On this Episode, I have a conversation with Robyn Sayles, who's job is to successfully coach her clients on how to value their time, get out of their and set themselves up for success.

To see all the clues of success I uncovered, go to secondhandsuccess.com/robyn-sayles

On this episode, I share my experience from Podfest Multimedia Expo 2019 in Orlando. While there's a TON of stuff to learn regarding content creation, marketing and podcasting, I learned uncovered some fantastic clues of success as well.

To view the full show notes go to secondhandsuccess.com/4-clues-of-success-from-podfest

On this Episode, Kevin interviews Brett Burky, a former full-time, professional musician and marketer who is now a Co-Founder of a Real Estate Tech Startup called Paperstac. 

Paperstac is an online marketplace that's focus is to digitize the note buying and selling process.

To see the full show notes, go to www.secondhandsuccess.com/brett-burky

On this Episode of the Secondhand Success Show, I interviewed Daniel Andre Ignacio. I've known Daniel since the 7th grade, and he's one of my oldest and closest friends.

In 2008, Daniel suffered a traumatic brain injury from surviving a 48-foot fall and a month-long coma.

Now he dedicates his life to helping those who have suffered similar injuries on the road to recovery. 

We talk about his accident, how he's helping people today, the darkness of the recovery process and how he maximizes his time.

To see the full show notes, go to secondhandsuccess.com/daniel-ignacio-tbi

In this Episode, we’re going to discuss the 3 concepts that I think make people successful. Is this the magic recipe for success?

I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there is no magic recipe for success. These traits however are common among people I admire and people who have attained success.

These concepts originate from my observations and research from books, articles, podcasts, interviews and networking.

The “3 P’s of Success” are:

1. Patience
2. Persistence
3. Positive Thinking

In this episode, I also dive into my struggles with each of these. After all, it wouldn’t be a personal development podcast if I wasn’t sharing my personal development.

1. Patience

If only success could happen overnight. If only could happen to us sooner than we have planned. Wouldn’t that be fantastic?

I think that’s why we celebrate overnight successes. Because we expect success to take time. Inherently, we know that things worth having are worth working for.

However, when we learn someone speeds up the process, we must know how they achieved success. We dissect their success with the hopes that we’ll hints, secrets, tips or strategies that we can apply to our own journey.

I can promise you that one of the ingredients to success is TIME. I blame the media for playing into our desire into instant gratification.

However, I implore you to look at all of your favorite products, your favorite pieces of art, your most admired heroes. I’d bet my life on the fact that all of their success took time.

It took time time to research and develop, time to test, time to iterate and adapt, time to fail, time to learn, all leading up to the point of success.

We live in a world where faster is better. We have so many conveniences in everyday life that perpetuate the idea of instant gratification.

You may think that the Chick-fil-A app used to cut the line (sponsor me Chick-fil-A) is a harmless activity, but think about what other ways you’re trying to make things happen quicker?

These seemingly harmless activities designed to save you time can impact your mentality and your behavior. You start to want results in other areas of your to come more quickly.

I struggle with this. I had the incorrect motivation to monetize Secondhand Success in 6 months after I launched the blog. So I quit. I took me a 8 months, a new mentor and a new mentality to present my thoughts to you all.

I’m constantly working to build patience, and here are some of my favorite ways:

• Meditation and Journaling - I’m sure your mind races at 1 million thoughts every second. For me, meditation and journaling help me recognize my thoughts, pause, and then act. I’m not reacting as much to everything that’s happening. This practice of pausing helps me remind myself of my overall goal and keeps me grounded. I’m able to pause to help keep me focused. I’m not perfect, and I can become unfocused or get off on a tangent with my time. Being able to reflect on what I’m doing helps re-position my actions.
  
  
• Tracking my progress - Tracking my progress has two benefits. It shows me how far I’ve come since starting on my journey towards success. It also shows me how far I have to go. It inspires me to see how much progress I’ve made and allows me to reflect on what’s working versus what’s not working. With my progress tracked, I’m able to adapt and reorient myself to better utilize my energy.
  
  
• Saying “NO” to my impulses - Everything is vying for my attention, and I battle my impulses everyday. It’s so much easier to eat bad food or be lazy and binge watch Netflix, than it is to build Secondhand Success or work towards retiring in 5 years. I understand how easy and temporarily satisfying it is to open up my phone and mindlessly scroll through Reddit or Instagram. However, by pausing, thinking and denying myself of those impulses, I prove to myself that I while I can’t control my impulse, I can control how I react to them. It helps me recognize that I am becoming more patient.

1. Persistence

I think persistence is the easiest concept on this trifecta to grasp, yet the hardest to execute. Opportunities and success don’t just happen. There’s work to manifest the opportunities and even more to work to execute through to the success.

Persistence is two-fold:

1. Being disciplined enough to show up everyday and putting in the work.
2. Not quitting.

I think we’re presented a choice for each number. We make the choice to put in the work, and we make a choice to quit.

Remember the first “P” we talked about (Hint: It’s patience)... your success will take time. The caveat to that is that your success will take time if you constantly work towards it and you don’t give up until you succeed.

Every person you and I admire is relentless in their pursuit of a vision, dream or goal. They do not give up, even when everyone else has lost hope.

It’s honestly draining to show up and follow your process or schedule every single day, There will be days where you won’t have the drive to do anything. Sometimes life happens and zaps the vigor out of you, and you’re feeling like it’s useless to work towards your dream.

However, I want you to think about it this way...Even if you worked on your goal for 5 minutes, that’s 5 minutes closer to achieving your success. Sometimes the results of your work may be trash, and now those results are future lessons for what no to do or produce.

I promise that if you persist long enough, you’ll make things happen.

1. Positive Thinking

If you turn on the news, you’ll quickly see how much negative stuff is happening in the world. Which is partly why I don’t watch too much news. It’s unfortunate that we naturally gravitate towards that negativity, which is why it gets so much media time.

Additionally, if you’ve ever been around a negative person, it’s absolutely draining. They have the power to drain your energy, your willpower and your time.

If you’re to achieve something you never have before and you’re striving to be successful, I can guarantee that it’s going to be difficult. You’ll be faced with challenges that seem impossible, problems that appear to not have any solutions and sometimes end up with more questions than answers.

When the times get tough, you will become impatient with your success and want to give up. If you’re anything like me, you’ll begin berating yourself when things go awry.

You might find yourself saying things like…”How could you be such a dumbass?” “What kind of an idiot would make that move?”

Then you’ll spiral down the path of “You’re not good enough to accomplish this!” or “You don’t deserve to be successful.”

I struggle with these thoughts every now and then. While I cannot ever control my thoughts, I can control how I react to them. If I give those negative sentiments weight, then I’m going to lose the battle at an alarming rate.

You’re going to have to create that mental shift with your inner voice. As you’re facing obstacles, the self-doubt and negativity puts limitations on your abilities.

One way to train yourself to start thinking positively is to track how often you insult yourself. Find a way to track it. Write it down or use coin jar and drop a coin into it every time you say something negative about yourself.

This will help draw awareness to the words you use towards yourself. Once you understand the problem it will become easier to recognize what happened and what triggered that negative thought.

Since everyone will be critique you already, you might as well be your biggest supporter and cheerleader.

Conclusion

There’s no magic recipe for success, but there are qualities that we can apply what will help us be more successful in anything we try and do.

So...

• Be patient with your success, as much as you want it to happen yesterday, it does take time
• Be persistent - be relentless with your own pursuit. Choose not to quit
• Think positive thoughts - whatever you’re trying to attain is difficult enough, so be your own biggest supporter

Connect with Kevin:

The Blog - www.secondhandsuccess.com/blog

Secondhand Success Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/secondhandsuccess

Kevin’s personal Facebook: www.facebook.com/kevin.galang

Kevin’s Instagram: @_kguapo

Kevin’s Twitter: @2ndhandsuccess

Kevin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinmathewgalang/

To get on Kevin’s Calendar go to www.secondhandsuccess.com/contact

To sign up for “The Sunday Six,” go to www.secondhandsuccess.com/sundaysix

SSS #003 – Interview with Personal Finance Entrepreneur, Matt with Distilled Dollar

On this episode, Kevin has the honor and privilege of interviewing the author and founder of Distilled Dollar, Matthew Zubricki. During their conversation, they cover topics such as personal finance and entrepreneurship. Matt shares his tips for entrepreneurs and which mistakes they should avoid.

Who is Matt

Matt from Distilled Dollar started his blog in 2016 discussing frugality, investing, entrepreneurship and how he and his wife tripled their savings rate one year and saved 60% of their income. As a CPA, he's been distilling complex topics down via 225+ blog posts, 150+ videos, and 250+ podcast episodes that have now been downloaded several million times. The early days of frugality led them to have more money and ultimately helped create a stress-free business from what started off as a hobby, turned side-hustle. The new business centers around guiding members through their launches and scaling up their sites. Matt and his wife became full-time Entrepreneurs in January 2018 to support this growing segment of the audience and now Matt focuses much of his time on distilling membership launches which he finds to be the best way to start and scale online.

Who is an Entrepreneur?

According to Matt, an entrepreneur is some who looks around their environment, sees where what they can improve upon and finds a way to add value. There’s lots of opportunity when you view the world from a perspective of wanting to add value

However, being an entrepreneur can be quite terrifying. Which is why, we often times celebrate successful entrepreneurs. The general population knows how difficult and risky it can be being an entrepreneur. Matt mentions how he found that it was easier to clock-in and clock-out of his former regular job, than being an entrepreneur.

Mistakes Entrepreneurs make

One of the biggest mistakes he mentions is how entrepreneurs let their business rule their life. While there may Sometimes Matt even advises that it may be the next best step to take a break and refocus.

Another mistake entrepreneurs make is taking failures personally. Matt advises shifting your perspective from seeing failures as absolutes to seeing them as lessons learned. It’s a great opportunity to verify your strategy. Matt uses the quote “Every battle is won or lost before it is even fought” (by Sun Tzu)  to convey the idea that knowing your strategy and what direction you’re moving in is going to have a huge impact on your success.

Often times, entrepreneurs will be their own worst enemy and their largest obstacle. Entrepreneurs may know what the next step will be, but they procrastinate, distract themselves or find other various ways of just not accomplishing what needs to be done.

Another mistake entrepreneurs make is striving for perfection. Perfection is a fallacy that will hinder entrepreneurs more than help them.

The last mistake Matt and Kevin discuss is succumbing to the fear of success. Fear of failure is quite common, but fear of success is a concept that is less talked about. It’s the notion that once you attain a level of success, your new baseline (the expectation from your audience) must be better than before. Entrepreneurs end up then questioning themselves and their abilities. They let the fear of success paralyze them.

Advice from Matt

One of Matt’s biggest pieces of advice is to get on the phone with your clients. Get direct feedback from them. Get on the phone, ask them what they want and then adjust your strategy accordingly. While social media and emails are great forms of communication, a phone call provides a greater means for building relationships with your clients and audience. As a strategy to get a new client, you can offer up a free phone call.

We addressed how striving for perfection can be a huge mistake for entrepreneurs. Instead, entrepreneurs should focus on releasing the “minimum viable product.” Be willing to push out a product that does the bare minimum, be flexible with your strategy, accept the feedback and quickly adapt and iterate. Focus on getting to version 3.0 of your product as soon as possible. Don’t overthink and get stuck on 1.0!

Matt is a huge reader and even reads to solve some of his biggest business challenges that he faces today. He strive to read a book a week. Here are the two books that he mentions in the show:

• “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It” - Michael E. Gerber.
• “The Lean Startup” - Eric Ries

Another piece of advice Matt gives entrepreneurs is to focus on the process. Consistently following your process will help you achieve success; it will only be a matter of time. Work the process and let the results happen as a byproduct of your discipline and effort.

Lastly, as time is the most important asset for entrepreneurs, it’s important to understand which activities are going to yield the most important results. Eventually, you will want to get to a point where you delegate out the tasks that aren’t worth your time.

Get out there be an entrepreneur!

It’s okay to not be Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Warren Buffett. In fact, all of the super successful people we admire started from somewhere. You will have to start, too. Be okay with being vulnerable, and use your own personality as an asset. People will be able to relate to authenticity.

#SuccessinSixtySeconds - Start off small, don’t set this massive goal to turn it into a big business right away. Most likely, you will not succeed. Be okay with starting small and being as authentic as possible.

Start publishing and be consistent! Set up something where you can capture emails.

Here is a list of Matt’s favorite entrepreneurs

• Elon Musk - https://www.tesla.com/elon-musk / Twitter @ElonMusk
• Jeff Walker - https://jeffwalker.com/
• Eben Pagan - https://ebenpagantraining.com/
• Grant Sabatier - https://millennialmoney.com/about
• Stu McLaren - http://www.stu.me/

Where to find Matt:

Website: http://distilleddollar.com/

Twitter: @DistilledDollar

Podcast: http://podcast.millennialmoney.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcjSwTCNhD0vGZWQjtmCApg

Kevin’s Social Media platforms:

The Blog - www.secondhandsuccess.com/blog

Secondhand Success Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/secondhandsuccess

Kevin’s personal Facebook: www.facebook.com/kevin.galang

Kevin’s Instagram: @_kguapo

Kevin’s Twitter: @2ndhandsuccess

Kevin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinmathewgalang/

To get on Kevin’s Calendar go to www.secondhandsuccess.com/contact

To sign up for “The Sunday Six,” go to www.secondhandsuccess.com/sundaysix

In this Episode, Kevin interviews Jennifer Samuel-Chance. The two of them talk about storytelling strategies, public speaking best practices and putting finding your life’s calling.

Who is Jennifer Samuel-Chance, a.k.a. “Ms. Jen-Jen.”

Jennifer Samuel-Chance is known as one of the most innovative and sought after “speech-fixer”, consultant and communication strategist out there.

Her 19 years of experience as a speaker, coach and storyteller have enabled her to deliver 1783 presentations on communication issues around the world. She is famous for creating exponential increases in revenues and profits by helping her clients influence their audiences and prospects to say YES! Now – the important thing is that she gets people to yes without being pushy or even remotely sales-y to their audience and prospects. Her mission is to help you build meaningful connections so that you can ultimately live life on your own terms.

About “Ms. Jen-Jen.”

Jennifer Samuel-Chance is known as “Jen-Jen” because it was a term of endearment she garnered from her mother. Additionally, the name “Jennifer Samuel-Chance” is quite long, and Jennifer felt she needed a catchier stage name, hence “Ms. Jen-Jen.”

Oddly enough Ms. Jen-Jen is an introvert, she’s naturally a shy person. To add to that, her low-register voice has been with her since the age of 12. What she calls now an asset, she once viewed and suppressed as a child due to fear of ridicule. She even went as far as learning how to speak in a higher tone to fit in.

Ms. Jen-Jen’s parents are from the Caribbean, and she credits her storytelling talents to her parents. She vividly remembers the stories of the Caribbean that her parents would tell her. The imagery they used was so strong that when Jennifer visited the Caribbean she was able to pinpoint exact locations that her parents shared with her as a child.

Like many people, Jennifer struggled to find her “calling”. She tried a few things but they never felt fulfilling to her. In an attempt to better herself, she sought help. Her Psychologist recommended that she should try speaking as a career.

So she followed her “calling.” She began with facilitating workshops, which evolved into storytelling, performing and public speaking coaching.

Storytelling is much more than reading a story from a book

Effective storytelling is extremely powerful. Whether you want to convey an idea or sell a product, storytelling is a highly effective form of communication.

The first step to successful storytelling is that it is about the audience, and NOT the storyteller. You may be in the spotlight, but it is not about you.

It’s your job as the storyteller to use imagery, body language, vocal variety and timing to immerse your audience into your story. You want to evoke emotion when you’re telling your story so that your audience connects with you.

Tips on becoming a better speaker

The only way to speak well is to speak, and speak often. Toastmasters international (find your local club here) is a great way to practice speaking. Get out there and go practice!

As a next step, you can join the National Speakers Association. The idea is that you need to consistently be surrounding yourself with people who are more successful from you and learn from them.

Preparation is KEY. If you have an hour speech to give, make sure you have a 30-minute version, a 15-minute version and a 5-minute version.

Ms. Jen-Jen’s favorite storytellers

• Her Parents
• Doug Lipman, the “Storyteller’s Storyteller” - http://www.storydynamics.com/
• Anotonio Hochas - https://www.storytellingcenter.net/tellers/antonio-rocha/
• Michelle Obama - https://becomingmichelleobama.com/
• Zig Ziglar - https://www.ziglar.com/
• Jack Canfield - https://jackcanfield.com/
• • Fun fact - Ms. Jen-Jen had an enlightening dinner with Jack Canfield because she trusted her instinct, despite her fear of rejection. It turned out well because he gave her some great business ideas and life advice.
  • Fun fact 2 - Ms. Jen-Jen encountered Jack Canfield at a speaking workshop and asked him he was attending, when he doesn’t have. Jack Canfield replied saying that he always needs to keep learning.

Where to find Ms. Jen-Jen:

• Her website: https://msjenjen.com/speech-fixer/working-with-ms-jen-jen/
• Her Twitter: https://twitter.com/MsJenJenSpeaks
• Her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifersamuelchance
• Her YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi3x4hKzycBpYNvuChd58eQ
• Contact Ms. Jen-Jen directly: https://msjenjen.com/contact/

Kevin’s Social Media platforms:

The Blog - www.secondhandsuccess.com/blog

Secondhand Success Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/secondhandsuccess

Kevin’s personal Facebook: www.facebook.com/kevin.galang

Kevin’s Instagram: @_kguapo

Kevin’s Twitter: @2ndhandsuccess

Kevin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinmathewgalang/

To get on Kevin’s Calendar go to www.secondhandsuccess.com/contact

To sign up for “The Sunday Six,” go to www.secondhandsuccess.com/sundaysix