What the Hell Are We Doing? - The Podcast

tl;dr 

Find a role model in this world whose priority and passion *isn't* about making mountains of money.

tl;dr

1. Needing friends makes you needy.

2. "The strongest negotiating position is being able to walk away and mean it."

3. Friends and people in general always come and go.

tl;dr

Don't sell chocolate ice cream to people who prefer vanilla.

1. Spend 90% of your time researching your market/audience

2. Mirror your audience's language.

3. Study the competition.

4. Focus on solving problems

tl;dr > "You can't steal second with your foot on first."

A cat, a rat, and a dog walk into a bar...  Everything you need to know to get up to speed with how GameStop is going to short squeeze and change lives.  00:30 It Was a Fool-proof Play 2:02 Deep F*cking Value 2:58 The Cat 4:20 The Shorts Got Caught (The Rat(s)) 5:23 The Dog 6:17 Where's My Money 6:52 Conclusion  #gamestop #gamestopstock #shortsqueeze #amcshortsqueeze (you guys can come too)  Go check us out on: 🔵Twitter: @giantnerdco 🟠Instagram: @giantnerd.co ⚫Facebook: @giantnerd.co 🌐 Website: www.giantnerd.co 📧 Email: ben@giantnerd.co

tl;dr:

1. Something is *always* better than nothing.
2. Two steps forward, one step back (progress isn't linear).
3. Being in the 1% means doing what 99% of people won't do.
4. Sleep.
5. Skills > success.

tl;dr:

1. Make it about the reader
2. Focus on what the other party is getting out of it
3. Keep It Simple, Stupid
4. Thou shalt not serve copypasta.
5. Use the “So What?” test for everything you mention
6. Convert your experience into reasons why someone should hire you
7. End with a call-to-action
8. Make it readable.
9. Quantity over quality
10. Always be following up

BONUS: Here's the best cover letter template I've ever come across:

https://hbr.org/2009/06/the-best-cover-letter

Everybody wants to talk about /gender parity/ in the C-suite.

But how come nobody's crying over other male-dominated professions?

Like construction workers.

And "waste collection operators."

This episode is for the other 99% of men who aren't at the top of the totem pole.

Why quantity and quality are both necessary, but not in the ways most people think.

Make a product so good that you don't have to lie to sell it.

When you break the rules, you realize you can have a hand in making new ones.

Yes, this still applies even if you don't want to break mirrors just by looking at them.

And no, you won't look like a lunk after listening to this episode.

"The subtle art of not giving a fuck" is a lot easier said than done.

Here's what I do to practice not caring about other people's opinions.

tl;dl - get clear on what you love most

Everyone has a religion - even atheists.

You can't function in the world without one.

The question is whether your religion really works for you.

Might've rambled a bit before I finally got to some practical advice, so feel free to skip to the 21-minute-ish mark.

Being motivated is nice to have. But motivation on its own won't get shit done.

Here's what you need:

• An appropriate goal
• A high tolerance for pain

Listen to me ramble for 24 minutes about how to keep yourself "motivated" 

tl;dl no pain, no gain.

Should you really think before you act?

Or is it better to act before you think?

In this episode, I discuss why it's sometimes better to act on your emotions than to use "rationale" as an excuse for inaction.

Intelligence has its pockets of influence in the world.

Entrepreneurship is not one of them.

Here's why "smarts" only get you so far when it comes to starting your own venture.

When you heard the word "entrepreneurship," you probably tend to think of high-flying innovative minds who are pioneering the next technological orgasm.

The truth is 90% of entrepreneurship is straight up boring.

And that's why many so-called "creative" people don't make great entrepreneurs. 

Not because they have bad ideas. But because they simply aren't willing to do the boring stuff.

In this episode, we discuss why "boring" works better than "sexy," and how to know if you're cut out to be a boring entrepreneur. 

Are you thinking about going into entrepreneurship?

Here's why starting your own business might be a good fit for you - and how to tell if you're better of working for someone else.

tl;dr Competition makes you better.

It's no secret that "passion" plays some importance in having a happy and potentially successful life - depending on your definition of success.

The real puzzle is in figuring out what your passion actually is.

The truth is there is no mathematical formula you can use to calculate your passion.

But there are some things you can do to help you narrow down your options.

In this episode, I discuss 3 things you can do to help you find your passion, while struggling to stay on topic. Enjoy!

There's nothing wrong with changing your mind about a decision you've made.

Life is by no means a straight path. The destination you pick today may be millions of miles away from where you want to be tomorrow.

Listen in to this episode to hear why changing your mind is actually okay when it comes to business and even the biggest decisions you'll ever make in life.

Most people think having to "sell" something means talking someone's ear off until they buy.

Of course, anyone who's ever had to deal with overly pushy sales reps knows how well that technique works.

Which is why being able to effectively sell something depends less on your charisma and showmanship...

And more on your ability to listen.

Tune in to this episode to hear more about why active listening is essential to closing the sale.

A common mistake people make when pricing themselves is setting prices based on how much work it takes to do something.

These sorts of prices are based on self-interest.

Which makes sense - it's only human nature.

The problem is that the other side is also human. So they're also looking at price from a place of "what's in it for me?"

That also means their willingness to pay has nothing to do with how much work it takes you to do it. All they care about is what they're getting out of doing business with you.

Listen to this episode to hear more about why your pricing should depend on how much your customer is willing to pay.

We've all been taught that "facts" are binary.

You're either right or you're stupid.

But once you dig deep enough, below the surface of popular ignorance...

You'll find that there are almost always contradicting data and evidence.

Which means if you've got a point to make, you can almost always find "facts" to support your point of view.

Tune in to today's episode to hear how you can snag all the factual evidence you need - and why it doesn't matter in the end.

Contrary to popular belief, sales doesn't always have to be about persuasion and wrestling with others' willpower.

In fact, if you take the right approach to sales - a non-salesy approach - you'll often find it's much easier to get someone to buy whatever you're offering without tying them to a chair and shoving it down their throats.

Which is why you need to practice empathy, in case you haven't been already.

Tune in to this episode to hear why empathy is such an overlooked skill - and how you can develop it.

Everyone is afraid of failing.

The difference between the people who fail and those who succeed comes down to this:

People who succeed, do.

It's not about the "right" way of doing things. There is no secret hack to success.

You just have to do, and do, and do, and do. And then do some more.

And the more you do the things you're afraid of, the closer you get to success.

Here's why you need to stop thinking, and start doing.

You don't have to be sales-y to sell. 

Contrary to what you might've heard about selling, it's not a sleazy, spineless, deceptive way of making money.

If you do it the right way, it should help people solve their problems - and can even change their lives (for the better, of course).

Wondering how you can get better at selling, especially if you've actually got something to sell? Tune in to this 20-minute ramble to find out why most people can't even sell a pen.

If there's one part of the sales pitch that you should never skip over, it's the part that happens before the pitch even starts:

Building rapport.

Being able to build rapport and open up whoever it is you're talking to sets the stage for your actual pitch... and can even get them to say yes before you even ask.

Listen in to this episode to learn more about why building rapport is vital to selling, and the best way to go about doing it.

Don't delay - build rapport today!

Giving presentations doesn't have to suck.

You don't need to be an eloquent public speaker, or naturally charismatic in order to talk your audience into doing what you want.

All you have to do to give an effective presentation is to prepare the right way.

That means covering 3 components with your audience:

1. What you're gonna talk about

2. Why you're talking to them

3. What you want them to do

Listen to this episode to hear more about how to go about planning each of these 3 components.

Whether you’re building a business, or you're starting your career, you need to be able to focus your efforts in a specific direction.

You need to find your niche.

Now, understanding this concept is the easy part. What’s difficult is figuring out just where exactly you need to focus your attention.

How do you do that?

Listen in on this episode to discover 5 guiding rules to help you find your niche.

Most people think being called "crazy" is a bad thing.

But crazy can be a good thing.

If anything, it's often the "crazy," "stupid" ideas that lead to the biggest changes.

Like putting a supercomputer into your pocket. Or flying in an airplane halfway across the world. Or building your own business.

But most creative people know, the tough part isn't coming up with crazy, game-changing ideas. The tough bit is following through and making those crazy ideas and dreams come true.

So if you have a hard time withstanding criticism from others... if the lack of belief from others causes you to lose belief in yourself... ask yourself this question:

Would you rather have normal, average sex? Or crazy good sex?

Listen to this episode to figure out what kind of sex you're really after.

Millions of people struggle with finding their one true "passion" in life.

That's because so many of us waste hours of our time deliberating over what exactly it is that we might "love" to do. Or which career path will offer the most satisfaction. Or how our passion stacks up to what others are pursuing.

But figuring out what you're passionate about shouldn't be stressful. 

Because if you can:

1. Pinpoint the things you care about most

2. Take blind leaps of faith

3. Give yourself infinite patience, and

4. Concentrate on your own journey

... then you'll stumble upon your passion eventually.

It takes a lot of hard work and determination to put this into practice. But once you finally feel like you're on the right path, you'll realize it's more than worth the struggle.

Tune into today's episode to hear more

Ever wondered why some online businesses get tons of customers while others barely get any traffic, even though they sell virtually the same thing?

Much of it comes down to being able to write solid sales copy.

For small business owners who can't afford an in-house team of copywriters, figuring out how to persuade your customers to buy through writing can be a headache.

But what if you didn't have to spend hours staring at a blank page and blinking cursor? What if you could get your customers to write your copy for you?

It's not that hard. And as long as you've got a computer and an internet connection, it's also free.

Listen to this episode to discover where you can snoop on your customers online, and how you can use their words to write effective copy.

What separates those who fail from those who succeed?

Statistics show that 60% of customers say no 4 times before they say yes. But 48% of salespeople never bother to follow up. And out of the salespeople who do follow up, 44% give up after the first attempt. Which means almost 3/4 of salespeople give up on the sale after the first couple of failed attempts.

And if you apply this to the general population, that means at least 3/4 give up on their goals and dreams the first couple of times they hit a bump in the road. That doesn't include the millions of others who never even gave it a shot.

So how do you avoid failure?

By not giving up.

Of course, it's a bit more involved than that. I've broken it down into what I call the "4 Ps" of not giving up. 

Have a listen to this episode, and see if this mindset of not giving up changes the way you think about failure and success.

“Those People Who Have Nothing to Lose Are Very Rich”

You don't need mountains of money to call yourself rich.

Being rich can be as simple as having the right mindset that reveals the abundance of the world around you.

Because when you live life from a place of abundance... where you aren't afraid of losing the things you have because you know there's more where they came from... then you have nothing to lose.

And when you've got nothing to lose, you have everything to gain.

And that's what makes you rich.

If you struggle with adopting an abundance and "rich" mindset, then listen to this episode to hear about the 3 key components to "thinking rich."

It's easy to lose yourself in a storm of external judgment. Especially when that judgment comes from within your own head rather than other people's mouths.

That's why it shouldn't really matter what other people think about you. Because who really ever knows? And even if it is true, what are you gonna do about it?

You've only got one life to live, so there's no point wasting your time worrying about whether you're living up to others' expectations. You've got your own expectations to deal with.

So if you find it difficult to shake off the thoughts and opinions of others, here's 4 ideas to help you remind yourself that nobody's opinion matters more than your own.

Your ability to succeed in life relies heavily on your level of self-confidence.

The million-dollar question, of course, is: How do you become confident?

In this episode, I go through 3 tips that have helped me improve my own confidence in myself... demolish my self-limiting beliefs... and ultimately realize that bravery is more important than confidence.

So if you feel like you don't have what it takes to succeed and go after your goals, tune in for the 3 simple ways you can develop the confidence you need to pursue your dreams.

Everyone wants to know what the meaning of life is.

But what exactly do we mean by "meaning?"

In this episode, I give my 2 cents (.016 USD) on the meaning of life, and why it's so important to know what the meaning of life is when it comes to business and your career.

If you're struggling to find fulfilment and happiness in your life, then these words might help shed light on what's the best path forward for you.

You don't need to be smart to work hard. But you need to work hard to be truly smart.

I'm not talking academically smart. I mean "make something of yourself" smart, or "having a fulfilled life" smart.

Most people want shortcuts to success. And almost nobody is willing to put in the work.

But if you do what everyone else does, you'll get what everyone else gets.

So with that said, here's 3 reasons why working harder not only makes you smarter, but will also help you achieve the kind of life you want.

Why conviction and taking action are all you need to make your dreams come true.

It's always hard to make decisions when there's lots of risk involved.

And it can be especially tough if you're deciding on whether or not to bet on yourself.

So here's 3 questions to help you figure out whether now is the right time to go all-in on your dreams.

Do you get queasy whenever someone else expects you to be an "expert" on a topic?

You ain't the only one.

For the longest time, I've constantly struggled with presenting myself as an authority on different subject matters, even when I do in fact know more about the subject than the person I'm talking with.

So to help you gain more confidence in calling yourself an expert, here's 5 tips that you can easily apply.