The Business Artist Podcast

In the first half of the year, 2020 has been a year like no other and with ongoing Covid 19 panic and worldwide riots, it looks to be at least as turbulent in the second half. Many see the US election on November 3rd as one of the key drivers of the Global political as well as economical developments. In this episode, I dive deep into these interrelations with Prof. Max Otte.

Prof. Max Otte is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and patriotic political activist. He is an independent fund manager and the companies, in which he is a shareholder, are managing  1.5 Billion EUR of client money. Max Otte became widely known as he predicted the 2008 financial crisis in his 2006 book “Der Crash Kommt” and our talk about the world economy and current geopolitical developments also lead us to the smartest actions you can now take to protect your money during these times, that can be confusing and threatening without a deep understanding of the underlying drivers.

Some of the questions I ask Professor Max Otte:

-  How do you see the current developments in the world? (01:08)

-  What do you think will be the result of the current investigations of the DOJ regarding the Obama administration? (02:45)

-  Is our near future mainly depending on the outcome of the battle between the Trump administration and the deep state? (05:01)

-  Has Donald Trump become the de facto Chairman of the FED? (07:16)

-  Will the US economy be able to manage a V-shaped recovery? (09:07)

-  Which investments do you recommend for investors to get through these economical storms? (12:31)

-  How important is it to have physical gold? (16:10)

-  Why is it safer to buy land than an apartment or a house? (16:46)

-  How dangerous is it to have high amounts of cash on a bank account? (18:09)

-  Are CHF or USD safer than EUR? (18:54)

-  The EU seems to be no significant player in the geo-political and geo-economical game, despite its financial power. What is the way forward for Europe? (20:45)

-  Are there any signals for a gold backed currency and even an end of the central bank era? (27:42)

-  What do you expect will happen worldwide until the US election on November 3rd? (29:45)

-  In which of your funds can people invest in? (32:01)

Own your financial freedom, join The Business Artist Club here: https://www.businessartist.club

More about Prof. Max Otte:

The current lockdown in most parts of the world has had a huge impact on artists. Whether, they are musicians, painters or poets, the lockdown abruptly stopped concerts, workshops, art galleries, museums, etc. and many artists experienced a sudden stop of their income. Fortunately, creativity is the core of art and therefore artists currently create new ways to express their art, new platforms to present their art and new channels to earn money with their art.

In this interview, I talk with Maras a rapper and poetry slam artist from France, who is also a coach for eloquence and poetry. Maras is the 2018 Red Bull Battle Rap Champion, the 2016 Vice-World Champion in Freestyle Rap and the 2014 National French Champion in Poetry Slam. He has performed on poetry slams as well as rap concerts and contests on all continents in French, English, German, Italian and even Japanese. Maras talks about his struggles, opportunities and visions in the current situation and embraces the positive aspects of the lockdown, while being aware of the dangers and risks.

Some of the questions I ask Maras:

• What are the positive impacts of the lockdown for you? (02:05)
• I personally enjoyed the lockdown as a time for inner work and retrospective. But now, I want to go out and fully live again. How is that for you? (03:04)
• How did you deal with the abrupt change in live and the sudden stop of earning money? (05:11)
• How do you think, the lockdown will change the way art is expressed, is consumed and is experienced? (07:49)
• Which new revenue streams and communication channels for artists are appearing during the lockdown? (10:37)
• Will digital concerts stay as an additional channel when real concerts are happening again? (14:40)
• On which digital models are you working to drive your business during the lockdown? (23:15)
• As with Global corporations vs. small to medium businesses, will big Global artists win over smaller Local artists, the longer the lockdown takes? (31:10)
• What is the current state of mind in the artistic community? (33:17)
• Will you keep on building these new digital channels for your art when you can do real-life workshops and concerts again? (38:23)

True transformation is painful as it means something needs to die in order for something new to develop. Therefore, we often need extreme situations and challenges in order to grow and raise our awareness. The current lockdown in many parts of the world can mean hardship in terms of uncertainty, fear and unhappiness but also is an opportunity to focus on inner work in order to shift our consciousness. In fact, this is currently happening Globally and collectively. We are experiencing the great awakening. In this episode, I talk with Natalia Geiger, who has a very deep understanding of human consciousness. It was very interesting to talk to her as she is exactly describing spiritually what I see happening in our world politically and socially.

Natalia is a powerful, vibrating and compassionate woman and works as a transpersonal coach for life and leadership, helping individuals and organizations to change and evolve. She wants to contribute to the creation of a more conscious, compassionate and sustainable world. Natalia works with leaders and with individuals who want to live and lead from their essence with greater clarity, inner-freedom, well-being, courage, authenticity and fulfilment.

Some of the questions I ask Natalia:

-  Are we currently experiencing a shift in human consciousness? (01:53)

-  Will everybody use the lockdown to raise their awareness or will some distract themselves by watching Netflix, checking the news, etc. constantly? (06:49)

-  Where do you see proofs for a collective shift in consciousness? (12:24)

-  How will this change on a spiritual level manifest in the world? (15:22)

-   Why don’t you fear that we are being driven into an Orwellian Society (30:01)

-  Why can’t we remember our eternal “I AM” from before our birth? (37:44)

-  Do you have goal in your spiritual journey? (42:50)

This talk with Natalia was powerful. She has a beautiful understanding of our deepest essence and talking to her made me feel hopeful, grateful and on a higher vibration.

Golf is a sport like no other. Whereas some even doubt that it is a sport, others use every minute they have to be on the course, play with friends or improve their game. Some think it is boring and for others it is the gate to a higher state of consciousness. If you go deeper into golf, you recognize, that it really has a meditative side to it, it demands high focus and concentration and it pushes you to not only reach high levels of body control, but also to control your breathing and your thoughts.

In this episode, I talk with Gaston Spithas, who is an Argentinian professional golf coach in Spain at the Costa del Sol and teaches players at every level on the various courts of Marbella, San Pedro de Alcantara and Estepona. Gaston is 31 years old and has basically started to play golf as soon as he could walk. He provides great insight into the mental side and the strategies of golf. These aspects are really fascinating for those interested in golf, already playing golf and also for those who seek inspiration for other areas of life, business or other sports.

Some of the questions I ask Gaston Spithas:

-  Do you still have sex? (03:12)

-  Golf was for a long time considered elite, old school and by some even boring. Has this changed in recent years? (04:36)

-  What is so magical about golf (06:21)

-  How do you teach people golf who start in their 30s, 40s or 50s? (12:12)

-  How long does it take on average for someone who starts playing gold until they can play on an 18 hole course? (14:53)

-  What are possible competitive golf strategies? (19:29)

-  What does it mean to take risks in golf? (21:48)

-  Is the mind game the real differentiator on the top level? (24:53)

-  Is mental strength today taught systematically – and already to kids - in golf? (26:37)

-  Is meditation used to improve mental skills? (30:15)

-  How do you help players to change bad habits? (32:34)

-  How do you help players to transform awareness into body intelligence? (35:36)

-  What does it mean to be talented in golf? (38:03)

Here is a link to the pro golfer who lived as a monk in preparation for the US Open: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiradech_Aphibarnrat

Raise your mental skills, join The Business Artist Club here: https://www.businessartist.club

More about Gaston Spithas:

Website: https://www.spitygolf.com

Whatsapp:  +34642321467

If you will be active in a business that is based on big emotions - for example sports or music - you will meet one special character by default: the creative hustler. The creative hustler is often behind the scenes but is a key player in the game, either pulling the strings, connecting people, making deals happen or consulting the visible players to create and execute their strategy. These could e.g. be player agents or lawyers in sports and label owners, A&Rs or artist managers in music. Very often, these creative hustlers are middlemen in a deal between two visible players. For me, these creative hustlers are the ultimate business artists.

Matt Schilt, aka Matt Fingaz, is one of those mysterious, charismatic and very important individuals who are professional creative hustlers. Listen to my interview with him to dive into this world and learn about the struggles, wins and learnings of his career in the entertainment business. He has great stories to tell about working with Snoop Dogg or Kanye West, his 7 to 8-year-long travel through the United States or his latest moves into the sports and movie business. This was really a high energy interview. If you listen to Matt you feel the hustle of NYC.

Some of the questions I ask Matt:

-  Can you explain the normal process from someone calling you to have Kanye West or Busta Rhymes on their record to the song being on Spotify or Apple Music?? (06:57)

-  How many records with Snoop have you coordinated? (13:10)

-  How are the plans for your documentary? (15:51)

-  In which city are you doing your movie industry degree? (20:47)

-  Can you tell us the story about your 7 to 8-year-long travel through the US? (22:23)

-  How did becoming father changed your life? (27:19)

-  How do you work together with your mother on her creative projects? (30:37)

-  What is your advice to a young kid, who wants to have a career in the entertainment business today? (39:15)

Hustle and flow. Life your dream now and join The Business Artist Club here: https://www.businessartist.club

More about Matt Schilt:

E-mail: getatboc@gmail.com

We are in a period of constant and exponential change. Technology is already disrupting large parts of our life and the speed is increasing rapidly. This scares many people as change is associated with discomfort, risk and potential losses. Actually, change also always provides exceptional opportunities for growth, wealth and success. In the future, it will be important to be able to accept change, live with change and adapt to change. Everything will change, our work, the way we move, communicate, learn, do business etc., etc. To be able to still access the feeling of security, being relaxed and full of hope while being in the middle of change is going to be a challenge but it is possible.

In this episode I talk to Ammar Ahmad who has launched his videos show and podcast Denmark Real last year. Ammar was born and raised in Iraq and moved to Denmark with his family at the age of 11. This obviously meant radical change very early in his life, adapting to a new language, a new culture, new friends and new values from one day to the other. After he managed to transform from an “alien” to a “player” in Denmark, he went through the struggles of many young people in our age and time. He started to study and stopped, he started in one industry and stopped, trying to find his purpose, his identity and a vision he can believe in.

This journey has led him through a phase of reading, listening to podcasts and personal development, where he found the answers he was looking for from people like Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie, Earl Nightingale, Jordan B. Peterson or Brian Rose.

Today, he wants to inspire others with Denmark Real.

Some of the questions I ask Ammar:

-  How did you find the 60 seconds rule? (01:49)

-  What was the first thing you did after you listened to Earl Nightingale? (04:29)

-  Which change did the outward world perceive from you after your reprogramming? (07:58)

-  Did you need to start Denmark Real to find out your purpose? (11:00)

-  How was it to migrate from Iraq to Denmark with your family when you were 11 years old? (14:03)

-  Did you have to go to school without any knowledge of the Danish language? (15:05)

-  Can you describe the social game that was played at school? (17:20)

-  How have the struggles of your youth shaped you? (20:39)

-  Why did Jordan B. Peterson have such a big impact on you? (24:54)

-  Is free speech and freethinking one of the major topics in your show? (29:57)

-  What is the vision for Denmark Real (34:05)

It was very interesting to speak to Ammar and get into the minds of the 18 to 30 year-olds. I have a lot of sympathy for this young generation and they give me hope for the future. I hope you will experience the same when you listen to this interview.

Want to change your life? Join The Business Artist Club here: https://www.businessartist.club

More about Ammar Ahmad:

https://www.facebook.com/DemmarkReal

You are an artist! Just go and make your art! Do it now!

Do not wait for someone to give you approval to show your art. Pull the trigger. You are an artist. Do not wait for perfection. Perfection is an excuse for procrastination. If you are not at least a little embarrassed when you show your art to the world, you waited too long. Fight the resistance. Put it out.

Jonas Myrin is a Swedish Grammy-winning songwriter, a singer, musician and artist. He is writing with the biggest artists of the planet and will release his own album in 2020. He went to America as a nobody in 2013 and is today one of the dopest songwriters in Los Angeles. We met in his incredible house in Hollywood and talked about the art of business, how to value your worth as an artist and how the biggest disappointment of his career was the start of his successful journey in America. Listen to this episode with Jonas Myrin. It will give you the courage and inspiration to show yourself, express yourself and embrace yourself.

Some of the questions I ask Jonas:

-  How does it make you feel to wake up in the morning and see the Hollywood sign from your window? (01:05)

-  Why are you so interested in people (02:49)

-  Did you ever doubt the artist in yourself? (14:55)

-  As someone with a very artistic soul and purpose, how did you grow into a businessman? (18:08)

-  Do you negotiate? (23:44)

-  Which advice would you give a young, aspiring artist? (23:58)

-  After you have reached so much, what are your big dreams now? (36:19)

This interview with Jonas Myrin really thrilled me. He is not only an amazing musician; he has a big heart and he connects with people deeply. He is a great role model for people who want to embrace their kindness, their compassion and want to have the courage to connect with people with an open heart. His advice is to believe in the artist in yourself and don’t wait to make and show your art to the world.

People who follow me know that I started my career in the music business and I am still very much connected with it. It was a fascinating business when I started in the 90s and I think it is today again a very fascinating business as technology has changed the industry so much that I would call it today the music tech industry. Distribution channels, income streams and marketing strategies have changed and evolved dramatically in this century and of course the music and the artists, too.

In this episode, I talk to Alex Branson, a music business expert, who has been on the forefront of the digital transformation of the music business. After many executive roles, VP International at Ingrooves being the most prominent one, Alex is today an independent consultant, working on fascinating projects with Empire, Facebook, Beatport, Rotor Video and other companies. He has also launched his own music industry podcast ABC Music Talk. I gave Alex a hard time, going through his whole CV, as his career really leads us through all the big music biz changes of the century.

Some of the questions I ask Alex:

-  Why did you leave Ingrooves? (31:57)

-  Why did you decide to start your own business? (37:15)

-  What is the difference in the life of an executive in the music business to the life of an entrepreneur? (42:07)

-  How do you see the future of major labels? (46:17)

-  After streaming, could you imagine what the next level of distribution could be? (55:55)

-  What is your advice for someone who wants to start his career in the music business today? (1:11:28)

This talk with Alex was a great deep dive into the music industry and led us from the golden age in the 90s through the digital evolution into the new golden age, the music tech reality of today.

This episode with Natalia Geiger can change your life.

We are blessed as a species because we developed this incredible powerful mind that enables us to communicate among billions of people, discover and develop high technology in many different areas and create things, stories and ideas that did not exist before. However, the majority of human beings have forgotten what we really are and identify with their thoughts and their ego and as a result experience stress, anxiety and suffering. When the body is in stress, the body does not function as it is supposed to function. This often leads to depression, anxiety and many other diseases. Being aware of the simple truth that we are not our thoughts and not our body is the first step to jump into consciousness and start experiencing the path of love, presence and true happiness. All this I have learned in this episode from Natalia Geiger and although I have known most of it before, there is a huge difference between knowing about this wisdom and having experienced the truth of it. Natalia has experienced it. And you can feel it.

Her story is truly fascinating and inspiring. Natalia is a powerful, vibrating and compassionate woman and works as a transpersonal coach for life and leadership, helping individuals and organizations to change and evolve. This is far away from the state she was in after her father died of cancer when she was 13 years old. At this point in her life everything crashed for her. She was first diagnosed with depression, then with chronic anxiety and then with a food eating disorder. Later in her life, she has an injury and could not walk for 5 years! Listen to her powerful story and learn how she coped with the worst possible things she could imagine happening to her and then developed into the inspirational coach and role model she is today.

Some of the questions I ask Natalia:

-  Could you please explain the inner work you did to discover your true essence? (17:18)

-  What is this true essence, this consciousness that we are? Are we living in a simulation like Elon Musk believes or what is the reason for all these challenges on the path to awakening? (23:15)

-  What exactly did you do that healed yourself? (29:30)

-  Are you always in a state of Zen in everyday life? (33:24)

-  How do you bring this awareness for spirituality, love and compassion into organizations and their leadership? (37:41)

-  What is your way to contribute to the evolution of us all? (42:57)

-  You help many people on their journey of healing and finding purpose, where do you take your energy from, what is your source? (44:18)

-  Can you reveal the name of your spiritual guide? (45:06)

This talk with Natalia was powerful. She has a beautiful understanding of our deepest essence and talking to her made me feel hopeful, grateful and on a higher vibration.

In today’s world of polarized debates, black-and-white mainstream media and corporate spying, speaking your truth, expressing your beliefs and even freely thinking your thoughts is becoming challenging for many. The high growth of longform podcasts, that give people the platform to express their thoughts without interruption or framing is showing the need of humans for deep connection on the basis of truth, realness and freedom. If this is given, different opinions, challenging beliefs and confronting values rather have the function of facilitating a great discussion than leading to blaming, violent communication and “I am right, you are wrong” debates.

A podcast particular dedicated to free thinking and talking is the Freethinkers Allowed podcast by Marcos Corral. Marcos is an US army veteran, a firearm instructor, a cannabis advocate, a musician and the founder of Freethinkers Allowed. His mission is to hold space for people to think freely, express their thoughts and speak their truth. Marcos discovered who he really is and how to express his true self through cannabis. You might discover it through his podcast.

Some of the questions I ask Marcos:

-  What does “know who you are” actually mean? (06:03)

-  Many people want to speak their truth but are blocked by fear. How can they manage to break through this resistance? (08:50)

-  How did you find out who you are? (11:14)

-  When you smoked cannabis, it made you really introspective and revealed a lot of uncomfortable truth about yourself. Was it easy for you to handle this truth? (16:19)

-  What kind of guests are you inviting to the Freethinkers Allowed podcast? (25:36)

-  What do you mean when you say we are all still children and nobody is an adult? (29:22)

The interview with Marcos was very important for me. I do not know of any human right that is more essential than being able to think freely. But this right is in danger and we need platforms like Freethinkers Allowed to protect it.

Even if you are not a professional artist, there are powerful benefits of being creative and creating art. Creativity is a competitive advantage in business and many of the most successful entrepreneurs are also extremely creative people. Examples are Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Richard Branson or Gary Vee. On the other hand, many of the most successful artists are also extremely smart businesspeople. Think about Andy Warhol, Madonna, Jay Z or J.K. Rowling. True business artists. The intersection between art and business is so fascinating, as many people think that these two domains are rather contradictory. Rebecca Schweiger, founder & CEO of The Art Studio New York, has made art her business and she helps people to get access to their creativity and unleash it.

Rebecca founded The Art Studio New York 15 years ago in her 1-bedroom apartment and build it up to a unique institution that does more than 100 classes a week in its beautiful studio in Manhattan. When Rebecca studied art and experienced how she was growing personally and spiritually through her creative work, she wondered why this wonderful practice was such a private club and only reserved for people who want to become professional artists. She also discovered what is today proven by neuroscience, that creating art has the power to change the brain from whatever state it is in to a much happier and healthier version. That was when she decided to found an art studio that gives everybody the opportunity to discover their inner artist. The rest is history and today people from all over the world come to The Art Studio New York to enjoy this space where they can be who they want to be and experience, explore and express themselves.

Some of the questions I ask Rebecca Schweiger:

-  How did you get the inspiration to start your art school and what is the purpose of it? (02:09)

-  How do you get busy managers, doctors or lawyers to discover their inner artist? (07:39)

-  How long does it take until people see an impact from the artistic transformation in your studio in their personal lives? (13:39)

-  How did you find out this method to teach people to discover their creativity? (41:39)

-  You certainly had to hustle a lot to build up an art school in New York. How did you evolve as an entrepreneur? (50:08)

-  As a very creative entrepreneur, do you engage in financial strategy, accounting and budgeting? (55:17)

-  What can people who cannot come to your school do at home to access their creative genius? (1:02:23)

I really enjoyed this talk with Rebecca Schweiger. She has great insights into human emotions, creativity, art and business and uses her power to help many people to become healthier and happier and more successful.

Everybody is aware of feminism. But many are still unaware of the growing masculinity movement, which already is a Global phenomenon. And this masculinity is not toxic but aware, healthy, loving and strong. The concept of healthy or sacred masculinity was never taught to us, so now it is time.

At the core of this movement is the insight that men need other men that they can trust. Based on this brotherhood, men can develop a deep connection to their emotions, live in integrity and true to their purpose.

Stefanos Sifandos helps male business leaders to feel freedom in their business and personal lives. He shows his clients how to be a healthy masculine man in contemporary times, who is respected by his friends and coworkers and adored by his family and lover. He himself went through an emotionally and physically abusive upbringing and transformed from being passive, withdrawn and shy, to being violent, hyper-aggressive, self-absorbed and ego driven to being self-aware, purposeful and inspiring to others today.

Stefanos has worked with Olympic gold medalists and world-class fighters, including several world champions. He is leveraging physical challenge as an opportunity for transformation and growth and has deep insight into the male and masculine condition. He is part of the Sacred Sons, a collective that helps men heal and awaken to their true power.

Some of the questions I ask Stefanos Sifandos:

-  Can you please explain the sacred masculinity movement? (04:49)

-  What is your view on the polarity between women and men in current Western culture? (11:00)

-  How can men overcome the addiction to distraction? (15:27)

-  What is a healthy way to relate to porn? (17:32)

-  Why is it important not too ejaculate too often? (23:03)

-  How did your attitude and behavior towards women change? (26:52)

-  How does your consciousness impact your decision making and strategy in business? (36:05)

-  What is your view on monogamous vs. non-monogamous relationships (37:31)

-  What is behind the concept behind the Conscious Warrior and the Reclaim Your Kingdom programmes? (42:32)

-  What is the ideal female match for a Conscious Warrior? (44:03)

-  Why is Jordan Peterson such an important person in the masculinity movement? (46:25)

I really enjoyed this talk with Stefanos. He is a role-model for men and embodies strength, self-awareness and integrity.

Today, scientists agree that our movement is connected to our brains. The way you move impacts how your brain functions. And there is an intelligence in your body, in your movements, in your muscles that you can access and improve. Having high body intelligence will help you with any endeavour, for example to build your business, to heal yourself if you have injuries or a disease and even not to get sick in the first place. There are several paths to working on your body intelligence. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Tacfit are two very powerful ones, that we will take a close look at, together with Alberto Crane.

Alberto Crane is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Pioneer and black belt world champion. He is a UFC veteran and today the director of Tacfit International. Tacfit is regarded by many as the smartest workout of the world and has helped Alberto Crane to even be totally free of any symptoms after he had brain injuries from his UFC fights and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 7 years ago. Alberto has healed himself through movement and is today in his full power and in the best shape of his life. He extremely active with Tacfit, with being head couch and owner of Legacy, his Los Angeles-based martial arts and fitness school as well as his own podcast and YouTube show.

Some of the questions I ask Alberto:

-  Why is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu so powerful? (01:40)

-  Can you tell us more about Tacfit? (10:30)

-  How can you start with Tacfit? (12:41)

-  How is the brain involved in the movement (13:46)

-  What is the optimal training cycle? (18:25)

-  Are there online courses available? (19:55)

-  How has martial arts shaped the way you do business (26:33)

-  What is the purpose of your YouTube show? (31:40)

-  Please explain the “Martial Art Mindset” (33:38)

I really enjoyed the interview with Alberto Crane. He is an inspiring man who has achieved a lot, went through a lot of pain and has overcome all obstacles. He always went for his passion and has a strong and powerful mind and an intelligent body and vice versa.

I wanted to do a podcast for a long time, but I had many open questions in my mind, that stopped me from starting. Questions like “how shall I call it?”, “which topic shall I use?”, “should I protect my name first?”, “can I do it in English with my accent?” and “how do I even do a podcast?”. These thoughts were running in my mind without any useful answer and hold me back from starting. The breakthrough for me was when I joined the Broadcast Yourself course from London Real. At the end of the course, Brian Rose interviewed me in the London Real studios and asked me questions about Broadcast Yourself, my podcast and my journey. This is an extremely valuable episode for anyone who is interested in starting their own podcast or wants to start a dream project but does not know how to start.

Brian Rose is a former Wall Street banker turned broadcaster. Brian has an engineering degree from MIT and started the podcast London Real in 2011. Today, London Real is one of the most relevant podcasts and video interview shows with more than 1.2M YouTube subscribers, millions of downloads and guests like Dr. Joe Dispenza, Andreas Antonopoulos, Mantak Chia, Gary Vee, Tim Ferris and Lewis Howes, just to name a few.

Some of the questions Brian Rose asks me:

-  Why did you want to start a podcast now? (02:33)

-  What is the first week of Broadcast Yourself like? (05:50)

-  What kind of barriers did you have to overcome when starting your podcast? (06:40)

-  How did doing vlogs contribute to your learning process? (07:38)

-  What was the most challenging part of the course (09:09)

-  What was your first big win? (10:18)

-  Tell me about your podcast and what is your micro-niche? (11.46)

-  What was the coolest thing that happened to you since you started the podcast? (14:51)

-  How does your podcast look like in 5 years, what do you want this to become? (20:33)

-  How was the Jan that did not do this podcast different to the Jan that started it (23:26)

I really enjoyed the interview with Brian Rose. Being in the London Real studios, sitting on the same leather armchairs as the names I mentioned above and all the other amazing role models of mine.

There are many paths to independence. Financial independence is only a component of independence. But a necessary component. Two paths to financial independence are building up your own business and day trading. Darko Malic did both. On top of that, he also helped around 100 start-ups to succeed with his business consulting company Fash Concept Consulting. And he is so successful in day trading that he is planning to fade out his very successful company. In order to reach overall independence, it is sometimes necessary to cut your business activities down and exchange money against time, life quality, a higher purpose and peace of mind.

Darko, a German with Croatian-Bavarian roots and living in both, South and North Cypress, is a natural high performer, always on high energy, high vibration and very present in the moment. He worked 90-100 hours per week for many years and run several marathons. On top of that, he is also location-independent and plans to travel the world while trading. The fascinating thing about him is that he combines these high achievements with high passion, integrity, love for life and empathy.

Some of the questions I ask Darko:

-  Do you always wake up before Sunrise? (03:09)

-  Why did you choose to live in Cypress (09:46)

-  You consulted hundreds of start-ups and entrepreneurs. What are common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs? (11:25)

-  Why is the ratio of the successful start-ups you consulted so high? (17:27)

-  Does a “performance monster” have to work 90-100 hours per week? (18:46)

-  What are the emotional resistances entrepreneurs are facing when growing their business? (27:05)

-  Are gaps – where an entrepreneur has to keep the business alive without any income – common in the startup phase and how can they be managed? (31:43)

-  Why are you only trading options (39:56)

-  How to be careful in trading? (43:33)

-  What is your advice for traders and people who want to become traders (51:07)

-  What are the countries you want to live in while traveling the world with your girlfriend, both trading? (57:43)

I really enjoyed this talk with Darko. I hope you will too and benefit from his amazing experience in helping entrepreneurs to succeed and successfully buying and selling stocks. If you want to be independent, learn from Darko.

There are many ways of success. In a time where we hear a lot about habits, hacks, action and scheduling – and I am a big believer in this, too – it is refreshing to hear the story of Kez Klein. When I asked her about her success habits, she was asking me if I mean this question seriously. She is also not planning her week, she is not bio-hacking her body and she is not talking about accountability and self-responsibility. Yet, she is vibrating, impressively kind, very youthful, has a radiating energy and has achieved incredible things in her life.

Kez Klein is the founder and CEO of the Kez Klein Fitness Institute in Bangalore, India. Born and raised in Germany with roots in Turkey, she started her career in the music industry before she moved into sales in the fitness industry. From there, she made a journey that lead her to India 10 years ago, where she developed into a trainer of fitness trainers and into a thought leader in the fitness education industry. She has since then created charities to help children, trained the National Indian football team and has done an inspirational TED India talk.

Some of the questions I ask Kez:

-  How did you build up your own company in India? (05:20)

-  Are you influencing your journey by following the law of attraction? (08:27)

-  How can you invest in India or build up a business in India? (20:39)

-  Can you talk about what you do to help children in India (28:44)

-  How did you develop from someone who did almost no physical exercises into a role model for fitness? (39:16)

-  Which habits have helped you to achieve everything you have achieved and do you teach them to your clients to? (44:55)

-  What are the next dreams you will realize? (52:52)

In this talk with Kez I almost felt, as if I was guided into the spiritual and emotional world of India. She has a big and open heart, she is full of passion and belief and when you listen to her, you just know that she will create many great things in the future. I will enjoy following her journey and I recommend that you do, too.

Programming, accounting and finance are skill areas that are not easily accessible for many. Whereas many regard accounting and finance to be dull and boring, coding is seen as a magic skill of geeks who started learning it shortly after they started walking and there is no way a “normal person” can learn it. Gavin Allen proofs and explains in a humorous but compelling way that the opposite is true for both skill areas. Excitingly, online education plus the appearance of low programming solutions actually make it possible for almost everyone, independent of age, skill level, wealth or former education, to learn how to code and use it in a powerful and creative way. The only thing you need is the ambition and the courage.

After a career of two and a half decades in high level accounting and finance jobs at large corporate firms, Gavin Allen started to learn how to code at the age of 50. His AHA-moment was when he discovered that coding helps him to make things possible and to solve problems himself, for example if excel does not have a function he needs. He is now an independent consultant who helps businesses transform by using technology in a smart way. He also maximizes employee satisfaction by implementing technology that increases the efficiency of business processes and thereby makes extra hours and overtime unnecessary. On top of that, Gavin has launched the Podcast Excel Elites, that has the mission to embrace the fun and magic in accounting and finance, which Gavin has experienced throughout his career.

Some of the questions I ask Gavin:

-  Why will humans not be replaced by technology in finance and accounting? (04:46)

-  You started to learn how to code when you were 50 years old. How did you develop the courage to start coding at that age? (19:00)

-  Which programming languages did you learn (23:57)

-  Do you recommend to start with JavaScript? (25:58)

-  Although accounting and finance is your passion, you reached a point where a corporate career as a CFO did not satisfy you anymore and you wanted to found your own business. What was the reason for that? (30:30)

-  Why do large companies not manage to create an environment where employees feel they are doing a purposeful activity and can leave a legacy? (34:47)

-  What is your view on the development of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, particular with regards to finance and accounting in the foreseeable future (39:40)

-  Which problems are you solving for companies? (44:33)

I really enjoyed the interview with Gavin. He is one of the most charismatic accountants I have met and talking to him means receiving knowledge. The way he learned JavaScript, HTML5 and Python is inspiring. In this interview, he tells you how you can do it, too.

We all want to be happy. Some think whether you are happy or not is based on luck, others think that wealth is the driver for happiness and there are also people who are certain that happiness does not exist. Happiness does not only exist, it can actually be learned and the science of happiness is evolving with rapid speed. A distinguished scientist of happiness is Jenna Arora.  I talk with her about her story, her drivers and her methods. She has a very influential personality and everything she says is authentic and compelling.

Jenna Arora is a high-performance coach, a public speaker and an influencer. Her background is in positive psychology and she is helping people to unlock their potential and develop a blueprint for success through mastering their mindset. Her approach is strength-based, totally focusing on the strengths of her clients and building up on them. Jenna has studied what a life worth living, well-being and human flourishing really is and coaches people to reach this state of being.

Some of the questions I ask Jenna:

-  Which methods do you use to help people reach a higher vibration? (19:20)

-  How do you create group flow? (25:30)

-  The vulnerable, connected and conscious state of people who are on a retreat is beautiful and everyone is in bliss. Why do we not interact with each other like this in everyday life?  (32:52)

-  Why do you have such a strong desire to influence people to grow, to get out of their depressions and to become happy? (38:51)

-  When you would be cheated on today, would it cripple you? (50:36)

-  Is it also possible for you to help family members and close friends? (52:06)

Jenna blew me away in this interview. Her energy is contagious, she is radiating a positive, high vibration and her purpose is to influence people to drive their life and reach their potential.

More often than not, the biggest challenge in launching new ventures is the human risk element. During the start-up phase, confronting egos, perspectives and values are major risks of failure for high-tech companies, that often have no lesser purpose than saving the world. An increasing number of ventures in this space have discovered that focusing on human relationships and expectation management of the founders to ensure a shared vision and common goals among the stakeholders is dramatically reducing the human risk element and is additionally a sustainable competitive advantage. It is also highly valued by venture capitalists. One of the experts in this field is Karen Temple.

Karen Temple is living in Toronto and she is a coach and consultant for high tech companies as well as founders and CEOs of high-tech ventures. She has a PhD in Material Chemistry and profound knowledge in human psychology and human nature. She is also the founder of the Build Up One Another Podcast. Build Up One Another has the purpose of embracing supportive relationships and deep connections. Karen has seen in her career and personal life, that this will lead to long-term success, happiness and gratefulness and that we only reach the next level if we do it together. This counts for individuals, for companies and for the human species.

Some of the questions I ask Karen:

-  Is Toronto a hub for high tech companies? (07:10)

-  Can you please elaborate on the human risk element in building up a high tech company? (09:12)

-  How did you get the tech competency to be able to get the trust from the founders to embrace human relationships in their companies? (19:20)

-  What are your thoughts on the future of AI and humans? Will AI take over will machines stay tools that support humans to be free and happy? (32:43)

-  AI algorithms are currently primarily developed for killing, spying, gambling and porn. How can we then train the algorithms to be kind? (39:18)

-  Why does our society need so much help in supporting each other? Why is that not the natural go to behavior of all of us? (49:15)

I really enjoyed the interview with Karen. She is a world-class expert in her field and she has deep insights in areas so diversified as high technology, start-ups, human psychology and human nature. I think, connecting these areas is the single most important challenge we have to be aware of. Cooperation and deep human connections are essential to do this successfully.

Only in recent years have certain parts of our capitalistic system changed in a way that is closer to the strategies of nature. Mainly through the internet and social media, we can see a huge shift from competition to cooperation and from a scarcity mindset to a mindset of abundance. Experts have observed these strategies in nature for a long time. The internet and social media is by many seen as a reproduction of the wood wide web, a complex underground web of roots, fungi and bacteria helping to connect trees and plants to one another. It is existing for nearly 500 Million years under every forest. If we see the impact that the internet and social media had on business it becomes obvious, that we can learn a lot from a high understanding, connection and awareness for nature.

Aharon Henderson is the founder of the Eco IQ podcast. He grew up in Australia and now lives with his family in Jerusalem, Israel. Eco IQ or Ecological IQ refers to the awareness, skills, connection and impact you can develop in your relationship with nature.  Aharon is inviting ecological experts that will help you to raise your awareness, deepen your understanding and maybe motivate you to dig deeper into the magic of nature. This will also mean that you will develop the relationship with yourself, with others and with the universe.

Some of the questions I ask Aharon:

- What is an Ecological IQ? (01:06)

- Why do you see Ecological IQ so strongly connected to building a business and making money? (11:50)

- The fungi network is also referred to as the wood wide web, right? (18:27)

- Which part play Ayahuasca and other psychedelics in Eco IQ? (26:49)

- Can you give examples of people who built up highly successful businesses based on the strategies of nature (39:49)

- Why is awareness for nature a step into spirituality ? (55:40)

Unfortunately, there are short breaks around 17:50 and 26:25 buut this does not diminish the high value of our talk.

The talk with Aharon was an amazing dive into the world of ecological wisdom and I am convinced that there are amazing opportunities for those who manage to apply the strategies of nature in their business. Might it be in marketing, in production or in any other field.

Sexuality is the core of human nature. It is the energy that creates life and the driver of creativity . Many people who have accomplished a lot in life, have overwhelming sexual energy and know how to channel it. Sexuality should play a far more important and far more positive role in our culture. Mastering sexuality has an incredible impact on health, power, productivity and success. Therefore, creative entrepreneurs benefit immensely from unleashing their sexual energy. That is why I invited Magda Kay to The Business Artist Podcast.

Magda Kay is an Entrepreneur, a Digital Nomad, an Intimacy Coach, Sexuality Coach and an Influencer. She lives in Thailand and Ibiza and offers mentoring, 1:1 coaching, group coaching, online courses and retreats to help people to live with an open heart and unleash their sexual energy and live a sexually totally fulfilled life. She has made her passion her business and is a true Business Artist.

Some of the questions I ask Magda:

- How did you manage to become location independent? (04:30)

- What are solutions relationships where sex is not fulfilling anymore? (17:26)

- Can you please elaborate on the full body orgasm? (26:41)

- Is it possible to create group flow online? (36:21)

- How do you get people to sexual mastery (40:58)

- How can we channel our sexual energy (48:31)

- What does it mean to have an open heart? (56:35)

This interview with Magda was inspiring, eye-opening and fun. She is an amazing woman and role model for people who want to be independent, creative and full of passion. My recommendation: make sexual growth your priority. I will make it mine.

Books like “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne, “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself” by Dr. Joe Dispenza or “Reality Transurfing” by Vadim Zeland have raised the Global consciousness for reality creation. As there is nowadays high-level scientific research available that validates the effectiveness of meditation, visualization, affirmations, breathing techniques and creation through thoughts, an increasing number of people believe an practice reality creation. We are experiencing a shift in awareness of what we can do with our mind and our thoughts. Brian Scott calls this phenomenon the reality revolution.

Brian Scott is an Entrepreneur, hypnotist, certified NLP Master Practitioner, Meditation Instructor, Success Specialist as well as a Reality Creation Researcher. In his podcast The Reality Revolution, he provides guided meditations and guided hypnoses plus insights and practical advises around reality transurfing, the law of attraction and the law of one. He founded the Advanced Success Institute to build a Global network of reality creators and help people to successfully create their reality.

Some of the questions I ask Brian:

- Why is meditating so important to create reality? (13:50)

- How can people overcome resistance to start meditating? (17:38)

- How did Vadim Zeland find out about reality transurfing? (20:22)

- Where does the shift in Global consciousness lead us? (27:04)

Creation and awareness are core elements for a business artist to master. Therefore, this talk was extremely valuable to me. It was a crash course in reality creation and I believe many of you will be inspired to dig deeper into it and start your own process.

At least since Simon Sinek’s famous TED talk “Start With Why”, more and more entrepreneurs come to the awareness, that the purpose of a business is the main driver for success and also provides guidance - especially in the time of struggle. Maybe even more important, only a purpose-driven business will lead to fulfillment of the founder and also of the employees.

Martin Pleissner is the Founder of Whypreneur Ltd., a company that has the mission to help purpose-driven entrepreneurs and leaders to set up a meaningful and fulfilling business. Martin studied aerospace engineering and has worked in the aerospace industry for many years, before he started his own business in 2014. From 2016 to 2019, Martin built up Frei Leben, a community of Cryptocurrency enthusiasts, that became very successful. At the time of the crypto price rush in late 2017, Martin found himself in a situation, where more and more people joined his community who were driven by only one purpose: getting rich quick. That was the time when Martin realized, that he needs to do something more meaningful and impactful and that he loves to work with people who want to make a difference in other people's life. This realization was the basis for the foundation of Whypreneur, which has exactly this purpose: transforming lives towards more meaning and fulfillment.

Some of the questions I ask Martin:

- Which value exactly is Whypreneur providing for Entrepreneurs? (09:08)

- Why do we want to make an impact and do something with meaning once we reached independence? (21:00)

- How do you help entrepreneurs to get from the survival to the impact mode? (30:29)

- How do you quiet down your mind? (38:44)

- Why did you choose to leave your well-paid corporate career in aerospace engineering to start your own business without any financial security? (48:28)

- Did you already have this awareness and mindset then? (53:51)

I enjoyed this talk with Martin a lot. He provided practical tools to learn who you are and I was really inspired by the way he connects the dots between business, spirituality, history, psychology and science to a coherent explanation of the philosophy of Whypreneur.

Have you reached a point where you know you want more, that you want to do something with meaning, but you do not know how to reach that level? Are you holding back to express yourself, because your inner voice is telling you that you are not enough? Do you feel stuck in life and does every day feel the same for you? I have been at that point. What helped me, was to work with a coach on feeling my emotions to discover what hold me back. Therefore, it was very interesting for me to talk to Byron Morrison about the doubts and fears that hold entrepreneurs back from reaching their full potential and how he helps his clients to break through them.

Byron is the author of the best-selling book Become A Better You and he is coaching ambitious entrepreneurs to become unstoppable in business and reach peak performance. I am talking to him about his methods, his experiences and about his story. Byron is working with his clients on their mindset, their outlook and their wellness to silence the sabotaging voice in their head, that blocks them from pulling the trigger and take action to develop into the best version of themselves.

Some of the questions I ask Byron:

- You are working with ambitious and successful Entrepreneurs. Have they not already broken through their fears and doubts? (07:03)

- Why is Gary Vee the role model for so many entrepreneurs? (09:20)

- Could you please tell us some examples of clients and their process through your coachings? (20:50)

- How do you get your clients to face their fears and break through them? (22:54)

- Can you give our listeners some practical tools, which they can apply immediately? (29:30)

- What brought you on your mission to help people reach their full potential? (34:12)

I enjoyed this talk with Byron a lot. He provided practical tools that everyone can apply immediately, and I will keep on working on my emotions to break through my fears and heal my traumas. 

Many of our dreams seem very hard to reach and therefore many of us never even try to reach them or give up after an initial phase of high motivation. It is actually possible to reach all your goals without hardcore life changes or extreme hardships. I talk with Tommy Chang on how to implement habits and hacks in your daily life. You will learn how you can push yourself into a seamless process that will transform your health, your fitness, your skills or your performance to the next level. Sometimes, the best way to achieve big goals is to take small steps. In this episode, my own personal trainer and friend Tommy Chang shares his secrets on how to implement habits and hacks in your daily life to stay fit, mentally as well as physically

Tommy Chang is a lifestyle entrepreneur, who built up a boutique fitness company and the nutrition habit venture Eat Better Not Perfect in Zurich, Switzerland. After he worked at Nike and in other corporate jobs for six years, Tommy succeeded in turning his passion into his business and in being independent. His success is based on his obsession to implement habits in his daily life, that seamlessly convert his actions into performance. He is also an artist in hacking proven success formulas to find more efficient ways to reach his and his client’s goals. He works with high performance business clients and helps them to reach their health, fitness and weight goals. 

Some of the questions I ask Tommy:

- Can you please describe your transformation from working in corporate to starting your own company? (12:30)

- Which habits do you teach in your nutrition habit programme? (27:10)

- What are your proven strategies to help your clients decrease their stress level? (31:26)

- After you turned your passion into your business, what is your goal now? (34:54)

- Is the 10 000-hour principle hackable? (39:41)

- How many minutes per day does an average office worker need to invest to get on the path to top fitness? (42:57)

- What is the emotional difference between helping 10 people or millions of people? (46:30)

This talk with Tommy was very valuable for me. His way to reach his goals embraces the beauty of efficiency. He showed me that there is immense potential to optimize my ROI in fitness and nutrition.

Business learned a lot from HipHop and still is. Rappers, producers and HipHop label owners are the prototypes of modern creative hustlers. They know how to be assertive and they claim their worth but also know how to cooperate with others in order to be successful. Further, they have cultural identity, which makes it so attractive for many brands to be associated with a HipHop artist, thoughtleader or entrepreneur. More often than not, you get all of this in one person. I went through HipHop Business School myself and today I am interviewing Addis Mussa, who has established himself in the US as a bridge-builder between HipHop and Business and between the European and the American music business.

Addis Mussa lives in Orlando, Florida and is Music Consultant with Sony Music for the US territory, managing transatlantic cooperations between artists from Europe and the US. Additionally, he is coordinating brand partnerships between companies and artists, mainly rappers and HipHop producers, thereby taking part in the increasing HipHopification in business. Addis started as a rapper in Germany and after being successful as a German rapper with English lyrics, he wanted to become successful in the US and moved there in 2007. After years of struggle he had to realize that he has to look into other income streams than just rapping and built up his artist coordination and brand partnership expertise, which today is his passion and a constantly growing business. Addis is an artist in creating business out of nothing and this episode will give you great insights in the life of a hustler in the HipHop business as well as insights on working with artists, business in the US and how personal growth makes you successful.

Some of the questions I ask Addis:

- How did you break through the ego resistance that hold you back from helping other artists instead of being the star yourself? (19:55)

- What did you do when you realized that you have to do something else than just rapping to make a living in the US? (27:50)

- Tell us about the first business steps you made in the US? (30:03)

- Can you give us insights on the increasing collaborations between all sorts of brands and HipHop artists? (33:33)

- How is the process of bringing companies and artists together? (35:17)

- Which advice would you give a young artist and which advice would you give to people who want to build up their own business? (58:15)

In this talk with Addis I learned how to get access to US artists, how to successfully manage a collaboration between an artist and a brand and that sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to overcome ego resistance.

The difference between knowledge and implementation is huge. Many people know how to develop a product and market it. And their biggest wish is to be an independent entrepreneur. Still, every day they go the office and do a job they hate for someone else. Many of us have read a high number of books on personal development, spirituality or game-changing habits, yet two weeks after we read a book and felt full of inspiration and motivation, we find ourselves back in our old life, caught in our old habits. Many of us know how to eat and train to build up muscles, to lose weight and to be healthy. Our biggest wish is a six pack and a super fit body. But instead of executing on that knowledge, we find ourselves watching TV while eating junk food. For John Sonmez, this is the scariest thing in the world, because it means, we are not able to commit to the promises we make to ourselves. If we are not able to make commitments with ourselves, we give up ownership of our life and we will lose control of what is happening to us. On the contrary, if we are making commitments with ourselves and keep our promises, there are no limits to what is possible for us. We will become who we want to be, we will be free and we will have total control of our life.

John Sonmez is a self-made multimillionaire who has retired from real-estate investing by the age of 33. His mission now is to grow Bulldog Mindset to help as many men as possible to become the best version of themselves. His youtube channel has already over 200.000 subscribers and he coaches men to develop their bulldog mindset in order to be free and to reach their full potential. His method is based on conquering wealth, physics and social life by implementing habits that you do every day, no matter if you feel like them or not and to overcome your fears by feeling them and building up your courage. If you develop a bulldog mindset, you will convert your knowledge into action, you will be who you want to be and you will make your dreams come true.

Some of the questions I ask John:

- How did you discover who you really are? (4:25)

- Who did you actually want to be when you found out you can be whoever you want to be? (7:03)

- What are the things you hate that you’re doing daily? (27:50)

- How do you get someone who has a weak mind to develop a tough mind (30:32)?

- Can you give an example of someone you helped turning a weak mindset into a bulldog mindset? (45:50)

I really enjoyed doing this talk with John! It inspired me to raise the level of commitment I have with myself and to build up my courage muscle.

The world is ready to breathe. Seen as something we “just do” for a long time, science has catched up in recent years and we are finally discovering the opportunity we have to hack our evolution by controlling our breath. With breathing, we can control our emotional state, our mental state, our physiology, our chemistry, our behavior and our focus. What pro athletes and artists have already implemented in their routines is now discovered by more and more people, who want to reach higher states of consciousness in all different areas. Conscious breathing heals, empowers, helps you to discover your purpose and to reach your full creative potential.

Dan Brulé is one of the breathwork masters of our time and has worked with many outstanding performers, including Olympic champions, elite martial artists, leading psychotherapists, medical experts, monks, meditators and performing artists. Examples are 3 times Olympic gold medal winner, wrestler Alexandr Karelin or life coach guru Tony Robbins. He also took part in a ten-year study of breathwork with members of the Russian Academy of Science. I also learned in this interview that he has already teached breathwork in 66 countries. His mission is to turn at least one billion people to the healing, creative power and potential of breathwork.

Some of the questions I ask Dan:

- what is his view on the prognosis of many scientists, that AI will enable us to download ourselves in the cloud in the foreseeable future? (10:48)

- how do you start to work on your breath to shape your life? (12:36)

- how do you unleash your creativity with breathwork? (18:30)

- how the world will change if one million people breathe consciously? (25:50)

I really enjoyed this talk with Dan. I hope it will inspire you and make you take action. To end with his words: "The better you breathe, the better you live". 

In this episode I introduce the podcast. I tell you more about the purpose of the Business Artist podcast and I tell you my story.

Business Artists make money in an artful way, they want to create something beautiful or cool or stylish or revolutionary. They want to be authentic and they want to add something new to the world, something which nobody has done before. They are independent and they want to contribute something to the big picture, to all the great things that have already been done. They do this by building companies, by making deals, by creating marketing strategies,  offering services or releasing products. Steve Jobs was a business artist. Jimmy Iovine is a business artist. Gary Vee is a business artist. And there are many more amazing business artists around, known and unknown. 

In This Episode You Will Find Out:

- Who this podcast is for

- My way to become a Business Artist

- Further information on the way of the Business Artist

- Why I believe the way of the Business Artist is so powerful and leads to satisfaction, wealth and the life you want to live

- What you can expect from this podcast in the future