The Playbook With David Meltzer

Every so often I like to bring on some of my friends to help out with my Free Weekly Training so I can figure out what you are all listening for. It’s important to have people listen to you, but it’s even more important to figure out what your audience is listening for when you’re building your own brand.So I brought on three of my friends to discuss 3 different topics. Joining me for today’s episode is business consultant, Nick Cavuoto, to discuss the big things we’re going to do at AlignCon on February 2nd & 3rd, EPIC Financial Strategies founder, Rob Gill to talk about how you can better understand financial literacy, and Kathryn Ficarra, to discuss all things marketing and finding your own frequency when building your brand.

There is one truth I believe holds true for all entrepreneurs, the reality of achieving your goal, no matter how much effort it takes to reach it, will not make you happy. Michael Jordan said, “Winning isn’t always championships.”Attaching emotional success to achievement or believing that achieving your goals is the path to happiness is what leads to unhappiness.Unfortunately, we tend to attach our happiness as business leaders to the results we achieve. We tell ourselves things phrases like: “Once I get the funding, I’ll be happy.” ”After I land that client, I’ll be happy.” “Once I make my first million dollars, I’ll be happy.” Guess what never comes, even if you achieve those goals? Your happiness.

I hate the word sacrifice. It carries a scarce energy. You don’t sacrifice anything, you invest in yourself. If you don’t invest in yourself, what are you ever going to invest in? If you want to immediately shift your mindset, stop call it a sacrifice and start calling it an investment and see how much different it makes you feel. 

When I experienced bankruptcy for myself, I knew that I had a strong foundation to fall back on: my values. Take inventory of the values (personal, experiential, giving, and receiving) that make you who you are now and then imagine the person you want to become. Build around the values those people have in common.When you start from a strong foundation, whatever your core values may be, you will have to find people to help drive you forward in your goals. Having a set of principles and standards will attract the right people around you, and it will also empower you to cut ties with associates who aren’t a great fit. It will prepare you to foster beneficial relationships with family, friends, business associates, and even develop mentoring relationships.We must not only think, say, and do the right things to attract the right people. We must also believe the right things and even carry the right energy. This can happen only if we incorporate our values into every aspect of our life and business. If we want to live a grateful life for example, we cannot only think grateful thoughts. We must take grateful action as well, show this gratitude for ourselves and others consistently and with persistence.

On this episode of #ThePlaybook, Blake Wynn, Founder & CEO at Enclave & Key, sits down to discuss:[:56] - Why being a part of the Wynn family wasn’t always easy[4:03] - How content creation helps legendary athletes take full advantage of their brand[7:41] - How an ultimatum from his mom led to him becoming the face of StockX[14:58] - The single biggest misconception that fans have about professional athletes

There are three pillars of success that you can choose to focus on, rather than attaching your happiness or fulfillment to a specific end goal. When you are able to effectively combine passion, purpose, and profitability, that is when you are getting closer to your true potential as a leader.

On this episode of #ThePlaybook, Dan Martell, Founder and CEO of SaaS Academy, sits down to chat about:[2:48] - The four ways that people can create “leverage” in their lives[5:11] - How entrepreneurs can ensure they are positioning themselves for economic success[8:35] - Why having clarity of vision is essential for achieving your goals[16:35] - Why everyone should know the economic value of an hour of their time

5 STEPS TO THRIVE IN YOUR BUSINESS: Stimulate Interest: Stimulate interest for availability, then stimulate interest for your business. Transition the Interest: Emotionally connect with who you’re targeting. Then transition through professional collateral and an explanation of true value. Share the Vision: Share the vision of true value. You want to demonstrate the value you’ll be providing in relation to the customer’s personal values, experience values, giving, and receiving values. Make them see the win-win situation. Manage and Develop the Vision: Manage and develop a vision by providing the value that you promised. Don’t oversell, rather help them manage and develop their expectations. Thrive: Make a lot of money, help a lot of people, and have a lot of fun!

I’ve always said that in order to thrive as a business leader you need four core fundamentals: a great product, an understanding of your fnancials, a good grasp on operations, and the ability to sell and market your business. Te ability to choose the right path, take the right risks, and implement the new skills or knowledge you gain along the way is solely dependent on your decision making. This begs the question: “How can we set ourselves up for successful decision making?” Realize your talents, gifts, and competencies, and determine how those show a clear path to making money or not.

Dan Klitsner, Founder at KID Group and the creator of the ‘90s game phenomenon, Bop It!, talks about how persistence, relentless listening, and learning from failure contributed to the invention and success of Bop It!. He shares his thoughts on the importance of the RITE factors (relationships, idea, timing, and execution) for all inventors, as well as why playing Wordle is similar to the process of invention.Klitsner and I discuss a variety of topics including the mindset required to be a successful entrepreneur, how Klitsner created Bop It for Good to spread happiness and joy to more people, and the challenges of looking for the “next big idea”.