It isn't often I can say a book has changed my life, but 2 recently have literally changed my life from great, to awesomeness. They aren't biz related. Those books are The Untethered Soul (Michael Singer) and Letting Go (Hawkins). Several ppl from TheFastlaneForum have also mentioned similar which is pretty rare since Fastlane is a biz forum. Check them out, u won't be disappointed.👍 ~ MJ

sorry that was Letting Go by Hawkins

Interesting hiring experience I had over the weekend. The easier you make it for people to cross the chasm of "interested" to "buyer" the more sales you make. Story here: https://bit.ly/3rR1spi

I'm a control freak & it's a tough balance between control & preferences. The more preferences you have, the more miserable you will be. You can't control the world, the markets & how other ppl respond to you. If you are always trying to bend the world to your will, you will be miserable for life. Control what u can, but surrender the rest. Stoicism+the books I recommended last week help. 😉

A great write up about this concept was posted recently by a forum user... https://bit.ly/3sUWZDo

Think about the last thing you bought NOT based on price, and WHY you bought it. That "reason" was a value skew. The more positive value skew a customer finds in your offer, the more runners you have in the race to sales. Entrepreneurship is mostly about improvement and better value, you don't have to reinvent the wheel or disrupt some industry with some "never seen before" invention or concept. ~MJ 👍

Solopreneur million dollar businesses are possible, but it gets progressively harder as you scale. If we want to grow your biz into life-changing enterprise, ultimately you have to transition from Operator to Owner. (Employees!) As KungFuSteve recently said, work ON the biz more than you work IN the biz. This is something I still struggle with as well!! 🤔 🚧 ~MJ

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/welding-business-failure.99608/

What is the MOST VALUABLE business tool you use for your business? If you'd like to share a great resource, please respond to this text. I will gather the data and report back to the group some responses, especially if some big commonalities exist. We can leverage some wisdom of the crowd.

Some great responses to the (?) What is your most valued business tool? Many of these tools I never heard of, & under further review, the are worth investigation in your business. I've aggregated the data which you will find in the attached image. Blue = multiple mentions, green = several mentions and white = one mention. Enjoy and have great weekend! ~ MJ ✌️🙂

Truth: As you grow and succeed in business, people in your life will either stay with you, fade away, or oppose you. Don't fear leaving people behind who are stuck in old ways, old thinking, and old paradigms. Hard to grow a productive garden surrounded by weeds. Have a great week! 🤩🤠✌️~ MJ

The happiest day of my life was when I realized I never needed a job again. While I was still mostly broke back then, I knew I had the mental tools to win this game. That happiness never abated. Scientific research proves that autonomy (freedom) accounts for up to 50% of your happiness. I can verify, it is true! When the going gets tough (and it will!!) try to remember WHY u r an entrepreneur. 💪~MJ

In many ways, the customer is your boss, but don't be fooled. Bosses can be fired. The old, "Customer is King" is BS. At some point in your business, you will need to FIRE problem customers who aren't worth the time, drama, or $$ that they deliver in value/revenue to your company. I've done it many times including recently. Addition by subtraction! Have a great weekend! 👍🏖️ ~MJ

Entrepreneurship has a huge knowledge gap that has a natural expansion bias. As entrepreneurs, our job is to "mind the gap" and keep it from growing, or better, reduce its size.

Knowledge gaps are caused by technological, political, economic, and market changes. Ignore the knowledge gap and it will be impossible to succeed in business. Mind the gap and your chances skyrocket. Change creates millionaires and billionaires. 💸💴 ~ MJ

"Do what you love!" + "Follow your passion!" are 2 platitudes that imbue a fixed mindset and mediocrity. No, it's "do what you hate." The more you are willing to challenge your comfort zone & attempt things outside of your box of skill or comfort, the better u become. Transformative growth only happens under duress & ironically, fires passion. ~MJ (PS: Got a great book rec later this wk!)

Personality Isn't Permanent by Benjamin Hardy is a great book that I found incredibly insightful, something I will read over and over again. If you struggle with past traumas, labels, limiting identities (I'm an introvert! That's not my thing!) and other mental ruts that keep you from becoming what you need to become, this book is a definite must read. The stories alone are worth the price. 📖 👍 ~MJ

If u r struggling to get into business (or want to diversify to a new one) consider acquisition entrepreneurship (buying an existing biz). Advantage is you get existing customers, bypassing the launch process. Think of it like buying a fixer-upper house. Flipping businesses is like flipping houses. GOLD thread on forum details one's journey. Enjoy ~MJ ✌️https://bit.ly/3fd65G9

From my new book coming June 29, 2021, OBSERVED MODELING allows you to ascertain best practices hiding in plain sight. Example: Beware of marketers selling marketing strategy, instead of BUYING their products, OBSERVE how they market their products. Boom, you just got their secret without buying it. What is most effective often sits in front of your eyes. OBSERVE! 👀 👁️ 🙂 ~ MJ

REALITY CHECK: The sad fact of humanity is that you could create the cure for cancer, and you would still have haters. They'd call you a scammer, a "sell out" or a evil capitalist. Doesn't matter. You CANNOT please everyone. Tough skin is required in an entrepreneur's life, accept it for what it is and go forth with the right expectations. Some things cannot be changed... ✌️~ MJ

When Elon Musk boards his private jet, he's "living within his means" - live within your means, with the intent to expand your means. This game is won on offense (a big income or asset valuation) and preserved with defense (money management). Poor money mgmt can't be medicated with more money. Offense wins the game in 10yrs or less, defense preserves for the rest of your life. ~MJ 💪

Dutch Bros & Black Rifle Coffee came after Starbucks. Don't be dissauded from looking at opportunities simply because "it's being done" - value is subjective and people will always prefer doing business with small, private companies over large, megalithic corporate monsters. A key branding strategy is to make your company take on a personality, like an individual. Have a great weekend! ~ MJ 🏖️

Here's a fact your cheap mainstream financial guru will never reveal: Wealth is created asymmetrically; 1 unit of effort, 5 units of pay. Asymmetry is a HUGE topic in my upcoming book and is demonstrated in the fictional story. Culture has brainwashed us to earn $ symmetrically: 1 unit of time (hr/year) 1 unit of pay. 8% a year for 50yrs? No, 800% a year for 10. Only a biz has this power. 🔋🔌💪 ~MJ