Has your life and business beat the fun out of you?

This week, Bill and I discuss something deeply embedded within us after learning from hard life experience that having fun outside of business drives results inside business.

No matter what life or business throws at you, you’ve got to do it.

After my wife died from cancer in the mid-2000s, I was in no mood for fun.

I worked. I worked out. That was about it.

But I needed to have more fun.

That fact came into focus when a friend of mine asked me what I do for fun.

I told her about working out. She said that wasn’t fun.

True. Rewarding, yes. But not fun.

So I dug deeper, and came up empty.

Then she gave me advice I’ve never forgotten: “Until you get some fun in your life, nothing else is going to work.”

In this episode, we share the secrets of having more fun when business and life has made you forget how to have fun and made you feel old, boring and bored with life.

Specifically, we share a kind of list you can make that will drive you to be a fun, youthful, energetic person despite what life might throw at you.

Listen to Bill and me talk about relearning how to have fun and more:

• Keeping your sense of childhood.
• How to harness fun to make you more energetic in business.
• The thing that fills your #1 ingrained desire.
• A list that will keep you enjoying life.
• Why you should laugh at yourself in the mirror.
• The amount of times children laugh in a day compared to adults.
• Why you feel old and how to find a fountain of youth.
• The power of learning outside your bubble.
• How to get energy back in your day when your mind slips.
• How bad habits dull your ability to have fun.
• The one thing that made my wife laugh while she was on chemo.

Freedom is calling:
Or are you calling freedom? Fun is freedom, and freedom is fun. Unleash your potential starting with a free 30-minute Freedom Breakthrough video call session.

Apply now.

Men want to be valued so much that they work hard to achieve.

But that’s not what you should be doing, according to Brandon Allen.

Brandon is the founder of New Work Revolution Coaching and Consulting, where he coaches business owners to find freedom and growth in their businesses.

Brandon has always been a high achiever, starting back when he played sports like every minute was the last minute of a game seven finals game.

But he came from a broken family. He never met his biological father, and his mother had alcohol abuse problems as well. He wouldn’t see her for days, sometimes.

So he developed a commitment to looking good so no one would know how messed up he was inside.

“I tried to make sure nobody knew I was screwed up by achieving at a high level,” Brandon tells me in this episode.

His “bubble of achievement” helped him in a way, but in reality held him back—as a parent, as a spouse and as a team leader.

And nobody valued him for his achievements anyway.

If you’ve ever worked hard to achieve so you could feel valuable or valued, you need to hear Brandon’s story.

If you put up false fronts that you sense hold you back, Brandon will move you beyond that by telling you his story.

And if you want to know the biggest lie men tell themselves so you can stop telling it, click play in the player above to get started.

Listen to this episode to hear me talk with Brandon Allen about why achievements don’t make you valuable and more:

• Brandon’s story of growing up in a dysfunctional home and how he overcame it.
• Why Brandon quit his job to start a business at the height of the Great Recession.
• Building a business plane as you’re flying it.
• Why the message you share as a business owner may not be the one people want to hear.
• The Wrong reason to start a partnership.
• How to end a partnership the right way.
• Why mindset dictates results.
• The people who grow most as coaching clients.
• Bursting the “achievement bubble” and filling it up with something more valuable.
• A question to ask every day—especially when business isn’t going well.
• Why lying to yourself is the worst kind of lie.

Books and resources mentioned in this episode:

Some of the following links are affiliate links. If you click through and purchase Rusty Lion Academy may get a small commission.

• “Simplify: Ten Practices to Unclutter Your Soul,” by Bill Hybels

How to contact Brandon Allen:

• Website
• Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher

The bond a mother has for her children can sometimes make high-achieving men feel like deadbeat dads just because they can’t cultivate the same kind of connections.

Men sometimes feel like losers when their kids don’t come to them with requests or to get advice and instead constantly run to Mom.

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Lions we work with are far from deadbeat dads, but can still learn some assertive parenting skills.

And Mom? She’d prefer if the kids ran to you as often as they do to her. She doesn’t like bearing that burden alone.

In this episode, Bill and I talk about what you, Lion, can do for the mother of your children to support her in her calling. It’s all about assertive parenting, especially if she’s the one the kids always run to for everything.

This cooperative assertive parenting skill will serve you at home well, especially if your wife has a hard time taking feedback from you. It will also improve your ability to lead in your business if you understand it well.

In supporting your wife more effectively through the assertive parenting advice we share this week, you’ll find that your kids love and respect you more because of the way your home life works.  

If you have a wife with a generous soul who does a ton for your kids, listen to this episode.

If you feel like you can never give your wife feedback and that’s hurting your relationships at home, this episode is for you.

And if you’d like a happier mother and a happier family, click play in the player above to get started.

Mothers never give up on their children; so never give up on your children’s mother.

Listen to this episode to hear Bill and I talk about assertive parenting skills and more:

• The one thing that makes most high-achieving fathers feel like a deadbeat dad.
• The reasons you shouldn’t feel like a deadbeat dad.
• The story about why it still feels like my Momma is holding my hand through life.
• Why Bill’s mom still treats him like he’s 10 years old.
• How to get back in favor with kids who like mom more.
• How getting back in favor will make their mother happier.
• The accidental events that create “Mommy favortism.”
• The assertive parenting and leadership skill that will improve all your relationships.

Books and resources mentioned in this episode:

Some of the following links are affiliate links. If you click through and purchase Rusty Lion Academy may get a small commission.

• “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High,” by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler
• “Crucial Confrontations: Tools for Resolving Broken Promises, Violated Expectations, and Bad Behavior,” by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler

Assert to lead: Assertive men lead best, but only 5 percent of men know how to be assertive. If you want freedom to lead better and still be more available at home, click here to apply for a free 30-minute video Freedom Breakthrough Session.

You don’t have to hate your career…if you play your networking cards right.

Today’s guest, Mac Prichard, is president of Prichard Communications, and created Mac’s List, an online community for people looking to find more fulfilling work.

Mac is also the author of “Land Your Dream Job Anywhere,” which walks people through a networking process that can get you further ahead faster.

Many men, including a lot of Rusty Lion Academy clients, get to the point where they hate their career so much that they have a hard time working within it.

This makes them work even longer hours and deepens the cycle.

And without corrective action, the pain only deepens.

After graduating from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Business with a master’s degree, Mac reached out to about 100 businesspeople in Portland, Oregon where he wanted to live and work. Each “infromation interviews” had a direct outcome goal and started to build a network for Mac.

There’s a big difference between building a network and networking.

Networking is casually passing out business cards to everyone you see at a business function, and is rarely effective.

Creating a network constructs a two-way street of service, Mac tells me in this episode.

Give without any expectation of receiving. When you do, it’s amazing what you get back.

If you want a career you love and don’t know how to tackle the change, Mac’s got some great advice for you.

If you think your past titles or accomplishments should guarantee your future success but aren’t, this episode is for you.

And if you want to aim higher in your career than you’ve ever been, click play in the player above to get started.

Listen to this episode to hear me talk with Mac Prichard about effective networking to build a better career and more:

• Becoming “an accidental entrepreneur.”
• What electoral politics, writing, and human rights advocacy have in common.
• The two things that got Mac into Harvard’s Master’s program despite a 3.0 average in college.
• Taking risks to grow.
• Making networking work better.
• An alternative to filling out job applications.
• Why service has resulted in the most career growth for Mac.
• What two long periods of unemployment taught Mac about finding the right career.
• Career wisdom from Intel’s public affairs director.
• What you should learn from comedian Jerry Seinfeld.
• Why you can’t afford to rest on your accolades.
• Overcoming procrastination.

Get Mac Prichard’s book; the first chapter’s free for Lion’s Den listeners:

• “Land Your Dream Job Anywhere,” by Mac Prichard and other nationally known career experts

Contact Mac Prichard, president of Prichard Communications:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

If you’re like me, every week feels like a mission-critical week to your business.

Can we agree that any week—no matter how hectic it feels—is just another week?

In this episode, we explore the technological and societal lies that make it mentally hard for you to take time off—even when it’s possible and necessary for your wellbeing.

For some men, it’s even hard to take time off as you’re taking time off.

After all, the lure of the laptop and the smartphone can be strong for a high achiever.

These are the kinds of forces that made me feel guilty for taking a week off in April even though I knew it would improve my business and my relationships in the end.

We’ve got news for you—your inability to take time off isn’t your fault. It’s programmed into you by a lot of driving forces.

But you can change your programming.

You cannot unplug unless you proactively unplug.

If you want to learn how and why to unplug and take a real vacation, this episode is for you.

If you‘re still the one in charge even when you’re not the one in the office, you’ll get a lot out of this conversation.

And if your long hours are hurting yourself, your relationships and your business, click play on the player below to take more time off and still get more done at work.

Listen to this episode to hear me talk with Bill about taking more time off, getting more done at work and more:

• Two things that finally forced me to take a vacation.
• The lies that make you feel guilty when you take a break.
• Societal and technological dynamics that make it harder to unplug.
• How your life as a high achiever is like the movie The Matrix.
• The bold-faced lie that sacrifice creates success.
• The cult of hard work and what it costs.
• A bulletproof process for taking more time off.
• The backwardness of American culture when it comes to free time.

[CALLOUT]

More time off; less worry:

Our clients spend less time at work and more time at home and on vacation. They do it by getting the systems we reveal in place. These systems get you producing more and worrying less, allowing you to give your best self to your family.

Want this freedom for yourself? Schedule a free 30-minute Freedom Breakthrough Session now.

The worst thing for some men is to get a taste of success.

My guest today is Nicholas Bayerle, the founder of The Billion Dollar Body, a company that coaches men to get their fitness right so the rest of their lives can fall in place.

Nicholas tells me in this episode that he was once the most self-conscious, least self-confident person he’s ever known. As a child, he became the youngest kid in the world to race bikes, which soon led him into motocross, where he wanted to become the best in the world.

After a crushing blow to self-esteem delivered by someone he loved, he dropped his dreams of being a professional motocross racer. In fact, he dropped all his dreams and left his confidence in the dust.

He stopped being hungry for more success.

Less than three months later, he was 25 pounds heavier and enduring tons of ridicule.

At some point, he decided to stop hiding behind a sweatshirt—and that changed his life.

With nothing to hide his extra weight, he was hungry for a better life. That got him back in shape and chasing his life and business dreams.

But at a point when his business was hauling in about $40,000 per month, he became satisfied with what he had achieved.

He lost his drive.

Everything fell apart.

Since then, he’s learned how to stay hungry for more success, even when it feels like he’s accomplished enough.

And he says fitness is the key to it all.

If you have ever felt like you’ve lost your drive, you’ll learn a lot from Nicholas. If you have ever tasted success and let yourself stop growing, this episode is for you. And if you just want to hear an amazing story about a man who was once bullied and now helps rich men find richness in their lives through fitness, click play in the player above.

Listen to this episode to hear Nicholas Bayerle of the Billion Dollar Body discuss with me staying hungry for more success and more:

• The five things your fitness needs you to do right (Hint: you do four every day already.)
• Becoming the best version of yourself.
• Being the youngest bike racer in the world.
• Why hunger and drive shouldn’t allow you to run for comfort.
• What your top priority should be for growth.
• How working out influences all areas of your life.
• Why people around you will be more happy than you when you start getting more sleep.
• How a weakness comes to be.
• Niching down to scale up.
• What pushes you toward bad behaviors.
• Changing your expectations to change your results.

Books and resources mentioned in this episode:

Some of the following links are affiliate links. If you click through and purchase Rusty Lion Academy may get a small commission.

• “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” by Robert Glover
• Billion Dollar Body Live mens’ event

How to contact Nicholas Bayerle, owner of The Billion Dollar Body:

• Website
• Email

Get hungry:

Success doesn’t find you. You find success. We can show you the way to stay hungry for more success, even if you’ve already tasted success. Start by applying today for your free 30-minute Freedom Breakthrough Session.

Passion for your family doesn’t have to be just lip service.

This episode will teach you how to not give everything to work so you can give more to your family. The ones you tell me are the most important people and the most important thing in your life

You don’t have to be the shell of a man when you come home from work every day.

If you live in a way where you’re not beating yourself up at work, you’ll live better at home.

In this episode, we provide you with tips and techniques so that you’re filled with the passion you tell me you have for your family.

And part of it is loving what you do at work—without going overboard.

If you’re not doing something you love or doing something you can fall in love with, you bring home less of a man than you could be.

Every day.

If you feel like you give all your energy to work and just want to vegetate once you get home, listen to this episode. If you ever drink yourself to sleep because the stress of the day took too much from you, you’ll love what you hear. And if you want to learn why Steve Jobs hated his life when he was running two of the world’s most successful companies, click play in the player above to get started.

Listen to this episode to hear Bill and I talk about passion that doesn’t quit at home and more:

• Why you’re a shell of a man when you come home sometimes.
• Unhealthy habits that come with running on empty.
• How Steve Jobs felt when running two companies. (Hint: not successful.)
• Why to create a stop-doing list.
• A sequence we put men through to allow them to bring more passion home.
• Why to blame your kindergarten teacher for taking too much on.
• How to fill yourself with energy at work instead of depleting it.
• Why many men are out of tune like a bad instrument when I first meet them.
• How vulnerability improved my life and got me passionate about coming home.
• How one client has come to love both going to work and coming home.

Books and resources mentioned in this episode:

Some of the following links are affiliate links. If you click through and purchase Rusty Lion Academy may get a small commission.

• The Phone Bed Charging Station.
• “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World,” by Cal Newport

Get more energy: The men we coach find that their well of energy is deeper than they thought and realize they can be passionate at work and at home. That’s freedom. Sign up for your free 30-minute Freedom Breakthrough Session to get the most of the passion you posess.

When you recognize your top performers, everyone gets better and you make more money as a business owner.

That’s the quick way of saying a recognition culture is powerful and transformative.

My guest today is David Long, the brother of another favorite guest, Randy Long. Like his brother, he’s an author, speaker, entrepreneur and business owner. Unlike his brother, he’s the founder of MyEmployees—a worldwide leader in the employee recognition industry.

You’ve probably seen his employee recognition plaques in Wal-Mart, Target, Lowe’s or in a number of other companies that know the benefits that come from an employee recognition culture.

David tells me the incredible story of the desperate start his business got after he lost seven jobs in three and a half years.

He then tells how a $700 base for his business turned into the $10.5 million business it is now.

He pins most of that growth on the employee recognition culture he inspires in his own business and in others.

To improve your employees, the #1 thing to do is recognize them. David Long of @MyEmployees

If your employees don’t come to work with their A game, listen to this episode. If you want to grow your business, you’ll learn a ton from David Long. And if you just like hearing a great rags to riches story, click play in the player above to get started.

Listen to this episode to hear David Long, CEO of MyEmployees tell me about recognizing employees and more:

• Going from a 5 foot by 5 foot office in a garage to outgrowing a 20,000-square-foot building.
• Unintentionally shooting for a world record for lost jobs.
• The event that got David to say, “Thank you God and what a country!” when he was destitute and living with his wife and three children at his parents house.
• Becoming one of the top 1% of businesses throughout history.
• How David does employee recognition for his 60 employees.
• Taking 30 weeks of vacation without business missing a beat.
• Why David’s library is valued at $500,000.
• A practice with employees that David says his given him hundred-fold returns.
• Getting out of a deep rut—which is just a grave with the ends kicked out.

Books and resources mentioned in this episode:

Some of the following links are affiliate links. If you click through and purchase Rusty Lion Academy may get a small commission.

• “Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle,” by Jim Rohn
• “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ,” by Daniel Coleman
• “The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results,” by Gary Keller
• “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less,” by Greg McKeown
• “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It,” by Michael Gerber
• “How to Win Friends & Influence People,” by Dale Carnegie
• Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University
• “Built to Lead: 7 Management R.E.W.A.R.D.S Principles for Becoming a Top 10% Manager,” by David Long (Buy this on Amazon and email [email protected] for a free eBook version and workbook.)

How to contact David Long:

Buy David’s book (see above line) and email the address above for a free eBook version. Or, go to myemployees.com or top10manager.com.

Get your ‘A’ team: Employee recognition goes a long way to getting the best team possible in place. If you want to really take your team to another level that will let you work less with fewer worries about work, apply for your free 30-minute Freedom Breakthrough Session today.

Who’s your workplace hero?

Is he on a magazine cover? Does he appear on late-night talk shows? Does this person you admire ever brag about not taking a vacation for the past three years?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you have probably succumbed to one of the biggest myths ever handed to the American people.

The workplace hero myth is that hard work is always admirable. No matter what.

And it’s a bunch of bull.

In this episode, I walk you this myth as I see it and help you see a better way.

If you’ve ever felt like the people you admire in the workplace work too much, this episode’s for you. If you have felt pulled along by the myth that putting in tons of hours means tons of success, you should listen to this espisode. And if you feel like the most successful men are the ones who actually have time for the things that matter most to them, click play in the player above to get started.

Listen to this episode to hear me discuss what a real workplace hero looks like and more:

• Lies men in the workplace believe.
• The one attribute that should really define success.
• What kinds of hard work you should be doing.
• Unmasking the Wizard of Work.
• Shortening the curve to personal mastery.
• Why Steve Jobs was no success.
• How I named my company to keep in mind what was most important.
• Three things to do to become a real workplace hero while still being your kids’ hero.

Be a hero:

You can spend less time at the office and still get it all done. Then you can be a hero to more than just your employees.

Let us show you a better way with a free 30-minute Freedom Breakthrough Session. We only schedule 10 of these per week, so apply now!

Walt Disney always used to say, “Dream, dare, believe and do.”

But so many men get stuck at the “dream” phase.

My guest today is John Formica, who used to work for Walt Disney World Resorts, and now many people know him as “the ex-Disney guy.” He’s an international speaker, business consultant, and author of “Making the Customer Experience Magical Now!” Down under, they named him Australia’s best experience coach.

For John to take Walt Disney’s advice and “Dream, dare, believe and do,” it took a brush with death. It came on the side of Mt. Rainier when a companion slipped on ice and nearly pulled his entire climbing group over a cliff.

Dream big, go big:

Our clients are sick of dreaming. They want to take their lives to the next level of freedom and fulfillment. Click here to apply for your free 30-minute Freedom Breakthrough Session.

After surviving that experience, he decided it was time to do something more with his life. On the red-eye flight home, he filled a beverage napkin with plans for his new career, and on seven sheets of paper he figured out how to tell his wife.

Guess which was harder.

His point now is that it shouldn’t take almost dying on the side of a mountain for men to wake up from their dreams to dare, believe and do what they know they should do.

If you have dreams, but are afraid of daring to follow through with them, listen to this episode. If you want to hear the story of John’s harrowing experience on Mt. Rainier, this episode’s for you. And if you just have trouble taking action when everything else is aligned, click play on the player above to get started.

Listen to this episode to hear John Formica discuss with me going beyond dreams into an amazing new reality and more:

• The professional influence of Walt Disney on one dreamer.
• How to make things happen when you’re hitting a wall.
• Why you should surround yourself with positivity.
• What it feels like to literally hold someone’s life in your hands for 22 minutes.
• Why someone told John 860,000 people would have to die for him to get a job.
• How a guide was ready to let John die to save two more lives.
• The moment when everything started working for John (Hint: It involved hiring a coach!)
• How one statement undid two years of John’s hard work.
• Why committing to your dreams doesn’t necessarily mean quitting your job.
• Getting out of the babysitting business as a leader.
• Making more time for magic in your life.

Books and resources mentioned in this episode:

Some of the following links are affiliate links. If you click through and purchase Rusty Lion Academy may get a small commission.

• “How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life,” by Pat Williams
• “How to Win Friends & Influence People,” by Dale Carnegie
• “Making the Customer Experience Magical Now!” by John Formica

How to contact John Formica:

Go to johnformica.com.

Find the magic in life:

The men we coach are successful, but feel like they’re missing the magic of a freedom-filled life. Unchain yourself from the things holding you back by applying today for your free 30-minute Freedom Breakthrough Session.