This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Adam Robinson. Adam is a serial entrepreneur who has started and bootstrapped multiple companies to 7-figures, most notably, Robly and his latest venture, Get Emails. But, he didn’t start out down the entrepreneur path. He was a trader and investment banker for almost a decade before he made the leap to entrepreneur.

In 2017, he made a major change at Robly, where the company changed from everyone coming into the Manhattan office ever day to becoming a fully remote organization – and Adam decided to go on the road working remotely while traveling the world. ​

I am really excited to explore what this change was like and what he learned in addition to his insight on entrepreneurship and how to bootstrap a multi-million dollar company in today’s episode.

www.GetEmails.com

Get 10% off by using the offer code Misfit when you sign up! ​

www.Robly.com

When Adam graduated from college, a friend of his convinced him to go up to New York and get into the trading and investing markets. He managed to get a job at Lehman Brothers. He showed up in New York and was sharing an apart with a few other guys. These guys happened to working on building a business by the name of Vimeo. Adam watched this group of guys begin to flourish and see them really enjoy the fruits of entrepreneurship.

While this was going, Adam was doing great at Lehman. He was trading credit default swaps which were the instruments at the center of the 2008 financial crisis. Even though he was doing well, he felt that he had a calling to pursue and build his own business.

He managed to save a decent amount of money and in 2011, he left the investment/trading business to start his own business. He invested in several businesses and lost his money. As he says, “The overconfidence of being a Wall Streeter is a real thing.” He didn’t know how to build a team, operating an organization, etc.

Fortunately, one of the things he invested in got some legs and eventually became Robly.

At the 7:30 mark, Adam talks about how Robly came about and some of the biggest lessons he’s learned on his entrepreneurial journey?

• Robly came about in a what Adam calls the “luckiest way”
• Adam made a YouTube video, and the CEO of a failed company, that Adam and his brother were trying to essentially copy and do a better job with, found it and invited him to come meet with him.
• The CEO showed Adam everything that his company had done wrong and how it could be done right.
• The CEO essentially gave them the structure of the machine and also showed them some insight and a niche of how to get customers.
• The big lesson is that “Unless you are very confident that you have an unfair advantage when you are starting, or if you think that if it works out 10% as well as you think is possible that it’s still a great business, keep going.”
• The key to success was developing one of the first “remarketing” features in the space.

Successes and Failures?

• The main strategy of working the list they had and staying very true to the niche of servicing customers that measured success by “open rate.”
• It was the success and failure at the same time of Robly to date.
• Adam had 30+ people dialing every day to sell them.
• The list ran out faster than Adam thought and trying new lists to market to, outside of the main channel, were not working near as well, so margins began to shrink.
• The big lesson/failure here was that while things were going well with the main channel, they should have been developing an offering for several other channels/customer types.
• Because of this, Adam was forced to let go of about 25 of his staff and decided that it would better to make the company a remote work company.
• Going remote worked out tremendously for the company and the team.

Tell us about Get Emails…

• It is a technology that allows customers to identify up to 35% of the anonymous traffic on their website and get their information to be able to market to.
• It works because the people identified have opted in and are Can-Spam compliant with lists that can be shared, so they can be given to a business to market to and see who is on their site that may not being captured.
• This is only legal in the U.S. currently because of the U.S. Can-Spam laws.
• The only rule is you must have an opt Out link in what you send out to these leads.
• It is the ultimate niche business.

Talk to us about the results you realized from going fully remote as a company?

• It would have been hard to do with 35 cold-callers.
• When they scaled down, it made more sense.
• The effect on the employees when it was done, was night and day. The productivity went up tremendously simply by taking out the daily commute into an office in New York.
• They eased into it, first going 2 days remote, then 3, and then ultimately full remote was the right way to do it.
• Having a good operations manager/leader in place will make it easier for you.
• The employees are happier, turnover
• The cost is potentially some missing creativity/idea generation that you get when you have a bunch of people in the same office all day, but it is minimal – and the overall benefits outweigh it.

What is your best advice on how to be effective as a remote CEO?

• You must do everything possible to stay connect to people.
• You must make sure and even over-invest in ways manage and measure accountability.
• Manage things on a week by week basis with the employees. Have them articulate what they will do over the next week and then when you meet the next week, have them report on it.
• Track deliverables clearly and concisely

What is most important when hiring a remote workforce?

• The ability self-manage is the single most important skill to have.
• You need to figure out how to identify the self-management quality when interviewing
• Having solid remote work experience on a resume is one thing to look for.
• Interview for examples of times in their life that really required self-management

Was there anything that you learned as an investment banker that helped you on your entrepreneurial journey?

• [Laughs] Almost nothing
• Adam was shocked when he went out to start a business and sell real products to clients. It was a rude awakening, as nothing he had done really prepared him.
• His experience would be beneficial in raising capital is needed.
• Adam learned through self-education ​

What is something you think every entrepreneur should know?

Start with an unfair advantage. Find that hack or niche or thing that gives you a real clear advantage.

You must have cushion for the mistakes you will make.

Best Quote: A sign that you are on the right track in business is that it will feel so much easier from the beginning vs. trying to force something through. If you haven’t felt that feeling, you need to dig deeper and find a bigger edge or differentiator.

Adam's Misfit 3:

1. It’s all about the team. Not just in your professional life, but personal life. Find the best people to put around you in all aspects of life.
2. The brand is far more important today than it has been ever, especially if you are in software.
3. A sign that you are on the right track in business is that it will feel so much easier from the beginning vs. trying to force something through. If you haven’t felt that feeling, you need to dig deeper and find a bigger edge or differentiator.

This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Oleg Loughheed. Oleg has an incredible story. He was born into poverty in Russia. He lived with an alcoholic mother, slept with bed bugs, and was lucky to get a good meal when he could – even if that menat he had to steal it. He never met his father. At 12 years old, he left his birth mother behind not knowing he would never see her again and entered an orphanage to be adopted so he could have a better life.

He was adopted by a family in the U.S. This changed his life and gave him all the opportunity he could ever asked for. And Oleg is not wasting it. He is the founder of Overcoming Odds – a non-profit dedicated to helping people share their stories and experiences of resilience and overcoming insurmountable odds to teach others how they can do the same.

As an international adoptive father, I can not only relate to Oleg’s story of where he came from and the situation he was in, but I also have a special appreciation of what it took to overcome it. And it’s this unique perspective that I want him to share with you in this episode. ​

https://www.overcomingodds.today/

Oleg’s story begins in a small town in Russia. He was born into a broken home. At 3 years old, Oleg’s mother became an alcoholic. And at 3 years old, Oleg was reliant on her and in her state, she could not really be there for him. His sister started to become his caretaker but was not prepared for it. He was a “rock in the middle of two islands.”

His sister was reluctant to look after him and resented her mother for it. Oleg says he is grateful because everything he went through makes up who he is today. The strength, courage, and who has become is all due to these experiences. At 9 years, HE DECIDED to relinquish his parents’ rights and become an orphan. He decided that the orphanage could provide better for him than his current situation. Some of this was true, but there was also physical and mental abuse that came with it.

At the 9 min mark, we discuss the amazing decision Oleg was able to make at 9 years old to separate from his family. He shares how he had to mature much faster as he was tested at a very young age at the highest levels to have to grow up. Whether it was fighting hunger, finding a way to survive, watching his mother’s abuse and her being abused from those around her, he had to essentially live on his own and take care of himself. He learned early on to be a problem solver and part of his issue was he wanted to solve problems for his mother but could not.

At 12 years old, he was adopted and brought the U.S. He was put into 6th grade. He could not speak English and new very little about this area of the world. He had to figure everything out. He had challenges with keeping up, making friends, even communicating. The only way he could communicate was by kicking the soccer ball back and forth on the playground and this is how he began to make friends. It took him about 2-3 years to get up to speed.

At the 16:30 mark, Oleg talks about how he found his drive in the times he had gone out searching for his birth mother and what he encountered.

What are the biggest lessons you’ve taken away from your journey that have helped your success?

• Never say you can’t do something in life.
• Language really matters. What you tell yourself is who you become.
• Never sell yourself short.

What was the hardest thing you had to overcome in your journey?

• Some of the closest people to us can be the biggest critics and the ones that can stop you from living your story.
• Stepping outside of this was the biggest challenge.
• The way to get through it is to understand that you have a bigger purpose and you must fulfill that purpose.
• Patience is critical as it takes time – not only to go through it, but to work it through internally.
• Results, many times, come years down the road.

Tell us about RDNA. What is it?

Resilience

• Resilience is developed over time
• Resilience comes from your self-confidence in your own abilities and decision making.
• Before confidence comes perspective. How you perceive things impacts your confidence.

Discovery

• Self-discovery
• What makes you unique? Who are you? Who is helping you? Who is not?

Network

• Who is part of your network?
• Who should you be surrounding yourself with?
• What are the qualities they should have?

Authenticity

• You must be who you are today.
• Don’t wear a mask.
• Be true to yourself and know yourself.

At the 37 min mark, Oleg talks about discovering one’s purpose…

• The challenge is defining your purpose and then refining your purpose over time.
• Ask “Why me?” Look at your journey and ask why you had to go through what you have gone through in your life. Why me? What are you supposed to learn from this?
• Ask how this has shaped your trajectory and who you need to be grateful to for their help along the way.
• Be careful not to overcomplicate things. The answer is usually right in front of you and simpler that think….
• It comes down to, “If not you, then who else? “Who else is meant to go through to understand life from the particular view that you can?
• Our purpose is always already within us. We have the experience and events that happen in our lives. Its about being able to define those experiences and events on how we choose to view them and use them to help us and serve others.
• Building something before you know who you are and what you stand for, can lead you down a dangerous road.

What is developing an entrepreneur mindset a necessity?

• Most of us are entrepreneurs at heart.
• A lot of the things we do in today’s day and age are about surviving, thriving, and connecting which is at the core of entrepreneurship.
• Entrepreneurship is solving problems, and this is a built-in ability for us. ​

What is the best advice you would give an entrepreneur starting out today?

• Really commit to understanding who you are. Keep asking “Who am? “Am I doing this for the right reasons?” “Am I connecting with the right people?”
• You are the best ideal customer to solve a problem for and start a business around. You should build something that’s of value to you. Don’t build for someone else.
• Build for yourself and it will attract others along the way.
• When you build for you, it will be to solve a problem for you and not just about making money immediately which is a bad reason to build a business on.

Oleg’s acronym for authentic…

• Accepting your past. Ask, “Who do I have to forgive in my past to move forward in your story?”
• Understanding you are unique. What makes you unique, what makes you, you?
• Tell your story. Your story has impact and hearing yourself is critical as your story becomes who you are to the world.
• Encourage others. Encourage others to share their story.
• Never say you can’t. Never say you can’t do something in your life.
• Tell you story to more people!
• Influencing others. Show them where really are and let them see what is really going on. Help them see that they are not alone.
• Connecting with others. Don’t be afraid to build your community and bring in those that can challenge you.

Best Quote: Your past doesn’t have to define your present or your future. Your past is a foundation to learn from and give your lessons and takeaways. It is a reference point for how far you’ve come in life.

Oleg's Misfit 3:

• Ask “Why me?” Why did you go through what you went through and how did you overcome it? What did you learn?
• Language truly does matter. What words to do you use with yourself? Are you encouraging yourself and others to live out their story or not? Perspective.
• Is this happening TO you or is it happening FOR you. The perspective you choose to take in life will have a dramatic impact on your life.

This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ted Thomas. Ted is a real estate expert, especially in the tax lien and tax deed areas. In fact, Ted’s organization is the single largest “SOURCE” of Tax Lien & Tax Deed Information Products in the world. He’s written over 30 books and helped over 75,000 clients learn to invest in tax liens.

On top of that, Ted is an internationally sought after speaker and has created sales systems and selling processes that many of the of top gurus pay Ted to teach them. He’s shared the stage with everyone from Donald Trump to Tony Robbins. I am really excited to have Ted on to talk about his experience in real estate and get his wisdom on business in general.

www.TedThomas.com

Ted’s first career was as an airline pilot. He traveled the world. After a while, he decided to move on and get into business. He moved to California and started into real estate. He did very well and hit things at the right time and right place and amassed it to over $200 million in property in 6 years. But, then the 80’s savings and loan crises hit and he lost everything.

He then had to start over again and decided he didn’t want to put himself in situation with as much risk. This led him to the business he is in today.

As Ted says, “Crisis are good, because you learn a lot more on the way down than you do on the way up.”

What did you learn through your business crashing?

• You need to get advisers around you that are other than the business early on.
• You have to build a good foundation of finance, marketing, sales, operations, etc. processes that will ensure you can consistently succeed.
• Think ahead. When you “need money” the bank is probably not going to give it to you, but when you have money and are doing well they will. The best time to get money is when you don’t need it.
• Troubled times in real estate can be almost permanent, so planning and having a plan B, C, etc. for when things go wrong is vital.
• Beware of growing too fast in any business. If you don’t have the right things in place, you can collapse yourself. You need good systems, processes, staff that can keep up, etc.

Explain tax liens and how you invest in them…

• Every property in a state is going to have property tax.
• There will always be people that have some difficulty and don’t pay their property taxes and get behind.
• The local government needs the tax money to pay for schools, fire, police, etc.
• The state has rules. They can either take the property or file a tax lien.
• Taking the house is a “tax deed auction.” But, the government doesn’t want to own houses, so they auction it off.
• The other thing that the state can do is file a tax lien certificate. People can then come in and pay those tax and assume the lien certificate.
• These certificates have interest payments due on them.
• When you buy one, you wait – and when the homeowner comes in to pay their taxes and pay the interest penalty, you as the invest get paid back and get the interest.
• 90% of people will come in and pay the tax. If they don’t pay, you can get the property without a mortgage.
• It’s different in every state, some states have higher interest rates, some lower.

What are the risks of investing in tax liens?

• The risk is that you don’t know what you bought when you buy it.
• You need to learn how to do the research to look at the property and understand what you have invested in because if the owner doesn’t end up paying, you will own the property.
• The other side of things is “tax defaulted property” where you get the property at an extremely low price, but it needs a lot of work to fix up and either rent or sell.
• You want to buy low and sell low. Don’t spend the time or capital to fix places up. Get the house incredibly cheap and turn around and sell it for $20k or so more.

How is it possible to create a 6-figure income in less than a year doing this?

Ted starts with an example of doing something different…

• Every auction will have 15-20% residential lots that people planned to build on.
• Many times they don’t build and when the auction happens, they don’t get bid up as much.
• You need to check the value online to see what it is worth.
• You can pick up lots cheap ($1500-2000) and turn around and sell them for a good markup.
• You can sell them on Craig’s list and use an ad like “Lot value $30,000. Must sell. $15,000.”
• You have to learn a little bit about marketing to set yourself apart.

Anything else we should know about tax liens and deeds?

• Spend the time to learn it.
• The laws will be different by each area.
• Become a student of the business.
• If you are not willing to learn about marketing and finance, then you might lose your “assets”

What are the principles you teach on how to sell?

• Take the word sell and put a big X through it. You don’t want to sell. You want to solve people problems. Show them how you can help them solve their problems.
• Focus on the benefit to the client. What is the special thing? Or things?
• When people don’t sell well, it’s because they don’t get the audience participation. You must engage and help your audience become engaged. You can do this by asking simple questions and bringing people into the presentation.
• Ask questions, “Can this work for you? How would it help your family? How can it help your business? Do you see how this can make a different for you?”

Is there a format or steps that should be followed to present well?

• No.
• People need to stay in their natural style.
• If people try to force things in a way that is not them, it will not work.
• Use your natural style and then improve it.
• Focus on educating and solving problems.
• Use story, but the key is when you finish the story, you need to make sure you make the point and trial close on the point. Get some agreement in a gentle way.
• Also remember, each medium/platform is different. There is an art to each one. Live events are different than being on stage, or 1:1, and so on.
• At the end of the day, you have to be genuine and people have to know you, like you, and trust you.

What is your best advice to succeed as an entrepreneur and what would you tell a new entrepreneur starting out today?

• New entrepreneurs need to focus on the business, but thinking ahead about how they will have the capital ready they will need to really grow. Plan.
• There is no such thing as a 40 hour week for the entrepreneur.
• If you are not willing to learn about marketing, then don’t become an entrepreneur.

Where do you see thing going in real estate? What is the trend and are we getting close to another downturn?

Ted talks about Schiller and his book on the history of real estate as well as the Case-Schiller index.

• When it comes to real estate, you have to create value. Buy the real estate where it has value upside such as the example before with buying a residential lot.
• Good marketing is an upside. It is how you create value.
• Real estate is not complicated. It has averaged 1% a year growth historically.
• You have to focus on being the right kind of buyer and making sure you have a good margin to the upside on any property.

Best Quote: Crisis are good, because you learn a lot more on the way down than you do on the ways up.

Ted's Misfit 3:

1. Get off your butt and do something.
2. Don’t be afraid to seek out and ask for advice from advisers around you.
3. Learn about finance and learn about marketing and be prepared for when the market shifts because it will.

This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jonathan Levi. Jonathan is a serial entrepreneur and lifehacker born and raised in Silicon Valley. He’s the author of the blockbuster “Become a Super Learner series,” founder of Superhuman Academy, and host of the top rated podcast, Becoming Superhuman.

And he’s just released his latest book, The Only Skill That Matters.

Jonathan has taught hundreds of thousands of students what it means to be superhuman and live richer, fuller, healthier, and happier lives. ​

And it all stems from asking one simple question, “How do you know how to learn?” I can’t wait to explore this with him and have him share what he has learned along his entrepreneurial journey. ​

www.SuperhumanAcademy.com/book

Free 7-Day Trial ​ www.SuperhumanAcademy.com/squad

Jonathan has always felt like a misfit. When he was young, he was the quirky kid in class and had ADD. His parents didn’t want to medicate him and things worked out ok until he got into his early teens. He had trouble keeping up and learning and keeping up socially. Even some of his friends turned on him and made him the butt of their jokes. He went through several years of depression and contemplated suicide. He felt worthless.

Then he discovered entrepreneurship. His first stab at it was as a DJ for parties. He then started doing web design. He realized that through entrepreneurship he could develop and improve himself. It helped to understand that if he can be good at entrepreneurship, he could be good at other things and develop into the person he wanted to be.

The way he got our of depression was through accomplishment – but also learning about being the type of person he wanted to be. He realized his self-esteem was based on who he was, not what he wanted to achieve. Learning and the ability to learn is what made the difference. After graduating college and selling his business, he went to an accelerated MBA program where he met some individuals that were experts in accelerated learning. Jonathan immersed himself in learning this skill.

What does it mean to be superhuman?

• It is our generations renaissance man or woman.
• These are well rounded people that have it all dialed in and have control through all aspects of their lives.
• They are solid financially, in their relationships, in great health, etc. Beware of the word “average.”
• Being superhuman is as simple as beating the average. ​

At the 10 min mark, Jonathan and I talk about how being superhuman is also about the standards you have in all areas of your life…

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

Explain Pneumonic Training…

• Memory is a ticky challenging thing. We all know what it is like to forget things.
• There is no learning without memory.
• There are essentially “cheat codes” to the human brain.
• We are a product of millions of years of evolution and the brain spends a certain of energy on certain things.
• For example, 70% of your sensory processing is visual.
• Our brains have a huge capacity to memorize certain things – specifically smell and taste – and then visual.
• Pneumonic training is creating visual symbols that they remember and organizing them in their minds

At the 17 min mark, Jonathan goes through an example with me on how to use pneumonic training to learn a different language.

• The key is to creative a vivid picture in your mind and association what you want to remember with it. The picture can almost be absurd and outlandish, so it is easier to remember.
• But memories can get cloudy the more we access them. Each time, we take them out, they can change.
• But the first step to memorize is to listen intently and be focused and present.

What can people do to read and comprehend at a higher level?

• Improve your memory capability first.
• If you move your eyes less, you can read faster.
• Understand and learn how to minimize subvocalizing.

Tell us about the “slipstream technique…”

• Jonathan tells the story of how it started…
• Slipstreaming is figuring out a way to work with someone who is doing what you want to be doing.
• It is finding very unique, standout ways of getting in the door, getting buy in, finding opportunities, and learning from the top mentors in the space you want to be in.

Tell us about the Only Skill That Matters…

• The only skill that matters is improving the ability to learn.
• By learning to learn better, you can open any door you want to.

What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned in building your businesses?

• Jonathan sold his first business after he turned 24 – an INC 5000 business.
• He took away a lot of scars and realized one thing he did not want to do is “be in a business where he shipped “widgets” all over the world.”
• He took everything he learned about learning and figured out to build great online courses.
• He was very weary of going for big for the sake of going for big.
• He started Superhuman Academy as side business to bring in some income and as things do with entrepreneurs, it has taken on a bigger mission and thus has become a much bigger business.
• To build anything you will have to sacrifice things to make it succeed.

At the 43-minute mark, Jonathan and I have a discussion about what it is like to have our eyes opened up to bigger possibilities and be shown by others what can happen in this world.

• Imagine if you could have no constraints, what would it take to be able to fund that? How would you change your business to be able to do that?
• The trick of getting around incredible successful people that can help you level up is not to compare yourself to them, but learn from them, and if possible seek their help.

Best advice for an entrepreneur starting out?

• Understand your market.
• Understand your customer.
• Have your customer lined up before you create your product! Have interested parties ready to go.

At the 47 min mark, Jonathan talks about Brain health….

• First, your brain is indistinguishable from you. You are the summary of your memories, thoughts, opinions, ideas, etc.
• If you don’t take care of it, you are losing a part of yourself.
• Additionally, your brain is the only organ you neither replace of live without. You can transplant other organs, even your heart, but not your brain.
• The brain is an incredibly sensitive organ, so your sleep, earing habits, exercise, etc. all help it to be its best.

Jonathan’s favorite quote: “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

Jonathan's Misfit 3:

1. Life is not prefix, it’s a la carte. You can choose your life the way you want and arrange the parts however you want.
2. Happiness is a choice. You choose how you perceive the events of your life, how you respond, and how you frame them in your life.
3. No matter what you want to do or achieve in life, the only thing standing between you and getting it is learning and that is why learning is the only skill that matters.

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 recently hosted our 3rd annual Grow Thrive Revive event with my business partner in the venture, Evan Money. Yes, that is his real name. Each time we do the event, it gets better and stronger. It is a unique event in that we keep it small – 15 to 20 people. Our goal is to not only provide an amazing experience, but to really focus with our guests to help them have real breakthroughs both personally and professionally and get the tools they need to double their business or more over the next year.

It is always interesting as people are not sure what to expect when they come in and then we start teaching and doing our focused sessions, and at some point it clicks for each attendee.

One of the best parts of the event – and where we see some of biggest breakthroughs, is when Evan takes everyone through an exercise in ROF. The Return on Forgiveness.

Think about that for a second, the Return on Forgiveness. In fact, Evan will tell you that the best return you will ever get is the return on forgiveness. But, what does that mean?

It means that the more you forgive in your life, the bigger benefits you will get. How does that work? Well, a lot of us carry around some very heavy burdens and loads in our lives due to anger, resentment, and apathy to negative events or those that have wronged us in the past. These burdens weigh us down, eat at us, and act like a dead weight holding us back. They occupy our thoughts and keep us from thinking about the more important things in life – like what we need to be doing to find higher levels of success and deeper relationships with the ones we care about.

And don’t get me wrong, most of the time, people have every right to feel this way. In fact, many people, including our guests at Grow Thrive Revive, have been through some really bad times which I won’t go into detail on.

But, if or when they ever get to a point where they can truly forgive those for their wrongdoings – the results are incredible. It is like the giant albatross is lifted from their back. They see life differently. They shake off the things that have held them back. They leave their old self behind and almost renewed in a lot of ways.

There are so many stories of this. One that Evan tells is about a young man living in the inner city, who was abused by his father. The young boy named Emmitt was very good at writing. So good, that his friends told him he should put on a play. So, he did. He failed. In fact, he failed several times over and over. All the while, he carried this major anger toward his father. It ate at him almost daily. He got to a point where was ready to give up. But, before he did, he decided he would do one last show and that before he did it, he would just forgive his dad. He did it for himself. He just wasn’t going to carry the burden any longer. After he did so, he had an inspiration and re-wrote the whole show. It was a success. In fact, over the next year, his income went up over 1000% and he had successful show after successful show on his way to bigger stardom. And he credits the thing that changed…that made the real difference was when he finally forgave his father. Who is Emmit? His full name is Emmit Perry Jr. You know him as Tyler Perry, one of the most successful directors, producers, and actors of our time. Imagine that. Just by forgiving someone, a whole life can change.

Yours will too if you practice Return on Forgiveness in your life.

In fact, sometimes the biggest return on forgiveness is when you forgive yourself. It may not always be outside influences that affect us – but a guilt or burden that we carry from our own actions that eats at us and weighs us down. At some point, you have to come to terms with it. At some point, you must not push it aside any further and confront it head on in your life. I know, because the person I had to forgive in my life years ago was me. I carried some guilt and regret from actions in my past that I kept buried. They made me feel like an impostor at times, a fake. But, it was all in my head the whole time. Finally, I had a enough and had two choices. I could let these things continue to pull me down and let them win, or I could shed them and move on. I chose the latter. I truly forgave myself. I wrote a letter to myself forgiving me for those few things out of an otherwise incredible life that I had done and that were holding me back.

As soon as I finished the letter, I instantly felt different. I felt better. I felt like I could see things more clearly and I felt a new level of energy.

Hannah, and for those of you listening, forgiveness is the answer to many of the biggest issues we have in our lives. Write a letter to those you want to forgive. Drop the dead weight and the negative feelings that are holding you back. And remember, the person that you may need to forgive the most in your life, is yourself.

Resolve to practice forgiveness and learn the true power that it holds for you and watch the difference in makes in all areas in your life.

Hannah, I promise that if you make it habit to forgive, it will be one of the greatest things you can do to live at your true potential. ​

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: Resolve to practice forgiveness and learn the true power that it holds for you and watch the difference in makes in all areas in your life.

Misfit 3:

1. The best return you will ever get is the return on forgiveness.
2. Write a letter to those you want to forgive. Drop the dead weight and the negative feelings that are holding you back.
3. Sometimes the biggest return on forgiveness is when you forgive yourself.