In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews sales professional Cort Harter. Harter shares his first‑day door‑to‑door sales story, emphasizing that taking action outweighs planning. He argues that in today’s “need‑it‑now” world, obscurity is the biggest threat and stresses the importance of constant visibility through social media. Borrowing Nike’s “Just do it,” he urges listeners to move ideas into execution, even if the path is unclear. Harter advises his younger self to reconnect with the inner child and pursue original dreams, linking personal passion to professional success. He identifies providing value—whether monetary or knowledge‑based—as the key to happiness. His favorite book, Tim Grover’s Relentless, taught him a “do whatever it takes” mentality where recognition is a by‑product. A favorite quote from Tim Story about “creating magic” reinforces staying true to one’s purpose. Finally, he shares his social‑media handles for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
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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 makes the process of becoming a published bestselling author as simple as sipping your morning cup of coffee. You can learn more about Authors Unite at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner, and today I have Court Harder with us. He's a sales professional, so welcome to the show, Court.
Thanks for having me.
Of course, man. So we'll dive right in. The first question I have for you is, what's the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
The best story that Yeah, I really think it was actually my first day ever in sales industry. It was door-to-door sales in Houston, Texas, and I honestly didn't know anything or what to do. So I just went out and started knocking on doors, and I actually ended up selling and contacting more people than the entire office had done in the past few months. But at the end of the day, I still didn't think that I succeeded. It wasn't enough for me. So it really taught me two things. One, that action is a lot better than a strategy and sitting there thinking about it. Going out and doing it, but also taking away limits in terms of quotas or other bars that people in the past have set. Just going out, crushing it, and doing your own thing.
Dude, that was awesome. I used to do a bunch of door-to-door sales when I was younger, so I respect that, man. What's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Yeah, especially in today's world where I call it the need-it-now society. Obscurity is the enemy. In the world we live in now, if you're not visible, you literally don't exist. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do, whether you're building a personal brand or a company. So obscurity is the enemy, and so eliminating that through any type of social media or any type of online efforts is huge from now and moving forward.
"And what's your best piece of overall business advice?" Yeah, I touched on this a little before.
It's kind of stealing from the Nike motto, "Just do it." So many people think about doing something or have an idea and they never follow through. They just sit there and have an idea and there's hundreds of thousands of million and potentially billion dollar ideas that people think of, but people just don't act on them. They get stuck in the thought phase. Figure it out as you go, but go out there and put some action behind the idea. It doesn't matter how big or small, personal or business, and trust me, you'll figure it out as you go.
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Really stick it and follow with your dreams. It's so funny, whenever I was younger, and I'm sure other people can relate with this, everyone was like, "Follow your dreams, follow your dreams," and then you go through high school or college and the real world hits you, so to speak, and people get away from that. So really getting back to that inner child and following your dreams and really find something that can not only drive you personally but also professionally. And that's what really motivated you and take you to the next level. And really anything you do, getting back to that inner child and following that original dream.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
Yeah, I think providing. You know, it doesn't matter where you're at or what you do, and it doesn't matter what you provide, whether it's something monetary or knowledge, you know, professional or personal. I think at the end of the day, people down to their very core, they get happiness and enjoyment out of providing some value or some benefit to another person's life.
And what's the best book you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Yeah, best book I've read, I tend to reread it every couple months. It's Tim Grover's Relentless. And really the book covers people fall into 3 categories. And Tim Grover is the guy who trained Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, some of the best athletes of all time. And it talks about their mentality. And how they go about their day-to-day lives, not only in sports, but also in business. So it really taught me it's not about recognition or getting a pat on the back or the attaboy, you did a good job, or you hit your quota this month. It's about doing whatever it takes really to make it happen. And the recognition is just a byproduct of that.
And what's your favorite quote and why?
Yeah, my favorite quote is from Tim Story. And he talks about creating magic. And what he says is, when you see or hear magic, it reminds you of who you're supposed to be. And that really resonated with me because, as I touched on before, we tend to get away from things. Things are pulling us in 100 different directions. But everyone knows when they hear or see something that's really, truly special, they get that tingle feeling inside. And it really motivates them and makes them happy. So I think that's why that quote is most important to me.
Thank you so much for coming on, man. And last thing, just before we let you go, is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Yeah, on Instagram and Twitter, it's going to be C_Harter, and it's my last name, H-A-R-T-E-R, 22. And then on Facebook and LinkedIn, it's Cort, C-O-R-T, Harter, H-A-R-T-E-R.
Perfect, man. Thank you again. We really appreciate it. Yeah, thanks for your time.
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