Build Your Utopia

We are very pleased to release part 1 of our interview with Ed O'Keefe, entrepreneur, author, and father of 7! Ed O'Keefe is the 12th of 13 kids, and the youngest boy of 9.  His parents are also still together, celebrating 61 years together this month!  Ed comes from the background of working in a stable environment.  Get a job and join a union so you know where your money is coming from.  Ed was also the first in his family to graduate college.  That is a major accomplishment! Ed O'Keefe shares a story about clothing, the tempory tattoos of our day with phrases and thoughts (and corporate messages/logos).  Ed was wearing a wrestling shirt with a message on it that struck a cord with his friend and his friend's son.  It was so important that this message is now a tattoo on all the members of this family.  This led Ed to creating his own line of clothing with messages on it that he and his family support. Next Ed O'Keefe shares his vision of the future so that from the health supplement point of view people ar

We are very excited to bring you part 2 of our interview with Kavit Haria, musician, coach, and entrepreneur. Kavit Haria shares that he is a big proponent of journaling.  He loves writing down his thoughts, ideas, plans, and tasks.  He feels that once he writes it down it is documented and no longer taking up space in his head.  Kavit, Josh, and Ben then dive down a path talking about Evernote, a great app for many journaling features. Kavit Haria says one of the best ways for him to stay on task and also to make time for himself, is to have an accountability partner.  He has a friend the talks with at least once a month and they keep each other on track.  He also trained his assistant to manage him.  By that, he means that he shares his goals and schedule and his assistant makes sure he stays on topic and focused.  At the end of the day, it always comes down to self dicipline.  His accountability partner and his assistant can tell him what he needs to focus on, but he still has to be the one doing the work.

We are very excited to share part 1 of this interview with Kavit Haria, musician, coach, and entrepreneur. Kavit Haria is a professional musician (including playing with Jimmy Page and Paul McCartney), studied genetics in college, coaches other musicians, and a successful entrepreneur. Kavit Haria shares that he has recently (in the last couple years) started meditating.  Ben asks for some of the noticeable improvements or changes that his two hours a day of meditation.  This leads to a great insight to the level of focus you can achieve and the quality of work you can perform. Next, Kavit Haria shares that he currently works only 4 hours a day.  He does this by being really good at what he does as well as finding repetitive actions or tasks and automating it with systems.  Putting these in place help him stay productive, focused, and successful while only working 4 hours a day. The conversation then moved into how Kavit Haria accidentally created his first business.  He was working as a professional musician

It is the final Friday in the month and it is time for Ben and Josh recap all the great guests from July. Josh and Ben start the show discussing Jon Schumacher. It was Ben's impression that despite the popularity and success that Jon has with his video podcast, Jon felt like he wasn't good at it. Seems that was all in Ben's head as Josh didn't get that impression at all. Ben then realizes that maybe he is projecting on Jon his own feelings about this show and the success it has and the guests that come on. Ben and Josh then jump into their favorite value bomb from the show. Next Ben and Josh discuss Mark Sumpter and really enjoyed the conversation with him. Based on some of the stories that Mark shared, it is very important to value your time. Make sure you enjoy what you are doing, or that you are getting paid for what you are doing (and if you're really good, get paid for what you enjoy doing). Then Josh and Ben discussed their interview with Shawn Manaher. This episode was even more fun for Ben to listen t

We are excited to bring you part 2 of our interview with Ryan Levesque, Entrepreneur, Coach, and Author. Ryan Levesque continues his interview with move value by sharing his insight with creating his first business.  He had a major breakthrough thinking that his first business as a practice business. Once he got into that into his head, he was able to step back and really focus on the processes. Ryan Levesque shares some person experiences to get his points across.  He thinks back to hiring additional staff in his business.  To him, it always felt too early.  If your time, for example, is worth $100, then you should not spend your evenings doing $10 an hour work packing up envelopes to send to your customers.  The main challenge is that hiring someone will eat into your profits, but the benefit of opening up your time to work on your business (instead of in it) will ultimately improve the situation. Ryan Levesque and Josh then spend some time talking about who to hire and where they are located.  Josh is look

We are stoked to bring you part 1 of our interview with Ryan Levesque, Entrepreneur, Coach, and Author. Right out of the gate, Ryan Levesque hits us with a huge message.  He and his wife started their first business with just an internet connection and a $500 laptop.  Now they run a multi-million dollar a year company.  Huge insight that you can come from a humble start and make something giant out of it. Ryan Levesque then drops another insightful observation in our lap.  People tend to over estimate what we can do in a year, but underestimate what we can do in three years.  It's amazing to look back and see what happened this past year and compare that to what happened in the past three years. Ryan Levesque provides us with a great example of how decision making and scheduling can have a trickle down effect on the rest of the day.  His day starts (right now) with dropping his son off at school, next he goes to work out, and then starts his work day.  He starts with what is most important (family), then move

We are very pleased to present part 2 of our interview with Zach Obront, Entrepreneur, Editor, and Publisher.  We are also very lucky to have former guest and friend of the show Shannon Hernandez guest hosting with Josh! Zach Obront gave us a great example of how his type of work and desire to create business and processes is a love, but working in that business or process is something that he does not enjoy. He also gives us an example of after living the 'beach entrepreneur' life he needed to get back into creating. Zach Obront next tells us about the impacts he has had on his business partner and vice versa. It lead to an example of Elon Musk and how he talks about continuing learning and not just in the areas you already know. Zach Obront shares his value-bombs for all of us: Think about your Utopia, once you're there, then what? Let go of your Ego, you may have a great idea, but it may not be the best solution. Be able to pivot, nothing stays the same, change happens Follow Zach Obront: Book in a Box

We are very pleased to present part 1 of our interview with Zach Obront, Entrepreneur, Editor, and Publisher.  We are also very lucky to have former guest and friend of the show Shannon Hernandez guest hosting with Josh! Zach Obront starts the show off with some incredible advice about the enormous lists of things we have to do to get things done.  He shares a story about previous guest Ben Altman of Charisma on Command and how they worked up a plan to get done all the things they needed to get done. Zach Obront then shares how one of his outlets, improv, has helped him beyond his expectations of being funnier or thinking quicker on his feet.  Improv has helped him let go of things not going his way, which has made him more relaxed and accepting. Zach Obront gives us his definition of his Utopia.  He was hesitant to start because he feels his vision has changed in the past and continues to change now and sees it changing in the future. Follow Zach Obront: Book in a Box Zach Obront Twitter As always, a speci

We are very pleased to present part 2 of our interview with Shawn Manaher, Entrepreneur, Coach, Mentor, and Podcast Host.  We are also very lucky to have former guest and friend of the show Shannon Hernandez guest hosting with Josh! Shawn Manaher shares that he is at the start of his 40s and does not feel 'old,' he feels like he is just on the start of his journey.  Shawn, Josh, and Shannon discuss how old you are verses how old you feel and act.  Huge difference and an important distinction in how you view your life. Shawn Manaher gives us a great example of a catalyst that lead him down the path he is on now.  He had a great job, doing well, getting promotions and raises, but he was also in pain.  He went to doctors, got put under, tested and ultimately was told nothing is wrong, he was just stressed and that stress was causing his physical pain. Shawn Manaher closes out his time with us with three value-bombs: Have a forgiving mindset Don't lose focus on the one thing you want to do/become We only have on

We are very pleased to present part 1 of our interview with Shawn Manaher, Entrepreneur, Coach, Mentor, and Podcast Host.  We are also very lucky to have former guest and friend of the show Shannon Hernandez guest hosting with Josh! Shawn Manaher starts off the show with some huge value by sharing that it is about the content and creating a following before turning it into a sustainable business.  He also calls out a few of his inspirational people like Joe Pulizzi and Brian Gibbs. Shawn Manaher has a great view of Utopia, he wants to meet his potential on a daily basis.  He wants to do his best physically, spiritually, emotionally, and relationally to hit that potential every day.  Shawn and Shannon take a short tangent and explain how they feel with their physical journey in becoming a healthier and more physically fit person. Books we talked about during the show: The One Thing by Gary Keller on Amazon and iTunes Follow Shawn Manaher: Sidepreneurs Twitter As always, a special thank you to The Strand fo

We are very pleased to bring you part 2 of our interview with Mark Sumpter, Coach, Speaker, and Author. Starting the second half of the interview discussing where Mark Sumpter sees his business grow to in the future.  He would love to see his company evolve into having 5 or 6 people all working together to improve people's lives. Mark Sumpter has some exciting (or do I mean expensive) outlets that help keep him balanced.  Mark took flying lessons to become a pilot.  He also plays in tennis (he plays doubles and enjoys playing the net) and soccer leagues.  Mark makes sure he has the time for all his events by sticking to his calendar. Mark Sumpter shares an impressive story about focus and finding things that are good for you vs things that are good for you right now.  It is amazing how much you can do if you are focused on exactly what you need, when you need it. To wrap up the show, Mark Sumpter dropped some knowledge on us with these three takeaways: Fail forward fast Invest in a Coach Connect with as many

We are very pleased to bring you part 1 of our interview with Mark Sumpter, Coach, Speaker, and Author. Mark Sumpter starts the show off with his view of Utopia.  He wants the resources to take care of his parents in their golden years while still having the freedom and flexibility to travel.  He also points out that he has always had these goals and has built his life around achieving them. Mark Sumpter shares a story about hosting a coaching call from the deck of a cruise ship just as the ship is setting sail.  That is the power of a digital company, it frees you from a 'location'.  As long as you have internet access, you can do your job. Next Mark Sumpter dives into how he got into the digital space way back in 1999.  Back then, Mark was a police officer working two jobs (moonlighting as we know it) when he saw a guy driving a nice car headed home and Mark realized he was working harder and he needed to start working smarter. Mark Sumpter shares how his business grew and adapted into what he does now.  Wa

We are super excited to bring you part 2 of our interview with Jon Schumacher, Entrepreneur, Coach, and Fitness Guru. Jon Schumacher tells us of the benefit of learning from those who already know, but don't just stop there.  Jon spent a ton of time and money taking classes and working with other gurus in various fields to get better at the skills he deemed important.  Once you have that knowledge though, make it your own, put your own spin on it, and combine different areas of knowledge and expertise. Jon Schumacher reveals to us that he isn't the best at work life balance.  He worked a full time job and built his side career, which didn't leave a ton of time for himself.  He's aware of the issue, and he is working to fix it.  Now that he has resigned from his day job, he is going to take back some (not all of that time) for himself and time with his wife. Jon Schumacher then leaves us with three powerful things to think about: Life only gets better when you get better It's about connection, not perfection

We are very excited to present part 1 of our interview with Jon Schumacher, Entrepreneur, Coach, and Fitness Guru. Jon Schumacher starts the show off with two huge points.  First, he just left a stable success job to work full time on his passion.  Second, he puts it into perspective how much time you have in your life and how much time you have for your loved ones. Jon Schumacher didn't really have the entrepreneur itch until 2010 when he started working on his own personal brand.  After exhausting his Facebook and Google friends, the company crashed.  He was disheartened and left that for the stock market.  He found his way back and started working on his brands again, using his vast knowledge of person fitness to educate and help people.  Also, he did all this while working a full time 'day job'. Jon Schumacher also discusses some of the challenges to overcome when you go off on your own business.  It can be a scary decision to make, but it also offers a ton of opportunity. Books we talked about during the

Happy Friday Utopians!  Today is the last Friday of the month and that means a new recap show.  Josh and Ben talk about the last 4 interviews with Joel & Pei, Eden Sunshine, Philip Beyer, and Midori Verity as well as catching up with what is happening in their lives. Ben & Josh start the show talking about a very recent incident with Ben at his job.  The company wants to pay his cell phone bill, great news right?  The truth is, nothing is free and paying the bill also means giving out his cell number.  What to do? Next, our hosts spend some time talking about Josh's experiences with his new motorcycle.  He also admits to being an adrenalin junkie (which may explain some of his hobbies).  They also play with the idea of starting a new show! Josh & Ben then talk about the conversation with Joel & Pei.  Those two were a blast to talk with and they were super accommodating given some technical difficulties that happened during the show.  As it turns out, our hosts cannot pick a top value bomb!  Th

We are very excited to share part 2 of our interview with Midori Verity, Relationship Coach, Entrepreneur, and Author. Midori Verity shares some detail and specifics in her affirmations.  She shares the story that she is currently mentoring some young adults and invited them over to her house to create vision boards.  The vision board helps to visualize the goals and the attitudes you want to embody by making it part of something real.  Then she shares a story about communication, specifically with her husband.  She shares the Rubber Band Technique.  It is a tool to adjust your thinking from a negative space into a positive one. Midori Verity tells us some of the things that help keep her in balance, and one of the biggest ones is working out, physical activity.  She doesn't enjoy running, but she does it every day because she knows she'll feel better once she is done.  Midori and Josh then talk about the benefits of kick boxing.  Sometimes Midori doesn't always have the time to work out, and she makes consci

We are very excited to share part 1 of our interview with Midori Verity, Relationship Coach, Entrepreneur, and Author. Midori Verity shares where she came from and how far along she is in building her Utopia.  5 years ago she was in a very different place, battling depression and trying to find the strength to just get out of bed every day.  It is a truly inspirational to know where she came from and where she is now. Midori Verity also shares some of her tips and some of her process in writing her book.  She didn't set aside time every day to write, but was driven by her passion to get the book written and the information out there.  Being married for 30 years definitely gave her a wealth of experience to draw from, but she also recognized some of her shortcomings and brought in other experts to co-write some portions of the book. Midori Verity then talks with Josh and Ben about a concept that help her greatly once she discovered it, Neuroplasticity.  Affirmations, gratitude, and positive thinking all helped

We are proud to publish part 2 of our interview with Philip Beyer, Entrepreneur, Author, and Coach. Philip Beyer recounts a story of Steve Jobs and his return to Apple. When Jobs came back to Apple, he asked to see everything the company was working on, and after seeing the pile of products, he cut nearly everything out and left only three or four products.  This hits home for Philip, especially after his experience with the crash in 2008-2009.  It is best for the business leaders, the business, and even the market to focus your efforts on one thing. Philip Beyer, Ben, and Josh also talked about examples of companies that have some simple systems in place.  The act of greeting your customers when they come into the store is a system designed to make the customer feel welcome and appreciated.  It's also simple to implement from a training/management point of view as well. Finally, we recapped Philip Beyer's top three lessons: Make business contacts, don't be shy to talk to people Sales, Sales, Sales Organize

We are very pleased to share part one of our interview with Philip Beyer, Entrepreneur, Author, and Coach. Philip Beyer is a proud husband and father who is very involved in his community.  His wife, kids, and daughter in law all take part in the businesses and this helps to keep him happy and grounded in what matters most.  Having the people he cares about and trusts also helps to keep away the business chaos that Philip feels is one of the biggest hurdles of modern business. Philip Beyer hasn't always been a system driven, organized person.  He started out, in his words, as a mess.  He was even called out by one of his customers about the level of disorganization in his business.  After reading the book E-Myth by Michael Gerber, Philip really got into processes and systems. Philip also reflects on some of the business choices in his past, both positive and negative.  His software company was doing great and he had the opportunity to sell Beyer Printing back in 2008-2009.  At the time, he decided he would ju

We are very pleased to present part two of our interview with Eden Sunshine.  Eden is an entrepreneur, speaker, and author. Eden is a big proponent of developing systems.  He gave us a few tips from Level 7 Systems.  It is huge to create your business around systems that drive the goals of the company.  That way, if someone is not available, others can step in and follow the system to get constant results. We also learn the struggles that Eden and his wife face between being entrepreneurs as well as parents.  What is the right balance between work and family?  How many clients can you take on and give them all they need without losing time with the family?  Once you find that balance, know it will change as the kids grow up. Eden also shares with us his top three lessons, and he says it all starts with the 'decision to be excellent' Have the right mindset Learn to do the right work Find the best way to do the right work Follow Eden Sunshine here: Eden Sunshine's site Eden Sunshine's Twitter As always,