This week we have a very special episode with two Misfit Entrepreneurs Leon Ifayemi and Nick van der Velde. This episode was recorded live at Fireside Entrepreneurship Conference in September 2018. I was invited to speak at the event and do a show for the audience.
I wanted to do something unique for the show, so I came up with the idea that when I got to the event, I would spend the first day meeting unique entrepreneurs and find ones that had incredible stories, insight, and wisdom to share. I met a number of incredible people, but really enjoyed my initial conversations with Leon and Nick, and was honored to have them join me for this episode.
Leon is a former Barclays investor, but left that life to start a very unique company called Space, that’s SPCE. SPCE is the rental ecosystem, revolutionizing the way in which the higher education community and the universities which enroll them, connect with the property market. Through a very unique app, they help students find the best places to live on campus. Think of them like an Uber for campus living.
Nick is a social entrepreneur, TedX speaker and founder of Impact Consulting. He helps companies find the synergy of creating a social impact with their business and maximizing profitability. Additionally, he helps companies in their funding pursuits.
I really enjoyed my time with these awesome entrepreneurs and I know you will learn a lot from them, so without further ado, here is my interview with Leon Ifayemi and Nick van der Velde from Fireside 2018.
Leon came up with idea for SPCE in his 2nd year of university. He had a job of helping students find housing in and around campus. He realized what a challenge it was for students, landlords, and property management companies, so he came up with the idea. But, as young graduate, he didn’t have the capital, so he went into investment banking at Barclays and then Rothchild where he was responsible for managing $2 billion. It was there that he met the investors that would eventually invest in SPCE.
Nick grew up in the Netherlands. At 19, he realized that he had to go abroad. He came to Toronto, CA where he excelled in class. While there, he was connected with a real estate investment group that ended up sponsoring him to immigrate to Canada to live full time in 2012. Nick has interesting background in that he was a breakdancer who helped lead campaigns for RBC, SCION, Nokia, and others. In parallel to that, he applied for a job as a “business developer.” He walked into a non-profit and they wanted to create a business model that balances for profit value in creating revenue, but practiced non-profit values increasing the quality of life of a community. Nick was able to raise over $750k for the project in a year. He is now a principle consultant for Impact Consulting and to date has raised over $1.1 million.
Leon, what did you learn from banking that has helped you most as an entrepreneur?
Nick, explain social entrepreneurship and how it can help you grow as an entrepreneur…
“Millennials are becoming the one in control of spending dollars in a community and are driven more by empathy, so the trend is toward one of social entrepreneurship.”
What is the coolest thing you’ve found about entrepreneurship that you never expected?
Leon:
Nick
What is a habit that you have created or adopted that you feel gives you an advantage over your competition?
Leon:
Action items you do to foster this way of thinking and approaching life?
Leon:
Nick:
Best piece for advice for an entrepreneur starting out today?
Nick:
Leon:
What have you learned about yourself on your journey so far?
Leon:
Nick:
Best Quote: “Create a proposal for yourself of who you are, what you stand for, your principles – it is a very eye-opening exercise – your personal value proposition.”
Leon and Nick's Misfit 3:
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 to talk to you about mistakes. As you go through life, you will make many mistakes. You simply cannot avoid them. You will fail. It is part of life and what makes each person’s journey unique. This is OK. It is not a bad thing at all. You’ve heard me say to you over and over that it is OK to make a mistake or fail, but what did you learn about it?
And of course, finishing this sentence, “What do we do when we fall….” That’s right, we get back up. We keep getting back up. But, I want you to know – no matter how many mistakes you make and failures that you have, you can always overcome them. You can always make a comeback.
I was reminded of this recently when we had a guest speaker come to our Grow Thrive Revive event. His name was Rob Decker and he told an incredible story of stubbornness, failure, and redemption.
Rob, grew up with a rough family life where even his dad would not acknowledge him as his son. He started drinking and doing drugs at a very young age, but ironically also bodybuilding. Talk about an example of looking good on the outside but destroying yourself on the inside. Rob, also ran with a rough crowd and with people that would drag him down. He went through everything from arrests to bad relationships to dealing drugs. In fact, in one of his darkest moments after a fight with a girlfriend, who called the police and lied about what had happened, he actually gave up on life and threw himself out of a 3rd story window. He thought it would kill him, but he bounced off an awning landing in a way that broke his back and a bunch of other things but did not kill him.
When he came awake in the hospital, the cops were there to arrest him. But as he spent the next few days in the hospital chained to a bed, he spoke to the police and the police started to investigate finding out that he was actually not guilty and dropped his arrest.
But, he still had problems. He got out, healed, and started to get his life back together, but he could not quit drinking. In fact, a few years later he was driving after drinking, totaled his car and took off from the scene. He hid for a whole night under a porch where he prayed to God that if he could just get out of the trouble he was in, he would change everything. He would quit drinking, clean himself up, and devote his life to good.
And in fact, through some miracle, he did not get into trouble. And finally, after all the years of screwing up, getting into trouble, abusing his body, and destroying relationships, he finally got the message, got help, and devoted himself to the promise he made to god. He now has a wonderful family, travels telling his story and the lessons learned, and has a personal training business in Colorado Springs.
Rob was stubborn. It took many more years and mistakes than it should have for him to learn his lessons, but he eventually did learn the lessons. The message I want you to take away from his story is first, make it a point to learn from your mistakes and failure when they happen and make meaningful changes if needed. Don’t put them off because if you do when you finally have to confront them, they will be much worse and harder to correct than if you had confronted them in the first place. Second, even if you don’t learn your lesson the first time, or the next 20 times, if you are willing, you can still learn it and always find redemption. You can always overcome your mistakes and failures. Even when things seem the bleakest and darkest, there is a healthy way out. You may have to ask for help, but you can do it. The human spirit is strong and has the potential to overcome so much.
Always keep that in mind as you go through your life. You will make mistakes and you will fail, but you can always learn, grow, and come back from it – many times even stronger than you were before. Believe in that and believe in yourself.
I love you, Daddy
Best Quote: “You will make mistakes and you will fail, but you can always learn, grow, and come back from it – many times even stronger than you were before. Believe in that and believe in yourself.."
Misfit 3:
This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ali Boone. Ali is the founder of Hipster Investments - a company that creates turnkey real estate investment for buyers. When I met Ali, I was really impressed with her story…she started out as an aerospace engineer and found her way into building wealth in the real estate markets.
She then took everything she learned and the connection she made it and turned it in Hipster investments where people that want to invest in real estate, but don’t want to manage properties or worry about the day to day can invest and make money, but leave the management to the pros.
Hipster is ranked as one of the top Real Estate investment websites to follow for 2018 and has been featured everywhere from FOX Business to the Motley Fool.
Ali didn’t start out on a path to investing in real estate or creating a business but found her way there and it’s the lessons she has learned that I can’t wait for her to share with you today.
Ali’s background is in Aerospace engineering and she spent over 5 years in the space as a top secret flight test engineer. She has what people perceive to be a “dream job.” She had a great salary, etc., but something was missing. When stepped foot in her cubicle each day, she knew that she was destined for something more.
From the time she was a kid, she had always wanted to be her own boss and lead her own life. She was always very independent and even during her time as an engineer, she was exploring and looking for her way out.
She looked at all kinds of mediums but found she could invest in real estate while she worked and grew it to a point where she could leave and go on her own.
Now, she lives the life she wants on her terms.
How did you know when its time to make the leap and leave your job?
• Don’t just follow your passion – some things are better left as hobbies
• Find the thing that works and organically happens
• Start building your income on the side
• Make sure that your “thing” is somewhat established
• Save money and build a nest egg if you can – but run things like you don’t have it.
• No matter what, there will be some element of missing security
How did you start into real estate?
• It was going to be either a business or real estate for Ali
• She originally decided to start a business
• She came across a webinar for real estate and attended
• This sparked things for her and she even able to network with the people who put on the webinar and still works with them today
• She followed them during the 2008 crash and started investing in “turn-key” rental properties
• She found a niche in turn key rentals
• She has found how to outsource much of the aspects of the business around managing properties
Tell us about Hipster…How do you do what you do?
• Turn keys can sound to good be true
• Ali works with “Turn key” companies that work in specific markets that have good inventory, but also support a healthy expense to rent ratio so they can truly cash flow.
• These companies go out and buy properties in bulk and get the lowest price possible.
• They do all the rehab, if needed, source and find tenants, and rent the property
• Investors can then buy the properties from companies like Hipster
• No, they are not totally “hands off.” You can still have tenants that don’t work out and have to manage your property manager around things. You still need your head attached. But as far as real estate investing goes, turn key managed property takes the bulk of the issues off your plate.
• At it’s core, Hipster is a boutique referral company for these types of investments, but holds clients hands through the whole buying process and supports them as client-owners.
At the 22 min mark, Ali talks about what makes a great real estate investment…
• It’s all about the numbers
• About 80% of properties make terrible investments
• You really have to understand where you are going to make the money
• Are you investing for cash flow or for appreciation through flipping?
• Find the thing that works best for you in your life situation.
• Make sure to understand the expenses – Mortgage, taxes, maintenance, repairs, property management. Don’t estimate – get actuals
• Make sure to get a realistic rental income number for your market and area
• Focus on positive cash flow as appreciation is not guaranteed – it’s a bonus
• Most properties don’t cash flow which is why the numbers are so important.
What are your thoughts of the current market in 2018-2019?
• We are close to peak pricing. It’s not as easy right now. You are looking for things to go on-sale and that is hard right now, but deals do still exist. •
Wherever the market is, you need to find out how to make it work
. • Right now, the markets Ali says are most appealing are Baltimore, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Kansas City, Cleveland. A lot of Midwest.
• But, Hipster only works in growth markets. For example, Detroit is in the Midwest, but not currently a growth market in their model.
What have you learned from buying real estate that translates to business and life?
• The idea of control is tougher as an entrepreneur or property owner
• You cannot always control what is going to happen or plan for it
• You have the best you can do at what you can each day
• We don’t have control over much, except for our attitude and our effort
• Be present and ready for what comes at you
Top 3 things entrepreneurs need to succeed in today’s world?
• Open mindedness.
• You have to realize that it is a rollercoaster ride and be ok with it.
• Self-awareness. Keep learning about yourself and what is best for how you operate.
At the 45 min mark, Ali challenges Tim Ferris to a “lifestyle design” duel…
Best Quote: “Don’t’ take advice from people you wouldn’t trade shoes with…”
Ali's Misfit 3:
1. “Don’t’ take advice from people you wouldn’t trade shoes with…” find the people who are doing what you want to do and get advice from them.
2. Strive to follow what happens organically for you.
3. There are 3 currencies: Money, Time, and Sanity. Which ones are you willing to sacrifice for the others?
This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Zach Benson. Zach is the CEO and founder of one of my favorite services and sponsor of the show, Assistagram. Assitagram creates campaigns that helps people get their message out to millions on a daily basis. I have to say, as a client, their teams are amazing.
Zach is also a TEDX speaker and world renowned, award winning dancer. The thing that I absolutely love most about Zach is how he has designed his life. Zach travels the world living where he wants when he wants helping people grow their business and message with Assistagram and also teaching dance workshops. In today’s episode, I not only want him to share his best Instagram success hacks, but also teach how you can design the life you deserve.
www.MisfitEtnrepreneur.com/Assitagram
It all started with dance. In high school, Zach got a DVD on breakdancing and started practicing. He began to win competitions and made it on So You Think it Can Dance. Now, he teaches dance clinics all over the world.
How did you design your life and make it possible?
What did you have to do to make it happen?
You mentioned being more impulsive in your younger years. Are you still that way today?
What advice would give people to go out and create the life they deserve?
What have you learned about life and success by traveling abroad and working throughout the world?
How do you travel and get to stay at 5-Star hotel for free?
What is the process of how you do it? Do you need to have a massive following?
At the 23 min mark, Zach talks about why Instagram is such an important medium to use for business in today’s age.
Top 3 things people need to do to succeed on Instagram?
What is the best way to grow a following on Instagram?
How do you get people to go from following and engaging to buying?
At the 32 min mark, Zach gives some hacks for optimizing your profile and his free Growth Hacking Guide which you can get at www.MisfitEntrepreneur.com/Assistagram
What is your best advice for entrepreneurs to be successful in business today?
Best Quote: “I’d rather burn-out than rest-out and take advantage of opportunities when they come up….”
Zach's Misfit 3:
1. Read books and find mentors. Grow yourself.
2. The ones who make the most mistakes grows the fastest
3. Stay consistent in every area of your life you can. The small things add up to big results.
This week’s Misfit Entrepreneurs are Ben and Laura Harrison. Ben and Laura are the founders of Jonas Paul Eyewear. The company has been featured everywhere from the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Harvard Business Review, to even a full segment about the company on NBC news.
Jonas Paul specializes in fashionable and stylish glasses for children…
Like a lot of Misfit Entrepreneurs, we’ve had on the show, Ben and Laura didn’t start out as eyewear entrepreneurs. Instead they encountered a problem and endeavored to find a solution to help their son, Jonas Paul. Through this - a mission and a company were born.
Nowadays, Jonas Paul helps children all over the world feel beautiful in their glass and gives a portion of every sale to help provide sight to children in need. Ben and Laura have a truly remarkable story and an incredible amount of useful experience and wisdom to share.
Ben and Laura call themselves “recovering serial entrepreneurs.” Ben and Laura met in college. Ben was focused on work as a photographer and Laura on communications. They decided to grow the photography business to become destination photographers. In addition, the launched resources online for other photographers. Things were good. After 7 years of marriage, they decided to have a child. Everything seemed fine up until their child, Jonas Paul was born.
Laura ended up having to have an emergency c-section. When they brought Jonas over to her, the first words out of her mouth were, “Does he have pupils?” Since he was just born, they dismissed it. But over the next few days reality began to set in. Jonas was born blind and was diagnosed with Peter’s anomaly, a very rare sight condition. It was very overwhelming as new parents to come to grips with how their child will not be able to see or even see their faces.
They went on an extensive journey in which by the age of 5, Jonas has had 22 eye surgeries to give him some aspect of sight and 4 cornea transplants that have all failed.
As this went on, Ben started searching for stylish eyewear for Jonas, so he could look cool in the glasses he needed to see what he could. Jonas was only 2 weeks old, but Ben was searching for something to combat his helplessness. The search became an outlet and a mission that morphed into creating stylish eyewear for kids because there was nothing out there. They started on Alibaba with some designs and found a manufacturer.
How did you launch the business?
What was your tipping point where you started to see massive growth?
What is working for you when it comes to digital marketing? What is driving sales online?
Anything outside digital?
Talk to us about building a culture with your business and what that means to the brand…
What advice do you have other husband and wife teams running a business or thinking about starting a business together?
What has surprised you most on your entrepreneurial journey together?
How has social entrepreneurship made an impact for the business and for you?
It allows you to truly help people in need, make the world a better place, and be part of something bigger.
Best Quote: As an entrepreneur, you cannot separate your home life and work life – it all blends together. Embrace it, don’t fight it.”
Ben and Laura's Misfit 3
This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Iain Grae. Iian went from broke to mult-millionaire in less than 3 years and has been featured as one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s hot 100 for the past few years.
Iain has an incredible story of how he got to where he is now as the founder of Evolved Lyfe and Millionaire Prowess. Millionaire Prowess is training firm that teaches the principles Iain has used to consistently build million dollar companies. Evolved Lyfe a purpose driven leadership activation firm that helps people learn how to tap into their higher consciousness and usher in what Iain calls Heaven on Earth. The company helps high achievers, entrepreneurs, and leaders to effortlessly create wealth while making a larger impact on the world.
When I first spoke to Iain, one of the things that impressed me most was the philosophy he has developed and teaches on how to succeed and thrive. He used it to create multiple successful million dollar entities. It is different than what most are teaching today and I knew that I had to share it with you in Misfit Nation.
Iain grew up poor and his parents never seemed to have any money. When he was 8 years old he begged his father for a motocross bike. His father told him that when he earned the money, he could have one. So, he started doing any work he could at 8 years old that he could – raking leaves, shoveling snow, etc. 3 years later, he bought his first dirt bike. This led to him starting in motocross and became a pro. And he was good. Up until about 22, he seemingly won just about everything he did in motocross, but then he took a huge dip.
Tell us about the dip?
Iain was living in his parent’s basement making $14,000/mo at 21 years old. He decided to travel throughout the world. He traveled around Europe and met a Swedish girl and subsequently moved to Sweden to be with her. He started running out of money, even though he has gotten a job. He wasn’t making enough to pay his bills. He had to go on welfare and could not afford to even go out for a bite to eat.
This began to wear on his self-esteem and he developed a bad attitude which became pervasive in his life and his relationship. It wasn’t long before he was on plane back to the states to live in his parents basement because he had to, not because he wanted to. He felt like a complete failure.
He borrowed money and was able to get a job in sales in NYC. He began to excel, but he knew that he didn’t have control over what he was selling, so he started a company with a partner called Innovation Ads in 2002-2003. The original intention was to sell ad space in taxis. Iain locked down some of the minor cities and was working on NYC, but Clearchannel was locking it up. To supplement while he was doing this, he started in online advertising. He started brokering online ad buys and developed a whole new way of doing lead generation with autoresponders.
He ended up getting involved with a bunch of universities and got so good at generating leads for universities that he took over the lead management/enrollment process as well on behalf of them. Ultimately, he was able to sell the business and that propelled him into what he is doing today.
At the 14 min mark, Iain answers the question, What is the Evolved Life Philosophy?
How does someone implement it into their life?
Changes you can make to help you re-program yourself?
What does it mean when you talk about achieving “Heaven on Earth?”
What role does faith play in your success? What is the most important thing you’ve learned about yourself and life?
Divine order exists
At the 34 min mark, Iain talks about the principles in his book, “the 10 Principles That Made Me Millions…”
There is so much gold to be found in the nuances of things, the small things, that makes a huge difference
Your greatness is locked in where your errors are…
At the 47 min mark, Iain talks about the gifts we have and how we can and should maximize them.
Best Quote: “Your greatness is locked in where your errors are…”
Iain's Misfit 3:
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 to talk to you about perspective. It is very important to keep perspective in your life as you grow and as you find more success. It is even more important to keep perspective in the rough times. Do you know what the chances of you being alive in this world are? They are 10 to the 2,685, 000th power.
To put that in perspective (ha!), that is the same as if about 2.5 million people, or approximately the population of Chicago, all got together to play a game of dice with trillion-sided dice. And they each roll the dice — and they all come up the exact same number. It is an absolute miracle.
In fact, for you to be here, trillions probably never were. Now take it a step further. Think about what the chances are of mommy and I finding you and us becoming a family – it is almost unfathomable.
You, we and everybody listening to this episode are a miracle. No matter where you are in your life or what life has dealt you – cherish the gift that you have been given of this life.
Recently, a good friend of your mother and I’s, Adam, passed away. He was 39 years old. He left behind an amazing family with 4 beautiful kids (all under 10) and a devoted wife, Grace. It wasn’t a freak accident or anything like that. He was swimming. Simple swimming. He was doing the same swimming workout he regularly did on a Saturday morning and bam, a cardiac event took him.
As a fitness enthusiast and endurance athlete, this really hit home. Adam wasn’t in bad shape. He had a vibrant life. He was an MBA, entrepreneur, and professor at not one, but two colleges. He had a good life. And just like that, at 39 years old, it was over. This hit home with me because you just never know when it is your time. And as I heard about when this happened on that Saturday, I realized that it was at the exact same time that I was riding my bike in preparation for my next Ironman and was about 3 miles from home when I got smacked in the face with the biggest bug I had ever seen.
This caused me to immediately swerve and react taking my eyes off the road. I started to veer into the road, but at the last second pulled it back and ran off the road into a side yard. I was able to look up just in time to see I was about to smack a mailbox, at 20 miles an hour, and at the last second, I dropped down and let the bike skid out from under me with the side of my thigh hitting the mailbox. The bruise was there for about 3 weeks after and covered an area about the size of an iphone. I got myself up, dusted off, got back on the bike and headed home not really thinking anything of it. But, as I heard the news later that weekend about Adam, It quickly brought me back to that moment. Damn was I lucky. I mean, if there had been a car next to me at the time, what could have happened? If I didn’t see the mailbox at the last possible second and make the move I did, who knows.
The point is that you do never really know when it is your time. Adam was an amazing father, friend, and just a great person in this world. We all should. No, we all must - Strive to be the best we can be for ourselves and to the world and realize the amazing miracle that we are even alive – and cherish it because, it can be gone in the blink of an eye. To me that is perspective and it is a good thing to keep with you as you go through life.
Adam, you will be missed, my friend, and I know that your family will cherish the memories and all of the light you brought into their lives. You will always be with them. It was incredible to see the hundreds upon hundreds celebrate your life and realize your impact at your memorial. I can only hope that I am able to have one-hundredth of the impact you had. I love you, buddy. Rest in peace.
And Hannah, I hope that you can use this lesson to keep you going in good times and in bad and use it to remind yourself to always be your best no matter where you are in life or what happens to you. Always remember to keep your perspective and be thankful for and cherish your life.
I love you,
Daddy
Best Quote: “You, we and everybody listening to this episode are a miracle. No matter where you are in your life or what life has dealt you – cherish the gift that you have been given of this life."
This week we have a very special episode for you in that we are having a Misfit Entrepreneur on for a second time. This is rarity and not something I would typically do, but when I saw what he was doing and the message that he’s created, I had to have him back on to discuss it. Misfit Nation, this week’s Misfit Entrepreneur, the only two time guest at this point, is Bedros Keuillian.
So, let me tell you why I am having Bedros back on and for those of you that don’t know who Bedros is…Bedros escaped communism, came to the US with nothing and now He is a high performance coach, speaker, and business consultant. He's the founder and CEO of Fit Body Boot Camp, a two time Inc. 5000 listed business and one of the nation’s fastest-growing franchises, and an investor in over a dozen companies ranging from software, digital media agencies, and educational and consulting services. He's known as the hidden genius that entrepreneurs, best-selling authors, and thought leaders turn to when they want to quickly scale their businesses and build impact-focused brands.
Bedros has just released a new book with a message that I think is incredibly timely and society needs to hear. It’s called “Man Up: How to Cut the Bullshit and Kick Ass in Business and in Life.”
After hearing that title you can probably guess why I brought him back on…but what is most important is not just the message of the book, but the real, tried and tested actions Bedros will teach you that you can start using now to reach your full potential now.
Bedros calls himself the “Immigrant Edge” and the “American Dream.” His family escaped the Soviet Union when he was 5 with 2 suitcases to their names and no one spoke English. He grew up with nothing and very poor. He had a lot of anxiety and pain about not being able to fit in and numbed his pain with eating.
In 11th grade, he wanted to ask a girl to the prom. He knew he had to lose some weight. He was very overweight with low self-esteem. He spent the summer between junior and senior year working out and came back to school losing over 30 lbs with a little more self-esteem, but still didn’t have the confidence to ask a girl out. But that summer made a difference for him. He originally had planned to leave school and go to technical school, but after seeing the difference he made in himself, he decided he wanted to help other have and feel the same transformation.
He decided to become a personal trainer instead. He got certified, but had not clients and even the few he got weren’t paying him much. He got two side jobs, one as a bouncer and one as a fry cook at Disneyland. He was always tired. One of his clients asked him about it and pointed out how he was poor at marketing and sales. The client brought him a sales tape on how to sell better. That lead to Bedros diving into personal growth. Before long, he was having more success and then creating personal training studios. He was able to sell those in the early 2000’s and then started coaching and consulting personal trainers on how to do what he had done.
That became the base of what he has done today in coaching and consulting, and the creation of Fit Body Bootcamp a franchise that now has over 700 locations worldwide and opening up dozens per month.
At the 12 min mark, Bedros explains what the most important message he wants to teach people with Man Up…
After everything you’ve learned and done to this point, what’s the #1 thing you’ve seen that holds other back from reaching their fullest potential?
You start the book by taking about leading self. Explain that.
Tell us about the 5% rule…
How can someone uncover their purpose, vision, and path – and then make it a reality?
At the 38 min mark, Bedros shares the practices and habits that leaders must do to build great, high-performing teams…
Outside teams vs. Inside Teams
We all have this book of our life and unfortunately most people hand the pen over to others to write the book, when they are the ones that should be writing it. Take the pen back and decide for yourself what the pages really look like.
Best Quote: “We all have this book of our life and unfortunately most people hand the pen over to others to write the book, when they are the ones that should be writing it. Take the pen back and decide for yourself what the pages really look like.”
Bedros's Misfit 3:
Leadership is critical. It is the problem and the solution
Leadership starts with self-discipline. Work on yourself first. Lead from the front and then set high expectations.
You do hold the pen. Take back control of your life and your story.
This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Noah St. John. Noah St. John is known by many as “The World’s Most Trusted Peak Performance Coach” and is famous for helping entrepreneurs get rid of their head trash and make more money.
He has been featured worldwide, everywhere from ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, Parade Magazine, Forbes.com, and The Huffington Post. He’s also the only author in history to have works published by Hay House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Mindvalley, Nightingale-Conant, and the Chicken Soup for the Soul publisher.
You no doubt can probably guess why I decided to have Noah on the show. Money is one of the most emotional and challenging things in life for most people to manage. It can create problems or when you learn take control of it mentally and emotionally, used to do incredible things and help leave an impact on the world.
I’ve asked Noah to come today to help you learn how to do the latter with your money
NoahStJohn.com
SendMeaBookNoah.com
Noah “grew up poor in a rich neighborhood.” He was born in Kennebunkport, MA, lived at the end of a dirt road his parents ultimately lost the house to foreclosure. Noah hated the life of poverty and fear and lack as he stared at the abundance around him. He wanted to get out, but he didn’t know how to do it.
He went to the library and started reading about personal and spiritual growth, but just couldn’t seem to put was he was learning together and was living in a feeling of desperation. At the age of 25, he decided to commit suicide. At the very last moment, his life was spared – so he committed his life to serving. But, he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. It took another 5 years before he truly discovered his mission, in 1997.
He had 2 epiphanies. One was how to change his thought patterns and conditioning by asking powerful questions and the other is something Noah has come to call, Success Anorexia.
At the 7 min mark, I ask Noah, What is “Head Trash” and how to we get rid of it? How do we get un-stuck? The answer is a must listen.
What is the process that someone needs to start to become aware to their head trash and begin to make real change to it?
How does someone go about changing their automatic responses and habits from their conditioned mind?
At the 17 min mark, Noah explains the Power Habits of Unconsciously Successful People…
Outside of understanding their thinking and how it relates to money, what are the other two money mistakes that people make?
What are the other Power Habits?
What are the top things entrepreneurs need to be focused on in today’s world to succeed?
Who do you go to for mentorship?
Dr. Steven Covey
Best Quote: “You must ask phenomenal questions which give you phenomenal answers which give you a phenomenal life..”
Noah's Misfit 3:
This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Tofe Evans. Tofe’s story is incredible. First off, he wrote the runaway best-seller, Everyone Has a Plan Until Shit Hits the Fan – if that tells you anything. But, Tofe has been to hell and back and what he has learned about life, resilience, and the human spirit is remarkable.
Tofe came back from literally almost losing his life. He dedicated everything to teaching people what he has learned and raising awareness for various causes. Tofe pushes every limit and boundary he can find through being a top endurance athlete. In fact, he completed over 40 endurance events in one year just to raise awareness for cancer research, as well as a 60-kilometer ultramarathon on Mt. Everest – yes, that mt. Everest, for Cystic Fibrosis.
As he says, he is on a mission to help transform those who are feeling week or worthless into warriors and I can’t wait for him his to share everything he’s got for you today. Word to the wise, this will be a raw unfiltered episode, because that is who Tofe is, so get ready for a wild ride!
Tofe’s journey started when he was a kid and fell in love with traveling. He tried a number of businesses to fund the life he wanted – but he failed and it wore on him to the point where adversity seemed to be his normal state of life. He started to become something different, self-destructive. He would put on masks, so people didn’t see what he really was, but it didn’t work. He became a terrible person to people.
He finally couldn’t take the loneliness and disconnect from being human and even attempted to kill himself by taking enough drugs where he thought her would overdose. For some reason, it didn’t work. He had to get help to work on his mental health. And in starting to open up and going through the process of re-finding himself, he started to learn how adversity could be a blessing and how he could use it to fuel his recovery.
He also started to self-educate and that is when he came up with the idea that he would run his first marathon. For him, once he made the decision, he realized that it was like life super condensed. Training and do the race was a great metaphor for life.
At the 9:30 mark, Tofe shares how a marathon is a great metaphor for life.
After completing the marathon. He was hooked and asked the question “How can we make a difference through doing this?”
So, he connected with a friend and they started on a journey where they did over 40 different events in one year to raise money for various causes.
After everything you’ve been through and done, what have you found that matters most?
At the 11 min mark, Tofe talks about the differences he has noticed between developing countries and first world countries.
Explain Adversity x Mindset x Gratitude
“You can’t compare yourself to others. Comparing is a cancer.”
What have you learned about the capabilities of the human spirit…
How can people practice practical resilience in their lives? Listen at the 25 min mark as Tofe goes into more detail on the items below.
How can we get rid of the barriers keeping us from our greatness?
At the 36 min mark, Tofe explains what to do when “shit hits the fan”
It comes down to 2 things…
Don’t be too attached to the outcome, instead focus on the process of what it takes to get there as that is the real work and where the real effort is needed.
Pay close attention to your habits because “The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken”
How does all of this that we’ve discussed translate to entrepreneurship?
At the 46 min mark, Tofe talks about what it is like to run 0ver 60 KM’s on Mount Everest…
Best Quote: “Practice “Present Focused Living.” Depression is when you are living too much in the past and anxiety is when you are living too far in the future.”
Tofe's Misfit 3: