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Enneagram Personality Types

Erin Rocchio – Exploring the Use of Enneagram Personality Types in Coaching (AoL 128)

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It’s true when they say leadership, influence, and business go hand in hand. If you don’t have influence in your organization, company, or team, how do you expect to get anything done?

Knowing what people want and what motivates them is a big part of being influential – especially when you’re dealing with the higher levels in leadership.

And one of the best tools, I’ve found, is utilizing what I know about personality types. This knowledge allows us to group people in a manner so that we can interact with them at their level.

There’s all kinds of tests out there which will help you find your own personality. Recently, I’ve been hearing more and more about the Enneagram. It seems that a lot of my favorite podcast hosts know what number they are on it.

In this session, team and executive coach Erin Rocchio gives us a basic introduction to what the Enneagram is and how she she helps her clients use it.

Listen in as we learn how this powerful tool can positively affect you and your organization or business!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • How did Erin get started in coaching at the age of 17 years old? 9:54
  • What’s the Enneagram test and how does she use it in her coaching work? 15:26
  • How does knowing about different personalites assist with people transitioning in their professional roles? 22:19
  • How does Erin help someone when she finds out that their stress is coming from structural constraints in their work? 25:44
  • What kinds of things does Erin look at when she’s working on cultivating high performance teams? 33:54
  • How would Erin work with Richard from the HBO show Silicon Valley? 36:30
  • How does she want to finish up the year? 38:19
  • Who are some influencers that have helped Erin get to where she’s at? 41:48
  • If she could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be? 42:53
  • Does Erin have a new belief or habit that has helped her improve her life in the last 5 years? 43:46
  • What advice does she hear adults giving children that she calls bs on? 45:40
  • What’s the secret to achieving personal freedom? 48:02

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

 

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Erin interview by Ronald Couming

Erin’s interview with Nissar Ahamed

Ginger Lapid-Bogda on “The Enneagram in Business”

David Cooperrider on Appreciative Inquiry

Thanks for Listening!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cheers!

the marshmallow test

The Marshmallow Test – Does It Really Predict Success?

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Why do we do what we do?

Let me clarify.

What makes us do what we do?

For most of us, if we really are truthful with ourselves, there’s an external motivation for us to actually get off our butts and do something.

For a lot of people, that motivation has to come at the expense of having a pain in our lives. But is this purely source of our success? Or is it something else?

But before we go there, here’s a bit of context.

There’s this recent video of Dr. Michio Kaku talking about the one test that predicts whether kids will be successful in the future: the marshmallow test. Here’s the vid:

What are your initial thoughts? Here’s mine…

 

Does Personality Play a Role?

When I watched this video, I started thinking about which group I identified with. I’d like to believe that I’d be part of the “wait for 2 marshmallows” group. In fact, if I was to recall myself as a kid, I probably would have waited.

I’ve always seem to be motivated by things that could be.

For example, I was never the kid to go on spending sprees whenever I was given a few dollars. In fact, I always saved the money I earned for something I REALLY wanted. Usually an upcoming video game. And since I had put that earned money into buying those games, I tended to play the heck out of that one until the next one I bought came along.

But where did that saving strategy of mine come from?

Michio brings up a good point. Do our personalities really affect whether or not we’d go for the immediate gratification?

Perhaps.

If I was thinking about the DISC personality profile, I’d imagine Supportives and Calculatives would be the natural two marshmallow types.

Being a base Supportive (S) myself I know a few things about them. Besides being tremendously stubborn, we tend to only do things that are going to mean something in the long run. If we can’t make that connection, there’s not much motivation for us to act.

That being the case, it makes sense how I would have developed my saving strategy early on.

As far as Calculatives – I’d imagine that they’d think “Oh, two is better than one. I can put in a little more time to get that reward.” So that’s pretty straight forward.

As for D’s and I’s – I think they might be more prone to being “one marshmallow now” types.

Dominants are known for wanting results right away. The I’s, (called Imaginatives) are known to be constantly seeking fun. Waiting for 2 marshmallows – that’s not fun! Having one now is!

But then again, Dominants are usually the most successful people out there and I’d believe that many celebrities on TV are Imaginatives.

So I don’t know if I’d say that personality yields this response.

 

Which Motivates More? Future possibilities or pain?

In The Delusion of Passion, David Anderson shares with us what he had to go through growing up. He went through a TON of pain before he got his opportunity at Goldman Sachs. Growing up, more often than not, he had to battle the odds to get what he wanted. He did so because he was uncomfortable being where he was in life.

He had a pain that he used as motivation.

Who would have predicted that he’d be as successful as he’s been? Would he have been a one or two marshmallow kid? Hard to tell.

If I had not much going for me growing up, I’d think that taking the marshmallow right away was the only for sure option. In fact, The Atlantic addressed this in a recent article. The article essentially states that the whole test produced unreplicable results and, at best, was biased. Apparently the pool wasn’t all that big and the sample they used for the study was full of kids that grew up around Stanford.

Yeah, that’s a bit of a bummer that we can’t predict people’s future as simple as Michio would have said.

Or maybe it isn’t?

If what the article says is true, then the potential for what could doesn’t motivate all of us. So what does?

I believe that we’re still motivated by things that could be true. But looking at David’s story, it would seem that pain has been as much of a motivator (if not more so) for him as the possibilities of what could be in the future.

Maybe it’s this combination of having some emotional pain and hope for what could be that is the driving force behind so many successful people. The more pain, the more fuel they have?

Action Steps

So now that you’ve soaked all of this in. Think about what you’ve accomplished in life. Legal or not, are there things that you’ve put together that were successful?

Why did you put together that process or do those actions? Was it from pain? Was it because you imagined something that wasn’t there? Or was it both?

Make sure you make a journal of this so when you’re ever running on empty, you know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Knowing your Why is essential in long term achievement.

 

business outsourcing

Chris Schwab – Local Business Outsourcing: How Virtual Assistants Can Make an Impact in Your Local Business (AoL 127)

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Starting a business comes natural to many people. You see a need and you deliver a solution. Suddenly, you have a business. Many small businesses are you’re everyday cleaners, mechanics, and other local service providers.

In a world where making passive income and traveling the world is a fairly well known lifestyle, it might seem that these local business owners might have missed the boat.

How can someone who performs services in real life like painting or cleaning make their business more passive? How can they move their business from one where they own the job to a business that they actually own?

Today’s guest, Chris Schwab, is a young entrepreneur who’s figured it out. He started his cleaning business with the end in mind back when he was in college. Today, he lives in London while running this Washington, DC based business.

Think it’s too good to be true for you?

Listen in as we hear how he uses virtual assistants in a way that many of us might not consider!!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • How did Chris become a ‘citizen of the world’? 8:24
  • What’s a place that he perceived one way but when he actually experienced it, it was completely different? 9:40
  • How’d he realize that traveling was going to be a long term lifestyle after graduation? 10:55
  • How did he come up with how to run a cleaning business remotely? 12:16
  • How does someone find reliable people to be part of their remote business? 14:01
  • What are some skills that Chris would say need to be utilized in running a business remotely? 18:13
  • How does he find the discipline to make sure that the business is running smoothly? 19:43
  • Who should consider working with Chris and his VAs? 25:13
  • What’s his new project “Local Business Hustlers” all about? 35:09
  • What’s he looking forward to in the upcoming future? 39:20
  • Who’s Chris’ 3 top influential people in his life? 40:31
  • What’s a gift he loves giving others? 41:23
  • How does he stop the feeling of being overwhelmed when it he feels it creeping in? 41:48
  • What’s his favorite social custom from around the world? 42:33
  • What is something that he would want all high school students to know? 43:42
  • Is there a tip Chris would offer that would allow traveling to be easier for people? 44:19
  • What’s the secret to personal freedom? 45:16

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

 

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Automating a Cleaning Business (part 1 of Chris’ Journey)

How to Expand Your Cleaning Company Services (part 2 of Chris’ Journey)

What is Local Business Hustlers?

An Update on Local Business Hustlers

Thanks for Listening!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cheers!

important life lessons

5 Important Life Lessons I Learned from My Dogs

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Back in February I wrote about the loss of my dog, Sadie. She was so cool and VERY laid back about things in general. Other than me needing to feed her, she was a pretty independent (and stubborn!) girl.

That was in stark contrast to my other girl, Sable.

Sable has always been high maintenance. Maria would said say she was spoiled as a puppy.

There was good reason for this… and it all started the first night I had her back at Purdue.

That night, she wouldn’t stop whining when everyone went to bed. Of course, it might have had something to do with the fact that we put her in the back room away from everyone.

I tried so hard to keep her out there. But she was so persistent! Eventually I caved in and brought her into my room. It wasn’t long after that she learned she could get practically anything she wanted by asking for it. Including sleeping on my bed!!

From that point, she became one of the most vocal dogs I’ve ever known.

 

Almost two weeks ago, on Thursday June 21st, I had to let her cross the Rainbow Bridge.

Like her sister, she had been fighting cancer for a long time. While it wasn’t until recently we found out that it was lung cancer, we did know she had developed it because she started having seizures in late 2017.

She was having a heck of a time that last week and it was so hard to make that decision as it hadn’t been that long since I lost Sadie. However, anything that the veterinarians could do was a Hail Mary at that point.

I knew I had to make the call. I never had it in me to see her suffer – even as a pup.

So she’s now with her sister at Mom’s dog park in the sky.

Love you and miss you both, Girly Girls.

important life lessons

Princess Sadie and Duchess Sable – My Girly Girls

Traveling – A Great Time to Reflect

The next day, I had to hop on a flight to San Diego to meet up with Maria in the El Centro / Mexicali area. I hadn’t seen her in a couple of weeks – so it was certainly something to look forward to.

As I was traveling down there and back, I had time to think about how I was going to memorialize Sable’s passing.

With Sadie, I wrote about the grieving process. In there, you’ll see that my grieving process includes being creative in some way as a tribute.

For this tribute, I’m going to share some things I picked up from the two of them over the years.

 

Persistence Pays Off

As I’ve mentioned, Sable had a way of getting what she wanted. Not only did she start barking at someone if she wanted something bad enough, but she’d always outsmart her sister when Sadie was chewing or playing with something.

The biggest power move she had in this situation was when she acted as if she didn’t want Sadie’s toy. She’d walk over to someone for a butt scratch. When she got it, Sadie noticed and came over too (she was a butt scratch addict!!). Right away, Sable would run over to whatever Sadie had been working on and wouldn’t give it back!

They taught me that if you want something, just become the squeaky wheel!

Forgiveness and Living in the Moment

For the longest time, I had problems forgiving people. I took a lot of hurt around with me wherever I went.

When I went to Purdue, I wanted to become a new version of myself. However, my old habits kept me in a mental jail cell which prevented me from fully experiencing life at another level. It wasn’t really until my mom passed in 2010, that I started becoming my current self. It was then that I realized you have to live your own life – despite what you might perceive others expect of you. That was something she hadn’t done. She lived in her own mental prison herself, and most of it was self inflicted.

When I was suddenly in charge of both girls, I noticed that despite all the change that was going on, they were content and happy. They lived in the moment. They weren’t concerned with what people thought of them. And they didn’t hold aggressions with neighbors who yelled at them for being on their property.

My girls were just themselves. They taught me to just be me.

 

It’s Going to Be Okay

When I was going through that transition period between losing Mom in 2010 and marrying Maria in 2013, I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I grew up. On one hand, I felt that I had to live the life I went to school for. On the other hand, I realized that most of the time I was in school, I was simply doing what was expected of me.

I was expected to have a successful career.

And to be frank, I had no feeling of what success meant. The only things I had success in I had help achieving – I had guidance. I was now in the real world… and struggling!

But whenever I was with them after getting home from a long day of work – I was at piece. As long as I lived day to day and not sweat the details, things were going to work out.

It’s truly amazing what happens when you have this perspective.

Things will work out. Maybe not the way you plan for in the beginning – but they work out.

 

Take Time for Daily Exercise

One of the things that the girls wouldn’t let me forget about, especially between 2010 and 2016 was that they needed their daily walks. During those years in particular, we’d walk in the heat and cold. They didn’t care. Between 3 to 5 pm, they’d expect their walk.

Especially Sable. She was always on a mission to get to where we were going. She barely stopped to smell scents!

While I might not have been ready to take a break yet, it was during these walks that I was able to just think about things. I’d come back even more focused to wrap up the day on a good note.

I need to start getting Max on that same schedule. Unfortunately, we’ve had a pretty hot summer and he has had very little interest in being outside for long!

 

Pay Attention to Those You Love

My last Labrador, Shadow, passed when she was 10 years old. Like Sable and Sadie, she had developed cancer. Her mass was on her shoulder and it was super unbearable. In fact, she was in so much pain that she wouldn’t even try to move to go outside.

Knowing their life expectancy was around that 10 year mark, I started paying attention to them when they got to be about 8 and 9 years old. Often, I’d wake up in the middle of the night in a panic, wondering if they were still with us.

Thankfully, they were.

In retrospect, I think because of this fear and appreciating them as they ran to the door each day as I got home, I had a lot of good quality time with them. That’s actually a comfort for me now as I grieve.

In a time when we’re all glued to our digital devices or work, it seems like it’s getting harder and harder to spend this time with our loved ones.

Take the time to appreciate your close ones on a regular basis. You never know when the last time will be.

 

Action Steps

Nothing really deep here, guys. If you have doggos yourself, give them an extra strong hug for me when you see them next. Appreciate them.

For those of you who might have recently lost your own furry friends, is there anything they taught you?

Feel free to share below.

balanced lifestyle

Damion Lupo – Don’t Live to Work! Discover Your Own Balanced Lifestyle (AoL 125)

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The saying goes, “If you can do it once, you can do it again!” This is especially true for us creative types who might see success with one project, but on our next, we might start seeing our metrics go down.

This session’s guest, Damion Lupo, once owned 150 single family houses as as a real estate investor. But in 2008, everything came to a grinding halt. He was no longer able to live the lavish lifestyle that he was pursuing at the time.

It was soon after that he started on a quest to put more meaning into his life.

In 2012, he coauthored a book called Reinvented Life, where he talks about many of the things he learned during that journey.

In today’s chat, we go over some of these concepts as well as some pointers that he’d give someone just starting in investing.

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • How did Damion become so resilient as an entrepreneur? 6:36
  • How does he see wealth and how can abundantly thinking people reach out to others? 10:22
  • What’s his thinking behind financial freedom and retirement? 12:23
  • Why entrepreneurs might not make the best investors. 20:20
  • If someone has a $5,000 – $10,000 to invest in something, what’s a good strategy to get started? 27:41
  • What’s the best way for someone to find great opportunities in REI? 33:28
  • What are the pillars of Yokido? 37:05
  • What does Damion believe about Elon Musk’s perspective on having a universal income? 43:45
  • Who are the three influencers that has helped Damion get to where he’s at? 51:21
  • What’s an issue that more people should be talking about? 52:01
  • If Damion woke up tomorrow as a 10 year old and all his memories were intact, what would he do? 53:17
  • Something he’d like to do in his lifetime that no one knows about? 54:18
  • What’s the secret to achieving personal freedom? 54:54

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

 

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Yokido is Born

The Financial Freedom Formula

Damion on the Bigger Pockets Podcast

Damion Interviewed by Dom Brightmon

Thanks for Listening!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cheers!

achieving the dream

Achieving the Dream – Why One Degree Makes All the Difference

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I recently got the opportunity to spend some time with Harrison and Dr. Ping up at Purdue. We had a chance to see a lot of the change that is going on around campus – and… man, there’s a lot!

While we were exploring a bit, we also paid a visit to the Triple XXX Family Restaurant. Whenever someone’s new to the area, that’s one of my go to places because it’s been a Purdue establishment since 1929. In fact, it’s such a local treasure that Guy Fieri visited it back in 2007 for his show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

achieving the dream

After leaving there, we went to meet up with one of my business mentors – Mike Cassidy – on campus.

As Mike was chatting with us about our plans, we came to a part of the discussion where we were talking about his students and members of the Amplify Hope program.

Something got stuck in my mind about both groups of people. I realized that they were trying to build their dreams without fully having a real plan in place. They’re doing what they’re doing because their emotions are telling them to. (That’s actually one of the things that Mike helps his students with – getting out of their own head and looking at their business objectively.)

There might be a few minor issues they’ve overlooked, but over time those minor bugs can lead to huge problems.

 

Why One Degree Can Make a Huge Difference

These minor issues might not seem like a big deal. I mean, a few minor tweaks going along the way and the problems they might cause can be mitigated, right?

Well, sure.

However, if they’re not taken care of, then we’re looking at problems that might be noticed until it’s too late.

The traditional illustration of this principle is one of distance traveled:

Let’s say you’re going somewhere and you’re off course by just one degree. After one foot, you’ll miss your target by 0.2 inches. Trivial, right? But what about as you get farther out?

 

  • After 100 yards, you’ll be off by 5.2 feet. Not huge, but noticeable.
  • After a mile, you’ll be off by 92.2 feet. One degree is starting to make a difference.
  • After traveling from San Francisco to L.A., you’ll be off by 6 miles.
  • If you were trying to get from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., you’d end up on the other side of Baltimore, 42.6 miles away.
  • Traveling around the globe from Washington, DC, you’d miss by 435 miles and end up in Boston.
  • etc…

 

See what I’m talking about?

In real life, this can mean the difference of creating a business or nonprofit that is sustainable or pursuing a mission that makes someone take a 2nd or 3rd mortgage out on their house.

The key is to not let emotions and the pursuit of passion get in the way of our own success.

 

Delusions of Passion

David Anderson and Mark Nathan spoke in detail about this in their book, The Delusion of Passion: Why Millennials Struggle to Find Success.

In the book they argue that there’s several delusions we Millennials struggle with.

  • Where there is Passion, There is No Pain
  • Where there is Passion, There are No Problems
  • Passion Precedes Total Commitment
  • You Must Be Passionate About the Process
  • Living Passionately Is all About You

When we believe one of these delusions, we’re knocking our navigation off by a degree or more from the very beginning!

 

Action Steps

If you haven’t had the chance to read this book, here’s the link. Also, I’ve had both Mark and David on the podcast to discuss their perspectives a bit further.

I imagine it’d be worth your time to see if any of these perspectives are sabotaging your efforts to get to where you want in your career in life.

best places to invest in real estate

Kevin Bupp – Investing in Mobile Home Parks: Are They the Best Places to Invest in Real Estate? (AoL 124)

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In this session, we’re continuing on with our education about the real estate investing (REI) world. Again, REI is something that a lot of us online folks are familiar with. Mainly because one of the most recommended books about passive income was written by Robert Kiyosaki. It’s no mystery that he made most of his income through REI.

As we’ll be reminded in today’s conversation, you can get started at any level. Ideally, you’d be able to put your own money to work for you just like Robert suggests. However, if you don’t have the resources, you can find opportunities for people who do.

These are a couple of the ideas that today’s guest, Kevin Bupp talks about.

Kevin has seen it all. Starting nearly 20 years ago, he went from single family homes to owning all kinds of property.

Today he focuses on one type in particular – mobile home parks (Or better yet, manufactured housing communities).

Why? Listen in to find out!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • How’d Kevin first get into real estate investing? 10:03
  • How did he get started with his first property? 13:39
  • Should people new to real estate investing focus on wholesaling or buying to produce recurring revenue from the property? 14:44
  • Why did Kevin start investing in mobile home parks? 17:23
  • Where can someone do research to learn more about doing REI with mobile home parks? 20:53
  • How does Kevin alleviate the problem of tenants not paying on time in his parks? 27:48
  • What would Kevin of today tell himself back in 2000 to invest in if he only had $5000 to $10000 initially? 33:14
  • If someone wants to bring opportunity to someone like Kevin, what kind of property should they be on the look out for? 35:16
  • How can someone find those opportunities for established real estate investors? 36:51
  • Could someone develop their own mobile home park? Why might it be a good or bad idea? 38:42
  • Is there any trend in tiny home parks starting up? 41:15
  • How important is it for Kevin to give back to his community? 42:34
  • What’s Kevin looking forward to in the future? 44:53
  • Who are the 3 most influential people in his life? 46:06
  • One gift he likes giving others? 46:56
  • What’s Kevin looking forward to in the future? 47:15
  • How can someone be a difference maker in their community? 48:24

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

 

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Kevin on BiggerPockets

Interview on the REI Foundation Podcast

Kevin on Rod Khleif’s Show

A Taste of 72 Hours to Key West

Thanks for Listening!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cheers!