Podcast 646: Blueprint to Business with Michael Alden

This is my second interview with author and entrepreneur Michael Alden.   What I love about Michael is his passion for his work and life, he truly is a trailblazer.

His new book entitled ” Blueprint to Business-An Entrepreneur’s Guide To Taking Action, Committing To the Grind, And Doing The Things That Most People Won’t” is a must-read for any entrepreneur.  Michael has had his share of ups and downs like many entrepreneurs, but he has learned from his lessons and applies the learning to make the next venture he gets engaged with just that much more successful.

Michael’s book is the ultimate guide with practical advice from a master entrepreneur who can really teach new entrepreneurs invaluable lessons.  I can really appreciate his chapter on “Doing What You Say”.  “In business and in life, always do what you say you’re going to do. Keep your word. When you tell yourself that you are going to do something, and you don’t do it, you’re doing yourself a disservice, and you’re setting yourself back. Not following through on something you said you were going to do is an absolute travesty.”

This sound advice runs throughout “Blueprint to Business” In my interview with Michael we speak about his personal life and business ventures, as well as he imparts practical and sound advice about becoming an entrepreneur.  I know you will love this lively and engaging interview with the author, entrepreneur Michael Alden.

If you want to learn more about the book click here.   You can also click here to be directed to Michael’s Facebook page. Enjoy the podcast.

Podcast 644: Lifestorming, Creating Meaning and Achievement in Your Career and Life with Alan Weiss & Marshall Goldsmith

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Alan Weiss the co-author with Marshall Goldsmith of a new book entitled “Lifestorming-Creating Meaning and Achievement in Your Career and Life“.  This is a practical handbook for becoming the person you want to be.  You will discover what it takes to redesign your life, friends, behaviors, and goals in order to move closer to your goals.

Alan and I discuss the evolutionary journey, and a very important question: To what extent is your journey one of internal control, and to what extent one of external control?  I believe this concept alone is one of the most important elements that one must master if they are going to master their life.  As Alan states are you taking a “random walk” through life, or do you have high control and are one of those people that creates your world, or are you mutually creating your world.  No matter your purview of your world, it would be best to have high control if you want to make something of yourself.

If you want to change behavior, Alan states that most studies have found that it’s very difficult to merely change poor behavior.  It’s much more effective to substitute a more positive behavior. Change for its own sake makes little sense.  The key is to determine the salutary result that makes the change worthwhile.

I hope you enjoy the lively and engaging dialogue with Alan Weiss the co-author of “Lifestorming-Creating Meaning and Achievement in Your Career and Life“.  If you want to learn more about the book you can click here to be directed to the book website page.  If you want to learn more about Alan Weiss please click here or Marshall Goldsmith click here.

Thanks so much for listening, enjoy the podcast!

 

Podcast 643: Entrepreneurial You with Dorie Clark

I have had the opportunity to interview Dorie Clark on several different occasions, and every time I emerge from the interview I feel that I have been given additional information that will help me be a better person and entrepreneur.

In my recent interview with Dorie, we speak about her new book entitled ” Entrepreneurial You“.  This is a comprehensive guide to any entrepreneur that wants to learn unique ways to monetize their expertise and create multiple streams of income while thriving in the process.  In our interview together we discuss the importance of our personal brand and building a great brand.  Dorie explains that sustainable monetization requires a solid foundation build through a three-step process: 1) Building your brand. 2) Monetizing your expertise. 3) Extending your reach and impact

“Entrepreneurial You” is a hands-on guide filled with new ideas, stories, and applications to launch any entrepreneur to new heights.

I hope you enjoy my interview with author Dorie Clark, if you want to learn more about her new book please click here to be taken to the book website, you can also download a free Entrepreneurial You Self-Assessment which will give you the blueprint for professional independence. Enjoy the podcast!

 

Podcast 642: The Path to Personal Power by Napoleon Hill with Don Green

Every time I interview Don Green from the Napoleon Hill Foundation I learn something new.  Don is a  continual learner with more knowledge and understanding about Napoleon Hill than anyone I have ever met.  He has been the executive director and spokesperson for the foundation for the last 20 years and is just a wonderful person.

In my interview with Don, we discuss a newly released book entitled ” The Path to Personal Power“.  As Don states, personal power is acquired through a combination of individual traits and habits.  The ten qualities of personal power are: 1) the habit of definiteness of purpose 2) the promptness of decision 3) soundness of character 4) strict discipline over one’s emotions 5) obsessional desire to render useful service 6) through knowledge of one’s occupation 7) tolerance on all subjects 8) loyalty to one’s personal associates and faith in a Supreme Being 9) enduring thirst of knowledge 10) alertness of imagination. The old adage “knowledge is power” is not quite true. Knowledge never is power until it has been expressed in some term of useful service.

“The Path to Power” is a powerful roadmap that leads to a single discovery: You already have the power to attain whatever wealth, success, and prosperity you desire in life.  All you need to do is walk the path without straying, and the rest will follow.

I hope you enjoy yet another great interview with Don Green the executive director of the Napoleon Hill Foundation.  If you want to learn more about the courses, books and audio recording available through the foundation please click here to be directed to their website.

Podcast 640: Innovation Made Simple with Jeff Havens

I really enjoy when an author can write a book and make a topic that can be complicated simple.  That is what author and speaker Jeff Haven’s has done in his new book entitled ” Innovation Made Simple”  Jeff is also the author of another book entitled “Us vs. Them Redefining the Multigenerational Workplace”.

In my interview with Jeff, we discuss how all big ideas start as small ideas and usually grow over time.  As a matter of fact, Jeff states that every one of these ideas and incredible inventions took the creators a great deal of time to work out the kinks.  If you look back in history you will see that many of companies like Microsoft, Apple, Hewlett Packard all started in a garage.  In the 1990’s Apple asked themselves, “is there a way we could provide a legal avenue for customers to purchase the songs they want?” Two years later iTunes was launched and it has since grown to account for 75% of the digital music market and generates over 7 billion a year in revenue for Apple.

If you look back in history you will see that many of companies like Microsoft, Apple, Hewlett Packard all started in a garage.  In the 1990’s Apple asked themselves, “is there a way we could provide a legal avenue for customers to purchase the songs they want?” Two years later iTunes was launched and it has since grown to account for 75% of the digital music market and generates over 7 billion a year in revenue for Apple.  What is your idea?  How will you start the process of development?  Do you have the courage to pursue your dreams?

One simple idea Jeff speaks about is speeding up the creative process.  He says if you want to speed up the creative process, you need to slow down.  It might sound counter-intuitive but it is not our creative genesis is usually more active when we learn how to slow down, play, take walks in nature and learn how to be instead of do.

If you want to learn more about Jeff Havens the author and speaker, please click here to be directed to his website.  I hope you enjoy this great interview with Jeff Havens.

Podcast 634: Hacking the Gap-A Journey from Intuition to Innovation and Beyond with Greg Voisen

It is kind of weird writing my own blog about myself and my new book, but hey what the heck someone has to do it and who better than the author.

I recently released my new book entitled “Hacking the Gap-A Journey from Intuition to Innovation and Beyond.”  I have been asked what the book is all about?

The answer to this questions is that the book is about my personal journey as a serial entrepreneur, my ups, and downs and the struggles to birth new products and or services and then take it to market successfully.  Believe me, I have had plenty of failures, but the learning lessons from the failures and setbacks provided me with the persistence to continue on in spite of the disappointments.

My podcasts program, Inside Personal Growth, set the foundation for the learnings that I share with the readers.  I’ve interviewed over 630+ authors on personal growth, business, wellness, and spirituality.  It is virtually impossible not to have a personal transformation from learning and soaking in all that information. I have weaved the learnings from many of my over 10 years of interviews into Hacking the Gap.  Everything I learned has made me a better person, more authentic, more sensitive, more understanding and forgiving of myself and others. As we work on ourselves we naturally become better people, and to me, this is the important element of the personal growth work.  If you are not improving and becoming a better person, you won’t be a better father, husband, employer or whatever you are to the world.

So remember when you read this book, listen to your soul’s calling and get in touch with your intuition.  What you are being informed to do is vital to your growth.  Listen carefully, learn how to discern between your intuition and your ego.  Once you do this and are not afraid of taking action, you will find that your world will change forever–and for the better.

I hope you enjoy the interview that my friend Reese Harris did with me.

Please go to Hacking the Gap.com to learn more about the book, and download a couple of chapters for free.  Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter and free webinars.  I am here for you please reach out want to hear from you.

Podcast 632: Momentum Dash with Levi Bucsis

I was recently was told about a Chrome extension called Momentum Dash from my good friend Lee Regan.  I don’t usually review software, but this particular software caught my attention–so much so that I reached out to the founder  Levi Bucsis and requested that we do a podcast.

If you’re like me you have lots to do and very little time to complete your work in.  Your days are filled with various projects and you are juggling between tasks.  Does this sound like any of you?

At this point, I hope I have your attention because Momentum Dash works incredibly well at increasing your focus and the outcome is improved productivity.  Levi Bucsis and his amazing software development team have created an awesome Chrome extension piece of software that it makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs–you have to get this extension software now!!!    

So what are the features, beautiful pictures of nature to look at and ponder which will take you to a meditative state of being–not doing.  This particular feature forces me to slow down and ponder, reflect and thus makes my next though that much more poignant.  It has an API to the to-do list I subscribe to which is Todoist.  I can turn it on and off at will, and add to the list when I have another to-do–the key is being able to hide it and only look at the prompts when I am ready.

Momentum Dash Podcast clock Momentum Dash Podcast percent Momentum Gift Page

The software prompts you for your daily focus for the day, and there is a countdown timer and clock if you choose to use it. It also has awesome quotes that change daily, and these quotes seem to really make a connection for me.  All the features can be turned on or off dependent on your particular workflow.

This is must try software, you can download the free version of the extension by clicking here, or you can subscribe for $29.95 and get all the features and options.

I hope you enjoy my wonderful interview with a very creative software engineer and student of psychology, Levi Bucsis.

 

 

Podcast 626: Boomer Reinvention with John Tarnoff

I had the pleasure of interviewing author John Tarnoff; who just happens to be one of my prior classmates at the University of Santa Monica where we both graduated with Master’s degrees in Spiritual Psychology.  John’s new book Boomer Reinvention-How to Create Your Dream Career Over 50 John Tarnoffis an instruction guide for any boomer looking for ways to become a valuable asset to any employer, and as an entrepreneur.

As John points out many of the baby boomers have been the collateral damage of the economic downturn of 2008, thus they have lost a significant amount of their retirement portfolio forcing many to remain actively engaged in the workforce to support their lifestyles.  Boomers will continue to be, excellent choices for today’s and tomorrow’s workforce. But for the moment, the message from the top to the bottom of the American enterprise is that older workers need to be weaned out before they hit sixty-five.

Reinventing is about manifesting something out in the world and changing your career and by extension, your life. Reinvention implies a deep willingness to surrender the old ways that you use to live and work. It is reinvigorating, inspiring and energizing.  John provides the reader with inspiring examples of real people that have reinvented their careers and we discuss what he coins as the “boomer reinvention methodology.   This methodology works with anyone with the willingness to rebuild a new career or become a consultant.  John explains to the reader how they have to reprogram their thinking and actions to become a success in our new competitive work world.

I hope you will listen to our podcast, and more importantly, listen to the advice that John provides to boomer’s that are attempting to build a new career and or become independent consultants.

If you want to learn more about John Tarnoff you can visit his website by clicking here, or you can watch his Ted-X speech where he addresses the issues of boomer reinvention.

 

Podcast 625: Extreme You-Step Up. Stand Out. Kick Ass. Repeat-with Sarah Robb O’Hagan

If you want to listen to an author that has been engaged in corporate America to the extreme, then Sarah Robb O’Hagan would be your woman.  She has climbed the corporate ladder at Virgin Atlantic, Nike, Gatorade and Equinox all while being a wife, mother and endurance athlete.  She was fired twice, but that did not stop her.

In her book Extreme You, she takes the reader on her personal journey as well as incorporating stories from some of the most successful people she could find to interview for the book.  She let’s the reader know that to reach your greatness success and tap your human potential is requires that we continually improve ourselves no matter what our circumstances. She says that we should not succumb to the accepted norms because this type of behavior will stifle our talents and squelch our opportunities.

Extreme You, shows the route to success is far different from what we’re usually told. Achieving success is not about conforming, hiding your weaknesses, or reaching a pre-planned destination.  Instead, it is about continuously developing yourself to the max.

I hope you will take the journey with Sarah and I as we explore stories from her life, and the life’s of others who have inspired Sarah on her journey.  You will be inspired as well as learn some of the secrets to living the life of your dreams.

If you want to learn more about Sarah and the book “Extreme You” click here to be directed to her website. Also take the Extreme You Quiz to learn your Extreme You traits.

You can visit Sarah on Facebook.