Avsnitt

  • My story of failure: Not telling a babysitter where I was going.

    Mitchell graduated from Evangel University with a bachelor's degree in Business Management. He started with AGCU in 2012 and has served many roles inside the mortgage department, including Loan Officer, Processor, and Underwriter. Before moving to AGCU, Mitchell spent his career helping operate his family's businesses, learning a diverse set of skills that would help him in his roles at AGCU.

    Mitchell and his wife, Heather, have lived and worked in Springfield their entire lives. They have six children, Ella, Bentley, Parker, Thatcher, Juniper, and Adalyn. The Swanson Family enjoys outdoor activities, playing games, going to the lake, and spending time with friends and family.

    In today’s episode Mitchell talks about:

    - falling into lending
    - working for his parents
    - having someone follow through with him and offer him a position
    - taking a pay cut to get his foot in the door
    - focusing on lending now
    - working for Mitch
    - growing up in the business with friends
    - great memories of working
    - being a part of a small family business
    - pushing a broom as a kid in the shop
    - coming to basketball practice smelling like strawberry popcorn
    - hard work ingrained at a young age
    - not eating popcorn for 3-4 years after leaving
    - his dad as a mentor and instilling doing the right thing
    - taking care of and serving people first, no matter what
    - “Even if there’s an easier way, you do the right thing no matter what.”
    - Royal Rangers and pinewood derby
    - unshaped wood
    - building his self confidence at a young age
    - Paul Ebbish as a mentor
    - Fail forward fast
    - being strategic as a small business
    - not enough words
    - being fortunate to have some direct mentors
    - passive mentors
    - lunch with more experienced people
    - don’t chase the dollars
    - growing organically over the last decade
    - sharing different perspectives ten years in
    - nice to be able to share now
    - helping set him apart
    - being an overbooked market
    - doing the right thing and replicating with others
    - buying a house is not a short term deal
    - being the highest of integrity through the process
    - coming from a family of five kids
    - taking care of six high energy kids
    - his wife Heather and him wanting four kids in the beginning
    - being scared from a physical standpoint to have more kids
    - going from fostering to adoption
    - never anticipating six children
    - the same serving principle translates to home
    - being entrusted with children
    - the ultimate goal is to be there for his kids
    - wild days and making breakfast
    - his wife being a champion at home
    - worth the stress and hair loss
    - the willingness to enter the madness
    - driving and listening to podcasts
    - pouring in passively
    - coming into the industry in 2012
    - everyday failures
    - humbling in the beginning
    - thriving in failures
    - seeing rates in the threes
    - lenders being overwhelmed
    - “There’s no excuses. You grind and figure it out.”
    - being forced to look into the process
    - sharpening himself through the process
    - wouldn’t have grown without the hard work and failures
    - some of the sharpest people in the industry
    - trying to solve it first and then helping
    - unicycle without training wheels
    - getting hung up on
    - a tough and character building time
    - the exciting thing right now in weird economic times
    - earning favor and building out a team
    - the fun of watching a team succeed
    - hard to imagine where he is now
    - something he needs to work on
    - like to look back and see that he hasn’t lost his roots
    - giving back like he was given
    - finished building their house
    - the excitement of a new home
    - enjoying what God’s created and 1/4 mile walks
    - continuing the dating pattern and growing together
    - sparking a love for traveling
    - a podcast with kids

  • My story of failure: Getting a hernia from lifting weights in high school.

    About Rachel Cooper: Sharing all amazon finds that I love and think you would as well. From fitness equipment, to health and wellness items, and all things in between. Follow me to catch my livestreams here on Amazon for interactive demonstrations and live workouts!

    In today’s episode Rachel talks about:

    - living an unhealthy lifestyle
    - making the shift to eating healthy
    - wanting to expand and change to an online presence
    - Amazon Live
    - comparing to QVC
    - seeing the product being used in real time
    - starting from sheer vanity
    - operating her business out of a country club
    - “When your physical health aligns, you want everything to align.”
    - the main ways to make money through Amazon Live
    - water bottle example
    - shopping from an Amazon carousel
    - videos and creators
    - passive income is not so passive
    - her cousin being a mentor early on and to this day
    - story of failure about starting a YouTube documentary
    - working with a filmmaker for future profits
    - being ghosted by a filmmaker
    - why it’s good to go for things
    - getting kicked down and pivoting
    - being consistent
    - why it’s about pressing forward
    - what’s the alternative?
    - working on her own website
    - building your business off the back of another platform
    - renting vs. owning
    - affiliate marketers and why they’re successful
    - www.rachelreviewsitnow.com
    - the flow of website traffic
    - SEO and email marketing
    - what she does with free products
    - not promoting products she doesn’t use
    - what she hopes for RC Fitness
    - personal and group training via Zoom and in person
    - Zoom training sessions
    - training in an affluent community
    - the convenience of training online
    - the limits to training online
    - multiple categories of Amazon Live
    - getting into Amazon Live Program
    - more about engagement than followers
    - the success of live streaming in China
    - why we’re intrigued by what other people are doing
    - a huge audience makes for a big profit
    - RCfitness.nyc
    - why she does free live workouts on Amazon Live
    - genius marketing
    - buying a dumbbell set and watching previous videos

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  • My story of failure: Backing my parents SUV into our pastor’s truck.

    Emily K. Louis is a worthiness coach, wife, mother, and host of the Abundance Grace Podcast! Emily helps people confidently be themselves! She wants people to own their worth so they can stop feeling like they need to be strong and have it all together. She offers individual and group coaching.

    In today’s episode Emily talks about:

    - an unlikely worthiness coach
    - being annoyingly rule following
    - the “good” checklist
    - growing up under an abusive pastor
    - not working to prove her worth anymore
    - stepping into what God calls us into
    - getting past the pressure
    - The Pressure is Off
    - trying to handle the question with grace
    - grateful for where she is
    - mentored in a narrow box
    - a church that thought they were the only ones that had it right
    - being genuinely afraid of truth
    - being safe even though she’s wrong
    - finding mentors after almost wanting to quit
    - Gretchen H. as a mentor
    - borrowing belief from mentors until we own it ourselves
    - seeing what God has for someone before they do
    - the mental checklist that becomes a task list
    - not finding our identity in the place that it should be
    - the roller coaster that will burn us out
    - Lauren Dangle’s Song - You Say
    - constantly being aware of turning anything into a checklist
    - speaking the Gospel over herself daily
    - words having the power of life and death
    - recognizing patterns faster
    - laying new foundations
    - laying a new foundation takes work
    - story of mistake setting up childcare
    - not having the right support
    - the negative thought that came to her head
    - owning the mistake but not letting it be a story
    - not letting failures mean more than it should
    - making failures lighthearted
    - complimenting yourself for trying
    - “If beating yourself up was going to help you succeed, it would have worked already.”
    - goal to be on a TedX Stage
    - growing the Abundance Grace podcast
    - having four littles at home
    - perfecting what she already has
    - downplaying your hard and it not being healthy
    - praying for God to expand our capacity
    - the trap of comparison
    - comparing other people’s hard
    - easily bypassing our emotions
    - her struggle a couple of weeks ago
    - texting two people and sharing what was hard
    - which one do I text? Why not both?
    - we are worth taking care of
    - how does Emily recharge?
    - Sabbath being important and why it’s profound that it’s the tenth commandment
    - remembering
    - setting aside time and creating margin
    - going for long walks, talking to God, and journaling
    - not liking to be boxed in
    - The Gift of Being Yourself by David Benner
    - why she loves connecting with people
    - the podcast not being her identity

  • My story of failure: Hitting a tree with a baseball bat and killing it.

    Clayton Rothschild is an entrepreneur from Springfield, MO. He is very interested in the creative destruction and disruptive effect technology has on everyday life. His favorite topics are those that are perhaps undergoing the most disruption: accessibility, economics, consumer behavior, and regulation.

    He is passionate about product development. He is also the co-founder and co-owner of CloudPano, the standard in 360º virtual tour software. CloudPano has been seen on Redfin and Zillow, and has clients across the globe.

    In today’s episode Clayton talks about:

    - why we failed at the in person interview
    - Clayton’s back problem in last podcast attempt
    - training for his first marathon
    - co-foundng CloudPano
    - virtual tour software
    - expanding the CloudPano concept to other industries
    - working tech consulting
    - making his first website in 4th grade
    - serving Fortune 500 companies
    - hustles that didn’t hit
    - the story of the Baylor Information project
    - story of Corpus Cristi Roofing leads
    - loving that Clayton took a chance and went after a project
    - why it’s about executing well
    - building a communications platform for frats and sororities
    - building a fake honor society
    - what a 21 year old is expected of early on
    - a bias toward action
    - sharpening your axe
    - a networking only available to college students
    - why startups are able to succeed
    - delivering value and innovation faster as a startup
    - the obvious answer of a mentor
    - his dad and mom being entrepreneurs and teaching him early on
    - talking business at the table with his parents
    - his mother making a rule at home that business can’t be spoken at the dinner table
    - reading The New Yorker and Wall Street Journal as a teenager
    - meeting Clayton at a coffee shop
    - informal mentorships
    - mentored by a manager
    - delivering electricity to customers
    - putting supply on the grid and forecasting
    - trying to become a professional that creates value
    - a high degree of responsibility
    - learning how to lead and operate teams
    - leadership is a balance
    - mission first plus discipline
    - mentors model
    - his business partner as a mentor
    - why he can be a little pessimistic
    - how a sales person and tech guru can form a great partnership
    - cultivating the foil
    - why CloudPano’s success is about execution
    - 100% sales and 100% product
    - bring on the rejection!
    - a college student selling Cutco knives during the summer
    - perfect code doesn’t fully affect revenue
    - basically married to your business partner
    - reflecting on failures
    - “Where has there been an abject failure in my life?”
    - story of starting his career as an accountant and pivoting
    - general business literacy of accounting
    - making a space website in 7th grade
    - starting his first job and realizing that accounting wasn’t for him
    - building a transition log
    - the last of a generation of corporate employees
    - the conviction of entrepreneurship
    - having the courage to recognize that your career choice may not be the right thing for you
    - restarting his career
    - why he grateful for his time as an accountant
    - the journey of an entrepreneur
    - “Suffering is a huge component of entrepreneurship.”
    - story of waking up early and grinding at Starbucks
    - “The entrepreneurial journey has many moments of discouragement.”
    - making assessments at the weekly or monthly level
    - suspending emotion in the day to day
    - what does God have in store for me?
    - why working out teaches entrepreneurship
    - what is Clayton looking forward to
    - why he wants acreage and wants to homestead
    - okra
    - praying with discipline and physical posture
    - being ok with the suspense
    - it can take a year or two to execute your goals and that’s ok
    - having the discipline to say no to other projects

  • My story of failure: Not correctly tying my shoes and tripping over them.

    Dave Snyder is the CEO of CopyPress. His background in SEO, social media, and content marketing led Dave to look for a better way to scale and create content and market it. That search led to the formation of CopyPress. Today CopyPress is one the most trusted content marketplaces online working with brands like Sears, Macy's, Linkedin, Zenefits, and IHG.

    In today’s episode Dave talks about:

    - getting a creative writing degree
    - teaching and starting a website
    - doing fantasy sports writing
    - learning SEO
    - faking it till you make it
    - tripling revenue in eight months at 28
    - starting his first agency
    - building the original blueprint for Copypress
    - getting kicked out of Bluegrass
    - struggling for ten years out of the gate
    - being ahead of the market
    - penny a word content
    - figuring out their niche
    - needing time to figure out your identity
    - how AI effects businesses
    - why AI can’t think of new things
    - an inherent issue with capital
    - figuring out what products people want
    - not letting your eyes fool you
    - scaling up but having money issues
    - start slow and perfect as you go
    - going after the premium market
    - having enough humility
    - do it, fail, and then do the next thing
    - structure chaos and building on what works
    - the only reason Dave had a partner in business
    - not being the grind guy
    - not wanting to let everyone down
    - confidence vs survival
    - why Dave developed into a good salesman
    - being genuine and transparent to a fault
    - not trying to sell people
    - not a one size fits all solution
    - the biggest failure for Dave with cashflow
    - cashflow problems
    - merchant credit account loans
    - predatory loans for businesses
    - floating loans revolving for five years
    - being concerned with the interest rates and people taking loans
    - having to personally guarantee short term loans
    - figuring out cash forecasting
    - having to cut expenses and getting profitable
    - three years to pay down loans
    - building his own software to forecast cashflow
    - making sense from a risk perspective
    - AI not being creative
    - AI not creating anything wholly new
    - how AI could potentially replace developers
    - spammers and AI
    - kids using ChatGPT to do homework
    - moving apart socially
    - some form of this has always existed
    - outsourcing tweets and social media to Fiverr
    - capitalism will figure itself out
    - burst of people doing dumb stuff and then fading out
    - the end of social media?
    - an exciting time for business owners
    - automating tasks
    - AI sourcing and plagiarism
    - NFT’s and copyrights
    - people suing over lack of accessibility
    - why you have other cryptocurrencies
    - the stability of Bitcoin
    - only worth what someone is willing to pay for it
    - nothing that keeps Bitcoin from going to zero
    - the lack of utility of Bitcoin
    - every investment carrying a risk
    - FTX and the exchange being gone, and being too wild west
    - regulating Ripple and why it would stabilize the market
    - why you might as well gamble
    - why Dave likes building product
    - how he’s going to help his employees grow and make more money
    - creating cool product
    - giving up social media and why

  • Story of failure: Accidentally killing a baby kitten when I was younger.

    Today’s guest is Dr. Chase Kelly!

    About Chase:

    I am proud to serve my hometown community of Springfield, Missouri, by providing an environment where patients feel safe and where they can trust me as their lifetime dentist. I desire for all of my patients to be excited to visit the dentist and understand the long-term benefits of oral health. My team and I focus on the patient as a whole, and want them to feel we are different from the dental experiences they have had in the past by getting to know the patient as individuals we respect and care for. I believe that listening to our patients and understanding their needs, goals and lifestyles helps my team provide better overall care and achieve better results for our patients.

    I spend hundreds of hours each year learning new techniques for patient care related to orthodontics, dental technology and materials, cosmetics, implant dentistry, and team building. When we meet as a team to work on the patient experience, I really feel it brings our team together so we may continue to work better to streamline and make it easy to become a lifelong patient at Kelly Dental.

    I achieved my bachelor’s degree from Drury University before attending UMKC School of Dentistry to earn my Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. While in school, and even since graduation, I have spent time teaching other students and dentist techniques related to operative dentistry and dental photography.

    In today’s episode Chase talks about:

    - why it’s hard to answer questions seriously with Justin
    - thought he wanted to be brain surgeon
    - why someone directed him to dentistry
    - buying a practice from a retiring dentist
    - drinking though a firehose
    - ignorance was bliss early on
    - having a previous dentist as a mentor
    - not liking payroll
    - why teeth only have one response
    - feeling like a fake Doogie Howser
    - don’t forget to be yourself
    - seeing people you grow up with in professional settings
    - patients aren’t a giant tooth walking in the door
    - “If people like you, people will keep coming back.”
    - why Chase wanted to be a brain surgeon
    - connecting circuitry and wires to solve problems
    - like the Oscars and Grammys
    - why his grandpa was such a big mentor for him
    - his grandpa starting in the cotton fields
    - trying to keep his grades up
    - “If your axe is dull, you just gotta swing harder.”
    - story of organic chemistry as a class - 40% of you won’t be here tomorrow
    - “It’s always easier the second time.” - Grandpa Kelly
    - his parents being mentors
    - seeing a Godly marriage with his parents and how they made it
    - not sure how to move forward with his practice and why he paid someone to help them
    - having a coach/mentor
    - why it’s important to find someone that’s been successful and learn from them
    - Chase’s Dentist Episode
    - Chase’s story of failure
    - the anxiety of dental school
    - seeking out mentorship from his family
    - growth failures with his practice
    - humbling himself down to learn
    - leadership failures
    - having that gut feeling
    - messing up but giving yourself grace and asking for forgiveness
    - a mindset of thankfulness after a mistake
    - being able to know when you screw up
    - “You point the finger, and there’s four fingers pointing back at you.”
    - why Justin has disconnected with people in the past
    - why you never make it as a leader
    - Why President Obama has charisma
    - identifying where your flaws are
    - how Chase overcomes the discouragement of failure
    - giving yourself grace in moments of failure
    - the mental toughness of improving
    - not loving delegating but needing help
    - “When you think you’re a good leader, think about hiring someone that does what you do.”
    - filling out the space he currently has
    - doubling in the last two years
    - why leadership and fear of failure can be intimidating
    - wanting someone to stick around
    - what Chase is looking forward to telling himself in five years
    - getting rid of the golden handcuffs
    - why he likes to still ride is bike
    - Justin’s mountain biking failure story
    - Chase’s favorite places to ride
    - why he likes Fellow’s Lake
    - why he likes NW Arkansas to ride
    - Slaughter Pin trails in Arkansas

  • Today’s Story of Failure: Sitting on and breaking my newish pair of sunglasses.

    Dr. Rosemarie Downer is a dedicated follower of Christ who aspires to having the closest relationship with Christ possible. Her service in the body of Christ primarily involves teaching and preaching. She also spent well over 30 years serving in youth ministries. Other focus areas in her ministry include women and single adults. As well, she often ministers on issues that address emotional healing and well-being. She counts every opportunity to minister an ultimate privilege from God the Father and does not take it lightly.

    She is the founder and former President of BRYDGES (Building Responsible Youth by Delivering Genuine Enrichment Services), over which she functioned as the President for 15 years − 2001 through 2016. She is a published author of The Self-Scarred Church and several parenting handbooks. Additionally, she is the author of a comprehensive ministry development course – Find and Occupy Your Place and the Continuum of Care Youth Ministry Development Handbook.

    Dr. Downer served at The U.S. Department of Agriculture as a social science researcher for 20 years and as an adjunct professor at Bowie State University for 24 years. She is now retired from both positions and is currently a private consultant doing grant writing and research and evaluation. In addition, she is doing what she dreamed of doing for years, and that is to write books to edify the body of Christ.

    Dr. Downer writes inspirational nonfiction books that are based on the Word of God. Her main reason for writing is to make a permanent record of what our heavenly Father has to say to His people through her pen of a ready writer. Her deepest desire is that the readers’ lives will be transformed as, by faith, they apply the words from the pages of her books.

    In today’s episode Dr. Downer talks about:

    - first academic book about parenting styles
    - first non-fiction book being written in 2009
    - having to forgive your offenders
    - the mandate of forgiveness
    - “Writing is easy, the rest is what’s hard.”
    - why it’s never worth telling the story
    - skip the story and tell the victory
    - her vehicle for healing
    - hurt getting in the way of her relationship with the Lord
    - obeying the mandate to forgive
    - hearing her mother singing at the kitchen sink to God
    - crying because she loved the Lord
    - asking for Baptism at age 7
    - her mom’s strongest message to her
    - never being pressured to be married
    - when her mom was the proudest
    - Evelyn Marshall as a mentor
    - Samuel Carson asking her to preach
    - on the preaching rotation - first woman not ordained
    - “if you can teach, you can preach.”
    - a lack of understanding of the scriptures
    - distinguishing teaching from preaching
    - being a passionate person
    - teaching is how deep you go into the concepts
    - her latest book, D’s and F’s won’t do
    - doubt, distraction, discouragement, depression
    - frustration, failure, fear
    - the sword to put out the fiery darts against us
    - setting the foundation and getting it right
    - “We have all failed. Just cut out the pride.”
    - failure story when she defended her PHD
    - why her mom said she needed to go back to Jamaica so she could feed her
    - her pet peeve and why cheapen things
    - being an overachiever and perfectionist
    - too much data, not enough findings
    - not knowing how she drove home that day
    - waking up in the middle of the night and figured out a way forward
    - failure is not final
    - “Failure teaches us lessons…don’t overcomplicate it.”
    - don’t give in, don’t give up
    - “In order to overcome failure, we must be resilient.”
    - failure happens to us, not in us
    - how do you handle the failure?
    - the driving scenario
    - you’re going to hit some potholes, sharp turns, and bad weather
    - skipping rocks by myself by the lake
    - “Failure is supposed to make us stronger.”
    - there are no small failures
    - failure is failure
    - “Failure does not devalue us.”
    - Jesus’ mission
    - setting her standards really high
    - mediocre is not in her vocabulary
    - impact is what we’re aiming at
    - why are we overcomplicating it?
    - what Dr. Downer does in her down time
    - why she loves walking trails
    - her favorite travel places
    - why she loves Israel
    - the deep experience for a believer
    - doing more conferences and retreats
    - starting her next book
    - writing two books a year
    - topics coming from prayer
    - making sure what she writes is inspired by the Lord
    - not wanting to minister out her intellect
    - wanting to die empty
    - why she believes whenever the word of God is dispense, something should change
    - why she wants something supernatural to happen

  • Story of failure: Trying to protect our car from hail damage but getting a bigger dent instead.

    In today’s episode Clinton talks about:

    - full time RV’er and pickle ball coach
    - living in a van down by the river
    - story of who he is and what his purpose is
    - having success as an entrepreneur and then 2008 happens
    - losing his business and credit score within 3 months
    - seminar leader telling him that he was dead inside
    - always followed his intuition and where that lead him
    - buying real estate for all the wrong reasons
    - thinking that his intuition failed him but what he learned
    - black sheep habits
    - a Harry Potter lightning bolt
    - failing his intuition
    - walking in nature and rest
    - getting the tingles and following them
    - personal growth and development
    - feeling very deeply
    - sharing the Black Sheep habits
    - meditation and closing your eyes
    - quieting your mind and being present
    - being in three areas
    - level of confusion
    - contemplating and negative ion exchanges
    - allowing thoughts to emerge
    - benefits of journaling
    - patterns in what you’re writing
    - the concept of natural flow
    - The Flow Profile
    - being in alignment with flow
    - grounding and walking on the beach
    - visualization and what it does
    - story of Michael Phelps and visualization
    - winning in your mind
    - the most important part of visualization
    - finding something that lights them up
    - The Discovery Process formula
    - story of Clinton being in grad school and cross-cultural studies
    - being a psychology geek
    - wanting to study overseas
    - having a mentor that questioned everything he wanted to do
    - talking to anyone that could help him
    - “Who do you know that I should talk to about this?”
    - “If you want what you want in life, you have to be willing to courageously step into the unknown.”
    - within three months, living an working overseas
    - having belief that what he thought was possible
    - the power of inspiration
    - interests turn into passions
    - surrounding yourself with people that are ahead of you
    - little kid confidence
    - Napoleon Hill - “The mere thought of a desire is it’s proof that it’s possible for you.”
    - universal principals
    - “That thought can turn into that thing as long as you believe it’s possible.”
    - having to take action
    - how he found the RV lifestyle and pickle ball
    - sometimes wise people give the wrong advice
    - wanting to experience more mobility
    - renting a 40 foot RV and falling in love with the RV life
    - traveling around the US playing pickle ball
    - looking for a way to exercise with his wife and not feel like working out
    - story of how he found pickle ball in a dentist chair
    - everyone smiling an laughing
    - learning to play pickle ball
    - Major League Pickleball
    - story of the beginning of Pickle Ball 4 Life
    - there’s no crying in pickle ball
    - why he was crying about pickle ball
    - limiting belief of his life being over competitively
    - feeling good and helping other people find things that make them feel good
    - a catalyst for positive change in the world
    - why we need more things for adults to act like kids
    - Chicken and Pickle
    - Dreamland in Austin, TX

  • Story of failure: Formatting an SD card from a trip to Costa Rica. Erik Cabral left corporate America after 20+ years. He jumped head first into real estate investing in order to achieve financial freedom. Educating himself, building networks, and analyzing hundreds of deals he purchased his first multi-family building in less than one year. He’s a partner in the Renault Winery & Resort, which is the 2nd oldest winery in the US, offers private capital to his network of investors for various projects and looks for opportunities to expand and grow his network.Erik is the founder of the media agency, On Air Brands; the innovative networking and podcasting event PodMAX; the real estate investment company Mindado Investment Group; host, co-host, and producer on multiple shows: Entrepreneurs Circle, Capital Hacking, Cashflow Ninja, and VaynerMedia’s Chief Heart Officer Claude Silvers’ show, “Emotional Optimism: Living in the Silver Lining”. With multiple businesses, partnerships, and podcasts Erik is the quintessential “serial entrepreneur” who spends much of his time helping others grow their businesses, brands, and reputation.Erik loves to share his decades of experience in creative, branding, and marketing strategies as well as helping others leverage the power within the podcasting platform.Erik sits on the board of a 1,000+ member real estate investor group called SJREIA. He is also a proud member of GoBundance, which is a tribe of millionaires seeking to share all successes, struggles, ambitions, and failures without being judged.Erik holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in NYC and lives in Central NJ, with his wife and two daughters.In today’s episode Erik talks about: - celebrating on the 100th episode - On Air Brands podcasting agency - being a graphic designer before real estate and podcasting - two decades of climbing the corporate ladder- loved getting in the weeds- scary exciting - saving along a runway before leaving his job- assessing his monthly “nut”- left brain vs. right brain- Erik’s wife trusting him to succeed in real estate - could have easily married someone different but lucky to marry his wife- making the right decisions when it matters- mentors in the form of managers - Angelo Ritocco as a mentor - modeling his management style after a previous mentor - trial by fire in real estate - dropping a lot of coin on real estate education - aligning with whoever was in the front of the room- squeaky wheel type guy- local guy named Rick that mentored Erik- writing deals on napkins during lunch - Napoleon complex from short managers- curmudgeon type of men but getting past the hard shell- certain personality types that lean towards helping people - you just have to ask- getting a little cocky and moving on from mentors - moving towards syndication and larger deals- how tricky it is to value previous mentors and still move on- staying in touch with previous mentors - embrace the “f” word- shiny object syndrome- not cool to be unfocused- not loving real estate, but loving the returns- liking passive investment- starting On Air Brands - clients wanting to interview people he knew- getting everyone in the same room- live podcasting events - assembling a great team - VaynerMedia starting to pay attention - Gary V telling Erik he doesn’t have patience and that his product stinks - Podmax - not liking a business model and punting on an idea- Caleb Silver scheduled as next event and cancelling - so much happening from creating a company that stopped working - getting into the network of some great people - trying is better than not trying - anything is possible, but there are levels of difficulty - discerning source and experience of advice - “Oh, this is what focus looks like.”- making the decision to shift his focus and business model - letting clients go- why you’re saying yes a lot in the beginning- focusing the teams energy on what will grow the company - GoBundance events taking a lot of time- knowing what he needs to do and why it’s difficult - how starting a company can get boring - doing things that are repetitious and predictable - putting a book into motion- the importance of a personal brand- getting the business to a stable point and not needing him- building blocks of consistency - having a weekend fling- on the fast track to burnout - four shows every week for a year and a half - creating something of value - hearing new stories every podcast - pod-fading away - committing in the beginning - knowing that I needed to do it for a year- the many benefits of podcasting - having to spend money to gain experience in the past- how podcasting helped his speaking skill- putting the reps in- reaching milestones in business - always being vulnerable in business- learning so much in a previous venture that would catapult to the next thing- “Diluted focus equals diluted results.” - Gary Vaden- focusing vs. being focused- less travel and more time at home this year- something to give

  • Story of failure: Giving the wrong code to an AirBnb guest and locking them out the entire night.

    Jake Ingledue is a United States Air Force veteran, entrepreneur, real estate investor, host of The Growth Circle Podcast, and much more! He is originally from Oregon, currently lives in Springfield, MO, and is a self-improvement enthusiast! He’s also a self-proclaimed ‘average dude with above average dreams!’

    In today’s episode:

    - average dude with above average dreams
    - having a podcast and pest control business
    - not stressing out paycheck to paycheck
    - being in control of his time
    - joined the military forces out of high school
    - worked with The Reapers in the military
    - going on a two-year church mission
    - from Oregon
    - met a girl on the mission and got married three months after he returned
    - going to school to be a dentist but decided not to finish
    - door to door pest control sales as a college student
    - dropped out of college and started a pest control business
    - not currently living the lifestyle he wanted
    - owning a job, not a business
    - creating systems in order to get back time
    - reading about real estate deals in college
    - buying a house knowing it would be a rental someday
    - thought it would be fun to have a podcast
    - getting deeper with conversations and being more vulnerable
    - not having many good mentors in the beginning
    - good parents but struggled to pay bills
    - reading books and books as mentors
    - a lot of mentors that don’t know they’re mentors
    - having a mentor in your pocket
    - the easiness of the way
    - listening to a book and reading at the same time
    - writing concepts and teaching himself on whiteboards
    - Favorite Podcast: Ed Mylett Show
    - Favorite Book from 2022: 100 Million Dollar Offers
    - sharing mistakes and mishaps is where learning happens
    - story of failure: door to door sales
    - being a naturally gifted salesman
    - a summer leading the way in sales and then losing motivation
    - going through a depression state
    - “I wish that I would have grinder a little harder.”
    - searching for purpose beyond money
    - possibly being OCD and thinking through that
    - enjoying the ride of entrepreneurship
    - the American culture and stigmatism of work ethic
    - creating a schedule helps a balanced lifestyle
    - “I think you can grind and have more harmony in your life.”
    - hyperfocus
    - giving himself grace and knowing he’s human
    - having a personal vision
    - slowing down and being consistent
    - systematizing his life
    - getting ready to launch new podcast - Pest Control Podcast
    - helping young entrepreneurs
    - focusing more on creative routines
    - the two-day rule
    - one minute and five-minute miracles
    - Slight Edge Book
    - small tiny things that lead to big miracles
    - why success is relative
    - asking a no question
    - achieving a certain level of success relative to him
    - serving a two-year mission
    - sharing the message of Jesus Christ
    - no girls, no dates, no movies
    - serving with younger guys
    - learning that he loves teaching
    - asking inspiring questions and connecting with people
    - story of guy answering the door with a shotgun
    - uncomfortableness of wearing a white shirt and riding a bike
    - overcoming what people think of him
    - story of man coming into a home and breaking things because he was mad at ex-wife and mother
    - having the inner battle of a missionary
    - “Enjoy the journey and be more present and intentional with your time.”
    - struggling with chasing the future

  • Story of failure: Losing my Dad’s antique anchor in the water.

    Dan Nunney lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife and three kids. He is the founder and owner of Golf Cart Garage, an online business dedicated to selling golf cart parts with superior customer service. He is also the founder of Side By Side Garage, and is a co-founder of The Long Game Fund, a crypto fund dedicated to investments in the cryptocurrency space. Dan is also a former attorney and has worked on Wall Street with a hedge firm, bringing him perspectives that few people possess. He attended Indiana University and received his law degree from Northern Illinois University.

    In today's episode Dan talks about:

    - from Cleveland, OH and married with three kids
    - always wanted to be a business owner
    - wanting control over his freedom
    - cleaning golf clubs and mowing lawns as a kid
    - a Craigslist for Universities
    - making all the mistakes possible with a new business idea
    - getting a real job and working for a hedge fund
    - after 2008, going back to school
    - getting a law degree and working too much
    - walking through life without a purpose
    - not wanting to be like the guy a sat next to at work and how it woke him up
    - quitting and starting a golf cart parts online store
    - working in the back office of the hedge fund and learning with open eyes
    - always being interested in learning
    - mistake of not having enough mentors early on
    - always wanting to do the opposite of everyone else
    - Jesse Itzler as a mentor - NetJets
    - Misogi Year of Challenge
    - story of a kid scoring 8 goals and how he improved
    - 5 minutes a day
    - spending quality time with each of his three kids
    - owing his son $27.50
    - teaching his kids skills and working with them at least five minutes a day
    - why it’s easy to forget you’re a good parent
    - a local friend as a mentor
    - Bob Campana as a mentor
    - living with intention
    - prioritizing goals based on value
    - climbing the ladder on the wrong building
    - why he couldn’t do a side hustle with law
    - writing his time down every six minutes
    - burn the ships route
    - a photo of a guy he didn’t want to be like in his closet
    - letting his law license expire
    - starting a crypto fund
    - like the early days of airplanes
    - being very much into Bitcoin
    - different crypto funds for investors
    - the current bloodbath of crypto
    - sitting in cash and not getting impatient
    - giving credit to his OG partners
    - picking the right partners
    - not orange pilling people anymore
    - why everyone will come to Bitcoin in their own time
    - comparing Bitcoin to the early days of the internet
    - why it’s hard to be associated with crypto
    - thinking of Bitcoin as a massive computer network
    - why Dan doesn’t make any price predictions anymore
    - if macro is bad, everything is bad
    - massive growth over the last two years and dealing with repercussions
    - why losing focus is bad
    - positive green shoots in business
    - “I go into action and start trying to figure out the problem.”
    - “I am just seeing the results of not putting in great effort.”
    - “Every single day, get a little bit better, and those efforts will compound.”
    - how bamboo grows and compounding effects
    - being patient in the root building years
    - why cold plunges intimidated him in the beginning
    - doing one hard thing in the morning, making the rest of the day easier
    - done wiping butts and changing diapers
    - having to be a different dad to each of his kids
    - a brand new challenge everyday
    - trying every single day to get better
    - wanting to have the same relationship with his wife and kids five years from now
    - hoping 2023 is the year of relationships
    - sending three messages a day to people you care about
    - checking off the box on his daily tracker

  • Story of failure: Not having a conversation with my mom in a respectful way.

    Levi Skinner is a real estate investor and guru from the great midwest. He lives with his wife Lindsay, and their dog Leo and cat Xena, in Springfield, MO. Levi was a standout athlete in high school and college, and pursued a degree in accounting. Once in the accounting world, he decided to make a change to real estate and hasn’t looked back. He now spends his time looking for real estate investment, helping clients, and helping businesses and investors understand their numbers.

    In today's episode Levi talks about:

    - growing up with siblings on a farm
    - leaving accounting to pursue real estate
    - leveraging his CPA background in real estate
    - what is a billing analyst?
    - creating systems in excel spreadsheets
    - trying to be as efficient as possible
    - getting into the numbers of a real estate deal
    - what is underwriting?
    - helping others build spreadsheets
    - having a good dad as a mentor
    - having a brother as a mentor
    - being a momma’s boy growing up
    - mom being a big supporter
    - story of mom yelling in a basketball game
    - Levi giving the story of Justin being a mentor
    - being a head case freshman year
    - being a perfectionist in baseball and working through it
    - Justin getting heated as a fill in coach
    - having professional hopes in baseball
    - “Failures have taught me how to bounce back.”
    - “You’re going to fail a lot in your life.”
    - story of failure - second year of marriage
    - not treating his wife in the best way and realizing it
    - starting to clean the kitchen after midnight in anger
    - quitting his job after his wife urging him to
    - needing to take a step back
    - a failure that lead to something cool
    - communicating more effectively with his wife
    - surrounding himself with good people and sharing failures and succeses
    - having a close group of guys across the country
    - learning from other people
    - starting a new storage unit
    - what is a storage unit?
    - having a goal setting meeting with his wife
    - overcoming being a penny pincher
    - investing in marriage
    - wanting to travel more
    - loving God and proving the best possible life for your family
    - being grateful for being blessed
    - being a podcasting pro
    - watching the Professional Failure podcast grow

  • Story of failure: Spilling green matcha all over my new white shirt.

    Hi, I’m Ian Barnard, a hand lettering artist and calligrapher. I have a passion for inspiring, entertaining and helping people to get better at their lettering skills through videos on my Instagram and Youtube channels and also creating and selling digital lettering brushes for the iPad.

    I also am co-host of a popular creative podcast called The Honest Designers Show, where we give you a transparent look into life as a modern designer. You can find us on most podcasting platforms or check out our website honestdesigners.com

    I live in a small town just outside London, England with my wife and 2 kids. Attend and help out at my local church and try to balance my love of food by running and riding my mountain bike.

    In today's episode Ian talks about:

    - originally being a graphic designer
    - leaving his job to freelance on the same day his son was born
    - decided to teach himself a hobby
    - teaching himself calligraphy
    - using Instagram to get feedback on his progress
    - starting to get work inquiries after he improved
    - getting paid for his hobby
    - getting paid not based on client income
    - starting into the world of stock design assets
    - making products to sell on Creative Market
    - figuring out effects on certain products
    - going all in on selling products online
    - progressing to typefaces and Procreate assets
    - the journey of setbacks
    - self-critiquing your work
    - being ok with a product not doing well and moving on
    - sense of being down and working through it
    - learning through the process to get to the higher mountain
    - loving the adrenaline of releasing a product
    - seeing further into the hope of the future
    - a healthy competition
    - producing things that he likes and not what will necessarily just sell
    - getting inspiration from Pinterest
    - realizing he’s good a problem solving
    - lessons from the spinning beach ball
    - being ok with the fact that there may not be a solution
    - the journey of hits and flops
    - hard to stay positive when you’re down in the valley
    - his willingness to try
    - a teacher being a mentor growing up, Big Zach
    - his dad being a head master growing up
    - the mentorship of a man from Uganda
    - creating a font, releasing it, and making another one
    - failures with fonts
    - learning shortcuts and learning how to build
    - “You think you failed…and then you realize it was worth it in the end.”
    - free font that was given away being the most popular
    - story of a free font showing up on a store window
    - story of his font showing up on Krispy Kreme and getting free donuts
    - the skill of typography and learning the process
    - teaching lettering in the UK
    - teaching his own kids lettering
    - his son playing soccer and not forcing him to do anything
    - playing in the park during the middle of the pandemic
    - his son not wanting to train, just playing for fun
    - “I think that’s where you learn the best, when you’re having fun.”
    - “The best ideas have come when I’m just having fun.”
    - making lettering out of rubix cubes
    - realizing your creativity through playing
    - doing courses online and making his own leather wallet
    - being intimidated by a custom typeface for a client
    - not being great with client relations
    - “I just want to create and deliver the goods.”
    - the back and forth battle of an artist
    - client liaisons and the trickiness of not having them
    - the pandemic breaking his consistency
    - more natural being on video and hearing his voice
    - the steps to good YouTube videos
    - the laborious process of videos
    - releasing a video every week and a product every three weeks
    - the anxiety of the pandemic
    - familiar things feeding his creativity and the lack thereof during the last couple of years
    - some people not being affected
    - should have started the cat typography videos sooner!

  • Story of failure: Getting my eye brows singed from lighting a bonfire.

    Sean Williams is an artist, standup comedian, carpenter, and future movie star and prop maker. He lives in Kansas City, MO with his wife Shelby, where he dreams, creates, and brings unique characters into the world. His work has been seen on The Pat Mcafee Show, and Undisputed, with Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless. Sean continues to dream up amazing creations and bring them to life. You can reach Sean though his Instagram @the.world.of.sean.

    In today's episode Sean talks about:

    - doing test run podcasts with Sean
    - cousins-in-law?
    - getting into art and sports growing up
    - mom teaching third grade
    - there was always some sort of art in his life
    - having an artistic family
    - applying competitive thinking to art
    - story of dad teaching him the shape of a face
    - comparing football with art
    - where there’s a will, there’s a way!
    - “How do I do that, rather than can I do that?”
    - the original Mike Tyson pillow that lead to Mahomes
    - the process of coming up with a weird end game
    - getting in front of Gracie Hunt and giving her a deal
    - making Chief pillows for old and new team members
    - getting into stand up comedy
    - his weird life plan laid out
    - wanting to solve a problem by going on stage
    - writing and telling jokes
    - getting locked in and getting over insecurities
    - “If you really want to do something, you just figure out how to do it.”
    - telling standup by subject, instead of chronological
    - not having the experience, and getting past the early stages
    - Norm McDonald and his influence on his jokes
    - avoiding the low hanging fruit and doing a little more work
    - the skill of failing well
    - the philosophy of stoicism
    - preparing yourself for the bad things to happen
    - preparing to frame cease and desist letters
    - tricking your brain on enjoying the hard part
    - “It’s the journey, not the destination.”
    - the old guys were on to something
    - “Success is a byproduct of you doing what you enjoy.”
    - the story of the mask of Skip Bayless
    - art is literally constant failure
    - drawing in a weird sketching motion
    - trying to draw Tom Hardy
    - me trying to paint Steph Curry
    - art theory class in college
    - a photography of an apple isn’t a real apple
    - communicating to someone through art with the right elements
    - “Well, that didn’t work. Try something else.”
    - “Once you stop failing, you’re not going to do anything.”
    - not having the juice, or needing to get better
    - the lesson of the dog gladiator sculpture
    - learning to mitigate loss and pivot easily
    - why he thinks at some point that his art looks terrible
    - battling anxiety
    - getting advice from knowledgable people to get to the finish line
    - first getting out of college and getting ahead of himself
    - procrastinating in school and getting away with it
    - forming bad habits and having to break them
    - the story of Picasso in the market
    - people don’t value your skills unless you value your own skills
    - trying to make a rod puppet
    - the intimidation of figuring out something new and making a career
    - the caretaker in Harry Potter
    - wanting to give the memorable line in a movie
    - elements of people making up a mentor
    - his dad building draw bridges out of cardboard
    - why he wants to tell himself, “It worked.”
    - what kind of tea?

  • Welcome to 2023! Today's episode feature no guest, but I share one of my favorite, if not my favorite, story from 2022. It's called The Story of the Fisherman, and it really helped my solidify futures goals and perspectives of success. I hope it helps you stop and think as well!

  • No guest today! No guest today! A belated Merry Christmas!

    Justin shares a story of when he was young and pouted about not getting what he wanted. He tells why he is so thankful his dad has the courage and foresight to discipline him.

  • Story of failure: Burning vegetables in the air fryer.

    Mr. Robert “Cujo” Teschner is a combat veteran. He’s a former F-15 “Eagle” instructor at the prestigious U.S. Air Force Weapons school—the Air Force “Top Gun” program. He’s also a former F-22 “Raptor” fighter squadron commander, having commanded one of America’s precious few operational F-22 fighter squadrons.

    During his time teaching at the Weapons School, Cujo served as the U.S. Air Force’s Subject Matter Expert on the practice of team accountability. His published work from that time is still in use throughout the Air Force today. Specifically, Cujo authored “The Vocabulary of the Debrief” and helped mold the Methodology of the Debrief, defining the language and accountability practices that the Air Force uses to the present day.
    A 1995 distinguished military graduate of the Air Force Academy and a 2013 distinguished graduate of the National War College, Cujo retired from the Air Force in December 2015, achieving the rank of full Colonel. But because of a battle with colorectal cancer, Cujo and his family decided to retire from the Air Force early. Team Teschner’s ambition was to focus on Cujo’s health and to accommodate the fact that his body was largely broken. This led to Cujo’s introduction to entrepreneurship.
    Back when he was teaching at the Weapons School, Cujo believed that the principles he was teaching applied to a much wider audience. In fact, as Cujo started to refine and update the Accountability practices he would teach for the entirety of his time at the Weapons School, he also started thinking about translating those principles to business. Once cancer forced him to give up his ability to fly high-performance fighter aircraft, he pivoted to teaching businesses the principles that allow all teams to thrive in disruption. And he’s never looked back.
    Cujo is now the founder and CEO of VMax Group, an international leadership training company. He is also the national bestselling author of Debrief to Win: How America’s Top Guns Practice Accountable Leadership … and How You Can, Too! His second book, Aiming Higher: A Journey Through Military Aviation Leadership also immediately went to #1 on the Amazon bestseller list. Cujo has built his growing company from scratch, and everyone in the company is committed to the company’s purpose: To teach and inspire real teamwork so that teams thrive in disruption and keep our economy strong.

    In today's episode Cujo talks about:

    - watching Star Wars as a kid in St. Louis, MO
    - identifying with Luke Skywalker
    - Top Gun and the roar of fighter pilots
    - disappointment of not getting accepted into the academy at first
    - fighter jet with 104-0 record in combat
    - teaching in flight school
    - commanding a fighter squadron
    - getting colon cancer diagnosis and pivoting
    - the pain of colon cancer and having to retire early
    - deciding to live someplace close to family
    - raised as a Cardinals fan
    - becoming an entrepreneur
    - how do you build a team that wins?
    - building the VMAX Group
    - life is always going to be hard but how do we deal with the challenges?
    - the importance of the debrief
    - “The best teams on the planet know how to learn well.”
    - failing in a positive way
    - as a fighter pilot, it’s impossible to do everything perfectly
    - twice the speed of sound
    - passing another fighter in the sky
    - 9 times the force of gravity
    - your blood being pulled out of your brain and eyes
    - the dangerous environment of training
    - the story of a practice dog fight
    - the fighter pilot objective
    - the mechanism to make the next mission better than the last
    - reinforcing the good
    - Excellence In All We Do
    - free from pride and ego
    - humble, approachable, and credible
    - nobody’s ever going to be perfect
    - the one debrief of Top Gun and why it has changed
    - teaching teamwork principles across America
    - “The best leaders are the best instructors.”
    - a team with a willingly vulnerable leader
    - times of not being a good instructor and learning from it
    - his dad as a big mentor
    - his dad winning a bronze star in Vietnam
    - loving being around JAG officers at the base
    - Gary Langford as a mentor
    - squadrons with strong commanders and leaders
    - doing something epically wrong and learning through it
    - all that needed to be said about a mistake
    - movie to watch: 12 O’Clock High
    - failing consistently and early and bouncing back
    - painting some degree of calm
    - doing something that would highlight you
    - trying for the Wings of the Blue Parachute Team
    - getting a cold before the first high altitude jump
    - getting sick on the wrong day
    - conditioning himself to know nothing goes according to plan
    - “How are you going to bounce back and be resilient?”
    - graduating #1 in pilot training and making it to F-15 school and working through failure
    - story of failure: tape review after his first practice battle
    - doing the exactly wrong thing while thinking he was doing the right thing
    - the X-ride
    - over G-ing the aircraft
    - passing the Elimination Ride
    - working from the bottom of the bottom
    - on the cusp of elimination
    - taking full accountability
    - willing yourself
    - “You don’t know how you’re going to respond to something until you’re in that situation.”
    - “Once the mission is done, it’s done.”
    - centering on team purpose at home
    - how cancer drew his wife and him even closer
    - the epic failure turning into a tipping point in his journey
    - a prayer in the early phase of the diagnosis
    - Cujo’s ongoing ambition
    - helping America dream again
    - showing people the way
    - you can’t be defensive in the debrief
    - telling himself “You were right! And it’s working!”
    - lucky to have a great family
    - new team members to VMAX

  • Story of failure: Driving off with a gas pump handle in my car.

    Rocky Lalvani officially retired from corporate America (hooray!), but he has plenty of hobbies that keep him busy. He loves traveling with his wife of 24 years and two kids, flipping and/or renting houses, coaching two high school robotics teams, and volunteering in his community.

    Although he’s always been passionate about managing his own money, personal finance has recently become one of his main interests (#Fincon, anyone?). He started a podcast a couple of years ago called Richer Soul that talks about life beyond money.

    So while he’s interested in money, he’s always seen it as a tool, as something that can open countless doors if managed well. Without understanding money, his dad wouldn’t have been able to sustain a family in America. Rocky wouldn’t be able to live out his dream of taking his family on a vacation across Italy.

    Rocky has seen how much of a difference understanding money makes in his own life. And he’s now made it his goal to help others open doors, solve problems, and gain freedom through understanding the finances for their small business.

    Rather than only making money off of telling other people what to do, he’s truly lived out the experiences of both working a corporate job, working independently, and managing a small business. Now, Rocky wants to take this knowledge and share it with other small business owners at a fraction of the cost that it would be to hire a dedicated full-time financial manager.

    In today's episode Rocky talks about:

    - looking backward and connecting the dots
    - being an immigrant
    - things you don’t appreciate until later
    - living on the wrong side of the tracks at the beginning
    - his parents getting together with friends and talking about money
    - occurring conversations
    - not ever being held back
    - seeing people in different financial situations
    - deciding he wanted to be rich as a kid
    - learning how to do things himself
    - selling products when he was young
    - playing with spreadsheets as a kid and teaching accountants
    - from paper ledgers to spreadsheets
    - the skill of building spreadsheets
    - good is the enemy of evil
    - selling dictation equipment early on
    - understanding working with contractors and what to look for in real estate
    - finally taking action after twenty years
    - why do people struggle with money so much?
    - “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” - money mindsets
    - wanting to help people with money
    - nobody wants to get rich in ten years
    - reading spreadsheets like stories
    - why my brother loves spreadsheets
    - assuming everyone knows how to do something
    - running two podcasts
    - an hour of free advice
    - the benefits of podcasts
    - Richer Soul and Profit Answer Man Podcasts
    - growing up in the age of the Marlboro Man
    - accepting advice and doing thing more quickly
    - masterminds taking him a step further
    - is this true and is it worth it?
    - always being frugal
    - “If you can get a book for $25, don’t even think about it. Just buy it.”
    - reading through the mind of an author
    - “The biggest failures I’ve had were in not starting.”
    - being cautious in nature
    - needing that first kick to get started
    - the friction of starting
    - story of failure: real estate rental story
    - first mistake: buying rental properties he liked
    - not screening a tenant
    - taking note of red flags and doing something about them
    - having a manager in real estate and not following up enough
    - having a tenant trashing a place and having to evict
    - getting the highest price on the street
    - just keep showing up and understanding you can fix anything
    - “Is my worrying going to fix anything?”
    - taking ownership of a mistake
    - 10x the attention
    - how are you so calm throughout all of this?
    - me not doing my part
    - coming to the point where it’s ok if things go wrong
    - an age and financial thing
    - money isn’t going to make you happy, but it can solve problems
    - Dave Ramsey principles
    - not wanting to deal with broke people
    - staying on message
    - how do you buy a house with cash?
    - with any luck, he’s a grandfather
    - having the freedom to be close to his future grandkids
    - why are more parents not having more fun?
    - something to be grateful for
    - taking over himself, not the world
    - we all have that negative critic and conquering that voice
    - how breath interrupts patterns
    - High Performance Habits
    - everyone’s on meditation and breathing
    - heart rate variability monitor
    - breathing being a tell
    - business owners that need help beyond our capacity
    - understanding how money flows through your business
    - similarities with Marcus Lemonis

  • Story of failure: Not eating enough fiber and getting hemorrhoids.

    Alex Demczak is a former SEC quarterback for the Missouri Tigers. Alex graduated with a degree in Communication and a minor in Business.

    Alex is an inspiring communicator, facilitator and trainer who challenges businesses, schools, sports teams, and non-profits to maximize their potential and make a difference.

    Alex is the author of Thrive U. The inspirational book is a collection of stories from 100 collegiate and professional athletes from across the country. The book has been used by many youth groups, schools, and businesses as a resource to help others maximize their platform and Thrive rather than simply survive.

    Alex Demczak is a top keynote speaker and trainer for the Jon Gordon Companies. He frequently delivers keynotes and conducts training programs based on The Power of Positive Leadership and The Power of a Positive Team with the goal of helping leaders transform their teams and change the world. Alex is an innovative entrepreneur that has a knack for starting new ventures such as Thrive U, Coach’s Corner, MU Courtesy Carts, Thrive, Speakers, Ignite small groups, and collaborates with multiple startups.

    Alex is passionate about helping high-performance leaders take the next step in their leadership journey. Alex has worked with some most successful companies across various industries. Some of Alex’s past clients include The Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl, Veterans United Home loans, OneCoast Retailers, O’shea Builders, and many others. Alex’s mission is to help people increase their performance, enhance their leadership, and maximize their life.

    In today's episode Alex talks about:

    - Mizzou football and growing up as a sport fanatic
    - the sweet spot of life souring
    - the meeting going into his junior season
    - a coach telling him he wasn’t good enough
    - two bad options to choose from
    - feeling called to stay
    - the humiliation of getting cut
    - trying to make a positive out of a negative
    - the yellow flag
    - are you kidding me?
    - serving to the best of his ability
    - getting back on the team as a senior
    - “Leadership requires no title.”
    - coming through humiliation
    - we will all experience trials
    - Thrive U - daily devotional for athletes
    - working at Kanakuk Camp
    - who’s telling the stories of D-1 athletes?
    - sharing his story and testimony
    - sending a copy to Jon Gordon
    - are you willing to work for free?
    - managing Jon Gordon’s inquires and helping
    - speaking on Jon’s books
    - writing The Sale together with Jon Gordon
    - what is The Sale?
    - overview of the Sale
    - Matt and Kendra
    - getting the chance to make the sale of a lifetime
    - growing up in a supportive family
    - Nathan Buxxman - Athletes in Action
    - Jon Gordon as a mentor
    - Randy in The Sale
    - Randy Sutterland
    - when you do things the right way, it comes back to you
    - working at a great company but…
    - knowing that he was called to go out on his own
    - “God had me where He had me for a reason.”
    - not looking back with regret
    - what are the things holding you back?
    - trusting God in situations
    - going all in on something
    - people tending to forget about failures
    - thinking back to when he first started thinking
    - putting yourself in the arena
    - Jeff Nelson - pastor preaching with no notes
    - trying to take one or two things and learn every time he speaks
    - how can I adapt?
    - “Speaking leads to more speaking.” - Jon Gordon
    - being open to criticism
    - cool things on the other side of fear
    - leaving things on the sideline
    - trying, failing, and learning
    - “The message is more important than me.”
    - how can I serve the audience?
    - Streamline books
    - the daunting task of publishing a book
    - worth the stress to run a business
    - helping people tell good stories
    - The Chosen
    - a team around you writing a book
    - being proud of the fact of going for it
    - trudging forward in the unknown
    - following and trusting God in the unknown

  • Story of failure: Electrocuting myself while changing a light fixture.

    Tony Castillo’s journey began as an overweight middle schooler. This continued throughout high school until he decided to jump on a “diet.” Unfortunately, this resulted in unsustainable weight loss. His weight fluctuated in college due to lack of nutrition knowledge, but this inspired him to understand how nutrition played a role in the human body.

    Tony’s passion today is to teach others how healthy lifestyle modifications optimize performance in ALL areas of life. After working at the University of Florida and then with the Toronto Blue Jays, Tony focuses on helping you to become an elite performer. Being an elite performer in your field can take many forms, whether you’re the owner of an investment firm or a professional athlete trying to become an MVP. Tony’s plan is to teach his clients how to sustain their weight goals without counting calories or macros.

    Tony graduated from Florida International University in Miami with a B.S. in Biology, B.A. in Chemistry, and an M.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics. He is credentialed by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as a Registered Dietitian. Tony continues to hone his practice and regularly mentors with colleagues and professionals such as Tony Stephan, RD and The Dietitian Mentorship program.

    And did you know? Tony’s parents are from the Dominican Republic, and Antonio is fluent in both English and Spanish.

    In today's episode Tony talks about:

    - his story of why he got into nutrition
    - getting checked out by a female doctor
    - leaving the urologist confused and frustrated
    - working through mental health issues
    - losing weight and gaining confidence
    - trying all the diets and working out
    - breaking his foot dancing after malnutrition
    - learning about nutrition and getting a masters
    - what are the secrets to athlete’s nutrition?
    - having a good relationship with food
    - working at the Toronto Blue Jays
    - teaching kids how nutrition can impact performance
    - building a plate composition
    - long term habits for eating
    - reframing how he saw food
    - bodybuilding.com forums and weeding through information
    - premium or regular gas?
    - feeling confident through food
    - Paul Landrum as a mentor
    - crying in front of another man
    - mentor from the Toronto Blue Jays - Stephanie Wilson
    - waiting for a smoothie machine until 2 AM
    - failing to prepare for presentation and working through it
    - selling himself short because he didn’t feel like he was ready
    - only Spanish speaking kid in 1st grade
    - being told he would never be able to speak English
    - his dad working through med school barely speaking English
    - hating reading and writing because he was forced to do it
    - always being a fighter
    - never, never, never give up
    - going to english school instead of going to baseball
    - getting an A in English in college
    - only speaking Spanish in the house, but you still need to learn English
    - feeling weak after failing
    - “Always be prepared.”
    - “If we can ask better questions, we can get better results.”
    - asking questions and getting feedback
    - helping athletes learn
    - keeping up with the latest challenges of the sports world
    - the power of ‘I don’t know’
    - being open and honest
    - the courage of saying I don’t know
    - branch chain amino acids
    - making a protein with 20 amino acids
    - lucine amino acid
    - would you water your plants in the middle of the rainstorm?
    - bird feathers supplement
    - being open to chaining his opinion as long as the research backs it up
    - seeing a therapist
    - Cam Hall - Leadership Consultant
    - “Are you doing it to them, for them, or with them?”
    - never being taught how to run a business in school
    - reforming the way he asks for help
    - why am I eating this way?
    - pausing before he speaks
    - overly communicating with yourself
    - how and why?
    - just doing what you’re told
    - the intimidation of writing a book and lunching a podcast
    - helping build authority
    - Christiano Ronaldo choosing water
    - wanting to work with athletes that have a great opportunity to promote good change
    - not being inhibited by my typing skills
    - you made it, you survived
    - not coasting, but achieving