John Tesh’s highly successful and varied career path includes a 10-year run as anchor on Entertainment Tonight, six hit public television specials, including his landmark Live At Red Rocks in 1994, a string of #1 radio hits, his popular nationally syndicated radio show “Intelligence For Your Life” in which he has 14.5 million listeners, and a high profile advertising and marketing company. His musical accolades since releasing his debut album Tour De France in 1988 include seven million units in total sales; a Keyboard Magazine Award; a 2003 Grammy nomination for “Best Pop Instrumental Album” for his double CD The Power of Love; and gold certification for his Live At Red Rocks album.

His advertising and marketing company, TeshMedia, handles clients such as numerous Fortune 500 companies, including General Motors, Home Depot, Macy’s, Kohl’s Petsmart, Amway, Geico Insurance and PetSmart. Tesh’s book “Intelligence for Your Life: Powerful Lessons for Personal Growth”, has spent time on the New York Times, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, Wall Street Journal & Amazon.com best-seller lists. The award-winning daily and weekly show he calls “purpose driven radio”, recently secured the trademarks for three more categories in their “Intelligence for....” family. “Intelligence for Your Health,” “Intelligence for Your Pets” and “Intelligence for Your Love Life” have been added to Tesh's core brand, and will be developed into stand-alone content-rich websites with products designed around the “Intelligence” Tesh and his staff have gathered in the 10 years since they launched the show.

Key Takeaways:

[4:36] How The John Tesh Radio Show found its niche and is designed to run on any format

[9:35] The importance of "picking a lane" in life and how it can lead to success

[15:15] The most important type of books John thinks you should be reading

[20:07] How John and his wife met, and why pretty women don't seem to get asked out as much

Resources Mentioned:

www.ifylondemand.com
www.tesh.com
www.teshmusic.com
Focus: The Future of Your Company Depends on It
Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition

Gerard Adams is a thought leader, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and philanthropist. His lifes purpose is to inspire other Millennials to leverage their passions for success and create the lifestyle they dream of.

Gerard started from the bottom, and made it his mission to get to the top, doing what he was passionate about, and giving a voice to the millenial generation. He co-founded a well-loved news platform called EliteDaily.com, hustled, and recently sold it for $50,000,000.

After meeting Tony Robbins, Gerard is now dedicating his life to mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs to help them avoid the pitfalls he faced.

Key Takeaways:

[4:06] How EliteDaily.com got started

[7:40] How to hire and pay writers for your publication/company/blog

[11:10] How EliteDaily.com was able to ensure they were speaking with the right voice

[14:24] EliteDaily.com's current size

[16:26] The rising importance of video in today's online landscape

[19:07] Gerard's new thought leader business

Website Mentioned:

www.gerardadams.com

Gerri is Head of Market Education for Nav, a website that helps entrepreneurs manage and build their personal and business credit. She is also co-author of the new book Finance Your Own Business with Garrett Sutton.

Jason and Gerri have an in-depth discussion about what business credit is, how you can obtain it, how you can actually attain GOOD business credit and what you can do with it in your business.

Key Takeaways:

[6:06] Specific examples of using business credit and protecting your personal credit score

[10:37] Managing your business credit report

[12:22] How you actually get started with business credit

[13:41] Some important business credit terminology

[16:10] A tip that can help improve your credit score by simply changing the day you're paying your bills

[19:01] Looking at the time commitment that's likely required when you start getting your business credit underway

[22:36] The coming rise of equity crowdfunding

Websites Mentioned:

www.nav.com
www.corporatedirect.com
www.kiva.org

Kevin Jans is the President and Founder of Skyway Acquisition Solutions (“Skyway”). After 16 years as a Department of Defense contracting officer, he founded Skyway to help companies navigate the increasingly complex process of competing for Federal contracts. Kevin built the company on the premise that no one knows the Federal acquisition system better than contracting officers who managed it from the inside. Following this idea, he built a team of experts with actual contracting officer experience. What separates this podcast is the insight that Kevin and Paul bring from having been Contracting Officers (COs).

Kevin has held contracting officer warrants with unlimited signing authority in multiple Department of Defense agencies. He has written and reviewed over 1,000 contracts valued from $7,700 to $882 Million. In addition, Kevin has personally led or managed 143 competitive government source selections. This experience has made him a veritable expert in a series of acquisition regulations including the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the Defense FAR Supplement (DFARS), the Air Force FAR Supplement (AFFARS), and the Special Operations Command FAR Supplement (SOFARS). He has competed, awarded and administered contracts in a wide variety of industries, from aircraft and space systems to facilities and tactical vehicles.  His collaborative style allowed him to communicate across a disparate customer base (Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, Air Force and Marine Corps SOF) to create rapid, effective acquisition strategies.

In addition to his hands on experience, Kevin has extensive credentials in the contracting and source selection field. He is an active member of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), Suncoast Chapter.  Kevin also has elite training and development experience in the Federal contract market. He was competitively selected for both the US Air Force’s Copper Cap Training Program and the Career Broadener Programs. Both of these targeted Department of Defense training programs are designed to accelerate the experience and knowledge of high-performing professionals in the DOD contracting and acquisition field. He is a Certified Federal Contracts Manager (through NCMA), DOD-Certified in both Contracting and Program Management (through Defense Acquisition University) and he holds a Yellow Belt Certification in Six Sigma.

Key Takeaways:

[5:13] Kevin's new 80/20 rule

[7:07] A few places you can go to find government contracts out there and if you might be a fit

[9:48] Getting started and learning the basics of learning to get government contracts

[11:50] How to compete for government contracts with small businesses and minority owned businesses

[14:53] Comparing the government contract market to the stock market

[17:51] How long it takes to get a government contract going

[21:55] Exploring the all important topic of how much it costs to get help submitting your government contract proposal

[24:40] Looking at what the government's going to look at when they're onsidering if you'll win the contract

Websites Mentioned:

www.usaspending.gov
www.federalbusinessopporunities.gov
www.skywayacquisition.com
www.contractingofficerpodcast.com

Jane Root is a leading creative executive producer who has transformed major networks on both sides of the Atlantic, and delivered innovative, acclaimed programming to the content market worldwide in both television and digital. Previously President of Discovery Networks and controller of BBC2, Jane established herself as co-founder of Wall to Wall Television creating a number of hit programs for the British and US markets. In 2008, Jane set up Nutopia and since its launch has created international formats, won awards, achieved record-breaking ratings and pioneered a new genre of television – the mega-doc.

Key Takeaways:

[1:20] An overarching look at the peaceful beginning of the 2000s

[3:05] The flavor of the decades, the 80s created the world we now have, the 90s were peace and prosperity

[7:39] The technologies that changed society in the 2000s, starting with Napster

[9:31] A look back at the financial side of the 2000s and how it was a continuation of the 90s weakening of restrictions

[12:20] The changing speed of technological advances

[15:42] Some fun facts about the 2000s

Websites Mentioned:

www.nutopia.com

Harpreet Singh is Co-founder and Co-CEO of ExpertFi, as well as a Fellow at Harvard Innovation Lab. He is responsible for Experfy's strategy and operations. He is an entrepreneur with experience leading cross-functional teams in global execution of product development, business strategy, operations, and technology functions. With exceptional emphasis on structured governance, he managed the program management initiatives for sixty technology startups from Citigroup's e-Citi Venture Portfolio Office. In a later role as Director of Technology, also at Citigroup, he architected the infrastructure of global multi-tiered, web-based electronic exchanges. Harpreet subsequently established the Project Management Office (PMO) for FX Alliance, a global foreign exchange platform, where he was responsible for enabling project and risk management functions for New York, London and Tokyo locations. Harpreet earned Master's and PhD degrees from Harvard University, where he currently serves as a faculty member. In 2001, Harpreet co-founded the Sikh Coalition—a civil rights group—in the wake of hate crimes against Sikh-Americans after the September 11 attacks. In 2003, along with Desmond Tutu, Harpreet was honored with the James Parks Morton Interfaith Tribute by the Interfaith Center of New York for his work to help heal local communities on the grassroots level.

Key Takeaways:

[1:26] Dr. Singh breaks down the 3 characteristics of big data: volume, variety and velocity

[4:11] How big data is being used in a way that small businesses can actually use

[7:15] How big data has been used in conferences to aid in seating people, at a price that businesses can actually afford

[9:21] How Experfy has been able to recruit and retain some of the big names in the data scientist world

[10:15] Using big data can help your company automate things previously done manually, drive down your prices and help you expand

[14:34] The future of big data and analytics

[16:00] Describing the Harvard Innovation Lab

In 2011, Michael earned the designation Certified World Class Speaking Coach. The processes and skills he teaches help you increase your visibility, create more opportunities for advancement, save you time, and may also increase your income.

To keep abreast of new ideas from the speaking world, he works closely with World Champion and Hall of Fame speakers. He also studies the work of Hollywood screenwriters and professional comics to expand his knowledge of presentation skills and offer a unique perspective on these topics. Because of his dedication to the craft, Michael is sought by speakers all over the world.

He has produced audio programs, is a contributing author to three public speaking books, has recently written his first book, ‘THE Book on Storytelling,’ and presents public speaking and storytelling skills workshops throughout the year.

Key Takeaways:

[2:56] Why storytelling connects us so well

[4:58] Why the headline stories aren't the most effective stories, but rather it's the "little" ones

[7:47] Storytelling with the Then, Now, How method

[11:30] How the hero's journey fits into storytelling

[14:00] How long should your stories actually be, and the 30 second story that rocked Mike's world view

[17:07] Mike names off the areas where most people struggle, and some tips for how to cure it

[23:37] How historical figures like Martin Luther King, Jr, Ronald Reagan and JFK factor into storytelling

Websites Mentioned:

www.speakingcpr.com

Doug Sandler has over 30 years of business experience as an entrepreneur, business owner, manager and staff member. His book, Nice Guys Finish First is a #1 ranked Amazon Best Seller.  He specializes in making connections, building relationships and strengthening bonds both inside and outside organizations. Don’t let the “Mr. Nice Guy” tag fool you, Doug has entered into many high level negotiations and is anything but a pushover. His speaking and consulting business is geared towards improving relationships and winning business through his time tested sales, service and relationship building system. Doug is a nationally recognized speaker, and writer for Huffington Post. His weekly posts reach over hundreds of thousands of readers. Doug has been titled by a leading social media marketing company in the top 100 of Social Media Thought Influencers to follow.

Key Takeaways:

[4:23] The importance of always being on the lookout for what the next step is in your life

[8:18] How to make yourself start reaching out to clients/friends/anyone and improve your life

[13:49] The importance of empowering others and how it will cause your business to thrive

[17:56] Companies that have the "Nice Guy" environment

[22:15] The differences between companies people like working with and companies everyone wants to avoid

Websites Mentioned:

www.dougsandler.com

John Sculley is an American businessman, entrepreneur and investor in high-tech startups. Sculley was vice-president (1970–1977) and president of Pepsi-Cola (1977–1983), until he became chief executive officer of Apple Inc. on April 8, 1983, a position he held until leaving in 1993.

He is recognized worldwide as an expert in marketing, in part because of his early successes at PepsiCo, notably his introduction of the Pepsi Challenge, which allowed the company to gain market share from primary rival Coca Cola. He used similar marketing strategies throughout the 1980s and 1990s at Apple to mass-market Macintosh personal computers, and today he continues to speak and write about disruptive marketing strategies.

Key Takeaways:

[4:52] What an entrepreneur needs to do to keep up with the changing work environment

[7:51] How the Pepsi Challenge was the turning point in consumer driven marketing

[12:46] The process through which we connect the rest of the world technologically

[15:13] How you can find your noble cause

[18:49] How the business plan has been usurped by the customer plan

Websites Mentioned:

www.johnsculley.com
www.sculleyspeaks.com

Eric Lofholm is a Master Sales Trainer who has taught his proven sales systems to thousands of professionals around the world. He is President and CEO of Eric Lofholm International, Inc., an organization he founded to professionally train people on the art and science of selling.

Eric began his career as a sales failure. At his first sales job he was put on quota probation after failing to meeting the minimum quota two months in a row. It was at this point that Eric met his sales mentor. After being professionally trained Eric achieved his quota and eventually become the top producer at that company. Eric went on to become the top producer at 2 more companies prior to starting Eric Lofholm International.

For over 14 years Eric has been sharing his proven sales increasing ideas with people all over the world. He believes that selling equals service. He also believes in working towards mastery of the fundamentals of lead generation, appointment setting, and delivering a high quality presentation.

Eric is the author of How to Sell in the New Economy, How to Master the Science of Goal Setting, and 21 Ways to Close more Sales.

Key Takeaways:

[3:45] How you need to look at your sales pitch to truly improve it

[6:35] How to properly use storytelling in your sales pitch and why it's important

[11:48] What to do if you need to break through your final resistance to sales

[17:07] The first (and most crucial) step if you're trying to sell anyone anything

Websites Mentioned:

www.saleschampion.com
www.youtube.com/saleschampion1
www.facebook.com/EricLofholmInternational/