This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Cameron Brown. Cameron is an award-winning composer, international speaker, and founder of Thriving Collective a world-wide movement dedicated to helping people reach their true potential. Cameron has been featured everything from TEDx to ABC and Millennial Magazine. He was born in the outback of Australia and started playing piano at a young age. His story has a lot of ups and downs and twists and turns which he will share with you today.
In 2016, he sold or donated 99% of the things he owned and embarked on a global initiative called the “Impact diaries” to inspire people to make a greater positive impact in the world. And just this year, he official partnered with National Geographic as a National Geographic Explorer.
Cameron has a developed a very compelling and unique way of speaking and teaching through what he calls Multi-Sensory talks where he speaks to audience while mixing in playing piano and a complete video experience embedded in.
Cameron credits all of his success to the incredible impact that curiosity can have on your life and we break that down with him in this episode.
@AskCameronBrown on social
Cameron says he’s had a number of big defining moments in his life. One of them was in mid-2010 when they heard screaming from his neighbor that her son had just killed himself. He and another went running through the house and found the deceased. Cameron remembers most taking care of the siblings and pretending like nothing was going on, playing with them to keep them occupied, but to then see the father come home with a look of helplessness and the rest of the family. Cameron took away some very important truths from the experience. First, not one should ever have to go through that type of experience. Second, that there are others ways out and that there had to be a way to help people that are going through these tough times.
With a couple months, Cameron had enrolled in his first coaching course on personal development to help people. He learned a lot about himself and started to help people have breakthroughs. This grew and allowed him to start working with businesses to help them overcome their biggest challenges around the country.
Cameron’s work and other experiences lead him to ask 2 really important questions:
The answer to the 2nd question was “no.” He made significant changes to his business to allow him to live more fully and begin to enjoy all aspects of life instead of just being focused on work.
He traveled and had had adventures, tried new things, met new people…and this really made him realize that life really is about experiences and he decided to find a way to blend helping others and companies with doing through a great experience.
What is the most important thing you have learned on your journey to this point?
Pay attention at the 9 min mark as Cameron talks about the benefits of curiosity in our lives and how it serves as the gateway to creativity and innovation.
At the 13 min mark, Cameron answers the question” How did the music side come to be in your life and how does it work with what you do?”
Talk to us about the process of manifestation – how does someone go from visualization to get the real result?
What did growing up in the outback of Australia teach you about how to succeed in life and business?
What should people know about maximizing technology in their lives?
Other advice?
What are the 3 Impacts?
The big insight is that you can be succeeding in your business and taking care of others, but if that is out of alignment with taking care of your environment – then what you are doing in the other 2 areas, you can still have a negative impact.
Tell us about curiosity and being comfortable with being uncomfortable…
Listen at the 44 min mark as Cameron really dives deep on curiosity and curious language and tonality…
What is Meercat Syndrome and why should people understand it?
Best Quote: “Become comfortable with being uncomfortable.”
Cameron's Misfit 3:
This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Heini Zachariassen. Heini is the creator and founder of the widely popular app, Vivino, which provides users with any wine's rating, review and average price. It is also the world’s largest wine community, claiming more than 31 million users.
Vivino’s been featured, well, just about everywhere and in every publication from Entrepreneur to Forbes to INC and on and on.
The interesting thing is that Heini started Vivino with no experience at all in the wine business. He has a varied background in software development and mobile innovation and as an entrepreneur, had had success in a few other ventures, but as he says he was a total outsider.
And that is one of the major topics I want to discuss with him today – how being an outsider can actually be the best thing for your business and success.
Heini was born in the Farrow Islands in the North Atlantic. Basically in the middle of nowhere. He grew up there and moved to Denmark when it was time for college. Heini says that he was always entrepreneurial, and his father was a “super-nerd,” so the whole family was into technology.
When he left college, he wanted to start a business. He found success after a few small enterprises with a software security company. The company did well and still exists, but he wanted to create something more fun. So, about 10 years ago, he noticed that there was no way to judge wine. There was no rating, no information, etc. He started building something really for himself and the idea was to create a web-database for wine.
One thing Heini notes is timing. They hit it right on for timing with smart phones coming online and giving people the ability to take a picture of a label and get instant info and a rating. A few years earlier and that would not have been possible, so timing was huge in the success of Vivino.
Talk to us about how being an outsider can help you in succeeding as a business…
Talk about launching the product…
Over 30 million users, what can you teach us about how to grow and build an online community?
What ways did you market and gain visibility as you began to grow?
Are there any mediums that you promote through that work better than others?
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned about growing and scaling a business?
Talk about replacing yourself in the business….
At the 24 min mark, Heini talks about what he looked for when he wanted to replace himself and find a CEO to take the company into the future.
What have you learned from raising capital?
Do you have any critical habits that you practice and contribute to your success?
Other advice?
Best Quote: "Always believe in your luck."
Heini's Misfit 3: