“As soon as I meet someone I admire, I begin modeling what I admire about him or her most.“
-Sean Stephenson #Sean365
Sean Stephenson is a special person in my life…and I use the present tense when I talk about him even though he is no longer with us.
That’s because he lives on through his wife Mindie, through his work as a world renown speaker, through his books and courses…and the quotes I receive every day in my email Inbox, like the one above, from “Sean Stephenson Legacy.”
You’ll hear more about him on Valentine’s Day.
And if you only do one thing today, go to SeanStephenson.com and opt in to his daily quotes. They keep him alive which is a very good thing.
Legacy indeed.
For today’s post, the last one for 2022, I wanted to use Sean’s quote above to lean into a video I produced during the height of COVID…inspired by Dan Sullivan, the top coach for entrepreneurs in the world, echoed by Sean Stephenson…and with my own spin.
When Dan taught an exercise in one of his Strategic Coach workshops (which I’ve attended four times a year for the past eight years), he began it with the phrase:
“Who you are looking for is you”
I was perplexed.
It initially hit me as an egocentric concept.
However, once Dan took us through what he meant by it, it had virtually nothing to do with ego and everything to do with alignment.
Alignment with who you are, what you are looking for in your relationships, and how that shapes your own thinking and behavior in the most expansive way.
And looking for yourself in others…while taking what you admire from others that you may not have in spades (yet)…rounds you out beautifully.
I spent time with Dan some months after that workshop explaining a teaching I created based on “Who you are looking for is you” … combined with another concept from my good friend and marketing genius/philanthropist/connector Joe Polish.
Joe’s corollary is:
“You can accomplish anything you want in life with a Genius Network.”
Joe even has a copyright on “Genius Network” (and Dan has one on all of his intellectual property including “Who you are looking for is you”).
Given how these two concepts from two results leaders have become landmark ways to think about the people you surround yourself with–in order to achieve your most rewarding collaborations—I thought it deserved a homework assignment.
Or at least an exercise. 🙂
I think about these ideas all the time—Sean goosed me with his email this week (like he gooses me every day) –and I want to share (once again) a COVID-inspired, 3-part video training series I filmed in 2020… in my basement with an I-Phone…titled, How to Surround Yourself with Mentors Who Will Stop at Nothing to Help You Succeed.
Honestly, it started with, “I’m stuck at home…why not use my phone for something meaningful…and maybe film something useful.”
Obviously, I could never have come up with the content without Dan and Joe’s genius…so they get full credit for the approach I took…and for inspiring me to do it.
Sean lived by their example…as we all live by his.
And I live by the example these three great friends and mentors have laid out for all of us.
I think my angle on this topic is unique…although as you know (if you read my blog posts regularly or if you have read Overdeliver), it’s not about taking credit for the invention…it’s about delivering the innovation…while giving credit to others for the invention.
You can read “Invention is overrated” to get the full monty on that topic.
I want to share part two of the three part video training with you today which I titled (with full credit to Dan Sullivan), “Who you are looking for is you.”
It’s a little over 20 minutes…please let me know what you think, especially if you do the exercise I outline in chicken scratch on the whiteboard.
You’ll need to excuse my “COVID hair.” I had 6 months straight of bad hair days between March and August of 2020. I know I was not alone. 🙂
If you don’t want to watch it, I can give you two pro tip takeaways from it:
- Find 8 people who you admire for at least one key trait or characteristic and model yourself and rate yourself against those 8 characteristics…which leads to those 8 people being embedded into your persona (assuming you work at taking those things on), without envy or jealousy entering the equation.
- Then go out and find more people with those 8 traits.
It’s not quite as simple as that…there is a step-by-step method to getting there…which I lay out in this video.
You’ll also learn about the 8 people I chose for this exercise—which include some of the greats of marketing and copywriting—Dan Kennedy, Gary Bencivenga, Gene Schwartz…and of course, Dan Sullivan and Joe Polish.
I’m not name dropping…just giving you the process of assimilating the best…from the best.
An added bonus is that you will learn one key thing that makes these legends tick based on my personal experience with each one.
So…click on my quarantined face below and check it out:
Warmly,
Brian
P.S. If by chance you watched the video above (“Part 2”) …and you are interested in “Parts 1 and 3” …I’ve set up the page so you can access those videos as well underneath the screen shot to “Part 2.”.
Part 1 is titled: “Who is in Your Corner?”
Part 3 is titled: “Your Mentors Choose You” (an oldie but a goodie). 🙂
Click here to access all three parts.
P.P.S. The 3-part video training series was initially used to launch a membership offer to Titans Xcelerator, my virtual (and very affordable) community of 250+ heart centered marketers, copywriters, media buyers, funnel builders, agency owners, entrepreneurs, and business owners.
Take a look at the offer here (which you can also access from the video page).
This offer is the most generous I’ve ever offered.
Titans Xcelerator was born out of the philosophy detailed inside the video training.
It’s based on having people in your corner, finding like-minded marketing practitioners with skill sets that are deeper and wider than your own (never being the smartest person in the room or on the Zoom screen) …and it’s a group full of potential mentors who will choose you (if you play your cards right as I outline in video #3).
The group is currently open to new members through the end of the year (until midnight December 31st) …so if you like what you see and hear from my training (not including my hair) …and on the page here…I invite you to join the party.
You’ll read success stories from members over the three years Titans Xcelerator has been in existence…and with an average renewal rate of close to 75% (including many members going on their fourth year), I think that speaks to the quality of what is (over) delivered to members during their memberships.
It’s a group where you come for the information (from the best of the best in direct response marketing) …and stay for the inspiration.
No matter what, click here for the 3-part video training which is absolutely free.