In this Business Blast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Marc Mawhinney, a "coach for coaches." The conversation opens with a sponsor plug for Authors Unite, then dives into Marc’s pivotal life story: after a decade‑long, 100‑agent real‑estate business collapsed in 2009, a stranger reached out for coffee, offering mentorship that shifted Marc’s perspective and helped him recover. Marc emphasizes that consistency—showing up like a robot regardless of circumstances—is the cornerstone of his coaching success since 2014. He advises his younger self to "buckle up" for the inevitable roller‑coaster of entrepreneurship. When asked about happiness, he paraphrases a Bob Dylan sentiment that true success is waking up, doing what you want, and going to bed satisfied. His top book recommendation is Thick Face, Black Heart by Chin Ming Chu, which taught him the value of thick skin in business. A favorite quote he shares is from Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged: “The question isn’t who’s going to let me, it’s who’s going to stop me.” Finally, he directs listeners to his online hubs, naturalborncoaches.com and thecoachingjungle.com, the latter linking to a Facebook group for coaches.
Chapters
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.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner, and today I have Mark Mawhoney with us. He is the coach for coaches, so welcome to the show, Mark.
Thanks for having me, Tyler.
Of course, thanks for joining us. We'll dive into the first one. The first question I have for you, Mark, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Oh geez, how long do we have? Yours is a short podcast, so I don't know if we have enough time. You can go for it. You know what, I will, uh, say a story that always, um, sticks out to me. I went, uh, through a business closure in real estate back in 2009 after I had a real estate business for a decade, and it was, you know, 100 agents and employees and going really well, and it collapsed. And Right after that closure, someone who I didn't know, he was a stranger from a city that was roughly an hour, an hour and a half away. He reached out to me and asked to get together for coffee. And I was not feeling social at the time, obviously, but I decided to make that trip. I said, for whatever reason, I said, I'm going to go. I could use it. And that was probably one of the biggest meetings in my life because it made me realize through that meeting that, hey, I wasn't alone. He had gone through business failures and he told me about other people who had. And it just completely shifted my energy. And I realized that, hey, I'm not the only person going through this. I was kind of feeling like, hey, I got a scarlet letter with the business closure. He said, hey, you're not alone, and kudos for trying back then. And he still remains a friend and a mentor today. So that's a really cool story that was very important part of my entrepreneurial journey.
And what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Oh, um, I, I would just say that regardless of the business that you're in, consistency is key. So consistency isn't always sexy or flashy, but that's probably the main reason that I've achieved the success I've had with my coaching business since 2014, is I'm like a robot every day, whether I'm sick or healthy or rain or shine, I'm doing what I have to do. And I see that missing from a lot of entrepreneurs. So I would say that consistency is key.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Buckle up. It's going to be a heck of a ride, but you're going to live and you'll be better off for it. So I know it's cliché to say whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but it's true. So I would tell younger Mark to buckle up. If I could hop in my DeLorean and go back in time, Kind of going a little different direction.
In your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
I think the key to happiness— Bob Dylan has a quote, it's actually about success, but I think that it ties in with happiness. And I'm paraphrasing here, but he says basically that success is being able to get up in the morning, do what you want to do that day, then go to bed. And that, I think, is happiness as well. Doing what you wanna do, not what other people want you to do.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from it?
Oh boy, best book, not a lot of people know about this, but it's called Thick Face, Black Heart, and it's by Ching Ning Chu. And that book taught me that it's important to have a thick skin in business. And I actually didn't find out about that book until 2014. I wish I'd heard about it in 2009 when I went through that closure. It would've been huge, but it's been, I read it a couple times a year. It's an amazing book, Thick Face, Black Heart by Chin Ming Chu.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
Oh, boys, I've got a bunch. One of the quotes I love is by Ayn Rand of Atlas Shrugged. She says that the question isn't who's going to let me, it's who's going to stop me. I absolutely love that quote.
And yeah, man, thank you so much for coming on. That is the Business Blast. And the last question I have for you, Before we let you go, where's the best place for people to find you online?
Best spot is naturalborncoaches.com, or you can go to thecoachingjungle.com. Thecoachingjungle.com will forward to my Facebook group. There's tons of coaches in there. It's a great spot.
Perfect, man. Thanks again for joining us. We appreciate it.
Thanks, Tyler.
The podcast you just heard was published with Anchor. Got something you want to say to the creator of this show? Send them a voice message using the Anchor app. Free for iOS and Android.
