Screw the Naysayers

Chris Widener is widely recognized as one of the top speakers in the world. He’s a member of the Motivational Speakers Hall of Fame, has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the top 100 Leadership Speakers, and NYT and WSJ Bestseller.

Chris had what can only be described as a rough upbringing that included living in 28 different homes and a High School teacher who told Chris he would never amount to anything. Hardly the kind of words you would expect to be directed at man who went on to work closely with 

two of the legends of the speaking world Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar. Chris and Jim co-authored the Jim Rohn One Year Success Plan and the international best seller The Twelve Pillars.   Zig Ziglar, considered to be the greatest motivational speaker of the 20th Century, personally chose Chris to co-host his television show, True Performance. You can still catch episodes of that show on Youtube.  Along with co-hosting True Performance, Chris also hosted his own show, Made for Success, where he interviewed some of the top business achievers and thought leaders of our time.

We had a wide ranging discussion that touched on:

• The journey that took him to work with Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar

This episode is packed full of thought provoking ideas. Enjoy

You can reach Chris at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriswidener/  

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and stories, or just make a connection.

iTunes: https://apple.co/2LkWSPV

People often ask me how I found the courage to quit my job and start my own business. A lot of those people assume I had everything figured out when I quit. Nothing could be further from the truth. I started my business with zero customers, zero products, and only a vague idea. I made the leap into a very uncertain future yet somehow it didn’t seem that crazy at the time. You see I knew in my heart that I needed to be my own boss. 

I’ve been self employed now for 31 years and counting. In fact I often joke that I am chronically unemployable. Mostly because the thought of working for someone else makes me want to throw up. But make no mistake the life of an entrepreneur is not a fit for everyone. A lot of people make the leap telling themselves that it is a lifestyle that they want. In many cases, people are attracted to the freedom and independence, but fail to take into account the key attributes of successful entrepreneurs.

Today I want to share with you 5 signs that you may be ready to be your own boss. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and stories, or just make a connection.

Trish Leto is a U.S. Navy veteran, an entrepreneur, a public speaker, and a mother of two young children. 

The thing I liked about speaking with Trish was her willingness to speak the unvarnished truth. We went deep on the challenges she faced transitioning from the military, to the life of a civilian employee, and eventually the creation of her own business. This is no hero’s journey. This is the real truth. Trish talked about:

• Going 7 months without work after leaving the U.S. Navy

Trish’s entrepreneurial journey is still in the early days. Fellow entrepreneurs and anyone that is thinking about starting their own gig will enjoy this insightful conversation with a straight talking lady boss. 

You can reach Trish at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trish-leto-06b2b7135/ 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and stories, or just make a connection.

When I was 34 years old when I started a side gig that turned into $10m. My goal was pretty simple- I was looking for ways to make more money.

In this episode of Tim Talks I explain the series of decisions I made that turned a simple market experiment into a business with customers from coast to coast. Words of wisdom for anyone that has or is thinking about starting a side gig, as well as any small business owner that is having difficulty scaling their business.  Enjoy.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and stories, or just make a connection.

Ron Carucci is the co-founder of leadership consultancy Navalent, a Harvard Business Review & Forbes Contributor. Ron is also the author of 8 bestselling books, 2 TEDx speaker and his talk on power is profound has been watched by over 100,000 people.

Ron has spent the last thirty years in the passionate pursuit of helping organizations and their leaders strengthen their path to the aspirations they desire. Ron consults to Silicon Valley startups, household names, and Fortune 10 CEO's. He is also a top 100 Marshall Goldsmith coach.

Early on in my conversation with Ron the depth of his experience and the research behind his words became so evident. We had a wide ranging conversation on topics that included:

• Why he will only coach executives that have a nutritionist, personal trainer and a therapist- 

Ron is a fountain of knowledge for any entrepreneur, budding entrepreneur, or senior executive. This is a good one folks. Enjoy…

You can reach Ron at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/navalent/ 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and stories, or just make a connection.

Shelly Elsliger is an entrepreneur, Senior Career Educator at the University of Toronto and a globally recognized LinkedIn trainer having delivered well over 300 workshops, talks, and keynotes. Full disclosure: I am a graduate of U. of T.

My main intent in reaching out to Shelly was to discuss her work as a LinkedIn educator. But I also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk with Shelly about the value of a 4 year degree. While Shelly acknowledged that we can question some things, she went on to offer a reasoned justification for pursuing a university education. 

We also talked about the path Shelly took to become a globally respected LinkedIn expert. She began that journey long before most of us saw the real value in LinkedIn (more than 10 years ago). In this episode Shelly explains:

• How the career centre she works in helps students build community

Fun, direct, and packed full of great tips. Enjoy.

You can reach Shelly at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selsliger/  

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and stories, or just make a connection.

Reece Looder is a former U.S. Marine, an entrepreneur, a storyteller, a man who frequently defies conventional wisdom, and a person who demonstrates an amazing degree of resilience. 

Reece spent 8 years in the Marines, first working as a combat correspondent in Afghanistan and later as a marketer in Marine recruiting based in Seattle. Before transitioning from active duty, Reece started his own brand development agency, Lede Creative. 

After leaving the Marines Reece, his wife Krissy, and their 2 children moved back home to Everson, Washington, a small town about 2 hours north of Seattle. At the time a fellow Marine told Reece he was crazy for moving home, given the opportunities he had in front of him in places such as Seattle, San Diego, and Washington, DC. 

Transitioning from military service is never easy. In addition to the move Reece also st to work finishing his degree. A mere two months later he woke at 2:00 am to find his wife having a grand mal seizure. Krissy was airlifted to Seattle where she had emergency surgery. The surgery went well but shortly after they were told that Krissy had terminal brain cancer. 

In this episode Reece:

• Explains why they made the decision to move back home

I’m proud to amplify his message. Enjoy.

You can reach Reece at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reecelodder/ 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and stories, or just make a connection.

Ava Wettrick is an entrepreneur and a podcast host who has had the opportunity to speak with top authors and entrepreneurs including people like Tom Bilyeu. Colour me jealous.

Ava has been featured in Forbes Magazine (sitting with Seth Godin), is a well known LinkedIn content provider, and has also participated in the UN World Investment and Youth Forum. Not bad for someone that just graduated from high school.

Ava is also the daughter of Don Wettrick, who you may know was guest number 1 on Screw the Naysayers. This was a fascinating discussion on so many levels. During our conversations Ava:

• Opened up about the mix of fear and excitement she’s experiencing when she thinks about the future

Speaking with Ava is humbling and inspiring all at the same time. If she is an example of what GenZ is bringing to the table, then the world better get ready. Ava is the youngest guest ever to appear on this show, but you sure wouldn’t know it!  

You can reach Ava at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ava-wettrick-973863153/

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and stories, or just make a connection.

Matthew "Griff" Griffin is an author, TedX speaker, and co-founder and Chief Storytelling Officer for Combat Flip Flops. 

Griff is also a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point with a degree in Engineering Management. Griff served in the 75th Ranger Regiment as a Rifle Company Fire Support Officer with three tours to Afghanistan and one tour to Iraq.  

Combat Flip Flops is a fascinating story on so many fronts. His entrepreneurial journey began the day he walked into a factory in Kabul Afghanistan that was manufacturing combat boots. In that moment Griff visualized a world where people living in Afghanistan could be manufacturing flip flops. It didn’t work out exactly as he first imagined.  The flip flops are not manufactured in Columbia while workers in Afghanistan make jewelry out of scrap metal from unexploded landmines.

Griff and his two co-founders are flipping the view on how wars are won and seek to empower the mindful consumer to manufacture peace through trade.

Griff opened up about the many ups and downs of the startup and growth phase, including walking out of the Shark Tank with 3 Sharks on board. These days they work most closely with Mark Cuban.

In addition to providing important jobs Combat Flip Flops donates a portion of their profits to fund schools in Afghanistan. When Griff describes an email her got from a group of girls at school in Kabul you’d best have a tissue handy.

Website: https://www.combatflipflops.com/ 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and stories, or just make a connection.