In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Aaron Keith Hawkins, an author, podcast host, and coach. Hawkins shares a pivotal 2009 health crisis where he experienced severe chest pain and a possible mini‑stroke, which sparked a profound realization about the preciousness of time and propelled him toward his current work. He discusses his newly released book on influence, emphasizing that influence is a constant, unconscious process rather than a switch people can turn on or off, and that awareness of this can shape outcomes. Hawkins offers core business advice centered on giving without expecting returns, urging listeners to prioritize generosity. He advises his younger self to stop trying to fit in and please others, highlighting authenticity over conformity. Regarding happiness, he identifies continuous growth and progress as essential, noting that lack of progress often underlies dissatisfaction. He recommends Mel Robbins' "The Five‑Second Rule" as a practical tool for overcoming hesitation, describing the countdown technique to prompt immediate action. Hawkins shares a favorite quote from Tony Robbins about accepting problems rather than trying to eliminate them, framing challenges as opportunities for skill development. Finally, he directs listeners to his website, AaronKeithHawkins.com, where his influence book is available for free, and mentions the podcast’s sponsor Authors Unite and recording platform Anchor.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner, and today I have Aaron Keith Hawkins with us. He is an author, podcast host, and coach. So welcome to the show, Aaron.
It's great to be here, Tyler. Thanks for having me.
Of course. Thanks for joining us, and we'll dive in. The first question I have for you, Aaron, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Yeah, the nutshell version of that has to be in 2009, woke up one morning and had chest pain, tremendous chest pain, about a 12 on a 1 to 10 scale. Long story short, I wound up waking up and ultimately collapsing in front of my wife thinking I was having a heart attack. Spent a few days in the hospital, made it, didn't— it turned out not to be a heart attack. They think I had a mini stroke, but The lesson in that was when I thought I was checking out, I felt— instead of feeling fear like I would have expected in a situation like that, I felt a ton of regret seeing the missed opportunities I had. Because up until that point, I'd kind of just been being the normal guy, fitting in, had a good career, and was just kind of coasting. But that woke me up to the fact that our time here is precious. And that was— that was a big transformational moment in my life. Led me, actually very much led me into what I do today.
Thanks for sharing the story with us, man.
Sure.
Um, and the next one I have for you is, what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Sure, yeah. Um, I'll have to go with the book I just released is about influence. And really, one of the most valuable pieces of information I think that I find in my, my experiences I've had is that most people are overlooking the fact that they are always influencing. And what I mean by that is a lot of people think of influence as this thing that you can turn on when you need it and turn off when you don't. But that's very much a myth because everything we do is influence in business, in our personal lives, every conversation, body language, what we wear, how we, how we dress our websites. Everything we do is sending a message to the people around us. And if we're not paying attention to that, that's when life can start handing us things that we think are random, but they're actually products of our own creation. So awareness to the fact that influence is always happening is probably the one best piece of information I can give people on that topic.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice, and not necessarily industry-specific?
Um, give, give, give, give, give first and always without expecting the return. Give because it's, it's It's at the core of your business is to give to people who are your customers and people who aren't. Yeah, giving and it always pays off.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I would tell my younger self that there's absolutely, there's really no benefit, there's no reward for fitting in and getting people to agree with you. It never works. So that's one of those things we can just— I would tell myself to stop worrying about trying to please anyone and making them accept you. It's just not worth the effort.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
The key to happiness is definitely growing, progress. If we're not progressing, we'll ultimately be dying inside. And as a coach, that's something I see all the time when people aren't sure why they're— can't figure out why they're unhappy. Most of the time, it turns out there's a lack of progress somewhere where they actually are craving progress. And it's kind of cool because a lot of times it's a pretty easy fix.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Um, I gotta go with one of my favorite people, Mel Robbins, uh, The Five Second Rule. And the premise of it is when, when each of us get that feeling in our gut that there's something we want to do something that feels right for us, something that we're drawn to do, instead of hesitating and thinking about it and doing all those, those things that most people do, just count down in 5 seconds— 5, 4, 3, 2, 1— and physically move in the direction of doing that thing, whether it's sending an email, calling somebody, reaching out to somebody, complimenting somebody, um, offering the sale, whatever it is. It, at the core, it's Do not hesitate. Just do what your gut is telling you to do when you know it's something that's— when it feels like it's something that's going to lead to a positive result, or at least lead to you being authentic. No hesitations.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
Uh, I gotta go— I gotta go with my, my golden nugget that I keep reminding myself of, uh, from Tony Robbins, uh, when he said people's biggest problem isn't that they have problems, it's that they think they're not supposed to have any. And that is a reminder to me, you know, when I'm, you know, if I find myself getting upset because of some challenge I'm facing or something isn't the way I thought it was supposed to, it's just a big reminder for me that, you know, the goal is not to get rid of your problems, it's to prepare yourself to better learn how to handle them And secondly, to have better quality problems. Problems are always going to be there. So if we think we're going to get rid of them, we're setting ourselves up for a long life of frustration. But if we accept the fact that problems are inevitable and we can learn the skills to better handle them in pretty much any context, that's when things get fun and life gets more like a game than a challenging train wreck that some people try to claim it is. So yeah, expect the problems. They're going to be there. Just learn how to deal with them better.
Yes, I love it. Thank you so much for coming on, man. The last question I have for you before we let you go is, where's the best place for people to find you online?
Sure, very easy. AaronKeithHawkins.com. You can find, you can find me there 24/7. There's a link to download my book for free, even if you have some slight interest in influence. Just go to AaronKeithHawkins.com. I'm giving the book away for free. No problem at all.
Perfect. Thanks again, man. We really appreciate you coming on.
Anytime, Tyler. Appreciate you.
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