Caged Vision

In this super special edition of the Caged Vision Podcast, I interview Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Shawn Campbell. We discuss his nearly 3 decades of leadership in the US Air Force and newly minted US Space Force. Brig Gen Campbell dives into how doing things differently as a leader is many times what is required to reverse failure and achieve success. He is an example of a true pioneer in change management and transformation on a massive scale. For example, his instrumental efforts in building the first new independent service of the DoD in nearly 75 years from the ground up - the new USSF. If that wasn't enough, he was on a tight budget and an even tighter timeline. You have to hear this story. It shows that we can all accomplish more than we ever believed possible. He drops an amazing quote from Churchill, "Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” He provides some great examples of both successes and failures he himself experienced throughout his life and military service. He is now responsible for nearly 700K Total Force personnel and over $60B in funding annually..almost hard to imagine. It was truly an honor to have Brig Gen Campbell on the podcast, and I highly recommend listening to his insights. "If you're standing still, you're actually moving backward” ~Brig Gen Shawn Campbell

"There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit." This is from the plaque that sat on Ronald Reagan's desk during his presidency. Could it be that President Reagan was actually a member of a Secret Society? Well, whether he knew it or not, President Reagan certainly had the mindset of what Tim Schurrer calls The Secret Society of Success. On today's Caged Vision Podcast I interview author Tim Schurrer on his new book The Secret Society of Success. Be sure to download and listen to here great stories like: How Tim unlocked his Caged Vision LeBron James and his 2020 season The impact Bob Goff is making with Love Does Tim's hack in an attempt to become the next John Mayer And, the story of Thistle Farms…from one house to an international movement Be sure to pick up a copy of Tim's book. If you're like me, you not only be glad you did, you'll be a better person for reading it. You can find Tim on his website - https://www.buildawinningteam.com.

Strategies (Like Lego) to Improve Customer Experience So You Build Trust and They See AND Experience Value You've seen it well done and you've been super frustrated when its not… When you purchase a product or service, you're expecting a certain amount of value. The problem is many have just missed the boat on making user adoption easy. In this episode of the Caged Vision Podcast, I interview Andy Perez, the Co-Founder of Clove. Clove delivers a unified customer experience that builds trust and drives adoption. We start out with a really funny story of how we got connected and then Andy drops some wisdom and best practices around customer experience and adoption. Download and listen to hear great stories, a bit of laughter, and some great examples of who's doing customer experience well. You can reach Andy on LinkedIn, his website, or via email at andy@clovecx.com

How to best pivot when your strategy hits an unforeseen wall You know what they say about the best-laid plans… But, does that mean never plan? Hardly! The key is being able to quickly identify when the assumptions you've made have changed. In this episode, I interview a very special guest, Mike Eilts. Mike is a visionary, an entrepreneur, a weather guy at heart, and an advisor to businesses. Download and listen to the episode to get key takeaways, such as: The best way to identify what you should focus on The importance of focusing on your one thing How to identify who values what you offer most Mike, thanks for your insights and for being an amazing guest! I very much look forward to continued conversations and learning from your wisdom. You can reach Mike on Twitter, his website, or via email at mike@weatherandnature.com

How to get faster insights from your data for better-informed decision What would you do for faster insights from your data? How would it help you to make better-informed decisions? If you've asked these questions, you are not alone. …it may even be what's keeping you up at night. This is exactly why I'm super excited for you to hear today's Caged Vision Podcast with Nick Amabile. Nick has worked with some of the largest organizations in the world like Dropbox, Cigna, Snap, Uber, Walmart, and Amazon to name a few. Needless to say, he's got some great ProTips I can't wait for you to hear. Download to listen to Nick's confident, smooth, and approachable methods to getting faster insights from your data for better decisions. Oh, and if you're interested in connecting with Nick, below are the best way to connect with him: Follow Nick on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/namabile/ Learn more about Nick and his company here: https://das42.com Holy Christmas, I really need to talk to Nick ASAP: https://das42.com/contact Thanks for downloading and listing!

How Critical Moments will define your success in Crisis Response What is the value of your reputation? How would you respond in a moment of Crisis? As a former Arthur Andersen employee who witnessed the damage a crisis can cause, today's guest, Bill Coletti on the Caged Vision Podcast is a must-listen. When you listen, you'll find best practices such as: How to respond now that the internet and real-time information has changed everything The formula for how to speed your response and be successful The definition of your organization's outside perception Thanks for the great show Bill! To best connect with Bill, you can find him on LinkedIn here or on his company website -> https://kith.co/. Thanks for checking out the show! Carey

What if you knew how to best protect your biggest business investment? …And, are you now scrambling to figure out what that investment might be? Today's guest on the Caged Vision Podcast has spent his entire carrier honing in on the best way to do just that. So be sure to download and listen - when you do, you'll get great key takeaways such as: The #1 problem with having a vision for the future of where you want to go. What leaders really want. The key question you need to ask yourself before you'll ever be able to really grow. Thanks for the great show, Tim! To best connect with Tim, you can find him on LinkedIn here https://www.linkedin.com/in/tcosby/ or on his company website, https://realretention.com. Thanks for checking out the show! Carey

How to lead with passion and not lose the personality behind your vision "Ideas come and go, but if they last more than a couple of months I know that there's something there." This week on the Caged Vision Podcast, I interview Trent Kocurek, CEO of AirShip. Trent is a passion-driven person who thrives on unlocking the passion and value of his customer. Be sure to download and listen. When you do, you get some great takeaways like: When determining if you need to invest in one of your ideas, write your idea down, and if you keep coming back to it, that's an early indicator of your true passion behind the idea. How to be a passion-driven person by constantly reinvesting in your ideas. Clearly articulate how what you do will enhance and assist in adding value to your customer. Use these tips to help lead with your passion and not lose the personality behind your vision. To connect with Trent, you can find him on LinkedIn and on his company website - AirShip. Enjoy!

Great ideas are a dime a dozen. Here's how to get them advanced! You've got a great idea. In fact, you have tons of great ideas. And, you're so confident in your ideas, you can't help but share them with leadership. The problem is great ideas are a dime a dozen, and anyone can saying what should get done. So how do you test your great ideas and get them funded? Today's guest on the Caged Visio Podcast is Gary Chan. Gary had a bright mind from his earliest years and got drawn to technology. To advance his passion, Gary went on to study Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. After years in industry, Gary went out on his own to chase a vision of his own. To that end, on today's show, we also have a guest host in Greg Luce. As you'll hear, Greg has a similar interest and Gary and was able to step up the questioning in a topic that was way over my head. Enjoy!

"We just need help in determining what's next for our organization…" Does this describe your thoughts for you and your organization? If so, you're not alone. The good news is today's guest, Bob Niemiec, and his firm specializes in helping companies do just that. They use an extraordinary technique that you're going to want to know about to solve this expansive challenge in organizations today. Be sure to download and listen today to gain insight on: How to have the most significant impact on your growth curve The advantages of using the talents and skills drawn from both industrial design and engineering to solve problems How to replicate your culture The benefits of Human Capital Design How to lift the fog in your organization Bob, thanks for being a great guest on the show! Listeners, be sure to check out Bob and his company Twisthink!

When you've worked for four of the biggest consulting firms, you've seen a few things. You've also seen years worth of "modernization" set as the primary priority in a matter of months. But how do you take decades of data, organize it, clean it, structure it, integrate it, and then somehow use it to predict business outcomes better? Well, you're in luck! Today I have an AI guru who has lead manufacturing, financial services, and higher education in their most pressing AI initiatives. I have Mohit Sahgal on the show today. Mohit is the Head of Data Engineering at EKI-Digital. Be sure to listen to the podcast to discover: The importance of creating the right starting point with your data What a Co-Location and Integration strategy can do for you How to create analytics to predict better and perfect business operations Find more about Mohit and EKI-Digital at https://www.eki-digital.com

How to be an INFLUENCER that matters. Are you a Go-Getter? Most of you might instinctively respond with an immediate and resounding YES! …But what about a GO-GIVER INFLUENCER? Today, my guest Bob Burg, co-author of The Go-Giver series, talks Influence on the Caged Vision Podcast. We had an amazing conversation filled with the wisdom Bob is known for. Below are a few takeaways: "We can all have a vision. It's holding on to that vision…having a vision is the easy part, it's holding that vision is often the difficult part, especially when things do go as we want them to go." "Influence on a basic level is the ability to move a person or persons to a desired action & within the context of a specific goal. That's the definition, but by no means is it the substance or the essence of Influence." "The essence of influence is PULL." "A great influencer asks themselves questions to make sure they're facing the right direction. For example: How does what I'm asking of this person align with THEIR goals, THEIR needs?" "Leadership can come from anywhere in an organization, but for it to be a culture, it's got to come from the top." You can access all of Bob's amazing content, including his books, podcast, video series, and the amazing new course he's launched at www.burg.com. Stay well and thanks for listening to the Caged Vision Podcast, helping you Unlocking Your Vision and Transform Your Business.

How to Overcome Your Fear and Follow Your Heart. This week's Caged Vision Podcast interview with Sophie Chiche revealed 6 golden nuggets of wisdom. At the age of 17, Sophie made a life-changing decision. It would take guts, it would take courage, it would take overcoming her fears, and it would take following her heart. Along her journey, and through our conversation, Sophie revealed six key takeaways that helped her continue to pursue her path and unlock her vision. Find Motivation Control Your Fear Follow Your Heart Do What Matters To You (Because sustaining your effort takes stamina) Not Everyone Wants You To Succeed Remove All Of The “Can’t’s” Surrounding You Be sure to listen to download and listen to this episode to learn more about how these six steps shaped Sophie’s life. To learn more about Sophie and connect with her, go to www.becurrenttoday.com or reach her on LinkedIn here -> Sophie Chiche

How private and protected is your data? If you don't know the answer to this question, you're definitely going to want to tune into this week's episode of the Caged Vision Podcast.  My guest on the Caged Vision Podcast is a Global Privacy and Data Protection Expert, Debbie Reynolds. Throughout this 30 minute episode, we cover: Being in the cloud and not even knowing it. Is being in the cloud more secure than on-site? Best practices for accessing data remotely. Understanding your security protocols. Could a cyber hack put you out of business? Is a hybrid model right for you? Recommendations for small to mid-sized companies relating to data breaches. Find your weakest link as it relates to data security. Recommended testing. What are you looking for that you don't already know? Spring cleaning your data. Each week we look to add value by delivering meaningful content. Many middle-market companies don't have someone leading this effort and it often falls on the CFO. If you're a middle-market CFO & would like more targeted information on how to ensure your data is both private and protected, email me at crome@cypressresources.com.  

3 trends that will impact the future of data.   Welcome to our new series on the Caged Vision Podcast. In case you missed it, we’re going to be covering all things data, and of course, how you can use data to unlock your Caged Vision.   This week I have a very special guest, Anand Mohan. Anand has a unique perspective serving as a technology leader in both commercial and federal organizations. While the differences could not be more evident, one constant remains…   Understanding the "4 V’s” defining the your data will be critical to your taking the next step in digital transformation.    Be sure to listen to hear our discussion on:   The 4 things that characterize big data as different from data How to know what to ask of your data How to score your data How to have confidence in your data  The 3 Trends impacting the future of data   I hope you find this episode helpful. Be sure to check out the show notes for a more detailed summary of the episode.   …And of course, if you’re an executive, wrestling with what to do next, email me at crome@cypressresources.com. I’d love to connect and share my thoughts on how to go from historical reporting to a data strategy that helps you drive the business.   Here are a few key takeaways:   4 Things That Characterize Big Data as Different from Data   Velocity of data (millions of bites per second) Variety of data (comes from all different sources - i.e. sensor data, email data, Word doc, PDF, Web Logs…unstructured data) Volume of data (tuns and tuns of data) Veracity of data - You have to take all of this data and make sure it’s good data, not just nonsense data   How do I know what to ask of my data?   1st - You need to find your pain points  2nd - Ask simple questions. Ask What If questions. What if I could do X if I had Y. What are the things that if I had, I could run my business completely differently.     Learn how to score your data. How to ask questions of your data. How to have confidence in your data.    The 3 Trends impacting the future of data.   Artificial Intelligence Data Privacy Tools and Technology supporting the democratization of data

How to find safety in business when you're both drowning “I went from hero to villain on a commute home.” That’s how Adam Andersen described his work and home life. As an entrepreneur, he felt he was slaying dragons all day “for the family.” Meanwhile, his wife Kerry, felt isolated, alone, and left holding the family unit together. A lot has changed since those days. In fact, Kerry felt so compelled to help others, she wrote a book (In Bed With The Business: An Entrepreneurial Spouse’s Survival Guide) to help others. In today’s Caged Vision Podcast I interview Kerry & Adam Anderson and we get real about what it takes to make it in business. Whether your spouse is your business partner or not, I will guarantee the other person in your family has felt the way Kerry felt. This episode falls under the “Man, I wish I’d have known that 20 years ago” category. Don’t miss this episode. So I curious, how many of you can relate to this topic? Show notes: In today’s Caged Vision Podcast I interview Kerry & Adam Anderson and we get real about what it takes to make it in business. We get in deep on topics that many couples don’t discuss. Below are a few discussion points we hit: Tuning out the big dreams the other person is talking about. It’s fatiguing when all they do is talk about them when they don’t do anything about it... Going from hero to villain

Today is a repost of my interview with Ann Handley from earlier this year.  It really was a great show.  I hope you enjoy it and happy holidays. Original Show Notes: Why never asking for permission is the right start. On today's episode of the Caged Vision Podcast, I interview Ann Handley. Ann Handley is a writer, digital marketing pioneer, and Wall Street Journal best-selling author who inspires and empowers you to create marketing that your customers will love, igniting real results for your business. “Life will throw you as many excuses as it can until one of them sticks. And, then it's like, aha - I’ve got you.” ~ Ann Handley Imagine...you're 8 years old. And boy do you have a BIG IDEA. So big in fact that the lessons you'll learn will carry you to being the Queen of all things Content Marketing. Today we hear from Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker and the Queen of Content Marketing, Ann Handley. If you don’t know Ann, you’re missing out. By listening to my interview with Ann you'll learn:   Why small goals are the key to starting How to find out what your customer needs most The key to building a community A promise you can’t afford to break And, how to move past the roadblocks life throws your way I can’t wait for you to listen to the show More show notes: “If you want to run a marathon, you have to start by putting on your shoes and you have to tie them. And maybe that’s the only goal for the day.” “Always make it as small as possible.” What do people need help with? What’s on their minds? What are they struggling with? Participate in conversations. Create content that answers those questions. Align yourself with the audience. Marketing through two different pieces - Trust and Affinity Just start - Start somewhere that feels manageable and right for you. Set a tiny goal for yourself and do it every day. Make the promise to yourself to not break the chain; don’t break the promise to yourself. "When I know what my goal is, then I'll figure out how am I going to measure that from an audience point of view.” Build-in some kind of interaction in every email newsletter. What’s the goal and what’s the buddy action that will correspond. "Do less and obsess” When I was 20, I spent a lot of time in fear. To go from that to now standing in front of 1,000’s of people at a time. The only way to get past fear is to just run straight at it. Don’t let fear hold you back. It’s easy to throw up a lot of roadblocks and its easy to say…well, I can’t do that now because. But in a lot of cases, it all maps back to fear. So just being honest with yourself about what is actually holding you back and not letting those excuses get in the way. Because life will throw you as many excuses as it can until one of them sticks. And, then it's like, aha - I’ve got you.   You can find Ann on LinkedIn, Twitter, via email at ann@marketingprofs.com, or on her many websites: http://www.marketingprofs.com/ http://www.mpdailyfix.com/ http://www.contentrulesbook.com/

How to see beyond what you know to create the impossible.   You know it to be true. In fact, your expertise is grounded in all that you know…and that gives you confidence.   The problem is, if you only live in what you know, you’ll never expand your frame of reference and thinking into what you don’t know.   On today’s Caged Vision Podcast, David Chislett, who is an expert on creativity, gives lessons on how to be more creating.   Here are a few things you’ll learn:   Creativity is a process of connecting dots To connect dots, often you’ll first have to suspend judgment  Why mastering technic is critically important to creative thinking What you can do to prevent a robot from taking your job How to create a creative culture   We all want to advance and do the best we can. The good news is, with a few tweaks and focused practice, you can get there faster than you think.   If it makes me happy   Creativity is a process of connecting dots   Help a robot stole my job   How to create a creative culture    Get creative by suspending judgment   You’ve got to let go of what you know to discover what you don’t know   We need to be doing work that robots can’t    If I’d have just put in a 1/2 hour of work each day, there’s some much technique that I would have to think about that would free me up to connect the dots...I.e. creating new music   It’s not about being able to be able to play the songs to be able to get on stage

In this week's show, I interview the Business Growth Architect/Strategist, Attorney, Certified Coach, Speaker, Trainer, and Bestselling Author, Christine Perakis. Christine is the author of the Entrepreneur's Essential Roadmap: Take Your Business from 0 to 7 Figures in Record Time, which can be found on Amazon here. Christine discusses her vision of sailing across the world as a child, and what it took to make that vision real. And how she went from living in literal paradise to being buried alive and completely alone. You don't want to miss this amazing episode, which is chalked full of valuable insight and stories from Christine on vision, coaching, communities, business, and just life in general. Some of my favorites from the episode: - With any mastery, there’s always someone who knows more, there’s always someone who knows less but we need to keep trying to learn and expand on our passion. - A vision without a plan is just a dream - Align yourself with people who know more than you - No one gets to world-class without a coach - Be willing to say I don’t know everything and don’t be afraid to ask - Who are the people who are sharing and teaching that resonate with you - When I’m on track with something the road before me just lays out smooth and straight - It took being buried alive to finally realize I couldn’t do it alone - From Paradise to being burned alive. - This was bigger than me and I - When the needle is thread that leaves you buried alive and alone. - I thought I’d done everything. Before, I was ignorant…I don’t know what I don’t know. I’m thinking I’m a professional mariner, a professional rescuer, I've rescued businesses, boats and people and safely brought them to shore. I had done so many things right. I had friends where we were cross-checking one another, mariners who were looking after others, I had the Rolls Royce of hurricane protection on my windows, but this thing was bigger than any of us. And, it was more powerful….and that’s the piece people out there who won’t relate to a hurricane, but they will relate to a situation when they were just not in control. - We all get hit by things that are simply out of our control. And we are all complacent up until that point, thinking that we’ve got it handled. But you don’t realize until you find yourself buried alive alone in a wind coffin. - It took me months to realize I didn’t know anybody else who’d gone home alone after watching the last weather reports knowing that storm was not going to veer off, it was headed straight for us. It was that I was complacent, I was ignorant and I had a pattern of feeling like I can handle anything, I can handle this… - What I’ve learned through these experiences is that you don’t have to go it alone. - What do you do when there’s nothing to do except control your mind and to control your emotions and to understand the situation. - There’s not an action that is more powerful than what our minds do to us. They do it in every turn. - 80% - 90% of our success is due to mindset so if our minds are out of control what do you think will happen. - It’s the stories we tell ourselves that are more constricting than anything that is actually happening. - There is always something you can do to turn your story, of where you are right now, into a story of prospering. - Go where there’s light…for any of us…whatever those experiences are that have us stuck. There’s always going to be something that will show itself and we can move towards. You can find out more about Christine at christineperakis.com and her Business Breakthrough Pro Program HERE

How to visualize success and actually make it happen.   “This difference that really triggers people to take action are the people who work a little harder on picturing the outcome.”   Do you have a specific outcome you want your target customer to have through a conversation with you?   ...Yes, of course “BUY” is obvious. But what is the conversation immediately before signing a contract or receiving confirmation of a go?   More than likely, this is the outcome that you need to visualize - and there’s a journey of conversations and questions that need to be answered that will lead to this outcome. Have you ever wondered how to reverse engineer the success you visualize and making happen automatically?   Well, today you are going to get your answers because we have a very special guest on the Caged Vision Podcast, Andy Crestodina.   There is no further evidence than a testimonial and I can honestly say that after 45 minutes with Andy, I was so intrigued by his knowledge and expertise that I asked for a call with his team.   What if success was that automatic for you? Be sure to download, listen, like, share this weeks podcast.   Oh - don’t forget to signup for Andy’s amazing drip of knowledge that comes every other week.

On today's episode of the Caged Vision Podcast, I interview John Eades.  John is the CEO of LearnLoft a leadership development company that exists to turn professionals into leaders and create healthier places to work. He is also the author of "Building the Best" due out on November 5th and is the host of the 'Follow My Lead' Podcast. He writes or has been featured on Inc.com, LinkedIn Pulse, TrainingIndustry.com, eLearningIndustry.com, CNBC Money, and more.  Show Notes: Who have to dance within the flame, who chance the sorrow and the shame that always comes with getting burned. Most of us stand outside the fire and what we want to do is be in the fire. ...And we need courage to be in that fire. “This world we live in needs more people not afraid to be in the fire and doing the very best they can possibly do, not sitting on the sidelines. After a year of attempting to build a learning platform, I looked up and we were like a rudderless. And, like most young leaders do, it couldn’t be John’s fault, it has to be my teams fault.  And I decided to let one of my team members go, who was a fantastic team member...worked her tail of. ...And she looked at me at the end of that meeting and said -  “I didn’t know where we were going, I didn’t know what we were doing, and I didn’t know how I was going to help us get there.” I was living proof of being a really poor leader. From the next day forward, I made it my mission to figure out what the best leaders do. I made the decision early on that I was going to document my journey along the way. I didn’t want others to make the same mistakes that I did. Interested or Committed. If you’re just interested in something you do it b/c it’s convenient. You do it because maybe you’re supposed to or you kind of like it. But when you’re committed to something there’s nothing that will stop it. Your going to have ups and downs... But there’s a difference because it doesn’t matter what happens within those boundaries, neither party is going to give up on it. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. You’re never as bad as you think you are in a lose and you’re never as good as you think you are in a win. ~ Lou Holt’s Failure is not final, failure is feedback. To do anything meaningful, the price you have to pay is high. Self-Discipline: The ability and willingness to sacrifice what you want now for what you want later on. Are you willing and able to make the sacrifice if what you want later on may never happen? It’s actually easier to not do something...it’s easier to sit on the sidelines. The world we live in today - you can be an Uber driver, stay at home, build a life only about yourself...I reject that notion. I hope more people to decide to not sit not he sidelines, I hope they decide to get in the fire. I’m more intensely focused on today than I’ve ever been. PTS Method - Prepare to Serve. Any time you change your environment, Prepare To Serve. There’s a Latin term called nunc coepi - Now I Begin. Each of us have a choice that tomorrow we can wake up and start a new beginning. You can reach John on LinkedIn, or on his website at https://johneades.com/

Show Notes: Today’s podcast is a repost of an interview with Doctor, Podiatrist and Serial Entrepreneur, Tyson Franklin. He has opened, sold, taken over, and relocated over 20 businesses in his industry.  Today you will learn: - The importance of writing goals, challenging yourself, and never forgetting the promise you made to yourself - Why taking action is the key to success - The frustrations with being forced to think inside of a box and how it ruins creativity - The turning point that can come from the decision to apply what you learn and take action - The harsh challenge that encouraged Tyson to get creative and 10X his results Here are a couple of my favorite quotes: “Until you have a little bit of belief in yourself, you’re not going to start taking any action.” “At university is where I think I lost my confidence. I went to a state school, a lot of people at university went to private schools, and I was constantly told that I wasn’t good enough. So, I think I dragged that into my career, and I had this anger that was built up in me because I didn’t think I was good enough. So, I made sure I wasn’t good enough by making bad choices.” “As soon as I started getting belief in myself, things started to improve.” “It’s interesting, people will spend $10,000 on a holiday, but when you tell them it’s $1,000 or $2,000 for business coaching and it’s tax deductible, your holiday’s not...they say, “Oh, I couldn’t possibly spend that amount." I hope you enjoy the episode. To reach Tyson, visit TysonFranklin.com. If you’d like to stalk him on social media (Facebook or LinkedIn) Tyson E. Franklin.

“You want to solve problems to fight poverty? Awesome. You need to learn the gift of empathy and you need to serve people you need to eat and drink with people who are under-resourced.” This week on the Caged Vision Podcast, we have a very special guest, Justin Miller from Slingshot Memphis. What is Slingshot? Well, as you’ll find out, Justin and his team are using analytics to change the way people change Memphis, and...maybe even the world. Listen to how an idea and the search for the intersection of value turned into a non-profit that is garnering attention around the world. Here are a few of my favorite quotes: What’s your intersection of value? What you are built to do and what might be good for the world... What would you do with a slingshot opportunity to make the world a better place? They don’t have the time, money or resources to have a really meaningful feedback loop. And it’s a donor-driven problem to be quite frank. From that work, I determined that I could raise a lot of capital, but if we’re spreading it around like peanut butter, but if we don’t have a conduit to pivot and make better decisions over time...I don’t know if things are going to get better. And so, from that, we birthed slingshot to do that on behalf of our non-profit portfolio. I’ve always been interested in finding that intersection of value between what I’m good at, what I care about, what I’m passionate for and couple that with what the world needs. Our world view is so bubbalicious. It’s not as big of a deal as sometimes we make it. How might we give yourself permission to take more risks, to do more good. In my experience, most of us, myself included, we tend to gravitate towards that which already exists. We want to innovate our way to change...and it can be really dangerous. Real leaders really want to know the answer to the only question that matters...Is it working? Change the way we change Memphis. What advice would you give your 20-year-old self? “I love to learn. I spent a lot of time, especially at that age in a book. I wonder if I would go back in time and tell my 20-year-old self, do that...do more of it AND be in the world. Study and think and problem solve and give and learn and be in a relationship with people who aren’t like you. “You want to solve problems to fight poverty? Awesome. You need to learn the gift of empathy and you need to serve people you need to eat and drink with people who are under-resourced.” You can reach the team at Slingshot Memphis HERE

This is a Podcast Repost from July 5th, 2019, where I was interviewed on the Strategy and Leadership Podcast with Anthony Taylor. I received a lot of great feedback from LinkedIn on this episode and thought it would be a timely repost, given we are entering the strategy planning period for many companies. I really enjoyed being on the Strategy and Leadership Podcast. I hope you enjoy the show. Here are the show notes from Anthony: For this episode of our Strategy and Leadership Podcast, we were joined by Carey Rome, the CEO of Cypress Resources. Referring to himself as a “recovering CPA” , Carey started his career in accounting, and eventually moved into other areas of business, leading to positions as CFO, COO, and now CEO. Throughout his various roles, Carey has developed a wide understanding of business operations and a passion for strategy development. During our conversation, Carey shared his insights on how leaders and teams can better set themselves up for success after developing their strategic plan:  In order to successfully implement a strategic plan, leaders should make sure that objectives and priorities are assigned an owner who is responsible for the associated actions and results and goals. Within each of these areas, goals can cascade throughout their functional areas of the business. Assigning project owners for each area helps so that each project or initiative is tied to the long-term organizational and strategic plan success while at the same time making sure that the details and quarterly deliverables are met.  Leaders can coach these project owners by preparing them for meetings where they will ask them three questions: What has changed, how are timelines impacted, and what do you need? Through preparing for and having this conversation, project owners can be proactive in finding solutions for their problems, while executives and leaders can coach them on making an informed decision. When monitoring the success of a strategic plan, it should be reviewed in 90-day “sprints”. This reflects a balance between long-term goals, and short term results that need to be achieved and helps teams to break down each main objective into sequential tasks to finish in the 90-day timeframe.  The original Podcast can be found HERE.

On today's episode of the Caged Vision Podcast, I interview Tomas Keenan.  Tomas is a scrappy and motivated entrepreneur, as well as the owner of Top Class Installations in Hicksville, NY.  Tomas followed his passion of cars and music to find himself creating a business of his own.  After that business literally broke him all the way down, he had to find another way.  This is an extremely inspiring episode of why to never give up, and why it can take people around you to get you back in the game, and back on top. Some takeaways from the show: "I expected to be installing high end custom audio all day, every day. I soon realized that these jobs don’t just magically appear. And when the work did appear it wasn’t always something I was familiar with or wanted to do." "I thought that once you opened a business that all you had to do was the work. In other words, fulfillment. Sell that job, do the work, get paid, life is dreamy. What they don’t tell you is that once you become a business owner that you are responsible and expected to wear all the hats. Accounting, bookkeeping, cleaning, ordering supplies, firefighting, hiring, etc." "If I just grind all day, everything will be just fine. With all that grinding, 3 very important areas of my life suffered. Faith, Family, and most importantly… my fitness. This led me to developing severe sciatica which eventually floored me when I least expected it. I was laid up in bed for 3 weeks. My business generated zero income because I was the business." "Fast forward to 2019. Top Class is now 5 years old. My wife tells me she’s pregnant (Life Altering Event). This drove me to become a better person so I could raise my child in the manner that I deemed responsible." "After I began going down the path of self-development I become addicted to learning. I couldn’t consume content fast enough. I could finally start growing the business and putting it on the right course for success" "Finally, 7 years into Top Class we were excelling. Our team had grown, our business had grown, our relationships had grown, I was no longer working on the day to day of the business. Things were moving along nicely." "But then my wife and I faced our greatest challenge yet. Our 6 month old twin son was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery to fix an intestinal blockage. I once again left my business for 3 full weeks. The difference was… this time I actually owned a business. Top Class went on to operate and thrive without me while I was busy taking care of the most important thing in my life. My family." "And then, in the height of Top Class’ success, I became very clear on my purpose. It drove me so hard that I wrote a book in order to share my story with the world." "I was put here on this planet to help others succeed in business. Today I help aspiring business owners and entrepreneurs get out of their own way. At the same time, I haven’t stop feeding my lust for learning." "I know what it’s like to make a scary move. To quit your job, to get married, to have kids, to buy a house, to invest in yourself with a high dollar coaching program. The timing will never seem right. But you must take action and risks in order to expand your comfort zone."   You can find Tomas on LinkedIn, and on his website: https://topclassinstallations.com/

On today's episode of the Caged Vision Podcast, I interview Ann Handley. Ann Handley is a writer, digital marketing pioneer, and Wall Street Journal best-selling author who inspires and empowers you to create marketing that your customers will love, igniting real results for your business. “Life will throw you as many excuses as it can until one of them sticks. And, then it's like, aha - I’ve got you.” ~ Ann Handley Imagine...you're 8 years old. And boy do you have a BIG IDEA. So big in fact that the lessons you'll learn will carry you to being the Queen of all things Content Marketing. Today we hear from Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker and the Queen of Content Marketing, Ann Handley. If you don’t know Ann, you’re missing out. By listening to my interview with Ann you'll learn: Why small goals are the key to starting How to find out what your customer needs most The key to building a community A promise you can’t afford to break And, how to move past the roadblocks life throws your way I can’t wait for you to listen to the show More show notes: “If you want to run a marathon, you have to start by putting on your shoes and you have to tie them. And maybe that’s the only goal for the day.” “Always make it as small as possible.” What do people need help with? What’s on their minds? What are they struggling with? Participate in conversations. Create content that answers those questions. Align yourself with the audience. Marketing through two different pieces - Trust and Affinity Just start - Start somewhere that feels manageable and right for you. Set a tiny goal for yourself and do it every day. Make the promise to yourself to not break the chain; don’t break the promise to yourself. "When I know what my goal is, then I'll figure out how am I going to measure that from an audience point of view.” Build-in some kind of interaction in every email newsletter. What’s the goal and what’s the buddy action that will correspond. "Do less and obsess” When I was 20, I spent a lot of time in fear. To go from that to now standing in front of 1,000’s of people at a time. The only way to get past fear is to just run straight at it. Don’t let fear hold you back. It’s easy to throw up a lot of roadblocks and its easy to say…well, I can’t do that now because. But in a lot of cases, it all maps back to fear. So just being honest with yourself about what is actually holding you back and not letting those excuses get in the way. Because life will throw you as many excuses as it can until one of them sticks. And, then it's like, aha - I’ve got you.   Don't miss this intriguing interview with Ann and stories that go back to her childhood. You can find Ann on LinkedIn, Twitter, via email at ann@marketingprofs.com, or on her many websites: http://www.marketingprofs.com/ http://www.mpdailyfix.com/ http://www.contentrulesbook.com/  

On today's show, I interview 6X Inc. 5000 CEO & President - Todd Palmer. Todd brings a truly inspiring story of what it means to go from hitting rock bottom financially, but not giving up on your vision.  Some of the highlights of this amazing episode include: “By September of 2006 I was $600,000 in debt. I was two months away from running out of all of my money, including loosing my house. And I realized in that cross roads moment in most entrepreneurs lives, that I was falling down the stairs, I was falling down the ladder, and I needed help.” ~ Todd Palmer   So I reached out and I hired a coach with the last credit card I had - because the option of failing…I couldn’t do it.    I hired a coach, he took a look at the finances and he recommended I file bankruptcy. He said, you’re in bad shape, you’re on life support, but I think if we are able to discharge a huge portion of this debt, we can turn this thing around.   And I remember sitting at dinner with my son one night, he was 9 or 10 years old at the time, at he asked me “Are you going to file bankruptcy?” And I looked at him and said, “No I’m not and here’s why, I’ve always told you that you have to be a young man of your word. So if I go out and don’t pay the money I’ve promised to the bank and money I’ve promised to other vendors, I’m not a man of my word. We are going to have some lean times, you and I my friend, but I’m going to dig my way out of this.”   The coach told me, we are going to have to make some staff changes. I said, “Your right. I’ve lost complete faith in the staff, I’ve lost complete faith in our processes and I walked in and fired everybody in about 15 minutes and I started over." Don't miss this amazing episode of a real life turnaround story. Todd can be reached on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and his personal website www.extraordinaryadvisors.com

We grew up in housing projects in Chicago    "I remember I wanted to play baseball and my family couldn’t afford a car, so nobody drove in the family. My father when he went to work was always on the bus, on the CTA in Chicago…and I remember I wanted to play baseball, but 1) nobody could take me to baseball games and 2) we couldn’t afford the uniforms.   I remember I wanted to join the Boy Scouts when we were little. But again, nobody had a car and we didn’t have the money to even buy the uniforms.”    The Shattering for me was when I went to college. See, Carey, you’ve got to understand, I grew up in a predominately black and hispanic neighborhood. If you saw a white person in our neighborhood it was like spotting a white howl or something rare. And, so when I get to college, well now you have everything. You have everything from people from the Middle East, caucasian, Asian, Latin American…and I remember I was having like a cultural vertigo. …I’m almost embarrassed to tell this story, but this story is real. I had a friend named Mike. Mike was white. One day Mike was telling me how poor he was. …And I said, but Mike, you’re white, how can you be poor…you’re white. Because in my neighborhood, that’s what you were taught. White people have it all, us minorities have nothing. That was your belief system at the time. Well, Mike looked at me like I was an idiot. “What do you mean, I should be rich because I’m white? Is that your theory. As stupid as that sounds, that was the moment that the shattering began.   9:20 - It isn’t until you are aware of the cage that you can walk out of the cage. …For me, that conversation with Mike made me realize that, man…I’ve put myself in this mental cage.   11:05 - It’s amazing how freeing it is when you stop blaming other people for what you can’t have.   20:10 - I can remember when I was at a family gathering and my cousin looks at me. He was a big tough dude and he says:    Cousin: “You know what’s wrong with you?”    VA: “What do you mean what’s wrong with me?”    Cousin: “Yeah man, you know what’s wrong with you?”    VA: “Apparently I don’t, what’s wrong with me?”   Cousin: “You sound white.”   VA: What?   Cousin: “You sound white. Man look at the way you talk. You sound white.   VA: I said, Thank you man, I appreciate that. I did that to lock him up.   See I know what he was saying. He was saying, stop using proper diction, you’re starting to sound like them. That was his interpretation.    …And by the way, I have a lot of friends who’ve been educated that have been told the same thing. And that reminded me of the crab analogy. If you put one crab in a bucket it’ll crawl out. But if you put a bunch of crabs in a bucket none will crawl out because they’ll all pull each other down when somebody tries to get out.   I wasn’t trying to be like anyone. I just realized that unless you have proper diction and you’re well read, it’s hard to get ahead.    23:05 - It’s too easy to be on the negative side, always blaming someone else.    26:30 - Lead by example - that’s the basic. I think it’s the thing leaders do quietly and consistently, when nobody’s looking, that gets them ahead.   Victor Antonio The Motivator Documentary Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPeX7mPXMHU   Victor's Book - The Greatest Gift Link: https://cypressresources.sharefile.com/d-s31ac0a0529f4a218   36:15 - I went from making $300,000 + to making $17k   37:33 - I remember visiting a speaker I was aspiring to be. And I sat next to him at lunch. This is after me wining about how much I was not making and how the market doesn’t understand me and people don’t appreciate my skill set…blah, blah, blah.   And then Randy looks at me and says. Victor, let me ask you a question - What business are you in?   I thought that was an odd question - I just told you what business I was in, I said I’m a speaker.    Randy says, NO…   Ok, I’m a sales speaker???   NO…   Ok, I’m a trainer?   NO!   Sale trainer?   NO!!   Sales consultant?   NO!!! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.   Finally I said ok Randy you tell me what business I’m in.   Victor, you’re in the marketing business first, everything else second.

Show Notes: How to motivate when your best efforts got you in the wrong place. “I found myself in a place where I’d destroyed my life. My wife had left me because I hadn’t been honest with her…I was at rock bottom.” Have you ever found yourself in the wrong place, despite your best efforts? I think if you’re being honest, you have…I have. Today’s guest on the Caged Vision Podcast is Larry Broughton. Today, Larry is a strong, confident CEO, leader and mentor too many. But it wasn’t always this way. If fact, Larry started out very insecure because of a learning disability. Ironically, Larry’s brilliance was only masked by a reading disability. …With a change in the test type ever so slightly, Larry’s brilliance was not only revealed, but lead him to be in one of the most elite special forces teams in the country. Think about that… Larry could have felt sorry for himself. He could have let others tell him he wasn’t good enough. But he didn’t. And, this wasn’t the last time Larry would have to pick himself off of the mat. Some of the high points and topics from the show include: "Individuals play the games, but it’s teams that beat the odds” Character is built in tough times. I didn’t have any confidence when I got out of high school because that I had any academic capacity at all because I could barely read. I knew intuitively that I was intellectually smart, but no one else around me knew that…all of the indicators were telling me that I wasn’t a smart person. My first job was as a night auditor at a motel. So I went in at 11 and got off at 7…and then I went to school during the day. When I was in Boy Scouts, I realized that if I just follow the path that someone has already laid for me, I’d make it if I just follow the path others have laid out for me. There are times in our life that we just show up and what others who are further down the path tell us. A friend described me as an ego manic with an inferiority complex. If you’ve got to fight to get it, you’ve got to fight to keep it. We all want these mountain top experiences, but we don’t want the valley experiences. But the valley is where we sometimes can’t see the growth. And some times you have to take out the machete and cut your way through. Other times you need to stand there, take a deep breath, look around, and sometimes you’ll see that tiny game trail of a rabbit and some times it opens up to more of a clear foot path. Too often we get panicky and we feel like, oh my gosh, I’m stalled for a minute and so I’m failing. And that’s not it at all. Some times its the universe saying take a breath, take a break. Pursue excellence in everything that you do. Show up like it matters. Teddy Rosevelt - The Man In The Arena Some times we just need to take action. And often times we don’t know what action to take, so you just take a step. “Well, what if I don’t know what step to take?”  Well I think you do. You know the difference between right and wrong. You know the difference between good and evil. Step to the good side first. And then, just keep taking course corrections along the way. And what happens is those baby steps…those couple of baby steps get you two steps closer to somewhere.  We may not even know where, but ultimately at some point momentum takes over. And, its the Big Mo that changes lives. But the Big Mo doesn’t come until we have courage. Courage changes everything in our lives. And I’m not talking about he courage it takes to get a metal of honor, I’m talking about the courage to get out of bed with a positive attitude. Do the hard right over the easy wrong. You’ve got to take that first step and some times it’s out of pain…my best efforts got me here and I don’t like it. Just show up…but today, I just want 1% harder than yesterday. The compound affect. It’s the small, consistent, incremental things that we do is what leads to transformation in our lives. It’s not the big sea shifts that we’re trying to do overnight. No one can do that. Small things done consistently, that’s what moves the needle. There’s a difference between friends and allies. Allies see the potential in you that you may not see in yourself. How do you put fuel on it, keep your ears open to the right people. Just ask people who are further down the path than you are. It was a fascinating show, and we really appreciated having Larry on the show. You can connect with Larry on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or find him on his multiple websites, yoogozi.com, or broughtonhotels.com.

On this week's episode of the Caged Vision Podcast, we interview Jay Waters. Jay is a professor of strategy at the University of Alabama. Coming from a large marketing/advertising background into the world of teaching strategy, Jay is planting the seed for the up and coming business leaders of tomorrow on how it's supposed to be done. Today we cover a variety of pure strategy topics, including his thoughts on: - Getting people off of 'go' - If your strategy includes making the world a better place, that's a good place to be in business - Why pure dollars and cents, and maximizing shareholder value is not a viable long-term strategy - How the employees of today, and tomorrow, expect to actually make a difference, not just 'do the work' - Why 'authenticity' creates passion in the workplace and your employees - How he helped in changing the face of Asheville, NC into the Foodtopia it is today - The fact that there can still be an elegance and simplicity to business strategy - The arrogance that is attached to the word 'strategic' and why that's unproductive - How there's really not much difference between strategy and tactics It was a fascinating show, and we really appreciated having Jay on the podcast. You can connect with Jay on LinkedIn or at waters@apr.ua.edu.  

On today's episode of the Caged Vision Podcast, we interview speaker, author, consultant, and CEO - Michael Brenner. In addition to discussing his new book, Mean People Suck, we talk all things marketing, employee engagement, leadership, culture and much more. Michael's first book The Content Formula is a must read. Some of my favorites points from the show include:   The questions you really need to be asking yourself and your business: Who are you trying to reach? What's the conversation you want to be a part of? What change to do you create in the world? Leading companies in the future will truly put their customers first and activate that through their employees Everyone in your company needs to think of themselves as 'in charge' Why even his assumptions are almost always wrong, and why that's okay Test every idea to see which ones work Stop pointing the fingers at others for your failures Authentic engagement is the only type of marketing left Michael really brought some great ideas regarding the marketing changes of the future this week.  You can find Michael on his Company Website (Marketing Insider Group), LinkedIn and Twitter. Be SURE to pre-order his new book Mean People Suck on September 4th, 2019 - here.    Thanks for listing to the show and if you enjoyed this content, please share it and let us know with a 5-Start rating.

On today's episode of the Caged Vision Podcast, we have ex-professional hockey player, entrepreneur, and humanitarian Stephen Clarke. He tells his amazing and inspiring stories covering: How he had to build his first bike on his own Taking that experience to become an entrepreneur as a young child His journey from a poor kid to a professional athlete  Going from dumpster diving to feeding the hungry Leaving a cushy corporate job to becoming his own boss Getting his first client, who had one employee at the time, and turning that into millions of dollars in business Why an unshakeable belief in yourself makes you unstoppable Why patience can prevent nearly every mistake you make ...and how he continues to build businesses even today We really enjoyed hearing Stephen's entrepreneurial mindset and his journey of taking action and turning that action into results. You can reach Stephen at SClarke@RTGGroupInc.com and check out his company, Receive Through Giving (RTG), and their mission to stop hunger in a new way at www.RTGGroupInc.com. Thanks for listing to the show and if you enjoyed this content, please share it and let us know with a 5-Start rating.

An overwhelming majority of business owners don't have an MBA. In fact, these business owners have proven time and time again that you don't need an MBA to be successful.    The problem is many of these same business owners spend too much time fighting fires and not enough time working on the business.   The good news is you don’t need an MBA to think strategically about your business.    In this episode, Carey covers how to execute a 12-Month plan that will help you achieve your results faster.   Call it a strategy if you like, the simple format and structure Carey covers has been proven to work time and time again.   In fact, it’s the exact system Carey uses with clients.   If you’d like the full notes to this episode including slides and the template Carey references, email success@cypressresources.com.   Mention Strategy for a Non-MBA and we will get you the almost 10 page document to you ASAP.   Thanks for listing to the show and if you enjoyed this content, please share it and let us know with a 5-Start rating.

On today’s podcast we have a special guest, Andy Wang. Andy and his brother Chris run a financial advisory practice and have taken a different approach to unlocking the vision for their business. Some of my favorite quotes from our call include: [6:30]- “I didn’t even have total buy-in myself, but I was willing to try” [7:15] - “To grow your business…you don’t want to remain static. You want your business to be dynamic. Part of that is being willing to try different things, try something new.” [11:13] - “Instead of people asking for a referral, they have extreme confidence in their ability to use the internet to do their own research.” [13:40] - “When you get those flashes of inspiration, you want to make sure you don’t lose it.” [14:00] - “You’ve got to take the leap. The second half of that is the word execution.”   [20:12] - “I’m yet to find somebody that says, “I am against buying local”    [24:14] - “I think all of these businesses we visit can be referral sources for us.”   [26:12] - “You have to be willing to start somewhere and kind of know you’re going to stink it up for a little bit”   [27:20] - “We’re trying to bring less and deliver more”   Closing thoughts on the advice Andy would give his 20 year-old self: “Don’t be scared. If it’s scary, (as long as it’s not dangerous) I should try it. Take the leap. Do one thing everyday that scares you." You can find and follow Andy at BuyLocalNJ.com

On today’s podcast we have a doctor in the house. As a Podiatrist and serial entrepreneur, Tyson Franklin has opened, sold, taken over, and relocated over 20 businesses in his industry.    Today you will learn: The importance of writing goals, challenging yourself, and never forgetting the promise you made to yourself Why taking action is the key to success The frustrations with being forced to think inside of a box and how it ruins creativity The turning point that can come from the decision to apply what you learn and take action The harsh challenge that encouraged Tyson to get creative and 10X his results Here are a couple of my favorite quotes: “Until you have a little bit of belief in yourself, you’re not going to start taking any action.” “At university is where I think I lost my confidence. I went to a state school, a lot of people at university went to private schools, and I was constantly told that I wasn’t good enough. So, I think I dragged that into my career, and I had this anger that was built up in me because I didn’t think I was good enough. So, I made sure I wasn’t good enough by making bad choices.” “As soon as I started getting belief in myself, things started to improve.” “It’s interesting, people will spend $10,000 on a holiday, but when you tell them it’s $1,000 or $2,000 for business coaching and it’s tax deductible, your holiday’s not...they say, “Oh, I couldn’t possibly spend that amount." I hope you enjoy the episode. To reach Tyson, visit TysonFranklin.com. If you’d like to stalk him on social media (Facebook or LinkedIn) Tyson E. Franklin.  

Let Yes Be Yes And No Be No Persistence is key to unlocking vision and working towards success Explain how you got yes to be yes Be Confident - don't give half or wish-washy answers Don't give a yes "but" answer If you do this: More thought and research before committing to an idea Steadfastness to see it through until it becomes a No Commitment and Clarity of Direction  

Coaching 1. Empowering People: 2. Your role is to be an: - Influencer - Caretaker - Player 3. Guiding them based on your vision   There are 2 types of companies: Hard - Work, Burnout, Cut Throat Soft - Work for Security, Apathy, No Challenge, Entitled    

Creating the Customer Experience Through Data   The 2nd show in a 2-part series on Customer Experience (Hear Part 1 Here). In this episode, we cover the 'data' aspect the Customer Experience and how to use data in forming the ideal experience for your customer.   1. 86% of Customers are willing to pay for a good customer experience   2. 73% of customers point to their experience as a factor in their purchasing   3. 65% of buyers find a positive experience with a brand more important than brand advertising   Data - You have it, so USE IT to: - Respond faster (email) - Enable personalization (e.g. Apple, Amazon, Netflix) - Helps map customer journey to improve Customer Experience - Embrace data and follow where it leads you

The Fundamentals of Customer Experience Show Notes: Your customers want an experience with your brand that is: Unique Memorable Personalized   The problem is your staff have different personalities and approach customer experience differently.

What Is Stopping You From Starting To Uncage Your Vision? The imposter shepherds will: 1) Steal your passion 2) Kill your vision What are these imposters: 1st, CERTAINTY is not your shepherd. The quest for certainty is draining. 2nd imposter, INSECURITY. You’ll never be fully alive as a leader following your insecurity. Insecurity will eventually lead to dishonesty, which erodes your credibility & undermines moral authority. 3rd imposter is ENVY. Envy will just lead you to do what everyone else is already doing. You’ll end up arrogant or depressed.

Storytelling Your Vision: Your employees want to be relevant to your organization The problem is they're disconnected from your strategy: It's not contextual/relevant They don't know how to add value As the CEO, you understand, because you've been an employee Solution - Connect to the Organization: Shared interlocking objectives  Meaning overall corporate objective needs to be drilled down to each department Frame up the objective and results you want, then let them tell you what they'll need to deliver Look for and capture success stories within the organization

Description: This week on the Caged Vision podcast, we are talking with Clay Cark, host of the Thrivetime Show podcast, and serial entrepreneur. At the age of 13 Clay decides to “go for it” with ingenuity and scrappiness he made it through, but his vision was not uncaged until he realized it was about paring with someone to help you think big…even when it doesn’t come natural to you. Clays Bio: Clayton Thomas Clark, Clay Clark (born November 5th 1980) is an American entrepreneur, podcaster, author and public speaker. Clark is the founder of DJ Connection,Elephant In The Room, Epic Photos, Fears and Clark Realty Group, The Make Your Life Epic Marketing Agency, Thrive15 and the Thrivetime Showpodcast. Clay and his companies has been seen on Entrepreneur magazine, Forbes, Fast Company, The Washington Post, also a member of the Forbes Coaches Council (https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/people/clayclark/) Education Clark attended St. Cloud State University, Oral Roberts Universityand Oklahoma State University. Career Clay Clark started his career by founding DJ Connection (DJConnection.com) out of his Oral Roberts University dorm room in 1999. Clark co-founded The Elephant In The Room Men’s Grooming Lounge (Eitrlounge.com) with Justin Moore in 2012.   Clark founded Thrive15, an online video-based education platform for entrepreneurs in 2014.   Clark is the author of 8 books including Amazon.comBest-Seller “Start Here: The World’s Best Business Book” (https://www.amazon.com/Clay-Clark/e/B004M6F5T4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1538662443&sr=8-1)   Clark is the co-host of iTunes top 10 business podcast “Thrivetime Show” with his partner Dr. Robert Zoellner where they teach practical business steps to entrpreneurs looking to start or grow a business and they also interview other top entrpreneuers including Seth Godin, David Robinson, John Lee Dumas, Bruce Clay, Zach O’Malley Greenburg, Tom Peters, Rashad Jennings, Ben Shapiro, Justin Forsett, Gretchen Rubin, and more. (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/thrivetime-show-business-school-without-the-bs/id1076405618?mt=2) Awards and recognition In 2002, Clark was named by the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce as the Young Entrepreneur of the Year. In February of 2007, Clark was named by the United State Small Business Administration as the Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the State of Oklahoma.   Author Clark is the author of 8 books, Amazon.com Best-Seller Start Here: The World’s Best Business Book, BOOM: 13 Proven Steps to Business Success, The Art of Getting Things Done, Wheel of Wealth, Make Your Life Epic, Thrive, Jackassery, Podcast Creation 101, and The Entrepreneur’s F6 Journal Personal Life Clay is married to his wife Vanessa Clark of 17 years and together they have 5 kids, 42 chickens, 9 cats, and 2 turkeys  

"People that accomplish major things focus on the vision and focus on the vision and focus on the vision. They know the destination." ~ Anthony Zolezzi This week's show with the CEO of Twinlab Consolidation Corporation, Anthony Zolezzi, is all about keeping your eye on the end goal...the vision of what you know you can achieve.  Stop worrying about the "how", and the challenges that may arise in your pursuit. Stay focused on the end goal. Thanks to Anthony for such a great show!

Why Are You So Afraid? 1. Compose Strategic Questions at Their Level Make Strategy Contextual Make Them More Engaged and That They Have Something to Add 2. Get Them to a Place of Self Discovery Don't Give the Plan Help Them Think Through the Assumptions 3. Remove Fear and Anxiety Show the Path Let Them Find Steps Iterate at a Small Level Leads to the Next Step

How Status Quo Happens: Drink Your Own Kool-Aid What Got You Here Will Get You There Build Trenches So Deep All You See Are The Sides   Why The Status Quo Is So Sticky: Over Intellectualizing Strategy Not Engaging People Emotionally Defend Market Share   What To Do About Status Quo: Risk Rate Status Quo Look For Language That Reaffirms Your Status Look For New Ways To Add Value

Don't Trade Self Discovery and Exploration for Aughtness - Listen to the show to learn about: How Aughtness Happens- Schooling Career Advice Keeping Up With The Joneses Regret / Fear Of Missing Out Not Making The Decision To Invest In Yourself What It Takes To Be Okay With Self Discovery & Exploration- You Have To Believe That You Are Worth Investing In You Have To Become Okay With Not Having All Of The Answers You Have To Reframe Failure As An Opportunity To Learn About Discovery And Exploration

Using The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg to discuss the Cue, the Routine, and the Reward, but through the lens of the customer journey.

Creativity with a purpose that drives a better result for your target customer.

“Strategy is sexy and cool and everyone likes to talk about strategy, but the rubber meets the road in executing a plan.” ~ Mark J Forchette How are you coming? Astute business leaders already know…they feel it. Is it another year of: 1. Same old, same old 2. Verdict is still out, or 3. Clear, distinct path Ok, straight talk time. Another year of the same old, same old means you're complacent. My hope is that you have enough saved for retirement and that day is very soon. Is the verdict really still out or is this the excuse you use every year? Thin about it driving to a destination and 25% through the journey you couldn’t tell if you were on the right track...Would you pull over and recalibrate? If you’ve set and are executing a clear path, CONGRATS! To motivate your people around the journey you believe in, they need to clearly see 1) Your vision for the future and 2) Their part in the process. I hope this post has encouraged you to take action. I recommend using a system to help clearly lay out your plan. I help companies set and execute a clear path to achieving the results they want. If you think that I may be a fit to help you, connect and message me on LinkedIn.

"I was so determined and the coaches had mercy on me… But really that I had the confidence and I wasn’t going to leave. And because of that confidence, they kept coaching me. And by the time I finished that three months, I came back and became the best in the U.S.” ~ Bonny Simi This is an excerpt from Bonny Simi’s Olympic rise from becoming a novice to the nations best in 3 short months. How did she do it? 1. She set a goal 2. She was determined to achieve the goal 3. She pushed herself to become better by training with the best 4. She demonstrated determination and confidence through her everyday commitment 5. Because of 1-4, coaches decided to invest in helping her become the best So what about your company's strategy? Have you made steps 1-4 clear for your company and employees? If so, you may find they'll invest in the plan. Is this the classic chicken or the egg scenario? No. You are the leader and your team needs to clearly see your vision for the company you run. They need the plan to achieve the vision. They need a committed to the vision. In turn, the confidence demonstrated through the plan will motivate your team to help you become the best. Link to Bonny Simi Podcast: https://ecorner.stanford.edu/podcast/an-entrepreneurial-mindset-applied-to-you/"

Hope is not a strategy... We all want to move forward, but the path most traveled will just leave you in the middle of the pack. Figure out how to best tackle complexity and you're on the path to success.