I was recently featured on The Excellence Project with Eric Worre, where Eric and I sat down for a long, honest conversation about my road into network marketing and everything that came before it. We got into the difficult parts of my upbringing, my journey into sobriety, and how serving people became the thing that changed every part of my career.

In this article, you'll find an overview of the main topics we covered, a link to watch the full conversation on YouTube, and a few highlights from our chat in my own words.

Topics We Covered

Eric and I went deep into the moments and frameworks that shaped my path. A few of the key threads:

  • My difficult upbringing, my first drink, and the turning point that came after my first AA meeting
  • How I went from penny stocks to becoming a network marketing legend
  • The shift that happened the moment I decided to serve people instead of sell to them
  • The Coffee Shop Interview and the BLTS framework I use to build real relationships in business

Watch Now

Watch the full conversation below, or watch the full conversation on YouTube.

Highlights From Our Conversation

On the three pillars of my life

The three pillars of me are obviously sobriety, that's my passion. Network marketing is my job. And then the third pillar is teaching people how to be related at a level that has them being treated as human beings, not prospects. All three of those are congruent. That's my life. That defines me.

On finding the invisible person in the room

I'm the misfit whisperer. I figured out that what people love most about me is what I remember about them. And that shaped the way I have lived my life.

On the four phases of my life

I tell people I've gone through four phases. Phase one: a taker. The dangerous phrase was "whatever it takes." Second: I decided to be a fighter, and I had an enemy for everything. Third: I got tired of fighter and decided to be a giver, and everybody ran me over. Where I've tried to land is to be a giver with boundaries.

On my first AA meeting

I walked in the door of my first AA meeting knowing it was going to be a bunch of winos on the floor just drinking. I walk in, and there is the president of the country club that I lived at. She looked at me and said, "Tommy, we've been waiting for you for a long time. We have a chair with your name on it right over there." The first time in my life, I felt love, like honest love, no agenda love.

On the wake-up call that changed my career

A guy named Bill said, "You're a gifted guy, but you are going to go out in a blaze of glory. You are going to go broke enthusiastically, and you're going to take a lot of people with you. You've got to make it about them and less about you." That was something no one could say to me, and I heard it. I went home and merged everything I learned in Alcoholics Anonymous with multi-level marketing, and started treating people like human beings.

On the BLTS framework

You belong in my tribe. I love you. You can trust me. And you're safe with me. If you look at those four things in all your relationships, and they're created and they're fixed, people will do anything for you.

On the rotation of remember

I have spent my life teaching people to remember the best thing about people, and reminding them constantly that I remembered. You are your favorite topic, and when I tell you something I remember about you, you realize I meant it.

On why relationships beat shortcuts

People are so alone, and they're so marketed to, and they're so soundbited and cynical. Finding somebody that actually cares about them, they'll do anything for. It's so much faster, not slower. It's so much more real.

On what people really want

Everybody wants great products, they want great tools, they want a great system, they want a great culture. What they didn't realize is they really want a great community where they belong, where they feel like people love them, where they feel safe.

On my final word

For those of you trying to find your way: fire your brain, hire your heart. Remember everything about everybody, and remind them that you remembered. The answer is in community and loving each other and serving, not taking.

Watch the Full Episode

You can catch the entire 90-minute conversation with Eric on YouTube here: Tom Chenault's Journey from Penny Stocks to Network Marketing Millions.