Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
The idea of the “self-made” man or woman is pretty appealing. But it’s also a myth. None of us are born knowing everything there is to know. We learn what we need from experience, and most of that experience revolves around interacting with other people.
Given that it’s the holiday season and a great time to reflect on what you’re grateful for, James and Dean decided to devote this episode of Just The Tips to revealing some of the mentors and coaches who’ve made huge impacts in their businesses and lives. They’ll also reveal the epic pitfalls they fell into as a result of avoiding quality coaching because it was “too expensive.”
Building a successful business takes time no matter what. But there’s still a fast way and a slow way. Check out this episode to discover why the right people at the right time–especially qualified coaches–are the fastest way to grow your business.
The slow way or the fast way
If Dean wanted to get from the U.K. to the U.S., which option makes more sense: Buy a plane ticket and fly, or build a 747 from scratch? It sounds obvious, but trying to figure your business out yourself with free information and the odd $27 ebook is like building the plane from scratch. It takes way more time and/or costs way more money than you think it’s going to. Figuring it out yourself is the slow way to build a business. The fast way is to hire a coach who’s gotten the result you want, and let them help you get that result for yourself.
You pay with time or you pay with money
Early in his entrepreneurial journey, Dean passed on an opportunity to invest in coaching because he thought paying $5,000-$10,000 for it was outlandish. That was money he could spend on ads and $37 training products, after all. But four years and $60,000 worth of training programs later, Dean’s business not only hadn’t grown, it went backwards. So Dean used his last bit of credit to buy coaching, and in 8 months was able to quit his job and go into business full-time. The whole experience taught him a very powerful lesson about the value of spending money on coaching NOW.
Make it harder to fail
Winning is never guaranteed, but you can stack the odds in your favor. The right coach, the right team, the right people in your corner, can elevate you to levels you’d never reach on your own. As appealing as the “figure it out on your own” fantasy is, the most successful people you know and respect had help getting where they are. They did the work, yes. But without the people they met and worked with along the way, they wouldn’t be where they are.
What you don’t know can hurt you
The biggest problem with figuring it out on your own is that there are things you don’t know, and you don’t know you don’t know them. You go after what you THINK you need, not what you actually need. As an entrepreneur, you see this all the time with your customers. You offer them what they think they need, so you can get them in the door and offer them what they actually need to get the result they want. That’s the power of working with someone who knows what you actually need to get where you want to be. They see the blind spots you would never see.
It’s lonely, but you’re not alone
One of the hardest parts of being an entrepreneur is how lonely it feels. Even people in your life who care about you don’t always get it, and you often feel like the outsider. Having a network of people who do get it, who push you, who are there for you, makes the journey a lot less lonely and a lot more worthwhile. It’s especially powerful on the days where you feel like quitting, or where you’re facing something you really don’t want to do. The people you connect with can mean the difference between giving up on your dream, or going all the way.
Outline of This Episode
- Why have a mentor? [4:30]
- You pay with time or you pay with money [9:45]
- Hire the best help you can currently afford [14:01]
- $60,000 in training programs and still nothing [17:17]
- Why “self-made” doesn’t exist [24:01]
- Meeting the “Rich Dad” [33:23]
- You don’t know what you don’t know [40:10]
Resources & People Mentioned
- “Who Not How” by Dan Sullivan
- “Tools of Titans” by Tim Ferriss and Arnold Schwartzenegger
Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
