One Book That Changed My Life

Most people stay stuck in one place and sabotage themselves because they fear failure, but according to "The Big Leap" by Gay Hendricks, a fear of success can be just as debilitating and keep us from becoming a bigger version of ourselves. 

For Jane Sagalovich, this insight resonated heavily with her, helped her uncover why she was stuck, and allowed her to realign her nervous system so she doesn’t sabotage herself before success. 

In this episode, she shares how this book impacted her life in so many ways, and we also talk about what it takes to create and scale a great course. 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

Why you don’t need to customize everything in our programs to get results

The idea that everything must be custom to get people results is a misconception, often driven by ego and insecurity. When people teach live they want that visual feedback from the other person, but you can also create enough confidence in what you’re teaching. 

How to set a new thermostat for our lives   

Much of our identity is wrapped up in the set point of what we believe we’re capable of, and that makes us afraid to succeed beyond that. If there’s a level of success we’re used to and if we try to go above it, we’ll sabotage ourselves back down to neutral. You have to bring more awareness to your decision and watch for areas where you’re not allowing yourself to go past your set point or present self. 

How to watch where you apply your creativity 

Many coaches apply their natural urge for creativity to the structure of the business and instead of building something long-lasting, they find themselves constantly pivoting, creating new courses and starting from the bottom. We would benefit more from something that doesn’t change that much for the audience, and then find an outlet that allows us to scratch our creative itch, without messing with our core business. 

Guest Bio 

Jane Sagalovich is a coach, strategist and the founder of Scale Your Genius. She founded Scale Your Genius in 2018 to help people whose work makes a difference in people’s lives make a bigger impact, make more money, and have more freedom in how they do their work. 

For more information and to find out about Jane’s program head over to https://scaledgenius.com/. You can also join The Genius Tribe Facebook group here. 

“The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level” by Gay Hendricks

You wouldn’t think a book called “The Little Prince” could have powerful business insights, but when we talk about improving performance, accountability and the radical honesty required in goal setting, there’s a ton we can extract from it. 

The book gets to the heart of failure analysis, and for repeat guest, executive leadership and recruitment coach, Pat Scopelliti, it inspired a completely different approach to setting goals. 

In this episode, he shares the massively life-changing insights from this book, and the power of perfect self honesty. 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

The power of failure analysis

When you set a goal, and you don't hit the units you set, the underlying causes have to be identified with radical honesty and then corrected and then the goal has to be reset, this time with the honesty of your performance. 

Shooting for a performance ceiling vs. committing to a bare minimum 

Once you’re radically honest about your performance, you get better at estimating your goals. Ideally, you should be able to set goals based on what you know you can do -  and commit to a bare minimum as opposed to always trying to set a ceiling and constantly jumping up to reach it.  

How to train people to trust and rely on us 

When we set a goal and we’re in a relationship with other people who depend on our output, we have to learn how to analyze our failures so we can improve our performance and make our output predictable to them.

Guest Bio 

Pat is The Consigliori. He is an executive leadership and recruitment coach. Every Don needs his Consigliori. His failures must be analyzed, his successes celebrated. His limitations must be identified, fought, defeated and obliterated. His strengths and potentials must be fully employed, grown, leveraged and fulfilled. No Don can complete this ongoing mission without the right aid, at least not as powerfully as he will with his Consigliori's help. For more information, visit https://www.theconsigliori.com/. 

For coaches, consultants, authors and experts, Grant Cardone’s book “10X” is a necessary read for many reasons. It provides an insightful way to look at what it takes to move the needle in our businesses. When it comes to going after our goals, the prevailing mindset is to inch forward slowly and put in the minimum required effort. “10X” blows this mentality out of the water, teaching the power of taking massive action. 

For international speaker, multi best-selling author, coach and real estate investor, Nancy Wallace-Laabs, this book has been a key piece in her constantly pivoting and finding new opportunities. 

In this episode, she shares why this book resonates with her so much, and the valuable lessons she’s learned from writing her own books. 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

Minimum necessary effort vs. massive action 

Instead of putting the minimum necessary effort towards your goals, put in 10 times the amount of work. If you’ve done your job right, you should obliterate your goal so that you create more challenges by how well you hit that goal to begin with.  

The power of “killing your darlings” in the book-writing process 

Sometimes your favorite ideas are the ones that need to be killed off the most because they stand in the way of the idea that would make the most difference. As you write a book, accept that the initial vision you had for it might not end up being the thing you put out. 

Nancy’s book-writing experience 

As you try to grow, change or evolve, it’s common not to get as much support from the group that was supporting you all along. As you go up the ladder, you’re going to have people who want you to stay the same because they fear change, and you might find that more support comes from new people outside of that original circle. 

Guest Bio 

Nancy Wallace-Laabs is a 15-year Real Estate Investor, International Speaker, best-selling author of "Winning Deals In Heels" and "Let Me Ask You This" and creator of The Profitable Landlord System. She is also a member of the Forbes Coaches Council She has more than 15 years of real estate investing experience, and owns several rental properties. 

Nancy and her husband founded the Profitable Landlord System – their goal: to help other real estate investors that want to create wealth, experience financial freedom and leave an impact for their community by providing a predictable, repeatable and simple step by step method for becoming a profitable landlord.

For more information, visit https://www.nancywallacelaabs.com. 

Buy her books on Amazon, subscribe to Nancy’s YouTube channel and follow her on Instagram. You can also email Nancy directly [email protected]. 

Book 

The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure

The space between our ears is a battlefield, and a lot of our struggles come down to what we’re telling ourselves, the soundtrack that’s playing inside our heads. 

Whether it has merit or not, our inner voice doesn’t always speak in the kindest of terms, and it can have severe effects if it goes unchecked. 

How do we develop a healthier relationship with this inner critic and get out of the downward spiral of thinking? 

In “Soundtracks”, Jon Acuff provides steps we can take to examine how we talk to ourselves and deal with it. In today’s episode, coach, team leader and President of Business by Referrals LLC, Garrett Maroon shares why this book has been so life-changing for him. 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

How to nip overthinking in the bud 

We don’t have to give into our inner soundtrack, believe it or agree with it all the time. Our inner voice is just our brain’s problem solving, meaning-making mechanism, and its interpretation of events can be heavily biased. One of the biggest mistakes we make is assuming that all of our thoughts are true, instead of distancing ourselves from them and calling them out. 

The most freeing thing about our inner soundtracks

The fact that there’s a soundtrack running, and the fact that the soundtrack tends to be a little negative doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. We just need to build in the necessary mechanisms to combat this soundtrack. 

Why thinking in absolutes creates more suffering 

A broken soundtrack tends to catastrophize and overexaggerate every experience, and blow even a small thing out of proportion. What we tell ourselves has the power to completely derail us, even when it shouldn’t. There’s no such thing as a perfect day where you encounter no obstacles. We can either label it as a bad day or just accept it as a normal part of life.

Guest Bio 

Garrett Maroon is a team leader, coach and the President of Business by Referrals LLC. Having experienced stress, burnout, and struggle himself, Garrett is passionate about helping agents build their businesses based on relationships, so they can earn more while working less. To learn more about Garrett, visit https://businessbyreferral.co/ or email [email protected].

Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking by Jonathan Acuff

Also mentioned in this episode

A Liberated Mind: How to Pivot Toward What Matters by Steven C. Hayes

Intention is a word we hear a lot, but what does it actually look like in action? In “The Power of Intention”, Wayne Dyer teaches us that intention is a powerful force we all have access to, and reveals how to use the concept to actively participate in the act of creating the lives. 

For Liz Wendling, this book resonates because it made her change the way she looks at everything, and the decisions she makes minute-by-minute. 

How do we make intention something that’s a part of our daily rituals and interactions? In this episode, we talk about how to use intention to make a positive impact on the world around us. 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

The true definition of intention 

Intention is a powerful force with a lot of momentum behind it if we know how to implement it in our daily lives. It allows us to actively get involved in the way we want to create something for ourselves through discipline, wisdom, love and surrender.  

Fire your brain, hire your heart 

Even for the most disciplined individual, white-knuckling alone won’t get us to where we’re trying to go. Wisdom is the GPS that steers us in the right direction, and the more we honor and surrender to it, the more intentionally we can lead our lives. 

Setting an intention for all our interactions 

One thing we need to be aware of as introverts moving through the world, is that we need to set the intention to leave a positive impression on people. It’s easy to come off as closed off and guarded even though we don’t intend to be that way. Leaving everyone we talk to with a positive impression is easily doable if we’re intentional about it. 

Guest Bio 

Liz Wendling is a multiple bestselling author, coach and President at Insight Business Consultants. As The Rainmaking Coach for Attorneys, Liz combines a rock-solid sales background with a passion for coaching. Her innovative approach will support you in opening doors, closing sales, and building relationships. Liz is driven by the mantra, It’s not WHAT you sell, it’s HOW you sell that matters. Liz understands the sales challenges that professionals face when selling in today’s competitive environment and shows them how to make a profound difference in their sales approach, language, and process —online and offline.

She is straightforward, practical, and sassy and helps professionals innovate, modernize, and master their sales approach, language, and process. Liz has coached thousands of professionals to build solid business skills, develop a success mindset, exceed their sales expectations, and prosper in any economy.

To learn more about Liz and her work, visit https://www.lizwendling.com/ and connect with her on LinkedIn. 

For countless entrepreneurs, Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” is the book that made them realize that a traditional 9-5 job is The Matrix, and gave them a way to break out of it. 

The challenge is, without leverage and systems, you can get off the corporate hamster wheel but find yourself on another one - albeit one with better chairs and a foosball table. This is where Kiyosaki’s second book “The Cashflow Quadrant” comes in - it provides a framework to work towards a true investor/entrepreneur status. 

For wealth coach, Brian Bogaert - the lessons of the book still guide him today. In this episode, he’ll share why this book is such a huge deal for him, and his journey from employee to full-time investor. 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

Why “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and “Cashflow Quadrant” are still so resonant 

For entrepreneurial-minded people, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” is the red pill moment that makes them want to break out of the Matrix. It’s the first crack in the wall that makes them seek true freedom. 

Getting on the right side of the “Cashflow Quadrant”

A business without leverage and systems is as good as a 9-5 hamster wheel. Many entrepreneurs get into business seeking freedom, only to end up doing everything themselves. In order to get true freedom, we have to shift from the Employee and Solopreneur quadrants into Business Owner and Investor. 

The power of thinking in systems 

Everything is a system, and you’re in a system whether you know it or not. Thinking in systems allows us to solve a problem once, cut out clutter and chaos, and in business, create the space for us to keep taking on more creatively and intellectually stimulating activities.

Guest Bio 

Brian Bogaert is the owner, coach and speaker at Next Level Success Coaching. A former ‘corporate guy’, Brian enjoys using the analogy of The Matrix to explain how he got out of the rat race at the age of 37 and went on to not only create financial freedom for himself, but teach others how to do it, too. With his own ‘red pill’ being real estate investing, Brian went from living a good life, making 6-figures, but always feeling somewhat trapped, to creating the life of his dreams, and today, he’s passionate about helping others do the same, no matter what their personal ideas of freedom may be. 

To find out more, go to:

https://nlscoaching.com/ and email [email protected]. 

Books mentioned in this episode: 

https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dads-CASHFLOW-Quadrant-Financial-ebook/dp/B0175P5MZU   

In a business where we’re always looking for an advantage, everyone wants a silver bullet, but the truth is, there are no shortcuts to the outcomes we want. So what actually makes a difference and gives us an edge? 

The seemingly insignificant activities and disciplines we have to do over time. 

In “The Slight Edge” Jeff Olson teaches us to do away with instant gratification, and accept that to achieve anything, long-term discipline is non-negotiable. For President of Rialto Marketing, Tim Fitzpatrick, the lessons of this book are deeply ingrained in how he runs his business and lives his life. 

In this episode, Tim shares the concepts from the book that have stuck with him since he read it, and what fellow marketers can learn from it.  

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

The overarching teaching of “The Slight Edge”

The positive outcomes we seek don’t come from bursts of sporadic activity, they come from showing up consistently, patience, committing to a discipline, and having integrity to yourself - doing the right thing when no one else is watching you.

Year-long plans are a waste of time and paper

Our businesses are evolving way too quickly for a 12 month plan to hold up. We have to accept that whatever plan we put in place is never going to be perfect and what matters is taking action. Jeff Olson’s approach: create your plan, implement, optimize it and keep circling back and reiterating. 

The unavoidable process of building a habit 

The disciplines we need to put in place to accomplish anything are painful in the beginning, but when you’re willing to work through them long-term, it becomes easy and something we do automatically. 

Guest Bio 

Tim Fitzpatrick is the President of Rialto Marketing. Passionate about simplifying marketing to create less stress for his clients, Tim advocates against overly complex ideas and information overload. His chief goal is to start with the basics before trying out brand new trends, because marketing shouldn’t be difficult- especially when done right. 

To find out more, go to:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/timpfitzpatrick/

https://www.rialtomarketing.com/

In the book "The Art of Possibility", a former Boston Philharmonic conductor and an executive coach combine their perspectives, beautifully drawing parallels between music and business leadership. 

As business owners, there’s a lot we can learn about creating safe, enriching environments from the collaborative nature of music, so much so that for entrepreneur, author, speaker and CEO of becurrent, Sophie Chiche, “The Art of Possibility” still impacts her years later. 

In today’s episode, she opens up about the lessons we learned from this book, and how it has influenced how she leads. 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

Lead through influence, not seniority

In musical environments, people are challenged to lead through influence, not through having a position of leadership, and it’s a great training for business. If we want to create businesses that people love being a part of, we have to view ourselves as the conductors of an orchestra, instead of individuals running a top-down military style, “do as I say” organization. 

“Lead from any chair”

Flocks of birds change and shift leaders so that they get to rest and recover. As leaders, we can learn that passing the baton can give us a chance to rest, but it can also create enriching environments where everyone’s voice contributes to a greater whole. 

Productivity is a getaway to purpose

Creative people have the potential to impact the world, but the challenge is sifting through all our ideas and implementing the most meaningful ones. We can use productivity as a gateway to our purpose because it can help us achieve clarity. 

Guest Bio 

Sophie Chiche is a multi-talented entrepreneur, author, speaker, journalist, psychologist, and the founder and CEO of becurrent. Equal parts philosophical and practical, Sophie has a unique ability to cut through the BS that keeps people trapped in frameworks that don’t match their dreams. “I want more for people. I want people to want more for themselves. I want them to know it’s possible to have what they want.” Sophie’s presence and care create a bond where individuals, staff, and businesses feel supported and connected, which breeds safety and brings courage that leads to incredible results. Fueled by the desire to share, inspire, activate, and amplify, Soph’s lifelong dedication to exploring the question of “why?” has taken her all over the world. She’s presented speeches and connected with movers and shakers like Arianna Huffington and Nelson Mandela with the goal of advancing human consciousness. Sophie’s helped craft businesses and social ventures of all shapes and sizes, written for several renowned international publications, and served as a coach for high-powered entrepreneurs and executives in large corporations. For more information, visit https://becurrenttoday.com/ and take the Productivity Quiz at https://becurrenttoday.com/quiz. 

Coaches who wear their values on their sleeves and want to do right by people often hit a roadblock when it comes to sales, which makes it hard to build a profitable, sustainable business. 

In "The Prosperous Coach", Steve Chandler provides a ton of insights that can help us break through our limiting beliefs so we can sell without those hang-ups. 

For Ethical Sales Coach and ex-monk, Martin Stellar, this book showed up at the right time in his life, and impacted the direction he took in his life and business.

In today’s episode, he shares that story, and talks about why many coaches struggle to charge for their highly valuable expertise. 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

The difference between chasing new clients and creating them 

Podcasting is a way of creating ideal clients - it doesn’t just help you find the people that are already out there that are perfect for you. It can also take a group of people that wouldn’t sign up with you otherwise, and by the content you put in front of them, become your clients 

The enormous lesson Martin took away from one of the key insights of the book

The Prosperous Coach teaches us that conversations lead to clients, but conversations and potential clients aren’t created equal, and filling our calendars with conversations without filters will only lead to burnout. Weed out the takers so that you can have real nurtures before you even book a call. 

The struggle life coaches face

In the world of business coaching, it’s easy to sell our clients on a tangible and quantifiable future result. In life coaching, it’s harder to attach a monetary value to an end result, which makes it hard for people to charge and build a business around their expertise. It’s important to have set a defined point A and point B and explain where you want to lead your clients. 

Guest Bio 

Martin Stellar is a coach and consultant for ethical sales and business growth. An ex-monk and former copywriter, Martin is passionate about helping purpose-driven business owners earn more money, without compromising their values. With his go-to tagline being ‘I help nice people make money,’ Martin’s goal is to get more coaches, consultants and entrepreneurs turn their business dreams into a reality, while still being able to sleep at night. 

To find out more, go to https://martinstellar.com/, follow @martinstellar on Twitter, and subscribe to his YouTube channel. 

Endings and closed chapters are an inevitable part of our lives, but we’re not equipped to navigate them, embrace or even celebrate them. In this book “Necessary Endings”, Dr. Mike Cloud lays out why endings are as just normal and natural as beginnings, and how they facilitate a process of pruning that takes our businesses and our very selves from good to great. 

In today’s episode, I’m joined by business coach, marketing strategist and bestselling author and host of You Are The Brand, Mike Kim. He shares how Necessary Endings helped him close huge chapters, both professionally and personally, and why endings make beginnings sweeter. 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

Why endings are just as important as beginnings

We love celebrating new beginnings, but we despise endings, even though they are just as normal and natural as beginnings. Endings are necessities because they allow us to get onto the right path for us, and they make new beginnings even sweeter. 

Why we have to prune the good to get to the great

A Rosebush can’t sustain itself, it needs a gardener to prune the buds consistently because the nutrient supply is limited, and you have to divert resources to the best flowers. In the same way, we have to consistently keep pruning our schedules or we’ll keep stacking opportunities until we’ve overcommitted and can’t do our best work anymore. 

The one question we need to ask ourselves as we build our personal brands 

People build personal brands in one of two ways - pretending to be someone else or oversharing in the name of authenticity, and basically turning yourself into a car wreck. When we’re building our brands, what we have to ask ourselves is if we’re building a campfire around what we’re sharing. Are we creating a warm, inviting place that is the  light in a dark place where people can gather? 

Guest Bio 

Mike Kim is a business coach and marketing strategist who specializes in personal branding, product launch strategies, and copywriting. He is the author of the bestselling Book, You Are The Brand and the host of a podcast of the same name. Mike consults for professional training and coaching brands, particularly in brand strategy, product launches, and direct response copy. As a coach, he runs mastermind groups to help entrepreneurs market and monetize their message. Mike has spoken at numerous industry events including Social Media Marketing World, Podcast Movement, and Tribe Conference. He’s been featured in publications like Entrepreneur, Inc., and The Huffington Post.

Buy Mike’s book, You Are The Brand: The 8-Step Blueprint to Showcase Your Unique Expertise and Build a Highly Profitable, Personally Fulfilling Business here. 

Listen to the podcast You Are The Brand wherever you get your podcasts.