John Lee Dumas: Bunny Rabbits, Hammers and Going All In

If I'm going to be completely honest, I had no idea what to expect from this conversation. I had (stupidly) labeled John as a certain kind of guy. Someone very different from me. 

But, I was totally blown away by our conversation. First of all, labeling people is stupid. Second, I found that we had so much in common it was almost freaky.

John is a brilliant guy and we both share a common inability to half-ass something. It’s all or nothing. And I love that about him.

John is certainly everywhere these days, but I think I can honestly say you haven’t heard a conversation like this.

Here are some of my favorite bits from the show:

On Success and Persistence

“Success and happiness is the gradual realization of a worthy ideal. And the keys there are gradual and worthy. So it’s not getting to whatever you think that journey end point is. It is the journey itself. But it’s not just any ideal like money or fame or fortune, it’s of a worthy ideal. So when we can find how to combine those two, things really get better.”

“Show me any entrepreneur at a high level who wasn’t irresponsible, not only at some point in their journey, but multiple times in their journey. You can’t find one. Sometimes you’ve got to the on the job training.”

“My first 50 episodes of Entrepreneur on Fire are horrible. I was really really bad. I had zero experience and it showed in every way, shape and form. But if I had waited until I was good, I never ever would have started because the only way to actually get good at something is to do badly a number of times.”

“Give yourself permission to wake up everyday and say, ‘Today, I’m going to do something good.’”

“I could have packed it up and walked away many times and right now Entrepreneur on Fire would be a footnote, but instead I persevered. It’s going to take persistence and perseverance to get to the point of turning it into a viable business.”

On Quitting and Getting Better

“So many people quite days or weeks before success.”

“If you want to be, do.”

“If there’s something you really do want to do, you have to do it 1000 times.”

“The way I came a better podcaster was to podcast. Just do it over and over and hone your craft.”

“One inch wide and one mile deep is so important if you want to be successful.”

“I was a really terrible podcaster, but I was the best seven-day-a-week podcaster, because I was the only one.”

As always, I had a great time talking to John. Enjoy the show!

Show Notes

Min 28: The advantage of being all in.

Min 35:19: If you wait until you’re ready, you’ve waited too long.

Min 45:13: Why perseverance is key to success.

Min 57:40: The importance of reading.

Min 65:18: Why it’s ok to focus one thing.

Bits & Bytes Mentioned in the Show

TGM02 with Chase Reeves

Will Ferrell - Anchorman

TGM07 with Corbett Barr