Jan 04, 2024
Robert J Miller
Hey, it's Robert J. Miller here, and I’ve put together a succinct list of the 5 lessons I've learned from dishing out over $500,000 on mentors and coaching programs. These are the ones that have helped me on my journey and wanted to share to help cut the learning curve and time behind understanding these key concepts.
After reading dozens of books, I became inspired and something in me told me Robert you MUST write a book and speak on stages!
I was sharing this with a mentor of mine and what he said changed the course of my life forever..
He said…
“That's great. But you’re broke, so why don’t you focus on the thing that makes you the most money first. Given your experience I know you can execute on this one thing first. If you can control the lead flow, you’ll never go broke, you’ll never go hungry, and you won’t have an issue doing your book later.”
While my ambitions were right, it was exactly what I needed to hear. Throughout my career it's been crucial to tackle new objectives, goals and pursue business ventures one step at a time.
It’s led me to take on more because through each business, there are learning lessons and leverage that needs to be created to be able to properly deploy the next thing.
"Think about it, you can have all these big dreams, but you've got to master the basics first. It's like building a house; you need a strong foundation before you add the floors."
When I first started out in entrepreneurship at 18 I sought out everything I could to learn about business, and finance, and probably like you studying day in and day out concepts until it stuck and I was able to teach.
Take Emotions and Time Out of the Equation, Accelerate Learning and Growth.
If I were to attribute my success to one thing it would be this core principle.
I’m a firm believer that YOU ARE your greatest investment!
Investing in oneself is a key driver of success.
The approach is simple: by investing in your education and growth, you're not just gaining knowledge; you're also building valuable relationships and condensing your learning curve.
Imagine it like this: every dollar you invest in yourself is like planting a seed that will eventually grow into a strong tree of success.
Here are my top book recommendations for every entrepreneur to read whether they’re starting out or already on the path!
Let's dive into something finance folks might find odd: Assets and Liabilities. See, all assets can turn into liabilities if you're not careful.
I'm talking about you as the entrepreneur.
Don't let your greatest strengths become your greatest limitations.
Too many individuals create an identity in their work and to the skills they develop over time. If you’re the business owner and still doing everything DAY TO DAY, you’ve got it backwards.
It’s probably due to the attachment of the craft, and while you still can exercise that from time to time, a true leader builds the team that builds the company.
Be willing to adapt and evolve your skills, and evaluate your attachments so you can properly elevate to reach your goals, by delegating to your replacement.
In the beginning of my journey I mostly focused on clients getting their result with me… and that was about it.
Didn’t build team culture, didn’t focus on core values and didn’t put a roadmap of targets, kpis and policies to ensure the company grew like my clients did.
Unfortunately, I had some bad partnerships along the way because I didn’t focus on making sure the alignment of core values was there!
In fact once we started reaching levels of success, these were the issues argued about the most, rather than the actual mechanics and operations of the business.
Part of this is personal development of the parties involved, which really boils down to alignment.
My Core Values now are a clear indication of how I and my team chooses to operate…
- Trust and integrity in all areas
- Proactive not reactive
- Show me don’t tell me
- Extreme ownership, no bullshit
- Nobody is above the team.
When the standards are high people typically self-select out if they somehow squeezed through in the first place.
If you just hire your buddy or family member because it’s easy, it’ll cost you a fortune, and perhaps you may lose those relationships for good.
Remember, it's not about loyalty; it's about growth. We’re a team, not a family. Surround yourself with people who push you beyond your limits.
This one is pretty straight forward…
But you need to be EXTREMELY adamant about adopting this philosophy.
It’s served me in everything i do and that is to look at making decisions about EVERYTHING as binary.
EXTREME ownership for everything you do and DON’T do.Here are some questions I ask myself and others to ensure we are assuming responsibility.
In business…
“Are you braggin’ or complainin’?”
“Whats the 1,3,1? 1 problem your inquiring about, 3 solutions you came up with to solive it, and the best one of those three you think we should proceed with?”
“What I’m hearing is…”
In personal relationships...
“Are you braggin’ or complainin’?”, just kidding
“Hey I take full responsibility for that, I should’ve known; or…“I apologize and take full responsibility for that.” (Even if its not my fault at all, it happened in my environment and I must keep this tight)
The way I see it is we have two options; 1) keep harping on thus problem, or 2) we come up with solutions and creative ways to solve it.
You are responsible for everything in your life, and if your life currently sucks, then take ownership of it.
It’s better to have a sucky life that you’re in control of than one that is decided by others.
That mindset will help you compound the actions overtime because you can create the life you want!
Your life and business are intertwined. Don't settle for less than you deserve; change starts with you.