My guest today is Rich German, who is a bestselling author, speaker, and business/lifestyle coach. He has conducted over 18,000 individual coaching sessions and co-founded the JV Insider Circle. With its focus on joint ventures, the JV Insider Circle is a powerful community that helps speakers, authors, and coaches grow their businesses. Each year they host a live event called JVX, a three-day experience, which helps cultivate relationships geared towards building lasting joint ventures. Rich's first two books, Living the Law of Attraction and Monetize Your Passion, are content-rich books that help people improve their lives and financial situations. Rich has a passion for helping entrepreneurs cultivate a life that allows them to take care of their own mind, body, and spirit, and to enjoy the things they are most passionate about. Rich teaches what he knows to be true--it is possible to create a lifestyle that you love.

Rich has a love for the ocean and the creatures that live in it. Years ago Rich made spending time on his paddleboard a priority. He has structured his life in a way that he is able to spend hours a day interacting with the dolphins and whales that call Laguna Beach, California their home. On a whim he started taking pictures and then video, and posting them on his Facebook page. (Check out his images here.) His photos are breathtaking! His time on the water has given him a mission to restore, protect, and sustain the ocean. He created Project O, with a short-term goal of raising awareness through art, film, outreach activities, and media coverage. The long-term goal of Project O is to help change laws in order to protect the oceans. Rich has compiled 95 of his most amazing images into a beautiful new coffee-table book called Blue Laguna. The sale of his new book will help fund Project O's mission of protecting the ocean for our generation and generations to come.

Connect with Rich German:

Pre-order Rich's book here to help support his work through Project O.Rich GermanJV Insider CircleFind Rich on Facebook

In this episode:

• [02:55] - Rich talks about how his new book came to be.
• [05:30] - Rich describes his love for the water and his amazing connection with the dolphins and whales near Laguna Beach drove him to begin filming his experiences, and then sharing them on his Facebook page.
• [06:27] - Rich tells us about having one of his videos go viral. Watch it here.
• [07:18] - We hear about him receiving massive media exposure last year, as well as exposure from top ocean organizations such as PETA, Save the Whales, Black Fish, and The Cove.
• [08:49] - Rich tells us that he estimates that since 2010 he has been out in the water paddling about 2100 times, has spent over 5000 hours on the water, and paddled over 15,000 miles.
• [10:40] - Rich talks about 100% of the proceeds from the pre-order of his book going to help fund Project O. Pre-order Rich's book here.
• [11:15] - We discuss the process of creating a non-profit.
• [13:48] - Rich speaks about creating Project O, with a short-term goal of raising awareness through art, film, outreach activities, and media coverage, and a long-term goal of changing laws in order to protect the ocean.
• [14:04] - Rich explains the benefits of no-take zones, areas that cannot be fished.
• [15:33] - He tells us why it is important to him to approach activism from a place of love instead of a place of fear.
• [16:32] - Rich tells of his determination to set up a lifestyle that gave him time to pursue his passions, particularly his love for the ocean. He gets into how his focus on collaboration, working together to create a better result, influenced his decision to create his own foundation versus joining one that already existed.
• [19:37] - Rich tells us why he is not the guy to talk about the pros and cons of setting up a 501(c)(3).
• [20:30] - We talk about how burnout played a role in Rich leaving the coaching company he was working for and creating the JV Insider Circle and the JVX Experience.
• [24:26] - Rich reminds us that when he created his company, he looked first at what kind of lifestyle he wanted, then created a business to satisfy those needs.
• [27:32] - Rich explains why solopreneurs, people who generally work from home and alone, especially need avenues to build relationships, support, and partnerships in their business.
• [28:13] - We learn how Rich was able to leverage his time by moving from one-on-one coaching to building a community that is six hundred-to-one and in the process taking his income up five to ten times.
• [30:00] - Rich talks about creating his million-dollar JV Insider Circle by continually niching down until he was only solving one problem, teaching people how to do joint ventures.
• [32:15] - We chat about the power of being focused. Stephan gives a great exercise in being focused that comes from Warren Buffett. Read more about that here.
• [33:10] - Rich tells us how avoiding "shiny-object syndrome" and following up on great ideas can set you apart from other entrepreneurs.
• [33:31] - Check out the interview that Rich and Stephan did on the Marketing Speak podcast. In that episode, Rich gets into details about how to set up a joint-venture partnership, how to leverage friendships and acquaintances to get a better list, and why doing mutually beneficial promotions is a crucial part of growing your business. You can listen to that here.
• [34:15] - Rich responds to Frank Kern's idea that "The money is in the list." Rich reminds us that it is not about growing a big list; it is about the impact you can make through the list.
• [36:10] - Rich recommends asking the question, "Who is already talking to the audience that I want to be talking to?"
• [37:05] - Stephan recommends the book Thousand True Fans by Kevin Kelly, which talks about the benefit of having an audience who is proactively engaging with you and the community instead of passively consuming information.
• [38:40] - Rich gets into the details of his offer to give a free ticket to the JVX event (November 3-5, 2016) to the listeners of Optimized Geek.
• [38:48] - Rich talks about the role that training and education play in the JV Insider Circle.
• [41:59] - We talk about the remarkable things that happen at JVX, including JV Match Cards; top-notch education about joint ventures; "Shark Attack," which will feature an all-star panel that includes Christian Mickelsen and Loral Langemeier; and opportunities to network that are off the charts! Do you have your free ticket yet?
• [44:50] - Rich gives us a key tip about creating informational products, "Your program or product needs to solve just one problem." He explains why he thinks this is such a key point.

Links and Resources:

Pre-order Rich's book here to help support his work through Project O.

Rich German

JV Insider Circle

Find Rich on Facebook

Match.com

Living the Law of Attraction

Monetize Your Passion

Warren Buffett's tips to get focused

Shark Tank

Marketing Speak - Episode 20 - Guest Rich German

Thousand True Fans

Christian Mickelsen

Loral Langemeier A free gift for Optimized Geek podcast listeners: JVX Ticket Page