17 Life-Changing Conversations I Wish I Had Earlier

Lessons Learned from Mentors

In this section, the speaker shares five lessons he learned from his mentors during his entrepreneurial journey.

Jumping into Entrepreneurship

• The definition of decision comes from the Latin decadari which basically means to cut off or kill off.

• At some point, you're not going to know anymore; you just have to jump.

• By not deciding, you are actively killing off the future that has your dreams.

Making an Offer So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No

• The secret to sales is making an offer so good people feel stupid saying no.

• It's easier to find things that people really want than trying to manipulate them through sales scripts and building rapport.

Going Slow to Go Fast

• You got to go slow to go fast.

• Whenever you change something, the one cost is guaranteed is that change will have to get paid for.

Testing with Enough Volume

• Test with enough volume before concluding if something works or not.

• Doing too little of it can be a reason why it failed.

Shifting Perspective on Successes of Others

• Shift perspective from wanting to cast stones at people who are successful but rather use their successes as fuel.

Beliefs That Hold You Back

In this section, the speaker talks about beliefs that hold entrepreneurs back and how they can shift their mindset.

Breaking Beliefs by Changing Perspective

• Beliefs are broken because what you find out is that they are made of the same thing as you.

• Shift perspective from wanting to cast stones at people who are successful but rather use their successes as fuel.

The Importance of Encouragement and Stretching Your Horizon

In this section, Alex talks about how a mentor encouraged him to stretch his horizon and aim higher. He emphasizes the importance of surrounding yourself with people who can do that for you.

Encouragement and Heartbreak

• A mentor told Alex that he had a level 10 skill set but only a level two opportunity.

• This was both encouraging and heartbreaking for Alex because it stretched his horizon for what he was capable of.

• Surrounding yourself with people who can encourage you to aim higher is one of the most valuable things you can have in your life.

Learning from Low-Level Opportunities

• If you are in a lower-level opportunity, don't be upset about it.

• You are learning with extra resistance against you, which makes you stronger.

• When you eventually encounter an easier opportunity, you will be able to knock it out of the park.

Seizing Opportunities and Going Hard When It Gets Easy

In this section, Alex shares two lessons he learned at a private event where successful entrepreneurs were gathered. He emphasizes the importance of seizing opportunities when they come up and going hard when things get easy.

Seizing Opportunities

• At a private event, someone told Alex that fat pitches in life don't come very often.

• When something is going well, entrepreneurs tend to ease off the gas. However, this is precisely when they should go hard because they might not get another chance like this again.

Going Hard When It Gets Easy

• Another person at the same event advised Alex to spend more on marketing instead of starting a new business.

• By tripling his ad spend over three months, Alex's revenue tripled as well.

• Rather than trying to find another win, the real win is doing 10 times more of what's already working.

Investing in Learning and Innovation

In this section, Alex shares two more lessons he learned from successful entrepreneurs. He emphasizes the importance of investing in learning and innovation.

Investing in Learning

• A successful e-commerce entrepreneur advised Alex to allocate a percentage of his marketing spend towards new ideas.

• Expect to lose that money, but you will gain valuable lessons and experiences.

• Four out of five crazy ideas may fail, but one out of five could become the leading edge innovation that pushes your business to the next level.

Innovating Through Volume

• Once you have product-market fit, all your innovation should go towards how you can do more volume.

• The hardest part is getting people to want to buy your product. Once you have that, focus on scaling it up.

Decision Making, Scaling and Talent Acquisition

In this section, the speaker shares insights on decision making, scaling a business and talent acquisition.

Decision Making

• The speaker advises taking an extra second to think before making decisions. They suggest asking if there is something they are missing or a frame they are not seeing.

• When there is disagreement, the first question to ask is what information each person is using. This helps to ensure that all relevant data is considered before making a decision.

Scaling a Business

• Start small and focus on niches. As the business grows, it may be necessary to open up the aperture and expand into broader markets.

• To scale a business successfully, it's important to have talented people who can make decisions on your behalf. The speaker emphasizes the importance of giving these individuals a big slice of the pie so that they feel invested in the success of the company.

Talent Acquisition

• To acquire top talent, it's essential to hire people who have mastery in every department of the business. This can be achieved by either learning everything yourself or by hiring experienced professionals who have already spent years in their respective fields.

The Cost of Fame

In this section, the speaker discusses fame and its pros and cons.

Pros and Cons of Fame

• While fame has its drawbacks such as loss of privacy and constant interruptions when out in public, it also has many benefits such as attracting amazing people who share your mission and values.

• The speaker believes that overall, the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to fame because it creates significantly more alignment with like-minded individuals and real-world economic value.

The Importance of Volume in Content Creation

In this section, the speaker talks about how he grew his audience by creating content on every platform and increasing the volume of his content.

Creating More Content

• The speaker's mentor advised him to create more content on every platform.

• By comparing their Instagram and LinkedIn profiles, the mentor showed the speaker that he needed to increase his volume of content.

• The lesson learned was that doing more work applies to everything in business, including relationships, cold calling, and making content.

• Increasing the volume of content helped grow their audience 10 times faster in six months.

Investing with a Set of Rules

In this section, the speaker talks about how he used to struggle with investing until he learned to set rules for himself.

Setting Investment Parameters

• Having lots of money means deal flow is not a problem but having a set of rules or parameters is crucial.

• A conversation with someone experienced in real estate taught him to allocate 85% of net worth into real estate and 15% into stocks.

• Sticking with what you know makes investing simpler and saves time on deals that are not within your wheelhouse.

Leverage Behind a Product

In this section, the speaker talks about how an exceptional product can be leveraged for marketing purposes.

Building an Exceptional Product

• An exceptional product has a quadratic relationship with your audience while good marketing or sales has a linear relationship.

• Building an exceptional product takes time and effort, but it is less work in the long run than building a subpar product and having to spend time marketing and selling it.

The Power of Brand

In this section, the speaker talks about how brand can be quantified and used to retain pricing power.

Understanding Brand Power

• The power of brand is the amount that you can charge above the commoditized version of your product.

• Warren Buffett invests in brands because they are one of the strongest ways to retain pricing power.