection. And I learned how to master communication from my father at a young age. And when I got to Howard, and more diversity hit me, not just African American people from like, Haiti, the Bahamas, other countries, England, and I got a chance to see what that was like, and how to try to have the Master communication skill set up, just being humble, and how to approach people and make them feel special. So between Howard, my father and then interning at Merrill Lynch, and again, I was the only African American at their office at that time, internee. But I learned how to observe, I learned how to process and I learned how to make a decision and act through what I was hearing what I was seeing, which allowed me to not be an outsider, which allowed me to say, you know what, I do belong here. And that's why I wanted to go into that field. Until, of course, I was drafted by the jack federal jack.

Chris Gandy 23:04 

So how much of that is innate? And how much of that did you learn?

Marques Ogden 23:09 

I would say probably 60% innate, and 40% learn because I've always been a people person, my brother, Chris, first draft, pick up the reins, the NFL history, first ballot Hall of Famer, to the Ravens in 2013, with guards, the best offensive lineman in NFL history. He's an introvert, but he's six foot nine, three has 25 pounds, he's a giant, he was a monster, even in the NFL, he would be. So my brother was always an introvert. I've always been an extrovert. So I learned and I was always had the innate ability to connect with people. But then I learned how to speak language, which I feel comfortable with, and then come across fake, but also that could connect with people. And that really close the gap for me in that regard.

Chris Gandy 24:00 

Okay, so, what I heard you say, was your ability to articulate who you are in connection with what you stand for, and what you're willing to actually try and accomplish that to? I guess that passion that's inside of you helped drive some of the behaviors and then you had, you had some guiding principles and individuals around you that could help you not waste time with on some of the nuances, right? The Father say, okay, you got to pay attention to this, and you got to do this. And so, that's a great part of your story. So if I'm a young man starting in this industry, like insurance and financial services, what advice would you give me? I'm 25 years I'm not Yeah, I know. I look a day older than 20 years. I've been in the business now, 23. So 23 years doing this and I'll enter my 24th year here in May. Now I look back and but I'd like to hear from you. Well, what would you tell a young professional today? Because the world is different today, right? We have to understand that. What would you tell a young professional today about joining the financial services industry or join an industry that is traditionally very difficult or hard to have success in?

Marques Ogden 25:24 

So what I would say is you need to clearly know your why to why you want to get into this business, right? Know your why. And then more importantly, Chris and Suzanne, be able to articulate that, why when you're talking to people about what you are doing, and start talking to people that are in your trusted network. But again, your trust that way, it's gonna be good and bad, they're gonna want to talk to you, which is good. But the bad guys, they're gonna want to know why you're doing what you're doing. If you cannot articulate that, why clearly and concisely, you risk them not connecting with you, not on a personal but on a business level. So again, know your why, and be able to articulate that why. But more importantly, when you go to your trusted network, don't waste their time. Know your why, also know your industry. And if you can get some good momentum with your trusted network, it'll give you confidence and give you the right might be able to move and go down the path towards success in your respective financial planning, or financial services or insurance services field.

Suzanne Carawan 26:48 

I know we hear that a lot. But Marques, maybe I know you do coaching on this too. Do you have any kind of points that you want to give to people out there? Because I think a lot of people they say, yeah, I should know my why. But they struggle actually, with identifying that right there. They kind of can come up with some tactical things like I want more money, I want a success. But like the really thing that motivates them, do you have any tips for how you get people to hone in on that?

Marques Ogden 27:12 

Yeah, sit down, and write out your three biggest strengths that you possess, in working in insurance, or financial services. Once you quote those three big strengths, they've come up with a mantra, and a mission statement around why you're going to use these strengths in this industry. From there, when you're talking to people, use your mission, once you're in a meeting, but use your mantra as part of your prospect and get a mantra, five words or less that describes your brand. Just do it Nike information in your hand, Apple, our mantra, inspire others, inspire you to take accountability. So again, use your mantra to help you get to prospecting through the next level, and then use your mission statement to guide you through that process. But again, write down your three biggest strengths, come up with your mantra and your mission. And then use those to do what I call elevator pitch prospects. And then when you get to that point of meetings, then you want to sit down and say, okay, look, here is out. And I'll tell them this. You want to master there are six things, a strategic leadership and a good friend of mine, Gary, les talks about perspective, accountability, leadership, relationships, opportunity, and strategic leadership overall, you want to start really excelling at one and or all of those points as well, because those points are going to help you to again, create a conduit and our connection in that in that regard.

Chris Gandy 29:14 

So there's a lot there that people are going to have to rewind this podcast to kind of dissect that. So let's talk about DEI. You're going to come to the DEI summit that's on the forefront of congressional conference. We're going to be in DC collectively coming together and uniting to be able to hear our voice heard all the way over on Capitol Hill. So what can people expect when they come to the DEI symposium specifically, what can they expect when they hear you speak?

Marques Ogden 29:54 

They can expect me to talk about what DEI mean to me And in reality, DEI is not about talk. It's about action. It's about implementing a better culture, better connection with people to bring about real systemic change. So take our company right Chris and Suzanna, and I'm African American, like my business partner dog is Caucasian. My website designer, George is from Lebanon, my, my social media team, they are white, female, and some Jewish female, my trademark and patent person, African American male, right? We live by DEI, right? And it's all about coming together from different backgrounds, experiences, cultures, perspectives, to solve problems. Okay? Don't just talk about what needs to be done. Top how you actually going to fit something, right. And I feel more people need to just start implementing things and showing people through action. Don't say, well, we believe DEI here at this, we believe DEI here, this company, that's great. But how? Show me? What's your staff look like? What's your people that are making this distance look like? Right? He's talking to DEI was your board all one race, or one? One group or one demographic of age and all one background? That's what it is? That's not DEI. So don't just talk about it. Do it with our construction company. Right, Chris and Suzanne, that's what we did. We were DEI was African American, my partner was Jewish, we had white, male, female, out in the white male out in the field, white female in the office, we had Native American, we had people that were Hispanic, we had women, we had African American females, we had it all, we were talking about it, we were doing it. So it's gonna really we talk about how you start doing these things, and make people see your actions. And if you can bring that to the table, then you can start seeing some real change. We're going to be talking about that, and how you can do that, why it's important. But most importantly, how you do that you're going to be able to create better cash with your community, better problem solving, you could have more perspectives on how to approach things. You can make more things, more revenue, more profit, all the ties back to better production. But again, don't just talk DEI, live DEI.

Suzanne Carawan 32:42 

So I wonder Marques, because I wanted to ask you about your kind of talent recruitment, your eye when you're looking for people to join your team. But I'm also guessing I'm partly is because you are from Washington, DC or from a global capital. You see diversity all the time you run up in and immerse, but when you're going out and you're building these teams of my guesses, you're still especially since you came from the NFL, you came from an elite school anyway, you're probably still basing it on meritocracy. Am I right in saying that? Because I think that even though you're saying DEI, I think people get very upset and like they're kind of back goes up and the shoulders go up. If they think that DEI means you know, you're not still basing it on who's the best person for the job.

Marques Ogden 33:26 

Right? Yes, absolutely. And here's the thing, if you look hard enough, you'll always find the best person for the job that's diverse. Yeah, don't just hire me to hire me. No, no, no, don't do that. Hire me because I'm the best at what I do. And you want my perspective in your organization to help you thrive. That's DEI again, George thought from Lebanon. That's freaking website guy out there to me. Oh, my God, Wiener, our Caucasian female, phenomenal at what she does writing blogs, newsletters, research, creating images to post with social media. Great. Donovan, African American male, but normal videographer. He is fantastic. Albert. No with trademark and patent African American male. Same thing, right then on my team, who is from Vietnam. She's Vietnamese female, the best of the best and external measures and writing things and PR and outreach and all that stuff. The best of the best Kylie and her team as social media. Those girls are phenomenal. They have a great strategy, the execute, here's the thing, right? I'm not gonna hire you just to fill a box. I'm not going to do that. Because if I do that, I'm shortchanging myself, Okay, I'm gonna hire you and check the box because you're the best of the best

Suzanne Carawan 34:57 

That you and their coach Chris is man managers and not be easy taskmaster. Because you know hard work. Right? And, you know, etc. Yeah,

Marques Ogden 35:08 

I know what Suzanne and Chris. That's why it took me not days, not weeks, not months years to build this team years. I mean, it's hard, but not impossible, that's DEI wanting the best talent that's diverse that could bring you a unique perspective from their background, their culture, their experiences, and they do their job, five star every single time.

Chris Gandy 35:46 

I've heard a couple quotes that here with the two of you is just because it's hard doesn't mean it's difficult. Just because it's hard, doesn't mean it's difficult. And because it's hard, doesn't mean that you can't accomplish that. So you said what you said a couple things. Teamwork makes the dream work. I mean, you've talked about that talked about your history, what you're going to bring to the DEI symposium and you're saying not because let me try to articulate that because of my complexion or my connection, I want to be able to bring value. And I want to be able to help you transcend and grow your opportunity and us grow together. That's what I heard you say I believe. So I just, I just wanted to I wanted to make sure I heard you correctly. And so with that being said, NAIFA. You mentioned, you're coming to speak at the National Association of insurance and Financial Advisors, you can speak anywhere you want. Why choose NAIFA's, why NAIFA.

Marques Ogden 36:52 

NAIFA's, to me, represents exactly what I'm all about educating people in their network, education, and empowerment goes hand in hand. And I really love NAIFA My good friend Jamie Hopkins at Carson Group, you know, really connect me with NAIFA I love Carla, for the first time I spoke with her color Kirk loves your mission loves your values. And as a former financial as Personally, myself and advisor. I know what difficulty lies ahead if you're just starting out, or you don't know anybody, but NAIFA's trying to close that gap, bridge that gap through education, support and empowerment. And that's why NAIFA was on my list because Jamie Hopkins color Kirk yourself Chris, you Suzanne, everybody is not just speaking, what NAIFA believes they are actually living what NAIFA believes. And that, to me in itself speaks volumes.

Chris Gandy 38:05 

Suzanne, before we go to the speed round, which I know he knows what speed is. So we'll see if we can't stop him as we can as we kind of go along. But do you have anything else? Suzanne before we jump to the speed round here?

Suzanne Carawan 38:22 

I think Marques is definitely on that list of people we want to invite back and we're looking forward to being in person with you Marques May 22. But I think other than that, Chris I think maybe even double up on the speed round because I think Marques can take it.

Chris Gandy 38:38 

Marcus, this hasn't gone well for a lot of people.

Marques Ogden 38:43 

I'm a former athlete like you, Chris. I'm all about the challenge.

Chris Gandy 38:46 

Yeah. So here's how this works. Okay, so the goal of the speed round is whatever comes to mind first, that's just what it is okay. So you don't have to think very hard. It's not one of those situations. It's just say whatever comes to mind. That's what it is. So we'll start off with something very easy, your favorite place to eat in Washington and or Washington area.

Marques Ogden 39:11 

And the Washington area. I would say the Old Ebbitt Grill.

Chris Gandy 39:17 

Old Ebbitt, I ate there last time. See how easy that was? It wasn't hard. All right. Now we're gonna pick it up a little bit. Okay, so with that said, so now let's be ready. Let's go. So, words you remember that your dad told you that you live by?

Marques Ogden 39:37 

Never ever judge somebody by what others say make your own opinion.

Chris Gandy 39:43 

Best advice you heard from a coach that you played for.

Marques Ogden 39:48 

In life, be your own CEO Jack Del Rio.

Chris Gandy 39:54 

Your favorite quote?

Marques Ogden 39:58 

In times of extreme darkness focus on the light Aristotle. Your favorite movie. Rocky Four with Yvonne Drago.

Suzanne Carawan 40:14 

Creed three is out though.

Chris Gandy 40:18 

So your best moment you can remember from playing sports.

Marques Ogden 40:25 

Playing my rookie game against the Minnesota Vikings. I get with 80,000 fans screaming and not loot and not losing my cool.

Chris Gandy 40:38 

Okay, last question. If you can go back in history and have dinner with one person in history, who would it be? And why?

Marques Ogden 40:47 

Aristotle he taught, and coach Alexander the Great. He may Alexander the Great by the best, if not the best wars, ancient time through education, and empowerment and enlightenment. And I would love this ask Aristotle questions, I would probably use his quotes to the day that I die, which I already do. But I would love to ask him more questions about his life and what he lived in ancient Greece.

Chris Gandy 41:14 

Awesome. Yeah. The mythology major Suzanne has spoken. So, Marques, thank you. Thank you for being here. We can't do what we do without professionals like yourself. Suzanne, or Marques, do you have anything before we throw it to Suzanne? And then I'll close this out?

Marques Ogden 41:36 

No, just look forward to the conference, again, looking forward to inspiring people with my story. And also, we put got some great action steps. I need to start not just speaking about DEI, but living it and creating a better, healthier culture and getting consent. Right, Chris? Great talent, that happens to be a different complexion that can do the job at a five-star level.

Chris Gandy 42:05 

Awesome. Suzanne, do you have anything before I close it out,

Suzanne Carawan 42:08 

I think, goes back to that, hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard, right? Like that whole thing is I love everything you're saying. And we got to get more people out there and focus because we've got a lot of people in our midst, too. They want to do better, but they somehow get blocked. Right. And I think that's part of what we're trying to do on this podcast is bring guests on, like you, Marques and help people open up and find that why and really kind of live that we all want to be Christianity, let's face facts, but be able to get into that 1% piece. And we want to take our members to that 1% the top of the financial pyramid. With that, Chris, I'll turn it back to you.

Chris Gandy 42:44 

So with that being said, you heard Marques talk a little bit about how to be better than at least 1% per day in every way possible, inspire others around you because this is bigger. This is much bigger than just yourself. Thank you for tuning in to Advisor Today's podcast where we uplift and create an environment for professional advisors to build and grow their careers. And thank you so much, Suzanne, for being here. Thank you, Marques, for being here. We look forward to seeing you soon. We'll see you next week. Thanks for tuning in. And again, have a great day, and go out and inspire somebody to be great. Just like yourself. Have a good day.

Outro 43:28 

Thanks for joining us for NAIFA's Advisor Today podcast series. Make sure to subscribe to get future episodes. And if you're interested in coming on the show, let us know