Ep. 211 – Climbing mountains and entrepreneurial success – The 8th and newest mountain episode – Some of the most amazing mountains’ stories you heard

Hi, my Reachers.

This is the eighth ‘Mountain Episode’. It seems like you really love this amazing series of the Reach Or Miss mountains project; Today, I want to share with you the 8th and newest episode where successful entrepreneurs share their mountains stories.

 

Listen to these incredible mountain stories I heard from the successful entrepreneurs I recently interviewed on my podcast.

You can then listen to the full interview with each of them and hear about their visions, struggles, and how these entrepreneurs reached their success.

 

From the entrepreneur that booked a trip to Machu Picchu without knowing it’s a mountain. And found himself lying on the floor, gasping for breath…”

To the entrepreneur who had never been mountaineering but found himself climbing one of the highest mountains in Mexico…

To the entrepreneur who said: “I love mountains, but I love taking people up mountains with me… As a founder, as a leader, there are always other people who will come and support you.”

And the entrepreneur who said that what people miss—about mountain climbing specifically, and also in life—that you have to know when to go down. You’re not always moving up. You have to be able to get to a certain level, to find a base…”

 

I hope these mountain stories will encourage you to find out what should you – as an entrepreneur looking for your breakthrough to success – take from their stories to help you find the necessary steps to reach your peak.

 

Many entrepreneurs climb mountains, while others use mountains as a metaphor to describe what is necessary to conquer the peak – including the fatiguing yet rewarding journey to the top. Still other entrepreneurs use mountains as an analogy for a significant goal they wish to achieve – such as becoming a billion-dollar-market-cap company.

For many years, I’ve compared entrepreneurship to climbing the highest mountains.

You climb step by step to the peak, reach your position as a market leader and a leading brand, and then start climbing a new mountain with a new product line or another brand.

The idea of mountains as representations of a strong position in the market is mentioned by Al Ries and Jack Trout in the excellent book, Marketing Warfare.

“In military warfare, mountains and higher altitude areas represent strong positions and often are used to present a strong defense. In marketing warfare, the question is one of who holds the mountains in the consumer’s mind.”

 

So, at some point after the launch of my podcast for entrepreneurs, I started to ask the successful entrepreneurs I interviewed about their habits or dreams of climbing one of the highest mountains in the world.

Listen to these new inspiring mountains’ stories, find which entrepreneurs and stories you identify with most, and review your entrepreneurial objectives, market overview, and plan. By making your business as strong as possible, you will be able to quickly and easily achieve entrepreneurial success.

 

Matt Barnett – Papa Bear@Bonjoro “As a founder, as a leader, there are always other people who will come and support you and make the journey to the top much more enjoyable.

It’s about a journey, it’s not about the destination, and without people, it’s a lonely walk.”

A British designer by trade, Bonjoro is Matts second company, founded out of Sydney Australia. What started as a sales hack for an Agency he was running, Bonjoro went from hack to side hustle to global business in 18months, and now has team across 5 continents.

Matts love of building great products is only surpassed by that of building great culture, and his goal is to be the next Zappos, to be most loved brand in the world.

 

Matt’s Mountain

“I love mountains, but I love taking people up mountains with me. So, last winter, we climbed the highest mountain in Tasmania, in Australia, but I did it with my wife and one-year-old daughter.

In terms of the metaphor, the metaphor is: Don’t struggle with mountains on your own.

As a founder, as a leader, there are always other people who will come and support you and make the journey to the top much more enjoyable.

It’s about a journey, it’s not about the destination, and without people, it’s a lonely walk.”

[You can listen to the full episode with Matt here…]

 

 

Ari Rastegar: “I think people miss—about mountain climbing specifically, and also in life—that you have to know when to go down.”

Ari Rastegar, Founder and CEO of Rastegar Property Company, has earned a reputation as a thought leader in real estate with his innovative, technology-driven investment strategies. He specializes in recession-resilient real assets and multifamily real estate developments, building portfolios designed to reduce risk and maximize capital appreciation potential.

Rastegar Property Company has acquired over 20 properties across the Sun Belt over the past year and a half.

 

Ari’s Mountain

I have a mountain. I have a very, very, very tall, steep, snowy, slippery, sharp, dangerous mountain that I’m climbing.

I think people miss—about mountain climbing specifically, and also in life—that you have to know when to go down. You’re not always moving up. You have to be able to get to a certain level, to find a base. You have to stay there for a while. You have to hit a plateau, you need to rest. You might’ve moved a couple of steps too quickly and you reached it.

But no matter what, you keep climbing and you keep moving. Sometimes moving and progress mean being still and being calm. That’s part of the process.

I try to remind myself of the advice that I’m giving.

[You can listen to the full episode with Ari here…]

 

 

Scott Prisco: “My daily journey is, you know, you climb a little bit and then you fall. You keep climbing and then you fall down the mountain a little bit… I think it’s so important to just keep going and put one foot in front of the other.”

Scott Prisco is a nutritionist and entrepreneur with a passion for helping others. He founded Priscotty Pure, a wellness company that assists people in reaching their optimum state of well-being through unique supplement blends and an electrifying health movement.

Scott is also a mover and shaker in the CBD space. He founded Inception Industries Extracts, a manufacturing company that specializes in the production of high-quality, water-soluble powders and liquids, made from hemp-derived cannabinoids. The company uses a proprietary nanomolecular encapsulation technology to drastically increase the bioavailability and effectiveness of its outputs. Inception Industries Extracts formulates ingredients for clients in the nutraceutical, nutricosmetic, and functional foods industries, both domestically and internationally.

 

Scott’s Mountain

I like this metaphor a lot. It’s probably my favorite question that you’ve asked so far.

My daily journey is, you know, you climb a little bit and then you fall. You keep climbing and then you fall down the mountain a little bit.

So many times, so many different entrepreneurs just say, “All right, well, I’m packing up and going home for the day,” or whatever time period you use. Then, on a different day, they climb a different mountain. They never quite get to the top of the mountain because they just gave up and stopped climbing.

I think it’s so important to just keep going and put one foot in front of the other. It’s like you said, to climb that mountain.

So, I think there will always be a bigger mountain to climb next. And I definitely think that the next one will be a bigger challenge, whatever I decide to do. I want to help people in a big way and I want to prove to myself that I can go outside the wellness space and do something completely different, in a completely different industry.

[You can listen to the full episode with Scott here…]

 

 

Derick Van Ness: “I think the comparison between a mountain and a business is very profound because both of them are way harder than you think they’re going to be, and they take way longer than you think. You’re tested.”

Derick Van Ness is a Wealth Strategist who is passionate about helping people reach their full potential. His company, Big Life Financial is focused on removing the mystery and misinformation surrounding money and financial strategy so people can live their BIGGEST LIFE!

Derick believes that each person has something unique and valuable to contribute to the world, but that most people are never able to express that gift due to fear, doubt, or worry related to money. His mission is to eradicate that fear and fundamentally change the way that people think about and utilize money within the next generation.

 

Derick’s Mountain

I grew up and live in Salt Lake City and we live right next to big, beautiful mountains. So, my entire life, I’ve spent time in the mountains. I love your comparison.

I think most people think, when they start a business or when they get out of college, that they’re at the top of the mountain. The truth is, I feel like that’s base camp.

I think the comparison between a mountain and a business is very profound because both of them are way harder than you think they’re going to be, and they take way longer than you think. You’re tested.

I often refer to what I call the spiritual journey of entrepreneurship, because when you own a business, it comes down to you. You have to show up, and if you have a team, you have to lead. You have to be better than you thought you could be. You have to dig deeper than you ever thought you would be when something goes wrong.

When you’re out there and you’re all alone or with only a couple of people, nature doesn’t care.

If you’re tired, if you’re hungry, if you’re cold, it’s not going to warm up in the middle of the night for you. And the world is that way with business.

[You can listen to the full episode with Derick here…]

 

 

Joe Paranteau: “I don’t really believe in work-life balance. I think your life is either balanced or it’s not. It’s the same as on a mountain: Either you look at it as work or you see the beauty and take it all in. That’s the way I like to see it.”

Joe Paranteau is a leading expert on sales, generating more than $1B in just five years, an uncommon accomplishment. He has led nearly 30K sales meetings in his 28-year career with Fortune 500, SMBs, and startup businesses.

In his first book, Billion Dollar Sales Secrets, he shares fifteen secrets to help inspire salespeople to rise to meet today’s challenges, ignite their dreams and success.

 

Joe’s Mountain

I love mountains. One of my favorite hobbies is hiking. I woke up early one morning and decided that I was going to climb a mountain. No one else wanted to come with me. So, I had to go it alone. It was a hike, and it was a fairly challenging hike that would take me from no snow up into the snowpack. The only thing that I had to worry about was animals and snow in different things. But I had my hiking gear and I went at it.

The thing that I like, and that I think people miss about life and the journeys that we take, is that it’s very much like a mountain. You can start off enjoying the beauty while you’re doing your job.

I don’t really believe in work-life balance. I think your life is either balanced or it’s not. It’s the same as on a mountain: Either you look at it as work or you see the beauty and take it all in. That’s the way I like to see it.

[You can listen to the full episode with Joe here…]

 

 

Bryan Clayton: “I started to understand some things as it relates to climbing a mountain and, really, even the journey of starting a business. I noticed that this guy, my guide, was fanatical…. I realized, “Wow, that’s leadership. This guy is fanatical about the goal of getting to the pinnacle.” His fanaticism enthused me and got me through it.”

Bryan Clayton is CEO and cofounder of GreenPal an online marketplace that connects homeowners with Local lawn care professionals. GreenPal has been called the “Uber for lawn care” by Entrepreneur magazine and has over 200,000 active users completing thousands of transactions per day.

Before starting GreenPal Bryan Clayton founded Peachtree Inc. one of the largest landscaping companies in the state of Tennessee growing it to over $10 million a year in annual revenue before it was acquired by Lusa holdings in 2013.

 

Bryan’s Mountain

I was on a trip to Mexico, just exploring the country this summer, and I booked a tour to go on a hike. I had no intentions of climbing a mountain. I thought this was a hike. The guy picks me up and says, “So, how long have you been mountaineering?” I said, “I’ve never been mountaineering.” He goes, “What do you mean?” I said, “I’ve never climbed a mountain in my life.”

Long story short, we get up there and it’s about a seven-hour drive outside of Mexico City. We get there and it’s about four hours in an off-road vehicle to the starting point. The air is very thin. I could barely breathe. We stayed the night in this little hut and at about 1 o’clock in the morning, we begin climbing this mountain.

I started to understand some things as it relates to climbing a mountain and, really, even the journey of starting a business. I noticed that this guy, my guide, was fanatical. He looked back at me and said, “Brother, thank you so much for booking this tour because it was only when you booked this tour that I got to be on the mountain. And it’s only when I’m on the mountain that I feel alive.”

I realized, “Wow, that’s leadership. This guy is fanatical about the goal of getting to the pinnacle.” His fanaticism enthused me and got me through it.

[You can listen to the full episode with Bryan here…]

 

 

James Layfield: ”When you push yourself beyond your physical limits and mental limits, be that business or, as in this case, in climbing the actual landscape, it just shows you what is possible.”

James Layfield is an entrepreneur and investor creating positive change through innovation in sectors ranging from property to financial technology. Most recently, James co-founded Clearfind, an easy-to-use, unbiased artificial intelligence platform that is changing the way companies manage and optimize software with data.

James is a general partner in a fintech investment fund Treasury with the cofounders of Acorns, Betterment, and a board member of Paypal, and has angel investments across a host of technology ventures.

James has founded and led multiple successful companies including Rise, the world’s largest fintech innovation platform, with Barclays; Never Ever Limited, an innovation catalyst and consulting agency; and Central Working, a shared workspace hub for business professionals.

James is currently an ambassador for CognitionX the AI event, London and Partners, and the ScaleUp Institute. He also serves as the New York Tech Ambassador for the Mayor of London.

 

James’s Mountain

A couple of years ago, a friend rang me and said, “Hey, James, how do you fancy going to Machu Picchu?” And I was like, “Sign me up.”

I did not have any idea why I signed up for the four-day hike. The level of intensity of that height for me was off the charts. At one time, I was just lying on the floor, gasping for breath. I thought I was wearing a very tight hat, but it was basically just altitude sickness plus exertion. It was ridiculous.

I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard in my life. I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun being outside in nature. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more physically challenged than I did on that trip. It was so beautiful and so inspirational. Getting closer to the two friends I went on that trip with is something that I’ll remember forever. It really inspired me to want to do more of it.

When you push yourself beyond your physical limits and mental limits, be that business or, as in this case, in climbing the actual landscape, it just shows you what is possible.

I think we hold ourselves back so often that we limit ourselves. We don’t even realize that we’re doing it to ourselves. If you said to me, “Did you train for that?”, I’d answer, “Not really.” No, but did I really push myself? And did I get the most out of it? Absolutely. Yes. And I’m always surprised at what I accomplished, looking back.

[You can listen to the full episode with James here…]

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this episode.

As I always write after a ‘Mountain Episode’:

Now you can choose whether and what you would like to do next as a reaction to this episode.

As I see it you have 4 options.

 

First, you can of course do nothing that has to do with this show, go to do whatever you want or planned or just switch to the next podcast.

Second, you can enjoy the stories, be inspired and take the courage and massive strength needed to take your entrepreneurship to a much higher level than you did in the last few months.

Third, you can choose one or more of the inspiring successful interviewees, their stories you love best, or choose me, to connect, ask questions, find what else you can learn from them (they all have plenty of free very professional content on their sites) or even find out if they can be your mentor if they give that service.

And last, but not least, you can join me for a free training about the 7 free practical ways to get more customers, that will help you climb to a higher pick and reach your goals for 2021.

Go to www.getcustomerswebinar.com and join me there.

 

I’ll meet you on the next mountain….

Hayut.

 

I’d like to invite you to a free masterclass about “7 practical free ways to get more customers”