Tue, 30 December 2014
Jason Surfrapp is an incredible guest that we were very fortunate to have on Build Your Utopia. He was able to build a name for himself as an entrepreneur by being sponsored to wearing branded t-shirts. His motivation for being a successful entrepreneur is to have control and freedom. Who wouldn’t want that for his or her life? Eh? Like many of you reading this, Jason didn’t start with entrepreneur dreams and didn’t even consider being an entrepreneur feasible for a very long time. He followed the common path of going to college, finishing his degree, and getting a corporate job. After joining “corporate America”, he learned fairly quickly that grinding out every day was not for him. He collaborated with a colleague and started up a design company, which allowed him to leave “corporate America”. This business also quickly grossed up to $250K in revenue. Shortly after attaining immediate entrepreneurial success, Jason had a thought. With the popularity of social media, he saw an opportunity to create a new type of advertising on social media. As he was brainstorming this notion, he was staring at his closet and saw about 50 branded shirts and that’s when he had his “Aha!” moment. He realized there could be an opportunity to promote brands on t-shirts on social media. He even took this idea to Seth Godin (inspired to reach out to him because of Seth’s book Purple Cow), who actually responded (in about an hour after an email sent too). Seth responded that he didn’t feel that the idea would fly, which only fueled Jason’s determination to turn this wild idea into a success. So, he started it up and he made $84K his first year selling advertising for $1+ per day for Jason to promote companies by wearing their logos on t-shirts and promoting them on social media. Jason is an advocate for living a life free of.. social media. Yes, although he created a business off social media, he believes in the value of “detoxing” from social media. If you are reading this, you should consider taking a 30 day social media detox. Jason highly recommends it and when he did it, he was able to come up with a gob of business ideas with the extra time and focus. Jason has also become an avid reader since picking up Purple Cow. (he even said in our interview that the last book he read before Purple Cow was Go, Dog, Go) Currently, he’s juggling several books, including: One wise tip that Jason left with Utopians during our interview was to get advice as early as possible, ask for help, and stop trying to figure everything out on your own. Jason feels that if he would have done that sooner, he could have accomplished more sooner. However, at the end of the day, at least learn from your decisions, experiences, and mistakes. Jason’s 3 tips for Utopians include:
I highly recommend listening to the show to hear Jason’s in-depth explanations for the above 3 tips. Don’t miss this show. Thanks again to Jason Surfrapp for being on Build Your Utopia. Jason would personally love for you to reach out to him at Jason@iwearyourshirt.com or his website (where you can join the action army, check it out). As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! |
Fri, 26 December 2014
Today is boxing day! That means go out and find someone to box with some padded gloves on, seriously. Ok, not seriously. Boxing day is actually when servants and tradespeople would receive gifts. On today's episode we reflect on this past week. We were honored to have Honoree Corder on the show. You can listen to her episode here. This week, Josh was also a featured guest on the podcast StartupDadHQ, which you can check out here. In this episode, he tells the complete story for the 1st time ever of how he started up his business in early 2013. Josh then grills Ben about if any of his childhood experiences led to him starting up Build Your Utopia. Honoree Corder had a lot of influences growing up that led her into entrepreneurship. This isn't always the case. Upon review, there really isn't a common "type of person" that goes into entrepreneurship. It doesn't take parents that were entrepreneurs, money, or some of the common beliefs out there in society. In fact, these are all misconceptions. In today's show, Josh and Ben also discuss how at times in corporate cultures, you have to pick up the slack for others, even if you are not getting paid to do so. Ben and Josh both share their own individual stories from their corporate experiences related to this. On a separate note, this past week, Josh was able to complete a certification to become a Certified Funnel Expert with Digital Marketer signed by Ryan Deiss and Frank Kern! (two of the biggest names in digital marketing today) Ben and Josh then jump into discussing the three takeaways that Honoree left with Utopians towards the end of that show. Reflecting back on this week's episode with Honoree, Ben and Josh also share their morning routines with Utopians. See, in this past week's show with Honoree, Honoree shares how she just read Hal Elrod's book Miracle Morning (Hal is a registered future guest too) and one subject discussed in the book is having an effective morning routine. Finally, Ben and Josh wrap up the show discussing alternative diets, specially juicing diets and organic diets. These are diets that both Ben and Josh have participated in and they share their thoughts with Utopians. Thanks for following us and please leave us a review in iTunes, Stitcher, or by leaving a comment at Build Your Utopia. As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! |
Thu, 25 December 2014
We have a special, BONUS episode for you today on Build Your Utopia. Today, Josh and Ben share with you what they are thankful for in celebration of Christmas. To Josh and Ben, Christmas is the time to show gratitude. This has also been a common theme on the show amongst all our guest up to this point. We also want to give thanks to all of our guests that we have been honored enough to have on the show: In pursuing your Utopia, it's very important to have the work-life balance necessary to give your pursuits your best. With that said, enjoy your Christmas and we wish you a Merry Christmas from us to you. As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! |
Tue, 23 December 2014
Today's show was awesome with Honoree Corder who has a long list of accomplishments. She grew up with high-achieving parents whom both had advanced degrees and also had entrepreneurial activities that they participated in. Seeing this growing up, she immediately knew that that was what she was intended to do for her life's purpose. However, she didn't start this way. She started like many of you working for "the man". After several years of grinding away and seeing how others profited from her efforts, she decided to finally embrace her inner purpose. Years later, she now has several books published, a thriving business, and the balanced life that she has worked hard to achieve. When she isn't working, she is spending time with her family, reading books, and learning foreign languages. Building her business and engaging in all the of activities that she loves encompasses her current Utopia. Here are some books that she highly recommends:
Finally, she also left Utopians with 3 powerful takeaways that you'll have to hear more about in the episode.
Plus, she left us a bonus takeaway!
Make sure to listen to the show to hear why these are all recommended by Honoree. We were very honored to have Honoree (that has a ring to it!) and know how much you will love this episode too. Enjoy! Utopian Quote of the Show "It's no good to be making really great progress climbing a ladder that is up against the wrong wall" - Honorée Corder As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!
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Fri, 19 December 2014
Hello Utopians! We have a great show for you today! This past week we spoke with Jenny Olding of Rock Your Lifestyle. She has absolutely accomplished her current Utopia in 2014 with publishing a book, launching her business, and making an impact on the world. In today's episode we discuss all the value bombs that Jenny dropped on Tuesday. Early in the show Josh talks about the value of direct response marketing tactics in the online marketing space and the benefits of injecting your own personality into your businesses branding, if you are a business owner. Ben and Josh also dive into the fears of the risks that pursuing goals feel like, comparing pursuing corporate goals vs. entrepreneurship. No matter what direction you are going in trying to accomplish your professional Utopia, milestones and goals are necessary. Your plan doesn't have to be perfect, just functional. If anything, you should learn from our mistakes of over planning. (which you can hear more about in this episode). During this episode, Josh and Ben also dive into how to choose who you should surround yourself with specific types of people and who you should surround yourself with. Just a few weeks ago, Josh was in Austin, TX with an event by Digital Marketer. During this event, he was privileged enough to be around other high-achievers and entrepreneurs (some very successful), and uses this experience as an example of how it is great to surround yourself with people that are pursuing similar Utopias. Ever hear of facetious behavior? Facetious behavior is how you adapt your behavior around certain groups of people. During the show, Josh and Ben also discuss how people exhibit facetious behavior with different groups of people and different environments. Another strong point discussed in this episode is the value of being true to yourself and blazing your own, unique trail. In Tuesday's show Jenny talks about how she chose not to follow her mom's path and tells us a story between her and her mom about how she told her mom she wasn't going to follow the same footsteps. You also get to find out more about how Ben created his current Utopia, going back to this past week's episode and how creating your own happiness is a product of your decisions. Finally, Ben and Josh also discuss why everyone needs to pursue their own personal paths so they can achieve their Utopias. In the show, we asked you Utopians to leave comments below of stories of when you went on one path that you thought you should go on and then pivoted and decided that you should go down a different road. We want to hear from you! As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! |
Tue, 16 December 2014
Jenny Olding is our guest in this episode of Build Your Utopia. She's truly an inspiration! Jenny is an author, entrepreneur, coach, speaker, and runs Lifestyle Change International. In 2014, she left her full-time secure sales position where she was making more than 6 figures, became a published author, produced several products, has been a speaker at many events, and is soon to be a reality TV star. Make sure you listen to this entire episode, it's awesome. Jenny's Utopia is about living her life to the fullest, which matches one of her brands, Rock Your Lifestyle. She loves to spend time with her family, travel the world, and empower people to get to the next level. She also believes that a Utopia is up for individual interpretation. In this episode she contrasts her Utopia to her parent's Utopia. In this episode, we discuss the power of focusing on your Circle of Influence. (You'll have to listen to the episode to find out more about it) Jenny, Ben, and Josh all share their take on focusing on this life strategy throughout the many challenges of life. Jenny also shares how many people feel that leaving a 6 figure, stable job is crazy. Her story involving her decision to move is truly inspirational. She was fed up in her job mentally. It was impacting other aspects of her life. She had a runway in the form of a savings account built up over the years. She got sick and tired of hearing others complain about their lives. She believed in herself. That's all it took for her to take steps into her entrepreneurial journey. Her boldness was inspired by a childhood story of watching her mother grind it out at a bank, unhappy, as a child. Her mother told her, "you are still young, you will find out", at the time. Jenny committed herself to never staying in a position where she was unhappy and has stayed true to herself ever since. The point in the matter is that "your situation is your own making". (Ben's quote of the show) The power of focusing on gratitude and positivity is unparalleled in poising yourself to achieve your Utopia. It is also so important to focus on positive outcomes instead of negative outcomes. Josh, in particular, shares a story about how he parents his son on "not spilling his cup in the living room" that you will hear in the show. To achieve a Utopia, it takes a lot of work, but you truly do have to focus on having a strong foundation of mind-body fundamentals which consists of diet and exercise. (Taco Bell does not count...listen to the episode to find out what we mean here) It also requires taking action. You can plan all day but plans and outcomes are never perfect. Come up with a plan and move forward to achieve your Utopia. To wrap up the show, Jenny's recommendations for you to achieve your Utopia are:
We were very honored to have Jenny and know that you will truly love this show. As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! |
Fri, 12 December 2014
In today's episode, we discuss whether there is more caffeine in tea vs coffee. Just kidding, that is discussed during the tail end. Actually, we really deep dive into this past week's episode with the awesome guest that we had this week, Dominick Sirianni, VP of Primavera Online High School and the Internet Marketing Association. He represents what Build Your Utopia is all about! Focusing on your passion and working towards achieving your Utopia aka your professional goals. However, when it comes to work-life balance, to Dominick, work is fun. If you hear some of our other successful guest throughout our show, they all share this trait. They all find passion in their work so it is fun, not a chore. If you are floundering in a career that you are not truly happy in, do something about it. Life is too short not to. Work should not be a chore. Being an entrepreneur is tough but if you can seize it, commit to it, work hard at it, and enjoy the journey, it can be very rewarding. In the show, we also discuss how today's culture stresses that everyone has to take the same path that includes graduating high school, graduating from college, and getting a job. There are very little, true, entrepreneurial families that encourage their children to work in your passion and create! It is not that there is anything wrong with completing your education, in today's world it's almost crucial because of the requirements of a college education in a high percentage of careers out there. We also discuss the value of having a high emotional quotient. Dominick's story in the last episode really inspired us to talk further about the value of developing a strong EQ. Finally, we wrap up the show talking about the greatest debate ever that we need your vote on to settle. Ben believes that tea has less caffeine than coffee. Josh believes that coffee and tea have the same caffeine content. Vote in the comments at Build Your Utopia! Ben and Josh have a bet that depends on your vote. Thanks for listening to Build Your Utopia! Come back next week with an energetic, value-packed episode with Jenny Olding, entrepreneur and author! As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! |
Tue, 9 December 2014
Dominick is the great example of an individual who is high-achieving and working towards building a Utopia by working in both a corporate environment and by working at a startup, Internet Marketing Association. He is also a proud husband, father, and a MBA graduate from the University of Phoenix. Formerly he had worked for Chet Holmes and Tony Robbins. For the Internet Marketing Association, he also leads a podcast that you will want to check out if you want to learn more about internet marketing. You can click here to go and check it out. Altogether, he has an incredible resume and background. As a Utopian, the guy is busy! This is why… “If the stool ever gets completely stable, you go insane” is a phrase that Dominick lives by. By having many professional outlets working out, he is living by this phrase. In this show, you will learn from Dominick about how to treat a business partnership, from his past experience that didn’t work out. If you are in entrepreneurship or interested in it, there are some great takeaways from this part of the podcast. Rare to most, Dominick considers his Utopia consisting of less balance and more work. Following Ghandi and other high-achievers, he believes in throwing himself into work. He is well aware that he is 100% not balanced. And that is totally, 110% ok! It's ok to pour yourself into a goal, pursue it, and work. Entrepreneurship, like relationships, is a consistent mental challenge. To Dominick's point, you have to have self-awareness on whether or not outside forces are causing you stress or are you doing it to yourself. In entrepreneurship, you have to take responsibility for the factors in your circle of influence that are impacting your happiness. This rule applies to relationships as well. It comes down to you handle your emotions internally or, in other words, what is your Emotional Quotient? On a final note, the show had a great takeaway for high achievers. Go through the exercise on a consistent basis of what's most important from #1-#3 so you can hone in on what you should be focused on to prevent the feelings of overwhelm, which leads to stress. Great show with Dominick Sirianni! Listen to it and please leave your comments below. Utopian Quote of the Show "I don't look at the time that I'm losing as something that is getting sucked out of me" - Dominick Sirianni As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! |
Fri, 5 December 2014
In today's episode of Build Your Utopia, Josh sings throughout the entire episode! ... Kidding, we wouldn't put you through that pain. Actually, it's a great episode. This week we hosted Michelle Corr, branding expert, entrepreneur, TV/radio show host, and just all-around awesome person. During today's episode, we discuss our thoughts on her Utopia, being able to be location independent and live between three exceptional places Hawaii, Alaska, and Arizona. Also, we talk about the value of having someone in your circle that is a "connector" like Michelle. Whether you are in corporate or on an entrepreneur path, you want to align yourself with successful people. Take Joe Montana.. without Jerry Rice, he wouldn't have been one of the greatest Quarterback in NFL history. Ben, by the way, didn't know who Jerry Rice is! Josh takes some time during this episode to educate him to raise his sports knowledge profile. From there, Josh and Ben discuss Josh's company ICE Accelerate Marketing Automation Services branding referencing Michelle's tips on how to brand effectively. Josh admits this is an area that he knows that he needs to work on in his business. His brand doesn't truly show as much as it could about Josh's character and how it is injected into his company, team, and more. In addition, Josh is in the process of starting a 2nd brand to break off a piece of his company. This will allow him to sell Digital Marketing Services and Infusionsoft, his two core offerings, from two different brands, which has marketing benefits. For the 2nd brand, these are some ideas that Ben and Josh came up with:
Listen to the show to find out how these names came up and let us know which is the best! This is a great show to follow up to an awesome guest that we were honored to have this week. Listen to it, leave us a comment below, and let us know your thoughts on where you would ideally want to live if you worked virtually. Utopian Quote of the Show "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." - Jim Rohn As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!
Direct download: 013_Which_Cities_Am_I_Going_To_Live_In.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am EDT |
Tue, 2 December 2014
Today's episode is an exciting discussion with Michelle Corr of Michelle Corr Media. Michelle has a very intriguing background. She is formerly a TV and Radio show personality and spent time with such stars as Jerry Rice. In fact, she didn't even know who Jerry Rice was until she met him! Crazy! (Ben doesn't know who Jerry Rice is so our radio show partnership has ended as of this writing.... kidding) She now runs a successful branding company through Michelle Corr Media. Her current Utopia consists of traveling between Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii, rough life. Michelle has a rich presence about her that you can feel through her interview. She presents a wealth of knowledge and a overflow of genuine kindness. When it comes to branding, this episode drops a ton of value on how to brand to differentiate you from other businesses. She believes that a businesses' staff's character should be used in a company's branding since customers buy from people, not businesses. She was also candid enough to share with us how she is able to draw the best out of people but has a hard time reflecting on herself during her path to her current Utopia. Someone that was instrumental to her development was Bob Proctor of The Proctor Gallagher Institute. Bob helped Michelle realize that one of her strengths was to connect people and taking it to heart, which she has since brought out in everything she does. This is a characteristic that she has brought to her brand, Michelle Corr Media. Throughout this episode, Michelle shares rich tips on enhancing your brand, so if you are an entrepreneur, wanna-preneur, or solo-preneur, take notes! Like most of you high-achievers, she struggles too with work-life balance and speaks in great detail about how she is able to juggle everything effectively and keep herself at peace. We were very honored to have her on Build Your Utopia. Please leave your comments below on this content-rich episode. Utopian Quote of the Show "Often we don't change until the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change." - Michelle Corr You can find out more about Michelle Corr's current work at her website here. Thanks for listening in. If you haven't yet, go subscribe to our show in iTunes or Stitcher. As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!
Direct download: 012_Interview_with_Michelle_Corr_a_Master_of_Connectivity.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am EDT |
Fri, 28 November 2014
This week on Build Your Utopia, we had an incredible guest in Darieth Chisolm. Her story is truly inspirational. Ben and Josh were both incredibly impacted by her story. More people should take chances like Darieth in improving their lives and creating more time with their loved ones. Love is what makes the world worth living. At the end of the day, the people that you love are the most important attributes of every man and woman's life. Both Ben and Josh share stories were they called their own shots. Ben, for example when he was younger, was thinking about joining the military while he was in high school. The recruiter kept stressing with him that you need to study and go to these pre-ASVAB classes. Ben refused. Ben also stated that he was going to score very well. He called his shot. When he took the ASVAB, he scored amongst the top of testers. The recruiter had nothing more to say. Josh called his shot when he decided in January of 2013 to start his own company. He didn't know what he was in for at the time. All he knew is that there was opportunity and he believed in himself. The rest is history and now ICE Accelerate Marketing Automation Services is now a leading Infusionsoft Certified Consultancy. In addition, Ben and Josh also discuss how challenges drive them. Ben is bored in his role and has just about mastered it at a local Fortune 100 company. Josh is constantly being challenged in business and although it is stressful at times, he loves the challenges his business presents to him. Build Your Utopia has been magnetic with audiences so far! The show has had over 1200 downloads in less than 30 days, which is amazing. This is all thanks to you. The podcast has not been easy at times. Josh and Ben both share some of their own personal challenges that they deal with every week in running a thriving Podcast. Thanks goodness for Automated Processes from ICE Accelerate! Which brings to light just how easy it is, especially with automation driven by software like Infusionsoft, to start up a business now. For our followers, we challenge you to think outside of the box and take advantage of the opportunities in front of you. Listen to the end of the episode to find out some resources that can unlock this goal for yourself. The barriers to start a business have dropped monumentally in today's digital age. On a closing note, all of our successful guests up to this point have talked about having Gratitude. During this week as you spend it with your loved ones, chowing down on Thanksgiving dishes, remember everything that you are thankful for. Not only is this food for the soul but it also fuels the positivity that you create for yourself, giving you your best energy to accomplish wonders. Utopian Quote of the Show "Pen and paper is where the genesis of a business comes in." - Josh Marsden Thanks for listening in. If you haven't yet, go subscribe to our show in iTunes Stitcher. As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! |
Tue, 25 November 2014
Today's episode is on of tremendous heart, commitment, and drive from Darieth Chisolm. Darieth is a truly inspirational guests. She had a successful job working in broadcasting but decided that she had sacrificed far too much time to her career, missing out on her only son's activities, and quit. She was able to match her income with hard work produced success in Wrap It, a network marketing company. After that accomplishment, she decided to start up her own company, write a book, and start up a podcast called Hustle and Heart TV. It was through the love for her son and her purpose that has propelled her from success to success. Josh, as an entrepreneur, can relate to Darieth as a father to his 5 year old son who serves as his #1 motivator to stay the course and overcome the many challenges of entrepreneurship. Josh and Darieth are both great examples of what's possible right now in entrepreneurship. Twenty years ago, it wasn't possible to start up a business with minimal (if any) overhead or to run a company virtually from anywhere! Now it is and as a Utopian, you have a chance to do this, just as much as anyone else. The barriers of entry towards running a business has dropped significantly in the past 5+ years. Both Darieth and Josh agree that one of the hardest challenges is turning the "switch off" when you work from home and run a business. Darieth even turns an alarm clock on to remind her to step away and turn her "switch off". Darieth leans on reading, meditation, and fitness as hobbies in her life that helps her maintain a work-life balance. This is an incredibly, impactful episode of a truly inspirational story. As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! Utopian Quote of the Show "If you get caught up on being perfect, sometimes you never get out of the gate." -Darieth Chisolm
Direct download: 010_Interview_with_Darieth_Chisolm_of_Hustle_And_Heart_TV.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am EDT |
Fri, 21 November 2014
In episode 9 of Build Your Utopia, Josh and Ben dive in by discussing this past week in their personal lives. Ben and Josh both were at a wonderful wedding of Ben's sister-in-law. They both had a blast and had heaps of praise on how the wedding was conducted. Josh in particular really loved the levity of the wedding vs. some of the other stiffer weddings out there, notably Catholic weddings. (Josh is Christian, no knock on Catholicism) This past week was filled with another rock-solid, valuable guest for Utopians, Brandon Epstein of Entrepreneur Fitness. During this episode, Ben and Josh discuss how the episode impacted them and discuss several of the takeaways from that episode. (If you haven't listened to it, go here) Brandon was great, because he was relatable. Ben and Josh both stumbled out of the gates a bit in their early 20s, like Brandon. Brandon's belief in getting into a "flow state" is a challenging subject for both Ben and Josh. Ben, in particular, reflects in this episode on how hard it is for him to get himself into a "flow state" where he can perform his best. However, both can attest that in today's digital age, there are far too many Weapons of Mass Distraction (coined by a movie in the 90s of the same name and a phrase frequently used by John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneur on Fire) In discussing getting into a "flow state", Ben and Josh both share how each gets into their own "flow states". Ben counts on sleep as the #1 factor that gets him into a "flow state". Josh counts on a combination of steady dieting, the right foods, exercise, and sleep as his factors. Going off on a tangent, Josh shares with Utopians his diet while Ben breaks it down and is humored at how crazy it is. (4-5 protein shakes a day!) Diet tip (we are not certified dieticians): Drink 2 glasses of water immediately upon waking up. Option: Try a glass of water with 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and a spoon full of honey. You will be surprised to find out that Wendy's burgers is part of a lunch option for Josh.. listen to the episode to find out more. During this episode, you will hear other tips from Josh that will help you heighten your alert and focus when you wake up. Finally, Ben and Josh also talk about what drinking alcohol responsibly REALLY means when it comes to getting into a "flow state". The key: Greasy Pizza or Mexican Food at 3 AM before you go to bed. Thanks for listening in! Please leave your comments below. As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!
Direct download: 009_I_Dont_Know_When_My_Next_Meal_Is_Coming.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am EDT |
Tue, 18 November 2014
Brandon Epstein is our honored guest on episode 8 of Build Your Utopia. Brandon is a leader in work performance optimization by optimizing emotional and health in his clients. He does this with his specialty in helping people get into a "flow state". He's also the CEO of Entrepreneur Fitness, is a former collegiate athlete, and former fitness model. In college is where he learned how to unlock certain "flow states" to help perform your best in different scenarios. The core principle of "flow" is mind body actualization – this is when your thoughts, your spirit and your mindset are all in complete harmony with your movements, your biology and your physiology. He uses this consistently and effectively to make positive impacts on his client's emotional and personal health. This allows his clients to optimize their minds and body in unison so they can be their best. Brandon wasn't always focused on positive outlets to accomplish his best performance. At one point, he was what he calls a "sicko" drinking coffee all the time and chewing tobacco constantly! His unhealthy addictions led him to a crash, as you can imagine. It was at this low point that he turned to chinese medicine and valuable books in the marketplace that turned around the path that he was on. Starting in business has had it's share of challenges for Brandon. Just over 6 months ago, Brandon didn't know anything about internet marketing! Luckily, he's had a valuable mentor in Jamie Tardy of Eventual Millionaire. With a niche focus, hard work, focus, incredible self-confidence, and by maintaining a strong work-life balance, Brandon has been able to be very successful. This topic had a strong impact on Josh and Ben in this episode. For example, Josh shares with the audience how fitness goals led him to overwhelming himself and not optimizing his emotional, physical, and mental health. Ben shares how he was overwhelmed by volunteering for too many responsibilities at work. Finally, Brandon's 3 impactful takeaways for Utopians are:
This is a great episode with highly valuable content that you won't want to miss. As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!
Direct download: 008_Interview_with_Brandon_Epstein_of_Entrepreneur_Fitness.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am EDT |
Fri, 14 November 2014
In this episode of Build Your Utopia, Ben and Josh discuss this week's episode and review the stellar reviews received on iTunes. Earlier this week, Matt Maszczak of Balance is Bunk was on the show. This episode (listen to it here) did a great job of shining a light on what it is like to be an entrepreneur and how challenging it is to keep a work-life balance. Ben, in particular, really had an affinity for Matt's story (and sort of had a bromance with him since they both have an audio engineering background). Ben and Josh spoke about how Matt stated that life never stays in perfect balance. Also, they discussed how the balance of life is either seen as a pendulum or a scale. Here is what they were trying to break down, there are people that swing back and forth to extremes from working like a madman (or woman) one second to going to the extremes of enjoying life the next. These are people that look at work-life balance as a pendulum. Then, there are people that look at work-life balance as a scale and try to keep everything at a minimum, rarely, if ever, going to the extremes mentioned above. Ben and Josh both agree that they look more at the work-life balance challenge as a pendulum, although their ideas of going "full tilt" for fun are very different. There were several other important (cough, cough) topics that were brought up in the episode:
These topics were discussed in very fascinating (cough, cough) detail. There were also some deep, critical topics discussed in this episode as well:
Ben and Josh also discuss the stellar reviews received on iTunes from the first 10 days of the show. If you are reading this and have left a review, thank you for leaving us such awesome reviews. If you haven't left us a review, head over to iTunes or Stitcher and let us know what you think. Finally, some closing thoughts. Here at Build Your Utopia, we believe that sometimes you have to go "full tilt" to hit your goals. It happens. To achieve something great, you must go the extra mile. However, don't let that happen all the time. With that said, in this episode Josh asks Ben how the entrepreneurial responsibilities have impacted his work-life balance so far. You will be surprised by his response, even with the late nights until 1:30 AM or 3:30 AM working on the show. Thanks again for following the show and listening! If you haven't subscribed to the show, do it now so you never miss an episode. You can subscribe via email to the right or text at the top. As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music!
Direct download: 007_Is_Balance_a_Pendulum_or_a_set_of_Scales.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am EDT |
Tue, 11 November 2014
On this episode of Build Your Utopia, we are delighted to talk to Matt Maszczak of Balance Is Bunk. This is an exciting episode as Matt has an opposite view (although not completely contradictory) to finding a balance between work and life. As an individual with extensive background in audio, sales, and construction, why would Matt leave that behind and start his own company debunking balance? Matt, Josh, and Ben discuss how hard it is to start something new. How do you know when your project is done before you present it to the world? Do you keep woking on it until it is perfect, or do you get out to the world when it is functional? Why would you want to purposefully unbalance your life? Can unbalance also help you build your utopia? Matt, Josh, and Ben talk about the other ways you can be successful. The path of high school to college to job to spouse to house to kids to sending the kids to school isn't the only path you can take. Mike Rowe WORKS is a great example of an alternate path. Matt has taken an impactful lessen from Napoleon Hill's book, Outwitting the Devil. Check out that book and the other's Matt referenced in this episode:
Turn your ear to Matt's interview for some great insight into living life on your own terms and check out Balance Is Bunk to get more of his point of view. As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! Utopian Quote of the Show "Time is the currency we lack most in this world, and it's what I want to be rich in" - Matt Maszczak |
Fri, 7 November 2014
In this episode of Build Your Utopia, Ben Thompson and Josh Marsden review this week's valuable content from John Allen Mollenhauer, an expert in Superfoods and Life Performance Optimization. This week's episode was very, very powerful. If you haven't listened to it, listen to it here. During this episode, we discuss the long list of take-ways from that episode and how we personally feel about some of the wisdom dropped in John's interview. To start, we discussed how hard it is to juggle life when you run a business. As you may know, Josh Marsden, Co-Host of Build Your Utopia, runs ICE Accelerate Marketing Automation Services, a full featured digital marketing agency. Josh started his entrepreneurial journey in late 2012 and discusses how lonely the journey can be at times. If you have any interest in being an entrepreneur, prepare yourself for how alone it can feel at times. However, to quote John's interview "It's our true nature to move forward and not rest." Therefore, it's in our DNA to endure challenges. Loneliness is just one of the many challenges that you face as an entrepreneur. John's personal utopia this week was also very impactful and humbling. Josh and Ben both agree that it's about what you have, not what you want, and appreciating it. Hilariously, this led to a comparison of cars between Josh and Ben that you'll have to listen to that ends with a personal story from Josh on how he ended up purchasing a BMW. (If you want to get the best deal possible on a car, the secret is in the episode.) Next, Josh and Ben break down John's discussion on Performance Addiction. To both hosts, suffering from performance addiction can easily landslid into being negative because of the use of negative-reinforced motivations. Finally, both hosts discuss how the launch of Build Your Utopia went. If you have any interest in starting up a podcast, don't miss it. You'll learn from our mistakes! Thank you for stopping by Build Your Utopia, being a loyal follower, and listening to our show. Our next guest, Matt Maszczak of Balance is Bunk, who offers a startling, conflicting view on a work-life balance. Stay Tuned! Please click here to stop by iTunes, subscribe, and leave a review for our show. As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! |
Tue, 4 November 2014
Today on Build Your Utopia, we had the honor of having John Allen Mollenhauer as our first guest.
For those of you that do not know about John, you are in for a real treat. John is a expert in every definition of the word in Superfoods and Life Optimization.
By definition, Superfoods are nutrient-rich foods that are considered to be beneficial for both health and well-being. John is a great advocate of following a plant-based diet with 80% plants. However, he wasn't always this way.
A former bodybuilder, at one point he was quite the opposite as you can imagine. His current philosophy came from years of abuse on his own body with high protein, highly-supplemented diets that led him to a path of discovery, research, education, and enlightenment.
This new found purpose led him to creating Nutrient Rich, a leader in Superfood Nutrition with a breadth of fantastic Superfood products.
John didn't stop there. He also co-wrote The Curse of the Capable with Dr. Arthur Ciaramicoli, a former instructor at Harvard specializing in clinical psychology. You can check out the book yourself here as well as others mentioned in the episode:
The Curse of the Capable, read in iBooks or Amazon Performance Addiction, read in iBooks or Amazon The Pleasure Trap, read in iBooks or Amazon
Finally, John is also the founder of a leading online program focused on helping others optimize their lifestyles and manage their stress levels through Performance Lifestyle. With Performance Lifestyle, he has been able to bring together leaders in psychology, nutrition, fitness, and more in an online community devoted to helping people just like you achieve and maintain proper work-life balance leading to optimal performance in all areas of life.
John is a truly brilliant leader in this space.
You are going to love learning about:
I know you are going to enjoy this episode just as much as we did.
As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! Utopian Quote of the Show "Live an ideal life, not an idealistic life." - John Allen Mollenhauer
Direct download: 004_Interview_with_John_Allen_Mollenhauer.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am EDT |
Sun, 2 November 2014
In today’s episode, we put our co-host Josh Marsden on the hot seat! You will find out what Josh’s personal Utopia is that he is aiming for, what makes him happy, and why. Like many single hard-working entrepreneurs, Josh is looking for that one person that makes him feel complete. The challenge is finding that one person when you are trying to run a successful company, it takes so much time! Josh loves two Benjamins, for good reasons. Find out what shaped Build Your Utopia’s other half in his early years and the struggles that he saw as a child that molded him to be a money-motivated, success-driven, Type A, hard working, ambitious man. As hard as it was for Josh to share this, he speaks about some of the the fights he saw as a child, how his relationship with his father impacts him today, and what he wants for his son, Benjamin. What you will find here are several examples of how Josh takes negatives throughout his life and turns them into positives. When college didn’t work out the first time, he partied.. POSITIVE. When Josh didn’t have money, he took out credit cards… POSITIVE. When early adulthood didn’t go as planned.. the military came calling… POSITIVE. Which positives are actual positives? Find out in this episode. Finally, if you need a private PLUS college loan, just sign your mother’s name on the loan application. It works.. Turn off the switch of insanity from being plugged into your business or goals, relax, and listen to this show. On a closing note, having too many goals.. can be overwhelming. As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! Utopian Quote of the Show “We all have subjective eyes to a realistic lens” - Josh Marsden |
Sat, 1 November 2014
Why would a successful, top representative at a Fortune 100 company want to start Build Your Utopia, a podcast about identifying and crushing your goals while maintaining your work-life balance? Ben Thompson, co-host of Build Your Utopia, is this guy. Call him the "no" man.. just kidding. He's just not the typically, politically-charged, "yes" man, that you find throughout most corporate crypts.. I mean settings. What does Ben love? What keeps him happy? In this episode all this is shared and more. During this first interview led episode, Ben shares with Utopians what his personal Utopia is. Does he want to live on a beach? Drink mojitos all day? What is Ben's personal Utopia? Find out about Ben's background that led to his current Utopia with his lovely wife, Tahnee. This is the same interview structure that you can expect in our future episodes with some truly remarkable people that we have coming on the show. Finally, find out what you should be looking for in love. Not that we are love doctors... As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! P.S. We recommend the TX-875... Utopian Quote of the Show "Happiness is a frame of mind" - Josh Marsden |
Fri, 31 October 2014
Why did we create Build Your Utopia? Join us for today's very first episode as we discuss with you, our esteemed audience, why we created Build Your Utopia. This process took us several months of hard work, sweat, tears, and labor. However, because it meant so much to us, we didn't sweat it. In fact, we loved it because of how we believe in what the podcast can do for others, what it can inspire you to achieve, and how it can help you overcome the #1 challenge (in our humble opinions) as to why people fail to live fruitful, meaningful, and rich with content lives. What makes this show different from any others is how we are bringing on so many successful and inspirational guests, sometimes multiple guests all at once on the show. The entertainment value is phenomenal when you have multiple people discussing the same topic and we feel that brings something very unique to the podcasting world. You'll also find out in this episode how we created our interview structure, starting with how we came up with our Avatar. No, no, no.. I'm not talking about that great James Cameron flick that made more money than every 3rd world country has combined. C'mon James.. donate! Listen to the show to find out what an Avatar is. Also, one unique fact that you'll find out about the show is how we are creating a show for people born in the 1500s. Say what?! Finally, find out how you can have your voice heard on Build Your Utopia. This show is for you and we want to hear from you. The lineup is very exciting and we can't wait for you to hear our next episodes! Stay Tuned. As always, a special thank you to The Strand for our intro and outro music! Utopian Quote of the Show "Thinking realistically is a self-limiting thought and impedes success" - Josh Marsden
Direct download: 001_Introduction_to_Build_Your_Utopia.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:11am EDT |
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