remembering 9 11

Remembering 9/11: Refocusing on the More Important Things

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It’s September 12th again. The day after 9/11. How are you feeling? What’s on the top of your mind? Business plans? Getting out of your day job on time? Lots of things going on, I’m sure.

Let’s slow down a little bit. Let me ask you a question.

Did you have the chance to watch any of the memorial services for 9/11 yesterday? Why or why not?

I did – and here’s what I got to share with you.

 

Remembering 9/11

Since the World One Trade Center has been finished, I’ve noticed that every year they read the names of the victims of 9/11. They might have been doing it longer than that, but I didn’t realize it because I was too busy. With college and then with work after I graduated.

Why did I watch? I didn’t lose anyone in the tower. Heck, I don’t know if I knew anyone that was affected by it at the time it happened.

So why did I watch? I guess the simple answer is that I wanted to remember. Remember where I was and what was going through our minds at the time.

 

When I was growing up, before that point, I didn’t know what it was like to be witness of a life changing event.

My mom had always been able to tell me very vividly about her whereabouts for the assassination of JFK. Similarly, she could remember where she was for other “world shattering” events including the Challenger explosion, when she heard of Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination, and others.

While I’m sure everyone here in the United States can remember where they were at in their lives at that point (if they were alive), I know that not everyone gets the chance to reflect on that day. As mentioned, I didn’t for several years.

 

Remembering 9/12

For most folks, 9/11 isn’t a holiday. Nor is it a celebration. However, I believe that it needs to be remembered and reflected on annually. Not because of the event itself. But what happened the day after.

Just as Texans and the rest of America drove to aid the victims of recent hurricane Harley and the upcoming storm Irma this past week, so did people on 9/12. Local fire and police departments as well as everyday people from all corners of the country went to go help as much as they could.

The acts of 9/11 made us come together and act as one.

 

In 2009, Glenn Beck created the 9/12 Project to reflect upon those selfless actions and who we were at that point in history. Because it seemed that we had too easily forgotten those times.

It being Glenn and the polarizing person he was at the time (he has since apologized for his actions during that time), I don’t think he was able to reach those that needed to hear the message.

And, as you can tell from this video, it’s hard to tell if he won any new friends with those that did hear about it.

While I feel that his heart was in the right place, I think the 9/12 Project missed the mark for most people.

 

The Grocery Store Method of Reasoning

However, he did manage to get my attention. My mom followed him quite a bit – however, I tended to focus more on business type stuff at the time.

Upon hearing this message, though, I did start thinking it was necessary to become more involved in my community. I think it was due to this that I eventually became a member of the Freemasons.

However, not everything he said applied to me, and I think this is where a lot of people have hang-ups in today’s world.

Just because someone says something which doesn’t agree with you, it doesn’t mean that other things that they’re talking about are false or that they’re completely unagreeable.

In fact, most people have more things in common than we don’t have – regardless of where they are in life.

Just as if you were getting groceries, it’s your job to NOT take everything you see at face value. Just because something sounds good, doesn’t mean you should include it in your thought process.

On that same note, simply because something might not agree with you, it doesn’t mean it’s not true or good for you (just like broccoli!).

It’s up to us to see the context of where the message is coming from. And what’s great is that the more Truth we know, the easier it is for us to make a decision based on the context AND message.

 

Finding Truth in the 9/12 Project – Refocusing on the Important Things

So let’s look real quick on what Glenn said about the 9/12 Project. First, he has 9 key principles that we should follow if we were to be a part of the project. Knowing that he’s a pretty spiritual (and religious) dude, I wasn’t surprised to find references to God.

If we take that into context and actually see what he’s saying AND not take it personal (One of the Four Agreements), what can we pull from his message? What the heck is he really saying?

Let’s take a look.

 

America is good.

Yeah, I’d say so. I mean, again, after seeing us come together for the victims of recent hurricanes – I think we’re good. Now, the government, on the other hand… that’s another story, but I think Americans are good as a people.

 

I believe in God and He is the center of my life.

So here’s my take on religion – it’s not for everybody. Most people that it’s not for – they say that religious types don’t practice what they preach. I don’t personally know BAD Christians. Do they exist? Sure. But there’s bad versions of every group out there.

I think this is where most stereotypes come from. But, because they exist doesn’t necessarily make them “normal”.

So let’s talk straight normal person to normal person here.

Perhaps Glenn could have said “I have a core set of principles and I act on those principles on a consistent basis. My life is based on those principles.” to make it a little more all inclusive.

In that frame, I think many of us would agree that we have core principles which we use to define our lives.

 

I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

Yes, of course. Lying to yourself and others ultimately only screws things up. Truth is pure. While some people might get upset at it, that doesn’t mean it’s any less-true.

Big word of advice – start seeking the Truth. Listen to all sides of the story and make up your own mind – not what one particular media source tells you to think.

 

The Family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

This is another of those points that could have worded a bit better. Instead, it could have read “My spouse and I care for and are responsible for the actions, values, and beliefs of our family. Not the government.”

This I agree with because I don’t think it’s the government’s job to make things “fair”. I’ve never seen the government build up any one group. I’ve only seen them tear down others when one group is crying the loudest. That’s the opposite of being fair in my book.

 

If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

Yes. Totally with that.

 

I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.

Totally true. There’s also no guarantee that starting points are the same. And what’s ironic, is that I’ve seen more people go from broke to being wealthy, than I’ve seen middle class becoming wealthy. Gary V is a great example – so are a ton of online business folks – AND people I’ve had on the podcast.

 

I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

Yes – totally agree with this. See above. But I think it’s also our own responsibility to know when to be charitable. That’s not something that society teaches. In fact, I’d say that it teaches the opposite most of the time. Every day people are inundated with the idea that it’s them vs the World. It indirectly promotes the scarcity mindset – not an abundant one.

 

It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

Agree. That’s the whole point of protection of free speech and ability to bear arms. While that allows for some very hate filled rhetoric, it also allows for well intentioned speech at the same time. The reason that we can bear arms is that if Washington ever becomes so removed from the people that it’s us against them (or some other apocalyptic situation), then we have the permission of the founders to have our own militias. If you don’t support Americans keeping firearms, then it comes across that you 100% believe the government is never going to turn on you. Which moves onto…

 

The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

Yes, 100%. Even when it comes to taxes and other “governmental” stuff. We technically should have the power to determine what we’re being taxed. However, Washington thinks they’re better than us, so therefore, they vote things into place that shouldn’t have happened if they were doing their job in the first place.

 

12 Values of the 9/12 Project

Honestly, all the values that he put in the list are those that Lewis Howes, Tony Robbins, or someone similar (I can get you a long list if you really want one!) would have said helped them get to where they are today – especially if they’re God fearing folks.

So, I’ve made it a point to make sure that I have these values as much as possible. However, there might have been a little bit of tweak on some for better wording.

 

The 12 Values

 

After looking at these values, do you believe that anyone who has achieved greatness in their life doesn’t practice them regularly? I mean, when I think of Lewis Howe’s show and the people he’s talked to – all of these words come to mind.

 

Action Steps

After seeing these principles and values of the 9/12 project, I hope you can understand why I feel I need to respect those that we lost on 9/11. We should also appreciate how we came together to deal with it all. Personally, I feel if I can reconnect to those feelings, it helps keep me anchored to who I see myself as.

 

Also, it’s especially touching to see some of the kids of these folks read off the victim’s names. Lots of these folks (some near my age) have made their lives better as a contribution to their lost parent, family member, or friend.

 

I can only think that our true friends and family would want the best for us. And because of that, I think it’s on our shoulders to live up to some certain standards in life. If not those of the 9/12 Project, then something else.

I just think the 9/12 Project is a good place to start. A lot of people can relate to it – even if they don’t care too much for its creator.

What are some key principles and values that you have? Let me know below.

how to be an entrepreneur

Learning How to be an Entrepreneur: A Review of 2 Years of Business, Podcasting, and Life with Laila Rahmatian (AoL 100)

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It’s been nearly 2 years since I started this podcast. In those two years, I’ve been able to meet a ton of awesome people. Many who have been great connections that have opened me up to various ideas and new concepts. Even new ways of thinking.

The same could be said for Laila Rahmatian, who joined the show as frequent co-host after her first interview on session 14.

Since then, we’ve both had our growing pains and learning curves as we’ve climbed the entrepreneurial ladder.

In this session, we go over everything we’ve learned in the last couple of years. From taking a stand and using your past to be part of your future to not having to re-create the wheel, we’ve learned a ton!

Join us as we recap some of that information and discuss some of the common themes that we’ve learned along the way.

Thanks for spending some time with us and enjoy!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • What’s Laila been up to recently since she was last on the show? 8:53
  • How has a goal of traveling more been able to give her the power to get more accomplished? 16:15
  • Where’s JC at in business after 100 sessions of the AoL podcast? 19:14
  • Things that Laila has learned while being involved with the AoL Podcast? 34:34
  • What has JC learned through doing the podcast thus far? 44:27
  • What are common themes that we’ve heard about throughout the different interviews of the show? 52:56
  • What’s a short roadmap that new entrepreneurs should follow as they’re getting started based on what we’ve learned through 100
  • podcasts? 1:11:50
  • What are we looking forward to working on from here? 1:20:56
  • Who are three influencers that have helped Laila get to where she is today? 1:23:54
  • JC’s Top 3 favorite books to tell others about? 1:25:22
  • Something Laila still wishes was a thing? 1:26:57
  • What was the smallest decision that JC made that had the largest impact on his life? 1:29:28
  • What is something Laila thinks all high school students must know? 1:31:02
  • Most awe-inspiring person JC has ever met in person? 1:32:54
  • … and MUCH more!

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Why Laila Quit Her Job:

Why Laila Chose NOT to take the Professional Engineer Exam:

Reflection: 2 Years After Wedding:

Why You Need the Perfect Wedding Photographer:

how to be an entrepreneur how to be an entrepreneur how to be an entrepreneur how to be an entrepreneur

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

outgoing introvert

How an Outgoing Introvert Can Become a Leader

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Since 2011, I’ve been a John Maxwell Team member. And while I haven’t been able to use the skills directly that I have learned from the group, there’s definitely one thing that has serviced me.

It’s a great way to network and meet all kinds of interesting people who have chosen to make John’s work part of their arsenal of ways they can help people.

In this post (which was one that I made soon after I was “officially certified” as a member of the team), I talk about what it takes for someone who isn’t traditionally considered a typical “people person” (an introvert) to become a leader.

Funny enough, it’s not as hard as you’d think!

-JC

Growing Up an Outgoing Introvert

Us introverts, we’re an interesting bunch. We like to think deep and hard about things and, for the most part, we like people – but we don’t want to deal with them all day.

At least that’s what the classical definition would say about us.

Growing up I was an only child – so I don’t know if my introversion was nature or nurtured.

But one thing has always been the same. I was always outgoing. Talking with just about anyone – when needed.

Usually it was about things I had learned that might apply in their life. I never was one for casual talk – so many times I jumped right into the middle of the conversation. (Yeah… about that!)

Be it knowledge I had learned about technology, art, through TV shows, in college, or now in business, I’ve wanted to help where I could.

One movie that I recently watched and totally connected with me was The King’s Speech. I guess you could say it’s the inspiration for this post.

If you’re not familiar with it, here’s the trailer:

Make it a Commitment

So the basis of the movie is about George VI being a leader of a country and having to address the company on radio. The problem is, he was essentially scared of his own shadow.

But he had to do what he was going to do (learn to give a proper speech and not fumble all over it) and so he set out on getting comfortable with that shadow.

He committed to his task.

The first thing you need to do is start by realizing that this is something you’re going to want to do. It’s one thing to say “Oh, I’m going to be successful because lots of people are going to pay attention to what I have to say”, but it’s quite another actually getting to that point.

Becoming a leader, whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert doesn’t happen by chance. You have to make an effort to get there.

 

Improve Your Interpersonal Skills

Art of Charm has been one of my favorite podcasts for a long time because I feel that the host, Jordan Harbinger, is an introvert in disguise. On his show he talks about a number of issues that us introverts have to learn about because we don’t naturally have skills to deal with them.

In his story, he says that he learned that the fastest way to get what you want in life is being a relationship builder. For many of us introverts, we have no idea that this is an actual skill we can use to our own benefit because we’re either too preoccupied by building our own skillsets or we’re just straight out grinding away hoping that our break (whatever that looks like) will come.

So learn to initiate conversation and when you do, pay attention and listen. Instead of thinking about what you’re going to say next or cutting them off in mid paragraph (or mid thought!!), let them say what they need to. Pauses are only awkward if you make them. 😉

Also, remember as an introvert, you probably have great empathy and understanding of others. If a conflict in your group arises, do the opposite of what you’d naturally want to do (avoid the situation) and deal with it.

Remember, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

 

Get Comfortable Taking Small Risks

One thing that I’ve had to get better at over time is getting better at getting out of my comfort zone. As introverts, our comfort zone is fairly small.

We’re used to hanging out with our close friends and family. But when we go beyond that, we start to panic a bit. We need to get over that. (I did by making 100 cold calls a week at one point!)

We love being as perfect and professional as possible at work. It prevents us from being recognized or sticking out too much. That’s something else you’re going to have to get over. Learn how to suggest and implement bold yet carefully researched actions. Sometimes those actions might not work out – but at least we learn from the failure and make it better next time!

Here’s the thing: leaders stick out. That’s what makes them a leader. If they’re a good leader, they’re going to be leading others from the front!

 

Rely on What You Know

If you’re like most introverts, you’re probably a geek in something. Whether it’s technology or some form of creative work, you need to use that to your advantage.

For me, I’m a tech geek – I have been for most of my life. I’ve always been the guy that my friends and family would go to for help with their gadgets and computers – either to help them figure something out or “help them” fix it.

Therefore, growing up talking to them through AoL Instant Messenger about how to do something became commonplace. Maybe the same is true for you?

Heck – I got to a point where some things were so common for me to describe that I’d make documents describing how to do things just in case I had to show someone else.

Today I do similar work through platforms like Slack, Facebook Messenger, and Google Docs to keep it all straight!

Maybe there’s a few platforms you’re already comfortable with so you can use it to make yourself more effective?

 

Develop Your Three Layers Of Confidence

Many people talk about faking it until you make it. But the truth is, that could be really bad advice for some people. Another piece of potentially bad advice? Oh, just act yourself! Yeah, sometimes acting yourself isn’t going to work in all situations. Sometimes you have to act a certain way with one group of people but if you’re with another group, you’d act completely different.

What makes those groups different is more than likely you’re own confidence. With your friends, you’re going to seem very outgoing and be mistaken for an extrovert.

But if you’re at a networking meeting or drawn into give a speech, you might seem like a fish out of water.

You need to develop your three layers of confidence:

  1. Surface
  2. Lifestyle
  3. Core

Here’s a video from Matthew Hussey on what these actually mean:

Update: And, if you’d like, here’s a recent talk of his at a Lewis Howes’ event going a bit deeper with the topic:

Share Your Vision Early On:

If you’re already in a leadership position, make sure you share your vision with those that are following (or simply engaging with) you from time to time.

You don’t want to surprise your group with what you really wanted when the project is going or even worse, when it’s about to be complete.

They say that a man without vision shall perish – well, the same could be said for a group of people as well. You plan with the end in mind, make sure you bring your group members in on what the plan is and, better yet, involve them in making the plans as well so you don’t have to do all the heavy lifting!

Action Steps:

So what’s next? Well, I’d start with what Matthew talks about in that video – work on your three levels of confidence whatever that looks like to you. You need to start practicing the person you want to be like so you’re actually them!

After that, if you’re not already in a leader position, plug into a group that you actually enjoy building and helping with. The more you put into the group, the more likely you’re going to get a leadership position through that group.

At that point, whatever else you’re doing will be recognized as well. And you might have your own followers at that point, too!

business partnership

A Quick Guide to Forming a Productive Business Partnership

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Last week, I got the great news that AMS was finally a licensing company.

The news officially went live on the net via this post on Endurance Sportswire.

We’re licensing our Viking Dash series to a company in California known as Spectrum Sports Management. They are known for doing fun and unique runs. Viking seems like a great match for them!

That said, as a board, we didn’t jump to this decision quickly. We had a list we used to make sure we found exactly who we needed to help further this brand.

Because partnering is no easy task. It needs to be treated with care in who you’re choosing – you have to be particular with whom you’re bringing on or negotiating a contract – such as a license – with.

So in today’s post, we’ll be looking at some of the things you should consider in partnering with others in a new business venture.

 

Matching Values

One of the things I’ve noticed over the years is that when people are building romantic relationships, many people do so with someone they don’t share values with. I know for me, I had a list of 100 some traits and qualities I was looking for when I met and started dating Maria.

She hit on a good number of them. In retrospect, I’m pretty happy I made that list. Thanks LTD for the giving me the idea! 😉

The same thing should be done when looking for a partner in building a business. You need to have a list of qualities that you believe are important in someone who’s essentially going to be another spouse of yours in many ways. Your business is the baby in this situation.

So just like if you were dating, you need to be asking certain questions to find out if you align. However, I wouldn’t go doing it in an office – that just has interview written all over it.

No, instead I’d opt for something informal where you’re just getting to know each other. For me and Maria, we had tons of coffee “dates” where we would just chat and find out more about each other.

Same thing can be done when starting a business.

 

Ideas for Questions:

“Date” questions for a potential co-founder should get to not only find out about their character, but also their business savvy.

Here’s a few examples that I’d ask when seeing if someone lines up with your believes:

  • What do you want out of a business?
  • What do you like about this particular idea?
  • Where you see this business going?
  • Where do you see your role in 2, 3, or 5 years?
  • How do you find good employees when you’re ready for that step?
  • What are you expectations of an employee?
  • What are you expectations of me?
  • Is there anything that I should know about your family that might cause periodic issues with your ability to help with the business?
  • How do you feel about the business contributing to nonprofit or political causes?

 

Complementary Skills and Personality

When I was searching for my wife, I knew that I wanted someone that was intelligent but I also knew that this person had to have a complementary skill set.

I know there’s just some things that I have no interest in doing or am simply not good at. I was talking to Albert about this in a recent Ascension Council meeting and mentioned that there are some things that Maria does 100x better than me – or cares about things that I don’t:

  • Making the bed everyday
  • Laundry
  • Tidying up

Albert and I both prefer organized chaos – but that’s because we’re both idea guys. Our wives seem to be more of the executor types.

In a business situation, you need to be looking for this at all different levels – but it’s especially true at the cofounder level.

As John Maxwell says, “Take advantage of your strengths, and hire for your weaknesses”. Well in this case, you’re not hiring – you’re partnering! It’s going to be even more important here.

  • So if you’re broke, you need someone that has money.
  • Are you good at creating? Then you’re going to need a marketer.
  • If you’re good at design, then perhaps your partner needs to be good at writing code.
  • Are you a strong Dominant (D) personality? Then you’re going to need someone who’s supportive. Or if you’re a the Calculative (C) type, you’ll need someone who’s Imaginary (I).

Of course there’s examples out there where having two or more founders have similar skills, it’s not often the case. The more well rounded the leadership is, the better this thing is going to have!

 

Start with the End in Mind

Earlier I wanted you to make sure you asked questions that were pertaining to the future of the business. The reason for this is that if you do end up doing well with the business, then there might come a time where you’re thinking of an Exit Strategy.

The Exit Strategy needs to be in stone at the beginning. The business you and your partner(s) are building – are you going to hold onto it as a lifestyle building business? Or are you going to build it and sell the right of the business if a bidder comes along with a ton of money?

Or, perhaps another case is that you need money to keep the thing going – you consider starting to sell stocks vs “keeping it in the family”. Are either of you the type that wants the opposite of what the other wants?

This is stuff you want to consider.

 

Background Check

When Maria and I were dating, she asked me a ton of background check questions. Did I have kids? Was I a convict? Did I have chicken pox? Well… maybe not that last one – but you get the idea!

Anyway, you want to do the same for your future business partner as well.

Find out the answers to these questions:

  • Does the candidate move from project to project without getting anything done?
  • Have they ever owned a business themselves or ever been part of a successful one?
  • Have they ever had financial issues?
  • Do other people get a bad vibe from them?

 

Just remember that no one is perfect and sometimes troubled pasts make a person that much more committed to what they’re doing now with their life. Sometimes people actually learn from their mistakes. If they have had a spotted background, see what they’ve learned from it.

 

Take Them for a Test Drive!

Well, not literally, of course. But if you’ve never worked with this person before now, you need to see what they’re like with other projects.

In the dating world, you can continue to date. I know for Maria and I we just felt like we were long lost friends. Really, the only thing we ever have quarrels about are our dogkids and whether or not they were sleeping on the bed recently or not. I imagine that in the future, when we do conflict, it’ll probably be about the kids!

In business, you want to have this trial time as well – even if it’s with friends you’ve had forever.

Start a working relationship and see how things go in smaller projects. Find out if they’re as committed as you’d like. Are they flaky about time? Do they even have the same vision as you? Maybe they’re just too naive about certain things that might drive you crazy?

These issues can mount up over time and you should know about them first before you build something on a larger scale with them!

When you believe it’s time to move to the next level, make sure you get a founders’ partnership agreement. It should include things like:

 

  • The contribution and obligations to the company of each party
  • How long a party must be with the company to vest in percentages of their promised ownership
  • Whether partners can be fired or bought out and under what conditions
  • What voting percentages are required to validate any of these actions
  • Any other issues unique to the business

 

If a partner is reluctant to put something as big as this agreement in writing, then there’s a big red flag there.

I mean, it’s like going without a prenuptial agreement in a marriage after you already have a fortune. It just doesn’t make sense!

 

A Special Note About Friends as Business Partners:

One of the original people involved in AMS was recently in a lawsuit with us. Needless to say, he’s no longer considered a friend after what he did and wasting the time of all parties involved.

The thing is – you can’t predict what’s going to happen down the line.

So here’s a few tips with this.

You need to realize that if you do decide to get in business with friends, that things can potentially go south and the friendship will more than likely go that way too.

Don’t ever go into business with family or friends just because they’re family or friends. Again, make sure you take time to test them out first. Just because you know someone as a friend, doesn’t mean you know them as a business person.

If a friend screws up bad once and promises that they’ll correct their ways, you can give them a second chance – you still like them as a friend. A great way to make sure it doesn’t happen again is to draft a secondary “social” contract with them saying what they’ll do to make up for how they screwed up. Another part of that new contract needs to mention what will happen if they do screw up again. Let them help make it so they believe it’s fair punishment as well.

 

Action Steps:

If in the future you find yourself negotiating partnerships, make sure you give it some deep thought. A business is a baby and if it has multiple parents, it needs them to work together and not fight about little things all the time or one getting the short end of the stick.

When you have great partnerships from the beginning, anything is possible. However, that said, if you have to carry dead weight – then it’s going to be twice as hard.

Have you had a partnership that worked extremely well or fell apart? Have any questions or comments about this post?

Let me know below!

 

personal mission

4 Steps to Discovering Your Own Personal Mission

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This past week, I had the opportunity to be a guest on Gregory Diehl’s podcast Uncomfortable Conversations with Gregory.

We talked about a number of things, but one of the key points we discussed was how so many people would be better off if they could simply put a mission in their lives.

This is a phrase I learned from speaker and author David Anderson and it’s been resonating with me ever since I watched his TEDx presentation as part of my prep for his AoL interview.

Sure I had heard of businesses having missions, but I never thought about how it could apply to individuals. Not only that, but it encapsulates basically everything we know about passion and purpose.

If a person has a mission – I feel they have these two things figured out. So it’s not necessarily about helping people find their purpose OR their passion. It’s about helping folks find the combination of the two.


Since I’ll be releasing this chat with David this week as session 92, I thought I’d touch on a bit more about the topic – and look at how someone can develop their own mission.

 

Be Aware that there is a Choice

For the longest time in my life, I had this feeling that my purpose in life was designated by forces outside of my control. I felt like I was at the mercy of the world around me.

It’s easy to believe this because the world around us is setup to make us feel like that. It’s learned helplessness.  In the podcast with Gregory, we discussed how a lot of this problem is started with our current form of academia.

It makes sense as your typical 9 to 5 needs you to be compliant to the organization at large.

(It was this mentality which let me spend so much time in a major that while it made use of my skills, wasn’t really meant for me.)

Here’s the situation – many of these traditional jobs are on the verge of disappearing due to mega automation changes in the not too distant future.

Followers are going to have problems in this next economy, if they don’t figure out their own mission.

Religion doesn’t Necessarily Help

Over this past weekend, I thought about this mission dilemma more and more. During my travels around the state, I listened to a few more podcasts of Lewis Howes. One where he interviewed Rob Bell and another with John Gray. From these conversations, I realized that some organized religions might make their believers feel this way as well.

People go to church when they need support. I think it’s a great place to start. What Lakewood Church has done, whether you agree with the doctrine, has made going to church actually kind of cool.

However, as Rob Bell talks about in his chat, Jesus was all about reaching out to those with needs – not waiting for them to come to “the temple”. Not only did he go out and try to help the people where they were, he was very interested in the viewpoints of the people he was with.

This is very interesting to me. It seems very much like how a good coach works with their clients. They go out of their way to find people to help and not tell them exactly what to do.

On the other hand, Rob also goes on to discuss how many churches seem to focus mostly on teaching those that are there – not actively seeking new membership or engaging with folks who might actually need the support.

Again, this is backing that follower mentality.

This mentality is all around us. I just want you to know that you do have a choice to break free and do what you feel is important.

(If you’re into the study of Christianity at all, you should check out both of these interviews – especially Rob’s. Several revelations were discussed that I don’t think most people know.)

 

Start Action on Your New Journey

If you do opt to start on your new journey, you actually have to take action to get moving. Just because you choose to go this different route, doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen. You have to take action to do it.

For many people, including myself, this is the hardest step. Taking action.

Indirect Inspiration

For about 4 years I had an opportunity to pursue a new path – but tried to stay in the status quo for as long as I could. I had spent so much time getting my degrees, I didn’t want that time to go to waste. But slowly and surely, my new path made itself ever more present. I was just too chicken to pursue it; to step out and be different.

As I mentioned on the podcast with Gregory, it usually takes a deep pain or significant loss in one’s life to move people from the “comfortable / follow the rules” path to one where they’re setting the standard.

For me, it was the sudden loss of my mom which affected me this way. Besides myself, she was the only one at that point that I felt I had to prove that my life up to that point wasn’t a waste of time. She, herself, had put a lot of time and energy into my career – I couldn’t disappoint her.

Even if I personally felt I wasn’t a good fit for what I had been pursuing. Then when she passed, I realized that following that path didn’t really pan out for her – so I wasn’t going to make the same mistake.

 

Direct Inspiration

That said, it might need to take a more direct action to nudge us out of our current path.

Lewis had another interview with Andy Frisella. Who found, in about 30 seconds, his life’s path had completely changed. He went from being a normal guy to having a violent brush with death.

After being disfigured from a knife attack, he had to figure out how to spin his new look in a way that people would remember him positively. This completely changed who he was.

In both cases – things were suddenly and radically different. And as Andy said, you can either spend your time trying to get things back to “normal” or you can go an entirely different route.

He and I chose to go entirely new journeys on new routes.

 

Shift Your Locus of Control

Those routes were both dependent of our new circumstances. And they both came to us in a matter we didn’t have any control over. But does that mean that a bad situation has to happen to anyone who wants to control their own path?

Not necessarily.

What it does mean is that you need to shift your locus of control. Instead of letting the world guide the direction you’re going and what you’re doing, you need to decide that YOU are the one in charge of your own success.

You have to move from being a thermometer to the thermostat of your world.

 

Choose What’s Best For You

Now, as you know, I’m a huge proponent of entrepreneurship. But that doesn’t mean it’s the best course for everyone. Sure, I think anyone can do it (or be a part of it), but they need to believe they can perform in the arena themselves.

I feel, along with the other members of the New Inceptions team, that being an entrepreneur is a greatest example of someone expressing their own personal freedom when it comes to the work they do.

In a traditional 9 to 5, you’ll always have to report to a higher-up. But, at the same time, the success of the organization doesn’t solely ride on your ability to perform.

Whereas an entrepreneur, if they fail to perform and haven’t made the business passive income based, then the company is going to struggle.

So it’s really your decision on how much responsibility you want. For me, personally, I come from a family of movers and shakers, so it was fairly simple for me to make the leap once I had to make the decision.

If neither sound terribly great, you might prefer to be an intrapreneur (or something else in the middle). If you can find a company or institution which will allow to work at that capacity, it might be the best option for you. (That’s where several huge entrepreneurs started – so it’s not necessarily a one way ticket.)

 

 

Action Steps: Develop a Personal Mission Statement

Once you figure out where you want to be at and how you want to carry out your purpose, it might be helpful to develop a mission statement. That way if you need to be reminded daily or simply when times get tough what you’re working towards, you’ll have it available to remind you.

Again, be sure to check out David’s TEDx talk if you haven’t to seen it yet. And this week when session 92 is published, you’ll find out that he actually has another one on top of the one he mentioned in his talk.

Also, if you have figured out what your mission is (without or without an actual written statement), I’d love to hear it below!

 

performance coaching

Marc Mawhinney – Performance Coaching for Coaches – Learning How to Make a Living as an Online Coach (AoL 091)

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They say that any good professional coach is going to have their own coach. The reasoning why is that iron sharpens iron and it’s good to have that  accountability of growth. This is especially true if you’re working directly with helping other people grow.

I learned of this when I was first getting into the John Maxwell Team back in 2011. As I look back now, we were lucky enough to have a coaching mentorship program.

There’s other large names that provide this service as well. For example, co-host Clay Green is a Certified High Performance Coach through Brendon Burchard. BUT – the thing with with that is that you have to have gone through High Performance Academy to be part of that.

To be frank, I hadn’t actually met anyone that specifically was helping other current coaches get better at just coaching.

That’s where today’s guest, Marc Mawhinney, is really starting to make a name for himself as being a coach’s coach.

Having started his newest business, Natural Born Coaches, he has amassed a heck of a following on Facebook with over 6000 people adding themselves to his group in a short couple of years.

Besides having a great niche to work in himself, Marc is also the host of a podcast where he brings on other folks who can help coaches get better at their craft too.

In our conversation today with Marc, Al and I discover how he ended up doing this work in the first place, what he really helps other coaches with, and some nuts and bolts about how he’s built his business including his Facebook group.

If you’re wanting to be a successful coach in a particular field, then Marc is a great guy to know.

Thanks for listening, and enjoy the show!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • How’d Marc get started in Real Estate? 8:28
  • How did Marc make the transition from real estate to coaching? 12:50
  • What does Marc help his clients with? 15:51
  • What kind of things does his programs specialize in? 18:51
  • Why does Marc send daily emails to his list and believe it’s ok to do so? 20:46
  • Where does he get the inspiration for the content he shares in his group and his emails on a daily basis? 23:52
  • What’s some keys in starting a good Facebook group? 28:52
  • Did Marc have any influences in how he built his group? 32:27
  • Why did he personally opt to go with a podcast instead of doing videos on YouTube? 34:03
  • What are some of the cornerstones that a successful coach uses to build their business? 39:53
  • Three teachers who have helped Marc get where he’s at. 43:25
  • Hardest thing that he’s ever had to say no to? 44:13
  • What’s something that isn’t as bad as he thought it’d be? 44:51
  • What’s a service which doesn’t exist he’d gladly pay for? 45:28
  • What’s it mean to live a life of abundance? 46:03
  • … and MUCH more!

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Lesson from Matthew McConaughey:

Testimonials for Marc’s “Your First 5 Clients” Program:

Marc on Growing a Coaching Business through Online Courses:

Vanessa Talbot’s Q&A session with Marc:

performance coaching performance coaching performance coaching performance coaching

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

become famous

19 Ways to Add Value to Influencers So You Can Become “Famous” Yourself (Starting Today!)

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Imagine if you were more popular in whatever it was you had a passion for. Whether you’re a band member, an artist, or a CEO of a baby company, having more followers on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. is a good thing. Especially if those followers are engaged with you.

But how exactly do you do you get to be more popular.

Here’s one answer: build real relationships with people who are already where you want to be.

In this post, we’re looking at a list that was composed by Primoz Bozic in how you can add value to influencers.

We’ll look at how exactly you can build real relationships online (and offline) with some of your favorite influencers so you can have more impact in the communities and people that you’re wanting to serve.

Or as they call it in the entertainment world – you’ll be more famous.

Hopefully this list will help you out just like it’s helped out tons of other people throughout the web.

Engage with Their Content and Community

If you’ve been studying how to build awareness of your brand online for any amount of time, you know there’s a tons of mega Facebook groups that you can choose to be a part of. I mentioned 6 of them that I’ve been frequenting for awhile now. But there’s tons more out there. Which ones you join depend on what you’re aiming to do and who you want to take notice of you.

Most of the larger names out there these days – especially if they’re interested in building their audience on Facebook – will have a group as well as their main website.

Join these groups. I’d start with 1 to 3 so you can spend some actual time in them because you have some work to do.

 

Help Others in their Communities

So let’s say you’re freshly entered into a group in Facebook, what’s the first thing you’re going to do? I’m going to guess you’re either going to read other people’s posts OR you’re going to be watching the videos they have in there.

But after you’ve done that, then what?

Well, someone who wasn’t trying to build social capital would probably just move on to something else.

However, you want to start adding value and there’s a few ways to do that:

 

1. Start by giving insightful comments on other people’s posts.

Make people aware of you by helping other students in these communities get what they want – engagement or answers to their questions. If you have something of value to let others know, go for it!

 

2. Write useful posts in their communities.

You can talk about how much the group has helped you, how much certain people have helped you, or simply say “Hey, this is something that I’ve been asked quite a bit about and I thought I’d make a post of it.”

Heck, you might even ask a question or two yourself to get engagement going!

 

3. Let them know you’re using their advice.

One of the the many things that I’ve learned over the years from Ramit Sethi is what he calls the “Close the Loop” technique. Basically this means that if someone says to do something (directly or indirectly) that you want to let them know how it went.

 

4. Share their content with others.

Let other people you about this amazing influencer! But be sure to give the post or share some context. I used to share so much stuff without actually titling it. When I asked about the post later, I’d find out they hadn’t read it yet – even though it pertained directly to their current problem!

Eventually I learned that if I wanted people to engage with things I share, I had to give the post a little bit of context to set the tone.

 

5. Host Meetups They’d be Proud of.

If you’re really interested in a certain community and want to have other people share in that awesomeness as well – host a meetup! For the first two years I was in Fizzle, I hosted a local meetup here in Indy. Met a lot of cool people that wanted to start their own business that way – and proud to say that many of them have become successful!

 

 

Use Their Paid Products

You’ll be noticed if you actively show someone you’re interested in what they’re selling. If you’re interested in being friends with someone, it helps by showing your appreciation in buying their work. Nothing says you’re serious to learn more from a person than if you actually buy a course, book, or other product.

Sure, an expert might have thousands of fans who have bought their stuff, but this is good to have on your social capital checklist.

 

6. Study their art, work, or content.

It’s one thing to actually buy a book, a course, or go to a live event, but it’s another to actually take the time to thoroughly understand what they’re trying to convey in their work. For example, most of us are guilty of having books on our shelves we haven’t gotten to.

If you want to have a chance with getting on influencer’s radar, it really helps if you have bought their stuff, learned it, and applied it to what you’re doing!

 

7. Send them a written testimonial for their product.

This doesn’t necessarily mean send them a snail mail – but they definitely want to know that their product is working. So CLOSE THAT LOOP!

Heck, if you do this, you might even get featured on one of their pages as someone who’s tried it AND all of their traffic who has seen that testimonial might think about visiting your site!

 

8. Send them a video testimonial.

What might work even better for you is sending them a video testimonial. Videos take a bit more time to produce and frankly, names and faces stick better than words. If you want to make more of an impact with your influencer and do something only a fraction of their audience is going to do on their own, send them a video testimonial.

 

9. Leave a review wherever you can.

Whatever testimonials you send the influencer, make sure you reuse that information in way that you can post it around the web as a review.

Anymore you can write a leave videos for reviews on Amazon – so go to town on there if a book really helped you move forward.

 

Appreciate those who have Helped You.

This is one that should go without saying – but it’s something that so many people forget to do.

 

10. Post a thank you note in the group or on a site.

After you’ve been in a group for awhile, make sure you appreciate those that have helped you get better at whatever it is that group is helping you with. You’re more than likely make someone’s day AND you’ll probably make a better friend in doing so.

 

11. Send them an email letting them know how you feel.

Most things that come in the email these days are ads, ads, and more ads. It’s nice to see something come in your inbox that you didn’t expect AND it’s like “You’re most awesomest person ever!”. I’m sure if you got one of these, your first action would be to print it out.

Well, do that for other people if they’ve been a help to you.

 

12. Send a written snail mail note to them.

Why write out a note on paper when you can send an email or post something on Facebook?

Because no one does this anymore – seriously. If you truly want to stand out, I highly recommend you write a thank you and send it. It helps to know that they’re ok with it, but if you can’t find out – don’t be a weirdo. 🙂

 

13. Send a gift.

Depending on who the person is, they might actually be open to gifts as well. Selena Soo writes about how she sent ice cream John Lee Dumas here.

 

14. Thank them Publicly.

If you really want a fun way to make someone blush and make you good in the process, thank someone in public. You can do this as simply as posting on your wall how much you appreciate them and how much they’ve meant to you.

Simply Message Them

Another way that you can build rapport with influencers, and is probably my number one way to do things is to simply treat them as another human being. But be highly aware that they probably have less time to answer messages than you do.

So, if you choose to message them in regular conversation. Here’s a few pointers:

 

15. Keep your messages short and to the point – 15 lines at most.

Also, don’t ask for any favors. If you were randomly asked for a favor out of the blue from someone you didn’t know vs someone you did – which would you probably respond to? Here’s the thing – influencers know TONS of people. You need to know one of those folks first before you ask them for something.

 

16. Mark Messages “No Response Needed (NRN)” when Applicable.

Don’t waste the influencers time if you can avoid it. Instead of making them struggle to write something in response to a email comment or a simple message, it would be kind of you to let them know you’re not requiring anything from them. Ramit spoke of this in the same post as above. Pay attention to this post. 🙂

 

17. Talk to them about things Outside of their Expertise.

People are people and occasionally they’ll take time off from the work they’re known for, believe it or not! If they post something that isn’t related to their field, you’re totally allowed to comment on it as well. Is it funny, laugh with them. If it’s a big part of their life – embrace it like you’re one of their family. Be there for them because so many people are takers these days!

 

18. Mention them in your the Work you Produce.

Ok, so most of you probably think that I love Pat Flynn, Dane Maxwell, and the Fizzle crew. But the truth is that they were really instrumental in me getting comfortable enough to start doing this online business thing – more so than anyone else. For that, I’ll always be thankful.

What I did right there, you need to do that in your content as well. Don’t be afraid to mention your sources. No one knows everything – not even “the experts”. In fact, you’ll hear experts mention people they learn from more often than not. It makes them more real.

If you’ve never really mentioned someone in your content before, feel free to start with at least 5 paragraphs in how they’ve helped you. In my case, I made a post about Pat’s book here, had Dane Maxwell on my show as he’s starting his new career in music, and had a couple of the crew from Fizzle on the show as well (Steph and Barrett).

 

19. Introduce influencers to influencers.

Truth is this – if you can make good connections for others (notice I said “good”), then you’ll be remembered as someone that has those good connections.

Even if you strike out on one, two, or three – keep trying. As you keep going down your path, you’ll keep meeting more and more influential people and you’ll be able to make better matches for those around you.

 

Your Turn!

Remember, you don’t have to do every item on this list. Some might not actually apply to you, while others might take a little while to get started.

Start small – start with one. Pick whichever one(s) stand out – and start knocking them off the list.

You’ve already put this much time into your craft, now it’s time to capitalize.

Also, comment below and let me know if I’ve missed any ways to add value to influencers. If you already are one, I’d love to hear your perspective on this as well! Do you have any memorable stories of someone noticeably giving you value in a way that you really respected?

Look forward to hearing from you!!

 

Bonus

In this chat between Srini Rao and Jordan Harbinger, I was reminded not only who I wanted to be when I “grew up” (I listen to both of their shows pretty regularly), but I also was reminded why building your social capital with influencers is so important.

Great info if you got value out of this post: