The post Motivational Speaker Zephan Moses Blaxberg Create Your Life On Purpose With Show 024 was first published on mitchellchadrow.com
0:00you’re listening to the listen up show
0:01darn up entrepreneur podcast I’m
0:03Mitchell Chad row your host today on
0:05this show zero to four today we’re here
0:08with Stephan Moses blacksburg hey
0:11trusted friends Mitchell here what will
0:13we discuss on today’s show lessons
0:16learned which are actually jam-packed
0:18Zeppelin tells us what every happy
0:21person has in common why people take
0:23risks and the reasons you should rewrite
0:25your story
0:26starting today friend it’s your business
0:32it’s your family if you’re like let’s
0:34get started
0:36ceptin Moses blacksburg is the author of
0:39life Reese cryptid and it’s available on
0:41Amazon he’s the host of the Europe
0:44purpose podcast also available on iTunes
0:47Zeppelin says over the past
0:49two-and-a-half years he’s been travel
0:51hacking his way around the country
0:53couchsurfing in strangers homes and
0:55redesigning his story and to build a
0:57highly successful business so that he
0:59can turn his dream life into a reality
1:02he also says that travel and exploring
1:04new places he says is only one of the
1:06ways you can live on purpose he works
1:09with an amazing coaching clients who
1:11love what they’re creating in the world
1:12we sign up to my email list for the
1:15latest special offers exclusive for our
1:18listen up show startup entrepreneur
1:21podcast audience at Mitchell Chad Road
1:23comm slash sign up I have been providing
1:27business advice resources in hell to
1:29entrepreneurs for over 20 years and I’m
1:31looking forward to helping all of you
1:33sign up for my email list again at
1:36Mitchell Chad Road comm slash sign up I
1:39will provide you with full transcript
1:41for each interview my II bought 30 tools
1:44to start up the startup checklist and
1:46many other education and training
1:49materials all back at Mitchell Chad Road
1:52comm slash sign up now enjoy the show
1:56Zef ins started from scratch and made
1:58fifteen thousand dollars in his first
2:00six months after quitting his job and
2:02close to sixty thousand with a little
2:04bit of elbow grease and patients with
2:06less than two years later he was able to
2:08hack over 25 free flights around the
2:10countries and still run his business
2:11from the road and in fact
2:13a book just as much work on the road as
2:15he did from home Zeppelin has created a
2:17free course called finder purpose in
2:19eight days the next lesson a unique
2:21tactic that entrepreneurs used to
2:23generate millions in revenue he tells us
2:25the juicy inside secrets of lifestyle
2:27design a single tool that will change
2:29the way you approach life on all those
2:31tough decisions and he actually adopted
2:33it from Elon Musk as it works wonders
2:35for every aspect of your life and how
2:38you can apply this single tool to your
2:40own sponsors for today’s show our
2:42startup round for all your hosting needs
2:45head on over to Mitchell Chad Road comm
2:47slash hosting Mitchell Chad Road comm
2:51flash hosting for all your web hosting
2:53need who do you use to host this website
2:56now onto the show
2:58Zep ins full show and all the links
3:01right there at Mitchell Chad Road calm
3:03slash show zero to four okay’s effing we
3:06are all ready to listen up so what one
3:09thing contributes most to your success
3:11well I think that’s an excellent
3:12question and again thank you so much for
3:14having me here today
3:15I think that one of the biggest things
3:17that contributes to my success is really
3:20coming from the mindset standpoint of
3:22you know where’s your head at is your
3:24head really in the game and this
3:26actually goes back to one of the
3:27principles that I talked about in my
3:29book which is all about how are you
3:31showing up so if you imagine you know
3:33your life and your work and everything
3:35that you’re doing as a movie you know
3:37are you showing up during the previews
3:38where you might get a hint as to what’s
3:40come in the future or are you showing up
3:42late where you’re kind of you know
3:43stepping over people’s feet trying to
3:45find a good seat and you know end up
3:47ultimately with the chair that has the
3:49gum beneath your feet so I think it’s
3:52really a matter of you know how are you
3:53showing up not physically but actually
3:55in your mind and what are you doing to
3:57sustain that throughout you know your
3:59morning your day and of course your week
4:02you know you talk so much in your book
4:04as I took a look and just in all your
4:07articles about rewriting your story and
4:10Andry scripting your story as a movie so
4:15so tell us a little bit about your own
4:16personal story I mean tell us about your
4:18background and how it actually ties in
4:20with how you’re actually helping people
4:22today yeah so my story started you know
4:25a couple years
4:27out of college I felt that I was kind of
4:29handed down this script of you know you
4:31grow up you get good grades you go to
4:33college get a degree get a job you know
4:36save us some money maybe buy a house and
4:38start growing a family and that’s great
4:41I think that’s totally fine
4:43but I think it’s relatively mediocre to
4:45think that you would work in the same
4:47position for the next 30 or 40 years of
4:49the rest of your life you know only to
4:52do these things which result in I mean
4:55at the end of the day we all have a
4:58certain finite amount of time here on
5:01the earth and you know I think that if
5:03you’re going to make decisions based
5:05around what you’re going to do for a
5:07living what you’re going to do with your
5:09free time and with your life and your
5:10family and your friends to really be up
5:13to you it should be based off of this
5:15idea of you know this handed down script
5:17that you know your parents lived they
5:20were in a different time and things
5:23worked a little bit differently so I
5:24think it’s really just a matter of
5:26looking at it in your own way and really
5:29taking your own story in your own path
5:31you know things keep changing whether it
5:34be in one’s personal life or business
5:36life and I just recall getting a an
5:40email actually from you not not too long
5:42ago and so with that obviously you know
5:47sometimes change is good and you got to
5:49be nimble and you got to be flexible and
5:51you got to sort of go with the changing
5:52times so certainly we’re going to talk a
5:56little bit about what’s next for you as
5:58I continue to ask you more questions but
6:01so now now after all of what you’ve gone
6:04through with the business startup and
6:06your several years in obviously tell us
6:09what what is your mission in your vision
6:11for the company because obviously it’s
6:13changed and it will continue to change
6:14as you go forward yeah so I’ll expand
6:17just a little bit on the on a timeline
6:20of just you know where things are at and
6:21where they’ve been over the last few
6:22years so you know I got out of college
6:24at the end of 2010 picked up a job and
6:28ultimately thought you know I’m just
6:29following the story if I’m supposed to
6:31get a job and make money and do what
6:33everyone else does and I did that for
6:35about a year and a half until the
6:38company was sold
6:39I lost the position
6:40and they didn’t take anybody with them
6:42and they moved the company to a totally
6:44different state and so you know at that
6:46time I was kind of in this mode of
6:49thinking you know I just I need to have
6:51a stable job I need to have a job and do
6:53the same thing for the next you know
6:54however long and started to freelance
6:58out of necessity just because the job
7:00market wasn’t so great
7:02ultimately worked for the Apple store
7:04for about another year year and a half
7:07and then in May of 2013 I left my job
7:11there to start a video production
7:12company just really quick to fast
7:15forward about to a year and a half to
7:17two years into the company I’ve been
7:19really just grinding away at it and
7:21working myself into the ground and so I
7:25left to do the travel hacking what she
7:27mentioned and I’m sure we’ll get into a
7:29minute and really my mission there was
7:31to just kind of figure out where I am
7:33like where is my starting point and Who
7:36am I when you peel away the layers of
7:38the onion so this week to find out you
7:41know when I take away my securities my
7:43safeties everything that I was used to
7:45or everything that I knew to be true you
7:46know who is that person that remains and
7:50that that was a big part of where the
7:52travel came in and why I was inspired to
7:55create the podcast and write the book
7:56was that I had started to really figure
7:58out that my mission was really to self
8:01develop you know to become the best
8:03person that I could be to learn as many
8:06things as I could you know to meet
8:09people from all over the world and
8:10continue to travel and do the things
8:12that I loved and you know to this day
8:14that’s certainly a big part of the
8:16missions I think things have changed
8:18over time because I started the podcast
8:20in January of 2015 I you know here we
8:24are it’s almost the end of 2016 and so
8:26we’ve been almost 2 years into the
8:29episodes you know nearly 150 people
8:32interviewed and things have changed
8:35slightly so you know published the book
8:38published and and it was rated 3 adult
8:41coloring books and accomplished quite a
8:43lot and learned so much from so many
8:45people but I think for right now the big
8:48focus or at least the mission has been
8:49to really get my financials in alignment
8:53with what
8:54wanted you for work and how I want to
8:56live my life I spent the last summer
8:59traveling internationally and realized
9:01that that was such an important part of
9:03who I want to be and really having that
9:05flexibility so the mission now has been
9:07really just getting much more aligned
9:09between my business and between you know
9:12the lifestyle that I want to live and
9:15part of that means we’re going to be
9:17finishing off the podcast that we had
9:20started you know little less than two
9:22years ago the right way we’ve
9:25interviewed you know tons of people and
9:26we’ve got a really special surprise
9:28episode coming out for episode 150 which
9:31should be in the middle of November but
9:33the real mission is you know getting
9:36getting back to the roots becoming more
9:38simple and you know possibly removing
9:41some material items because I’ve just
9:44you know accrued so many things over the
9:46past couple years and alignment is the
9:49big key word there so in terms of the
9:52alignment I know that after episode 150
9:55as I had read that you know you’re going
9:57to end the podcast and so that’s why I
9:59alluded to the fact that there’s going
10:01to be many changes in your own personal
10:04and business life going forward and I
10:06certainly want to unpack all of that
10:08because I think you know there’s
10:10probably a lot of takeaways that you can
10:13provide the audience in terms of do’s
10:15and don’ts and things that they can do
10:17you know as their own startups and as
10:21entrepreneurs so throughout these years
10:24of doing all that you’ve been up to what
10:27are some of the like the reoccurring
10:29themes that you’ve actually been
10:30experiencing not only as an aspiring
10:33entrepreneur but maybe some things that
10:35you can summarize for the benefit of
10:37other aspiring startups that are
10:39obviously looking for help for resources
10:42and and sort of showing them how to grow
10:45their own businesses as well I mean I
10:47think one of the big keys there is
10:49probably awareness so being aware of
10:52what’s happening you know around you in
10:55your personal life in your business life
10:56and pretty much every aspect of your
10:59life because there’s so many
11:01opportunities that tend to present
11:02themselves to us and we don’t even
11:05notice
11:07and I think that’s a big issue is that
11:09there are some pretty big things some
11:11big changes that could happen for us if
11:13we were just paying a little bit more
11:15attention and so a big theme over the
11:17last two years has just been you know
11:19realizing when something comes up that
11:22could be an extraordinary opportunity
11:24one of the greatest examples of that for
11:27me was you know I first got the business
11:30off the ground I own a video production
11:31company I had gone to one of my first
11:34networking events could barely say what
11:37I did I just said you know has got a
11:39camera and I shoot videos and one of the
11:43guys in the room had mentioned he was a
11:45graphic designer and being in the media
11:47industry there’s definitely a lot of
11:49overlap you know we certainly use
11:50graphics and video all the time I need
11:53to come up to me after the networking
11:55events hey you know I do work with the
11:57NFL the NFL and triple-a the big car
12:00insurance company they’re clients of
12:01mine and you know we’re considering
12:04going into animation so right now you
12:06know I just make some graphics that go
12:07up on the screens inside the stadium but
12:09we’d really love to do animation places
12:12do you do that and in my head I’m
12:14thinking well I’ve got like a very
12:16bare-bones knowledge of it you know I’ve
12:18done a couple of small things here and
12:19there but nothing ever that I would you
12:21know put out from a professional level
12:23of having a business but I also
12:26remembered in my head you know I’m very
12:27well-connected I probably know people
12:30that could do this and I just said yes
12:32and he said okay great you know here’s
12:34my card
12:34let me get yours you know I’ll probably
12:36be reaching out to you in a month or two
12:38and sure enough two months later he
12:40reaches out and says you know the the
12:42Philadelphia Eagles and the Philadelphia
12:44Flyers called
12:45and you know we’d like to do an
12:47animation with them could you get us a
12:50quote and here we go again I’m like I
12:52you know I don’t do animation I have no
12:54idea but I was recognizing that like
12:56this is a really big opportunity to not
12:58only get something in my portfolio but
13:00to also learn how to outsource and build
13:03out a team and ultimately you know was
13:06able to outsource to an animator who
13:08became part of my team and did that kind
13:10of work for me for quite a while after
13:12that and that allowed us to you know
13:14really get our name on the board to have
13:16the NFL and to be working with triple-a
13:19on a big project like
13:20so I think the the big key there is just
13:23recognizing an opportunity and not
13:27necessarily faking it till you make it
13:28but giving yourself a little bit more
13:30credit for what you’re actually capable
13:32of you know if I hadn’t taken a step
13:34back and said you know I probably know
13:36somebody who could pull this off then I
13:39probably would have just said no it’s
13:41not something that I do and it probably
13:43wouldn’t have led to more work with them
13:45which ultimately got us inside of the
13:47Los Angeles Clippers and the Baltimore
13:49Ravens stadiums
13:50so I think just being aware noticing
13:53where the little flags pop up and giving
13:56yourself more credit it really can go a
13:59long way you know there’s so many key
14:01takeaways there in terms of just being
14:04aware say yes not for the sake of saying
14:07yes because like you said you don’t want
14:08to fake it until you make it but just
14:11knowing that you’re probably capable of
14:13a lot more than you think and they’re
14:16there lies the opportunity I know that
14:19that in the past you’ve talked about
14:21some of the mistakes that that
14:24entrepreneurs and startups can make like
14:26not being aware like not being aligned
14:29like not getting their finances in order
14:31but maybe some other common mistakes
14:34that you’re saying whether it be
14:36students who are looking into starting
14:39up a business or entrepreneurs looking
14:41to sort of take it to the next level
14:43what or even things that are preventing
14:45them from from that success what what
14:48are some other key things that you’ve
14:50seen those common mistakes that people
14:51are making and maybe how they can sort
14:54of start out so that they they don’t
14:56have to step into that that briar patch
14:58you know from from the experiences that
15:01you’ve already had yes so a big mistake
15:04I’ve actually been seeing pop up more
15:06and more recently has been ever since I
15:08started working with other videographers
15:10in the industry and so we built out a
15:12coaching program where I’ve been working
15:13with videographers from Canada to New
15:16York to Los Angeles and you know one of
15:19the biggest things I’m seeing is that
15:21one of them for example had never gone
15:25out to a networking event because he
15:26just said I don’t know how to network
15:28and he just had me even tried it and it
15:32literally took me
15:34putting stuff on the calendar for him
15:35and saying here’s what you’re going to
15:37do you’re going to show up you’re going
15:39to talk to people and when they ask what
15:41you do you’re going to explain it to
15:42them that’s it and I think people fail
15:46to start because they get this analysis
15:48paralysis and then they just don’t even
15:50do it
15:51and so so I think that’s number one is
15:53really you know avoid that that
15:56paralysis of starting and just I write
15:59it
15:59it doesn’t mean you know jump off the
16:01cliff and the parachute will just
16:03magically appear but I think you know
16:05that that statement is true to a certain
16:08extent right like I’m certainly not
16:10going to jump off of a cliff and hope
16:11that something is going to save me but I
16:13think that to some extent it really
16:16means that you still have to take the
16:17leap you still have to you know start
16:19moving forward otherwise you just won’t
16:21go anywhere so that’s mistake number one
16:23and then number two that I really see a
16:25lot is that people get stuck with this
16:27this shiny object syndrome so a lot of
16:31people think you know especially
16:32videographers they think if I can buy
16:34that more expensive camera if I can get
16:37that nicer gear is going to land me more
16:39gigs I’m going to get more work and I’m
16:41going to get paid more and the truth of
16:44the matter is you can have the nicest
16:45camera in the world but if you don’t
16:46know how to use it it’s not going to be
16:48of any use to you and to that same point
16:51you could have all the gear you could
16:52possibly need but if you’re not doing
16:54anything to bring in any new clients
16:56then you know the business isn’t going
16:58to run so is that that’s what number two
17:01is really just that shiny object you
17:03know making sure that you’re not blaming
17:05your business success on the tools that
17:07you’re using because it really does come
17:09down to your own smarts and what you’re
17:11actually doing and how you’re putting
17:13yourself into action those have really
17:16been the two biggest ones that I’ve seen
17:17you know recently you know the the two
17:21key words that I heard as you were
17:23speaking as I was listening up and I
17:25hope everybody out there is also
17:27listening up because there was a lot of
17:28value bombs in what you were saying Zeff
17:31and the first was you said show up and I
17:34remember distinctly in our show 0:05
17:37with Susan Matthews how she talked about
17:39her uncle Chris Matthews who’s on
17:41hardball MSNBC
17:44and he talks about networking and
17:46showing up in his book and you also
17:48talked about being resourceful being you
17:52know self resourceful and so on our
17:54podcast we talk about you know what are
17:56the different resources that are
17:58available to people and so once you do
18:00have those resources how can you
18:02effectively and efficiently use them and
18:05be resourceful you know for yourself and
18:07I think those are the two main takeaways
18:10that that I’ve gotten from what you’re
18:13indicating can you give us some of the
18:16essential understandings that
18:18entrepreneurs or students need to have I
18:20remember one of the first things that
18:22you said when I asked you one of the
18:23first questions was having that proper
18:26mindset to deal with those daily
18:28challenges that people will face and so
18:30how do you get into that that proper
18:32framework to sort of have that proper
18:35mindset yes so this lesson was actually
18:39taught to me the night that I had
18:40decided to quit my job working at the
18:42Apple Store essentially it had been a
18:45rough day and one of my freelance
18:47clients that I’ve been doing some work
18:48for was in the store and witnessed a
18:52pretty big argument you know some client
18:55came in was really upset cause the scene
18:57but you know he offered to take me out
18:59to dinner and his big question was you
19:01know how much are you making right now
19:03and why can’t you make that on your own
19:05like why are you still here and I said
19:07you know I’ve never run a business
19:09before I don’t know how to do this um
19:12you know and I really have no idea how I
19:14would go about making the you know
19:17thirty seven thousand dollars a year
19:18that I was making there and you know now
19:21that amount seemed so minimal but one of
19:24the biggest things he explains to me was
19:25he took out a little napkin and he drew
19:28almost like a little set of stairs and
19:30it was twelve little steps and at the
19:32top he put thirty thousand at the bottom
19:34he put zero and he said all right you
19:36know pull out your calculator on your
19:37phone for a second let’s just assume
19:40that you know you work five days a week
19:42you know you get two weeks off a year so
19:45you’re working 50 weeks out of the year
19:47that’s 250 days right and you know
19:49nine-to-five forty hours a week the
19:51normal normal feel if you were to work
19:54that 250 days and you divide it
19:57by into the 30,000 and you do the math
20:02here I’m actually bringing out my
20:03calculator here so anyway we’ll be right
20:05at home 30,000 divided by 250 you get
20:08120 and that look that means that all
20:11you have to make to replace a $30,000
20:14year income is $120 a day five days a
20:18week 50 weeks out of the year you still
20:20get a week off for vacation you still
20:22get a week off for being sick and that’s
20:25it and when he broke it down like that
20:28he actually did it you know based on the
20:30month so that’s why he he drew twelve
20:32little steps he said okay you know
20:34thirty thousand if we just take this by
20:36twelve you only have to make 2500 a
20:39month every month and to me I was like I
20:41don’t even know how I’m going to make
20:43that you know so how am I going to make
20:452500 you know a month so he broke it
20:48down even further but the whole idea was
20:51that you know anytime there’s this huge
20:54goal or obstacle that we don’t really
20:56know how to solve yet you know you kind
21:00of have to place ground zero at the
21:01bottom and place with a goal at the top
21:03and figure out what those 12 steps are
21:05in between and you know much like
21:08anybody else these days if you go to
21:11search how to tie a bow tie
21:13you typically don’t go to Google you go
21:15to youtube and you watch a video on it
21:17and so I think there’s just so many
21:19resources out there if you’re trying to
21:20figure out how to do something how to
21:22start a business how to you know do your
21:24taxes how to find an accountant you go
21:27to youtube then you find a video on it
21:28and is it going to give you all the
21:30answers
21:31not really but you’re going to fill in
21:32some of the steps along the way and it’s
21:34going to get you a good chunk of the way
21:36there and ultimately you know you’re to
21:38later things start to add up and you’re
21:40now able to fill in those blanks and
21:42figure out what it takes to get from
21:43Ground Zero to that thirty thousand
21:45dollar mark you know we talk so much
21:48about some of your achievements I mean
21:50fairly impressive being able to get the
21:53gig with the NFL to do the animation
21:55obviously I’m right outside of
21:57Philadelphia born and raised and so the
22:00Eagles and the Flyers and to be able to
22:02do that and to get experience and
22:03obviously to publish your own book and
22:06have it be on Amazon and obviously to do
22:08150
22:09episodes and have that in the iTunes
22:12store and there’s been a lot of success
22:14there but but in your own words to tell
22:18us about what you think are some of your
22:20key achievements you know I think
22:24probably a key achievement outside of
22:27everything has been not letting it go to
22:31your head too much um you know there’s
22:34many people out there who can let that
22:36success go to their head and I want to
22:39point fingers but I think Kanye West is
22:41a prime example of that in the music
22:43industry of you know someone who can
22:45really let that attention get to them
22:49and so I think you know still being able
22:52to keep a level head you know keep a
22:55calm mindset throughout everything you
22:59know and I was even reminded of this
23:00last night I went out to a cooking class
23:02with my mom my birthday was last week so
23:04that was a present to me and we’re
23:07sitting there just kind of talking about
23:08what everyone does for a living and my
23:10mom starts to rattle off all the things
23:12that I’ve accomplished and it’s great
23:15that she’s proud of me but you know I
23:16certainly don’t just show up to dinner
23:18with strangers and just start you know
23:20rattling off the list I think you know
23:22keeping that that sort of genuine factor
23:24to yourself is huge and I think that’s
23:28really a big key accomplishment is not
23:29necessarily the things that I’ve done
23:32but still being able to make sure that
23:33you know it doesn’t go too far to your
23:35head and I would say that’s number one
23:39number two I mean I think all of it as a
23:42whole you know being able to create and
23:46develop those street smarts to figure
23:48these things out you know I don’t know
23:50many other 27 year olds that have
23:52interviewed at this point we’ve got you
23:55know the 150 podcast episodes but we
23:57also had 40-plus people on a virtual
24:00summit like 42 or 43 people so it’s
24:03somewhere near 200 people from all over
24:06the world who’ve you know created
24:08businesses who have designed life the
24:10way that they want it to be I just don’t
24:13know many people that have accomplished
24:15that so having you know the smarts to
24:17figure out how to do this stuff and
24:19having the patience to see it through
24:21and actually see it you know
24:23built into something I think that’s
24:26really key number two is patience as
24:29part of that but also you know just
24:31being able to give yourself enough
24:33credit to keep going yeah and you know
24:37what I would say to the listeners out
24:39there especially as it relates to you is
24:41stay tuned because we don’t know what’s
24:44going to be next in terms of your story
24:46and how that’s going to unfold and what
24:48I mean by that is is that we actually
24:50interviewed a terrific guy on our third
24:53show Stephen Worley on show 0:03 and he
24:59had actually done almost about a hundred
25:01and fifty podcasts and did exactly what
25:03you did and so when I saw that email
25:06where it indicated that you were going
25:08to end at 150 episodes he kind of
25:11regrouped he started doing a lot of
25:13writing and he’s actually going to start
25:16back up again his podcast it’s going to
25:18be different than the way it was before
25:20but that was kind of like the first
25:22thing that came to my mind when I saw
25:24that and I’m really excited about that
25:26because he’s terrific and you know I
25:28really enjoy listening to your podcast
25:30as well so it’ll certainly be
25:32interesting to see what comes down the
25:34pipe as far as what you decide to do
25:36moving forward but yes you have achieved
25:38quite quite a bit and you said you just
25:41turned 27 correct mhm and a big thing I
25:44would add in there too is that we’ve
25:46actually got something pretty special
25:47coming in for episode 150 I don’t want
25:51to give it all away but if you’ve ever
25:53heard of the last lecture it’s an
25:56amazing speech that’s on YouTube by a
25:59gentleman who was a lecturer I think at
26:01Carnegie Mellon and the last lecture was
26:05essentially this professor had been
26:08diagnosed with some form of cancer or
26:10something that you know he only had
26:12about six months to live and you know he
26:16designed the lecture that he would want
26:19to give if it were his last lecture and
26:21his name is Randy Pausch no I’m very
26:24familiar awesome book yeah so if that’s
26:26any hint as to how we’re designing the
26:30the last episode I’ll just throw that
26:33out there that it’s not going to be like
26:35any other episode that I’ve done
26:38and our last episode 150 is is certainly
26:41going to be a special one where does
26:42this drive come from to be so successful
26:44to make a difference in this world I
26:46mean I know right before you came on to
26:48the podcast we had an opportunity to
26:50chat a little bit and we talked a little
26:52bit about you know your middle name and
26:54what that means and and sort of you
26:56coming into this world and you know
26:58maybe that has something to do with it
27:00but you know I’ll let you kind of talk
27:02to us a little bit about where this
27:04drive comes from and and and you know to
27:08be able to obviously inspire others to
27:10to basically create their own basically
27:14to create their own purpose in their own
27:15life yeah I mean I think it comes from
27:19my childhood for sure you know a big
27:22part of my pre teenage years actually
27:26when I was about 10 or 11 I remember
27:30walking into the living room my mom’s
27:32watching TV and you know she watched
27:35Oprah every afternoon like many other
27:37people did but Oprah had some guy on who
27:40had created this organization called
27:42Free The Children and basically you know
27:44he was advocating a you know against
27:48child labor in third world countries
27:49among many other things and making sure
27:53that you know children were fed and had
27:55schools in a safe place to go and you
27:59know I remember my mom saying oh you
28:00know look at this guy look at what he’s
28:02done he builds all these schools and
28:04throw world countries and raised all
28:05this money and built this organization
28:07and me being my naive little 10 or 11
28:11year old self I turned to my mom and I
28:13said I could do that and I and I don’t
28:16really know why or where it came from I
28:17just I remember very specifically saying
28:20like oh that’s nothing I could do that
28:21and sure enough we turned it around
28:25probably within like three or four
28:27months and we started doing a penny war
28:30at my middle school and we had raised
28:32enough money to build a school in
28:34Nicaragua and that was really kind of
28:36the first time where I saw what I was
28:40capable of I think and I probably I
28:44killed this one because I talk about
28:46this all the time but you know the
28:48four-minute mile was something that
28:51was never before possible until one
28:53person did it and once everybody else
28:55saw that person making it possible you
28:59know hundreds of people started beating
29:00that record so I think it’s one of those
29:02things where it’s like once you start to
29:04see what you can make possible both for
29:07yourself and what others have made
29:08possible it’s definitely much more
29:11within reach so that’s probably where
29:13things really started with seeing what
29:16was possible for someone at such a young
29:18age with you know seemingly small
29:21capability and I and I think that that
29:23ties in with what you were saying before
29:25in terms of just having awareness and
29:28just knowing that not just a matter of
29:30just saying yes but knowing that you
29:32could probably achieve and do a lot more
29:34than what what you actually think that
29:36you can do our fastpitch Mitchell Chad
29:39Road comm slash books for books audio
29:42books des recommendations and the books
29:45that I read to start off each day
29:48sponsors are fast pitch my book club
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30:01comm slash books it’s your number one
30:04resource for book reviews and
30:06recommendations you know we always
30:08constantly are talking about resources
30:11for the startups for the young
30:14entrepreneurs out there for the business
30:15owner that when I kind of take it to the
30:17next level
30:18and I know that we started talking about
30:20YouTube and YouTube videos and I know
30:22that you do a lot of coaching with some
30:24of your clients and I know that your
30:26podcasts inspire and they motivate but
30:29but what other types of resources are
30:33available to business leaders to young
30:37entrepreneurs out there that you can
30:39maybe reference here that will help them
30:42sort of get on their way to basically
30:44get off the fence take it to the next
30:47step and know that you don’t have to
30:49spend a whole lot like like you were
30:51saying about spending a lot of money on
30:53that camera but it’s more important
30:55learning how to use it
30:57and then as you sort of build then maybe
30:59you start to buy a little bit more
31:01expensive cameras yeah I think something
31:05that a lot of people don’t know about is
31:06actually there’s quite a few
31:08universities now as Yale as one of them
31:10MIT is one of them that are building on
31:12these online courses that you can take
31:14to learn things like entrepreneurship
31:16like finance like investing and things
31:19about the economy and these courses are
31:22out there and they’re totally available
31:23for you to take without having to apply
31:26to go to college there you know without
31:28having to have the grades to get in and
31:32so I think that’s a big one on top of
31:34that there’s just so many conferences
31:37now you know any topic you want to learn
31:39about for me when I first started with
31:41the podcasting stuff I had heard about
31:43podcast movement just through someone
31:46else in the podcasting world and they
31:48said oh you should totally go to this
31:50and you know little did I know there
31:52were going to be 1100 people there and I
31:54would get called out by the keynote
31:56speaker Pat Flynn in front of everyone
31:58but it certainly is is a huge resource
32:02to be able to go to those conferences
32:03and connect with the people that are
32:05there because you know these are all the
32:08people in your industry that are that
32:10are anybody you know the the who’s who
32:12are there and so I think it’s important
32:15to learn from those that have really
32:17paved the way and I found a lot of
32:19success in whatever it is you’re looking
32:20to do and on top of that you know a lot
32:24of networking and connecting with other
32:25people that just genuinely want to help
32:27you and see you succeed you know in a
32:29certain field yeah and I think that so
32:33there’s a lot of resources out there it
32:35doesn’t have to cost a lot and it’s just
32:38a matter of being resourceful by
32:40implementing some of these things by
32:42just going out and doing it and I think
32:45that’s that’s also an important takeaway
32:48as well you know I know that we’ve
32:51talked about your one hundred and
32:52fiftieth episode I’m actually really
32:54excited about it and I and I hope that
32:56everybody Tunes in for it because the
32:59last lecture is an awesome not only is
33:02it an awesome book but Randy posh was
33:05really quite a remarkable individual
33:09and I certainly have enjoyed not only
33:12listening to the last lecture and
33:13reading his book but learning a lot from
33:16him and I’m sure everybody else will be
33:17influenced by it as well but but tell us
33:20about some other challenging moments
33:22that you’ve had as an owner as an
33:25entrepreneur and I think that that might
33:27be helpful and instructional to other
33:29people out there yeah I think one of the
33:31challenging things as a business owner
33:34was actually firing my first client not
33:36my first one ever but the first time
33:38ever actually had to fire someone that
33:41that was paying me like I actually had
33:43to tell them to stop paying me I didn’t
33:45want to work with them anymore and
33:47learning how to have those difficult
33:49conversations because I think certain
33:51things are going to come up in your
33:53business that there’s just no way you
33:55could have prepared for them you know
33:57and in this case it was just someone
33:59that was extremely complicated to work
34:01with and it really got to a point where
34:03you know it wasn’t Mike worth my time to
34:05work with them and at the same time
34:08though you know they certainly weren’t a
34:10bad person to just if we were not able
34:13to connect you know in that business
34:16relationship so I I think that learning
34:20how to fire a client was a huge
34:22challenge but also on top of that is
34:24learning how to have those really
34:26difficult discussions and I had a little
34:29bit of practice of that because you know
34:31people coming into the Apple Store with
34:32broken bones all that a certain ramp has
34:34some difficult conversations but I don’t
34:37think it’s something that you can just
34:38learn from a book I think again it’s one
34:41of those things that you really just
34:42have to go out there and do it
34:44and it’s going to come along the way
34:46when you’re probably least expecting it
34:48but just being you know open-minded
34:50being able to listen something that they
34:53always taught us when we were working
34:55with people the Apple Store was they
34:56have their three A’s basically it’s
34:59acknowledged aligned and assur you know
35:02so acknowledge that they’re upset
35:03acknowledge that you know they’re going
35:06through something that might be annoying
35:08or tough or you know whatever it is
35:11align with them so kind of get on the
35:14same level as them and understanding but
35:17also really explaining to them what’s
35:19happening you know why their phone is
35:21broken or why some
35:22isn’t working properly and then
35:25assurance you know people ultimately
35:26just want to be assured that it’s going
35:28to get fixed or that we’re going to come
35:29up with some sort of a solution to their
35:32problems so I think that’s one of the
35:34biggest things that I carried with me
35:35from working for Apple that ultimately
35:38you know came into my own business as
35:40those three A’s I think that’s terrific
35:42and and I think that those are really
35:44three key takeaways that people can also
35:47implement and use in their own
35:50businesses
35:51you know a lot of times people don’t
35:53want to start businesses because they’re
35:55uncomfortable with being uncomfortable
35:56they don’t want to fail or they’re
35:58afraid that if things don’t work out
36:00what are other people going to think or
36:02what are other people going to say and I
36:04think sometimes by talking about things
36:07that you’ve also gone through maybe a
36:09failure but but maybe something that
36:12you’ve failed about but it’s influenced
36:14you and it has shaped you into actually
36:16who you are today can it can also be
36:19instructional and helpful to those out
36:22there that you know are up on that fence
36:24and you know don’t know what to do maybe
36:27by talking to us a little bit about your
36:29own failures but what you’ve actually
36:30learned from them and how it’s helped
36:32you yeah you know I think something that
36:35I had actually seen as a failure that
36:38really wasn’t was when our first company
36:42was bought out and losing my job and
36:46this was actually made really clear to
36:48me by Adam Kowalski goes by smiley he
36:52published a book called the quarter life
36:53breakthrough which actually was just
36:55picked up by penguin and republished
36:57very very recently but he was I think he
37:02was kind of talking to me about how you
37:03know you can get a job that you think is
37:06secure and do everything right you know
37:09and do it by the book and still fail at
37:12it you know it can still be pulled out
37:13from underneath of you you know even if
37:17you did everything right and so I think
37:19that was one of the biggest lessons for
37:21me was knowing that you know you can
37:23still do everything right that you think
37:26is safe that you think is going to
37:27protect you from all of those
37:29uncomfortable things and I can still get
37:32pulled out from underneath of you so
37:33really kind of accepting that
37:36you know secure and safe it really isn’t
37:39secure and safe you know anything can
37:42happen and you know it could be totally
37:44beyond your control and really just
37:47understanding that is going to help you
37:49with when it comes to going out and
37:51taking those bigger risks and getting
37:53you know outside of that box and outside
37:55of that comfort zone yeah and I think
37:57that the real takeaway there is is just
37:59knowing I mean to me there’s a lot of
38:01wisdom in that so that you know
38:03sometimes it’s only by kind of looking
38:06back and realizing that it was actually
38:08a blessing in disguise that you might
38:10have lost your position and that occur
38:12but of course a lot of people won’t
38:13necessarily look at it that at the
38:16moment that it’s occurring and I think
38:18you know the wisdom is realizing like
38:20you said that not everything is secure
38:22and safe and maybe there is an
38:24underlining blessing there I think
38:26that’s a wonderful takeaway you know in
38:28this next round we actually call it our
38:30fast round whether you’re starting a
38:32business you’re trying to generate those
38:34ideas there’s free premium resources
38:37actually at Mitchell Chad Road comm you
38:38know sign up for the newsletter
38:40subscribe it’s free
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38:44you can also go to Mitchell chadroy comm
38:46slash Inc let’s start your business LLC
38:49S corporation C corporation or even a
38:52non-profit so that’s Mitchell chadroy
38:54comm slash I NC if you could tell us
38:56some of the best business advice that
38:59you’ve actually ever received I think
39:01the best business advice I received was
39:04finding someone who had not only you
39:08know made it possible for themselves but
39:10had really you know built up their own
39:12business and was running it the way in
39:15which I wanted to run buying and then
39:17going and making them into your mentor
39:19or your coach or you know your your
39:22coffee friend or even just
39:25accountability partners so you know one
39:27of the biggest things I do is I have an
39:28accountability partner who happens to be
39:30my best friend but you know we Skype
39:32probably every working day for at least
39:35five or ten minutes just to check in see
39:37what everybody is working on you know if
39:40he has a question for me if I have a
39:41question for him so that was probably
39:44the best piece of advice is finding
39:46those people and almost it’s kind of
39:49like building your cast
39:50like like I talked about in my book is
39:52you know you’ve got to have a director
39:54you’ve got to have a writer you got to
39:55have an editor and so really creating
39:58that cast of people that you want to
39:59surround yourself with so that you know
40:02you can achieve the things that you want
40:04to achieve and really looking for and
40:06keeping an eye out for those people that
40:07are doing it the way in which you want
40:09to do it too
40:10and I think if people keep that in mind
40:13in their minds I to kind of refocus and
40:16reframe what it is to kind of create a
40:19team whether it be a team of people that
40:22are working inside your company or
40:24organization or a team of advisers
40:26outside that you’re relying on that
40:28you’re counting on for that type of
40:30feedback for for that type of advice I
40:33think that’s that’s a great way of kind
40:35of reframing it in your mind is looking
40:37at it as a as a cast people like you
40:40know Reece crypting in a movie as you as
40:42you talked about in your book if you had
40:45a billboard and you could put anything
40:46on it what would it be so there’s
40:51actually a great image that I really
40:53can’t even remember where I saw it so
40:55long ago um but it was probably on
40:58someone’s blog or some article and it
41:00said hey do you remember that thing that
41:02you said you were going to do you know a
41:04long time ago and you never went and did
41:06it you should really go do it I I would
41:09put something along those lines on the
41:11billboard because I think that was one
41:12of the biggest pieces of advice that I
41:14took for myself um you know where I had
41:17remembered so long ago that I wanted to
41:20travel I wanted to go out to California
41:22and I didn’t really know why and it
41:23didn’t really matter but I had waited so
41:25many years before I listened to that
41:27advice and the day that I bought that
41:29plane ticket I’m a one-way ticket to
41:32California and started my trip that’s
41:35where things really started to fall into
41:37place and I can’t believe it took so
41:39long for me to realize you know one
41:41thing that I always want to do I really
41:43had to go and just do it very cool on
41:45you know we’ve already talked about two
41:48books and you can reiterate what those
41:50two are but the next question is
41:52actually our audible inspirational book
41:54because it’s sponsored by Mitchell
41:56chadroy comm slash audible can you name
41:59a book that has helped you in either
42:01your business your family or
42:03that certainly would be a benefit to
42:06everybody else out there and I know that
42:07we’ve already mentioned to you can
42:10reiterate those but but if something
42:12else comes to mind that would also be
42:14helpful as well
42:15yes so you know without sounding too
42:18cliche
42:19you know the 4-hour workweek has been
42:21huge I’ve always wanted to know you know
42:23how to multiply myself essentially and
42:25be able to accomplish more work in less
42:27time but if I had to give anyone anyone
42:29bigger book that I think made a bigger
42:32difference on me it’s called the
42:34storytelling animal how stories make us
42:36human
42:37and it’s by a guy named Jonathan Gaucho
42:39and it’s just a fantastic book about you
42:42know why we align with storytelling so
42:45much and I think that a you know his
42:48first line on the back here it says
42:50humans live in landscapes of
42:53make-believe
42:54you know we devour novels films and
42:56plays yet the world of story has long
42:59remained an undiscovered after country
43:01and so I really like that he dives into
43:04you know story telling and why it makes
43:06us so human and why it makes us who we
43:08are
43:08I’ll tell you what we’ve mentioned so
43:11many awesome books on this particular
43:13show so I’m really excited to have all
43:16the show notes and all the links back at
43:19back at the blog can you name an app
43:22that you use to either help you in
43:25business family or life that you can
43:27that you can tell all of us about yeah
43:31so I mean I love my calendar app my
43:33calendar is nice to do but outside of
43:37that let’s see I’m looking at my phone
43:40right now just to kind of think it over
43:42you know I love using there’s three apps
43:45that are kind of part of a series it’s
43:47called beta wave beta waves and delta
43:49waves they’re free apps for the iPhone
43:51and they play certain sound waves that
43:54align with your brain activity depending
43:56on if you are trying to be creative if
43:58you’re trying to relax and fall asleep
44:00or if you’re in a deep sleep or looking
44:03to get into a deep sleep so it’s these
44:05free apps where you play a certain tone
44:07it’s a certain sine wave for about 10
44:10minutes and you listen to it with your
44:12headphones and before you go to sleep or
44:14before you want to do something creative
44:15and
44:16helps get your brain into the right
44:18right mindset no that’s terrific and I’m
44:21after the show I’m actually going to
44:23check those out as well because I I’m
44:26into all of that as well how about a
44:28quote or a mantra that you use to
44:31inspire or motivate others who had to go
44:35on um you know when I was a kid I was
44:39like a walking billboard for Nike I
44:41never wore jeans until I was about 16 or
44:4417 I always wore sweatpants an elastic
44:46band so I’d have to say just do it would
44:49would be the mantra and adds that you
44:52know what’s the worst thing that could
44:53happen sure no no I know that we’ve
44:57talked a little bit about you working
44:58for Apple and maybe some other things
45:00but maybe a fun fact that others don’t
45:03know about you that you can tell us a
45:05little bit about get get a little bit
45:07more in depth but a fun fact that maybe
45:10others really don’t know about you man
45:13you know I don’t keep too many secrets
45:14but I’ve got seven younger brothers and
45:17one younger sister and I’m still an only
45:19child I love it
45:23where’s the voice being given to young
45:25entrepreneurs today worst advice going
45:30back to school yes how do you like
45:32people who choose to go back to school
45:35to learn entrepreneurship is a mistake I
45:38keep seeing all these like grad school
45:39programs and things that are popping up
45:41for Entrepreneurship and I don’t believe
45:42that you can learn that in a school
45:45setting I mean you really have to learn
45:46that from just doing it and trial by
45:48fire and I think it’s a little bit
45:51similar in the marketing industry I
45:52think people come out of school from a
45:54marketing degree and it’s just they’re
45:57not teaching you what marketing is
46:00actually working in the industry and
46:01people end up getting stuck in like a
46:02sales position so going back to school
46:05is certainly the right thing for certain
46:06people you know especially doctors and
46:09people who have certain specialties but
46:11I think you know if you’re going back to
46:13school to learn entrepreneurship it’s
46:16probably a mistake hmm interesting when
46:20you think of the word successful what
46:22first name comes to your mind
46:25for a person triggered it could be um
46:30you know I think Elon Musk is probably
46:33one of the best ones to think about so
46:35he was one of the founding partners in
46:37PayPal you know when he left PayPal took
46:40a ton of money with him and essentially
46:43went for broke and started up a bunch of
46:44companies including Tesla and SolarCity
46:47and I think SpaceX as well and he just
46:51took such a huge risk by saying okay you
46:53know I became this huge
46:54multi-millionaire but why stop here you
46:57know let’s go
46:58try to revolutionize a couple of
47:00different things you know solar energy
47:02electric cars and how we get to space
47:05and so I think he’s just one of those
47:07people that just really shows success
47:09what kind of systems do you have in your
47:12life I mean maybe maybe mention one or
47:14two but some things that you implement
47:17on a daily basis that helps you you know
47:20obviously helps you not only align and
47:23focus but just to sort of be successful
47:27you know I think one big thing was
47:29putting myself into a co-working space
47:32so instead of you know a lot of
47:35entrepreneurs work from home it’s easy
47:36for them you know all their stuff is
47:39already there but it’s just as easy to
47:41walk downstairs to the refrigerator and
47:43start eating so putting myself into a
47:45co-working space in a creative spot
47:47where there’s you know 4050 other
47:49business owners who are all in that same
47:51sort of you know startup phase or you
47:54know a couple years outside of that
47:55startup phase I think that was really
47:57one of the biggest things that I could
47:59have ever done for myself you know makes
48:01you more productive it still gives you
48:04that feeling like you have co-workers
48:05like you have people to go bounce ideas
48:07off of and you know it just allows for
48:10the creativity flow so much better you
48:13know our last question here in this fast
48:15round I had mentioned a few times
48:17already throughout the interview about
48:20that email that you had sent out about
48:22you know your last episode is going to
48:24be 150 which comes out sometime in
48:26November and at the end you kind of
48:29alluded to the fact like you know gee I
48:30really don’t know what I’m going to be
48:31doing next and I appreciate that on many
48:35different levels but maybe maybe take a
48:37stab at it kind of go out on a limb for
48:39all of us because you know we’re
48:41interested to see what your journey is
48:43going to be going forward so two years
48:46from now what are you doing two years
48:50from now you know I’d certainly would
48:52expect my schedule to be much more
48:54flexible for traveling this past summer
48:57I traveled through a ton of different
48:58countries in Europe and and really just
49:00kind of fell in love with having that
49:03flexibility to be away from work and
49:05still being able to you know answer
49:07emails you know I closed a really nice
49:10contract from my iPad you know in a
49:13hotel in Paris over a couple of emails
49:16and so having that freedom that
49:17flexibility it would definitely be there
49:19and at the same time I think being able
49:22to have an open schedule that allows me
49:23to do things like you know cooking
49:25healthy meals for myself being able to
49:28wake up and go to the gym or you know
49:30I’m a grower here in Baltimore so I love
49:32getting out on the water and growing I’m
49:34so really having that that freedom and
49:36that flexibility to do those things but
49:38you know I think the from the financial
49:41side of things and we’re you know the
49:43money would be made I’d really like to
49:45have a business where I get to work with
49:48people it just you know in a videography
49:51world I work with clients a lot of the
49:54times once the gig is over it’s over you
49:56know some of them are recurring but I
49:58don’t get to really work with people on
50:00themselves you know or their own
50:02businesses nearly as much as I do or at
50:07least nearly as much as I would like to
50:09so I think that’s really going to be a
50:11big part of the future is working with
50:13others as opposed to just you know from
50:15a from a business to a client
50:17relationship our wrap-up round
50:19Mitchell Chad Roe comm / photos for all
50:24your graphic design as we wrap up here
50:28I’m certainly how everybody can can stay
50:30in contact with you the show I’m
50:33certainly going to ask you personally to
50:34summarize three key points I have
50:36thoroughly enjoyed that effort and I
50:38really want to thank you so very much I
50:41mean you’ve achieved so much you’ve done
50:42a lot I know that the show is really
50:44going to motivate and inspire others and
50:47I think it’s going to really give them a
50:48lot of wisdom and things to
50:50about because like I said in a short
50:52period of time you’ve really achieved
50:54quite a bit and I think that people
50:56really can can certainly learn from your
50:59experiences that you’ve had to date
51:01Mitchell chadroy comm slash shopping
51:03shop for all your shopping needs and
51:05also Mitchell chadroy comm slash folks I
51:07mean I love books and so do our guys
51:09talked about the last lecture with Randy
51:11Pausch and we mentioned some other key
51:13books that we’re going to obviously have
51:14links back to as well it’s a free 30-day
51:17trial you get one free download with
51:19your with your 30-day trial so so head
51:21on over there is that then how can
51:23people stay in contact with you because
51:24we want to we want to see how things
51:26unfold with you and we certainly want to
51:28keep in touch and we’re really looking
51:30forward to that that 150th episode that
51:33probably air sometime in November yes so
51:36one of the best ways to keep in touch
51:37with me is over social media
51:39I’m always active on Facebook always
51:42posting pictures of my adventures on
51:44Instagram but you know if you head on
51:46over to Europe purpose comm you know
51:49you’ll find the website with all the
51:51podcast episodes you’ll be able to tune
51:53in when episode 150 comes out and you
51:56know of course there’s a contact page
51:57over there that’s that’s wonderful
52:00now let’s let’s all listen up to seven
52:02as he summarizes the three main point
52:05that then what would you say are the
52:06three main takeaways from today’s show
52:08sure so takeaway number one is you know
52:11if you had that thing that you were
52:13thinking about doing for so long you
52:15know and it was in the back of your head
52:17and maybe you dreamt about it or it kept
52:19coming up for you I think it’s certainly
52:21time to do that and one of the best ways
52:23you can do that is write down your
52:25thoughts every day for about 30 days and
52:27then start circling the ones that
52:29continue to show up and you’ll probably
52:30find some things that you know you would
52:32wanted to do for quite some time I think
52:35number two is making yourself a resource
52:38and also becoming much more resourceful
52:40so you know taking advantage of all that
52:43free online education that’s out there
52:45you know using YouTube to your benefit
52:47when you’re trying to learn something
52:48but also you know becoming to resource
52:51yourself and putting information out
52:52there on places like YouTube so that
52:55other people can learn it too as chances
52:57are if you have a question other people
53:00have the same question too and then I
53:02would say the third one is
53:03you know I think that I’m really just
53:06developing your awareness and keeping in
53:09mind that you know any opportunity to
53:11present itself to you at any given point
53:12in time and you know if you’re just in
53:15the right mindset to not only receive
53:17that but to notice it I think it’s going
53:19to be a huge benefit everyone
53:21Zef in this has been really awesome I’ve
53:24really had a blast I’ve learned so much
53:26from you I know others will as well
53:28we’re certainly going to keep in touch
53:30and we just want to thank you so very
53:31much for coming on and talking to the
53:34listeners today wishing you all the best
53:36and hope to talk to you real soon
53:38yeah thank you again for having me take
53:40care now bye bye bye
The post Motivational Speaker Zephan Moses Blaxberg Create Your Life On Purpose With Show 024 was republished via startupssmarter.com
