A Millionaire's Meaning of Life (on Charlie & Ben Podcast) Pt.2 Sept. '21 Ep 413

In this insightful conversation, Alex Hormozi shares his business acumen with Ben and Charlie from Chrismo on Command, delving into his strategies for creating successful businesses that generate consistent cash flow. Alex emphasizes the importance of delineating customer problems and presenting tailored solutions, even using the grocery shopping example to illustrate how businesses can address specific customer challenges. Additionally, he discusses the value of hiring skilled talent, highlighting that resumes often predict success better than interviews. Alex also reflects on personal fulfillment, citing Aristotle's views on life's meaning and advocating for logical love in choosing a life partner. Throughout the discussion, the significance of aligning personal values with business practices is a recurring theme, as Alex advises entrepreneurs to find joy in the journey and growth of their ventures.

• Mosey Nation discusses his approach to building businesses that generate consistent cash flow.
• The focus is on being decent at multiple things rather than the best at one.
• The conversation emphasizes the importance of customer acquisition, increasing customer value, and retention.
• They discuss learning from failures and lessons along the entrepreneurial journey.

"Not that you're going to be the best in the world at this one thing, it's that if you can be decent at seven things, you'll be number one at those seven things when combined."

This quote encapsulates the strategy of being well-rounded in multiple areas to create a unique competitive advantage. It suggests that a combination of skills can lead to success in business.

• The importance of hiring capable individuals to operate the business efficiently is highlighted.
• No specific strategies or details are provided in this section of the transcript.

No verbatim quote provided for this theme.

• Mosey Nation references Aristotle as an influential figure in his life.
• The conversation suggests that understanding life's meaning can influence business and personal decisions.
• No further details or specific philosophical points are discussed in this section of the transcript.

No verbatim quote provided for this theme.

• Mosey Nation advises identifying every potential problem a customer might face.
• He emphasizes the need for a plan and considers the logistics of grocery shopping as a primary example of an obstacle for fitness clients.
• Multiple solutions to address the grocery shopping problem are proposed, showcasing creativity and customer-centric thinking.

"So the first step one is delineating every single problem that the person is going to encounter. All the changes that they're going to have to have, the efforts and the sacrifice things they have to start doing, things they have to stop doing, right?"

This quote highlights the importance of thoroughly understanding and addressing the challenges customers face, particularly in the context of fitness and lifestyle changes.

• Mosey Nation introduces the "delivery cube," a conceptual tool for product development.
• He provides various solutions for the grocery shopping problem, from DIY calculators to grocery store tours and partnerships with meal prep companies.
• The discussion showcases the importance of ideation and the variety of ways to solve a single customer problem.

"I could personally take them grocery shopping, or to your point, I could pre make the list loaded into Instacart and then send it to their house."

This quote exemplifies one of the many solutions proposed to simplify the grocery shopping process for fitness clients, emphasizing convenience and personalized service.

• The concept of essentialism, which advocates for simplicity and focus, is discussed in contrast to the detailed problem-solving approach.
• Mosey Nation differentiates between the ideation process and the final product offering.
• He stresses the importance of trimming down ideas to the most valuable ones through trial and error and customer feedback.

"Every single time we've made iterations in our services and we have education components for our licensing business, right. Every new improved version of it gets shorter, not longer."

This quote reflects the principle of essentialism in practice, where each iteration of a service is refined to be more concise and focused on core value.

• The need for real-time interaction and feedback from customers is emphasized.
• Mosey Nation suggests starting with high-touch, customized solutions and gradually developing more scalable offerings.
• He shares his experience with gyms and turnarounds, highlighting the value of hands-on learning in creating effective business models.

"So the Tesla first Tesla roadster was like, whatever, $500,000, whatever. It was a lot of money, right? And then the next one was, I think it was $250,000. The next thing they came out with was the $100,000 car. And then years later, they came out with the $30,000 version."

This quote illustrates the concept of starting with a premium, high-cost solution and gradually creating more accessible versions, learning and refining the product at each stage.

• Charlie discusses the challenges of maintaining a YouTube channel with 5 million subscribers as the engine of their business.
• He expresses difficulty in hiring someone who can write content at the desired level of quality.
• Charlie is seeking advice on finding the right people with preexisting skills to help transition from being deeply involved in the business to being more of an owner and strategist.

"We have made 300 plus videos and to date, it has been the engine of our business. That's how we form a relationship with people, create credibility and create desire for mastering charisma."

This quote outlines the importance of their YouTube channel in building their business and the challenges they face in maintaining its success due to burnout.

"It's been hard to find someone who can write content at the level that we would be proud to publish it."

Charlie highlights the struggle to find a content writer who meets their standards, which is a significant obstacle in stepping back from being deeply involved in content creation.

• Mosey Nation suggests considering the concept of specific knowledge as described by Naval Ravikant.
• He recommends breaking down the skills needed and finding individuals who are exceptional in those areas.

"Can I find the number one at these seven or eight skills they put together? And it might take a village to try and replace you."

Mosey Nation offers a strategy to replace Charlie's role by finding individuals who excel in different aspects of the job, acknowledging that it may not be possible to find a single person with all the necessary skills.

• Mosey Nation addresses the misconception that a business can be entirely passive.
• He emphasizes the idea that business involvement is a spectrum, and the goal should be to decrease involvement over time rather than eliminate it completely.

"It is my opinion that nothing is passive, and it's just you have varying degrees of active."

Mosey Nation challenges the idea of passive income, suggesting that all businesses require some level of active involvement and that the aim should be to manage the degree of activity.

• Mosey Nation discusses the trade-offs of reducing his involvement in his business, accepting lower income for more personal time.
• He advises measuring success by the degree of reduced involvement over time rather than striving for complete passivity.

"Am I more or less involved in the business than I was? And if the answer is I am 50% or 75% less involved in the business and we are still making the same money, then I would say I'm doing a great job."

This quote suggests a practical approach to evaluating success in transitioning from an active business role to a more strategic one, focusing on the relative change in involvement.

• Mosey Nation shares insights on the hiring process, discussing the importance of resumes and track records in predicting job performance.
• He emphasizes the need to hire people with specific experience relevant to the role.

"Resume will have three times the predictive power of interviewing. In terms of the success of people in the role."

Mosey Nation states that a candidate's resume is a more reliable indicator of future job performance than the interview process, highlighting the importance of past experience.

• Mosey Nation talks about the progression of businesses and the different focuses at each revenue stage.
• He discusses the necessity of poaching experienced employees for higher-level positions.

"Once you start crossing in the 200,000, $500,000 a year threshold. Those people are always employed."

This quote indicates that top talent in higher salary brackets is typically already employed and valued by their current employers, making them harder to recruit through traditional job postings.

• Mosey Nation encourages networking on LinkedIn and connecting with the audience and potential collaborators.
• He emphasizes the importance of community and relationships in business expansion.

"Send me a connection request, a note letting me know that you listen to the show and I will accept it."

Mosey Nation invites listeners to connect with him on LinkedIn, showcasing the value he places on networking and building a professional community.

• Mosey Nation discusses the importance of hiring based on solutions, not just filling positions.
• Key characteristics to look for in candidates are intelligence, work ethic, character, and long-term perspective.
• Intelligence is defined as relevant experience and having solved similar problems.
• Work ethic is gauged by the candidate's speed of response during the hiring process.
• Character and integrity are crucial, especially for leadership roles.
• The ability to think in longer time horizons becomes more important as you move up the leadership ladder.

"I'm hiring for solutions. I'm not hiring for positions."

This quote emphasizes the importance of focusing on what problems the candidate can solve for the company rather than just filling an open role.

"What problem we are trying to solve, we'll be much better at defining the problem so we get much more clear about the solution."

This quote highlights the necessity of clearly understanding the issues at hand to find the most effective solutions and the right people to implement them.

"I just define that a little bit more nuanced to have this person solve the problem in a business just like mine."

Mosey Nation elaborates on Warren Buffett's criterion of intelligence by adding the need for specific experience relevant to his business's problems.

"What's the speed of response when we're interacting with this person."

The speed with which a candidate responds is used as an indicator of their work ethic, which is critical in a fast-paced work environment.

"Do they have a long term perspective? Can they think in longer time horizons?"

Thinking long-term is essential for leadership roles as the responsibilities become more strategic and less tangible.

• Targeted outreach is more effective than broad job postings.
• Knowing the industry and identifying the right candidate directly can yield better results.
• Offering competitive compensation can help poach top candidates from other companies.

"Instead of posting a job post or even a paid job post on LinkedIn, which did net good applicants, is to go know the industries that we're looking for a bit better and go like, that's the person that wants to come write my videos or do my thing and go track them down and be like, you're the person. We want you."

Ben suggests that a more targeted approach to recruitment, focusing on specific candidates, can be more effective than general job postings.

• Aligning marketing strategies with the company's definition of honesty is crucial.
• Some marketing tactics may be effective but not align with the company's values.
• Long-term success is prioritized over short-term gains that compromise integrity.

"Our definition of honesty or doing right by clients is annoying to most marketing people that we hire."

Charlie indicates that their strict adherence to honesty in marketing can be frustrating for some marketers, highlighting the importance of value alignment.

"Long term. If you thought that long term, that discount approach would actually net you more money forever, maybe be more inclined to do it, but I don't think you think that."

Mosey Nation suggests that strategies should be evaluated based on their long-term impact, not just immediate benefits.

"Things are too good for me to give a damn."

Ben expresses his unwillingness to compromise his personal values for monetary gain, emphasizing the importance of integrity in business decisions.

• A company's culture and the values of its leadership can influence its growth trajectory.
• Aligning values with the team can create a positive work environment, even if it doesn't lead to rapid growth.
• Integrity and authenticity in business practices can attract the right talent and contribute to long-term success.

"We've aligned values and it probably isn't the value of a 100 million dollar company, but we can grow slowly."

Ben acknowledges that while their company values may not lead to rapid growth, they are still conducive to a positive work environment and steady expansion.

"If you're being integrous to what you believe, then I think that will always win out in the end and you can attract and look for people."

Mosey Nation asserts that staying true to one's beliefs is key to attracting the right people and ultimately succeeding.

• The interview process can be a learning opportunity for the employer.
• Asking candidates to share their strategies can provide valuable insights.
• Rejection of candidates unwilling to share ideas before hiring can avoid potential issues.
• Accumulating ideas from multiple interviews can improve the hiring process and provide actionable strategies.

"I want to know specifically what you would do."

Mosey Nation emphasizes the importance of understanding a candidate's specific strategies to solve the company's problems during the interview process.

"By the 10th interview, we've got a list of 30 really good ideas."

This quote highlights how the interview process can serve as a source of valuable information and strategies, improving the quality of subsequent interviews and hiring decisions.

• Mosey Nation and Charlie discuss the difficulties in the hiring process and finding the right candidates.
• Mosey Nation has shifted his approach to hiring, aiming for candidates who can take on half the workload rather than finding a perfect fit.
• Charlie was hoping for a "magic cure" to clone himself but acknowledges that finding someone to reduce his workload is the more realistic approach.

"I think I've been aiming for what you described, which is you're not going to get the person, but maybe you can get someone that takes half the work away."

This quote explains Charlie's current hiring strategy, which is to find someone capable enough to handle a significant part of the workload, even if they aren't the ideal candidate.

• Mosey Nation spends a significant portion of his time exploring the concepts of joy and meaning in life.
• He references Aristotle's idea that one cannot judge a life's worth until after death, which lessens the pressure to find immediate meaning in every action.
• Mosey Nation also cites Albert Camus, suggesting that the meaning of life is essentially what keeps one from self-harm, a stark but impactful perspective.
• He expresses love for "the game" of life and business, as well as for his wife, Layla, as sources of joy.

"So I've been looking into this a lot, and this is probably, I would say probably 25% to 30% of my time is focused on kind of these types of questions."

Mosey Nation dedicates a significant portion of his time to philosophical inquiries about life's meaning and joy, indicating the importance of these concepts in his personal and professional life.

• Mosey Nation advocates for "loving logically" and the idea that arranged marriages can be sensible.
• He discusses the risks and considerations he faced when marrying his wife, Layla, emphasizing the importance of logical compatibility in a relationship.
• Mosey Nation highlights the strong correlation between subjective well-being and the quality of one's relationship with their significant other.
• He suggests that sharing experiences and goals with a life partner can contribute to personal growth and happiness.

"The single most important decision I think that we make in terms of subjective well-being, and that's supported with data, is that you have a zero point 71 correlation to your own subjective well-being based on the strength of your relationship with your significant other."

This quote emphasizes the profound impact that a significant other can have on an individual's subjective well-being, reinforcing the importance of choosing a compatible life partner.

• Mosey Nation and Ben discuss the role of compromise in relationships.
• Ben questions the common belief that compromise is the foundation of relationships, noting that it is not a cornerstone of his friendships.
• Mosey Nation and Ben both seem to prefer relationships where there is a mutual desire to engage in shared activities without the need for compromise.

"Compromise sounds like a dirty word to me sometimes."

Ben expresses skepticism about the notion that compromise is essential in relationships, suggesting that mutual interests and desires should be the basis for a strong relationship.

• Mosey Nation expresses contentment with his personal growth and the progress of his business ventures.
• He discusses the importance of understanding the requirements for business growth and the realization of why his business is not growing exponentially.
• Ben compliments Mosey Nation's YouTube channel, Alex Harmozi, for its valuable content for entrepreneurs at all levels.

"I've gotten a lot out of it myself. It has really crystallized why we are at the level that we are at and why we are growing at the speed, which is still good, we're still growing, but why we're not parabolic at this point, because I'm going, oh, that's what would be required."

Ben acknowledges the insights he has gained from Mosey Nation's content, which have helped him understand the factors influencing the growth rate of his own business.

• Mosey Nation promotes his book "100 million dollar offers" available on Amazon and mentions the upcoming series of books and accompanying free courses on his website, acquisition.com.
• The resources offered include downloads and checklists aimed at helping business owners create more compelling offers.

"There's the books. Ninety nine cents on Amazon. It's called 100 million dollar offers. I'll be making nine more books in the series. Each book comes with a course that's free."

Mosey Nation is promoting his book and the additional free resources he provides, which are designed to help entrepreneurs enhance their business offerings.