Episode 11: “Success through Clarity, Control, and Community” with Entrepreneur Geoff Woods (#ThisIsMyEra the Podcast)
Entrepreneur Geoff Woods thinks that you’ve been working towards success all wrong. And there’s a pretty good chance he’s right. But don’t worry, because in this episode of #ThisIsMyEra the Podcast, Geoff walks us through the “surprisingly simple truths” that will completely transform the way you approach success and taking action towards your goals.
Geoff is uniquely qualified to bring us this advice because he lives it out and proves its effectiveness every day. Just over two years ago he was still working at an unfulfilling job, but since then he’s completely reshaped his life and now serves as VP of The ONE Thing. Built around the book of the same name, The ONE Thing is a company that helps individuals achieve extraordinary results. He also hosts The ONE Thing podcast, which is among the top 5% of all podcasts.
Listen now to Geoff chat with Kuda Biza and Alexander Star. They discuss his secrets for success, and how embracing a quote from entrepreneur Jim Rohn:
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
completely transformed his life. Even before the episode is over, you’ll have taken some key actions to clarify your purpose and priorities. By the end, you’ll be ready to take massive action towards your goals with a whole new perspective.
A small number of actions make the majority of impact:
Geoff calls this a “Timeless Truth”: everything does not matter equally. You’ve probably heard of the 80/20 rule (also called the Pareto Principle), which states that 80 percent of outputs are created by 20 percent of inputs. The problem is, most of the time we act in reverse. We get bogged down in the 80 percent of things that don’t create impact, while hoping we can eventually find the time to get to the important 20 percent.
The #1 takeaway of The ONE Thing is right in the name: do the ONE thing first that will have the most profound impact in your quest for success. Until that one thing is done, everything else is just a distraction.
Focus on the 3 C's: Clarity, Control, and Community.
According to Geoff, a nearly universal hurdle that keeps people from success is a lack of clarity – not having developed a roadmap for success that will guide them over the next five or twenty years.
A closely related limiting factor is that people feel out of control. Their days seem filled with meaningless but urgent tasks that keep them from what really matters.
At the core of these two impediments is the lack of community. When nobody is around to support you in pursuing your goals or taking control of your time, you won’t get very far.
In this podcast, Geoff says: “When you have the 3 Cs, suddenly you start achieving extraordinary results.” Attaining clarity, asserting control of your time, and seeking out supportive community will massively shift your outputs.
As a bonus, Alexander offers an additional C: confidence. Confidence is a tool that can help you achieve clarity, express your goals to others, and attract the right people to your community.
Surround yourself with the right people by providing them value.
In order to surround yourself with world-changers, attract them to your inner circle by consistently providing them with value… and don’t ask for anything in return. Ignore the self-limiting voice in your head that might be saying “but I don’t have anything to offer!” Start expanding your thinking to identify what you do have to offer.
If you’re not sure how to provide value to someone, simply ask them: What do you need? The answer to that question will likely lead to clarity: How can you help?
If you’re nervous about approaching someone for the first time, listen to this episode. Geoff provides the perfect script for introducing yourself and breaks down why each part of the script makes it effective.
TAKE MASSIVE ACTION NOW
As Geoff says in this episode, "consuming content is great, but taking action is where the results come." Right in the podcast, Geoff gives listeners some exercises to do. Here’s what he suggests:
1) "Turn a to-do list into a success list"
Sit down and write down everything you have to do in the coming week. Include anything that could potentially add stress to your day or weigh on your mind. Reply to emails? Attend a meeting? Give a presentation?
Look over the list, and identify the 20% of things that will produce the majority of results. If something comes to mind that wasn’t on your list, write it down. Then, put these tasks in order of priority. You’ve just turned you to-do list into a success list.
2) Ask yourself: what's the one thing you can do from what you've learned here today that will make everything else easier or unnecessary?
In the spirit of The ONE Thing, you can only pick one! If multiple things come to mind, hone down those options until you’ve identified the ONE thing that will produce the majority of your results. Now that it’s identified, go do it!
If this exercise was helpful for you, share this podcast on social media and let us know what the ONE action step you identified was, and what results have come from it so far.
Episode Outline:
1:00: Introduction
2:00: What The ONE Thing is.
3:00: What you’ll hear if you listen to The ONE Thing podcast.
4:15: How do you maximize productivity?
5:45: A Timeless Truth: Everything does not matter equally.
6:30: Exercise: make a “Success List.” (It’s okay, pause the podcast! Take your time.)
8:00: Why clarity is key.
9:25: How clarity of purpose leads to better time management.
11:45 How can someone make themselves more accountable?
15:45: The power of decision making.
16:30: The Three C’s: Clarity, Control, and Community.
18:45: How Geoff build up his confidence.
20:00: Geoff provides a real-world example of how to seize opportunity and ignore limiting beliefs.
20:45: Geoff’s can’t-fail script for approaching a potential mentor.
23:55: How to build community by offering value to others.
25:30: The importance of having a mentor.
26:00: A major wake-up call from Geoff: Why we’ve been doing things the hard way, and how to change that. (This will change EVERYTHING.)
28:15: How to find a mentor. (Hint: You’re taking the first step without realizing it.)
33:20: Don’t just listen. Take action.
34:00: Identify ONE action you can take after listening to this episode.
Episode Links:
Mentioned in this epsiode: Episode 83
Listen to The Mentee Podcast.
Mentioned in this episode: Episode 57
Connect with #ThisIsMyEra on Facebook (@thisismyeraofficial)
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Join the conversation across all platforms with the hashtag #ThisIsMyEra
Pull quotes:
"Are you willing to do different actions to get different results?" - Geoff Woods
"You should always be thinking about how can I give, first, before 'how can I take'?" - Kuda Biza
"The importance of having a mentor is that it collapses time." - Geoff Woods
“Be intentional in what you want to happen… and it will come to you.” - Alexander Star
