Host Ken Courtright discusses the growth of an entrepreneur, its benefits that leads to a healthier and prosperous life. People in business go to “war” every day, and it keeps them on their toes. This in turn makes for a healthier mind and body since it keeps them thinking and growing. Listen to this podcast episode as Ken shares some wise quotes from famous people and businessmen, and valuable insights into a more successful life in business.
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Growth Gems
It is an absolutely gorgeous day. This is the second podcast I’m cutting. The first one was episode 101. This is 102. I’ll probably do 103. I say that because it’s a gorgeous day. I’m staring out the window and there are a number of people to use our boats. They’re out there on the boats. They’re jet skiing, water skiing, and they’re doing it all. I’m sitting in here cutting podcast. Why? You’ll read in a second. I’m titling this podcast, Quotes. I was doing some housecleaning and I found myself doing a deep dive into entrepreneurial quotes that I could put all over my office. I want to redo my office. I gathered a bunch and I thought it’d be cool if I read some of the new wallpaper going up on my wall.
One of the quotes is, “Work like there is someone working 24 hours a day to take it all away from you.” That’s by Mark Cuban. If any of you have read my number one blog, meaning the physical first one I ever did, it was because I was asked to write a chapter with my idol from afar, Brian Tracy. I wrote a chapter that took me five months to write nine pages, and I still think it’s my best work. The whole concept is on the term entropy. Entropy says, “Anything man-made or God-made is built to go from order to disorder.” In essence, work like there’s someone working 24 hours a day to take it all away from you. Mark goes on to say, “Because there is. There are other people, competitors and yourself.” It’s a tremendous quote.
Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won't, so you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't. Click To TweetThe second one I’m going to put up says this, “I don’t know the key to success but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” That’s by Bill Cosby. Not that I’m a big fan of his. My wife Kerri, at a Greg Reid’s Secret Knock, gave a talk. I’ll title that talk No. She stood on stage and gave permission to 200 entrepreneurs that it’s okay to say no. It’s okay to do what you know is right. The reason I’m sitting here on a gorgeous day when every other adult in my neighborhood is playing on their beautiful boats is because making a podcast is the right thing to do. It’s the right thing to do for me, my business, my kids and the people reading. It’s the right thing to do. I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. All of my neighbors want me to go out there and get our boats, skis and tubes on that lake.
The next one, “Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.” I’m going to summarize it this way, being an entrepreneur is the coolest, greatest and ultimate gift that you can give your kids. It’s letting your kids see you when the rest of their friends’ parents are working from 9:00 to 5:00 and you’re working the craziest hours. They can see you physically sweating. There’s nothing like it because if you read to some of my prior blogs, it’s pretty scary to see the stats of the incomes of the next generation being plus or minus 15% of the branch of the family tree that’s attached to the trunk of the family tree.
You’ll have to read some previous episodes to understand that. Entrepreneurs, they go to war, they battle, and statistically, they have a statistically phenomenally better life when it comes to health and prosperity. I don’t know why nobody’s ever been able to prove why. I know why it’s because the entrepreneur lives with a bigger dream and people with a bigger dream live longer, healthier and more satisfying lives. That’s me. What I want to say on this one is, some people went to war for 2 to 4 years. They left their wives and kids and went to war for their country. I would love to see more entrepreneurs go to war for their families.
Next quote, “There’s only one success. It’s to be able to spend your life in your own way.” That’s by Christopher Morley. How about stop caring what other people think? Especially the people that don’t even pay your bills? They’re probably not thinking anyway. Next, this must probably the deepest one and maybe my favorite, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.” That’s by Napoleon Hill. This is scary to a degree. That’s scriptural as well. That is awesome. Whatever the mind can conceive, that’s one thing, but if the mind can conceive and believe it, some people will tell you it’s a done deal. It has been, in my case for many years. Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
Next, “Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune.” That’s by Jim Rohn. There’s a lot to be said for this statistic, and this is a rounded statistic that says, “A-students teach, and B-students go to work for C-students.” There’s a lot to be said for that. I’m a fairly sharp person, but I certainly wasn’t an A or and B-student. My kids, they’re all straight-A students. Now, I’m demanding, hoping and pushing that they become A-students. Even though I know A-students will teach and B-students will work for C-students. I can overrule that and nudge my kids to be entrepreneurial. If they end up teaching or getting a job, that’s fine. They better be the best they can be.
The next one, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.” That’s by John C. Maxwell. Having been with John Maxwell on numerous occasions, I can speak for him when he says a leader is one who knows the way, he or she knows in his gut the way. I don’t think it was a way that was shown to them, leaders know in their heart the way to go and they go that way. They turn around and take people with them and show people the way. I love it. The last one, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” That’s by Bill Gates. I’m going to spin this in two angles. Number one, we’re all salespeople. We sell people on marrying us. We sell kids on behaving. We sell banks on loaning us money. We’re all salespeople.
Your most unhappy customers, the people you’re trying to sell, they’re your greatest source of learning. How about if we start listening to the people that we love and that we’re trying to sell? Our employees, our business partners, JVs and kids, and why don’t we listen to see if they’re unhappy. Instead of trying to talk louder to them to sell them stronger, maybe we could step back and ask them, “Why are you unhappy?” Maybe we could ask ourselves, “Why are they unhappy?” If you haven’t read the book Illuminate, please go to Amazon and get the book by David Corbin. Talk about a powerful book and a powerful message. If you want to grow your business and you’re not illuminating, it’s a nice short read, please get it. It is huge. It lends a lot about your most unhappy customers are the greatest source of learning. It’s a great compendium to that quote. It’s great stuff. I hope these quotes can help. I’ll see you.
Important Links:
- Episode 101– previous episode
- 103 – next episode
- Number one – previous episode
- Illuminate
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