Let’s learn a little more about Elon Musk, the Founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, where he’s pushing his teams to break past boundaries in various areas. He boasts a net worth of $20B at the age of 46.
Tony Hsieh is the Founder and CEO of Zappos. He is 44 years old and has a net worth of $840 million. Interestingly, when Amazon acquired Zappos in 2009, he agreed to an annual salary of $36,000 to show that he was sticking around because it made him happy, not just for the money.
I’m currently listening to “Be Obsessed or Be Average” on Audible by Grant Cardone and am absolutely loving it. I constantly rewind segments of it to share on my Snapchat and Instagram stories just so others can take away the message and get a good laugh.
Some of my favorite lines so far
One line I found hilarious but true was when Grant was talking about taking big action to make things happen. He says moving away from home is one way to step out of your comfort zone. “Maybe it’s time to leave momma” (he says “momma” in a baby voice where it’s pronounced “mahhh-mahh).
Another line that cracked me up was when he was saying someone reached out to him telling him he’s spending too much money or something. Grant replies with something along the lines of “I left my lights on back at home all day, since you’re concerned with me spending money. And I left my car running for the last hour. I live in Miami, and I want it to be cool when I get inside, ya know what I’m sayin’? I’m not afraid of wasting money brotha, because I’m not a little baby!”
This type of thinking ties in with my recent post focusing on abundance versus scarcity thinking. Focus on generating more money instead of trying to save a few pennies.
There’s tons of truth bombs in this book overall and I highly recommend it. Grant teaches you how to properly think about money. Unlike many people who say money isn’t everything or isn’t important, Grant mentions that yes, it is important.
At the end of the day, money really does solve tons of problems. If you want to donate to charities, you need money. Yes, you can also donate time, but you can only do so much as an individual. By increasing your money, you can donate in ways that scale. And let’s not forget that bills require this thing called money. The lights don’t stay on by themselves.
Some people think that money isn’t important, and that life is just about the simple, free things. If that’s the case, why are these people working a full-time job? Clearly, there IS a need for money. Money = freedom to live how you want and with purpose. Once you attain this type of freedom, you no longer need to work a job you don’t like or do things to earn money that you don’t want to do. You can spend your time and money on things that truly interest and inspire you.
We all have 24 hours in a day
Right now, there are people flipping burgers at McDonald’s being paid minimum wage. At the same time, there are millionaires flying their jet to a nice island and spending a week relaxing. We all have 24 hours in a day. How we make use of that time determines where we end up. When you get home from work, do you flip the TV on for 4 hours, or do you continue working to achieve the life you’ve always dreamed of?
The path to financial freedom
The goal is obviously to increase your income and decrease your expenses to truly maximize profits. Rich Dad, Poor Dad defines wealth as the number of days you can survive without physically working (or anyone in your household physically working) and still maintain your standard of living. As you start making more money, don’t just increase your spending on things that aren’t important. For example, don’t blow your money on bottle service as soon as you start making a little more. Invest that extra money into things like real estate or assets that will pay you back “10X” like Grant would say.
One of the main takeaways of this book (and the title reflects it) is that if you are not obsessed, you will be average. To be successful at anything, you must be truly obsessed. I’m obsessed with success and am doing everything I can to knock out my goals. Are you?
This week, I want to introduce you to Reid Hoffman’s podcast, Masters of Scale. Reid covers how companies grow from 0 to a gazillion and tests theories with legendary leaders. This podcast is the first to commit to a 50-50 gender balance for guests as well, which I just learned when looking at the website, so that’s pretty neat as well!
Feel free to reach out with questions or comments at chrisbello.com and remember, less dreaming, more doing.
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.
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.
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.
It’s impossible to know everything before starting something new. You just need to take action and figure it out along the way.
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.
No matter what you’re passionate about, there will be others that share that passion.
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.
What is it that you are seeking?
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:
Spending: You spend $500 of video games and spend hundreds of hours playing them. Nothing is gained but temporary pleasure. You can probably sell them back to GameStop for $20.
Investing: You invest $1000 on inventory from sourcing an item on Alibaba. You invest 30 hours in online courses on private labeling and selling on Amazon and eBay. You generate $3000 in profit after selling the items. Your profit is $2000, but what is more valuable is the immense knowledge gained from going through the motions and putting in the work.
Anyways, let’s get to the 3 Simple Steps necessary to motivate and inspire others based on my observations so far:
1. Be yourself.
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.
2. Stay consistent.
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.
3. Put in the work.
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.
Maybe These 3 Simple Steps Aren’t So Simple…
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.
Tony Robbins offers several lessons to a happier life. First, associate bad habits with pain and good ones with pleasure. Second, change the words you use to transform how you feel and deal with problems. Third, make up your own rules and communicate them to become happier.
Listen to today’s episode to learn more on those life-changing lessons and get a copy of your book here.
Feel free to reach out with questions or comments at chrisbello.com and remember, less dreaming, more doing.
Let’s talk about Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t. Collins has a huge task in this book of identifying factors and variables that allow a small fraction of companies to make the transition from merely good to truly great.
Great suggests “better than average.” It’s defined according to several metrics such as financial performance exceeding market average. Collins and his research team identified a handful of companies that fulfilled their predetermined criteria for greatness. These were then analyzed and compared.
Feel free to reach out with questions or comments at chrisbello.com and remember, less dreaming, more doing.
The Millionaire Fastlane is one of my favorite books out there. It really helped me “cut through the BS” and see things as they are. MJ DeMarco provides clear cut advice and the steps necessary to align your mindset with that of millionaires and take the necessary steps to join the fastlane to success.
