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Dave Lukas, The Misfit Entrepreneur_Breakthrough Entrepreneurship

The weekly podcast with serial entrepreneur, Dave M. Lukas, devoted to giving you incredibly useful and unique insight from the world's top entrepreneurs with a focus on their non-traditional methods for achieving success, their Misfit side. Misfit was created to give YOU the breakthrough entrepreneurship strategies and actionable advice to accelerate your success! The show's open format and Misfit 3 concept, combined with Dave's intuitive and engaging interview style quickly uncover each guest's key tools, tactics, and tricks that listeners can start using in their lives right now. Learn more about the show at www.misfitentrepreneur.com and become a member of Misfit Nation by signing up for the Misfit Minute, the FREE weekly email with specific resources from the week's "Misfit 3," and actionable tips and items from the world of Misfit Entrepreneurs. It is delivered every Friday to your inbox!
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Now displaying: August, 2017

The weekly podcast with serial entrepreneur, Dave M. Lukas, devoted to giving you incredibly useful and unique insight from the world's top entrepreneurs with a focus on their non-traditional methods for achieving success, their Misfit side. Misfit was created to give YOU the best, actionable advice to accelerate your success!

The show's open format and Misfit 3 concept, combined with Dave's intuitive and engaging interview style quickly uncovers each guest's key tools, tactics, and tricks that listeners can start using in their lives right now.

Learn more about the show at www.misfitentrepreneur.com and become a member of Misfit Nation by signing up for the Misfit Minute, the FREE weekly email with specific resources from the week's "Misfit 3," and actionable tips and items from the world of Misfit Entrepreneurs. It is delivered every Friday to your inbox!

Aug 30, 2017

We have a little different episode for you this week with our Misfit Entrepreneur as it was recorded live on his Youtube channel. This week’s Misfit is a man that probably needs no introduction, Evan Carmichael. Evan is the author of runaway best-seller “Your One Word. The Powerful Secret to Creating a Business and Life that Matter.” Before that, at 19, he built and sold a biotech software company. At 22, he was a VC helping raise $500k to $15 million.

What he is probably known best for is the work he does at Evan Carmichael.com and his wildly popular Youtube Channel with almost a million followers. He has been named Top 100 Leadership speakers by INC Magazine, top 40 Social Marketing Talents by Forbes, and has been featured just about everywhere.

Evan lives, breathes, and bleeds entrepreneurship and has a monster goal of helping 1 billion entrepreneurs.

www.EvanCarmichael.com

Evan believes in entrepreneurs. Evan has always had an entrepreneurial streak going all the way back to when he was 5 years old, but he did not have entrepreneurs in his family. He went to university thinking he was going to be a banker, but met a couple people there who had founded a company and decide to join as an owner in the business. As Evan says, it was the hardest decision he ever had made in his life – turning down “dream jobs” that he thought he wanted to work at a startup and make $300/month.

As he says, “we sucked at the start and failed so much giving me the lowest points of my life.” He was putting everything he had into it and it was not working. But he and his partners stuck with it, figured it out, and began to be successful. They were eventually acquired and Evan then went into the venture capital business raising $500,000 up to $15 mil for companies. But, he felt a calling to help entrepreneurs get through the struggles of the journey and started EvanCarmichael.com and his Youtube channel for that reason.

At the 7:30 mark, Evan talks about the struggle of entrepreneurship and when he almost quit everything. Evan was putting in a ton of work and not getting any results. As Evan says, he could only deal with that for so long that he felt worthless and in some ways ashamed. It all culminated in him telling his business partner that he was done one day. He quit.

That was the turning the point. He woke up the next day and had some realizations:

  • First, he realized that others have been where he was before and figured their way out.
  • Second, he was ok with failing if he had given it everything he had, but he was not ok with just quitting and walking away.
  • Third, Bill Gates saved his business – Evan took some time to read how Bill Gates made his 1st million and decided that he was going to implement some of the things he learned.

He went back to his business partner, nothing was said, and they got to work and modeled Bill Gates strategies of selling through partnerships. Within a few weeks he closed his first deal and things went from there.

Two things Evan cites as helping him the most:

  • Never live with regret
  • Success leaves clues – model success and make it your own

At the 16 min mark, Evan talks about some of the key things he has learned that truly make a different in success.

  • Yes, you have to do something you are extremely passionate about
  • Money is important, but if that is the only reason you do something, it will not work. There has to be something above it.
  • Just START! There is no perfect first step or perfect plan. Evan says waiting too long cost him over $40 MILLION…
  • Persistence. If you study any successful person, they stick with it. You have to be consistent. All of the work is real and you have to take action daily, consistently. Entrepreneurs give up too soon.

At the 22 min mark, Evan talks about developing the mindset of the Entrepreneur including discussions on the reason you do what you do and the environment you put around yourself, your routines, etc.

At the 28 min Mark, Evan gives his best tips on how to start a content business online and create a following:

  • Pick the platform that best suits your interest.
    • If you love being in front of the camera, then go to you Youtube. If it’s writing, then go to Medium or a blog, etc.
  • Start with just one – get great at it, then grow from there
  • Post content that you would like to see. Chances are if you are looking for it and can’t find it, others are too.
  • Create content that you’d like your grandkids to consume
  • In the beginning, don’t be afraid to copy those that have succeeded before you and then find your original voice from there and put it into effect. ​

At the 33 min mark, Evan explains his “One Word” philosophy and the principles of his book Your One Word.

  • Start by all of the things that have made you happy and come alive. Why do they do this for you? What is the common thread?
  • When you identify the common thread, you can then apply it to your business and life and build it around your one word.
  • Choose wisely as this is a forever thing. It is your DNA, your make up – something you live.

Thoughts on failure?

  • The successful see failure as feedback
  • They see a failure as an event, not a finality
  • The successful do not define themselves with failure

At the 51 min mark, Dave and Evan get into a great discussion on mindset, awareness, and how to grow yourself and up your game.

 

Best Quote:  “When you understand what you value most, then you can design a life and a business around it that helps to fulfill that value.”

 

Evan's Misfit 3:

  1. Expect to “suck” at the start and be ok with it.
  2. Then quantity leads to the quality. The more you do, the better you get.
  3. Make it more important. Time is limited. Don’t put things off. Appreciate your time and use it be meaningful.
Aug 23, 2017

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

Hey kiddo, I want to talk to you about money and wealth. I want to start by saying that by the time you hear this you may have heard someone say “Money is the root of all evil.” They are wrong. The actual quote is “the LOVE of money is the root of evil.” And that I would agree with. If you put money above all else - family, love, relationships, doing the right thing, integrity and the like – it is a form of evil and it tortures the soul. And sadly, those that do make money their obsession and the accumulation of it their sole purpose, actually become a slave to it. They may even have a lot of money, but like a drug they thirst for more and let it control them. In their pursuit of freedom they actually end up having no freedom at all.

Money is an amazing thing. It can allow you to do so much. It can allow you to help a friend in their darkest time, support causes, provide for someone in need, and enjoy amazing experiences throughout life and throughout the world. Does more money make someone happy? Yes, but part of that is a matter of perspective. I have had times in my life where I had very little money and worked 18 hours a day for the very little that I had. And fortunately, nowadays, we have enough that we can do most things we want to. Am I happier now than when I could barely afford to sleep on a mattress on the floor in a crappy apartment? Absolutely. Did going through that experience prepare me and give me a better appreciation of money and wealth. You bet.

But here is the thing…and it is something most people never realize. Money is just an idea. Money can be printed out of thin air and money can actually “grow on trees.” Confused? Think about this. You can sit down at a computer and write a book and have it up on Amazon for free, as well as a number of other websites in no time and sell it. You just created money out of thin air….from an idea. You can plant a garden and then go sell the fruits and vegetables at the local farmer’s market or at a roadside stand creating money that grew on trees. This podcast started with an idea and creates money from our amazing sponsors who believe in us and Misfit Nation.

The majority of the world comes from a place of scarcity believing there is very little money available when the complete opposite is true. There is an absolute abundance of money out there in the world. You will hear people say that the majority of wealth is concentrated in the hands of the rich…the 1%, and that they are evil. On the contrary, while there are always a few bad apples in any group, the 1% have figured out that money is an idea and have learned how to print it in various forms. People complaining about it should be studying them and going out and creating their own world of abundance. It can be done and has been done by people from all walks of life and backgrounds. You can do it too.

One of the best ways to create wealth is through entrepreneurship, creating and building businesses, but that doesn’t mean you cannot have a job and do something on the side. It does mean that you need to learn to create wealth from ideas in one or multiple ways. One of the easiest ways to start is by sharing ideas through a medium such as a blog or newsletter, or book, etc. And then you can go up the chain from there where you might create a product or brand. You may be like your daddy and build a technology company. As you begin to create money through these endeavors, you can then learn to build that into greater wealth by learning how to invest it in things such as the stock and bond markets, real estate, investing in other people’s ideas, and growing your own business further.

The thing is that once you begin to build wealth through making money from ideas, you will find that it get easier to do so. You need to commit to never “get stale” and be on the lookout for new ways of creating abundance and where that may lead you. I never could have guessed I’d have the different businesses that I have today, but it happened through being curious and learning what I did not know. That is how new ideas are born.

You can then start to give back through your time, efforts, and money should you choose. You could help teach others how to do what you’ve done and change their lives.

Just understand that money is an idea, that there is a world of abundance out there for you, and be on the lookout for opportunities and you will see them. When you do – act on them and make them happen. I know you will.

I love you, Daddy

Aug 16, 2017

In this episode, Dave is excited to welcome Bryan Falchuk. Bryan is the author of the best-seller, “Do a Day: How to Live a Better Life Every Day,” a certified personal trainer, weekly columnist for INC Magazine, and serves as an advisor to multiple startups.

But it didn’t start out this way for Bryan. Bryan has an incredible story of transformation and how he used what he learned to create the “Do a Day” process. Do a Day is an approach you can use to change your life. Health, wellness, work, family or any situation where you want to do better, but can't seem to get there or find the missing link to make it happen.

Dave goes in depth with Bryan on this process and talks about how anyone can change their path in life, and what they need to know to be successful.

www.DoaDayBook.com

NewBodi on all social media

Bryan has an incredible story of transformation. Bryan grew up with an early divorce by his parents and he found solace at a young age in food. It comforted him. He continued this and put on weight for well over a decade. He weighed almost 250 lbs at the age of 14. He went through periods where he lost weight, but never had a strong enough why to keep it off until he had a moment in 2007 when he found out that his wife had a chronic illness. She was in bed, wasting away, and her doctors had almost given up on her. Bryan was looking at life losing his wife and caring for his 2 year old son by himself. One day, it hit him square in the face. He needed to be there and be the best role model he could be for his son. That meant Bryan had to change. He woke up the next day a completely changed person. Bryan’s wife survived, but still has chronic lime disease. Bryan went on to lose almost 100 lbs and become a personal trainer, businessman, and everything he is today.

The most important thing Bryan has learned about himself and the human spirit?

You don’t have to go through a dramatic experience to find clarity. You can do it in your everyday life. If you truly take the time to ask yourself what your purpose and your why is and what you are meant to do, you can then align yourself with it – and make the decisions needed to do so.

“People don’t change, lives do.”

It is not always that you are the problem, it could be your surroundings and other things affecting you telling you that you need to better align with your purpose. When your purpose aligns with what you are doing, it is amazing the difference it makes. Same person, different life.

At the 16 min mark, Bryan talks about the “Do a Day Process.”

  • 1st is to define what truly matters to you Keep asking “why” until you get under the surface
    • The goal is to define your purpose now in life as it may have changed from what it was years ago.
    • Get in touch with what you are interested in and what matters to you.
    • Get to your raw self, drivers, wants, and what motivates you
  • 2nd is to Create mindfulness – being in the here and the now Don’t live with the pain of the past and fear of the future
    • Your choices matter and you can choose for every aspect of your life. Your choices have gotten you to where you are, good and bad.
    • The big aha is that you can choose differently for your life and start doing so today.
    • Remember, you are a product of your choices
  • 3rd – Release yourself from the anxiety over future possibilities that have not happened yet.
    • Focus on your choices for today and make a difference today
    • Don’t waste energy worrying about things that could happen in the future.
    • Face tomorrow, tomorrow.

It comes down to self-reflection, incremental wins every day, and focusing on living and making the best choices in the moment.

Once you’ve got the clarity, then you can set your goals and focus on executing a piece to get your closer today and each day thereafter.

At the 38 min mark, Bryan talks about overcoming the challenges that come up and how to do so.

  • Progress is not linear
  • Have some sympathy for yourself
  • A tough time can “just be,” it does not have to be a sign of anything else
  • You have a choice when things go wrong to escalate problems or solve them. Solve them.
  • Allow for these things to happen. Keep your calm and respond with logic.

​Thoughts on succeeding as an entrepreneur?

  • Have your true reason and why and come from that place
  • Be honest and upfront with people you are seeking support from

Best Quote: "Running to something is much better than running from something."

Bryan's Misfit 3:

  1. Figure out your true motivation for yourself and your business. Find the true why.
  2. Point your why in some purposeful direction. Set your goals and know what you are trying to win and set your markers to win along the way.
  3. Do an inventory of your baggage from your past and areas of your life. What is it you are carrying with you? Second, what it is you are afraid of tomorrow that is pulling you out of the now. Write them down and set it aside.
Aug 9, 2017

In this episode, Dave is excited to welcome Nitin Choda. Nitin came to the US as an immigrant in 2002 with zero savings and zero contacts. Through hard work and hustle he transformed into a successful business owner employing 30+ people all over the world and creating several 7-figure businesses.

Even with his first major success, Nitin delayed gratification, and used the success (and capital) of the first business to start his next few businesses instead of 'going out and buying nice things' with his profits. This allowed his businesses to grow even faster and create more wealth.

Nitin is the author of "Total Activation: The 5 Step Fitness Mantra.” It is a dynamic new approach to weight loss and personal wellness. It is a system modeled in three stages of change: Identity, Compare, Integrate (ICI) which has 5 components: Emotional, Physical, Social, Spiritual and Intellectual (EPSSI).

In connection, Nitin has created a skincare and nutrition line - products that work in synergy to activate the best version of you (www.totalactivation.com). Since its launch in April 2014, the products have been purchased by thousands of customers throughout the world – mostly by word of moutn. The company now provides nutrition and skincare products to customers in 7 countries.

Nitin has been featured on CCN, Forbes, the Huffington Post, and a host of other outlets, but the thing that really stood out to Dave when they first met was how humble Nitin was and how much he appreciated and cherished the opportunities given to him.

www.TotalActivation.com

Nitin has a unique and amazing story. He is an immigrant who fought his way to success. He grew up poor in India, but as he says, he has always had an inherent spirit to succeed and was able to network and meet successful people that could help him and that he could learn from. Nitin’s entrepreneurship started an early age by selling coca cola to his class mates and then getting the glass bottles and selling them to be re-used – making less than a penny per bottle. It was during this time that he learned the very important lesson of entrepreneurship in creating value.

How do you create value?

  • You have to do something that is unexpected and personalized
  • You have to give before you get (The Law of Reciprocity)

What is it about the immigrant edge and the United States that allows people to come with nothing and become successful?

  • The US is the most unique country in the world because regardless of who you are, if you are able to demonstrate that you have what it takes and create value for others, you will get rewarded.
  • The structure in the US feeds entrepreneurship compared to other countries
    • It is easy to start a business, get credit, and access potential customers
    • For example, in India, it can take months to open up a business
  • The gap between the rich and the power is not so large that you can never fill. In other countries, the disparity between the rich in the poor is so vast that they never even have a chance to do something like own a home or gain wealth.
  • Immigrants that come from areas like this see this and the abundant opportunity it provides.

At the 18 min mark, Nitin gives a really good example of the differences between countries using currency inflation as an example which leads to a conversation on overall wealth.

What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur in today’s world?

  • It is easier than ever to be an entrepreneur because of technology
  • Money is also not that hard to get (Nitin used a 0% credit card to fund his first business)
  • The barriers are more internal and are in 5 areas, EPSSI

Nitin’s Total Activation EPSSI Formula

  • Emotional: Emotionally, are you ready for the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship?
  • Physical: Are you prepared physically and with your health?
  • Social: Do you have the right people around you to support and help you?
  • Spiritual: Do you know what really matters? Do you have a strong why?
  • Intellectual: Are you growing yourself and expanding your thinking and knowledge so that you can continuously improve?

At the 28 min mark, Nitin talks about how he built his first 7-Figure business and what he learned that can help entrepreneurs and startups.

  • Getting to $100-200,000 is hard work and marketing (as long you have a good product and value)
  • Getting to $1 million and above is all about hiring – you must have a good process and way of finding the best people that fir your culture and needs
  • Scaling is also depending on SOP’s (standard operating procedures and documentation)

There are 3 types of activities that you can spend your time on as an entrepreneur:

  1. Low dollar: Answering phones, emails, paying bills, laundry, groceries, etc. When you reach certain levels and you know the value of your time, you will want to outsource these.
  2. High dollar: Leading your people, hiring, focusing on working on your business, etc. Things that really make a large impact.
  3. High lifetime value: Networking and learning from people more successful, personal growth, financial/retirement planning, etc. These things are important, but not essentially urgent.

The “low dollar” things are typically most urgent and we have to stop ourselves from getting sucked in and focus on the high dollar and lifetime value areas. Your business cannot grow if you are focused on low dollar. Use the 80/20 rule.

At the 36 min mark, Nitin gives his unique thoughts on hiring talent.

At the 38 mark, Nitin talks about his business and his business setup including how he had made everything virtual and how he markets the products. ​

At the 47 min mark, Nitin gives his philosophy on money.

Book recommendations:

  • Influence by Robert Chialdini
  • Outrageous Advertising by Bill Glaser
  • Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz

 

Best Quote: “Life gives to the givers and takes from the takers…”

 

Nitin's Misfit 3:

Be prepared for the sh$t to hit the fan! Be prepared and accept challenges and failure.

Make sure you build the right networks around you so you always have someone to lean on and depend on.

Always, always focus on hiring the best people. One rockstar employee can do more for your company than 3 average employees and cost you less in the long run.

Aug 2, 2017

In this episode, Dave excited to welcome Marcus Boles. Marcus is a 3rd generation entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in creating successful ventures. He is the founder of customized minds, a holding firm with 3 different companies under it. The first is Customized Shopping, an e-commerce retail marketplace connecting customers to innovative products and services. The second is Customized Speaking, a technology learning Management Company focused on professional speaking and digital education by inspiring and empowering the world through informative information and awareness. He also owns CM Investments, a business development and management firm growing startups and established businesses to midsized companies and large organizations.

Marcus has unique ways of challenging conventional norms and how he continues to grow himself. After many years of success, he challenged himself in 2008 to acquire 5 degrees in 6 years. He did this while still growing his business and acquiring companies. Dave and Marcus discuss what it takes to be able to grow in multiple ways at once while continuing to perform at a high level. ​

www.MarcusBoles.com

Marcus grew up with a traditional background, but 80% of his family were entrepreneurs. Everyone from his grandparents to his parents and aunts/uncles owned businesses. He learned at an early age about building organization and pursing the entrepreneurial dream.

His first entry into entrepreneurship was when he started his “cleaning services” to his parents in exchange for money. He then took that to the next step of cleaning job sites for his uncles who owned businesses in the construction trades. His first major business was owning and operating a chain of convenience stores with his father – at the age of 12! Even at the age of 12, he brought digital and technology support to help the businesses grow and find success.

What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?

Truly understanding the following:

  1. Your passion – connecting with what it is that you love
  2. Your gifts – maximizing your talents and what has been given to you to create income from what you love.
  3. Adding value with your passion and gifts.

What advice do you have to go from idea to execution? What advice would you give people on how to get going and keep themselves going?

  • Don’t be afraid – the reason why people don’t get started on their idea is that they don’t want to look foolish
  • You won’t get it right the first time or many first tries
  • Understand you are going to fail, but learn, and that it takes several iterations to get something going
  • You are striving to always improve, so it will never be truly “right”
  • It happens to all entrepreneurs and it is a part of the process

At the 18 min mark, Marcus gives tips for succeeding in e-commerce, speaking, and investing?

  1. E-commerce: Your marketing strategy makes the difference. Pick the top 5-7 strategies and focus. Most e-commerce businesses try to do too much. Use only 5-7.
  2. Speaking/Digital Education: Be humble and willing to share your vulnerabilities. You have to go through the process to success – starting out speaking free, honing your craft, learning what you don’t know, etc.
  3. Investing: It should not be 100% about the product or service, it is about the people. If they are cohesive and work well together as a team, then you have a better chance at success. Proving your commitment is key to receiving investment – commitment from time, determination, money, and perseverance.

Productivity hacks?

  • Look at life as a game. Understand the rules of the game that you are playing and look for leverage (Marcus using his example of getting 5 degrees in 6 years).
  • Make the decision not to leave anything on the field (don’t become lazy or waste precious time – this is decision that has to be made consistently)
  • In short innovate to find leverage and give it your all

At the 25 min mark, Marcus talks about how he coaches himself and breakthrough barriers to perform at high levels?

  • You must have discipline and commitment as your foundation
  • You must have a deep, meaningful why that you came up with (not dictated by someone else)
  • Create a personal growth routine
  • Plan for your success – weeks and months in advance
  • Do a financial review of your business or income/outflow at the end of every month Each
  • Sunday, do a mental check on all areas of your life to prepare for the week and cement them for the week.

At the 32 minute mark, Marcus gives advice for entrepreneurs starting out today.

Biggest lesson learned that has helped you the most?

  • Things will not turn out how you plan them
  • The bigger the goal, expect it to be much harder
  • Plan for the unexpected, or be ready for it, because it will happen

How did you find your “why?”

Marcus took himself through a series of questions:

  • What do I love?
  • What is my gift?
  • What are the challenges/obstacles I am facing that I can leverage?
  • What can I learn from others and their experience?
  • What do I believe about me?

 

Best Quote: "You live the life you create..."

 

Marcus' Misfit 3

  1. Ask questions. Questions are really problems that are unanswered. They are what if’s…
  2. Failure is the predecessor to success. Any success in any industry never worked the first time. It takes failure, mistakes, learning, and growing to succeed.
  3. You have what you say now. It if you believe it now, it is yours to have today. What matters is what you believe about yourself.
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