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Tag: 7 Figures & Beyond

Millennials, Say Goodbye To Feeling Stuck: 3 Tips To Overcome Setbacks

Abruptly, you feel stopped in the middle of your career path. The way ahead appears hazy and uncertain, with no clear opening in sight. You’re not sure what to do or where to go, so you stay put where you are — but your resources are running out.

Perhaps you’re struggling to make a difficult decision, your finances are getting tight, you lack motivation, or you’re afraid of failure and making a big mistake.

No matter the reason, the experience is the same — you feel stuck. And it can be incredibly challenging to muster the strength, confidence, and clarity to move forward.

If there’s one man who knows this particularly well, it’s Steve Martel. He’s a real estate wealth expert who influences more than 100,000 entrepreneurs annually and has helped investors acquire over $350 million worth of real estate in the past three years alone. He also knows what it’s like to feel stuck and lose $47 million overnight, yet he hasn’t let it stop him.

I spoke with Martel about his uncanny ability to get “unstuck” and keep moving forward on this week’s podcast episode, “How To Get Unstuck: The Secret To Overcoming Million Dollar Setbacks w/ Real Estate Mogul Steve Martel.”

Martel’s drive stems from the battle with cancer he began waging at age 16. Doctors told him he had a 90% chance the cancer would persist, so he decided to start living like he was dying.

“I had no choice, because I had built in my mind that I only had 5 more years to live,” Martel says.

Instead of going to college, Martel began selling homes. At age 18, he sold 78 homes, while the average real estate agent sells 4 to 6.

At age 21, he sold 250 homes and earned $4 million.

From there, his trajectory only went up and up, but not without plenty of setbacks. Anyone who plays a big game knows it involves big risks.

Martel’s gotten stuck more times than he can count. He’s declared bankruptcy, lost millions on deals, and even had business partners screw him out of contracts. Yet he is where he is today because of his commitment to persistence.

“I counted, as an actual positive blessing, that I did go through cancer, because today I am living the most awesome life ever with my children, with my friends, with my business that I can’t even count as work,” Martel says.

Below, Martel shares the secrets that have helped him get out of sticky situations and proceed to generate personal success.

Live like there’s no tomorrow. If you believed your time was quickly dwindling, you wouldn’t wait to get started on doing the things you love, or creating the life you dream about. You wouldn’t make excuses for why you aren’t ready yet, or why you can’t get back in the game. You would possess the unparalleled drive of a dying man. You may not actually have a deadly disease, but you can choose to operate from this mindset to ignite the burner beneath your actions and hold yourself accountable to moving forward.

Burn the bridges behind you. When you’re stuck in a rut, it can be tempting to backtrack and cling onto what feels safe. But this massively hinders your progress and keeps you in a state of fear. To ensure you avoid doing this, make it impossible for yourself to turn around. “The science behind momentum is burning the bridges behind you, share your passion and story with other people,” Martel says. “That now obligates you and commits you to actually moving on forward. You’ve got no other choice but to succeed and that’s how you have to see it in your head.”

Be willing to take risks. The number one reason Martel became successful was because he didn’t shy away from taking risks. He dealt with enormous sums of money, reasoning that the only difference was “an extra zero.” Play a bigger game, and you will reap bigger rewards. When you can’t decide on your next move, take a risk and see what happens — if you happen to make a mistake, you will only learn from it and become wiser.

This article was originally published on Forbes

February 28, 2018
Why One 24-Year-Old Decided To Grow His Business Without Startup Capital

Ask just about any founder the number one resource they feel they need to get started. The answer you will most likely hear? Seed money.

These days, it has basically become a requirement for startups to get funding with venture capital. There’s an emphasis on scaling as quickly as possible, because growth is believed to reflect future success and an eventual high dollar payout.

But does this method actually produce the desired results? Michael Levine of Global Food Solutions, a New York-based company that provides high quality, locally sourced food products to schools across the US, says he’s succeeded by following a different strategy.

The 24-year-old CEO and chef now makes over $15 million in revenue annually, and hasn’t given stake of his business to investors. He says he isn’t willing to force business growth, and instead focuses on staying flexible and present.

I caught up with Levine about his commitment to honoring the process of his startup’s development on this week’s podcast episode, “Why You Can’t Rush Growth w/ Food Company Founder Michael Levine Who Generates $15 Million In Revenue Annually.”

It all started with a muffin. The artificially flavored, high-fructose corn syrup filled bakery item troubled Levine and inspired him to create a healthier version. He swapped oil for applesauce, switched to whole grains, and sweetened it with yogurt. At this point, he had no intention of impacting anyone else (like the three million students he does today) — he was simply focused on creating a quality muffin.

When Levine launched the muffin, he focused on finding existing large scale networks of distribution, which let him to the NYC public school system. After sending a few emails to key decision makers branding himself as a recent college graduate looking to sell his product he was able to secure a meeting. Soon after he began receiving offers soliciting over one million muffins a month.

Levine’s healthy initiative coincided with the launch of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” program in 2010, aimed towards fighting childhood obesity, which put the school food service industry in desperate need of nutritious food products.

Although the monthly output of one million muffins would have yielded tremendous profits, Levine felt it was a stretch. He opted instead to grow the business at a pace he could manage, one step at a time–sourcing local bakeries for production and having his clients pick up the product instead of offering delivery.

Levine was clear that he didn’t want to focus his efforts on playing in the ‘venture capital bubble’. As he saw it, “I struggled to comprehend this philosophy that it’s okay for a startup to not make money for long periods of time. I wanted to create a revenue generating model from the start instead of taking venture capital money, hiring a bunch of people, and growing the company overnight.” Levine goes on to say, “Let it grow at the rate it is supposed to without forcing that growth.”

That choice proved to be incredibly valuable. In allowing the business to unfold naturally, without pressure from funders, Levine was able to focus on quality and production, which set his company apart from others in the industry. Ultimately, this led to over $15 million in annual revenue.

Want to take a similar approach when starting your company? Consider the following steps to know when to back off and let your business run its course for a more natural growth process.

It doesn’t have to be perfect to be profitable. When you let go of the need to be perfect, you open yourself up to release more products that will probably satisfy the market need just as well. “Some of the best baseball players in history bat 300 (out of 1000) and they’re getting paid 100 million dollars. So every ideation you have, it’s not going to be perfect, nor should it be,” Levine says.

Don’t rush into growth. Growing should feel natural — think of how an organism grows at a steady rate to sustain itself every step of the way. If the lungs were to grow too fast, the tissue might tear and the entire breathing process would be destroyed. Allow your company to acquire the necessary resources in every department first, and you will find that when you are ready to upsize, the right opportunities will present themselves at the right time.

Your first idea isn’t always your best. Give yourself room to go through the creative process. Levine shares, “I think a lot of people get stuck in the mindset that they’ve had this great idea and they’ve put the whole thing together and they plan to execute that, but a lot of times you can’t execute what happens on paper because there’s a lot of dynamics that are gonna change when you bring a project from inception to reality.” Be patient and let experimentation happen as often as it needs to.

Failure is part of the process. Making mistakes is part of the natural progression of the creative process — it alerts you to what isn’t working so you can build a better product. The more you fail, the better the result you’ll end up with. Try to disidentify with the emotional aspect of failure and use it as a platform to improve. Levine says, “I view failure more as just you’re turning the car to the left and now you’re not going straight anymore.”

This article was originally published on Forbes

February 28, 2018
How To Move Up The Ranks: 4 Steps To Go From Employee To CEO In 2 Years

Some of the greatest success stories have the humblest roots. Take Apple, for example, the tech giant that began with virtually no capital in Steve Jobs parents’ basement.

It’s amazing how, with enough determination and a will to get the job done, nearly anyone can create a business that is incredibly prosperous.

That’s exactly what we see with the story of Matt Gray, who worked as unpaid employee at Herb, the largest online publication for news and culture in cannabis, until they made him their CEO.

Gray attributes his success to finding problems within the business and then quickly solving them. “At the end of the day a lot of these companies just need a hustler–someone to really get work done at a rapid pace,” he says. “My approach was to just bring as much onto my plate as possible… at the end of a term you’re irreplaceable because so much of the business relies on you.”

Listen for the details about how he managed to pull this off on this week’s podcast episode, “How To Grow A Business By 2000% In 2 Years w/ Herb’s CEO Matt Gray.”

Herb, formally The Stoner’s Cookbook, was originally started eight years ago by two New Zealanders as a user generated site for recipes for cooking with cannabis. Over the last few years, it has evolved dramatically to produce viral, data-driven content around culture, news, and entertainment surrounding the cannabis industry worldwide.

Since Gray joined the Herb team two years ago, he’s helped them grow 2000%. His commitment to setting aggressive goals has elevated their Facebook page above the 6 million follower mark, and built a solid case for his position as CEO.

“Let your work speak for itself,” Gray says. “If you’re having to sell people extremely hard on what your worth is to something, then chances are the actual work you’re doing isn’t speaking for itself. It should pretty obvious to them whether they need you on board or not.”

Want to learn how to start from the bottom and land yourself as CEO? Follow these steps:

Take relentless action

When Gray decided he wanted to leave his tech company and switch industries to the cannabis space, he reached out to 2,500 people in 3 days to get his first lead. The way he saw it, “the more people I talked to something really positive had to happen, it is kind of like a numbers game.” If you want to switch careers or move into a new space, follow Gray’s lead. Every person you talk to will open doors for you in some capacity, even if it is to introduce you to someone else. Stay committed and the results you want will come.

Get on the calendar

Securing a spot on the CEO or founder’s calendar for even a brief phone chat will immediately give you an advantage. You will be able to listen for what is going on in the business and share what you can do to help and get involved. Gray says his first step was sending a simple, compelling email to the company’s founder. He stated his interests, skill set, and availability to work for next to nothing under the subject line, “10 minutes to chat on Tuesday?”

Most CEO’s are super busy, so keep in mind your email will probably be read on mobile. Keep it short and state the value upfront so you can make it an easy “yes” for the CEO to take the next step.

Be a team player

Learning how to mobilize the team and hold each person accountable is what will demonstrate your case for being a leader within the company. “Leaders create leaders,” is what millennial thought leader, Gerard Adams says. Be willing to lead by example in your actions and treat every challenge or problem like it is your responsibility. Your actions won’t go unnoticed and when it is time to make key decisions, your name will be at the top of mind.

Figure out how to help the company grow

When you are able to contribute to the company’s bottom line, your position and value solidify at a higher rank. Start by looking at what existing outlet will help the company’s bottom line grow the fastest and work from there. It could be in direct sales, email marketing, customer retention, fulfillment of services, etc. For Gray, he saw it was with social media and decided to put all his attention on growing their Facebook page. In just 2 years he got the page to over 6 million fans and an audience reach of upwards of 50 million. Ultimately allowing Herb to exponentially monetize and grow and making him the clear choice for CEO.

And the rest is history. How will you write your own?

This article was originally published on Forbes

February 28, 2018
3 Reasons Why Every Millennial Should Lead By Example

Yesterday, on the Brussels’ metro, my sister Mary and I talked about what leadership means to her. My sister is from the states, but she’s living in Belgium for the next three years studying at a world-famous circus school. She spends her life training 10 hours a day, practicing handstands, and juggling hula-hoops with her feet. For Mary, leaving her life in Chicago to move across the world was a price she was willing to pay to pursue a path she feels destined to take.

Since leaving the U.S., dozens of people in Mary’s community have reached out to tell her that she’s been an inspiration to them. Incidentally, Mary created a ripple effect for others to take action in pursuing their passions in their own lives.

Mary says leadership is “being a living embodiment of the work you feel called to do, even if the vehicle to get there hasn’t been created. That means recognizing that you have the power to say how your life goes. Even if it seems uncertain or scary, you keep going.”

For the first time, being a leader is no longer optional. Success is no longer guaranteed by following the traditional system. Instead, for the millennial generation, success comes by choosing yourself first and by choosing to create meaningful relationships.

One example of this is Gerard Adams, the cofounder of Elite Daily, an online news publication for millennials. Gerard decided to turn his 19-year-old intern into the CEO of the company and, together, and with his two other cofounders, they grew Elite Daily to a site with 80 million monthly readers in just three years. Last year, Daily Mail acquired it for $50 million.

Listen to this week’s podcast episode where Gerard shares the secret behind how he did it.

Gerard says, “Leaders create leaders.” He believes we all have a story to tell, we all have something to offer each other and something to help each other grow. His mission is to help others cultivate their passion and motivate their spirit.

He has spent the last 12 months committed to this mission. He’s traveled the globe in search of today’s leaders so that he can share their stories with the world. By showcasing examples of leaders leading people, he believes others will turn around and lead in their own life too. Gerard is sharing the first of these stories in his web video series, “Leaders Create Leaders,” which launches tomorrow.

Gerard believes this generation can and will be the best generation of all time. If you want to own your own business, launch an app, travel, become an artist, you can starting today. Millennials are a generation of entrepreneurs whether you are working for yourself or a company. The way he sees it is “every entrepreneur has their moment when they go from being an admirer to a leader.” Making that transition is vital in navigating the world today.

Here are three reasons leadership is the most important skill you can master:

Reason #1: Your Success Depends on It. We are no longer rewarded for following the system. In today’s working world, you must learn to think for yourself. By taking initiative, you can become an entrepreneur of your life. In fact, you must. As Gerard says, it is “0% luck, 100% hustle.” The model is changing; you will thrive only when you cultivate the ability to step outside that past prescriptive model for a life and business. Success is the reward for those with the ability to recognize that there is no longer a set route — you create it.

Reason #2: We Live in a Relationship Economy. People are the new currency. “Return on Relationship” or ROR has become the new ROI. In order to achieve success, you must learn how to cultivate relationships and empower the people around you. The key to empowering others is to first lead by example. Learn the 5 Ways To Profit From Growing Your Personal Network and hone the skills that you might not yet..

Reason #3 The World Needs You. In 2016, we are faced with global problems with an urgency like never before. With 7 billion people on the planet, the earth’s resources are under immense strain. For the first time in history, a small group of everyday leaders can make a difference in the lives of billions of people. Mastering how to lead is crucial now. Will you become a leader among them?

To win a free 1 hour consulting session with Gerard Adams to take a deep dive into your vision, strategy, and mindset subscribe to the podcast here and then enter to win by following this link. Gerard has made this offer exclusively to Unconventional Life readers and listeners.

This Article was originally published on Forbes.

February 28, 2018