WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 Tell me about your vision. Yeah, I appreciate 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:07.719 you having me on. My vision as a person, as a 00:00:07.719 --> 00:00:11.080 man, as a business mentor, is just to impact 00:00:11.080 --> 00:00:12.880 somebody's life, to make their life a little 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:16.519 bit better each and every day. I'm a firm believer 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:19.100 that the true definition of a man is how he treats 00:00:19.100 --> 00:00:21.839 someone that can do nothing for him. So my vision 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:24.399 is to continue to grow every day, be curious, 00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:26.839 not judgmental, learn a little bit, and help 00:00:26.839 --> 00:00:28.800 as many people as I can along the way, live a 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:30.559 happier, healthier life. whether that's through 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:33.000 Ascend or whatever company I need to do after 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:35.899 Ascend or whatever I may do, but just finding 00:00:35.899 --> 00:00:39.619 ways to help people live their life to the fullest 00:00:39.619 --> 00:00:43.820 potential. The definition you just mentioned 00:00:43.820 --> 00:00:46.899 of a man, where did that come from? That actually 00:00:46.899 --> 00:00:49.460 came from our defensive coordinator at Wake, 00:00:49.500 --> 00:00:52.380 at Wake Forest Football. He said that one time 00:00:52.380 --> 00:00:56.340 at a huddle, and I never forgot it. That's awesome. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:58.799 I knew you kept it with you. That will be with 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:00.920 me to the day I die. That became my definition. 00:01:02.020 --> 00:01:07.459 That's amazing. So tell me more about your vision. 00:01:08.540 --> 00:01:13.739 How did you get started on this path of focusing 00:01:13.739 --> 00:01:17.560 on who you are as a person and helping others 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:22.019 that can't do anything for you? Yeah. No, for 00:01:22.019 --> 00:01:25.230 sure. You know, just to go back a little bit, 00:01:25.290 --> 00:01:26.769 you know, I kind of grew up my whole life, played 00:01:26.769 --> 00:01:28.489 anything with a ball, right? Football, baseball, 00:01:28.629 --> 00:01:31.390 basketball, lacrosse, you name it. Went to college 00:01:31.390 --> 00:01:34.150 to play football at Wake, major in economics 00:01:34.150 --> 00:01:36.609 there, minor in communications. But that whole 00:01:36.609 --> 00:01:39.950 point in my life up until sophomore year, I had 00:01:39.950 --> 00:01:42.670 this identity as like an athlete and my ego was 00:01:42.670 --> 00:01:45.849 through the roof. And I wasn't caring of others. 00:01:45.930 --> 00:01:49.629 You know, I thought only of myself. I wasn't 00:01:49.629 --> 00:01:51.530 somebody that I look back and I can't believe 00:01:51.530 --> 00:01:54.790 I was that person. So that groundwork kind of 00:01:54.790 --> 00:01:57.969 laid out what I didn't want to be, right? Because 00:01:57.969 --> 00:02:00.750 I lived something that wasn't me. It wasn't who 00:02:00.750 --> 00:02:03.390 I was. It was this ulterior identity that was 00:02:03.390 --> 00:02:06.530 Walker Ferguson, but it wasn't who I was called 00:02:06.530 --> 00:02:10.889 to be. So that kind of prefaced the back end. 00:02:10.930 --> 00:02:13.099 So I understood what I didn't want to be. to 00:02:13.099 --> 00:02:15.819 move into what I did want to be. So once I humbled 00:02:15.819 --> 00:02:18.120 myself and I gained a cultivation of gratitude, 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:21.759 humility, integrity, courage, action, communication, 00:02:22.219 --> 00:02:25.560 family -oriented love, and non -judgment, which 00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:28.180 are my nine values. Once I kind of cultivated 00:02:28.180 --> 00:02:31.000 those in my life, I was opened up to a new way 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:33.479 of living. And that came through my faith, through 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:35.500 my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Growing up, 00:02:35.500 --> 00:02:38.280 I knew about Jesus, but I didn't have that personal 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:40.199 relationship with him until I was at my lowest 00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:42.310 point, my sophomore year. where I was rebuilt, 00:02:42.430 --> 00:02:44.650 I was able to grow. And through that process, 00:02:44.909 --> 00:02:47.689 he showed me the way of loving and serving others, 00:02:47.770 --> 00:02:49.689 right? Being a servant leader. So that's kind 00:02:49.689 --> 00:02:52.729 of my vision is it came from a place of where 00:02:52.729 --> 00:02:55.629 I was knowing who I was and how I felt and how 00:02:55.629 --> 00:02:57.930 I treated others and what I didn't want to do 00:02:57.930 --> 00:03:01.229 anymore moving forward. So that aspect of my 00:03:01.229 --> 00:03:04.129 life, everything I knew I wanted to do after 00:03:04.129 --> 00:03:05.870 was going to be how can I help someone else? 00:03:05.990 --> 00:03:09.479 How can I? love every single person, love everything 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:11.939 around me, like see the value in everybody. And 00:03:11.939 --> 00:03:14.060 when somebody, you know, maybe it's does something 00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:15.860 that doesn't really, I don't really like per 00:03:15.860 --> 00:03:17.759 se, or, you know, hurts my feelings, understanding 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:20.340 that that's not them. That's like the ego that 00:03:20.340 --> 00:03:22.719 they're portraying or that false identity portraying, 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:24.919 but then the day understanding that like, all 00:03:24.919 --> 00:03:27.419 there is, is love. So once I kind of understood 00:03:27.419 --> 00:03:30.219 that, that branched me into, you know, ascend, 00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:31.960 right. When Hampton came in with the idea for 00:03:31.960 --> 00:03:35.180 some meditations and, you know, helping others 00:03:35.180 --> 00:03:37.180 live a happier, healthier life through. you know, 00:03:37.180 --> 00:03:40.340 breathing through a meditation practice. So that 00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:42.319 was kind of the vision of helping people any 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:43.860 way we could through that. And, you know, we're 00:03:43.860 --> 00:03:45.979 starting with athletes. If you want a vision 00:03:45.979 --> 00:03:47.319 on more of like a business side of things, I 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:49.439 can talk into that, but that's kind of on a personal 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:53.419 level. No, that's, that's awesome. Tell me more 00:03:53.419 --> 00:03:57.439 about, you mentioned that once you humbled yourself, 00:03:57.599 --> 00:04:00.539 tell me about that story. Like, I feel like that, 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:03.240 that probably is this story behind your why. 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:07.900 No, for sure. I mean, to be honest with you, 00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:10.659 growing up, I kind of had it easy going. Lived 00:04:10.659 --> 00:04:12.639 in a great household, went to church every Sunday. 00:04:12.939 --> 00:04:16.379 I got two beautiful sisters, and I just enjoyed 00:04:16.379 --> 00:04:19.259 life. I didn't really face that much hardship 00:04:19.259 --> 00:04:22.240 growing up, to be honest with you. And I always 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:24.100 knew where my next meal was coming from. My parents 00:04:24.100 --> 00:04:26.839 gave me every opportunity to excel and do good. 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:31.259 And that kind of instilled this. confidence of 00:04:31.259 --> 00:04:34.319 me being like, I'm the guy, right? Like I can 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:36.779 do what I want. Like, and that kind of continued 00:04:36.779 --> 00:04:38.879 all the way until I got to college. Cause you 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:40.879 know, in high school, you know, you're one of 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:42.279 the best athletes, you know, in middle school, 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:43.579 growing up, you're one of the best athletes. 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:47.079 And then you get to college and bam, like everyone 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:49.920 is better than you, right? Like that's a slap 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:51.920 in the face right away, especially playing power 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:55.360 five football at Wake Forest and ACC, you know, 00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:57.040 kids are faster than you. They're stronger than 00:04:57.040 --> 00:04:59.180 you. They're smarter than you. They basically 00:04:59.180 --> 00:05:00.819 are better than you in every single way, right? 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:04.120 So then once my identity was stripped from football, 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:07.360 other things in my life, football kind of pointed 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:09.759 out to other areas of my life that I was struggling 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:12.680 in, right? And relationships on the home front, 00:05:12.819 --> 00:05:15.519 socially, the way I treated others, like my friends 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:20.750 even, right? And that... brought me to like cultivate 00:05:20.750 --> 00:05:23.509 a sense of humility to understand football was 00:05:23.509 --> 00:05:25.689 kind of that way of me seeing that like i'm being 00:05:25.689 --> 00:05:27.769 very arrogant and then now i was able to translate 00:05:27.769 --> 00:05:29.709 that into other areas of my life and basically 00:05:29.709 --> 00:05:32.009 not be blind right you know in the christian 00:05:32.009 --> 00:05:35.290 faith you know if like you can be blind right 00:05:35.290 --> 00:05:36.930 you can like do things not understand what's 00:05:36.930 --> 00:05:38.829 going on but then when you accept jesus as your 00:05:38.829 --> 00:05:40.490 lord and savior open to a new way of thinking 00:05:40.490 --> 00:05:42.470 you're open to a new life and then you're unblind 00:05:42.470 --> 00:05:44.589 and you can see things right so that was kind 00:05:44.589 --> 00:05:47.259 of like my story of you know football was really 00:05:47.259 --> 00:05:49.259 huge for me to humble myself to expose other 00:05:49.259 --> 00:05:51.740 areas of my life to lose this false sense of 00:05:51.740 --> 00:05:54.699 ego this false sense of pride and all these different 00:05:54.699 --> 00:05:57.319 bad attributes that i had to cultivate the three 00:05:57.319 --> 00:05:59.920 of gratitude you know humility integrity and 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:03.279 love because that's all we really have yeah i 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:06.779 i love that you talked about your values the 00:06:06.779 --> 00:06:09.079 nine values that's amazing not a lot of people 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:13.639 think about that at this stages of life um but 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:18.319 now that you have been through part of that journey 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:21.339 where you were humbled and now you are centered 00:06:21.339 --> 00:06:25.360 into where you want to go. So where do you see 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:29.699 yourself taking your vision with the meditation 00:06:29.699 --> 00:06:33.740 app or still you want to be in the football journey 00:06:33.740 --> 00:06:35.860 or there's something else that you see on the 00:06:35.860 --> 00:06:38.480 horizon for yourself? Like what do you see yourself 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:42.579 doing? Yeah, so football's done. You know, done 00:06:42.579 --> 00:06:46.160 playing ball, hung up the cleats. And, you know, 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:47.480 I'll be really excited for the next chapter. 00:06:47.720 --> 00:06:50.399 You know, where I see Ascend growing is, you 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:51.899 know, me and Hampton said when we first started 00:06:51.899 --> 00:06:53.579 this thing, we never wanted to create a billion 00:06:53.579 --> 00:06:55.379 -dollar company. We wanted to create a company 00:06:55.379 --> 00:06:57.300 that helped a billion people live happier, healthier 00:06:57.300 --> 00:07:00.519 lives. So the vision for the first year is working 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:03.000 with strictly athletes, right? Because I know 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:05.500 Hampton kind of told you about the app, but we 00:07:05.500 --> 00:07:07.160 were athletes. We had a subscription to Calm. 00:07:07.610 --> 00:07:09.670 We love how it gave base meditations, base sleep 00:07:09.670 --> 00:07:11.350 stories, but nothing felt, you know, personalized 00:07:11.350 --> 00:07:14.709 for the user, right? So I want to basically give 00:07:14.709 --> 00:07:16.569 a resource that I wish I had when I was going 00:07:16.569 --> 00:07:18.250 through those tough times to learn how to breathe, 00:07:18.329 --> 00:07:20.990 to cultivate a sense of gratitude, to reshape 00:07:20.990 --> 00:07:23.470 my mind into being a positive thinker to athletes 00:07:23.470 --> 00:07:25.290 like myself, right, who are in that position 00:07:25.290 --> 00:07:27.470 I was in. Because we're all in that position, 00:07:27.610 --> 00:07:29.209 believe it or not, whether you're a starter or 00:07:29.209 --> 00:07:32.689 not. So from there, we understand the vision 00:07:32.689 --> 00:07:34.709 for the first year is how can we get into athletic 00:07:34.709 --> 00:07:37.519 departments? How can we... Partner with teams 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:40.980 or universities, athletic departments to give 00:07:40.980 --> 00:07:43.540 subscriptions for free to all student athletes 00:07:43.540 --> 00:07:46.740 so they can create a meditation plan, create 00:07:46.740 --> 00:07:48.500 a meditation on the go, create a sleep story, 00:07:48.579 --> 00:07:51.160 cultivate these values that I was able to create 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:52.800 through my own journey and making that easier 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:56.100 for them to live a happier, healthier life. So 00:07:56.100 --> 00:07:59.139 the first year, it's really focusing on athletes 00:07:59.139 --> 00:08:02.759 for individual subscriptions. As well as, you 00:08:02.759 --> 00:08:04.459 know, athletic departments to be able to provide 00:08:04.459 --> 00:08:06.540 this resource to the athletes. So that's kind 00:08:06.540 --> 00:08:08.800 of the vision for the first year, right? Growing, 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:11.259 scaling, bringing on new developers, fundraising, 00:08:11.660 --> 00:08:14.279 hiring a marketing company, getting out there, 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:15.500 getting more ways to get out there. And then 00:08:15.500 --> 00:08:17.879 Hampton probably talked more about this too. 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:21.500 But really catering the product towards athletes, 00:08:21.699 --> 00:08:24.379 right? Our homepage, our information page, having 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:26.220 it very catered because that's our niche right 00:08:26.220 --> 00:08:28.699 now, right? But that's kind of the vision for 00:08:28.699 --> 00:08:30.620 the first year. And then moving on past that, 00:08:30.740 --> 00:08:33.580 you know, I see us targeting universities, right? 00:08:33.659 --> 00:08:35.879 I see us, you know, that transition from high 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:37.960 school to college is so hard. Being a resource 00:08:37.960 --> 00:08:40.480 for students in a pre -orientation program. So, 00:08:40.500 --> 00:08:42.580 you know, mom and dad dropped you off at college, 00:08:42.659 --> 00:08:44.679 you know, or whoever your garden is dropped you 00:08:44.679 --> 00:08:47.799 off at college. Ascend is a resource. where essentially 00:08:47.799 --> 00:08:49.340 you're going through a tough time, you're missing 00:08:49.340 --> 00:08:51.240 home, you're dealing with stress, anxiety, or 00:08:51.240 --> 00:08:53.340 you want to gain a mindful edge, you can use 00:08:53.340 --> 00:08:55.519 this app and it's free to all students through 00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:57.600 a university package. So that's kind of the way 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:00.039 I see it growing and expanding. And then outside 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:02.179 of like the education university level of helping 00:09:02.179 --> 00:09:05.879 students and the youth, I see it evolving into 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:09.860 businesses, right? People on Wall Street, I'm 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:11.980 sure yourself, I mean, business is tough. You 00:09:11.980 --> 00:09:13.840 never know when someone's going to go pencils 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:17.940 down or a deal is going to close or... It's competitive. 00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:19.820 People are always trying to gain an edge on each 00:09:19.820 --> 00:09:22.620 other. But having a space to calm down, reset, 00:09:22.919 --> 00:09:25.179 and also be able to visualize your goals through 00:09:25.179 --> 00:09:27.500 an application is huge. So I definitely want 00:09:27.500 --> 00:09:29.500 to target businesses in the future as well. But 00:09:29.500 --> 00:09:31.299 to preference, to get the SparkNotes version, 00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:33.740 the first year is really targeting athletes and 00:09:33.740 --> 00:09:36.080 athletic departments and growing that, dominating 00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:38.679 our niche, and then growing on the university 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:41.240 level for all students and then to businesses. 00:09:42.740 --> 00:09:44.899 Oh, that's awesome. You've thought this through 00:09:44.899 --> 00:09:49.000 quite a bit. I'd like to think so. Also, I do 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:51.039 want to preface too, Hampton, and I talk about 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:53.039 this all the time, he's vision, I'm action. So 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:55.500 he comes up with a lot of the ideas and the ways 00:09:55.500 --> 00:09:57.600 of growth and that I normally get things done. 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:00.120 But I also come up with ideas here and there 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:03.960 as well. That's awesome. Thanks for sharing that. 00:10:05.299 --> 00:10:11.320 Absolutely. My next question to you, Walker, 00:10:11.460 --> 00:10:14.100 I think you've already touched something on this. 00:10:16.330 --> 00:10:19.889 I think your meditation app and your vision, 00:10:20.009 --> 00:10:23.509 if I talk about it, would be incomplete without 00:10:23.509 --> 00:10:27.649 your thoughts on leadership. So to you, Walker, 00:10:27.809 --> 00:10:30.149 what is a great leader? What defines a great 00:10:30.149 --> 00:10:33.009 leader? A great leader, I mean, it goes back 00:10:33.009 --> 00:10:35.509 to the definition of a man. How can you help 00:10:35.509 --> 00:10:37.950 someone that can do nothing for him, right? The 00:10:37.950 --> 00:10:39.750 way I want to lead is I always want to put the 00:10:39.750 --> 00:10:43.799 team first. humble myself, understand that the 00:10:43.799 --> 00:10:45.620 bus doesn't roll without the team, right? I'm 00:10:45.620 --> 00:10:47.960 a firm believer. You know, Jim Collins' book, 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:49.779 Good to Great. You got to find the who before 00:10:49.779 --> 00:10:51.740 the what. And when you find the who, the bus 00:10:51.740 --> 00:10:53.559 starts rolling, right? The wheels start turning. 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:56.860 And we've done a very good job of finding people 00:10:56.860 --> 00:10:58.779 to join the team who meet our company values, 00:10:59.100 --> 00:11:01.820 who believe in the mission and see the vision 00:11:01.820 --> 00:11:04.840 of where we're going. Being able to support them 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:07.320 in any possible way I can, right? I never, if 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:09.179 something's wrong, I'll be the first one to say 00:11:09.179 --> 00:11:11.620 it's my fault, right? If something's going great, 00:11:11.779 --> 00:11:14.059 I'm the first one to give, I want to be the first 00:11:14.059 --> 00:11:16.279 one to give praise to every team member that's 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:18.080 doing great, right? And that's how you lead. 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:20.120 You serve others, right? Servant leadership. 00:11:20.379 --> 00:11:22.179 And that's literally straight, like Jesus was 00:11:22.179 --> 00:11:23.980 the greatest servant leader. And you can learn 00:11:23.980 --> 00:11:25.799 so much from him, from reading the word, from 00:11:25.799 --> 00:11:28.659 studying who he was, right? He fed thousands, 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:31.789 right? he all the miracles he performed healed 00:11:31.789 --> 00:11:34.009 the sick like he was constantly serving other 00:11:34.009 --> 00:11:36.090 people and that's what i want to do i want to 00:11:36.090 --> 00:11:39.019 serve others so they can you know perform their 00:11:39.019 --> 00:11:41.480 best and live the happiest, healthiest life and 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:43.860 achieve their goals? How can I assist them to 00:11:43.860 --> 00:11:45.659 keep learning and growing? Thank you for being 00:11:45.659 --> 00:11:47.600 here today. I'm really happy that you tuned in 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:50.240 to Vision Pros Live. I'm looking forward to seeing 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:53.279 your reactions as these episodes continue to 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:54.980 move forward. This is going to get more and more 00:11:54.980 --> 00:11:57.299 fun. We'll have more and more engagement as well. 00:11:57.340 --> 00:11:59.340 We'll invite people to participate in the show. 00:11:59.379 --> 00:12:01.440 And thank you for giving us your time and attention. 00:12:01.740 --> 00:12:04.360 Have an excellent time building out your vision 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:05.740 and becoming a vision pro yourself.