Unlocking the Mindset of a Champion With Walter Bond

Walter Bond is a former NBA professional who has successfully transitioned into a Hall of Fame motivational speaker and business accelerator. Starting his journey in the competitive world of professional basketball, he learned the value of mindset, support, and discipline. Walter is known for his Shark Mindset Selling training, which helps people become top performers in their respective fields. With a heart for mentoring and a belief in the power of support, he advises corporate leaders and coaches them toward radical growth, sustained culture, and business transformation.

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

[2:02] Walter Bond shares his professional journey and the importance of being supported and connected through associations like NAIFA
[4:47] How a dream and support system propelled Walter to become an NBA player
[10:27] The value of establishing habits and rituals
[16:54] How to achieve high performance in sports and business
[22:38] Walter talks about the danger of complacency and the importance of continuous self-improvement
[25:45] Reprogramming your mindset to give back before expecting returns
[30:55] The call to NAIFA leaders to step up, mentor others, and strengthen the association
[36:20] Why Walter decided to be a speaker at the Apex upcoming event
[38:32] Walter's advice for upcoming advisors

In this episode…

In the fiercely competitive business world, attaining top-tier performance as an advisor in your industry presents a formidable challenge. Nevertheless, you can achieve success with a resilient mindset, unwavering support, and a commitment to perpetual skill enhancement.

Walter Bond, a former NBA player turned motivational speaker, exhibited sheer determination and discipline both on the court and on stage. He emphasizes the crucial role of support systems in achieving peak performance and underscores the profound impact of organizations like NAIFA in shaping careers in financial advising. Walter stresses the significance of mindset, skill set, reciprocal mentorship, and continuous improvement, drawing from the drive and resilience that propelled him to success.

In this episode of Advisor Today, Chris Gandy and Suzanne Carawan sit down with Walter Bond, a Hall of Fame motivational speaker, about his path from sports to motivational speaking. Walter shares his professional journey and the importance of being supported and connected through associations like NAIFA, his mindset and skill sets for high performance, and why NAIFA members should step up, mentor others, and strengthen the association.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Quotable Moments:

"Leave NAIFA in better shape than what you found."
"Iron sharpens iron, and that's why you need support from an association."
"If you're going to be in business, you might as well scatter a lot of seeds so you can have a big harvest."
"You've got to have the right vision and support to make all your dreams come true."
"If you can't convince yourself you can be elite, it's impossible to be elite if you're not convinced."

Action Steps:

Develop a positive, resilient mindset: This approach can transform your performance in any field, as highlighted by Walter Bond's story of believing in himself despite obstacles, which was crucial to his success.
Join and actively participate in your industry association: Associations offer valuable resources, networking, and educational opportunities that can catapult your career forward by providing the necessary support and community.
Invest time in continuous skill development: By learning from others' experiences and adopting new techniques, you can maintain a competitive edge and foster growth.
Establish and maintain good habits and rituals: This allows for consistent, long-term development and performance enhancement.
Mentor and seek mentorship: Engaging in mentorship, as both a mentor and mentee, creates a symbiotic relationship that promotes knowledge sharing, support, and industry betterment, ensuring the vitality and evolution of your profession.

Sponsor for this episode...

This episode is brought to you by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, or NAIFA, the #1 association for producers in financial services.

At NAIFA, we enhance professional skills, promote ethical conduct, and advocate for legislative and regulatory environments.

By joining NAIFA, you gain access to a partnership that elevates your performance while providing greater purpose to your professional work. NAIFA members are happier, make more money, and stay in the business longer.

Get in touch with NAIFA and learn more about how to join NAIFA by visiting NAIFA.org.

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 everyone. We got a special edition of Advisor Today's podcast, and we're super excited. I'm one of your co-hosts, Chris Gandy, and I'm here with our other co-host, Suzanne Carawan. Suzanne, the word is that we've got two years in the can now is that, is there something along that line? So this is like an anniversary edition.

Suzanne Carawan 0:39

It is happy anniversary Chris, yes, we've been doing this together for two years. It's our two year anniversary episode.

Chris Gandy 0:47

Wow. Okay, so that's amazing. So, Suzanne, before we get into our special guest today, would you please share with us who our sponsor is for today's program?

Suzanne Carawan 0:58

Sure. So today, it's sponsored by Apex, our upcoming event, September 19 to the 21st that's happening at the Arizona Biltmore, and our guest today happens to be one of our starring speakers, so we're super excited to have Walter Bond join the program, who's also a NAIFA member, and we're ready to talk a little playmaking, because the playmakers are going to be at Apex in September, Chris, he'll be there. Walter will be there. I'll be there, and we'll be able to do this again in person.

Chris Gandy 1:27

Awesome. Walter Bond, welcome to the Advisor Today podcast. How are you, bud?

Walter Bond 1:33

I'm fantastic. I had a rare day on the road, so I'm not on the airplane, not on the platform, and so I couldn't think of a better organization to hang out with than NAIFA.

Chris Gandy 1:44

Okay, awesome. So Walter Bond, some people may say, do I know him? I've seen him somewhere before. Can you share with us a little bit about who you are, your background and at the end of the day, how did you come to know NAIFA?

Walter Bond 2:02

Well, most people know me now as a Hall of Fame motivational speaker and business accelerator, but in the previous life, I got a chance to play in the NBA. And for me, that's the pinnacle. And I didn't have an incredible career. I didn't have the Michael Jordan career, but for me, just to make it there was an incredible experience of resiliency, focus, execution. The people that know my story know I didn't even start on my college basketball team. So the question is, how in the hell did you make it to the NBA and you didn't start in college?

And so when I tell my story, I inspire people, especially financial services. When I first started speaking, people will come to me and say, man, you got to speak at NAIFA. You got to speak at NAIFA. You got to speak at NAIFA. Early on, I was like, what the hell is NAIFA? And I started doing my homework and my research, and I realized how powerful NAIFA was, back in the 90s, it was like 100,000 members, and I remember having an aspiration that one day I'm going to speak at NAIFA, right? Because that was the go to resource and go to Association. Now I'm a firm believer in associations. I belong to two associations in my life, and they've been transformational.

The first one was the National Basketball Association. I only played two and a half years. I played less than three years, but that's what I have. The experience was transformational, and it's helped me build a global brand. It really taught me how to be excellent, and I joined the National Speakers Association, and they taught me how to build a speaking business. So as far as I'm concerned, you're supposed to belong to your association. It just should be a no brainer, because Iron sharpens Iron. That's where you get your support. That's where you get your resources.

That's where the cool kids hang out, right? So, being able to reconnect with NAIFA, to me, is a natural extension of who I am, what I believe, and I want to give NAIFA all I got, because financial service professionals, you got to support America. I lost my dad to prostate cancer, and my mom lives good. She lives well because they had insurance products. But imagine if we don't have NAIFA members out, selling, getting business, getting clients.

You have a lot of widows who might not have coverage and might be struggling working at Walmart, because they try to make ends meet. So as far as I'm concerned, NAIFA is necessary for the American family to get support and to make sure we're buttoned up financially with the credible financial producer that's going to do the right thing.

Chris Gandy 3:45

So with that being said, I'm sure people want to know, okay, so you didn't start on your college basketball team. So, Walter. Where'd you go to school?

Walter Bond 4:47

University of Minnesota. I'm a big 10 guy.

Chris Gandy 4:50

So you're your golden gopher. So, a golden gopher. Let me go back in history. That means you would have played under Clement Asking, you can ask me, because we were at Illinois, and we probably beat you guys a bunch of times, I'm just giving you a hard time. So, no, but at the end of the day, you saw something in yourself that others didn't possibly see. So, what kept you going? I don't talk about the NBA. NBA makes enough money. I want to talk about what kept you going, even though the odds look like, well, I'm going to end up not making it after this.

This is pretty much it. And I could go on and be a professional anything else other than basketball. I mean, what kept you focused on the fact that internally, I've got something that other people need to see, that I have yet to really tap into an expert.

Walter Bond 5:53

Simply put support. As an athlete, I had a great support system, mom, dad, brother, sister and I had a dream, so to answer the question, simply a dream and some support. And my dream got so convoluted that I almost quit and gave up, and my dad stepped in and he wouldn't let me quit. I mean, he just would not let me quit. And that's why I believe in support. And so when you get grown to become an adult, Mom and Dad can't help you, like they used to when you were young, and that's why you need support from an association to get the education, the inspiration, the certification.

My parents were able, and my college basketball coach was amazing with his player development. See, I believe in development, and so my parents raised me, but once they hand you to a college basketball coach in the university, you leave home, and this university supports you. So I'm all about support, and that's why, as soon as basketball ended and I left the National Basketball Association, I wouldn't write to another Association, because I believe in support. So to answer your question, honestly, I always had a big dream, but also allowed myself to be supported, which means I'm coachable.

You might see a cat in the background. A lot of financial advisors and producers probably live their life well. They're on the island by themselves, kind of being introverted and anti-social, and iron sharpens iron. Chris Gandy, you got to get around other professionals, and you get chance to demand the best out of each other. And I still do that as a speaker with other business coaches and consultants. I just got back from the NBA retired players association, it was awesome to hang around former players who kind of exaggerate how good we really were, but nobody could challenge it anymore. But that fellowship is important because now we're supporting each other life after basketball.

And as you know, it's tough to really go from being the best in the world with no other skill set and all of a sudden, basketball's over and it's done, and you got to pivot and do something else with no experience. And so even former players need each other to support each other. So I'm all about Association. I think it's absolutely ridiculous and not even smart, not to belong to an association in your industry.

Chris Gandy 8:07

So Walter, I just want to comment on something that most people don't even know. Right the day you enter into any professional contract, you're automatically in the association, yeah, whether you want to be or not. You're automatically in because it's the standard, it's the protocol to being that, to have the opportunity to actually even compete for the team. So, it's interesting that you say that at NAIFA, we don't, we don't have that right? There's, there's all these associations that that you can join. So when you're joining one, it's like, okay, what is this? What is this?

What is this possibly give me? I've heard a couple times people say, what do I get? Yeah, what do I get? Yeah, what do I get in exchange for my dollars and cents? And I've said this a couple times, and I truly believe this is, you can give your time, energy and money, right? Those are the three things that you give. You can't give it those, all those things we expect to return. But when you give of yourself, you can't expect anything in return for you, but you can expect something in return for others, and I think that is something that we are challenged with in a I need an immediate result society, right? I need immediate result. Let me Google Walter Bond.

Oh, he didn't come out. What can we Google Bond Walter, I need an immediate resolve. And we're in the business of delayed gratification. So, because we're in the business of Gorilla, I preface that because, what should NAIFA e expecting from their association. If you just joined NAIFA day, you're brand new. What do you expect? I mean, if you compared it to the NBA and that association, so let's just compare, like high level associations, and what did you get when you the day you considered, or the day they said, hey, you're gonna try out for this NBA team. What did they give you, other than a playbook?

Walter Bond 10:27

One, prestige, joining the NBA was incredibly prestigious. And so if I'm a family looking for a financial advisor or an insurance agent, I would like to know that person is connected to something not supported by something. I had a financial advisor turn my account when I played an NBA and he got prosecuted. And I was so thankful that the firm called me and alerted me that my agent at the time was turning my account and so the fact that I was connected to this firm protected me. So why wouldn't an average family member know that I'm going to sit down with this person to help them be my financial coach? I want to know they're connected to something that which means they're legit. Now, Chris Gandy, you and I know you can't fake the NBA. You make it to the NBA, you're legit.

I think NAIFA should have the same standard like, Okay, this financial advisor, this insurance agent, is a member of NAIFA. Check that means they're legit. They had a background check, they passed the certification, whatever it's required to be a member of NAIFA that could change the whole financial game, in my opinion. Because you hear about people getting manipulated financially and losing it all and Ponzi schemes, and you hear all that stuff. To me, if I'm a family, a little old lady, getting some coverage, getting some support, I would want to know this person I'm working with has some accountability behind them, and they're legit. That's number one. Education.

I remember being around other NBA ballplayers talking about what you eat, your nutrition? Who's your agent? How do you take care of your body? Got my first email address from one of my NBA teammates, Tyrone Corbin, came over to my apartment, and my wife and I was like, email, what is that? And he set us up with a AOL like, if you have a aol.com you're old school. So I can go back to say, the only thing I miss about the locker room, Gandy, the only thing I miss about the NBA is a locker room. I miss hanging around John Stockton, he went to a chiropractor four times a day.

I saw excellence. Karl Malone lift the weights every day. Jerry Salon was a man's man. When I think about what I miss about the NBA, the only thing I miss is a locker room. I don't miss the workouts. I don't miss getting my teeth knocked out. I don't miss spraining the ankles. But that fellowship was special, because the person sitting next to you, you do exactly what you do, and you understand and you can relate to each other. You come to Apex, you in a room full of people to do exactly what you do. Don't ever underestimate that value. It didn't have education, the advocacy on top of it. And so I'm a promoter of associations. When I joined the National Speakers Association, do you realize how scared I was? I had no money coming in, and all I had was a story. And they were like, dude, that's all you need, is a story. And they taught me how to tell my story, how to monetize it.

And then I started mentoring other athletes. I mentor Mark Eaton, mentor Charlie Ward. I mean, I got Cedric Ceballos. I got Byron Scott. I've got NBA legends, Michael Cooper, who's going to go into the Hall of Fame, seeking me, saying, Walter, can you help me tell my story? Me an NBA peon is now supporting legends at the NBA, and it's rightful, because every time I needed them, and now some of them need me, and that's what fellowship is all about. So you can't say, well, I'm a financial advisor and I have a big book of business and screwmaker like, really? I mean, how selfish can you be. It's a season when you were a new advisor, a new agent, and you got mentored.

Why don't you go back to NAIFA and hang out with other top producers, but also mentor some of the younger producers? And that's just the right thing to do, to give back. So now mentor young speakers. Why? I'm a Hall of Fame speaker? Why wouldn't I give back to an industry that's been so good to me? Can go on and on about how valuable and how much I believe in associations. So when I got the opportunity to support NAIFA, and we're going to do it by helping producers make money, and honestly, that's the biggest reason why I love the NBA, they helped me make money. The National Speakers Association helped me make money.

I believe in education, I believe in advocacy, but I want to help NAIFA members grow their business, close more deals and make more money. Because if you're going to be in business, that's the reason we're in business. That's what we want, more money. So I want to help producers generate more revenue, and I think that can help NAIFA members see the value and become endeared to NAIFA.

Chris Gandy 14:59

It's interesting. You say you entered the, it's funny you said, I entered the NBA, but you had a dream, and you had a potential contract, but when you went into the NBA, you weren't making any money either when you first started, because you didn't know if you were going to make the team, right. And so at the end of the day, you jumped out. You had to take the leap of faith, and you had to believe in something bigger than yourself, right? Whatever that was, whatever that dream, whatever that was in your mind. So let's, let's shift gears.

Let's fast forward tape you graduate from college, and now your professional regardless of how long it went on your professional life, you had to pivot right, and you had to pivot and take some of the skills you learned in the disciplines you learned while you were playing and now start to apply those into the business world. So share something, now, I'm going to talk about peak performance and how to perform at the highest level of your capability, possibility and your talent, kind of bringing all those together. Just hard work doesn't do it. Everybody thinks that does it. Just talent doesn't do it.

That doesn't do it right? It's a combination of multiple disciplines plus those things, right? It's the plus. So share with me some of the disciplines that were necessary for you to perform at a high level and to do it consistently, because I want to compare that to NAIFA members, because those same disciplines of high performance is high performance, and whatever chosen field of study is not just playing basketball, but we can talk basketball, and I want to relate it to NAIFA.

Walter Bond 16:54

No, again, first of all, my parents were teachers. My dad was a high school principal, my mom was a teacher. My oldest brother is a preacher, right? So I've been around preachers and teachers my whole life, inspiration and motivation and also education. What I realized on my way to the NBA, I was doing research. I was literally doing research on how to become a lead. The first dynamic of anyone who wants to be a top performer is mindset. It's 80% mindset. If you go back and look at the greatest athletes of all time, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, people go old school. Dr. J, I mean, they all had Muhammad Ali, oh, my God.

My favorite athletes of all time all had a similar mindset. What does that mean? They believed they were the best in the world of what they do, it didn't matter what the score was, it didn't matter what adversity they faced. It didn't matter what injuries they had. They believe that they were the best in the world of what they need, 80% mindset. So let's talk about a producer, insurance agent, financial advisor. What do you believe? What do you really believe about the marketplace? What do you really believe about business? If you're not careful, you'll believe the wrong thing. Sam, I can't get any business. Why inflation? Oh, I'm not. I can't get any business.

Young kids don't want insurance. Well, I can't grow my firm. Because you can convince yourself, or whatever you want to convince yourself of, but if you want to be a lead, you better convince yourself of the right things, right? And so mindset is 80% of the deal, but the other part of it is skill set. Right? Skill set is so important. You know what? As a basketball player, I can shoot the ball, you better not leave me open, because I'm going to knock it down. And that skill set got me to the NBA. But when I left sports and had no money coming in, I realized, through basketball, I have to learn another skill set if I'm going to be able to support my family.

And I was at a country club, and I believe in fellowship. I’m going to say it one more time, the smartest thing my wife and I did when basketball was over, no money coming in, we became social members at a country club, and I got a chance to get away from successful basketball players, and I got around successful business people. Because I'm no longer a basketball person. Now I'm trying to be a business person. And one guy said to me at the country club, it was my first business lesson, and I'm talking about I had no money coming in, the checking account was dwindling. He says, you're going to do great in business, and he walks away.

Gandy, I looked at Brown, and I was dumbfounded. So I followed him. I literally followed him, and I tapped him on the shoulder, and I was like, What makes you think I'm going to be so good in business? He goes, Walter, you can't tell everybody here likes you. You're going to do great in sales. That was my first business lesson. Literally, it was organic. I knew nothing about business, and so I went home and I started reading books How to Win Friends and Influence People, Good to Great. I bought The Sales Bible. I got everything I can get my hands on relative to sales, and I started learning how to sell, because I understood, like, Man, if I could see stuff, I can generate revenue and I can take care of my family.

Do you guys know, within 36 months, once I knew how to sell, I had double my NBA income. Now I got the mindset, but now I got the skill set. Buffalo Wild Wings said no to me eight years in a row, and I kept following up. Why? Because sales trainers will teach you always follow up, where we model in my house, right here in Boca, Raton, Florida, and I am amazed at all the vendors that come in spend the hour, measure this measure that show you tile, show you all their wares, and never follow up. I need an outdoor kitchen or I need and you came in here, I gave you a shot and you didn't even follow. In basketball, we were taught to follow through, and some guys didn't. Am I right or wrong? In sales, I was trained to follow up.

Buffalo Wild Wings said no, eight years in a row, and I kept following up, they finally said yes, close their conference. They said me and Lou Holtz were the best two speakers they ever had. Then from there, somebody went to blaze pizza from that conference who was an executive, and before I know it, I'm keynoting Blaze pizza, and while I'm at Blaze pizza, someone from Blaze pizza went over to Dairy Queen. So now I can notice Dairy Queen, if I don't follow up for nine years with Buffalo Wild Wings, I never get to Dairy Queen.

Now Dairy Queen is interested in doing 83 events with me. So it really taught me, like, man, your career can be explosive if you understand the mindset of a skill sales rep, but also the skill set of a sales rep to always follow up. If I don't follow up with Buffalo Wild Wings, the Dairy Queen, opportunity is not there. So think about all the insurance agents or financial advisors who are frustrated or have an average book of business, and they're trying to figure out, well, I'm down because of the inflation, and I'm waiting on who's going to be the next president, and I'm in a small town, like, really, like, Dude, are you selling?

You really healed at selling, and if you don't have the skill set or the mindset, you're never going to grow the business. So that's why it's important to get to support, network around you, get to the right conferences, join the right Association, so you can develop the right mindset, but also develop the right skill set, get you some tools so that you can go out and be a successful business person.

Suzanne Carawan 22:13

But I often think, what happens too Walter so talk about this real quick, is people get to the point they just get complacent. They're like, that's good enough. I'm happy where it is, like, it's good enough. I've got money coming in, you know, I'll just kind of ride this train. And how do you get them to get that fire in their belly, to go to that next level?

Chris Gandy 22:33

How do you continue to feed them the monster within?

Suzanne Carawan 22:37

That shark, keep that shark?

Walter Bond 22:38

Yeah, well, the shark mindset is our sales training, and sharks are always looking for opportunities. And the most hypocritical thing for me as a former professional athlete, the fans would come to the ball game and hackle. If you didn't win the playoff game, or if you didn't win or if you didn't play, well, if your team lost to the playoffs, fans are pissed off because they want their team to get bigger, stronger and faster every year. Meanwhile, they go home and justify their business. You can justify and say, I'm good. I don't need a bigger book of business, and I got enough assets under management, and I got enough premium, and I'm fine.

But then you go watch the Cowboys, and you're pissed off because they got eliminated in the playoffs. So you're frustrated with the Chicago Bears because they have been good for 30 years. Meanwhile, your business is complacent. If you want the best out of your favorite sports team, why not want the best out of you? If you want your favorite local freaking college football team or basketball team down there in Champaign to get bigger, stronger and faster, that's fine. I have no problem with that, but you should demand that same excellence out of yourself. I'm a member of NAIFA. I'm an insurance agent, I'm a financial advisor. Shouldn't I get bigger and stronger every year?

Shouldn't I be committed? Shouldn't I be loyal? Shouldn't I join my association? Shouldn't it be, you know, automatic. Think about the NFL, same thing, you make an NFL team, you automatically a member of the National Football Players Association. So to me, a financial advisor, a producer, insurance agent. That should be your mindset, joining my association, right should be a no brainer and all the benefits I get from it, is the biggest reason why I do it.

Chris Gandy 24:26

You said something kind of interesting is that you're giving first before you expect something back. That's something that I think we need to reiterate and reprogram ourselves a little bit so that we can think differently. I think so many times we're like, what's in it for us first. And so we got to check ourselves at the door a little bit and say, Are we truly being a selfless servant to the association in which we've given our time, energy and effort to because it rewards us by allowing us to be able to have the freedom to live the quality of life we want to live and do the things we want to be able to do.

I mean, let's just be honest, the majority of financial advisors that have been in the business for over 10 to 15 years, they're making they're in the top 5% of people in income in the world, in the United States, period. And so the ability to get back shouldn't even, like you said, be a question. It should be part of this is what's given me so much. Why? How can I not give back?

Walter Bond 25:45

Let me give a spiritual lesson. All right, we always hear you reap what you sow. Most people think that's an integrity message. Integrity message, to me, that's a business lesson. Whatever man sows, that's what he shall reap. So if you want to hit big harvest, you got to scatter a lot of seed. So you get the small business owner who has alligator arms, cheap as they can be. You take them to get coffee. They carry that well, I hope he's paying for it. They don't have a business coach, and they want to go to YouTube, and they don't go to the bookstore and buy the book. They go to the library and rent the book, fine, that's your business. But if we're going to reap what we sow, okay? If that's true, if you really believe that, why not scatter a lot of seeds so you can have a big harvest, right?

So if you think about the spiritual laws that we're governed by we all agree what goes around comes around, right? And so if that is the case, I never saw you reap what you sow as an integrity lesson, because my mom's a kindergarten teacher. Man, I feel bad if I drop a piece of garbage on the floor. So like living a good life and doing the right thing was never an issue for me. So when I read you reap what you sow instantly. That was a business message for me. And so as a result, we do a lot of marketing. As a result, I make a whole lot of sales calls. As a result, I know a lot of people. And guess what? Just today, I had a meeting about a sponsorship, and the guy was like, man, I'd love to sponsor you and be a part of this, man, because you're a great guy and I've known you for a long time. I was like, man, it's our business. Should be like, I've known you for a long time to sponsor you.

So it was a deal that closes because I built a relationship. We've done a bunch of nice things for this guy with no interest in a return. I mean, it's just the right thing to do, and as a result, I mean, he's going to create an opportunity for our business, that's like the explosive opportunity. But I believe successful people know a lot of people. I believe successful people understand fundamentals. And here's another thing we didn't talk about, and this is a basketball lesson, habits and rituals. You got to have good habits and rituals. I used to shoot a basketball 500 times a day, every single day, every single day, I would get up 500 shots because I knew at six foot five I can't play in NBA if I can't knock down a jump shot. And so those habits and rituals paid off.

So when I got into the business world, Chris, I developed habits and rituals. And these habits and rituals in business have paid off. And I just love to teach and inspire and motivate, especially NAIFA members like, Look, if you're not happy where your business is right, get in the right room. Let's support you. Let's educate you, so that you can get the right vision again, right you get the right support around you. You get around the right professionals that can drive and push each other, you can mentor and you mentor somebody else, and it's just a matter of time before all your dreams come true.

Chris Gandy 28:50

Walter, let's fast forward the tape into a couple things. So we talked about the importance of being a part of the association, we talked about the importance of discipline and mindset and the fundamentals, right? We talked about that. But let's talk about the it factor. Let's talk about the it factor, right? And the idea that there's some people you engage with, you're like, I don't care what that person does. They got it. They have it. I don't know what it is, but it just inspired. It brings the spirit and the light out in people and allows for them to really become the best version of themselves. Can you speak to our NAIFA leaders? The way NAIFA is structured is that we have to inspire leaders to lead in the States, in the locals.

So let's call it, we have 200 leaders around the United States, between Presidents, President elects, Secretary. Treasures, where they're sitting in a role like a GM, okay, I want to go back to my sport. They're sitting in a role as a GM, as a President of Operations and all sports team and also the player personnel guy, right? And they're sitting in those roles saying, I'm not going to go to the All Star game. I'm not going to go to the draft this year. I got family vacation, right? Can you speak to them about the importance of not just playing the game, but showing up and being present, because what it does for others who are paying attention, who aspire to be like them. Can you and can you imagine if you were in the NBA front office and you said, I'm not gonna go, I got something to do.

Walter Bond 30:55

You'd hurt yourself, right? I mean, you're disconnecting yourself from your own industry. And people do it all the time, and I think sometimes they don't know that they're doing it, because, to your point, they justify it. You know what, I got to get down and check on my mom. I got to get over here and make a vacation. I got to go over here and check on my horses, or whatever your deal is. These are justifications. There's no excuse for you to ever cut yourself off from your bloodline. This is your industry, right? You need your industry, and your industry needs you.

When I play an NBA, you know what we were taught, leave the association in better shape than what you found? That's what we were taught, man, when you play an NBA, I don't care how long you're in the NBA, leave the association in better shape. Imagine if that was a heart of a NAIFA member. Imagine if that's the heart of the NAIFA member, you go to Apex, you're at every chapter meeting, you are engaged member of the association. Because this Association was founded in 1890 right and now we're looking at the numbers right now, because the people didn't have that heart. Why?

They got selfish? I'm fine. I'm good, so I'm gonna do my own thing, or I'm fine. I don't need that, and I'm okay. I got my book. I needed it in the beginning, don't get me wrong. But now that I'm rolling, hey, now that I've got a nice book of business, I'm good by me. Like that's not the right thing. I'm still connected to the NBA to this day. 55 just got back from Las Vegas. I did an event for the NBA retired players association. Association that's so good to me when they call me and say, Walter, can you come here when just let me know. And I only played less than three years in the NBA, right? So think about what the NBA has done for LeBron James or Michael Jordan.

Why wouldn't they ever show up. But any NBA event that they're invited to, they can get selfish because they don't need it anymore. But we all won't agree the right thing to do is this, man, this industry's made you a billionaire, and you can't stay connected and show up like, come on NAIFA, this industry's been good to you, especially my older members, this association is great to you. The worst thing you can do is have some apathy and not care, because you're fine. Meanwhile, you're neglecting and ignoring that young agent who might be 28 years old, struggling to launch his office, her office. And they need your wisdom. They need your guidance. And you can probably benefit from some of their young energy yourself, because a veteran always needs a rookie. Am I right? They help each other. They add energy to each other, and just being a good member of your association, to me, should be a no brainer.

Chris Gandy 33:32

So that's a call to action for those who are listening to this podcast, because at the end of the day, not just being the best version of yourself, leaving the world a little better and you found it, leaving NAIFA better than you found it. You've gotten had an opportunity to partake at the table, right? And there are a lot of people that are partaking, that aren't putting back or didn't put in on this, right? So they need to put in and also be able to teach others and aspire others, because they're leading on a local level, right? And when they're leading on a local level, they have to act as if they're leading the entire Association, not just act like they're leading on a local level. And I think that's where we're challenged. And Suzanne and I have talked about is we've got to activate the activist, the people that want to be active. And we got to be comfortable getting others out of the way and saying, okay, I understand you were active before, you're not as active again.

And being able to put the people in the roles, be able people step up and be active and proactive so that we can continue to grow the right way, with a little different mindset, and start to embrace that core values of who we are, where we've come from in the history, like you said, the history of NAIFA. I think if you're going to serve in the role as a President, you should have to read. You should actually to know the history a little bit, right? We're serving the role of a NAIFA president in the state. You need to know the history of NAIFA. Like, where did it start? How did it happen? Well, like, even if it's just a brief understanding, you will have a different appreciation for behind in the future. So. So with that being said, let's, let's pivot towards we've got a phenomenal platform coming up in a couple months. The word is that you're going to be in Arizona in the summer, Arizona in the summer. And the word is that it's going to be fairly warm there, but that's okay.

There's a pool, so let's talk about, you can go anywhere. Like you said, you're, you're a member of this. You're asked to speak at this, but you decided to speak it Apex, NAIFA's prominent event where we were bringing together leaders, national leaders. We're bringing in, we're bringing in top speakers. Why did you choose to do this event? I mean, you could do any event you want. There's a lot of events. But why do this?

Walter Bond 36:20

Here's why, I love Suzanne, and I love to build, you know, just kind of my personality, and I chose you Minnesota because they were building a program. I didn't want to go to some top program. They already good. I just plug in. I love building. And I remember NAIFA. I remember NAIFA, when I first started speaking. This was the premier Association, and that was just the place to be. And so what I want to do is just challenge every NAIFA member that watches this video with the same message I got from the NBA leave NAIFA in better shape than what you found, right? That's a great message. And my call to action is sign up and go to Apex. Why not? Your friends are there? Your family's there. When I'm with the retired players, I'm like, Man, this is my family.

Like, when I go to the National Speakers Association, like, this is my tribe, they do exactly what I do to the T and sometimes I don't know if people appreciate and value how important that really is. If there's any NAIFA member who just looking for more out their business, that want to grow their business, come and hang out with your tribe at Apex. And the final thought I have on it is fitting that my sales training is called Shark mindset selling because sharks are the apex predator in the ocean, and so when I think about apex, these are the top dogs. Come hang out with the best of the best. Have some great fellowship. Get inspired, get motivated, get educated, and go back home to your market and do your best work. When I'm around NBA ball players, they demanded the best out of me. When I'm around NSA speakers, they demand the best out of me.

And I want to everyone who goes to Apex and becomes a member of NAIFA Leave that association in better shape than what you founded and come hang out with your other peers. And let's command and demand each excellence out of each other. And let's leave NAIFA in a better place.

Chris Gandy 38:10

Very well put Mr. Walter Bond, you did a great job. I know we're not at the end of Advisor Today's podcast, but give us some inspiring words for APEX that really will leave us kind of hanging a little bit as we start to prepare for coming to see some of the words that you're going to share with us at Apex.

Walter Bond 38:32

Well, we've been able to identify some of the challenges of anyone who has a big dream and falls short, and I created something called Peak Performance Formula, and I got a chance to play in the NBA, which means I became one of the best basketball players in the world, and I became a Hall of Fame motivational speaker, and I began to realize, man, it's a simple formula. Like, people like, look at me like it's incredible. Like, thank you. But it wasn't that hard, because I have the formula. And so I want NAIFA members to know that if they come to apex, I'm going to give you the formula of how I became the best in the world in two different industries.

Not to brag about me, I want to give you the formula so that you can go and build an incredible book of business. I want to give you the formula so that all your dreams can come true, and that's really my purpose. I realized in my life that my purpose by God was not to play an NBA, my purpose from God was to help others make it to their pinnacle, make it to their Apex. And that's why I'm going out to Arizona in that heat, so I can be an inspiration and motivation. So I can leave NAIFA in a better shape than what I find.

Suzanne Carawan 39:48

So luckily, it's a dry heat. But yeah, Chris, that's probably a great segue right into our lightning round.

Chris Gandy 39:55

All right, that's it. That is a great segment into our lightning round, our lightning round Walter is pretty simple. We get a chance to, I don't know if you've seen any of the podcasts, but this is the anniversary edition, so you may get some questions, you might not be ready for. The goal of it is that people may know you, they may look up your stats and say, hey, but at the end of the day, this gives us an opportunity to get to the person Walter bond, not the public speaker, not the player, but they get a chance to know you a little bit. And so I'm going to ask you some questions. And again, don't overthink it. So whatever, top your head. Just relax yourself. Okay. So with that being said, we'll ask you some questions that I know you know the answer to. Okay, okay. So what was your favorite stadium to play in?

Walter Bond 40:45

Madison Square Garden, New York City. Come on, that's easy.

Chris Gandy 40:49

Madison Square Garden. Okay, see that was that was easy. It wasn't hard, all right, so we'll get after it now. Okay, so, so sit back, relax, and here we go. So your favorite food? Mr. Walter Bond.

Walter Bond 41:02

Ooh, Barbecue.

Chris Gandy 41:04

Barbecue. What kind?

Walter Bond 41:06

Any barbecue I love barbecue? Barbecue, tons of sauce and barbecue, brisket, ribs, corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese. I love barbecue.

Chris Gandy 41:17

Your proudest moment in your current business.

Walter Bond 41:23

When I got inducted into the Hall of Fame, that was my proudest moment, because, you know, as NBA ballplayer, I was bounced around, barely made teams, but that night, I was celebrated as a Hall of Fame speaker. There's only 200 alive. So for me, that was even greater than my NBA achievement, that I got recognized as one of the best in the world at doing something. And so, when you've been an NBA peon, it's kind of tough, because you got there, you achieved it. But it's not like you're celebrated as some celebrity. You're forgotten easily. And so to go into the Hall of Fame as a speaker was very special.

Chris Gandy 41:58

If you could go back, and if someone's just joining NAIFA today, if you were joining NAIFA today, or you were starting your career today, what advice would you give yourself if you were just starting today?

Walter Bond 42:11

Oh, have the vision right away. I mean, almost have the end in mind when you start. And in a weird way, I knew I was going to be a Hall of Fame speaker, because that's what I set out to be. I got all the top speakers videos, and I watched them. I called my wife in the office, and I said, babe, we're going to be up there. She's like, really? How? I said, well, I just watched Les Brown, and I can do what he can do. I just watched Tony Robbins. I just watched Zig Ziglar babe, I can do what they do. And so in the beginning, literally, before I started, I knew that I could be elite. And so same thing in sports, I had that kind of mindset. And so for any new NAIFA member, I need you to convince yourself that you can be elite. Because if you can't convince yourself you can be elite, it's impossible to be elite if you're not convinced. So my message to a new NAIFA member, convince yourself first that you can be elite.

Chris Gandy 43:05

Last question for you, Mr. Bond, and then we'll see you at Apex. You can go back in history and have dinner with anyone, whether they're alive or they've passed, they've left us before now, who would it be and why?

Walter Bond 43:20

Man, you gonna get me emotional. My dad, my high school principal, yeah, he was my high school principal. My support. I didn't start in college. I came off the bench. Man, he was my life support. Almost quit on me a couple times, and he was right there, lifting me up until I got strong enough. So my dad, and that's enough. I'm getting emotional.

Chris Gandy 43:41

Last thing. And I'm throwing this in there because it's the bonus. It's a bonus question that, okay. Mentor, looking back, who would you say was your, your biggest mentor inspiration on your life, outside of your day?

Walter Bond 43:56

Yeah, probably my college basketball coach, Clem Haskins. He's the one to help me make it to the NBA. But the biggest blessing he gave me when I left the University of Minnesota, like, 22 years old, he was like, son, you should be a motivational speaker. And I'm like, what, it was so random. It was so out the blue. I'm 22 thinking about the NBA, thinking about life, what I'm going to do next? And he was like, he should be a motivational speaker. So literally, 10 years later, when I retired, had no money coming in, trying to figure out my next move, scared to death, I remembered he said that to me, and I looked at my wife, and she was like, what do you want to do now a basketball's over.

I was like, Babe, I think I want to be a motivational speaker. And she was like, Why? Because my coach told me I'd be good at it, and it was just that simple. And so when I see him, man, I mean him and my dad, bro, I'm a brat. When I see these two guys, and I just saw him at the retired players association, so he's still alive and I can still honor him. But we all need mentors. Man, I don't care who you are. We all need coaches. We all need support. And people hear me speak, I don't brag about me. I'm not up here to say how great I am. I'm up here to tell you about all the great mentors I had. Could tell you about all my great coaches. I could tell you about John Stockton. I could tell you about Jerry Sloan. I can tell you about Carl Malone. I could tell you about all the great ones that I got a chance to spend time with, and I can tell you why they're great, right? And so my final thought is to really think about sports, and I talk about mindset and skill set. And one thing people don't really think about.

If I take Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, for example, these are two of the most talented athletes we've seen in our lifetime. They had the mindset and they had the skill set, but they faced adversity. Michael Jordan lost his father, and before you knew it, he quit basketball and went to play baseball. Why? Because he was devastated in his mindset. Tiger Woods the best golfer we've ever seen, but he lost his father, and Tiger Woods, you can make the argument is not recovered. I say all that to say I'm gonna go back to what I said earlier. I made it to the NBA because of a mindset, a vision, but most importantly, support. I am thoroughly convinced we all need support.

I don't care if you're Chris Gandy. I don't care if you're Suzanne Carawan. I don't care if you're a miscellaneous advisor in Iowa, in a little small town. I don't care if you're Michael Jordan. I don't care if you're Tiger Woods. The time and theme that I want to preach to anyone who will listen to me, you got to have a big vision, but you got to have some support. And I'm just thankful that I've been able to see it so clearly that when you see a Michael Jordan struggle, and we knew he was mentally tough, he was a freaking killer, but he lost his support, and which means he lost himself. Same thing with Tiger Woods. He was a killer, he had the mindset and the skill set, but he lost his support. And you can make the argument he's still trying to find it to this day.

Chris Gandy 47:05

Awesome. So we got a lot to look forward to. We look forward to seeing you at Apex. Any parting words, Mr. Bond before I throw it to Suzanne and I close this out?

Walter Bond 47:15

No. I mean shark mindset selling. I believe sharks are relentless, sharks are resilient, and sharks are highly skilled, and our sales training, Shark mindset selling is perfect for any NAIFA member that wants to or needs to grow their business.

Chris Gandy 47:31

Okay, Suzanne.

Suzanne Carawan 47:35

I can't wait to see both of you at Apex. You can register at apex.nafa.org and Walter has a couple videos on LinkedIn too. If you haven't checked those out, check those out. And thank you for being part of our NAIFA family.

Walter Bond 47:49

Thank you. And I'm honored to be a part of this two year anniversary.

Chris Gandy 47:54

So thanks everyone for tuning in to Advisor Today's podcast where we uplift the voice of you, the advisor. And like Walter Bond said, leave the world a little better, and we found it. Let's leave NAIFA a little better, and we found it. Let's uplift each other and promote each other and also help each other become a better version of ourselves. For our clients, for this industry, we'll see you around.

Outro 48:16

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.

40 min read