Cameron Herold built 1-800-GOT-JUNK so single-mindedly that he stopped hiking, golfing, skiing. A former employee called him boring at a party. A conversation with Dean Graziosi about how their kids would remember them changed everything.
I think sometimes hard-charging alpha personalities, I think it's often that you see it in these male entrepreneurs where it's like you just put your head down and you just charge forward. Because you don't know any other way. But charging hard when we're struggling isn't the path. It's hard to disconnect, but you don't see that. The boundaries, I think, have been key. And I really had to learn those right as I was leaving 1-800-GOT-JUNK. I was at a cocktail party and one of the women that worked for me, her husband was on our board. And she goes, Cameron, you know what? You're effing boring. And I was like, what do you mean? She goes, all you talk about is work. It's the only hobby you have. You have nothing of interest. And I was like, wow, I've lost everything. I wasn't playing golf, wasn't playing tennis, wasn't hiking, really wasn't skiing. Do you know that Brian and I had built One Acre Under God Junk together? I ski raced until I was 21. He used to ski. And for the 6 and a half years that we built the company, I didn't know that he ever skied. Oh my goodness sakes. And he didn't know that I ever really skied. That's dangerously on tilt, right? Like I just had no hobbies. And then I was sitting at a mastermind around 10 years ago with Dean Graziosi, and Dean and I ended up crying, just the two of us sitting talking. We said, how would you want your kids to describe you? And I got choked up and he goes, why are you crying? And I'm like, I don't want my kids to talk about what I do to make money. And I think that's all they've got. And that was a moment for me 10 years ago that the switch flipped a second time where I realized if someone asks my kids, what does your dad do? I want them to say he hikes and he travels and he hangs out with friends and he plays golf and he plays tennis, goes to Burning Man. Oh, what does he do to make money? Oh yeah, he runs the SEAL Alliance and he has a course. He's a coach. If you asked my kids today, what does your dad do? I guarantee they don't talk about what I do to make money.
Flutterwave Former Global Head of Operations Awa Kone | When Growth Outruns Operations (Podcast 611)
