Billy Keels  0:00  

Six years ago I sat behind this exact same microphone as a recovering perfectionist with the sweaty armpits, the sweaty nose, and just absolutely terrified to mess up any word that would come out of my mouth. Now today, I'll tell you that this little show, this teeny tiny little show, The Going Long Podcast with yours truly, Billy Keel, sits in the top 1.5% of podcasts globally, and there's more than 5 million podcasts out there. So, if you're a senior leader in corporate and you're making multiple six, maybe seven figures, and there's still something in your gut that is screaming that you are going to use and leverage those skills outside of the corporate walls, then this sixth anniversary episode is exactly what you need, so you can start ignoring all the doubters that are there, start to leverage your capital, and also you know what you want to be able to start to build your own dream on the side, because I want to help you get to optionality. So let's go. Today's episode is sponsored by Billy Keels Advisory Services. If you want to learn more about how to make your 99 optional, just go to Make It optional.com Once again, that's Make it optional.com

Speaker 1  1:06  

helping you build freedom without losing your edge. This is the Going Long Podcast with Billy Keels.

Billy Keels  1:18  

In my wildest dreams, I would have never thought that six years later I'd be here sharing this episode with you, realizing that I consider myself to be one of the most blessed, fortunate people in the world. So much has taken place, so much has transpired, but the whole thing is this was a recovering perfectionist who wanted to really come up with a podcast platform that was going to be a thought leadership platform, that was the whole reason that I sat down behind this microphone. Now, of course, the very first time, six years ago, and in June of 2026 I was sitting down, my armpits were sweating, my nose was sweating, I was super nervous, and I just didn't want to mess up any of the words. Right, that's the recovering perfectionist in me. Because what I wanted to do was get to a point where I could actually have this platform be able to attract the people that my, that I wanted to attract, and that my guests wanted to attract, to be able to share knowledge. Now, of course, at the time, most of, if not all of, my guests were much more experienced than I was in the way that we started the podcast, and it is truly taken on a life of its own, and be able to be here and share, you know, I'm gonna tell you in just a couple minutes, but like over 639 published episodes at this point, and we have more to share with you. I do consider it a blessing. I consider it a privilege to be here, and so it's just one of those things, like, yeah, it was supposed to be a thought leadership platform, and of course I wanted to be able to break through all the fears, I wanted to be able to get started, I wanted to be able to get to a point where I could actually do this podcast and do it right along my full-time job. Now, keep in mind, my full-time job, I was doing a bunch of different things, everything from managing a business of $100 million across Europe, Middle East, and Africa, of course, it was in Euro, so I'm doing the translation for you, or living on another continent, the one year sabbatical that's turned into 25 and counting, having a successful corporate career, and having over 500 million estimated in terms of it sales across hardware, software, probably drastically underestimated by the way, but even beyond that, like one of the things that I wanted to be able to do was to show to myself, to my kids, that I would be able to build my skills, my network, and also be able to attract attention, all while I was working in a full-time corporate role that was paying me multiple six figures in salary, it was a personal thing, a personal challenge, a personal goal. And I'm so glad that I did that, because what I realized is everything that I was doing in corporate, everything was going well, and there was still this yearning inside of me, like this desire to create something that went beyond money at the time, yeah, and maybe in the very beginning I was thinking, yeah, short term and this and that, but it became so much more. It's like I said, it was a thought leadership platform to attract people, but what it actually became really for me was that whole point of being able to sit here, being able to share stories with you, helping you to be able to grow to get to your goals and your dreams faster by being able to invest the time to create this platform for you, but also for me, I wanted the skill set that I was building to be able to be transferable beyond the corporate walls, beyond the four walls of corporate, because the thing.

Billy Keels  4:59  

That I was doing inside of corporate, I was excelling at a really, really high level, and I wanted to be able to build something on my own, and I wanted to be able to create a space so that you and I can talk about the things that we want to talk about, we can learn about the things we want to learn about, we want to connect with the people that are part of our ecosystem, part of our network, because I'm very blessed and have amazing guests who are here, who have been in the corporate world, who have continued to realize, like, hey, listen, they wanted to build something on the side, and they're helping you by sharing the things that worked really well, the things that didn't work well, bringing it all to you, so that you don't have to go through and suffer through the same challenges if they've already paid a full price for it, they don't want you to pay full price for it. Get it at a discount, learn from their mistakes. And I remember to this point, there was a, you know, and I hired a coach. I've talked about it very publicly. Almost paid him six figures. I invested six figures in myself while I was in corporate to one person, right, one person, and that person suggested that I have a podcast, but you know what I did, recovering perfectionist Billy, the one that was telling you about where we are right now. I thought about it, I wanted to make it perfect, I wanted to get every single thing done perfectly before I got started. Now, let me tell you, six years in, that's not the way to do it, because you're probably not going to get here and be able to share, and what I realized is through that, yeah, he gave me the vision, but I actually had to take the first step, I had to get out of my own way, I had to realize, yes, I can excel at my job, and I can still be here to get experts to share their, their experiences with you, so that you can move forward faster, but none of it would have started if it weren't for my buddy Tyler Sheff, and I have.. it's been way too long since we've connected, but sat down that very first episode, and it was about, how do we get episode number one done? How do we get it edited? How do we begin to attract more guests? And then got to a point where there were 20 episodes recorded. And then after that, in June of 2026 Welcome to the world. Here we go. The Goinglong podcast with yours truly, Billy Keels was born. Now I would also have to say that this wasn't an easy journey. It hasn't been an easy journey. This was all started right 2020 That was during the pandemic, everybody was locked down, so there was a lot of friction. There was a lot of challenge. I can tell you myself, the person that I was closest to in the world told me, "Don't do it, it's a waste of time, it's going to be way too much. Stop this, don't do the podcast, it's told over and over, "Don't do it, stop the podcast. And I can tell you, I am so glad that this podcast has been a source of inspiration and a desire to want to be here to continue to pour into you to share with you the knowledge, the expertise. What's worked well, what hasn't worked well.

Billy Keels  8:11  

And so I'm glad that I listened to my gut right instead of someone else who wanted to disrupt this thing, because then we wouldn't have six years together, we wouldn't have 630 episodes of sharing what's worked well, what hasn't worked well, and now as you continue to move towards your goal of making your role optional, your corporate role, your six figure, sometimes probably seven figure role, you want to make it optional, so you can enjoy what you do every day and be building your own dream, doing that on the side, that was the thing, and I, you know, I, I'm so thankful, because at that same time, in that 2020 in those early days, I mean, I think about, you know, being in the living room, and my son coming in, and being quiet, and crawling under tables, speaking to one of my kids the other day, and was Jeremy sharing that story with me, and just put a smile on our face, right? Think about that six years ago, and all that was was going on, and so I will, I'm sure I'll thank them again, but I really want to thank my boys, because they were quiet, they were crawling, and they are the ones that allowed these podcasts to continue to be here to to to share and and bring forward a lot of the lessons that we'll continue to learn, and also want to throw another shout out to my buddy Jerome Myers, because two years ago, when it was the relaunch of the podcast, when I stopped talking for a while, because life was happening for me, recognize that now, didn't recognize it then, and Jerome Myers was kind enough to be here to put me on the other side of the microphone, maybe ask him back again sometime, I can answer some more questions, don't know how my boys would feel about that, but hey, if you've been here for long enough, you know the inside joke there, so. I'm very, very grateful. I can't thank you enough. This is a brief episode, just to say yes, it's six years. Yes, it's been amazing. And the fact that this podcast is now, believe it, 639 episodes. If you're listening to this, it's been six years. We're very blessed to be in the top 1.5% of podcasts globally, and that is knowing that there are 5 million plus podcasts, and growing in this little podcast, little teeny tiny podcast is in the top 1.5% of podcasts globally. Thank you for continuing to be here, for continuing to ask your questions, for continuing to leave your reviews, for continuing to share, share, and share this podcast, because the goal is to be here for many years to come to continue to share with you strategies, tactics, tips, introduce you to new people that will inspire you to continue to take that, either the first step or continue to take the next step, and of course, we've been listened to in over 90 countries, which I think is just absolutely phenomenal. Global podcast, and as I say, thank you for being here. And as we celebrate this sixth anniversary of the Goinglong podcast with yours truly, Billy Keels, I also want to know, or want to share with you, that it's helped me to also learn to leverage this platform to be able to communicate more effectively to continue to attract more people, more senior leaders who are interested in continuing to excel in your role, and at the same time be able to build your profitable business on the side, being able to focus more on your outcomes, not on the overall hours, and be able to have this global network of business owners, corporate senior leaders, and people who want to continue to contribute to others to the well and the well-being of others, and I feel very blessed to be here, and this is just a pure thank you very much for your attention. Thank you very much for continuing to support the Goinglong podcast with yours truly, Billy Keels.

Billy Keels  12:18  

Today, share the episode with as many people as you can, as many people as you want, and I'm here to say thank you. And I want to be back here for another six years. Can we do another six years? Does that sound great? So, with that, thank you very much. Appreciate your attention. Appreciate you. You know where I'll be. I'll be right here preparing for the next episode. So, until then, go out and make it a great day, and thank you very, very much.

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