I learned early on that this middle class things sucks. After my dad died when I was ten, my mom lived in constant fear, worrying about money and basic necessities. I felt powerless to change my family’s situation and turned down a destructive path. I always wanted to do BIG things, to be super rich and never have to worry about money again, but I was far from reaching that goal...
I hit rock bottom when I got so heavy into drugs and was almost beaten to death—my life had gotten out of control. I had made a mess and become obsessed with the wrong things. I went to a rehab clinic and quickly realized that it was up to me to turn my life around, to clean up the mess I had made. Instead of focusing on all the destruction I had caused, I looked to the future that I wanted to create. I gave myself permission to write about my new life, one with the levels of massive success I dreamed about when I was a kid. My success started with that change in mindset, then taking responsibility for my situation.
I work with small companies and Fortune 500 companies to grow sales by finding overlooked opportunities and customizing the sales process to be more effective. I have worked with companies like Google, Sprint, Aflac, Toyota, GM, Ford and thousands more. I own and operate four companies that do almost 100m in annual sales and I’m also a New York Times best-selling author, international speaker, & considered the top sales training and social media expert in the world today.
If you want success, you have to take full responsibility for everything in your life.
What were the biggest initial hurdles to building your business and how did you overcome them?
Setting targets that were not equal to my potential. I have created 5 five companies from nothing and my only regret is failing to approach my life with the right mind-set. I would have set targets that were 10 times what I dreamed of in the beginning. The way you think dictates what actions you take. Small think equals small actions. Big think equals big actions.
Did you ever deal with contention from your family and friends concerning your entrepreneurial pursuits?
How did you handle it? What would you do differently in hindsight?
I grew up in a scarcity environment. After we lost my dad, my mom told us to be happy with what we had, that we had it better than so many other people. I was never satisfied with that response. What I saw was a horrible way to live—in constant state of fear and worry about meeting basic necessities. I had many arguments with my mom, vowing that I would one day get rich and be so successful that I would never have to worry about shortages again. When I brought up accomplishments from highly successful people, friends and family told me not to compare myself to others. I couldn’t win... I realized that there wasn't anything wrong with me but the thinking of the people around me. They were thinking in terms of shortages and I was obsessed with breaking out of that scarcity mindset. I didn’t figure out how to do that until years later when I got out of rehab.
What would you say was the single most influential factor in your business success?
The one thing that was consistent with any success I received was that I was put forth 10 times the amount of activity than others did. The only reason anyone fails is because they do not take enough actions to reach their goals. There's never anything wrong with the targets, only the level of activity taken to reach it. Never lower your targets. Instead, increase your activity.
What do you know today that you wish you would have known when you first got started as an entrepreneur?
There are no shortages in life. I was brought thinking that it was ok to just get by and that money was not something that you should talk about. If you have success and make money, there’s is nothing wrong with sharing that with the world. The same opportunity to change your life is available to everyone. It all starts in the mind. Success should be contagious for other people and a reminder that anything is possible, with the right level of actions and mindset.
-I’ve learned that you have to cut out people in your life that have given up on their dreams or are too afraid to having any to begin with.
-If you have any shot at reaching your true potential, you have to surround yourself with people that inspire you, that are massively more successful than you. You have to reach up to see what is truly possible, not be around negative, small thinking people that will be in the same position 15 years from now.
What advice would you give to an upcoming young and old entrepreneur locally and internationally?
Don’t settle for average thinking. Your success is your responsibility. If you want prosperity and abundance in your life then commit first, then take 10X actions to ensure your success. You can never fail if you don’t quit.
Don’t be a quitter or pretender—commit to your purpose and do the work to get it done. Dream BIG. There are no shortages in life. You can have everything you ever wanted if you take massive actions, consistently over time.
