Travel

2013: A Reflection and Goals For NEXT Year, Part One

December 23, 2013 by [email protected] 1 Comment

At the end of every year I journal about my lessons from the past year, remember the year’s highlights and experiences, and set goals for the new year. Last year I started the tradition of publishing some of these musings here on my blog.

The post below is organized into my trips/events, news and other happenings, major personal lessons learned, and finally goals for the coming year.

UPDATE: I’ve organized this into two blog posts. Part One below includes Trips, Events, and Milestones of 2013.

Part Two (coming after Christmas) will include my biggest Lessons from 2013 and Goals for 2014. Stay tuned.

Trips, Travel, and Events of 2013

January: Marketer’s Cruise (included Mexico, Jamaica, and the Caymen Islands). We rode on dune buggies in Mexico, climbed the Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica, and relaxed on the beach at the Caymen Islands – all with a bunch of fun Internet marketers.

February/March: Underground Online Seminar 9. This was especially meaningful for me this year as I organized much of the young entrepreneur scholarship experience, made lots of amazing new friends in the process, and even got a little bit of stage time.

March: Two week trip to Malaysia and the Philippines. From visiting MindValley to meeting my whole team and their families, this was a truly transformational experience. You can read about that here.

April: Went to Montreal, Canada to celebrate Larry and Perry Yu’s 21st birthdays! Good times and first time to Canada.

May: Chicago Maverick Multiplier Retreat. Probably the most intimate and impactful Maverick gathering I’d ever been to, and really learned to be open and vulnerable, while also having a lot of fun (Zombie Bar Crawl anyone?) Here’s a quick video recap of the experience:

May/June: Austin, where Ally worked for Sophia at Maverick Events to help coordinate the Amazing Selling Machine event. Hung out with some friends in Austin, and decided definitely on which apartment to stay in, where we signed the lease shortly after, committing to move in September.

July: Charleston – Maverick Family Freedom, teaching kids and teenagers entrepreneurship and values… probably the most rewarding event of the year for me. You can read all about that one here.

July: Baltimore – stayed with Maverick Adam Summers for a week, and in the process made a great new friend. Also attended Russell Brunson’s and Daegan Smith’s Invisible Funnel Mastermind there, where I learned a lot of cool new marketing strategies.

August: Chicago for Eben Pagan’s Accelerate Event. This merits an entire post in itself, but I never got to it. It was another life changing event for me, both in terms of the business content, and the personal and spiritual growth I experienced there. I got a 3 minute stage spot to present what we were doing with NEXT at the time, here’s the clip:

August: Las Vegas for RSD World Summit. RSD is a big web design client of mine, and Nick Kho (“Papa”) is a good personal friend, so I attend a lot of their events (even though I’m in a happy relationship with Ally and not exactly learning ‘pickup’ lol) … I found it to be a really unique form of personal development from which I benefitted greatly, and made some new friends.

September: moved to Austin with Ally! Lots of furniture assembling and setting up a new life while balancing launching NEXT and other business responsibilities.

September/October: went to Southern California for a couple of weeks shortly after moving to Austin. Stayed with Maverick, and good friend, Damien Zamora of GoMobileSolutions for over a week in Orange County, drove to San Diego for a weekend for the Mind Movies mastermind party, and went up to Santa Barbara for several days for Ontropalooza, which was also a blast where we got to catch up with a lot of friends and Mavericks who were there.

Also went to LA for Yanik’s 40th birthday. This was so fulfilling to watch – not only because of Yanik’s impact on me to date, but even more so just seeing how much impact he has had on so many people. About 40 Mavericks showed up in LA to surprise Yanik, and everyone put together this awesome video for him, even those who couldn’t make it (including Tony Hseih, Sir Richard Branson, and some other business icons) talking about how much they appreciate him and their funniest moments together. It was truly inspiring and heart warming to watch.

October: Maverick Multiplier Retreat in Las Vegas. This was really fun and educational. From meeting Steve Pavlina, to visiting Opportunity Village, to running around Vegas in ‘Kings and Queens’ costumes, this definitely marks a fun and unique memory for 2013. Here’s a quick video recap:

November: held the NEXT Think Tank event here in Austin, for 20 successful young entrepreneurs 25 and under. The weekend was transformational for most attendees, but probably even more so for myself, as it really solidified on a deep, deep level what I am doing in the world. More on this later. Speakers/mentors included: Ryan Deiss, Robert Hirsch, Noah Kagan, Paul Kirchoff, Matt Clark, Josh Lee… and of course our very own Yanik Silver.

We also did some indoor skydiving, which was a first for me and almost everyone there.

Here’s a quick video recap. There’s a more complete one coming soon:

November: Las Vegas, again (3rd time this year! And again, not to party). This time, for a mastermind at Tony Hseih’s home in downtown Vegas, after getting the downtown project tour. Kudos to Nick Kho for putting on this awesome event. Along with John Assaraf, Dave Van Hoose, Tony Hseih, and some other really speakers and entrepreneurs, I spoke there for 15 minutes with a focus on web design and conversions.

Presenting on Web Design At Tony Hseih’s place in downtown Vegas

A couple of NEXT Members attended too, such as Matej Bester and Larry Yu.

Larry Yu with Tony Hseih, in the “Jungle Room” at his place.

And finally, now I’m going home for the holidays for a couple of weeks to see friends and family and celebrate the New Year 🙂

Outside of travel, here are some other updates, news, and happenings of 2013…

These are mostly chronological, though some are throughout the year:

Maverick CORE Solutions: launched and closed this brand in early 2013. It just wasn’t worked the way we planned, so I rebranded my main services company back to Purpose Inspired Marketing and left the rest of the business model (vendor referral network) on hold, hopefully to be relaunched in 2014.

Scaled and downsized: I hired an operations management team, doubled my design and development team, and doubled my client base and average revenue, and then scaled back down to a leaner, more focused operation all within about 4 months. It’s a long story, but I just felt that I was on a track to successful unhappiness, and putting all my time and energy into something outside of my purpose. This gave me the experience of a larger operation, and then refocused me back on what’s important.

Conceptualized NEXT with Yanik: the couple of months after Underground 9, I was working on a concept for young entrepreneurs. Part of that concept was for higher level, successful young entrepreneurs, which aligned with Yanik’s previous vision for a group called Maverick NEXT. Through some unique synchronisities, we decided to start Maverick NEXT. This was in May, and we spent the next 3 months or so ironing out the concept and getting ready to ‘launch’ it to a small group of select young entrepreneurs.

The big idea behind NEXT: bring together already successful young entrepreneurs 25 and under in an exclusive network where they can lean on each other, Maverick1000 members as mentors, and access a series of transformational events throughout the year and unique entrepreneurial education… all with the overarching goal of helping them each co-create the NEXT, and best, chapter of their entrepreneurial journeys, personal happiness, and impact in the world.

Launched NEXT: In early October, we soft launched NEXT, followed by a unique event for NEXT members and those at their caliber, The NEXT Think Tank in Austin. NEXT has grown to 13 founding members in the past couple of months, and they’re having a great experience so far, with some already seeing significant business growth from the connections and education, and others finally having found a community of people who get them.

Maverick NEXT is really the most exciting thing I’ve worked on in my life, and creating this vision will be the biggest focus of the next 3 years of my life. Not only is it fulfilling for me in a big way, but I also believe it’s the highest impact of anything I could possibly do with my time – because these young entrepreneurs really are the NEXT Generation of Mavericks – poised to transform the world for the better, and have a ripple impact for decades, maybe centuries to come, with what they do.

Personal Development at events: The year of traveling all around the country and the world, experiencing different cultures, learning at all kinds of unique seminars and masterminds, really expanded me intellectual, tactically, and spiritually. From becoming a better leader, better copywriter, better marketer, better manager, to finding my spiritual strength, to raising my cultural awareness, it’s been the most transformational year yet in terms of personal growth. Through all this travel, my personal network has also expanded tremendously, and I’ve cultivated the kind of inner circle that I’ve always wanted – of mentors, peers, friends, and partners.

Despite any current stress of overwhelm, I am probably the happiest I’ve ever been in my life to date. Not just on a surface level, but on a deep, internal spiritual level. And it’s only getting better.

Refocused Purpose Inspired Marketing: I refocused my web design agency as a boutique design firm, working with select clients who are really making a difference in the world with their work. This makes the “service” industry much more meaningful to me, as I feel I am doing a service to the world in serving my clients.

Just this month (December) I hired an awesome operations manager, Amy Derr, to help me run the company, so that we can scale our fulfillment better while I focus on creative direction for our clients, and my other purpose-driven pursuits (mainly NEXT).

Started Revenue Share Partnerships, some successful, some not: While I did some revenue sharing partnerships in 2012 and made a little bit of money, this is the first year I’ve partnered on something that’s actually creating sustainable profits, now and into the future. It’s really exciting and I’ll post more on this later.

At the same time, I had a few partnerships which I thought were going to work out really well, with a lot of profit for all involved, that didn’t do so well. I’ve learned a lot from both experiences, and am better off for it.

Moved to Austin with Ally: This marks the first time Ally and I are living together on our own, and in (my opinion at least) one of the best entrepreneurial cities in the country! Moving was actually very stressful and a bit more expensive than I expected, but the transition really transformed me. The environment here in Austin gives me more energy, clarity, and focus – nothing like what I had living in the northeast. Living together has also really improved my relationship with Ally, and we work well together 🙂

Our apartment is nice, and perfectly placed with the greenbelt (largest nature reserve in Austin) literally in our backyard, we’re a 10 minute drive to downtown, we have a pool, a gym, a business center, and really everything we could want here. The only thing ‘missing’ is the beach, hence the planned move to San Diego in June.

Austin, while feeling like home, is the first among many living destinations for the next 5+ years. Inspired by 4 Hour Work Week, I intend to move to a new place every 6 – 12 months for the next half a decade, to explore the world through cultural immersion, not touristy travel.

Started a new path of personal development… Mind, Body, Spirit: The last couple of months I’ve been exploring a new side of my personal growth – spiritual development. I’ve also realized just how much neglecting my body affects all other areas of my life, including my mental, financial, and spiritual aspects. As such, I’ve committed to a new path of spiritual growth, along with nurturing my body through exercise, great food (thanks to Ally, this is taken care of!), plenty of time in nature, and adequate restful sleep. This sounds easy – but as an entrepreneur workaholic, it’s actually quite difficult for me.

Fortunately, I’ve found myself an amazing spiritual mentor, and martial arts Sensei, who has agreed to work with me – Tristan Truscott of Satori Method. Also a client, I’m really excited to experience his teachings and to be a part of bringing his work to the world.

Part Two Coming Soon…

Clearly it’s been a really transformational year, personally and ‘professionally’ for me… look out for the next part of this post in the next few days, for a summary of my greatest lessons from the past year, and my major goals for 2014.

Thank you!

Have any big milestones yourself this past year – or any cool trips or experiences? Comment below 🙂

A Note On Tribes and Accelerate Presentation

August 9, 2013 by [email protected] Leave a Comment

As a young entrepreneur, it’s lonely on the way up.

There’s a saying: It’s lonely at the top. Sometimes that’s true. When you’re successful, it’s often hard to find people to relate to. You certainly can’t relate to the masses. Most of the people you grew up with aren’t on the same page as you. Your environment just doesn’t push you to be your best.

This is why tribes like Maverick1000, EO, YPO and many mastermind groups exist. It’s not the only reason, but it’s a HUGE driver for their existence.

And while I believe it’s true that it’s lonely at the top, I’ve found this even truer:

It’s even lonelier on the way up.

As a young entrepreneur, your social decisions can dictate your future.

If you hang out with your peers, the ones you grew up with… you know, the ones who think you’re crazy, or amazing, or lucky or whatever. The ones who are partying it up every weekend in college. Or maybe they just got their first jobs after graduation, starting to really live in reality, and just learning to commiserate at the bar after work about their bosses, their hours, and talking about the good old days.

This group WILL NOT DRIVE YOU TO BE YOUR BEST.

They won’t.

In fact, this social structure will hold you back.

But here’s the deal: even if you’re fortunate enough to hangout with other successful entrepreneurs, people doing something significant, most of them are a generation older than you. They’re in a different world. They’re further a long in their journey.

They can be your mentors. You can look up to them. But it’s so hard to develop true friendships with them. To have unique and significant experiences with them. Even to party and celebrate with them.

So what are your choices?

Hangout with a social structure that holds you back, but maybe you have fun with… OR (if you’re fortunate enough) hangout with older entrepreneurs that push you and pull you up, but that might inadvertently rob you of your youthful experiences.

So what do you do?

Fuck both paths.

Don’t get me wrong, have your mentors. Hang out with those successful older entrepreneurs that pull you up.

But to be truly fulfilled in the now and experience the best of your youth while also becoming your best and creating your greatest future, you need to join or form a tribe.

A tribe of young entrepreneurs who are going in the same direction, with aligned values, and common futures.

A couple of years ago I first read Yanik’s 34 Rules For Entrepreneurs, and the rule that hit me most was #29:

“Mastermind and collaborate with other smart entrepreneurs if they have futures that are even bigger than their present.”

Another major lesson I learned from Yanik is the importance of enjoying the present, especially my youth.

Enjoy your youth and create the best future that you possibly can. Make your most meaningful memories while pushing yourself to achieve your greatest goals, purpose, and potential.

Find a tribe or form a tribe that helps you do that. It will probably make the greatest difference in your youth and your future.

And with that, I’m excited to launch a new tribe. A tribe to find and cultivate the Next Generation of Maverick Entrepreneurs. In partnership with Yanik Silver, we’re excited to pre-launch Maverick Next.

We’re only looking for a specific type of person: a young entrepreneur, 25 or younger, who already has a successful business, and who wants to make a significant impact in the world while living a fun, meaningful, and fulfilling life.

If that sounds like you, I invite you to pre-apply here.

Go out and find your tribe, or create it. It make will more difference than you can imagine on your growth, your memories, and your long term success.

Maverick Family Freedom (and more adventures)

July 7, 2013 by [email protected] Leave a Comment

I just got back from the Maverick Family Freedom event. It’s my second year in a row attending and working with the kids there, and I have to say it’s been one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done all year.

This year, in addition to the younger kids setting up their mini-businesses and selling goods throughout the July 4th Celebration, we worked with the older kids (14+) to setup an information product. Within just a few days, they were able to put the product together (including audio and video recording and editing), write the copy, put up a sales letter, a delivery page, designed a logo, setup their social media platforms, and even make their first few sales!

You can check out the product and more of their story here, and support them by buying, liking, or sharing if you feel so inclined 😉

Giving kids entrepreneurial education at this age is priceless, but giving them an actual experience where they setup a business on the fly with some guidance and virtually zero budget, and see them make money with it right away, is a life changing experience for them. They are forever tainted with the entrepreneurial spirit (if they weren’t already from their crazy entrepreneur parents!) and now have the confidence, the skills, and more importantly the belief that they can actually setup a virtual business quickly.

Here’s 3 of the team of 4 working hard on the launch:

And here’s all the Maverick Parents with their kids:

For me, this experience strongly re-affirmed my deep passion for young entrepreneurship, for opening young minds to the possibilities of their own potential and guiding them through the initial hurdles. Every time I hang out with Mavericks is an incredible experience for me, but this has been by far the most fulfilling week of my year.

All of my own anxieties and challenges even seemed to melt away as I worked with this young team. Beyond that, it made me realize (something I’ve known for some time, but easy to forget) that often times the best way to work through your own stress is to make a significant impact for others.

After this week, I know I’ll be putting even more energy and focus than ever before into building support systems and networks for young entrepreneurs at all levels, and eventually a unique incubator. Helping others grow to new heights and open new possibilities can always be profitable and highly leveraged, but the best part is making a difference with every single hour of work and energy that I put into it. This is what I’m doing with my life, and I’m damn excited about it.

Also, we went kayaking, some of the families did water sports (wake boarding, water skiing, etc), and we watched an epic fireworks show from a big military ship in the Port of Charleston.

As I write this, I’m sitting on my friend Adam Summers’ deck in Baltimore. Even just being around Adam’s family and his beautiful home has further re-inspired my entrepreneurial energy. Aside from being one of the country’s best plastic surgeons, Adam is one of those genius entrepreneurs who perfectly balances the creative right brain with the technical left brain, and seems to have mastered both. I have a lot to learn from him.

I’ll be here for another week or so, hanging out with Yanik a bit and then attending a Russell Brunson Mastermind with my business partner Paul Hoffman and some other friends from the Internet marketing world.

By the way, shameless plug: I’ve been working with Paul to market Sculptations. It’s another huge passion of mine, as it marries inspiring music with meditation with personal development; all things that have changed my life in one way or another. I recommend downloading and checking out the free tracks on the site.

Other Adventures:

I know I really have to post more often! Since my last post about my experiences in Asia, I’ve been on a few trips with some really great experiences and transformations. So here’s a quick summary:

Canada

I went to Canada for the first time to celebrate my good friends’ Larry and Perry’s Birthdays. Nothing overly special on this trip, but it was a really fun time with good friends and my first time to the country.

Chicago

Maverick Multiplier Retreat in Chicago: this was epic! Both in terms of the content, the fun, and the transformational experiences. Even more so: the incredible people. I mean it, I think Mavericks are some of the best people on Earth.

Activities included powerful business sessions, Maverick Roller Derby, A Zombie Bar Crawl (really), boating, hotseat and mastermind sessions with startups and non-profits, and seeing the future of 3D technology. Here’s a quick recap video:

My biggest takeaway from the content at Chicago was this:

Austin

After that, I went to Austin with Ally. Ally helped out with event coordination at the Amazing Selling Machine event there (which Sophia managed – Sophia runs an awesome unique company called Maverick Events), while I hung out with all my Austin friends, and was again reminded of how excited I am to move there.

And with that, the big news: I am moving to Austin! Finally. We actually signed the lease and are officially moving in on September 4th. We found a really cool spot where the background goes directly into the greenbelt (the biggest nature reserve in Austin).

Upcoming…

More big news! I am going to attend Eben Pagan’s Accelerate Program in Chicago at the end of this month. I’m super stoked for it. It’s one of the best high level entrepreneur training events in the nation, and I was fortunate enough to win one of the young entrepreneur scholarship tickets (worth $7500 or so), and I know this event will be transformational for my life and business.

After that, I’ll likely drop by RSD World Summit in Vegas. And no, I’m not trying to ‘learn pick up’ but my friend Nick Kho (Papa) runs the company and I actually think their content can be pretty awesome for overall personal development.

What’s NEXT?

And finally, I’m working closely with my mentor Yanik Silver on a new project, where we’ll be creating a tight network of successful young entrepreneurs and helping them accelerate their businesses and live more fulfilling lives through deep peer-to-peer connections, high level ‘Maverick Mentorship,’ and priceless content, events, and experiences.

We’re looking for the NEXT Generation of Maverick Entrepreneurs. If you’re a young entrepreneur 25 and under and you already have your own business running, looking to get to the NEXT Level in business, happiness, and impact, then this might be for you. Stay tuned, or Facebook message me to stay in touch.

This is the most exciting thing I’ve worked on in my life to date, and I can’t wait to share it with you.

Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading, and as always I really appreciate your comments and questions!

My Trip to Asia

April 5, 2013 by [email protected] 1 Comment

[Written first week of April – published late!]

I’ve spent the last two weeks in Asia. I was primarily there for my Purpose Inspired Marketing team retreat, but I also explored a lot around Malaysia and the Philippines, experiencing new cultures, foods, and adventures. It was a really transformational (and fun) trip for me.

I want to share some of my experiences and lessons with you. If you have any questions, please comment below!

Countries visited

Malaysia
Philippines (Boracay, Manila, and Tagaytay)
Singapore (around airport only)
Tokyo (inside airport only)

Experiences

Future Music Festival Asia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (saw Gangham style live)

Toured MindValley officies
(then we had Vishen, Kristina, and other cool MindValley people over our place for drinks)

Went shopping in Chinatown Malaysia

Team retreat in Boracay in one of the most beautiful Villas available there

Mountain Biking with John (crossed goal off list)

Explored different areas of Manila (Chinatown, walked on Intramuros Wall – old spanish war fort, Tagaytay, and more)
Different forms of transportation (tricycle pedicabs, WW2 jeeps as public bus)

Ate a duck embryo (also tried some other new foods like Octopus, Malaysian food, Filipino food and more… but the duck embryo was by far the most unique)

Island hopping and snorkeling off a boat (and drank from a fresh coconut that we bought from a passing salesman on a boat… there was also one selling ice cream!)… we then watched the sunset on the boat ride back from the last beach we visited. It was beautiful!

Visited employees’ homes (thanks to Marvin and Leah and their families for opening up their homes and inviting us)
Learned to ride motorcycle (Thanks Marc!)

Ate traditional Filipino food in a traditional way by hand off a banana leaf (except I used two hands to eat instead of just one!) … Leah’s mother in law cooked a wonderful meal for us and we ate with their family.

Visited the volcano area at Tagaytay and zip-lined

Karaoke rap with Leah and her family and Marvin

Lessons Learned

Overall, it was an unforgettable experience and the team bonding was invaluable.
Coming back, I have a much deeper appreciation for everything I have living in the US, but also a much stronger desire to explore more cultures outside of our own as soon as possible.
While the Philippines is rather developed and I really enjoyed it (and plan on living there for about six months), it’s also noticeably a 3rd world country. Seeing the happiness and strong values in their lives, despite living in what most US Citizens would consider significant poverty, is really inspiring to the human spirit.

I’ve determined that happiness definitely does not depend on your absolute conditions – that there’s always something more and always something less than where you are – and that it’s almost entirely a matter of internal, rather than external, circumstances that creates your happiness.

Also, visiting MindValley was really inspiring in terms of building a company culture and designing a really cool office. I love what Vishen has done there and pull a lot of inspiration from everything they do.

I’m happy to be home – but also can’t wait for my next international exploration and mind opening experience. And also eager to come back to the Philippines and hang out with my team and new friends again, as well as explore the other islands, and eventually the rest of Asia, in an extended trip.

—-

And of course, a HUGE thank you to Nick Kho, CEO of Real Social Dynamics, and a great friend and mentor, for making this trip happen 🙂