Description:
In this solo episode, Matt dives deep into what influences him. The key is what shaped his mindset, attitude and stick to it’ness can be found back in his early 20s (3 decades ago). In those days he was one of those young people that were lost, mad at the world, and just wanted to have fun — and be an artist. But it wasn’t easy and it wasn’t playing out like he’d envisioned or hoped.
But he had something in him… something that drove him to look for those answers to solve the problem. And it all started with a visit to a local bookstore. There he saw a golden book sitting on the shelf that said something about you could grow rich.. thinking. That book would be the first of many books and audio tapes that would over time remap his mind to become more positive and resilient.
Through sharing his story he lands on some lessons that can be applied by you or anyone. Some advice that if you’re ready for it, could change your life or business. If you’re struggling, this could be important listen! Enjoy!
THE MEAT OF IT!
- Intro
- What we’re talking about today..
- Self-Improvement..
- Gets a bad rap and ‘could’ be toxic in some situations
- But in the context of ‘business’.. it’s important.
- There will always be people that don’t like what you do.. or post.
- It’s good to see other perspectives.. the benefit.
- I personally try to be as neutral as possible.
- Why am I talking about this today.. Keep going and daring yourself to do great things.
- Inspired by Doland White episode ..
- How do I keep going ..?
- What you feed your brain.. remaps it.
- When you post something and people have a negative reaction to it..
- Step back and ask ‘why’?
- They are not YOU. They are on a different journey.
- They’ve fed their brain different things.. maybe just on the negative.
- Step back and ask ‘why’?
- How I think is influenced a lot by what I’ve read and studied.
- The way I DECIDed to approach my life.
- The Art of Commitment
- Staying committed to a path.
- Starts 30+ years ago.
- Late teens, early 20s.. a rebellious young man.
- Not respecting the money I had been given ..
- Easy enough to make it all back.
- Struggling to make money..
- Deep down.. I wanted success.
- There had to be something out there ..
- Spending time in the library ..
- What jumped out at me at the bookstore.
- Still have the book – Think and Grow Rich.
- Think and Grow Rich..
- Became my bible .. read it many times.
- Some notes on one of the pages I’d made – “Stake everything on becoming an artist.” Single desire.
- What it taught me about finding ‘your thing’ and creating that burning desire.
- Making that decision and moving in a direction.. not letting anything stop you.
- What you want might have its own time scale.. or when you reach it looks different.
- It made so much sense to me..
- A time in my life when I wasn’t feeling like a winner.
- I was having doubts about art.. and I needed to hear the message this book gave me.
- When it doesn’t work out.. it’s not the approach.. you just haven’t found your right path.
- Other books I’ve read…
- Positive attitude
- Meditation .. letting go. Dealing with stress.
- Studying sales.
- Zig Ziglar
- Tony Robbins
- Immersed me in this..
- Because I didn’t have positive people in my life.. I need to feed things into my brain myself.
- “I Dare You” book .. by Dan Forth
- Reviewing the index .. I dare you to..
- I dare you to share.
- Life’s great principle
- Books major impact on me..
- The people that think self-help is stupid..
- So happy just being who they are?
- An adverse reaction to change
- Accept me for who I am..
- The mentality to continually improve vs.. not.
- Respecting other people’s perspectives
- No effect on me..
- We’re not changing each other's minds..
- The people that think self-help is stupid..
- Big belief in ‘leading by example' ..
- When I set out to build this agency (Unified Web Design)..
- I didn’t question it.
- Trusted my skillset
- I knew I could sell ..
- Agencies are everywhere ..
- If others are doing it, no reason I can’t.
- Taking a path less traveled, net new, innovative VS a path others have succeeded at and you simply spin up your own brand around it.
- Looking around .. how are people money at this thing? I’ll then go do that.
- Checked all the right boxes..
- I’m passionate about it..
- I’m skilled at it..
- Why my success isn’t an accident.
- This is who I am.
- Until something tells you otherwise.. if you do need to pivot.
- “Why don’t you just get a real job..” .
- Do something different..
- Dare yourself to stay on course.
- Dare yourself to do more.
- Dare yourself to do greater things.
- Dare yourself to pick up some skills, learn, and dive in ..
- The skill – starting over. Doing something not knowing everything.
- How I’m comfortable with that..
- I’m not afraid to go into a business not knowing everything
- Example – construction business
- Learned from books ..
- I just figured it out as I went ..
- Next guest ..
- Pick up a book! Don’t be afraid to change and become better.
Check out these related Episodes:
- Episode 66: Joe Matz – 18 Yrs building businesses in Italy & Brazil, Becoming a Business Coach Back Here in the US
- Episode 65: Doland White (Sadie Hawkins Episode) – Interviews Matt about HIS Business!
- Episode 64: Week in the Life of an Agency: Unified Web Design, April 11-15, 2022
Web Developer, WordPress & JavaScript Nerd at Unified Web Design, LLC
Matt is the Founder & Web Designer at Unified Web Design, Owner of UnifiedPlugins.com, blogger at MattLevenhagen.com ( who else would be? 😉 ) AND host of this amazing podcast, The Builders!
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