Mark Guyton - From Doubt to Drive: Letting Go, Leadership and Living Aligned

Sridhar Krishnamurti: Hey everybody, and welcome to The Mind Shift. It's a podcast for those that know that there's more to life and want to live your extraordinary, and we discuss tools to be able to help you to get there. My very special guest today is Mark Guyton. So I want to open up by saying, Mark, great to see you. For one, we don't get to see each other a lot since I moved, and thank you for making the time and for being here on the podcast.

Mark Guyton: Thanks for having me. Very excited to be here.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: Excited is the word. I've been thinking about this and looking forward to having you on the podcast for quite some time, and I'm really just so pleased you decided to do it for a few reasons. One is, we've known each other a long time. We were just discussing that we met up beforehand, and we reckoned it's on 14 years that you've been in the work and applying it to your life.

I know from that time, we have a lot of different things that we discuss in this work. When I think of you, I think of someone who has done all of them. We probably should share the story about you were sceptical in the beginning, right? But I will just briefly say, when you decided to do the work, you were completely open; you trusted the process and gave yourself to it, which isn't always easy. When I think of who you've become and what you've done with it, I just can't wait to get into it.

You weren't kind of keen at the beginning, right? Because I ended up working with your son—he came to see me first, your very young son.

Mark Guyton: Yeah, I saw such an instant change in my son, and I really didn't trust what was going on. That's why I was that apprehensive to it, until I actually came along and saw it myself.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: There's something about you, Mark. As you showed up the first time, I think you didn't want to come and have a bar of it. And then you saw a change in your son. You said, "Hmm." I could see your mind ticking over. And you just went, "Hey, will this help me do this and that?" And from then, it's been history.

There are so many things that we can talk about. When we got together and I said, "Hey, Mark, what would you like to talk about?" you put forth a couple of things, and they're so powerful. The first thing that you said you want to discuss is that what you've understood is the only thing that's capable of limiting you from your big dreams was you, and acknowledging that you always had all the power and didn't know it. I think if there's a topic for everyone to hear and be able to have their lives changed, it'll be that.

So I'd love to just throw you in the deep end. What could you share about getting that, or what it was like before getting that, and what's happened?

Mark Guyton: I had my perception of how the world works and how different people work and things around me from when I was a very young guy; it's just what I was brought up with. I didn't realise how much I had to give. Schooling wasn't great. I'm not an academic sort of a bloke, so I viewed myself as dumb back from a very, very young age. Once we started working through different things, I worked out that I wasn't dumb; I was the block on myself.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: It's so fascinating, Mark, because when I think of you, I would say "switched on"—from a mental perspective. We were talking earlier today, and I said to you, this work is really to hold a mirror up to people to see what's already inside of you. It's a mirror that you hold up, and you start digging through what you always thought you were but weren't, and what you actually really are.

My recollection of you for that period of time being 14 years... the ability to grasp some concepts that aren't everyday—to me, your level of intelligence is a really deep intelligence. It's just so fascinating to hear that you came from a place of thinking you were dumb. What gives an obviously really intelligent person the idea that you weren't smart?

Mark Guyton: It's quite funny when I think back on it and reflect how you felt when you're a 12-year-old standing in front of a classroom having to read something off a bit of paper, being nervous and not being a great reader, and just how limiting that is on me as a person. That was one strong memory that I still have. We've dissolved that, which I'm super grateful for.

With knowing that, I probably started acting more and more in that way. Schooling really didn't suit me at all. As I got out of school, I still didn't really know what I wanted to do, but I was lucky enough that my father employed me in his business. It turned out I was okay at what I did there, but even through that, I was told that was sort of my role, and that's what I'll be for my life. I just believed then and accepted that, because that's how I felt of myself. But since I worked out that they were my stories—they weren't anyone else's stories, just mine—I've been able to change my mindset and view myself in a more positive way.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: From memory, when you struggled to read that... if you think of a 12-year-old trying to read something in front of a classroom, who's not going to fear judgement? From memory, the class sort of laughed, and the teacher made a remark, and you quickly thought, "Oh, right. I'm dumb. I got it now." We might think that that's a moment in time, but it gets indelibly recorded in the mind, and we don't even know that it happened. In what ways was that limiting throughout your life until you came to face it?

Mark Guyton: I turned down so many opportunities—whether professional opportunities or personal opportunities. I think that's the biggest thing for me, is the opportunities, because I didn't realise what I was actually capable of.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: So you kind of hide yourself away, or go into a shell?

Mark Guyton: Yeah. In some situations, I certainly wouldn't put myself forward as being a strong, confident person. I was a quite shy person and kept to myself a lot.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: For those watching that actually know you, they'll probably be surprised to hear that, because you've been a person that has introduced me to a lot of people. They would just see you as the opposite of that—such a confident guy who is a real creator in life and makes things happen.

So you came in and realised that you had that story. This podcast is all about sharing tools with people. Inside yourself, you just knew that there was more; although you have that story deep inside, there was a place in you that knew, "I'm meant to do extraordinary things." What did you do to change that? How do you clear it on such a level?

Mark Guyton: For me, it was accepting it and finding the benefits in it. Was that teacher talking to me the way he did in front of everyone—which I perceived was horrible—really that bad? It changed me, but I only saw the negative side of it. I didn't see what that teacher was actually doing fully. Now I'm grateful that he did it, and he was doing his job. At the time I didn't know it was happening, but I got a lot of resilience out of it and a lot of internal strength.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: It really drove you. You bring such a sincerity to the work—an openness to get it. It's not the easiest stuff to get. What changed for you?

Mark Guyton: There were a lot of things that changed just on this one specific thing. Once I worked it out, I became far more relaxed, far more open-minded, and the size of my vision almost instantly grew. There were a lot of other things we collapsed through that period as well, but the more that I'd done that, the bigger my vision was able to be, and the clearer I got, the more that came to me.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: Where would you say the biggest difference has been? What have you been able to do?

Mark Guyton: There's not just one area for me. It's my whole life: from business, relationship, financial, spiritual—it's just all around. I was very fortunate to be able to bring it into my business so much as well, and help build a culture which is really cool.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: Can you say more about that? What happened as a result of you connecting more with who you are?

Mark Guyton: Business was there to make money. That was the first part, and that was always my highest priority. And you did it at any cost. But as I relaxed more and was more open and got rid of some of the triggers that I had because of my perceptions earlier on, then it wasn't about making money. We became more fun, more relaxed, and the money part just came. It sounds weird, but I stopped focusing on money, and that came more.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: Do you remember where your focus shifted?

Mark Guyton: It shifted more to people. I think I just became more aligned with myself, really. That's what made people more important to profit. Profit was always important as well—you have to have it to run a business—but by my focus shifting to people and opportunity, then it just came a lot easier.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: What happened to the profits when you made that shift?

Mark Guyton: Definitely went north. I had quite small targets and a quite small mindset at the beginning. I just kept on seeming to hit the target and go, "That was kind of easy-ish. Let's make them a bit bigger." Then I got to a point where I just wouldn't limit my potential on that.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: It's a big thing to say. I've been in the world of success for three decades or a bit more now, and the main way that I see in the world that we get there is drive. It's all about "how do I get more drive?" But less drive and more alignment with self brings a greater degree of results.

Mark Guyton: The more aligned I got—and it's something that keeps happening; it's not a one fixed thing—just opportunities get bigger and bigger in all areas of my life. It's just incredible. I used to try and force things... and I was becoming really frustrated and couldn't work out why it wasn't happening for me. And that was it: I was driven.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: That is just such an important point. The way that we've always been taught drive—it's this kind of force energy. But it actually creates resistance. It creates struggle. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to hold up the mirror. What would you say about having done that?

Mark Guyton: I'm just so much happier. It's very hard for me to explain, but once I was authentic—and I'm not perfect at it; there are days where I struggle and there are certain triggers that I still work on, but I do work on them—the prize at the end of it is amazing.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: In what way?

Mark Guyton: Fulfillment, time, energy, health. It's just every aspect of your life that you can think of has an impact on it. Once I was more aligned, I had a much greater impact on other people as well. One of the really cool things that I'm so grateful for is to have actually worked out what my purpose is: and that being to generate wealth, and not necessarily for myself, but for other people that are around me as well.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: That in and of itself is something quite powerful. I think I'm hearing that wealth has grown tremendously for you, but in the process of growing it, you're helping to grow it for everyone else. You've just got to come along for the ride.

Mark Guyton: I've had far more than I'd ever thought that I'd have. And in the meantime, the beauty of that is you've helped so many other people to do that as well.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: That's the journey less travelled. I think you're saying that by letting all that go and caring about other people, the whole thing has gone somewhere.

Mark Guyton: Yeah, it just seems to multiply. Another interesting area is sponsorship and donations. I sponsor a few different people in different categories. At the beginning, we didn't have a lot of money when we started sponsoring, but thought it would be a great thing to do. I've never missed the money that goes out to that type of thing, but it always seemed to get replaced somehow. We don't sponsor for ego... it's a genuine thing that we do. Just the more you help, the more that comes back.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: You've said the magic word. The more you help from a genuine place, rather than a motive... What does it take for someone to say, "I'm going to open up to an entirely different way of looking at things"?

Mark Guyton: For me, it was getting rid of some guilt that I had. If I did better, then I'd feel guilty. That still comes back every now and again as well—it's a work-on for me. If I bought a nice car—I love cars, it's my thing—if I bought a nice car, then I might feel guilty of someone else. Or if I went on a holiday and flew at the front of the airplane, then I might feel guilty of someone else that I know. I had a fear of talking about money and talking about my achievements. But once I was over that, it made it so much easier.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: Can you say a little bit more about what that guilt was about?

Mark Guyton: I think the biggest part of my guilt was doing better than my peers and not wanting to stand out above them. Then I reflect on that as well: there are some people that I know—peers—who have far more connection to their family, so they're richer in that area than me. Or the groups that they're in and sporting things; they're far richer than me. I've been able to balance my type of wealth to their type of wealth because we're all as wealthy as each other, just differently. It was powerful for me to learn that and to fully understand what that actually means.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: There's a story coming to mind. You said, "I've wanted a Porsche for a long time, and I've never allowed myself to have one." Without naming anyone, there were certain close people in your life that you felt, "If I drove it over there... what are they going to think? I don't want them to feel bad." This is precisely what's blocking us all from having the financial life that we love. Finance is a part of life. If we enjoy things that money can buy, that's not bad.

I just remember when you dissolved that guilt. I remember when you did get it and you drove it to an appointment. The joy on your face—there was no ego in it. One of those people you visited actually contacted me and said, "I want to be a bit more financial." Instead of reflecting to them what they couldn't have, you reflected to them what they could have.

Mark Guyton: I didn't know that. That brings another thought... When I learned that polarity—half people like you, half them won't. There's not a thing you can do about it. So why worry about the half that don't? That was another thing that helped me achieve my financial goals.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: Would you just repeat that for everyone?

Mark Guyton: There'll be 50% of people like you and 50% won't. So why worry about the 50 that don't like you? Because you can't change the perception. It's only perception—whether you like something or someone or a smell or a particular look. So don't worry about the other 50%.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: You're never going to please everyone. If someone is out there saying, "Look, I want to be financial, I want to live my financial dream," what would you say to them to get started on that journey?

Mark Guyton: Have your vision, not so much your goal. We talk about goals being so important, but a vision is the first place. Then get to know yourself better. Find out what your fears are. Get rid of your fears and just keep your eye on that vision and things that you want—like cars if that's your thing, like your family if that's your thing—but just stay true to it, and don't stop.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: Beautifully put. I also know that you're quite the family man. You have an extraordinary relationship with your wife, Jo, and your son. A lot of times, some people have really great business and financial success, but it's at the cost of that. What would you say to people that go, "Well, hey, can I have both?"

Mark Guyton: Most definitely you can. It's probably not as hard as people think. At the beginning, I did put too much effort into money and business, and that was to the detriment of other areas of my life. But once you can balance all of them and understand your priorities in each area and know that they are important, then you can have the whole lot.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: If someone's out there saying, "How do I get that balance?" what can they do?

Mark Guyton: The old theory of "work hard, work hard, work hard"—fall back on that a wee bit and apply that energy through there. It's how much energy you put into something is how much you get back.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: You said there was something else you wanted to talk about: how pain used to control a lot of what you did and didn't do.

Mark Guyton: As a kid and early adulthood, I'd have terrible migraines that really impacted me, and tunnel vision, so you can't do a great deal and end up in a dark room isolated to yourself. It comes right after a period of time, and I never knew what that was or why it happened. As we went through and collapsed different things and understood a bit more... it was stress-related. It was a thing that I did when I became stressed.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: Do you still have them?

Mark Guyton: If I get a headache, I can get rid of it in seconds now. They still come.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: Could you share with us, what was the link here?

Mark Guyton: For me, my migraines were driven by unrealistic expectations of myself. I'd say back to school days, I'd have an exam coming up, and not being great at school, that would cause me a hell of a lot of stress. Then a migraine would hit—it might be the day of the exam—so I wouldn't have to go to an exam. After I managed the unrealistic expectation... knowing that I'm not going to get an A... go for a C mark, then you're fine. Once I realised that those goals weren't realistic and did something about that, then the migraines go away.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: The physical condition goes away when we realise there's a mental understanding. Is there anything else you would say to people out there that want to have a mind shift and really live their extraordinary life?

Mark Guyton: I think if they're anything like myself at the beginning and sceptical of how these things work, give it a crack. Make sure you bring an open mind to it and give it a crack.

Sridhar Krishnamurti: That's you, Mark. When you decided to trust it, you trusted it 100%, which takes a lot of courage to do. Thank you for being here today and sharing that with people.

Mark Guyton: It's my pleasure. Thanks for having me.