When It Gets Easy, Go Hard Ep 600

In this episode, the host shares his entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing the importance of seizing "fat pitches" and the impact of mentorship. He recounts a pivotal moment at a mastermind event where mentors like Russell, Alex Sharfen, and Jason Fladlien recognized the potential in his business, advising him to focus and scale rather than diversify prematurely. The host reflects on the value of surrounding oneself with more successful individuals for perspective and guidance, highlighting how their advice led to a significant growth in his consulting service revenue. He also discusses the common misconception about wealth creation, noting that most wealthy individuals initially concentrated on one main venture before diversifying, and stresses the importance of capitalizing on opportunities when they arise.

• Waiting for the perfect opportunity, like a batter waiting for the perfect pitch, is crucial in business.
• Successful entrepreneurs often make their wealth from a single vehicle or business.
• The speaker's goal is to share lessons learned from building acquisition.com and help others grow their businesses.

"There's no way to strike out. You just have to wait and wait and wait until you get the perfect pitch, that fat pitch that's in your sweet spot, and then you step up and you knock it out of the park."

This quote emphasizes the importance of patience and recognizing the right moment to take action in business ventures.

• The wealthiest individuals view business as a strategic game.
• The speaker's podcast aims to document and share the lessons learned on the path to success.

"The wealthiest people in the world see business as a game."

The quote suggests that a playful yet strategic mindset towards business can be a common trait among the most successful entrepreneurs.

• Having mentors who believe in you and your potential can be transformative.
• Mentors can provide valuable perspective and help you recognize opportunities you might not see on your own.

"I had multiple mentors who made more than me, speak belief into me, and also made sure that I capitalized on the fat pitch."

The quote reflects the speaker's personal experience with mentorship and how it played a significant role in their success.

• Attending mastermind groups can be an impactful experience.
• Being surrounded by more successful individuals can provide motivation and insights.

"I got invited to an eight figure mastermind, and clearly, if you're doing the math there, I'm not making eight figures."

The speaker shares an experience of being invited to a mastermind group that was beyond their current level of success, highlighting the importance of networking with those who are more advanced in their journey.

• It's common to feel out of place when operating in circles of more successful individuals.
• Others might see potential in you that you haven't yet recognized in yourself.

"He saw something in me that I couldn't see for myself, which is why I think it's so valuable to pay for mentorships and pay know people who are ahead of you to give you perspective that you lack."

This quote discusses the value of mentorship and the importance of gaining perspective from those who are further along in their business careers.

• Sometimes business owners do not fully recognize the potential value of their businesses.
• External perspectives, especially from experienced entrepreneurs, can reveal the true potential of a business.

"Alex Sharpen was in the room, and he's like, you have a hundred million dollar business right now and you don't even know it."

The quote illustrates a moment where a mentor provided a perspective shift, helping the speaker realize the true potential of their business.

• The speaker experienced a pivotal moment when confronted with the success of others.
• The advice to increase ad spend rather than start a new business was crucial.
• Interacting with more successful individuals provided valuable insights.
• The importance of seeking guidance from those who can identify what one might be missing in their approach.
• The ability to quickly assess a business situation is a skill that comes with experience and context.

"And I listened to these guys because they made more money than me."

This quote highlights the speaker's decision to value the advice of more financially successful individuals, suggesting that financial success is a measure of expertise or knowledge worth listening to.

"You will almost always disproportionately, and every time in my life, I have always disproportionately moved up faster."

The speaker emphasizes the personal benefit of surrounding themselves with successful people, suggesting that it has consistently accelerated their own success.

"Tell me what I'm missing. What am I not seeing that you can right?"

The speaker acknowledges the value of external perspectives in identifying blind spots within their business or skill set.

• The speaker was advised to scale up quickly to avoid being overtaken by competitors.
• The concept that when business is going well, one should push even harder.
• The importance of recognizing and acting on one's "fat pitch" or prime opportunity.

"You need to ten x overnight."

Jason Fladley's advice to the speaker to dramatically increase business scale suggests the urgency and aggressive strategy required to stay ahead in a competitive market.

"When it gets easy is when you go hard."

This advice given to the speaker implies that one should intensify their efforts when they find success, rather than becoming complacent.

• The speaker reflects on the concept of a "fat pitch," indicating a perfect opportunity that should not be missed.
• The realization that strategic action based on advice from successful individuals can lead to significant growth.
• The importance of seizing opportunities when they arise, especially in the context of a competitive business landscape.

"This was my fat pitch."

The speaker identifies the moment as their prime opportunity to act, using a baseball metaphor to emphasize the importance of taking advantage of a well-timed chance for success.

• The podcast relies solely on word of mouth for growth, rejecting traditional advertising and sponsorships.
• The host encourages listeners to share the podcast in the same way they discovered it, whether through a review or a post.
• Sharing the podcast is seen as a way to generate good karma and support other entrepreneurs.

The only way this grows is through word of mouth. And so I don't run ads, I don't do sponsorships, I don't sell anything.

The quote emphasizes the podcast's growth strategy, which is entirely dependent on listeners sharing it with others, and the host's commitment to organic growth rather than monetization through ads, sponsorships, or product sales.

• Entrepreneurs have limited opportunities where skill and opportunity align, and they must be ready to capitalize on them.
• Developing skills is crucial so that when an opportunity arises, entrepreneurs can seize it effectively.
• The analogy of Warren Buffett's investment strategy is used to illustrate the importance of being selective and fully committed when the right opportunity presents itself.

There are only a handful of opportunities that present themselves in the course of entrepreneur's career, where you have the opportunity, you have the skill, and basically the stars align.

This quote highlights the rarity of perfect opportunities in an entrepreneur's career and the importance of having the necessary skills ready for when such opportunities do present themselves.

• Warren Buffett's investment approach is sparing and focused, with a commitment to going all-in on selected opportunities.
• The baseball analogy is used to describe waiting for the perfect investment opportunity that fits within one's "sphere of confidence."

You find your sphere of confidence in, and you just get pitches all day long, right? Just like a baseball analogy, you get pitched over and over, but you have no strikeouts, right? There's no way to strike out. You just have to wait and wait and wait until you get the perfect pitch, that fat pitch that's in your sweet spot, and then you step up and you knock it out of the park.

The quote compares investment opportunities to pitches in baseball, suggesting that there is no penalty for waiting for the right one, and when it comes, one should fully commit and capitalize on it.

• The wealthiest individuals often accumulate their fortune through a single primary source before diversifying.
• The misconception that multiple revenue streams are necessary from the start is challenged.
• The umbrella analogy describes the process of building wealth through a focused effort on one main vehicle before branching out into diversified investments.

They made all of their wealth or the vast majority of their wealth with one vehicle. And then after they made their wealth, then they diversified.

This quote dispels the myth that having multiple revenue streams is how the wealthiest individuals initially made their money, clarifying that diversification typically occurs after significant wealth is generated from a single primary source.

• The host reflects on advice from influential figures like Gary Vee, who regretted not investing more in Google Ads during their early, affordable days.
• The convergence of advice and regret from various sources influenced the host's perspective on seizing opportunities.

And if you listen to Gary Vee, even he talked about one of his biggest regrets was how when Google Ads were really cheap, that he should have spent more for wine library, and all of these things kind of collided.

The quote shares a regret from Gary Vee about not taking full advantage of a valuable opportunity, which serves as a lesson on the importance of recognizing and investing in opportunities when they are most accessible.

• The host was influenced by mentors who foresaw great potential in their business endeavors.
• These mentors instilled confidence and ambitious goals in the host at an early stage.

And all of this stuff was spoken into me when I was just a kid. You got to understand, I didn't know anything.

This quote reflects on the formative impact of mentorship and the encouragement the host received, which shaped their entrepreneurial vision and ambition despite their lack of experience at the time.

• The speaker experienced a significant increase in revenue, going from $300,000 to $1.5 million per month within five months.
• The growth was attributed to following advice and aggressively increasing ad spend.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing and capitalizing on a "fat pitch" - a rare and lucrative business opportunity.
• The story serves as a lesson to take full advantage of periods of exceptional growth, rather than getting distracted or complacent.

"We're doing 300,000 a month. And I was like, whole lee crap, like, what is going on? Is this legal? I don't want to mess it up. It was just like, holy. But because of their encouragement, rather than distract myself and start another business, right. All we did is I followed what they said I five x my ads meant. And then it just took off like a freaking rocket, you know what I mean? We went from 350 to 1.5 million in the next, like five months, as in per month."

This quote describes the speaker's initial shock at their business's rapid revenue growth and the decision to intensify their ad spend, which led to even more significant growth.

• The speaker advises that when business is going well, it's crucial to double down rather than seeking work-life balance.
• They share an anecdote of younger entrepreneurs who experienced exponential growth, going from $20-30,000 to millions in a matter of months.
• The advice given is to fully commit to the business during peak opportunities to build generational wealth.

"I don't know what pitches you have in front of you. There are only a certain amount of times where we're going to get that fat pitch. And I think the point of this is that if it is easy for you right now, this is the time to step up."

This quote emphasizes the rarity of exceptional business opportunities ("fat pitches") and the need to capitalize on them when they arise.

• The speaker suggests that during times of significant opportunity, it is not the moment to focus on achieving a work-life balance.
• Comparing it to the California gold rush, the speaker implies that one should work tirelessly when they find their "gold" rather than settling for less.
• The speaker believes that most wealthy individuals have had at least one major successful venture that they focused on intensely.

"This is not the time to try and figure out work life balance because you're going to have this finite window where you're going to make disproportionate amounts of money, where you're going to make your generational wealth in this short gap."

The quote advises against focusing on work-life balance during critical periods of business growth, suggesting that such times are rare and should be maximized for wealth generation.

• The speaker indicates that after achieving success, it is common for wealthy individuals to diversify their investments.
• They warn against trying to diversify or invest in other ventures before fully capitalizing on a significant opportunity.
• The key is to follow the correct sequence: focus on the big opportunity first, then diversify.

"Most people who are very wealthy had one big pitch that they swung hard on, and then after they've made it, then they sprinkle their other investments. Just don't try and reverse engineer the wrong sequence."

This quote highlights the typical pattern of successful individuals investing heavily in one big opportunity before diversifying their portfolio, emphasizing the importance of not reversing this sequence.