Call with Multi-Millionaire - This is What I Learned

[Spartan]

Intro

I don't normally have a lot of value to add to the forum because I am fairly early on in my entrepreneurial journey and I just don't have time, but I did recently have an hour long phone call with a very successful, self-made multi-millionaire that is a fantastic businessman. I feel sharing his thoughts with all of you is the best way of giving back for the amazing value this forum has brought me! Hope you all learn something useful!

Note: I am paraphrasing!

Question - What do you wish you would have known when you were younger?

There are one million things you can use your time for, but less than five that are actually worth spending it on. Saying yes to everything leads you to being great at nothing. Learning to say no to most things is how you get ahead by focusing on the things that actually matter.

Question - In Your Opinion, What Is The Single Most Important Skill in Business

People pay other people to get a return on the money they invest. They aren't paying you because you're their bust buddy or because they have to - they are paying you for a return. Having a job is not just sitting there and collecting money for your time - you must consistently be providing value. If you cease to do this, you're finished and I will fire you.

The Most Important Skill In Business Is Learning to Get Sh!t Done

Every single day when I leave work, my desk is completely cleared of everything. People always say to me, "Wow you must not have a lot to do". Actually it's the opposite - Before I leave every single day, I get all the stuff I needed to do that day done. If you get your stuff done every day, you will never cease to make progress. I have learned to put up with a lot of crap from people because the most important thing is that they can do the things I tell them to do. When you think no one is watching you at your job, they are. When you think no one is judging you, they are. People are always evaluating you everywhere in life, So always bring your A-game.

Question - What Are Your Thoughts On The Importance of Networking and Building Relationships With Others for Building a Successful Business and Life?

There have been many times in my career where it seems like the best thing to do is tell someone to go to hell, and I have done this many times. I can also tell you that it is almost never the right thing to do. The future is always a mystery, and you never know how things are going to turn out, so always protect the relationships. You never know if the person you were just going to tell to screw themselves could save your life or business tomorrow.

The minute I decided to retire from my business and started looking for a new venture, I had three people calling me that day wanting to know if I would be a part of their start-up. This happened because I developed relationships through playing fairly and helping other people get things done. It cannot be overstated that you need other people to succeed.

 

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[Spartan]

This is all I can post tonight. If you guys want the rest, I can post it some time in the future!

 

[jon.a]

more

 

[BenForTheWin]

I think this is great! Keep it coming!

 

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[frieden70]

Nicely done. + rep for making the call and having the conversation (regardless of the circumstances).

 

[SeanKelly]

awesome post more please

 

[Spartan]

Here is part two! It's a big one, and I will only have time to post one question today. I Hope you guys gain something of value from it once again!

Question - What Do you Think Are the Most Important Attributes That Have Contributed to Your Success and the Success of Others?

Like I said earlier, you need other people to make it in this world, and if you can't communicate with them, there is no way you can gain enough traction to become successful. There is no substitute for picking up the phone and calling someone or talking face to face. I wouldn't consider myself extroverted, but speaking to others is something you can't avoid.
1) You Need To Be Able to Communicate

Everything moves at the speed of light in the business world, you either move or go out of business. If you want to succeed, you have to able to problem solve. Some people naturally have a better ability to do this than others. Every single person is born with a certain level of intelligence. This is the only critically important trait you either have or you don't. Life's not fair, but it's just the way cards were dealt to you in life. To be successful,

2) You Need Smarts

However, I've met a lot of smart people that are total failures in life, and that's where the next trait comes in. When I was growing up, I had no idea what it took to make it in this world. I came from a small town, and my family was so poor that we went out to eat once or twice a year. Early on, I decided I was going to do whatever it took to make something of myself.

I graduated first in my class and was a star varsity sports player. Going into my first year at West Point, I really thought I was a big shot, and I couldn't have been more wrong. At college I was exposed to the real world - I was no longer close to being the smartest, geniuses were all around me. On top of that, the world and more was demanded out of me. I ended up graduating 220th out of 900 in my class. It was a wake up call for me. Looking back, I gave it all I had, and I learned that there will always be somebody smarter than you.

That being said, I would take my post graduate resume over most if not all of them. In business, there are no caps on intelligence. You will be competing with people just as smart as you and people that are way smarter than you. There are winners, and there are losers. What determines the winners from the losers is that -

3) You Must Work Harder Than Everyone Else

The good thing about working hard is that it is the easiest to control. What you lack in extreme smarts, you can make up for with a great work ethic, and you are directly responsible for the amount of effort you put into improving yourself. There's only one person that can tell you if you are working as hard as possible - and that's you. Judge yourself honestly, put in the work it takes to be where you want to be.

 

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[Spartan]

This is the last one. It's pretty motivating I think.

Question - What Is Your Favorite Thing About Business?

It's a fact that you can become very well off without ever being the boss. You can have a nice house, kids, a nice car, and a lot more, but at the end of your days, you're just going to die. As far as your work goes, where you spent the majority of your time over the course of your life, you have nothing to show for it. You didn't get credited with really building anything great - You just worked for the guy that did.

Engineers and other highly trained people can make about 100-200 thousand per year. That's good money, but there is a major difference between 200 thousand and one million dollars per year. That's what you can get from working for yourself. Your salary isn't capped, and your work is directly correlated to your earnings.

It's obvious most people will never to take the risk though. That's why the 99 percent are working for the 1 percent. Somewhere along the line, the 1 percent took a risk. They are risk takers. Everything done in life worth doing is a risk. You can lose big or win big. Either you take the bull by the horns, or you die with no true legacy left behind to the working world.

I Love Taking Risks