Secret #49: Adding In Your Second Entrepreneurial Super Power

What's up, everybody? This is Russell Brunson and welcome to the Marketing Secrets podcast. Today we're going to be talking about being an entrepreneur. Sometimes it might not be good. So the big question is, how are entrepreneurs like us who didn't cheat and take on venture capital? We're spending money from our own pockets. How do we market in a way that lets us get our products and our services and the things that we believe in out to the world and yet still remain profitable? That is the question, and this podcast will give you the answers. My name is Russell Brunson and welcome to Marketing Secrets. Alright, everybody. So, as you know, I love entrepreneurs. I'm an entrepreneur. I'm obsessed with entrepreneurs. My entire goal in life is to help entrepreneurs to change more people's lives. Because I think that we are the only types of people who can, because we're the only types who are crazy enough to risk everything we have. Our money, our time, our energy, our talents in the pursuit of creating something amazing that will change other people's lives. And some people think entrepreneurs are greedy. All they care about is money. And I don't believe that's true. I believe some are. Yeah, there's definitely some that are, but. And I think that a lot of people get the entrepreneurial spark starts because of money, because of the desire for that. But I think for most of us, and you'll find that out if you're still in the path, as soon as you start making money, it starts becoming stupid. Like you actually don't care about it at all because it's really not that cool. Yeah. So there you go. For those of you guys, I hate to ruin the surprise for you, but when you get there, nobody actually cares about money. It's just the thing that you desire at first until you get it and then you're like, huh, that actually was not nearly as cool as I thought it was going to be. But the cool thing is that in the interim, as you start doing that, you start serving people and you start seeing their lives change. You're like, holy crap. That was actually awesome. And so that's kind of the thing. And so, like I said, I love entrepreneurs because they're the people who care enough to risk life and limb everything they got, all their time, energy, money, talents, with the hope they can actually help other people. First off, I love you guys, so I want to stay there. Second off, I also realized that while we have superpowers, kind of like the X Men, like, it's funny because a lot of people talk about entrepreneurs have ADD and it's like this bad thing. And while I agree that most entrepreneurs have ADD and things like that, like those things, they're not disabilities, they're superpowers. And I remember watching the movie the X Men the first time, one of the multiple ones in that franchise. And I remember watching it and there's these people, right, these X Men who, they can fly and they can disappear, they can do all these amazing things, but the mortal humans are like, we need to get rid of their superpowers and trying to get rid of these superpowers. And it's just like, and even some of the, even some of the, some of the X Men are like embarrassed their superpowers and trying to get rid of them and it's just like, you understand like those superpowers, what makes you amazing, like, don't, don't get rid of those things. Like, and so like, I feel that way a lot in entrepreneurs, the people. Like, I'm trying to get my kids not to have such ADD or quit fidgeting or all these things. It's just like, dude, those are like, that's why they're great. Don't stifle those things. So I'm saying those things in caveat because I also understand there's some things that us super or us entrepreneurs are not good at, especially me. And so, as some of you guys know, if you listen to podcasts, I recently hired a consultant, Jeff woods, from the One Thing. And it's funny because when I first read that book, I kind of hated it because I was like, I don't want to focus on one thing. And then now it's interesting, as I progress in my career, in my life, I realized more and more important how important that thing, like the focus on the One thing actually is. In fact, it's essential to everything. I look at my entrepreneurs, most of them that join my inner circle, they come in with 50,000 ideas. And my entire focus for the year, number one, is getting to kill all their babies, aka their little businesses and focus on one. It was just hard. It was hard for me, but I couldn't go, I couldn't break the 2 or 3 million dollar year mark until I killed all my babies and focused on one. As soon as we did, it went from two or $3 million a year to 70 or $80 million a year within not very long period of time. It's crazy, crazy within a couple of years. That's one thing that I've learned is that entrepreneurs, we have these tendencies that Cause greatness. There are also tendencies that tend to kill us. One of them is, we have a thousand businesses, we have all these babies we love and things like that. But during my consulting call this week with Jeff, for the one thing it was interesting, he kept telling me, he's like, you got to stop acting so entrepreneurial. I'm like, but you don't understand. Like, that's my super. Like, I'm the super entrepreneur. Like, I. Like, duh. He's like, I know, but he's like, entrepreneurship got you here. But to the next level, it's like, you have to start running, like, understanding, I think, like a business owner. And he keeps trying to get me figured out, like, what's my goal someday? Like, what's this goal I'm out here for? And it was tough because I started going through this exercise, and I talked about a couple podcasts ago. It was weird because I realized that all my someday goals I accomplished, like, 18 months ago. And I was like, how weird is that? And as I'm going through this exercise, I told him. I was like, I'm really frustrated because I was like, I feel like I have perfect clarity and vision. What's gonna happen over the next six months? A year, maybe 18 months? And after that, it's like a dark cliff. And I remember as I told him that he kind of laughed. He kind of laughed. And he was like. He's like, let me show you something. Because it was a voice call. And so he flipped on his camera on Skype and let me draw a little picture for you. And so for those of you who are listening, I'm gonna try to describe the picture. Those who are watching me, I'm gonna try to paint it with my finger. I'm in my car right now. But he said. He said, look at. This is the timeline, right? So it starts at the left, and you have this timeline. This is like, when you were born, and then, like, this is when you wrestled, and this is when you started your business. And then this is when clickfunnels launched. Then this is when clickfunnels took off. And then here you are today. And it's like, this is the timeline, right? And so we judge our time based on these landmarks that have happened throughout time. He says, most of us entrepreneurs were visionaries. And then we look in the future, and we see all these possibilities. And he's like, so if you look at this graph I'm drawing from the left hand, right? It's like, it's very linear. And then it hits modern Time. And from here, shotguns out. So going up, there's one thing, and then there's another one, and there's like, 10 things shooting out from this. Almost like a. So it looks like a broom, almost like it's like a stick of the timeline and breaks off into this broom with, like, all these impossibilities, right? All these things that are fanning out like that. I could go. He says the problem with that is, like, us entrepreneurs, like, we see all these shiny objects, right? And so we chase those things. And, like, entrepreneurs become great when they're able to focus on one thing. We said that what most entrepreneurs do is, like, moving forward, they get stuck because, like, they can see forward six months. In six months, there's like, four or five things that they could hit, right? These four or five shiny objects. And you go like, a year, and there's more. The further out you go, the harder it is to see. About 18 months, it gets. So, like, that. That fan of things going outward from where you are today gets so wide, it gets really hard to start seeing things. It's like, that's why entrepreneurs really good at, like, seeing, you know, six months, a year from now, then knowing the steps to take, and they're running and doing those kind of things. But you go past that, and it's kind of a black hole. So what we do with the one thing, what they focus on is figuring out, like, a laser, like, the. Like, instead of. I wish I could draw this picture so you could see it better for those who are listening. But instead of just having this thing fanning out where you're, like, trying to hit all these shiny objects, what they do is they start with the someday goal. Like, where do you want to be someday? And getting crystal clear on that. Like, someday I want to be like, this is. This isn't five. This is, like, in the future, like, you know, as far out as you can think. Like, where do you want to be? What do you want life to look like? And so I spent the last three and a half, four weeks trying to figure that out, which has been really, really hard. So just, you know, it's not an easy thing. So here's a someday goal. And then from there, it's like, okay, now we gotta reverse engineer timeline backwards of all the milestones that we have to hit to be able to get to that one thing. And so we reverse engineer. So, okay, so five years. What is my life like? Where do I need to be in five years now to be on track to hit my Someday goal. And then, okay, now I crystallize. Okay, my five year goal. Now what I gotta be in a year from now and where I gotta be this month and then this week, and then today, and then we focus on just the one thing we're gonna accomplish. It's gonna achieve that next landmine or land. Not landmine. Landmines explode the next landmark and the next one. The next one. And man, it's been fascinating exercise and the business ones are harder to explain. But I'm going to show you a really quick one for my personal life. One of my thoughts in this exercise is like, what will it mean for me to be successful as a father? I'm like, okay, well for me to be successful as a father, and obviously my beliefs may be different than yours, but for me, I've got three boys. I want my three boys to go on missions. I want all my five of my kids to get married in the temple. For me, that would be ultimate success as a father. And so I'm looking at my someday goal is that. And so it's interesting to say, okay, so where do you got to be in five years from now for that to, for you to be able to accomplish that five years from now? So my boys, who are 11 and a half, almost 12 now, they'll be 17. So like, they're a year away from preparing for the mission. So at that point, like, where do I got to be five years from now if I'm gonna, if they're gonna go on a mission by the time they're 18, I'm like, oh my gosh, like, they gotta be able to have like all these different things. That's only five years from now, which is crazy. And I'm like, okay. And from there you would go like one year from now, like, what do you got to be to be on track for your five year goals? I'm like, one year from now, they got to do like I have my kids doing, like, also they shifted my whole perspective then based on that. What are you gonna do in a month from now and then a week from now, then today? Like, what I need, what's the one thing I need for my kids today to be able. Somebody hit that goal five years from now? And I was like, oh my gosh, like, I'm not doing anything related to that. I found the same thing in business. As I looked at my someday goal, my five year goal, my one year, my, my week, my month, and today, look at my to do list, there wasn't a single thing on my to do list. That actually got me moving towards my someday goal. I was like, how fascinating is that? I have all these shiny objects that entrepreneurs do. They're good, they're creating revenue, they're doing stuff, but none of them lead me to my someday goal. It makes me start rethinking everything. It's so fascinating. So what I want you guys to do, because we're all entrepreneurs and I don't think like this, naturally, none of us do. It's all the, I don't know, different type than us. But Jeff keeps telling me, he's like, you need to stop acting entrepreneurial. Stop acting entrepreneurial. Like, figure these things out, reverse engineer, and then you can go get them really, really easily. He's like, but right now, you have no focus. You're accomplishing things, you're making revenue, but you're never gonna hit your goal because you don't have one. You don't have a target. And it's been interesting for me. So for me, I've been really spending, like, honestly, almost a month now. Like, what's my someday goal for my business? And then I'm trying to make sure, like, my core people on my management team and my company, my co founders, my partners, like, do they have the same someday goal as I do? Because my someday goal is to, like, do this, and theirs is this. Like, the direction we go is completely different. Like, we're thinking, like, you know, just yesterday or Monday, we had a meeting with my partners, and I was talking about this, and I wanted them all to set their someday goal, and they're all like, oh, well, we're the same someday goal as you. I'm like, no, think about this. Because, like, if it's different, like, let's say my goal is this and your goal is this. Like, this goal may require selling click funnels, but this goal requires us not selling click funnels. And. And if we have different someday goals we're running towards, and yours requires us selling ClickFunnels in three years, and mine requires us never selling or selling in 30 years. Now everything we're doing is gonna be completely different. We gotta be on the same page with our someday goals, or else we're all screwed. And so that's what we're going through now is having all them kind of figure those things out. And the next, it's gonna be fundamentally starting this with people inside my team. Like, what's your someday going? Where are you trying to get to? And then reverse engineer things from there. And it's just Interesting. So I'm doing it in my business, in my personal life, my health, new with my spirituality. I'm doing like all different things in my life because it's interesting. As soon as you know where you're trying to get to, you start looking at the to do list you have right now. It's interesting how none of those to do's actually advance you towards your someday goal. All it's doing is it's killing all these shiny objects you have sprouting out from where you are right now. And so he says our life should be similar to like the timeline prior where you've got, you know, I was born, I started wrestling, I launched my first company, we launched clickfunnels. Clickfunnels took off, and here we are today. That should be okay. Then we did this. We should be able to see that timeline moving forward in the future as clear as we can see it going backwards. As soon as you can see it as clear going forward as you can going backwards. That's when you start acting with. That's when you stop acting entrepreneurially, which I hate saying that. You start acting with intention. And it's like, these are the steps to get through that. And it's so simple when you look at it now. But I've never thought of it that way. I've never looked it that way. It's funny because I've always felt like I've been a visionary. I know where I'm going. I know the steps. And it's true. I know the steps six months, maybe a year from now, but past then it's invisible to me. And now that I'm doing this, it's like, holy cow. I got this clarity of like, this is what I got to do this year in five years. All these landmarks. Yeah, landmarks. Not landmines, landmarks, to get to that end goal. And so anyway, it's been a fascinating exercise for me. Like I said, it's a month and I'm still trying to. I keep retweaking my someday goal and retweak my teams and like. But I think it's worth doing. And again, in your personal life, your business, like, all different things. That way you're acting out of intention and you know where you're going, as opposed to just, you know, being entrepreneurial and just killing the hunting the stuff. There's nothing wrong with that. Like, we're. That's what makes us great. The reality is none of you guys would have got to the point you are now if you weren't Acting entrepreneurial, because most people, they plan so much, they never do anything. The whole ready, fire anything. I believe in that. It's like, okay, here's 20 objects. I'm just gonna run and throw a bunch of crap against the wall and see what sticks. And there's that part of the process thing we need to do to find what's gonna be ours. But after you know that you're on the path and you know those things now, it's like, okay, now let's start acting intentionally and really get to what we want. You know, when I was wrestling, it was easy. I was like, I want to be a state champ. That was like. It was so clear in my mind. It's all I cared is. I thought about, you know, ate, drink, slept, breathed. That's all I did was I wanted to be a state champ. And then I hit it. And then I was like, I want to be an All American. And then I hit it, and it was just like. It became really, really easy. And I think it's, you know, again for me when, like, as I was starting to exercise, I'm like, all the goals I had in business, we accomplished 18 months ago. The last 18 months, I think, is probably why this year was really crazy for me. I did a lot of stuff. Like, we launched two books, Expert Secrets in the podcast cookbook. We did five events. We've done. It's been crazy, and it's because I don't think I had a focus. And so we were just trying to do more. While that can be good, it's very entrepreneurial. It can wear you out, and it can make your life suffer because you don't know where you're going. So you're feeling all the voices void with stuff, with. To dos with tasks, with ideas, with projects, with books, with. Holy crap, you see my list. So, yeah, while listening sometimes fill you up. It doesn't get you towards your goal necessarily. Not that they're bad. They may have still been landmarks that land. Yeah. Landmarks I needed to do to get there, but I probably would have acted a little differently. In fact, it's been funny as I've been doing this one thing. I can't. I can't ruin the secrets. But this next project that, like, I was gonna try to get done this year, I'm like. It's not like. Like, my ego wants it done this year. There's no purpose, like. And so we set a date for next August to do it. I'm like, what? That's almost a year away. I've never had that much but, but like strategically planning it out, like that's when it fit and that's when it actually made sense. That's what got me towards the next goal. And it's been, it's been fascinating. So anyway, I wish I could show you all all the aha's I've had personally with my own business, but take forever. But hopefully you had one or two for yourself. And as you do the exercise, I promise you guys like it's fascinating. So there you go. Hope that helps. And quit acting entrepreneurial. Not 100% though. We need you, we need you to be a little crazy. That's, that's what, that's what creates the change in this stuff. I don't want to take that superpower away from you. Okay, yes, your X Men super ability, but understand that maybe you can fly right now, but I think if you had laser eyes too, now you got two superpowers. So maybe it's not stopping acting entrepreneurial, it's giving you your second superpower. Yes. Yes. That's what it's called. Oh, this is the second superpower. It's way better. Keep being entrepreneurial. We're adding a second superpower. I'm titling this podcast that. There you go guys. Appreciate you all. If you had, if you enjoyed this episode or helped you at all, please share it. If you're an itunes, I found out there's a little button you click and there's a thing says share episode. It gives you a link. Take that link, it direct links to this episode and you can go share it with your friends, family members, anybody else who's an entrepreneur, anyone on your team, in fact, your team, your partner, your employees so all you guys can focus and figure out where you are going. So thanks you guys, appreciate you all and we'll talk to you soon. Bye. Want more marketing secrets? If so, then go get your copies of my two best selling books. Book number one is called Expert Secrets and you can get a free copy@expertsecrets.com and book number two is called Dotcom Secrets and you can get your free copy@dotcomsecrets.com Inside these two books you'll find my top 35 secrets that we've used to become the fastest growing non VC backed SaaS startup company in the world.