God First: How Faith Reorders Everything with Emily Ford

Ryan Levesque is a 7X Inc. 5000 CEO who's generated over $100 million and sold two companies, and in this conversation he makes the case that in a world of artificial everything, real is the last true advantage. Kelly sits down with him to talk about his new book, Return to Real, and the personal unraveling that led to it. He and Kelly go deep on the pattern they both know firsthand, the belief that achievement is how we earn love, and why that wiring builds great companies and hollow lives in equal measure. Then Ryan lays out the three shifts from the book: the analog advantage, the oxytocin advantage, and the contrarian advantage.  What's inside: The storm that snapped Ryan out of growth-at-all-costs Why "achievement equals love" builds hollow success The three advantages: analog, oxytocin, and contrarian The double craving: what you want is what your market wants Timestamps 00:00 — The 2021 Texas storm and the first domino 07:00 — Deciding to sell the company and reclaim time with his kids 08:30 — Where is the "enough" point? 10:00 — Who Ryan was before vs. who he is now 12:00 — Achievement as the way we learned to earn love 14:30 — The Tylenol principle: ambition is dose-dependent 16:00 — The $70M deal that collapsed, and the thread he couldn't drop 18:30 — The double craving: what you crave is what your market craves 20:30 — The recoil effect of AI and the move to analog 22:30 — Shift 1: the analog advantage 24:00 — Shift 2: the oxytocin advantage (trust over dopamine) 27:00 — Shift 3: the contrarian advantage (a category of one) Resources & Mentions Grab Ryan's new book, Return to Real, and the bonuses at www.returntorealbook.com (also available wherever books are sold).  Follow Ryan on social: https://www.instagram.com/askryanlevesque/? 

Most authors and speakers build their entire brand in one market and never realize how small that is compared to what's possible. In this episode, Kelly sits down with Gautam Ganglani, who has spent three decades bringing the world's biggest authors (Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, Robin Sharma, Marshall Goldsmith, and more) to the Gulf region and India, to talk about how to take a book and a speaking career truly global. Gautam shares the story of Right Selection, the 30-year family legacy his father started as a Dubai bookstore and grew into live events and executive development, and the principle that kept it thriving across generations. He and Kelly get into the exact playbook for going global, finding a regional publishing partner, building the brand virtually through podcasts and webinars, then landing a concentrated speaking roadshow, and the hard data behind the 10,000-copy tipping point that can take a book from a few thousand sales to 6-figures. What's inside: How to take your book global (publishing, virtual brand-building, and a roadshow) The 10,000-copy tipping point, and how bulk buys accelerate it The common trait of the world's top authors and speakers Breaking Bread: relationships as your best marketing strategy Timestamps 01:30 — London, Dubai, Mumbai: Gautam's global background 03:30 — Right Selection: a 30-year family legacy in three decades 06:00 — The key to lasting across generations: adapt, pivot, reinvent 08:00 — Reinvention as an invitation, not a sign of failure 10:00 — The hallmarks of the world's top authors and speakers 12:30 — The "power hour" every great speaker protects 14:00 — Your book as your business card, built across multiple verticals 15:30 — How to take your book global, step by step 18:00 — Comparing the US book landscape to the Gulf and India 20:30 — Bulk buys in place of speaker fees 22:00 — The 10,000-copy tipping point (and the data behind it) 24:30 — Why US success gets noticed globally 26:30 — Building an international speaking roadshow in one trip 28:30 — Breaking Bread: the origin of the concept 33:00 — 150 dinners at home: relationships as the best marketing 35:30 — Human AND AI, not human vs. AI 38:30 — Where to connect with Gautam, and what's next Resources & Mentions Connect with Gautam Ganglani, CEO of Right Selection, author of Breaking Bread: Building Meaningful Relationships for Long-Lasting Success, on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gautamganglani/  or visit https://www.gautamganglani.com to get a preview of Breaking Bread. 

Three live callers, three plateaus, and a set of answers that apply to almost any business that is currently experiencing a growth ceiling. First, interior designer Christine wants to know when a newer business should make its first hire, and who that hire should be.  Then massage therapist Bridgette, five years into transitioning toward somatic coaching, asks how to finally land her ideal clients.  Finally, marketing coach Melissa wants the 10x unlock to mid-six and seven figures. On this episode's Hotline: Christine (interior design) — when and who to hire first Bridgette (somatic coaching) — landing your ideal client during a transition Melissa (marketing coaching) — the one-to-many unlock to scale past six figures Timestamps: 00:40 — Welcome to the Business Breakthrough Hotline 01:20 — Christine: when should a newer business hire? 02:30 — Map the role's three profitable pursuits 04:00 — The onboarding and training capacity most people skip 11:00 — Simplicity scales, complexity kills 12:30 — Bridgette: transitioning from massage to somatic coaching 14:30 — Auditing your Dream 1000 for who can actually afford you 16:30 — The market moment match: interviewing real buyers 19:00 — "What circumstances would need to be true?" to find your buyer 21:30 —Melissa: the 10x unlock to mid-six figures 23:00 — Delivery model vs. sales model 24:30 — Building a one-to-many customer acquisition system 26:30 — Turning a weekly Substack live into single sessions that sell RESOURCES: The Business Breakthrough Hotline: Ready for your breakthrough? Text your question + name to 916-418-9799 with the hashtag #BusinessBreakthroughHotline for a chance to be featured on the show! Virtual Business School (VBS): Join our sales membership, where Kelly teaches the Miracle Hour, the Dream 1000, and the "single sessions that sell" one-to-many model: https://www.virtualbusinessschool.com/virtual-business-school  The Miracle Hour: Kelly's daily relationship-building and sales system, referenced for outreach, reactivations, and referrals: https://a.co/d/03P8YQ9x 

In her first-ever Keeping the Faith segment on The Kelly Roach Show, Kelly sits down with Emily Ford, a woman who built a nine-figure sales organization by 26, and then hit rock bottom at age30. That crisis became the doorway to finding the real Jesus, and everything changed from there. Kelly and Emily trade stories that mirror each other in uncanny ways: two women who climbed to the top, felt the void that success couldn't fill, and had to be broken of their old reliance. They share about their healing journeys, praying in the wait, feeling like a beginner every time you open the Bible, and the surprising lesson Kelly learned when she begged God for the right faith mentors. They get into why community and a Bible-based church matter, how to work through church hurt, why your business is a vehicle for your calling rather than your identity, and the daily practice of keeping your life in order and God first.  What's inside: The rock-bottom moment that reordered Emily's whole life Why chasing significance leaves you hollow Praying in the wait, and feeling unqualified but doing it anyway Business as a vehicle for your calling, not your identity Timestamps 02:30 — Emily's trajectory: from a small town to a nine-figure organization 04:30 — The mountaintop that felt like rock bottom 06:30 — The MGM Grand moment 10:00 — Why you can't fill the void alone  14:00 — Spiritual warfare, daddy issues, and generational patterns 16:30 — Praying in the wait 21:00 — Feeling like a beginner every time you open the Bible 23:30 — Keeping your life in order and God first 26:00 — Speaking about Jesus in secular rooms 28:30 — Working through church hurt 31:30 — Your business is the vehicle, not the calling or your identity 34:30 — "If he can't wake you up, he'll shake you up" 36:30 — Who does God say you are? Your identity beyond the business 38:30 — Emily's work at For Divine and Called & Crowned 40:30 — A closing invitation: pray, then act Resources & Mentions Connect with Emily Ford: host of the Called & Crowned show, and founder of For Divine, a personal branding and business brand studio helping women become "crowned authorities" - https://www.fordivine.com/discover  Listen to Called & Crowned on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NfU2rU3yIKhvnGl8vn7gn or Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/called-crowned/id1573481905  Follow Emily on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsemily/

A quiet millionaire is an entrepreneur with a full bank account and a rich life OFFLINE. And today's podcast episode is about how the very thing everyone's panicking over, AI, is quietly handing you the opening to become one. Kelly introduces the concept of the activation era, and why right now people are moving their money, time, and attention back toward analog experiences, real relationships, and human-first businesses. She backs it with the data, and then lays out 8 specific ways to grow simpler, faster, and with less time online by leveraging that recoil. What's inside: The activation era and the recoil effect of AI, explained Why relationships are now your most strategic competitive advantage The 8 ways to grow while spending less time online Why the middle market got outsourced to AI, and the swing that's coming Timestamps 00:00 — The quiet millionaire: a full bank account and a rich life offline 01:01 — Introducing the activation era 02:22 — Where the money is moving: analog experiences and flip phones 04:00 — Your most strategic advantage in the age of AI 04:16 — The data behind the shift  05:09 — The recoil effect of AI 06:28 — #1: Conscious creation (and why long-form wins) 07:35 — #2: Depth of relationships (and the Miracle Hour to multiply LTV) 08:52 — #3: Intimate rooms and the 62% higher close rate 09:58 — #4: Nuanced deep consultancy, and the swing back that's coming 12:38 — #5: Long-form content (84% of premium buyers prefer it) 14:21 — #6: Analog interface (being offline as a status symbol) 15:40 — #7: Depth of activation over activity 16:36 — #8: Community-led growth 17:25 — Why the activation era is the opportunity of our time 18:32 — Two things to do right now, and closing Resources & Mentions The Miracle Hour: Kelly's best-selling book that breaks down her smple, one-hour-a-day sales system (the 20-second sale, extending lifetime value, Miracle Hour Mastery): https://a.co/d/0ik1Q7h9  Register for our upcoming workshop and learn our Email + SMS sales strategy for just $37: https://www.virtualbusinessschool.com/sept28th  Virtual Business School (VBS):  where Kelly teaches these activation-era strategies, Miracle Hour Mastery, and trust-building offers. Join the Membership: https://www.virtualbusinessschool.com/virtual-business-school  Subscrbe to Kelly's substack: https://kellyroachofficial.substack.com/

Entrepreneurs get into business chasing freedom, and then build the hardest, worst job anyone could imagine. This episode is about getting the freedom back. Kelly sits down with Brian Herriot, author of the brand-new book Time Freedom, for a conversation on the reason most of us started a business in the first place. Brian shares the story that changed everything, his wife's double lung transplant 27 years ago and the vow they made leaving the hospital to stop waiting on some far-off retirement, and how he still drifted right back onto the corporate track before finally designing a life around what actually mattered. He and Kelly unpack why we get stuck (we start optimizing for money out of survival and never change gears), the danger of not knowing your "enough" number, and his core framework, the Time Freedom Formula, that aligns what it costs to live with your investments and flexible work so you can claim freedom years sooner. They get into the levels of freedom, why a 401(k) may not be the move everyone told you it was, what to do if you feel like you're already behind (Brian's promise: many people can reach time freedom in three years), and the reframe that unlocks it for most high achievers: time freedom usually isn't a completely different life, it's a one-step variation on the one you already have. What's inside: Why we optimize for money and forget to change gears Knowing your "enough" number and your definition of freedom The Time Freedom Formula, and the free calculator behind it What to do if you feel like you're already too far behind Timestamps 00:00 — Welcome: why time freedom is the reason we start businesses 00:34 — Brian's story: a lung transplant, and a vow to live differently 02:07 — Building the hardest job imaginable in pursuit of freedom 02:53 — Why we get stuck: optimizing for money and never changing gears 04:26 — The first small experiment: take the first Friday of the month off 05:24 — Knowing your "enough" number and evolving the need you're chasing 06:49 — Money confidence: getting your advisor and your coach in the same room 07:26 — The free Time Freedom Calculator (and mapping your numbers) 09:18 — "Why don't we do that now?" Brian's 2020 turning point 10:51 — When social media turns all your fun into work 11:19 — What freedom actually looks like (and choosing the highest value for your time) 13:23 — Inside the book: taking the conventional path head on 14:26 — The Time Freedom Formula explained 15:59 — The levels of freedom and getting your money working for you 17:20 — The 401(k) rethink 17:40 — "Am I too late?" What to do if you feel behind 19:17 — The promise: time freedom in about three years 20:41 — Time freedom doesn't mean you stop working 22:05 — Stepping out of the business as a catalyst for your next big leap 23:30 — Where to get the book, and closing (Timestamps pulled from the transcript timecodes — verify against your final edit.) Resources & Mentions Time Freedom by Brian Herriot — the guest's new book on optimizing for time over money and designing a business around your life. Available wherever books are sold- Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1774587122?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback  The Time Freedom Calculator:  Brian's free tool at timefreedomcalculator.com  for plugging in your business, personal, and lifestyle numbers to see how time freedom plays out. Free to use, no book purchase required. (Confirm the exact URL.) Concepts referenced: the Time Freedom Formula (cost to live vs. investments plus flexible work), knowing your "enough" number, money confidence, the levels of freedom, the 401(k) rethink, and the "catalyst" idea (stepping out of the business to find the one thing that makes it 10x better)

Three live callers, three different breakthroughs, and lots of practical wisdom on this week's episode of The Kelly Roach Show. On this Business Breakthrough Hotline segment, Kelly breaks down networking and finding collaboration partners in a room stacked with ideal clients, reconciling faith, ambition, and building wealth, and epositioning a project-based business into a recurring model.  Timestamps: 00:45 — Welcome to the Business Breakthrough Hotline 01:20 — Caller 1: How to work a room full of ideal clients 03:00 — Why post-event follow-up is where the magic happens 05:30 — Skip the line: sponsor, speak, or donate to get to the front of the room 07:30 — The secret sauce that wins the follow up  10:00 — How Kelly closes most business deals 12:30 — Caller 2: reconciling faith and ambition 14:00 — Ambition and wealth as God-given gifts  18:30 — Being anointed for business in the secular world 20:30 — Caller 3: repositioning a project business into a recurring model 22:00 — The Business Reinvention Playbook: bringing your audience with you 28:00 — Feedback loops: interviewing your market before you launch 29:30 — How to submit your question to the Hotline Resources & Mentions The Business Reinvention Playbook — Kelly's free guide for reinventing your business while keeping the audience you've already built. Message her REINVENTION on social media to get a copy for free.  The Miracle Hour — Kelly's book and system, referenced for relationship-building and daily sales: https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Hour-Predictable-Sales-Day/dp/B0GXC7KJDX/ref=sxts_b2b_sx_reorder_acb_customer?content-id=amzn1.sym.e5b07a71-3e06-42fa-83c2-1010bebd7ff0%3Aamzn1.sym.e5b07a71-3e06-42fa-83c2-1010bebd7ff0&crid=2DZWBZ4CP8Q0R&cv_ct_cx=the+miracle+hour&keywords=the+miracle+hour&pd_rd_i=B0GXC7KJDX&pd_rd_r=12d2da08-5525-4411-9abc-8d767b2025aa&pd_rd_w=3npJ1&pd_rd_wg=lBtdQ&pf_rd_p=e5b07a71-3e06-42fa-83c2-1010bebd7ff0&pf_rd_r=9941DGGSZNXCC1D4PNF0&qid=1786708922&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=the+miracle+hou%2Caps%2C158&sr=1-1-76dd0896-e18a-4d36-b921-52fc00e57159  Called to Lead — Kelly's movement and event focused on putting faith and family first in the marketplace: https://www.calledtoleadmovement.com/event  The Business Breakthrough Hotline: Ready for your breakthrough? Text your question + name to 916-418-9799 with the hashtag #BusinessBreakthroughHotline for a chance to be featured on the show!   

Kelly pulls back the curtain on one of the biggest decisions of her career: flipping the business from high ticket on the front end to low ticket, and fully productizing. This is the honest debrief, the good, the bad, and the ugly, from someone who ran the high-ticket model successfully at eight figures and chose to build something different anyway. She traces the whole evolution, from knowing the model that took her to eight figures was not the one she wanted to take to nine, through years of exploring other business models, to where the company sits now: 300 to 400 sales a month with email, text, social, and funnels doing the customer acquisition that live launches used to. She's candid about what this transition actually costs. Running both models at once for years. Saying goodbye to great team members who are no longer needed and completely retooling the roles of those who stay. Investing heavily in brand and email-list growth before the funnels carry the load. And she's clear on why it was worth it. A calendar that went from booked solid to nearly open, the freedom to homeschool two days a week and go to church and train before work, and a lighter, frictionless business her whole team feels. She also names the missing piece most people get wrong (low-ticket offers that don't intentionally feed the high ticket), and makes the case that there's a point where more money simply can't stand in for freedom. What's inside: Why she left the model that built her eight-figure company The real cost of running high ticket and low ticket at the same time The team, mindset, and skill shifts productizing demands Why your low ticket has to intentionally feed your high ticket Timestamps (estimated) 00:00 — The decision to flip from high ticket to low ticket 01:30 — Knowing the 8-figure model wasn't the one to take to 9 figures 03:00 — Years of exploring other business models across the portfolio 05:00 — Where the company sits now: 300–400 sales a month 06:30 — From launch-dependent to email, text, social, and funnels 08:00 — The good: productizing as the ultimate freedom lever 09:30 — The bad: running both models at once for years 11:00 — The team overhaul productizing requires 13:00 — The emotional toll of high ticket, even when it's going well 15:00 — When more money can't stand in for freedom 17:00 — The missing piece: low ticket that feeds high ticket 19:00 — The new sales system: a sales email and text every day 21:00 — Who this model is right for (and who it isn't) 23:00 — Zero-friction selling and breaking founder dependence 25:00 — Where each part of the portfolio is headed next 26:30 — Close: come track the build inside VBS RESOURCES Virtual Business School (VBS) — where Kelly teaches the email-and-text sales machine, trust-building offers, and the Miracle Hour, with new modules released ongoing as they build this model: https://www.virtualbusinessschool.com/virtual-business-school  Called to Lead — the women's leadership movement and event, October 1st in Boca Raton: https://www.calledtoleadmovement.com/event   Legacy Leaders — Kelly's high-ticket mastermind and one-to-one consultancy for businesses at $2.5–$37 million: https://join.thebusinessadvisory.com/legacyleaders 

As Kelly steps into year three of homeschooling, she's been thinking hard about what she calls the four levels of creating true freedom.  She's candid about being late to real investing, why she believes the school system is built to create employees rather than free people, and how she's teaching her daughter these foundations now, through real earnings, a real portfolio, and real investments, so she compounds for decades instead of starting at 30. She also challenges the "freedom" being sold online right now, the funnels and make-money-while-you-sleep strategies that, when you unpack them, actually demand more of you, not less. What's inside: The four levels of freedom, explained What "real investing" means (and what it doesn't) Why most online freedom strategies create more dependence How Kelly is teaching her daughter to build beyond her (and learning alongside her in real time) Timestamps 00:00 — Year three of homeschool, and the next generation standing on our shoulders 02:28 — Kelly's homeschool schedule and 7th-grade curriculum 02:47 — Late to the investing game 03:38 — Building her daughter's portfolio side by side as a family 04:05 — Level 1 freedom: becoming an entrepreneur or intrapreneur 04:42 — Level 2: a team that runs and grows without you 05:16 — Why most "freedom" strategies online create more dependence 06:26 — Breaking founder dependence with Legacy Leaders and the Miracle Hour 08:06 — Level 3: making passive income compete with active income 10:57 — Level 4: living off your investments 11:17 — Why the school system was built for employees, not freedom 12:13 — The 20 years of compounding most of us lost to financial illiteracy 12:35 — The 7th-grade investing curriculum (syndications, angel investing, lending) 13:19 — How her daughter earns and invests through the Courage Club 14:44 — A word to intimidated parents: put the ego down and learn alongside 17:28 — Why entrepreneurs need to think past revenue goals too Resources & Mentions Subscribe to Founder Girl: Kelly's Substack publication for raising the next generation to build, bloom, and blossom: https://foundergirl.substack.com/  The Courage Club: Kelly and her daughter's club for girls ages 7–14,  with lessons on public speaking, financial literacy, investing, internet safety, leadership, and more: https://www.courageclubforgirls.com/join-the-club  Learn more about Legacy Leaders: Kelly's mastermind focused on breaking founder dependence and building a team that runs, leads, grows, and profits without you. Our next in-person intensive: February 24–25, 2027, in Boca Raton: https://join.thebusinessadvisory.com/legacy-leader-2027  The Miracle Hour: Kelly's book and the sales fundamentals required to break founder dependence and empower your team to grow with or without you: https://a.co/d/07NPVkhK 

This is a replay from yesterday's LIVE Substack Masterclass. Because it was recorded live, you'll hear audience polling, and chat questions answered in real time.  T This episode answers the question you've been pondering: Substack actually for me? Kelly lays out why she believes it's the future home of thought leadership, what LinkedIn could have been before it filled with bots, and why she has a real sense of urgency about this specific window. Two things are true about Substack in this moment: there are no ads yet, so the entire platform is built to promote the creators who monetize, and 99 of 100 people in your market have never heard of it. That combination, she argues, is the same early-adopter opening the biggest names in online marketing rode 15 years ago. She and Danielle then dismantle the three myths that keep people out, share client wins across niches, and break down the mechanics that make it different: you own your list, the content is the product, and one paywalled article can turn readers into buyers who self-identify before you ever get on a call. They close with the full breakdown of the 30-day challenge built to get you your first or next 100 paid subscribers. What's inside: How to know if Substack fits your business (and if it doesn't) Why now is the window, before ads arrive and everyone floods in The three myths keeping capable people on the sidelines Owning your list, the paywall-article mechanic, and the funnel in one place Timestamps 01:52 — Why Substack is the future home of thought leadership 03:43 — The origin: getting on for a book deal, then monetizing 06:14 — Zero to $111K, and why it works: a trust engine and funnel in one 07:36 — You're already doing the work, you're just not getting paid 08:16 — Brock Johnson's 11 million views and $0 (the broken system) 09:22 — Why NOW: no ads yet, and 99 of 100 have never heard of it 13:07 — Three distinctions: monetize day one, no big audience needed 14:06 — The opposite of Instagram: deep trust vs. 30-second hooks 15:10 — Client wins across every niche (faith, education, culture, career) 18:29 — The data: bots, declining reach, and the human-voice question 21:19 — Own your audience: the asset you keep vs. rented land 24:04 — When you add something, remove something 26:27 — Myth 1: Substack is just a blog or newsletter 27:39 — Myth 2: it only works if you teach people to make money 28:24 — Myth 3: it takes too much time 30:15 — Do you need your paid tiers mapped first? (No) 31:18 — Why success doesn't hinge on audience size 32:16 — Substack vs. the expensive, complicated external funnel 35:03 — Danielle on the paywall-article mechanic 38:07 — Why they built a challenge instead of another 15-hour intensive 39:12 — Inside the 30-day challenge, week by week 44:08 — Who it's for, and where a beginner should start 45:16 — The accountability pods and how they drive discoverability 47:33 — The math: two annual subscribers covers the cost Join the 30-day Paid Subscriber Growth Challenge HERE: https://www.virtualbusinessschool.com/vbs-30-day-paid-substack-subscriber-challenge    Subscribe to Kelly's publication as an annual member to get $180 off your purchase: https://kellyroachofficial.substack.com/subscribe  Subscribe to Danielle's publication as an annual member to get $100 off your purchase: https://worththefollow.substack.com/subscribe