This week marks the 300th episode of the Misfit Entrepreneur!  When I started the podcast, I was excited just to do it for my daughter as a passion project.  I never expected that I'd be sitting here at 300 episodes writing to all of you who support the show in over 150 countries.  I am so grateful for you and want to thank you for all of your support and feedback over the years.  300 episodes is big milestone and it would not be possible without you.  

I am also excited because the 300th episode is a Lesson for Hannah episode where I speak directly to my daughter giving her lessons to help her in life.  I hope you have been able to take a lot from these episodes as well.

As move on to the next 300 episodes, we will continue to find the best entrepreneurs in their fields and share their best wisdom and success habits with you, but we will also be looking at expanding the impact of the show and doing more with you.  So, stay tuned and again, thank you for all of your support!

​Dave

​11 minutes is not a long time, but it amazing how hard it is stop and focus on something for that amount of time.  But we must do so.
 
Think about if you spent 11 minutes per week or better yet, per day thinking deeply about your success?  What could that mean to you?
 
Or maybe, it is as simple as getting the right message like this short 11 minute video will give you.  Check it out!

Productivity is one of the best ways to increase your success.  The more you can do with the time you have or find ways to leverage resources to help you get more done, the bigger your business can grow.

There are a lot of ways to increase productivity.  Here are 6 simple and easy ways to do so.

Plan Ahead

One of the biggest reasons people lose productivity is they do not plan.  Because they don't have a plan, they have no direction when it comes to what needs done and waste a lot of time.  What would happen if you planned each day ahead of time and wrote down everything you need to do?  Or better yet, planned your week ahead of time?  Start planning and watch the different having a weekly and daily To-do list makes in your ability get things done.

Focus, Don't Multi-Task

Once you start planning for your success, make sure to block times in your plan to focus on each item that needs done.  Studies have proven unequivocally that multi-tasking makes you less productive and effective.  Focus on specific tasks at a time in your plan and you'll get them done faster in and more effectively.

Schedule for Your Best

Another tip is to schedule your most important tasks during times when you are most productive.  For example, if you have high energy and get your best work done in the morning - schedule your most important tasks for the day during that time.  Schedule less important tasks or tasks that require less thinking outside of these times.

Give Yourself a Break

A lot of people think that continuously working it effective.  After all, you are putting in a lot of back to back hours, right?  Wrong.  The be more effective, you must build in breaks so that you can recharge and give your mind a rest.  These can be 15-20 minutes a few times during the day.  During these times do something non-work related.  Take a walk.  Get some fresh air.  Throw the ball for you dog.  Whatever you choose is fine, just keep work out of it.

Ask for Help

This one is hard for people.  If you find yourself spending too much time on something or having trouble figuring something out - ask for help.  Don't keep wasting time on it when you know you need to get help from somewhere.  Ask someone you know who can help you get the result you desire faster and go to work.

Take Care of Yourself

​It is hard to be most productive and perform at your best if you are not taking care of yourself.  Make sure to get good rest and sleep each night.  Eat healthy.  Get exercise each day.  

Follow these 6 simple tips and you will find yourself much more productive in all areas of your life.

If asked just about anyone if they wanted to get to their next level of success or potential, they would tell me "Yes!"  So, if that is the case, why do so few actually level up in their lives?

The reasons are many, but it usually comes down to a few main ones.  Here they are:

• People don't level up because they don't know what they want.  They don't know what the next level looks like.
• They are overcome by the work or "all the things" they would need to do to reach their next level and simply never act because it is too overwhelming and uncomfortable.
• They are scared of the commitment to reach the level and then what they have to do to stay there.

I think everyone has faced these issues in the pursuit of personal growth.  But, how do you overcome them?  Better yet, how can you make it easy to overcome them?  I've found a few simple ways to do this.

First, you do need to be clear on what your next level looks like so you need to take some time to think it through.  Spend 30-60 minutes with a notepad and write out what the next level looks like for you.  Challenge yourself.  Ask yourself "why?"  Ask yourself if you are holding anything back.  The important thing is that at the end of this time, you should have a much clearer picture of the what your next level looks like and things you need to do to get there.  This will get you focused.

Second, remember the 80/20 rule.  In this case, 20% of the things you need to do to reach your next level are much more important than the rest, the 80%.  Focus on just actioning on those items.  Once you have done them, then move on to others.  This will keep you from being overwhelmed.

Third, automate your success.  In every way possible, you should strive to remove roadblocks or obstacles that you percieve will hurt your chances of leveling up.  For example, if you know that you need to get up earlier and eat a healthy breakfast to get you on the right path to reach your goal, you can automate this by scheduling breakfast to be delivered to you at your home or office at 7am.  By doing this, you give yourself a deadline to get up by and get going and take the hassle of preparing a healthy breakfast off your plate.  Another example would be freeing up time in your day to focus on the tasks needed to reach your goal.  You can do this by blocking off time on your calendar so no one can take that time and setting a reminder alarm to focus on your important task. 

As you start to think about it, there are a lot of ways to automate and remove the lower priority items or busy tasks in your life, so you can focus on the most important.  You know what your time is worth, so make sure you are maximizing your time for your value.  Getting clear on what you want, focusing on the most important things to get you there, and automating and outsourcing where possible makes it much easier for you to level up and reach your true potential.

Entrepreneurship is an amazing, wonderful, awesome thing.  We have so much opportunity, possibility and capability at our fingertips.  

In fact, we have so much opportunity  and possibility that many times, we fall into the biggest trap or hardest thing about entrepreneurship.  The hardest thing about entrepreneurship is being able to see the true opprtunity through all the ones in front of us and focus on it.  

As entrepreneurs, many times we take on so much that we aren't as successful as we could be if we just took the time to think deeply about the best opportunity for us and our goals and then devote ourselves to it - saying "no" to the others.  Saying no is hard because as entrepreneurs, we are wired to see the opportunity and attempt to capitalize on it, but sometimes we don't stop to think if we really should do so.

Thee challenge has always reminded me of the movie Jurassic Park where the founder is so proud and  excited to show off the incredible things they have created and is so caught up in "the magic of it all."  They fail to think about all of the ramifications of what they are doing.  Jeff Goldblum's character tells him, "You were so pre-occupied with whether or now your could, you didn't stop to think if you should!"

It is the same way for us as entrepreneurs - in fact, the founder of Jurrasic Park is an entrepreneur going through this same issue.  Many times, we see the possibility and opportunity, but fail to see the incredible opportunities we already have and already working on.  The secret of successful entrepreneurship is to pick the best 1 or 2 opportunities and then devote yourself to them to see them through to their highest potential.  Sure, you can have multiple things going at once, but you must stay in your zone of genius and get help in the areas of outside of that really be successful across the board.  You will always do well to simply, focus, and execute.  And make sure you stop to think if you should!

Having interviewed hundreds of the most succesful entrepreneurs in the world, you start to notice patterns over time - consistencies across these highly successful people.  There are more than you think.  Things like be highly organized and structured, taking care of their health, focusing on the most important things that they are best at, committing to continued personal growth, etc. are just a few of these consistencies.

But, there is one thing the highly successful do that is often overlooked.  They schedule time to "think" each week.

That's right, they make sure to set time aside to "exercise" their mind outside of the day to day where they think and let that thinking show them opportunities and answers in their lives and businesses.  There are a lot of different processes that these people use and in many ways, it is personal to them, and should be personal to you, but at the very least, you should set aside 30-45 minutes once per week to think.  

You should find a comfortable place, outside of your normal work environment.  During these times, you should let your mind wander and use a journal to take down unique insights or thoughts that come through.  You should ask yourself key questions and think through current challenges and write down potential answers to them.  You should also create some action items from each session.

As stated earlier, the process for each person is different, but if you can get into the habit of thinking at least once per week and design a structure that works for you - it will go a long way in helping your success.  Make time to think!

No matter what you do in life and business, you will not succeed without the help of great mentors along the way.  Many times we have mentors in our lives without even realizing it.  They can come in the form of a teacher who spends extra time making sure you understand the material so you can get a better grade, or maybe in the form of a great coach in sports.  Mentors come in all different ways.  

And at times during our lives, we must seek out mentors to guide us and help us to level up.  

But, what makes a great mentor?  I have been blessed with many great mentors over the years and as I have looked back on them, I have noticed 5 traits consistent across all of them.  

They are Wise

Good mentors are wise.  Now, this may seem like a given as you seek out a mentor for guidance.  But, what is wisdom?  Wisdom is not just being smart.  Wisdom is true experience.  It can only be found by being in the trenches and having gone through the ups and downs and everything in-between in the area of life you are looking for their help.  Great mentors are not just smart, but experienced and wise in practical ways because they have been there and been through it.  When looking for a mentor in an area of your life, make sure to look for someone who has "been there and done that" and gained true wisdom in doing so.

They Hold You Accountable

Mentors hold you accountable and discipline you when needed.  They are not afraid call you out or disagree with you.  They keep you disciplined and focused when needed.  In fact, you will know that you have a mentor that truly cares if they are willing to hold you accountable and impart discipline into your life.  In this area, in some ways, they are like a parent who is raising a child.  A parent who cares will hold their child accountable and discipline them as needed to help them learn and grow in the right way.  I've often told those that I coach, it is when I stop challenging you or holding you accountable is when you need to worry, because that means I don't care anymore.  Find a mentor that cares and embrace them holding you accountable.

They Challenge You In Ways You Don't Expect

Another thing that good mentors do is challenge you in different ways - unexpected ones.  They do this because they see the things you don't see, blind spots, and they help bring them to light.  A good mentor will help you work on the areas that you are not good at as well as fostering the ones you have talent.  They have an ability to see the whole picture and help put it together in the best way.  They are not afraid to tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear, and then help you in your development.

They Help You Live Into Your Potential

As discussed above. good mentors can see the bigger picture and potential blind spots.  In doing this, they can help you live into your potential.  In fact, they can help you realize your true potential and that you are capable of much more than you realize.  They not only help you understand this, but more importantly, they help you to take the actions to make it a reality.  This is one of the most exciting parts of working with a great mentor, finding out what you are truly capable of.

They Make Time For You
​
Mentors are usually successful people in demand or have pursuits that keep them pretty busy.  Another sign of a great mentor is that no matter how busy they are, they seem to find time for you, especially when you need them most.  This trait is rare in today's world.  To find someone that will set aside everything they have in their life and on their plate to help another person is a blessing.  And great mentors do this consistently.  When you find a great mentor, you will see this from them and be truly grateful for it.

One last note is that some mentors will ask to be compensated for their time.  There is NO problem with this.  Their time is precious and comes at an opportunity cost to other things in their life.  And they do have to pay their bills as well.  If you have a found mentor that checks all the boxes above and wants compensated, don't rule them out.  Work out a plan where they get compensated and as you find more success, they can share in that success by higher compensation.  This may come in the form of sharing in the future success of your business in some way or a graduated system of compensation.  You'll have to figure it out, but just know that it is worth it and will pay off multiple times over for you. 

We've all be there.  The times when we are unsure or don't know what to do for a given challenge or direction in life.  This happens to everyone from time to time.  The secret is to know what to do to get yourself on the right track.

Over the years, I've developed a simple process to help me during these times.  It has 3 easy steps.

First, take inventory.  Get the thoughts on the situation out of your head by writing down everything that is swirling around in there.  Make a solid list.  You should write down the pros and cons and any other things that factor into the decision.

Second, once you've written everything down, take a break.  At least 30 mins, if not a day, and then come back to it with a fresh set of eyes and perspective.  Things will stand out and become apparent.  From there you can begin to figure out what it is you will do.  It is very important at this point to consider all sides and think through any other items that are important.  Sometimes, you may find you totally forgot important aspects when you wrote everything down and can now add them.  Take some time to think logically and not emotionally about everything.  You will also want to solicit advice or feedback from those you trust during this time.  

Third, once you have figured out the best course to take from reviewing what you wrote down and thinking through it, you must action on the next steps.  It is best to write a small step by step plan to get going.  Once you do, you will find momentum and you will start getting excited about moving forward.  

This simply process has served me well for many years.  The biggest part is just getting everything out of your head and on paper.  This makes easier to find clarity and make decisions.  

The next time you are faced with a situation where are you are unsure of what to do, use this method to help you find your way through and get on track.

One of the most important, if not most important things you can do for your success in all areas of life is to master your "inner game."  Your inner game directly controls your outer game.

But, what is the inner game?  Your inner game is simply is the way you think.  The way you think about yourself, life, success, business, relationships - everything.

And everything begins with what you believe.  I have developed an acronym for how the process of the inner game works in our lives.  It is as follows:

B->E->T->A->R 

Your Beliefs lead to your Emotions, you Emotions lead to your Thoughts, your Thoughts lead to your Actions, and your Actions lead to your Results.  If you take out everything in the middle and look at the first and last work, you get Beliefs = Results.

Most people don't know that much of what we believe was not chosen by us.  It was put there through many years of conditioning.  Think about it.  You come out of the womb with a clean slate.  It is the influences and experiences of your life that help to shape what you believe and ultimately how you think.  These influences are things like parents, school, friends, media, culture, religion, etc.  

And much of what we pick up is good and helpful for our lives, but many of us pick up some adverse beliefs and thought patterns along the way as well.  And these can hold us back from reaching out true potential - many times without us evening knowing it!

Why?  Because of the subconscious mind.  It is the part of brain that operates without us even having to think about it.  It is the most powerful part of our brain and runs us almost on autopilot.  It has created responses, thought patterns, and reactions to just about every situation we encounter in life and every time one of these situations presents itself, it reacts - we react without even thinking consciously.  This happens over and over again throughout each day.  How much do you actually "think" to drive a car or answer a question?  You don't, you just do it.  This is the subconscious conditioning, your inner game at work.
 
Once you realize this, your next question is probably, "What can I do to create the automatic responses I want to have? " 

That is THE question.  And the answer is simpler than you would think.   You can change your conditioning by changing your thoughts - your beliefs.  Now, I did not say it was easy and did not involve a lot or work - in reality it is work you will do the rest of the your life.

But, the secret is to start recognizing your automatic reactions and start choosing if you want to keep them or change them.  For example, if you are someone who has a short temper, you can recognize when your emotions are welling up.  You know when that feeling of anger or frustration is bubbling up inside you.  The next time it happens, just stop, ask, and choose.  Stop before you react.  Ask yourself if the reaction you are having is the one you want to have.  Then choose how you will move forward and change the internal belief you have about being angry in that situation.  Admittedly, this is very awkward at first, but once you've done it a number of times, it get easier and more automatic.  Learning to live from true choice of the beliefs that you want to have will free you and give you better control over you emotions ultimately leading to better results in your life - the results you choose to have.  

There a couple more important things to understand about this process.  The first is that it doesn't work if you see yourself as perpetual victim.  You must be willing to take responsibility for your life and choices.  Doing this also gives you control over your life.  

Second, and this wisdom has been passed down through generations, it's even in the Bible.  What your believe becomes your reality.  In the Bible, it is stated, "That which you gaze upon, you become."  You can understand this.  What you focus on, expands in your life and in your subconscious automatic responses.  If you are are always focused on the negative, guess what, you will attract and subconsciously bring more negativity into your life and train your subconscious to look for it.   Conversely, if you are focused on growing yourself and working toward your goals, your subconscious will drive you there.  

Lastly, back to choice and choosing things.  You get to choose your attitude every day.  Your attitude is how you approach the world.  If you don't choose it, your subconscious will revert to whatever default programming it has created your entire life.  Each day, wake up and spend 2 minutes deciding your attitude and who you will be in the world that day.  Set your intentions.  Train your subconscious that you are in control and set the tone of your inner game.  

If you can learn to change your beliefs, focus on the right things in your life and choose your attitude and how you react to the situations of life, you will find that you can change your whole world and maybe THE world.  So, get going and choose your way forward!
​

A lot of people ask me how I am able to run multiple businesses, train for Ironman, and have the freedom I am very fortunate to have in life.  The answer may surprise you.

The reason I am able to do all that I do and still have capacity to add other things in if I wanted is because of structure. 

Structure equals freedom.

What does that mean?  It means that I have created a structure in my life and businesses that allows me to be very productive and accomplish more in most days than people do in several.  I don't say this to brag because I am no different than anyone else.  If I didn't have the structure I have, I would be much less productive.  And one of the best ways to fuel your success is through becoming more productive.  

Here is what I've figured out over the years and I hope it helps you as well.  

First, I figured out that I need to own my time and take control over it.  This means that I put the time I need week in and out dedicated to me first.  For example, I block out my training time, set my hours for coaching my clients, set times for focus on my Mastermind group, set my specific times for Misfit Entrepreneur interviews and show notes, as well as my personal growth time and any others that I need to focus on consistently each week.  In fact, I am writing this blog during my blog writing time.  I also put buffers on my day such as no meetings at 6pm are allowed to be scheduled unless I override it.  I plug all of this into my Calendly scheduler and block these times in my calendar, so that the only times left for others to get time with me are the ones I allow them to.  This is avoids people stealing time from you.

Second, I sit down every Sunday and plan my week out by day with the most important items I need to accomplish for each day in each business and area of my life.  The allows me to hit the ground running daily knowing exactly what I need to do.

Third, at the end of each day,  I review my daily To Do List to make sure everything has been accomplished and then look at the next day and plan for anything that needs it.  I also may add tasks/important items to the day from things that come up during the week that need actioned.

Fourth, at the end of my week, I make a list of my 80/20 for the next week.  20% of what you focus on gives you 80% of your results.  I want to make sure I know what those are before the next week begins, so I can have them ready for my Sunday planning.

Lastly, I action the plan like a maniac.  This is the most important piece of the structure.  If you don't action the plan, it does you no good.  From the moment I get up, I am focused and actioning the tasks on my list.  I use the fact that I have a plan to redirect me if I get sidetracked because I have my To Do List.  So, if I am focusing on something that isn't on the list, I will notice and redirect myself.  

Structure equals freedom, but you must action the structure with discipline and consistency for it to work for you.  If you put a structure in place that is driving you toward your goals and action it every day - you will be amazed at all you can do and the freedom you can create for yourself.