The 5 Questions Podcast
Join us as we unlock real estate and business insights, one question at a time.
The 5 Questions Podcast
Podcast Guesting: The New High-Powered Networking with Nicky Billou
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Nicky Billou shares his powerful journey from war-torn Iran to becoming a thought leader who helps experts build influential personal brands and reclaim their greatness.
• The concept "this isn't business, it's war for greatness" stems from Nicky's father's sacrifices during the 1978 Islamic Revolution in Iran
• The difference between an expert and a thought leader is visibility—being known for what you know versus simply knowing something
• True thought leadership means playing "original music" instead of being a "cover band" in your industry
• Shifting focus from yourself to the people you serve creates both financial success and meaningful impact
• Podcast guesting represents "the new high-tech form of high-powered networking" that can transform careers
• Finding someone who believes in you, committing to your best life, and investing in yourself are critical steps for those feeling stuck
• Personal growth requires embracing being bad at something initially before becoming good, then great, then the best
https://www.ecircleacademy.com/
Sponsored by: The Wisdom, Lifestyle, Money Show (https://podcast.lendcity.ca/)
Introduction to Nicky Bilou
Speaker 1Like it's so awesome , dude , that's not work for me , man , that's fun .
Speaker 2Welcome to the 5 Questions Podcast , where we unlock real estate and business insights one question at a time . Welcome to the 5 Questions Podcast . I am your host , Mario Lamar . I am so excited for today's guest . Our guest isn't just building businesses , he's building legacies . He's the firebrand behind eCircle Academy , where experts become thought leaders , and the founder of Sovereign man , a bold movement reclaiming masculine leadership in a culture that desperately needs it . He coached best-selling authors , helped entrepreneurs 10x their income and leads two top-ranked podcasts that reach tens of thousands weekly . So excited , Welcome , Nicky Bilou . Nicky , welcome to the show today .
Speaker 1Mario so excited to be here . It's an honor . Thanks for having me on the show .
Speaker 2Nicky , the concept of the podcast is I ask five questions about business or real estate and we get straight to the point . You ready , ready , okay , first question I have for you you often say that this isn't business , it's war for greatness . What personal moments sparked that mindset for you ?
Business is War for Greatness
Speaker 1Well , that's a great question . Honestly , it comes from my father , so I may have told you this privately , mario , but I'll tell this on the show for your listener . My backstory is pretty interesting because I was born in Iran , a Christian in an overwhelmingly Muslim country , and in 1978 , the Islamic Revolution began in Iran . Okay , and it was a wild time . There was gun battles in the streets . You know what I mean .
Speaker 2That's wild .
Speaker 1It is wild . Mom and dad are like around going we got to get out of here , we got to get our kids out of here . This isn't a place to raise a Christian family . So they took their time , they did it right and they got me and my two brothers out of Iran . And you know , at the time I was a kid right . I had friends there , my home was there . I didn't want to leave . But as time goes on I started to see what a noble sacrifice mom and dad made for my brothers and I . They left behind everyone and everything they knew to start a new and better life for me and my two brothers . Thing they knew , to start a new and better life for me and my two brothers . Right .
Speaker 1And my father was a very incredible guy . You know , if you were his friend and you were looking for work , he if he could not give you a job himself , he'd come bring you in his office . He would call all his friends who owned companies or were high up officials in government and say to them hey , it's my friend , mario , you know he's this , he's that , can you get him a job ? Until someone gave you a job and then he would tell you hey , I got you a job . It pays this much . You start right away , drive over here , go . And if you were trying to start a business , he would say , hey , mario , what do you need ? And he would listen to you and give you his best advice . And if you were trying to buy a car or a house because the banking system in Iran is second world country , not a first world country , so they would only give you so much you would come to see him and you'd go , hey , listen , I need this much money to buy this car , to buy this house . And you go okay , here's a check , you know , go , thanks for the loan . And then , if you tried to pay him back , he'd say come on , get out of here , get out of here . It wasn't a loan , it was a gift . You go , do something good for someone else , okay , go leave .
Speaker 1And everyone who knew my father was blown away by him , right ? He would always say to me son , everyone has greatness in them , everyone has amazingness in them , but sometimes they forget , sometimes they lose faith in themselves , they lose belief . And he said your job , son , is to bring belief to people . Everyone needs someone to believe in them , right ? Someone to see how amazing they are . And he said you need to be a professional believer in people . And to me , what I am all about , you know the programs , the books , the podcast , that's all great , but what I'm really about , man , if I meet , meet you is to see your greatness and to believe in you , especially when your own belief starts to go a little wobbly .
Speaker 2Yeah , yeah and it happens to everybody . You know we all go through these moments . Uh , I mean , we we've we've met each other in person a couple of times and I know that what you're saying about seeing and believing seeing the potential in someone can dramatically change someone's life , because all sometimes that we need is that spark , that little kick from someone else to say , hey , man , you can do it , you can do what you want , just go and go for it .
Speaker 2And if they need help , then you know , you just lay a hand and you help them get started .
Speaker 1You know , jordan Peterson is one of the men , the thought leaders , I admire the most in the world today , and he talks about how little encouragement people get , especially men in this day and age . And he said that little bit of encouragement , man , is like giving water to a man who's dying of thirst . You know what I mean and that's the truth . Man and Mario , like I see you , I know you're doing big things . I know you have what it takes to be as big as anybody out there , and that's the beauty of me .
Speaker 1I see that in you and I want you to know that . I see that in you . I want you to know that I believe in you at the highest level and I want to collaborate with you , maybe even provide some of my coaching for you in the term of the services to get you to the next level . And I love coming on your podcast as well , because you give me an opportunity A to speak to other people , but also man , you're amazing and what you're doing is so great . I want to make sure that you feel someone who's a guest on your show , like me , sees that . So when you leave this podcast and this meeting , you're on a nice high for the rest of the day and you make some big things happen . You follow what I'm saying .
Speaker 2I certainly appreciate that , Nicky .
Speaker 1Yeah , of course .
Speaker 2We'll go to question number two . And most people build businesses okay , but you build something else you build taught
Experts vs. Thought Leaders
Speaker 2leaders . So what separates someone who is just good at what they do from a true industry leader ?
Speaker 1Man ? That's a great question . You know , someone put it like this once . His name is Matt Church and I thought it was pretty brilliant .
Speaker 1He said the difference between someone who's good at what they do or an expert and a thought leader is well , an expert's just someone who knows something , right , Right , but he's invisible . Nobody knows him . A thought leader is someone who's known for what he knows . He's very visible , he's celebrated and he's the person people go to . So , you know , let's talk about our mutual friend , Alfonso Cuadra . Right , yeah , Alfonso Cuadra . Right , Alfonso Cuadra has become a thought leader in the world of real estate investing . He's also become a thought leader in the world of putting on world-class events and he's become a thought leader in the world of helping people speak and sell from stage . These are three diverse areas of expertise , but he is truly , truly being seen in the world as okay , this guy , he's a real estate expert . This guy puts on big events and has great membership , and this guy knows how to sell from stage . And everyone knows this about Alfonso , who's in his world . Now , somebody else may have equal skills in all those areas , but nobody knows who they are . That's a problem right ?
Speaker 2Well , and it brings the point to you know what do you do and what's the reason why you do certain things ? Do you do it just for yourself or do you want to be fulfilled and feel like you can help others by being invisible ? Who really do you help ? You help your own business , but by being visible , that's when you start helping other people . People get inspired by you . They want to follow your tracks . Some people might even change their lives because they met you or someone you know like . So it's much's much different .
Speaker 1You're right it is , and another difference between someone who's just , you know , good at what they do , or an expert and a thought leader . Another man said this on my show . His name is david meerman scott . He is tony robbins's advisor on marketing and branding and this is what he said to me . He said an expert is like a cover band in music , while a thought leader plays original music . I mean , think about this man . That's brilliant . That's brilliant , and you want to be the person playing original music , like you saw me speak at a couple of events for Alfonso at Expand , and I spoke about podcast guesting . So I know you know a lot of people who are doing podcasts . You do a podcast yourself and they're probably very good at being a podcast host right , but besides me , do you know anybody who talks about podcast guesting ? How to be a great guest , how to make money from being a guest , how to get clients and leads have you heard , besides me , anybody talk about this ?
Speaker 2As far as far as I know , you're the only one .
Speaker 1So that makes me the thought leader , that makes me the guy , because I'm the one who talks about it and everybody else is going on is having shows . I'm going go on shows . Be deliberate about going on shows . Learn how to make money from going on shows . Let's go right now , because if you do this , man , your life becomes beautiful . Yeah , beautiful , like I'm doing this , um , this three hour bootcamp on podcast guesting this week Friday , as you know about this right , and when people come to my bootcamps and they learn , they go . Oh my God , I never heard this stuff before . And once they start to apply it , they go . This is good .
Speaker 1I can make money from this , because the beauty of being a guest on a show , if you do it right , is you don't have to have your own show , so you don't need to like have a schedule . You don't have to have technology . That's great . You just need , like , a computer . Basically , you don't need to be some great sales guru , you just need to be honest and articulate and you don't need to have a big marketing list , because you're leveraging the list and the audience and the host . It's beautiful , I love it .
Speaker 2It's so amazing it's it's you can get free marketing on other people's platform , right and build relationships and build relationships .
Speaker 1Yeah , think about this . In the old days , you went to meetings , you met a guy , maybe you had coffee . You built a relationship . Right now , on this podcast , in 20 minutes , 30 minutes , we build a relationship . Yeah , people need to get this through their head . It's the new high-tech form of high-powered networking . You and I talked about this . Networking is how you can add $10 million to your net worth . Net worth network . Same thing , exactly the same thing . So podcast guesting is the new networking .
Speaker 2That , my friend , I agree with you . We're going to move on to question number three , and you've helped clients 10x their income while creating legacy level impact . What's the biggest mindset shift that unlocks that kind of transformation in people ?
Managing Two Top-Ranked Podcasts
Speaker 1You know that's a great question . A lot of people go into business and the first thing that they're doing is they're in survival mode . You know what I mean . They're just trying to make money . They're just trying to is on what you need and people feel it . You start to have impact on people when you take the attention off of you and you put the attention on the people you're going to serve . You see , here's the beauty of it , right , when I talk to you about podcast guesting here , yeah , I have programs , I have books , I have workshops and obviously this is a part of my business , how I make money , and let's not in any way pretend that's not so , because that is exactly so .
Speaker 2Yeah .
Speaker 1But the first thing that I'm thinking to myself is I'm going like man Mario , he's a great guy , he should do my podcast guesting work because it's going to help him . He's going to learn some things he can use to expand his network . I know he loves networking . I know he gets networking . So the thought in my head is I got to get Mario to come and do this . It's going to make a big difference for him . I'm not thinking , hey , man , I want that $88 sale or $2,000 sale or whatever I'm thinking , this is good for him .
Speaker 1And you know what I could even say Mario and I are have friends . I could give it to him for free . But here's what I noticed when I give something to my friends for free , they don't really pay attention to it . But when they pay even a little bit of money , they pay attention to it because they want the return to come forward . So that's the idea that's in my head . Now you're doing your , your amazing summit at sea , and you're inviting people to come to the summit at sea . If you're thinking to yourself when you're talking to someone , I need one more sale , I need one more guy on my thing , that you know , they'll feel that . Why , if you're thinking , wow , this guy , he comes out on summit at sea , he's going to make great connections , he's going to make great relationships . His eyes are going to be open man . He has to be there for him , for his family . They feel that too , brother . That's the difference .
Speaker 2It's all in the approach and it's as basic . As we know different salesmen . There's two types . One is going to try to push a product . I'm trying to show my pen but it doesn't work . Try to push a product on someone , so all they focus is what that product can do to anybody , is what that product can do to anybody . But the great salesman will listen to what the person needs and then find a solution to help them . That's the difference where , like you said , mindset is a total different game when you start thinking customers first and their needs instead of trying to push things on people . I agree with you , 100% , beautiful . We're going to go to question number four . I have a podcast , but you have two . You run two top-ranked podcasts , one on business leaders and one for men of purpose . First of all , I know how much work it is to run a podcast . How do you keep the message clear for each one and the fire alive in both of them ?
Speaker 1You know that's a great question . So the messages
Breaking Free from Feeling Stuck
Speaker 1are different , but the meta message that informs both of them is the same , and that meta message is I want good men and women to be free to live their best self , their best life . So that's it . And , in terms of the fire , nothing makes me more excited than either having a great guest or being a great guest . Like it's so awesome , dude , that's not work for me . Man , that's fun Coming on this show . People are saying what are you after you working ? Today ? I'm working but honestly , it feels like playing , because I'm going to be talking to a good guy who's a good podcast host and I get a chance to say what I say . Boom , that makes it really powerful and really simple . And I'm constantly on the lookout for good people to bring on both shows right , like I have for my men's podcast people who help men specifically with their mindset as a man . Right , not just general mindset of success , but the mindset of being a good , powerful man . And then I look for for men and even some women have been , you know , uh , on my show as well and I and what I do with those guys is I look for a beautiful , beautiful message that's going to make a difference for my audience and it's really , really cool . And then finally , brother , I'm looking for people on the thought leader podcast who are number one , two or three , top three in the world at what they do . Yeah , I bring those guys on my show and I get to learn from them . It's like they give me an hour of free coaching .
Speaker 1I had Brian Tracy on my podcast . You know who Brian Tracy is . I have heard of him . Yeah , he's one of the legends in personal development . I had Jack Canfield , one of the legends in personal development . I had Jack Canfield Chicken Soup for the Soul 600 million copies sold on my podcast . I had Dr John Maxwell , the man who wrote the biggest selling leadership book of all time 22 Laws of Leadership on my podcast . I had Dr Robert Cialdini , who wrote the book Influence the Psychology of Persuasion . I had a billionaire from Silicon Valley , tj Rogers , who built two multi-billion dollar companies , on my podcast . Dude , are you kidding me ? This is fun , man . I just keep looking for great guys I want to meet and I tell them hey , let's talk .
Speaker 2That's how we do it , brother , that's the way , and I mean you've already built a big circle , but for people out there who are listening , if you want to expand your network , this is what I teach . This podcast is not about me , but I'm going to just say this is one of the networking ways I do is I call it network upward is you surround yourself with people that are , you know , better than you , more successful than you , that have been doing it longer than you , and you learn from them . So absolutely , you do it .
Speaker 1You know you do it 100% and I say this to you guys if you're listening to the show , you should come and learn about podcast guesting . So there's a few ways . One is I have this book I wrote about it right called Get Booked and Get Paid how to Generate Six Figures Plus a YouTube Podcast Guesting . The Kindle version is $4.99 on Amazon . Man , invest in yourself . The best thing you can do today is invest time and money and attention in being better . You get this book .
Speaker 1Secondly , I've got this webinar that's happening right , this amazing masterclass , three-hour bootcamp . It's $88 . Guys , if you can't invest $88 in yourself , you're a fool . For $88 , you're going to learn and you're going to get fantastic level tips on how to get on this type of podcast easily . Because I tell you something , mario I can get you on a hundred podcasts in the next three months . If you want it to , I could show you for , for , for , for 50 bucks a month . I could show you on how to get on on 30 to 40 podcasts a month for $50 a month . Mario , is that a good deal ?
Speaker 2Is that ? That's an amazing deal right .
Speaker 1Would you pay $88 to find out how to do that ? Sure you would . You have to be stupid enough . And then I show you , man , what you got to do to learn how to be great on the show . Specifically , though , you got to be very specific . So these people go and say to you okay , maybe I need to have a conversation with Mario , and that's how you can sell people to come and be on your cruises , be a part of your coaching programs and all that good stuff . The more you do that , the more money you're going to make . And it's beautiful man . If you're not thinking about podcast guesting right now , it's crazy , bro . You have to be thinking about this , you have to be doing this . This is important . Let's roll .
Speaker 2Final question for today . Nicky , If someone I want to leave with value , if someone is listening right now and is feeling stuck between who they are and who they could be , you touched a little bit on this , but what's the first thing you challenge them to do today , Right ?
Speaker 1now , if you're feeling stuck , find somebody who's going to believe in you and listen to them . Someone who's on your side . You know what I mean . Someone like a Mario , someone like a me who's going to say man , listen to them . Someone who's on your side . You know what I mean . Someone like a Mario , someone like a me who's going to say , man , I see you , you can do it . You're amazing . Because that all you need is encouragement . You need encouragers around you , and your friends should be that way .
Speaker 1But the second thing I'm going to say is make a decision today that you're going to live your best life . You're not going to like settle for BS anymore . You're going to live your best life . Commit to getting better . That means you're going to be bad at it at first . You're going to stink at it at first , but you'll get better and then you'll get to be okay . Then you get to be good , then great , then the best .
Speaker 1And then , thirdly , invest in yourself . Invest in coaching , invest in masterminds , invest in programs Like Mario . You have this amazing summit at Sea . You know . You have a coaching program for real estate investors . I've got coaching programs for entrepreneurs . Invest in yourself and listen . I'm also gonna say this to you okay , very , very important that you learn about podcast guesting . Very , very , very important , because podcast guesting is gonna change your life , if you let it . And what are you talking about ? You can invest $4.99 in a book . You can invest $88 in a master class for three hours , a boot camp you can do this and you can invest $50 a month to get on 30 to 40 shows a month . Trust me , all these are minimal investments . They're going to take your life from tragic to magic , nikki .
Speaker 2We're going to put all those links in the descriptions because it's very , very valuable and I agree with you you can spend $8 on a Big Mac . You can spend $4.99 on a book that's going to change your life . So thanks , thank you for being on the show . I hope that our listeners will take some of your valuable insights on their journey and we'll talk again soon .
Speaker 1Mario , I'm looking forward to it . Brother , Thank you so much for having me on the show . You are one of those guys who ask good questions , who cares and wants people to succeed , and
Closing and Key Takeaways
Speaker 1the world needs to know who you are . You have to become more visible .
Speaker 2I'm working on it . We'll see you at the top . Thanks for tuning in to the 5 Questions Podcast . If you enjoyed today's episode , don't forget to subscribe , like and hit the notification bell on our YouTube channel so you never miss an episode . Stay tuned for more insights and tips to transform your real estate and business game . See you next time .