Society Has Been Lying To You
Society has been lying to you.
Numerous people in your life have convinced you that life should be difficult. They'll tell you about their struggles, how stressed out they are, and how everything is complicated and challenging.
The truth is that they aren't happy with where they are in life, so they want to discourage you from having it better than they do. They hope to instill fear into you, so that you don't even try to "keep up" with them.
I can't blame these people, they learned from the people that came before them. They adopted the "hustle and grind" or victim mentality, and have built their identity around it.
Identities are nearly impossible to break. The majority have built their identities around belief systems and characteristics that don't serve them or their true desires.
To reinvent your identity to serve your true purpose, it requires the death of your old habits, old beliefs, and old self. Few of you are willing to do this. You've grown too comfortable with your known self, and fear your unknown potential.
Imagine building a life where you no longer have to chase opportunities, because you've mastered attracting the right opportunities into your life.
How would it change your life to become disciplined with your physical fitness and health regimen? In just a few months you'll enjoy shopping for clothes that fit you perfectly, and tossing your "fat" clothes in the trash, forever.
Your mental toughness will reach new levels. You won't have to convince yourself that you are confident, because you'll actually be confident. You'll become free from seeking external validation. You also won't feel any fear when critics and naysayers show up.
Relationships will become much stronger. You'll focus on quality over quantity. Communication and influence skills will attract the right people into your life, and help you repel the unwanted.
Your presence and energy will be felt by others, whenever you step into a room. Others will feel compelled to meet you, and you'll attract crowds around you. Your demand will exceed supply.
Some people will read this, roll their eyes, and think it is nonsense.
It's because they aren't living this life and don't believe it is possible for themselves.
But, what about you?
Dear Entrepreneurs; Don't Get Too Cocky
Dear Entrepreneurs, don't get too cocky about business 😮
We've all noticed the unfortunate trend of some entrepreneurs talking down others, usually based on having built a larger revenue company.
This is further evidenced by the "7-figure, 8-figure" self-promo titles, along with the multi-comma type awards and their fanboys.
This sort of egotistic comparison leaves thousands of small business owners feeling less worthy, or inferior to those who've scaled larger.
Time for some delicious humble pie. 😘
My book is titled "Side Hustle Millionaire" because I was the odd type of individual that was equally driven in my corporate success, at the same time as my entrepreneurship success.
For me, there was an overlap of 15 years of both careers being aggressively pursued. This allowed me to experience the pros/cons of both sides of employment and entrepreneurship, at a high level.
I was earning a salary of multiple 6-figures on an executive career path, while building businesses that earned millions... in my spare time.
In today's entrepreneurship space, especially in the marketing and influencer gooroo ranks, people like to flex what they perceive as big revenue numbers or exit numbers, to assert their status.
Whether they are bragging about 10 million or 100 million, understand that these values are just day to day operational values in big corporate.
I've approved single purchase orders for 100 million. I've led technical bidding strategies that landed a billion in contracts... in one year. I managed international projects that had 4-5 million daily burn rates, operating 24/7.
Big corporate made me numb to dollar values, especially if someone is using them for marketing. I was responsible for executing at a very high level, without being emotional about dollar values. The right decision is still the right decision.
Quite honestly, that corporate experience and all the professional trainings I've received... made small business easier for me. It's one of the reasons for my entrepreneurship successes.
Now, a separate debate could be made about entrepreneurs taking on personal risk, but that really only applies if you bootstrap your entire company without ever taking on partners, loans or investors.
Because as soon as you do that, others are sharing your risk. It's no different than answering to shareholders or a board of directors, and the cost of failing remains the same; You're left without income, and have to regroup and do something else.
My message is simple. Be humble and recognize that many others are playing at different levels. Don't think you're better at execution because you started a company, vs someone who went corporate.
Encourage those who wish to excel in either path. Don't be a gatekeeper and talk down to them. I'm old enough to witness numerous examples of both entrepreneurs and corporate career people that started behind me, and took off to astounding levels.
I'm happy for all of them.
Generate Sales During a Down Economy
Newer business owners, say less than 5 years ownership, don't always have the experience of sustaining during economic cycles.
Seasoned business owners understand the long game. There are always "up" seasons and absolutely "down" seasons. It's ignorant to believe there is an endless winning season.
I'll share one major tip that has saved countless businesses from going under, allowing them to weather the storm.
Consider temporary pricing adjustments on your inventory, in order to drive sales. This inventory could be products, or available service hours not being utilized.
I've seen too many businesses fail due to ego of the owners. "I'm not lowering my price! I know what I'm worth!"
That sounds great in theory, but if nobody is buying... your price might as well be $0 dollars. Because that's exactly what you're earning.
Many business owners get this mindset wrong. They incorrectly believe that business solely exists to create profit. They somehow think the business takes priority over the customers.
Wise owners put the horse back in front of the cart. A business exists to serve customers, period. Without customers there is no income. Without income, there is no business.
During recessions or stagnant economic times, as a CEO your primary role becomes ensuring the survival of your business. This isn't a growth period, and it doesn't make sense to scale if the market size has shrunk.
If you have products on the shelf, or manhours sitting idle and on standby, you should consider lowering your prices to get some sales inbound. How much lower? The answer is whatever it takes to create sales.
Here's the thing; You can sit idle on inventory, and suffer a BIG cost of doing nothing, earning $0 out of pride...
...or you can move products and service hours at a temporary discount, and experience a much smaller cost. Even if you take some small losses to push out inventory, it's still generating cash and you then only have a small fraction of overhead costs left to cover.
Anything coming in beats zero. That's how to survive the season. You can bet an upwards cycle will return again, and then you'll be busy enough to readjust pricing later on.
Don't fight the laws of economics. Learn to move with them.
-Tony
Being Emotional About Money = Bad Decisions
Being emotional about money leads to bad decisions😮
With the global economic disruptions and unpredictability we've seen lately, it's important to separate emotions from decisions.
A scarcity or fear mindset around money has cost people fortunes, whether we're talking business, investing, or career path trajectories.
I used to have that scarcity mindset about money. It's because I grew up without money, and money was hard to come by, and money was the reason for a lot of arguments I witnessed.
Money was therefore an emotional topic, and unfortunately on the negative side of emotions. This is how most people experience money.
Too many of us worry about losing money. We fear wasting money. We see the world as a zero sum game; "For every winner there is an equal loser." We then become skeptics, or worse; Pessimists about any financial decision.
Not enough people focus on the potential upsides of money. An understanding that money is created by your effort, and that it is endless in supply. An understanding that whatever we lose, can also be replaced. An understanding that some expenses are actually investments that pay off for years, or a lifetime.
So, how did I break that scarcity mindset about money?
There are several lessons, but I'll share a few that should raise your self-awareness, so that you make better decisions (and actions).
Start by reframing the words and sentences you use, regarding money. Also notice the phrases that others use around you, to gauge their own awareness levels.
Common phrase:
"I can't afford that." (this shuts off your brain)
Replace with:
"How can I afford that?" (this engages your brain to problem solve)
Think about this, I'll bet there have been things in your life that you could not afford, but you figured it out and made it happen. When we want something bad enough, we always figure it out. That's an example of the differences between the phrases above.
When considering purchases vs investments:
Common phrase:
"How much will that cost me?" (scarcity - "cost" signals lost)
Replace with:
"What is the investment? What's the return on this investment?"
Notice that the pessimistic common phrase may lead you to decline to take action, where as understanding the long-term benefits may create a positive action. Also note that a return on an investment isn't always financial. It could be joy, more free time, more comfort, access to opportunity, etc.
The second lesson came through my corporate career. Chances are, you are also having to make financial decisions at work, especially if you aspire to make it to middle-management and higher.
As a young Jr Project Manager in oil/gas, I remember managing some small projects that were in the 750K-1M range, and feeling super nervous about making decisions because it seemed like that was a lot of money to me. Signing a purchase order for 100K would make me feel anxiety.
Twenty years later, I was managing projects in the 200M-300M range, and I was approving purchase orders for 50-100M, with zero anxiety or stress. I also led the technical bid strategy for a startup that landed 1 Billion in awarded contracts in a single year.
What was the difference between the stressed younger version vs the experienced later version of me? I had learned to make important decisions, regardless of the money size. I had to learn to separate emotions from critical decisions.
It's normal to feel an emotion about money, and that will change for you (hopefully) over time. The successful have learned to separate their emotions from decisions. They've learned to rely on logic, calculations, experience, risk mitigation, and understanding the difference between investments vs wasteful spending.
Whenever you're feeling panic, doom and gloom, or anxiety about financial decisions, that's a huge indicator that you're moving away from logic. It should serve as a warning.
The pros go back to logic, calculations, and experience to make financial decisions. They capitalize on emotional buyers and sellers.
-Tony
Business Lessons from Basketball
What business lessons could we learn from last night's NCAA Final Four game, Houston vs Duke? (Houston won by 3 points)
Prior to the game, Duke was heavily favored to win by at least 5 points and 71% favored on betting odds, even though UH had the top-ranked defense.
For nearly the entire game, Duke commanded a strong lead, even getting into the double-digits lead territory. The analytics showed Duke with a high percentage of victory.... until the final 19 seconds of the game, when Houston finally took the lead.
As a business coach, here are some lessons I picked up from watching the game.
🟩Resilience Under Pressure
Houston trailed Duke by 14 points with just over eight minutes left but staged a remarkable comeback. This resilience highlights the importance of staying composed during setbacks.
In business, unexpected challenges such as market downturns, supply chain disruptions, or competitor actions require teams to remain focused and adapt. Build a team culture and create processes that help you pivot and execute in stressful and challenging situations.
🟩Leveraging Strengths
Houston’s defense, ranked as the best in the nation, wore Duke down in the final minutes. Houston then leaned hard into their defensive identity to disrupt Duke’s rhythm.
Similarly, businesses must identify and double down on their strengths. Whether it’s superior technology, marketing, customer service, or operational efficiency, business owners need to know their strengths and when to turn up the volume.
🟩Teamwork Over Individual Stardom
While watching the game, you couldn't help but notice the announcers were constantly praising and focusing on Duke's player Cooper Flagg. He had an amazing game with 27 points and seemed to be in every big play, on offense and defense.
With Houston, no single player dominated or was consistently mentioned, but their collective effort prevailed. They seemed to play more balanced.
Businesses thrive when teams collaborate rather than depending on a single “star” employee or department. Owners should encourage cross-functional teamwork and shared accountability, so that the odds of success still exist even if one star or department underperforms.
🥰 Finally, go Coogs! (Class of '98)
Selling a Business is a Time Machine
Selling a successful business is a time machine.😮
During my group coaching call this week, I spoke about the relatively unknown game that is being played in business; Exits and acquisitions.
It's heartbreaking to have hundreds of conversations with owners who were seeking guidance on selling their companies... only for them to discover their companies weren't worth buying.
Data suggests that only about 20% of businesses are acquired, because the majority of them aren't building enterprise value that attracts a potential buyer. And for those that do sell, the average sale is only in the ~200K range.
I want to raise your awareness of this bigger game. For a moment, step outside of your focus on daily operations and think beyond your current phase of business. If you don't, you'll miss out on potentially life-changing opportunities.
Building and selling a company for millions is a time machine for those of us that didn't grow up rich, or have a trust fund.
I didn't realize this until after I sold my first company in 2007. It wasn't even a thought I considered, because I didn't know anyone with the experience, and nobody was sharing this perspective with others.
With a 5X multiple on exit valuation, some inexperienced owners only see that as 5 years profit placed in their hands, in advance. While 5 years is good, they've not understood the complete time travel aspect, yet.
Prior to the sale, I enjoyed a healthy multi-6-figure annual income for several years. But even at that income level, it would have taken me 20+ years to maintain the lifestyle I had, and also save up an additional 7-figures in my bank account.
Don't believe me? How many decades do most people have to work with a 6-figure income, in order to save up a million in 401K? It's a long, long time.
💥Boom! 20 Years of time travel in terms of financial liquidity standings. I actually estimate that every million is worth about 20 years for a 6-figure salary earner.
Then you have the time freedom aspect to consider. If you own a profitable business, you can keep working another 5 years doing the same routine, or you could sell it and earn your 5+ years in profit in one day. What could you do with another 5+ years in your life?
💥Boom! Instantly 5+ years of your time that you would have spent working, returned back to your life. When our average age of death is 80, every year counts.
Time and location freedom are more valuable than most will understand. You can't fully understand the value of these, until you experience them for yourself.
Consider this; Your goal isn't just building a business. You need to start thinking of it as building a time machine. The more profitable the business, the bigger the time machine it is.
I've been enjoying this time travel for nearly 20 years now. I love helping others build their own time machines.
-Tony
The Real Value of Time
This has been a week of losses, but I want to inspire you. 🧡
Earlier this week, an old friend passed away. Rest in peace Amber.
Yesterday I attended a meetup with a few business owners, and we started the meeting with a visual gratitude exercise.
The image you see consists of 80 squares, which is our average lifespan. We marked through the squares equal to our age, to get a visual of what's remaining. Powerful.
Here's the thing; Had I done this visual exercise 10 years ago, I would have felt more anxiety and fear. Even though I had more squares remaining than today, I knew at 40 that I was just comfortable in life and I was settling for less than my potential.
Back then, I was only impacting those within my proximity. My family, friends, my employer, co-workers, team members. While this is good, I knew the potential to positively impact thousands existed... and I wasn't making an effort to do it.
It wasn't because I was lazy. It was because I feared the pursuit of something that may not ever happen. If I failed, what would others say or think about me? Why should I step out of comfort to do more impactful things?
Yesterday I marked through those squares, understanding I have fewer remaining. I felt no anxiety or fear. Absolutely zero. It's because I'm pursuing my purpose and potential, and have positively impacted thousands of strangers. I'm doing the work to expand my proximity beyond what I can see or touch.
After I got home from the meeting, my dad called me. I knew something was wrong, because he never calls me at that time. He told me his brother died. Rest in peace, Uncle Jim.
I mourn these losses, but at the same time I'm inspired by them. Each loss is a reminder that time becomes more and more valuable, and it continuously counts down to zero.
I want you to consider your remaining squares. If you feel anxiety or fear about them... you still have time to make some changes. It's time to stop settling for less. It's time to step out of complacency and challenge yourself, again.
This is what people you've lost would have wanted for you.
-Tony
Scammers & Frauds Won't Like This Article
Let's expose the tactics that frauds and scammers still use 😮
With all the recent Federal fraud busts in the entrepreneur and marketing space (see my post from yesterday) I'm going to share some tips to help you protect yourself. Feel free to add to the tips.
I spend a lot of time and energy on this subject, because I've been a victim of theft. I also put a pause on my mission to coach business owners for 18 months, because I knew I'd be stepping into the pool of sharks, and I knew I'd be compared with them until proven otherwise.
It's been nearly 20 years since I sold my first company. When you have money, you can count on opportunists and grifters to try to get into your circle. Now I have 20 years experience of observing these frauds, and see their patterns and repeated habits.
Here are my red flags. 🚩
1) Money Bundlers. These people are always talking a big game, always asking for money from other people. They always talk about "capital raises" and their investment opportunities. If you have an audience, they want to get in front of it. Good leaders protect their audience, they don't sell them out. The REAL successful people in this arena rarely ask for money in public. Investors KNOW they are successful, and approach and ask them to get into their deals.
2) Religious Marketers. There isn't anything wrong with being religious, but you should be on high alert if someone is using religion as part of their personal branding, to sell you a course or investment "opportunity". Many of these unethical frauds will purposely use religion as a smokescreen, to hide their lies. Red flag.
3) Get Rich Quick GooRoos. This group is by far the largest of them. Any time I see someone promising you 6-figures this or 7-figures that, while telling you it's passive and that you don't have to work... all bullshit. Bonus bullshit points if they have some "10-Step" program or cookie-cutter one-size fits all "framework" to success. Their keynote speeches talk about "prosperity" and "millionaire mindset". Red flag.
So how do you protect yourself? 🛡
Do your research. You have zero excuses now that the internet exists. Look past their hype marketing and focus on reality.
Most of these frauds have no long-term history of success. I'm talking 10+ years of proven success. Scroll back far enough on their social media, and you can usually see where the Lambo first arrived for their guru pics. Check the dates. Look for actual evidence of their lifestyle going back over a decade.
Don't be fooled by their follower counts. On every platform you can purchase fake followers, fake post comments, fake likes, fake subscribers, fake podcast downloads. Use tools like SocialBlade(.com) to see spikes where they bought thousands of followers in a week. People that want to argue about this are usually guilty, themselves. "I didn't know better." Bullshit. You knew it was fake when you swiped your credit card.
Use paid background check apps. There are several options. This shit is pure comedy! You'd be amazed at some of the BIG names that you admire, and how fraudulent they are. These background checks reveal criminal history, bankruptcies, divorces, restraining orders, name/alias changes, and even show their residential address and what vehicles are registered to them. With that info, you can use Google Maps to view their "mansions". Some of these gooroos don't even show up on searches... because they aren't using their real names. Red flag!
Ask around. Speak with former clients they've worked with. Speak with former employees of their companies. Speak with former leaders of their groups. So many of you skip this, and defend these frauds until they turn against you. "Well, he/she treats me fairly, so they are okay" Bullshit. Recognize patterns, they keep repeating. You'll be next.
That should get you started. Hell, try these searches on me! 😘
-Tony
Why Most Remain Stuck Where They're At
Here's why most people remain stuck where they're at 😮
Last night on my coaching call, I explained the most common reason that people climb to some level and then get stuck there.
It's because they've stopped making sacrifices and stopped taking risks. They've achieved some level of comfort, and have become content or complacent.
If comfort was always your goal, there's nothing wrong with this. If that's you, then you may stop reading this message.
If you're still reading this, you know you want more from life. You can sense your higher potential and greater purpose. But, you are wondering why things aren't progressing like they used to.
"What got you here, won't get you there."
I have no doubt that you've made some hard sacrifices in life to get where you currently are. You've made life decisions that weren't clear to others at the time. You've taken risks and bet on yourself. You've failed, you've won, you kept going.
Then comfort arrived for you. Your bills are paid. You finally had some extra spending money to enjoy interests. You upgraded your home, your car, your clothes. Friends and family are proud of you and say "you've made it."
Society is an interesting trap we navigate. As our income, status, and confidence all begin to elevate; Climbing the corporate and social ladders, we begin doing less of what got us here.
We stop taking risks. We stop making sacrifices, even if temporary. We'll do anything to protect our current income and perceived social status.
We'll even fake our own confidence, knowing that we actually live in fear of losing everything.
Here's how you get unstuck.
1) Play chess, not checkers. In checkers, your basic moves are always forward, you cannot move backwards. If you follow that rule with your life, you'll resist moving backwards in income level or status. Chess is a far more advanced game. To master chess, you'll understand that sometimes it is necessary to move backwards to strategize winning the entire game.
2) Stop worrying what others will think about you. If you downgrade your lifestyle, your home, your vehicle, sure - some people will gossip and talk about you. These are usually other people who reached some level and got stuck, themselves. They're no longer stacking wins, so they need to point out other people's losses to feel better about being stuck. Temporary sacrifice to get ahead is honorable and takes courage, and those people have neither.
3) Continuously invest in new skills and knowledge. Learning is something we do, not something we did. Your entire life should be dedicated to learning new things, especially skills that move you closer to your purpose or dreams. Don't say you can't afford it if you have items you could sell, or a lifestyle you can downgrade. Again, playing chess - move backwards now to move ahead later!
I hope this message reaches you. I hope it reaches your friends that also need to hear it.
P.S. That car in the pic was the Nissan I drove while I was putting myself through college. It was the worst vehicle I've ever owned, and it left me stranded numerous times. As a car enthusiast, I had to put aside my ego and "car guy" identity for several years to focus on what was important. That was just one sacrifice of many that I've made, and I continue to make.
-Tony
Become More Courageous
As a child, I wanted to become three things; Race car driver, fighter pilot, or stuntman 🤩
I've always had the daredevil personality, enjoying activities that most people prefer to avoid.
That being said, I wouldn't ever label myself as an "adrenaline junkie". That's because I don't do these things to increase my heart rate. In fact, I'm relatively calm in high stress, fearful situations.
Why am I calm? It's because I've prepared. I've calculated the risks. I've practiced and done hundreds of reps. I've failed extensively and kept trying again.
I've also learned to control my emotions because I understand mental clarity is required when successfully executing stressful situations. When distracted by emotions, you'll make costly errors.
So, how do you become more courageous and learn more emotional control? Here are some tips:
1) Memento Mori. This is Latin for "Remember you must die." Accept this as fact. You can live your entire life fearing death, but you will never escape the outcome. We all die. If you're always playing safe, I'd say you haven't lived. Take more chances.
2) Self-Awareness. Don't blame your temper on your parents. You control your actions and your words, not them. When things trigger you emotionally, learn to pause before you respond. Emotionally weak people react, wise self-aware people respond. Practice this every day, in common situations... such as road-rage situations.
3) Challenge yourself by doing difficult things. A good example is public speaking, it's ranked 2nd among all fears... right after the fear of dying. Public speaking won't kill you. Everyone can do this, it just takes investing in skills and doing the reps. Hire a coach, join Toastmasters, face your fears. Your confidence will increase each time you overcome a fear.
4) Stop giving up and quitting too soon, or pivoting too often. This is unfortunately a common habit. If you set goals, become relentless and keep pushing to improve. Many of my successes have come as a result of simply outlasting others. Think in terms of 5-10 years, not months. Your confidence takes a dive every time you quit, every time you pivot. Avoid that!
Hope this message helps. 🧡