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community builders

6 Simple Practices for Community Builders

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As we all know, it’s one thing to have the heart to want to make a difference in your community. It’s quite another to actually express that in a way that others can understand.

In the last post, I wrote about the mindset it takes to have an impact in your community. Essentially, if you want to grow your community, you have the community in mind as you’re working.

Meaning if you’re working with a nonprofit, for example, you want to be working with those people the nonprofit is meant to help to reach solutions. Same could be said about developing an online following. If you want people to engage with you, you have to reach out first.

But what does it mean to reach out? To be someone who cares? What are the actions that this person takes?

Here’s 6 simple practices to help you reach out and start impacting the lives of others.

6 Practices of a Community Builder

Listen and Examine

The first place you want to start when making an impact for your community is to simply listen. What are some of the problems that aren’t being addressed? Out of these problems, are there some issues you could personally help with? Is there something that sounds like it’d be fun, but maybe you don’t know that much about?

If so, get good at asking questions and digging deeper. This process, called Idea Extraction, is a skill just about anyone can put to use in their work.

Skill Up and/or Branch Out

Once you learn what the issues are in your community, it’s time to figure out some solutions. In the entrepreneurial space, this could be anything from coming up with a service of some sort to creating some software, or even creating a course that people can take on a particular topic.

If you’re in the nonprofit space, maybe you find out that a group of people aren’t being addressed the way you’d like. What would be the solution to that which would be beneficial to everyone in the community? How can you make it a win-win-win?

In either situation, you can choose to do the work yourself (or learn to) or you can team up with someone who’s already well vetted in the work you’re looking to do. A great skill to have is one where you find problems and plug people into them who are naturally gifted at fixing that kind of issue.

Act like Nick Fury and find your team!

Plan Together

Now that you’re starting to put together your own group of Avengers, it’s a good idea to get their input as far as decision making goes. Forming a council or a board of these early folks is a great idea so that you can regularly bounce ideas off of each other.

One thing you don’t want to do is to be the one constantly making decisions for the entire group. If you find yourself in that role, then there might be some things you don’t see and people might inadvertently keep info from you that would have helped make a better decision.

So make sure this group of yours plans together regularly to avoid these issues. Also, there’s the added benefit in iron sharpening iron… if you’ve selected the right people.

Oh, and make sure that these meetings are kept to a minimum. Idea people love to think things out, but if you include implementers into this meeting, they might just lose interest.

Mobilize and Implement

In the US military, there are two distinct groups of people. There are enlisted folks and then there’s officers. Officers are the supervisors of the enlisted. While they think about what needs to be done, the enlisted people have to figure out how to actually get it done.

In this new group of yours, it makes sense to plan. However, great plans don’t lead to great results on their own. You’ll need to take action to get the desired effect you want.

What’s great is that usually your implementers are usually not the idea people in your group. So make sure you let them figure out how something will actually get done once you figure out what that something is!

Adjust and Re-adjust When Necessary

Here’s the thing about implementing a plan. Sometimes it might not work out the way you thought it was going to go. In fact, most of the time, it’s not going to work out the way that you first expected it to. However, that’s not a problem. You’re not a sniper. You don’t have to calculate all the things that can go wrong with your one shot before you take it. Instead, you should think of yourself as someone who’s in control of a machine gun. Fire, then adjust your aim until your bullets start hitting the mark.

So, for example, what does this mean in the nonprofit world? Let’s assume you’re working with people who have a specific kind of health related issue. It’s your job to get them the care they need or connect them to people who can. However, they’re not showing up to their appointments with you or with the other people who can help them.

Why? Why is that not happening? It’s NOT your job to blame them for not seeking the help. It’s your job to reach them where they’re at!

Celebrate Wins

I’m sure there’s people out there that say that they don’t like taking the time to celebrate a job done well. However, those people are few and far between.

Truth is, people like being rewarded for their efforts. And sometimes, the work might be hard, and sure the outcome was worth it, but it might feel a little empty to some of your group members. They might feel like they’re being taken advantage of.

So make sure to celebrate the successful campaigns, the stressful events, and the big launches. Your team will feel like you actually appreciate them and will want to continue to put the effort into this meaningful work.

Action Steps

Now that you see what kind of work it takes to build a community, it’s up to you to fit in the details. This is simply a formula that works for just about any kind of mission. If you have any questions regarding some of the specifics of any of these steps, ask below. I’d love to tell you how we handled something for Amplify.

community building

4 Principles of Community Building

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Those of us who are influencers have to repeatedly ask ourselves “Who or what am I trying to influence?” Who am I trying to help? The reasons for this varies, but I think a big part of it lies in our internal motivations.

What do we internally find important?

When it comes to the Reiss Motivation Profile, I have four motivators that lie outside of the bell curve: Curiosity, Idealism, Saving, and Honor.

When I took this test earlier this year, I struggled a bit to see where these motivators fit into my life. However, as I reflected more, I realized that my interest in politics and community building comes from these core motivators.

  • Curiosity leads me to want to keep on the forefront on whatever’s going on. I’m always asking Why?
  • Idealism leads me to ask if the situation is fair. And if it isn’t, how can it be made that way?
  • Saving shows its head by seeing the value in things that have been forgotten or are considered outdated by most.
  • And Honor pops up by me asking “What’s the right thing to do?” in just about every situation.

While I think this gives me a bit of a natural interest in working with people in my town and state, not all current or future community leaders are going to have the same motivations.

So, let’s look a bit into some of the internal principles that a successful community builder believes in.

Community Building Principles

While not every community builder has the same motivations, there are some key ideas that will help a person be successful in this role.

Go to the People

The first thing we need to focus on is the people inside the community. You can’t build a community if you don’t help those that are in it day in and day out. And to find out what people need in a community, it would make sense to go where the people are. Whether that’s in social gatherings, local meetings, or large events, you need to get out and be with the people you want to help.

Just Start

When many of us first start working on something we care about, we often think that we have to have credentials showing that we’re capable of being helpful. But that’s not always the case. In fact, most of the time we feel like we’re capable of doing something ONLY after we’ve put the time into learning it.

So, in other words, you have to start somewhere. Start with what you know and build on what you have.

Be Generally Helpful

When we are first starting out in our craft or working in our community, we often don’t feel like what we’re doing is up to standard or having the effect that we’d want it to. Which is fine – you just started!

Often the best strategy we can have is to reach out and see if we can learn from anyone who’s going down our path who’s just a bit further ahead of us or, better yet, learn from people who are already where we want to be. You need to engage with all of these individuals. That means, be available, be accountable, and be helpful whenever you can. For example, if you have a ton of connections (like me) make sure that those people are meeting each other regularly. If your gift is organization, then help people get more organized. You’d be surprised how little things mean a lot to people at all levels.

Keep the Community in Mind

When we see politicians start their campaigns they make all kinds of promises. They have an agenda, and unlike the last guy who was in office, they’re going to stick to them.


Many times, however, we see politicians let the power go to their head once they’re in and they’ll do just about anything to stay in that role – even if it goes against what they previously said they were going to do.

When you’re working in the community and you’re known to do a certain thing or be a particular role, never forget why you started it in the first place. If you do, there’s a good chance that you’re not doing the work that needs to be done. Furthermore, there’s probably a chance that you’re going to get replaced.

Action Steps

So there’s a few things you need to keep in mind as you’re setting out to make an impact. To be clear, this is simply some things to consider as you’re doing you and adding value where you can.

That said, there are a few practices you can make into habits that will help you keep these principles in check. We’ll be talking about those in the next post. In the meantime, think about the actions you currently perform in your work and how they’re of benefit to your community. If it’s a bit of a stretch to make the connection, then the next post is for you.

Great Things Don’t Come from Comfort Zones

Jordan Harbinger – In Search of Greener Pastures – Why Great Things Don’t Come from Comfort Zones (AoL 145)

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Great things don’t come from comfort zones. You’ve probably heard this so many times that it’s cliche. But is it actually true?

I think so.

For me, the best things in my life have happened because I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone. Whether this was starting in band when I was in junior high, going to college, or stepping out to ask Maria on a date, good things happen when you take chances. Sure, sometimes things go south and don’t work out the way you would have liked, but you never know until you get started.

Case in point, today’s guest, Jordan Harbinger, started his podcast way before they were considered “popular”. Sure you could download them on iTunes, but when he heard that people were going to be able to listen to them easier with the release of the iPhone, he knew he had to jump on the wave.

His first show, Art of Charm, was where I got to know him. And as his content matured, I felt myself maturing with it.

Today he finds himself on his own platform where he and his team work (including his wife Jen and his producer Jason) to put out The Jordan Harbinger Show 3 times a week. (As they say in Letterkenny – Must be nice!)

In this conversation, Harrison and I get the chance to find out more about the various transitions in his career and why it’s necessary at times to move on to something new.

Enjoy!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • What does Jordan remember of his time growing up in the Midwest? 10:22
  • Why did he decide to go to law school? 16:10
  • What lead him to start interviewing bigger names in his podcast and how did he land those interviews? 22:08
  • What advice can Jordan give someone who’s starting their own show today? 30:26
  • Has he tried using comedy to get better at interviewing? 37:11
  • When it comes to learning new skills, how can someone validate the time it takes to learn new things? Even when they know it’s taking time away from their business? 38:49
  • What’s the top of the mountain look like for Jordan? 44:10
  • Are there any new experiences he finds himself doing these days now that he has less stress in his life? 46:11
  • Since Jordan gives away so much free advice, what does he say to people who say who think he’s missing out on monetization of his content? 47:52
  • What are Jordan’s top 3 influential podcasts? 50:47
  • Is there anyone that Jordan would be starstruck by? 52:14
  • What’s an issue that more people should be talking about but they’re not? 57:09
  • What’s a tip for traveling? 59:52
  • What’s the secret to achieving personal freedom? 1:00:26

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Jordan on Isaac Lidsky’s Podcast

Jordan on Tom Bilyeu’s Impact Theory

Cesar Millan on Reprogramming Humans to Train Dogs

Cal Newport on Digital Minimalism

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on Castbox, iTunes, Stitcher, PodBean, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

out of curiosity

Out of Curiosity… Why Asking More Questions Leads to More Creativity and Solutions

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When I was growing up, I remember that I was always curious about how things worked. “How does a controller send signals to the TV to control Mario?”, “How could people build things as big as the pyramids?”, or even something like “Why is the Great Wall of China still around after all these years?” were examples of questions I’d find myself asking.

Little did I know that when I found an interest in Leonardo Da Vinci, I’d learn that he too was a curious mind. And what I’ve come to find out since is that creatives, especially creative leaders, are curious in general.

In this post, let’s dive a little deeper into this idea that curious minds (and understanding them as a leader) lead to better results for your team and business.

Curiosity at Play

I often to think of myself as a gatekeeper when it comes to information – a natural advisor. When it comes to the social circles I find myself in, I’m usually the one that knows random pieces of information that actually help find the solution. When I look at this characteristic and how it plays a role in my life, I don’t think I can find a better example of it in play than when I was on my high school’s Quiz Bowl team.

Quiz Bowl, if you’ve never heard of it, is basically a game where two teams compete through answering trivia. The team that answers a particular question correctly first, gets the point. On a well rounded team, the members know info about all kinds of topics. And interestingly enough, it’s often suggested that players watch Jeopardy to get practice in when we’re not practicing together.

That being the case, the members of my team were all over achievers. In fact, at times, I felt a little out of place. There were your typical book worms, sure. But there was also a few players who didn’t care about grades nearly as much as they cared about art, music, or their other usual extracurricular activities.

We were all curious. We all had great imaginations (we often referred to Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Star Trek on bus rides). And I have to admit, many members of the team were pretty damn creative.


Curiosity Yields Opportunity

While I don’t remember what each member of this team went off to do after I graduated high school, I do remember that I felt at home at Purdue when I started on my engineering degree. Not only were my friends and I focused on our school work, but we were constantly having conversations where we were asking “What If?” or “How Can I?”. We were always asking questions. And later, when I got involved with various student organizations, it was because of these brainstorming sessions that we were able to come up with all kinds of tasks and question.

Truth being, to get anything done in a particular group, you had to think outside of the box. Be it finding new sensors for a robot that was being built in IEEE to finding funding opportunities for projects in Alpha Phi Omega, thinking outside of the box was the norm.

So, from my perspective, the more questions you ask, the more options you get. And because you have more options, you’ll have more answers or solutions.

Roadblocks of Curiosity

Education

If you follow this blog at all, you might know that I’m not a huge fan of the current formal education system. Main reason? It’s hugely out of date. It’s not designed to be super flexible and frankly, most students are being left behind because they’re being told what to think, not how to think.

I started realizing this in grad school when I figured out that college wasn’t for everyone. I’d often find myself asking “Why are these students even in this class?”. Sometimes because there were some who didn’t put effort in their work, but others because they simply just didn’t seem to fit. Their personal gifts were more artistic, more EQ driven, and sometimes even more “real world” friendly.

These students were forced to think that formal education was the only way to get ahead. And 10 years later, I’ve realized that these students should have had education crafted more towards them as an individual than a one size fits all solution.

That’s what formal education is and it simply doesn’t work for everyone.

Training Managers vs Leaders

Another thing I realized during this time is that the traditional business world – the corporate world –  is the only other place where it’s frowned upon to be creative. While I was teaching in OLS, we would make it a point to remind students that an MBA is typically focused more on managing processes while our department was more focused on managing people.

It’s because of this that I think the corporate world sponsors more employees to seek an MBA. They don’t necessarily want leaders, they want managers.

These are two big hurdles in today’s world that prohibits people from being more creative.

Action Steps

So, at this point you might wondering “Ok, I have a team that could possibly be a bit more creative in their work. How do I help them get outside of the box when it comes to problem solving?” Here’s a few ideas to keep in mind:

Let Creativity Flourish!

I think, the first thing we have to realize is that creative people are inherently risky. Because they’re outside of the box, there’s going to be times when they’ll cross boundaries or simply be a bit rebellious. So you have to be willing to give them some space to work in their own world and come up with ideas. When it comes to these individuals, you’ll have to be comfortable with leaving the rule book at the door.

Help Flush Out Ideas

Speaking of ideas, another thing you want to do with creative types is work with them as they’re developing new ideas. As a business owner, you have to see them as your scientists or scouts. They’ll have many hypotheses or a half baked ideas, but they might not have thoroughly tested them. Instead of waiting for the entire process to conclude, it should be part of your job as a servant leader to help them through. Not only will you be able to sniff the idea out and determine if it’s useful for not, but if it is, you can implement it in your business quicker. Of course you have to work on your own curiosity to help them out!!

Be a Servant Leader

And finally, again as a servant leader, it’s your job to not do everyone’s job all the time, but make sure that every part of the business is working smoothly.

Take a restaurant manager as an example.

It’s not their job to just sit in the back and have the other employees come to them with issues. Sure, there might be some time in doing this, but they also need to be able to check in with those who are cleaning tables, dispensing ice cream, working the drive-thru, and serving food regularly. If they wait for something to actually go wrong until they address an issue, that’s not being proactive – that’s reactive. And we know that leaders can not be reactive!!

A quote I saw this week, goes like this:

“If you look at the people in your circle and you don’t get inspired, you don’t live in a circle, you live in a cage.”

– John Maxwell

In that same instance, don’t be the one creating the cage.

abundance mindsetabundance mindset

Defining YOUR Business – Why 24/7 Hustle Isn’t the Secret to an Abundance Mindset with Alex and Sarah Dumas (AoL 144)

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When starting a business, many people make building their business as complicated as improving themselves. The thing is that if you have a good business idea, it shouldn’t be all that complicated to get results. In fact, there are still plenty of multimillionaires out there that haven’t used social media to get their message out there.

That said, you should always be improving yourself. If you’re not, then you’re automatically going backward.

These concepts are examples which I learned from my Amway group, LTD, back in 2006. While I’m no longer active in the business, I can say that I learned a ton of great fundamentals there.

Likewise, today’s guests, Alex and Sarah Dumas, learned quite a bit from their days of being in the MLM (multi-level marketing)/direct sales as well. However, not all of it was awesome.

In fact, in this conversation, you’ll hear them talk about how much of what is taught today in MLM’s is only part of the story. And more interestingly, much of what’s taught to entrepreneurs as a whole – especially hustling 24/7 – might not be the best thing for YOUR business.

Learn from the Dumas’ experiences as they talk about these topics as well as what it takes to work and live abundantly.

Enjoy!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • How were the Dumas’ initially exposed to entrepreneurship? 9:46
  • What did they learn from their time in the financial service industry? 14:07
  • What was the one moment where they decided that there has to be a better way to building a business than what they already knew? 19:29
  • How has it been for Alex and Sarah to work together as a team? 29:03
  • What’s NLP and how does Sarah use it in her coaching? 32:48
  • What is Reiki healing? 35:20
  • What would they recommend to others who are bringing in their significant other into their business? 38:16
  • What’s the Abundant Life/Business Blueprint? 45:34
  • How can people connect with Alex and Sarah in 2019? 49:34
  • Who are three people who have help launch them to where they’re at today? 51:02
  • What’s one gift they like giving others? 51:18
  • In the last 5 years, what belief or habit has improved their life? 51:40
  • What issue should people be talking about yet anyone hardly is? 52:36
  • What’s the secret to achieving personal freedom? 57:07

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Alex and Sarah Online: Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube
Cohost: Harrison Painter
Session Sponsor: Fizzle – Get your first two weeks FREE!
Milk frother
NLP
Reiki Healing
Rinna Mai AoL Interview
LaVar Ball – ‘Stay in Your Lane’
Abundant Business Blueprint (formerly Abundant Life Blueprint)
Jim Rohn
Les Brown


Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

It’s OK to be Competitive, but not Combative

Keep Fighting For Your Dreams

Power of Affirmations

Power of Discipline

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on Castbox, iTunes, Stitcher, PodBean, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

breaking into wall street

Relationships Are Everything – From Breaking into Wall Street to Capitalizing on Capital with Marc Davenport (AoL 143)

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They say if you can make it New York, you can make it anywhere. In that same spirit, many people see having a job or a career on Wall Street as a way to launch themselves to success.

This is pretty understandable. Over the years, there have been some movies which illustrated a simple idea. That idea being you can start from meager beginnings and become wealthy beyond your wildest dreams if you make it on Wall Street.

I believe this is the case for this session’s guest, Marc Davenport.

Having started his career off on Wall Street, he learned a ton. But he also started to develop a network of influential people. That network has helped him get to where he’s at today.

In this chat, join Marc and I as we discuss what all he learned on Wall Street, why he started his first business after having that success, and some of the things we can all do to help ourselves in our own journey.

Enjoy!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • What initially spurred Marc to become a Wall Street investor early in his career? 7:36
  • Was there something that prompted Marc to start his own consulting business? 10:27
  • What prompted Marc to start RMI Capitol after having great success with his consulting company? 14:50
  • How do real relationships make things happen? 15:52
  • What kind of clients is Marc looking to service with RMI Capitol? 23:03
  • What can someone expect to learn about on his YouTube channel? 24:55
  • From Marc’s perspective, why is that people like our mutual friend Antonio Smith have the success that they do in business? 28:09
  • Why does Marc find it important to be involved in so many organizations in the community? 35:03
  • What’s some of the things that Marc is looking forward to in 2019? 39:48
  • What are 3 Favorite books that he gifts or tells others about? 43:57
  • What does he do when he becomes unfocused or overwhelmed? 46:02
  • Are there some things that he’s been saying no to in the last couple of years? 46:23
  • What’s the best advice he’s ever received? 47:58
  • How does one live a life of abundance? 48:47

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Marc Online: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube
Session Sponsor: Uncover Your Personal Mission
Lee Daniels
Saphire’s Story: How ‘Push’ became ‘Precious’
Antonio Smith’s Aol Interview
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Fact Sheet
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Why Should White Guys Have all the Fun? by Reginald Lewis
Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
As a Man Thinketh – Earl Nightingale


Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

The 5 C’s of Credit 

How to Double Your Revenue

Antonio and Marc on What it Takes to be Wealthy

How to Build a Network of Influential People

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on Castbox, iTunes, Stitcher, PodBean, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

the power of focus

The Power of Focus – Why Intentions Aren’t Enough

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Many people talk about the power of intention. It sounds good, but it’s kind of a vague phrase. Intention in what? Intention to having an awesome life? Being successful?

People intend to do all kinds of great things. But they keep getting sidetracked and never get to the destination they intended to.

Here’s an analogy: it’s like having a scope on a firearm and not using it while taking the shot. The person holding the gun intends to the hit the target, but they choose not to use the best tool they have to do so. Sure this is cool in a video game, but in reality, it’s just bad practice.

They don’t focus.

To Focus, We Need Clarity

In the last 6 months or so, I’ve been making it a point to figure out how people made it big before the advent of internet. In other words, how did people become recognized as gurus or thought leaders before there were all these platforms to circumvent the traditional routes?

What were the traditional routes?

After speaking with a handful of upcoming guests on the show, I’ve come to realize that the best methods of building a successful business start off with:

Knowing yourself,
knowing your industry,
and knowing how you can help others in it.

Leverage Your 3 P’s

In my resource, Uncover Your Personal Mission, I refer to these as your 3 P’s:

Passions,
Purpose,
and Process.

If you haven’t downloaded the resource yet, when I refer to Passions, I’m talking about the things you find interesting. Topics that you naturally gravitate to. Skills that you’ve been naturally learning.

When it comes to Purpose, I’m referring to how you interact with those around you. What is a group of people you feel a bit of a calling to or you love to help?

Then, your Process can be thought of like this: what is the unique way that you can help people in that group? What do they need help with the most?

For many, the first two Ps are pretty straight forward. They’re your Why and What. But your How is something that many of us don’t necessarily know how to determine on our own. In fact, many of us don’t do the right work to figure out how we can truly help others.

In fact, often times, we’re creating content or performing work similar to what we’ve heard others create.

This simply isn’t how you go about finding your How.

Stop Living Vicariously

Interestingly, I’ve been doing some research to get ready for a guest I’m happy to announce will be on the show in an upcoming episode: Jordan Harbinger. I listened to a couple of his recent interviews where he and his guests were talking about two topics that I felt were pretty interrelated. Focus in a Chaotic World (with Cal Newport) and Why Self-Help Makes People Feel Terrible (with Gabriel Mizrahi).

Talk about a coincidence!

In both conversations, the idea came up that many of us who are in this creative entrepreneur/thought leader space are exercising a simple “monkey see, monkey do” strategy. We see how certain people have risen to where they are and we try to be like them to get the same results.

We feel that we have to do everything that the successful people are doing, or we won’t be successful ourselves.

The problem is that when a generalist approach simply isn’t as effective as a specialist’s approach.

As generalists, many of us just starting out don’t realize that these big names with the thousands of followers actually have their own teams. Or if they don’t have a team, they’ve just been doing what they’ve been doing for so long that they now have reached a point where they have exponential growth.

Trying to duplicate those results as someone relatively new to an industry, shouldn’t be what we’re focused on.

What to Focus On

Instead of trying to do all these different tasks to try and get your name out there and recognized, you need to focus on a few things. The things that really are a value for others.

For example, Jordan has specifically focused on his show for… 12 years.

Funny thing is he still hasn’t really used the different social medias like many of us think he should based on his influencer (fyi – he hates that title) status.

Sure, in the last year he’s completely rebranded himself from scratch, but he did that because he had the connections in place to do so. People knew him from the previous 11 years of being a great host on his old show. They knew what his niche was and, to an extent, continues to be.

If we want to be as successful as Jordan or other influencers that we look up to, we have to find our own track to do it. No amount of learning how to do Facebook ads or learning some other skill is going to have an direct impact on your success. What has worked for others, more than likely won’t work for you.

However, if you start out on your own path of creating value for others, you’ll make the right connections along the way. Find out what’s needed and find a solution for those needs.

Action Steps

So, here’s a bit of advice that I learned all the way back in 2012. We collectively need to practice Idea Extraction (a phrase coined by Dane Maxwell who I had on the show in session 56) in our businesses. We can’t just sit back and hope that we can find what other people need by being on our keyboards or browsing on our phones all day. We need to actually get out there and find out what’s needed. If we can do that within an industry we love utilizing skills we have (or can learn) then, we’ll have it made.

To get you going on the right path, here’s 5 questions that anyone who’s starting a new business needs to be able to know about their clientele:

  1. What keeps them up at night, staring at the ceiling?
  2. Are they upset about something? What do they find frustrating?
  3. What do they desire the most?
  4. Are there any trends that suggest something will change in their lives or work?
  5. What other solutions have other companies tried selling to them. Were they successful?
  6. Are there any weird idiosyncrasies about this group of individuals. For example, if they’re an engineer, do they use a lot of jargon in their working day? If they’re a performer, maybe they tend to work better in chaos?

Once you get an idea of what it’s like to live in the life of someone in the group you want to work with and could probably write a journal entry for them, then you’re onto something. My recommendation is do this at least 7-20 times so you can definitely start seeing a pattern of issues.

Once you get a fix for one of those issues, then you can easily take it to others and start being known as “the person who does X”. Then, from there, you’ll start to build a following as more people hear about your successes. Just don’t forget to constantly update how you do things. I’m still learning everyday!