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5 Realizations About Getting Older (Which Might Seem Bad at First!)

August 22/by JC

As I’m sitting here watching the Great American Eclipse of 2017, it hit me. This isn’t the first one I remember seeing. In fact, there’s been a few others. But you wouldn’t know that based on all the commotion about this one.

I remember in junior high there was one as well. Funny enough, I don’t recall anyone talking about it! It just seemed to have happened.

I specifically remember seeing it as I was going to lunch period. And, what’s funny, is that I ended up pointing it out to my friends in a puddle. (I guess a little eye damage is better than a lot!)

Come to find out, there were several around that time frame – even if they were partial eclipses. Not exactly sure which year it was, unfortunately. 🙁

But, it’s interesting. That was around 20 years ago. 20 YEARS. At that time I thought anyone that was 20 years old was not exactly old… but at least almost consider an adult!

But now I’m 35, quickly approaching 36. That realization (as well as a Adults React video I watched yesterday) had me thinking:

What are some things I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older?

More specifically: What are some things that I’ve learned that at one point might have been considered a bad thing?

Here’s that video if you need some help feeling old:

Stop Feeling Immortal

So, the last day of 2010, my mom suddenly passed. Needless to say, life suddenly changed. I still remember that morning pretty vividly. Just coming to terms with it all.

Up to that point, I had been to many funerals with my mom. I never really thought too much about death. Only the rare instance that she had prepped me for when it happened to her. She mentioned I was to do a list of things. One of which was cremating her because she didn’t want bugs in her body! Kind of odd, right? I guess it just grossed her out too much, apparently!

Anyway, it’s been nearly 7 years since then. And that time, I feel, has totally flown by quicker than all the time before it. Partially because I’ve met and married Maria during that time. But also because I have an exact reference point in my mind.

With that reference point, I’ve realized that knowing that my time is limited is a GREAT motivator. In a odd way, I feel that her passing has given me the freedom to realize that I could pursue a “secure” career and get a regular 9 to 5. But there’s that creative side of me that would never be ok with that. In fact, I know I’d get bored in a traditional role (I had jobs before that time and each one I was always thinking if I was supposed to fit in that role or not).

So, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve learned how to live better and fuller.

Becoming More Realistic

Because I’ve realized that I’m not going to live forever (even though there is a chance for the singularity to come around 2030 to copy us all digitally), I’ve had to get more real.

Some might say that this pessimism setting in, but the world, as much as the self improvement world would rather have you believe, is full of crap that you’re going to have to deal with.
In a recent interview with Lewis Howes, Mark Manson talks about how the book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck came into existence.

They talk about a few key points in that conversation including why you need to learn how to deal with the fact that bad stuff happens to all of us AND that when you accept that it’s there, it’s actually better to see it and deal with it than pretend it’s not.

I’m Not as Smart as I’d Like to Think I Am

Here’s the thing. When I was an 8th grader, I thought I knew it all. Then I became a 9th grader and I realized I didn’t.

When you’re out of school, whether it’s high school or college, that feeling – it never really goes away. Part of adulting is not knowing the answers for everything and just winging it as you go on.

Sure, there are some basic things that we feel that everyone should know – but when they don’t, that shouldn’t give us the permission to be upset with them. We have no idea what the context of their life has been.

When you realize this simple fact, it’s actually quite freeing. The truth is that we’re always learning. Not only will you loosen up on what you expect from others, but you won’t expect as much from yourself. This means, you won’t try to answer questions you don’t know the answers to!

Less Need for Social Acceptance

When I was in college, I felt like a complete loser if I didn’t have anything to do on a Friday night. Staying in and playing video games online was pretty average for me – even after I got my license as a bartender.

I just never saw the point of getting drunk for the heck of it and that pretty much seemed to be what was going on around Purdue’s campus each and every weekend.

Well, that was until I realized that were alternative groups that I could belong to and those – well – those were fun!

These days, I find Maria and myself staying in on Friday nights. Why? Because our weeks simply take too much out of us to go have a night life. Our weekends are OURS! When we do go out, it’s not because we feel some social obligation to do so – it’s because we’ve made the choice to do it. Same for staying in. It feels nice to not have those expectations that I used to have.

No Idea What’s Going on in Mainstream Culture (for the most part!)

When I was growing up and on through college, I felt that to be popular you had to know what was popular. So I always knew what the popular music was of the time and I watched as much shows on TV as I could. I wanted to be part of the inside and know all the references!

Ever since I became a creative, and even before then, I can pretty much tell you that there’s no way I can keep up with it all anymore. Hell, I don’t even have the time to follow my own favorite shows anymore. But that said, at least I don’t have to try and keep my finger of the pulse of stuff I don’t care for.

The truth is, the more I’ve paid more attention to what I like doing and paying attention to, the happier I’ve become.

There’s only so many hours in a week.

Action Steps

I think the main thing that we can learn is this: take time to improve on the important things in your life.

Those things break down into the 5 Pillars of Happiness: physical, mental, spiritual, financial, and the final one I call “little things”. That one is all about the things that make you different than people you know that are on the same walk of life as you.

Focusing on these 5 things so will make you happier and more content in the long run. But you have to do the development equally. (I saw a great post by upcoming AoL podcast guest JR Rivas who shared his dad talking about this in his marketing group.)

If you want to share anything that you’ve learned as you’ve gotten older, I’d love to hear about it below. I’m sure there’s some things I’ve missed!

Just Getting Started: Why Execution is More Important Than Having the Best Business Ideas with Jeremy Miller (AoL 101)

August 17/by JC

What could possibly come after the big 100th episode of AoL? How about an episode where the guest does pretty much everything we talk about in that session item by item.

In this session, Albert and I are joined by Jeremy Miller. Jeremy is a well known entrepreneur around Indianapolis due to his speaking engagements and the work that he does through the multiple companies he’s involved with.

What’s great is that just like Dane Maxwell back in session 56, Jeremy’s been able to use entrepreneurship as a way to put his energy into something that has give him purpose.

Here’s the catch, though. While Dane found entrepreneurship in college, Jeremy found it while he was still in high school.

And now that he’s graduated, he’s really starting to open things up! He’s not wasting time stuck in a chair preparing for tests!

In this conversation, we learn more about his backstory, his perspectives on some of the general mindsets that someone considering to be an entrepreneur needs, and why execution beats the best business ideas!

Thanks for spending some time with us and enjoy!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

How’d Jeremy get into entrepreneurship? 11:09
Did he have a mentor and how did he end up seeking them out? 13:45
How does Jeremy balance work, travel and life? 16:54
Where did he travel to once graduating? 22:07
How did Jeremy start living intentionally? 28:27
Jeremy’s thoughts on over executing the competition vs worrying about stealing an idea. 30:59
What are some steps that people can take to make a difference in the world? 33:30
Which is right? The perspective of finding passion in your work or your passion leading to the work you do? 37:31
What’s Jeremy looking forward to in the not too distant future? 40:37
What are his Top 3 favorite books? 43:17
What’s his least favorite social custom? 44:17
What advice does he hear adults giving young kids that he’d call BS on? 49:51
How can someone be a difference maker in their own community? 52:20
… and MUCH more!

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

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Jeremy’s Story:

Jeremy on WTHR 13:

Subaru Impreza Movie:

Mike Rowe on NOT following Your Passion:

Thanks for Listening!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cheers!

The Rule of Five: The Building Blocks of a Leader’s Daily Routine

August 15/by JC

It’s funny how things change! In this post from October 12th, 2010, I mention going to an LTD Leadership convention. I imagine it was either in Kansas City, MO or Louisville, KY. I’ll tell you, I loved being a part of that group! I was motivation junkie. I was sucking it all in and had been for 4 years straight at that point. It had been over a year since I had graduated, but I had little to show for it – in fact, this was when I was just about to start teaching at Ivy Tech.

At that point, who would have guessed that I would soon become a John Maxwell Team member?

Woah. Life is truly amazing in its twists and turns.

Anyhow, I wanted to share this post after last week’s 100th session of the AoL Podcast. One of the things that I mentioned is that John has this Rule of Five when it comes to learning and filing those things away. Well, as you’ll read below, those 5 steps have helped him write numerous books over the years. However, this does come at a cost – he calls his regular life pretty boring!

I can relate. That’s why I don’t really use social media to share what I’m up to. Because most of the time it’s spent in front of a computer creating content!!

– JC

What a Great Weekend!

Over the weekend I went to an LTD leadership conference – Summit 2010. As usual, the quality of the speakers was great. The two keynote speakers completely blew my mind: Frank Luntz and John C. Maxwell. For those of you who don’t know, Frank is a pollster that has probably been on every prime time and morning news show imaginable. And Dr. Maxwell, well – let’s just call him the guru of leadership. He’s someone that I’ve learned quite a bit from in the last couple of years through my grad work and LTD itself.

One of the things that I share with you guys today was something John pointed out that he does on a daily basis that I thought was really noteworthy. Doing this little thing has lead him to write over 50 books over his career and still gives him more to share. This little thing is called the “Rule of Five”.

Essentially the Rule of Five is a habit you start that consists of 5 different actions that lead you to your goals/dreams. For example, Dr. Maxwell wanted to become an in-demand writer and motivational speaker. Of course, there are multiple ways to do this, but since he’s a great writer, he thought that it’d be better for him to go in as a writer.

Rule of Five:

So, his five things that he does to achieve this are:

Read
File
Think
Ask questions
Write

Doesn’t seem too bad, does it?

Well, there’s a catch. You have to do this everyday. No excuses. Do you want to be a novelist? You will write every day. Do you want to be an painter? You will paint everyday! Simple, right?

As part of his presentation, he said, “your success is determined by your daily agenda.” This is so true, because it is! To accomplish you have to be productive! However, he worked intelligently. You hear so much about people being busy all the time and not successfully going anywhere – it’s typically because they’re not focused in their work.

And since he was there talking about his writing, you can see that he was successful in what he set out to do!

John wasn’t born rich. He didn’t attend a prestigious school or grow up with children of people in power. He got to where he is by doing.

So. Five things a day, everyday. That’s all it takes to fulfill your dream.

Just a note to add here. Since starting work on New Inceptions full time, I started implementing my own Rule of Five. While I started from his, mine varies slightly due to the different content pieces that I’ll make in a given week.

For creating content, mine are:

Explore – Find out what’s going on in the world around me and in the online entrepreneurial/creative industry.
Study – Are there any interesting crossings of the two worlds? What does it mean and how does it apply?
Connect the Dots – Ask those questions! Who needs to know this information? Is this something I need to bring up in future content?
Take Action – Synthesize new content, share, and help others where needed.
Reflect – Ask myself, “Did that have the desired effect I was looking for? What could I have done better?”

Action Steps:

One thing I want to make clear is this: the Rule of Five can be applied to anything that you want to master. What do you want to master?What are you working on that you can break down into 5 steps? Let me know below!

If you want a post about this in John’s own words, you can check one out here! Also, if you haven’t done so yet from session 100, check out this post by John. In this post, besides his Rule of Five, he also talks about his 12 pledges. Now, I can’t say that I have pledges, I do use Joe Markiewics’s 21 Standards to this day, I wouldn’t necessarily call them pledges – although they seem to be very similar.

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

August 10/by JC

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for spending some time with us and enjoy!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

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

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

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Laila Online: Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram
Get your FREE consultation with Laila!
Laila’s first AoL SessionAoL Interviews mentioned in this show: Cole Johnson, Mirna Bacun, Sara Divello, Brian Drury, Veronica Kirin, Sharlotte Bouniol (silver),
Ascension and Amplify Indy
America Multi-Sport Viking Dash Series
The Brendon Show
Wedding Fit Forever FB Group
Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson
Will It Fly by Pat Flynn
Wired That Way by Marita Littauer (Amazon Link)
John Maxwell’s Daily Routine
ClickFunnels – Your One Stop Solution for Building Great Sales Funnels! (Get 14 days free!)

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Why Laila Quit Her Job:

Why Laila Chose NOT to take the Professional Engineer Exam:

Reflection: 2 Years After Wedding:

Why You Need the Perfect Wedding Photographer:

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.

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

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

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

Cheers!

How an Outgoing Introvert Can Become a Leader

July 25/by JC

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

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

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

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

-JC

Growing Up an Outgoing Introvert

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Make it a Commitment

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

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

He committed to his task.

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

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

Improve Your Interpersonal Skills

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

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

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

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

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

Get Comfortable Taking Small Risks

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

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

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

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

Rely on What You Know

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

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

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

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

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

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

Develop Your Three Layers Of Confidence

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

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

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

You need to develop your three layers of confidence:

Surface
Lifestyle
Core

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

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

Share Your Vision Early On:

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

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

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

Action Steps:

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

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

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

A Quick Guide to Forming a Productive Business Partnership

July 11/by JC

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

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

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

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

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

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

Matching Values

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

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

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

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

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

Same thing can be done when starting a business.

Ideas for Questions:

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

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

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

Complementary Skills and Personality

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

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

Making the bed everyday
Laundry
Tidying up

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

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

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

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

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

Start with the End in Mind

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

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

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

This is stuff you want to consider.

Background Check

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

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

Find out the answers to these questions:

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

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

Take Them for a Test Drive!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Special Note About Friends as Business Partners:

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

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

So here’s a few tips with this.

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

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

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

Action Steps:

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

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

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

Let me know below!

Transformational Learning through Travel: Why Your Next Trip Might Change Your Life and Business for the Better with Gregory V. Diehl (AoL 095)

July 6/by JC

Let’s face it, we grow comfortable with who we are, or at least, who we’re perceived to be. Whether or not our self image is one we’re proud of, we get used to how we’re perceived in the world.

Many times that perception can hold us back on what we could be or should be doing with ourselves.

For me, growing up in a small town, I have a lot of small town perceptions. I know they’re completely different than my wife’s who has a much different view of the world because she grew up in cities.

For example, as an only child in a small town, I got used to being bored fairly regularly. The nearest mall or movie theater was 25 miles away. So, I had a lot of time growing up to think about how the world worked based on what I saw on TV, heard on the radio, read in books and magazines, and later read on the web. My natural state has always been to learn and explore.

In Maria’s case, she’s always had family around. People who needed her for one thing or another. So she’s always been focused on what needed to be done next. Didn’t have nearly as much time to be bored as I was because she was always doing something with someone – somewhere. She frankly didn’t have much time for herself.

It wasn’t until her tour in Iraq that she had time to think about what she wanted in life. For her, while she was in a combat zone, it gave her time to think.

That time to think – to be away from everything you know – is exactly what today’s guest is all about. He wanted something different from what he was getting in life as a teenager.

So he set out to explore.

Today, Gregory V. Diehl has explored 50 countries in 10 years.

In today’s conversation, Veronica and I discuss transformative traveling with him as well as how your story is essential to your brand. Both of which he’s written books about. We also discuss how someone can create pain in their life to give themselves a way to discover who they really are.

Thanks for listening, and enjoy the show!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

What were Gregory’s formative years like? 6:50
Where did the inspiration for traveling come from? 8:38
What gave him the courage to get started in traveling? 12:47
How does being a traveler help Gregory with his business? 17:14
Where are some of the places that he has citizenship? 20:31
Did he have any early entrepreneurial escapades as he was growing up? 23:18
Is there any advice that he’d want to tell young entrepreneurs as they’re first getting started? 26:25
Where did the idea for his book, Brand Identity Breakthrough, come from? 28:21
Where did the idea for his podcast come from? 29:45
What are some of the things that Gregory likes diving into on the show? 32:15
How can someone get confident in discussing their new identity with the world around them when they’ve recently found it? 33:39
How can someone manufacture pain in their life so they can rise to another level? 37:03
What’s the next book that Gregory is working on about? 42:13
Are there other methods, besides entrepreneurship, that kids can allow them to explore their identity? 43:33
Who are Gregory’s top 3 favorite influencers? 48:10
A gift he likes giving others? 50:47
Something he wishes was still a thing? 51:03
Place any ad in the world, cost free, what it would say? 54:27
What’s the secret to achieving personal freedom? 56:59
… and MUCH more!