Today I want to introduce you to a podcast called Open for Business. In this episode, the host, John Henry, talks about a few founders and their businesses. He covers challenges that were overcome and 3 lessons to take away.
Feel free to reach out with questions or comments at chrisbello.com and remember, less dreaming, more doing.
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Chris Bello
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook
This past weekend, I went to a 3 day real estate workshop here in Houston, TX. In addition to learning a ton about investing in real estate, self-directed IRAs, and more, I was very happy to get a lot of “mindset training” from the speaker on how every real estate investor (or entrepreneur in general) needs to think in order to be successful.
A lot of people in the room were getting this training for the first time; I have been getting this kind of training from the types of books I read and podcasts I listen to for awhile now. He did bring up two mindsets that I don’t think I’ve heard explained in detail until now. The two mindsets are scarcity and abundance. I’ll explain what they both are, but make sure to think of the people that surround you and impact you in your life. Ask yourself if they fall under the “scarcity” mindset or the “abundance” mindset, and then consider adjusting who you spend time with accordingly if you think you need to make a change.
Scarcity mindset is believing that there will never be enough, resulting in feelings of fear, stress, and anxiety.
People with this type of thinking might think they need to do things themselves to save a couple of bucks. They often have a “lose-win” mindset. They feel that there’s only so much that can go around. These kinds of people are hesitant to part with money on coaching or learning more because the dollar sign cost is all they see. They fail to see the potential return on that investment.
These people are afraid of losing time or money when trying new things.
Abundance mindset flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security. It is thinking that there is more than enough for everyone.
Someone with this mindset thinks there is always more of everything in life. There are limitless possibilities. Because of this, these people can attract amazing experiences and opportunities.
People with this mindset love trying new things and don’t care if they fail. Their mindset is that failing is learning and getting closer to the end goal.
Scarcity mindset is seeing the glass half empty and hogging the rest of the drink for yourself. Abundance mindset is seeing the glass as half full and sharing with others since you know you can always get more of whatever it is that you are sharing.
One powerful quote mentioned in that workshop was: “Don’t worry about how much something COSTS, think about how much it will MAKE YOU.” This kind of ties in with my last post on expenses versus investments. Anything you spend now to accomplish a goal later down the road is an investment. Time or money put in should not be seen as a waste, but as planting seeds of success that will take time to grow.
There may be an opportunity shown to two people. One person with scarcity mentality will say “oh there’s competition, it’s saturated, it’ll be tough.” The person with abundance mentality will say “okay, the more people there are, the better. There’s more opportunities, and it’s a proven model.” See this difference? It’s black and white, a totally different mindset!
Who do you think will succeed? The person with abundance mentality will succeed every time. Think big, embrace risks, and take chances! Practice shifting your mentality from scarcity to abundance if you lean more towards scarcity mindset at this moment. There is more than enough to go around for all of us.
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Chris Bello
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook
Built to Sell Radio is hosted by John Warrillow, author of the book Built to Sell, which you can buy here.
This is a great podcast that interviews entrepreneurs who have had successful exits. You learn their struggles, how they overcame challenges, and how much money they made when they exited.
Today I cover episode 137, where you hear how Thomas Gorny built a website hosting company to a $975M exit, and how he went from rags, to riches, and back to rags before succeeding again.
Feel free to reach out with questions or comments at chrisbello.com and remember, less dreaming, more doing.
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Chris Bello
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook
Expense – something expended to secure a benefit or bring about a result
Investment – the outlay of money usually for income or profit : capital outlay; also : the sum invested or the property purchased
Expenses are basically things we pay for to bring a benefit or result. We have expenses like car notes and groceries to help us move around and eat.
Investments tend to be things that we think about a little more and don’t necessarily need right now. The idea is that we pay something now for the chance of a greater return later.
Believe it or not, one person might consider something an expense that another considers an investment. This all comes down to mindset. I’ll explain further.
Let’s take books, for example. Someone who isn’t interested in learning much might consider buying books “for fun” as a waste of money, an unnecessary expense. However, someone else who is passionate about learning new things or about a certain topic would consider that purchase to be an investment.
The thing is, investments don’t always have to bring monetary return. The return can be intangible as well. Learning more and spending money to educate yourself is an investment in yourself. Something interesting happens when you learn more and become an expert in your craft… the more you learn and improve, the more monetary return you can usually generate.
I posted a status a few years ago about how I couldn’t believe people waste money on expensive car washes when they can do it themselves for just a couple of bucks. I’d spend 30 minutes or or so going to a self car wash or washing my car in the driveway. This involved scrubbing the car down, hosing the soap off, then using a chamois to dry it all off. Sometimes it was hot outside, other times it would be cold. But hey, I washed the whole car for maybe $2!
I considered getting car washes as an unnecessary expense at the time.
A few years later, I have perspective and a better understanding of the value of time. Yes, I had heard that time is money, but it really rings true today.
After you’ve had a little taste of generating a decent hourly income that far exceeds the cost to get something done, you don’t mind paying for the convenience. I now look at paying to have my car washed as an investment as it helps free up my own time.
My time is better spent finding a resell deal or closing a sales funnel client instead of hand washing my car for 30 minutes or an hour.
What changed? MINDSET.
The guy who last commented on this post is someone who had the right mindset… a mindset it took me a few more years to develop. His comment was: “what if you make enough money where $25 is viewed like the $2.50?” BOOM. If you’re generating decent money, it’s not worth spending time on a task that you can just offload.
This is similar to hiring virtual assistants or freelancers to do things you’re not good at so you can spend time and resources on those that you are.You see, I was looking at things with a small-minded perspective. I was probably earning $35/hour at my “good” oil & gas job. So comparing to an hour of work, $25 would mean giving up about 70% of what I got paid in an hour.
I’m sharing my previous salary and my small-minded mentality with you because I want to be completely open. I want you to learn what I know now instead having a small-minded mindset another few years.
Look, it’s all about where you are in life. At that time in life, washing my own car to save $25 was kind of a big deal. However, I’d rather just have someone else do it so I can spend my time working on other things or doing things that are more important to me.
The moral of this story is to think bigger. Some things like drinks at a bar may be a waste of money. Or maybe it could be an investment if you’re taking a client out to talk about a deal. Perspective and mindset play a huge role in whether you consider something to be an expense or an investment with a return of some sort.
The main takeaway is to value your time. Pay for things that are non-value add activities if possible and focus on those things that are. Don’t be afraid to spend money on courses or books that you know will help you get to the next level. Pay for flights and tickets to a conference where you’ll connect with like-minded individuals. Lastly, don’t just think of things as a waste of money. If it’s an experience, enjoy the experience.
Of course, be careful with this mindset. Don’t spend money you don’t have. But don’t be afraid to spend some money to enjoy life. Get a fancy, overpriced dinner with tiny sushi plates. Check out the experience. Learn how the rich operate and how they think. Focus on GROWING wealth, and you won’t have to worry about expenses. There’s a quote I remember hearing that I want to leave you with:
“Revenue solves all problems.” Remember to add value and the revenue will come. Better yet, “Profit solves all problems.” If you have high expenses, high revenue might not be enough.
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Chris Bello
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook
To be completely honest, I didn’t like the MFCEO Project at first when I gave it a shot. However, it has definitely grown on me and I look forward to hearing it now.
I will cover a recent episode I heard that was actually only 14 minutes in length. This episode is called the 4 Steps to a Perfect Day Every Day, released April 11. Andy says the purpose of this podcast is to make you the MFCEO as well. You don’t have to be a business owner either. You can be a regular person and be the MFCEO of you. Again, I’m keeping this show clean but, MF in MFCEO stands for mother effin CEO in case you were confused.
Feel free to reach out with questions or comments at chrisbello.com and remember, less dreaming, more doing.
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Chris Bello
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook
Have you heard the phrase “trading time for money?” If not, it means getting paid either an hourly wage or salary. You are paid to be at a certain place and to do certain tasks. It’s great to start with, but after awhile, you’re left wondering if there’s more money that can be made in a shorter amount of time.
Trust me, it’s an amazing feeling when you make a quick profit instead of having to slave for several hours for the same amount of cash. As an example, I just resold I lawnmower the other day that I bought for $30 for $120. I spent 20 minutes finding the lawnmower at a garage sale, taking pictures, listing it, and messaging the buyer and made $90. Cool, right? Not many jobs pay that well, so it’s a great feeling finding deals like that and creating value (the end buyer still got a decent discount when comparing that to new prices).
I want to share an interesting story with you to help you grow your mindset and think of how you can trade value for money instead of just time. A coworker from a previous job was talking to me about having worked from 4am – 7pm for 2 weeks in a row in order to finish some reports and presentations for a Board Meeting. I’ve heard all kinds of stats saying that most people are only productive a fraction of the time at work, so I wonder how much of that time was truly work… stats aside, if what he said is true, this means he would have spent 15 hours a day at the office, when he gets paid to be there for 9 (assuming he uses 1-hour for a lunch break).
Excluding lunch, let’s say he worked 6 hours more per day for 2 work weeks. 6 hours x 10 days = 60 hours.
Let’s assume his hourly wage is $35. Not bad, right? That comes out to around $70K a year, assuming he gets 2 weeks of paid vacation. A nice, cushy job. It will allow you to pay your car note, a mortgage, and get groceries. Maybe take a nice vacation or two a year. Unless you live in New York. You might be able to afford a closet for $70K a year in New York (sorry, fellas).
During normal work hours, he’ll earn $2800, excluding taxes and any deductions from his paycheck after 2 weeks, or 80 hours, of work.
By working an extra 60 hours in those two weeks, he effectively lowered his hourly salary from $35/hour to a measly $20/hour. “Congrats, ya played yourself!”
Of course, when he told me, I replied “oh wow, sounds busy!” as he probably felt proud or something. In my head, I thought “Why the hell would you ever do that?” and tried my best to not look like Storm from X-Men by rolling my eyes too hard.
What could he have done with those 60 hours working towards something else? He could have built an asset or added a passive income stream. Perhaps taken classes to get a real estate license. Or even have done something fun like gone fishing.
Here’s a few things I’d rather do than work 60 hours “for free”:
Instead, he put in overtime for basically a pat on the back. Maybe he’ll get lucky and get a 5% raise next year for his efforts. Am I the only person who thinks this is madness?!
If his salary was $70,000 a year and he got a 5% raise, he’d get an extra $3,500 the following year, or $73,500. Whoopdie-doo!
Next time your boss asks if you can stay late, really think about it. If it’s a serious matter and you’re not asked to stay late very often, perhaps once or twice is fine. If it’s a constant request, tell your manager politely that you’d rather eat burning coal. Yes, get fired or laid off, just get out of there! Or if that’s too extreme, at least negotiate a raise.
The best part about spending time on other things such as a side-hustle is that you don’t have to cram 60 hours of work into 2 weeks. You can start with just 30 minutes or an hour a day. Imagine how far you’ll be in just 2 months of time. What can you do differently with time you’re spending on wasteful activities? Figure out how you can add VALUE in exchange for money, and your “hourly wage” will increase astronomically.
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Chris Bello
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook
Today we are covering The Pitch hosted by Josh Muccio from Gimlet Media. This show covers real entrepreneurs pitching to real investors. It’s like an audio version of Shark Tank. It delivers on the high-stakes promise of a live pitch without shying away from nitty gritty details of what happens after everyone shakes hands and walks out of the room. I’ll be running through the highlights of the first episode so you can see what it’s all about. The episode is 36 minutes long, so I’ll give you the 30,000 foot version.
Feel free to reach out with questions or comments at chrisbello.com and remember, less dreaming, more doing.
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Chris Bello
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook
StartUp Podcast is a podcast about starting a podcast… in later seasons, it begins to cover stories of other startups, their struggles, and more. This is one of the first podcasts I started listening to when getting very interested in this domain.
I’ll be talking through Season 1, Episode 1 of StartUp Podcast, which is called “How Not to Pitch a Billionaire.”
A little background on Alex Blumberg, the host: he was the Producer of the radio show This American Life and co creator of a podcast called Planet Money. He decided to take what he learned and start his own podcast business, Gimlet Media.
Feel free to reach out with questions or comments at chrisbello.com and remember, less dreaming, more doing.
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Chris Bello
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook
Before we get into the 3 Simple Steps of how to inspire and motivate others, I want to share some nuggets of knowledge from what I’ve learned along the journey so far.
When I decided to create a website, start a blog, and a host a podcast, I honestly had no idea where to begin. I just started and continue to figure it out more and more as time goes by. I wanted to start sharing my message, and everything on my mind in regards to various business ventures or learnings. The most important thing is that I decided to take action. I could be twiddling my thumbs right now wondering “gosh, wouldn’t it have been nice to have started a website or podcast?” Instead, I’m jumping for joy at the little things. For example, my podcast had 499 downloads last month, up from 157 the month before. When starting from 0, progress is so exciting!
I have heard numerous times that “the riches are in the niches,” and that you should really focus in on a specific area, build a passionate following, and offer products or services to cater to your tribe. However, there is so much on my mind lately, and I feel like a sponge trying to absorb all the water from a fire hose. My posts aren’t just about “traveling” or “product invention.” My articles and blog posts are really about my entrepreneurial journey, from the time I invented a product with a friend to now, where I’m reading more, learning more, and trying to level up in all areas of my life. I’ve been documenting my journey and am trying to share anything of value with you as I learn things myself.
The coolest thing to see is that there are a lot of people who have reached out to me to say that I unknowingly inspire. This even includes people I haven’t spoken to in years that have kept up with my posts on social media. I’ve poured money and time into things I strongly believe in and know will eventually pay off. While there are some people who think I’m crazy and taking on so much risk, most people playfully mention things like “remember us little guys when you make it big.” I’ve had people ask me how they can start with a website or podcast, or even how to get a logo trademarked. This has been extremely motivating for me to continue pushing and documenting the journey.
Some people ask how they can elevate their mindset and where they can start on things they’re interested about. I’ve got plenty of books and podcasts to refer you to, of that I am certain. No matter what advice I give to others, I always start off by throwing my tagline out there: less dreaming, more doing. I firmly believe in taking action, spitting in the face of risk (within reason), and just doing it. What is the worst that can happen? If it’s death, perhaps consider trying something else, but if it’s just something like monetary risk, you need to determine if it’s one you’re willing to take.
For me, I’m willing to sacrifice my money and time to build assets and passive income streams that I can live off of. Once these systems are in place, I can live freely and on my own terms. How sweet does this scenario sound: your monthly expenses are $3000, and you get a check each month for $5000 without having to do anything. I’m not there yet, but that’s what I’m working towards. It takes a lot of time upfront to build these types of systems, but I’ve met so many people that have been there and done that. Now it’s just a matter of getting to that point. It’s NOT about the money. It’s about the FREEDOM to not have to go to a 9-5 job you hate when you can instead travel or spend time with family.
MINDSET SHIFT: Spending versus Investing: There is a HUGE difference between spending money and investing it. Investments have risk but also have a potential for return. Spending typically only results in temporary pleasure (or avoidance of pain such as being hungry). Check out the differences below:
Don’t try to fake your personality or anything else. Be yourself and things will be so much easier to do. When you try to speak differently or put on a front, you’ll find that things take longer and seem to be more challenging to do. When you just let your natural self talk about something, write about something, etc., you will find that you are able to get so much more done quickly.
Have a calendar, or recurring thing on your phone calendar, to remind you to do certain tasks. For example, I publish a podcast episode every Monday at noon. I might record the episode earlier in the week or the morning of, but I make sure to publish it at the same time.
I’m trying to get a little more consistent with my blog posts, but I have pretty good about posting on Wednesdays or Thursdays, with an occasional Friday post if I’m busy or feeling lazy. When you stay consistent, you can develop new good habits, and make things part of your normal routine. Things that you might put off without having a deadline now become urgent on your list of to dos and ensure that you actually get them done.
Third but probably most important, put in the work. You need to be yourself, you need to stay consistent, but you need to put in the work or nothing will get done. Once you’ve got a plan, stick to it. No excuses, no putting things off until next week or next year. A sense of urgency is required or else you will never get anything done.
You must feel like something must get done as if your life depended on it. I think it is absolutely crazy to see the mindset shift that has occurred within me over the last 2 to 3 years. I recently shared a Facebook status from five years ago where I was excited to get a job offer at a certain company. I shared that status again this year saying “wow, was I crazy to get excited about a job.” Now all I want to do is create my own products, make my own sales, and grow my own dream. Things really do change with time and experience.
In college, I would put in the work to the best of my ability. I didn’t like studying for classes that I didn’t find interesting and it was a challenge to get myself to sit through it read chapters for classes like history. However, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill three or four hours playing Xbox sometimes in a single day after class. Now my mindset has completely shifted… I feel a sense of urgency and duty to create my own wealth, to not have to reach out to my parents and ask for help. And even to be able to help them and pay them back for all the things they’ve done for me so far in life. I know I need to put in the work, and I like to think that I do. It’s nice to take break sometimes, but make sure to put in the work.
So maybe I lied… These 3 steps aren’t always so simple. There’s a lot that goes on with in each one. The important thing is that you take the first step and really focus on speed over perfection. If you try to get every little detail perfect, you’re likely to never take action. If you’re able to take action now, and put something out there, you will at will at least be one step closer than if you had just left it as a thought. My goal is to inspire and motivate you to light the fire inside, ignite that passion. Take the first step towards making your dreams reality.
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Chris Bello
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook
Side-Hustle School posts an episode every single day. Today, April 2, is episode #457. I thought it would be cool to jot some notes down on that episode for you guys and hopefully get you to go and give the podcast a listen. I personally have listened to every episode from the beginning. There’s various lessons you can take from each side-hustle and apply to your own business or life. If you don’t have a side-hustle yet, this show may spark some ideas.
Check out the Side-Hustle School Website here.
Subscribe to Side-Hustle School on Apple Podcasts here.
Feel free to reach out with questions or comments at chrisbello.com and remember, less dreaming, more doing.
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Chris Bello
Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook
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