How'd it Happen?

Today’s solo episode of the How’d It Happen podcast was inspired by Jordan Peterson and his book, titled “12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos." After reading this book, Mike felt drawn to create his own rules of life, and in this episode, he breaks down his 12.5 rules of life. Those rules are: 

1. Hold doors open, look people in the eye, say hello, and smile. 
2. Words matter.
3. Surround yourself with people you like and who care about you. 
4. Progress, not perfection. 
5. Be a parent your child wants to emulate and not one they feel they need to emulate. 
6. We've all got problems but remember yours before you expose or take advantage of others. 
7. Shiny objects might be horseshit.
8. How does doing this hard thing make me better? 
9. All progress starts with the truth.
10. Take the best away from every interaction and leave the rest behind 
11. Say what you mean to the best of your ability 
12. Have fun and be okay with it. Don't take yourself too seriously. 

And here's a bonus, Mike’s 12.5 rule of life: pay attention to what's in front of you, and be kind to whatever that is, to the best of your ability.

Tune in as Mike breaks each of these down and explains why they are important to maximize the greatness in you.

Episode resources: 

Book: 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote for Life by Jordan Peterson

To Connect with Mike:

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Brett Johnson is a former US most wanted cyber criminal turned good guy. The United States Secret Service called Brett “The Original Internet Godfather.” Brett’s fascinating story is one you don’t want to miss as you’ll hear about his role in refining modern financial cybercrime, being convicted of 39 felonies, escaping prison, and how he built the first organized cybercrime community. This community called “Shadow Crew” laid the way for modern cybercrime channels today. 

Today, Brett is considered one of the leading authorities on cybercrime, identity theft, and cyber security. Brett takes his role seriously and works tirelessly to protect individuals and businesses from the type of person he used to be.

This episode is part 2 of 2 with Brett Johnson, so make sure to listen to part 1 first if you haven’t already. In part 2, Brett walks us through what happened to Shadow Crew, what led to his arrest and escape from prison, working with the secret service, how he landed back in prison, and the occurrences that finally made him take responsibility for where he ended up. Brett has completely turned his life around and is passionate about protecting people from the crimes he used to commit. Cybercrime occurs more often than we think, so knowing how to protect yourself is essential. Tune in for more.

Key highlights:

• Reasons why cyber crime usually involves multiple attackers
• Going to prison and escaping and then landing back in prison
• Things that make it easier for cybercriminals
• How Brett invented tax return identity fraud
• Was cybercrime an addiction for Brett?
• How CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) changed Brett’s life
• Why Brett speaks his mind on social media despite being an introvert 
• Was Brett a leader in prison?
• What made Brett finally turn his life around?

Connect with Brett Johnson:

Website: anglerphish.com

LinkedIn: Brett Johnson

Podcast: The Brett Johnson Show

Cybercrime 101 Blog

To Connect with Mike:

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What were the top breakthroughs of 2022, and how do they compare to the top breakthroughs of 1922, 100 years ago? Let’s rewind 100 years and look at the pace of innovation a century ago. In 1922, the world was just emerging from the aftermath of the Spanish flu, and this year ushered in a new era of progress and rebirth. 

In 1922, in the United States:

• There were ~12 million cars on the road
• The price of gas was 11 cents per gallon
• The Ford Model-T cost a mere $319
• Only 40% of Americans had electricity in their homes
• Only 35% had a telephone
• Life expectancy was 58 years for men and 61 years for women (about 20 years less than today)

The top breakthrough inventions in 1922 were:

1. The first water skis were demonstrated using wooden boards and a clothesline
2. The first manually retractable, convertible car hardtop was invented
3. The electric blender was invented for making malts and milkshakes
4. The radial arm saw was invented to cut and shape long pieces of stock material
5. The use of insulin for the first time in a person to treat diabetes
6. Vitamin E was discovered
7. The Australians invented Vegemite

In today’s episode, Mike is talking about some of the major inventions that occurred in 2022. For each, he describes “what it is” and “why it matters.” We’ll look at breakthroughs in 7 categories: Space, Energy, Health, Food, Robotics, Quantum, and AI. It’s safe to say that the speed of innovation has accelerated a fair amount over the past century. We think you're going to be blown away by some of these, and invite you to look into them more.

Episode resources: 

Check out Abundance 360 at a360.com

To get an email each weekday about top global breakthroughs, go to: futureloop.com

To Connect with Mike:

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Brett Johnson is a former US most wanted cyber criminal turned good guy. The United States Secret Service called Brett “The Original Internet Godfather.” Brett’s rollercoaster of a story is one you don’t want to miss as you’ll hear about his role in refining modern financial cybercrime, being convicted of 39 felonies, escaping prison, and how he built the first organized cyber crime community. This community called “Shadow Crew” laid the way for modern cybercrime channels today. 

Brett was sentenced to 90 months in prison, but that isn’t where his story ended. After a life of crime, Brett finally took responsibility for where his life had ended up, and found redemption with the FBI. This was a chance to turn his life around and use his past for good, and so he took it. Today, Brett is considered one of the leading authorities on cyber crime, identity theft, and cyber security. Now, he works hard to protect others from the type of person he used to be.

This episode is part 1 of 2 with Brett Johnson, so make sure to tune in next week for the second half of this fascinating conversation. In part 1 you will hear what it's like to grow up with a mom that's a fraudster, how he learned to steal at age 10, and meeting the first decent person at age 16. Brett’s insight on what makes cybercrime easy for criminals, what cyber criminals look for, and why cyber crimes go unreported. 

Key highlights:

• Brett’s childhood of abuse, and what he learned from his parents that influenced him throughout his life
• The first crime Brett ever committed as a child 
• The Eastern Kentucky mentality
• How being a “social engineer” benefitted Brett as a criminal
• How Brett met the first decent human being in his life
• How Brett lost a full scholarship for acting
• How he got into internet crime
• The first lesson cyber criminals learn
• How trust is established online
• What predators look for online
• What needs to happen for cybercrime to be successful?

Connect with Brett Johnson:

Website: anglerphish.com

LinkedIn: Brett Johnson

Podcast: The Brett Johnson Show

Cybercrime 101 Blog

To Connect with Mike:

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• Get Mike’s book: Owner Shift

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In this solo episode, Mike channels Celeste Headlee’s TED talk called “10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation.” Mike puts his own spin on them by using his experience of releasing over 300 podcast episodes and interviewing many amazing people along the way. There are certain habits and questions that take a conversation to the next level by eliciting interesting topics and showing others that you are invested in what they have to say.

This episode is part 2 of 2, so make sure to check out part 1 first if you haven’t already. Being a great conversationalist is truly a skill, so although you may think you are already great at having conversations, the truth is that a lot of people don’t realize that they tend to make conversations about themselves. We may think we are very interesting, but there is an important balance to maintain in having a conversation that is a 2-way street. 

Mike’s remaining 5 tips for having a great conversation are: Don't equate your experience with your guests, try not to repeat yourself, stay out of the weeds, listen, and be brief. With these tips, you are sure to find yourself having elevated conversations.

Episode resources: 

CelesteHeadlee.com

Listen to Celeste’s Ted Talk: 10 Ways to Have A Better Conversation

To Connect with Mike:

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In the modern age of social media, advanced technology, and Artificial Intelligence, people are becoming less comfortable with dealing with conflict. Technology continues to make it easier to become distracted by other people’s stories, and allow machines to do the work and thinking for us. While it may seem very convenient, it may not be the best thing for fostering a resilient and creative society. Although we might not have a say in the direction that technology and AI are headed, it is important to remember that conflict and struggle build character. Using your conflict in your story-telling around your business is an incredibly powerful tool to draw in your audience, and Michael Ashley is here to explain why conflict is everything.

Michael Ashley is a former Disney screenwriter, professional speaker, and the author of 50 books on numerous subjects. He serves as a columnist with Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Green Entrepreneur. Prior to starting his own creative content agency, he began his career as a playwright and a newspaper reporter. He has been featured in KTLA, Entertainment Weekly, The National Examiner, the United Nations’ ITU News, The Orange County Business Journal, Fox Sports Radio, and The Orange County Register. Michael is the co-host of Changing the Story Podcast and United Nations’ Artistic Intelligence series. He serves as a story consultant for companies on how to best convey their messaging.

In the episode of the How’d It Happen Podcast, Michael dives into the biggest thing he helps his clients with when it comes to writing their book, and that is to focus on the conflict of the story, and then go from there. Although as a society we are utilizing tech to decrease conflict and increase convenience, it is natural for us to be drawn to conflict, and that is why dramatic reality TV is so popular. Utilize the conflict in your life to really showcase your character and how you overcame it. Through this strategy, you can better draw your audience in and then explain how you can help them. It all comes down to great storytelling, and Michael Ashley does a tremendous job explaining exactly how you can do it too.

Key highlights:

• How Michael got started with writing and storytelling
• Why pain and conflict are necessary for a great story
• How Michael wrote 50 books in 10 years 
• Why being grounded for a year turned his life around
• Michael’s writing process
• What is technocracy?
• Does Michael think chatGPT will replace authors?

Connect with Michael Ashley:

Website: michaelashleypublishing.com

Books written by Michael Ashley

LinkedIn: Michael Ashley

Podcast: Changing the Story

To Connect with Mike:

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In this solo episode, Mike channels Celeste Headlee’s TED talk called “10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation.” Mike puts his own spin on them by using his experience of releasing over 300 podcast episodes and interviewing many amazing people along the way. There are certain habits and questions that take a conversation to the next level by eliciting interesting topics and showing others that you are invested in what they have to say.

This episode is part 1 of 2, so you will hear Mike’s first 5 tips for having a great conversation. Those tips are: Don't multitask, don't pontificate, use open-ended questions, go with the flow, and understand that it’s okay to say you don't know something. Mike dives into each of these and why they are important to make a great conversation. Tune in next week for part 2, where Mike will cover his remaining 5 conversation tips.

Episode resources: 

CelesteHeadlee.com

Listen to Celeste’s Ted Talk: 10 Ways to Have A Better Conversation

To Connect with Mike:

• Website
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• YouTube
• Coaching
• Get Mike’s book: Owner Shift

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All of us have been through challenges that no one else has been through, and those circumstances give you a license to speak to people that have been through challenges as well. It gives you an opportunity to help people while already having the credibility and experience to do so. Pain can be a gift if we allow it to, so today’s guest encourages us to turn our pain into purpose and use it to help others. Your pain gives you a license whether you use it or not, so might as well put it to use. Johnny Crowder has an amazingly inspirational story of doing just that,

Johnny Crowder is a resilience, well-being, and mental health expert. He is also a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist, and Founder and CEO of Cope Notes®. Johnny gives people practical self-care tools and mental health strategies that they can start using now to improve their emotional health and well-being. With infectious positivity, humor, and authenticity, this trauma survivor and Certified Recovery Peer Specialist shows audiences why opening up about mental health is the key to coping. Whether he’s discussing ordinary, everyday struggles or challenges like anxiety, depression, addiction, burnout, and compassion fatigue, Johnny confronts the myths that keep people stuck. As he explains in his 2020 TEDx Talk which has been viewed over one million times, good mental health is like physical health. Quick fixes and miracle cures don’t work. Johnny provides people with a toolkit of self-care and wellness techniques that rewire the brain for positivity over time.

In this episode of the How’d It Happen podcast, Johnny shares about growing up in an abusive household, the miracles that happened to get him help, bodybuilding and OCD, why he feels like a 5-year-old, and how the idea for his company, Cope Notes, got off the ground. Johnny is super likable, super relatable, and super inspirational. 

Key highlights:

• Johnny’s mental health issues began in childhood and progressed until they couldn’t be ignored
• Why he started bodybuilding at 13 years old
• The mental health battle he faced in his teenage years and how he finally got help
• Johnny compares dental health to mental health
• How Johnny got started singing 
• How Johnny started his business Cope Notes
• Johnny explains neuroplasticity and how people are malleable and have the ability to heal their mental health
• Why journaling builds emotional intelligence

Episode resources:

Try Cope Notes for free: copenotes.com/subscribe/#subscribe-form

Connect with Johnny Crowder:

Instagram: @johnnycrowderlovesyou

Website: johnnycrowder.com | copenotes.com

Facebook: Johnny Crowder

LinkedIn: Johnny Crowder

To Connect with Mike:

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In this solo episode, Mike explores a fun little word called “jabroni” and explains what it means, where it came from, and why it's so interesting. The inspiration for this episode came from an article by Ben Zimmer for the Wall Street Journal. Each week, Ben has a column called “Word on the Street,” and recently, he dove into the meaning and origin of “jabroni.” 

When the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game this season, the Chief’s tight end Travis Kelce addressed Cincinnati’s Mayor for having mocked the Chiefs before the game. Kelce said, “Know your role and shut your mouth, you jabroni.” What does this funny word mean, and where did it come from? Tune in to learn more.

Key highlights:

• Mike reads from an article by Ben Zimmer for the Wall Street Journal which covers the interaction between Travis Kelce and Cincinnati’s mayor Aftab Pureval in which Travis called Aftab a “jabroni”
• Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his use of this word
• The origin and meaning of jabroni
• Mike’s thoughts on this exchange between Kelce and Pureval

To Connect with Mike:

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• Get Mike’s book: Owner Shift

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In the world of modern marketing, there are many things that can be analyzed and optimized for your business goals. Just following what you see someone else doing online might not work for you, so take it from a marketing expert and pay attention to your data and dive into what is working and what isn’t. Dennis Yu is committed to bringing marketing strategies to everyday businesses, especially the types that are not very skilled in marketing and need help the most. In this episode, Dennis and Mike discuss Dennis’ mission to create one million jobs for people around the world, and why he is so passionate about helping business owners optimize their marketing so they can be more easily found by their ideal customers.

Dennis Yu is co-author of the #1 best-selling book on Amazon in social media, The Definitive Guide to TikTok Ads. He has spent a billion dollars on Facebook ads across his agencies and agencies he advises. You can find him quoted in major publications and on television such as CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and LA Times. Clients have included Nike, Red Bull, the Golden State Warriors, Ashley Furniture, Quiznos-- down to local service businesses like real estate agents and dentists. He's spoken at over 750 conferences in 20 countries, having flown over 6 million miles in the last 30 years to train young adults and business owners.

Dennis shares how he learned to be a servant leader, and he walks us through a live analysis of the website of one of Mike’s companies, and what needs improvement in order to get more eyes on it.

Key Highlights:

• Kaqun Oxygen Baths: What are they, and what are the benefits?
• Why the businesses Dennis helps have a low client loss rate
• What is the average churn rate of a social media agency?
• Why does Dennis do so much for other people?
• Live analysis of a website belonging to one of Mike’s companies

Episode resources:

 As a special offer to How'd it Happen listeners, Dennis offered to perform a FREE data analysis of your business website (he analyzed one of Mike’s companies’ websites live on the show - and it was eye-opening). All you need to do is email [email protected] with the Subject: "How'd it Happen Podcast Offer."

Connect with Dennis Yu:

Instagram: @dennis.yu

Website: dennis-yu.com | blitzmetrics.com

Facebook: Dennis Yu

LinkedIn: Dennis Yu

Twitter: @dennisyu

To Connect with Mike:

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• Coaching
• Get Mike’s book: Owner Shift

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