Being business owners and entrepreneurs, we need to exercise moderation, self-control, discipline, and often.
Sometimes “the world” teaches you a lesson. What can seem like a big fail, or untimely circumstance or event can turn out to be a huge win. Sometimes, you just have to be patient enough to see it through.
Let me bring you back to how this podcast even started. I was at a business conference in Vegas, called Build Your Network Live. It was the first-ever conference in Vegas, and I was extremely excited to be there. My coach and mentor Travis Chappell (episode 50 on my podcast) was the one putting this event together.
I had already consumed most of his 400+ episodes of his top 25 business podcast, Build Your Network, had taken his online course, and was part of his Mastermind. So being there at his inaugural Live Event as a VIP, was the next logical step in my superfan trajectory.
Travis always lands the who’s who on his podcast, so naturally, this trend followed at his live event. He had amongst many others, speaking that weekend:
- Dr. Mark Wade, Founder of Virtual Summits Software
- Michael O’Neal, Host of the hit podcast, The Solopreneur Hour
- Theresa Depasquale, Founder of Capture Social Group
- Dan Fleyshman, the youngest Founder of a public company in history
- Mark Brazil, Co-Founder of Ikonick
- Steve Sims, Founder of StevedSims.com and author of Bluefishing
- Brad Lea, of Dropping Bombs Podcast, and Founder of Lightspeed VT
What was super unique about the weekend event, was that it was being hosted at these super small venues. The first day on Friday was for VIP’s only, and it was at this really cool restaurant/BBQ pit in some neat area of Vegas. Sort of on the strip, but behind it. It was right next to that massive wheel, High Roller. Which all the VIP’s got to go on with some of the speakers, which is where I’m getting to my point here.
The day had gone flawless. It was pretty neat to have the opportunity to talk with so many of the speakers, some of them I was even big fans of. For example, I knew that Mark Wade lived in Puerto Rico, and was neighbors and friends with John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneurs On Fire. I actually thought that I was going to be able to meet JLD. In my head he was going to make this surprise appearance... but how I got to know Travis, through JLD is an entirely different story!
Another guy I was a huge fan of is Michael O’Neal. His podcast was a top 5 for me at the time. I had also read and brought my Bluefishing book that Steve Sims wrote so he could sign it… which I chickened out. Still not sure why. I even knew his favorite drink was a whisky sour ( sorry to my American friends, but there is no “e” in whisky. we Canadians and the rest of the world know this ;-) ), so I met him at the bar at the event restaurant, and bought him one. Was super smooth too. I could see him approaching the bar, and as soon as he went to order, I interrupted him, politely of course, and said: “Whisky Sour right? This ones on me. Eric Musick, nice to meet you Steve.” Steve looks at me, almost impressed, and in his fantastic exquisite English accent, he turns to the barkeep and orders the most expensive whisky they had. Luckily this wasn’t the fanciest place in Vegas, but it still cost me like $35. Gulp. Then, right then. Why didn’t I just pull out the damn book for him to sign? Still don’t know. It would’ve been a fair trade right?
Anyway, so you can see how the evening was progressing. We’re all having drinks, chatting it up, playing cornhole on the deck outside. Gorgeous evening. Then, Dr. Mark Wade announces: “Hey, who wants to hit the casinos?” This is the part where I should tell you I am a social butterfly. I love having a good time. Ask my wife, I’m always the first guy to arrive and the last guy to leave. Whether it’s the hockey dressing room after a beer league game, or the bonfire at some summer night get-together, or in this case, being in fricken Las Vegas, and getting a chance to party with the speakers! Count me in! “Yep, I’m in Mark!” was all I had to say! Some other event attendees that were there also decided to go, and in all, we were probably a good 10-15 guys and gals. We quickly headed out and luckily I had already grabbed my wallet, and bag from the hotel room, which was a good ways away. I was staying at the MGM Grand, and we were by that High Roller wheel, which was a good monorail ride away.
First stop was actually at some smaller casino right next to where the VIP day had been hosted. We entered and right away, Dr Mark hits the roulette table. Like literally right past the front doors. You could stick one arm outside while still standing around the table where roulette was going down. Naturally, I progress to the bar to order a cold one. The kind lady on the other side of the bar politely asks me for my ID. Now, you also should know that although I am 38 years old, 37 at the time, I look like I’m 20-24. Especially when I’m clean-shaven. But I digress, all I thought was: “Wow, seriously, since when do they ID in Vegas?” But it seemed like a compliment so I pull out my ID and jokingly tell her that I’m old enough to be her dad... Oopsies. Not sure she liked that.
“Sir, do you have a valid ID?” Valid ID I think to myself, what the hell are you talking about? I tell her in a non-condescending way:
“Maam, I am Canadian. This is a Manitoba driver’s license. I assure you that this is what we always use. My age is at the bottom left. I’m 37” I proudly announce.
“Sir, I know how to look at an ID. I assure you that’s not the problem. Your driver's license is expired!”
Huh? I quickly grab my license back from her, and .... oh F$%#. That’s when I realized I just flew to Las Vegas with my old expired license. A few weeks prior, one of my boys had played with my wallet and had removed all my cards. I remember my old license being on the counter, cause I had recently got my new one. Long story short, I had grabbed the wrong one, and that’s all I had on me. An old expired license.
But no worries, I’ll just smooth talk her. I’m 37 after all: “Hey, listen miss, this is a terrible misunderstanding. I grabbed the wrong license. My passport is back at the MGM Grand, and you can ask any one of these other guys. I’m at a function, and we’re all adults here.”
Well, as you might’ve already guessed, she didn’t take my plea. I actually tried to stick around and was hiding around the guys. They found me and kicked me out. Yep, in front of Mark, and all the others. Which brings me to where the lesson lies. There’s a country song where the line goes: “If I have one, I’ll have thirteen, yeah there ain’t no in-between.” You could say that I relate to that song. When I got the
boot from the casino, it was probably around 11:30 pm. By the time I took the monorail back to MGM, and was in bed, it was around 12:30 am.
There is no doubt in my mind that getting kicked out was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. I love fun, and the fun was about to hit the tipping point and crescendo. But as it turns out, luckily for me, fate stepped in and saved me. I had a great night's sleep. Caught up with some work in the morning. Had a call with the family, felt fantastic, had a great breakfast, coffee, and reflected on what could’ve been if I had stayed up all night with those guys. And I did come to find out that yes, they indeed stayed up all night. Most of which were missing all morning at the function.
Huge shout-out to my two good buddies Stewart Hillhouse, host of the Top Of Mind Podcast, and Hans Struzyna, host of Another Way To Play podcast. Those two actually left the casino with me when I got booted out. Cheers to you men!
Sometimes what seems like bad luck, and unfortunate, can actually be a blessing in disguise. For the record, I later did find my good license back at home in Canada, and I did spend the remainder of that weekend in Vegas with my passport glued to me, just in case! ;-)
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Eric Musick is Co-Founder of Louis and Léa. Established in 2019, Eric and his wife started an eco-friendly subscription box company to better help prepare parents and pamper baby from birth day to birthday. Some of their partners and products have been featured in GQ, National Geographic, People, Glamour & Shark Tank. Before starting the subscription box company, Eric was a pig farmer turned cable guy for the last 15 years. Eric is a father of four young boys and just celebrated his 10 year wedding anniversary. He is also the Co-Owner of Adam & Eve Weddings & Designs, a wedding rental company in Manitoba, Canada. Eric has also recently launched his own podcast called The Subscription Box Show, where he helps aspiring and existing subscription box entrepreneurs start or grow their own businesses. After only 6 days, the podcast hit the iTunes "New Shows" list, and after just a few short months, downloads hit the 5 figure mark. He’s had the pleasure of interviewing some of the biggest names in the subscription box industry including: John Haji of Gentleman’s Box, Olivia Canlas of Meowbox, John Roman of Carnivore Club and BattlBox, Paul Chambers of SUBTA, Suyog Mody of Driftaway Coffee, Anthony Coombs of Splendies, and many many more.
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