MBA1263 Guest Teacher: Ken Coleman – How to Use the Proximity Principle to go from Day Job to Dream Job

Let me tell you about Intuit QuickBooks. When I was starting out my business, I remember sitting at my desk late at night not working on my business but cleaning up numbers, tracking and reconciling payments and wondering how this became my life. But once I automated the admin side of things of my finances, those nights had disappeared and I felt a whole lot better. Outdo it with Intuit QuickBooks. QuickBooks is the trusted end to end solution that businesses rely on for getting paid, managing finances, paying employees, finding new customers and more. QuickBooks provides a team of AI agents and trusted experts. So doing it yourself no longer means doing it alone. Their payment agent gets you paid faster, their customer agent finds leads, follows up and secures more sales, and the accounting agent automates and categorizes transactions. Get your critical business jobs done with QuickBooks on the Intuit platform.

Ready to save on new tech? It's time for Dell Tech Day's annual sales event celebrating our customers with fantastic deals and benefits. Product perks include Dell Rewards, free shipping, premium Support and more. PCs like the Dell 14 with Intel Core Ultra processors will help you do more faster and with a premium suite of monitors and accessories, you can upgrade your whole setup with amazing savings. Visit Dell.com deals.

Hey O welcome to the 100 the $100 MBA show where better business is just minutes away every day with our daily 10 minute business lessons for the real world. I'm your host, your coach, your teacher Omar Zenholm. I'm also the co founder of the Hundred Dollar mba, a complete business training and community online. And today's episode is a guest teacher episode. Today we have a very special guest teacher, Ken Coleman. Ken Coleman is the host of the very popular Ken Coleman show and the Entre Leadership Podcast. Check those shows out. Subscribe. But Ken is also a best selling author. He just released a new book called the Proximity Principle. The proven strategy that will lead you to a career that you love. And you'll be teaching this principle in today's lesson. And today's lesson is all about how to use the Proximity Principle to go from your day job to your dream job, whatever that is. And for many of our listeners, their dream job is running their own business. They might be side hustling for some time right now and they want to make that transition to full time entrepreneurship. So in today's episode, in today's lesson, Ken is going to be sharing with you this ingredient called the Proximity Principle a lot of people neglect when it comes to making these major changes in your life. These major changes in your career, you want major change, you're going to have to do something different. And in my opinion, it's been the major differentiator from people that actually make rapid improvements in this area in changing their life, in changing their career, in changing their trajectory and people that take maybe a lot longer than they should or never actually make the change. I can't wait to get into today's episode and have Ken teach you his lesson today as a guest teacher. So let's get into it. Let's get down to business again. Today's guest teacher, Ken Coleman is fantastic. He is well known in the podcasting space for his popular shows the Ken Coleman show as well as the Entre Leadership Podcast. You can check out his work@kencolmanshow.com, but a lot of people know him as a best selling author. He's the author of the very popular One Question, Life Changing Answers from today's leading voices. And now he just released his latest book, the Proximity Principle, which is all about taking the first steps to moving to that full time career, job, whatever it is, as an entrepreneur, as, you know, a leader in your business, a leader in your industry, how to take that first step by using the Proximity Principle. That first step is the scariest step. We all know it. We all either have gone through it or, or are going through it right now. So what is this all about? Well, it's all about putting yourself in the position to succeed. And most people, when they make that leap, they don't surround themselves with the right people in the right space, in the right environment and therefore they fall flat and they resort back to where they were before you got a plan for success. And that's just the truth. I had to make some major changes in my own life to make that leap. And I'll share some of those changes at the end of the episode. I but I had to change a lot of things, especially the people I'm around, where I am just geographically in the world and the space I occupy. What am I exposed to? So Ken is going to break it down for you in his lesson today. So without further ado, I'm going to pass on to Ken. I'll be back to wrap up this lesson with my own takeaways. But for now, you're in good hands with Ken Coleman. Take it away, Ken.

Hey everybody, I'm Ken Coleman. Thank you so much for joining me today. Today I'm going to be teaching you about how to use the proximity principle to go from day job to dream job. Now for those of you entrepreneurs who've already stepped out, you know that it is always super scary right at the beginning. For some of you who are part time entrepreneurs and you're thinking about the eventual step into full time entrepreneurship, the first step is always the scariest. Why? This is really important to understand before I get into teaching how to use the proximity principle to move into that full time entrepreneurial venture. Number one, as humans, we are absolutely terrifying, terrified of the unknown when we don't know what the path is or we don't know how it's going to turn out, which by the way, we almost never do. But that fear of the unknown can absolutely paralyze us. You start getting your mind off of what it is that you know you're supposed to do, that you have the talent to do and the passion to pull off. And you only focus on all the different ways that it could go wrong because of the unknown. So that's the first big fear that as an entrepreneur, you're always going to have to be aware of of so that we know the lie that it tells. The fear of the unknown. Now the second big fear is the fear of failure. This is what happens if I fail spectacularly. Am I going to starve? Am I going to be homeless, whatever the situation is? So again, we want to be aware of these fears because fear is a liar. Fear will tell you things that simply are not true. Now, can fear protect you from time to time? Absolutely. But once you have done your homework, you've planned and you step out, understand that just because you get started doesn't mean you won't be dealing with fear of the unknown and fear of failure. I want to make sure that you're totally prepared for those voices and then have an answer ahead of time so that you can keep your perspective on moving forward. Now, there are three things that you need to know before you step out into proximity to move from that day job, the dream job. The first thing is, what do I need to know or learn? Now, this is about valuable knowledge. This is about knowledge to be able to pull off what you need to do, or knowledge that you gain that will then make you certified or qualified to be able to launch that business. What do I need to know? What do I need to learn? You can also ask that question a different way. Who do I need to know that is very, very valuable? We'll get to that in just moments. Now, the second question is, how much is that going to cost? This is really important. One of the big mistakes that so many Entrepreneurs make is they don't evaluate and plan for a reasonable cost, and that's money and time. That leads to the third question. How much time is that going to cost? And how much time is that going to take? The answers to those three questions, formulate a plan. Those are the basics. Now, there will be more questions, and I think those will instinctively come to you. But you've got to make sure that you answer those three questions. And when you do, you have a very, very good idea of what the path may look like and how much time it's going to take and how much it will cost you. Now, that sets you up to then begin to step forward. Those questions help formulate a plan. Once we have a plan, now it's time to step out and step up. And this is where the proximity principle propels you. This is where the proximity principle positions you. Now, the proximity principle says in order to do what you want to do, you've got to be around people that are doing it. And in places where it is happening, when you are around the right people, they help you learn, they give you an opportunity to do, and they give you the opportunity to connect, learn, do connect. That's what the right people will help you with. They also will then point you to the right places. So when I'm in the right places, I'm also going to have the opportunity to learn, do, and connect. And when I'm in the right places, I'm going to meet the right people, more of the right people. So it doesn't matter whether you put yourself in the right place first or around right people first. The idea here is I'm strategic in my actions to always be looking and always be positioning myself around the right people and in the right places. So in my new book, the Proximity Principle, I'm going to introduce you to five key people that everybody starting out or making a switch needs to be around. And then we'll show you five places you need to be in. Let's go through the five people very, very briefly. And again, you can get the book the Proximity Principle to help you see these people and then get around them and then seize opportunity. The people are professionals, mentors, peers, and producers. Let's walk through those briefly. The professors, these are people who can teach you what you need to know. Is it the traditional professor role that we're talking about? Not always. It certainly can be, but it is not always. The traditional professor role could be somebody who is a skilled tradesman or a skilled winner in your field. They are actually winning and they teach or train as a side gig or maybe it's their full time role, but they are in the business of training and teaching. That is the key to understanding who you need to be around as relates to professors, because they can actually and they desire to give you valuable information and train you. Now the second group is the professionals. These are people who you may not get in close contact with, you may never meet them, but they are at the top. At the top, at the top. I mean you think of the pinnacle in your field. The professionals are there. For example, when I was getting into broadcasting, there were several Emmy award winning sportscasters, newscasters who I never had the opportunity to meet, but I spent time with them via YouTube and books and other things such as podcasts. So who do you need to be around? People that are absolutely the best of the best in your industry. So for instance, maybe one of the sharks on ABC Shark Tank, just as an example. How can you get around them and not be in absolute personal proximity, but just close enough to. Then we talk about mentors. Mentors are people that do not have to be in the same field as you, but they are known for their wisdom and their experience. They're wise and they're very successful. And you want the mentor to help you in the ways of accountability and guidance. Just good old fashioned advice. Someone else who is wise, has experience and can help you through major decisions, general advice, but guiding you and also holding you accountable to your goals. And then the final group is the producers. Now this is not used in the television or radio sense, the world that I come from, but just people that are winning in your industry. Now they're not the professionals at the top of the top of the industry, but they're very successful in your industry. They've been there and done that. That's the idea. Now let's shift to the five places where you are. Is place number one, two, a place to learn, three, a place to practice, four, a place to perform and five, a place to grow. Let's look at where you are. This is where most people call into my daily radio show. They overlook where you are. I call this the law of the zip code, which says everything you need to get started is already around you. You don't have to move somewhere to start something. You've got resources, you've got connections. There are opportunities all around you. Make sure that when you get started, you're looking around you for resources, people, places, opportunities where you are. Don't overlook your own zip code. The second place is A place to learn. This is so valuable for entrepreneurs. You've got the idea, you've got tons of passion, you've got some skills and maybe some experience, but take the time to learn. This is a place where you're going to find professors, you know, be okay delaying a launch, maybe be okay swallowing your pride and learning from somebody who can teach you something very valuable. The third place is a place to practice. This is huge. This is pre launch. So if you got an idea, a service, a soft launch, practice it before you even launch it. Just see, hey, can I do a test of 60 friends and family or whatever the number is, just play around here and try things. I remember talking to one of the most famous entrepreneurs in American history, certainly Jack Dorsey, who is the founder of Twitter and Square. And he told me before he launched all of his major initiatives prior to Twitter that he always tested it with friends and family before ever going public. Test the product, learn, learn, learn, practice, practice, practice. And so the practice is low pressure and we're going to get it out there and see how people react. A place to perform, this is where you put yourself in. Now we're going to put this out there, soft launch, we're going to get it out there in front of real people and see how the product performs, see how much idea my service performs. And finally, a place to grow. Constantly be assessing what is a new market, what's a potential new customer base that I can put myself or the service, the product. And we want to put ourselves in places where we are forced to grow, where we are innovating, where we are disrupting ourselves so that someone else doesn't disrupt you. A final thought here is that once you put yourself in proximity to the right people and the right places, I want to make sure that you adopt a proximity mindset and that is that you never stop seeking out the right people and the right places. And that in the current situation, you know your role, you accept your role and you maximize your role. Knowing your role, hey, I know what's expected of me in the business. This is what I'm doing right now. Accepting your role is understanding, hey, this is where I'm at. I'm a startup or I'm in year two, three, four and I got to accept that we're early on in this, we're not going to compare ourselves to other people. And so then you are now maximizing your role. So once I am okay and understand this is where we are and I'm going to accept that this is where I am Now I want to maximize this opportunity because if I win in the present, then there's an opportunity to win in the future. But if I don't win in the present, there is no future. So that's how the Proximity Principle will help you move from day job to dream job. So great to be with you all. I'm Ken Coleman. If you'd like to know more about the proximity principle, you can go to kencolman.com that's kencolman.com thanks so much for joining me today. Back to you Omar.

Does it feel like it's getting really hard to figure out the best way to save for retirement? Fidelity can help you find clarity so you can save the best way for you. With a free personalized plan, goal tracking, and timely insights, you'll be set to take on retirement your way. Get started@fidelity.com future expenses charged by your investments and other costs and fees associated with trading or transacting in your account apply Fidelity brokerage Services member NYSE SIPC.

Dear McDonald's, your breakfast menu fire tens across the board. I could be happy with anything even though I ordered the same thing every time. Thanks for not judging me. I'll try something new next time.

Maybe score a two for five dollar deal on a sausage McMuffin with egg and more. Limited time only. Price and participation may vary. Cannot be combined with any other offer single item at regular price.

What a great episode by Ken Coleman. And what a voice for podcasting. You could tell the guy has to of experience in the broadcast industry, but it's not just the way he says it, it's what he says as well. It's so, so profound. A lot of people just neglect this. They think that they can perform the same in the same environment. Totally not true. If you're surrounded with people that are doing things that you want to do and it's just normal for them, that's just the norm to be successful. It's just the norm to do great things, to build great businesses. That's what they do day in and day out. That will influence you, that will make you become one of them just by being around them. Because we adjust the standards, the things that are around us. If you're trying to change the world, but you're still surrounded with people that are not interested in that or interested in just the status quo, or interested in just getting by to each to his own, that's fine. But that's not going to help you go where you want to go because you're just not incongruent with the people around you, with the space you're around. When I was moving into full time entrepreneurship, I left teaching. My career in teaching of 13 years, invested a lot of time and money in that career. But when I made that transition, I made a major change in my life. I moved to New York City, sold my car. I had very little assets, I lowered my expenses. But I wanted to be where the action is. I wanted to be where people are hustling, where I would be motivated by the people around me, the people I meet, the people that are making things happen. I also drastically changed my circle of friends, the people I was surrounded with. I constantly was trying to meet new people, make new friends, which is hard when you're in your 30s, you know. But I knew it would affect my results. Luckily, I was with somebody like Nicole, the person that's closest to me in my life, my partner in life. And we were on the same page and we're trying to do the same things. So that helped a lot. So the people around you, where you are. I'm not saying you have to move to a major city and change your whole life, but be aware of how you spend your time, where you spend your time. If you're not motivated at home, if you're having trouble getting things going, go to a coworking space. Go somewhere where people are doing the same things you're doing. Trying to build businesses, whether that's a cafe or a meetup or whatever it is, you need reinforcement. You can do this on your own. Your environment will influence you. That's just my own experience that I wanted to share with you to just reinforce what Ken Coleman spoke about today. Big thanks to Ken Coleman for the great episode. Check him out on the Entre leadership podcast, the Ken Coleman show@KenColaShow.com and make sure you pick up his new book, the proximity principle, the proven strategy that will lead you to the career you love. That wraps up today's episode. Thank you so much for listening. If you love what you hear, drop us an itunes rating and review. You read every single one of them. We love reading reviews to know what you love about the show, what your favorite episode is, your favorite takeaway. Also, by leaving us a rating and review, you enter our weekly random draw we call free ride Friday. Every Friday we do this random draw and somebody wins a lifetime membership to one of our programs. We're giving away EasyCourse, a $500 course on how to build your own online course. All you gotta do is leave us a rating and Review and you enter that draw, listen in on Friday to see if you won. All right, before I go, I want to leave you with this. We've heard this a thousand times. You know, business is hard. It's challenging, it's getting competitive. If we know this, if this is something that we've heard a million times, then we need to put ourselves in the best position possible to win. Just like in sports. You've heard of home court advantage when the home team, the team that is playing in their own arena, their own home court, they have their home fans, they have an advantage because they're in the space that helps them win, that encourages them to win. So they put themselves in that position by, you know, obviously doing well during the season. So when they play in the playoffs or when they play during the finals or whatever, the final match, they have that advantage. It's a real advantage. There's a big difference between, you know, playing in a crowd that's cheering your name and encouraging you and somewhere that's familiar, somewhere that you are used to playing versus playing on the road where everything's against you. So put yourself in the position to win. Put yourself around the people that will help you win. That requires change. That requires you to change. That requires you to do things that you don't normally do. Again, remember I was in my 30s of making new friends, not normal. Spending my time, my, you know, very little free time with people that will help me get to the next level that are achieving things that I want to achieve, that have high standards, so my standards get higher. You get my point. You got what you need for today, but I'll check you in tomorrow's episode. I'll see you then. Take care.

What do the steam engine, electricity and AI have in common? They don't just change how we work, they transform entire economies. Where the Internet Lives is an award winning podcast from Google about the unseen world of data centers. This season we're going inside the AI revolution. From farmers using AI to analyze soil data, to researchers discovering new medicines, a new era of AI innovation is here. Listen to where the Internet lives. Wherever you get your podcasts.