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The SuccessLab Podcast: Where Entrepreneurs Collaborate for Success


Jul 12, 2015

Greg Hickman is a mobile marketing consultant, podcaster, speaker and coach who last year decided to leave the steady routine and steady income of a 9 to 5 to start his entrepreneurial journey. Last December he started publicly tracking his journey towards reaching $20k in income per month. He is very candid about his journey and admits it hasn’t always been easy.

Greg was balancing a full-time job while trying to build up his business in the off hours. When he finally decided to make the calculated leap into full-time entrepreneurship he was thrilled to be able to finally dedicate a full day’s work to his business. He was waking up earlier, excited about the day, saving time not having to commute into an office, and could finally dedicate those 8 hours previously spent on someone else's business actually working on his own. Time to crush it…right?

Well that wasn’t quite the case. For Greg, like many of us, when we have the extra time on our hands we tend to leap all over the place - from one project to another - never quite finishing any. It’s easy to lose focus or not have any to begin with. The Superman effect also can come into play. Somehow, and this this true for me, when I know I have a full day to tackle anything, my to-do list tends to become a mile long.

Greg knew this wasn’t working for him, so he took action. He attended Chris Ducker’s Tropical Think Tank Conference and took home a few productivity tips. One thing he did was implement a daily routine and the concept of the Zero-Based Calendar, a concept his friend and fellow blogger Bryan Harris introduced him to. It’s based on Dave Ramsey’s Zero-Based Budget in which all money in your budget is accounted for. In this case, every hour in the day is accounted for - even if it’s rest time or reading time, it’s on the calendar.

This was working for Greg, but he still found he was trying to divide his time between too many projects. What came next was something we’ve talked about a lot on this podcast and one of my favorite books…”The ONE Thing” by Gary Keller. From that book Greg set out to identify his most important thing and trim out the rest.

This got him into full productivity mode. He was crushing it, but soon discovered the entrepreneurial journey can become an emotional roller coast. Many entrepreneurs go through feelings of self doubt, and that’s what he was battling.

Someone recommended Hal Elrod’s “The Miracle Morning.” He read the book, implemented the strategies and said it changed his life.

Hal’s Miracle Morning consists of six elements, all buttoned up into one nice, snackable acronym: S.A.V.E.R.S.

S = Silence

A = Affirmations

V= Visualization

E = Exercise

R = Reading

S = Scribing/journaling

Beyond implementing “The Miracle Morning” routine, one other key thing Greg did was declare his goal publicly, and he’s been tracking it since.

Quote of the Week:

“Never mistake activity for achievement.” ~ John Wooden

This week’s Biz Hack:

Read The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and/or Essentialism by Greg McKeown. The ONE Thing is all about finding that one important daily thing that’s going to propel you towards your larger, long-term goals and cutting out the rest. Essentialism is somewhat similar. It challenges the assumptions many of us have of “I have to do everything” and trying to do it all, and replaces it with the idea of pursuing “the right thing, in the right way, at the right time.” The book focuses on regaining control of your choices about where you spend your time and energy, and more importantly, not allowing others to simply choose for you.

Thank you to Greg Hickman for sharing his journey so candidly and how he has worked to overcome the very common obstacles that often accompany entrepreneurship. Next week I’m in the lab with Tanner Lawley, a former finance major, turned bodyguard, turned artpreneur. He opens up about a battle with drug addiction, how he overcame it and how he has built up his fine art business and has become an internationally known fine art artist. Be sure to tune in. Until then, have a prosperous week. Music in this episode: "They Just Don't Know" by Gyft.