Nick Craig is the author of Leading from Purpose: Clarity and the Confidence to Act When It Matters Most and the President of the Core Leadership Institute, a leadership consulting firm committed to creating leaders and organizations with a deeper purpose and the courage to transform their business impact.
In finding and connecting to your purpose, it’s best to start by stepping back into the stories of your life that are most connected to purpose.
Consider those magical childhood moments; the little stories or vignettes when something magical happened in front of us that changed our perception. Each of those stories has significant meaning for us because they helped shape the lens through which we view the world.
Also reflect on your most challenging life experiences. How is it you got through the most trying times? What was your way of surviving the journey?
We’ve talked about it on the show before, but the stories that we choose to define us and the stories that we tell about ourselves have a huge impact on how we see ourselves and how we show up in the world.
I think one of the most powerful exercises anyone can do is reflecting on these Impact Moments in your life and then plotting them out on a timeline – recognize the choices that you made, how you responded or reacted to different experiences, and bring awareness to the choices so that you can alter your trajectory going forward.
Just finding and understanding your purpose isn’t the end of this journey, though – if you truly want to lead with purpose, you have to be willing to fully own your purpose and live it in every action you take.
And following your purpose doesn’t always make you happier, at least not right away. It’s fulfilling, for sure, but it’s not necessarily a quick way to solve all of life’s problems. “Purpose is the most helpful to us when we’re not good at it, the world doesn’t want us to do it, we struggle with why we’re doing this, but we’ve got to do it anyway,” Nick says. “That’s purpose.”
Truly, you spend most of your time along this journey realizing that you’re not leading from your purpose – but the act of knowing it is the act of stepping back into it.
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
Many people (especially aspiring entrepreneurs) have a romantic view of what entrepreneurship looks like – and while there is a lot of freedom, getting there is a long and difficult journey. It’s The Struggle, Ben Horowitz posits in his poem. A highly rewarding and beautiful struggle, but a struggle nonetheless.
And it’s easy for entrepreneurs to get laser focused on their mission and let everything else slip through the cracks along this journey… if there’s not somebody there to help and offer support.
Our guest Dorcas Cheng-Tozun is an award-winning writer and speaker who explores the intersection of start-up life with marriage, family, and well-being through columns and her book, Start, Love, Repeat: How to Stay in Love with Your Entrepreneur in a Crazy Start-up World.
This isn’t your average book about entrepreneurship. It’s written from Dorcas’ point of view, as the veritable Chief of Staff for her husband’s entrepreneurial endeavors, and it offers an incredibly unique and insightful perspective on the entrepreneurial mind.
It also teaches entrepreneurs an incredibly important lesson about bringing their spouse in: your spouse is a stakeholder in your business, just like an investor would be, just like a key business partner would be – and their buy-in is essential. Beyond that, they can be your cheerleader, your unique competitive advantage encouraging you each step of the way.
“Build your business, do what you want to do, but don’t forget about the rest of your life,” Dorcas says. “Don’t forget about the other people in your life. Don’t forget about what you love to do, the things that feed your soul and spirit, that will enable you to survive these crazy ups and downs in the rollercoaster ride of being an entrepreneur.”
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
When I think about someone listening to this show, I imagine each guest reaching out of the phone to offer the listener something we all desperately need: the ability to believe that we are capable of accomplishing great things and creating a huge impact. And today’s guest, Jason Coombs, has a profound story that I believe will do just that.
Jason Coombs is the Founder of Brick House Recovery, a faith-based addiction treatment center in Boise, Idaho – and Jason himself is living proof that this program works.
After a car accident, Jason was offered his first Oxycontin (crushed up and in a line) and an opportunity to get his own prescription. A few months later, the FBI and DEA knocked on his door to serve him four felonies and a misdemeanor… and that wasn’t even the worst of it.
The fraudulent doctor’s office that prescribed Jason was the center of the largest Oxycontin ring in history, and after it was gone hundreds of addicts had nowhere else to go. So they went to the black market, where prices skyrocketed and Jason drained his bank account. Eventually, Jason moved on to heroin – a cheaper and more available alternative.
Jason tried to control his drug use for nearly ten years, attempting five treatment programs and failing. He was taught “what” addiction was, “where” it could lead, and “why” it was destructive to him, but something was missing. Finally, following the program he now shares with others through Brick House Recovery, Jason and his family learned how to put the disease into remission, one day at a time.
Now, clean and sober for many years, Jason passes on this faith-based approach to his clients and their families.
We all get to decide whether what we’ve been given is a gift or not. We all get to control the narrative of our own life and how we share it with others – and we can choose to use our stories to make a huge, positive impact.
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
Armando Cruz is the bestselling author of The Legacy Code and the creator of The R.I.C.H. Man Experience. He helps growth-minded married men show up powerfully in their relationship with their wife, kids, health, and business to live out a legacy they can be proud of.
But just a few years ago, Armando felt dissatisfied, at the lowest point in his life. It was a prison of his own making, and it was made worse because, from the outside, everything looked great. He had a successful business, he was helping people, he was healthy, his family was growing, they went on vacations – so who was he not to be happy with that?
Armando just wanted something more, which is a feeling I think a lot of entrepreneurs, in particular, can relate to.
Armando says he was “tanking the business,” and there was fear – he couldn’t keep living that way. That’s when an influential coach and mentor reached out to Armando about a retreat that could help him.
Although they couldn’t afford this retreat, Armando’s wife offered one of the courageous acts of love he has ever experienced: she said he had to go, not for himself but for his family.
Armando found clarity on that retreat, and created the R.I.C.H. Man Experience.
R.I.C.H. is a redefinition of Rich, and living the R.I.C.H. Man life is about showing up Respected, Inspired, Connected, and Happy – “It’s an acronym for a value system that we use as a compass to help you make sure that you’re showing up as the best version of yourself, in every decision and every situation.”
The Legacy Code
In The Legacy Code, Armando breaks down the five steps anyone has to take to create a legacy that inspires:
“Whenever you feel like you’re not moving fast enough, very often it’s directly related to a lack of clarity. So if you want to move quicker, get more clarity.”
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
Jesse Itzler is a former rapper, an entrepreneur, and the author of New York Times bestseller Living with a Seal: 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet. It might seem like an odd resume to some, but Jesse doesn’t fit in anyone else’s box or allow anyone else to write his script – he’s here to write the script of his own life.
When Jesse started in the music business, he had no experience and no connections. When he got into private aviation, he had no airplanes.
But that didn't stop him from getting on the Billboard 100 or writing the New York Knicks theme song. That didn’t stop him from co-founding Marquis Jet, the world’s largest private jet card company, which he has since sold to Berkshire Hataway/NetJets.
Jesse says you shouldn’t wait for the right time to try something, and you shouldn’t wait until you have enough experience – “Get your foot in the door and figure it out after.”
Jesse took a similar “just do it” approach to writing his books Living with a SEAL and Living with the Monks. The former helped him hone his physical body, by jumping feet first into one of the most intense training regimens on the planet. The latter helped him explore the spiritual side of his life.
It felt like a struggle at first but by the end, “it reinforced that I want to live by putting as many experiences on my plate as I could.”
Want to live life full blast like Jesse? Well, he challenges all of you to put one thing on your calendars that seems so hard that the benefit of the challenge will last the entire year. There should be a challenge or a struggle (not necessarily a physical one) because those are the things that make you feel most alive and offer the most valuable lessons.
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
Zach Obront is the Co-Founder of Book in a Box, which helps innovators and entrepreneurs turn their ideas into a book in just 6 months. At this point, Book in a Box has helped write, publish, and market about 900 books, and they have reached tens of thousands of people.
Zach’s co-founder was Tucker Max, a four-time New York Times bestseller, serial entrepreneur, and “reformed bad boy.” As you might expect, Zach first reached out to Tucker Max for a completely normal reason: to learn more about Edward Bernays, Sigmund Freud’s nephew who is sometimes referred to as “the father of public relations.”
Just what you expected, right? Well, the info about Bernays was questionable online, save for a great article by Tucker. Zach was nervous about potentially taking a leap to reach out, but he did anyway – it’s just an email, what’s the worst that can happen?
Within an hour, Tucker sent back a really thoughtful answer, and they stayed in touch. Eventually, they connected over a shared passion for publishing, created a new model for writing and publishing books, and started Book in a Box.
Zach teaches us that being an impactful entrepreneur doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be able to think outside of the box – it’s often better to be able to identify a potential problem and have the willingness to try creating a solution.
And while identifying the problem is certainly important, it’s that willingness to take a risk that really separates the extraordinary from the rest of the pack. The best ideas don’t do anything without action.
“My deep discomfort and fear comes from the feeling that I might be boring and not take a risk – the thought of taking a risk doesn’t feel risky to me.”
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
Cameron Herold is back, and he’s been busy since we last talked on episode 52! Cameron started a new podcast, Second in Command, in which he interviews the chief behind the chief to learn the tips, systems, and insights of the chief who actually runs the business; the COO.
Cameron also has an excellent new book called Vivid Vision: A Remarkable Tool For Aligning Your Business Around a Shared Vision of the Future.
What’s a Vivid Vision?
Most entrepreneurs have an idea of what they want their company to look like. However, their employees can’t necessarily see that same vision; the movie in their head.
But if you can pull those ideas out of your mind and write it down on a 3 to 5-page document that describes your business three years in the future, with clarity, then they can get everybody to see what they can see.
Here are some other things to consider when drafting your Vivid Vision:
If you want to see an excellent example of a vivid vision, check out what Cameron wrote for the COO Alliance’s City Forums: https://cooalliance.com/city-forums-vivid-vision.
“I want to replace vision statements with Vivid Visions, worldwide, because vision statements or mission statements don’t work and businesses have been starving for this piece.”
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
Malorie Tadimi grew up in a “normal” family, expected to get a 9-5 job and join Corporate America. Like many people who grow up in a stable environment, she felt average – which can create an uncomfortable cognitive dissonance when you grow to loathe the very concept of being “normal” or “average.”
Malorie was miserable, exhausted, and passionless in her 9-5 job. She was checking off all the boxes for normal, but it didn’t feel right – she wanted to be extraordinary, and she wanted to be an entrepreneur.
It’s safe to say she’s accomplished that. Today, Malorie is the owner of her own consulting company, Tadimi, which has crafted strategic plans to help its clients earn over $800 billion annually.
“I really came into my own and accepted the fact that I’m not normal, and when that happened, that opened the doors for me to stop filtering myself and to stop holding my shine in – it just allowed me to open that box and see what came out!”
Corporate Exit Blueprint
When Malorie decided to let her inner entrepreneur out, she didn’t jump into the water without a life vest – she created a Corporate Exit Blueprint for herself.
If you feel stuck in your current job, if it feels like you’re in a striped jumpsuit locked behind bars, then a Corporate Exit Blueprint is like your “get out of jail free” card. Really, it all comes down to assuring that you can meet your most basic needs.
You have two options: live off of your savings or create an income stream before you leave your job. If you can get all of your work done quickly and efficiently then use the surplus time (or time at home) for learning and building a side hustle, you will be better prepared to make the leap.
Plus, you’ll already have one income stream and be able to build on that momentum!
How do you stand out as an entrepreneur?
After you leave your corporate nest and set out as an entrepreneur, you’ll soon run into another problem: it’s really hard to stand out online.
If you want to find an audience, you have to offer something that no one else is offering – this may be a new service or product, a novel business model, or a new way to deliver the service or product to your customer.
One recent example that Malorie points to is the “don’t pay until you get results” trend, a strategy that many marketers use to stand out in Facebook ads. At the same time, other marketers are having success using direct mail.
So standing out as an entrepreneur is not necessarily about doing something brand new – you just have to do something that no one else is doing in your space.
“Stop being so hard on yourself. Look at what you’ve already achieved; you’ve done all of this on your own and no one has handed you a single thing! Wouldn’t it be cool to know what else you could create if you just got out of jail?”
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
Derek Clark, best known as The Rapping Dad from his viral YouTube videos, is an inspiring motivational speaker and the author of Never Limit Your Life.
Although you might see Derek having fun with his wonderful family online and think “this guy has it made,” things weren’t always going so well for him.
Derek spent 13 years of his life in the Alameda County foster care system, where he struggled with rejection, humiliation, abuse, emotional distress, and overwhelming anxiety.
The abuse and abandonment, naturally, felt like a curse – but it turned out to be one of Derek’s greatest blessings. Derek believes he thrives as a leader because of his painful past, compassion for others, and "No Excuse" attitude.
Now, Derek's life mission is to help others find the mental strength to recognize and take advantage of their opportunities. His keynotes are based on true-life trials and triumphs, inspiring thousands to overcome adversity and fear.
Although it probably didn’t seem so important at the time, one of the most influential moments of Derek’s childhood was when he was first introduced to rap, and rap battles in particular. “I was always getting in trouble for fighting with my fists, but what if I could use my mouth and tongue as a weapon, instead of my fists?”
Rap helped Derek, for the first time, deal with his tumultuous inner world – and this was life-changing. When your inner world is a mess, your outer world is going to reflect that. But “rap was a taxi to my spirit, and it let me get the inside stuff, the crap, out.”
We all get to choose how we live, and we get to choose our attitude. You’re only ever one thought away from another positive thought, and that can make all the difference.
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
John Caglione Jr. has had an illustrious career as a makeup artist – over the past 40 years, his hands and creative genius have helped create new worlds and tell powerful stories on screen.
John is credited on over 80 shows and movies, helping to create iconic characters like Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy (which earned him an Academy Award) and Heath Ledger’s The Joker (for which earned him another Oscar nomination). John’s work has also influenced many more incredible movies and shows, including Saturday Night Live, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Angels in America, The Sopranos, and Donnie Brasco.
Without John (and all of the other makeup, tech, and effects people out there), these modern stories couldn’t happen; the silver screen wouldn’t impact and move audiences in the same magical way.
John knew he wanted to be a makeup artist when he was just 14-years-old, after watching The Exorcist. He became a fan of Dick Smith, who John still believes is the great makeup artist of all time.
John eventually started a correspondence with Dick Smith, which grew into a mentor-mentee relationship. This “miraculous” series of events came at just the right time in John’s life, as his family was kind of falling apart.
In one phone call, Dick Smith’s generosity changed the entire dynamic of John’s life. “People really think about this master’s work, but one thing that I always think about him… was his love for his fellow man. He was so in touch with people and their lives – it was beyond the work, really.”
John has carried that mindset through his own career, and it’s paid off. Caring about people and focusing on the personal relationships (with Al Pacino, specifically) got him his shot at Dick Tracy, then his skill got him the job. And since then (1990), John is the only makeup artist that Al Pacino will work with.
“What I’ve learned, in my old age, is that we really have to care for each other, as much as possible… There’s work and art and business, and that’s good, but it’s all wrapped around me and you, here, right at this moment.”
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
There are too many people out there who just want the harvest, but don’t necessarily want to do the hard work of farming; they want a 7-figure business or a huge social media following, but they’re not willing to put in the work, every single day.
The desire for (and expectation of) instant gratification is pervasive in our culture today, and there’s no substance behind any of it. But today’s guest, Craig Ballantyne, provides a remarkable amount of substance – at least, for high performers who want to take action and do the work.
Craig Ballantyne is a Productivity & Success Transformation Coach, co-owner of EarlyToRise.com, and the author of The Perfect Day Formula: How to Own the Day and Control Your Life, a book that I think goes beyond the morning routine to offer an ideal way for high performers to stay focused on what they’re called to do.
Structure = Freedom
One of the key principles in The Perfect Day Formula is that “structure equals freedom.” Specifically, Craig highlights three ways to control your day: controlling your mornings, conquering your afternoon chaos, and concentrating on what matters in the evening.
So how does this work – how does structure give us more freedom?
Well, Craig used to experience crippling anxiety attacks due to the paradox of freedom; he could do anything he wanted, even if that was working 12 hours a day and then partying in the city, and that started to catch up with him.
But when you put structure in your day, when you put boundaries around your work time and become more productive, you can get work done on time and get home to your family, be present with them, and concentrate on what counts.
“We are disciplined during the day so that we are enjoying true freedom at night.”
Scripting Your Day
Is there a script in Hamilton? Was there a script for Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech? Do successful salespeople wing it, or do they use a script?
Scripting your day is as essential as scripting every play in the Super Bowl – “You don’t just go and wing it. That’s not how a high performer acts.”
Craig’s tips for scripting your day:
“You have to choose something that you’re willing to do when it sucks. You have to be willing to suffer, in order to succeed.”
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
Bo Burlingham is an editor-at-large of Inc. magazine and the author of five books, including Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top, which has been praised by thought leaders like Seth Godin, Simon Sinek, and Jim Collins.
Today we discuss Bo’s fascinating journey, and how the very image of entrepreneurship has fundamentally changed over the past few decades – a shift that is highlighted in Bo’s previous book, Small Giants, which features the stories of small companies that value greatness over growth; companies that have the opportunity to get bigger a lot faster, but chose not to because they have other goals that they consider more important.
Forbes also continues to update a list of Small Giants, annually. And at this point in time, the hardest part of creating the list is narrowing it down to just 25 small giants every year – entrepreneurs are, increasingly, using their resources and drive to create a huge impact.
In the book (you can read an excerpt here), Bo identifies six characteristics of Small Giants:
The face of entrepreneurship is still changing – with the change being led by these Small Giants and the next generation of entrepreneurs both brave and passionate enough to make an impact.
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
Nathan Ogden is an inspirational speaker, coach, quadriplegic athlete, and the author of UnFrozen: Superior Systems to Move from Paralysis to Progress. He has spent years motivating and inspiring audiences and readers on how to conquer their fears and move from paralysis to progress.
Nathan’s life changed in 2001. He was skiing and hit a jump, launching himself over 20 feet in the air. He landed on his neck, shattering his C7 vertebrae. Nathan was instantly paralyzed and told he would be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Nathan and his wife didn’t listen to that prognosis; “We have too many things that we want to do, so I will walk again and we will do whatever we have to do to get there.”
But, unfortunately, Nathan’s adversity didn’t end there.
During recovery, Nathan contracted pneumonia. He went unconscious in the middle of the night, so he was rushed to the hospital. While they were getting ready to take x-rays, he fell off the x-ray table – breaking his neck a second time.
When he woke up a few hours later and his wife told him what happened, the first three words out of Nathan’s mouth were, “Bring it on.”
However, after about a month, negative thoughts started creeping in. He lost the use of everything from the chest down, a considerable amount of what he had already worked to recover. “That’s when it hit me and I became what I call mentally paralyzed.”
If you’re depressed or feel stuck, Nathan believes there are a few small (but significant) steps you need to take:
Even two neck breaks couldn’t stop Nathan for long because he lives by the words his father passed down to him: “Live adventure – don’t watch it.”
This is never more obvious than in his philanthropic work: Nathan and his family created Chair the Hope to raise awareness and money for wheelchairs to be delivered in developing countries.
Nathan, his wife, and their four children kicked this off with a 1,200 mile bike ride, which they rode together, relay style, over the course of 12 days.
You can help help Ogden family in their mission to inspire others to get outside and keep moving despite disabilities, fears, or excuses, while raising money to donate to the Wheelchair Foundation, by supporting Chair of Hope at https://www.wheelchairfoundation.org/donations.
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Patrick Lencioni is the founder of The Table Group and the bestselling author of 11 books. He is the architect of organizational health, a concept that he calls the last competitive advantage in business today.
Pat’s passion for leadership and organizational health can be traced all the way to his first exposure to business as a child, when his dad lamented about working for a company with “bad management.”
Pat didn’t really know what management was at the time, but he knew that it was a bummer for his dad – and he eventually learned, after starting his first job, that that was dysfunction.
“I’m passionate about helping organizations not be dysfunctional so that people like my dad don’t have to suffer through it, because we spend too many hours at work for it to be dysfunctional.”
Pat’s dad always wanted him to get a great job, and he did! He got the best job of anyone in his graduating class… and he was bored. “I was so un-attracted to data and analysis, and I was fascinated by the human beings I saw. I was watching really intelligent people make fundamental mistakes because of human behavior, ego, and things like that,” and he realized that he could help.
In Patrick’s most recent book, The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues, he aims to help individuals make a difference in their own teams.
Pat identifies the three virtues that make some people better team players than others:
“If you are emotionally intelligent, hard working, and humble, your career will have no problems. I promise!”
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Andy Janning is a photographer, storyteller, and the author of Heroes, Villains, and Drunk Old Men: A Love Story for Real Life. Using the hero’s journey as a model, the book guides readers on their own heroic journey at work and home, helping them avoid becoming the villain in their own story.
Kindled by movies like Star Wars, Andy grew up with a love for stories – a love for not only the visuals, but for the people and the journey they go through to transform into something better.
This fascination with the hero’s journey sparked an intense desire to help other people, which ultimately led Andy to an (unexpected) career in financial services. He saw an opportunity “to really make it about hearts and dreams and hopes, and what folks want for the future.”
But over the years, Andy’s love of visual storytelling reawakened and he saw a new opportunity to combine his passions – he doesn’t have to choose between photography, filmmaking, storytelling, serving others, and helping people grow.
Reshape Your Story
There are periods of time in all of our lives where we feel like everything is crumbling, but we can begin to circumvent that pain when we invite other people into our life, our stories, and we can help others in the same way.
Those are the moments that really impact our stories, or when we can impact someone else’s.
If you know the right questions to ask, you can start to reshape your own story, too. Andy released a supplementary book, 8 Questions for Every Hero: The Story of Your Journey, that identifies the eight questions every hero should answer in the process of transforming:
“Those questions have helped me in my journey, have helped me define where I’ve gone, and have helped other people do that as well. The times when I’ve really screwed up in my life, I’ve forgotten one or all of those eight questions. So I need these things in front of me, reminding me of where I’m going to go, and that’s really what helps me on my journey, every single day.”
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Don’t be a podcast junkie…
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
Caroline Burckle and Rebecca Soni are both successful Olympic athletes-turned-entrepreneurs. In 2015, they Co-Founded RISE Athletes with an ambitious goal: to create a community for cultivating, creating, and discussing things that would uplift them, their peers, and the next generation of athletes.
It’s not just a worthwhile goal – I love the way they are accomplishing it.
RISE is an all-inclusive mentorship and education platform. When someone signs up, they will receive weekly face-to-face video meetings with their very own Olympic Mentor, an accountability partner who can reinforce positive habits, cultivate a positive mindset for performance, and help you overcome obstacles in sport and life.
I don’t know if getting a knowledgeable and supportive mentor has ever been more accessible.
There’s a lot of talk these days about the power of having a Why. However, I think that before you can have a Why or a What, you need to feel worthy of one – and that starts with belief, or loving yourself.
And self-belief is one of the greatest gifts that a mentor can give their mentee. When Rebecca was a young athlete in training, she didn’t necessarily sit down to consider what she was capable of. But she did know that her coach saw a lot more in her than she did at the time.
“In a way, it took a lot of pressure off of me,” because we trust our mentors and what they say is possible. When Rebecca’s coach said that she would be the first woman to break 2:20 in the 200 breaststroke, it didn’t make any sense to her – but 10 years later, that’s exactly what happened.
Caroline had almost the same experience. “And it wasn’t necessarily the thing he was telling me, but the belief and the feeling that I was being supported, that someone believed in me, and that I was significant.”
Caroline, Rebecca, and all of the mentors at RISE seek to provide that same level of support and belief to all of their mentees. Because regardless of the outcome, when we know that we have someone in our corner, that goes a long way towards achieving greatness.
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The Impact Entrepreneur Show is produced by Podcast Masters
Chris Sajnog is a retired Navy SEAL who literally wrote the books on Navy SEAL shooting: How to Shoot Like Navy SEAL, followed by Navy SEAL Shooting. However, Chris has a passion for training and excellence that goes far beyond the firing range – his mission is to help others realize their full potential and cure the disease of mediocrity.
In the Navy, Chris was introduced to a brotherhood of excellence – and, believe it or not, it was also his first introduction to firearms!
Chris excelled in sniper training, so he went on to become a sniper instructor and, ultimately, re-wrote the training curriculum. However, that same curriculum, which focused on the fundamentals of marksmanship, didn’t translate when trying to instruct civilians.
Because being a successful marksman has little to do with how you stand, how you grip, and how you hold the gun – it’s about not getting in the way of what the tool is designed to do. So success all comes down to how you train.
“If I had one thing that I could teach people, to learn anything in life, it’d be to meditate.”
That’s why Chris developed the New Rules of Marksmanship:
Although designed for training in marksmanship, the basic principles can be applied to learning anything. A lot of it boils down to making yourself open to change, and then putting yourself in a position where change is possible.
Remember, the gun, the tools, and the systems are made to be accurate – it’s the person who succeeds or fails, in everything they do.
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Production & Development for The Impact Entrepreneur Show by Podcast Masters
Christmas Abbott is a professional athlete, branding advisor, transformational guru, motivational speaker, TV personality, and one of my favorite badasses around. (And, a soon-to-be mother!)
Christmas created The Badass Body Diet and BBX Challenge, competed in the CrossFit Games and olympic weightlifting, became the first female member of a NASCAR pit crew, and joined the cast of CBS’ Big Brother Season 19.
But before she could accomplish all of those amazing things, Christmas had to find her purpose.
Christmas grew up “dirt poor,” surrounded by not-so-positive influences (particularly when it came to her health). She didn’t realize it at the time – that was just growing up – but she became a product of that environment.
Then, when she was in her early 20s and employed as a civilian contractor in Iraq, Christmas was working at a location when it was bombarded by mortar rounds.
The explosions shocked Christmas to her core, and she came to two important realizations:
Christmas realized that we all have the power to change, and she chose to start making better decisions. And that mindset has dictated her decisions ever since.
Our purpose and mission is always within us – we just have to be like Christmas and make the decision to claim it.
Of course, life doesn’t stop challenging us when we make that decision. And, unfortunately, life threw a big challenge at Christmas last year: While competing on Big Brother, she broke her foot (in a piggybacking accident). It would have been a devastating injury for anyone, but especially an athlete.
Through perseverance, even in the face of that adversity, Christmas continued to inspire people, and the empowering stories that her fans shared helped her realize that she wasn’t alone – and that “there is a purpose to what happened.”
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Don’t be a podcast junkie…
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Production & Development for The Impact Entrepreneur Show by Podcast Masters
Dana Cavalea spent his career with the New York Yankees Organization as the Director of Strength and Conditioning, training the likes of Jeter, Pettitte, Rivera, and Posada during their greatest years.
Dana wanted to work with the Yankees from a very young age. First, as a player, but later he realized where his passions truly lied: in training, preparing, and coaching others.
He says he manifested a spot in the big leagues, but that doesn’t mean he waited for that opportunity to come to him; “Whatever you do, to do well and to be great at it, there’s a commitment that goes towards that.”
Today, Dana is a high performance speaker and consultant for Pro Athletes, Entrepreneurs, Business Executives, Workforces, and Universities. He helps implement lifestyle strategies to reduce stress, improve work/life balance, and most importantly, improve daily performance and outcomes; AKA Performance Enhancement.
One of the things that Dana is most outspoken about is that running a business is, in many ways, more difficult than being in pro athletics – and it takes conditioning to achieve peak performance there, too.
Dana’s work is based on four principles, or four drivers of performance:
We often think of training as just something you do with your physical body, but it’s really more about your mindset. In order to be great at anything, you have to have a great mindset, and “mindset is really about teaching yourself to frame things appropriately, and giving things the appropriate weight that they should have in your life.”
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Production & Development for The Impact Entrepreneur Show by Podcast Masters
Steve Olsher is America’s Reinvention Expert and the author of the New York Times Bestselling book, What is Your WHAT?: Discover The One Amazing Thing You Were Born To Do.
Steve was born and raised an entrepreneur, and he’s constantly reinvented himself along his journey – from a 19-year-old club owner to the owner of liquor.com to the creator of the New Media Summit and beyond.
People don’t try to reinvent themselves unless they are driven by something, often pain – and the #1 crisis that most people will face is not a lack of money, but a lack of purpose.
Throughout decades of ups and downs, Steve was constantly going back to the same question: How am I naturally wired to excel, and what really does give fire to my soul?
In that question, the What is Your WHAT? framework was born.
Want to learn more about the framework and find your What? You’re in luck because Steve is generous enough to offer copies of his book for FREE at WhatIsYourWhat.com!
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Production & Development for The Impact Entrepreneur Show by Podcast Masters
I’m incredibly honored to have a Very Special (Secret) Guest on the podcast today, one of my biggest inspirations and supports in starting this podcast.
We start off fun, but this conversation gets raw, authentic, and real – for both of us! I I thank you all for joining me on this journey. We’re 100 episodes in, but we’re only just beginning.
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Daniel McGinn is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review and the author of Psyched Up: How the Science of Mental Preparation Can Help You Succeed. He was also recently named one of the top 100 leadership speakers for 2018 by Inc.
Daniel wanted to write a book about mental preparation and leadership for three reasons:
It’s interesting to look at the pep talk as an example of these preparation techniques. In sports, business, and even the military, there are three elements that these pre-engagement speeches need to be effective:
Another prevalent and intriguing mental preparation technique is the pre-game ritual, which can be simultaneously “meaningless” and effective at building confidence (or even just making someone feel more comfortable).
LeBron James will walk to the center of the court and chalk his hands, and then he takes a handful of the chalk and makes it rain over his head; Jerry Seinfeld listens to Sinatra, puts on a suit jacket five minutes before the show, and paces in a certain pattern; Daniel puts on a pair of sound-blocking headphones.
So we don’t always need to get “psyched up” to mentally prepare ourselves, but high achievers (and their mentors or coaches) develop techniques, sometimes unconsciously, that help them succeed.
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Production & Development for The Impact Entrepreneur Show by Podcast Masters
Jon Gordon is an inspiring speaker and the author of several books, including best sellers The Power of Positive Leadership and The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel your Life, Work and Team with Positive Energy. Through his speaking engagements and books, Jon is truly a positive force on the world.
But when most people hear Jon speak or read his books, they usually just see his current success; they don’t take the time to engage with his work and learn about the adversity or inner journey that helped transform him into who he is today.
Whether it was losing an election or jumping into the Dot-com bubble right before it burst, Jon’s journey was full of harsh twists, surprising turns, and new beginnings.
After almost getting whiplash from those twists and turns, Jon paused to ask himself an important question, for the first time: What is my purpose?
Jon found that his purpose, his Why, was being a famous writer and speaker – so then he just needed to find a How. “And it didn’t go well early on.”
Eventually, Jon discovered the key that changed everything: “Your purpose isn’t about you. It’s about others.”
After that point, Jon still had to put in the work – a lot of work, for years – but he was on the right path. Little by little, newsletters and blogs and speaking engagements started to build on one another to create momentum.
“When you’re on the right path, God will move Heaven and Earth to support you. You’ll face obstacles along the way, but you’ll receive that support and that knowing that you’re on the right path.”
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Production & Development for The Impact Entrepreneur Show by Podcast Masters
Kevin Lacz is a former SEAL Team THREE sniper, breacher, and combat medic. He joins the show to chat about his experiences as a SEAL, how he’s applying those lessons in his life today, taking risks, and his book, The Last Punisher.
Being a SEAL taught Kevin important lessons about casting a vision, developing a strategy, and taking advantage of opportunity – lessons that are just as important on civilian life as they are in military life.
Being a SEAL was an important part of Kevin’s life, but it isn’t what defines him – “I don’t want to be defined as just a SEAL. I want to be able to be a positive force in every part of my community. I think that’s necessary for my peace of mind, and as an example to my kids.”
So take these lessons to heart, get off the bench, and start making an impact in your community – and pick up a copy of The Last Punisher if you need any more inspiration. Anyone can be a force of positivity in this world.
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Production & Development for The Impact Entrepreneur Show by Podcast Masters
Eren Bali is the Co-Founder & Chairman of Udemy (formerly CEO), an online learning and teaching marketplace with over 55,000 courses and 15 million students. He saw that the future of learning was democratized online, and then he pioneered that future.
In our constantly-changing world, you cannot expect to go to college, learn everything that you need to know, and then be done with learning for the rest of your life. “You have to make learning a continuous part of your life.”
The most important skill for succeeding in today’s world is learning how to learn by yourself; the ability to identify a personal gap in knowledge, find instruction, and implement what you learn.
Plus, with resources like Udemy, education is more accessible than ever before – potential entrepreneurs and curious learners can access world-class education for cheap, and sometimes even free, and find valuable mentors in, say, podcasts.
Now Eren is looking to pioneer the future of healthcare: He founded a new company, Carbon Health, which aims to create the world’s largest connected healthcare network.
Carbon Health is an app that integrates with pharmacies, labs, insurance providers and specialists to allow you to access your treatment plans, manage prescriptions, see lab results, schedule appointments, and much more – all through this one app.
Carbon is currently available in the Bay Area, and they hope to expand throughout the U.S. to become the “world’s largest hospital,” in the same way that Udemy is the “world’s largest school.”
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We are brought to you by the Lawton Marketing Group, a full service advertising and design agency serving companies and entrepreneurs at all levels. The are your one stop shop for all your website, logo, social media, print, app design and reputable management needs.
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Production & Development for The Impact Entrepreneur Show by Podcast Masters