Welcome back to the show, my fellow extraordinary Americans; today, we have a special guest called Stephen Kuhn.

Stephen Kuhn is a visionary. Leader, entrepreneur, turnaround Consultant, author, and speaker who helps individuals dramatically improve their quality of life through the consistent, conscious application of honesty, integrity, and transparency. 

He comes from Pennsylvania and served in the US Army in Germany and on one tour in Iraq, for which he received the Bronze Star. He now lives in Hungary and Germany.

Upon discharge from the army, he continued to live in Europe, where he later became a best-selling author; he built a series of successful businesses across various industries. Became a multi-country business turnaround leader, Political consultant, and senior partner in a private equity firm. He also completed his MBA at Bradford University School of Business Management in the UK.

Stephen has consulted megastars, politicians, NASDAQ and PLC firms, Royals, and Fortune 500 companies, generating over $500 million in revenue for its clients. Stephen’s true calling lies in empowering others to achieve their full potential.

At the core of his philosophy lies the belief that every person possesses the potential to accomplish extraordinary things. His teachings emphasize self-awareness, personal accountability, and embracing failure as a stepping stone to success. In workshops and speeches, he continues to inspire audiences around the globe. 

I consider him extraordinary, and I’m honored to have him on board. The show. Stephen, are you there?

Here I am, my friend. Thank you so much for having me.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this show. I know you; you are a very successful entrepreneur. You’re a consultant, and you have done a lot of business. Can you tell me and the audience more about yourself, your background, and how You got started?

Yeah, how did I get started? I think it was out of necessity when I left for the military when I was 19 years old; I was leaving a place I didn’t want to be anymore. I was, you know, self-loathing. I didn’t like myself. I didn’t fit in. I was a loner, and I joined the military to try to find myself. I found out who I was and what I could do, and I had profound moments in the boot camp and afterward. The military changed me and made me more of a man, if I can say that.

But in the end, I never really fit in. So, as a loner, I guess you could say I mean, I have friends and everything. But as a loner, I’m good at doing stuff and getting it done because I’m like that. I’m not distracted by, you know, small conversations. Either we talk about something worthwhile, or we don’t talk, like, that’s sort of my motto, right? I left the military and stayed in Germany, where I opened my first cocktail bar a year or two after leaving. And that just exploded because of what I realized quickly. If you’re in the service industry, where people go and relax, you will meet the people in your comfort zone.

So in my bar, The Fugees came in as the band or the group; you know, they came in and talked to them—a bunch of rock stars and people in Berlin at the time—everybody mayor. Everyone came in, and I met him on my terms. And I realized it’s really quick. Well, I can leverage it. And so, one of the clients there or one of the guests there asked me to help him bring his company from South Africa to Germany. It was a South African health club chain.

And so, I was like, dude, I’m the bartender we are talking about. I mean, like, what are you talking about? No, no, you can do it. So, I did it. I crushed it and blew it out of the water. I had no idea what I was doing when I started, but that was probably to my benefit because I didn’t have bad habits. And that just went from there. 

And then I got recruited. I opened up another two bars, and then I got recruited by a British PLC. I took over operations and development for 87 locations in 9 countries with 3,500 employees while I had my three. Why? I have three cocktail bars and nightclubs and was writing books on the side. I wrote a bestseller in 2003 in Germany. Did TV spend about a year on TV? It was an MTV music video VJ, back when MTV played music.

And then I was like Mick Jagger’s bodyguard. I worked for Olivia Newton-John for two years, and I worked for Andrea. Charlie, this is in 2015/16, and I just kept moving, and I moved from Berlin. Then, I moved to Madrid, Spain, Portugal, Austria, and Switzerland, UK, I ended up in Hungary. Then I ended up in Poland, and I’m back in Hungary, and now I’m in Turkey, and I still have my German entity and my Hungarian entity, but I’m in Turkey right now with my wife.

I’ve done all these years of experience, and I mean, I’ve done ridiculous things that I had no business doing because I had no qualifications to do them. But I did them and did it better than most people in the industry. 

A little story is from when I was working for Andrea Bocelli. I was trying to get a renegotiation of contracts for one of his artists with Universal Music, Warner Brothers, and Rhino Records. I was in London, so I called and said, ” Hey, Stephen Cohen from Andrea Bocelli. I’d like to talk to you. Do you have 5 minutes? The worst thing that will happen is You have great coffee, and we’ll never see each other again. And they were like, the guy said, You don’t come from this industry, do you? And I said no. He said great. When can you be here? 

You know what I mean? Like, disrupt, disrupt, disrupt. You have to be different. Right? And I realized that. And I got so used to talking to people that, you know, I realized I met the mayor of Berlin – Klaus Wolverine – In the sauna, naked; you don’t get any more personal than that guy. Well, well, in Germany, everybody’s naked. It’s like the thing that they do there. Everybody’s naked; it’s Coed. It’s Coed nakedness. It’s wild. 

Anyway, I met him, and they’re naked. And how do you, and you know, how do you not become intimate with somebody like that? Later, he invited me to the Billy Joel Concert. I met Billy. We were backstage. It was like it was just some crazy stuff like that. And that was all because I provided something that no one else provided. And I listened to them, gave them the top service they wanted, and overachieved whatever they were looking for. And so that’s sort of my motto in life.

And now, since 2017, I’ve been an online advisor and mentor, and I mentor mostly men, and I help them take from where they are, which is usually very, very successful or mid, mid, mid, successful. They think they’re at the top but don’t know that there’s more in them; they feel it but are unsure how to get there. And then I weave in a little bit of masculinity, and you might be asking, well, masculinity, what’s that got to do with anything? 

I’m not talking about gender. I’m talking about energy, right? There are masculine and feminine energies—a masculine man. If we look back, the masculine men are the ones who stepped up, ran into burning buildings, and went towards the bullets. When everyone else was running away from the bullets, they’re the ones that typically start a business or, you know, climb up to the top of the ranks of any company. They’re the men who take charge that aren’t. They aren’t scared to lead, aren’t scared to make mistakes, and love learning from their mistakes. 

And so I teach men how to do that and unleash your humble alpha in my book. We talk about owning your presence, which is important because when you step into a room, if you’re not if you don’t have a presence, you’re just like everybody else.

And so, in the book, we go through how to be present. Being present is simple. Having a presence is simple; just be present and be present. There’s a way to do that. We can talk about that later if you want. I’ve rambled on long enough, but in the end, right now. Yeah, I work with men who want to take it to the next level and who want to become more masculine and certain. And if you listen to me speaking right now, you’re not going to hear me say, well, you know, and let me think. I’m doing it because I know what I’m saying. I’m certain of my ability to deploy my genius and abilities in any given situation. That’s what we teach.

Stephen is awesome, and one of the things I wanted to put in is that masculinity is so important. And yet, it seems like it’s almost under attack today. You know, like, there’s like a wave. They think that masculinity is toxic or something like that. But no, it’s what gets things done altogether. And I couldn’t agree with you more. 

If I can touch on that, masculinity is an energy that comes from within. Machoism is the beard that tattoos the motorcycle, the bad attitude, and the screaming and yelling. You have to kill somebody. Kill, kill, kill. That’s ********. That’s all-external machoism. That’s ego. That has nothing to do with masculinity. True masculinity is a calm internal knowing.

And I can tell you this. I’m a masculine guy. I’m 56 years old. I’m built, as you can probably see; I look decent, right? And I have a fear of nobody. Nothing or nowhere. Right. And that’s not because I’m the strong ******. It’s because I’m certain of my abilities, and I know that when I’m certain of my abilities, I don’t have to say anything to anybody because they see it.

So people say, yeah, toxic masculinity. It’s too masculine. It’s too masculine. Anybody not with me—no one’s ever said that to me. They’ve said you’re the most masculine man I’ve met. Or, man, you’re so you’re very masculine, but you do it in a very different way, you know? And that’s because it comes from the inside. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. You know, so I’m me. I push that on my guys like I have a client. 

I have a client. Really good guy, really smart, and articulate. But he talks weakly when he talks. It’s. Weak, right? There’s no power in there. So, with one session, he now talks like a man who owns his ****, if you will, me. Right. And his girlfriend. The right is all over him now. And he’s like, wow, I can’t believe just owning who I am and knowing that what I’m saying is my opinion and my belief, and that’s all that matters because most times when someone says something they’re so worried about, the other person is going to say they don’t say it with confidence and certainty. And when you do that, people see the hole, shoot for the gap, and want to pry you apart. There’s nothing to pry if no hole, gap, or crack exists.

I think, regarding that client whose girlfriend is now really into It’s because of a masculine-feminine polarity because the more masculine you are, the more you like it to create an attraction. So, it’s something. It’s something I studied during my life, and I found it fascinating, to be honest.

Well, my experience is No, I’ve been married three times. My experience is the true masculine. The true deep, deep masculine can only come to life when you have a truly feminine person in your life, and I never believe that, but I’m more masculine now at 56 than I’ve ever been. I’m feeling like a man. And that’s partially because beside me is a woman. Who is ultra-feminine but a very strong leader? Not loud, brash, and dressed, all flashing everything, just a very beautiful woman, but powerful. Low-key gets stuff done. We do business together. 

You know, we did a deal here in Turkey, one of the largest solar farm deals in Turkey, and neither of us has any experience in that field. But we did it because we just set our minds to it. And that true feminine is the Ying and the Yang of the masculine and feminine. Of course, they can be the other way around, too. Some men are more feminine, and some women are more masculine. That could work, too, if that’s the kind of guy you are. The kind of woman you are, But me? I prefer to be the man I like to provide. I like to provide security. I like to be the leader. I like going out there, making sure that the world’s in a safe place, a better place, because I’m in a

Dude, that’s awesome. And there’s one question I wanted to ask you, right? Since you were in the army, you know, like many people, I don’t know what to do if they come out of the army and like it. And they are looking for the next steps and how to go about their lives. 

So let’s say, what would be your advice for somebody who, just like, came out of the army after doing ten years of service or 15 years of service and then wants to start a business but doesn’t they do? They don’t know what the next steps are.

First, you must know who you are, what you are, and what your purpose is. You know when you realize … In the first chapter, you learn your identity; you develop the power, a power phrase, or a two-word moniker that explains your identity at the time. And then you have an identity statement, and you can align yourself with that. And then that crystallizes your purpose in life. Right.

And I’ll give you a story about that. When aligned with your identity, that purpose amplifies your identity, which gives you presence in the space you are because you’re certain about what we discussed before. You’re certain of your abilities. For instance… My two-word moniker at the moment is a powerful connector. It’s now shifting over to a powerful multiplier. And a powerful connector when I realized that when I sat down and did the work. And I said, who am I? And I found that I was a powerful connector. That’s all I did from then on.

And so I focused. I let everything else go. I let everything else go, and I focused on connecting people powerfully. And that means connecting people who can benefit from each other. It’s a win/win. I had a client say, Stephen, you can connect two people where both think they got the better end of the deal. Right. You know, like, I found out I have a contact. I have about 50,000 contacts.

And so, anything anyone needs doesn’t matter what it is. Even my clients … I get my clients, customers, clients, manufacturers; you name it, JV Partners, collaboration partners just through my network because people trust what I have to say because I’ve been working with all these men and all these women all over the world and they see the results, right? There’s something that I live by, and it’s really simple. If you can grasp this, it’ll change your life. If the listeners can grasp it, your life will be so amazing. 

There are three ways to deal with every situation. Receive what’s in for you. Decide what to do with it. Make the right decision and let everything else go that doesn’t serve you. And then you’re always focused, right? You’re always focused now. I don’t mean head to the grindstone because if you’re looking at the grindstone, you don’t see anything. 

You miss an opportunity if you don’t see anything else. Luck. Coincidence. All those things that about 60% of all you know, millionaires, billionaires say there was a stroke of luck in their life. They met some person, or they did this, or they did that. Something happened. The door opened. If you go with this mentality, every person we meet is a door to a new reality. I’m excited when I meet people on the plane in the grocery store. It doesn’t matter where I am. I talk to everybody; I love it and talk to them in a way that I’m helping them, elevating them, and leaving them in a better place. 

I have a life mission: creating radiant value to elevate others to a higher frequency. And that might sound hokey and pokey and all that stuff, but that’s literally how. I don’t care if it’s the cashier at the grocery store. I’m leaving her in a better place than when I met her in 2 minutes for him, and the two minutes I’m with them.  Same thing with my partner. Same thing every day, the kids and all that kind of stuff. It’s because I know who I am. I’m so present and strong in my words and how I communicate with the world around me. And so, I didn’t answer questions.

So, first of all, find out who you are. Once you find out who you are, your purpose will crystallize. Once your purpose crystallizes, you do that, and you can’t be scared to fail. I failed. Geez, I failed, man. I failed big. When I was homeless in 2008, I attempted a suicide attempt. Oh, that works, man. I ended up in a monastery in the mountains of Austria with the Benedictine monks, spent months there, and then moved to Hungary. You know, it was just … I just started over ten times or whenever, you know, three wives at least. So, at least three times, I started over. But it’s been ten countries in total.

Steven, like your story, is amazing. It’s like a turn. Around right, like you. At one point, you had nothing, and then. You came, and then you succeeded. In like everything you did, what do you do? Think about it. The ultimate mindset that somebody should have is that they have no money and want to start a business. And what should they do to turn their life around if they’re stagnating and want to get to a certain level?

I’d like to be holistic and discuss the law of attraction, money, and everything else. But the point is, you have to make money, man. You have to make money; the quickest way is to sell something expensive to somebody. So, I mean, what I did, and I did it not too long ago, was I found companies looking for clients with tickets—values of 100 to 100,000 plus. And then I would take a 10% commission.

So I just said, Hey, what? I will sell your stuff for you; you don’t pay me if I don’t sell it. OK, so I did a LinkedIn outreach program for 200 bucks. A month, right? And they sent 50 messages a day manually. And I started selling stuff. I made some money. 

You know, seriously, you have to get out there. You have to think outside the box. Everybody needs to sell them. I mean, there’s a guy I know who started that. That’s all he does now; he sells $150,000 like some machine they put in industrial washers. I don’t know what it is, but anyway, he’s he’s—doing well. Right. He’s not from that industry. I have another guy who does the same in the medical machinery industry. He has no experience or anything, but he’s crushing it because he needs to.

So, for me, it’s about hustling and making it happen. I don’t mean hustle and grind. Hustle and grind are two words someone made up to make you feel better about working too much; I don’t. I work that much; I work about four hours a day. Right. And that’s about it. Most of that’s on the Zoom talk to my clients, and I mean, you know. When I sit down with my clients, I turn into this. I tap into, but I don’t know, the universal database of knowledge or something because when you’re sitting with somebody open and wants to create something new with you or create the next steps, You start coming up with ideas and solutions that you would never have thought of on your own and that you would never have come up with on your own. You will never be like, Oh, well, let me do this or talk to him about this tomorrow.

So when I’m with clients, I meet them where they are. Sometimes they’re depressed, and sometimes they’re happy. Sometimes, they’re mad. Sometimes, they’re frustrated. That’s where I am. So I meet him right there, and then we take it from there and elevate every time. And it’s always got to do with looking inward first. Nothing matters on the outside. It’ll never help you unless you’re right on the inside. I’m not saying I’m perfect because I have my issues, right? But I’m. I’m a good step ahead of most people, and I can say that confidently because I’ve coached and trained thousands of people. Thousands, right?

And I’m not talking just one-on-one, but groups, large groups, and things like that. And I’ve spoken to people worldwide and know where I stand. And I know one of the stronger ones, and that’s because I know who I am, and I own it, man. I just own it. 

And anything on the outside that I’m looking at is uncanny because I’m so key to it now that if I look at an opportunity. And I see that my mind is saying, Oh, I could benefit from that. I don’t do it because it’s me outsourcing the motivation or the motivation inspiration, and that’s two different things. Inspiration comes from within. Motivation is given to you from the outside, so you watch a video, are motivated, and are inspired to do something. And because you’re inspired to do something, you do it. But if you’re just motivated, you need discipline; discipline and motivation are never enough to sustain a long-term, you know, result.

So, if I see something outside, like, oh man, I could benefit from that. I see that I’m losing my inspiration. I’m getting motivated by it. I’m like, OK, will that turn back into inspiration, or is it just cool to be able to do that? I know I could crush it. And I think that’s not even aligned with who I am. 

So no, I can’t do it. I’ve turned down 300 grand once for a position in Australia. That was tough. But that was a turning point in my life when I did that. Something in me? I don’t know. I was crystallized like a dude. You’re a powerful man. There’s nothing you can’t do; it’s yours. If you can do that, I need the money. I needed the money.

Most people would know what they would be like. Why are you turning down $300,000?

It didn’t align. I felt it. I feel when something aligns and when something’s kosher or not. And sometimes we can ignore it, right? We’ll ignore it. It’s not so bad. Let me do it. That’s where the hit principles come in. You spoke about honesty, integrity, and transparency—honesty with yourself while you think, do, and say what you do. Transparency is how you step into the world with that honesty, and it’s your ongoing reputation. 

The byproduct is integrity. Integrity gives you authentic authenticity and allows you to dictate your market value. That sounds cool, doesn’t it? But the honesty part—that’s the hardest part. Why? Because it’s not. It’s not about being honest with others. To be honest with you, and when you’re honest with you, it is tough.

Stephen, you bring up such. An important point about being honest with yourself is that many people don’t want to look within themselves because they’ll have to. They’ll. They have to confront the dark side of themselves and don’t want to see a lot, so they’ll put a mirage in front of society because it’s all about self-esteem, right?

And everybody wants to have a high level of self-esteem. They equated it. They often equated with ego because if they looked within themselves, they’d be like, I have this flaw that far they don’t want to. 

What advice would you give to such a person?

Start small. Start small, like if you’re in a conversation, and someone says something and you want to say something, ask yourself. Just pause for a second and go, Am I… And about what I’m about to say: Why do I want to say it the way I don’t want to say it? Because I’m jealous. I’m upset. I want to Prove something. If it is, then don’t say it that way, right? Just be simple and test yourself whenever you want to say something. When you go into a store or a meeting, how do you act, and why are you sitting where you’re sitting? Why are you nervous? Are you looking around? Are you tapping your fingers? Why is that? It’s because you don’t feel like you’re at your place. 

When you start being honest with yourself like that, guess what happens? You’re automatically congruent with those around you, and it doesn’t matter anymore about honesty because when you’re honest with yourself, it radiates to the outside. After all, everything you say aligns with your core values and principles, and automatically, you’re saying what you believe. And when you say what you believe with conviction and certainty, everyone accepts it. They all accept it doesn’t matter what it is. 

That’s why some people in America can say that two people can say the same thing. One will get completely canceled, and the other will be like, Oh, OK. Because that person is convicted of it, the other one is saying it out of ego reasons, out of reasons of spite, and out of reasons of revenge. But the person who says it from a place of certainty will always be accepted.

That’s a very interesting point to make, and I wanted to get a little bit deeper into that, like, what is it about conviction and knowing yourself and speaking your truth into the world that makes people do that? Like they’re like, OK, we want, like this, we’ll accept that.

What makes him accept that? Because it’s a matter of fact. I don’t have any doubt about what I’m saying. So when I’m talking to you right now, I know what I’m saying. And I believe this 100%. It’s my value. If you don’t believe it or don’t like it, you don’t agree. That doesn’t matter to me. That’s you. You know, I’m saying so. It’s something that I think is very important for people to pick up on. 

Look, you already know you’re at a party, maybe with 50 people or whatever. Some events happen suddenly, like when everybody’s talking and they look towards the door. And then someone walks in. Why? Why do they look? Because that person walked in with presents and filled that room with their presence. He doesn’t say words, looks around the room, surveys it, and confidently goes in one direction wherever they’re. As opposed to the other person who slithers into the room, looks around, goes against the wall, looks at their phone, or sits at the bar and orders a drink, looking around nervously. You know, that’s the difference. 

That’s why because when you walk into a room. Like that, you automatically have authority when you walk into the store; it doesn’t matter where I go, I have authority. I don’t try to have authority I don’t like. That’s not my goal in life, but I have authority because I’m so certain of what I’m saying and my beliefs. And I’m certain when I’m wrong, too.

So don’t get me wrong when I’m wrong; I will be very clear about that. Right. And when I don’t know something, that will be like, I can’t help you; I don’t know. But I know someone who can. Right. So not only do I have my integrity in place and my honesty, but I’m also elevating because if you tell me I need help and you pay me for that, and I say I can’t help you with that, other people will be embarrassed. I can’t tell them that, my God, I can’t help you. That’s not my specialty. But I know someone who can. I’m saying that even though I admitted I couldn’t do it, I brought you up again with somebody else. And what does that do? That opens another door to a whole new reality, remember? 

So when you think about life like that, it’s so freaking exciting. I do it every day. I’m like, it doesn’t matter where I am—just looking. Hey, do you need some help? I can help you there. Whatever you know, Great. Great glasses. I love your tie. Whatever. Wherever I am, Whatever I see that truly, truly interests me, I met a guy at the airport. I

I’m sitting in the airport lounge once in Budapest. And this guy walks in, dressed as—I’m talking brown shoes, brown belt, the whole thing, bespoke suit, and everything. And it just looks amazing. And I said you have to be British; he said. I am. I said, man, you look amazing, and you look incredible. He said, well, no, thank you. It’s not that often that a man says that to another man, and I said, You know, you saw yourself in the mirror this morning. Right. He’s like, Yeah, I guess I did. We became friends. He made me a keynote speaker at one of the largest conferences in Europe. That impressed me because I took the time to tell somebody what I saw. Hey, you impressed me. You understand? 

People need it. I don’t care who you are. People need that. I walked into a hotel. I was at a hotel in Berlin, and Bill Clinton was there. He was back in 1994. I thought it was, and I walked up to him and said, Hey, William Jefferson Clinton. How are you doing? Are you enjoying Berlin? And he just looked at me. He’s like, yeah, I am. I said, where have you been? He starts. We had a half-hour, 20-minute, or half-hour conversation with a guy who thought he knew me because I did. Because I showed up, I first of all used this whole name. If I had called him Bill, that would not have been nice because I’m not his friend. If I had called him President Clinton, I would have just been like a fanboy or something, you know?

So, I just use his whole name, William Jefferson Clinton. That got his attention. I got everybody’s attention. Everyone stopped talking to him, and I just talked to him. He thought, OK, this guy must be whatever. It’s the perception of others that when someone is certain and has conviction about what they’re saying—that they’re correct, right, and good, right. It comes from a place. 

Look, I’m a very emotional guy. I cry like a baby sometimes, you know. Sometimes, I cry at the drop of the hat, not at movies and stuff, but in situations with others. Through some very, very hard times in my life, right? And I still do. At times, I’ve had PTSD. I’m disabled. In that aspect and some other aspects as well, I have chronic depression, right? So I’ll wake up sometimes. I just want to stick a knife in my neck. And I just sit. I just sit there and weep for no reason—and, you know, war and all that kind of stuff. But I also know that the only one that will get me out of it is me, no. Doctor. No therapist, no psychologist, can take me where I want to go. They can help me, give me little crutches and a Band-Aid here, but only I can take me where I want to go. If I have the right people around me, If I elevate people around me, that means coaches, mentors, and advisors. 

I have 4…You know, I have 4, but one of them died. Unfortunately, it is amazing and 990–9690. Four years old. World champion bodybuilder who started bodybuilding at the age of 83. You know, it’s just incredible. People like that. You can’t help but be around them and absorb their greatness through osmosis. You know, I mean, it’s like you learn from them.

So look, you people need to go out there and find mentors and coaches and all that stuff. But make sure they have life experience and business experience. You know, there are a lot of life coaches out there who have never done anything. You know, because they’re enlightened, right? And it’s amazing.

But people ignore the dark side of enlightenment, and there’s a lot of dark side to enlightenment. Believe me. The dark side is that it throws you off your even keel, and then next you have, like, ups and downs, your moods, dropping your emotions, and sometimes, you feel like you’re going crazy when you’re enlightened. I’ve been there, you know. And now I have found a way to get out and work. Work out where I use that as a power when I need it; otherwise, I’m securely grounded in who and where I am.

With this story of Bill Clinton, what I noticed is that, honestly, you said you have the radical honesty of conviction, and you were fearless. Many people would be really afraid to do what you’re doing. So, how are you doing? What is this? What is the secret of going about your life fearlessly and doing things with conviction and fearlessness?

You focus on the only thing that you can ever control, and that’s the intention of what it is that you want to do. You can’t control the outcome, so who cares, right? As soon as we start thinking about the outcome, we get nervous because then we think we must steer our way to that outcome. You don’t. Your intention is what matters. Right.

So, if I intend to add value by solving problems, I will do that. And if, for instance, in the sales pitch or whatever I’m doing, I don’t even care what the outcome is. Because I know that if I give my best and listen, What? They’re saying and hearing what they mean. And if I do that, I will probably do a good job. 

And so, when you don’t worry about the outcome of anything you do, you have goals. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying go to life like crazy, but you have goals, and then you let go of those goals, paint the picture, let them go, know what’s there, and move forward to reach that goal. “How” does it matter to be you? Because when you’re certain, you don’t need to know how because you know you will. You’re. Certain that you will, it sort of be a given, you know what I mean?

So I always like that certainty that lets you let go of how you will do anything.

So, I have a quick question on the certainty part, right? So, there has to be a foundation upon which certainty is built, and what is your foundation for that? Because it cannot be based on something shaky, right? Because it’s kind of like a building that has to be built.

My language. You’re speaking my language, bro. It’s great. I call it the operating system. Your operating system, right? You have to know what your operating system is. My core principles: You know, they are hit, right? Honestly, if we are transparent, then we have life. Enterprise. We have created space. We are investing in relational capital. We have the quality of life. They’re my five core models in the book that you can learn. Every chapter has action steps at the end. So you can identify your purpose. All kinds of stuff. And it’s a college curriculum, and there are about ten universities in America now because of that. Right. 

And so what you do when you answer these questions and go through the work is build a foundation for who you are. And that foundation is solid. That means if you climb the ladder and things happen and you fall back down, you will never fall below your foundation. Right.

And that foundation is who you are and what you’re about. Why do you do what you do? And when you know it doesn’t matter what happens because you always have that, I call it your operating system, just like a computer, right? Your laptop’s operating system stays the same. It might get upgrades and viruses and all that stuff, but it’s the same operating system all the time. Well, that’s what we are. And how will you upgrade your operating system if you don’t know where it is? What do you do if a virus gets in and you don’t know where it is? You don’t know your own. 

And one of the ways to do that is through the book. But if you want to dig deep, you have to write your book, and I don’t mean write it. You have to write your book. Speak your book. Verbalize your book and do a recording through an interviewer. 

This is how I write my book and for all my clients. Write your books this way, and they all write books, by the way. I speak to an interviewer, who is my demographic, who digs deep because if I’m running or writing my book, I will leave things out that I don’t think are important, which are probably for everybody else more important than ever imagined, and I’ve lived that way. True, every book I’ve ever written has three of them. They’ve all been written by someone else. I did it verbally. They wrote it, edited it, edited it, edited it, and sent it to me. I clicked and corrected some things, and off it went. And turn around; it’s the best way to get everything out of you.

So, when you step back, you go. That’s why I do what I do now. I know who I am and can tell you the moment. That’s the first time I used to hit the first time I created space. Creating space is amazing. If anyone takes anything away from this, this meeting today, besides hitting on the three core things that I told you about receiving, letting go of receiving, and deciding to let go, is about creating space, and creating space is magic because if I go into a meeting, if I go with my wife and my kids, or whatever. 

You show up wholly and fully for the person in front of you. If you’re on stage, like I am, you show up wholly and fully for the people in front of you, with no preconceived notions or cookie-cutter solutions and no perception of a specific outcome. Focusing on that one thing, I talked about intention, which is all you can control anyway, and when you do that, you just show up wholly and fully. And like here, here I am; let’s go. 

It doesn’t matter what happens because you know that the positivity and force you have within and your certainty will create something magical and beautiful. I can’t believe what I do with my clients, and I do no know where they come from. No idea. I’m just so certain that I can solve it. Their problems that I do It’s just that I’m best in a crisis when someone says to me that this is impossible; I’m going to do it. I will do it if someone tells me it’s too big. That’s just the way I am. It’s the way I think. The more pressure, the more impossible and harder it is. The more ego is involved with that, the more people I meet, the better I perform.

That’s awesome. So you, there are so many questions I want to ask you, but the time is running out, so I had to ask one or two questions about things I wanted to know. I wanted to get your opinion on this. So, America is considered the land of the free and the place where dreams are made. Do you agree or disagree with that?

That’s how I grew up, brother. That’s why I went into the military. That’s why I went to war because I believed all that. I still believe that aura is still in many Americans, but it’s not the America that it was. Everyone can agree that what’s happening to America is a shame. I’m not talking political. Whatever. I’m just talking about division like crazy; everywhere, identity politics is taken over in every situation. It isn’t very pleasant. And it is that most people never have an issue when you meet them. 

I’ve never had issues with transgender people or homosexuals, or, what the hell, I had a bar. It was homosexual. Yeah, they were all they were all day. They came into my bar. I loved it. It’s great. We had the best time. I had a health club, too, where the IT was only the whole. The whole community was in there with us. It was great. 12,000 people. I’ve never had any issues. 

And then you get attacked because you’re a single white straight Male or Christian, or whatever it is. You know, I’ve never been attacked. And you see that in the press here in Turkey, on that. But none of those zero men are men, women, or women. Everyone’s cool; it’s calm. There’s no crime here in Antalya; there’s no crime; there’s no pushiness; there’s no bullying; there’s no beeping of horns and road rage. None of that stuff. Everyone respects each other. It’s a beautiful place to be. I can tell you.

Yeah, I think the ultimate thing is that identity politics is stable, but ultimately, American identity is about freedom, opportunity, and the pursuit of happiness. And it is an immigrant thing, and it’s open to everybody. That’s how I came when I first came here as an immigrant. That’s what I noticed. And ultimately, if you look at the greater identity of America and if we let go of our impermanent-like identity, Paul, it’s like they can unite. But my question to you is now: What do you think Americans should do to attain their American dream from your perspective? Yeah, like, and how would you?

Well, everything.

How would they overcome the challenge of obtaining the American dream? Yeah.

Well, remember this? You can go out and protest. You can go out and raise hell and go all over social media, but nothing will change until you change your world. You operate in a place. That’s what you need to change. That’s what you need to get better. That’s what you need to build, that’s what. It would be best if you made it bulletproof and unstoppable. Your world, not the world out there, will take care of itself when you take care of your world. You start building a nucleus around you of people who are like-minded and with you. Then you have an army. Right then, you have an army moving powerfully. 

And I mean someone like Grant Cardone. He’s got an army, right? Or Mel Robbins. She’s got an army like all these. All these people have built something that elevates people to a higher level and makes them believe in something about themselves. And that creates the ripple effect of what I call radiant—value to the world around us. When everyone takes personal responsibility for who they are, what they’re about, and why they do what they do, the world will change. But too many people are dependent on other things. Now to the American dream. My American identity is probably much more than most people say because I’m in a foreign country. I use it. I lean on it. People love it. To this end, I had a guy yesterday at the gas station. Do you, can you tell the Turkish guy, young guy? Nice guy. Dennis. No, Adam. Adam. 

And he said, Can you help me go to America? You know, I mean, can you help me immigrate to America? They’re just them. They’re still the dream. And there are places in America that are still the dream. And I love it. I love being American. You know, I do. I mean, I’m proud of it. I could have had dual citizenship. And also, I just keep my American passport. You know, I have to pay taxes. The rest of my life is in America, although I don’t live there. But you know, that’s another thing; I think that’s American. It’s an American sort of energy. And to get it done, no matter what, I don’t need an education even to have one. 

But you don’t need an education to do certain things. Things that helped me through my life, and you’re up and here because people are like, dude, is there anything you can’t do? Like, no, there’s nothing I can’t do. Just give me a couple of minutes. And I’ll figure it out. I had a construction company in Germany doing drywall. I was in the middle of the Creation Company on the floor above me. I was on the middle floor, and the Serbian right-wing team was below me. They never used to call me NATO because I was in between the two. Warring factions. Right? 

And I would get the whole floor done every time I’d get done, like three days before they were, and they had five people; I had two. I’m like, where did you learn this? I’m like, learn. We talk about and learn like I was just doing it, man. What are you talking about? Because it was, it was really good too. And it’s just that mentality that we have. America’s like, hey, I need to lay bricks. Alright, go lay bricks. You know I need to do this. OK, let’s do it. What does Windows say? I need to take three years of school to learn how to do this before I can do it. You know, they even have, you know, in America, waiters. And when you’re a waiter or a bartender, you learn for 3 hours with the head chef, the waiter, or whatever. You’re good to go. In Europe, they had schools for three years to learn how to be servers. 

So people say they’re trained to say that I have to be trained to do what I do, and I can’t do anything else. You know, it’s wild, man. It’s wild. When I was unemployed in Germany after I was homeless, I went to the unemployment office. I didn’t get any money because I was an entrepreneur, so I never paid in, so I didn’t get any money. But I went to see what they said, and they said, What’s your highest degree? And I said I have an MBA. They said, OK, you’re an academic; you can’t get a job anyway, so there’s no chance. I was like, what? Yeah. You’re an academic. You have a higher degree; you’re academic. You’re automatically off the job market. And I was like, wow, that’s a trip, man. Yeah, it was wild. I. It was like, whoa. 

Yeah. So, it’s funny, and that’s what’s daunting when you think I just spent all that money on NBN, which doesn’t mean **** to anybody. It was wild. No one’s ever asked me. I got that in 19. Was it 922? I got my NBA in the UK. No one’s ever asked me about it since what grade I had, what I did—nothing. Ever. Never. You know, so. It’s just funny how that thing works, but in the end, the American dream got me to where I was, where I am, and where I’m going. It is. And I still believe in that. And I believe that we can. It is the most amazing country in the world to receive people who are not arrogant and wise. 

So look at us. But we’re always the people that received, you know, and took people in. And I love that one.

I couldn’t agree more, and one of the things that I wanted was the reason I was asking the question. About the American dream. And what kind of chance? Because you? I mentioned earlier about leaning into your identity and who you are. Having that as a foundation, I believe that. Americans had their knowledge. Who they were as Americans, which is they have the entrepreneurial spirit; they’re immigrants and descendants of immigrants; the identities about freedom, opportunity, and the pursuit of happiness, then automatically all these divisions and polarity would go away because they would know that their purpose is to know who they are and then push. Forward, you know.

And what are you? What are you saying? Right there? What you’re saying is to take care of yourself first. Because when you take care of yourself first, nothing else matters. I don’t watch the news. I don’t care what the hell these people are saying to me. It’s all ******** anyway, right? 

So I just deal with the world around me and the things happening. I’m. I know what’s happening in world happenings, but I don’t get tied up in the details in the minutia. You know, I will have conversations with people who are knowledgeable firsthand. You know. I have friends in the IDF. I have Palestinian friends. I have, you know, Jewish friends. I’m Jewish. I have, you know, all kinds of different areas. And I talk to them all without argument. 

You know, it isn’t like it isn’t like, you know, you have to be just; you have to be there to take care of yourself, man. And when you take care of yourself, you feel good about yourself. You’re certain. And you’ve got full conviction about who and what you are. You don’t need to argue with anyone. You don’t need to prove your point. You don’t get upset because they believe what they believe; you embrace what they believe, and you see that this person cares about what they’re saying, whether right or wrong, whether you think it’s right or wrong, or whether it doesn’t matter. You know. Stop judging, man. Everyone needs to stop judging each other. And, like, you’re different than me. 

So I’m right. Who cares? I don’t care if I’m wrong. I will completely own it. Well, complete integrity. You know, integrity is in my book. Say what you do and do what you say you will do. Don’t do what you say. You’re not going to do it. And if you screw up, just apologize and make it better. That’s integrity. Is that hard?

I mean, no, I mean, I couldn’t. I agree more, yeah. I mean, it’s about having congruency right when you say something; it’s like talking, words, and actions, and then you just go. Ahead and do that so. Yeah, but Steven, on a different note, I think it’s connected to this; I wanted to ask about the premise of how you got your book started, unleashed your humble alpha, what got you to write this book, and what it was. Is it about what?

Well, it’s all started with the Mick Jagger story. So I was telling it this is the book, by the way, unleash humble laugh again. I was in, and I think it was in Peru. And remember, I do plant medicine journeys to Peru every year. We host them, and about ten people come with us. And we do plant medicine, ayahuasca, and San Pedro, and we help purge the blockages in life. We don’t go on psychedelics; we just use them for therapy. And I was sitting there, telling the story about this. I heard you were Mick Jagger’s bodyguard. And I was like, Yeah, he goes. What happened? I said, well, I heard on the radio that his bodyguard stayed in London and would be in Germany for three weeks. And I figured, well, I’m already a guard. I can be his bodyguard. So I went to the hotel, waited for him to come down the stairs, and when he was standing where he wasn’t walking by, I walked up to him and said, Hey, Mick Jagger, I’m your new bodyguard. And he was like, well, who sent you? And I said I did. I’m an American. I’m a war veteran. I can carry, which means, you know, I can carry. And I know Berlin, and I speak German. 

And he said to talk to CJ, and CJ was the security chief or whatever. And CJ said I have one question for you. And I asked What do you know to get the best German sausage? And I said, Yeah, he was OK. How’s $400 a day? That was it. And he asked, “How did you do that?” And I was like, What do you mean? He goes, How did you just walk up and like? I just walked up and said, Well, you just said it like, What do you mean, how did I do it like I could? Explain it. And he said, ” you have to teach this stuff, man. Like you can, you need to teach people this stuff. 

So I was like, huh? OK, so I started. I got an interviewer, and I said, Let’s start talking, and we started talking, and I came up with my whole life. I went through my life, the peaks and valleys. What’s going on? What happened? And I saw commonalities throughout the years, and I gave them models. I put model, put that to models, and now, if you read this book, you can put your models into the five steps or the five, you know, fractions. And then you can create your operating system, and let me tell you something: it doesn’t matter what I talk about in life, whether it’s romance, a woman’s war, or people; it doesn’t matter. It’s all based on those five core models that I live by. Isn’t that wild? 

So, my whole life boils down to five things. Isn’t that wild? And I can talk about anything, do anything, go anywhere, do any job, do any career task, whatever it is. It’s all based on those 5 miles because they’re mine. That’s how I operate. It’s my operating system. ******* amazing. Excuse my French. It’s amazing if you don’t have your operating system; you’re missing out, man. Did you feel the power in me right now? I’m not faking this. This is who I am. This is who I am. This is really who I am. I’m like this every day. All day, I’m 56. I don’t, you know; I’m not like a young, you know, chicken or whatever. 

And I’m like this every day like I inspire my wife. Every day, I’m inspired by her—every day. I don’t take this **** lightly. I don’t. You know, this world that we live in means a whole lot to me. We have four kids, you know. We have four children: two from my previous marriage and two from my current marriage, for previous marriages. And I want that world. To be as good as I was When I was growing up.

And it means a lot. Not just my kids, but all the kids, younger generations—even the generations that aren’t born yet. If we don’t do something, who’s going to do it? Nobody. Stop being a sheep. Stop following the masses. Be who you’re meant to be; no one in the outside world can tell you. Who’re you supposed to be? All they can do is help you facilitate the extraction of who you are. And that’s what I do as a coach and as a mentor.

That is awesome, Steve. I would recommend it to my audience to get your book. Because I know, like, they have a strong foundation when they have a condition. They can take on any challenges they have in their lives. So I believe that. 

Check it out on Amazon, or check it out on Amazon or Audible. You know you can grab either one. Can you read it? I can listen to it. Either way

It’s time to unleash your humble alpha.

We’ll hold it up again, unleash your humble alpha, own your presence in life, and become the epic leader you’re meant to be. That’s the title.

Awesome, Steven. And so, Steven, are there any other projects you’re doing right now that you want? Audience to glimpse into.

As I said, we’re doing a solar deal here, which is quite large and probably the largest deal I’ve ever had, and I have no work to do at all. I just introduced the three parties: the funders, the builders, and the client. And we made sure that they had happened. We injected power into it, ensuring everybody profited from it and everyone was fine. And now it’s signed. And now, waiting for the funding to come through should take about a month. 

And then, and then, it’s retirement for the next three generations. But you know, if anything can happen between now and then, that’s one project, but no, I’m probably going to be speaking. I will be in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 12/13/14 December. I might be down there for a while. I don’t know; I don’t. The one thing that I do that I love more than anything is sitting down in Zoom in person. Well, the guy says, “Man. I know I’m worth more. I know I can do more. I know I’m more powerful than I am right now. That’s where I thrive. 

So I’ll do that anywhere, anytime, with whoever you know. I mean, like, that’s just. That’s what I love. And I’m good at it.

That’s awesome, Steven. So, Steve, how can our audience connect with you and learn more about you? What do you do and all of that?

Sure, Stephen. At humblealpha.com, that’s my email: humblealpha.com, stephen@humblealpha.com, with the V Steven. Otherwise, social media Stephen Eugene Coin on Facebook Steven Eugene Coin is on Instagram. Stephen Eugene Koon is on LinkedIn. That’s all the same name, same picture, everything. 

So you can’t mistake me for anything and reach out. Look, reach out. You need some help. You and your company need some help. You guys need some training. You need to pull out the masculine, and you want to give me **** about talking too much about masculinity? Call me. I don’t care. I mean, I can learn from you, you know? I can learn from people who are mad at me like that, you know? 

It’s a conversation sometimes. It’s fascinating. It’s fascinating. You learn things about people’s perception of someone who says they’re masculine. They think automatically, leather jacket, motorcycle, you know, kind of stuff, you know, ******, Jocko wheel, Nick, or, you know, like some, like, kill, you know, kind of stuff that’s not, that’s not masculine. Part of it is whether you’re masculine inside. Yeah. 

That’s bravery if you’re going into war; that’s masculine. And that’s part of it. It is bravery, you know. Kind of stuff, but screaming to the world about how ****** you are—that’s not necessarily masculinity that I’m looking for. If you know what I mean, no. Like, totally, yeah.

Stephen, I’m so honored that you took the time to do this podcast with me, and I would love to have you as a guest in the future. You. Know, like, whatever. You talked about things like alpha and masculinity and how you like to go about business and everything. It’s like, so, like, and especially the part about conviction. I’m inspired right now. And I want to employ this in my own life. And I hope that the audience does as well.

That’s incredible. I’m honored to say that I appreciate that. It means a lot. It does. Thank you.

I want to conclude this episode by letting my extraordinary Americans know there’s something extraordinary within every one of us. We must awaken it and unleash it until next time. Bye for now.