Mike Podesta, founder of Find My Profession Inc., went from high-school stoner to wrestler by surrounding himself with positive people. He says job searches require 15-20 hours weekly, never quit despite failure, and credits "The Slight Edge" for teaching him how small daily disciplines compound into major success.
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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. Today I have Mike Podesta with us. He's the founder of Find My Profession Inc. So welcome to the show, Mike.
Hey, thanks for having me. It's a great honor.
Of course, man. Thanks for joining us, and we'll dive in. The first question I have for you is, what's the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Got it. Yeah, well, that's a tough one. So I'd say when I was in high school, I didn't always hang around the best crowd. I was kind of a little stoner. After school, I'd meet up with my friends and we'd smoke. And it really wasn't until I joined the wrestling team that I started getting my shit together. I quickly realized that people were happier that I wrestled with than the stoner friends that I had. They were more family-oriented and they were a little bit more intelligent. Go figure. What I didn't know at the time was that all my pot smoking friends would stay in my hometown, keep doing drugs, upgrade to harder drugs, and really do nothing at all with their lives. So if it wasn't for sports and my realization that I'm the average of my 5 closest friends, I probably would be unemployed and smoking some crazy stuff right now. So to this day, you know, I continue to be cautious with the people I hang around. If they're not adding value to my life, I am pretty cautious about the time that I allocate and invest in those people.
So Yes, man, thanks for sharing that. And I can relate. In middle school and high school, I definitely smoked the reefer a little bit as well. So next question I have for you is, what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Yeah, I just wanted anybody looking for a job to know that, you know, looking for a job is tough, especially if you haven't done it in a few years. It's a little bit different. I'm sure you didn't need me to tell you that, but when it comes to job searching, you just got to be patient and remain extremely selective. If you don't have time to dedicate around 15-20 hours a week to your job search, you should consider outsourcing it to a company like FindMyProfessional.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice, not necessarily industry-specific?
Okay, just, you know, not to quit. There's gonna be good times and bad times in just about anything, so, you know, expect failure, embrace it, and it'll make you a better person.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I wish I read more. I used to always say that anything you could get out of a book, you could get in a movie in less time and with greater entertainment. I was very anti-reading growing up, so I wish I could go back and swap out every movie I watched with a good book.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
Freedom. I feel like that's for everybody, whether it's financial freedom to be able to take days off or work freedom to be able to go spend time with your kids and watch a sports game or visit a family member if they're ill and not be tied down to anything at all.
And so this kind of funny question now, but what's the best book that you've read and what's the number one thing you learned from it?
Yeah, so I did start reading a few years ago more frequently. So definitely The Slight Edge. It's It's an awesome book. It talks all about turning, you know, little simple disciplines into massive successes. It's, it's basically the belief that doing small practices each day over time will have compounding effects. I've personally applied the Slide Edge principles to almost every aspect of my life, and it's been amazing.
And what's your favorite quote and why?
So there's a quote I recently posted on LinkedIn by Thomas Jefferson. It's, I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. It pretty much sums up everything I believe. If you work hard, you're going to get good results, and it really has nothing to do with luck. Some people make excuses and others make moves.
Yes, man. Thank you so much for coming on, Mike. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Definitely LinkedIn. I'm not very active on any other social media sites, so just look up Mike Podesta on LinkedIn and you'll find me.
All right, sounds good, man. Thanks again for coming on.
Awesome. Thanks for having me.
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