A lot of men claim they don’t know how to become a morning person.

Some say they feel being a night owl is in their blood. Some simply enjoy staying up late and hate the morning grind.

But listen night owls: you can be early birds! And switching gears will help you grow your business like crazy.

And that’s coming from someone who made the change himself – and saw the same results.

I used to work in the restaurant industry, where my night owl nature helped me make it through many a 2 a.m. close.

But ever since I left that industry, my tendency to stay up late has been nothing but a drag on my business.

So I learned how to become a morning person – and I’m going to tell you how I did it in this episode.

And trust me, this stuff works. As a coach, I’ve helped many Rusty Lion Academy clients make the same switch, and watched it help them grow their businesses, too.

“If you become a morning person, your business will grow.” Via @RustyLionAcad (Tweet this!)

Click play in the player below to find out why mornings are powerful tools for life and business growth. Plus, find out how to become a morning person in 30 days. The results will change your life if you take the challenge!

Listen to this episode to learn how to become a morning person and more:

• Why business growth is tied to your morning habits.
• The first thing you should do each morning. (HINT: It’s definitely not “check email.”)
• Why you should tackle the hardest parts of your day in the morning.
• Planning your way out of procrastination each morning.
• How to become a morning person when being a night owl is in your DNA.
• A 30-day challenge that will turn you into an early bird.
• Four life categories that should each get some of your attention in the wee hours.
• Why it’s better to sleep 7.5 hours than 8.

Do this next to learn how to become a morning person:

If you don’t think you can become a morning person after listening to this episode, you might think about changing your mindset and making success a priority. Our free live web training will help you map out how to improve anything you’d like in your life or business.

Click here now to register.          

The theory of constraints with Ed Hill

If you pull a chain until it breaks, it only breaks in one place.

That’s the principle behind the theory of constraints, first introduced by Eliyahu Goldratt and made popular in his and Jeff Cox’s book, The Goal.

Every business has limiting factors – places where its “chain” is most likely to break. And whether you call them your weakest links, your constraining factors, or something else, Ed Hill has tips on how to strengthen them.  

Ed is a systems expert who helps businesses understand and overcome the theory of constraints. One such business was my partner Bill’s – the Marena Group.

Here’s what Bill has to say about the experience.

“Ed guided us to a world-class operational system that delivered literally millions of dollars of wealth into my pocket the day I sold the Marena Group.

“How? His system improved our financials, boosted employee morale, helped us measure the right things, and increased customer satisfaction.

“And he saved us millions, too. Because of Ed we were able to reorganize and work in the space we had, instead of being forced to move into a bigger building.”

Ed’s process, which he calls “synchronous flow” strengthened Bill’s “chain.” Many of Ed’s clients report similar experiences after being educated on the theory of constraints and working through his system.

The secret is counterintuitive: respect the weakest link.

“Find out where the weakest link is and treat it with dignity,” Ed Hill via @RustyLionAcad (Tweet this!)

In this episode, Ed explains more about that seemingly backwards piece of advice, and guides me through the theory of constraints. Listen and you’ll hear how you can remove your constraints with “synchronous flow.”

And when you realize how much your business and life could benefit, you’ll be happy you heard this episode.

Listen to this episode to hear me speak with Ed Hill about the theory of constraints and more:

• Moving material or information smoothly through a business.
• What working for the National Security Agency has done for Ed’s career.
• Why you should “honor” your weakest link!
• The five steps to making your business “chain” stronger according to the theory of constraints.
• Why “finish lines” don’t exist in the business world.
• Using the theory of constraints to build a house onto a vacant lot in three hours.

Read these books to help you remove your business constraints:

• “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t,” by Jim Collins
• “Theory of Constraints,” by Eliyahu Goldratt
• ”The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement,” by Eliyahu Goldratt and Jeff Cox

How to contact Ed Hill:

You can talk to Ed by calling his cell phone at 704-560-1536 or by emailing him here.

Do this next:

If you like learning about how to make your business stronger, our free live web training teaches a process you can use to improve both your work and your personal life. Spend 60 minutes with us and you could save yourself countless hours of frustration.

Click here to register.

Feeling “too busy”? Maybe you’re missing the point

Here’s an experiment.

Walk up to a man you haven’t seen in a while. Ask him how he’s been.

Chances are he’ll answer, “Busy. Way too busy.”

It’s time to let that answer go, Lions. Because you don’t have to be a “too busy” businessman to be successful.

A lot of men, especially those in their 20s, 30s and 40s, go around talking about how busy.

Why do they do it?

Maybe they really are too busy.

But maybe they say so to feel like they’re important. To feel needed. To feel successful.

Listen—I’m not judging, Lions. Even if you yourself often say you’re busy.

But John Maxwell has this nugget of truth for all those busy businessman out there:

“You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.” @JohnCMaxwell via @RustyLionAcad

“Too busy?” You’re missing the point

Warren Buffett is buffeted with opportunities. (See what I did there?) But he often repeats an interesting truth: he says “No” to almost everything. Buffet is very, very choosy about what he commits to.

And you should be too. A busy businessman like yourself shouldn’t say “Yes” to anything that doesn’t fit with your long-term goals or feed your super-power.

But most men, when presented with an opportunity, feel obligated to say yes – whether  because they fear missing out, fear disappointing someone, or just plain want to be a nice guy.

In this episode, we talk about why you don’t have to be a “too busy” to be successful.

We’ll also tell you which three habits to change in your life if you want to succeed without drowning in busywork. Click play in the player below to find out how to be less busy and more successful.

Listen to this episode to learn about why you shouldn’t be a busy businessman to be successful and more:

• One way to answer someone tells you they’ve been too busy.
• Why busy businessmen act like war heroes, and why they shouldn’t.
• A bridge that broke under the strain of too many yeses, and how you can keep the same thing from happening to you.
• The true meaning of discipline.
• The difference between a load and a burden, and how to keep from falling victim to one instead of carrying the other.
• A to-do list item that will forever keep your to-do-lists shorter.
• The bad work-related habit that nearly killed Bill. (It’s a sleeper problem for most men.)

Do this next to learn how to stop being “too busy”:

We’ve been busy, too. But it’s a condition to avoid, rather than to strive for. If your relationships are struggling under the burden of your business life, we’ve got the antidote.

Our free web training will help you map out your success and leave the busywork behind. Whatever future you have planned, we’re sure we can make it shine brighter. Click here to register.

Customer experience design for 400% growth with Jason Friedman

As you know, Lions, word of mouth can either help a business succeed wildly, or plow it under the ground, depending on whether it’s good or bad. But few businesses put much thought into their customer experience design – an absolutely critical factor if you’re trying to generate a positive buzz.

That’s where Jason Friedman comes in.

As Founder and Chief Experience Officer of CX Formula, Jason does everything in his power to help small- and medium-sized businesses design a customer experience. That’s the sum total of what a typical customer goes through in his or her interactions with a company – and it’s also what generates positive word of mouth.

His clients have included big names like Foot Locker, Nike, Universal Studios, Disney, Bank of America, Stanford University, and more. For companies like these, he designs a customer experience journey that culminates in positive word of mouth – and 400 percent same-store sales growth in some cases.

Jason combines the art and science of designing the customer experience journey to influence how customers feel when they walk into a store. He finds ways to engage the senses and get people emotionally involved with companies.

In essence, he finds a way to make retail a more engaging, theatrical experience.

“People interacting with your business already have an experience – design it to be the one that you want.” @CXFormula via @RustyLionAcad (Tweet this!)

Click play in the player below to hear Jason’s remarkable story of moving from being a roadie for a few bands you may have heard of to being the customer experience designer for brands you definitely know. You’ll get plenty of other valuable advice along the way.

Listen to this episode to hear me speak with Jason Friedman about how to design your customer experience and more:

• How experience as a roadie for Peter Gabriel and Rush helps Jason form great customer experiences in retail.
• The superpower that makes Jason excel at creating customer experiences.
• Why retail should pay attention to theater.
• The changes Jason helped Foot Locker make to achieve 400 percent same-store growth.
• Why you might want to throw out job descriptions (and what to replace them with).
• Reverse engineering your customer experience.
• Three killer tips to getting close to a client – even if things go terribly.

Use these resources to help you in your business ad design your customer experience:

• “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die,” by Chip and Dan Heath
• WinStreak: An app on Android or iPhone that helps you stay positive in business

How to contact Jason Friedman and download his customer experience design kit:

Go to Jason’s website to get a free PDF exclusive to Rusty Lion Academy listeners that will help you shape your customer experience design for the better. You can also contact Jason via email.

Do this next:

If a better customer experience is something you want, we can help you shape the way you get there.

During our free live web training, we’ll teach you in about 60 minutes how to do whatever it is you most want. The thing you’ll discover is that you already know the answers; we just help you see that!

Click here to register.

Management theory for today with Dr. David Burkus

Management theory – as most know it – originated in the industrial era. Back then, a distinct dividing line separated the thinkers (managers) from the doers (labor).

Dr. David Burkus tells me in this episode that even as the industrial system has largely been supplanted by more and more creative jobs, management theory has stayed too constant.

That means you’ve probably been inappropriately handling management theory in your own business.

David is a bestselling author, award-winning podcaster, and associate professor of management at Oral Roberts University. In 2015, the world’s premier ranking of management thinkers – Thinkers50 – named him one of the emerging thought leaders most likely to shape the future of business.

He says the “org chart” of traditional management theory worked well in the early days of industry because it pushed information from the thinkers to the doers. It also created silos around each management group.

But everything’s changed since then, and David says it’s time to plant some explosives on the silos.

The most mundane, thoughtless work has largely been outsourced or automated, leaving a knowledge economy with only creative work left.

That requires creative management theory.

“The best teams are actually temporary; they disband after each project.” @davidburkus via @RustyLionAcad

Click play in the player below to hear David talk with me about why, along with quite a few other meaningful things to today’s businessman.

Listen to this episode to hear me speak with Dr. David Burkus about management theory for today and more:

• Why team members, not managers, shouldn’t make hires.
• The need for policies that inspire employee autonomy.
• Why an employee can look stellar on paper, but underperform in real life.
• How a growth mindset can be born in failure.
• The reason shortcuts to success don’t work.
• Why you might want to avoid the J-O-B word and just work toward your goals instead.
• The realization that switched David’s career track from one like famed author Ernest Hemingway’s to one like marketing writer Daniel Pink’s.

Read these to help you discover management theory for today:

• “The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking,” by Roger Martin
• “Under New Management: How Leading Organizations Are Upending Business as Usual,” by David Burkus
• “The Myths of Creativity: The Truth About How Innovative Companies and People Generate Great Ideas,” By David Burkus

How to contact Dr. David Burkus:

You can reach out to David through his website.

Do this next to improve your management theory:

Management theory doesn’t stay put, and neither should you. We help men like you discover their greatest potential – as managers, as husbands and fathers, and as businessmen in today’s busy world.  

Our free live web training, in about 60 minutes can teach you how to do whatever it is you most want – even if you don’t know what that is yet.

Click here to register.

 

How to be a billionaire warrior with Ziad Abdelnour

Most people want to know how to be a billionaire – and Ziad Abdelnour is confident that anyone can become one.

Ziad himself has been involved in hundreds of transactions, worth more than $10 billion in total, in the investment banking, high yield bond, and distressed debt markets.

He’s also the CEO of Blackhawk Partners Inc., a Wall Street financier, a lobbyist who helped pass a bill that forced a Syrian army out of his native Lebanon, an author, and a philanthropist. And in all of these roles, he tells me in this episode, he strives to help as many “Davids” fight “Goliaths” as he can.

But that means he has to find Davids. Personality types that don’t mind going up against the giant – and who feel strongly they will prevail anyway. That’s how to be a billionaire warrior.

And Ziad says he wants to create as many millionaires and billionaires as he can. But that task also requires a David attitude:

“Have a real killer attitude and surround yourself with people smarter than you. And swallow your ego.” @blackhawkinc via @RustyLionAcad

In the end, Ziad says, he doesn’t invest in ideas, trends, technologies, or themes. He invests in people. In Davids.

Because if you want to know how to be a billionaire, he says, you have to realize that business is war.

And it takes a rebel with a cause to succeed. Someone who, like Ziad, throws conventions out the window.

“Rebels with a cause are lethal in business.” @blackhawkinc via @RustyLionAcad

He takes this mentality to extremes. For example, when he hires someone, the first interview question he asks is designed to be a stupid question that a potential billionaire isn’t afraid to challenge.

That’s what it takes to be a giant killer – to be unafraid of challenging authority, or norms, or even the person who could hire you and change your life.

In other words, to be someone unafraid of learning how to be a billionaire warrior.

Click play in the player below to learn how to be a billionaire warrior for yourself. Ziad has tons of great advice and is consistently quotable. Listen for yourself to hear why.

Listen to this episode to hear how to be a billionaire and more:

• Why being a spoiled brat eventually turned Ziad into a billionaire.
• Why this country needs more people with the billionaire mindset.
• Why you should read tons of biographies.
• Why you should embrace dangerous ideas.
• Why success hinges on how many people you empower.
• How to beat audacity-caused mistakes with more audacity.
• The stupid question Ziad asks at the start of job interviews.
• What you need to know – even if it hurts.
• Why you should be inspired by – instead of jealous of – other people’s success.
• How to be aware that money can’t buy everything.

Read Ziad’s book to help you learn to be a billionaire warrior:

“Economic Warfare: Secrets of Wealth Creation in the Age of Welfare Politics” by Ziad Abdelnour and Herman Cain

How to contact Ziad Abdelnour:

You can reach out to Ziad via his business website, his nonprofit’s website, or on Twitter.

Do this next to learn how to be a billionaire:

We teach a mindset that can lead you to more money – or whatever else you’re reaching for – and it’s proven to work.

Our free live web training teaches you – in about 60 minutes – how to do whatever it is you most want… even if you don’t know what that is yet.

Click here to register.

 

Rigorous leadership vs. ruthless leadership

Rigorousness: the quality of adhering to strict, exacting or thorough standards and methods.

Ruthlessness: the quality of having no mercy or pity.

Which of these sounds more like you?

A rigorous culture should be something you chase in your business, but if you take it too far and become ruthless, you could put your business, your team, and yourself in danger.

That’s the difference we explore in this episode.

For a good example of the difference between rigorous leadership and ruthless leadership, let me tell you a story about my partner Bill.

Bill graduated from West Point, and as a young rock star lieutenant he took rigorous orders too far – and put himself in a ruthless situation that threatened his life.

He was supposed to find a way to another location, so he decided to take the quickest route possible by Jeep. His chosen path took them over a mountain range. The Jeep got into several precarious positions, and Bill’s specialist driver voiced his concern.

That didn’t stop Bill. He called his driver a wimp and stepped into the driver seat.

Ruthless, right?

Sure enough, Bill soon rolled the Jeep down the mountain, destroying both the vehicle and the equipment it carried.

He couldn’t recognize the difference between rigorous leadership – expecting world-class performance from your team – and ruthless leadership. Consequently he put his team in unnecessary danger and drove them (no pun intended) with intimidation and fear.

Luckily, Bill didn’t kill himself or his driver, but to this day he considers it the mistake of a lifetime.

What about you?

Do you step into the driver seat too often as a leader and put your team in danger? Or do you know how to drive results without messing up your team’s groove? Listen to this episode for more.

“Rigorous leaders who just hire warm bodies fall into the ruthless leader trap. Hire ‘A’ players.” Via @RustyLionAcad (Tweet this!)

Click play in the player below to hear how to be a rigorous leader instead of a ruthless leader. (You’ll also hear what happened to Bill when his commanding officers heard what he did.)

This episode has plenty of actionable advice that could keep you from stepping over the same line with your business or family. 

Listen to this episode to learn about rigorous leadership, ruthless leadership and more:

• The #1 difference between a rigorous leader and a ruthless one.
• How to hire “A” players, and why they’re important to a rigorous culture.
• Why your best employees should tell you what to do, not the other way around.
• Times when both Bill and I (Robert) were ruthless, and how we regret it even today.
• When – and how – you should fire somebody.
• Why ruthless leaders lose respect.
• A three-strike method for firing in a rigorous culture that won’t intimidate your best employees.
• The J-word we use to describe ruthless leaders (Hint: It’s not jerky, but it’s awful close.)
• What you should do to “A” players who make big mistakes.

Read these books to help you learn to be a rigorous leader:

“Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t,” by Jim Collins

“Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition,” by Kerry Patterson

Do this next to learn how to be a rigorous leader:

Knowing how to motivate employees is something a rigorous leader understands. A ruthless leader will try to hack and cut his way to success. After all, an unmotivated employee is one of the biggest financial costs to a business.

Click here to get our free toolkit on motivating employees. It will help you stay rigorous – without becoming ruthless.

Never give up with Draye Redfern

Never give up, Lions.

Draye Redfern tells me that in this episode. And if you listen, you’ll learn that’s a big deal. After all, the guy had plenty of reasons to give up himself, even though he became a millionaire by age 25.

Draye is the 27-year-old chief operating officer of Daniels-Head Insurance Agency, and president of Educate Wealth.  

He is also the “soul brother” of my business partner Bill since he also became a professional cyclist.

And it was his passion for cycling that taught him to never give up – and, boy, did he need to rely on it.

He had gone through business failure after business failure. And he had his professional cycling card pulled after heart surgery set him back.

To make matters worse, soon after he regained his pro status for cycling, he got T-boned by a car driven by a texting teenager.

But he refused to give up, and embraced the pain and agony of physical therapy, chiropractor visits and more.

He eventually recovered to 99 percent.

“The upside on the other side of disaster is unlimited.” @DrayeRedfern via @RustyLionAcad

His embrace-the-pain mentality now extends into business, where his failures galvanized him.

If you want to learn more about how to adopt a “never give up” mentality, click play on the player below.

Listen to this episode to hear me speak with Draye Redfern about how he never gives up and more:

• How to focus when you travel 100 days per year.
• The conference that has helped Draye to more than $100,000 in leads.
• Why being a “constant student” pays dividends.
• Using outdated but proven tools to market effectively.
• Why self-help at an early age helped Draye (against his will).
• One thing you should do to improve your networking at conferences.
• How to run a non-disastrous family business.

Read these to help you to never give up:

• “The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles,” by Steven Pressfield
• “The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results,” by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

How to contact Draye Redfern:

You can reach out to Draye via Twitter,  LinkedIn, or via his website.

Do this next to never give up:

Your subconscious mind is in the driver’s seat, whether you like it or not. We can hand you the keys so you can catch whatever you’re chasing.

Our free live web training, in about 60 minutes can teach you how to do whatever it is you most want – even if you don’t know what that is yet.

Click here to register.

 

How to find inspiration instead of desperation

When inspiration strikes, don’t strike inspiration down.

That statement sums up this episode. When you’re inspired and don’t act on it, life will force you to change in ways far less – well – inspiring.

This episode is all about how to find inspiration before it feels absolutely necessary to change. That, of course, is when desperation creeps in.

Every man hits plateau points in his life. Times where, like a lion, you’ve caught your prey and can focus on feasting and rest.

But real hunters know they should keep hunting, that eventually they’ll need to start climbing again.

The question is whether you’ll do it because you’re inspired… or desperate.

“Inspiration is harder to find than desperation, but you should desperately seek inspiration.” Via @RustyLionAcad (Tweet this!)

It’s OK to plateau, Lions, but it’s not OK to plateau indefinitely. The problems in your life will always far outnumber the perceived comfort you think you’ll feel by limiting your growth.

Click play in the player below to learn how to find inspiration – before desperation sets in.

Listen to this episode to learn how to find inspiration without turning to desperate measures and more:

• Why good enough isn’t good enough.
• The stages of skill acquisition.
• Why you plateau, and how to rise above.
• Why losses are psychologically more powerful than wins.
• My crazy decision to leave a profitable career.
• The one action I took to move beyond a plateau.
• The secret to finding real joy in life.
• How to overcome fear and accept inspiration.
• Four questions to ask at a fork in the road of your life.

Do this next to learn how to find inspiration:

If you’ve ever looked at a successful person and thought “That guy is lucky to be where he’s at,” then know this: successful people consistently chalk their success up to luck and hard work.

We know from experience that “luck” follows hard work. When you are working hard outside your comfort zone, your comfort zone expands and luck comes with it.

You can learn how to be the guy that other men think of as “lucky.” We teach that skill in a free 60-minute webinar that will change the way you live life. And the way you love it.

Click here to register so you can experience those benefits too.

If you’re going through a rough patch right now, you may wonder how you can go about finding faith and energy when you’re just a shell of who you once were.

My guest today knows about finding faith – in business, in God, and in yourself – when it seems like there shouldn’t be any faith or energy left.

People often refer to Christopher McCluskey as “the father of Christian coaching.” With that unofficial title, you might wonder how it could be hard for him to find faith and energy.

But make no mistake – he’s struggled. Chris has a background in psychotherapy, but decided to leave the profession. Partly because, like a lot of psychotherapists, he started to feel shell-shocked by spending so much time on other people’s battlefields. Just like pro sports takes a toll on athletes’ bodies, psychotherapy takes a toll on therapists’ minds.

So even though he loved what he did, he moved to the country with his family, started working from home, and started finding faith in his new direction.

That’s when everything changed.

Christopher had a medical condition so severe he couldn’t even hold his wife’s hand. He had to live in the dark. He used a walker to get around. All this while homeschooling his seven children, getting his new business running, and otherwise adjusting to a new lifestyle.

It took five years to even diagnose his disease. His family called those “the dark years,” while Chris “lived as a ghost.”

At some point, this Christian coach even felt like God had abandoned him while he waited at death’s doorstep for 18 months.

He clung to the promise that God is good, even when he could no longer feel God’s presence.

And somehow, he kept his faith during that awful experience.

“God forced me on every plane to come to the end of myself and recognize I bring little to any situation, even when I think I’m banging on all cylinders,” he says.

So finding faith and energy when it seems a lost cause is something he had to learn.

“See what you have to work with, adapt, and just step back in and persevere.” Chris McCluskey via @RustyLionAcad (Tweet this!)

Click play in the player below to hear his amazing story. It could help you with finding faith and energy when you feel completely depleted.

Tune into this episode to hear Christopher McCluskey talk with me about finding faith, energy and more:

• Life working from home with seven kids!
• How a psychotherapist decided to become a coach for Christian coaches.
• The terrible toll of psychotherapy on therapists.
• Making a career shift when your soul’s energy is depleted in your current career.
• Why you’ll never achieve perfect balance, but how to get close.
• The three primary roles every man plays – and how to feed them.
• What this Christian coach remembered from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that helped him persevere.
• Why, once you find your “Plan A,” you should never move past it.

Use these resources to help you in finding faith and energy, especially in your marriage:

“When Two Become One: Enhancing Sexual Intimacy in Marriage” by Christopher and Rachel McCluskey

How to contact Chris McCluskey:

You can reach out to Chris via his website and podcast.

Do this next for finding faith and energy:

If you can’t stand where you are in life, you may need to change. If you can’t find faith or energy to go about your day-to-day, let us help you.

We host a free live web training that can help you set the direction you need to go with your life. We’ve seen it spark faith and energy in a lot of men, and know it can help you too.

Click here to register.