#MeetCoolPeople

Most owners think the business is worth what they've poured into it. It's not. A buyer pays for what runs without you. If you're the one doing all the things, there's nothing to sell. Sound familiar? I got to sit down with, Nathan Grossman. We hit it off talking about music and my old rock and roll days. Nathan is the founder of GHD Unlimited, the unagency for service-based founders doing $1 to $1...

I got an email from a client this week that freaked me out. Things weren't launching when they expected, and I was afraid I was doing a poor job. The truth was a little different. A ton of work was happening behind the scenes. I was just doing a poor job of communicating it. This solo episode is on Yu, or "Courage", the last of the seven virtues from The Follow Up Code. I share what it took to own...

You open your AI tool, type "build me a CRM," and let it run. A few hours and a pile of credits later, you've got a lot of stuff nobody needed. Nowadays, everybody thinks they can just open up chat, say a few things, and it just builds the next amazing app. Alison Simmons says the mistake happened before you typed a word. Her advice is to not start with AI at all. I got to sit down with Alison. We...

You know you need to prospect. It's on the list every morning. By 3:30 it's still sitting there, and now it feels twice as heavy. Sound familiar? David Riener has a simple fix. Eat the frog first. I got to sit down with David Riener. We've got to know each other over several months, but had our first time to really sit down and chat at a happy hour that just happened to be at his house, and we hit...

Back when I was writing my own book, I bought someone else's. Right after I bought it, I started getting three emails a day from him. Every one pitched his next program, and it wasn't cheap. I hadn't even had a chance to read the book yet. I never did. He burnt the bridge too fast. This solo episode comes straight out of The Follow Up Code. It's on Rei or "Respect", one of the seven virtues in the...

You close five deals in a row. Then the exact same pitch flops on the next three. Most people blame the market. Tim Mata says check your microscripts first. Tim's been one of my closest friends in this networking world for a couple years now, the kind of friend where the after-event dinner matters more than the event itself. He spent over 25 years in sales leadership, including 11 years at Splunk...

You have been told to network more. Put yourself out there. Talk to strangers. Nobody ever hands you the actual steps. So you white-knuckle through the event, leave early, and tell yourself you are just not a people person. Bill Lennan builds the steps. Bill and I got connected recently and clicked on the first call, the kind where you both go, okay, we need to talk more. He was raised on islands,...

You have heard the advice a hundred times. Take a breath. Pause before you react. Then a real moment hits, your chest tightens, and you are just standing there wondering what you are supposed to do with that pause. Hiba Tanvir builds the part everyone skips. This week I got to sit down with my friend Hiba Tanvir. We met at Sheryl Powers' author symposium last October, I was emceeing, and we have b...

I once watched a speaker work a room of about 400 people. She was the best speaker I saw that whole year. A month later, I caught them again, in a much smaller room. Before they went on stage, I walked up and told them how good she was. Their first words back: "So did you buy the program?" Not thank you. Not even a nod. Just a receipt check. That one sentence cost her over 20% of the room. And thi...

We are creatures of habit. Same drive, same desk, same routine, day after day. I noticed my own thinking had gone flat lately. The ideas were not showing up like they used to. That rut is comfortable, and that is the trap. This episode came out of one small choice. I recently joined a group of people looking to just go do cool things together. Last Friday a few of us went to a comedy club downtown...

Last Friday I was at ConnectFest, an amazing annual event put on by Sheryl Powers, when something happened that stopped me in my tracks. A gentleman (Jack Kearney) on the panel pulled out my own books in front of the whole room and told everyone, "If you want to learn this stuff, go read these." I had no idea he was going to do that. It hit me hard, and it got me thinking about how important momen...

Most people think book marketing starts the day the book comes out. It does not, and that mistake can cost you months of wasted effort. I got to sit down with someone who has helped launch over 5,000 bestselling authors, and he broke down exactly when marketing should start, and why the timing matters more than the tactics. Steve Kidd is an international bestselling author, syndicated radio host,...

I got to reconnect with an old friend for this one. Robert Plank and I met back in 2008, at a marketing event in Phoenix. We lost touch for years. Then we found our way back to each other, and this conversation reminded me why that matters. This one goes deep on what actually happens after you hit stop record. We get into turning one guest conversation into weeks of content across every platform....

Your mom said it once. "It's not what you say, but how you say it." That line sticks with me more than most. Most people never stop to ask what their words are doing. This episode covers the real cost of bad communication. Not the big scandal kind. The everyday kind: emails, posts, conversations. Three layers decide if people trust you, or tune you out. Key Takeaways Communication runs on three la...

Most of us set a goal, get excited, fall off, then restart. Again and again. Dallas Amsden lived in that loop too. He found a way out, and it starts with a question most people never ask themselves. What would the future version of me actually do right now? I got to sit down with my friend, Dallas Amsden. He's the founder of Future You, and he helps entrepreneurs close the gap between who they are...

I got to sit down with my friend, Buddy Broyles. We had been connected online for two years but never actually talked until a few weeks ago. Turns out he thinks about podcasting almost exactly like I do. Buddy owns Blue Mic Studios, a podcast and video production studio in the DFW area. He has spent 35 years behind cameras and mics, from live news to corporate training video. Now he helps small bu...

You found the exact framework that made someone else a million dollars. So you copy it, word for word. And it flops. Sound familiar? That gap comes down to one missing piece. I heard a phrase years ago I still can't shake. “Do the right things, the right way, at the right time.” Many entrepreneurs only chase the first part. They skip the other two. Then they wonder why the tactic never delivers. K...

Everybody wants to move fast right now. AI is everywhere. Founders are jumping on every new tool before they even test it out. I've noticed the pushback starting already, because people are making rash calls before they stop and think. This one's just me today. I want to talk about Temperance, a stoic virtue, and why it matters more in business than most people give it credit for. I use Zoom's con...

There’s a version of business ownership that looks productive from the outside but is quietly draining you from the inside. You’re good at a lot of things. You’ve got the receipts to prove it. And that’s exactly the problem. Most established entrepreneurs I talk to aren’t struggling because they lack skills. They’re struggling because they’ve spent years building around competence instead of geniu...

I got to sit down with Anneliese Vance, and this one took some turns I did not expect. We started talking trust and relationships, landed on Google Ads for a good stretch, and ended up on her podcast about dads. That is honestly how the best conversations go. Anneliese is the co-founder of Be Present Advertising. She runs Google Ads for family owned trades and service businesses, and she has built...

There's a lot of noise out there right now. AI is everywhere. Content is everywhere. And somehow, it feels harder than ever to actually connect with people. That's what this episode is about. This is a solo episode where I'm thinking out loud about something that's been sitting heavy with me lately. The world is moving fast. A lot of people are getting left behind. And I think the answer isn't mor...

There is a question I want you to sit with before you hit send on anything. If someone on your list described you to a friend right now, what words would they use? Vendor? Or trusted source? That gap is everything. And most people never stop to think about it. This episode is about honor. Not the abstract kind. The kind that shows up in how you communicate, how consistently you add value, and whet...

Most people who struggle with sales aren't bad at selling. They're just thinking about it the wrong way. They walk in focused on making a sale. And the people across from them can feel it. I sat down with my friend, Morris Sims, and this conversation reminded me why the long game always wins. Morris spent over 30 years training financial professionals and executives at New York Life. He helped bui...

Most people think they have a motivation problem. Or a discipline problem. Or maybe just bad luck. What they actually have is a brain that's been trained to look for everything that's wrong. That's not a character flaw. It's biology. And it can be changed. Dr. Lucette Beall knows this firsthand. She's a neuroscience-based coach, a number one international bestselling author, and the founder of the...

Most people think writing a book is about selling the book. It’s not. The book is a door. What’s behind it is the whole point. I’ve known David Hancock since 2008. We met at a seminar in Atlanta. We don’t talk nearly as much as I’d like to, but nearly 20 years later, the friendship is still there. So sitting down with him for this episode felt less like an interview and more like a long-overdue co...