Richard Haiduck is a former life sciences executive and mentor, and is the author of the book, https://richardhaiduck.com/book/ (Shifting Gears). In this episode, We will talk about how we can utilize podcasting to help grow our business as well as how you can be a great podcast host and guest.  Go Where Your Audience GoesIt is important to hang out wherever your audience hangs out. That’s a great way to meet them and interact with them. For example, Richard is a part of several Facebook groups for retirees or baby boomers. There are about a dozen different groups focused on this demographic and focused on the topic of what you do during retirement. He is very active in those groups. Richard is also a guest blogger on websites that have about 200,000 subscribers. Using these opportunities, Richard’s content is broadly distributed.  The Book Writing ProcessRichard says that he interviewed about 75 retirees which gave him approximately 800 pages of transcript. He has a half a dozen interviews about someone who had a spiritual experience and  shared about it at a deep emotional level. There are others that are about physical conditioning. There was one individual who ran his 19th marathon and almost did it. And he almost collapsed over the finish line. Others interviews focused on business, leadership and social impact. Others were about volunteering for organizations. Through the process, Richard was able to cover a lot of different stories and share a variety of perspectives.  Promotion through PodcastingRichard says that he views all promotion is good promotion. So the more different things he can do, the better. He doesn't want to be known as  just the Facebook guy or just the LinkedIn guy or just the podcast guy. Rather, he wants to have content available in multiple places simultaneously. It’s important to have a diverse content mix so people can find your content in a variety of ways.  A friend of Richard’s told him to get involved in podcasting. She told him that you just show up, and you tell them what you want to tell them. They take care of everything. She recommended he try it out. So a few months before his book launched, Richard started sending out requests to various podcasters. He also used some organizations that provide leads such as http://www.poddit.net (Poddit). The more podcasts you do, the more practice you get with storytelling. Podcasting is a learning experience. There is even more information included in this insightful episode about reaching your audience, writing a book and promoting a book. I highly recommend you listen to it. You can pick up Richard’s new book, Shifting Gears, here on https://www.amazon.com/Shifting-Gears-Meaningful-Journeys-Retirement/dp/1647042437/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=shifting+gear&qid=1605544434&sr=8-8 (Amazon). Thanks so much for listening to Podcast Experiment and for being a part of this community. Special thanks to Richard for being a guest. 

Success Road: inspiration for your journey

438: Shifting Gears with Podcasting

Matt Norman is President & CEO of Norman & Associates as well as the author of the book https://www.amazon.com/dp/1950043126/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_QPXPK5QYP2NVTYB3BZEY (“Four Patterns Of Healthy People)”. In addition, Matt’s coaching and facilitation has helped Fortune 100 corporations, nonprofits and entrepreneurial firms to transform the way they engage employees and clients. Today’s episode of Success Road focuses on how to be more healthy.  Matt’s StoryMatt realized we all develop ways of thinking and behaving as an adaption to our environment. And every day we repeat those thoughts and behaviors in order to succeed and maybe even survive in our environment. And one day, it's likely that we realize that those ways of thinking and behaving no longer serve us, well, we realize we're stuck. And so because of that, we have a decision to make, whether we'll remain stuck, or self confront and grow. And because of that, Matt wrote the book, to help people grow into healthier patterns. In addition, the book focuses on how successful people think, relate with others, view themselves and make choices about how they operate.   The Four PatternsThe first pattern is our thought patterns, which is how we think. Then our relationship patterns, which are how we view ourselves. Our relationship patterns are the third, which are our ego patterns. Then fourth is  our operating patterns, which is really about the choices we make and about how we engage with our environment. A good example is with energy. When we're tired, it's hard to have healthy thought patterns. It's harder to relate well with others, as we become less patient. And we also become more self protective, more focused on our own needs, which is when the ego comes into play. So simple things like getting enough sleep, from an operating pattern standpoint can really fuel the other patterns. The Importance Of SleepMatt mentioned that the Stanford University's sleep Center has produced really interesting research showing that for about 99.5% of the population. This organization says we need to have at least seven hours of sleep on an ongoing basis in order to function properly. In fact, they recommend between seven and nine hours of quality sleep. So a key part of sleep is just making a commitment to get that amount of sleep.  You also have to start asking ourselves how we can optimize the quality of our sleep or ability to go to sleep. Studies show that screens activate parts of our brains and make it harder to enter into REM sleep or just shut down our thoughts. Food and alcohol consumption affect our sleep. So it is important to not eat or drink anything but water before bed. Stretching, for example, or having a nightly routine is really important.  Your body builds circadian rhythms. For example, if one day, you’re waking up at 7am, another day, we're waking up at 5am and then another day at 10am. Your body just doesn't know quite what to do with it. We've all had the experience of going to another timezone where it's hard to fall asleep or wake up at certain times. Keep in mind that circadian rhythms are really a thing.   When Do You Have The Most Energy?There are certainly people that tend to be morning people. There are people that are night owls. And then there are people that have the most energy in the middle of the day. We must know what kind of person we are, so that we can do our most vigilant activities or most thought intensive activities during our most productive time period.  Next Steps We dive deeper in this podcast into the topic of self-awareness as well as how to have more mental energy. I encourage you to listen to the podcast for this helpful information. You can pick up Matt’s book at https://www.mattnorman.com/ (mattnorman.com) or you can find...

437: The Four Patterns of Healthy People

Emilie Aries is the CEO of Bossed Up, an author, a speaker, and also the host of thehttps://www.bossedup.org/podcast/ ( Bossed Up Podcast). We discuss pivoting during times of crisis, using a podcast as part of your marketing mix, having an advertiser on your podcast and also the unexpected opportunities that can come your way from podcasting.    Insights From Emilie’s Story Emilie started as a professional advocate for political campaigns and elections, where she became good at advocating for other people. However, one day realized how hard it is, especially as a woman, to advocate unapologetically on your own behalf. She started Bossed Up where her company has created coaching programs, leadership accelerators, in person training programs. She now works with companies who believe in gender equality to really help further develop their women leaders.   Pivoting During Crisis  The Bossed Up business model was based primarily on live events and workshops. So during 2020 they had to change their business model. All of Emilie’s in-person speaking contracts evaporated. All of the Bossed Up events we had planned for across the country went away and her company had to scrap everything. Emilie realized that her company had to figure their own way out of these problems. She started to ask questions such as: “How can we offer these services online?” The answer to this question led to the creation of new online offerings. On the whole, Emilies says her business is actually going to be stronger because of Covid-19 forcing rapid innovation into the digital space.    Using A Podcast To Market A Business  Emily was originally recruited by a very big podcasting network called HowStuffWorks. She was offered the position as host for a major podcast. Then the podcasting network was sold and she found herself out of a job. However, by that point, she already had fallen in love with the medium.  At that time, podcasting really wasn't used for marketing. She decided to create her own podcast: Bossed Up. She thought it was an opportunity to be generous and to serve others well. For anyone who wanted more content or services, she would sell products and services to those individuals.    Creating a Podcast For Marketing Purposes  Emilie views using podcasting as marketing as a compromise between her artistic desires and her business requirements. Emilie has a marketing director Kirby. Together they look at the calendar as it relates to their sales goals. When creating the new podcasts, Emilie and Kirby ask, “What kinds of episodes would attract that client? How can we create fun, interesting, informative and high value episodes that also happen to attract the client we're looking for?” Once they come to a conclusion, then that's the topic that we hammer home for a couple of weeks. There are some exceptions. For example, something might happen in the news that calls for our attention, we kind of stop the presses and focus on those current topics.    Finding Advertisers For Your Podcast   Emilie works with an advertising agency, because she is not a full time podcaster. Her role is that of CEO. An advertising agency does the work for her. Emilie admits that she is not sure if it's worth the time. It takes time to research brands and to figure out if they're a great partner for the show. Then they have to read the copy that they send over and then record it, edit it, upload it, and insert it into the podcast. And for all of this work, Emilie says that the company does not make much money.   Finding Opportunities Through Podcasts  Emilie got her book deal, because her editor at Hachette is a huge podcast fan. So she's just one of those people who is constantly poaching podcasters, to become authors. And it was a very organic partnership. If you have a great relationship with thousands of people who have tuned into your podcast, some of them are...

436: Creating a Podcast For Marketing Purposes

Sarah St. John is an entrepreneur, podcaster, author, animal lover, and world traveler. Her goal is to show people how to launch and manage an online business on a budget. https://www.thesarahstjohn.com/about/ (https://www.thesarahstjohn.com/about/) Sarah’s Story Sarah started her entrepreneurial journey back in 2008. She decided that she wanted to work for herself and realized that she liked taking photos of architectural landscapes and animals. She didn't like taking photos of people. But that's where the money was, so was doing portraits and weddings. Over time, she decided to do something online. She tried different things like drop shipping, affiliate, marketing, and all these different things. But it was in the process of trying these different things, she discovered many free or affordable tools and resources that can help you run a business on a budget.  Sarah got the idea to write a book called FrugalPreneur, where she would talk about the different types of online businesses and how you can run them affordably. She decided to start a short-term podcast to coincide with the book.  Sarah realized she was getting more traction leverage from the podcast than the book. So she kept doing podcasts and like just basically fell in love with the medium and the connections I was making.  As she kept podcasting, other people told her that she is pretty good at it. She figured why not get paid to do it for other people? That was the moment Sarah decided to launch a podcast production agency. Using Giveaways Strategically  Every month Sarah does a new giveaway on her podcast. Most often, the prize is a book that her audience would enjoy. She uses the same url each month, https://www.thesarahstjohn.com/giveaway/ (thesarahstjohn.com/giveaway )and uses a free tool called King Sumo for the giveaway. Sarah shares that it is important to giveaway something that's relevant to your audience. For example, if you were to give away an iPhone, well, everyone is going to want that. But as soon as the giveaway is over, like probably 99% of the people who signed up for the prize are going to drop off. So it really helps to giveaway something that your audience would actually like.   What Podcast Production Looks Like A lot of people might want to start a podcast, or they're thinking about starting a podcast. But many people may find it overwhelming due to technology and the post-production. So when Sarah is working with clients, the client records their podcast episode and then sends it to her. Sarah then does the editing, producing and the mixing.  She then uses a service called https://chartable.com (Chartable) To track podcast statistics. This service gives more information than most other podcast services and then each month she sends a report to each client.  Why Podcasting Is Important For Business Podcasting is great because it's a way to get your content out there. And Google transcribes podcasts now. So even if you're searching for something in Google, it's a possibility that a podcast might show up. Of course, every podcast directory is a search engine too. In addition, podcasting has a shareability or viral aspect to it, because people will actually share podcast episodes.  When you interview guests or being a guest on someone else’s podcast,  you're getting access to that person's audience and you can cross promote. You're reaching people you wouldn't otherwise. Sarah also says that she thinks podcasting is only going to continue to grow and get bigger. In the same way every business needs a website, Sarah says that every business is going to need a podcast at some point. A podcast can act as a business card, but it also forms relationships. You get to know the person, and people do business with people that they know, like and trust.  Consider These Things When Starting A Podcast It is important to niche down as much as you can. For example,...

435: Why Podcasting Is Important For Business

Jason Osbourn is a LinkedIn coach and consultant with an incredible story. In this episode, he shares how he was involved in a plane crash and how he used that as a catalyst to help him change his life.  Jason’s StoryJason started his first business when he was 20 years old. He sold window coverings. After Jason was involved in a plane crash, Jason decided that he still wanted to go into business. However, he wasn't sure what he wanted to do.  Once he recovered, he started some different things. He transitioned into coaching and a few years later, he moved to Ireland. He realized that he wanted to start an online business where he could do business anywhere in the world, doing something that he loves doing. Jason studied as a life coach, and took a course for that. Within 18 months, he built up an email list of about 9000 people and was coaching people in 13 countries.  A Simple, Powerful Tool Jason shared that his most useful tool is a daily journal daily log where he tracks the different things he wants to achieve in his life. His daily log has three sections to it. The first section tracks his daily habits. He tracks health. He tracks finances, LinkedIn and some personal development areas.  And a lot of times people say that it takes 30 days to build to create a habit. But a habit doesn't really form until it becomes second nature. That’s when it is an ingrained habit. Another powerful way to stay on track is to have three clear priorities for the day. Jason does his in the evening. When he knows his top two or three priorities are for the next day, he doesn’t have to think about it in the morning.  A Common Challenge Jason shared how he thinks we often create unrealistic expectations around things in our life. Whenever people start something they often think about all of the positives that are possible. We start thinking about the lifestyle we want. How this opportunity is going to give you money or freedom.  We rarely consider the negatives. We don't think of these things from the beginning. And so we go into a situation infatuated with all the positives. The reality is, as soon as you start doing something new, there is going to be challenges. A Final WordWe also spoke about the importance of finding the right customers and how to scale your business during this episode. I encourage you to listen to the podcast in its entirety.  If you would like to download the first four chapters of the book Rethink Social Media by https://rethinkgift.com/get-your-free-rsm-book1595460063 (clicking here). If you want to connect with Jason personally, you can find him on https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonaosborn/ (LinkedIn here).  Thanks to Jason for being a guest on Success Road. 

434: Changing Your Life After a Plane Crash

Lori Olinsky is the author of children’s books such as https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QMP49BN/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1 (Being Small (Isn’t So Bad After All)) and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0875K2W2C/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0 (The Toothfairy’s Tummy Ache). In this episode, she shares the catalyst for her becoming an author and what it is has been like writing several books.  Inspiration to Write a Children’s BookLori always wanted to write a children's book, but she never had the inspiration to do so. She shared that she remembered sitting at coffee shops and just trying to think of a subject and nothing ever hit her. One day when Lori’s daughter was three years old, she came home from school crying. And it turns out, her preschool teachers were redecorating the classroom, and they hung a growth chart in the classroom.  Her daughter was the shortest in the class, all her friends were at the top and the middle of the chart, and she was all the way at the bottom. It was the first time that they realized she was different from them, they would call her names like “Shorty” and “Peanut” and other names that made her feel really upset. Lori’s daughter even went through a phase where she didn't want to go to school.  Lori would always tell her all the great things that small kids can do, because she is only 5’1” tall. However, whatever Lori said never resonated with her. So she just went on Amazon and I typed in books about short kids. Nothing came up.  That was Lori’s “aha moment.” She decided that she was going to write this book. And she is going to write it for her daughter and for any parents that are in a similar situation.  The book is called Being Small (Isn't So Bad After All.) It's literally a rhyming picture book about this story of a little girl who doesn't want to go to school because she's the shortest in class.  How Writing One Book Led To Writing OthersLori says she is thankful for the negative experience her daughter went through because it gave her the confidence to write a book. She realized that she can write more books. Her second book is called The Toothfairy’s Tummy Ache. It's another rhyming lesson based picture book. The background for that book is Lori struggled with teaching her daughters how to be honest. Lori and her spouse noticed her kids were sneaking candy up into your room and things like that.  She wanted to teach my girls a lesson on how to be honest. Lori realized who better to do that than the Tooth Fairy? That is someone they look up to and love. And so this book is about a little girl who lies and puts a piece of popcorn under her pillow. Then the story is about what happens to the Tooth Fairy and what happens when we believe a lie.  Connecting With LoriIf you would like to connect with Lori, you can visit https://loriorlinskyauthor.com/ (loriolinskyauthor.com). Her books are available there as well as on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can also connect with Lori on http://facebook.com/lorionlinskyauthor (Facebook) and http://instagram.com/lorionlinskyauthor (Instagram). Lori says that she loves talking to people hearing about their experience and reading my books, I love seeing pictures. Lori also mentions a preview of sorts about her third book which is very different from her other books in this podcast episode, so I encourage you to listen to the full episode.  Thanks to Lori for being a guest on Success Road. I really enjoyed speaking with her, and I’m very excited about the positive impact her books are having in bringing families together. Thanks for listening. 

433: Inspiration to Write a Children’s Book

Joschka Strakerjahn is the founder of the Launch Your Challenge Podcast and has built a successful business using launches. In this episode, he shares how you too can create a challenge.  Joschka’s StoryCOVID-19 changed everything for Joschka. Over the course of a few days, every one of his clients was gone. He went from running a successful business to having no business at all.  A year or so before Joschka lost his work, he discovered challenges. He saw an ad for  a challenge. Joscka signed up, and soon was fascinated with how fast he turned from a complete stranger into a fan. And then he realized the potential of a challenge for businesses to grow and scale.  Starting A ChallengeIn March of 2020, Joschka decided to do a challenge of his own, using paid ads. In just three weeks, he had 4,500 people sign up. That response completely blew him away, and it sold him on doing challenges as a way to create a business.  When Joschka started doing his challenge, he did not have a real online presence. He just has a very simple website, but he didn’t use it very much. He got all of his clients through personal connections. But for his challenge, he got all 4,500 people for his challenge through paid ads on Facebook and Instagram. So don’t overlook the power of paid advertising.  Challenges Faced And Lessons LearnedWhen creating a challenge, the first decision is whether it will be a free challenge or a paid challenge. When you run a free challenge, you can run it with a Facebook group. If it is a paid challenge, you need to create a sales funnel of sorts with a landing page. But it can be very simple.  Joschka says that one of his first mistakes was that he actually had nothing to offer the participants of the first challenge. To avoid this mistake, it is important to go to the offer first, then work backwards from there. If you already have an existing business, you want to base the challenge around a specific need your business already serves. This approach will help you create the right call to action.  Another common challenge is in how to structure the lessons you give to challenge attendees. Joschka shares that he learned you want to structure the lessons in a simple way that serves the needs of the attendees. In most cases, you don’t want to have lessons any longer than 20 minutes. When challenges are executed properly, you can actually create an entire business based on challenges. You can promote the challenge for three weeks and then on the fourth week do some lessons and at the end of the week, you get more customers. Joschka shared with this flexibility and the use of ads, you can even run multiple challenges at once.  Joscka also expands more on all of these concepts and more in this podcast. I highly recommend you listen to the full episode for more details. In addition, you can connect with him https://createyourchallenge.com/ (on his website) or you can join his https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengefunnelentrepreneurs/ (Facebook Group).

432: Using Challenges to Find Leads for Your Business

I love watching superhero movies. Take the original Avengers movie, for example. You have a conflict that starts when Loki shows up, takes the Tesseract, and starts his plan to take over the world. SHIELD assembles the Avengers for the first time to find and take down Loki. Loki is captured, but soon the SHIELD flying base is attacked, the Hulk goes crazy, Loki escapes, and it looks like the Avengers are defeated. That’s the point where they step back and regroup to figure out how to make it work now that new variables are introduced. So what’s the situation that we have here? There’s a dream to assemble a team of superheroes to save the world. The problem is that these heroes, for the most part, have never worked together before and each one has his own idea of how everything should go. And then there’s a disruption that shakes up everything. So, they’re at this point of regrouping before they can go back out to face Loki again. Of course, this is the overall scenario of most superhero movies. But it is also the story of many entrepreneurs as they start and grow their business. You have a plan to save the world - or at least serve it. You start to assemble a team. As you start to figure things out, then something disrupts the business. Then it comes time to take a step back and regroup. That’s where I’ve found myself. As you’re well aware of, the pandemic and wide-spread shut downs across the country and world have impacted almost every small business. For a long time, I thought that I was doing well with little-to-no impact on my business. But then I lost a couple clients back in the fall - this may have been due to the pandemic, but I’m not entirely sure. But let me rewind quickly: Back in January 2019, I left my full-time job to work on growing my business. It had been a side-gig since 2015, slowly growing. It wasn’t enough to live on yet, but I had several potential opportunities that I was hoping would pan out. Some of them did, but most of them did not. I also made this decision to leave my job with little discussion with my wife. But after I did it anyway, my wife and I laid out a plan and gave 6-12 months to get the business making the money it needed to. Well, by the summer of 2019, the business had seen some growth - not to where we wanted it to be, but it was showing some good promise. By the beginning of 2020, the business finances had gotten better and I had a plan to try to get some new clients. The plan, though, was dependent on going to a live event and to utilize networking to get new clients. We all know what happened to live events in 2020, but the first event happened right before everything shut down. The problem was that I am introverted by nature and terrible at networking. I had a few conversations with people I already knew and met a few people, but few that were potential clients. From there, a couple of other podcast editors and I started a mastermind group and met almost every Friday. From those meetings, I started to develop a plan to delegate more of the day-to-day responsibilities and focus on networking and lead generation. I developed a new, higher end offer and did some work to update the copy on my website. I used a VA to help me reach out to all my connections on Linkedin, but I connected with very few potential clients. And that’s where I found myself in the fall of 2020. So as I looked at the down-turn in my income and the lack of growth, I was also reminded about the 6-12 month timeframe my wife and I had set. I had a lot of hopes and dreams of growing the business, but only had 50% of the income we planned for. So after several difficult conversations, we decided that I needed to step back. I’m going back to my previous job, which is a box factory and has only grown throughout 2020, so it will provide a stable income. I’m scaling back my business and focusing just on podcast editing (I had been promoting and doing some other content work, which is getting scaled...

431: When It's Time to Regroup and Reassess

Today’s episode of Success Road features Lydia Lee. Lydia is the founder of http://screwthecubicle.com (Screw The Cubicle), a movement to inspire people to break free from the shackles of conventional work. Lydia works with talented professionals who want to repurpose their skills towards a more meaningful career. Lydia’s Story Of Becoming A Business Owner Lydia did not plan on changing careers. In 2012, she experienced a really bad health scare during a business trip in Russia. She had a nervous breakdown and wasn’t able to leave her hotel room for several days. It was during this time that she realized that she wanted more freedom and balance in her life. She did not like bureaucracy and politics. At first, she repackaged herself as a consultant, and her previous employer was her first client. This kind of business is what Lydia calls a low-hanging fruit transition business. Her current business, Screw The Cubicle, was kind of a bit of an accident. It was a blog that she started when she was struggling with her job. And it was also sort of a resource and a place that she would send her mother, friends, and colleagues. Now, seven years later, this is her primary business and is something that she absolutely enjoys. Common Challenges For Potential Business OwnersLydia says that many people know what they want to do for a business, but they often get tripped up when they ask, ”What’s the next step?” Often the moment someone starts to think too much into the future, the brain starts to imagine all sorts of consequences for quitting their day job.  Another issue is that as humans we want to belong. We want to be liked. So when someone switches careers, after having been in a different career for 15-20 years, and it is common to have your identity tied to your career. So, in many cases, the first challenge is a shift of identity when you pursue something different. The second obstacle is that it can be hard to imagine other ways to use your skills. Because we are busy living our lives, it's really hard to kind of step out of our own bodies, and observe. We need perspective. We are too close to the situation. It’s hard to think of new opportunities and to be creative when you are focused on the status quo.  Some Common Self Sabotaging HabitsAs you know, we live in a modern digital age. Rarely do we need more information. If anything, we often have too much information. In many cases, the bigger obstacle is getting out of our own way. That sounds sort of simpler, but I think that is actually a great place to take that reflection.  While there are many benefits to technology, it can often become a distraction. When we're about to make a life change, a lot of times we find ourselves browsing online or scrolling, as we look for inspiration. But that inspiration can quickly turn into comparison as we look at other people's lives or other people's businesses. Online, we often put our best profile out there. We're never talking about bad days on Instagram. It is really easy to feel like a loser when we compare ourselves to others.  Lydia also expands more on these concepts and shares why it is so important to not compare our beginnings with someone else’s progress. I highly recommend you listen to the full episode for more details. In addition, you can connect with Lydia on http://screwthecubicle.com (her website). Lydia offers some resources that will help you if you want to start or business or if you just feel unsatisfied in your career.  Thanks so much for listening to Success Road, and special thanks to Lydia for being a guest. 

430: How to Overcome the Challenges and Avoid Self-Sabbotage

Today’s episode of Success Road features Sean Rosensteel. Sean is an entrepreneur, speaker and the author of https://www.seanrosensteel.com/ (The School Of Intentional Living). This episode focuses on the importance of priorities, boundaries, structure and more.  Sean’s Personal Story  Sean says that he grew up with a very conventional idea of success. He believed that success was tied to big homes, fast cars, and fancy toys. That was his focus throughout my teenage years. And for most of my twenties and I pursued that conventional definition of success in a negligent way. It led to his bankruptcy, which happened when he was 28 years old, just one month before his wedding. That was a real wake up call because for the first time he took a little inventory and recognized how unintentionally he had been living. He realized that his financial bankruptcy was actually the least of my concerns. Sean says that he was physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and relationally bankrupt.  Sean realized that he needed to start living intentionally as he was about to get married. He had to make some serious changes in his life.  The Most Important ThingMany people don't know what they want in life. Sean mentioned that he did some little research on the word priorities. The word is actually singular. The word is priority, not priorities. In the 1960s, people started using that as the plural term priorities. But the idea behind the word priority was a singular focus. To know what it is that we want, we have to set some boundaries and understand the frameworks that work in our life. Sean started to give himself letter grades in the different areas of his life. The letter grades serve as a reminder. Instead of viewing something as 7/10, it is a C.  If one part of your life has a D, it is clear that area needs improvement.  Moving Past RoadblocksSean says that his father taught me that complexity is the enemy of success, and he fully bought into that concept. In Sean’s book he talks about lockers. In school, that's that place students place their things. In the real world, lockers could be as simple as a filing cabinet. Inside there could be folders or tabs used to dedicate as space to the areas of life that matter.  But a locker doesn’t hold everything that you need. Sean uses a backpack. He stores his laptop, the book he’s reading, a tablet, water, snacks, and chargers in his backpack. But he takes this concept even further with the work he does on his computer. He considers his phone and project management app to serve as a digital backpack of sorts.  Freedom Through StructureSean shares that the main struggle we all face is one of distraction. And when you have structure in your life, you can best handle distraction. When Sean structured out his calendar and scheduled out his priorities, he found freedom. For example, he schedules family time. Every day, from Monday through Friday from about 5:30 PM until 8:30 PM is uninterrupted family time. He is with his family physically and  mentally. His phone goes on do not disturb mode. It is essential to create an environment that supports your success.  Sean expands more on these concepts and shares some practical ways to detail with distraction and also manage your expectations. I highly recommend you listen to the full episode for more details. In addition, you can pick up Sean’s book, https://www.amazon.com/School-Intentional-Living-Real-World-Approach-ebook/dp/B089LJ8PK4 (The School Of Intentional Living) on Amazon or on his phttps://www.seanrosensteel.com/ (ersonal website).  Thanks so much for listening to Success Road, and special thanks to Sean for being a guest. 

429: How to Live Intentionally

Today’s episode of Success Road features Benjamin Ritter. Benjamin is a leadership and empowerment coach who is also the founder of https://www.liveforyourselfconsulting.com/ (Live For Yourself Consulting). If you’re wanting to start a new career, or you just want to become a better leader, you’ll really enjoy this episode.  Why Self-Leadership Is KeyBenjamin says the most important leader is the one that resides within you. On that note, self-leadership is the ability to lead yourself. However, when most people talk about leadership, though, they often look towards others. The only person that leads you to taking action is you, ultimately. Your brain controls your body.  The Power of The 3 C’sThe three CS are clarity, confidence, and control. Clarity is what you care about or your values. Then confidence is really just the belief in yourself that you can work towards these things. Too often people just don't take action because they doubt themselves. They ruminate and overthink. The last C is control. No matter how you feel, no matter if you’re having a bad day, or you’re having relationship issues or something, you still have the control to understand what you care about.  Finding ClarityMost people struggle with finding clarity. So to gain a level of clarity, answer this simple question: what drives you? What makes you wake up? Why do you feel stuck at your current position? Why do you feel like it's not right for you?  Exploring these questions will often give you the clarity that you want. Once you have clarity, just put it into action in the form of goals. You’ll have to be specific.  What can you say no to? This will help you create more boundaries. When you can say to yourself, “I’m working on the most important thing right now,” you’ll know that you are on the right track.  How Self-Leadership WorksSelf-leadership focuses on creating an environment that relates to what you care about and it aligns. And so it's about making connections with people that are on the same page as you, or working towards the same thing, or these individuals have already been where you want to be. When you're investing in those relationships, the other relationships may fall to the wayside, especially your closest relationships if you're not communicating with them. Part of a relationship is finding someone that shares similar values, but that might not always mean that they're interested in the same things. It’s important to lead with this non-judgemental mindset. Not everyone will actually have the same level of passion or spark that you have for your passion. There is even more information included in this insightful episode. If you’d like to connect with Benjamin, I recommend you check out https://www.liveforyourselfconsulting.com (his website) or connect with him on https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritterbenj/ (LinkedIn).  I highly recommend you listen to it. Thanks so much for listening to Success Road and being a part of this community. Special thanks to Benjamin for being a guest. 

428: The Power of the 3 C’s of Self-Leadership

Case Lane is a speaker, entrepreneur and consultant. She also has a podcast called https://www.readyentrepreneur.com/podcast/ (The Ready Entrepreneur) and is the author of the book https://www.amazon.com/Podcast-Discoveries-Listeners-Through-Podcasts-ebook/dp/B08GH53STX/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=podcast+case+lane&qid=1604072909&sr=8-6 (Podcast Discoveries). We will talk about how we can utilize podcasting to help grow our business as well as how you can be a great podcast host and guest.  Case’s Personal StoryCase started self-publishing ebooks while in law school. She was interested in writing and was fascinated by the opportunity that Amazon and Smashwords presented by allowing writers to directly reach their readers. That led her to pursue entrepreneurship and having an online business.  Case realized that most online entrepreneurs don’t have a clear path they can take, so that’s why she started creating content to help online entrepreneurs. It’s no surprise that she uses her academic background to reach individuals in a way to help them learn.  How To Learning About EntrepreneurshipFor those just starting to learn about becoming an entrepreneur, Case recommends books such as Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. This book was originally published in the early 1930s and is still very  relevant today. One of the most amazing things mentioned in this book is that people need to have specialized knowledge. A fact you hear all the time today from many online business experts.  Case also encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to read the biographies and the autobiographies of famous entrepreneurs, such as John D. Rockefeller. When you actually read their stories, you find out that entrepreneurs come from everywhere. They come from every kind of background. They come from all sorts of beginnings. The facts about these individuals helps others learn about real-life entrepreneurship.  Entrepreneurship is not necessarily being an inventor in your garage. It's about what you have to deliver to others using information-based products. You can teach people how to help other people. Finding Customers And Telling Them What You HaveCase compares reaching your customer with a medieval marketplace. Essentially, everybody comes in from the countryside to sell what they have in town. The gates of the city are wide open. Anybody can come in, but then you have to get the attention of the people that are there shopping.  People today are online all day searching for things that they want or need. They're searching on many websites such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook. They might even just be scrolling around in random places as they are searching for something. The key is to find where the people you want to reach hang out.  The Power of CommunityCase says that going to conferences were very important in her entrepreneurial journey. She says when you go to a conference, you realize that there are a lot more people doing the same thing. You get to meet lots of other people and form relationships. Then you have the ability to ask them different questions, such as what apps do you use? Which coaches did you like? What courses have you taken? All of this information proves to be invaluable, especially over the long-haul. The Power Of Getting StartedWhen someone is just starting out with a project such as podcasting, Case recommends telling others that your project is going live at a specific date. This deadline is important because it helps you move forward. It’s totally normal to be nervous when starting out, especially if you are podcasting. Almost everybody hates the sound of their own voice. But as Case has podcasted over the years, she got used to her voice. The same approach applies to anything that you want to do too. You might want to start making videos, selling things, crafting emails, or more. You’ll get better over time and keep improving with regular practice. 

427: Growing Your Business Through Podcasting

Welcome to Success Road Podcast. Today’s episode features Brent Magnussen. Brent is an avid practitioner of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, an accomplished cook, a speaker, and the author of the book Roger Up: The Mission Ready Blueprint to Crush the Morning, Own the Day, and Be the Best Version of You.  Brent is also one of the board members of the Resilient Warrior Foundation which serves United States veterans, and first responders who suffer from post-traumatic stress. This organization provides scholarships to study the art of Brazilian jiu jitsu in the Academy of their choice, anywhere in the United States. Brent is a veteran and also an avid practitioner of Brazilian jiu jitsu.  Benefits of Brazillian Jiu-jitsu   When someone is a member of the military, you are constantly in high stress situations. From the first day an individual arrives at basic training, people are screaming at you at four in the morning to get up and do a bunch of pushups. And they're spraying you with hoses and whatever else. Not to mention the verbal assault you take for a couple of months. As a result, individuals learn very quickly how to deal with stress. Once you’ve been in the military for an extended period of time, you get used to it. Then, when you leave the military, you're no longer in a constant state of stress. Many people have trouble coping with the difference in lifestyles.  What Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu does is it provides you the opportunity to use stress in a safe environment. This allows the veteran to relearn how to manage stress. When you go through hard situations, you learn how to manage them. This approach transfers over into your work life, into your relationships, and into everything you do. You learn how to become a better person, and you get your confidence back.   A Real Life Example Brent mentioned his daughter is nine years old. And when she gets older, she's very likely going to be a smaller person as her Mom is five foot tall. I don't think Emma's going to be much over five foot, four or five foot five, 105 pounds. And God forbid, someone, some guy tries to attack her or hurt her. Since she has been trained in jiu-jitsu, she's going to know exactly what to do. When she's on her back and having to deal with an aggressive person, she's going to know what to do. When a bully confronts her, she's going to know how to use her words first, because she's going to have that extreme confidence that if it does get physical, it doesn't matter if.  Establishing A Morning Routine  Brent came up with the Zero Five Thirty Blueprint. First, he gets up at 5:30. He says the key is getting up at the same time every morning. He says to never use the snooze button. The first thing he does is smile. Then he does a hundred pushups. He smiles because it tricks his body and gives him the right mindset. Then he gets up and makes the bed. Then he drinks sixteen ounces of room temperature water. Next he does some quick diaphragm breathing and goes for a walk. And after his walk, he takes a cold shower.  In the rest of the podcast, Brent shares more information about Brazillian jiu-jitsu, morning routines, the benefits of water, and more. I encourage you to listen to the entire podcast. Special thanks to Brent for being on Success Road. 

426: Learning to Manage Your Stress From an Army Veteran

Today’s episode of Success Road features Eddie Maalouf. Eddie is an entrepreneur and marketer at brilliantmarketers.com  Eddie’s Personal Story   In college, Eddie would skip classes and go out start his own businesses on the side. He always had the idea of starting his own business. Once he graduated college, he worked for a fitness company and became the number one salesman. But once he realized he had reached the top spot, he decided to quit his job and work for his father for a flat rate plus 20% of any revenue increases in his father’s business. During that time, Eddie realized like the wonders that marketing actually does for a business. Since then he expanded by starting a team and building an agency.   How To Push Past Barriers and Limits Eddie sees three challenges that are common to most businesses. The first challenge is when people are making money, and they're often self employed, and they don't want to hire. They want to see how much they can make without having to hire someone. But then there comes a point where you need to hire someone.  In some cases, there are people that are ineffective in their company, that aren't doing the job. When you fire them, you notice that your efficiency as a company still stays the same. Eddie says, “I'd rather own half of a watermelon than an entire grape.” This is why mindset is so important when looking at a business. In order to get to that kind of watermelon point, you have to build the team around you to take care of other things. The second challenge is marketing. Eddie says the biggest growth in every business that he has seen comes from a really good marketing campaign. So that is usually the bottleneck. And when that campaign works well, it often leads back to the first challenge with hiring.  The third challenge is that owners need to invest in themselves and their own mindset and personal development.  For example, if all someone’s friends make $10,000 a month and they make 20,000 a month they think they're a success. But you know, if you actually said that at the wrong table at a restaurant, you realize all those people are making a million dollars a month. All of a sudden, that whole mindset that you had your whole life just kind of comes crashing down.  How To Start Hiring People  The first step is recognizing where you need employees. When a business owner hires someone to do one or two jobs that take the most time out of your day, you'd be surprised within a month, they probably are doing that job better than the owner, because that is that they do that from nine to five every single day.  Once Eddie realized this, he became more comfortable hiring and like losing money for a month, knowing that next month, this person on my team is going to be able to generate that revenue back and make even more revenue in the future.  Eddie says that it is also important to know that not everyone is going to have the same vision as the owner. And they're not going to understand what metrics are important and what standards the business owner has. That’s why it is important to use KPI’s, or key performance indicators, on paper for each position.  I learned a lot from this interview and I wanted to mention that Eddie’s course is available at brilliantmarketers.com. This program primarily teaches business owners how to learn online advertising. I recommend checking it out.  Thanks so much for listening to Success Road, and special thanks to Eddie for being a guest.   

425: Pushing Past Barriers to Reach Your Potential

Welcome to Success Road. Today’s episode features Brad Hart. Brad is an entrepreneur and author who has a lot of experience building mastermind groups. This episode will focus on how masterminds work as well as the benefits of joining a mastermind.  What Is A Mastermind?  Brad says that a mastermind is made up of 8 to 15 people that are seeking clarity and accountability. Masterminds are also about getting the support you need in a trusted environment, which gives you the leverage you need to overcome any challenges, stay engaged in your business, and also achieve your goals.  The main difference between a mastermind and group coaching is that the facilitator of a mastermind isn't necessarily the guru or the expert. There might be several experts in the group. And there might be multiple solutions that different people are looking for. But generally, a mastermind member comes with the expectation of getting what you came for, but also a whole lot more. Each member learns from the experience and the hot seats of the other people that are in the group.  Brad says when he runs a mastermind, he loves for them to be intimate, and he wants each member to get at least 10 to 15 minutes on the hot seat. The hot seat gives every member the clarity that they need to make the breakthroughs that they need to move forward in their business.  Different Levels of Masterminds There are free masterminds and there are also masterminds that cost six figures a year to participate in the group. Brad encourages everybody to not compare themselves to others, but rather to focus on their own growth. One of the really cool things about mastermind groups is that there are different shapes and sizes. Brad has been a part of 30 now. He has participated in free ones to high-ticket masterminds with well-known entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, https://www.neilstrauss.com (Neil Strauss), and Tim Ferriss.  Just One Word Makes A Big Difference Whenever Brad talks about the price of masterminds, he looks at it as an investment. He does not look at it as a cost. He says, “It's only a cost if you don't get something out of it.” The reason he joined masterminds is to be connected to the people that can solve the problems that I have. And this mindset propels Brad forward. Brad doesn't look at a mastermind as a one time event. Rather, a mastermind is an ongoing process. Just as you don't shower once and expect it to work forever. You don't brush my teeth once and expect it to work forever. You need to keep intentionally participating in these activities. The Next Step For Your Journey Brad recommends that everybody start with his book, 8 Minute Mastermind. He also has a podcast with the same name that you can check out here. Brad is very passionate about masterminds, and I know they can be very beneficial too. I hope you’ll consider joining one or starting one as you move forward.    Thanks to Brad for being on Success Road. 

424: The Benefits of Investing In Yourself Through Mastermind Groups

My name is Joshua Rivers, and I am your host. No, I don’t have it all figured out. I’m just trying to learn to improve my life and share my findings with you. We all want to have a quality life. We run into difficult situations all the time. The purpose of this podcast is: To understand what it really means to have a quality life How to build and maintain that life with simple tips, tools, and tricks.

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Success Road: inspiration for your journey

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