Faith and action is demonstrated big time in today's episode of Join Up Dots. We share a story that is the catalyst for everything that we do in Join Up Dots. One man shares how he has found the happiness in his life not by going after the money, but instead the meaning. He realised that there was no point trying to earn a great living for himself and his family if he was dead in side. David Ralph also shares his new business ventures which are spurning forth due to the understanding that online ventures work by sticking to simplicity. Also on the cards is sharing why a re-branding of a listeners business has been such an important part of the business puzzle Lets get on with the show Full Transcription Of The Faith And Action Podcast Episode Intro 0:00 When we're young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling. Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here's your host live from the back of his garden in the UK. David Ralph. David Ralph 0:25 Yes, hello there. Good morning to you. Good morning, one and all. And welcome to Join Up Dots. I hope you are well. I hope everybody is reaching out for the dream reaching out for those obstacles and smashing then to pieces. Because honestly, you move through the obstacles and I know obstacles are hard. That's what they are called obstacles. Well, I don't know why they called obstacles. But they they're bloody great big things that are hard to move. Sometimes they are physical. Sometimes they're mental. Sometimes they're a combination of both. But you How do you get mounted and Ben, it's sort of easier and the more obstacles you get past the the easier life becomes. And honestly, I mean, if you've listened to Join Up Dots over the last seven years or so, you know, I've been very transparent about hard times the difficult times that I've been proven. I actually went in to speak to my wife, my wife had a terrible hangover this morning. It's her own fault drinking on a school night, and I was in the shower. And I actually thought to myself, David you are looking healthy, you're looking pretty damn fine at the moment because it was a phase I went through but I spoken about where I had acute burnout. And I had big bags under my eyes, brass rings under my eyes, and I just looked kind of just drawn and grey. And it just dawned on me this morning that that the bags have kind of disappeared and that the hair is back and I'm just feeling damn good. And that is because because I have moved through the obstacles that difficulties and now I've got a life that for many people is a dream. And I suppose it's a dream for me. But you know what it's like when you when you live your life, you kind of don't think it's a dream because it's just your life. But I know, I know, looking at it from other people's points of view, but it's a dream. Now I just wanted to start off with saying a couple of words. I want to say hello again to Jackie Baker. Now, if you remember last week, I did a show about the south coast dinner society, a lovely lady who has launched her own business and I kind of dissected a few things and told her that she needed to focus in on site speed because everything's on mobile now. And she also has to focus in on making it look good and look a bit sexy, but people are landing on mobile and I spent about an hour an hour and 10 minutes or so with last night. We connected On the zoom, and I gave her some pointers. And we're going to change the name, we're going to change the name of our business, we're going to get it more focused on the branding, because once you get branding, right, once people understand instantly what you do, then all your content and all your videos and your podcasts or wherever you do kind of makes sense. You hang it on that thing. And as I always say to people, my business is online business made easy, because I totally believe that people out there doing things the wrong way, they're making it far too difficult for themselves, spending too much time twisting around on Facebook and Instagram, where you should be thinking about the audience that's already looking for, you know, their little mobile phones, they're sitting on their little tablets and keyboards, and they're typing and they're looking for your business. So instead of trying to go for people that don't really care, look for the people that are already typing away and when you will win. So Jackie Baker, thank you So much for spending time with me last night. And God she likes to talk I had to cut off numerous times, because I thought I'd be here for about four days, but she was a delight. And hopefully we will connect again. So yeah, go over to the south coast in a society and have a look at the work she's doing. Because she is a lady where the passion is following through to make things great for her. Now, actually, when I did that podcast, what was it a week ago, I realised that I'm actually a full time owner of a car spares business, so her car spares and auto parts business, and I've been a part member for about 20 years. And over the last sort of six months or so I took over it full time, because my family are too old. My mom's had a stroke and so I sort of I played around with it. And to be honest, my heart wasn't in it. I like doing Join Up Dots. I like doing this this. This is fun. You know I don't want to work in a shop. Anyway. I'm doing the I'm locked down. I had to close the shop down for eight weeks. And I started thinking about it in different way. And I thought to myself, there's an opportunity here, we've got parts, we've got service, we've got history, I need to put a bit of effort in, but I kind of didn't and, and when you're doing well, in certain regards, you'd kind of think to yourself, well, do I need to do more? Do it. But anyhow, I decided but I would challenge myself. After speaking to Jackie doing that podcast episode and saying that you've got to focus in on mobile, you got to focus in on local search and making things fast. So I started working on it and I have trebled the profits in about a month and a half. When all the other businesses around our area are struggling we are for a while. And it's all about once again, thinking about who's actually looking for me already, and how can I positioned myself in front of him. So we have now got a thriving business again, which is brilliant and it It's given me income to start a caravan rental Park. Well, you know, you've got caravans and Arby's, but you you don't know where to store over the winter or throughout the year? Well, I'm going to open one of those. So I've got a bit of land and I'm going to get that tarmacked over or at least, levelled out in a regard. And then we have maybe 100 caravans stored up on a yearly basis. And once you start to get the flow going, it's quite easy to do these things. Because once again, it's the same thing. You find a value point you look for where people are looking for you, and then you put your product in front of them. And things just become really, really easy. Once you understand online business. Now I speak to loads of people, and I say to them, that it's not about the business you want to do. Just learn about how to do online business, then you've got opportunities, and some people go Yeah, okay, that's fine that I will do it. Other people got no, I really want To do the dream business, I really want to do the thing. And I understand their point of view. But I also think to myself, just learn how it works. And then the opportunities that everywhere, okay? Don't just learn one thing, just learn how to get traffic onto a website to connect via e commerce products or your online or driving it to an offline business. And then you will be rocking and rolling. I promise you, right just before I do a story today Yes, it's gonna be a little story. I just want to say thank you to a couple of people who have dropped lines in I've got Valley Scentsy, from India, and this is from iTunes. And as I say, over the last few weeks, I'm trying to say thank you to people for doing this, because it's really beneficial to a podcast, it really makes a difference. And, and if you're spending a bit of effort, I should say thank you. So many cities from India amazing podcast hosts who brings out the essence what I love about David is his ability to bring out the essence from each person who on the podcast, joining up the dots is an art. It requires a sense of awareness and depth to be able to make this happen. So thank you very much for that. And it's from India and Kate five to 74390 this is I almost feel like I should know this person, but if I do, I can't can't place it. But the reviews is truly inspirational and motivational. David has incredible energy and a great sense of humour. He sees guests very full for questions and ask us all the sticky sort of awkward cheeky questions. But the listener is also thinking but does so in such a light hearted manner, but he never sounds offensive. I look forward to listening to David's podcast every day is a quality guy and offers real honest advice. I wish him all the happiness in the world. Thank you, Kate. And he's inspired so many people to have confidence and follow their dreams highly recommended. So thank you so much for that. Really, you know that. That's what it's all about. That's what Join Up Dots is all about. And it leads me on to a story now. Now, about six years ago, when Join Up Dots was a fledgling podcast, a guy from Alabama, United States connected with me. And I was sitting at my desk, I remember it, you know, really clearly, and a message came in. And it was from this guy who said, David, I've been listening to your podcast, I'd really like to do something I thought totally lost. And I sent a message back and I said, like, if you want to speak, you know, I connect with you. And we did. And it was on Skype, I think it was we connected. And he had a terrible sort of internet connection. So I couldn't see him. So we just did it like old school telephone. And he was sitting in his van, and he was going off to a job that he didn't want to do. And he said, I'm so lost. I'm so unhappy. I don't know. You know, where life's taking me. I seem to be following the money, but the money is not making me happy. And we had a chat and we we chatted a couple of times, maybe two or three times actually. And it turns out that he was sad. insurance for a company and he wasn't a salesman. He loved being out in the sunshine, working with his hands before that he'd worked for a medical company where he was sort of mending the beds and the equipment I seem to remember. So he was very hands driven. And then he decided he would get this job, just because it was paying the big bucks, commission wise, but he wasn't happy. So I spoke to him and I said, Look, Josh Park was his name, I said, Look, you've really got to do something with your hands. It's obvious to me just speaking to you here. You've got to get out. You've got to get out and about, you've got to build a freedom. You're not an office person. you're somebody who needs to get out you need to build out you're constructing something. And so he came up with this idea of, well, we kind of come up with it together. But he was the big push of actually creating a automobile, a car washing service, where he created a kind of filtering in the back of a band so the water would go around and then back And it would clean all the time. And he'd go to people's offices and say to the directors, I will wash all the cars out there every Tuesday if I can have a contract and he started doing best bit work, and it started going quite well, and it was called his name was just park and it was something like parking clean services. You see, it's quite good. you park your car, and he cleans it, you know. And he broke free. But he was finding that he was doing too many hours. It was all down to him all the time. And so he decided that he was going to move to Florida, leave Alabama and go to Florida. And get went down there and carried on his cleaning business. But then he franchised out the one that he left in Alabama to somebody else. So he was making a bit of profit, but he wasn't doing the work. And that was his idea he was going to do this. And anyhow, long story short, I received a message on messenger the other day, and I just want to read it out verbatim because it shows you how You can Join Up Dots and you can find the things that you like, even if it wasn't obvious at the beginning. So you got to remember, Joshua's totally lost. He was obviously wanting to work with his hands. He worked for a medical company, when he started chasing the money for insurance. He was very, very unhappy. Now, this is a message that came through and this isn't, you know, to big me up at all. This is just a nice story that I thought would be good on the show. Just say done, and this was totally out of the blue. I hadn't heard from him for about three or four years. Baby, do you want my heart tonight? I hope life is treating you well. I just wanted to thank you. I'm not a millionaire, and I don't own my own business anymore. But you helped me find what brings me joy. And because of you, I grew the CO owners and started my own business. I appreciate you for having confidence in me when I didn't have confidence in myself. You literally changed my trajectory on life. Life is good. Now. I appreciate you, David. How are you for some reason, I miss you. Even though we haven't met in person. You're still at the A friend. And so I went back to him. I said, Oh, buddy, it's really great to hear from your pal. Funnily enough, I was thinking about you just last night. And I was, I was sort of going through all the people that have come through Join Up Dots. And some of them still connect with me. And some of them were a big part of it, but moved on. And then I don't hear from him anymore. And I said to him, I was musing all the people that have come through the shows, since starting j u DS, as I call it, and how many of them didn't do anything with the help? They had that passion for a little bit, but then they just stopped. And then I thought of you and I actually meant to drop you a line and I thought maybe it's too far back in years now and he won't remember me. So how are you doing? How is Florida? We're hearing stories in the press about the virus surging again. I really hope you and your family are safe and happy. And he came back to me and this this is the real joining up the dots moment. And he came back and he said, David, life is good. Every day. I wake up is a good day. Right? Florida was fun, but after Hurricane Michael Michel, most of us were laid off. So we moved back home to Alabama. And I started working with a friend, repairing and installing hot tubs. Now you gotta remember he was somebody but, you know, had the motivation. He could do things with his hands, he'd already created a kind of water based business washing cars. So this is kind of the next step. He says, the business started booming, and we are in the season of plenty. And I can imagine my wife's always banging on about bloody hot tubs and I say to her, yeah, if you're in Florida, you'd probably use it. You wouldn't use it here, where you get three minutes of good weather a year and the thought of walking up the garden in a swim so it's never going to happen. Anyhow, she moans about it all the time. Now, our family is on the back end of the adoption process, he says and we hope to add another one to the family life is good David and I can't thank you enough for your heart. I've learned that people come and go and the seasons and reasons you held my hand through a difficult time of searching. I appreciate you when we connected I didn't know what I wanted to apply but why had Wasn't it you guided me into a different thinking about how I'm to provide for my families no money. If I'm dead inside my family has money but I work for that money is worthless. money or being rich was never my goal. It was the something more that I was after. I found that with your help and the help from others, the only way to benefit from others is learning action. And by again, I appreciate you, David, you're a friend of mine, but I'm grateful for Well, I'm grateful for him. Because he has found he's been and he's learned that he liked being in business, but he didn't like running a business himself. So he's found a friend. They're supporting each other. He's doing something that is outside, he's doing something that is manual that he enjoys. He's very, very good at it. business started booming and I can imagine hot tubs are really popular at the moment. And he joined up his dots he joined up his dots from working with his hands for a medical company to actually controlling his own Time and he's own business. And every one of you can do that, you know, I've had this car repair shop for years and years and years, never we sort of did much with it. I kind of par for our that somebody else's problem. But when I totally looked at it and thought, right, okay, let's really turn this room. I already had the skills, it was easy. I just looked at him for one, okay, we get these people to come, we get these people to come, we get it all to appear on their mobile phones, our target, mobile six and seven and Apple five, iPod five or whatever they're called, I don't know, iPhone five, iPhone six and seven. Make sure that it's all mobile responsive on their screens, give it a good online store to come through. And it was easy for me, but I couldn't have done it without the six or seven years of other stuff that didn't seem connected. And so if you're out there and you're doing stuff and you know this isn't a business. It is you're in the learning stage at the moment. Gold large Karma, whatever is giving you the skills. So when you make that decision that you really want to go for it, you'll be able to look around and go, I can do this, I can do this really well, then how do I give it to somebody who can't. Now, that's a bit of a journey you got to go on. But it's still very, very powerful to know about the journey that you're on at the moment when you're going to your crappy job or you're on the commute with a mask on, you're thinking, Oh, I don't really like this. It's actually teaching you what you need to get your dream life. You couldn't get it. Otherwise, it's really, really important to do that. So for everybody out there, hopefully you're taking inspiration from Joshua story, and also Jackie Baker from the south coast dinner society that's going to be rebranded soon. And from Kate on iTunes, and the gentleman from India, thank you so much for leaving ratings and reviews. But believe me, every single one of you, it's waiting for you. Just go Do it you just got to do it if you're willing to sit back and wait for somebody else to land it in your, in your lap, never going to happen. If you're waiting to actually make a plan, strategize and go for it, then it's waiting. You're looking after yourself. Have a great weekend. Whatever you're doing, take faith and action and I will be here waiting for you next week. If you've got any positive stories of life changing situations, drop us a line and we'll share them with the world to give them inspiration but I'm gonna be waiting for you because that's what I do. Until next time, see again, Cheers. Bye. Outro 18:34 See ya. Heard the conversation. Now it's time for you to start taking massive action. Create your life. Busy only live. We'll be back again real soon. Join Up Dots Join Up Dots. Join Up Dots. JOHN. The guy Joy, joy Unknown Speaker 19:04 odds

Live Life Before Work

Isn't it a funny situation and I suppose a bit mad when we always knock back the fun things in life, to do the boring routine stuff.

How many times have you said to your family "No we can't do that today as I have chores today"

We all seem to prioritize work and responsibilities over the real life experiences that light up our lives and make us happy.

So in todays podcast episode we talk about flipping things on their heads and instead of putting work today choose life instead.

Corina Taylor is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast.

Affectionately known as Auntie Corina she has been for the last 15 from my 15+ years as a licensed family day-care provider. She is an expert at helping Mom Entrepreneurs learn calm, clear, firm, loving parenting hacks using 30 years of experience and education to juggle the needs of their kids and run their business like the boss they are.

But this like all great Join Up Dots stories wasn't something that just came to her like magic. This was years of developing, learning and fine tuning her skills and then going even deeper.

 

Hugely Popular, top rated entrepreneur business podcast the Join Up Dots show inspired by Steve Jobs, is full of amazing, inspiring online and off success stories and career content.

A motivation packed show created for the entrepreneurs, wanting to become the best and grab business success, adventure, money, freedom and dreams too.

In fact anyone with mindfulness searching for financial freedom, but unsure of the career path to take will love this show, as David Ralph delivers entrepreneurial business advice direct to your eardrums on every episode.

Each guest enters into a free flowing conversation filled with humor, motivation, inspiration and powerful stories of success as they look back over their life, and in the words of the master entrepreneur Steve Jobs...join the dots that has led them to their own area of business or lifestyle success.

Over the last ten years of Join Up Dots, we have answered many thousands of questions either via the podcast or directly by email response.

We love to do this, as without a doubt the connection with the audience is the key to everything we do.

So this week we received several questions highlighted below that our host David Ralph answers in his own style.

So lets start with the first question that talks about the connection with burnout and an anti-hustle stance.

As the listener asked isn't a contradiction when you leap from talking about dealing with burnout and then working harder than anyone else. 

Listener Question One

Dear David, i have been listening to your show for the last couple of years and have heard you talk often about burnout and overwhelm.

I have also heard you talk a lot about not hustling and taking things easy.

Isn't this a contradiction?

Isn't success simply about working harder than anyone else until you dont have to? I would love to know your answer to this question. AR, South Africa

Listener Question Two

Hi David, what is the hardest part in your view to getting an online business going? JM, Iowa

Listener Question Three

Hi David and the team, when you are not running the show and doing your coaching what do you also do?

I have a successful business myself and i find its all i have in my life.

When im not doing it, im thinking about it and getting twitchy. Any suggestions to a different life CC, Sussex.

Do you have trouble seeing the way to creating a new life?

A life that you are truly interested in that makes you wake up everything more with excitement instead of dread.

Well in todays episode of Join Up Dots we look at how to change your reality to one that is full of opportunities and excitement and it starts with you.

So get ready for a new you as its time to make that change.

In todays episode of Join Up Dots we focus on a question posed to us by a listener of the show.

Good afternoon David and sexy team ,

Would you ever advise your children to start up a business ?

My eldest daughter is unsure what to do with her working life / career obviously listening to your podcasts about online business etc would it be advisable to push my daughter and any other young /adult children to start up on there own ?

Neen James is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast.

She first joined us back on episode 258 of the show, and talked openly about her journey from corporate Australia to the United States and then entrepreneurial success.

With a strong background in learning and development and managing large teams at various corporations, she was and is the perfect fit for organizations wanting to learn implementable strategies to save time, increase focus and help their people get more done.

Not the kind of stuff that you might have seen time and time again, when the work management takes as long as doing the job in the first place. But practical stuff that can make a huge difference.

How The Dots Joined Up For Neen

Neen James is the author of eight business books including “Folding Time, Secrets of Super-Productivity, Strategic Networking and Network or Perish” to name just a few. And now it seems that she is bringing everything together and really tackling the crux of productivity issues - lack of focus.

She challenge audiences and clients to prioritize focusing on what matters most in their work and lives. Which is the perfect place to start today's show…..

So with more and more interruptions, beeps, notifications and other distractions entering our lives everyday is there a way to break the circle and focus on what matters most?

And of course when she is talking to someone and sneaks a quick glance at her phone, does she “aahh you are as bad as the rest of us!!” Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Neen James.

Hugely Popular, top rated entrepreneur business podcast the Join Up Dots show inspired by Steve Jobs, is full of amazing, inspiring online and off success stories and career content.

A motivation packed show created for the entrepreneurs, wanting to become the best and grab business success, adventure, money, freedom and dreams too.

In fact anyone with mindfulness searching for financial freedom, but unsure of the career path to take will love this show, as David Ralph delivers entrepreneurial business advice direct to your eardrums on every episode.

Each guest enters into a free flowing conversation filled with humor, motivation, inspiration and powerful stories of success as they look back over their life, and in the words of the master entrepreneur Steve Jobs...join the dots that has led them to their own area of business or lifestyle success.

Mitch Russo is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast

Mitch started a software company in his garage, sold it for 8 figures and then went on to work directly with Tony Robbins and Chet Holmes to build a $25M+ business together.

Nominated twice for Inc Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year, Mitch helps companies scale rapidly! Mitch’s 1st book is “The Invisible Organization and his 2nd called Power Tribes – How Certification Can Explode Your Business has helped thousands of companies scale rapidly.

As he says "In 1985, I entered the software business as the founder of Timeslips Corp (sold to Sage Plc) after creating the largest network of Certified Consultants in the software industry. 

How do you build unstoppable momentum in your life?

How do you get going on lifechanging habits when at the beginning they are so hard to start?

Well the simple concept is showed on todays show and along with mindset lessons will show you the steps you need to build success.

 

Tra Williams is today’s guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast. As he says "I’m a former corporate executive and author with a passion for entrepreneurship, business strategy, and franchising.   I’ve been quoted or published in Forbes, Bloomberg, and Financial Markets Weekly along with more than fifty other online and print publications.  Now with most people that appear on the show they have to find a reason to ignites their passion and our guest has done that. He can see from the News and general world activity that things are moving away from the corporate world that we have lived with for generations. How The Dots Joined Up For Tra He goes onto say "The widening gap between entrepreneurship and employment in America is the largest in history. Each year, fewer and fewer people start their own business. Right now, 93% of Americans work for the other 7%. The US is one of the most entrepreneurial countries, yet self-employment in America ranks among the lowest in the world. Now i dont have the stats for the rest of the world, but certainly from the UK i would suggest it is similar So do people actually have the personal skills and strength to make a go of their own business, or has the world gone soft? And where should they start first, blindly ploughing into it all, or simply accepting that focused action with a plan is the key Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots, with the one and only Tra Williams Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Tra Williams such as: Why so many people confuse the concept of being busy and being productive, which can often hold people back from personal achievement. Tra shares the phrase "you wont remember the times of mowing the lawn or working in an office, so start climbing that mountain". Powerful stuff. Tra tells us the fur most powerful pillars of entrepreneurship, they seem simple but can change lives.  And lastly….. Belief is reverse engineered....take tiny steps and see yourself change BEFORE your customers get to see you in the way you want them to see.

You Never Fail Unless You Give Up

Let's get this straight....life is hard.

Life can beat you so badly that you sometimes you want to roll up into a ball, close the curtains and keep the world outside.

That is one of the problems that entrepreneurs experience everyday when they are trying to build their dream businesses.

It is especially difficult for business coaches who are actually building their businesses, by helping others build theirs due to the multiple variables that can trip us up.

They may get knockbacks due to lack of effort,

They may get stumbles due to not following the processes. So what can you do when things dont go your way in life?

How can we keep on moving on when things get tough?

Well in todays episode of Join Up Dots we focus in on just that, by sharing what has been going on behind the scenes on Join Up Dots. You see this week, a client of Join Up Dots came to a crossroads in their business building and had to stop.

You see the landscape has changed which made the business doubly difficult to continue.

So as you will hear in the show and the transcript below, there is a time to reflect and a time to accept that you can do better. 

John Murphy is today’s guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast interview.

Now this isn't the first time that John has appeared on the show, as quite a few years ago he was episode 388 of the show, back in 2015 to be exact.

The last time we spoke he was  living in the South of France, as he worked with individuals and corporations across the globe to make them see the opportunities they have all around them. The opportunities that can bring wealth, success, and enjoyment into their worlds.

But is he now doing the same, or like many entrepreneurs was that just a stepping stone to where he now finds himself? Well it seems that he has now strengthened and changed his focus helping corporate clients find and develop winning teams in their organisations.

So how did John Murphy, born and bred in Ireland break free from the surrounding conditioning of what is possible for a young man from Ireland?

And does he see the issues that he encounters with his clients, the same across the world, or is there geographical reasons that hold us back from achieving what we want? And i guess the best question of all "Do individuals have more or less the same obstacles as large corporate clients except on a smaller scale?"

Well let’s find out as bring onto the show to start joining up dots even more dots with the one and only Mr. John Murphy. 

Hugely Popular, top rated entrepreneur business podcast the Join Up Dots show inspired by Steve Jobs, is full of amazing, inspiring online and off success stories and career content.

A motivation packed show created for the entrepreneurs, wanting to become the best and grab business success, adventure, money, freedom and dreams too.

In fact anyone with mindfulness searching for financial freedom, but unsure of the career path to take will love this show, as David Ralph delivers entrepreneurial business advice direct to your eardrums on every episode. 

 

Sanjay Hegde is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots.

He is Founder and President of Blue Ring Investors LLC, a company formed to pool investors’ funds to purchase high-performing multifamily, senior and student housing properties in U.S. emerging markets.

He finds the properties.

He vets the deals and manages the assets.

His clients make the investment and sit back and collect the income and appreciation that comes from investing in investment-grade commercial real estate. 

Now this story started in quite a different place, and certainly with more than a few obstacles to overcome on the way to where he is today.

Sanjay has an inspiring story, or his journey from India to North America to work as a trained pharmacist.

But being unable to continue that career in the US, he had to find a way to make things happen for himself.

 

Do you ever think that you dont have options in your life?

Do you think that you are stuck and can only accept what is happening instead of breaking it down?

Well in todays show we tackle an email that we recieved I live in a "what the f*** do I have to lose" vibe, but everytime i say to my work colleagues "I am so close to walking out of here" they smile as they know I wont.

From reading things online about famous people and the struggles that they went through to get to where they are today, so many of them were living rough, in vans or with no food to eat.

I'm in a much better position than them, but I know i will never result too much.

What  am i doing wrong my podcasting guru. I would love to buy you a beer one today but at the moment you will have to pay :) JJ

Do you have moments in your life when you just feel a little bit blah?

You cant be bothered to do anything. You would rather just sit under a duvet on your sofa and watch Netflix.

Well you arent alone, and in this episode we let you into a few secrets that go behind the scenes of Join Up Dots.

Introducing Robert Brus Robert Brus is today's guest joining us on the Join Up Dots business coaching podcast and is a guest that i really wanted to come on the show. Quietly in the background I have been watching his business start from the very beginning. His business is called Go All In and as you will hear in today's show he is someone who is living this mantra big-time. As he says "I’ve been lucky in my life to experience many different professions. It all started in the Australian Defence Force when I was just 17-years old. I joined the Royal Australian Navy as a Combat Systems Operator and was responsible for the operation of the warships radars, sonar and electronic warfare sensors. It was a great job where I travelled the world with my mates and loved every second of it. But I longed for more and soon after my time was up I found myself in the Australian Army progressing through my basic infantry training and onto my Battalion 3RAR and the Parachute School. Beyond the ADF I have experienced many different jobs and ultimately I have found my feet outside the military as a digital marketer and entrepreneur. Life for me is super busy with 3 beautiful children (2 teenage boys and an 11 year old girl) a woman I love dearly and several businesses but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I created the “GO ALL IN” podcast to share the stories of all the amazing people I know and hopefully in the process add some value back to the world with these lessons learnt and the heartache and triumph that they have created. With all businesses that look like instant success, what has been the true story behind GO ALL IN? And where does he see people go wrong when they start, GOING ALL IN for the business, but GOING ALL OUT for their own health and mindset? Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Robert Brus. Show Highlights During the show we discussed such deep weighty subjects with Robert Brus such as: Roberts shares how his wife really pushed him into signing the London Real course and why his ego got in the way of developing his future. We discuss how so many online entrepreneur struggle with imposter syndrome and keep themselves hidden. Robert shares Grant Cordone's belief that obsession leads to success. But honestly how many people truly get that feeling. and lastly...... Robert asks the big question "where does money come from" which more often than not people cannot answer.

Matt Edmundson is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast.

Matt started his business journey in 2006 when he launched an ecommerce brand with the desire to make sales of £10.000 in 4 months.

He did a bit better than this and his store reached £10.000 sales within one week, and by the end of the year, their sales were £400K.

Since then, they have achieved global sales of $75million, that’s over 7 million products shipped. Matt is now the CEO of the Jersey Company, a group of health, wellness and beauty companies that deliver products and services to over 120,000 loyal customers.

How The Dots Joined Up For Matt

As he says " I am an eCommerce entrepreneur and coach, a digital business guy who has had more failures than successes; it is just that my successes far out-weigh my failures. More importantly, I have a great team that makes magic happen.  I've got a bit of a loudmouth (in a good way!), and I'm always bouncing new ideas around.

I am someone who likes to challenge the 'norm' (I call this idea undefault).

If I could afford it I would buy Liverpool Football Club for no sensible reason: I'm just a fan. My kids would prefer me to buy an Aston Martin, and my wife would prefer me to spend the money on the house (or donate it).

Being a family man I exercise the skills of negotiation and compromise: I buy gadgets.

He is here to to share his journey and experience as a real-world eCommerce entrepreneur, and reveal how he turned the chaotic first month of his business into a successful brand. So how do you battle against companies like Amazon, who are getting bigger and bigger when starting our with a e-commerce business?

And when the failures hit, what made him come back for more and give it another go instead of dropping into business despair?

Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr Matt Edmundson

How do you turn a business that has been running for many years into one online?

Well that is just one of the questions that we have been asked over the last few weeks on the Join Up Dots business coaching podcast.

You see most things can be converted into an online income stream even if you think its not possible.

It just needs your brain to get into gear and become creative.

Every single day someone tells us how to change a morning ritual to be successful, productive, calm and happy.

Fast search on the internet gives the thousands of articles designed for the entrepreneurs, parents, writers or even bodybuilders.

Yet, do you really know why formation of the morning routine is the best place to start improving your life? Let me explain it more thoroughly than 99% of the available articles do. (BTW, how often does someone offer you an invitation to the club of 1% of the most insightful people in the world?

Read the rest of this article and amaze your friends with your wisdom 😉

The three main reasons why morning ritual is the best place to start changing your life are: · The significance and importance of starting the day right · The nature of the willpower’s circadian rhythm · Human’s natural predispositions to ritualize the morning activities

Jaryd Krause is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired podcast.

He is the owner of the online business - Buying Online Businesses.com

Like most people, or at least the ones that i meet everyday, he had a desire to start his own online business, walk around in his underpants at 4:00pm in the afternoon, and quite frankly reap ever easier rewards.

But the story to where he is today is quite a bit different to that vision.

As he says "my sheer desire to earn a decent and regular (passive) income from a minimal amount of personal input paved the path to this point of where I am at now.

This desire was all necessary so that I could simply fulfil my aspiration to travel and explore the world without repeatedly needing to return home every so often to hustle my heart out to earn more money in order to take off overseas again, and again.

However he wasn't moving towards that vision very easily. In fact although he was hustling, He just wasn’t hustling in the right direction.

So how could he get past the slog phase of creating online income? How could he skip past the failure point of many start-up businesses that fail after the first twelve months?

This was this very question that led him to the BIG Ah-Ha moment, to the point of realization that I was searching so hard for.

In todays to podcast episode we answer several questions from listeners across the world.

And of course we have also gained lovely comments from listeners who have been inspired by our shows.

Dear David, i listened to your show the other day and a light bulb went on in my head.

I am getting what I have allowed to happen to me.

I am in the job because i went for the job. I decide who I am going to share my life and body with. Its all down to me.

Scary times ahead but thank you.

I should have seen this myself as its bloody obvious.

Hi David great show as always. Today I went in and said to my Boss, tell me what I need to do to get a promotion. She almost cried, you could see it in her face.

She then told me that she has been desperate for me to become proactive and make things happen. The next thing is to move out and get my own place.

Hi David, I want to better at being a better person. What can you suggest? David, if i wanted to earn more money should i ask for a payrise or simply get another job somewhere.

I am excited about the future as It my future to make

Introducing Finding Meaning In Life  Finding meaning in life isn't easy for sure.

We all think that life should be better, or more defined, or more profitable.

We all think that we should be getting the kind of results that we see others getting online.

However one of the things that we dont truly reflect on is what these wishes mean to us.

Why do we want a million pound sitting in the bank? Why do we want a better more loving relationship that make our hearts explode everyday?

We want these things for the meaning that they give us.

And by finding meaning in life we can look at what is most important to us and focus in on those things making us ultimately happier, more fulfilled and centred,

Finding Meaning In Life The Start T

he first thing that we4 need to do when we start on the path of finding meaning in life is accept that what we are getting is down to us.

We have to draw a line under our previous section of life, and say "Yeah, everything that i am experiencing is because of me"

This is hard to do, and for most people they will throw up a serious of excuses as to why they are the victims of their lives. No, i am only getting this bad thing because of how that person is treating me! I am only living here, because of being thrown out of home by my wicked mother.

We will say to you that is rubbish, and all those situations are created by millions of small things that you can and should have dealt with when they occurred. 

Your Mother didn't just decide one day to kick you out, but this has been building up over a period of time whilst living with each other. Get my point?

Its at this stage when you have to say "If i want to start fining meaning in life, i have to take control of my life"

And that is accepting the bad decisions as much as the good ones that you have made.

Mandy Barbee is our guest today joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast. MA Economics & CCHT, founder of Palladium Mind, a transformation and healing expert who has helped hundreds of clients across the globe to overcome anxiousness and thrive in business, health, and life. By combining the power of imagery with their innate capabilities, she empowers men and women to regain a positive sense of control, transcend struggle, and enjoy everything more. Now that's what she does everyday, but at Join Up Dots we are more interested in how she got to where she has, not what she is doing. And her journey is one that can inspires so many people that struggle with the mental side of moving to where they want to be. How The Dots Joined Up For Mandy  As she says "I’m the oldest of five girls, all born inside 7 years to very young parents. Raised in north Georgia, I knew a couple things very early on: I wanted to see the world, and I wanted to support myself. Neither of my parents had completed college, so when my father told me, “Mandy, any school you can figure out how to get into, I’ll find a way to pay for,” a quiet voice inside of me said, “That isn’t what’s going to happen.” Determined, smart, polite and ambitious, at the age of 17 I was accepted into the Air Force Academy and headed to Colorado Springs for boot camp. I had poor self esteem, weak boundaries, and an insatiable need for external validation. And so while I excelled at everything I did, and was graduating at the top of my class, in the winter of my final year, all coping mechanisms were breaking down; I found myself in tears seemingly without reason and missing classes for the first time in my life. Coincidentally over Christmas my mother had bought my dad a session with a hypnotherapist to stop smoking, and for lack of us knowing what else to do, I went for a visit as well. THAT HOUR I SPENT WITH A GENTLEMAN HYPNOTHERAPIST IN NORTH GA, 2005 PUT MY LIFE ON A NEW TRAJECTORY - ALBEIT AT THE TIME I DID NOT APPRECIATE EXACTLY HOW. Fast forward ten years, 26 countries, and leadership roles in three commercial industries later, I had objectively achieved a great deal of success and every reason in the world to be happy. So why did those high marks in classes, and educational achievements force her to review where she was heading in her life? And is anxiety something that we can nip in the bid before it ever starts, or simply something we have to manage? Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mandy Barbee Show Highlights During the show we discussed such deep subjects with Mandy Barbee such as: We discussed why we should all be very aware of the energies that we give out everyday, especially to the wrong people. Why Dunbar's law is so powerful which states that we can only maintain 150 relationships at everyone time. Social media cleanse anyone? Why when we rest our minds and our bodies we really give ourselves a chance to grow our business faster than ever And lastly........... How the world is full of traffic streams, which makes it so easy to find customers for our business. We simply have to decide where to put our rods.

In todays episode of Join Up Dots we share the process for building a business online as quickly as possible.

This of course means finding something that people want and want really really badly.

But how do you find those kind of ideas?

You start by digging around what is already working and then putting your own spin as you will hear on todays show.

Dr Don Wood is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast Our Guest today

He developed the Inspired Performance Institute after spending years researching how trauma affects our minds and our lives. He began to understand that events and experiences throughout our lifetime continue to play a role in how we experience life in the present.

He also realized that there was a better way of treating the issue. As he says “Teaching people to live with, manage and cope with the daily stress doesn’t fix the problem.

The solution comes from understanding it’s source and providing a long-term permanent solution. How The Dots Joined Up For Dr Wood Unresolved trauma or disturbing events and experiences from your past may be interfering with your ability to function at your highest level.

These experiences may limit your ability to regulate your mood, focus, or connect with others in a healthy, loving and safe way… A chronically dysregulated and imbalanced nervous system can lead to anxiety, depression, PTSD, panic attacks, addictions, or even chronic illnesses such as auto-immune disorders, thyroid problems, cardiac and gastrointestinal diseases, and even cancer.

So was this concept based on his own personal experiences as many successful businesses are?

And how do we tap into our own pasts without the help of an expert guru, or perhaps we shouldn't?

Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Dr. Don Wood

In todays episode of Join Up Dots we answer four questions from listeners of the show.

The first one is a problem that many business owners have, especially online businesses.

How can we free ourselves up from simply being in the business all the time instead of enjoying the rewards that the business delivers?

But of course this is just one of the things that we deal with on todays show, and if you want your question answered drop us a line at joinupdots@gmail.com

 

A motivation packed show created for the entrepreneurs, wanting to become the best and grab business success, adventure, money, freedom and dreams too.

In fact anyone with mindfulness searching for financial freedom, but unsure of the career path to take will love this show, as David Ralph delivers entrepreneurial business advice direct to your eardrums on every episode.

Each guest enters into a free flowing conversation filled with humor, motivation, inspiration and powerful stories of success as they look back over their life, and in the words of the master entrepreneur Steve Jobs...join the dots that has led them to their own area of business or lifestyle success.

Hugely Popular, top rated entrepreneur business podcast the Join Up Dots show inspired by Steve Jobs, is full of amazing, inspiring online and off success stories and career content.

A motivation packed show created for the entrepreneurs, wanting to become the best and grab business success, adventure, money, freedom and dreams too.

In fact anyone with mindfulness searching for financial freedom, but unsure of the career path to take will love this show, as David Ralph delivers entrepreneurial business advice direct to your eardrums on every episode.

Each guest enters into a free flowing conversation filled with humor, motivation, inspiration and powerful stories of success as they look back over their life, and in the words of the master entrepreneur Steve Jobs...join the dots that has led them to their own area of business or lifestyle success.

Sarah Dawn is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

Lets get one thing straight, she is no stranger to success, 7 figures, overwhelm, burn out, or forging a path to a blissful blend of record-breaking business growth and personal fulfilment.   

Growing up in a home where there was not always enough food to eat and utilities being shut off was not an uncommon occurrence, she was hell-bent on being a success. 

After working her way through school to earn her B.S. in Psychology, Sarah Dawn went on to attain her Juris Doctorate from Texas A&M.   She checked all the boxes professionally, at the expense of her own health, and at an early age, her body began to let her down. 

As a result of extreme burnout, Sarah Dawn endured life-altering pain, had surgeries, was prescribed pain meds as the only means of long term comfort, and ultimately woke up with Bell's Palsy.

Get ready to crush your competitors online and offline like never before.

In todays episode of Join Up Dots we share the work that David Ralph as been doing over the last five years to learn what works in business.

And most importantly what works in the easiest way possible.

If you are ready to start making a proper living then drop us a line at joinupdots@gmail.com

Introducing Kat McLead

Todays guest joining us on the Join Up Dots podcast, is Kat McLead who first connected with the show by email several months ago. The email said "Hi, I’m Kat. I built a business that allowed me to pay the $450,000 down payment for our house. (It involves me escaping severe abuse, starting a men’s fetish business at age 22, generating multiple 6 figures in this business, HATING it, shutting it down, getting my M.A. in Psychology, coaching sex workers out of the adult industry into entrepreneurs, becoming a millionaire Stay at Home Mom, feeling unfulfilled, and now helping fellow mom's start businesses for fulfilment and meaningful work while staying Mom first.) Well if that doesn't grab my attention from all the guest pitches that I get at Join Up Dots then I don't know what will. So now she is a busy mom and business owner who exclusively helps other mom's start businesses for fulfilment and income - while staying mom first. Which is a key part of what I preach at Join Up Dots. How The Dots Joined Up For Kat We all think that money is the goal, but things feel very flat when that money doesn't spark excitement in you day after day. As he says "The truth is, when I started my first Real Life Business years ago, I didn’t know what the 4 Key Steps to Launching an Ideal High Profit business. I didn’t even know how to complete Step 1. But, I started, I learned, and I persevered through lots of mistakes. Eventually I fine tuned my approach across 3 successful Real Life Business and over 7 figures in revenue.   Her experience leads into her "Nail Your Right Idea Framework" that anyone can use to find the RIGHT Business for them that is pleasurable and brings in high profit for the time spent (Marrying the skills/gifts/talents they currently possess and finding the most profitable subset of this for their winning idea) to.... How she uses her Hyperfocus Model to maintain and grow my business as a busy mom while working 30 minutes/day, and how I help all my clients do the same So is it the idea first and foremost that make a business fly, or actually understanding yourself and your passions? And where does she see most people go wrong as they build their own online success story? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the only Kat McLead Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty subjects with Kat McLead such as: We discuss how Kat developed her ex-porn star business through hustle and cold calling, even though some people weren't overly happy. Why it is so important to do your market research before you ever start building a product. Find out what needs to be solved and go ahead and find the solution. Kat shares how she has developed her super talent of spotting opportunities for others, which she believes comes from her hard childhood.. and lastly........ Why you don't get success by sitting in your comfort zone you have to go out there and make things happen for yourself.

Ann Bennett is our guest today joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

I am the founder of RenegadeBranding.com, an International Speaker, Best Selling Author, Coach and Brand Profit Builder.

I use my marketing and branding genius to help women entrepreneurs (and a few good men) build their STAND OUT personal brands and boost their profits.

As she says "As early as i can remember I just didn't fit in...... Incessantly picked on as the odd ball.

There’s always as a slight twist to my point of view and edge to my  emotions so because of that I spent many solitary hours painting, writing and playing music.

As an artist it felt right be rebellious and break the rules. Leaving my California roots and taking up residence in New York City fuelled my creative passion, where just another mis-fit could fit in. Arriving in 1980 the gritty city was still dangerous, raw and full of possibilities.

The art scene was exploding and I found myself right in the middle of it.

Hugely Popular, top rated entrepreneur business podcast the Join Up Dots show inspired by Steve Jobs, is full of amazing, inspiring online and off success stories and career content.

A motivation packed show created for the entrepreneurs, wanting to become the best and grab business success, adventure, money, freedom and dreams too.

In fact anyone with mindfulness searching for financial freedom, but unsure of the career path to take will love this show, as David Ralph delivers entrepreneurial business advice direct to your eardrums on every episode.

Each guest enters into a free flowing conversation filled with humor, motivation, inspiration and powerful stories of success as they look back over their life, and in the words of the master entrepreneur Steve Jobs...join the dots that has led them to their own area of business or lifestyle success.

Do you have a business that is struggling to turn a profit?

Well this is the start of a series of episodes that will take you behind the scenes of how we have changed the fortunes of a local business, and of course you can do the same too..

So get ready to start taking notes and for additional help just come across to joinupdots@gmail.com and we will do the same for you.

Introducing Bill Bice Today's guest joining us on the Join Up Dots business coaching podcast is a man who has always been an entrepreneur. Starting his first company at age 14, putting on road races with corporate sponsors. At 18, he started ProLaw Software, the first integrated ERP for law firms. After selling the company to Thomson Reuters, Bill became a VC as a founding partner in the Verge Fund, investing in high tech, high growth companies in the Southwest. One of the core things that Bill has learned in building and investing in companies is that the go-to-market is always the hardest part of growing a business. He got so frustrated in trying to get great marketing for his companies that he decided to tackle the problem. A programmer at heart, Bill founded boom-time, tackling marketing as a technology problem. It turns out that when you follow the data, really good things happen. That’s why boom-time built the world’s first marketing-as-a-service platform: fuse. boom-time's marketing strategists follow the data: they already know what will work. Instead of reinventing the wheel, boom-time applies proven marketing techniques at scale. How The Dots Joined Up For Bill As he says "I am a a programmer at heart. So why am I running a marketing company? Because these days, great marketing is all about the data. We built fuse, the world’s first marketing-as-a-service platform, and used it to recruit our world-class team of Word of Mouth marketing experts along with our network of 300+ subject matter experts. I have created boomtime by teaming up with Mark Canon, previously the CEO of Hibu, the Yellow Pages company in the UK. This seems a partnership made in heaven as Bill has spent his career helping entrepreneurs and business owners figure out how to reach their potential. Mark built a £200M digital marketing business in the U.K. in three years. Together, they’ve created a new approach to marketing, one that fuses technology and expertise together to deliver marketing-as-a-service for B2B and law firms at scale. So was this one of those ideas that grabbed him in the middle of the night, and wouldn't let go? And where were the struggles that he had to overcome to make this success a real life example of entrepreneurial excellence? Well let's find out by bringing him on the show to start joining up those dots, with the one and only Bill Bice Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty subjects with Bill Bice such as: Why its great to start something new when you are young when you have nothing much to risk in your life. The reasons why finding a mentor in your life is a must. Dont be frightened to reach out and get help, especially at the beginning.  Why they best things that humans have is the ability to project ourselves into the future (but also this could lead to huge problems too) No matter what you think, it will always take longer and cost more than you expect it to take in a business. And lastly...... We discuss the principle of "how do we amplify the power of word of mouth" to get the real value of marketing.

Daniel is the founder of Lumen, a pocket-size device that measures metabolism in a single breath and provides personalized food, lifestyle, and health recommendations.

The company got its start after raising over $1m on Indiegogo and then later another $7m from investors. So what is it exactly and what are the benefits to the Lumen product? What once took hours to measure, and a team of nutritionists and scientists to analyze, can now be done in less than three minutes. 

Imagine hacking your metabolism in real time and finding out whether you are burning fats or carbs and what you can do do about it. He is well-known for being an experienced entrepreneur and angel investor, as prior to founding Lumen, Daniel was CEO and co-founder of Wibiya, and after Conduit purchased the company in 2011, he served as Vice President of Product. Prior to founding Wibiya, Tal co-founded Joongel Group, a company that provides simple search solutions in relevant categories based on a user's geographic location.

Daniel is also a member of the Zell Alumni Board of Directors and mentors current students in the program. So where do the ideas come from to launch so many start-ups, and how does he remain focused against simply jumping on the next thing. And what was the hardest part of getting Lumen off the ground? Finding the idea or convincing others that it was a winner. Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr Daniel Tal.

When we're young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling. Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here's your host live from the back of his garden in the UK. David Ralph. David Ralph 0:25 Yes. Good morning. Good morning to everybody. Everyone across the world. Thank you so much for being here with me. Can we have a group hug, which is WeChat a little arms round and squeezing, squeezing, squeezing? You know, I I've gotten apologies to me, I have gotten an apology to make I recorded a show the other day, called opportunities are everywhere. When we reference Lucas Gordon photography, and I listened back to it this morning, I just dipped into one of my episodes. And that was the one I chose was so fast, I was a little a little little over enthusiastic. I don't know what was the matter with me. So if you listen to that, and thought, My God, you must be on drugs or something. I agree with you. I agree with you. I don't know why I was going at it so fast. It didn't feel like it at a time maybe. Maybe I was just excited. Maybe I was just an excitable man. And, and it came out in my voice. So I do apologise, I do apologise, I'll try to get back on to normal track because I do know, I get a lot of people across the board across the board across the world from abroad, listening to Join Up Dots. And some of them say, I don't catch all what you talk about. But I enjoy the passion. Well, I don't think that one you would have called or enjoyed the passion at all. So I do apologise, I do apologise. I'm going to take it slow. I'm going to take it slow. Why Today's episode is from a listener. And I hope you like these little little listens as well. It's not just interviews, we're trying to, we're trying to change it around, we're trying to put a little bit of element of what you want into it. So some people might only have a little bit of time. Going for a little 14 minute Join Up Dots. Others I've got hours and hours when go for that one, trying to blend it. It's all about you guys. Anyway, this is an email that came through from Marcus archers from New Zealand. And Marcus says dear David, David, I listened to your show sporadically. And I've always been partial to listen to it more. I think this is brilliant. This sounds like a native, doesn't it? Yeah. Can't be balanced. I don't know why I go off elsewhere. But I guess I'm easily distracted. One of the things that you can talk about is making time to be disconnected from your business and the world. And I struggle with this majorly. And I would like to become better. Over best. Right? I think I tell you what I tell you. I was there. I was wondering the field batting of sheep left right in the centre there. I was going to be in the new new Lord of the Rings field. That's how good at my accent was where? Why did David? Because I think Australians do that sort of everything's a question at the end of the day, David, I listened to your show, sporadically. And always think I should listen to it more. You having sounding good. It's all that I know what it means something that when your voice goes up at the end, like a question, but it's not a question. But it's a question. That's what the LC is a monster. Okay, yeah. being distracted and disconnected from the world. And it is a big, big problem. And I think it's it's the major problem. I know, my kids struggle with it. My I think everyone struggles with it. And I, I'm very good at disconnecting. But I also having an online business, I feel that poor, I feel that poor like, everyone really, you know, the world has never been more connected. And no matter where in the world you are, you can send a message to anyone in another part of the world, as long as you both have internet connexion. I'm a member in the sort of 80s in the 70s. Anyone from the United Kingdom will remember this, you'd go on holiday to Spain, and you'd have to wait a week for the newspapers to turn up. And so he was always a week behind the football results. He was always a week and one person would get the paper and you share it around with anybody else. It was like it was it was like a drug deal. But you go How can I have 10 minutes? In an hour? Can I have 10 minutes I newspaper done? I want I've gone back into that accident. I just like doing it. I really do. And yeah, but now you just got being and you just never never away from stuff is it's annoying, but it's the way it is. It's the way it is. Right. Also, I think one of the issues is that all these devices out there are designed to make you actually want to get hooked up to them, you can't fight it. They are like psychological experiments being paid on us. So that we will feel that desire. That's what it designed for. And as soon as you realise that Facebook and LinkedIn and Twitter and all the social media platforms are designed by people, I'm getting a lot slower today. And I I feel I feel more in control of everything. And they're in designed by people who are actively trading on our emotions, our stress levels, our need to not miss out on those kind of things. And once you realise that, and you realise that they're playing on a kind of internal algorithm, it's easier to stop. Okay, so some of the things that I actually do, right, I don't look at any games, well, I don't have any gadgets, I have my PC in Join Up Dots, HQ. And I have this morning laptop, which I'm going to get rid of because it started not logging on. And so I spend 1015 minutes trying to get it to work. So I'm actually going to get rid of it. So I'm now down to just my PC. So when I turn that off, I've gone. Absolutely no one on earth will be able to get me. But I've started to limit my amount of time I come to my office. And if I do come to my office, what I used to do is leave my computer on all the time, and I could just come along and boom hours easy to turn on. Now I'm turning it off. So I might come up here to read a book, I might come here to plan something. But actually getting into the online world, I don't unless I actually have to turn my computer on which once again is a little barrier for me to do. But you can certainly eliminate gadgets for one hour before sleep and after wake up. So my daughter will reach out and before our eyes even open in the morning, she's got her phone, and she's reaching and dragging it under the covers. So she's hi asleep, but she knows that she needs a phone. My wife needs a phone by the side of a bed. In case of emergencies. I go, what emergencies Are we going to have? Everybody that you love is basically in our house, or vape got people to support them, you know, you know, Batman woman, you know, getting a suddenly ever dot appear on the ceiling and you've got to go out and solve crime during the night. You don't need to have your phone on all the time. I just turned the notifications up. She doesn't talk about that. And I say no. Is that gonna be all the notifications because my wife's not good. We got a new radio, we got a new alarm by the side of the bed because she decided that the light of the previous one that we've had for a million years was too bright. It was too bright. It is keeping me awake. Well, if you hear the snoring, I don't think it is. But anyway, so we've gone to this other one that you can dim down. And she doesn't like the buzzer, because it sounds like a lowly reversing. You know they do that noise. And it actually gets louder. So you actually feel like you're gonna back to be run over and you sleep. And so you suddenly panic, but a law is just going to crash your head. But when you go, Oh no, it's always the alarm. So she doesn't like that. Now she's going for the radio. And now, the other night, she set the radio to come on at half past 12 in the morning, panicked. And they went out for God's sake, why is it doing this? Probably because you programmed it to do that. And then reset it again for half past two in the morning. So we had the radio burst into our life all the way through the night. But it wasn't, it wasn't the devices fault. It was the wives. I'm telling you that don't say anything, but it was the white spot. So what you need to do is reach out and turn off all your devices before and after wake up and have that set into your your routine. And turn off all your notifications. It doesn't only save battery life, it also saves you from a lot of distractions turn up all your push notifications from email, chat, social media, your application. If it's really really urgent, somebody will knock on your door for example, you know, people won't be drowning. I'm drowning, I'm drowning, I'm drowning. Send a text message to your best mate. That wouldn't happen. You would shout out Help me Help me, you know, urgent doesn't happen. And as we're talking about emergencies, do this as well. Because I get this a lot when people say to me, you really haven't got a phone, you haven't got a phone? Oh, no, I haven't got a phone. What do you do in emergencies? And I always say to him, when was the last time you had an emergency? And I go Oh, no, no, it does happen. I got When was the last time. And I would say to all of you if you're in that light? Yes, there's emergencies all the time. just jot it down and jot it down on a scale of one to 10. When you get something through, was that an emergency did that need it now. And you'll see you rarely ever. If anything I once broke down on the Alps, I was 12,000 feet up in a car with broke down, couldn't get it going. And my dad had an emergency phone, thank God because otherwise I don't know what we would have done that I think in my life is the only emergency I've ever had. Okay, doesn't really happen. Now, if you do need to have all these phones around you keep your phone in the drawer while you're working. Just just lock it away. And just try to think to yourself, now keep it there. And when you get that urge in your stomach, because you do you get a bit tense Do you get a bit twitchy just being said, Well, I'm feeling twitchy. I'm feeling twitchy, I'm going to go for another 10 minutes, don't beat yourself, I'm leaving it in there forever. Because you won't do that. That's like trying to lose 30 stone in a month. Just leave it in there go right now I can do another 10 minutes, I'll do another 10 minutes is now 1106, I'm going to wait to 1116 before I get back and start increasing it little by little 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, because you are trying to break free from an addiction. These devices are created. So you're addicted, it's the way they work. But you can't go cold turkey because it just won't work. Now, one of the things that I don't understand, but one of my mates says he does is he has only one device for checking social media. He can he can get Facebook, on your desktop, on your laptop on your smart phone, even on your Apple Watch. So you're checking everywhere, he now is it all through into one device. Now I've got one and it's called a man's name. I can't think what it is. But I put it in the links. And I haven't used it for a while. That's why I can't remember. But it has LinkedIn it has Facebook on it has all the notifications and I can go on to it. Within one second, I can see and turn it all off. So instead of going into Facebook and going into here and going into a or whatever, or having all the notifications, I don't have any notifications at all, I just have this one device, whatever it's called now coming was called is something to do with Roman is come to me. And I just log on once every three days or something and I have a quick look. And bang, it's done. Okay. Now, then the next thing that I would do, and these are the kinds of things I do, I have a thing called stay focused on Chrome, which I can programme my favourite websites. And we all have websites that were desperate to get into and we're going to check mines BBC Sport, are can go on to BBC Sport and find out where this football players being transferred. And that is not necessary. But I do. So I limited and I give myself 15 minutes a day on this website. And when it closes down, and it won't activate again till the next day. And you can set it up stay focused on Chrome. It's a free app. And it's brilliant. And as I say I look at it and I think to myself running out and running out I've got to do it bang is gone. And that's it. I just have to walk away from it. And so I prepare. And I think to myself, I have I got 15 minutes, yes, I have because what I don't want to do is it sort of waste of time, I want to make the most of it. Once again, your chance to do now somebody else told me what what they do, I have over sort of like the summaries of the websites, come to them in an email. So I can just scan down. I don't know how that's done, if anybody knows how that's done. But that's what he does. email comes through, it gives over sort of highlights of the website changes, and you can scan down and you can just keep up with it. Okay. And the last thing that I would say is go to emails once a day, okay, just just once a day that there's nothing, the problem is in business, people use it to talk, they don't use it to actually confirm, they just use it to communicate. So you're in there all the time sending two line emails back and forth, because you're too lazy to walk across the desk. If that is you then say to your colleagues, no, I'm not going to do this until 12 o'clock lunchtime, and bed, I'm going to open it up anything he wants saved about time, and I will respect or we can talk face to face. Because in the online world, email still remains the most personal way of online communication is it this is where the most important engagements happen, tweets and all those kinds of stuff it is. So bullet points, this is the big stuff. And so social media, like Friendster and multiply, have come and gone, all these kind of things, but email still remains and it always will. So limit yourself. Don't think that it's important. It's not if it is important in your company, your boss will come across. And if he's just sending an email expecting you to respond straight away, then it's not, it's not okay. So that there are kind of things Marcus, but I do. But the main thing that I do is I don't have a phone. I push everything now into messenger, and email. That's the only two ways that you can communicate with me away from that I don't look at anything. And I'm just aware of it. And I'm not a month, I still feel that that pole, that desire to check into these things. But by doing that, and just being aware and try to do 10 minutes and then make it 20 minutes and try to do an hour you will start breaking that addiction. And then you can do a day two weeks, you know, I can do a month at a time not look at anything. I probably could do longer than that now to just the way that I've organised it. So let me know Marcus, if you've managed to do anything and you try to stay disconnected and focus because it's a real game changer. And I will promise to practice my New Zealand accent. I really will. I'm gonna really Tommy best to do that. Until next time. Look out yourselves everybody. Thank you so much for being here and I will see you again soon. Bye bye. Unknown Speaker 15:48 That's the end of China. Unknown Speaker 15:51 You heard the conversation. Now it's time for you to start taking massive action. Unknown Speaker 16:01 QB create your life easy only life. Unknown Speaker 16:07 Will be back again real soon. Join Up Dots Join Up Dots Join Up Dots Unknown Speaker 16:15 Jolly Jolly.

Mark Egan is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast So how do you go from being a jobbing journalist for the BBC to creating a thriving business facilitating conferences over Zoom. Whilst also running a professional video enterprise teaching the world how to make top notch videos on their smartphones. Well that is the story you will hear today, as Mr Egan joins the dots to where he is today. As he says "I teach businesses and media professionals to create professional video, even if it’s using a smartphone or broadcasting from a home studio. I have trained thousands of journalists, marketers, charity workers and entrepreneurs to shoot professional videos with smartphones. How The Dots Joined Up For Mark Previous clients include the European Broadcasting Union, Oxfam, SKY, Help for Heroes, SVT Sweden, Sanoma Newspaper Group Finland, Asia Media Summit China, Wan-IFRA Delhi. But before that I worked for the BBC for 12 years, and then started Purple Bridge Media which offers training and video production. I have been involved in training and implementing new ways of working in major broadcasters such as SKY and BBC as well as academic institutions and companies. And now he he recently launched his latest video podcast looking at the Knowledge industry and sharing the tips and advice of online marketers, podcasters and anyone who has created income and wealth by sharing the stuff they know - the knowledge. So when he started his own business where did he know where to head on his new career first? How did he know what was the first right thing to do? And what would be the biggest learning he has discovered through interviewing so many online success stories that he wished he had in his armoury? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr. Mark Egan.

Introducing Joshua Dick

Over fifteen years, Josh Dick transformed a small family business into a global market leader in the coffee industry with customers in over 70 countries and distribution facilities on three continents. In the process, sales grew more than 25 times while earnings multiplied over 275 times. After the sale of the business, Josh moved to Florence, Italy where he now lives with his wife and three daughters. Now that's not a bad starting to a show, but of course we need more about today's guest. And of course you are going to get it. Joshua’s approach to business has always been about creating an organization that is strong, secure, and able to avoid distraction. How The Dots Joined Up For Joshua Throughout his career in the coffee industry, he relied on the unusual metaphor of the lobster to unite the team and prepare the organization. Awareness that lobsters never stop growing and of the trauma they experience during molt can remind any business to enjoy the ups while preparing for the downs that always come. Growing Like a Lobster was motivated by Joshua’s sincere desire to help others who seek to build extraordinary businesses. Through sharing his personal experiences and insights, Joshua offers a new way to confront challenges and simple approaches to building special and lasting organizations. Joshua has a B.A. in Political Science from Yale College and an M.B.A in Marketing and Finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.  Along the way to building brands within the world of coffee machine cleaning products, Josh worked in investment banking for Salomon Brothers and in marketing for Unilever Home and Personal Care. And now with his book Grow Like A Lobster: How to Plan and Prepare for Extraordinary Business Results he is quite simply it seems where he wants to be in life and in business. So do businesses need the ups and downs that come, to truly strengthen their foundations, and grow like a lobster? And now with the issues across the world, due to Covid-19 has the years given him a business that can fight it's corner and survive? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr. Joshua Dick. Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty subjects with Joshua such as: Joshua shares why he feels so many businesses have to have the dips to become what they want to be. Why so many people fail to grasp the ability to have control in their lives by handing it all over to an employer. Joshua talks about the process that he went through to grow his coffee business, starting with submerging himself into coffee culture And lastly.... With limited resources, based around time and energy Joshua decided on what would make his business special. And it wasn't what he first thought it would be.

Ryan Kugler is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast

As he says "I am a small business owner, in fact I own three separate businesses and juggle them all at a “layered” company (all of my employees work all three companies at the same time).

My first business (A5 Events) is a an event producer focused on helping non-profit organizations with their fundraisers (charity runs and walks). My second business is marketing company (Ideal Content), where we focus on making high end marketing material for our clients (video brochures…a physical brochures that plays a video upon opening-cool) and lastly, my third company is a secondary wholesaler, called Plan B.

We help manufacturers and retailers move their inventory when their sales drop! But thats just one side of him as without doubt he is someone with hustle, and the balls to make things happen. Ryan was born in Chicago, Illinois and moved to Los Angeles shortly thereafter.

Of course Join Up Dots is a top ranked entrepreneur podcast, but that’s just a little part of what we do.

We make dreams come true and the wonderful thing about building an online business is it’s very, very simple.

You have something to offer or sell, and you then go and find the people that want it.

Find enough of those people and hey presto….you have a very nice living indeed. However, people across the world make it so complicated.

At Join Up Dots we go a different way.

We make things happen in the most relaxed and stress free method possible.

Acadium Founder Moe Abbas is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots.

He is the  am CEO and co-founder of Acadium, where anyone can launch a career in digital marketing for free.

These include roles in social media, content writing, graphic design and more.

There mission is to accelerate economic mobility by making access to a new career accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

The reason he is doing this, well he has been on a bit of a journey.

As he says "My family came to Canada as refugees when I was 3 where we were graciously accepted and supported.

We grew up impoverished financially but rich with morals and love.

I remember going door to door at 10 years old selling services and products to help my parents. I've only ever been an entrepreneur, building and learning.

At nineteen years old, I founded my first two companies which I later sold.

 

How The Dots Joined Up For Moe

At 21 I founded Ottawa General Contractors with a few childhood friends. In 5 years, I led the group from a basement office into Canada’s leading residential design build company with 20+ million in sales and design centers across the country.

At 26 years I won the NKBA 30 under 30 award and I was the youngest recipient ever of the OBJ 40 Under 40 Award.

I have also won the Immigrant Entrepreneur award from the City of Ottawa and many others.

In my late 20's I decided to become an entrepreneur in tech because I believed technology could provide the most leverage in creating a positive impact.

After a few failed starts, I co-founded Acadium, the number 1 place in the world to launch a career in digital marketing.

So what is it that truly lights him up in the entrepreneurial world, as for many the constant movement and grind wears them out?

And of course once the "Big Idea" hit, and he could see the birth of investing, how hard was it to get it off the ground?

Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to Join Up Dots with the one and only Moe Abbas

 

Introducing Rene Lacad Today's guest first joining us on the Join Up Dots show is Rene Lacad is a 24-year-old college dropout turned entrepreneur.  Utilizing the power of social media he was able to generate over $10,000,000+ in revenue for over a dozen businesses.  He currently travels the world teaching aspiring entrepreneurs how to break free from the 9 to 5 and live life on their terms, all while running his businesses from a laptop.   You might be wondering, how does a college dropout build multiple six figure companies at age 24?  It all started in 2013 when he was attending a local community college and had just barely graduated high school with a 2.1 GPA. He knew instantly that when he got to college something was wrong. The classroom wasn’t a place where he was able to flourish, he decided to dropout and join the workforce to get real world experience.  The first big step came after bouncing around from one oddball job to another. How The Dots Joined Up For Rene He eventually found himself at a sales position at a Fortune 500 company where he was able to find his first taste of success. He stayed there for a year before something strange happened, he realized that he was beginning to outgrow this position as well, and decided to look for something more fulfilling. The life changing breakthrough he was looking for came shortly after left his last job. Rene landed a position working at a company owned by a well known entrepreneur, where he was able to gain valuable information everyday for over a year straight. He used this opportunity to make his brain a sponge and absorb information unavailable anywhere else.  He learned the secrets to sales, marketing, human psychology, business and entrepreneurship and the rest is history. So why do so many people struggle to make a go of it online when the blueprint is out there to follow? And what are the challenges of being a digital nomad and travelling the world with his laptop Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr. Rene Lacad Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weight subjects with Rene Lacad such as: Rene reveals the words of his mother, where she was convinced that he would go out and get a job like everyone else. Why if you keep on looking for the one opportunity you will ultimately find the one that brings the gold. We discuss how Rene organises his day to make sure that his business gives him the lifestyle that he wants. And lastly................. The power of re-engineering a process to work backwards to get product market fit. Easiest way to success.

Welcome to the Join Up Dots business coaching podcast where in todays show we answer three quick questions from listeners across the world.

As you will hear these range from people who have already started to build their businesses online, and others who are simply wanting to get going.

You see starting an online business will lead you into a world of obstacles, hassles and difficulties at the beginning.

This is perfectly normal as you don't know what you dont know and is all part of the learning process.

Which is why hiring a business coach is such a valuable tool to bring into your armoury of business tools. So lets start with the first question.......

Patricia Dominguez is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots.

In 2012, burnt out with her cushy corporate job, she made the decision to jump into entrepreneurship.

As she says "While in Corporate America I learned quite a bit and had the good fortune to work with some really brilliant minds. I saw a need in the small business space, specific to positioning and that’s where I’ve been able to create the most impact. 

Positioning Marketing:  without it… you will likely approach marketing with a “spray & pray” approach with tepid results. How The Dots Joined Up For Patricia Now of course you will be saying what the hell is position marketing ?

Well this is the place that most business owners should aim for, and very few get to. Becoming a "Category of One" status in their specific market, where people understand what you are about and flock to you.

It makes it doubly easy to send the right message to the right people time and time again.

Victoria Kennedy is the CEO of Victorious PR, a media agency that helps Entrepreneurs, Real Estate Brokerages, Mortgage Companies, and Solar Businesses get featured in industry-specific publications, local press, podcasts, and top publications to be seen as Industry Leaders in their fields.

Getting yourself noticed is harder and harder nowadays, as there is so much noise out there. So much content being created by eager and hardworking entrepreneurs. So what makes someone stop and think that they can bring something different to the industry?

How The Dots Joined Up For Victoria

Now this is a story that is pure hustle and drive, as our guest didn't start her business with a successful or rich parent as a support. Our guest started her life as she was extremely poor, and was surrounded by all the doubts and imposter syndrome conditioning that could have knocked her off track.

It didn't stop her however and now she is becoming the go to person to help companies and individuals leverage digital PR to not only increase their visibility but also directly grow their revenue. Victoria has been featured in over 200 publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, Yahoo Finance, TV & radio stations, and the TEDx stage. So why PR and what made her think that she could bring something new to the game? And where do people go wrong with trying to get themselves onto podcasts and into publication?

Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Victoria Kennedy.

Show Highlights

During the show we discussed such weighty subjects with Victoria Kennedy such as:  Victoria shares how the number one priority for any entrepreneur is to be the key authority in the niche. If you cant be then create a new niche. Why people truly need to get down into the nitty gritty of their hero story to start gaining the exposure that they want.. Victoria talks about the adjacent possible that makes all things possible if you only look closely enough. and lastly......... She shares a fascinating story of cancel culture and what she believes will be the change heading our way shortly.

Becoming financially free is the dream for everybody i would guess.

You know how it would be if you won the lottery and didn't have to go to work everyday at a time that you didn't want to.

Life would be brilliant and you would spend your time floating around, having naps in the middle of the afternoon.

However, most of us will never win the lottery, so it's down to us to win our own lottery and start becoming financially free.

Ready for the steps that you can take you to where you want to be in double fast time?

Stop Spending The Money You Have

To become rich you really need to stop spending money on things that you have don't truly need. All those little expenses that dont really seem to be much, really add up to a heft sum.

Yeah its only a £5 here and there. It's only the gym membership. But take a look at what is occurring each week and each month and that's just one thing. Your money leaving you quicker than you could ever want to happen.

So as my Mum always used to say "If you take care of the pennies the pounds take care of themselves"

Start monitoring the small stuff today and never look back.

Manage Your Money To Be Financially Free

One thing is sure, you can always find the money to do the things that you want to do. Which means at the end of the month you are scrapping around to save anything.

This shouldn't be the case, and to become financially free you need to pay yourself first. You simply must get into good money management habits.

Allocate the cash into several different bank accounts that cant be touched for anything other than its designated reasons. This will be tough, but becoming financially free is tough...but you can do it.

Financially Free Starts In The Home

Did you know that its possible to earn great money simply from the house you are living in? Airbnb has built its whole business model around people renting out rooms in their house.

Could you do the same?

Or perhaps you could take one step closer to being financially free by loaning your home to a film company. There is big money for people renting out unusual locations to film companies to utilise. Even simple things like renting out your driveway can add up to many hundreds of pounds per month. That is the way to become financially free by looking closely at the opportunities around you.

Start Building Passive Income

Having money coming into your life every month without lifting a finger is great. But of course most passive income takes a bit of work to get going of course.

Building a niche site which targets affiliate links is quite easy, although not as profitable as it once was.

That doesn't mean that you shouldn't give it a go, as you will make some cash for sure.

And you will learn so much in the process about the worldwide web and how to grab hold of it all for your family.

Company of one and other wisdom is on the cards today in the Join Up Dots business coaching podcast.

Lets start with some major words to get into your head.

When we're young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be.

But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling.

Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams.

This is your blueprint for greatness. So here's your host live from the back of his garden in the UK David Ralph

Yes. Hello. Good morning.

Good morning everyone across the world.

How are you welcome to Join Up Dots.

Yes, the global hit show, the business motivation conversation, inspirational show, that is literally driving you guys to success.

Its driving you guys forward. And for a long while it was driving me into an early grave.

But I'm things things are a lot more on an even keel.

 

This Week In Join UP Dots

This week's been a bit of a bit of an unusual week, because I've been away.

I often say that I'm very good at disconnecting. But it's very hard to 100% disconnect.

It's very hard not to just go "Oh, I'll go on the internet, I just do this. And I just do that."

This week, I've been trying my hardest to really be free from everything, not knowing what's going on in the news, not knowing what the football result are.

And Im about 80% achieving my aim.

I needed to do that because I started to feel myself getting a little bit frazzled by the amount of work I was taking on.

That's kind of what I'm going to be talking about today.

Because when you start your online business, when you start any business, more often than not, you go for the dream.

I suppose the dream isn't what the dream ends up being.

Because first of all, you start with a tiny little dream thinking "Oh, as long as I can get x y Z, then ill be alright".

It's a kind of scraping through kind of dream.

Which is perfectly acceptable, because you haven't moved through to the next stage where you you've had the proof.

As my wife always says, "When I see it, I'll believe it. "

 

When I See It I'll Believe It

And so that's what happens in Join Up Dots and everyone that I coach  have to have that moment of realisation that this can work.

Now, when they're starting to build it, you set a ceiling on what you need.

More often than not, I call it my keeping the lights on figure.

That point when you can get to a certain point where you go, "Yeah, we're okay now. I'm actually earning the income. That means that the bills are paid, but I've got free time and everything is good."

But of course, of course, things get a little bit greedy.

It's very hard not to go out and just squeeze in another client, or just do another little bit of this and a little bit of that.

I found myself falling into that trap where I was actually starting to think, "Oh my god, I need to do this and then I need to do that. "

In many ways, it wasn't becoming fun.

It wasn't when I was connecting with people and thinking, "I'm really looking forward to this"

It was like what I need to get this done because I got another person straight afterwards.

So I've tried to clear the decks, I've gone back to basics with Join Up Dots where I'm doing the bare minimum.

But what I need to do to actually sort of make a living. And if you can make a living, that's great.

If you make a greedy living then more often than not, it comes with certain sort of restraints.

 

Matt Devella And Minimalism 

You know, along that line, when I did dip into the internet, I saw this video now there's a guy that I've mentioned on the show called Matt D'avella.

He's on YouTube, and he does a lot of lifestyle design videos, and they're very good.

They're very professional.

But as with most things, once you've seen a few of them, you start to think, "okay, you're kind of repeating yourself."

It must be very hard as it is with Join Up Dots .

I'm sure after 1500 shows, you guys are going "God, he's talking about the same thing. He's constantly telling us Yes, you can go out and do it."

And I'm gonna keep on doing that. I will keep on doing that until the last breath is in my body.

And I'm laying there.

And I say," Did it work? Did it work? "

And we open the window.and if I hear crying and mourning across the globe, and I'm hoping Yes, it's worked and join up dots delivered what I was hoping for.

Anyway back to Matt Devella, as these are really good videos.

And one of the ones I watched this week was a minimalist approach to business.

Now I like minimalism, although I am more into essentialism, which I will actually talk about later.

But minimalism is how you reduce everything in your life to that which you need.

You don't need to be out having to work to support them.

Now, it's a long standing principle, really, so many people are going to work just to pay for that car loan, which they don't actually get a chance to use because they're going to work to pay for it.

They have a big mortgage too, and they're supporting a lifestyle that isn't conducive to having life experiences.

 

Life Is About Having Your Breath Taking Away

I saw a sign in the pub the other day.

It said something like, "Life isn't about the amount of breaths you take. It's about the amount of moments that your breath is taken away."

That's brilliant, isn't it, where it's all about having those experiences and those moments when you say "Oh, my God, that is wonderful."

I think most of us don't get many of those because we're so busy just living a life and sort of moving on.

Now, Matt, the minimalist guy. He done that.

H has stripped his life down. He's made it very basic.

He was talking to a guy called Paul Jarvis, who's got a book out which I jumped onto Amazon and bough. 

I bought his book "Company of One", which is saying, staying small is the next big thing for business.

The principle which is building minimalism into your business.

So not to think to yourself "Right? I want to have a million pound a month."

Instead saying "If I can get to my keep the lights on figure, and then double it. That's good enough. That's, that's fine."

So if I could get like two clients a month, and that gives me what I need, and then double, why go for five clients and 10 clients?

Why get staff and employees?

You keep it all stripped back.

Now one of the things he was talking about is how so many people people start paying for employees.

When you're better off is having people on contract that only get paid when you need them. So they're kind of non paid employees.

So if you're sort of struggling with your website design and your email marketing list, have somebody that is ready, and you've signed them off, and you know them and you trust them.

You can say, "Jane, Jane, I need you to do that today." And she does it.

When you pay her, it's not an employee, but it's a contracted worker to keep your business small, meaning that you can just focus in on what you're doing.

Well when I was watching that video i was thinking "Yeah, I think that's what I need to do."

Because I've taken on so many client, which is brilliant, me, my 30 day business coaching course, has been flying, and which is great.

But as I say you get a bit frazzled. And you think to yourself, "Actually, I can't do this. And I can't do that, because I've got this person to speak to"

 

Building Your Own Company Of One

So that's what I've been doing.

If you jump onto YouTube and look for that Company of One, why staying small, it's the next big thing in business by Paul Jarvis and Matt, they develop a very interesting conversation.

The other thing that I'm going to say is I want to read an email.

Now I won't give this guy's name, but I'm going to be speaking to him live tomorrow.

I just wanted you guys to hear somebody out there who's listening to the show.

I will tell you that his name's Scott, nothing else, nothing else. But I will tell you, he's named Scott. And I'm going to be speaking to him live tomorrow.

He's connected with me. And I'm gonna, I'm going to try to help him on his way.

He said me? I'm Scott. Good morning David massive fan of the show.

Thank you for the effort you put in, I know you're a busy guy.

So out of 12 months anyway, so I'll be brief. I'm totally into your way of thinking.

My goal is to create an online business, that I can operate from anywhere and spend more time doing what I want, when I want, who I want with, just don't tell the wife.

The issue is I'm totally lost as to what the business will be.

The more podcasts and videos I watch, the more lost I get.

I totally understand that. You can go into sort of analysis paralysis, as they say where every single person's got a point of view.

I always say to people find two or three people that you really believe in and ignore everybody else. Now, I still got the same two. But I look at all the time.

One of the guys is Pat Flynn from Smart Passive income. And the other is a guy called John Lee Dumas who runs Entrepreneur on Fire.

He's taken his podcast into seven figures.

It would be stupid for me not to at least go over every now and again and have a look at what he's doing and how he's structuring it.

Everybody else I ignore, got no interest in them. I just go for the two guys I believe in and I trust and you should do as well.

Now, Scott says, "The issue is I'm totally lost as to what that business will be. And the more podcasts and videos I watched the more Lost I get.

Digital marketing, affiliate marketing, FBA, God knows, I'm just getting stressed trying to figure out what way to go.

I'm open to anything, I just need to be shown the path and not told I'm going to be worth a million quid in a week's time.

Now that is one of the thing I loved about this email. And that's why I decided to connect with him. Because I hate these things where you see somebody next to their infinity pool.

It's not their bloody infinity pool. They've just gone on holiday and said to somebody else "Can I make a video and jump into the infinity pool?"

Or they walked past a jet while they're trying to get into EasyJet, and they taken a quick photograph of themselves.

So it looks like their lifestyle. I don't believe any of it. I really don't.

I think most of it is total rubbish out there. I'd much rather see somebody wearing, you know, a pair of jeans and a T shirt and saying, you know, I live my life.

I go and pick the kids up from school, I come home, I do three hours work. And I make a full time income.

To me that is far more doable, and far more believable than what these people are saying "Yes, if you follow me, you can be a millionaire in a week's time, total total rubbish. "

Scott also says "I don't need a Lamborghini, Chelsea and New York homes, I'd be happy knowing every month the bills are paid no matter where I am in the world".

And that is totally doable. It really is.

And there's three ways you've got to think about how to do this.

 

The Three Ways To Build A Company Of One

You've really got to stop thinking about affiliate marketing.

It's great, but it's small potatoes.

You've got to step more into the bigger part of the business.

If you've got something that you can do, and believe me, you will have something that you can do that somebody else wants, you can become that product and that service .

You then making more money.

Now what you then need to do is obviously separate yourself from the business by training somebody up to be able to do what you do so that you can then service two people.

You can scale it and it doesn't mean that you're trapped in the business. It's just you have to get the ball rolling.

Now there was a guy on the show the other day called Geoff Cook, who is the founder or Growlr, the Gay Bear app.

Yeah I bet Yogi's having a great old time in the woods.

The Gay Bear man, Geoff Cook was saying that at the beginning, he started a CV resume business in college.

He was doing all the work himself. 

He had to until he could find people that would help him. And then his issue was about how to make sure those people remain good.

Keeping the quality up. So there's certain issues at the beginning.

But the strategy really is if you can put yourself into the service, first of all, you're going to start making more money.

 

Why My Company Of One Was An Early Failure 

I think with Join Up Dots I screwed up on that.

I kind of thought that you could just make a podcast, be like a radio host and make a million pounds.

But of course that's not the case.

You've got to be more in your business than out of your business.

Now Scott also says "I'm a builder of 25 years working self employed and although massive potential in the industry, I fell out of love with it and the desire for the online business lifestyle you dangle" Yes, my dangling out, I dangle in front of him every week.

"I know that there's a shitload of work ahead of me. And that's something I don't have a problem with at all.

Please help or show me where to start maybe.

So I love that email. There's realism, there's understanding that it takes work.

There's understanding, that you aim to pay your bills.

There's understanding that yes you could be a millionaire but who wants to you know?

I used to want to be a millionaire. And now when somebody says to me, "David I'm going to Be a Millionaire Next year, I just go Yeah, go and go for it." #

Because making a million pounds online, does happen. But it's difficult, more difficult than making a replacement income from what you've got at the moment to where you want to be.

But you've got the free time, you've got the choices, you've got all that kind of stuff. That is totally doable. That is a company of one.

So I suppose in a summary of blending this podcast in with the company of one, why staying small is the next big thing for business, and Scott's honest realization of what it takes.

I think that I was on the wrong track recently, I think I've started to go for certain points of business.

Well, as I said, I'm aiming for a million listeners. Now I am I'm still aiming for a million listeners, because that's part of my overall strategy.

That doesn't mean that I've got to do any more work, I've just got to do the right things behind the show.

Totally doable, and will bring me a lot of rewards. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

But on the other side, I can have too many clients, which means that I am restricted from having a life and feeling frazzled.

Wanting to disconnect and hide out online. Can't do that, because that's not going to be good for me.

You got to think about that right at the very beginning.

You got to think about how much you're willing to put in.

But always having that ability to separate yourself, you know, don't trap yourself, paint yourself closer to the door, but then leave yourself on the other side of the door that you can close it up behind you and disappear.

I can literally turn off for months at a time my business will still operate I close it up.

I'd say I'm not going to take any more coaching clients any more mentoring clients and then I'll come back in August or September or whatever and then I will go again totally controllable.

That is the company of one, I am heading for.

Fred Stuvek, JR  is today's guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business coaching podcast.

He is a former athlete who served in the military and successfully started his own business, and now has advice for those looking to thrive in this battered economy. He has achieved extraordinary success in diverse realms.

He has been inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame for achievements in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy, after lettering three years as quarterback for the Midshipmen.

After service as a Naval Officer, he transitioned to the business world where he has held senior leadership positions in private and public companies, both domestically and internationally.

Key successes include an international medical imaging start-up that led to a successful IPO, and forming a private medical services company, which he subsequently sold.

From the playing field, to the war room, to the board room, his leadership and accomplishments have given him a distinct perspective and a results-oriented mindset.

Start Ups is the name of the game with Mark Grimes, todays guest joining us on the Join Up Dots podcast. He is a man who over the last few months has taken more action than most people, not least himself have done over the last 18 years. You see over nearly two decades our guest today created a list of  businesses that he thought would be proven winners. Or at least those that were worth reviewing and developing to see if they bore fruit. Now since August 1, 2020, he is a man on fire. As he says "Since August 2020 I launched one new startup every day for 31 days in a row. Yep, 31 brand spanking new companies. No business plans drawn up. No money raised. No teams assembled. No website created—nothing done ahead of time. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Lean and mean. 100% transparent. 100% open. How The Start Ups Dots Joined Up For Mark Grimes One new idea was selected each day from 350+ business ideas scribbled down over the last 18 years, aka the Dunning Kruger Project. Is this for real? Yes. Am I joking? No. Am I nuts? We’ll see. Why am I doing this? Well, there are 55 million newly unemployed people in the US alone. There is continuing economic upheaval. There are tense racial, political, and personal divisions among us. There is a global pandemic. Is this the worst possible time to launch and grow a startup? Yes Could it be the best possible time? Yes. Which of course makes him a perfect guest for a show like Join Up Dots So where can people start first with so many ideas flooding around us all everyday? And of course how does he remain organised and focused on developing every single one. Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mark Grimes

ONLINE BUSINESS SUCCESS THE EASY WAY

Don’t build a business that is a slog everyday !

We teach you how to create your DREAM BUSINESS in just a few hours per week!

In this episode of Join Up Dots we answer a listeners email question who is struggling to get the success that they want.

What truly make success starts within as you will find out.......

Is there ever a good time to start a business? Well the world is full of stories of businesses being started in economic downturns, and recessions and becoming billion dollar empires. So what about lockdown?

When we are stuck indoors, unable to visit friends and trapped in an endless cycles of zoom quizzes can you make a success of a new business idea?

Well as you will see on todays show....the answer is YES for sure. We are going to bringing you ideas born in lockdown over the next few months to inspire you to go and create your own business success, without any excuses.

Introducing Time Control

Time control or as most people call it time management is a problem that so many people struggle with.

You wake up each morning with all the best intentions to make a difference, and then get sucked into a never ending world of interruptions.

You know the kind of things that send you off track. Just a couple of minutes on Facebook and you've lost an hour or so looking at peoples kid and cats pictures.

So you do a few emails, and then find that you've lost another hour.

So how can you make sure that you stay on track and get everything firing on all cylinders day after day?

Well on todays podcast episode we discuss time control and bring our top six tips to make every day wildly productive.

Listener Question One

Dear David, long term listener to the show. Back in 2018 I began the creation of my children's nursery for 2 to 5 year olds. I saw the need, made it happen and have been happily profitable since.

However, upon the pandemic hitting and forcing us to close down, i realised that i had allowed time suckers to take over my life without me knowing. Just little things really, but when I wasn't working in the business, i still had loads of things to do everyday, such as emails, parent support, dealing with the local council and such things.

I didn't start the business simply to be ploughing through an endless list of tasks everyday, but it seems that i have walked bang into just that.

Any suggestions?

Melanie PUK

Listener Question Two

Dear David, you seem to have things happily ticking along in your life, and ill be honest sound like you barely work at all. I'm sure that this isn't the case...so how do you do it?

What super power do you possess that the rest of us dont, as i'm feeling less and less sexy everyday no matter how many times you tell us to "stay sexy"

Great show Eric, Buckinghamshire.

Of course to hear the amazing time control advice you need to listen to todays show, and then all the others waiting for you.

It might take awhile, but by then you will have become a master of time control....how good is that?

Mike Koenigs is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots. He is a man on a double mission, or at least one that entwines butifully around each other.

One on side he helps experts build empires both online and offline, ok that is the first part ticked off, He does by showing his clients that you can get paid for BEING, instead of doing, by building influence, authority and loving life too.

Now this isn't someone who simply says that they are an expert and then starts building from that point onwards but someone who has lived it. As he says "Ironically, surviving cancer didn’t save me. Six years later, as I’m waking up, I hear something in me say, “My soul hurts”. I moved out to California in 2001, one month after 9/11, followed my passions, took giant risks, worked hard and created a lot of wealth.

I far exceeded the expectations most had for a boy growing up in a 763 person town in Minnesota from a fairly chaotic, lower middle-class family.

Beyond my business success, I was blessed with a wonderful wife and an amazing son, and we had luxuries including a second home on the beach in La Jolla. Yet, something was deeply wrong. Prior to recognizing that my soul hurt, I knew I was increasingly depressed and full of anxiety, but after hearing myself declare it, I knew I needed a transformation.

I just didn’t know what was broken. And that is the perfect place to start todays episode of Join Up Dots. So its ok saying i need to change, but a totally different thing to actually know where you need to change from and to that is the problem, so where did he start?

And for someone sitting listening with no followers, influence or or a tweet or a video to their name, where can they start to build their empire? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to Join Up Dots with the one and only Mr Mike Koenigs.

Stephan Aarstol is today guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast. He is a Shark Tank Winner and CEO of Tower (where Mark Cuban is an investor), Stephan Aarstol is also the inventor of the 5-hour workday, an initiative he started in 2015 to challenge long held delusions about unhealthy start-up work culture. 

Stephan moved his whole company to a 5-hour workday, and yes we mean his whole company not just the directors and would later write a book, The Five Hour Workday about the experience. Now you might be thinking "wow this is amazing my company would never do this"

Well there was a time when our guest might have been thinking that he wished he hadn't.

British Snack Co founder Thomas Lock is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

As they say "Since our humble beginnings in 2013, our mission has been to create the tastiest snacks money can buy.

Lovingly crafted, outrageously delicious and quintessentially quirky, our products can be found in supermarkets, pubs and independent shops across the world.

Handcooked in the UK using exclusively British potatoes, our crisps combine no-nonsense flavours with classic crunch.

Their first product, Awfully Posh Pork Crackling, was developed by founder Tom Lock in his mum’s kitchen. And then the company was founded to scale up production and launch the pork crackling to the UK market.

Now this isn't just a profit making exercise, as  they are made on a farm that not only grows its own potatoes, but is powered by renewable energy. So, these crisps don't just taste good - they do good, too. 

So we hear time and time again about people starting online businesses and selling online courses, but how do you actually develop tasty snacks?

And when did he sit back and think "Ok, this is something, this is really something that we need to get out to the world. Its time to get serious?" Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr Thomas Lock

Starting A Business On Passion And Other Questions Starting a business on passion is what everybody wants of course.

Why wouldn't you want to wake up with a Yay......and an excitement in your stomach? Well quite frankly, that is the dream but more often or not along the way you can find that things become a little bit different.

So in this episode of Join Up Dots we answer three questions from listeners of the show that all come to us looking for answers on passion.   Question One David, you seem a man who is always very honest on the podcast.

SO i would like to ask you a question re starting a business with a friend. My best friend from school (so 30 years and counting) wants to start a vaping business with me, delivering vaping equipment to social clubs and colleges.

They have planned things out and it all looks very good, but i have two issues. 1: I dont think i really would ever start this myself, so i wonder about my passion long term. 2. I am worried that our friendship might suffer long term if i do it, and also if i dont do it. Any help will put this troubled mind at a rest. Georgey, UK Question Two Dear David, i have started several businesses over the last few years and never get past the slog part of everything before I lose the will to live and give up.

Any advice from a sex bomb of a man who seems to have this part of things sewn up bigtime. John, Newton Le Willows, UK Question Three Hi David, do you really enjoy what you do? It sounds like you do, but it could also be an act.

The reason i ask is I'm reading a book on the subject of finding what you love and it is quote clear that nobody truly finds what they love. 

Am i aming too high? Kitty Ketinbanban

Bob Wheeler is our guest today on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

Bob Wheeler, a financial expert and motivator, book author, and founder of The Money Nerve? As a man of true integrity with infectious energy, Bob Wheeler’s crusade for personal growth has cross-pollinated with his accounting practice to create a new approach to personal finances.

His passion is to help others gain insights about how their emotions trigger financial decisions.

Combining finances with behaviors, Bob explores his personal concept of creating a healthy relationship with money in his recent book, The Money Nerve. While strengthening his accounting practice, Bob has simultaneously pursued his love of satire and ventured into the realm of standup comedy.

My Business Is Earning Money But A Mess & Other Questions

Through the many years of Join Up Dots, we have inspired people from across the world to take control of their lives, start building their own income and have a kickass life.

But of course, its not as easy as simply saying that you want to do it and it just happens.

You need to of course start, but you also (and this is the hardest part of it all) need to truly believe that you can make things happen.

That is where the difficulties start and the voices in your head start to take control of the situation and things go off the rails.

Well in todays podcast episode we answer just three of the many questions that come into the show on a daily basis asking for help.

These ones however are a bit different, as they aren't just people struggling to make a difference in their lives.

Two of the questions are from people who have got things in a good position and now need a little bit of assistance to take it to the next level. Lets start with question one, and of course you need to listen to the show to hear the full, expansive answers.

Rusty Gaillard is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

As a transformational coach & motivational speaker of Silicon Valley Dream builders todays guest helps men and women experience more freedom in their lives.

He left a 13+ year career at Apple in 2019 to focus full-time on helping others transform their life to one they love.

His passion for this work comes from his personal experience of transformation, including life changes he chose, and those he didn't.

Starting with a voluntary demotion in 2010 to spend more time with his young son, a multi-year divorce, and launching a new career in 2018, he learned that how we react to life’s events matters more than the event itself.

Have you ever had the pain from experiencing gout, or i guess any terrible pain in your life.

You know the kind of pain that keeps you awake at night, and wont allow you to relax or breath without grabbing at you with its red hot claws.

Well over the last few weeks, I have had the worse experience  of pain that i think i might be able to deal with.

But yet it didn't bring me to my knees because of it.

So why is it that some people can tackle terrible obstacles head on, whilst others allow themselves to be victimised because of it?

Why do some people manage to find the strength to say to the world "This is my life and I'm in control"?

Well this is the podcast for you as within the next fifteen minutes we try to break down the two or three elements that can take your life to higher and higher adventures.

Misha Rubin is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

Misha Rubin provides transformational career programs which are designed for people to discover careers that bring a sense of  meaning, fulfilment, and abundance. Until recently, he was a partner at a "Big Four" management consulting firm, where he spent 15 glorious years.

He managed $100M+ worth of projects; navigated dozens of corporate cultures; advised hundreds of clients; guided hundreds of careers.

His corporate experience combined with his experience studying with many profound teachers and his personal quest for meaning and fulfilment; birthed The Career Leap method, a guided inquiry that brings awareness to the deep parts of oneself, creates new career possibilities and moves individuals into action.

Eric Dunavant joins us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast Growing up, Eric’s own family faced an unexpected tragedy that transpired in the loss of the family business and wealth.

This loss fuelled Eric’s passion for empowering families and businesses live a better story by being more intentional. It was during this time that Eric discovered that money doesn’t cause problems; it simply magnifies and exposes the smallest issues we ignore today.

Since 2007, Mr. Dunavant’s leadership of Paradiem has guided multiple families and businesses to create Intentional Transformation by discovering the Greatness, Growth, Governance and Generosity in their story that can impact today, tomorrow and eternity. Paradiem’s experience is that most families do not realize that the pursuit of ROI (Return on Investment) is not in alignment with their true ROI (Return on Intention) and often creates unintended consequences.

Most good tax and estate plans fuel poor family outcomes. As he says "“You're living a good story.  What if living a better story allowed you to pay less taxes and be more generous without changing your lifestyle?”

Well there is a lot to uncover in todays episode, so what actually is "living a good story" and being more intentional? And where does the business find its biggest growth with so many people now living in a state of stasis against good story creating? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr Eric Dunavant.

Brain Health expert Dan Murray-Serter joins us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

Dan is a multi-award winning serial entrepreneur, who talks openly about failure, mental health, mental performance, and ‘braincare’ – which includes his journey using science to build habits, cultivating a positive mindset & the importance of nutrition for optimizing your brain’s health, after writing over 120 newsletters in a row (and counting) on the science of brain health.

He’s the Co-Founder of Heights, a ‘braincare’ company that makes the highest rated supplements for mental health and performance that help high achievers become more productive, focused, and mentally fit.

As he says "Neglect your brain and the rest of your body suffers. With the right nutrition, you can feel better, every day. What’s stopping you?" With fans around the world, and with a year of extremely powerful lows it seems now is the time more than ever the world needs this. So what made him turn his attention to mental health when so many people do not give the brain a second thought as its kind of hidden away.

Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Dan Murray-Serter Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty subjects with Dan Murray-Serter such as: Dan shares how his idea for business changed drastically due to the pandemic that hit the world in 2020.

We talk about the moment that his business idea came to the fore, and the deep research that he then undertook. We discuss the increase of mental health due to the comparisons that we now build against others every day. And lastly we talk about........... The Power Of Now, and why this book read at the right time, is the key to big personal changes.

In today's episode we start discussing the big failing that most companies and business fail with. That is the Value Ladder, that takes a customer on a journey to more and more expensive products. You see so many businesses hope the best by allowing for a huge drop off in their business through visitors disappearing from their services. They land they look around and they depart forever. So what can you do to make sure they hang around and become a potential customer somewhere down the line. You build a funnel and value ladder as you will see in today's show.   The Email That We Received Hi David, i have waited for years to drop you a line. Many times I have hovered over the keyboard with fingers twitching and yet, something held me back from typing. Isn't it funny how something so easy and simple can be so difficult. Just like you mentioned the other day when you spoke about walking up to a girl or boy and asking them on a date. Your throat closes up, Your mind goes blank, and you just turn red, and turn on your toes. Anyway, today I am feeling brave and so want to ask you about something you said the other day (i apologise I forget what show it was as I listen to several a day) You mentioned something about creating a business which is very black and white. You lose potential customers without being able to do anything about it. Is this because of the business, the products, or simply the wrong customers. I guess you can see that this comment lead to a major epiphany with me. In fact i sat back in my chair at work (yes, I do listen in the cubicle longing for a escape everyday) and thought long and hard about it. I have a business that operates at the weekend. I offer nail services for ladies, and although I post my prices and what I offer (and I know that I am cheaper than most of the other companies in my town) it is limping along. Some Saturdays are good, whilst others leave me sitting on my own in the office for eight hours waiting for any drop ins. Do you think that I have done something fundamentally wrong with the business to make this occur? Thanks so much for what you do everyday to keep us mind zombies from despair. Keep em coming and ill keep on listening Jen Felder, Kenya

Smartphone Video Marketing founder Daryl Cygler joins us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast. He is the founder and creator of Smartphone Video Marketing, a video marketing company with a difference.

As he says "Smartphone Video Marketing helps empower SME businesses to create their own video marketing content without the need for video production companies, without the need for expensive film equipment and without filmmaking experience - all through the power of their smartphone.

These are the same principles that I learnt from mobile journalists that produce prime time news stories for global news brands. And if smartphone video content is good enough for prime-time TV it sure as hell is good enough for a business owner to use in their marketing channels.

Ian Pribyl is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast. He has appeared on the show twice before and falls into a rare band of people who have now appeared three times.

Although unlike the others who have spread their knowledge through Join Up Dots over around eight years, he has done it all in about eight months. The reason why, is he gets it. He understands the struggles that you guys have with getting started online and building a lifechanging income by yourselves.

He understand that the failures that knock us off track actually are the learning points which can take us forward to more and more success. So although I have never personally met him, i know that he is a great mate to me and the show.

And its a delight to have the author of From Nothing once more joining up some dots with us.

So what is the thing that when he looks back at what he has achieved is the thing that he wishes he could tell the world "Oh, watch out for this" And why does the world only show the new guys the sexy stuff above the surface and not what they really need to get going?

Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Ian Pribyl it rhymes with dribble.

Introducing Rick Kantor Rick Kantor is today's guest joining us on the Join Up Dots podcast is a huge delight for me, as he is a second time guest on the show and quite simply has flourished since last appearing. Rick Kantor does things his way, even to at the age of 61 going back to graduate school and getting a Masters in Creativity and Innovation, when to be honest the majority of us are glad that education finished in our teens. What makes this even more unusual is that this is a guy who has started and run several successful companies, ranging from a novelty manufacturing company, to Terrasanti a natural wall product made from American Clay, which has won many awards over the last few years He classes himself as a life term entrepreneur, but its the fascination for continued education that is so inspiring, as 10 years ago when he sold his novelty manufacturing company moved to a new town in California and spent the next 3 years getting a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting and mixed media from Sonoma State. But now since our first recording he really seems to have stepped into the person that he wanted to be all along. The person that walked boldly into every situation and makes a difference to who he meets. How The Dots Joined Up For Rick As he says "I'm all about every person in the workplace profoundly recognizing that their next creative thought-- whoever they are and wherever they work in whatever job position--might be the 'Jenga' moment that topples the wall of ordinary to provoke an extraordinary disruptive innovation. I ignite this capacity in others through teaching the skills of creativity (yes, teachable!), individual and team coaching, dynamic highly energized and humorous presentations, speaking and keynotes. I draw on a lifetime of creative success, companies and products. As a serial entrepreneur, my businesses have been at the intersection of novelty, art, satire and consumer products that balance on the societal edge. We all need catalysts to make new creative connections that are tomorrow's disruptive ideas, services and products. That's what I bring to my audiences to provoke their capacity for finding the best unexpected ideas. Teaching the skills of creative thinking to organizations builds creative leadership and culture that is systematic and systemic. So would he say that since our last recording the person that he is, is night and day different to what he was? And where is his sweet-spot now in business and life? What is igniting him to greater and greater achievements. Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Rick Kantor. Show Highlights During the show we discussed such deep weighty subjects with Rick Kantor such as: Why it is so important to find the enjoyment in any task  no matter how boring. Look deep and you can find the fun believe me. Rick shares the battle that he has with getting his name out there, by tooting his own horn to create clients. A battle that most entrepreneurs have daily Rick talks openly about his belief that there is no such thing as originality anymore, all the clues to our own success are already waiting for us to pick up. and lastly...... We talk about the creation of the Join UP Dots branding and why looking at the big picture isnt always the best way to success.

I'm in a funk is one of those things that most of us feel every now and again. You know that feeling of just being out of sorts and losing perspective of what is good in life? Well we received an email from a listener of Join Up Dots, who isn't just feeling the "I'm in a funk" vibe for a few days. This listener has been in this state of mind for a few years now. So lets start with the question and then of course you can listen to the show to hear the answer. Listener Question Dear David, i am reaching out to you to see if you can share some insight as to the steps I can take to change my current situation. I'm in a funk. Mentally and physically I am feel more and more lethargic everyday, and ill be honest I stopped listening to your show for about a year as your chirpiness and positivity started to make my skin crawl. I would think "Oh, just fuck off" and switch off the podcast, even though I admit i was in the wrong and knew that you were right. Now a year later, and through all the changes that have been forced upon us from powers outside of our control I want to take back the control in my life. I am sick of being the person who lets life happen to them, and want a piece of what you have. So two questions, if you have time to respond. Firstly, do you ever get into a head fuck place when you just cant shake yourself out of a slump? Do you ever think "Im in a funk" at all? And secondly what can I do to start making a difference in my life? Thank you, and sorry for switching off my your podcast as I know its the best one out there, I was just in a wrong place (and still in a wrong place) for your wisdom. J, Canada

Virtual Assistant Expert Joe Rare is a serial entrepreneur, marketing strategist, business coach, and venue owner/partner. To this date, he owns four digital companies, a wedding venue, an association for event venues and invests in real estate.

His first business was a door-to-door product sales company that grew from 2 to 40 employees in 19 months, then he sold it after 27 months.

His passion for sales never dimmed, but he discovered what his life’s work would be - building digital businesses. The road was never easy for him.

The first digital agency he built and the succeeding ones didn’t make it, but he was then able to successfully win the race of having multiple 7-figure a year businesses.

How The Dots Joined Up For Joe

Since then, his businesses have been generating a continuous and substantial flow of income and he focuses on helping small- to medium-sized businesses around the world, while working from the comfort of his home in Montana and enjoying the presence of his wife and two girls.

All of his companies are fully being run by his virtual assistants:

Now that is the key element to the story which is so fascinating. He has managed to separate himself from the day to day running of the business by hiring virtual assistants?

So how did he manage to find the right ones that he could trust and didn't have to micro manage?

And where do the ideas come from that gets him excited and ready to build?

Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr. Joe Rare

Chester Santos is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

He is better known as the International Man Of Memory, but you we know him as a memory expert and motivational speaker best known for winning the USA Memory Championship.

With his unparalleled ability to not only demonstrate extraordinary feats of the mind, but also educate others to do the same, this U.S. Memory Champion is widely regarded to be the world’s leading memory skills expert.

Through his entertaining and educational television appearances, professional seminars, and renowned presentations, Chester has helped millions of people around the world to realize the benefits of improved memory and a sharper mind.

He is also highly sought-after by the media for his exceptional skills and expertise. CNN, ABC, PBS, NBC, CBS, and the Science Channel have all featured Chester and his memory building tips for viewers.

Lisa Song Sutton is todays guest joining us on the Join Up Dots business podcast. She is an entrepreneur, real estate investor and former Miss Nevada.

She started her business career working in a top Las Vegas law firm and then went on to create multiple companies of her own.  Lisa started her first business, Sin City Cupcakes in 2012. Today it is an iconic Las Vegas treat that delights tens of thousands of locals and visitors each year. 

Lisa is a highly successful entrepreneur and also co-founder of Ship Las Vegas, Elite Homes - Christie’s International Real Estate. As well as Liquid & Lace swimwear. ​

In addition to her work as a successful entrepreneur and real estate investor, Lisa is highly sought after as a speaker, coach and expert in the business world.

Throughout the last 2000 episodes of Join Up Dots, it has become clear to me that certain traits are demonstrated time and time again.

It doesn’t matter if it is from an Online Marketer, an astronaut, athlete, or entrepreneur you can find that within the person being interviewed, they all display the same attributes that build success.

Over the next few months we are going to bring you The Join Up Dots: Definitive Guide To Success series, highlighting those developed strengths which your can duplicate in your own life.

Take the learnings and struggles of the super achievers and work on each and everyone as you bring them into your own life. Use their skills to shine the light on your own success, and take you to wherever you dream to be.

In todays episode we are going to discuss the most important of them all. You have to realise that if you dont start to take the actions needed to create your own life nobody else will. Its down to you. Ready?

In todays episode of Join Up Dots we reflect back on the last seven years of struggle, success and achievement.

The reason for this reflection is quite simply 30th April 2021 is the seventh birthday of the launch of Join Up Dots.

Throughout those years many things have occurred, some amazing, some terrible and some truly terrible.

But did we learn anything from this period of online meandering?

Did we discover anything that we can bring onto the show to help others in their own journeys?

Well of course we did as that is what we are all about on Join Up Dots.

Noa Shaw is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots Podcast Now 14 years sober, Noa Shaw has truly turned his life around.

One things for sure his life hasn't been easy, with a drugs and alcohol dependency taking grip at an early age.

Throughout his teens and the majority of his adult life his daily routine revolved around selling or taking drugs.

But eight years ago his life took a turn for the better when he wandered into a SoulCycle studio that was just opening up in Los Angeles.

SoulCycle is a fitness company that is the gold standard in cycling workouts.

After his first workout, he was hooked. How The Dots Joined Up For Noa For three months, he attended every day – sometimes two workouts per day.

He lost 100 pounds and got himself into shape both physically and mentally. The team at SoulCycle saw something in Noa and they invited him to audition as a fitness instructor.

Now at 57 years old, he is the oldest SoulCycle instructor on the planet. And here in New York City, Noa has built a dedicated following of riders that are inspired by him on a regular basis.

Today, he’s one of Soul Cycle’s most popular instructors and teaches sold-out classes in NYC multiple times a week.

As a certified life coach, he guides his clients to become better versions of themselves by helping them identify and understand their purpose in order to achieve what they want in life.

But it took many twists, turns, and trips to rehab for Noa to discover his calling: to help and be of service to others.

In caring for others, Noa found healing for himself. So does everyone have the opportunity to find something that works for them, or does life need to say "Ok now its your turn to make it work"

And where does he see the biggest issues with making a difference to other people.

Their mindset or who they surround themselves with? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr Noa Shaw.

Throughout the last 2000 episodes of Join Up Dots, it has become clear to me that certain traits are demonstrated time and time again.

It doesn’t matter if it is from an Online Marketer, an astronaut, athlete, or entrepreneur you can find that within the person being interviewed, they all display the same attributes that build success. Over the next few months we are going to bring you The Join Up Dots: Definitive Guide To Success series, highlighting those developed strengths which your can duplicate in your own life.

Take the learnings and struggles of the super achievers and work on each and everyone as you bring them into your own life. Use their skills to shine the light on your own success, and take you to wherever you dream to be.

Alex Caragiannides is our guest today, on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots free podcast interview.

This is a man whose has overcome many obstacles on the way to where he is today. He first came to America as an immigrant and grew up in a North Side Greek community in Chicago.

Alex learned early on that if you work hard and make yourself invaluable to others, you’ll never go hungry. This spirit continues to drive Alex’s work ethic to this day!

However as the majority of people realise, it is great to understand you need to make yourself invaluable but where do you position yourself?

Success is something that most people are craving in their lives, but few realise that they have it already.

Why is it that we can sit at our pc's starting at our tablets, and grabbing a Starbucks and not consider that for most people across the world we have won the lottery?

In todays episode of Join Up Dots we break down one mans email, who clearly feels a failure but actually has success all around him.

Now its time for us all to feel the same way.

Susan Fennema is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

Susan is the Chaos Eradicating Officer (CEO) of Beyond the Chaos, a consultancy helping small business owners to simplify their operations and manage their projects so they can grow their businesses and get their lives back.

With 30+ years of operations/project management experience in professional service industries, Susan is on a mission to improve American society exponentially.

When not making multi-course dinners, she enjoys Texas A&M football games and Blackhawks hockey. She lives and works from her home in McKinney, Texas, with her husband, dog, and cat. But how did she create a life that seems like everything is in place and functioning like a well oiled machine? 

 

What Are The Benefits Of Drinking Water?

Look we get it. We all know the benefits of drinking water, at least we should do. 

From grass, to plants, to our beloved pets to, well everything - it all needs water to flourish, grow and become healthy. So why as humans do we struggle with bringing potentially the easiest health hack into our lives everyday?

The answer is simple, water is a bit boring and lacks taste. Coco-Cola, coffee, wine, tea, juices will always win the day against a cool glass of water straight from the tap

Benefits Of Drinking Water In The Morning

Your body has been starved off liquid throughout the night, as you slept with your mouth wide open.

Your mouth will feel dry when you awake, but actually your whole body is crying out for a glass of refreshing water.

So lets kick start your day with reaching out to the pint of water that you took to bed the night before and glugging it down before you switch on the kettle.

Leaving a glass of water by the side of your bed overnight is a brilliant way of  getting a glass of watery oxygen into your body straight away.

Your water will be full of little bubbles that it has collected during the night - oxygen!

So dont miss out on this quick win to your health as its the easiest thing to do, and will get you focused on benefits of drinking water straight away.

 

What Does Drinking Water Do To Your Body?

I guess its more to say what doesn't drinking water do to you body?

From alleviating constipation by making your poo softer, to making your skin youthful and glowing the wins come quick and fast.

If you want better digestion, movement, and look and feel sexier then the following list will surely get you to see the benefits of drinking water. The benefits of drinking water for skin can not be underestimated.

Honestly, if you dont see that your skin becomes clearer and blemish free by comprehensively increasing your water intake i will eat my hat.

And believe me a hat is not my favourite food substance for sure.

carrying nutrients and oxygen to your cells

flushing bacteria from your bladder

cushioning joints

Helping digestion

preventing constipation

normalizing blood pressure

stabilizing the heartbeat

maintaining electrolyte (sodium) balance.

protecting organs and tissues 

regulating body temperature

 

So What Does Drinking Water Do That Is Bad

Nothing....i cant think of anything that is bad for your body .

Yes for a short time you will be popping to the loo a bit more, but this then will pass and you will be back to normal.

Except you will feel better, not eat as much, have more focus and energy and look sexier too. Brilliant!

Introducing Josh Kemp

Josh Kemp is our guest today joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast.

He  is a man who quite simply has powered his way through many obstacles that would stop most in their tracks.

As he says "I love creating online courses that teach a specific side hustle and how to make money with it in the shortest amount of time possible!

I am the author of No Degree, No Problem.

Originally I was a Blacksmith / Farrier for 8 years but then had to switch careers after getting kicked by a horse.

I self taught myself how to code and landed a Junior Software Development position 9 months later making $ 70K.

I currently live in Raleigh, North Carolina with my wife, three kids, two goats and a gecko.

Now most interestingly for a show called Join Up Dots, which follows loosely the words or the late Steve Jobs, our guest did a similar thing when it came to getting a college qualification.

 

How The Dots Joined Up For Josh

He goes on to say "I remember when I was 16 my Mom had me take Business Law classes at the local community college.

My Mom was big on making sure ALL her kids went to college and got a degree.

After barely failing the first class, I decided college wasn't for me, it wasn't until I was 18 that I broke my parents’ hearts and told them I wouldn't be going to college.

Over the years I have had to switch careers and have had over a dozen different side hustles in my life.

My Mom no longer worries about me becoming destitute, l have used the power of side hustles all my life ( except for a 1 year period ) to provide better for myself and family, as well as learn more about what things are a good fit for me."

So does he feel he is still working towards the big thing that will define his life, or is that not important anymore?

And why do people struggle so much to make a living online, when all the clues are already there to follow the success of others?

Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Josh Kemp

 

Show Highlights

During the show we discussed such deep subjects with Josh Kemp such as:

How culturally we have lost the ability to get down and dirty and work for a living, even if its an online venture. A dream life doesn't come easily.

Josh shares why you should always go where the money is.  Look for who has it and then decide what you can do for them.

Always look for the problem that can be solved for as many people as possible you can then scale scale scale.

And lastly...........

Josh tells us a great story of a snow blower, inspiration and hustle that almost ended his marriage but became amazing motivation.

Getting bogged down in your business is a common problem that most people have.

Especially at the beginning when you arent making any money and you are doing it all yourself.

In todays episode of Join Up Dots we look at five ways that you can seperate yourself from THE business and instead start looking at what more ON the business time and time again.

Ready to start building success?

Tristan Bond is todays guest joining us on the Join Up Dots business podcast.

He is an entrepreneur, business owner, consultant and marketing specialist, who began his career as a physiotherapist. From the outside looking in, he had a really profitable physiotherapy business.

As he says "On paper things looked great and i was making more money than ever. I was getting really strong growth in my business....but I was doing it all the wrong way. That's when my life came crashing down around me. I had lost myself in the process of building my business.

I was miserable, i was burnout. I worked insane hours and i couldn't sleep. I was fuelled by caffeine and my business was always on my mind.

How The Dots Joined Up For Tristan

When he realised he had an issue, he started to see that business owners everywhere were struggling to keep up with their workload, chaos and poor cash flow too.

And through that process of redefining his business and building The Practice Acceleration Method, various business owners started asking for his advice on how to be successful.

What he found was many companies were missing the following: 1) Lead generation – bringing in new customers 2) Conversion and retention – convert a lead to a sale 3) Management and leadership And that is the perfect place to start todays episode of Join Up Dots. So its easy enough to realise that you have an issue and totally different to do something about it. So what was the first step that he took to tackle those three headline grabbing business issues? And how did he feel when his overworked dad feel ill whilst he was talking to him, knowing that he was on the same track? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr Tristan Bond. Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weight subjects with Tristan Bond such as:......... We talk openly about the emotional rollercoaster that starting a business Why thinking that the process of building our own business often has unreasonable expectations right from the very first start. Why the marketing message should be polarising to keep someone thinking about you, even if they dont always agree with you. and lastly....... Tristan shares his belief that working from home needs a fixed structure in place right from the start to prevent the feeling of isolatio

Design Hill Founder Rahul Aggarwal is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

He was recognised and awarded as the Rising Entrepreneur of the year 2019 and Entrepreneur 35 under 35 in 2020 Since 2013. he founded Designhill.com, which is an online custom design marketplace that allows businesses to source high quality graphic designs at affordable prices.

Currently the website has 23500 registered designers from around the globe. What it means in a nutshell is instead of going to freelance sites, or low quality outputs like Fiverr you can go where the designers are.

Need a new logo for your business?

How about full rebranding and design of your business?

Todays episode of Join Up Dots is a coaching session brought to you by the lovely listeners of Join Up Dots.

Every week we receive many many emails into the show from people who are struggling with turning their lives around and making a difference to their families and their futures.

In todays show we have grouped a few together based around the theme of overwhelm, stress and lack of motivation.

Lets start with the first question of the day.

Question One

Hi David, thanks for everything you do and speaking to me a few months ago. Well i took your advice and undertook the Freedom Starter course and have started working on a small business in my town, providing small jobs to wives around my town. I am making half my current jobs income from this side hustle, but i am struggling to fit everything into my life, what with family commitments being added into the mix too. I know you spin many different plates so do you have any advice as to how to keep them all spinning?

Your friend and padawan

Buck Mitchell

Question Two

Hi David, long time listener of the show and have a quick question.  I have been following your advice and now I am about to launch my first business. 

I wont say what it is at the moment, but i am pleased and excited with how its going.  My issue is, what should i do next. There seems to be so much that is needed as i can see where its headed. Any suggestions?

Question Three

Hi Join Up Dots, i would love to start my own business, but i already know that i am stressed with everything going on in my life. I also know that not everybody that takes control of their own life is in the perfect place so why am i different? I would love to hear any advice that you can give on the show, keep up the great work.

Janinne, Arkansas

Question Four

Hi David, i lack motivation and find it very hard to get things going in my life and at work. How do you get pumped up ready to go when you dont feel like it? Would love to know. Maz Vinoya, Bucaramanga, Peru

Jyotsna Ramachandran is today’s guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

She is a lady who contacted me several years ago and appeared on the show after saying “I think that I should be on your show, because I am flexing the old hustle muscle everyday and doing it on my own terms too”

Well, she didn’t quite say that, but it doesn’t take much more for me to think, this is the kind of guest I want to talk to, so she came on the show.

This is a lady that like most of us got to a point in her life, when she looked at her job, and her personal situation and thought “I never want to be an employee again” Which can be one of the greatest realisations for self development, and the worst.

You have the focus to take your life to where you want to be, but more often than not, you don’t have any idea how to do it. And that is the case with todays guest who then tried out various businesses to find her thing. She started a staff recruitment agency, became a franchisee of a chocolate brand, did freelance web designing, and none really hit the spot.

How The Dots Joined Up For Jyotsna

And interestingly from that point she is has transitioned again and is a now a bestselling author, book publisher, TEDx speaker, and is an international Author Success Coach who helps coaches, trainers, speakers, and experts to build a super-profitable author funnel with the help of their book. She has since the first appearance on the show founded Happy Self Publishing to help overwhelmed, yet purpose-driven authors experience a transformative journey of self-discovery through the process of publishing their book and amplifying their message. So far, Jyotsna has helped over 400 authors from 35 different countries through her global publishing agency, Happy Self Publishing. So is this now the thing that she has been looking for since first starting her entrepreneurial journey? And secondly why is a book such a powerful statement for building authority of  your personal brand? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Jyotsna Ramachandran

Taoism is the focus of todays episode of  the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business coaching podcast.

Now if you haven't heard of Taoism before then this show will be an eye opener for you for sure.

This is a principle that has been taking the world to storm, since first being created in China back around 2000 BC In fact other than the Bible, the Dao De Ching (the basis of the Taoist principles) is the most widely translated book the world has ever seen.

83 short poems that once deciphered can bring about huge changes in your life and your business. These were all brought to us by the founder of Taoism, a gentleman called Lao Tzu who although nobody is really sure if he existed or not has taken credited for this words.

So lets start breaking things down to tie them into a business masterclass that all of us can learn from.

Isha Uppalapati is todays guest on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

She is an inspirational go getting young lady who not only has the passion to become a top entrepreneur, but also has the desire to drag others along for the ride too.

She is the founder of A Girls Frontier, an organisation founded in 2018, whilst a senior at Walton High School in Atlanta, GA. She started A Girl’s Frontier to provide opportunities for young girls all over Metro Atlanta and the whole world

As she says proudly "No matter where they may be, our organization makes sure that we can provide them with the necessary support for them to achieve their goals in life. Our programs focus on education, mentorship, and outreach.

The goal of our non-profit organization in Atlanta, Georgia, is to empower young girls by helping them financially through their education, as well as teaching them important entrepreneurial skills.

We want girls to know that they can be leaders in the business world, regardless of the challenges in their way."

 

How The Dots Joined Up For Isha

Now this isn't something that just occurred over night as her entrepreneurial story started almost at the start of her life due to the loving support of her dad.

She says "Ever since I was young, my dad and I would brainstorm different tools that we could produce. We tried to create little trinkets that would make life easier. We also wrote small children’s books.

Over time, my desire to create new things has not faded. I want to create something that can create a change.

This is why I want to create opportunities for girls who have similar dreams that I do, but don’t have the support to do it on their own."

So does this dream make it doubly difficult to achieve the success that she quite obviously is going to get? Or in fact does it become easier by surrounding herself with so many similar ladies driven and focused on a bright future? Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to join up dots with the one and only Isha Uppalapati

Show Highlights

During todays show we discussed such weighty subjects with Isha Uppalapati Isha shares how her father has started several companies in his life, which was so inspirational to her by his desire to never give up.

We talk openly about the slow progress that all businesses go through right at the very beginning and how to build momentum. and lastly.......

Isha shares her view that the girls of the world are often the diamonds that are ready to be polished.

The Steps To Success Episode 7

Throughout the last 2000 episodes of Join Up Dots, it has become clear to me that certain traits are demonstrated time and time again. It doesn’t matter if it is from an Online Marketer, an astronaut, athlete, or entrepreneur you can find that within the person being interviewed, they all display the same attributes that build success.

Over the next few months we are going to bring you The Join Up Dots: Definitive Guide To Success series, highlighting those developed strengths which your can duplicate in your own life. Take the learnings and struggles of the super achievers and work on each and everyone as you bring them into your own life.

Use their skills to shine the light on your own success, and take you to wherever you dream to be.

In todays episode we are going to discuss the most important of them all. You have to realise that if you dont start to take the actions needed to create your own life nobody else will. Its down to you.

Ready?

Shaa Wasmund is todays guest joining us on the Join Up Dots podcast.

She is a lady who has built her life around taking action and making things happen.

As she says "I’m an entrepreneur, public speaker and the author of #1 bestselling books ‘Stop Talking, Start Doing’ and ‘Do Less, Get More’. In 2015 I was awarded an MBE for ‘Services to Business and Entrepreneurship’ and was recently named one of the UK’s Top 20 Influential Entrepreneurs by The Sunday Times.

Born in California to an English mother and Italian father, Ms Wasmund and her mother settled permanently in the UK when she was 10.

After winning a scholarship to the prestigious City of London School for Girls, she studied international relations at the London School of Economics. How The Dots Joined Up For Shaa It was while at the LSE that Ms Wasmund, then 21, won a competition to interview Chris Eubank, then a middleweight world champion boxer. Eubank was so impressed with her confidence or "front" that he offered her the job of becoming his assistant.

Ms Wasmund said yes, and so she started her business career in the competitive world of boxing. She  became the only female boxing promoter in the UK, representing World Champion Chris Eubank and working with the infamous Don King before starting my own PR company helping grow the Dyson brand from around Sir James Dyson’s kitchen table.

From that point more and more hustle and success came her way, which isn't a surprise as he also says "I believe that we all have the ability to live the lives we dream of. We just don’t always know how.

The greatest courage is to follow your own path even through the roughest terrain, rather than the path of least resistance. Nothing great is ever created in your comfort zone. I believe it’s OK to not know the answers, to feel stuck and frustrated; it happens to all of us.

What’s not OK is to stay stuck." So when the big punches in the mouth occurred in her business, how did she dust herself down and get back up? And why is her number one piece of business advice "Hire A Cleaner" Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the only and only Shaa Wasmund MBE. Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty subjects with Shaa Wasmund MBE such as We talk about the difficulties that youngsters now deal with from coming from entitlement.  Shaa shares the lucky breaks that she has had in her life, especially in regards to working with the Genius James Dyson. Why a business becomes more and more successful the more you focus on the value you offer others. Its all about giving. and lastly........ Shaa tells us all why we have to visualise what we want in life and why it so important to get those images in my mind to make them happen.

Squircle author Francis Cholle, is todays guest on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

He is the best-selling author of The Intuitive Compass and challenger of the status quo, he has also launched his new best seller SQUIRCLE to emphasise this thinking. SQUIRCLE offers a revolutionary way of thinking that’s especially relevant to anyone looking for ways to thrive in a climate of crisis.

Cholle delivers a very simple approach to problem-solving, decision-making, and relationships that defies how culture has taught us to think. And SQUIRCLE is now a Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Amazon best seller. How The Dots Joined Up For SQUIRCLE As he says "Our culture has taught us that linear, rational thinking is the norm...and look where this got us. We’re in a pandemic with global warming, a recession, and threatening divisions in global politics and economies. We need a better way to think. SQUIRCLE recognizes the importance of our rational minds (SQUARE) while honouring the natural insights from our intuition (CIRCLE) — unlocking our capacity to find creative solutions and adapt to change.

He has has taught and tested the SQUIRCLE model with his international consultant clients for over 15 years. This thinking has brought innovation and improved decision-making globally to over 250,000 people including graduate students from USC, Wharton and HEC, Paris, and corporate leaders at L’Oreal, J. P. Morgan Chase and Johnson & Johnson. So how can we all start today looking at our own squircles to make progress when times are tough? And how did this concept come to him. laying in the bath "eureka time" or simply through trial and error over many years. Well let's find out as we bring her onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Francis Cholle

Show Highlights

During the show we discussed such deep subjects with Francis Cholle such as:

Why Francis decided to make his home base Los Angeles and the reasons why he never wanted to live on the beach and the ocean. Francis talks openly about his youth and how he always chose things that he enjoyed and would fill him up with passion. We share the principles of Chinese philosophies of tai chi and Taoism and how to bring it into your life and business. and lastly...... Why the words of Steve Jobs spoken at Stamford University plays perfectly into the methodology of squircle.

Todays episode of Join Up Dots will be a solo show answering several business questions that listeners of the show have been sending to us over the last few weeks.

Most of them, that we receive into the Join Up Dots office are in connection with those first fledging moments of building an online business.

It could be that they are unsure of the direction, concept or simply whether they should start.

 

So with no more further ado The Questions

Hi David, this might be a stupid question but what is the true difference in your view of having and offline and online business. I know one will be cheaper but is there anything else?    Marcel Hadden. Israel

David i have been hearing more and more that blogs are dead. If that is the case how can i start my own online business. I'm not comfortable with showing myself on video or on a podcast. Kind regards and keep rocking Marjorie Triffin, Yorkshire

Hi David and the Join Up Dots team, what makes you keep on doing what you do? Its a simple question but one that I ponder, as so many other podcasters stop it seems. Barnaby Jacks 

Yo David my man, loving the content fella (as you UK dudes say). I'm going to launch my first billion dollar business and want the world to know. You say it on air, and ill make it happen....no retreating its failure beating time. JJ M. Crompton, Los Angeles.

Introducing JT Mccormick

Today's guest is JT Mccormick, who serves as the President and CEO of Scribe Media, a publishing company that helps you write, publish and market your book. The company has worked with more than 1,500 authors and Entrepreneur Magazine recently ranked Scribe as having the #1 Top Company Culture in America. Previously, JT served as the President of Headspring Software, which he helped grow to a multi-million dollar, 100-plus person company that was repeatedly ranked as one of the best places to work in all of Texas.  JT is also the author of I Got There: How a Mixed-Race Kid Overcame Racism, Poverty, and Abuse to Achieve the American Dream.

His book tells the story of how he worked his way out of poverty, starting with his career cleaning toilets and eventually becoming the President of multiple companies. In addition to his role at Scribe Media, JT has mentored at-risk youth in the juvenile justice system, as well as youth in low economic communities. JT’s work has been featured on CNBC, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Inc, and many others. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Megan, and their four children Ava, Jaxon, Elle and Jace. So was it purely down to mindset and commitment that got him to where he is today? And where can we start today, if we have just one chance to move to the next level and change our mindset forever? Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only JT Mccormick

Show Highlights

During the show we discussed such deep subjects with JT Mccormick such as: Why you have to define happiness and success for yourself, and when you dont have much you can then define your own success. JT shares how he doesn't believe in work life balance but he does believe in five key pillars that he bases his life around. JT openly discusses how he has created a company culture that is life changing and that is by recognising the true workers before anyone else. And lastly........... We talk about how his father, although in an unusal job became the best at what he did, and was proud to see his son go the same way.

Lisa Cummings is the Clifton Strengths Finder Strength Coach, who 100% believes that it's a lot better to become great at what you are good at and leave behind the poor stuff.

She has built an amazing coaching business all around the work done by Gallup as we discovered the last time she appeared on the show back on episode 510 .

As she says "I sometimes call myself the Chief Strengths Sleuth because I spend my days uncovering hidden talents on your teams. Remember that song "It's Your Thing" by the Isley Brothers?

I use those lyrics like a spotlight glass to amplify people's differentiators. It's how I help you and your team figure out "your thang" so you can be more productive at work. Starting her career as a Sales Executive for Business To Business back in 1998, it appears that the path best trodden for her actually started when moving into staff development.

Like myself she has spent most of her working life, building the strengths of individuals in corporations to make better, higher functioning teams. Getting people to feel inspired by the working day instead of dreading that ringing sound by the side of the bed. How The Dots Joined Up For Lisa But what interests me is what personally was driving her back in the day.

As with a career strewn with employment lasting a couple of years at each time, it is clear to me that her ambition, was equally matched with a desire to find her thing too. And now as a podcaster herself, or as she calls herself the Chief Strengths Sleuth: Host of the “Lead Through Strengths”​ Podcast: she helps people find and leverage their strengths at work. Complimenting her workshops, keynote speaking and by performing a role of StrengthsFinder Performance Coach, which as you know is a publication that I have recommended many times on the show she is busier than ever..

So what is it about keynote strengths that lit her up inside and made her want to build a business around it? And with all the issues that the world has seen in the last year, has she found more personal strengths that she didn't have. So lets bring her onto the show to start joining up even more dots with the one and only Lisa Cummings

Show Highlights

During the show we discussed such deep subjects with Lisa Cummings such as: How Lisa and I both share how we both went through the dark times of entrepreneurship and the steps we took to climb back into the light.

Why you should only do the things that fill you up with energy and not depletes you.

and lastly......

Why your strengths can be so powerful in every area, but can also be used for evil and work against you if you are not careful.

Happiness Expert Becky Morrison is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

She is a UC Berkeley Certified Executive Coach with a passion for helping people live happy, priority-aligned lives.

After a successful career in financial services, as a litigator and then in law firm administration, managing several hundred attorneys and staff at one of the country’s premier litigation firms, she was looking for a new challenge and transitioned to a small investment firm where she was COO.

This transition helped her recognize that her true passion was people, she started her own coaching practice. Now through this process as she says "Many entrepreneurs and business leaders struggle to find happiness whilst balancing work and life.

My advice is simple, “Do more of what matters and let go of the rest”, but of course it isn’t that easy to implement. I love to share my formula that has helped many high potential leaders overcome their happiness gaps.

The formula consists of understanding what truly matters, believing that you deserve to be happy, introducing new and healthy habits and being diligent when saying no to those distractions, pulling you away from true happiness.  So is it possible to find true happiness and of course maintain it, or is contentment a better aim to have?

And when she started her own business was it instant happiness or like most of us, it took a while to find the smile?

So lets bring him onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Becky Morrison Show Highlights During the show we discussed such deep subjects with Becky Morrison such as: Why happiness is not being up all the time, but it is being aware of the emotions that you are feeling at that time.

Why everybody should focus more on their to dont list, instead of going for the to do list every single time. 

How to reframe things to find the positives in your life even if its something like paying bills and taxes. and lastly......

Why knowing and understanding the seasons of life and business and being aware of the changes will happen.

Making Things Harder Than They Need To Be seems to be a problem in todays day and age.

It should be be the case for sure, as we have more and more devices and instruments to make things much simpler.

But is this true?

By being given things that should be the answer to all our problems, are we actually losing ourselves in the weeds?

Well in todays episode of Join Up Dots, we are going to ask the question Are We Making Things Harder Than They Need To Be" in our businesses and life.

And best of all what we can do about it.

The Steps To Success Episode 6

Throughout the last 2000 episodes of Join Up Dots, it has become clear to me that certain traits are demonstrated time and time again.

It doesn’t matter if it is from an Online Marketer, an astronaut, athlete, or entrepreneur you can find that within the person being interviewed, they all display the same attributes that build success. Over the next few months we are going to bring you The Join Up Dots: Definitive Guide To Success series, highlighting those developed strengths which your can duplicate in your own life.

Take the learnings and struggles of the super achievers and work on each and everyone as you bring them into your own life. Use their skills to shine the light on your own success, and take you to wherever you dream to be. In todays episode we are going to discuss the most important of them all.

You have to realise that if you dont start to take the actions needed to create your own life nobody else will. Its down to you.

Ready?