Build Your Utopia

We are very pleased to bring you part 2 of our engaging conversation with Cheryl Liew Chng, Entrepreneur, Coach, Author, and the 24-Hour Woman.

Cheryl Liew Chng keeps the value high by sharing when she would outsource different tasks. Cheryl says the best time to outsource work to other people is as soon as possible! It is also a good idea to look at they type of work and if it is not your forte, then hire someone else to do it. One of the key things to keep in mind when hiring people is not only 'are they a high performer' but also 'do we get along with eachother'.

We next change things up with Cheryl Liew Chng by figuring out what her outlets are. Cheryl loves to bake (but not so much the washing up!). She also loves to create floral arrangements. She finds these types of activities that permit her to create very energizing. Thankfully her family also knows that if she doesn't get this time, she becomes grouchy. And no one in her family is upset when she cooks and bakes.

Finally, Cheryl Liew Chng drops her Value Bombs on us:

• We all have 24 hours, invest in what matters most
• If you have a burning desire, take the first step
• You are valuable as a person, so live a life that is most excellent

Get the book The 24-Hour Woman

Follow what Cheryl Liew Chng has to say right here:

• My Life Workz and The 24-Hour Woman
• YouTube
• Twitter

As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!

We are very pleased to bring you part 1 of our engaging conversation with Cheryl Liew Chng, Entrepreneur, Coach, Author, and the 24-Hour Woman.

Cheryl Liew Chng doesn't waste any time and jumps right in with her view of Utopia. Cheryl wants us to live our lives as a living legacy and also thriving in the different facets of our lives. She also gives us some tips on how to thrive! When you go to a bookstore and what section of books do you find yourself in? What do your friends and family say are the times you are really engaged and happy? When you look back at your life, what projects or times were you most happy? Those three can really help you triangulate the areas where you thrive.

Next, Cheryl Liew Chng shares her vision for the future of continuing to grow the 24-Hour Woman movement by touching and improving the lives of more and more woman. Cheryl also wants to have the time to travel with her family. Through all of this she finds herself as a role model and has to remind herself that people look up to her. It's a great position to find yourself in and one she takes very seriously.

Cheryl Liew Chng recalls a turning point in her life that really got her thinking about her life and her future. Cheryl worked with a good friend and mentor who asked her if she wanted to work in the healthcare field her entire life. That really got her thinking about why she worked so hard and was so good at and committed to her job.

Get the book The 24-Hour Woman

Follow what Cheryl Liew Chng has to say right here:

• My Life Workz and The 24-Hour Woman
• YouTube
• Twitter

As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!

We are very pleased to bring you part 2 of this week's conversation with Josh Turner, entrepreneur, author, and fan of Sour Patch Kids!

Josh Turner continues to get right into it by sharing how he makes time for all his interests during the day. He just does it. Josh elaborates by saying that he makes the time for himself, he has to or he gets into a negative mental state (like wondering why he is the only one in the office working late or being lethargic). He makes it a point to jog in the morning, it helps him start the day upbeat and energized.

Josh Turner doesn't really struggle to make time for his outlets because he has built his business up to make sure he has the time for himself. That doesn't mean he won't hop on the computer for an hour or two on the weekends, but he doesn't spend all day working. It isn't worth it for him.

Ben recalls that Josh Turner mentioned in part 1 that he used to work 60 hours a week and wonders what changed from then to now. Josh says he used to think it was a badge of honor to put in that many hours. As he's grown, he's realized that he no longer wants to brag about that. He'd rather brag about the opportunities for adventures that having a successful business offers.

Josh (our Josh) then leads us down a small tangent based on what Josh Turner said about having a strong number 2. Josh said he's seen successful business with overworked and stressed owners because they are wearing too many hats. He advocates finding a strong person who is dedicated and really bought into the business. Josh also shares how to make the compensation plan work for someone especially when a business is new and growing.

Josh Turner closes out the show with these Value Bombs:

• It's okay to dabble to find the one thing you want, but it's better to have one thing than many
• Don't be afraid to invest in marketing and sales
• You can never have enough cash in the bank

Books from this conversation:

• Connect by Josh Turner
• Money, Master the Game by Tony Robbins

Follow Josh Turner here:

• LinkedSelling
• Linked University
• Twitter
• Visit this site to get his book, Connect

As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!

We are very pleased to bring you part 1 of this week's conversation with Josh Turner, entrepreneur, author, and fan of Sour Patch Kids!

We get right into it with Josh Turner and learn his definition of Utopia is to do whatever makes you happy; enjoy what you're doing and look forward every day to do what you're doing. It could be running your own business, it could be working at a food bank, anything really that gets you pumped up. He dives in a bit further and calls out a number of things that he really enjoys doing (but none that he'd want to do 24/7).

Next, Josh Turner shares his journey of working for himself and how he got there. He's been his own boss since 2010 (LinkedSelling started in 2011). He was working for a construction firm that closed up and went out of business when the market crashed and that motivated Josh to take his part time entrepreneur ventures full time. It could have been a rough situation as he didn't really have a pile of savings to ride on, he only had credit cards. This let to a side conversation about how credit cards are very dangerous but can also be a great benefit to a company.

Books from this conversation:

• Connect by Josh Turner
• Money, Master the Game by Tony Robbins

Follow Josh Turner here:

• LinkedSelling
• Linked University
• Twitter
• Visit this site to get his book, Connect

As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!

Happy Friday! It is the last Friday of the month and that means it is time for just Josh and Ben to talk about what has happened this month and review the great guests than graced us with their presence on the show.

We start off the show discussing networking at conferences. What does it mean for Josh to put his game face on when he attends these events. What does he get out of it and how does it help him professionally and personally? This also leads into a discussion on why we started the show. Learning from those who are out there doing the things they do while still making time for themselves.

Next Josh tells a story of revenge! Revenge in a pure form of being the best that he can be. Josh went to Pei Wei after recording an interview and ran into an old friend that he lost after a breakup. We're sure that after a couple breaks up, friends sometimes choose one person or the other to maintain the friendship. This friendship was one of those where Josh was on the losing side. It was very satisfying to talk with this lost friend and tell him how well Josh was doing and how satisfied Josh is with his life.

Getting themselves back on track, Josh and Ben talk about Kavit Haria. Ben really wanted to talk music with Kavit, after all he's played with some stellar musicians! Staying on theme for the show, Ben really tried to keep on work/life balance. The music conversation then moved to a previous guest, Graham English, who also came from a music background. Finally, Josh & Ben talk about their favorite Value Bombs from Kavit.

Next Josh & Ben talk about Ed O'keefe and their favorite Value Bomb from him. In a rare turn of events, Josh and Ben both agree on their favorite Value Bomb. This leads us down a conversation about what spirituality means and of Ed's views on how to take care of yourself, what does spirituality actually mean? Josh also shares a valuable part of himself, he is not very woo woo.

After that, Josh & Ben cover what they learned from Austin Iuliano and what we learned from him. Ben reflects a bit about Austin revealed that while he was speaking with us, he was also Meerkating the show. At first Ben was very concerned about the world listening to a very unpolished, raw show and on the heals of that, how awesome that Austin's fans were listening live and enjoying the conversation! Would you Utopians out there enjoy listening to the shows live as they are recorded? Should we try and make that happen? After much speculation, Josh & Ben speak about their favorite Value Bombs from Austin.

Finally, Josh & Ben review our guest from this week, Alisa DiLorenzo. For Ben, it was like catching up with an old friend while speaking with Alisa. That speaks highly of how easy she is to speak with. Josh & Ben then get to their favorite Value Bombs from Alisa (again, not agreeing).

Before closing out the show, Josh & Ben tease about the upcoming 100th show

As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!

We are very happy to bring you part 2 of our conversation with Alisa DiLorenzo, author, coach, podcast host, wife, and mother of two.

During this half of the conversation with Alisa DiLorenzo, we get really into some of the ramifications of divorce and how the decision to end a relationship can ripple out and have an impact on multiple people for many years down the road. We live in a very disposable world, and it is a shame that people sometimes view their marriage as disposable as razors or paper coffee cups.

Josh drops a huge question on Alisa DiLorenzo, "What advice would you give someone who is working on building their business while maintaining a healthy relationship with their significant other." Alisa doesn't miss a beat and has a great answer, SEX

• Schedule time together - you schedule time with your clients, schedule time with your spouse and keep it!
• Enrich the relationship - invest in the things your spouse likes to do
• eXchange roles - sometimes you are the leader and sometimes you have to let your spouse lead

Next, we move into what Alisa DiLorenzo does to maintain balance in her life. Alisa needs to get out and move, she takes walks (marathons are not her thing). She really enjoys reading and she loves writing in her journals. It is important to her to journal, and she teaches the folks she coaches the same thing. Journal, write it down and get it out of your head so you can focus on what you need to focus on. You can always come back to it.

Alisa DiLorenzo admits that she struggles to make time in her day for herself. She used to use paper calendars until the world moved to digital calendars on the all of our phones. Alisa realized that she was adding way to much to her day and moved herself back to a paper calendar, just to have the visual of how much was stacked in one day.

Finally, Alisa DiLorenzo drops her value bombs!

• Be intentional about your resources
• Be willing to take risks
• Love deeply

Alisa leaves us with a surprise free gift!

Follow Alisa DiLorenzo here:

• One Extraordinary Marriage
• Twitter

As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!

We are very happy to bring you part 1 of our conversation with Alisa DiLorenzo, author, coach, podcast host, wife, and mother of two.

We start the show catching up with Alisa DiLorenzo. Her husband Tony was a guest on the show back on episode 44. It feels like old friends catching up with eachother and really speaks to how open and easy it is to speak with Alisa. We also find out that their show, One Extraordinary Marriage, is closing in on the 300 episode mark! That is a great accomplishment and we are very excited for them both!

Alisa DiLorenzo shares her view of her Utopia. It's an internal sense, it's a sense that she's living her life on purpose. She invests in herself and the world around her. She pours so much into her life with her husband, her kids, her business, and her podcast. Alisa wants to make a positive impact in people's lives.

With that in mind, Alisa DiLorenzo tells us the story of why she and her husband Tony wrote the book, The Seven Days of Sex Challenge. Alisa and Tony were in a rough spot in their marriage. They were living like roommates, not a couple. They took a challenge of 8 weeks of sex and had a great response. She also realizes that 8 weeks is a ton of time, but anyone can do something for 7 days. To help other couples they sat down together and wrote the book.

After sharing where she came from, Alisa DiLorenzo shares where she wants to go in the future. Alisa loves public speaking and she's looking forward to more speaking events in the next few years. She also has plans to continue to grow the audience of her podcast as well continuing to grow the company ONE Extraordinary Marriage.

Follow Alisa DiLorenzo here:

• ONE Extraordinary Marriage
• Twitter

As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!

We are very excited to bring you the second half of our interview with Austin Iuliano, a phenomenal Brand Strategist and avid Meerkat user.

As we dive into Austin Iuliano's work/life balance, he feels it's important to give us some back story. He lives in New York, he's 27, he has a girlfriend who is also his business partner. He does not have a family, so his life is work/work. Austin feels the core of the matter is defining your goals in life. He actively decided to not have a family because he wanted to work on his business. You also have to know what revitalizes you. Introverted people get energy from being alone where as extroverted people get energy from other people.

Next Austin Iuliano shares how he deals with aspects of his business that he doesn't like to do. For example, Austin loves talking with people, so he does that as often as possible. Austin does not enjoy editing his own blog posts, so he doesn't do them. He's carried that over to nearly every aspect of his business, if he doesn't like it, he doesn't do it. Austin uses the barter system. He struck up a conversation with a guy in the park, learned he is an english student and traded coaching on building your brand (Austin) for editing blog posts (english student).

Following that, Austin Iuliano talks about how he is always in work mode (even when he is having fun). Austin shares the story of buying lift passes for a ski trip only to find out they were not good for three days. Instead of paying full price for that day, if he waited for 90 minutes, the passes were much cheaper. For those 90 minutes, he flipped back into work, created a video on his phone, made some minor edits, posted it on YouTube, and got it out into the world.

We close out the show with Austin Iuliano's Value Bombs:

• Humility is essential
• Don't be afraid of failure
• Pursue your passion

Follow Austin Iuliano here:

• D.Science.
• Meerkat
• Twitter

As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!

We are very excited to bring you the first half of our interview with Austin Iuliano, a phenomenal Brad Strategist and avid Meerkat user.

Austin Iuliano shares how he recently got into Meerkat and how that platform is a fresh new way to interact with your fans and followers. Not only does Meerkat allow you to directly speak to your followers, it also lets people meet and interact with the person behind the brand.

Next Austin Iuliano and Josh make plans to meet up when Josh and his son visit New York. The conversation dives into a mini nerd fest about the Marvel universe with reverences to Iron Man, the Avengers, and Daredevil.

Getting back on topic, Austin shares his vision of Utopia. Live each day better than the last. He was inspired at his first job teaching folks to snowboarding (which he officially started at 16). He learned that it isn't about age, but about knowledge. He taught an 86 year old who was not interested in snowboarding, but how to do something new and exciting. It helps to recognize your audience and speak to them. After all, teaching an 86 year old is much different than teaching a 6 year old.

Next Austin Iuliano shares how he lives his vision of a Utopia. One of his key steps is to take some time every morning to be grateful. Starting from a place of gratitude makes it easier to have a great day. He then shares a very personal story about a dark time in his life where he contemplated suicide. He stopped because of his mother and he started lying to himself. He told himself every day "I am confident, handsome, charming, I do well in school, and people want to be my friend."

Following that, Austin Iuliano shares his thoughts on what he would change, if he could, from his past. Austin struggles with this question because there is no way of knowing what will cascade from making that level of change, but if he could, he would start earlier and work harder.

Follow Austin Iuliano here:

• D.Science.
• Meerkat
• Twitter

As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!

We are very pleased to release part 2 of our interview with Ed O'Keefe, entrepreneur, author, and father of 7!

Ed O'Keefe was reaching the end of desire to be a coach for dentists and he decided to create something from scratch. That is really challenging to do and something very few people have done. Ed then gives us a few high level points about this very topic. Why go to work for anything if you are not passionate about it, especially in this day and age.

Next Ed O'Keefe walks us through some of the reasons why we (everyone) feels overwhelmed, like they are 'dumb', or like they 'stink'. Ed starts with a mini biology lesson and helps us understand how we as a species have evolved much slower than the technology we use on a daily basis. Take just six hours a day to pick one thing to focus on and really learn for 90 days. When you wake up after 90 days you will be in the 1% of that niche that you chose.

Once we start talking about how Ed O'Keefe keeps balance in his life, his first bit of advice is to throw the work 'balance' out of the equation. When you are at work, be 100% focused on work. When you are spending time with your family, be 100% focused on your family, completely in the moment.

Finally, we get some great Value Bombs from Ed O'Keefe:

• You need to take care of yourself (physically, spiritually, mentally, socially) you are not going to be great at supporting other people
• If you are in business, your early focus should be what is your customer acquisition and monetization strategy.
• When you feel like a loser, surround yourself with winners
• Bonus! Do not talk poorly about your children or your spouse, ever

Books discussed in this show:

• Dan Kennedy's Books
• Cory Rudl's Books

Follow Ed O'Keefe here:

• Ed O'Keefe Show (with free gifts!)
• Inspired Wear (with a free gift!)
• Twitter

As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!