"ENTREPRENEURS ARE MISFITS TO THE CORE. THEY FORGE AHEAD, MAKING THEIR OWN PATH AND ALWAYS, ALWAYS, QUESTION THE STATUS QUO"

-MAXIMILLIAN DEGENEREZ

Have you ever asked yourself, "What is the common thread among successful entrepreneurs?"

According to Dave Lukas, a successful entrepreneur himself, "This special trait or special separator is what I call their Inner Misfit. This is their unique genius. The side that sets them apart from the crowd. And the one thing I have seen in working with thousands and thousands of other entrepreneurs through my life is that every one, I mean, every one, has one! Not just entrepreneurs. Whether you are an entrepreneur, business person, student, active athlete, stay at home mom; whatever...you have a genius side, a Misfit side."

Dave hosts the "Misfit Entrepreneur" podcast, a show devoted to giving the audience insights from the world's top entrepreneurs with a focus on their non-traditional methods for achieving success, their Misfit side.

That's why I was thrilled when he agreed to share his journey and lessons learned from interviewing such successful entrepreneurs from all over the world and growing one of the INC fastest growing companies.

Show notes:

• Regardless of your industry and expertise, gaining sales experience is essential for success. Selling is innate to humans, so whether consciously or not, you're selling all the time (your ideas, preferences, personal brand, etc.)
• To achieve success in the long-term, ask yourself what "your why" is. Otherwise, when challenges arise, you'll be likely to give up. Your why is your passion--what creates fulfillment in your life.
• Common denominator among successful entrepreneurs:
  • They plan for their success with discipline: they're DELIBERATE when it comes to following their plan to succeed.
  • They write down specific goals to guide their actions, and they follow through.
  • They don't do ONE THING exponentially better than anybody else. Instead, they do a lot of little things incrementally better than anybody else.
  • They behave consistently regardless of where they are or what they do. "How you do anything is how you do everything."
• Don't mistake activity for accomplishments. Taking action for action sake is not what you need to do. Know why you're doing what you're doing. Every day, decide the top 3 things you'll focus on to help you move your business forward. Then, take action.
• Use activities that facilitate leverage: do more with less. For example, a piece of content such as a recorded interview can be re-purposed in many ways.
• People tend to overestimate what they can accomplish in a week but underestimate what they can accomplish in a year. Just get started and, incrementally, you'll get to where you want to be.
• Want to start your own podcast? Here's what you'll need:
  • Your why--clearly articulated
  • Your niche--your ideal audience
  • A podcast format that is aligned with your audience's preferences and values
  • A medium such as Soundcloud or Libsyn
  • Training
  • Process--What day of the week will you record interviews? How will you select new guests?
  • Podcast website (Free resource: Weebly)
  • Microphone
  • Social media strategy and tools for automation (Buffer, Crowdfire, etc.)
• Most importantly, to achieve success in business, believe in your why so strongly that it becomes easy to sell your message.

Listen on iTunes! About Dave Lukas

Dave M. Lukas is a serial entrepreneur, author, and investor. He is vice president and co-owner, at Grasp Technologies and has almost two decades of global business development and corporate leadership experience. Mr. Lukas brings his senior executive business acumen to a wide range of organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to small and mid-sized enterprises.

Mr. Lukas is the author of amazon best-seller "The Ten Year Career, The Fast Track to Retiring Young, Wealthy and Fulfilled." The book is a culmination of 5 years of dedicated research into the mindset and habits of success, and leads the reader on a path to greater success and fulfillment.

As owner of LCS Group, he has consulted with companies at all levels,from startups to multi-million dollar organizations, coaching senior executives, developing sales programs and platforms, in addition to offering training and general business consulting services.

In 2005, Mr. Lukas invested in Grasp Technologies, a leading SAAS and software development firm, providing business intelligence software, global data consolidation and solutions for data related issues and efficiencies. Mr. Lukas joined the company full-time as Vice President and CSO in 2010. Grasp Technologies was recognized to the INC 5000 list of Fastest Growing Companies in 2015 and 2016.

Mr. Lukas is an accomplished investor in real estate and stock investing. He is a member of the Trading Concepts team, an investing education company, lending his expertise in its mentorship and training programs to students worldwide.

As a compelling public speaker, Mr. Lukas has spoken extensively in front of a wide array of organizations, with an emphasis on teaching individuals the strategies to reach their true potential and deliver exponential results. He has been featured on radio, TV, and in many top trade publications,including Forbes Online.

His latest venture is the Misfit Entrepreneur podcast.It is a weekly podcast devoted to giving the audience incredibly useful and unique insight from the world's top entrepreneurs with a focus on their non-traditional methods for achieving success, their Misfit side.

Mr. Lukas received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Management, Finance and Economics from Baldwin-Wallace University, and lives with his wife and daughter in Columbus, Ohio.

• Listen to the Misfit Entrepreneur Podcast
• Connecting with Dave Lukas on social 
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
• Check out Dave's Book: "The Ten Year Career"