Personal Improvement: Podcasts – What I Listen To

I recently connected with someone on LinkedIn who is a Life Coach for High-Performing Remote Workers. As part of his getting to know me messages, he asked if I listened to any good podcasts lately. That got me thinking about the regular influence on my thinking of the podcasts I listen to. The more I thought about it, the better the idea to turn it into an article listing what I am listening to and why.

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Downcast for iOS

A little background on my interest in podcasts:

I have listened to podcasts for almost 12 years. Up until the start of this year, I always had a long commute. Whether a 200+ mile daily round trip to Lafayette, Louisiana or a 1,000+ mile round trip driving to Houston, Tx every other week, I had a lot of highway time on my hands. Podcasts allowed me to be entertained and informed, in addition to allowing me to utilize “dead” time for learning.

Podcasts I Listen To

Podcast	Link	Category
Bigger Pockets Podcast	https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcast	Real Estate Investing
Tim Ferris Show	https://tim.blog/podcast/	High Performance
DH Unplugged	https://www.dhunplugged.com/category/podcasts/	Stock Markets
Rich Dad Radio	http://www.richdad.com/radio	Current Affairs/Rich Dad Theory
James Altucher Show	https://jamesaltucher.com/podcasts/	High Performance
Akimbo	https://www.akimbo.me/	Personal, Professional Improvement
Private Lender Podcast	http://privatelenderpodcast.com/	Education on the Subject of Private Lending for Real Estate
Bigger Pockets Money Show	https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshow	F.I.R.E.: Financial Independence, Retire Early
Freakonomics Radio	http://freakonomics.com/archive/	Various Topics

Bigger Pockets Podcast

The Bigger Pockets Podcast helped me to learn a great deal about real estate investing. I have the Bigger Pockets website listed as a resource on this site, but the podcast is an additional tool to learn about REI. Each week, the podcast interviews guests, most real estate investors, sometimes famous authors who provide useful tips for investing, business, and personal improvement, and every once in a while, they will do an occasional webinar-type podcast to educate listeners on a particular topic.

I especially like the investor interviews to get tips, tricks, and strategies that may help me in our REI business.

The Tim Ferriss Show

Tim Ferriss, author of numerous books on increasing performance (4-hour Workweek, Tools of Titans, Tribe of Mentors, etc.), conducts long-form interviews with high-performers across various domains. Even when interviewing guests who have been on EVERY medium you can think of, you always learn things no one else has ever asked. Tim listens to guests’ answers and responds to the answers with deeper questions. He also does extensive research on guests and does not rely on canned press release questions.

I generally like to listen to his interviews because the people he does interview are “Doing It”. They don’t have a theory, they are not selling snake oil, they have done/do whatever they are recommending to increase performance.

DH Unplugged

DH Unplugged is an unscripted conversation about markets between investment advisor Andrew Horowitz and pundit John C. Dvorak.

I like DH Unplugged because they discuss what is going on in the markets and aren’t trying to sell you anything. In fact, they frequently point out how most “Money” shows on cable news channels are always “BUY, BUY, BUY” no matter what is going on.

Rich Dad Radio

Rich Dad Radio is an interview podcast featuring Robert Kyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and his wife, Kim Kiyosaki, author of Rich Woman. The interviews are mainly related to money and economics, (in a broad way), and generally promote Rich Dad, Poor Dad Principles.

In addition to interesting information from guests, it’s fun to listen to Robert interpret the guests’ statements into Rich Dad principles.

James Altucher Show

The James Altucher Show is another long-form interview podcast, similar to the Tim Ferriss Show, that delves into what makes high performers “tick”. Where Ferriss delves into tools, self-talk, and motivation, Altucher focuses a little more on the path to peak performance, teasing out the development of “micro-skills”. Altucher’s overarching thesis on micro-skills is that high performers build up a toolbox of them that help them to succeed. Like Ferriss, Altucher goes far deeper in his interviews than you normally see in regular media.

Because of the depth of detail and wide range of topics covered in each interview, I really enjoy Altucher’s show.

Akimbo

Akimbo is a podcast put out by author and marketing guru Seth Godin. This podcast is a combination of self help and career advice for entrepreneurs. You don’t have to be an entrepreneur to benefit from the topics & advice given, either.

I enjoy the perspectives, suggestions, and tips provided by Godin in this show. I don’t necessarily subscribe to all of his philosophies, but that is OK. It is good to hear different perspectives from your own to allow a balanced understanding of the world.

The Private Lender Podcast

The Private Lender Podcast is a combination of interviews, case histories, and education with regards to the utilization of private lending in real estate investing.

I like learning about the details of the non-financial industry financing.

I actually met Keith Baker, the host, and have become friends with him. He’s a cool and funny guy. Oh, and he LOVES the band Rush!

Bigger Pockets Money Show

As the name indicates, BPMS is another podcast from the group at Bigger Pockets, focusing on F.I.R.E. (Financial Independence, Retire Early). The podcast is in an interview format, covering guests’ stories, tips, and tricks for becoming financially independent.

I like listening to the BPMS to better plan my own “retirement”. It has also led me to resources that allowed me to recognize that I could retire right now and be comfortable from a financial perspective.

I hope this provides you with some insight into resources to use for personal and financial improvement in your life!

And, as always, let me know what you think in the comments. Ask questions, tell your story.

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08-Jan-201927-Jan-2022

Personal Improvement – ‘New Year, Totally New You’ May Not Be The Most Successful Approach

rdj-nynmbs

Another new year!

One of the first trends I noticed for the new year were sarcastic memes about “New Year, New You”…it made me think about why these are popular.

This week we are going to discuss making changes for the new year. Comparing and contrasting the typical approach with what is more likely to be a more successful approach to making changes.

williewonkanynmlastyear

A Totally New You for the New Year!

You realize there are things you don’t like in your life. You decide to change them. These thoughts usually seem to occur at the end of one year or the beginning of the next, hence the popularity of New Year’s Resolutions.

The common approach is to decide to change everything at once. This, in turn, sets you up for failure. Because the volume of things to change is large, it can be hard to figure out where to start in addition to being perceived, mentally, as a tedious task. Because of this, we tend to have little follow-through on these resolutions and end up abandoning them early on due to little demonstrable success.

These are some of the reasons why most people don’t keep up with their New Year’s Resolutions.

I once joined the gym, went on a diet, and decided I was going to get up at 06:00 every morning. This was many years ago…back when I was single. I went to the gym once, then never went back because I felt that if I didn’t get up early to go to the gym, there was no point in going. The diet didn’t even last that long. It was too much for me at the time.

There is a way to be successful at it and achieve your goals.

An additional thought on Resolutions – Many political bodies make resolutions all the time. Most are ignored. And we wonder why we have trouble keeping New Year’s Resolutions! Instead, choose Goals. Goals are attainable. #CandyForYourSubconcious

morpheuspositivechange-new-years-meme-03

The Incremental Approach

The end of the year is a good time to take stock of your life, but you don’t have to wait until then to decide on changes. You can decide on changes at any point. To paraphrase sage advice “The best time to change was in the past. The second-best time to change is NOW!”

The key to making successful changes is to make them incrementally. You don’t start out an exercise program by running 10 miles, doing 500 push-ups, and 20 suicide sets. Start with a small immediate goal. Get that to become routine, then expand it.

By making incremental changes and incorporating them into your routine, they become habit. By becoming habit, they are more likely to turn into permanent changes.

So, instead of joining the gym, going on a diet, and quitting smoking, in addition to taking karate, yoga, and crossfit classes, try one at a time. Build it into your routine. Let it become habit. THEN tackle the next goal.

New Year’s Goals

My New Year’s Goals are as follows:

Spend less time commuting – Since 2012, I commuted from Houma, La. To Lafayette, La. Roughly about a 215 mile roundtrip commute. At the end of last year, I proposed that I start working at the company facility in Houma. My supervisor and his supervisor both approved, so that goal is more or less accomplished.

Spend more time with my family – This will be facilitated by having eliminated my commute.

Do more exercise – Now that I have eliminated the commute, I joined the local Planet Fitness so I can get more exercise.

Find my “New Normal” – With all the changes to my health near the end of last year, I have not adjusted my “drive” to match my “bandwidth”. I am still trying get the medications adjusted and wrap my head around my limitations.

What are your Goals for this year?

And, as always, let me know what you think in the comments. Ask questions, tell your story.

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27-Nov-201827-Jan-2022

Personal Improvement – Gratitude: I am Thankful

For those of you in the USA, I would like to wish you a belated Happy Thanksgiving. We celebrated it last week with a quiet day at home, spending time with family and adding final touches to the Christmas display so we could turn it on Thanksgiving Night.

Gratitude

I am going to assume that a combination of it being Thanksgiving in the US and some smart marketing by @ajjacobs for his new book “Thanks a Thousand – A Gratitude Journey” that made the topic of gratitude continue to appear in my media consumption. From a podcast of Jacobs talking about his inspiration to write his latest book to memes on Facebook, both expressing gratitude and admonishing for expressing gratitude one day, then scrambling for doodads on Black Friday the next.

It got me thinking about how if you truly embrace the idea of gratitude, it helps to relieve stress and anxiety. Where @ajjacobs takes it to the extreme to thank everyone involved in his getting a single cup of coffee in the morning, you don’t have to be that exhaustive.

Be thankful for what you have. Or don’t have. But also remember to not use that as an excuse to stop pursuing your goals.

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What am I grateful for?

My Family. Without my family, I would not be who I am or where I am today. Specifically, my wife. She inspired me to strive to be greater. She inspired me.
My career. I have learned many things that have allowed me to grow outside of my job.
My health. Yes, I have medical issues, but I am luckier than a lot of people. As a benchmark, as morbid as it is, I have lived longer than my father and plan to live longer than my mother and grandparents did.
My friends. They make me laugh and encourage me.

What are you grateful for?

Please comment here on the blog about what you are grateful for. I would like to know.

And, as always, let me know what you think in the comments. Ask questions, tell your story.

If you like my posts, please share them with others and subscribe to this blog.

25-Sep-201827-Jan-2022

Business – Revisiting the E-Myth Revisited

Welcome back! I was talking with Kevin@DeliberateConsulting.com about things we should do differently in our business (disclaimer: Kevin & I are partners/investors, along with others, in a high-end door manufacturing business). One of the things he brought up was that all of the partners should have read Michael Gerber’s “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It” [http://a.co/d/5JhEnwk] before we decided to invest in a business. Kevin also suggested I write a blog post about it and how it can help you in business.

The E-Myth Revisited

emyth

The E-Myth Revisited is a wonderful book that provides guidance for individuals having an “Entrepreneurial Seizure” as the book’s author, Michael Gerber, puts it. It provides a mix of case history, told as an on-going narrative of a client, and guidelines for successfully organizing an entrepreneurial idea into a business operation manual. It tells how you should work ON your business before you work IN your business. AND, your goal should NOT be an employee of your business, doing things yourself.

I’ve mentioned the E-Myth before:

BUSINESS – WE DON’T NEED NO STINKING PROCESSES!…OR DO WE?

MY RESPONSES TO TIM FERRISS’ “TRIBE OF MENTORS” QUESTIONS

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Business Buying, Two Years Post-E. Seizure

I did not read the E-Myth until after we had already purchased the business and were off to the races. I shared it with the other investors, indicating how important it was that we follow its recommendations. Kevin read it and as indicated by the prompt for this post, he feels the same.

Looking back, I have to agree with Kevin. We should all have read the book before deciding to buy a business together. We did not understand how to operate the business. What little “processes” we received from the previous owner were a jumbled bag WTF? and Huh? And, on top of that, the partner directly involved in the business adopted everything wholesale, becoming too mired in the day-to-day to view anything strategically.

This is exactly what the book is designed to avoid. If we had spent more time understanding how the business operated and put in systems & processes to optimize its operation prior to purchase, we would be a lot further ahead.

We are slowly getting things on track and working to bring efficiency to the operation. Only time will tell if we will be successful.

Lessons Learned

Kevin and I are starting to collect lessons learned so we can apply that to future business endeavors, investment advice, and consulting efforts.

Below are some, in no particular order:

Read the E-Myth Revisited
Put together your operating manual
Understand you costs
Create an operating agreement defining who will do what
Stick to your operating agreement
Understand Cash Flow

Please email me, comment below, contact me on LinkedIn, Twitter, or my Facebook page to share your Lessons Learned in operating a business.

And, as always, let me know what you think in the comments. Ask questions, tell your story.

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22-Jul-201827-Jan-2022

Personal Improvement – Books That Have Influenced Me Recently

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Welcome back to another installment of Things I Think About! This week I am going to go over a few books that I have read recently that have had an impact. While some of them cover a mix of topics, to me, they mostly fall into one topic. Because of this, I will break them out by topic and detail the crossover topics, and why I feel that way, for each book I also have them listed separately on my Recommended Books page, HERE.

Business

The E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber

This book speaks to my soul! I “read” the Audible version, (as I do most books due to my 3-hour plus daily commute), recorded by Michael Gerber himself. This book details why a lot of “Entrepreneurs” find themselves overworked, underpaid, and without the ability to grow. It is an interleaved mix of example stories with lessons explaining about each story. The main focus of the book is to explain why developing processes and systems for operating your business will allow you to employ other people to work IN the business so you can work ON the business.

The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

A young Tim Ferriss relates how he figured out how to not be locked into common misconception of the American Dream…go to school, get a good job, work like a slave for 20-30-40 years, then retire at an age where there is a good chance that you will have trouble enjoying life. In the 4-Hour Workweek, he details the concepts of mini-retirements, becoming effective and efficient in whatever you do for work, and ideas for small businesses that require little to no maintenance to support you on an ongoing basis.

Granted, as even pointed out in the book, the goal is not to be able to lay on the beach drinking mai tais, it is to free you up to do the things you want to do, including world travel, learning languages, and/or working with non-profit organizations.

This book also qualifies as a personal Improvement book, because a lot of the recommendations for efficiency and effectiveness while working have helped me to reduce a lot of stress at my main job.

Rich Dad’s Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert Kyosaki

This book breaks out the different classifications of people earning money. ESBI stands for Employees, someone who works for someone else to make money, Self-Employed, a person working for themselves to make money, Business Owners, owning a business & employing other people, and Investors, those who employ their capital to buy assets. It promotes the idea to be either a business owner or, ultimately, an investor, as this usually provides the best returns on time & money.

Personal Improvement

The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday is a devoted Stoic. He has multiple books and a website dedicated to Stoicism. This book is kind of a manual for achievement. I really enjoy it because it basically lays out my philosophy on life. The short version is “Do what you can to change the things you don’t like in your life…Ignore the things you can’t change.” The Obstacle is the Way takes it a step further in that it guides you to figure out how to change either the situation or your thinking about the “things you can’t change”.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki

Robert Kyosaki tells the story of how he grew up a poor kid, but due to the tutelage of a friend’s father, learned to become a businessman. The book is a simple read but puts forth important concepts…assets are only assets if they will make you money, don’t spend foolishly, and educate yourself to grow. There is also a good bit of advice on real estate investment as a vehicle to become wealthy.

Principles by Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio is one of the richest men in the world and got that way by building one of the top hedge fund management companies, Bridgewater Associates. In Principles, he relates his lis life and how he got to where he is, developing his principles for business and personal life as an operating system along the way. This is another Audible entry where the author reads the book to you. It works.

Real Estate Investing

Long Distance Real Estate Investing by David Greene

While I don’t invest in real estate outside of my back yard, (for now), this book is incredibly useful as a guide of how to do things. The methodologies and techniques laid out here will work even in a local market. It’s a mix of strategies, tools, and tips to be successful.

The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner

This book is a thorough primer for anyone wanting to get into rental properties as an investment. It covers everything from finding properties to rehab tips and beyond.

The Book on Managing Rental Properties by Brandon Turner and Heather Turner

Hmmm…the title sounds a bit familiar…YES! This is the follow-up book to The Book on Rental Property Investing. It picks up where the previous book left off and takes a deeper dive into what you need to do to manage properties successfully.

Loopholes of Real Estate Investing by Garrett Sutton, Rich Dad Advisor

Another Audible author read, Loopholes covers the benefits of and hazards to watch out for when investing in real estate. I have probably listened to this book at least 6 times…right up there with the 4-Hour Workweek and The E Myth revisited. Lots of great advice.

And, as always, let me know what you think in the comments. Ask questions, tell your story.

If you like my posts, please share them with others and subscribe to this blog.