For many entrepreneurs who achieve business success early in their lives, repeating that success can be difficult. It’s called the success trap, and in this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain what the success trap is, why it’s difficult to escape, and how you can safely avoid falling into it. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: Why some entrepreneurs eventually go on auto-pilot.How experiencing a crisis can actually be beneficial to an entrepreneur.Why Dan doesn’t take people who are growing and succeeding in their thirties as seriously as people who are growing and succeeding in their sixties.How inheriting wealth can lead to a success trap too.What’s allowed Dan to be fitter, healthier, and more ambitious at 80 than he was at 50. Show Notes: Entrepreneurs who are motivated solely by status will stop once they reach a certain point. You can lack purpose and the motivation to keep growing yet still find it hard to make a change because the money is good. Setbacks can be a wake-up call to reinvent yourself and reclaim your drive. Success is comfortable, while failure is scary, painful, and frustrating. Failures are prompts for new learning. Entrepreneurs who are successful over the long haul have learned how to turn failure into a new form of success. When someone’s successful early in life, it can be difficult to tell how much of that success was due to their capabilities and character and how much of it was simply investment from others. For some, entrepreneurism is a freedom only from where they came from. Status-motivated entrepreneurs are very boring, and usually a bit depressed. Creating wealth is only valuable because it makes you more capable and confident as an entrepreneur. You need resistance in order to grow. Growth has to come from within. For growth-motivated entrepreneurs, the lifestyle that comes with success is just a happy by-product of their drive, not the destination. Ambition isn’t a destination, it’s a capability.

The best entrepreneurs want better teamwork so they can achieve greater success, growth, and freedom within their business. But teamwork is even more important and valuable than that. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the many ways entrepreneurs can take advantage of teamwork, and outline the extraordinary benefits that come with having great teamwork at your company.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:How Dan involves himself less and less with what Strategic Coach® team members are doing.Why Dan doesn’t worry about how team members achieve results.What opportunities open up for entrepreneurs when they rely on team members.The greatest compliment Dan can give a team member.How Dan communicates the goals of a new project.The three questions Dan asks himself every time he gets an idea for a new achievement.Show Notes:The more you work on teamwork, the more you can refine what you’re uniquely good at.It’s useful to think of your entrepreneurial business as a theater production, regardless of what industry you’re in.There’s a vast amount of teamwork happening back stage in theater to make the whole production work.Teamwork on your projects can improve but only if you’re improving too—and providing maximum support to your team members.We are taught from an early age that we have to do the work on our own goals ourselves.Instead of taking on an activity yourself, ask who can do it better than you.At the heart of it, Strategic Coach is designed to get you to think about your thinking.When you decided to become an entrepreneur, you declared to the world that you’re not going to play other people’s games—you’re going to play your own game. By communicating clearly, you leave so much room open for teamwork.Generally, when entrepreneurs have a big possibility and they’re uncertain about it, they get paralyzed.Uncertainty is not a lack of confidence. It’s just a lack of knowledge or information. A lot of entrepreneurs live their lives very certain, but not confident.Don’t try to sell your team on an idea until you’re sold on it yourself.Resources:Unique Ability®Blog: Your Business Is A Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front StageBook: Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin HardyTool: The Impact Filter™The Kolbe A™ Index

Entrepreneurs always want to be moving forward. But sometimes it’s like their feet are stuck to the ground because something is holding them back. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how you can always use friction, the very thing that seems to hold you back, to achieve the next step of your business growth. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:Several types of friction commonly encountered by entrepreneurs.The Four Freedoms that all entrepreneurs are striving for.The difference between obstacles and friction.Why you need other people in order to deal with friction.How control issues can get in an entrepreneur’s way.The real role of an entrepreneur at their company. Show Notes: All entrepreneurs have an overriding purpose. Having friction that you can’t solve is very frustrating. Obstacles don’t have the emotional hit that friction does. You can define friction as anything that stops or slows down progress. The reason entrepreneurs do anything is for freedom. Friction is not something you can work around. When you’re experiencing friction, you don’t have full use of your capabilities. Anytime you venture into new territory, there’s immediately friction. To transform friction, you have to identify it, then face it squarely. Transforming friction is energizing for entrepreneurs. Greater freedom only comes if you have teamwork. Most entrepreneurs have to start as lone individuals. Other people pausing and being indecisive causes friction for entrepreneurs. It’s the job of the entrepreneur to give a vision to their company, but it’s the job of their skilled people to actually turn the vision into reality. Entrepreneurs create value by transforming friction for other people. Boredom means that you’re not looking at the next big friction that you have to transform. At the heart of boredom is the terror of taking the next big step. Resources: Your Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan Sullivan Article: “The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs” Unique Ability® Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy Shannon Waller’s Team Success Podcast

EOS®, the Entrepreneurial Operating System®, was developed by a Strategic Coach® member who envisioned an extension of the Coach Program. Now, EOS and Strategic Coach are on parallel tracks in helping entrepreneurs live their best lives. In this episode, Strategic Coach business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller are joined by EOS Worldwide’s leadership duo, Kelly Knight and Mark O’Donnell, to discuss all the ways entrepreneurs can benefit by taking advantage of both EOS and Coach. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:·     How Mark and Kelly each became involved in EOS.·     What led to EOS being implemented in Strategic Coach.·     How Strategic Coach was pivotal in the development of EOS.·     What’s allowed EOS to scale enormously over the past few years.·     The strategic by-products that came from EOS becoming a franchiser. Show Notes: Roughly 30% of the EOS community is in The Strategic Coach® Program. There is no point in competing in the marketplace. Benefiting from EOS was a very profound shift for Strategic Coach. Being able to conduct sessions virtually has opened up a tremendous opportunity for EOS Implementers®. Today, EOS has over 850 Implementers doing business in 40 countries, and there are quite a few virtual-only EOS Implementers. To get the most out of EOS, everybody at the company has to be using it. Strategic Coach is very much a mindset program. Team members don’t always know that they need to have an entrepreneurial attitude. To connect teamwork and technology, you need coaching. Coaching is to the 21st century what management was to the 20th century. Resources: Traction by Gino Wickman CliftonStrengths® Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy Strategic Coach Team Programs The Experience Transformer®: “Transforming Experiences Into Multipliers” The Team Success Handbook by Shannon Waller The Impact Filter™ Unique Ability® Kolbe Casting Not Hiring by Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes by Morgan Housel The Self-Managing Company by Dan Sullivan Your Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan Sullivan The DIKW Pyramid The Positive Focus®

André Brisson was working as a structural engineer when he decided to start his own engineering company. Like a great many entrepreneurs, André knew he needed to be able to do things his way. In this episode, André shares with business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller how he’s found freedom and business success on his entrepreneurial journey. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:How the company André worked for became a toxic environment for him.What helped André realize that he doesn’t need anyone’s permission.Why André’s opinions aren’t popular in bureaucracies or in politics.André’s biggest challenges in the construction site field.An incredible resource available for entrepreneurs with ADHD. Show Notes: If you want to do things differently, you have to find ways of negotiating with people who oppose you. Entrepreneurial thinking can put other people off because it’s unconventional. Non-entrepreneurs can only rationalize entrepreneurism. Entrepreneurism is about freedom, and money is one of the tools you have to have to gain more freedom. The two types of entrepreneurial freedom are freedom from and freedom to. Personality and behavioral profiles provide a common language. It’s useful for people who are different to recognize that the world wasn’t made with them in mind. Just because something’s been done for a hundred years doesn’t mean it’s applicable right now. Instead of competing with what someone else is doing, innovate something new. People will show up if your message is about them. It’s the check writer who determines whether you’re correct. If you want to find people who are like you, you have to really know who you are.  Resources: Unique Ability® Casting Not Hiring by Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff The Unique EDGE® Workshops for young adults The Impulsive Thinker™ The Impulsive Thinker Podcast ADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer’s World by Thom Hartmann The Positive Focus® The Impact Filter™

What if the key to unlocking your entrepreneurial potential lies in embracing discomfort? In this episode, Associate Coach David Braithwaite shares his inspiring journey from a “rubbish” student to a thriving entrepreneur and coach. Discover how embracing risk, fostering genuine connections, and prioritizing personal growth can transform your business and life. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: Why David never saw the point of school.How David got into financial planning.What prevents people from becoming incredible entrepreneurs.Why David considers products secondary in his work.What entrepreneurs have the freedom to do that others don’t.What people will remember you for.Why David wishes he’d joined Strategic Coach® sooner. Show Notes: David’s entrepreneurial spirit emerged early, with multiple jobs during school despite struggling academically.Traditional education often overlooks the relevance of real-world skills, leaving many feeling disconnected.Risk-taking is essential for entrepreneurial success, yet many entrepreneurs don’t take enough risks.Being an entrepreneur is a career path for people who don’t fit the typical mold.Your interest determines how much effort you’re willing to put into something.Embracing experimentation can lead to valuable insights and breakthroughs in business. Genuine client relationships are built on trust and honesty rather than just selling products.David’s Unique Ability® is communicating complex ideas with empathy and clarity.The definition of community is a group of people who agree to grow together, and community plays a vital role in entrepreneurial success.At Strategic Coach, you’re in a room filled with people who are just like you.Imposter syndrome can indicate you’re in the right environment for growth and learning.Growth and discomfort go hand in hand.People want to learn from other people’s mistakes rather than make their own.Every coach at Strategic Coach is also a client.With business growth comes complexity.When you have the right mindsets, the right behaviors follow. Resources:Learn more about David Braithwaite Unique Ability® Podcast: Shannon Waller’s Team Success Podcast: Inside Strategic Coach Poem: “The Dash” by Linda Ellis Book: The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy Blog: What Is a Self-Managing Company®? Book: The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan Blog: The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs 

What’s the difference between being in charge and being in control? In this episode, Dan Sullivan shares his surprising insights on managing teams and creating a productive work environment, offering practical strategies for empowering team members, fostering independence, and creating a thriving organizational culture. Tune in to discover Dan’s proven approach to entrepreneurial leadership! Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:Why self-managing has to be built in from the very beginning.What gives Dan confidence in his concepts and tools.What people rely on entrepreneurs for as leaders.Why Dan doesn’t intervene when a team member might fail on a project.The difference between leadership and management—and being in charge versus being in control.How Strategic Coach® makes sure their team members don’t get burned out.Why Dan doesn’t even think about anyone who might be competing with Strategic Coach.  Show Notes: The number one skill for having a Self-Managing Company® is profound ignorance. The number one structure is Unique Ability Teamwork®.If you don’t get everyone’s roles right, you won’t get anything else right.It’s hard to correct a mistake you’ve made from the beginning.Confidence in your concepts and team is more crucial than trust.Confidence can come from knowing that you’ll always transform when you fail.A truly Self-Managing Company operates successfully independent of your constant oversight.Giving your team members the freedom to innovate, contribute, and pursue their Unique Ability® is essential to long-term business growth and success.Many entrepreneurs pride themselves on being hands-on with everything that happens at their company, but it’s important to resist the urge to rescue struggling teams.Being hands-off means allowing your team to learn from failures and trusting that they’ll develop problem-solving skills.Trust means that you’re taking a risk, and entrepreneurship is founded on risk.Everything that Strategic Coach needs to be is organized on teamwork.Strategic Coach has great institutional habits and institutional wisdom.In science, the experiment cannot depend upon the experimenter. The same applies to business.Being in control is management; being in charge is leadership.Make sure the little things that have to be there every day are right—the freedoms and supports that allow team members to thrive—and everything else will fall into place.  Resources: Unique Ability® Blog: What Is A Self-Managing Company®? Blog: Your Business Is A Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front Stage Blog: Time Management Strategies For Entrepreneurs (Effective Strategies Only) Blog: Transforming Experiences Into Multipliers

A Free Day™ is a 24-hour period with no work-related activity whatsoever. A great many entrepreneurs struggle with taking true Free Days™. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about The Entrepreneurial Time System®—which consists of Free Days, Focus Days™, and Buffer Days™—and why it’s essential for you to provide structure to your Free Days if you want the greatest business success. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The purpose of each of the three types of days in The Entrepreneurial Time System.Some non-work activities you can use to structure your days.Why it can be much easier to work than to take a day off.Why entrepreneurs are so resistant to taking days off entirely without work.Why you shouldn’t have an unplanned Free Day. Show Notes: You gravitate to the part of your life that has the most structure. Taking a day as if it were a Free Day, but structuring it with activities that are business activities, means that you’re not going to be rejuvenated by the day. You can have a lot of structure to your days even when you’re not working. You can do activities on Free Days that you would never touch on a workday. Structure means that you’ll be supported by things that are already planned. If you have an idea on a Free Day, wait to see if it sticks with you until a workday. It’s a lot easier to set out to write 100 books than to set out to write only one book. An idea that is really great bothers you because it wants to be born into the world. You can still use all your strengths when you’re on a Free Day. Profitability means you’re not only making money, you’re keeping money. Your plans regarding retirement affect how you take your Free Days. Resources: Article: What Free Days Are, And How To Know When You Need Them Perplexity app Article: Your Business Is A Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front Stage The Impact Filter™

In this episode, Shannon Waller interviews Associate Coach Ben Laws, exploring his entrepreneurial journey and insights on self-discovery. Ben shares how intentional structures and relationships have fueled his success across multiple businesses and offers a unique perspective on business, life, and family. Tune in to uncover the mindset that drives impactful entrepreneurship and personal growth! Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: ·     How Strategic Coach®has influenced much of how Ben’s personal life functions.·     What Ben considers to be the ultimate freedom.·     How Ben demonstrated an entrepreneurial attitude at just four years old. ·     The key to Ben’s exponential growth. ·     Why setting out as an entrepreneur didn’t seem that risky to Ben.·     What to do if you’re considering becoming part of the Strategic Coach community. Show Notes Our eyes only see and our ears only hear what our brain is looking for. Forming connections and helping people solve problems are entrepreneurial social skills.  Entrepreneurs seek to innovate and drive change. Business owners try to maintain the status quo. If you name the game, you own the game. The further your company gets from where you started, the greater the risk of diluting what made your company great. Experience is the one thing that can’t be commoditized. Entrepreneurs are always discovering who they want to be. There’s no greater call to loving your neighbor than being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are always being challenged. Entrepreneurs are exponentially more self-aware than other people.  People often think that life is happening to them rather than for them. As an entrepreneur, your number one job is to protect your confidence. Resources:Learn more about Ben Laws Unique Ability® Book: The Team Success Handbook by Shannon Waller Book: Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy  Book: The Wealth Of Nations by Adam Smith Perplexity Blog: Time Management Strategies For Entrepreneurs Blog: The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs  Blog: What Is A Self-Managing Company®? The Six Ds Of Exponentials

In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the philosophical and moral foundations of entrepreneurism, tracing its roots from Adam Smith’s theories to present-day insights. They explore the correlation between creating value, self-interest, and moral philosophy, providing valuable insights for entrepreneurs today and proving that entrepreneurship lies at the foundation of a prosperous world. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode: The rewards—financial and otherwise—for being an entrepreneur.The prevalent attitudes in higher education that often stand in opposition to entrepreneurialism.How Dan has used setbacks on his entrepreneurial journey to his advantage.The type of organization you can create when you embrace the entrepreneurial way of thinking.Why bureaucratic environments stifle creativity and limit money-making opportunities. Show Notes: Being an entrepreneur is a very intelligent way of planning out and living your economic life.Many successful individuals are often perceived to be driven by past traumas, but entrepreneurship can simply be a means to pursue your passions and get paid for it. When people within a company feel they can’t be themselves, politicking and bureaucracy take over. When you work with entrepreneurs, you know when they’re happy and you know when they’re not. Entrepreneurial instincts can only take you so far. You also need hard, bankable skills in order to be successful. Entrepreneurism is the only economic forum where you have a direct, interactive relationship with the actual marketplace. The closer you are to understanding why someone is willing to pay for the results your skills produce, the more knowledgeable, capable, and confident you will become. When you use your capabilities to continually create increasing value for others, they’ll continually write you bigger and bigger checks. Every corporation that exists today began with an entrepreneur having a direct relationship with the marketplace. Dan defines two universal entrepreneurial laws: You must depend upon your own capabilities for your financial security and you should not expect any reward unless you’ve first created value. Resources: Unique Ability® Blog: Time Management Strategies For Entrepreneurs (Effective Strategies Only) Book: The Wealth Of Nations by Adam Smith Book: The Theory Of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith Book: The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

In this episode, Dan Sullivan reveals his secret weapon for entrepreneurial success: The Impact Filter™. Learn how this powerful tool can boost your confidence, sharpen your focus, and dramatically increase your productivity. Also, discover how Dan uses it to clarify his thoughts, set intentions, and make decisions rapidly—all while reducing meetings by two-thirds!Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:How Dan Sullivan uses Fast Filters (the “sprint” version of The Impact Filter) to have focused conversations with himself before important events.The importance of being in teamwork with yourself first to enhance collaboration and productivity with others.How the Fast Filter can help you decide which ideas are worth pursuing (and which aren’t).The value of clarifying your thoughts and setting context before meetings, leading to more efficient and productive interactions.Dan’s practice of reviewing five major life goals daily and aligning his actions to support these long-term objectives.Show Notes:Dan uses Fast Filters to have focused conversations with himself before important events, boosting his confidence and intentionality.Engaging in self-conversations can also improve focus and productivity. By defining goals and action steps, you can prioritize tasks, eliminate distractions, and make progress toward your goals.Being in teamwork with yourself leads to better collaboration and productivity with others.It can also lead to more intentional decision making in entrepreneurship. By aligning your thoughts, actions, and goals, you can make informed choices that support your long-term vision.Fast Filters provide mental focus and energy and help you decide which ideas are worth scheduling meetings for.Clarifying thoughts and setting context before meetings leads to more efficient and productive interactions—and reduces the number of meetings you end up having!Dan’s approach has reduced his meetings by two-thirds over the past 10 years.There’s a difference between your “thinking brain” and your “acting brain,” and Coach tools help you get them in teamwork with each other.Focused thinking time directly impacts entrepreneurial success.Fixating on an unpredictable future limits your productivity in the present, similar to being trapped in the past. Resources: PerplexityThe Kolbe A™ IndexThe Impact Filter™

In this episode of Inside Strategic Coach, Shannon and Dan discuss the profound impact of setting context over focusing on content. Renowned for his ability to create powerful contexts in coaching, Dan shares insights on how this approach shapes thinking and decision making among entrepreneurs. Through real-life examples and coaching strategies, they explore how clarity of context not only simplifies complexities but also enhances community building, personal growth, and self-confidence.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The distinction between context and content in coaching and communication.How setting a clear context enhances decision making and clarity.Examples of powerful contextual frameworks in history and technology.The impact of context on community building and personal growth.Practical applications of context-setting in everyday communication.Show Notes:Setting context empowers people to think independently.Context allows you to focus on what’s most important to you rather than conforming to external influences.Content is what is discussed or shared, while context defines why it matters and how it relates to personal experience.Dan offers the example of Steve Jobs, whose ability to redefine contexts, such as with iTunes, simplified music consumption.Context also simplifies decision making and reduces mental clutter by providing a clear framework for action.Context ensures clarity in communication by explaining the purpose or relevance of information.Community building and productive conversations are a natural result of context-setting.Macro contexts, like demographic shifts and geopolitical factors, significantly impact daily experiences, such as economic decisions made at grocery stores or reactions to political messaging.Demographic shifts, such as the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation, are altering economic landscapes globally, and understanding demographic changes can help anticipate shifts in consumer behavior, workforce dynamics, and economic policies.Understanding both these contexts helps individuals and businesses navigate uncertainties and make informed decisions that align with broader trends and changes.Thinking about your thinking and focusing on context leads to more confidence and independence in all areas of your life.Contextual understanding also empowers people to resist manipulation and make informed decisions. Resources: Unique Ability®The Strategy Circle®The CliftonStrengths® AssessmentThe Entrepreneur’s Guide To Time Management

In this episode of Inside Strategic Coach, Shannon Waller interviews Colleen Bowler, a Strategic Coach Associate Coach with over 20 years of experience. Colleen shares her journey from an early entrepreneurial mindset, influenced by her family, to becoming a leader in the financial planning industry. They discuss Colleen’s current company, C&J Innovations, and her leadership in the industry, as well as her passion project, Generous Kids. Tune in to learn how Colleen’s early entrepreneurial mindset shaped her career and the impact of Strategic Coach on her journey.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The power of collaboration and identifying individual strengths in an entrepreneurial journey.Strategies for personal and professional growth, emphasizing continuous learning and development.Insight into building successful firms and the impact of empowering others.Practical examples and applications of concepts such as Unique Ability® and strategic growth.The importance of quick assessments in empowering individuals and advisors for success.Show Notes:Colleen shares her journey and early exposure to an entrepreneurial mindset, emphasizing the value of hard work, earning opportunities, and the importance of translating this mindset two her own parenting.She also highlights the importance of systematizing the predictable to focus on connecting with clients—a key strength for entrepreneurs. Colleen explains how she built a top financial planning firm by empowering her team and avoiding the “I” mentality, instead using “we” to serve clients.Colleen talks about how Strategic Coach® helped her achieve real work-life balance, going from not taking any time off to taking a week’s vacation within two years.Colleen referred 10 people to Strategic Coach before even qualifying herself because she saw how the Program helped people achieve an extraordinary quality of life.One thing that makes Strategic Coach workshops so valuable is that they’re led by other entrepreneurs who understand firsthand the challenges members face.Colleen highlights the value of being around like-minded people and getting her “butt in the chair” every quarter for creativity and growth.Colleen talks about selling her firm and starting her new venture, C&J Innovations, where she creates assessments for financial advisors.These assessments help advisors align with clients’ future goals and mindsets for better relationships and growth.She also promotes her passion project Generous Kids, teaching the habit of giving to children. Resources:Learn More about Colleen BowlerThe Experience Transformer®More about ColleenC&J InnovationsUnique Ability®

For 35 years now, The Strategic Coach® Program has been helping entrepreneurs to achieve business success and business growth while living happy lives. But Dan Sullivan didn’t set out to create a program for entrepreneurs. He set out to create a thinking program, and entrepreneurs are the ones who took to it the most. In this episode, Dan talks with fellow business coach Shannon Waller about the genesis of Strategic Coach® and why it works so well for entrepreneurs. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The learning experience created by others that’s had the most influence on Dan’s thinking today.The ways of thinking on which Dan based The Strategic Coach Program.How constantly growing in capability and confidence protects you from worrying about the future.What lets Dan know he’s created a timeless thinking tool.Where all Strategic Coach thinking tools come from.Show Notes: The entrepreneurial game will continue for as long as you’re up to it. Each person can take the actual experiences of their daily life and develop them into knowledge. The challenges you face each day are sufficient to create a lifetime learning program. It’s easier to get things created and produced these days than it was in the old days. Entrepreneurs have to be learning on a daily basis, while many non-entrepreneurs don’t have to do much learning after they get the job. Some non-entrepreneurs view having to learn new things as a chore, while entrepreneurs see it as an advantage. The bigger the problem and the faster the solution, the bigger the check for the entrepreneur. Strategic Coach clients are never told what they should learn from using a Coach thinking tool. It’s dangerous for an entrepreneur to get bored. Entrepreneurs get punished most heavily for not changing their minds. Entrepreneurs can make greater progress from thinking than people in most other lines of work. As a group, Strategic Coach clients are uniquely confident and feel a unique sense of capability and confidence about the future. Strategic Coach clients make more money and take more free time than a comparable group of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are the only people whose success depends upon being transformative. Strategic Coach clients have a shared language thanks to the Program’s thinking tools. The cause of most entrepreneurial problems is loneliness.Resources: The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs [Article] Unique Ability® Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy The Entrepreneurial Time System®—The Entrepreneur’s Guide To Time Management The Experience Transformer®—Transforming Experiences Into Multipliers [Article] The Impact Filter™

Everyone knows that AI is going to be an increasing factor in business success and business growth, and it’s essential that entrepreneurs are aware of the technology’s limitations as well as its potential. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller speak with special guest, AI expert Evan Ryan, about what’s holding back the productive application of AI and what you can do instead to best take advantage of AI in your organization. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:How to use AI, an intangible, to achieve measurable goals.Where Evan has seen the most success in companies’ use of AI.The first question every executive asks Evan.Ways of thinking that make AI more accessible.Why many people are hesitating to adopt AI in their businesses.Examples of where hesitation to use AI has prevented business growth.Entrepreneur ideas supporting making the change to AI.How to convince people to take a big leap using AI.The way AI disrupts established thinking about budgets.Why the successful use of AI requires a growth mindset. Show Notes: No matter how fast the technology itself moves, it’s as slow as the humans that are adopting it. If a solution works for one person, you know 50% of what it would take to work for 10 people. Humans don’t naturally think in terms of exponentials because nothing in our world really operates exponentially. If you experience sudden growth, and it’s behind you, you can do your own exponentials going forward. If you don’t know where the leadership is, you don’t know where the rest of the organization is. It’s hard for people to grasp intangibles unless they’re conceptually prone, so you need tangible proof of selling an intangible. If software is magic, AI is magic times a million. Something that’s inherently unclear and inherently vague is inherently a little scary. Technology doesn’t become normal until it becomes boring. We have to normalize our way into the future. And that means that you have to start small and get used to it. San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and the media talk about AI like it’s the end times. A lot of what goes on in Silicon Valley is getting people to bet on the bet. They’re not actually betting on the technology. One new capability always introduces new capabilities. That’s a feature of technology. The problems we want to solve are the same. We just keep getting better technology with which to solve them. To grasp future jumps, people need to grasp past jumps. Technology is automated teamwork. AI won’t necessarily replace people, but people who know AI will replace people who don’t. Resources: AI As Your Teammate by Evan Ryan TeammateAI.com The Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy Your Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan Sullivan ChatGPT Perplexity.ai Unique Ability® Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy The Self-Managing Company by Dan Sullivan Article about The Experience Transformer®: “Transforming Experiences Into Multipliers” Article: “What Free Days Are, And How To Know When You Need Them” Deep D.O.S. Innovation by Dan Sullivan

Do you give yourself time to think? Many people don’t. And for entrepreneurs, the stakes are higher because they’re in the marketplace independently. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about why thinking time is so important for business success and how entrepreneurs can get the highest quality thinking time through The Strategic Coach® Program. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:·     Why deep thinking is scary.·     The question that The Strategic Coach Program was based on from the start.·     Why it’s easier to get entrepreneurs thinking about their thinking than most people.·     Why thinking about your thinking is something that has to be consciously learned. Show Notes: Most people only do the kind of thinking done in Strategic Coach® in extreme emergency. Most people engage in three levels of thinking: thinking about things, thinking about other people, and thinking about other people’s thoughts. But there is a fourth level: thinking about your thinking. Higher education is almost entirely based on people who spent their whole lives thinking about somebody else’s thoughts. In any sale, the first thing that people buy is a relationship. There’s only one expert on what progress is going to make a client happy, and that’s the client. Some people don’t think about their thinking because they’re afraid of their thinking. For most people, it’s an unnatural act to think about their thinking. The Strategic Coach Program is about the clients, not the coaches. Instead of thinking about their thinking, most people just engage with whatever the world throws at them during the day, and then watch TV in the evening. Thinking about your thinking means taking agency over what actually goes on in your mind. The more you think about your thinking, the more normal it becomes. The problem is never the problem; the problem is not knowing how to think about the problem. Tightly scheduled entrepreneurs cannot transform themselves.Resources: Thinking About Your Thinking by Dan Sullivan The Dan Sullivan Question by Dan Sullivan Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy Your Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan Sullivan The Impact Filter™ Article: The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs

Podcasting is the future of content. Are you ready to master it? Join Dan Sullivan, Shannon Waller, and industry veteran Paul Colligan as they dive into the business of podcasting, from where it was to where it’s going. With over 20 years of trailblazing experience, Paul shares secrets to podcasting success and the mindsets that separate the amateurs from the pros. Learn how to create a hit show and leverage this booming medium to skyrocket your business influence and growth. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episodeWhat it was like in the early days of podcasting.The factors that led to podcasting becoming what it is today.What entrepreneurs love about podcasting.Dan and Shannon’s early experiences with podcasting.How podcasts let you find people who share your mindset and values.The type of people who are plugged into podcasting.Predictions on the future of podcasts. Show Notes: It takes less than five minutes to submit your podcast to Audible for free. And you’re in the directory less than 10 minutes later. It’s always mindset that stops people from trying something new. The value of the content needs to be understood as greater than its packaging. The best thing about podcasting is the speed of creation. It’s easy to tell when a podcaster is following a script. In a good podcast, you don’t know what the second question will be until you’ve asked the first question. If you try to control the experience of a podcast, you lose the authenticity of the end product. Listeners feel like they have a personal relationship with podcasters. Podcasting has had a profound impact on how politicians speak. People now use the podcast standard for judging all public speaking. Podcasts are only popular in countries where they have cell phones. The only problem with new media is when you treat it like old media. Resources: The Gap and the Gain by Dan Sullivan and Ben HardyPodcast: Podcast Payoffs with Dan Sullivan and Gord VickmanPodcast: 10xTalk with Dan Sullivan and Joe PolishPodcast: Shannon Waller’s Team SuccessThe Team Success Handbook by Shannon WallerAI As Your Teammate by Evan RyanWho Not How by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardydescript.comArticle: “Scary Times” Success Manual: How To Be A Leader When Times Get ToughArticle: Your Business Is A Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front StageThe Positive Focus®Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good by Sarah Lacy

Employment opportunities for people with blue collar skills are going to keep growing. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk to Kenny Chapman, CEO of The Blue Collar Success Group, about his entrepreneurial path and how skilled blue-collar work is going to be much more crucial, popular, and needed going forward. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:How Kenny’s experience in the military led him to becoming an entrepreneur.What The Blue Collar Success Group helps with.How Kenny “leveled up” his self-esteem.The biggest benefits he gets from being in The Strategic Coach® Program.How Kenny used his growth mindset to expand his business and then branch out. Show Notes: In the 1940s, being a plumber was a valued career. Blue-trade industry covers hundreds of different specialized skills. It takes good leadership to have a good company. If you don’t operate an effective, good model, you’re not going to have what you need in order to pay people top of market and above. Mindset drives everything, and clarity drives direction. Identity limits us a lot. You’re much more valuable the more you learn and the more you see. When we hear the word “education,” we’ve automatically trained our brains to think “higher education.” Like colleges, skilled trades are not created equal. Customers complain about price no matter how much it is. So you might as well get customer complaints at a profitable number.Resources:The Blue Collar Success Group Blue Collar Success Laws by Kenny Chapman The Six Dimensions of C.H.A.N.G.E. by Kenny Chapman Visual Thinking by Temple Grandin Kolbe CliftonStrengths® GravyStack The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan The Impact Filter™ Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy Unique Ability®

Every great entrepreneur wants (and deserves) to have a dependable team around them so they can be freed up to develop new ideas and focus on growing their business. But how do you get one? After all, the first question most entrepreneurs ask when they join The StrategicⓇ Program is, “Where do you find such great team members?” In this episode of Inside Strategic Coach, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller finally answer this question in-depth. From identifying and nurturing your team’s areas of Unique AbilityⓇ and creating a positive and collaborative work culture to investing in team members’ growth, Dan and Shannon share everything that makes Strategic CoachⓇ a magnet for skilled and passionate talent—and how your business can become one too. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:  The number one tool necessary for building and maintaining a great team. How to determine if an activity is right for an individual. Why Strategic Coach team members don’t really need to be managed, monitored, or motivated.How Strategic Coach creates an incredible sense of safety for its team members.The two things that team members are looking for.Why you should think of hiring someone as an investment, not a cost.Show Notes: At Strategic Coach, you’re always either winning or learning. There are a lot of Coach tools that support having a great team. Everybody’s on their own unique growth path in terms of who they are and the kind of work they’re most likely to enjoy and excel at. Strategic Coach team members can continually focus their time at work on doing what they’re excited about. The moment someone is hired, Coach invests in learning about who that person is and how they can grow their skills. At Strategic Coach, if something doesn’t work, the system gets blamed, not the individual. The four core values of Strategic Coach (PAGE) are: positive and collaborative teamwork; being alert, curious, responsive, and resourceful; getting results; and providing an excellent first-class experience. Strategic Coach has uniformly very helpful and very positive team members. Some Coach clients have been with the company for 15, 20, 25 years, and so have some team members. The educational system generally disparages successful business people. Almost all Coach team members are directly in contact on a person-to-person level with the company’s clients. A team member can’t be at their best if they don’t feel safe. If you want great team members, you have to be a great entrepreneur. And that also includes being a great person. Great team members who want a bigger future aren’t interested in being with someone who doesn’t have any future. If you’re going to be able to attract and retain the best people out there, you can’t have an entitled attitude.Resources: Unique AbilityⓇ Article: Your Business Is a Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front Stage The Team Success Handbook by Shannon Waller Everyone And Everything Grows by Dan Sullivan Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy

When things need to get done, it doesn’t mean that you, as the entrepreneur, need to do them yourself. In fact, for the best kinds of business growth and business success, you need to do as little as possible. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller share the three rules for having a friction-free future. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The way to achieve more by actually doing less.Why you need to be clear about what you want to be doing.How to determine the minimum you need to do for a goal to be achieved.Why things getting done without your doing them yourself means you’re growing.Show Notes: Strategic Coach has a lot of tools for creating teamwork where other people do work that you don’t like doing. For every task, there’s someone who’s great at it, loves doing it, and finds it energizing to do. There are times in your past where you’ve done a lot, but someone else would have done it if you’d done nothing. Friction is where you’re moving, but you’re being resisted by forces. When a new thing has to be done, ask yourself three questions: Is there any way this can be achieved by me doing nothing? What’s the minimum I have to do for this to be achieved? Is there anyone else who can do my minimum? The more you stick to the three rules, the more gets achieved by things you instigate. Rather than having pride about the things that get done, some entrepreneurs have pride about doing the things that get things done. An entrepreneur is only required for the activities they love doing. Resources: Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy The Impact Filter™ Unique Ability® Article: Your Productivity At Its Best With This Guaranteed Hack

Everything that humans create is done with tools. But the skill level people have for using tools varies drastically. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss why it’s essential to be good at using the tool of language for both thinking and communicating, and share the thinking tools that all entrepreneurs can use for both business success and business growth. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:Why Dan vowed years ago to never again operate his business with receivables.Why you’re never starting from zero.How entrepreneurs can learn what to do in the future by looking at their past.How Strategic Coach® thinking tools improve clients’ lives.Dan’s process for developing and introducing new Strategic Coach thinking tools.Show Notes: One of the reasons to get really good at language is because it gives you the tools for thinking and communicating. If you don’t have the language to think about things, you’re trapped by your emotions. If your language skills aren’t good enough, people can only respond to your emotions. A lot of small businesses stay small because they never really comprehended what entrepreneurship really was. Some things that are impossible can become possible if you change your thinking. Strategic Coach currently has roughly 250 thinking tools in the company’s 35th year. Every quarter, Dan creates three or four new thinking tools. New thinking tools address new things that are happening to entrepreneurs where there isn’t a structure for thinking about it. Questions about the future are tools for instigating a thinking process. You always have to have a bigger and better future to bounce your present off of. In today’s world, ideas and processes have tremendous value.Resources: Total Cash Confidence by Dan Sullivan Article: This Tool Will Help You Make Sense Of The Past AND Take Charge Of Your Future The Impact Filter™Your Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan Sullivan The Transformation Trilogy by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy Article: The Four Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs Everyone And Everything Grows by Dan Sullivan The Positive Focus®The Entrepreneur’s Guide To Time Management

Description:Since 1989, Strategic Coach® has been helping entrepreneurs find greater happiness and business success. In this episode, Gord Vickman and business coach Dan Sullivan talk about how the company has grown over nearly 35 years and how they’re catering to the needs of successful, collaborative entrepreneurs with growth mindsets.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episodeWhat entrepreneurs get out of each of the three Strategic Coach program levels.Why additional program levels were created Why there’s no competition for entrepreneurs in the “Free Zone.”Why Dan considers himself only 50% of the creative team when it comes to innovating new thinking tools.How entrepreneurism is like jazz music. The future of The Free Zone Frontier® Program.Show Notes:Thinking tools enable structured thinking. Strategic Coach thinking tools are all about entrepreneurs thinking about their thinking. Strategic Coach has 240 trademarked thinking tools. And by this time next year, they’ll have 50 patents. A Self-Managing Company® is one where team members manage what already exists, and the entrepreneur creates what’s higher, better, and bigger. A Self-Multiplying Company™ is where individual team members create new productivity, creativity, and profitability in the world. For entrepreneurs in the “Free Zone,” their competition wants to be their customers. Sometimes, your mistakes are your biggest breakthroughs. Strategic Coach’s ideas come from ongoing experimentation with entrepreneurs. All entrepreneurs are outliers. The more thinking tools you have, the more flexible an entrepreneur you are. Intellectual property—copyrights, trademarks, and patents—is backed up by major governments.Resources:The Self-Managing Company by Dan Sullivan

Exciting advances are being made in the area of life extension. Business coach Dan Sullivan, having set a goal for himself in 1987 to live to the age of 156, has been keeping close track of the trends. In this episode, he and Shannon Waller talk about what people should know if they’re interested in living a great life as long as possible. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:Why Dan chose age 156 as his goal.The profound impact Dan’s growth mindset has had on his thinking.The simple thinking exercise that can add decades to your life.Major breakthroughs that have happened in the longevity field.Why longevity is going to be an area of great inequality.Show Notes: The body really pays attention to what your mind is thinking. The majority of Strategic Coach® clients are planning to live to at least 100. Human progress is created out of human aspiration. People’s longevity goals are having an impact on medicine, science, and technology. All the longevity breakthroughs have happened within the last ten years. All of our cells are specialized cells, but they all come from a kind of universal cell. AI can turn one kind of information into another kind of information. There’s a profound mindset change going on in medicine, that all disease is just an aspect of aging. Your chronological age and your biological age can be different. Regeneration is taking what’s healthy and keeping it healthy. Repair is taking what’s damaged and making it healthy again. If enough people want to live longer, as a whole, we’re going to live longer. Resources: My Plan For Living To 156 by Dan Sullivan Unique Ability®

While some people think it’s a good idea to take neutral positions, Dan Sullivan says entrepreneurs need to avoid this. In this episode, he and fellow business coach Shannon Waller discuss the business motivation for always choosing a side.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:Why trying to be neutral doesn’t teach you anything or get you anywhereHow to know your own standards.How Strategic Coach® clients learn about themselves.The way to strengthen your position using opposing views.Show Notes: When you pick a side, you immediately begin learning an enormous amount about the side you’ve chosen and why you’ve chosen it. If you try to be a neutral person, you just disappear because you’re not for anything. A lot of people have very strong opinions about their thinking but have no real foundation or basis for their thinking. The most successful entrepreneurs bet on themselves 100%. You only become successful by making increasingly more successful judgments. Obstacles are the raw material for achieving your goals. Every person is a complete universe of experience and learning. Other people do things for their reasons, not your reasons. You can only have a conversation if you show respect for who the other person is. It’s only if you respect other people’s opinions that you can reverse your own. Emotions come before our thinking. You don’t pick a side out of thinking; you pick a side out of feeling.Resources:The Impact Filter Your Life As A Strategy Circle  The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Time Management  The Communist Manifesto 

At most companies, when something goes wrong, an individual gets the blame. At Strategic Coach®, on the other hand, we ask whether the individual could have been better set up for success. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how the Coach environment is set up so that everyone at the company has the best shot of performing at their best and contributing the greatest value. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The positive change that new Strategic Coach team members can take advantage of.What will cause a new Coach team member to be rejected.Why envy shouldn’t be tolerated in a company culture.The importance of congruency in a company.Why Dan doesn’t want to think about how any of his team members are interacting with clients.Dan’s growth mindset toward his position at Coach.Show Notes:A company can create the structures and the processes where any good person can decide to be a great person. If you trust in your team members, you’ll save yourself a lot of worry. Envious people feel inferior from birth. The ultimate proof that people aren’t envious is that they innovate new things that everybody applauds them for. The outlook that you’re born with is very much subject to the circumstances you’re born into. In all your teamwork interactions, make sure everyone else knows where you’re coming from and what you’re trying to achieve. Team members should be freed up to focus on what they’re uniquely good at and love doing. People who are relaxed and confident can be more creative. If your company does new things, you need people’s creativity. In bureaucracies and large corporations, you’re expected to be very good at doing several things. Resources:Video: Tips For Exceptional Company Performance The Positive Focus® The Transformation Trilogy by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy Unique Ability® The Impact Filter™

Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller cut through the predictions of unlimited business growth. They explain why the cost of four key elements crucial to business success are on the rise. It’s a straightforward conversation about what entrepreneurs should anticipate, and practical steps you can take to navigate the changes ahead.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:Why we’re entering a working person’s market.Why energy is going to be cheap only in the United States.How the four crucial factors influence each other.Show Notes:90% of all transport happens on water. And the cost of water transportation is going through the roof right now.Over the next 25 years, the only place where energy will be guaranteed to be cheap is the United States.The four crucial MELT factors are money, energy, labor, and transportation.The costs of the MELT factors are going to rise over the next 25 years.It’s important to find a way to finance yourself that doesn’t involve debt.You shouldn’t be giving up a lot of your company just to get your growth money or your survival money.The U.S. is going to start using tariffs for foreign-produced goods.We’re now in a period where the whole world is going through the greatest loss of skilled knowledge and skilled know-how in history, and this period will probably continue for another decade.It’s going to get more and more expensive to hire really great people.The last three years have seen the fastest, biggest growth of new industry and new manufacturing in the history of the United States.Entrepreneurs are successful to the degree that they solve the D.O.S.® issues (dangers, opportunities, and strengths) of their client base.Automating what used to be strictly human work is a very slow process.Resources:Deep D.O.S. Innovation by Dan SullivanYour Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan Sullivan

Strategic Coach® has a unique company culture. Only the best team members stay there, and each has unique capabilities and a growth mindset. In this episode, business coaches Shannon Waller and Dan Sullivan explain how other entrepreneurs can go about creating a Coach-like culture in their own organizations.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:Why everyone at Strategic Coach must have a growth mindset.The main value Strategic Coach creates for its entrepreneurial clients.How Dan helps entrepreneurs focus on doing only what they love doing.How Strategic Coach clients get added value from comparing notes with one another.Why many entrepreneurs never get far beyond their own capabilities.A simple way to ensure every meeting is positive and productive.How you know you’re not in competition with anyone.Show Notes:Strategic Coach clients learn in a community where everyone is a successful, talented, and ambitious entrepreneur.Nothing turns a person off more than someone not practicing what they preach.All the thinking tools that Strategic Coach clients master are the same ones that Strategic Coach team members master.Strategic Coach clients use Coach thinking tools to organize both their business and work lives.Strategic Coach clients and Strategic Coach team members advance in their careers in the same way.Strategic Coach clients learn how to have complete congruity between their behind-the-scenes activities and what clients see.The obstacles to your goals are your raw material for achieving them.Quantitative measurements really focus entrepreneurs’ brains.In 2024, Dan Sullivan will have been coaching entrepreneurs for 50 years.An entrepreneur in one part of the world totally understands an entrepreneur in another part of the world.There’s a whole relationship that develops from a coach helping a client think more clearly.Resources:Everyone And Everything Grows by Dan Sullivan — coming December 2023!Who Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin HardyYour Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan SullivanUnique Ability®The Positive Focus®The Entrepreneur’s Guide To Time Management

Entrepreneurs have more to be grateful for than most people who experience business success. In this episode, guest host Gord Vickman and business coach Dan Sullivan share entrepreneur ideas about all there is to appreciate about running your own business.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:How it benefits team members to free up the entrepreneur.A way to start fresh every day.Where all of Dan’s gratitude starts.How to ensure every meeting is positive.The only accurate way to measure progress.How AI has changed the podcast production process.Show Notes:Entrepreneurs tend to be a lot more grateful for their work lives than people who haven’t created their own companies.You can’t be complaining and grateful at the same time.If you’re saying you’re excited about something, it’s implicit in that that you’re grateful for it.Strategic Coach clients use Coach thinking tools in their personal lives as well as their work lives.The entrepreneurial instinct starts before age ten.Entrepreneurially minded people know that money is the key to gaining independence.A lot of entrepreneurs are trying to escape from their beginnings.Negative experiences can be uniquely valuable for you if they lead to course corrections.Everything we’re grateful for is because we appreciate the value of it.If you measure your progress against the ideal, you eliminate all the value of what you’ve achieved.Resources:The Positive Focus®Unique Ability®The Gap and the Gain by Dan Sullivan Strategic PodcastsThe Impact Filter™

Dan Sullivan and guest co-host Gord Vickman explore the innovative conceptswithin the Transformation Trilogy and the collaboration behind their success.Discover the driving force behind Dan’s creation of Who Not How, The Gap And The Gain, and 10x Is Easier Than 2x, as he shares personal anecdotes, inspiration, and insights gained along the way. He also delves into the evolution of these books, their impact on entrepreneurs worldwide, and the invaluable lessons you can apply to your own successful journey.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The people Dan needed to meet in order for these books to happen.How Dan realized his three major market books were a trilogy.Feedback Dan’s gotten from clients about the Transformation Trilogy.Possible plans for more major market books based on Coach concepts.Show Notes:Work always takes the time that’s allotted for it.Life is taking advantage of everything that wasn’t planned.Dan first had the idea for books as something to assist and support what the other Strategic Coach coaches were doing.Recognizing that consumers want to get information very quickly, Dan came up with the 60-minute book format.When Dan was 70, he committed to putting out one book every quarter for the next 25 years.There’s now a 10-person team around Dan on the Strategic Coach quarterly book project.The origin of every Strategic Coach thinking tool is Dan asking entrepreneurs a question about their experience.Everything in the Strategic Coach Program and the way the company is run is a function of equipping people with thinking tools to improve their entrepreneurial life.The number one rule governing the Strategic Coach universe is free Dan up to focus on what he does best.Resources:Who Not How The Gap and the Gain 10x Is Easier than 2xThe Transformation Trilogy

Every entrepreneur would love to go 10x. So what’s holding them back? In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller share the mindset you need to experience major business growth.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The incorrect way that most people interpret 10x.How you can learn about going 10x from looking at your past.Why people are currently experiencing 10x greater growth very easily.How to think of 10x in terms of entrepreneurial freedoms.Show Notes:The world is progressing on the basis of new tools, new technologies, and new opportunities. We’ve all gone 10x many times in our lives. It’s useful for entrepreneurs to look at how they’ve grown within the framework of their entrepreneurial lives. You can look at massive growth as a series of 10x jumps. If you don’t have a deadline for it, it’s only a wish. Entrepreneurs don’t drive themselves crazy with their goals, they drive themselves crazy with their deadlines. Money you make can be good or bad depending on the activity and who is writing you the check. The four entrepreneurial freedoms are freedom of time, money, relationship, and purpose. All entrepreneurs seek the freedom to focus on whatever they want to focus on. Looking ahead doesn’t tell you how to go 10x. Change is a natural part of being an entrepreneur.Resources:10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin HardyThe Four FreedomsThe Self-Managing Company by Dan Sullivan

Entrepreneurs often need to be creative to have a profitable business. What do you do when you aren’t a creative person? In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about the “why” and “how” of imitating other people in order to achieve business success.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:Why we imitate other people’s performance.The reason Dan never attends workshops by other coaches.How real creativity involves grafting.How uses of technology can be a step back instead of a step forward.Show Notes:There are two timeless ways of learning and improving yourself: imitating other people’s performance, and repetition.Humans are the only species that can use their brains to access the uniqueness of other people’s brains.We all imitate other people, whether we like to admit it or not.If you’re creative, and you come across someone who’s more creative, you imitate, but at a certain point, you make it your own.What an imitating person does, and for how long they do it, tells you whether they’re just an imitator or whether they’re creative.If you appreciate someone else’s skills, you can translate them into your own world.Creative people can be polarizing.You create a new capability using vision and obstacles.The combination of two people’s uniqueness creates something brand new.People who imitate but aren’t creative are stealing.In a world of AI imitation, creative people are going to get wildly more creative to differentiate themselves from robots.Resources:Unique Ability®Your Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan Sullivan

A lot of people go to great lengths to always appear busy. But should you really see being busy as a badge of honor? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain why the answer is “no.”Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:What busy people are really after.How busy people are actually wasting energy.How to achieve results more easily using teamwork.Why there’s a real cost for entrepreneurs who are focused on being busy.Show Notes:People try to establish their value by always being busy.Being busy has nothing to do with any kind of results.As results oriented people get better at what they do, they achieve their desired results by being less busy.Depending on the rules you set up in your company, either being busy or achieving results will be rewarded.Busy people see it as dangerous to not be seen on any workday.In large bureaucracies, you get promoted on the basis of your busyness because the organization’s purpose is to be seen as busy.Entrepreneurial companies get connected to the marketplace very quickly.There’s no progress without measurement.Entrepreneurs tend to make for really lousy employees.We’re always ignorant and incapable when we start anything new.Resources:“Geometry” For Staying Cool & Calm by Dan SullivanThe Entrepreneur’s Guide To Time ManagementArticle: Your Business Is A Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front Stage by Shannon WallerThe 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan

There are major differences between regular entrepreneurs and 10x entrepreneurs. Do you know which type you are? In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain what makes someone a 10x entrepreneur and reveal the best things you can do if you are one.‌Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:What you can tell about an entrepreneur by how they talk about their goals.The best types of goals for entrepreneurs to have.What makes an entrepreneur a good fit for The Strategic Coach® Program.The entrepreneur motivation and growth mindset that mean you’ll never stop growing.The question that gives an entrepreneur a bigger future.How to surround yourself with other constantly growing people.Show Notes:Dreams and wishes aren’t measurable, but goals are.‌10x entrepreneurs constantly think, “What we have now is great, but what does it look like when it’s 10x?”‌The reward for going 10x is that you get to do it again.‌10x entrepreneurs aren’t looking for quick fixes; they’re looking to put in the work and time to get to a higher level.‌Over time, you get better at recognizing what’s worth your time and what isn’t.‌Only one out of every 400 entrepreneurs would be a good fit for The Strategic Coach Program.‌Status is a byproduct of capability.‌You only know you have greater capability if you’re getting greater results.‌People who are always striving for greater capability never stop growing.‌A person who is growth-minded might worry about outgrowing someone who isn’t growing.‌What makes a business complicated is the social pressure from outside of you.Resources:The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan‌The Entrepreneur’s Guide To 10x Growth‌The Multiplier Mindset® Podcast‌

Every entrepreneur should expect surprises because surprises are a part of reality. How you respond to them is key to whether you’re a happy, successful entrepreneur. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how entrepreneurs can use both good and bad surprises for business success and business growth.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:Why really successful entrepreneurs don’t care if a surprise is good or bad.How bad surprises can turn into good surprises.What happens to people who try to make the future free of surprises.The best way to respond to good surprises.The best mindset to have when it comes to bad surprises.Show Notes:Being taken by surprise means nothing you were preparing for, or nothing you expected to happen, actually happened.You can do different things with a good surprise than you can with a bad surprise, and vice versa.More clearly than almost anything else, surprises tell you what kind of person you are.With bad surprises, you have no choice about how you have to respond because your survival may be at stake.You can decide that whenever you’re inconvenienced, you’ll get a much bigger result instead of just getting back to where you were.People who are entrepreneurial take greater advantage of bad surprises than good surprises.Good surprises can help you up your level of ambition.You have very, very little control over events outside of yourself.Resources:The Front Stage/Back Stage Model® articleWho Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin HardyThe Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin HardyThe Experience Transformer® toolScary Times Success Manual by Dan Sullivan

The world has become more competitive, and many people are focused on the concept of fairness. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain what fairness really means and what every entrepreneur needs to understand to avoid certain dangers.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The different definitions of “fairness.”Why you shouldn’t compare yourself to others.How there’s a touch of envy in talking about fairness.How to recognize your uniqueness and avoid false comparisons.Show Notes:No one knows what it’s like to be someone else.Who you are can be modified by who other people are.Reactive and creative are opposites.The word “fairness” is a fairly recent creation.The present understanding of fairness touches on equality.Fairness is a social term, not a descriptive term.A lot in our world supports the fact that things should be fair.Uniqueness means looking inside and knowing who you are.If you’re looking for fairness, you can’t find out who you are.Resources:“Geometry” For Staying Cool & Calm by Dan SullivanCliftonStrengths®ENVY: A Theory of Social Behaviour by Helmut SchoeckWho Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin HardyThe Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin HardyUnique Ability®Unique Ability® 2.0: Discovery by Catherine Nomura, Julia Waller, and Shannon WallerThe Kolbe A™ Index

Every entrepreneur needs to be careful about who they choose as their role models. Your choices speak to your mindset, your business motivation, and your business success. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannan Waller talk about why each of Dan’s five role models made the list.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The three categories that all five role models fit into.How Euclid’s principles are timeless.How the qualities of Dan’s role models influence his creation of Strategic Coach® thinking tools.Things most people don’t know about Shakespeare.The uniqueness and intelligence evident in Bach’s music.The ways in which all five of Dan’s role models were entrepreneurs.Show Notes:Your role models should have qualities you aspire to.The one law that really governs everything is that gravity respects no angle except a 90-degree angle.Our entire physical world has been based on one book by Euclid.You need to understand each one of Euclid’s principles before you can understand the next.Being exploited with food is better than dying from no food.The vast majority of great people are not widely recognized as great during their own time.Nobody in particular is in charge of the U.S. The rules are in charge.The pursuit of happiness is not the same as happiness.Being inspired by someone doesn’t mean trying to imitate them.Edison created the model for how to systematically invent new things.Mindsets create habits, and habits are things that work that have become automatic.Resources:“Geometry” For Staying Cool & Calm by Dan SullivanUnique Ability®The Strategic Coach® Signature Program

If you want business success, you have to take good care of your clientele. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the difference between customer service and hospitality and reveal the right way to treat clients and customers to keep them coming back.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:Why customers should be treated like human beings, not transactions.The difference a personal touch makes.The importance of being interested, not just interesting.Why there’s a big opportunity right now to make people feel at home.Ways you can show people you’re paying attention.Show Notes:Hospitality means making people feel at home.There’s a movement where people are trying to make human beings more like machines.The more dependence there is on technology, the less there’s a sense of personal connection.If you have to write out customer service rules, the rules aren’t a habit. The point of hospitality is showing appreciation for your clientele. Remembering small details about your clients can make a huge impact. There’s a lot of competition to be interesting, but there’s almost no competition to be interested.Every person is smart in their own way.Resources:Unique Ability®Anything And Everything Podcast with Dan Sullivan and Jeffrey Madoff

How do you stand firm in a world that seems to be in flux? It’s easier than you might think. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain the three rules for staying cool and calm so you can achieve business success and business growth no matter what’s happening in the world.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:Why entrepreneurs don’t need to ask permission to create.The importance of company ground rules.Why it’s helpful for entrepreneurs to recognize that life isn’t fair.Why some people need to be controlled by other people’s lawsThe real definition of creativity.The five “credibility rules.”Show Notes:If you want somebody to be in charge, you have to be the one in charge.If we aren’t enforcing the rules, the rules don’t matter.All the knowledge that we have was made up by someone.After you make something up, you have to communicate it in such a way that other people will find it useful.Entrepreneurs are the masters of making up new things.Political leaders aren’t in charge; they’re fulfilling a role according to a set of rules.Your new ideas will advantage some people and disadvantage others.There used to be so much scarcity in the world that you couldn’t think about things like fairness and equality.Freedom is maximizing being inside of restrictions.Nothing you come up with has any value until somebody is willing to write you a check for it.Economic breakdown usually comes from government mismanagement.Rules allow you to have your attention on the main thing rather than on the small things.Resources:“Geometry” For Staying Cool & Calm by Dan SullivanThe Impact Filter™

Every so often, there are major world events that affect things economically and can lead to people feeling a lot of uncertainty. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about the best business strategy an entrepreneur can take to make sure their business not only survives, but thrives while other people are feeling uncertain about the future.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:How Strategic Coach® acquired a whole new capability during COVID lockdowns.The advice Dan gave clients after 9/11.What a lot of people’s futures depend on.The single question that will renew clients’ sense of their future.Things clients can work on while cash flow is an issue.Why it’s really easy to compete during an economic downturns.Why Dan predicts scary times for most of the world over the coming decades.Show Notes:Big companies and corporations make all their gains and market share during bad times. Economic downturns are always going to happen, so it makes sense to develop a skill around them. Instead of worrying about yourself, you have to give other people a chance to be clear about their future. As the leader of the company, your number one daily job during uncertain times is to keep everybody’s confidence high. Everybody is coming from different worlds when they come into work. You should come out of a period of uncertainty with the same team you went into it with in terms of numbers and in terms of the power of your team. When uncertainty happens, most people lose their ability to take action. You haven’t solved a problem until you can laugh about it. Your job during uncertain times is to go out and create new futures for all of your clients and prospects. A client’s money is frozen when their brain is frozen. Resistance and uncertainty are normal for entrepreneurs. If you allow external forces to control your future, you’re not being an entrepreneur.Resources:The Positive Focus® toolScary Times Success Manual by Dan SullivanThe Dan Sullivan Question by Dan SullivanPeter Zeihan’s YouTube channel

Entrepreneurs innovate by drawing connections between things that haven’t been linked before. But how can you go about making such connections? In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain Dan’s latest breakthrough thinking tool, The Triple Play.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:How creativity is a method you can master.How you can tell whether an activity is creative.What types of connections get people excited.Why Dan preferred to make his own toys as a child.Show Notes:We don’t discover connections; we make connections.Creativity is connecting things where you didn’t see the connection before.Not many people are creative enough to build an independent career in the marketplace.You’re not really creative if you’re not surprising yourself.Your brain can’t ignore a question.Children play according to a method of connecting things that don’t belong together.People’s directed usefulness is achieved at the cost of creativity.Imaginative thinkers make more money than people who are uniform and predictable.Creating connections is how our brains get used to the world.Resources:Capitalism—And Everything Else by Dan SullivanYour Life As A Strategy Circle by Dan SullivanUnique Ability®Visual Thinking by Dr. Temple Grandin

Every entrepreneur would love to be able to predict the future, but of course it’s impossible. The future is always being created by every human being on the planet every day making guesses and bets about their individual future. There’s no way of understanding or even detecting what kind of guesses and bets eight billion people are making today, when they weren’t even thinking about it yesterday. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain the importance of understanding why it’s all about guessing and betting, and how you can make the best guesses and bets for business success and business growth in your future.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:Why we’ll never get beyond technology just being reactive.Why artificial intelligence is based on the past, not the future.The big bet that Dan and Babs made before starting The Strategic Coach® Program in 1989.How to find team members you don’t have to manage, monitor, or motivate.Show Notes:Humans have always had a desire to predict the future.Technology can’t be superior to the human thinking that goes into it.An entrepreneur betting on something means they commit their time, their activity, and in some cases, their money to a particular activity.People have far more freedom on an individual basis now than they did a century ago.Individual team members need to take themselves at least as seriously as management does.Predictions are just guessing and betting based on what’s happened up until now.You’re making a guess and a bet when you hire a team member.If you look into how a technology is created, you know what to expect from it and what not to expect.A great team member has to be great at what they do and great at playing with others.Some people strive for a role they aren’t good at because in their minds it has higher status.Resources:Unique AbilityCapitalism—And Everything Else by Dan SullivanThe Self-Managing Company by Dan SullivanUnique Ability® 2.0: Discovery by Catherine Nomura, Julia Waller, and Shannon WallerMultiplication By Subtraction by Shannon Waller

When asked if they think they’re able to 10x their current income, most entrepreneurs aren’t confident that they can. But when presented with a different way to think about it, it becomes clear that it’s actually easier to go 10x than it is to go 2x. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how to change your thinking so you’re ready to 10x your company’s income.Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:The mindset shift that happens when you realize you’ve gone 10x before.Insights you can gain from your previous jumps in income.Why your team members might try to prevent change at the company.How Strategic Coach® has gone 10x more than once.Why people have to make things up to scare themselves nowadays.The difference between “status entrepreneurs” and “growth entrepreneurs.”Show Notes:Whenever someone goes 10x, they’ve gotten rid of a lot of activities they’d been doing.Going 10x means hiring people to do activities they’re great at.Growing your income means going after bigger and bigger check writers.Entrepreneurs should be using technology to expand the power of their teamwork.Growing your income might involve new collaborations with individuals outside of your company.You make up the future, but you don’t make up your past.The first time you go 10x, what you did couldn’t be predicted. The second time, you have a pattern to follow.Most people want a bigger result without having to change themselves or what they’re doing.10x is multidimensional thinking, while 2x is linear thinking.How other people went 10x is meaningless information because it’s not the way you did it.You won’t go 10x unless doing so will result in greater freedom.A 10x quantitative jump is meaningless unless it’s also a 10x qualitative jump.Entrepreneurial growth calls for constant transformation and change.Resources:The 10x Mind Expander by Dan SullivanThe Gap And The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Ben HardyArticle: “The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs”The Strategic Coach® Program

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.What are your time and skill worth to somebody else? The issue of pricing is the biggest hurdle to people thinking about becoming entrepreneurs because most people live their lives with someone else doing their pricing for them. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain the best way for entrepreneurs to determine what to charge. Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:How an entrepreneur can switch mindsets from being the seller to being the buyer.Why entrepreneurs should actually stay away from competitive pricing.Why the fastest way to your biggest future is The Strategic Coach® Program.The question that will take your clients into the future, and you with them.Why you shouldn’t negotiate unless what you’re offering is unique.The importance of being attuned to your clients’ futures. Show Notes:Most people don’t like negotiating what their value is with someone else.If you’re applying for a job, it’s generally predetermined what the value is of doing that job.For entrepreneurs, the combination of time and talent determines the price that needs to be negotiated.There’s no right price for anything because all pricing is psychological.If your client doesn’t have a big future, your price is a cost. If they have a big future, your price is an investment.If you focus on your uniqueness, you aren’t in competition with anyone.The toughest obstacle to being a successful entrepreneur is getting to where you feel proud and confident about the ways you’ve priced your value in the marketplace.Many people don’t have a proper appreciation of their own value, and so they don’t like negotiating.Some entrepreneurs spend too much time worrying about people who aren’t check writers.Pricing is a lot easier if you have no competitors. Resources:Capitalism—And Everything Else by Dan SullivanThe 4 C’s Formula by Dan SullivanUnique Ability®Deep D.O.S. Innovation by Dan SullivanEnterprise Value: How the Best Owner-Managers Build Their Fortune, Capture Their Company’s Gains, and Create Their Legacy by Peter R. Worrell

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.Every entrepreneur engages with their past, but if they don’t know the right way to do it, it can be painful and get in the way of business growth. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how to engage your past with a growth mindset and gain business lessons from all of your experiences.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.While the typical entrepreneur might be focused on the future, you simply can’t underestimate the importance of your past. In this episode, business coaches Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the best way for entrepreneurs to engage with, and utilize, their past experiences.

The potential of ChatGPT is becoming more and more apparent, so how can entrepreneurs take advantage of the technology? In this episode, business coach Dan Sullivan and team strategist Shannon Waller discuss how ChatGPT can best be used by entrepreneurs seeking business growth.

Do you take your failures personally? In this episode, Shannon Waller and Dan Sullivan discuss the ultimate entrepreneurial challenge—turning setbacks into stepping stones. Learn how to embrace failure and acknowledge the valuable lessons it teaches for maximum business growth.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.How do you know when it’s time to move on and leave behind something you’ve been doing? Business coach Dan Sullivan is ready to give up coaching one level of The Strategic Coach® Program so that he can focus on a higher level. In this episode, Shannon Waller and Dan discuss what led to this decision.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.Did you have a business relationship that you established early on in your career, and you’re still pumping money into it? It’s worth re-examining your arrangements because they might not still be serving your business growth. In this episode, business coach Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk all about eliminating what Dan calls “sunk costs.”

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.A focus of The Strategic Coach® Program over the past ten years has been a particular type of collaboration, one between entrepreneurs who share a common goal. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how such collaborations immensely benefit everyone involved, not just the clients.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.Some people say we’re heading toward a recession—and they’re right. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about what entrepreneurs can do so that they not only won’t suffer when the recession hits but will actually make even greater progress than before.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.If you have a goal you’ve decided to accomplish in the next 25 years, that can be exciting but also overwhelming. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain the major differences between an entrepreneur having a 25-year goal, and an entrepreneur working inside of a 25-Year Framework.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.Experiencing fear is part of entrepreneurial life, but do you really know what your fear is trying to tell you? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain why entrepreneurs feel fear and the best way to respond when you feel it.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.Every entrepreneur experiences rewards as a result of the choices they’ve made for themselves, and it’s natural that every entrepreneurial parent wants their children to experience those same, positive rewards. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about the best ways to engage with your children about entrepreneurism.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.There are a wide variety of reasons that a person might feel fragile, and there certainly seems to be more people feeling fragile in the world today than there used to be. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss what has people feeling fragile and what they can do to be stronger.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.It often happens that when an entrepreneur starts experiencing great success, they also begin experiencing new issues in their personal lives. In this episode, Dan Sullivan draws on decades of wisdom from coaching entrepreneurs to explain why this happens and what to do about it.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.Everyone in the world has been dealing with major economic shifts, and it would be a mistake to start assuming that things are going to get back to what’s familiar, or what you might consider “normal.” In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how things are going to continue to change for decades and what it all means for entrepreneurs.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.Experiencing friction is a fundamental aspect of being an entrepreneur. But, instead of denying or fighting against entrepreneurial friction, how do you embrace, identify, and transform it to unlock your desired future? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller take a deeper look at the meaning of friction, examine the ways it manifests, and explore its relationship to the Four Freedoms.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.Charlie Epstein has been part of The Strategic Coach® Program for 27 years, and he’s found that it allows him to continually find the oasis in the desert of entrepreneurism. In this episode, he tells Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller about bringing together his personas of financial advisor and stand-up performer in a one-man show.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.Whenever Dan Sullivan meets someone new, he reminds himself that he’s only the 21st most important person in their life. In this episode, he explains why this is the best way to begin a new relationship.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.There might be a lot of reasons for an entrepreneur to freak out, but there’s one freakout that triggers all the others. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the dangers of having unrealistic deadlines.

Get the latest book by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy, 10x Is Easier Than 2x.Due to the acceleration of new technology in all areas of human activity, life has become complex. But there are ways you can maintain simplicity in how you operate without missing out on anything that new technology can provide you. In this episode, Dan and Shannon explain how, with examples.

For a variety of reasons, most people like asking questions to which they already know the answers. But in the entrepreneurial world, all breakthroughs are created by asking questions you don’t know the answers to. In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains how different types of questions lead to different results, and in which situations each type of question is best.

New technologies are created when someone sees how the creation would fit existing desires, but that doesn’t mean that potential customers will understand its purpose or how to use it. In this episode, Dan and Shannon talk about the essential role of coaching when it comes to technology.

In business, it sometimes happens that someone is required to perform a task that’s beyond their capability. While it might seem like the entrepreneur or team leader should step in and help in such a case, doing so can actually get in the way of the individual and the team growing their capabilities. In this episode, Dan Sullivan shares a way to handle failures that will benefit the future of the entire organization.

In 1950, sociologist David Riesman developed a model to describe three types of individuals based on how they develop their opinions, values, and expectations of the world: tradition-directed, inner-directed, and other-directed. In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains what these three models look like, why entrepreneurs are more likely to bet their futures on their inner values, and how you can work on remaining true to yours.

When an entrepreneur pitches a project they’ve envisioned, it can seem like great results are just around the corner. But often, there are elements the entrepreneur hasn’t predicted, and these elements can delay, or even permanently sink, a project. Dan Sullivan has created a list of checkpoints you can use on any project to determine just how profitable it’s going to be, and when. In this episode, he explains the dangers of not using the checklist and walks you through each of its points.

Figuring out what to charge for a product or service can be a source of great stress, and sometimes fear, for entrepreneurs. In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains the mistakes most entrepreneurs make when determining a price and how they should be thinking about it instead.

While some entrepreneurs take advantage of new opportunities presented by change, others get stuck in their situations and left behind. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about the difference in perspectives between these types of entrepreneurs and how you can be on the right side of the current divide.

A general narrative is that people need to be courageous when they’re relatively young because they won’t be able to take risks when they’re older. But this narrative doesn’t apply to entrepreneurs. In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains the role of courage in an entrepreneur’s life and how he’s become more courageous and ambitious now, at the age of 78, than he was 30 years ago.

How do you teach your kids to be smart about money and ensure they’re not spoiled? This is a question many successful entrepreneurs have faced, including financial expert Chad Willardson, who decided to write a book on the subject. In this episode, Chad explains to Dan Sullivan how parents can ensure their kids are financially literate and have good “money values.”

In coaching successful entrepreneurs for decades, Dan Sullivan has developed the belief that every experience is valuable, and no single experience more than any other. In this episode, he explains why it’s important to allow people to learn and grow from their own experiences, including failure.

Most people don’t realize it, but the biggest danger you can face as an entrepreneur is boredom, which happens when you become so successful that you’re not excited anymore. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the negative decisions and situations that boredom can lead to, and what you should do if you find yourself getting bored.

We’re not always in control of the situations or circumstances we find ourselves in, but we can always choose how we respond to our experiences. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how you can deal with every negative experience in a positive way.

A lot of people think that self-confidence and self-esteem are one and the same, but there’s an important difference. One is a fact, and one is nothing but a wish. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how to recognize the difference and how to make sure you have self-confidence.

Every entrepreneur has developed certain mindsets, but some of those mindsets result in unnecessary stresses. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain the benefits of being able to ask the right questions and of recognizing that the world wasn’t created for you.

Even entrepreneurs with enormous capabilities experience feelings of insecurity, and it’s important to understand why you feel insecure in order to avoid the situations that cause it. In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains what leads to insecurity and how it can be avoided.

Most people don’t know it, but the main currency of the human race, especially entrepreneurs, is shortcuts: better, faster ways of getting things done. In this episode, Dan Sullivan talks about why shortcuts are so important and how entrepreneurs create, and trade in, shortcuts.

Every entrepreneur wants to get the most out of teamwork, but it isn’t always clear how to do that. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how you can engage in teamwork in a way that’s most productive and strengthens your own capabilities and efficiency.

Entrepreneurs want to be around for the long haul, but stress and challenges can sometimes mean an earlier end to a career. In this episode, Dan Sullivan shares what he does to keep himself strong at the age of 77, and how he’s planning to be effective for many years to come.

Most entrepreneurs start out doing everything themselves, but if they continue doing so, they’re operating inside of a trap they created. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how and why entrepreneurs should go about finding the best person for each job, capitalizing on the strongest capabilities out there.

Collaborations are a way for entrepreneurs to jump to the next level of effectiveness, but there are right ways to enter into a collaboration—and wrong ones. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller lay out the groundrules for great collaborations and explain the invaluable benefits you can gain from them.

For over three decades, Strategic Coach® has worked with some of the world’s best entrepreneurs to help them achieve their goals. Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller look back and share stories about the origins of the company and some of its invaluable thinking tools.

Non-entrepreneurs think money is entrepreneurs’ main motivation, but truly successful entrepreneurs see money only as a means to gain greater freedom. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the significant difference between having “freedom from” and “freedom to,” and why entrepreneurs should strive for both.

After extensive experience serving in the U.S. military, Peter Kofod became an entrepreneur in the field of rail infrastructure. In this episode, he tells Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller about the different stages of his interesting and impressive journey so far.

Diversity and inclusion are vital, but not everyone completely understands what this means or how to best practice it. In his book The Inclusive Mindset, award-winning entrepreneur Justin Jones-Fosu explains how to cultivate diversity in your everyday life. Here, Shannon Waller talks to Justin about what led him to educating people on this topic and about his company, Work Meaningful, which is helping people improve workplace engagement and more.

Everyone has things they’re bothered by. These things create negative feelings, but often are not actually problems. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about recognizing when the only thing wrong with a situation is that you’re bothered by it, and what’s best to do in those situations.

Each of us primarily uses a certain type of thinking: either linear or associative. And a key to finding success and creating the best value lies in recognizing which way you think and how your brain works. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain the different types of thinking and the best approaches to take advantage of them.

All bureaucracies can be described as systems of control, while entrepreneurial companies can be described as networks of cooperation. Though neither is necessarily bad, there are great differences between people who should be working for bureaucracies and those who should be entrepreneurs. In this episode, Dan Sullivan lists and explains the differences, and more.

Leaders of companies can often be tempted to jump the gun on a new project without properly considering all the factors involved or communicating with everyone who will be required to pull it off. And the results can be disastrous. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss all the aspects an entrepreneur needs to consider and communicate when it comes to a new project.

When circumstances change, some people will adjust quickly and be successful, while others will be paralyzed from taking action. When the world changed in 2020, some entrepreneurs immediately took advantage of existing technology and found success in a new way of doing things, while others were left behind. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss and explain the vital differences between these groups of entrepreneurs.

With so many different things vying for our attention nowadays, not everyone seems able to give someone their full attention in conversation, and this can lead to having weaker relationships and even missing out on opportunities. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the value of one’s attention, and how people can protect their attention now and in the future.

We’re always looking forward to exciting things happening in the future, but when we actually get to those moments, it all feels completely normal. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how important, exciting transformation is never something you can experience with a future event, but only in relation to something you’ve experienced in the past.

Unpredictable events can leave some people paralyzed from taking action. Entrepreneurs, though, are used to responding to unpredictable changes, and finding opportunities where others see only obstacles. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how Strategic Coach responded to the lockdown one year ago and what allowed them to act so quickly and effectively.

Entrepreneurs take 100 percent responsibility for their financial security but many overfill their schedules and end up becoming workaholics. The current virtual conferencing breakthrough has meant that entrepreneurs have gained as much as 30 percent of their time back, and while there might be the temptation to fill that time with more work, in this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain why the best thing they can do is leave that time open.

It’s important for entrepreneurs to pay attention to people outside their company, but which ones are best to focus on? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller provide the answer.

Technology is a huge part of our lives, but many of us take it for granted, and some are even overwhelmed by it. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how to have a better attitude toward technology, which supports so much of what we do.

No matter how many big goals you achieve, if you measure your progress the wrong way, you’ll never be happy. Here, Dan Sullivan gives you a quick mental trick that permanently changes your perspective so you can fully enjoy your success.

“I’m not who you think I am”—the dreaded internal monologue of “Imposter Syndrome.” But, unlike many successful people, Dan Sullivan has never experienced this condition. Find out why, and learn how you can permanently prevent yourself from experiencing it too.

While many people buy into the general narrative, which is someone else’s description of the world, entrepreneurs are different. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain why entrepreneurs have to create their own specific stories, and how doing anything else is giving up control.

If you have big goals, the thought of all the work needed to get there can leave you feeling stuck. The better way is to find the right people for the jobs. In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains the “Who Not How” concept and how it’s been developed into a book.

Writing a book can be a lonely, gruelling process, and so most people who want to write a book don’t end up doing it. Dan Sullivan, though, is well on his way to achieving his goal of releasing 100 books over 25 years. In this episode, he and Shannon Waller explain the process, which involves multiple team members and multiple unique capabilities.

Many jobs and industries emphasize asking closed-ended questions, where the person asking either knows the answer or is leading someone toward a desired response. But those types of questions only reinforce ideas that already exist. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how asking open-ended questions creates breeding grounds for great new ideas.

Since we’ve been restricted in what we’re able to do during the pandemic, we’ve become more creative and made the most out of what’s available. In this episode, Dan Sullivan talks about how entrepreneurs’ sense of their productivity has and will continue to jump.

People all over the world have been using Zoom during the pandemic as a necessity, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to go away once business can be conducted in person again. In this episode, Dan Sullivan talks about the power that the communication platform provides, and how entrepreneurs can and are creatively using it as more than just a way to make video calls.

Entrepreneurs want to create new things, but some entrepreneurs are motivated to disrupt what already exists—and operating with that attitude can come back to haunt them. In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains the difference between disrupting and transforming, and how to go about increasing the value of everything through your innovations.

Entrepreneurs are aware of all the tasks that need to be completed to run a successful business, but if they try to do it all themselves, complexity arises and it’s simply not efficient. In this episode, Shannon Waller and guest host, associate coach Gary Mottershead, talk about why you have to find the right people when you just don’t have the skills, talents, and energy for certain tasks.

After entrepreneurs reach a certain level of success, they can feel “held hostage” by a variety of things, from competing through price cutting to not being able to hire the right people. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how the entrepreneur themselves is partly responsible for being stuck like this, and how they can make a decision and take action in order to free themselves and create a better future.

Strategic Coach® has been growing for three decades by sticking to our core values. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller describe each of the four values and how they lead to attracting the right team members and providing the best experience and value to our entrepreneurial clients.

Dan Sullivan has been coaching entrepreneurs for nearly 50 years. In this episode, he and Shannon Waller discuss the key aspects of Strategic Coach® thinking tools and why they’re unique and invaluable to entrepreneurs.

David Braithwaite worked evenings and did everything else he thought all entrepreneurs had to do until Strategic Coach® taught him a better way: planning your days so that you’re taking effective time off—and getting more done when you’re on the job and dealing with clients. Here, he explains how The Entrepreneurial Time System® challenges the status quo and revolutionized the way he does business.

Wouldn’t any ambitious entrepreneur try to avoid negative experiences? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss why, instead, Dan lives by what he calls a “No-Rescue Policy” both personally and with his team.

You want to be yourself and provide unique value, so it’s not fair to expect other people to conform to your way of doing things. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about the importance of granting others the freedom to be themselves.

When our situations dramatically change, many people focus on the negatives and get paralyzed by them. But entrepreneurs are used to scary times. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss and give examples of how entrepreneurs can find opportunities and success when things don’t go as planned.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In the conclusion to this mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how, with the right mindsets and strategies, scary times can lead to your best ever growth.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 10 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss forgetting about your complaints and focusing on your gratitude.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 9 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about forgetting about what’s missing and focusing on what’s available to you right now.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 8 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller share why it’s important to forget about the event and focus on the only thing you have control over: your responses.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 7 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about giving up who you used to be and focusing on who you can be in this “new normal.”

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 6 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller advise forgetting about the future you had envisioned and focusing on the only place you can take action: the present.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 5 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain what you need to do to forget about your difficulties and instead focus on the progress you can make.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 4 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss forgetting about the opportunities that have been lost because of the current situation, and focusing on the ones that have been created.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 3 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about the dangers of trying to make sales as if these were normal times.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 2 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about turning your focus toward bringing value to your most important relationships.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 1 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller break down why it’s best to focus on others, and how best to do it.

What happens when you can’t plan for the future? What do you when your old ways of running your business, connecting with clients, and providing value are no longer relevant? In this second of two installments of Inside Strategic Coach, Dan and Shannon share proven strategies entrepreneurs can use to not only maintain their businesses during periods of instability and change, but grow their capabilities (and usefulness!) too.

What happens when the marketplace shuts down or people aren’t buying what you have to sell? What do you do when fear and anxiety have taken over? In this first of two installments of Inside Strategic Coach, Dan and Shannon share proven strategies entrepreneurs can use to not only maintain their businesses during periods of instability and change, but provide leadership and value at the same time.

Entrepreneurs often reach a point where they’re still making money but the work is no longer exciting or stimulating, leading to boredom and ultimately to poor decisions. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about what you can focus on and the ways you can take on new activities so that you’ll expand your world, love the work, and the money will just come in.

Unique Ability is one of our core concepts at Strategic Coach. In this special episode, associate coach Teresa Easler discusses the true value of Unique Ability and why understanding and utilizing your Unique Ability is so important as an entrepreneur. Among other invaluable lessons, Teresa tells the story of why she walked away from a $500K proposal because it didn’t utilize her Unique Ability and refutes the number-one complaint that prevents most entrepreneurs from fully utilizing their own Unique Ability.

If you’re like a lot of entrepreneurs, part of your mind is still on work when you’re away from the office. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how to get real rejuvenation out of your days off.

What does an entrepreneur do once their company has grown 100x from where they started? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about growing 1,000x with their clients over the next 25 years.

It can be hard to succinctly convey ideas using words, but one diagram can communicate as much as ten written pages. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how using graphics can be the best way to get your ideas across clearly.

Thinking about doing something you don’t like can be more unpleasant, and take longer, than actually doing it. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller share how delegating tasks and changing deadlines can eliminate “dread time.”

Many people think that it’s impossible to be a hero in the world today, but they’re thinking of the wrong kind of hero. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how entrepreneurs can go about becoming heroes to their customers by helping them change their lives.

Strategic Coach® is celebrating 30 years of coaching entrepreneurs to be bigger and better! In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller look back at how the company name and some of its core concepts came about.

Once an entrepreneur has achieved some degree of growth, it’s easier to take the next steps and grow exponentially bigger. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how to continue growing, building on what you’ve already begun.

Strategic Coach® has been making dreams come true for entrepreneurs for 30 years and counting. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how they’ve found lasting success by sticking to their coaching model in a changing world.

It’s a common myth that all entrepreneurs have to deal with competition, so many entrepreneurs convince themselves that they enjoy competing. But the truth is that there’s a way to operate completely competition-free and to be able to price your product or service without paying attention to what anyone else is charging. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how focusing on doing what you’re unique at means nobody can compete with you.

For a lot of entrepreneurs, the only options seem to be to tackle the activities they don’t like doing or else manage someone else as they do them. But in this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how you can instead link up with people so that everyone’s doing what they want to do while working toward your company’s goals.

Intelligence, smarts, and IQ are only part of the success formula for entrepreneurs. You can be the smartest person in the room, but if you’re not in the habit of taking action and recognizing opportunity, you have no advantage over anyone else. Dan and Shannon share the difference between your mind and your brain, and how to use them both for a rich and fulfilling life.

Most entrepreneurs charge according to what their competition is charging, but that isn’t the way to get what you’re worth. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about why setting your price should be determined by what customers will be willing to pay.

Most people are held back by how much time and effort they think is needed to get big results. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about a way of thinking that allows you to go against gravity.

Even if you know that you need an entrepreneurial coach, how do you know the differences and benefits of one-on-one vs. group coaching? Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller share insights on how to make the right decision, and how the community you’ll discover in a Strategic Coach workshop is part of what keeps entrepreneurs with us for life.

Female entrepreneurs face obstacles that male entrepreneurs don’t because of expectations of both men and women. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how, if they stick with it and become successful, female entrepreneurs will eventually have advantages over their male peers.

A lot of entrepreneurs are motivated to introduce an idea that will disrupt an industry, but there will be negative reactions and consequences to taking that approach. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how it’s better to focus on creating something new than to attack something that already exists.

Highly-charged emotional reactions are normal. Especially when you’re dealing with unexpected wins and big upsets. It’s what you learn from those experiences, however, that can have the biggest impact on your future success. In this episode, Dan Sullivan shares some personal life experiences that he transformed into big breakthroughs as well as a process you can use to take the good and bad from every situation and learn from it.

Managing is about being given answers, while coaching is about being asked good questions so you can come up with your own answers. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain why coaching is what’s needed for entrepreneurs to keep growing.

Has it ever seemed impossible to make a lot of money off your new idea before competition swarms in? There are ways around this problem. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how you can stay competition-proof while making as much profit as possible from your idea.

Bureaucracies are necessary for much of society to function, but they’re not a good fit for those who value unpredictability and positive recognition for being a hero. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how the values that are unappreciated in bureaucracies are rewarded in the creative field of entrepreneurship.

A successful life belongs to those who can take their thoughts and turn them into action. But too many of an entrepreneur’s ideas never lead anywhere. What’s the solution? Grab a pen and paper. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how you can clarify your thinking and turn a thought into an achievement by writing it down.

No systems were designed with your needs or wants in mind, but creating your own world by designing an environment that’s totally right for you is in your power. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss accepting reality and making your own place in it.

If you have big goals, you might feel correspondingly big pressure, but there’s a way to think of your time that can free you up and get you focused. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about the positive effects of adopting a 25-year framework.

As Strategic Coach® enters its 30th year, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the tool that started it all — The Strategy Circle. Entrepreneurs can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the obstacles between them and their vision for the future. The Strategy Circle helps them think through a difficult situation and how to view opposition as an important part of the process.

It can be hard to know what feedback you should take to heart and what you should ignore, but if it’s the right audience, the audience is always right. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about why and how to use your clients as creative partners.

The greatest teacher is your own experience, says Dan Sullivan—paying attention to the entrepreneurial lesson from what worked and what didn’t in each situation. Here, Dan shares more on this favorite success strategy: “thinking about your thinking.”

It’s not your imagination—entrepreneurs really do think differently! Listen now to learn the 3 things that make you most unique, and how to use them to achieve even greater growth, happiness, and success.

There are no guarantees when it comes to finding success. But according to Dan Sullivan, if you put these three principles into practice, it’s hard to go wrong. Join Dan and Shannon Waller in an in-depth conversation to learn strategies for navigating pricing, profit, and the protection of your personal property.

Putting your trust in someone involves taking a risk, but entrepreneurs have to do it, and there are ways you can tell if someone is worth that risk. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller share the five signs that someone is trustworthy.

How would your life change if you were given the gift of more time? How would you use it? Tune in to Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller’s conversation about embracing procrastination and why it’s key to freeing up your time. Join them in the “1,000 ‘Who’d-Up’ Hours” challenge.

Some people seem to thrive no matter what life throws at them, while others seem only to complain, even when things are going their way. The difference between them? One has a consumer mindset, and the other, a creator’s. Listen now to learn why creators make the best entrepreneurs—and the happiest people.

On what occasions do you feel most irritated? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explore the things we give ourselves permission to be bothered by and why it limits our success. Discover the question that will challenge your perspective on how you handle things beyond your control.

Most entrepreneurs are self-proclaimed “workaholics.” It’s almost a point of pride. They feel accomplished by long hours, late nights, and the amount of time and effort they’ve put in. But with that often come burnout, boredom, frustration, fatigue, and a lack of enjoyment. This isn’t a good way for anyone to achieve results, especially an entrepreneur whose business and its success ultimately depend on them. In this episode, Dan and Shannon discuss the importance of taking time off, why it’s actually the first step in achieving bigger results, and how Dan uses his free time (22 weeks a year) to be even more productive.

When you’re the buyer of your own experiences, your whole life simplifies. It’s a mindset that puts you in charge instead of the world. Join Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller for their discussion about intentional entrepreneurship, and discover why being the buyer is always more valuable than being the seller.

You became an entrepreneur because you knew you had something great to offer the world. But convincing other people it’s great isn’t always easy. It might seem counterintuitive, but if you want to ensure the continued growth of your business, you’ve got to think like a coach, not a salesperson.

Every time Dan Sullivan meets someone new, he considers himself “Number 21”—acknowledging that there are at least 20 other more important relationships in the person’s life. This is a mindset he cultivates to ensure he’s useful and valuable to every person he encounters. In this episode of Inside Strategic Coach, discover how making a lasting, meaningful impression is the way to leverage your relationships and opportunities.

If you feel more anxious than excited for new tech developments, you’re not alone. It can often seem like products become yesterday’s news before they’re even out of the packaging. Fortunately, we’ve got a failsafe solution for staying ahead of the technology curve: being grateful.

We all know that as we age, it becomes harder and harder to maintain our top physical health—so how do you get around that? Join Shannon Waller and Dan Sullivan for a discussion about the habit Dan believes is most important for staying creative and physically energetic regardless of your age.

You might think the biggest threat to your career is a bad idea or failed venture, but it’s actually something much closer to home. In this episode, you’ll learn why entrepreneurial boredom is a greater threat, not only to your business, but to your health, happiness, and overall well-being.

We all think differently, but so few of us take the time to experience and consciously observe how we, personally, think. Discover why taking ownership over how your brain operates is both freeing and increasingly valuable to other people. In the words of Dan Sullivan, “Play to win with the cards you have, not the cards you wish you had.”

One of the biggest frustrations for team members is not knowing what’s expected of them. But with this tool, you can take the guesswork out of job performance and build a team of confident, happy people willing to manage themselves (rather than relying on you for constant direction).

At age seventy, Dan Sullivan made a public commitment to write 100 books over 25 years — that’s one every quarter. Four years and 15 books later, he’s right on target, with a dream team of talented individuals all working together to make it happen. And the books just keep getting better. So if you’ve ever wondered how to transform a great idea into great content, or just how far teamwork can take you, this episode is for you. Listen now to hear how Dan goes from idea to published book … in just 30 hours.

Dan Sullivan doesn’t believe in being a disruptive business. That’s because being a disruptor means taking the easy route. It’s choosing profit over people, and that’s no way to stay ahead in the marketplace, or in people’s minds. Being a transformative business, on the other hand, takes real effort and vision, both of which get rewarded by happy, loyal customers. So, which would you prefer?

Collaboration is the key to a successful business. It’s also the only way to free yourself from falling into the most common entrepreneurial traps: working too hard, resting too little, and wasting energy on draining tasks. But if you do only those things you’re good at and enjoy, then team up with other people doing the same, you all grow together. The best part is, this model works no matter how you multiply it. This means that if collaboration within your business can lead to 10x growth, collaboration with another business can do even more—100x more, in fact. Because when you combine capabilities, everyone wins.

When you chose to become an entrepreneur, you accepted that you’d need to pull up your bootstraps and get down to work. If you didn’t do it, no one else would. But eventually, this mindset that worked so well in the beginning starts to hold you back.

In this episode, Dan Sullivan interviews a game-changing entrepreneur, Nick Cosentino, who has a very different vision for and approach to the financial services industry. Listen in as Nick explains his “Ideal Business Model” that has enabled him to multiply his growth by amplifying his client experience, constantly innovating, and adapting and adjusting to an uncertain and ever-changing industry landscape.

Your clients want to feel special, and they’ll remember the people and organizations that make it happen. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller reveal how to create a first-class experience for your clients every step of the way, from your first phone call to your last meeting — without ever having to tell them you’re doing it.

Your next biggest “aha moment” or great idea might come from somewhere you least expect it. In this episode, we hear from two successful entrepreneurs with a specialty in dentistry, Nikki Green and Chris Phelps. They open up about their greatest struggles, failures, and successes, share how much they’ve grown as entrepreneurs and in their practice, and talk about how they plan to revolutionize not only their own business, but the very field of dentistry.

The secret to selling might just be in the types of questions you’re asking. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how you can be of the most value to your prospects and clients by asking the right questions that lead to conversation.

How committed are you to the growth of your ideas? Could they be the next big thing? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss what needs to happen to really make your ideas thrive: persistence, recognition of value and uniqueness, overcoming opposition, and a commitment to the difference they’ll make in the marketplace.

While the majority of entrepreneurs have freed themselves up from what they don’t like doing, many still haven’t progressed to the next step. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how to gain the freedom to do what you love and have a bigger future.

A lot of entrepreneurs have big ideas and grand ambitions that ultimately run them into a wall. The wall is that they don’t actually have the capability in their organization to carry out their vision. In this episode, Dan Sullivan interviews Less Doing creator, Ari Meisel, who has built a remarkable productivity system to help entrepreneurs (and everyone) manage and hack every aspect of their business and personal lives so they can be freed up to live more by doing less.

Entrepreneurs are always thinking, but have you been taking the time to think about your thinking? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how doing so can lead to making better decisions and having a bigger future.

When entrepreneurs make it their goal to grow 10x, the first thing to do is realize the limits of their own capabilities and see a future outside of what they can do personally. In this episode, Dan and Shannon discuss how teamwork is crucial for 10x growth and how a teamwork mindset can change the whole game for entrepreneurs and their businesses.

Often when entrepreneurs have an exciting new idea, they get bogged down with procrastination because they’re asking the wrong question. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how asking “Who?” instead of “How?” will set you off and running toward achieving your goal.

Game Changers represent the highest level of entrepreneurism. They’re the Industry Transformers™ who are leading their businesses, disrupting their marketplaces, and changing the world. But this often isn’t where they begin. In this episode, Shannon Waller and Dan Sullivan discuss the growth path of game-changing entrepreneurs, along with the requirements, support networks, and mindsets needed each step of the way.

Capitalism will always be a contentious issue, but it’s capability that sparked capitalism’s creation. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how all growth comes from human capability.

Your next biggest “aha moment” or great idea might come from somewhere you least expect it. In this episode, we hear from two successful business owners with a specialty in financial services, Ali Nasser and Tish Gray. They open up about their journey to success, their hurdles, their failures, their biggest wins, what they’re doing to revolutionize their businesses, and their big projections for the future.

Many entrepreneurs feel like they should be working all the time, but that philosophy doesn’t always work. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how taking time off can actually benefit you, your company, and your team members.

People often live as if a payoff is going to come in the future, but what if you already have what you’re seeking and don’t realize it yet? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about expanding your happiness rather than pursuing it.

Can money actually buy happiness? Yes, if it’s used in a particular way. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how entrepreneurs will be happiest if they use their money to buy back their time from activities they don’t like doing.

It can be tempting for entrepreneurs to compete with other businesses in the marketplace, but it’s not always the most fruitful approach. In this episode, Dan and Shannon explain that by focusing on what has set you and your business apart, your uniqueness will shine and you’ll stand out from the crowd. Instead of focusing on competition, you can then use collaborative relationships to grow.

Strategic Coach specializes in turning entrepreneurs into game changers. In this episode, Dan and Shannon discuss the jumps Strategic Coach has made over the years and how they’ve led to breakthrough concepts and tools that help other entrepreneurs to take jumps in their own businesses.

It takes a certain type of person to run a business, but it takes a different set of skills and mindsets altogether to be a game changer in the marketplace. In this episode, Dan Sullivan is joined by Gino Wickman and Mike Paton from Entrepreneurial Operating System who discuss how they grew their company by helping other businesses reduce frustrations, regain their passion, and achieve their vision.

If we can’t be good at everything, why do we spend so much time focusing on our weaknesses? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss why entrepreneurs should spend their time focused only on activities they’re good at and love to do, and how to eliminate the rest.

Don’t work harder—work smarter. In this episode, Dan Sullivan interviews his long-time client John Fickewirth, a financial advisor from California. After almost 20 years in The Strategic Coach® Program, John explains the impact the Program has had on him, his path to 10x growth, and the strategies he’s employed to dramatically change his life and business, increasing his focus and fun at work while decreasing the time he spends in the office.

Intelligence, smarts, and IQ are only part of the success formula for entrepreneurs. Learn the difference between mind and brain, and how to use them both.

Every business will experience its ups and downs. And as a business owner, if the money just isn’t coming in like it used to, or you want it to, it’s easy to feel like you’re losing the game. In this episode, Dan and Shannon counter those “losing” feelings with a better way of dealing with positive and negative experiences: winning or learning.

While all entrepreneurs are valuable, not all are created equal in the eyes of Dan Sullivan. In this episode, Dan discusses what sets entrepreneurs apart from one another and what characterizes those who are transforming their industries, altering the marketplace, and changing the game.

Highly-charged emotional reactions are normal. Especially when you’re dealing with unexpected wins and big upsets. It’s what you learn from those experiences, however, that can have the biggest impact on your future success. In this episode, Dan Sullivan shares some personal life experiences that he transformed into big breakthroughs as well as a process you can use to take the good and bad from every situation and learn from it.

Are you entrepreneurial or entitled? We all have a choice when it comes to our outlook. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how unhappiness can come from having the wrong attitude.

Maintaining relationships is an important part of doing business, but managing the complexity and expectations of multiple relationships can be challenging and time-consuming. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain why it makes strategic sense to devote more of your time to certain clients.

Entrepreneurs can become comfortable in their current position, but they should always be growing. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how to determine how well you’re really doing and how to position your company to get bigger every year.

What if you could increase your freedom of time and your resources to focus on your big goals? In this episode, Dan Sullivan talks with the founders of Leverage, a company helping entrepreneurs save time and avoid unwanted work.

Too many of an entrepreneur’s ideas never lead to action. What’s the solution? Grab a pen and paper. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how you can clarify your thinking and turn a thought into an achievement by writing it down.

Efficiency isn’t enough. A business’s bottom line will suffer if the customer experience isn’t both impressive and consistent. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain the importance of not letting “backstage” activities peek through to customer experience.

Entrepreneurs can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the obstacles between them and their vision for the future. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how to think through a difficult situation and why they view opposition as an exciting and important part of the process.

As an entrepreneur’s business grows, they often find themselves dangerously stuck doing activities they dislike and find irritating. But as the owner of the company, you’ll be most successful when you realize you don’t need to be involved in the things you don’t like — it’s a waste of your time and energy and negatively impacts your progress and success. In this episode, Dan and Shannon discuss how zeroing in on what you love and the activities that most fascinate and motivate you will propel your business forward and make your days more rewarding and enjoyable.

Would you rather hire a robot or a uniquely talented team member? In this episode, Dan Sullivan explains why he surrounds himself with one-of-a-kind team members, and why he’d never replace them, even if he could.

Even the most successful entrepreneurs can leave situations feeling disappointed by the outcome. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how to be clear and intentional about what you want in order to prepare for the unpredictable and achieve the best possible result.

Even if you know that you need an entrepreneurial coach, hiring one can be a difficult task. In episode #9, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the differences and benefits of one-on-one vs. group coaching and share insights on how to make the right decision for you.

Procrastination is a common source of guilt for many entrepreneurs. But the truth is that everybody does it — and sometimes for good reasons. In episode #8, find out how entrepreneurs can use procrastination as a strategic tool to turn anxiety about what they haven’t done into clarity about what to do next.

It can be lonely at the top, even for entrepreneurs. They started their career path because they felt differently about work, freedom, and success than most others. But in removing themselves from the business “norm,” they can easily feel isolated and alienated, and find it difficult to talk to people that don’t share their experience. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the benefits for entrepreneurs of engaging and collaborating with a community of like-minded business owners.

Busyness can be bad for business. Busy entrepreneurs can experience frustration, complications, and countless missed opportunities — but it doesn’t have to be that way. As a successful business owner, coach, and entrepreneur, Dan Sullivan has developed an approach that allows him to run and grow his business while also living a fulfilling life. In episode #6, Dan shares seven strategies he’s adopted to make each day continually simple, productive, and satisfying.

When building your entrepreneurial company, it’s important to base your business, not on one-off transactions, but on processes that continually produce bigger results. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how you can create these processes that provide a safe, familiar structure, and how to use them to achieve entrepreneurial success.

Entrepreneurs’ pasts can overwhelm their futures. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain why and how entrepreneurs must maximize the value of their pasts and create big futures that are more exciting and productive than anything they’ve done before.

Most entrepreneurs are self-proclaimed “workaholics.” It’s almost a point of pride. They feel accomplished by long hours, late nights, and the amount of time and effort they’ve put in. But with that often come burnout, boredom, frustration, fatigue, and a lack of enjoyment. This isn’t a good way for anyone to achieve results, especially an entrepreneur whose business and its success ultimately depend on them. In this episode, Dan and Shannon discuss the importance of taking time off, why it’s actually the first step in achieving bigger results, and how Dan uses his free time (22 weeks a year) to be even more productive.

There are many problems unique to entrepreneurs that can wear you down and cost your business time and money. But how you approach these setbacks is what will set you apart. In Episode #2, Dan and Shannon discuss these common entrepreneurial struggles while providing listeners with recommended tools, resources, and mindset shifts that can transform their thinking and help get them un-stuck.

What is an entrepreneur, anyway? There might be more to the answer than you think. Discover what it means to be an entrepreneur, the two decisions all business owners must make, the contribution they make to society, and more.