From Sleeping On Floors To Speaking On Keynote Stages Around The World w/ Emily Ford

All right. We got the woman of the year, the entrepreneur flying around with her magic cape on Emily Ford. What is going on?

How are you? Hello. I am so good.

I'm so excited to have you on today. I actually, before we get into your backstory, I wanna hit on one of the topics that you and I were just talking about off camera, because it's something that I notice about you is energy and frequency. Right now you are operating at a frequency that is just attracting things to. At a level that I don't think that you are comfortable and you're familiar with. So I really wanna start there before we get into your backstory, because that's something that's been standing out to me and I'm like, This girl is on fire. She's murdering it. So let's talk about how you're harnessing this energy and how you're cultivating this to begin. So we can just come right out the gate. . What.

I love it, Brian, and thank you for that compliment. And when you said it, I'm like, You're actually completely right. . And many years ago when I got into sales, I learned from a mentor that, energy is such a big. Deal in terms of, when you're attracting people, you're retracting people whether people buy into your mission. It's just so much of, what you do in sales and indeed life. And I didn't even know what, I didn't know K N O W at the time that my highs are really high, my lows are really low. And so I went to work on studying frequency. Albert Einstein says everything. Is a result of the frequency that you're on and what does that even mean? If you look at the frequency chart, there's actually something called an emotional guidance scale. And every single day all of us are vibrating and we're going up and down the pendulum of, Fear of guilt of all the low frequency emotions, jealousy, comparison, overwhelm, boredom is middle of the road. And then the goal is to be in the highest frequency, which is love, which is gratitude which is abundance, living in, in all these emotions. And so what I really have, Throughout my career and it's a daily practice, just like showering, just like working out. I'm so conscious on where am I at, like truly in this moment. And we have things happen where it's dang, this just put me into a downward spiral. And that's exactly what happens. You go into a downward spiral and instead of me having it take over a day, a week, a. A quarter, and for some cases, for some people a year. They're smaller moments now because I just, I'm better at handling them and dealing with that, and I really recognize energy and the energy that I bring, and I have decided in my life to take complete ownership for the woman I am and how I show up in people's life, whether it's meeting my mailman or meeting the barista or interacting with you. Everything. And it's one of the greatest gifts that we can give to another fellow man or woman, is to show up in love, show up with dignity, show up with grace for another person, whether it's on social, whether it's in life and to me, this is what life is all about. Yeah, it's all about that.

I completely agree, and for the most part, people that are listening to the show that I know of, they already are on team woo woo with us, right? They're like, All right, I've heard enough people that are further down the path than me talk about morning routines, journaling, the power of gratitude. You and I met at Tony Robbins and Leashed The Power Within. That's where we were introduced and through Jake, who's been on this show multiple times. And so we talk about energy all the time. And for the people that are maybe new to the show, and maybe this is your first exposure to this energy conversation that we're having, even if you're the most rational person ever, think of it this way. Some people just seem to be a little bit luckier than others. Just a little bit more good stuff happening right now. You think if you were focusing on. Then you're gonna attract a little bit more of that, right? . . And the same applies the other way. And I like what you said, that it's a muscle that's being built to where it goes from like a month where something bad happens to a week to a day, to five minutes where you're pissed off and you move on. I love that. . So is this something, Walk us backwards through this journey now, because I know that this was something that you had to cultivate over the years and now let's back it up a little bit and start with where you started from and how you grew this level of energy to where it is today. And then when the back half, talk about the people that you're attracting into your life right now that are matching that energy and f.

Yeah, that, that's so great. When I started my journey, I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor in Minnesota where I'm originally from, and I was flat broke and I wanted my life to change so bad. So I got a mentor, got many mentors, and I was coachable, willing and hungry, willing to do anything. And so I said, Okay, for this full year, all I'm doing is focusing on my relationship with God. I'm focusing on growing a business, starting from nothing, and I'm really focused on my mindset and developing a strong mindset. And if. In these categories, and then also health, I would say then I'm not gonna be a part of it, and so I literally unplugged my tv. I put. Different affirmations all over my tv. And this is when I was 23 years old. . So it was over a decade ago. I made myself a vision board, got an old desk, and I went to work. I went to work on myself. More, importantly, you can't lead others if you're not leading yourself. And then I went to work on not only learning things, but apply. Things. Okay. I'll say that again. Learning things and applying things. That's the thing that I've done, I think faster than a lot of people in my space is I don't need to sit and listen all day long. It's okay, learn and then let me act and then learn, do review and I'll review all of it, and . started to do that really early on and I started to really recognize that I'm in the people business, which most people are in the people business, and I'm either gonna attract or retract people depending on how my energy is and how I show up. And I'm also in the business of connecting to people's hearts and their whys, and casting a vision and giving them a dream and helping them dream again. So if I don't know how to be present, if I don't know how to ask great questions, if I don't know how to extract greatness out of people, then I'm never gonna buy trust from them. I'm never gonna get them to open up to me, and I'm never gonna get them to wanna partner. Me. And I had to really look at, day by day, how is my own heart? How am I showing up every single day? And I'm an empath. I feel very deeply. So I get drained equally as deep, but I had to learn. How do I refuel myself? How do I set standards for myself? Some people say boundaries. I don't like that word. I'd say standards. You know how? How do I teach people how to treat me? By what do I allow and reinforce? And there's just so many components that go along with it that I've learned along my journey. But what I did is just hyper focused on the main thing, and I really looked at the numbers of a business and, a lot of times people get lost in again, just learning and learning. But I looked at the numbers and I really wanted to know what it really takes. And so I made my first six figures by the time I was 24, my first million by the time I was 26. And when you become a millionaire, when you're 26 years old and you grow up with no money and a single mom, There's a lot of lessons there, . Yeah. And so I learned a lot. How'd you blow it? ? Yeah. Oh, God. Got my first Bentley, just a lot. And for me, I quickly realized very early Oh, the, this isn't, this, isn't it? Like I, you never have. And that's the thing that I'm grateful that, God gave me that spirit of there's no end point. Where, I've continued to progress and grow and learn things about myself. But I also did. Reach a point where I got bored and I was like, Okay, I need another mountain to climb. Which is why we're really at where I'm at today. And building new things and just discovering new things and new ways to contribute to society.

Isn't it funny, Isn't it funny how entrepreneurship is literally just the process of graduating from one room and then going to be the smallest person in the. Oh, a hundred percent over and over again. It never ends. I tell people that

all the. And when you have that attitude of it never ends and you understand that, that's when you're gonna have more peace because there was there enjoy. There wa there was a moment where I actually took a little sabbatical and I went to Africa to do some work there with young women and build some schools and I had to remove myself from everything. From the cars, from the clothes, from the life, from the leadership the load of leadership and leading, 200,000 people is the size of my organization in one of my businesses. And I had to let go and like literally go to a third world country. Sleep in a bed with a tent over my head and connect with people that don't have running water and see like what this life is all about. And I had to humble myself. It says over and in a great book, humble yourself and give me eyes to see, and ears to hear. And that's what I had to do and I got to do. And it just, Cut me wide open and it really made me realize this life isn't about me. I'm just a steward.

What was the moment where you made it to the mountain top and then you realized that it was the wrong mountain that you were climbing? Oh yeah, Emily. Yeah. I podcast. Yeah. I'm bringing the heat . emily: I'm like, oh gosh, we could But I, I was in a relationship, which I'm super grateful for. But it, things got so busy in life and we grew apart dramatically. Grew apart, and. I spent years in denial. And I knew that it should have been over. I knew that I should have moved forward, but I was I don't know. It's like I cared so much of what other people thought and how is this gonna look? And we ran a business together and. It was just such a storm of life and I always say that you can either be broken or broken open and really I had to decide to move forward and. I'm helping all these other people live a life of freedom. I'm helping all these other people earn extra income. I'm helping all these other people, and I'm like, Oh, you forgot to help yourself in this category along the way, and so that was a definite moment. And it's just, it was just getting caught up in all of it. And the growth, when you're in momentum, Takes forever to get in momentum. But when you're in momentum and business, it, things are crazy, especially when you're the leader and you're flying this way and flying to South Korea and you're flying the, as opening businesses in Europe and South Korea and all over, and it just I didn't take the time to check in with myself. And it just was, I was on everybody else's agenda and that was such a learning lesson for me, and I will never do that again. . brian: So do you think, so was was drawing you to a part. Or was it more so you just came to the realization gradually that you weren't ever supposed to really do life together? Or was it more so Hey, my plans and my vision have changed? Are you on board or are you not?

Yeah, it was definitely. You get married young and yeah, we completely are two different people. Like Yep. So different and it's funny cuz some people they want you, it seems like when you go through a breakup, they want you to like, Get him and what did he do? And let's slash him. Yeah. and I'm like, no. I'm like, I have nothing but love for this human except we were not supposed to be together. And what we have is our past and we were in the same third grade class and grew up together in a tiny town in Minnesota and And God had a plan through it all. But like we definitely, I mean there was like, other than having past ties of living in the same small town and doing high school together,

Yeah. Nothing. Yeah, no. So it

was familiar. Familiar. Yeah. And and I, in my human needs, I know you're a huge Tony Robbins fan, is growth and contribution. And if I'm not growing or contributing, and I'm always gonna be. I'm always gonna be going to the edge, like always, and probably until I die, I'm always gonna be pushing the limits and there is none. So if I'm not with someone who's like that or that minded, then and then we're gonna have, we're not gonna have that attraction. We're not gonna have. Any of the same shared values even.

Sure. Yeah. And I think it's important to talk about, and this is a business entrepreneurship freedom podcast, what's the greatest investment that you're ever gonna make, and that's your relationship. . That's so powerful that you made that conscious decision because a lot of people just stick with it, right? , how many times do we see that in life to where they're like 30, 40 years deep? And that could be in a relationship or a business or that, that job that they hate. What do you think keeps people in and keeps people from taking the risk on , The possibility of living a better.

Yeah. I think it's a lot of conditioning like in, in my. My world cuz I'm a Christian. It's like you don't get divorced, you don't my family it's, yeah, she's Catholic, yeah. So my extended, my mom's side is all Catholic as well, and it was like you were, you're gonna be in trouble if you do that. Like you are the naughty child. If you're gonna do that, you're the bad one if you're gonna do that. And also, Everyone has their reasons and there was like underlying things that, I've made a commitment not to exploit this person, but there was untold things. I'll just go ahead and say that. And I just had enough. And I think people listening to this may be, you've just had enough too. It's my highest values, like I need truth. And I always tell people, even if you royally f up, even if you do something bad, you steal you, Whatever you do, as long as you sit down or were at dinner and you just say, Oh my gosh, I did. It's I will never judge you. I will, I won't judge you, but if you lie to me over and over again, what is our relationship based on? I cannot do, I can't do this anymore. And I think there's a multitude of reasons. I think people, and I'm not in a position with children, so it's like I, I try not to speak to that as much, but it it's the kid thing. It's the security thing. I know for a lot of women, it's the financial thing. There's so many different reasons why people stay in it. I. We tried therapy. We tried for years to work on it. For real. It wasn't just I feel like moving on, so I'm just gonna, sure. I think as long as you do the work and really, and then you'll know , but in the season of waiting which I got really clear in that transition of the being single and what I did actually a month before I met the man I'm with now, Jake, who we both know obviously I went to the beach on January 1st and I was like, Okay, I am not gonna settle. Who do I want in my life? And I made a list of all the attributes I wanted in a man and my mentor laughed and he said, my mentor said to me, Okay, Emily just circled the top five . He's He was like, Cause girl, he's You are so aggressive. And I was like, Okay. So I'm like, I'll circle the top 10. So I made this list and I put it up in my house and I, because I was dating a little bit in LA and it's just, ugh. I'm like, Can we just save this? I'm like, I cannot do this. I'm like, especially the people that listen to this, I'm sure they're driven conscious people, and it can be a little difficult at times to date, is you're on the island. Yeah. Yeah. A and so basically I just had those standards and it's so funny how everything works because unexpectedly, I met the guy I'm with now one month later. And I, it was just and I'm like, Whoa. And I look at the list and I'm like, This is the . This is the match. Yeah.

That just goes to show like how powerful vision is, because we talk about that in business and we talk about that in every single aspect of life. And then this is the same thing that I did. I stopped looking for, I stopped, and also, this is probably something that you did subconsciously, but I stopped looking for the partner and I started being the partner that I wanted to. I was like, Okay, so what kind of guy do I need to be? What kind of man do I need to be to attract? So I've got this list. What I'm doing right now isn't working. So what do I do now? Who do I become? To attract that into my life. And that's what you were doing subconsciously or consciously before. And then you're like, Okay, this is what I want. This is what I'm putting out into the world. Here it is. I'm doing my part . Let's bring it back. And you and I did meet in that Tony Robbins and he talks about that 72 degrees of comfort, and that's the most dangerous place to be. That's that waiting period where it's not too, it's not too hot, not too cold. It's just eh, we'll sit. This is fine.

Oh, that's so powerful. That what you just said. Yeah. It's like going to work on yourself and it's you're gonna attract the right person or repel people as well. It's so good. I love it.

I love that. So let's circle back a little bit to the financials, because you were murdering it out the gate. So you went from a Midwest girl on a air mattress on the floor to making six figures and then a million at age 26 that you're murdering it. And I know a bit about your business network marketing you're doing, you focus on, you have a health focus on your products and everything. I'm interested in the business side of this.

Yeah, so how I got into it was learning the compensation plan and learning about residual income. So basically I saw a woman who was in mortgage banking, and it was during like the tail end of the last crash in the United States. She got her severance, she got laid off, she started to build. Some business working from home. I had no idea it was network marketing. I had no idea really what that even was. All I saw was she was in the health and wellness space, which I loved cuz I had practiced for an anti-aging doctor. I was a massage therapist. . So I, and I competed in Fitness America and fitness universe as a hobby. So I was already the girl with Tupperware eating clean, like that was already my jam. Alignment was just so simple in terms of the health. But what I really saw, and she sat down with me and I was 23, she was 33, and she's like drawing this out and she's casting a vision. She's sharing what she's gonna do and how I can be a part of it. And for me, I knew how to work hard.

00 AM I did, I got up at five. I would drive to the doctor's office. I would do massage. I would pick up four boys that I nad on the side, and I would go to the gym after work at seven. And this was like my life. , and, but I didn't know how to, how do I make money when I. How do I make, Warren Buffet says, if you don't find a way to make money until you sleep, you're gonna work till you die. . And so I got really attracted to it, but I also, once I learned it, I was like, Oh, there's a lot of people in this that are cheese ball that are, really slimy at it. Like they're just annoying at it. I don't like how they do it. That's never a way that I would do business. And so I really started to do it in a new. In a different way. And I think that's why I've had a lot of success. It's not pressuring, it's not, It's like here's what it is and here's what we're building. You can go slow, you can go fast. We've been able to help lots and lots of people over. Over 40, no, 50 people make a six figure income and 10 people make a seven figure income. It's not just me making a lot of money, but it's a lot of people making a little bit, which is covering their bills, which is significant. But why I really like it is a place where people can grow. It's a place you can build a culture. And it's just, it's a beautiful profession. It does 331 billion annually worldwide. It's massive. And it, there's no signs of slowing down, especially in these economic times. So it's been a good place for me to get my feet wet and learn a lot about business. And I've also served on the company side as well, so learning the intricacies of how the company operate.

That's awesome. And now you manage all these people and you have all these people beneath you. In the business. It's been fun to watch because I can't even imagine the residual passive income that comes in from that. And it's at the end of the day, yeah, you can hate on the random cold dms, like from the random people that you went to high school with. But then at the end of the day, like there's. and then there's some freaking success, right? Oh yeah. And so I'm like, Okay, there's people about their freaking business and you're one of them. So that's insane. I want to use that as a slight pivot to the power of personal brand because you're murdering it a personal brand. And I'm curious about how that has worked out for you and how that has impacted and affected your trajectory and growth. Because I'm gonna keep hitting on it on this show until people listen to me.

Yeah. Yeah. That's so powerful. I started using, obviously social to build my business when I was flat broke. But when I switched to, it's Emily and I got really clear about, it was during Covid. That's when I was like and everyone has their stories of covid of what happened. I'm like, I found love. I started a show. I slowed down so I could speed up. I started the assembly brand because I'm the type, like if I'm sitting around, I'm like, What am I gonna do? I have to make something of this. I got into TV during Covid as well. And for me in my. I'm not a fan of the marketing that they use. I'm not like, it's so cheese ball and it's just, I love Vogue. I love style. Even if. Honestly, if I'm alone, I'll still put myself together. It's just a passion of mine. If I didn't do what I do now, I'd probably do something in the style space. I just love it. I love art. I love all that. So I've, And it gives you a feeling of. Prestige. And what I love to do is make a list of how do I want people to feel when they come to my page? What do I what thoughts do I wanna provoke? And, for the longest time I would talk to people and they're like, You should do your branding this way and that way and this, and I'm like, that is, is not me. Like I'm an artist at the end of the day. And that's so cheese ball, not me. And When what it started to happen was the more clear I got about myself and who I really am, the more it's gone very successful. But the more I've faked the funk and I let other people try to help me early on. It just did, and I can just feel it. If I get excited about it, I know it's gonna do well. And we all, I think there's certain times too where you wanna say something but you're like, Oh, this might offend some people. That's usually the post that's gonna do really well, . And yeah, I've just gotten super clear on it and my message and I. At the end of the day, like my stuff is to inspire people. Educate people, maybe humor people. It's to get people to think different and then it's to be their biggest cheerleader. That is literally why I do what I do, is I'm thinking about the girl who's five years behind me, 10 years behind me, and I'm like, I am like literally here to encourage her, to praise her, to remind her of her worth and to. Push her to keep going. And when I wake up with that intention, I even did that at the beach this morning. I did this whole intention and I'm like, God, use me. Use me in a bigger way. What do you want me to do? I will follow your call. I'll follow your will. What do you, How do you want me to show up? What do you, And when we live like that, you get out of your own way. You get out of your head because it. I am here to serve another person. So who gives a rats about what I think, . And so having that mindset has exploded the business because it's not so me centric. Yes, you're seeing it's Emily, you're seeing me in some of great fashion, whatever, But at, but there's, there, it's all embedded messaging for the. , it's for the person. And I think a lot of people go wrong in that way, especially women where it's it's very vanilla. , It's not really, It's Go deeper. Go deeper. I know. More than that,

yeah, I love that. And now because of this, we talked about where you get to different levels, you get to a mountain top and you realize you're the smallest mountain on the mountain range, and now there's more and more mountains to climb continuously. So now you're climbing some other bigger mountains. And now you've been able to do a interview with Ed Mylet. And sit down with him at his home. And so I'm just curious about how that relationship was cultivated and how, and what some, what lessons have you taken from him and people like him and speaking on his circuit and being able to go in his world. I'm just curious about all

that. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So many I was with, yeah, Dean Graziosi's studio last month, and oh man. Even in my studio now this week I'm interviewing the owner of Dry Bar All Web. Who's, it's a huge company. Just, there's just the people that have come into my life, it's been, here's what I tell people. It's been 10 years of me building my name and building my brand. I always tell people like, I wish you could have saw me 10 years ago when one person would comment on my post and it was my mom. And it's like I have continually had this attitude of play big, live out loud. Serve other people. And so it's starting to catch up with me over 10 years of giving, speaking for free writing keynote talks that most people would charge a lot of money for. But I had the opportunity to go on stage, so I said, I'm gonna deliver. I'm gonna go above and beyond, and I'm gonna give these people everything I possibly have. And I've been doing that. Five years of writing talks, they're themed out. I have armor on stage. I literally do all this different stuff and I'm creative with it and I give at such a high level. So eventually the universal laws, like eventually you're gonna stand out. Eventually people will take note. And with someone like Ed. I think he heard of me through a friend and then we dialoged on social a lot. But I added a tremendous amount of value to him. I have a huge organization. I, I said I can have my whole team read your book when it comes out. How can I serve you? How can I help support the book launch? And it just so happened that there was a few people in his world that were like, You absolutely need to talk to her. And what I did, That he told me repeatedly over again during our interview is I actually read the book. And I know this sounds crazy, but I got the book before it came out, The Power of One More. . And I got it a, I got it a day before, so I sped read like a crazy, and I took notes like a crazy, and I got prepared like a crazy, So when we were in the interview, it was like, cuz I was at his home. I mean he was like almost. Whoa, now she's talking about this chapter and she's talking about this sentence and this, and I was overly prepared. And so he was, took that impression and we had a great interview. So that's how I operate. Like I, I really operate on a different level and I've done it since I was broke and I'll do it now as a wealthy woman. Like I just don't stop showing up in that way. And then it, one big person. It's like my friends that are celebrity stylist, or I have friends that do TV and anybody . It takes that one break, that one person, and then it's I recently had X, Y, Z on my show. And then they're like, Oh, okay. I'm in. Yeah. Yeah. And then as far as my show getting picked up that I'm filming here now. It's a similar thing. Like I was doing TV and the producer said, Come in, try this out for a day. I just want to see you on camera. And I was like, Okay. And then it's Hey, no, we wanna pick up your show. We wanna do this. And so it's 10 years of being excellent is paying off . brian: Yeah. 10 10 year overnight. Yeah. And that's the thing I wanna tell people. And it's so easy to stand out. It really is. It's just cuz people are so lazy. . brian: So just consistency. Yeah. Consistently be great though. , get your reps in and I know I sound like I'm a basketball coach right now, or a football coach, but, It is the absolute truth. Do it until, and most people just, we live in a microwave society and it's you want it now. And if it doesn't happen now, then you know, if it doesn't, then your vision isn't big enough and you don't even believe in your vision. , like if you, That's what I tell people. I'm like, If you're excited on a Monday and you're nowhere to be found on a Friday, I don't know how much you believe in your vision. . And my vision is to let God use me. And I'm even in my office here today and like I have a whole thing that says use me God. Over here it just says show me how to be more than who I think I am. And these are all things I say to myself every single day. You.

I love that. It's been fun watching it from a distance, because ever since U P W it's I've been following, I'm like, Oh. I was like, Okay, she's killing it. Oh my God. She's on stage. Oh, look at her. She's on another stage and another stage. And it's just been fun. It's been really fun to watch. Yeah. it's been cool. So thank you for letting us take a peek behind the curtain and dissect it a little bit today. I

appreciate. Oh, this has been so fun. I'm so honored and I look forward to doing it again

sometime. Absolutely. , of course, we gotta ask this question based off of this conversation that we've had. Where can people find you?

Yeah, Instagram is huge at It's Emily, Facebook, even YouTube, the podcast. Those are the places, or it's emily.com as.

So type in it's Emily, you'll figure it out guys. You'll find her. But anyways, I appreciate it. Thank you so much for coming on. This has been fantastic and I cannot wait to see what you do next and see what stages you pop up on, cuz I'll be in the audience or maybe up on stage with you. Who knows? Yeah, see you.

Let's go.

All right. And with that, that has been Brian and Emily Ford with the Action Academy Podcast, signing off.