Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!" In November of 2016, we introduced a new format that we are putting alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life….even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of "Lessons for Hannah," I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.
"Lessons for Hannah" are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I have learned which I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.
This week’s Lesson for Hannah
Hannah, I want share with you an abbreviated version of a talk I have been doing called “The 5 Principles to Thrive, Succeed, and Live Your Best Life.” It is resonating greatly right now during the pandemic, but the principles are timeless.
I want to start by asking you and anyone listening a question. And that is, “Do you know what chances of being alive are? Let me explain. The chances of you being alive are the same as if 2.5 million people got together, roughly the population of a city the size of Chicago or San Diego, to play a game of dice, each person with a TRILLION sided dice, and they all roll the dice and come up with the exact same number. I’m going to let that sink for a second.
To put it numerically, your chances of being born are 1 in 4 TRILLION.
There is no way around it – you are a miracle it.
I share this for perspective. No matter what your circumstances, no matter who you are, no matter where you are in your life right now, you are a miracle. The fact that you are here means that trillions of others that could have been will never exist. Literally, one step in the wrong direction on a battlefield in history and you don’t exist. One rock in space hits another a different way – and someone else is in your place.
You are one of the greatest miracles ever created. Cherish this fact.
And that brings me to principle #1: Keep Perspective.
You must keep perspective in your life. No matter what is happening, good or bad, right or wrong – you will do well to keep yourself grounded and maintain perspective.
Having good perspective will not only help you to think better and make better decisions, but it will also give you the ability to find happiness at any point in your life.
There are always things to be grateful for and to live for and into our lives…Now, that doesn’t mean we don’t have tough times in our lives. We all do. Right now, the whole world is turned upside and will be potentially changed forever creating some challenging time.
But when these times come, it is very important for all us to control what can be controlled and let the rest go.
Above all else, there is one thing we can control that makes the most difference in our lives – and that is our mindset and our conditioning. You see. we have two minds. We have a conscious mind that we are “aware” of… It is the mind that you use when you “think” to do something. But, we have another much more powerful mind…the subconscious mind. This is the part of your brain the runs you without you even knowing. Think about it – how much do you “think” to throw a ball, drive a car, brush your teeth. You don’t – you just do it.
The subconscious is the most powerful part of our mind and the conditioning it has received determines much of our thinking, decisions, and how we operate in life. Have you ever asked yourself or wondered, “Where do my thoughts come from?” or ever made a decision where you said afterward, “Why did I do that?”
You did it because it was the automatic response your subconscious was conditioned to….As powerful as it is, it is actually not that smart in that it doesn’t decide if the conditioning it has received is truly the best thing for you or not. It just follows the programming.
This is why a person’s mind can actually be their biggest obstacle to success – because whatever your subconscious is programmed to is where you end up.
The key is to understand this and use this awareness to stop debilitating conditioning and reprogram your mind with the way you want to think and the thoughts you want to have.
And that is Principle #2: Learn to control your mindset and conditioning.
Principle #3 is short and quick. You must balance faith and optimism. The best example of this is a story I’ve shared before about Vice Admiral James Stockdale, who was a PO in Vietnam for about 7 years. I urge you to go read his story and his interview by Jim Collins. Essentially, the biggest lesson he shared is “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose-- with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
You must always balance faith and optimism and come to grips with reality. If you develop the ability to do this, you can make it through anything. Remember, as I started with, you are a miracle and you are here because you were destined to be here. Things are happening as they are supposed to. And you get to choose how you respond and react to them.
And that brings me to Principle #4, which you taught me, Hannah. Our journey to become a family is filled with twists, turns, and miracles. You can go listen to the first Lessons for Hannah for the full story. But it came down to just a few things. One small choice, one tiny checkbox made the difference for us to find you. The adoption agency, at the time only worked with only 1 orphanage directly in all of China And no one in the world new about you but us because of checking that one box and the agency working with that one orphanage. Third, you were mis-diagnosed and should have been considered a “healthy child,” which means we would never have had know about you as it was a different program.
And here is what I learned from our journey. Everything that happened to the point where we became a family, had to happen exactly as it did – Good and Bad. And it taught me to have no regrets.
Aside from the chances of you being alive, everything that had to happen to get you to this point right now where I am speaking to you and you are getting this message had to happen exactly as it did.
I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t change any of it. Oh, that doesn’t mean I don’t learn from it and given the chance to do things again, wouldn’t apply what I’ve learned. I just don’t regret it.
And that brings me to principle #4 which is really a couple of principles in one, but they fit together.
Everything is a choice. Choose wisely. Do not let yourself be saddled by regret from your choices. Learn from them and become better…
When you do that. When you combine everything I’ve shared in this episode.
When you put all this to work for yourself, you will find yourself practicing Principle #5.
You will become the best version of yourself – a constant work in progress no doubt, but a light to those around you and someone they can count on to guide the way and prevail no matter what happens
You will be able to give to this world and those around in ways you never dreamed of and make a much bigger impact that you ever thought was possible. You will be able to thrive, succeed, and live your best life.
Principle #5 is be the light you were meant to be in this world. You have so much more in you than you know. Live into it.
I’ll leave you with this quote from the great Jim Rohn:
“The big challenge is to become all that you have the possibility of becoming. You cannot believe what it does to the human spirit to maximize your human potential and stretch yourself to the limit.”
Hannah, and anyone listening I challenge you to use these 5 principles to maximize your potential and stretch yourself to the limit.
I love you,
Daddy
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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Alex Kuhn. Alex is the founder of Born to Lead – a company that helps business leaders grow & lead 6,7,8...even 10 figure businesses.
Their key is helping these leaders discover their SuccessDNA and learning how to build the business model around the leaders unique, innate leadership style & talent.
Alex started his entrepreneur journey as one of the top collegiate swim coaches, turning around 2 programs before the age of 28. This helped lay the foundation for his work and Born to Lead. He went on to create and sell two other companies in the health and digital space, but his passion for helping leaders tap into their best selves is what really fuels him.
And it hasn’t gone un-noticed, Alex has been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, and a number of other outlets for his paradigm shifting leadership that has helped more than 200 clients at least double their business growth – and that is one of the main things I want him to share with you in this episode, how he does it.
www.Alex-kuhn.com/MisfitEntrepreneur ($500 FREE Gift, Success DNA Program)
Alex has always had a great relationship with his father, and they love to challenge each other. When Alex was 9 years old, his father told Alex he was a “follower” to push him. Becoming a leader became part of his DNA. At the age of 12, he left home to go train with the greatest athletes in the world in swimming – people like Michael Phelps and others.
He never made it to the Olympics and ended his career at age 22. Instead of taking the Fortune 500 job he was offered, he decided to take a swim coach job making essentially nothing at a tiny all girls school in Iowa. After a couple years, he got his first head coaching job becoming one of the youngest college head coaches in the space and turned the team around. He got awarded coach of the year for it.
He moved up the ranks and took his next job in California. After 7 years, he was in a position to take over a top tier collegiate swim program, but he decided not to. The entrepreneur bug had been in the back of his mind for a long time and he could not ignore it any longer. So, her retired from coaching and start his entrepreneur journey.
After a few years, he was still broke and not reaching success. He had a defining moment where he asked the question, “What was it that had made him so successful in swimming and coaching that he had not translated to entrepreneurship.” The answer set him on a path to the success he has now.
What was the answer to the question you asked that set you on your path to success?
How does someone break the mold and tap into this for themselves? How do they find their innate leadership style?
SuccessDNA has 4 architypes:
How does an entrepreneur use their strength to the favor once they know it?
At the 17 min mark, Alex gives some examples of this.
“If a fish came up to you and ask you if it could fly. You would not tell them it is a hustle or mindset problem. You would tell them they were meant to swim not to fly. You must focus on what you were meant to do, your innate ability.”
What makes a great leader? What do they need to have to be successful?
What is the process you take clients through that helps them more than double the size of their business?
At the 30 min mark, Alex gives example of how to leverage and create leverageable businesses
Are there any principles that you used to turn around swim programs that are transferrable to entrepreneurship?
Best Quote: If a fish came up to you and ask you if it could fly. You would not tell them it is a hustle or mindset problem. You would tell them they were meant to swim not to fly. You must focus on what you were meant to do, your innate ability.
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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Kevin England. Kevin is the founder and CEO of Vonazon, a highly sought after full-service digital sales, marketing, and media agency that helps businesses expand their reach and impact through well-thought-out and holistic strategic initiatives.
But more than that, Kevin is a top-rated speaker and consummate entrepreneur having started his first technology company when he was 19, which he built into a massive organization and ultimately sold to Gateway computer. At that point, he could have easily retired, but instead he got into whole different businesses leading him to Vonazon.
And that is really what I want to explore with Kevin in this episode, aside from all his insight into entrepreneurship, I want to discuss what it is that keeps successful entrepreneurs going after they’ve essentially “made it.” What is this force that brings us back to the well?
Kevin started at 13. His dad gave him his first computer and told him to figure it out. So, he taught himself how to write code. He started out by writing games. His data realized he had a knack for it and got him involved with some of his business colleagues. Through high school, Kevin wrote programs for businesses and developed applications.
He grew up in surf town and was basically a surfer who could program. Programming brought him into his first business at 19. His goal was to help small-mid sized business grow and implementing technology. The business grew and Kevin became the biggest value-added reseller for Gateway Computer to a point where if Gateway sold a computer in California, one of Kevin’s employees touched it.
Kevin ultimately sold the company to Gateway to help them build out the service side of Gateway and his team were the people in Gateway stores across the nation helping clients.
After cashing out and basically being able to retire, you got back into the game in a difference business, why?
How do you see entrepreneurship?
Talk to us about your philosophies of leading people and building a great business?
Move your feet and figure it out…explain that.
Sports is a great metaphor for life, business, etc., are there any other lessons you’ve taken from sports to help your success?
Talk to us about pushing someone limits…
What is your best advice for an entrepreneur just starting out?
How do you overcome fear?
Any other thoughts?
Understand that as an entrepreneur, you will work a lot, but you cannot sacrifice your loved ones and family.
You must create your family time and commitment to spending the time daily with them.
Your loved ones matter more than anything else.
Best Quote: Always be prepared. Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance
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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Michelle Reines. Michelle is the founder of the Badass Leader brand and best-selling book, From Bad to Badass leader. Michelle worked extensively in the corporate world for years racking up accolades, awards, and being featured throughout top publications.
But something was missing. She was making multiple 6-figures per year and crushing it in business, but she wasn’t fulfilled. So, Badass Leader was born. It came out of a desire to create a cool, approachable, edgy, humorous, more relatable leadership development resource for every day front line leaders, middle managers, executive entrepreneurs, and the up and coming generation of leaders.
Michelle put her money where her mouth was. She quit her job, went from making several hundred thousand dollars a year to making $25k a year and creating Badass Leadership. And nowadays, Michelle and Badass Leadership are one of the most sought after leadership training groups in the business. So, I asked her to come the show and teach you how to be a Badass Leader.
Michelle’s exodus from corporate America stemmed from a tragedy. At 49 years old, her mom passed away. It was a shock. Her mother had a sudden heart attack while she slept with no red flags, being healthy, etc. When Michelle turned 47, she got to thinking – what if I only have 2 years left? She had discovered that she had some of the same risk factors as her mother.
She embraced the mindset of living like you were dying. She stepped away from corporate America in 2011 to fulfill a dream to help leaders. She had struggled learning how to lead and learning to be effective as leader before figuring it out and having get success and knew she could help others succeed faster and easier.
In her first year, she made just under $25k and was absolutely thrilled and knew she had something. She succeeded wildly over the next couple years and then decided to take it to a new level with the Badass Leader brand. She started Badass to bridge a training gap that existed and provide and easier to understand and implement leadership structure for success.
What was the hardest part of transitioning from employee to entrepreneur and what advice would you give others looking to do that same?
What is a Badass Leader?
What is the difference between being in a position of leadership and being an actual leader?
Tell us about the 12 principles. Can we go through each one of them and why it matters and how we can institute them?
Anything else to share?
Best Quote: "If it is to be, it is up to me..."
Michelle's Misfit 3:
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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Michelle Reines. Michelle is the founder of the Badass Leader brand and best-selling book, From Bad to Badass leader. Michelle worked extensively in the corporate world for years racking up accolades, awards, and being featured throughout top publications.
But something was missing. She was making multiple 6-figures per year and crushing it in business, but she wasn’t fulfilled. So, Badass Leader was born. It came out of a desire to create a cool, approachable, edgy, humorous, more relatable leadership development resource for every day front line leaders, middle managers, executive entrepreneurs, and the up and coming generation of leaders.
Michelle put her money where her mouth was. She quit her job, went from making several hundred thousand dollars a year to making $25k a year and creating Badass Leadership. And nowadays, Michelle and Badass Leadership are one of the most sought after leadership training groups in the business. So, I asked her to come the show and teach you how to be a Badass Leader.
Michelle’s exodus from corporate America stemmed from a tragedy. At 49 years old, her mom passed away. It was a shock. Her mother had a sudden heart attack while she slept with no red flags, being healthy, etc. When Michelle turned 47, she got to thinking – what if I only have 2 years left? She had discovered that she had some of the same risk factors as her mother.
She embraced the mindset of living like you were dying. She stepped away from corporate America in 2011 to fulfill a dream to help leaders. She had struggled learning how to lead and learning to be effective as leader before figuring it out and having get success and knew she could help others succeed faster and easier.
In her first year, she made just under $25k and was absolutely thrilled and knew she had something. She succeeded wildly over the next couple years and then decided to take it to a new level with the Badass Leader brand. She started Badass to bridge a training gap that existed and provide and easier to understand and implement leadership structure for success.
What was the hardest part of transitioning from employee to entrepreneur and what advice would you give others looking to do that same?
What is a Badass Leader?
What is the difference between being in a position of leadership and being an actual leader?
Tell us about the 12 principles. Can we go through each one of them and why it matters and how we can institute them?
Anything else to share?
Best Quote: "If it is to be, it is up to me..."
Michelle's Misfit 3:
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