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?

Sales Coaching Expert Diane Helbig is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.

Last joining us in the first year of Join Up Dots on episode 304, 1700 shows ago. She could have been taken straight from that classic movie “Dead Poets Society” as her mantra in life and her company name is “Seize This Day” “Carpe Diem” is the way forward if you want to have a kick ass life, both personally and professionally.

And our guest has demonstrated that everyday as after a successful 20 years in sales and business development she took the experience that she has gained and took the leap of faith. In early 2006, she launched her coaching practice where she helps individuals and small business to see the opportunities all around them, and bound over the obstacles that they may see as game stoppers. In her book, Lemonade Stand Selling, she offers a straightforward, common sense and clear guide to the sales process.

She reminds her readers that selling is as easy as when you had that lemonade stand as a child. So if selling is so easy who do people struggle so badly, especially when building an online business. And is there one thing that people can do straight away to simplify the process and start seeing rewards? So lets bring him onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Diane Helbig

Show Highlights

During the show we discussed such deep subjects with Diane Helbig such as:

We link the dating process to the sales process and learn how to get past the big no's

How Donald Trump managed to get himself to the top by knowing his followers and market first and foremost.

Diane shares why she feels that most business owners have to go through different versions of themselves to find success.

and lastly......

Why Matthew McConaughey is the perfect example to study for real sales coaching success.

Mindset Expert Christopher Dedeyan joins us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business coaching podcast today.

He is a public speaker, entrepreneur and energy boosting productivity guy which wasn't the case just a few years ago. Diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of eight, he was faced with many failures along the way.

Because of his relentless attitude of never giving up, the failures taught him how to succeed. He attributes a huge part of his success as an entrepreneur to the lessons he learned growing up in the schooling system as a dyslexic. Stepping away from school he then developed his entrepreneurial skills and communication skills during the five years he built and ran his real estate brokerage company.

During that time, Christopher noticed that he could help his colleagues with self-development by incorporating new rituals and habits in their lives that help them not only in their business but in their personal lives as well.

How The Dots Joined Up For Christopher

As he says "If you’re living the feast or famine lifestyle and you’re always stressed about money, you need to get off that rollercoaster fast. The lack of structure in your business and unorganized agenda is not only the culprit, but also a symptom of an even greater problem that you must first address, before the rest of these puzzle pieces can fall into place. But what can you do about this? The answer lies in mindfulness about everything you do.

The way you do anything is the way you do EVERYTHING. So, starting with the details of how you wake up, how you fuel yourself, and the intentional actions you bring to your daily routine, you can begin to perform at peak levels. While most driven entrepreneurs want to skip all the work involved with the details, if you look closely you’ll see that the most successful sales professionals are diligent about consistently following systems that drive results.

So as the old song says "its not what you do, its the way that you do it and that's what gets results" SO what is the main mistake that people have when building their businesses, focusing in on everything except the money making activities?

And what would he do differently if he could back and change one or two of the dots that have lead him to where he is today. So lets bring him onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mindset Expert Mr Christopher Dedeyan

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?

 

Finding meaning in life is the undercurrent for todays episode of Join Up Dots business podcast.

We will be answering some questions from listeners across the world who have dropped us a line asking for help in their businesses and life.

One thing for sure is nobody can get success in their lives if they do not focus in on personal and business balance.

Now we aren't talking about the classic work life balance myth, whereby everything sits in a neat little area and doesn't over power anything else.

No, believe me when I say that work life balance is a complete myth as at its core it doesn't make sense.

We have one life and have to lead it in a way that by the end of the day everything that we wanted to achieve gets done.

Business is just part of our life, so how can we separate it and make it seem like its something separate - it's own entity.

We cant and its madness.

But what we can do is say that we are going to look after ourselves, physically, spiritually and mentally before we ever start tackling the income production side of things.

But before that lets start looking at some of the questions that we have received this week from listeners and do our best to give them the depth that they need.

And of course you can listen to the show for all the reasons.

 

Perry Marshall is my guest today for the second time, on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots free podcast interview.

He is an a man who Entrepreneur Magazine states, “This guy is the #1 author and world’s most-quoted consultant on Google Advertising.

But that was years ago, one thing for sure is Perry loves nothing more than to tackle new projects and author new books. In fact the last time he was on the show he was discussing the works of Charles Darwin and how they also applied to business. His newest book, Detox, Declutter, Dominate: How to Excel by Elimination (co-authored with Robert Skrob) reveals how readers can grow their business 4X faster by eliminating 80% of wasted effort. 

Step 1: Use renaissance time to gain discernment and clarity. Perry shares how to establish mindfulness habits to maximize your creative and productive space

Step 2: Make your business 2x more profitable with 80/20 focus. How to stop “jumping over dollars to get the quarters” and optimize your efficiency!

Step 3: Managing your time is all about subtraction, not doing more! Step 3 teaches you how to Earn $1,000 per hour at least one hour per day with 80/20 time.

Step 4: Create an irresistible product that’s easy to use by simplifying. Learn how to keep it simple for the customer in order to create a product that is valuable and not easily replicable.

Step 5: You’re not doing yourself any favors by trying to be cheaper and better in a saturated market. The Star Principle reveals why 80% of the profit comes from 20% of companies in the stock market. Use the Star Principle to carve out a niche where you’re number one!

Step 6: Build an impenetrable moat around your business. Perry shares sure-fire ways to insulate your business from competition.

Step 7: There are two kinds of entrepreneurs: business builders and artistic entrepreneurs. If you’re an artist but work like a business builder, you will burn out your inner artist. Freedom is a lifestyle choice, and step 7 will show you how to enjoy the freedom to create and reinvent every single day.

So how can someone starting in business today bring such clarity into their business and life, when most people simply makes things up as they go a long.

And out of the Seven steps, which was the one that he actually thought "you know I could actually be a little bit better at this one myself"

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

Why have we all stopped laughing nowadays? You may say we haven't, but i look around the world and I dont see an awful lot of people throwing their heads back and screaming with laughter.

Do you know when a baby comes into the world, very quickly it will start giggling.

They estimate that will be somewhere around 300 times a day. By the time that baby has grown to 13 it will laugh around 50 times a day, and then the shocking fact.

A thirty year old will only laugh around 3 times per day if that. In todays episode we try to discover why that is, and most importantly what we can do about it.

Brian Gregory is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast interview.

He is the Founder and CEO of ADMANITY.com and creator of the breakthrough algorithm behind The ADMANITY Protocol. ADMANITY® is the first company to create an online test and predictive emotional algorithm to determine the best emotional advertising strategy for any business - in any niche.

The 5-minute, simple ADMANITY® Test isolates one of 15 emotional archetypes best suited for the business. The ADMANITY® Protocol is the only algorithm that can identify a company’s emotional archetype and then identify the advertising strategies, tactics, formulas - even copywriting tactics.

It gives agency-level recommendations that the brand can use for years to come. How The Dots Joined Up For Brian As they say "ADMANITY's mission is to support and grow small businesses by helping them better understand how and why advertising works for their particular brand.

The knowledge they will gain from our product will result in the business gaining greater success. Most business owners, managers, and even those responsible for communication outreach do not understand advertising other than on a basic level. They are simply too busy to learn it, go to school, or become experts. Most fail miserably at creating messaging and advertising. Only the largest or more successful companies or those with the financial ability to invest can afford professional agency help. The other 98% simply do without proper guidance or the knowledge to implement their outreach effort, and they struggle.

This equates to a market of approximately 30 million small businesses in the U.S." Brian is a former 20-year owner/publisher of large, citywide magazines in the Phoenix market as well as an expert in direct selling. In addition to creating ADMANITY’s algorithm for The ADMANITY® Protocol and its testing platform, he has written over 2,000 pages of ADMANITY® curriculum and training materials as well as being the author of the book Sheep Don’t Eat Complicated Grass! Brian is considered an expert on the topic of emotional marketing and advertising tactics and is a skilled, entertaining public speaker.

Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr Brian Gregory. Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Brian Gregory such as: Why Brian loves the statements that prove all branding is showing the true strength of storytelling. Why Brian finds the minutia of what we think our brand is to be truly fascinating and more often wrong. and lastly…. Brian shares the principles of sales and explains why everything works faster when you bring emotional aspects into things.

Todays show is a coaching based episode whereby David Ralph, the host of Join Up Dots, and founder of Dream Starters Academy Coaching answers listeners questions directly. He will also spend time reflecting on what occured in his show in 2016, and his plans going forward, This is a no holds bared version of the show, that will cover the following subjects sent in by listeners of Join Up Dots I am hearing a lot of people talking about sales funnels. Do you think that this is ethical or not David, and also what do you prefer for creating Sales Funnels? - Isabel Grazzi New York Hi David, i a have a huge problem that i struggle with all the time. I am a constant worrier and its making me ill. You dont seem to have a worry or care in the world. Any tips that you can share with me as I would like to be more like you - Jamelia Branch, Liverpool I am thinking of doing a podcast do you think I should do an interview show or solo, as i have deliberated over this for a year now. I see that you do mostly interviews but have started this coaching shows (which are super useful thank you) - Lin Pai, Phillipines My colleague started a business that failed after six months. He now wants to do another one with me helping him this time. Do you think that this is wise after his initial failure? - Ray Coulter.....Australia I have heard you talk about providing value first and foremost, but how do I do this? I dont have anything to offer anyone who might be able to help me - Claire Edmonds What music do you like most David? - Leah Bowls, Jackson Country Florida If you want to get your question answered on the show then simply drop us a line to: Email: joinupdots@gmail.com Facebook 

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? Excuses Situations Perfect Conditions.

Fabienne Raphael is our guest today, on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots free podcast interview. And that isn't the first time that I have muttered these words over the last eight years as last appeared back in 2017. What can we tell you about her, well this a lady who has been creating her success from the ground up in amazing effect. Starting her journey around the same time that Join Up Dots launched, she has been out there every day, hustling, upskilling and sharing her talents with the world She was the last time we spoke to hers the President & CEO of Marketing to Crush Your Competitors, also an Online Business Strategist, Professional Speaker, Author and Podcaster. She works with entrepreneurs, coaches and start-up's to build their online platform so they can be seen as an authority, connect with influencers and cash in on their knowledge. She has published 3 books (one a best seller!), been featured on Forbes and The Huffington Post. How The Dots Joined Up For Fabienne As a former elite athlete, including playing in the PanAm games, and a former physiotherapist helping her clients get to their optimum health, she is a genius at mapping out a strategic path to victory. But to be honest, you can throw all the big words in the world in her direction and it will never show the simple fact, that she cares. She cares about her business. She cares massively about her clients. She cares about making the most of each day. And that is part of what we will talk about today....loving something so much that your bring into the world something that you couldn't imagine at the beginning So is her business where it is because of the struggles she has overcome or the successes that came easily? And what is the biggest issue that her clients bring to her, stopping them from achieving the same success? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Fabienne Raphael

The backwards Law is a very interesting concept brought to the world by the late philosopher Allan Watts. Now you may not have heard of the backwards law, but in its simplest form its a focus on what we haven't got in our lives which brings more of the same into our lives. You see we all have positions where we would like to move to something better and so focus in what we need to do to get that thing. You can call this goal setting, ambition, dream chasing.....whatever you wish to call it. Which is all totally acceptable as this is what humans do in life and should be encouraged by all means. However, when we carry a sense of unhappiness with ourselves whilst working towards the goal we get rooted to the spot and lose track of what we need to be doing. Allan Watts, the late modern philosopher described this feeling of staying where we are when he made his famous backwards law speech. Allan Watts The Backwards Law The modern philosopher Alan Watts referred to this as “the backwards law” which is “the idea that the more you pursue feeling better all the time, the less satisfied you become, as pursuing something only reinforces the fact that you lack it in the first place. As he says "The more you desperately want to be rich, the more poor and unworthy you feel, regardless of how much money you actually make. The more desperately you want to be sexy and desired, the uglier you come to see yourself, regardless of your actual physical appearance. The more you desperately want to be happy and loved, the lonelier and more afraid you become, regardless of those who surround you.”  Its a fine line to walk at the best of times. What he is saying is "be grateful for what you already have, but also feel free to want more" which of course goes against many of the rules set in todays self-development age. Be better, be slimmer, be more focused, be more, be more, be more. Im not personally sure that its a path that i can walk all the time, as the backwards law i'm sure will hold me back from my goals. Do You Feel You Are In A World Of Lacking? If you do feel that more often than not the world is dealing you a bad set of cards then perhaps a change of outlook is required. Perhaps you are operating 100% within the rules of the backwards law and focusing in on the wrong things. Its funny when you think that life is giving you everything you need but you are missing it as you are looking the wrong way. And the right way isnt where you think you should be looking at all. The right way is always within yourself and accepting the gifts that you already have in your life. Thats the backwards law for you in its backwards glory.....you already have what you need and truly require. So now its time to accept and build from that point.

Rana Vig is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast interview.

Rana is a seasoned entrepreneurial professional with five successful start-ups in different verticals and a diverse 35-year business career under his belt.

Having transitioned to the capital markets in 2010, Rana took two companies public, and these were the biggest Canadian venture deals of 2018. Curaleaf raised $520 million and was a near billion reverse takeover (RTO).

While Harvest Health and Recreation was yet another impressive billion RTO. But our guest wasnt just going to sit back and rest on his laurels. How The Dots Joined Up For Rana Instead he started digging into the trends and started searching for a new market, which for many was seemed as old hat.

Gold and mining came to the fore and Rana also took Blue Lagoon Resources, the gold-focused company of which he is the current CEO and which had one of the top-performing stocks for 2019, public in the following year.

Outside of business, Rana is a well-known philanthropist and in November 2017, the Canadian Senate invited him to receive the Senate 150th Anniversary Medal for those who make their communities a better place to live through generosity and dedication.

So why do so many businesses fail in the first five years of creation in his view? And looking back over his years is it obvious why he has built success, or is it simply being in the right place at the right time? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr Rana Vig. Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Rana Vig such as: Why the biggest mistake all businesses make is being focused on creating income instead of looking for the biggest problem that they can solve.

We reveal the truth behind the statement "Amateurs invent, whilst professionals steal" which can save you years of effort and expense. Rana shares his belief that most people spend more time trying to improve their weaknesses than simply focusing in on their strengths. and lastly…. How the most powerful computer the world has ever seen was built by something more powerful and underused.

Sometimes Pain Occurs In Life

There is no doubt in life that sometimes things wont go your way no matter how hard you have worked.

You might have decided you wanted something, or i guess been promised something and at the last minute it gets taken away from you. Guess what? That's life, and within the circle of life there are only two certainty's for sure.: Death and Taxes Away from those no one can control how life is going to be and what will happen to us.

What an adventure eh?

Just imagine climbing out of bed and knowing like Indiana Jones setting out on a mission, you are up against it from the very start. Punches will be thrown in your direction without notice, and its your job to take a few on the chin and then fight back to keep on going. Traps will be set, that like exploding death traps will force you to leap out of their way with a smile as you once again keep moving forward. You are the hero of your own life, and everyday gives you the opportunity to write your own story of excitement and daring do. Why Do We Think We Can Control Things? This is a very good question and one that humans have struggled with since the beginning of time. How can we make our environments as controlled as possible, so we dont feel any discomfort? Yes we can add central heating to a stony and cold house to make the winter nights more bearable. Yes, we can buy air conditioning units to chill the hottest of summer days. But these are all ways that we control environment and not life. Time cant be controlled and will forever be lost and never gained again. Family and loved ones will come and go, leaving us with broken hearts and fond memories of happy times. But in the great scheme of things we cant do anything other than go for the ride Sometimes You Have To Take It Up The Bum In todays podcast episode your hose David Ralph, shares a painful experience that he had and looks for the positives to change it in his heart and head. He wants to take the phrase of Sometimes You Have To Take It Up The Bum, and convert it into "ok, you might have to, but it doesnt have to be too painful. If you have had similar experiences and struggled with things that are occurring in your life then drop us a line at joinupdots@gmail.com We are here to help.

In todays episode of Join Up Dots we reveal two brand new businesses that have launched this week.

Why are we doing this?

Well quite simply nowdays you can almost have too many opportunities which can paralyse you before you ever get anything done and out to the world.

In todays show we share a new business from a guy called Brian, and then another one by a buy called David who you might have heard off?

Jeffrey Madoff is todays guest on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast. He is the founder of Madoff Productions, based in New York City and is considered a storyteller and incisive interviewer. Now you may think that is a strange couple of facts to just throw into the introduction, but there is a reason for mentioning them. He has used those talents to help position major brands such as Ralph Lauren, Victoria’s Secret, Radio City Music Hall, and the Harvard School for Public Health. But this is just a fraction of the dots that have joined up to where he is today. Jeff began his career as a fashion designer. He was chosen one of the top 10 designers in the U.S. then switched careers to film and video production. He has since expanded his reach to include teaching, book and playwriting, and theatrical producing. How The Dots Joined Up For Jeffrey  Now the reason we wanted to have him on the show was to share his passion for teaching people how to make a living with their ideas. He believes that most of us have it in us to really change our futures and shine a light on ourselves simply by having more faith in our ideas. As he says “Most of us have had the feeling of ‘I could’ve done that,’ whether at an art gallery, watching a performance, or finding a new product or even a new business idea. What’s the difference between you and them? They actually did it. You didn’t.” With his new book "Creative Careers, you will learn how to do it, too: use your creativity; have a sustainable, profitable career; and do what you love. Creative Careers pulls from interviews with more than forty experts–notable entrepreneurs, artists, and business leaders–as well as from Madoff’s own decades of experience to supercharge your career. Creativity can often feel sporadic and unfocused, coming in bursts and peaks. That’s why Madoff focuses your professional path by asking vital questions that will ultimately help you: Determine your value Be smart about your hustle Ruthlessly edit down your creative projects Overcome fear and doubt Create a successful, long-lasting career on your own terms Well there is a hell of a lot that we can talk about today, so can an idea quite simply be mad, or is everyone worth looking at and digesting? And where does he see the biggest issue with todays entrepreneurs, who seem to have 100% attention deficit when getting the creativity to start flowing? Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to join up dots with the one and only Jeffrey Madoff

Today’s guest, joining us today on the Join Up Dots entrepreneur podcast interview is Alfie Best, a man who has made a huge success of finding the potential in areas he has knowledge in and then working really hard to make it all come together. He is a successful entrepreneur driven by tenacity. With humble origins, born and raised in a Romany Gypsy family, this self-made man studied at “University of Life” and started his professional path totally from scratch. However, coming from a poor background and a minority group only gave him even more desire to succeed. As a gypsy, he had to face many obstacles and prejudices but he has never allowed those to ruin his dreams and ambitions or to disrupt his investments into the businesses he operates. Instead, he has taken those negative prejudices and turned them into positives by surrounding himself with a diverse and multicultural team. As he says "My philosophy for good business is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration; my sole focus is to drive the businesses forward without losing sight of the goal. Park homes were my upbringing so it was a natural progression to purchase a mobile home park; from 1 park to more than 40, Wyldecrest Parks has now become the No.1 Park Home Operator in the UK for the retired and semi-retired wishing to enjoy the quiet life and community spirit.  And when it  comes to seeing the potential in an idea, Alfie Best has a very up and positive outlook for sure.  "In my view" he says "there is no such thing as a bad idea, just the ability to drive it forward with a realistic approach." So if there is no such thing as a bad idea, why do so many people fail when it comes to starting a business? And if he looks back at his life has he learnt more from the knocks he has endured or from the  Well let’s find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Alfie Best Show Highlights During the entrepreneur podcast show we had deep hitting conversations with Alfie Best around subjects such as: Alfie shares how the competition inspires him everyday to raise his own standards and that of his team. It truly is what lights his fire to find more and more value. We discuss how Jeff Bezos has created Amazon, and why it was nothing spectacular in the beginning but how he of course has hit it out of the park. Alfie Best talks openly regarding why he considers himself to be 99% stupid, and what it has done for his decision making. And lastly We discuss his plans for his business moving forward, and why Alfie Best cant wait to see what is possible in Europe And America.

John Paragon is todays guest on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast. He joins us with a fascinating story of struggle, achievement and ultimately clarity as to where his life is heading. As he says "As an aspiring business owner and Entrepreneur, even as a young child, I have always been a believer that EVERYONE should have their own “Side-Hustle” either as a hobby or with the intention of eventually replacing your Primary Income (usually a Day Job) In this day and age, it’s easier than ever to replace your Primary Income within a short period of time by creating a business opportunity closely related to what you already love. We ALL have the ability to change lives and create our own freedom. Sometimes we just need a little direction… How The Dots Joined Up For John Paragon And he certainly needed help to find his direction as barely scraping by, he eventually got his income slightly improved to a comfortable level. But still felt like I hadn’t made as much progress as he should have done by that point. As he says "Things really changed when I started building what is now my new “Primary Income” and I learned how to SERVE others and the money came gradually. I turned less than £10k into a 7 figure company in less than 3 years! And of course as I am a HUGE advocate of multiple streams of income and for everyone to have a “Side-Hustle”, here I am building my next empire from the ground, UP! I have managed to reach a place where I can manage my time and priorities so I only work an average of 15 hours per week. Yes, sometimes that’s slightly more but everything I do I enjoy so it’s easy to find the energy! And I want this for you too… Not only is it very possible, it’s almost a CERTAINTY if you follow what I show you. So how do we all get to this point if for so many people they fail to even get started. And where do people go wrong when they are focusing their efforts onto the new future they deserve. Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to join up dots with the one and only John Paragon Show Highlights During todays show we discussed such weighty subjects with John Paragon How John now loves being able to come to an external business and see things that his clients just cant, due to his expanding experience. Why its so important to find people in your environment that are ahead of your and start learning from their mindsets. John shares his process of how he got his successful business off the group. and lastly....... Why it is so important for people to outsource to preserve your energy as soon as you can

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.

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. In todays episode we look at one of the hardest things in life and that is believing in yourself. Creating that amazing mindset that starts things working on your behalf. So are you ready to start truly believing in yourself?

Michael F Schein is our guest today on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast. He has a story that will resonate with so many of our listeners and also inspire a new way of thinking. He is the author behind "The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Success Secrets From the World’s Greatest Propagandists" As he says "Your success depends on getting people to think of you first. But with so much competition in the marketplace, it has become increasingly difficult to attract anyone’s attention. In a perfect world, ideas would rise and fall on their own merits. But it’s not a perfect world. If you want your message to reach a big audience, you need a presence and a platform that shines. It’s hard to do, but some people (and companies) always seem to be able to make it happen. They’re the ones who are always in demand as speakers, sources for articles, and interview subjects. They’re the ones who can always find new business opportunities without effort.

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.

Nate Turner is todays guest on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast. Nate is the co-founder of Ten Speed, a tech-enabled content optimization company focused on helping companies get more results from the content they already have on their site. He is a marketing expert with over 12+ years in the trenches, with his sole purpose helping companies acquire more customers the easiest way possible. Along with his business partner Kevin, he started in SEO in 2008 when he joined Sprout Social as the first marketer in 2011 and brought Kevin on to lead SEO in 2013. For over 5 years, they worked together building the inbound engine and evolving the organic growth and content strategies to accelerate traffic and revenue growth. In 2018, Kevin left Sprout Social to become head of marketing for Review Trackers where he helped double organic traffic and build out the marketing team. In 2019, Nate left Sprout Social to focus on growth marketing consulting for companies like Help Scout, Zylo, and Hologram. How The Dots Joined Up For Nate As Nate and Kevin kept in touch and frequently discussed the latest in marketing, they kept coming back to how well content optimization works, how many companies don't do it well, and their overall passion for content & SEO. After defining a tech-enabled process that they felt would add tremendous value to companies without all of the headaches of trying to hire for these skill sets or evaluate big, bloated agencies, Ten Speed was born. There is a specific feeling of excitement and optimism when you see organic performance go up and to the right and seeing their customers experience this feeling is what fuels the Ten Speed team. So why do most business fail miserably at content marketing when there are so many avenues to get your brand out there? And how can we start the right way if we are entering into the online world today? Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to join up dots with the one and only Nate Turner Show Highlights During todays show we discussed such weighty subjects with Nate Turner: How to decide the best route to working on the right opportunities within a business so you aren't spinning too many plates. Why it is such a powerful strategy to go over your old content and renew to please Google as much as possible. Nate shares the issues that it takes to create a new company and why he is focused on not making the mistakes that he has seen elsewhere. and lastly....... Why its such a powerful statement of intent to reengineer your online business inline with the growth.

Joseph Fung is the CEO of Uvaro, a tech sales career accelerator, and of Kiite, a sales enablement platform purpose-built to provide sales teams with the information they need when they need it. As he says "We started Uvaro because the old approach to tech hiring is broken. The fastest-growing segment of our economy needs 250,000 new sales professionals. Our colleges and universities aren’t training them. Worse yet, when tech companies want to hire diverse talent, established interview practices and company cultures put up barriers. Marginalized people who do accept job offers are often left to flounder by businesses that don’t have effective sales training programs. At Uvaro, we’ve created a better way to grow careers. How The Dots Joined Up For Joseph Instead of preventing access to fulfilling work, we provide accessible training, on-demand support resources, and best-in-class tools that teach participants how to build on their successes. Uvaro is not just a lecture: A graduate of the University of Waterloo’s Computer Engineering program, Joseph’s a repeat Founder & CEO, and with multiple successful exits, and speaks frequently on the topics of sales leadership, diversity, and corporate social responsibility. He is an active early-stage investor who ensures that the majority of his investments are into women-led companies. Joseph also sits on the boards of Communitech, the Golden Triangle Angel Network, and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. So was this idea born out of a personal frustration with the tech industry or a clever insight to what was happening elsewhere? And and even better questions, why Uvaro? Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots, with the one and only Joseph Fung Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Joseph Fung such as: Joseph shares how they picked the name of his business and why they want away from basic domain picking rules. We discuss how feedback is a gift and the reasons why you should listen to everyone's opinion no matter what they say, or who is saying it. Why creating a job that you love is not always the case no matter how much you try. You have to accept that sometimes the love leaves you for awhile. And lastly….. Joseph shares vocally the awe he feels every time that his students reveal to the world just how special his training centre is to them.

Introducing Matthew Ralph Matthew Ralph is our guest today on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast. He is a children’s book author from the UK  and not just that but an an award winning and number one best selling children’s book author. He knows how to write a children's picture book and now helps the world to do the same. He actually wrote his first book on a plane, and turned it into a bestseller, with little to no money. As he says "I've always wanted to be a writer, even as a child I loved writing little stories and dreamt of having my own book published- a dream I'm still pursuing now at 25! I recently started writing a Young Adult (YA) fiction novel, which I am currently trying to finish and then (hopefully) get published! My ultimate dream is to be the next J K Rowling! Well with many books available in all good bookstores, and perhaps not very good ones too, he has achieved his aim and looks like the dream is coming true. So with so many unread manuscripts laying on publishers desks across the world, how did he bring his words to life? And was the hardest thing the doubts that parade in all our heads, or simply understanding the publishing progress> Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Matthew Ralph. Show Highlights During the show we discussed such deep subjects with Matthew Ralph such as: How he had managed to get his first book up and running purely as an activity to see how it all works. Why so many families are quite willing to critique "dreams" and be less supportive of the people closest to them. Matt shares how he muddled through and learnt the steps to publishing his own book. And lastly...... We talk about the process of developing yourself and positioning yourself to expert level where your value and prices grow exponentially.

Lacking motivation is something that everybody suffers from.

I dont care who they are, Branson, Musk, Bill Gates...whatever high achiever you can think off will have days when they feel Blah! Its normal and in most cases is simply an indication of something be wrong in your life or business. In todays episode of Join Up Dots we look at the five ways that you can over come days when lacking motivation is a problem. Most importantly keeping it at a few days instead of it dragging on and on becoming a problem that stops all progress. Why Do You Start Lacking Motivation? My wife always says to  me "Listen to your body as it knows the answer" and most often this is the perfect solution to your issues. We all know when we are excited and bouncy and full of beans, and generally its because something is fun and new and invigorating to us. Ever been to Disneyworld or any of the theme parks, and been aware of that feeling of dread, excitement and anticipation as you are walking towards the entrance gate. Our body is never lacking motivation on these days, as our whole day is full of new challenges that we are not sure we will like or not. Our body gets ready for the battle and subsequently we feel more alive than we do on a normal work or school day. Whilst we are on the subject of work, and school, think about your first days in the office and how you would wake up a little earlier and feel nervousness and anticipation that quickly disappears once the job becomes your job. How do you bring new challenges into your life that can be the spark to build more and more motivation ? Finding Fun New Challenges To Build Motivation Now most people struggle with this concept as they think that they have to find huge challenges that are an amazing undertaking. This is so wrong, and actually nobody achieves the big stuff without tackling the small things first. I remember back in the day, going into board meetings and trying to speak the lyrics of Beatles songs without nobody realising i was doing it? Stupid? Yeah a bit, but it gave me something to focus on in an environment that was a bit huumdrum. It could be simple things like "How quickly can I have a shower in the morning?", "How can I read a book a week?" "How can i cut back on sugar in the food that i am eating" Not one of them on their own will be lifechanging except perhaps the cutting out sugar, but they are little games to play with yourself. And games as we all know are fun, and fun is...well fun, and never leads to lacking motivation. So our first tip to start beating the issue of lacking motivation is try to find fun where fun might not be visible. Get Rid Of Overwhelm This is a problem that i have a lot and one that i have had to learn the skills to beat...and beat it i do. When things are moving along nicely in a business then you never struggle to find the motivation to make things happen. You get to your desk, start working and before you know it a day has passed and success is yours. How about those times however when you have too much on your plate, and everywhere you look there is something to be done. You plough on throughout the day until you get to bed with the feeling off "I haven't really achieved anything at all"? You wake up the next morning and the first signs of lacking motivation are appearing. "I cant bear the thought of another day like yesterday....i think ill watch Netflix for a bit" When this occurs you have to stop thinking of everything you need to do and just choose something. Think of something you fancy doing and brings about some kind of reward. It could be another customer, some income, another part of your business....but do something. The key to not lacking motivation is to find ways of feeling good about your efforts. So find something that brings the rewards and make things happen. The People Pleasing Trap That Kills Us All Do you feel that you spend most of your time doing stuff for other people. Certainly any parent will feel that they spend the bulk of their days taking the kids around to multiple activities. Which has been one of the good things about the pandemic in my view. A lot of the extra stuff that we do for people has been taken away from us for a bit. So this is your chance to reset and stop offering up your time and energies on being their for people that dont really deserve it. Stop trying to please others all the time, and block out some ME TIME, which is non negotiable. Through Join Up Dots I wont allow anyone to break into most of my week, and I'm always looking for ways that I can focus in on myself first. Is this selfish and a bad things? No not at all, it just means that i have more energy for the people that do need my help and that is where my efforts are better placed. As they say on the planes "Make sure you put your mask on first" and that has never been more important when trying to stop lacking motivation. Simply say NO. Happiness And Achievement Killers Of Motivation Yeah it seems a strange thing to admit as Join Up Dots is all about working on achieving your goals. But there are times when you achieve everything you wanted to achieve and then laziness and contentment creeps in. I think at our hearts everybody is lazy to some degree. We would all rather just sit around doing a few things here and there than driving forward everyday. So what do you do when lacking motivation is linked to huge success and achievement? Well i think that you should set a timescale to rest and bask in your glory before getting going again. Say to yourself "Man you have done well, give yourself three months off to rest, enjoy yourself but think of something new to do" As humans are creative, inspirational, higher functioning beings when we have something to challenge us. And coming full circle those challenges, no matter how small will lead to you never lacking motivation again.

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. How The Dots Joined Up For Bob From his thirty years of helping clients, Bob has distilled a concoction of warmth, humour, information, motivation and budgeting directives that he offers to anyone with financial concerns. He is also currently the CFO for The World Famous Comedy Store. Now if that's not enough for you, then he has also an adventurous spirit in abundance too, with world travels that have led him to high altitudes. He has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, ascended to the Mount Everest Base Camp, and hiked several smaller mountains in between. With charm and humor, his experiences on the road, in the office, or running a Greek marathon, feed his wit as a stand-up comic and financial motivator. Bob Wheeler helps listeners conquer their money shame and avoid making poor financial decisions by teaching how emotions can dictate our choices. So is it all about our attitude to money that directs the riches that we bring into our lives? And what happened in Africa that changed his beliefs around money? Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Bob Wheeler

What does your business need to start moving forward into 2021 with all the confidence in the world? Well just like you would set personal resolutions of losing weight, getting fitter, self development. Running a successful business more often not requires you to do as much clearing up, getting rid, and pruning the dead parts as always going for the new. In this podcast we look at the four things that you can start doing today to make your tomorrow so much brighter. Clear Friends and Acquaintances   We all know how it is nowadays. You are working on your pc, or phone a friend request comes through from somebody you dont know, you do a quick check and boom, they are connected to you. But why do we do this online, operating in a totally different way to how we would live our lives in real life? You wouldn't be at a bus stop and a random stranger asks to see your family photos, but in an instant you can give your life way online. Its madness. On the other side, you can easily find your focus lost with so many other people lives being part of your daily routine even if you dont know them? So our number one, resolution each year is take a good look at each of them and if they aren't relevant or useful, or actually been in contact get rid of them. You will find it so much easier to build a powerful network that works for you, instead of one that works against you. Clear Outstanding and Half Finished Entries When you are building a business you will start work with all the passion in the world. This is going to be the big thing, that kick starts everything for me. This will be my golden ticket. But in all honesty 80% of it really doesn't go anywhere and just fills up your Google Drives and desktop with clutter. Now this is a hard one to do, as like most of us you will think "Yeah, that is important...must keep that" So our little tip is change the search criteria to see when it was last modified on your computer, and if it was more than 3 months then bin it. You dont really need it, or you would have gone back and finished it off. A clean workspace free of distractions and clutter is the way towards a successful online business. Make Small Monthly Targets In our view a yearly or quarterly targets is not achievable, as you never know what is going to come out of the woodwork and send you off track. Being an entrepreneur is about being flexible and agile and finding your way around obstacles. Which is why in our view targets too far in the future aren't feasible and wont lead to success. Think about it, if life is about joining up the dots to get the success you want then just four big bulky dots per year wont get you far. 365 small, bouncy and perky dots....well that could get you round the world and back. UNDERSTAND YOUR PROFIT AND LOSS OF YOUR BUSINESS When you create a business from scratch you feel that the initial expenses are going to remain the same. Its an easy equation to work out, what i earn from the business against what i spend is what i need to do. However this is a simple mistake that will keep in you in the same position financially for much longer than you need to be in. To create a business that grows you must bring in another 20% to the equation that can then be reinvested back into the business. This could be for outside support and help. This could be for automated systems  that help drive more traffic through your business. It helps you to grow, and without surplus funds that are specifically allocated for growth you journey will be so much harder. So lets look at the equation again as it should look something like PROFIT IN - MINUS EXPENSES - MINUS 20% = EARNINGS. Every year its a good idea to start reviewing your financials and building upon the success of your business. You cant be boot strapping it forever.

Happy New Year 2021, we all cry in unison across the world. Is it as much to say goodbye to 2020, which started off as normal and ended up in such a weird way nobody was untouched? Who knows, but one things we do know is a Happy New Year 2021, means a lot more than most years to a lot more people. In todays podcast we give a brief overview of the changes that have occurred in our business over the last six months or so. Also we talk about how to start building online success, by breaking down financial goals into small easy to achieve targets. You want £200 per month of additional income, then how do you want to get it? Do you want £200 from one customer or do you want £200 from 200 customers paying you a £1 each. Its all up to you to decide and make it happen. Our Goals For 2021 We love shouting out Happy New Year 2021 with gusto, as quite frankly we like drawing a line under previous challenges and starting all over again. Through Join Up Dots journey over the last seven years we have never had a year where we haven't set firm and achievable goals right from the start. In 2021 we have decided that we want to increase the value and profitability of the business, whilst freeing ourselves more and more from the the day to day running of the operation. Its quite easy to get caught up in the weeds and find yourself restricted by the challenges and workload that it takes to run a business. So its time to reassess and start delegating more and more to the over day to day operations by building teams . Whats the point in having a business when quite frankly it doesn't give you what you wanted in the first place. More Goals For 2021 Over the last ten years or so, we feel that the major thing that we have done, that let's our work down, is getting you guy to believe. We need you to believe in the system of online business more than ever, by tipping the iceberg upside down. We are going to make things clearer and clearer to you all, so by listening to Join Up Dots you will gain total clarity of the steps that you need to take. Through the three times a week podcast episode, and videos sent directly to your email inbox we are going to let you peer behind the curtain. Is there anywhere else that does this for you in such consistent ways? We dont think so, so lets set the bar as high as possible to make the biggest difference that we can. Big goals, big focus and a big delivery from us to you, but we will make it happen. So from everyone at Join Up Dots, there is nothing left for us to say than scream "Happy new Year 2021" its going to be the best one ever.

What does it take to start a new business that brings you the lifestyle that you want?

Well it all starts with setting a firm and consistent goal that brings us closer everyday to the life we want.

On todays show we reveal an email that one listener sent to us that really shows that they have got the mindset fix that they need.

Sell Yourself To Us: Hi David. I would like to invite myself to be a guest on your show in 809 days. I have no business, no idea what that could be and I had been failing at online money making since about 2008. Not that I actually really truly tried! I thought I did. Yes, cliche, that 809 days is my 40th birthday, but I had to pick a goal and a date so here it is. I am not quitting my job, I do not even have a lot of time. I had never been very creative and I am super shy. I have zero hobbies and passions, and never had, and I do not even have a decent career to share knowledge online. I have no reasons to believe that this time will be any different than any other of the past times I bought online course and was motivated and inspired and achieved nothing other than feeling I am really stupid. But they say you gotta do sth different to have different results. Well, publicly committing to a goal and inviting myself to talk to someone is like the most insane thing I had done in a decade. Yes, I am a bit ashamed on how boring my life is. Smart people seem to be saying that failure is how you learn so either way this has to be a win. Either I make good progress and some $$$ or I am going to learn some stuff. I did step one of your free course and figure out what is my roof-over-my-head-$-number and was shocked on how small it is. It has to be possible! You seem like a nice guy who likes to help people. I mean, I might be wrong, you could be an asshole, I only listened to 3 episodes so far, but I was told I am a good judge of character so I am going to stick to the helpful guy for now.... Sooooo how about this: I am going to make half of my current roof-$-amount between 03/2022 and 03/2023 and make notes on the way and we can talk about it. Seems like a good episode to me. OK, I will be honest I wrote the whole amount and than thought that it is stupid to focus on money because I cannot control it. I can only control the process and do not want to feel like a failure if I make less. BUt than I feel like I am not aiming high enough and setting low goals afraid of failing. So clearly, I have not figure that part out yet. But I am a super honest person. And super self-critical. I do not lie to myself. I think that doing is the whole goal here. I will tell you if I did not give it my best even if I made x2 the roof dollars. Social Media Links: nothing here either

Todd Miller is todays guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast. He Experienced Money Coach with a demonstrated history of working in the professional training & coaching industry.  Skilled in budgeting, cash flow management, and goal setting. Strong finance professional, graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Finance from the University of Florida.  And now since April 2020 - he is the owner of TightwadTodd As he says "I became Financially Independent at 35. Now, I want to help YOU achieve YOUR financial goals! Throughout my journey, I've made mistakes and had setbacks. But have had even more wins and achievements.  Learn from my mistakes, save yourself the time and money! My goal is to help YOU achieve yours! Here YOU will learn about YOUR money and where it goes. YOU will build good financial habits and save more each month! I have helped countless others, now it’s YOUR turn! The sooner YOU start the quicker YOU can live the life of YOUR dreams! How The Dots Joined Up For Todd However if this seems like an easy step to living the life that he wanted, think again. As after graduating with a degree in finance from the University of Florida, Todd started working for a Fortune Global 500 company. Less than a year later, he got laid off due to the Great Recession. During this difficult period, he committed to living on his terms and becoming financially independent. Todd dreamed of working less, experiencing more, and spending time with the most important people in his life. For the next 11 years, he worked in financial services, guiding thousands of people through the mortgage approval process. All the while, he saved, invested, and built passive income for the future. Then, at 35, Todd accomplished his goal and became F.I.! He went on bucket list adventures around the world and eventually started Tightwad Todd.com. This coaching business is a way for him to follow another passion, helping others. Its mission is financial education, so everyone can achieve their goals faster, live free, and have more fulfilled lives.  So what can people do starting today if they wish to be financially independent but dont have much cash to spare? And where do people go wrong, not paying themselves first, or simply losing track of expenditure? Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Todd Miller Show Highlights During the show we discussed such deep subjects with Todd Miller such as: Todd shares his journey through the four quadrants of financial advice from Rich Dad Poor Dad. Todd reveals why he feels operating in stocks and shares is the reliable method of operating your finances. And lastly.... Why so many of us fail to make the most of our money options due to fear or risk concerns.

Well thats another year over, and new one just begun, as John Lennon sang.

But what has the year been like for all of us, and does this make it more xmasy or less in 2020

Well Join Up Dots is moving from strength to strength and its a delight to say "Happy Xmas To You All" once more.

Dear David, thank you for all your amazing podcasts that you release constantly. It is without a doubt the show that i tell people to listen to, Its not preachy and i really get the feeling that you have shared the insides, outsides and downsides of what you have created. I would like to ask a question around the burnout you mention often on the show, I can totally understand why you keep on referencing it, as I have seen many people fall apart over the last few years and most of it was simply down to taking on too much all the time. Is there anything that you do now, which you didn't do then which has made all the difference? And secondly, if you would be kind enough to talk about what you do on a daily basis in regards to your health. The reason that I am asking this is I would to start my own business, but im quite fragile healthwise at the best of times so I am reluctant to cause more issues to myself. Extremely kind regards Joan SMith (Not my real name), Australia (Not My Real Country)

Financial Consciousness Expert Leisa Peterson is our guest today joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast for the second time. When we last met our guest on today's episode of the Join Up Dots free podcast interview, she was in the middle of experiencing some massive growth, Yes, in both her business life and her personal life she was smashing through the barriers. Kicking over her self limiting doubts And creating an amazing future for herself. She has done this by asking great questions to her clients that flock to her like moths to a flame. She asks “Are you someone who is burned out from working hard for many years yet afraid to step back out of fear of losing all you’ve gained? Are your work obligations keeping you from having deeply meaningful relationships with your family and friends? Do you feel stuck in a situation that takes everything you've got yet know there has to be more to life…an ultimate state of joy, satisfaction, and fulfilment." How The Dots Joined Up For Leisa Now the interesting thing about her and what I want to discuss in this show, is whether she truly believed it when she first said it? Did she fully embrace the power that an individual possesses in their day to day lives to create one that is remarkable. Was it by doing the work, and seeing the results in her clients that she fully embraced the possibilities that she could create? You see she has had three stages of success from working  22+ years n the world of finance, pouring herself into earning a high salary, collecting great bonuses and moving up the ladder. Then after facing a major life crisis followed by several tragedies, she moved towards answering the question of could She ever have both inner fulfilment and outer wealth.” And now after creating a successful coaching business, she has sold her long time home, moved to Hawaii, and now come back to Arizona and started something new. So is financial consciousness as much about financial confidence as anything else? And where do her clients struggle most in their journey towards a mindful millionaire? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Leisa Peterson

Dr. James F Richardson is todays guest on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast. He is the founder of Premium Growth Solutions, a strategic planning consultancy for early-stage consumer-packaged goods brands. As a professionally trained cultural anthropologist turned business strategist, he has helped more than 75 CPG brands (which stands for Consumer Packaged Goods) with their strategic planning, including brands owned by Coca-Cola Venturing and Emerging Brands, The Hershey Company, General Mills, Kraft Foods, ConAgra Brands, and Frito-Lay as well as emerging brands such as Once Upon a Farm, Peatos, Ithaca Hummus, Mother Kombucha, Rebel Creamery, zaca recovery, and others. James is the author of Ramping Your Brand: How to Ride the Killer CPG Growth Curve, the #1 Best-seller in Business Consulting on Amazon. He also hosts his own podcast—Startup Confidential, and his thoughts appear regularly in industry publications such as Foodnavigator. Now if that all sounds very impressive it is, but not what a show like Join Up Dots normally delivers, then listen to this You can plan exponential growth.

Siddharth Rajsekar is today's guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast. He has a fascinating story that has taken him across the world and back to where he is now. On a mission to create 1,000,000 digital leaders. He is the founder of The Freedom Business Model For the last seven years, Sidz has been running a digital agency that has represented clients like Robert Kiyosaki, Jack Canfield, Tony Robbins and many more. He currently nurtures one of India’s largest tribe of coaches and experts who are building their own digital ecosystems too. But like most of the stories in Join Up Dots, where the guest has ended up is often nowhere near where they started. How The Dots Joined Up For Sidz The same is true with today's guest, and as he says "I was an outstanding student in school. Always standing outside class.  I was truly passionate about music and cricket and played right thru my schooling years. I could never remember a time I would sit in one place. I could not sit in boring classrooms. And that’s why I ended up dropping out of college. I flunked my 12th grade. Scored just 28% in mathematics." However this didn't stop him,  so he started to re-educate himself, he pawned his wife’s gold jewellery and started to invest in many internet marketing courses. He spent around $10,000 on courses and by the end of that year, he was able to set up my small little digital agency along with his cousin and business partner. Which is where we should start today's episode of Join Up Dots. So where do people get hung up in starting their business? Investing in themselves or simply coming up with the right idea. And with the world in turmoil at the moment, is this the right time to start a business or hold off? Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Siddharth Rajsekar Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty subjects with Siddharth Rajsekar such as: Be fixed on the goal, but not how you are going to get there. Be flexible with your approach and enjoy the journey. Be very clear on what you want to be known, mission statement, community around it, elevator pitch Why you should always look for the best mentorship you can on the way to greatness. and lastly........ There are six areas of need that a business can be created: Business Growth, Career Growth, Health & Wellness, Make Money, Relationships, Arts and Crafts.  Passion, Problem (The passion has to be able to solve a problem that someone will pay for), the Persona, Potential in the market, people need to pay you for it.

Comedy Central founder Art Bell, is today’s guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast. He is a former media executive known for creating, building, and managing successful cable television channels. In 1988, When a young, mid-level employee he pitched a novel concept—a television channel focused 100% on just one thing: comedy—to the chairman of HBO. The pitch went well and he not only got the greenlight for his project, he also went on to hold senior executive positions in both programming and marketing at Comedy Central. During that time, he also co-authored a humor book entitled Web Sightings: A Collection of Websites We’d Like to See. After leaving Comedy Central, Art became president of Court TV, where he was a guiding force behind one of the most successful brand evolutions in cable television. How The Comedy Dots Joined Up For Art As he says “Ever since the idea had first occurred to me while writing and performing with the Wharton Follies, I kept thinking about how great an all-comedy television channel would be. New cable channels were launching all the time and I expected someone would announce an all-comedy channel any minute, but nobody did.” He know has brought all his lessons and experience together in one best selling memoir Constant Comedy: How I Started Comedy Central and Lost My Sense of Humor From disastrous pitch meetings with comedians to the discovery of talents like Bill Maher and Jon Stewart, this intimate and laugh-out-loud funny memoir peers behind the curtain and reveals what it’s really like to work, struggle, and ultimately succeed at the cutting edge of show business. So when comedy is so subjective what made him think that he could bring this into the mainstream and out of the clubs? And how did he get the momentum building until it became a household name across the world. Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots, with the one and only Art Bell Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Art Bell such as: Art shares the first few weeks of the launch of Comedy Central, when he got many phone calls from people telling him "It just isn't funny". We think about the concepts across the generations that parents everywhere hated, which was a turning point to careers and industries across the world Art discusses the failure rate of new business across America, and why it is such a shocking statistic to him. And lastly….. How he got fired from the very business that he set up, which then lead him onto a new path which he feels is so exciting.

Zuzana Dobro is today’s guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast. She is a lady who really has travelled the world, experiencing not just culture but I imagine terrible weather, and returned with a plan As she says "I am Slovakian, born in the former Czechoslovakia. As a kid, I was told I’d never be able to leave my country and see the world or have the freedom to be whoever I wanted to be. After the Iron Curtain came down, I moved to England, speaking very little English with only £200 in my pocket. I gradually made my way through working in the creative industry and got an offer to join a big corporation. I had my “dream job” as an interaction and UX designer, but still, something felt odd... I had this unstoppable desire to fulfil my childhood dream to travel around the world, so I quit the “security”, travelled solo for 2 years, and even backpacked to Antarctica. How The Dots Joined Up For Zuzana After my trip, I merged my passion for adventure travel and human evolution with my design and creative problem-solving Expertise, and I embarked on the journey of entrepreneurship. I've created The WHO Method to help entrepreneurs, coaches, authors, experts and agencies to get to know their customers deeply and to avoid the pitfalls of attracting the wrong people. As she goes on to say "Many Entrepreneurs struggle in their business until they discover how crucial it is to have crystal-clear audience targeting, which means to run a company that is aligned with a dream customer. Another missing part is understanding that the wants and desires of your customers will change because people's values shift. So how do people use THE WHO method to maximise marketing and customer attraction? And does she still find that no matter how well she gets to know her own customer she is still surprised  Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots, with the one and only Zuzana Dobro Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Zuzana Dobro such as: How the ability to learn different languages has really helped her to understand peoples mentality and desires across the world. When you launch a product to market to your customer, you have to start with your "Who" first and foremost. Why you have to be careful about trying to create perfection in your business at the beginning...just get something out there. And lastly….. Zuzana shares the internal truth of her life and the simplicity of it is so astonishing to everyone....or it should be!

When it comes to going for success its true that most people only have a glimpse of what it is by viewing other peoples lives.

So why do we compare, review and envy others, when quite frankly they might not be happy with it anyway?

This podcast was inspired by the following email from a listener who asked...

Dear David, i listened to your podcast episode about creating success. In fact most of them touch on this. But what can you do if you dont know what success should be like? I cant think of anything worse than working in a powerful finance position. I wouldnt want to be flying across the world for meetings like some of my friends do. I just like the simple things in life, which makes pub chat very difficult as it seems to others i dont have ambition. Just musing, and thought my favourite podcaster might have some ideas Senita Latral, Vienna, Austria

Todays show is a harrowing story, that shows how through one terrible incident a persons life can spiral out of control, until hitting rock bottom and fighting their way back.

When our guest today was just fourteen, she was raped, she lost her virginity and her life changed forever.

Unable to make sense of what had happened to her, still a very young girl, she turned to drugs, quit school four times, and became very promiscuous.

At age 16, she fell pregnant with a child that she was unable to keep, and feel deeper from the path that could have show itself at anytime.

After the abortion, she got involved with prostitution and at the age of 18 gave birth to her son.

Now at that time, she made a decision to start fighting back and to make a difference in her and her own sons life.

She went back to school, graduated via a program for single moms, received scholarships and awards, until after attending university for 5 years, and became a high school math and English teacher.

Where she worked for 3.5 years, teaching in a small town, until and we will discuss this on the show, she made what seems a bizarre decision and quit to move back to her hometown, where she returned to prostitution and drugs because the money was better.

Her self-esteem was in tatters. Sucidical thoughts running through her days, and an accident where she nearly lost her right leg.

If that sounds to depressing to consider, she was just about to enter into the worst time of her life was during this period.

Her son moved out when he turned 19 and didn't speak to her for three years. She ended up smoking crack for ten months during this time and then it happened.

She nearly died when her appendix burst, and realized she didn't want to die without saying "good-bye" to her son.

As she says "I had already started to turn my life around about two years before this event occurred, and so when I finally re-connected with my son, my life always back on track.

Re-uniting with Julian changed my life in a very positive way. I decided to pursue a writing career.

I now own a business, Wording Well, and am an author. I live a clean life, and spend a lot of it helping others. My books are in my local library, and my business is thriving.

I'm living proof that a person can hit rock bottom and rise to the top despite all odds against them.

My son is proud of me again, too. :)"

So lets take her on the journey of her life again, as we show everyone of you, that life is a series of choices good and bad, and we can all improve our lives by simply deciding to do so.

It's with great delight that I get to bring onto Join Up Dots, the one and only Lorraine Reguly

Beating Your Competitors in business is actually one of the easiest things you can do. Most people get fearful of who they are up against when starting a new business, and quite often will pivot and dilute their offering. This is a huge mistake as competition is actually a great thing, especially when operating online. You see most of these people who are out there doing what you want to do have solved a lot of the issues already. They have gone through the daily grind and trial and error phase to find out what works. So in this episode we take a look at hacking the competition and beating your competitors by putting your own spin onto what is already working. Ready? Well lets start. Step One: Start Looking At What Your Competitors Are Doing There are a million questions that you should be asking when building your business and most of them have been answered already. Start Googling your business idea, and start jotting down the url of your competitors that keep on appearing whenever you search. Take a look at the colour schemes, their images, their menu bar, their offerings, and make detailed notes on everything. Do they deal with customers directly? Are their systems automated with chatbots and autoresponders? What are their downloads that they offer? Do they get you onto an email marketing system? How are they going out of their way to make their offer clear and precise and easy to find on their site. Beating Your Competitors is about doing what they do better than they do it themselves so take detailed notes and then try to improve on them all. Step Two: Make A List Of How Long They Have Been In Business By Domain Checking One of the things that we like to do when working out a way of beating your competitors is find out the long players. What we mean by this is do some digging around to see which of the businesses that you are up against have been around for the longest You can zip over to https://websiteseochecker.com/and place in the URL of the company that you are checking and find instantly a ton of very useful information. For example if you placed Join Up Dots into the URL checker, you will see the age listed, the domain authority, the backlinks...everything you need in one simple search. So why do we do this when working on finding ways to start beating your competitors? Quite simply, if someone has been in business for a long time, they should be making money, in profit and being efficient with customer acquisition. Otherwise why go to the expense to keep things up online. We always want to get a list of companies five years and older to really start digging around for the gold. Step Three: Beating Your Competitors Means Understanding Your Customers It is always amazing to us when we ask our clients "Who are your ideal customers"? and we get a loose answer of "Men, over 40, with a steady job" How can this really tell us anything that can be useful for our business? Remember, your business is going all out to start beating your customers so the more intelligence that we can have in regard to who is buying the better. Remember the list of well established businesses that we have written the URL of on our list? Well if you haven't then its time to go back and do the work again, but if you have we now want to take those URLS and start mining Google for the good stuff it will tell us. We need to go over to Google Trends and start clicking around to see what type of traffic our competitors are getting. We can find out what sex, where they live, what age they are, what are their interests, almost everything we need to start building a detailed profile. The same can be said for joining FaceBook Groups, and seeing what questions are being asked by people and clicking through onto their profiles to see details about them. Are there consistent questions and similar profiles asking those questions? Yeah, we are sure there will be and you will want to make as many notes about these people as you can. That is how you start beating your competitors quicker than ever. Step Four: Compare Your Competitors Offers With Your Real Life Intelligence Now you have a detailed pack of information, of real life data, how does this compare to what your competitors are doing. When you look at their offerings, does there seem to be a synergy as to what you now know and what they are selling? Quite often a business will get itself into a position of power and then rest on it's laurels forgetting what got it there in the first place. That is a bad idea and one of the key rules to beating your competitors is knowing what they are doing and staying in front of them. So now is the time to up the anti, and really add another one or two elements to everything that they offer. If they are taking 48 hours to deliver, can you half that time? If they are offering a package of items to groom your beloved pooch, can you add additional items and still get it to the customer faster. When you think of the power of Amazon, it is mainly down to the ease of buying and the quickness of getting those items. There isn't much more to their business model, but they know that they have this part nailed down and can beat most other businesses easily. Step Five: Beating Your Competitors Means Ease As we just discussed, Amazon has dominated the world by the customer ease factor. We all know it will only take minutes to find something we want, buy it, and then sit back and wait for it to be delivered. Never has that been more important than nowadays, so how do you make things easy for your customer to find understand and buy. If you are selling a product how do you make the customer journey through your website as easy as possible to navigate. This is one thing that online businesses are really bad at. Signposting their offers to increase conversions. Get your friends to try to buy from you, and if they cant do it quickly then make the changes. Ask them to tell you within 3 seconds what your underlining offering is, that brings everything together...for example Join Up Dots is Business Made Easy. So if we haven't brought that element into everything we do then we are failing in our overall branding. Ease is king to the success of your business and beating your competitors will come down to this as much as anything else.