GREATNESS Is The MOTTO!!! -An In Depth Look Into The Mind of Tony Gaskins Jr.

THE best part about typing, is that you can never actually be speechless, but if you asked me to tell you about this interview with Mr. Tony Gaskins Jr, that's exactly what I'd be...speechless! I started out with a clean sheet, and 10 of the best questions I could possibly think of, what I ended up with was something reminiscent of a college student’s notepad, that was about 2 days away from double major midterms. The amount of notes that I took, the different shades of highlighters, and the pure scribble that only I will ever understand is a testament to the respect, and humility that I have for Mr. Tony Gaskins Jr. I can confidently say that THIS INTERVIEW WILL CHANGE SOMEONE’S LIFE. I no longer believe that it’s a rare thing to find someone who is successful, that is willing to share all that they know. What I believe in turn is that the “successful” people of the world are an open book, as long as their time is invested, not wasted.

Tony Gaskins invests in people. I knew that this interview would be not only a blessing to everyone that listened in, but something that I hope you can listen to and from that point on, it becomes a single point of reference for the moment that you knew your life changed: that’s how powerful this interview is. I envisioned the whole thing, and from the moment that I was able to get in contact with Tony, it was evident that we were going to mesh well together. We literally talked about EVERYTHING! I mean we covered relationships and what women mistakenly look for, we talked about Mr. Gaskin’s “3-F” philosophy, and we also spoke in depth about entrepreneurship while actively working on a relationship. You can literally take your pick from different topics, and match them with something that you’re going through personally, and I think we addressed it.

While you listen to this interview, I urge you not to listen to find out about Tony, but listen to find out how this interview can help you in whatever area that you’re currently not feeling as if you’re living up to the potential that GOD has for you. At the end of the day, there may or not be something burning inside of you, chances are, however that if you’re on this site, there’s a “next level” that you want to reach. I believe this interview can point you in the right direction, or at the very least help to suggest key steps, and a thought process that you can start implementing immediately to fuel you towards your dreams and goals. I am honored to present to you Mr. Tony Gaskins Jr.




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The Learning Curve- Howard Jean Teaches How To "Be The CEO Of You"

Often the focus for business and entrepreneurship is focused on the hard work, the sacrifice, and “the grind” so to speak, while I ABSOLUTELY love those aspects, I have to be honest, if I only focused on the hard work, I’d be doing you and myself a disservice. So what’s the other part you ask? It’s education. The sorry excuse that a dreamer will give you sounds like this: “Well Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, etc… didn’t go to college, I don’t need it either” and to a point, you may be correct, but for the record, here’s my official stance: In anything you do, you’re going to need to learn the ropes, and you can either learn the easy way, or the hard way… It’s completely up to you.

When I reached out to the incomparable Mr. Howard Jean, I knew that I was reaching out to someone that lives up to his title of “EDUCATION REFORM LEADER” on a daily basis, but I had no idea how engaging, how approachable, and how positively insightful he would be. We all know that politics and education can be a “touchy” conversation, but this was the complete opposite. I want you to get ready for one of the most impactful interviews that seamlessly crossed the lines between education and entrepreneurship, politics, and music, and still manages to be fully loaded with motivation, inspiration, and FLAT OUT KNOWLEDGE.

Howard Jean, is an educator whose sincerity and passion to his craft has opened countless doors, for himself and those that he works with. What I’ve found most impressive is that he knows that the opened door for “him and his” isn’t enough. He works tirelessly to give back to students of all ages, while spreading the message of education, and showing the living proof, that with the proper education and work ethic, you not only afford yourself the choice to work in any area, for any company that you choose, but you can also be an amazingly successful entrepreneur as well. My personal goal with this interview is that you are able to make a decision if you’re on the fence about returning to school or not, and that you’re able to “pull the trigger” if you’re looking to get started in the roller coaster world of entrepreneurship. Howard Jean is proof that with the proper education, mindset, and work ethic, there is nothing that you can’t do…VERY WELL.




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ARE YOU IN A ZONE? -How To Seperate Your Month To Maximize Profits

There’s an ever growing debate on the most popular colors for branding your company and your logo, rather it’s blue, red or purple the color of your logo, and layout is almost as important as what your company actually does. However, that’s a topic we aren’t going to attempt to tackle right now, after all, I’m no where near an expert in advertising. I’ve had several people recently ask me how I have worked my businesses in the past, and I really had to think about it because it’s been second nature to me for a while now. So I thought about it and realized that from my time in sales, real estate, network marketing or even currently in my experience and opinion, the system for success has always been the same, and…I’m going to share it with you! Now by no means do I consider this to be the only way to work your business, or the “gospel” of success, it’s merely what works for me. So here’s what I want you to do… grab a pen, a fresh sheet of paper and separate it into 3 spaces. And we’re going to talk about the “zones” that you can work your business.

White Zone:
No matter what business you’re in, it will be unsuccessful if no one knows who you are, or what you offer. That being said for the first 10 days of every month, I’d make it a point to contact (for the sake of numbers) 50 new people. In your case it may be companies, customers or whatever the case may be, but imagine how much buzz you could create if you were in talks with 50 BRAND NEW PROSPECTS! I mean old school hitting the phones which I know some of you are scared of, but honestly, if you’re not STILL cold-calling, and/or getting in front of people live to build your brand, then you’re falling behind. Now when we’re contacting people the goal is NOT to seal the deal, it’s to set the appointment, to book the meeting, to get on someone’s calendar., it’s to “peak interest” This will give you a solid base to work with for the rest of the month. Don’t make the number something you know you won’t reach, but make it just a stretch past comfortable and a step below impossible!

Blue Zone:
Now that you’ve spent time getting in front of people, and booking your calendar, The NEXT 10 DAYS on your calendar are strictly for meetings, The first thing that I want you to notice is that this part obviously won’t work if you haven’t worked your “white zone” effectively. Secondly, depending on what type of business you have these meetings aren’t necessarily to “seal the deal” either, the goals of the meeting, or presentation or “pitch” are to do 2 things, assess need, and present value. I’ll do something on sales later, but any sales professional worth their weight in commission will tell you that sales is nothing but identifying a need, and providing adequate value to fill that need. Imagine you’ve made 50-75 calls, and now in the second part of the month you have 6 (managing your expectations) SOLID and legit meetings where you can confidently present YOURSELF, and what you do to potential partners. You might not leave with the check, or the contract, but you’ve positioned yourself and your solutions in their mind, and if you’re smart, you’ve booked a follow up or “next steps” meeting. This is major.

The “BLUE ZONE” is important because this is when you’ll be tested, often your potential clients or customers will do their research on you, negotiate prices, shop you to the competition for a better deal, and even evaluate if they really have a need. Your job is to be on top of your game and identify as many OBJECTIONS that the client may have so that there are no unexpected surprises coming GREEN ZONE! Okay, don’t want to get into too many of the sales nuggets… so… let’s continue!

GREEN ZONE:
The last ten days of the month are green! This is where you follow up with your customers and seal the deal, get the contract, cash the check…etc (sorry, I get carried away at this part) Now out of those initial calls, there may have only been 6-7 meetings, and you may only close 1-2 deals, that’s not the point, what I want you to focus on is the idea that you have to grow your client base. Hewlett Packard, Zerox, or even Office Max wasn’t always a household name, but because they built their customer base one company at a time, there aren’t many people that don’t know about what it is that they do. These last ten days should be full of your follow up meetings, conference calls to finalize negotiations, and setting your sights on the next 10 days which put you back in the white zone.

I hope you’re able to see how these zones all work together to create a nice pipeline for your business, the colors of the zones are unimportant, you can name them egg, chicken and dinner if you want, but I absolutely challenge you to use this system if you’re looking for a new way to drive more business. There’s nothing worse than running around with your head cut off, and being reactionary with your money! (I mean business) Face it, your business is your money, and I was always told that if your calendar is empty… so is your wallet! We all have someone depending on us to get it right, and produce at a high level, and I sincerely hope this will allow you to become more productive, and more importantly; guard your time so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labor!!!

-Oh and before I go, no..I didn’t come up with this all by myself! As much as I’d like to take credit for this one, I’m just sharing what I learned and what has worked effectively for me for years!

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If You Have A "BIG BUT" Haunting You, Lynn Can Help!

It’s not every day that you get to hear from someone that has given their absolute all to their craft. What I admire most about the incomparable Lynn Zettler, is that not only is she at the top of her game, but she is a stickler for the details. During our conversation, Lynn methodically listed and talked in depth about the steps that she took while making the decision to step away from corporate America and launch what has become one of the most successful careers as a life-coach and motivational speaker that we have seen in a long time.

Lynn wears many hats, as an entrepreneur, business coach, author, wife and mother; it’s completely safe to say that Lynn’s brand of Life Action Coaching brings a well needed air of “completeness” to the industry. Rather it’s her personal and corporate coaching, or her team’s unique “ACTION CIRCLES”, or my personal favorite her “BIG BUT BOOTCAMP” Lynn completely dedicates herself, and pours every ounce of energy that she has into her clients. Now some would say that you’re supposed to give your all, you’re supposed to work hard, supposed to be dedicated, sounds like common sense right? Well, ask yourself this; How many times could you have worked just a little harder, double checked your work, or put just a little extra effort into a task? Lynn doesn’t miss a beat.

When it comes to motivation, and the all out fear of launching your own business, I’m sure both Lynn and myself always hear the same thing: “BUT, I’m not ready”, “BUT I still have so much to learn”, we’ve even heard “BUT, I don’t have all the money, time or answers”. Well guess what, the amazing Ms. Lynn Zettler has a boot camp just for you, so how about you sit back, listen in and learn how you (yes YOU) can lose your big BUT, and get on the fast track to achieving the dreams and goals that you deserve.



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It's EZ For This VIP To Swim With The Sharks

In what had to be the absolute best and most exciting pitch session to ever air on the ABC television show Shark Tank, Al Nelson brought confidence, charisma, and a strong sense of purpose into the tank. Personally while I was watching the show, just like millions of other people, I quickly noticed 2 things: First, that idea behind EzVIP was nothing short of genius. Second, that Al knew the principles behind the power of negotiations, namely being willing to walk away. After initially turning down an offer that would have required a 45% stake in the company, Al’s preparation, and commitment to his team, company, and principles of success sent the Sharks into a feeding frenzy!

Of course I was sitting in my living room thinking to myself, “I’ve absolutely got to have him stop by and spend some time with us! The intention of this interview is to not only enable us all to learn more about a company that will change the face of night-life around the world, but more importantly to listen to the knowledge that is shared. Al graciously shared his experiences since the show, some of the secrets that he has learned from working with both Daymond John, and Mark Cuban, as well as what’s next for EzVip.

There is so much that can be written as an introduction to this interview, but before you listen, I want you to prepare yourself for what I like to call “SHOTGUN INFORMATION” not in the literal sense, but more like how one answer from this highly successful person can cover so many questions, and concerns about life and the mentality of an entrepreneur. We had a lot of fun during the interview, but my sincere hope for you is that wherever you are in your business today, be it pre-launch, or 3rd year going, that you are able to not only listen and learn, but implement at least one of the nuggets that Al Nelson was fortunate enough to share with us. Grab a pen and a notepad…and press play!



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