🎙️ REBROADCAST: Ron Story Jr. — Building Businesses with Cold Email

We’re bringing back this conversation with Ron Story Jr., an entrepreneur who built two companies, a software business and a service business, using cold email as a core growth strategy.

Ron is the founder of **Five Contacts** and **PitchDB**.

Five Contacts helps traditional businesses tap into the cold outreach and growth-hacking strategies used by today’s fastest-growing software companies, finding the right people, reaching them at the right time, and delivering the right message.

PitchDB is a massive search engine for public-speaking opportunities, giving users access to more than 2 million podcasts, associations, businesses, and conferences worldwide.

In this rebroadcast episode, Ron shares his experience using cold outreach to build businesses, create opportunities, and drive growth.

**Connect with Ron Story Jr.:**

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronstoryjr/
PitchDB: https://pitchdb.com/
Five Contacts: https://FiveContacts.com

Most leaders wait for a "spark of genius" or a burst of motivation before they tackle the big stuff. But if you’re waiting to feel motivated, you’re already losing. The truth is that motivation doesn't predate action—action creates motivation.

In this week’s insight from The Steel Men Tribe, Camden McGregor explains why relying on motivation leads to a "feast or famine" cycle that destroys consistency. He breaks down the tactical shift from chasing feelings to building momentum through the process.

In this video, you’ll discover:
• The Motivation Myth: Why waiting for the "Muse" to strike is the fastest way to become a one-hit wonder.
• Feast or Famine: How to stop the cycle of crushing it for a week and then "dragging ass" for a month.
• The Headwind-Tailwind Fallacy: Why we obsess over what’s stopping us while ignoring the momentum we already have.
• Invoking the Muse: The Stephen Pressfield strategy for showing up so success actually has a place to land.
• Cross-Category Momentum: How cleaning your house or making your bed can actually save your business performance.
• Process vs. Outcome: Why obsessing over the bullseye actually makes you miss the target.

The bottom line? You can’t control the wind, and you can’t always control the outcome. But you can control the process. When you stop looking for motivation and start taking small, aggressive actions, the momentum follows.

What is one small "quick win" you can knock out in the next 10 minutes to jumpstart your momentum? Drop it in the comments.

If you’re tired of being a bottleneck in your own life, join Steel Men and learn from other men who are fighting to make an impact. Schedule your interview at: www.10xYourTeam.net/steel


Chapters with Timestamps and Descriptions
00:00 — Intro: Levels, Cameras, and Crooked Walls
• Cam and Otis open with banter about house construction and the struggle for "level" camera angles.
• The metaphor of the "level": Why what looks straight to the eye isn't always straight with the earth.
• Setting the stage for a deep dive into honest metrics and feedback.

05:20 — The Feedback Gap and Scorecard Inflation
• Why society has inflated performance scores, making "average" feel like a failure.
• The "easy button": Why leaders default to high numbers to avoid short-term discomfort.
• Moving beyond the number to the "Why"—how qualitative data provides the real roadmap for growth.

12:22 — The Leader's Onus: Doing the Hard Work of Evaluation
• Why it’s the leader’s job to "rip the band-aid off" and start the feedback loop.
• The difficulty of writing evaluations for the "middle of the curve" performers.
• Why you get paid the "big bucks" to deal with the stress of these hard human conversations.

20:00 — Redefining the "Five": Modeling vs. Performing
• The selection bias in self-rating: Why people either under-inflate or over-inflate their own scores.
• Using the "5" as a ceiling for those who model behavior, not just those who do the job.
• The importance of limiting the number of top scores to maintain a true meritocracy.

27:32 — Sports vs. Business: The Financial Reality of Feedback
• Why the sports meritocracy is easier to manage than the corporate one.
• The compounding stress of feedback when raises, bonuses, and family stability are involved.
• How to maintain a "clear truth" even when the stakes are high and the conversation is awkward.

35:34 — The "Up or Out" Trap: The Welder Dilemma
• Why promoting your best technician into management can be a disaster for the team.
• The dilemma of the "best welder" who just wants to weld—and why that’s a win for the business.
• Being honest about promotion slots: "You are not better than that guy, and that's why I picked him."

40:51 — Closing: Groundwork and Action Steps
• The "Groundwork" debate: A final father-son disagreement on what matters most in a rugby match.
• Call to action: Visit 10xyourteam.net to book a call or join the Green Beret Leadership Program.
• Final encouragement to pass the episode along to other lifelong learners.


Connect with us;
https://www.10xyourteam.net/
https://www.10xyourteam.net/steel

Victor Bretting shares hard-earned leadership lessons from nearly 50 years in construction, explaining why risk may be the most expensive thing you'll ever own—and how to build a legacy that lasts.

In this episode, Victor joins Cam and Otis to discuss his journey from swinging a hammer to owning a multi-million-dollar business. He breaks down his "map" philosophy for planning, the reality of managing risk versus reward, and why he values work ethic over a perfect GPA when hiring. From construction sites to dangerous game hunts in Mozambique, Victor shares lessons on perseverance, leadership, mentoring, and building a life with purpose.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why a bad contract or business decision can cost more than any insurance policy
• The "map" philosophy for navigating obstacles and reaching your goals efficiently
• Victor's "one week ahead" rule for managing complex projects
• Why he hires for grit and work ethic instead of perfect grades
• Why leaders shouldn't be afraid to teach employees everything they know
• How understanding cash flow and contract liabilities protects your business
• Why legacy is measured by the people you develop, not just what you build
• How hunting taught Victor patience, preparation, and risk management

About Victor Bretting

Victor Bretting entered the construction industry at the bottom and spent nearly five decades working his way up, eventually building companies and leading teams. Growing up without a father and watching his mother work 60-hour weeks shaped his approach to perseverance, responsibility, and leadership.

Outside of business, Victor has hunted more than 140 species across six continents and earned honors from Safari Club International and Dallas Safari Club. He later built Bretting Texan Ranch in North Texas, where more than 60 hunts have been donated to combat veterans, terminally ill children, and faith-based youth programs.

His memoir, "The Man That I Would Become," began as a letter to his grandchildren and became a reflection on leadership, legacy, and what it truly costs to build a life worth passing down.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
• Victor's Texas roots, upbringing, and early lessons in figuring things out.

07:28 Perseverance and Taking Action
• Why faith matters—but you still have to get off the couch and do the work.

09:54 The "Map" Philosophy
• Planning ahead, navigating roadblocks, and Victor's one-week-ahead rule.

16:55 From Water Boy to Business Owner
• Victor's journey through construction and the importance of cash flow, contracts, and asking questions.

20:47 Hiring for Work Ethic
• Why Victor values veterans, "farm boys," grit, and structure over a 4.0 GPA.

26:28 Mentoring and Leadership
• How growing up without a father influenced Victor's approach to leadership and developing others.

33:43 Building a Legacy
• Moving from controlling everything to mentoring the next generation of leaders.

39:09 Lessons From Hunting
• How patience, preparation, positioning, and risk management translate directly into business.

43:40 Final Takeaways
• The true cost of risk, improving weaknesses, and building something worth passing down.

Connect with Victor Bretting:

Website:
https://brettingtexanranch.com/

LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/in/victor-bretting

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/btexranch

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/btexranch/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@BrettingTexanRanch