The Business Advantage of Truly Being YOU

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Sally's Work Gave Me Permission to Just Be Me...

One of the hardest parts, in my view, in being an entrepreneur is the path to that discovery.

And, believe it or not, there was a point in which it wasn't as popular as it is today.

When I was just starting out, Facebook had just emerged but very few people were using it in the capacity they are today.

And I could be entirely wrong but internet marketing just wasn't what it is today.

If you told a parent or a dear friend you were planning to launch a business that involved you selling something called information products and were using YouTube to build an audience and an email list, they probably would have given you a real hard "crazy" eyed look.

And that's unfortunately still somewhat the case today, truth be told.

Point is, we are still SO new to this beautiful landscape called the internet.

In our digital world, we've yet to see a fully grown generation of people that grew up and remember a time where all this technology wasn't readily available as they are just now entering into their adult lives!

Kinda crazy, right?

But here I was...a college student just dying to figure out what to do in this big and lonely world.

What's worse is all my friends seemingly knew EXACTLY what they wanted to do.

Work on Wall Street, Lawyers, Doctors, Police Officers, etc, etc, etc.

And here I was...

Struggling mightily with the early onset of the chronic illness I only later fully discovered in my early thirties but also without a clue as to what I actually WANTED to do.

Sure, I could do many things, as is the case with so many entrepreneurial people.

But what I actually wanted to do and saw myself providing to the world...different conversation.

And here's the Achilles Heel to most people like me, and maybe even you as you read this installment...

We're too darn clever to just do something for the money.

We recognize life is just a meaningless pursuit if we're not living it to the fullest and chasing our dreams.

Many can just clock in to their 9 to 5, provide for their families, enjoy the weekend festivities and hardly ever think about the fact that one day the clock will strike midnight on all of us.

That's not the case for me, never has been.

I can even remember my mother giving me this audacious look when I explained to her the concept of death and the afterlife (as I saw it) as a five year old!

She was taken aback by my grasp of such a complex idea at such a young age.

Now, just to be clear, this isn't about me patting my own "genius" back and celebrating my immense understanding of life.

But what I've come to find is many struggle with the same challenge.

That and what to do with those thoughts.

There's so much potential energy that lies beneath the surface of these individuals...

And when not addressed or applied in a healthy channel, it can be absolutely destructive.

I reached for things...the next party, the next major milestone in life....

I thought maybe it was money.

Before that I thought it was fulfilling my dream of being a collegiate athlete.

And when all of those boxes had been checked, what I found was I was more miserable than ever.

The Call The Changed it All

In this installment of the podcast, this is largely the part I pick up to tell Sally Hogshead my story.

I remember driving to my Spanish 2100 class in my 2001, White, Honda Accord.

I remember exactly what I was wearing...

My favorite orange V-Neck Tee with Cargo Shorts (yes, they were still a thing) and a pair of Birkenstocks (HA! Remember those?).

I spoke with my mother as it were on most days while I drove to class.

But in this particular time frame it was regarding my desperation and depression, of which had worsened after a challenging breakup I experienced.

I was medicated to hell with all sorts of anti-depressants and ADHD medications.

I was drinking heavily about 3-4 times per week, which wasn't peculiar given the college town I lived in at the time.

But let's just say that certainly wasn't helping matters...at all.

And I remember the exact words I said to my mother which changed my life forever.

Like an anvil being lifted square off my shoulders as the words came out of my mouth.

Mom, I'm just tired of being me and wish I could just be like everyone else...

My voice crackled as I fought to hide back the tears.

I never made it to class that day.

In fact, soon thereafter I took an entire semester off from college to re-examine my life.

And over the course of the next six months I began to really think about what to do next.

I researched everything I could find about purpose, passions, spirituality, etc.

It was in that time I became a Christian and soon met the woman that later became my wife!

Resource after resource, I consumed anything I could get my hands on.

And then I found some lady named Sally Hogshead that had created this personality assessment test that focused on unique advantages in the world.

I was told her work really focused on being the best YOU and not just chasing everyone else by the tail.

It may not have seemed like much at the time but that, along with only a handful of other crucial resources, is why I'm sitting here the entrepreneur I am today.

My report told me I was an Avant-Garde...

A forward thinker and innovator.

It also told me that routine, monotonous work was going to be the death of me.

The report went on for some 16 odd pages longer and I even purchased the advanced version that gave me a further breakdown.

And for the first time in my life, I was liberated.

Who I was wasn't a weakness, it was my SUPERPOWER.

The fact that my brain worked the way it did and saw things that other people didn't see wasn't weird, it was where I could EXCEL in the world and WIN.

Truth be told, I began to trace back my steps...

And the clues were scattered all over the place.

I had always been industrious.

Side hustles and little business endeavors.

Lawn care companies in my high school years.

But at the time, I had just viewed those as ways to make money before life got serious...

I never realized that being an entrepreneur could be a real thing I did...like for a living and career.

Most importantly, this report just gave me permission to be myself and to do it to the fullest.

I didn't need to chase this guy or that guy.

I didn't need to be more like Tim or act more like Bob (random people I just made up).

There was a uniqueness inside of me that could deliver amazing value to the world and it was just my job to embrace it to the fullest.

Quit worrying about what people THINK you should be doing and just DO YOU!

Whatever this is for you...

And I'm not saying that leads to you being an entrepreneur.

In fact, your report may tell you the exact opposite.

That's okay!

This life is about finding our own path and living in to the fullest.

The things you can do are probably vastly different than what I bring to the table.

That's the beautiful part of what makes this thing work.

I can assure you if everyone was like me we'd live in one weird world...

And I'm sure most people can reflect and agree with that statement.

I've taken my report with me everywhere I go.

I make KEY decisions in life based on what my avatar would do.

Is this something an Avant-Garde should do?

If the answer is "NO," I don't do it.

And that even trickles down to things like where I choose to live.

Prestige is my Primary Advantage.

I like and demand excellence.

If it's not the best in my eyes, it's not enough.

And while I drive myself crazy with this desire at times, it does serve me well if used in the right capacity.

The co-work space where I mentor gives me a free office.

I'm literally looking out the window at Google's massive downtown office here in Austin, Texas.

Directly next to Google is a construction site that will soon be Facebook's new office in town.

My surroundings match my advantage.

Every company in here is trying to be just like the companies I just mentioned next door.

And that's the bar that is set.

When my wife and I decided to move to another city from Atlanta, we started checking our boxes.

Truth be told, we couldn't figure out why some cities just didn't feel right for us.

The boxes DID check out but something was missing.

And what we discovered was they just didn't have that Prestige feel that resonated with us.

*Side note: My wife's Secondary Advantage is Prestige so we agree on most things when it comes to that.

I've also NEVER made a hire without first making them take Sally's Assessment test.

I need to know who they are and where they will thrive.

Without this particular assessment, I have no idea.

Sure, I can gouge myself in the eyeballs reading a Myers-Briggs report but I need actionable insights...not an abbreviated mess I'm not even going to remember myself.

So, What Are The Next Steps?

I'd love for you to have the experience I had.

But maybe you won't.

It's possible you just take the assessment and discover things you already knew about yourself.

To me, that validation is still everything but it's possible it's something you don't value.

If that's you, maybe you've just never reached that critical, fork in the road, moment that changes your life forever.

The one you look back and go "OH NO," or "YESS" when you reflect upon your decision.

For me, that process was painful.

And I didn't have a clue where to begin to look for resources to help me out.

So, at the very least, take the assessment and have it in your back pocket.

If there's anything I've learned about how to navigate life it's that you can never have too much information about yourself.

It's why so many Executives and High-Performers pay tens of thousands of dollars for counseling and coaching.

Because it's not about what we know about ourselves.

It's what we DON'T know that has all the potential in the world to unlock our true path.

And, in my view, that's where the Power of You can, and most likely will, become your most fascinating strategic advantage in business.

Don't forget to also listen to the pod!

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Sally Hogshead, New York Times Best Selling Author + Hall of Fame Speaker and CEO of How To Fascinate, drops by the pod to talk about the brilliance and business advantage of embracing who you are and not trying to just emulate everyone else.

Today’s Sponsor: How To Fascinate

Resources:

How To Fascinate - Use Code: Chris18

To learn more about Sally, visit Howtofascinate.com