In today’s episode of the “The Runway Decade Podcast” hosts Bill Bush and Pete Bush, advisors at Horizon Financial Group speak with guest Julio Melara, Business Leader, Speaker, Author, & Publisher. Julio talks about his survival story, the way he grew up, and how he hit the chapters of success.

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Episode Highlights

• 01:57 – Pete enquires from Julio that since he wasn’t born as a publisher, so, how did it start for him
• 03:43 – Julio shares about the beginning of his journey.
• 05:06 – Bill asks Julio, what did he take away from sports that have helped him in his business?
• 07:47 – We realize in our 50s, if we’re healthy, we can deal with the rest of it, says Julio.
• 09:15 – Julio states that they ended up forming a partnership in 1997. It's amazing because he was 31 and his partner was 40 and they were young and good-looking.
• 11:13 – Julio shares that his buddy John Board got one of the greatest lines that he has ever heard.
• 13:44 - One of the other gifts Julio’s mother always instilled in all of them is, in the end, it's all about serving.
• 15:56 – Julio discusses how many times four-year-old laughs or smiles in a day compared to an adult and how important that is.
• 17:37 - There's a great family psychologist and he said that the number one thing that children remember growing up is memories of having fun and how important it is to integrate that into our family functions, and into our family's DNA, says Julio.
• 19:40 - There's a great book that's called ‘Life is a Gift’ by Bob & Judy Fisher, says Julio.
• 21:02 – Julio says, he even understands almost God's timing, he thought he would own this company. Julio tried to buy it in 2007 and then at the end of 2019 but the timing just didn't work out, and now the timing worked out well.
• 22:41 – Julio doesn’t believe in the word retirement; he thinks the word should be re-inspired.
• 24:45 – Julio says, using the business, using the academy, using his speaking, and helping people transform their lives is what fuels him.
• 26:23 - The best gift Julio ever got was the 10-speed bike that he wanted so bad.
• 29:51 – Bill says about Julio that he is a nationally recognized speaker, he books engagement, and he is an author.

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Three Key Points

1. Julio always tells his people, salespeople, and writers, that if we take care of our customers, serve them well, and if we serve our community then the community will take care of us. That's something that they’re trying to instill in a lot of young people, they don't understand that they have to give back in order to get back and so, he has been very fortunate from helping the Children's Hospital in Baton Rouge to so many others.
2. Julio states - at the end of our lives, there're three things that are going to define all of us, and it's based on our stewardship, relationships, and our leadership.
3. Julio shares his thought on Retirement and that he doesn’t believe in the word retirement. We can never exhaust our capacity to grow and learn, so, he just wants to continue. He wants to make a difference with the people that cross his path, or make sure that he’s helping others grow. That's what energizes him and he knows that others have done this exercise of what drains their energy.

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Tweetable Quotes

• “Unlike some people their first-year marriage is great. Mine was horrible, but 33 years later, it's stronger than ever.” - Julio Melara
• “Sports is the greatest metaphor for real life.” - Julio Melara
• “When I hit 50, I was really concerned. And now that I'm 57 I'll be 58 I'm having the time of my life.” - Julio Melara
• “Everywhere I went, I just got promoted or had people offer me jobs.” - Julio Melara
• “You lose what you don't use.” - Julio Melara
• “Everything in my world revolves around relationships.” - Julio Melara
• “Serving and building relationships and giving back is one of our core values in our company.” - Julio Melara
• “Four-year-old smiles or laugh over 250 times. By the time we're 35, we do less than 15 times a day. What is wrong with us?” - Julio Melara
• “I love to laugh and it's certainly one of our staple things in our family.” - Julio Melara
• “I'm going to give my wife, my children, my employees, my customers, my competitors, my community, everything I've got.” - Julio Melara
• “Quality of decisions you make today are going to determine the outcomes that you get tomorrow.” - Julio Melara
• “I'm a lot more compassionate than I was in my 20s and 30s. I'm a lot more understanding than I was in my 20s and 30s.” - Julio Melara
• “The experiences good and bad, have made me a better leader.” - Julio Melara
• “Entrepreneurs truly don't ever retire, they may leave the business, sell the business, move on to something else, have another chapter.” - Pete Bush

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Resources Mentioned

• Horizon Financial Group  Website
• Contact Information        Bill Bush           Pete Bush
• Julio Melara                Website
• PodcastEditing

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