Ready for Anything with Dustin Lien

Something I've had a growing awareness about lately is my, and everyone's, inability to control things in business and life, and the inevitability that things will go wrong more often than I'd like them to. That's not to say we can't influence our lives, but control is limited.

I kept seeing this formula floating around Instagram a few months ago, E+R=O, and tracked it down like a wolf on the hunt to our guest on the podcast today, CEO of Focus3, Brian Kight.

At first glance, it's just three letters, and while applying this formula to life is actually that simple, it's more powerful than it appears. In fact, it's one of the most powerful concepts I've ever heard of for handling situations better, and more importantly, making the best out of situations that are less than ideal.

E+R=O stands for Event+Response=Outcome, and today's episode is a deep dive on how to apply it.

Topics Discussed

• Applying E+R=O in every day life
• How to improve discipline
• The first thing to do if you struggle with responding well to situations
• Stepping outside of your emotions to make better decisions
• How to not take things personally that other people do

Episode Mentions & Resources

• Focus3 Podcast

• Daily Discipline Emails

• Follow Brian on Instagram and Twitter

• Focus3.com

Have you ever met a superhero in real life?

Allow me to introduce you to Noah Banks, the Millennial Health Coach, and a modern-day superhero. Not only is he in phenomenal shape, he also coaches others on how to take control of their health and their minds, all while working a full-time job.

Oh, and he just wrote a book too. So, if you think you've got no time for your health or your business, you might be right, but Noah is a master of time management and health hacks.

His new book is called Millennials, No Excuses! It's a practical guide to food and fitness no matter the location.

Topics Discussed

• Balancing a full-time job, a side business, and your health
• Being present & focus fencing
• Time management
• Removing distractions effectively while working
• Prioritizing health over all else as a catalyst for overall life improvement
• The importance of investing in yourself, and the practical way of doing it
• Weighing opportunity cost
• How to begin thinking outside the box

Episode Mentions & Resources

• Millennials: No Excuses (Noah's new book) – A guide to food and fitness for professional busy millennials
• Follow Noah on Instagram
• Check out Noah's Youtube Channel
• Noah on LinkedIn
• Deep Work by Cal Newport
• Quitter by Jon Acuff

In this special edition of the podcast, I interviewed four entrepreneurs that are members of Daniel DiPiazza's Alpha Mentorship Program, but there's a twist...

Rather than just having stand-alone conversations with them individually, I instead asked each of them the same set of questions which made for an interesting episode of unique opinions and different outlooks on topics like mentorship, peers, relationships, and more.

This is a killer episode with knowledge bombs from some up-and-coming entrepreneurs that are making moves in the industry.

Topics Discussed

• How each guest got started with their entrepreneurial journey
• The importance of mentorship and why it's helpful
• Finding like-minded peers to keep you moving forward
• Stories that shaped each guest's current state of being
• Parting thoughts and wisdom for new entrepreneurs

Episode Mentions & Resources

Michael Leonard: Motivational Entrepreneur

• Follow Michael on Instagram
• InspireYourSuccess.com

Morgan Simone: Dancer, Bodybuilding Bikini athlete, Health and wellness blogger

• Follow Morgan on Instagram
• MorganSimone.co (Plant-based meal plans, 100 Days of Movement)
• Watch Morgan on YouTube

Nick Ercolano: Marketer and Fantasy Football YouTube

• Nick's YouTube channel (Fantasy Football / Entrepreneurial Journey)

Dane Schwaebe: Social Media Marketer

• Follow Dane on Instagram @dshwaebe on
• PunchBold.com - Social Media Marketing Website

Productivity isn't about what most people think it is.

It's not about working more or just working faster so you can cram more tasks into your day. We don't become more productive by being busier simply for the sake of "doing more."

Productivity is about efficiency. Increasing productive output.

Ironically, what's natural for most of us to do when we're trying to become more productive, is adding more processes, more checkboxes, more tasks with no gaps in our unrealistically optimized schedules.

In reality, increasing productive output starts with decreasing non-productive output, becoming more focused, and eliminating distractions.

That's what we're talking about in this episode: Becoming more productive by understanding common distractions so we can start the process of elimination, and being aware of our lazy triggers—the things in our lives that typically cause us to work slowly or not at all when we need to be.

Topics Discussed

• Eliminating distractions vs. overpowering them

• Optimizing schedule based on energy

• Emails, text, calls

• Prioritizing your work over other people's requests

• Work environment

• How to stop checking your phone while you work

For this episode, I take you into a beautiful family room inside a house in the hills of Malibu where I gave a live talk at an exclusive event for the members of Alpha Mentorship.

You'll get to hear a recording of my entire talk, plus the Q&A.

Some of the topics covered:

• The REAL thing we fear that holds us back

• How to use "Idea Sex" to come up with a service idea

• The 4 categories people pay the most for

• How to craft your value statement

• The Raving Client Loop

• Perfection paralysis

Episode Resources:

• Download the worksheet to follow along

• Freedom Formula

• Watch the video of the live talk

I'm recording this a couple of days before my 29th birthday, and as I'm entering the final year of my 20's, I feel compelled to share one of the most important things I've learned and am admittedly still working on in my life and career, because I know others will be able to relate as well.

My hope is that as you hear this message, no matter what age you are or what stage of life you're in, you give it some deep thought, and take it to heart, because it can save you from a lot of uncertainty, pain, and frustration, but only if you actually believe it.

A lot of people would argue that becoming an entrepreneur is mostly about the actions you take to start and grow a business. While I do agree that that is certainly part of becoming an entrepreneur, I disagree with the notion that it is mostly about that.

In my experience, people find entrepreneurial success ONLY after they become the types of people who have the mindsets of entrepreneurs—Mindset creates action.

But how do we develop that type of mindset?

That's what we're talking about in today's episode of the podcast, along with my current top 5 book recommendations to cultivate your entrepreneurial mindset, and personal stories about how the authors and their books helped me.

David Kelly is the General Manager of KingSumo, a SaaS product that helps businesses get more customers. Previously, he worked for Ramit Sethi's "I Will Teach You to Be Rich" as well as Sticker Mule, and more. He is a marketing, product strategy, and growth specialist worth lending an ear (or two) to.

Some of the topics we discussed:

• Leaving jobs you hate • Discovering great companies to work for • Student debt and the current state of college • Simple meditation practice • Self love • Email marketing and business growth • Pushing through fear

Episode Resources:

David's blog: DMKThinks.org

Jordan Dotson is the founder of Project Happy Movement, and his mission is to openly talk about mental health, creating honest environments where people feel heard and reach their full potential. Jordan speaks primarily at schools and businesses to "start the conversation," and encourages people who feel they might be struggling, or know someone else who might be struggling, to not be afraid or feel ashamed to talk openly and honestly about mental illness, and create environments at work, school, and home where it's safe to do so.

Some of the topics discussed:

• Project Happy Movement • Destroying the stigma of mental health • Creating safe environments to talk about mental health • Combatting negative self talk • Mental habits for battling depression • The importance of seeking professional help • How to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts using a simple habit • Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) • Jordan's 7 steps to better mental health • Being yourself and receiving love • The importance of finding hope

Episode Resources:

Instagram: @Project_Happy_Movement and @JordanRDotson Website: ProjectHappyMovement.com Books: CBT Anxiety Solution Workbook, How Not to Be a Dick, The Power of Now

We all have seasons of life where we feel like things are stagnant, and we feel stuck.

In this episode, we'll discuss 4 things you can do anytime you're feeling stuck, so you can break out of your funk and keep moving forward.